Chapter 259: Understanding
Chapter 259: Understanding
After provoking Jin Tae-do with a sneer, Seonwoo Jin turned his head back toward Jin So-eun.
Then he saw Jin So-eun, who had been lying spread-eagled, trying desperately to rise from the ground after feeling his gaze.
Her stamina, after carrying Ma Yu-gyeom and Myo A-ran across the bridge, seemed completely exhausted now.
She who had defeated a transcendent peak master could not even control her own body.
'Throwing me that staff was probably her last ounce of strength too.'
He felt grateful to her anew.
And her appearance, drenched in sweat and completely disheveled, somehow felt endearing as well.
Seonwoo Jin stopped her as she struggled to rise.
"Jin Sojeo, you may remain lying down. I am also out of strength and intend to rest for a while anyway."
"B-but Jin Tae-do is...."
"It is fine. After descending from Bongam Peak, it will take them considerable time to circle the mountain and pursue us. They must be exhausted as well."
At Seonwoo Jin's warm words, Jin So-eun ceased her efforts to rise.
And she lay back down spread-eagled on the ground.
She did not want to show such a sight before Seonwoo Jin, but now she had no choice.
"Haaaah."
Jin So-eun let out a deep sigh as if exhaling her very last breath.
And then she closed her eyes as if fainting.
The tension released, she fell asleep instantly.
"Kooo."
Seonwoo Jin chuckled at Jin So-eun, who began snoring softly the moment her eyes closed.
But that only lasted a moment; soon he gazed at her with pitying eyes.
And then he looked around at Ma Yu-gyeom and Myo A-ran, lying collapsed beside her.
Their complexions looked very poor.
Ma Yu-gyeom's complexion had turned pale as well, and Myo A-ran's complexion was so bad she looked as though she could die at any moment and no one would find it strange.
Seonwoo Jin let out a small sigh and thought.
'This is serious. No matter how I look at it, continuing this chase is impossible for them.'
They might have shaken off Jin Tae-do this once, but doing so again in the future was absolutely out of the question.
If they were forced into another pursuit like this, they might die while being carried on someone's back.
'Fuuu.'
Seonwoo Jin's worries deepened as he looked at them.
***
Crunch!
Jin Tae-do ground his teeth until they nearly broke.
He had let the bastard slip right before his eyes again.
He was so furious he could not bear it.
'Inparang, Inparang! Inparaaaang!'
If thinking alone could kill, Jin Tae-do would have already torn the bastard into thousands of shreds.
His rage was that savage and immense.
But he was not merely a martial brute strong only in martial arts.
Jin Tae-do was none other than the ambitious schemer who had swallowed the entire Hainan Sect through plots and machinations.
Even in his fury, he was meticulously observing Jin So-eun and the other wounded, collapsed from exhaustion on the opposite Hwangam Peak.
As a result, he concluded that at the very least, they would not be moving immediately.
It was then.
Suddenly, Ja Seong-jin-in asked cautiously from behind him.
"Jin Sect Leader, what shall we do now?"
At that, Jin Tae-do immediately concealed the furious expression he wore moments before, turned to Ja Seong-jin-in with a slight smile, and answered as if nothing was wrong.
"What do you mean, what shall I do? We simply must chase after them again. As it happens, looking over there, the bastards' group does not seem to be in very good condition either. They all appear exhausted and injured. So if we pursue diligently, even though we missed them this time, won't we catch them next time?"
Hearing this, Ja Seong-jin-in marveled at Jin Tae-do's thoroughly composed attitude.
To act so unbothered when his pride must have been wounded by letting the bastard slip right in front of him.
Judging by his breadth of character alone, he seemed far greater than even Wi Jeong-guk, the sect leader of the Hengshan Sect.
Sensing Ja Seong-jin-in's admiration, Jin Tae-do smiled calmly once more.
And he said to him.
"Now, if you are willing, shall we go at once? We should hurry a little more to close the distance."
"Ah, we are of course fine, but are you alright as well, Sect Leader? You released so much sword energy earlier...."
"Hahaha! You need not worry about me. Once we descend and meet up with my subordinates, we can adjust the pace anyway. I will replenish my internal energy then."
"If that is your wish, then. Understood, Sect Leader."
As the Six Harmony Swordsmen, including Ja Seong-jin-in, began descending Bongam Peak, Jin Tae-do glared once more at Seonwoo Jin's group on the opposite Hwangam Peak.
Then he began descending Bongam Peak after the Six Harmony Swordsmen.
On the opposite Hwangam Peak, Seonwoo Jin was also watching their figures with sharp eyes.
***
While descending Bongam Peak, Jin Tae-do was able to join up with his subordinates who had been chasing belatedly.
And he urged them on, resuming the pursuit of Seonwoo Jin's group.
"Hurry! The bastards are already exhausted! If we hurry just a little, we can catch them immediately!"
In truth, his subordinates were equally exhausted.
But Jin Tae-do had absolutely no intention of considering his subordinates' circumstances.
Contrary to what he had told Ja Seong-jin-in, there was no leisure whatsoever in his heart.
His heart was filled with only the single-minded determination to catch Inparang and tear him to death.
'You fled well this time, but this is the end of it. With two wounded and one completely exhausted woman in tow, how far do you think you can run?'
Although he was in a state of madness driven by rage, Jin Tae-do's judgment was perfectly reasonable.
Even this time, hadn't they nearly caught him if not for the swaying bridge?
So now, if they met again on flat ground, there was no way the bastards could slip away any further.
Jin Tae-do continued to urge his subordinates with such thoughts.
At the very least, he absolutely had to catch them before they reached the sea again and made contact with Ma Gyeong.
***
Jin Tae-do's thinking was accurate.
Seonwoo Jin's group was now in a state where they lacked the wherewithal to flee under their own power any longer.
Because Jin So-eun was too exhausted, and it was truly impossible for Seonwoo Jin alone to take responsibility for her, Ma Yu-gyeom, and Myo A-ran.
And Seonwoo Jin was well aware of this fact.
He also knew that in this state, no matter how much distance they created, being caught again by Jin Tae-do was only a matter of time.
So Seonwoo Jin made a decision.
To accept his reality and give up what had to be given up.
'There's no helping it. I have to give up.'
And what he gave up on was conserving their remaining strength.
Piiiiiiiiik!
Seonwoo Jin whistled loudly toward the forest.
And he called the Six Harmony Swordsmen in his mind.
The Six Harmony Swordsmen who had swallowed the offspring insect were connected by a heart-soul bond to the one who had swallowed the mother insect.
Thus originally, Un-dang, the leader of the Pasan Squad who had swallowed the mother insect, could also issue simple commands with his mind.
But there was no way the capabilities of Un-dang, a greedy Taoist full of impure thoughts, could equal Seonwoo Jin's.
Having mastered the Mind's Eye and now even the Supreme Dignity God Eye, Seonwoo Jin could move the Six Harmony Swordsmen at a far higher level than Un-dang ever could.
If he simply wished to use them as his own subordinates, he could move them almost like his own limbs regardless of distance.
A short while later, the Six Harmony Swordsmen, having received Seonwoo Jin's command, ran like the wind and all ascended Hwangam Peak.
And the ally who had heard his whistle also revealed itself.
"Kreurrrrrrrrrng!"
That ally was none other than the Black Leopard Sak-wol.
Sak-wol, who had been with them since Yunnan's Mountain of Sorrow, had appeared again.
In the meantime, the Black Leopard Sak-wol had moved separately from Seonwoo Jin's group as they traveled to more populated areas.
But Seonwoo Jin and Seol Pung, who used the Mind's Eye, knew that even if Sak-wol was not visible, he had not left at all but was circling nearby.
Seonwoo Jin gladly embraced Sak-wol as he rushed over to rub his face against him.
"Sak-wol! Have you been well?!"
"Kreurrrrrrrrrng!"
Sak-wol, happy to see him, smothered Seonwoo Jin by rubbing his face against him.
Then Seonwoo Jin, briefly rolled on the ground together with him by that massive bulk, lifted his head and looked at his companions.
Startled by the sudden appearance of the giant Black Panther, his companions were staring at him with dazed expressions.
"This fellow's name is Sak-wol. Although he may look a bit dangerous at first glance, he is a spirit creature to a close degree, highly intelligent and capable, so you need not be wary of him."
Hearing his words, Ma Yu-gyeom muttered in a tone of disbelief.
"Now even a spirit creature... You truly are something else."
Seonwoo Jin smiled bitterly at that, then immediately ordered the Six Harmony Swordsmen to make two stretchers out of branches and cloth.
They were stretchers to transport Ma Yu-gyeom and Myo A-ran.
"Now, junior brothers! Two of you to a stretcher, front and back, carry them. These two are patients, so take care to move with as little shaking as possible!"
Then he instructed Un-yeong, being a woman, to carry Jin So-eun on her back.
At that, Jin So-eun, who had been watching dazedly, was startled and hastily shook her head.
"Wha, what, I don't necessarily...!"
"You must conserve your stamina now to fight properly later. Please do not refuse and be carried, Jin Sojeo."
"Ah, w-well, if that is the reason then... Yes. I understand."
Thus, the five Six Harmony Swordsmen took responsibility for the three.
Watching this with a satisfied smile, Seonwoo Jin then leaped lightly and mounted Sak-wol's back.
He too had decided to ride Sak-wol like a horse to conserve his own stamina.
"Now, I'm counting on you, Sak-wol!"
"Kreurrrrrrrrrng!"
The group's procession after departing was peculiar.
The strange sight of a man riding a giant Black Panther leading the way at the front, followed by four men carrying two stretchers and a woman carrying another person on her back, all deploying their movement arts as they ran.
It could only be called a unique procession, hard to witness anywhere else in the world.
Jin So-eun suddenly murmured with a dazed expression.
"This is strange. Just a moment ago we were clearly fleeing for our lives, so why does it now feel like we're on a pleasure excursion? Is it really alright to be like this?"
As Jin So-eun said, the group's flight had suddenly become far too comfortable.
The stretchers were comfortable, and since the Six Harmony Swordsmen took care, there was hardly any shaking.
Furthermore, since the Six Harmony Swordsmen were full of stamina, their speed was also sufficiently fast.
Thanks to that, the conditions of Myo A-ran and Ma Yu-gyeom, traveling while lying comfortably on stretchers, began to improve gradually as well.
Needless to say, Seonwoo Jin and Jin So-eun's stamina were recovering too.
A short while later, Jin So-eun, who now had stamina to spare from being carried by Un-yeong, asked Seonwoo Jin about the Black Leopard Sak-wol as they traveled.
Then Seonwoo Jin, also comfortable from riding Sak-wol, was able to answer leisurely about his connection with Sak-wol.
"My first meeting with Sak-wol was when I went to a place called the Poison Forest near the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads...."
That story led to old man Seok Gyeong-dal met in the Poison Forest, extended to the secret history of the Jeomchang Sect and the Blood Demon, and concluded with the tale of destroying the Muhwangchong on the Mountain of Sorrow.
At that, Jin So-eun's jaw dropped in admiration.
"That is truly amazing! The secret history of the Blood Cult and Jeomchang Sect, demons and spirit creatures, and even the Muhwangchong. It really feels just like hearing some legendary hero's tale!"
Jin So-eun was not the only one surprised by his story.
Ma Yu-gyeom, who had his acupoints sealed to prevent suicide and was being carried on a stretcher, also asked Seonwoo Jin with a startled expression.
"You destroyed the demon production facility?! Is that true?!"
"It is true. Unless they establish a production facility again, they can no longer create demons."
"Hah...."
Hearing that, Ma Yu-gyeom was speechless for a long while.
The demons, which had caused the loss of countless comrades during the dozen-plus years he had spent on the front lines, had completely disappeared.
At first I couldn't believe it, and then a deep sense of emotion washed over me.
The faces of the Jo Won and comrades he had lost also flashed before my eyes like a zoetrope.
Ma Yu-gyeom fell silent for a while, his expression a turmoil of mixed emotions.
Then, after a moment, he spoke to Seonwoo Jin in a voice thick with moisture.
"...Thank you."
At his gratitude, Seonwoo Jin simply smiled brightly.
It was a short statement, but it felt like he could fully understand the deep emotion contained within those words.
Hadn't Seonwoo Jin also spent over a decade of his life on the front lines in his past life?
Back then, he hadn't been able to protect Bi Sa-yeong, or Bae Jong-gwan, or Na Seo-yu either.
So there was no way Seonwoo Jin couldn't understand the emotions Ma Yu-gyeom was feeling now.
After being lost in sentiment for a while, Ma Yu-gyeom suddenly opened his mouth in a self-deprecating voice.
"So, in the end, you who unsealed the Mukrang Sword stormed into the Blood Cult's very den and wiped out the demons forever. While I, who unsealed the Seolrang Sword, am stuck in this pathetic state. Hahaha. Just why did the Elder choose someone like him...."
Muttering that, he asked with empty eyes.
"Seonwoo Jin, just why won't you let this utterly useless me die? Especially for you, who promised a future with her... you should naturally despise me intensely. Please. Won't you just let me go now?"
Seonwoo Jin silently gazed into Ma Yu-gyeom's eyes for a moment.
Those eyes were the eyes of a dead man who had already lost all light.
Devoid of any will or meaning to live.
The eyes of a man who loathed himself.
Just seeing that look was enough to know.
That he sincerely wanted to die.
If his acupoints were released, he seemed like he would immediately take his own life.
But paradoxically, that very look forced Seonwoo Jin to acknowledge something.
That he had truly changed.
He was definitely not the Ma Yu-gyeom of old.
I suddenly thought.
'That Ma Yu-gyeom, so full of narcissism, has come to loathe himself and want to die. This is a story no one who knew him before would believe, no matter who you told it to.'
A hollow laugh escaped me.
If he regretted his past as he did now, he certainly possessed the worth to keep on living.
Moreover, having risked his life to save another and passed the Seolrang Sword's test, he was a sufficiently admirable person.
But the person himself wanted to die.
Precisely for the reason Seonwoo Jin acknowledged him—because he regretted his past.
It was nothing short of a contradiction.
Seonwoo Jin made up his mind.
He decided to make him live.
To uphold the legacy of the Sword God, and to keep the Seolrang Sword Technique from going extinct, the current him had to keep living and moving forward.
'But... how can I instill in him the will to live? By what means?'
I didn't know what to say to him right now.
Far from clumsy consolation, no words seemed like they would get through.
So, after pondering for a bit, Seonwoo Jin decided to go in the opposite direction instead.
Not toward comforting him, but provoking him.
Having made up his mind, he asked Ma Yu-gyeom with cold eyes.
"Let you die. Are you thinking of running away again, Squad Leader Ma? Like you ran away from the Flying Dragon Squad? But if that happens, what becomes of the Elder Seolrang, who waited a hundred years to meet Squad Leader Ma? Is this something he would agree to as well?"
At that, Ma Yu-gyeom couldn't bring himself to answer Seonwoo Jin's question.
Perhaps unable to offer any excuse, he simply squeezed his eyes shut.
A thick, unmistakable guilt was cast over his face.
'Just as I thought.'
Watching his expression, Seonwoo Jin's eyes glinted.
As expected, his guess seemed to be correct.
Earlier, he'd been provoked by the guilty face he made when mentioning 'Elder,' so he had tried to stimulate that guilt, and clearly, he felt indebted to the Sword God who must have been sealed within the Seolrang Sword.
Having gotten a feel for it, Seonwoo Jin continued in a scathing tone.
"Did you perhaps think that if Squad Leader Ma died, Elder Seolrang could just find another successor? Well, I suppose that might be possible. Though whether that would be another hundred years from now, or perhaps two hundred years, is anyone's guess. Impressive. What a truly impressive sense of responsibility."
It was clearly a sarcastic remark.
But even at Seonwoo Jin's sarcasm, Ma Yu-gyeom could offer no retort.
He merely bit his lip firmly.
Seonwoo Jin continued to provoke him.
"You said you wanted to become a useful person, even if only in the moment of your death? A useful person... that's a ridiculous statement. Well, I understand. How could a person accomplish everything they aim for? There may be things you want to do but can't. However. Even if you can't be a useful person, shouldn't you at least avoid committing sins against others? Even up to the moment of your death."
There was no need to specify who he would be sinning against with that act.
Finally unable to bear it, Ma Yu-gyeom let out an empty, hollow laugh and opened his mouth.
"You're... really harsh. Too harsh. Hahaha, hahahaha."
And then asked in an anguished voice.
"Just what do you want me to do? What more can you possibly ask of me like this? What can someone like me possibly do...."
His face as he asked that looked like that of a lost child.
A lost child who has lost both the direction to go and the strength to walk.
Seeing that face, Seonwoo Jin felt he had steered things in the right direction.
Because Ma Yu-gyeom's face no longer showed, at the very least, the desire to die.
So now it was time to show him a new path.
He spoke to him firmly.
"Are you asking because you truly don't know what to do? Naturally, you must atone."
"...Atone?"
"Yes, atone. Don't talk nonsense about atoning with death. Squad Leader Ma dying, having inherited the Elder's martial arts, could never be atonement. Squad Leader Ma, you must atone by living. Survive to the end and carry on the legacy of the Elder, who was the greatest hero under heaven."
At Seonwoo Jin's accusing words, Ma Yu-gyeom closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment.
Then he slowly opened his eyes and asked.
"You... why go so far to save me? Is it because of the Elder?"
Seonwoo Jin felt a slight sting.
He had already been seen through—that this was a story crafted to keep him alive.
Even if temporarily broken, he was still a very perceptive man.
Seonwoo Jin hesitated for a moment, then decided to simply be honest.
Since it seemed he had at least abandoned the desire to die, he thought it might be okay to speak from the heart now.
"Well, it's not like that reason isn't there. But... the bigger reason is that I understand you."
"...Understand me? You do?"
Ma Yu-gyeom let out a hollow laugh.
It was a laugh as if to say there was no way Seonwoo Jin could understand him, that it was absurd.
Seonwoo Jin continued speaking.
"Squad Leader Ma may not know this well, but... to tell the truth, I disliked you even before that incident. I hated your arrogance, hated your narcissism. Most of all, I found your jealousy toward Squad Leader Seol Pung utterly pathetic."
At that, Ma Yu-gyeom smiled bitterly.
"Is that so? To hear I was such trash even before then is quite a shocking statement."
"That's right. You were plenty trash even before then."
Hearing Seonwoo Jin's words, Ma Yu-gyeom's gaze darkened as far as it possibly could.
It seemed that because his self-esteem had hit rock bottom, he was now unable to even view his own past objectively.
Seeing Ma Yu-gyeom like that, Seonwoo Jin sighed and spoke again.
"That's how it looked to me, at least. Though it seems it wasn't so for your Jo Won."
At those words, a strange light flickered in Ma Yu-gyeom's eyes.
He looked at Seonwoo Jin and asked.
"My Jo Won?"
"Yes. Right now, the Fourth Squad is being led by Jeomchang Sword Tiger, Brother Je Won-yeong. But that brother told me this. He said it's troublesome because the Fourth Squad members still haven't forgotten Squad Leader Ma. Even though Squad Leader Ma committed such a deed, they still seem to be thinking of you."
"They...."
Tears suddenly welled up in Ma Yu-gyeom's eyes.
Because the story of his Jo Won, who still hadn't forgotten him even after what he had done, made his heart ache.
He missed them.
Seonwoo Jin exhaled a sigh and said,
"Honestly, and I say this now, you were quite a decent squad leader. At least to your Jo Won, that is. And...."
Seonwoo Jin paused his speech for a moment and composed his heart.
Now it was time to let him hear his sincerity.
"After that incident, I thought about it once too. If I had been you... if I learned that the enemy I had hated my whole life was actually my kin, and that my father was the enemy of my mother, could I truly have remained unbroken? That sort of thought."
"......."
"The conclusion I reached then was, 'No.' That's why I said those things. That I can understand you. At least regarding that incident, I sincerely understand you. Squad Leader Ma, anyone in that situation, not just you, would have been bound to break."
Hearing those words, Ma Yu-gyeom looked at Seonwoo Jin with reddened eyes.
His pupils were shaking violently, as if caught in a storm.
Since that incident, Ma Yu-gyeom had always cursed and belittled himself.
Saying he had committed an unforgivable sin, that he was nothing but trash.
For someone like him, the idea of another person telling him they understood had been something he had never imagined.
Yet he was now hearing those very words from Seonwoo Jin, of all people.
A hot surge of emotion suddenly welled up in his chest.
And he realized.
That he had, in fact, wanted to hear those words.
That he had wanted someone, just once, to tell him they understood.
The rims of his eyes suddenly grew hot.
Seonwoo Jin looked at him with serious eyes and continued speaking.
"And, I can't trust you completely. But... at least, I trust the Elder completely. So I've decided to trust you as well, whom the Elder has chosen. So I hope you can trust as well. Trust the Elder who chose you. And trust yourself, who finally risked your life for another and passed the Elder's test."
Now, tears were welling up in Ma Yu-gyeom's eyes, threatening to spill over at any moment.
He asked Seonwoo Jin in a suppressed, trembling voice.
"Do you really, truly think so? That you can understand me? That I have a reason worth living for?"
Seonwoo Jin now offered him a warm smile and nodded his head.
"Someone once told me. That even the pebbles and blades of grass you brush past on the roadside live wounding each other. That is why what people can do is not to avoid inflicting wounds, but to make a sincere effort to heal them. Even then, I couldn't forgive you, but I could understand you."
Having said that much, Seonwoo Jin stopped talking.
Then, after a moment of hesitation, he opened his mouth again.
"And now, I have seen you sincerely regret what happened back then and try to make amends. So now, I intend to try and forgive you as well. I don't know how Yeo Eun will think, but at least I, her fiancé, mean to forgive you. So now, I hope you can try to keep living as well. So that someday, you can receive her forgiveness too."
Ma Yu-gyeom squeezed his eyes shut.
Hot tears were finally streaming down from his eyes.
They were the tears of a man granted life through the understanding and forgiveness of a single person.