Please Understand (2)
Words are nothing more than a medium for conveying the meaning they carry. And yet, at times, the feeling behind the words speaks far more loudly than the meaning itself.
What Cheong Myeong had just said was exactly that.
The meaning inside it was no small thing, but what struck harder—what truly cut into them—was the emotion riding on his words.
The price paid for a single day of simply waiting with folded hands.
Who could hear that and remain unmoved?
Hyun Jong slowly opened his eyes and met Cheong Myeong’s gaze. It was calm, collected, and there was no rebuke or urging hidden within it.
But…
It’s different.
The answer might not change, but knowing what that answer would sacrifice and choosing it anyway was not the same as choosing in ignorance.
Cheong Myeong was telling Hyun Jong that his one decision carried consequences that would demand full resolve.
So he said it: just understand. Understand how much was being gambled on a choice that had been set aside so carelessly for even a moment.
“Thousands of……”
Hyun Jong’s voice sank heavily.
“……lives.”
The words, drawn out so slowly, seemed to choke the breath from everyone there.
How could anyone not tremble at that? And if there were such a person, he could not possibly remain here, in this place. This was the Heavenly Friends Alliance.
“Clan Lord.”
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
Hyun Jong looked at Dang Gun-ak and asked, “What do you think of what my disciple just said?”
“Hmm.”
Dang Gun-ak glanced at Cheong Myeong and then spoke.
“If we consider the Demonic Cult’s past conduct, it is not an incorrect statement.”
“……”
“Of course, since we have not yet accurately grasped the scale of the Demonic Cult’s current resurgence, the degree of impact may differ. However…… it cannot be denied that the longer this drags on, the greater the civilian casualties will become.”
“Then……”
“I cannot say thousands of lives for certain…….”
The rest of the sentence didn’t need to be spoken. It was obvious enough: hundreds of lives were certain to be lost.
Hyun Jong quietly pressed a finger to the corner of his eye.
So that was it.
He had resented them before. He had even sighed in his heart that they were fools.
Why had the ancestors thrown their lives away at the very front lines until the end, even as everyone else withdrew? Why hadn’t they looked just a little farther into the future?
He had once blamed them for that in his heart.
But now he understood. They had had no room for such luxury.
They must have known what it meant for Mount Hua to be pushed back. So the ancestors had staked everything on killing the Heavenly Demon and crushing the Demonic Cult without worrying about what came after.
Then…
If the ancestors had made that choice, and Hyun Jong had seen the results of that choice with his own eyes, what decision was he supposed to make now?
He lowered his hand and looked at Cheong Myeong.
“Cheong Myeong.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“……I’ll speak plainly. I don’t know what choice I should make right now to be the right one.”
“……”
“So tell me. What do you think Mount Hua, and our Heavenly Friends Alliance, should do from here on out?”
Cheong Myeong stared at him for a long moment, then opened his mouth with grave composure.
“This isn’t the time to sit around waiting for the Beggars’ Union.”
Cheong Myeong paused briefly, then swept his gaze across the others as he continued.
“Right now, the Evil Tyrant Alliance holds the information on Hangzhou. If we want information, we need to hear it from the people most certain to have it.”
“The Evil Tyrant Alliance……”
A sigh escaped Hyun Jong’s lips. He knew exactly what it meant to seek information from them.
In a situation where the Ten Great Sects were already claiming that the Evil Tyrant Alliance and the Heavenly Friends Alliance were in collusion, the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s taking the initiative to request information from them would only lend weight to Shaolin’s accusation.
There was no way Cheong Myeong didn’t know this either. And yet he was saying that even if they had to swallow all of that, they needed accurate information from the Evil Tyrant Alliance as quickly as possible.
“……As you say, the Evil Tyrant Alliance may be the first to obtain information on Hangzhou, but can we really trust them?”
At Dang Gun-ak’s question, Cheong Myeong shook his head.
“I’ll take it as it is.”
“And why do you think that?”
“Because they have no reason to lie. If they gave us information, it means they intend to pull us in somehow. But there’s no need to shrink the scale of the enemy. If anything, they’d exaggerate it.”
“But……”
Cheong Myeong looked straight at Dang Gun-ak.
“While we’re hesitating, one more person dies.”
Dang Gun-ak let out an involuntary breath through his nose.
He was finally beginning to understand just how absurd this situation was.
There were beggars in Hangzhou, yes, but ordinary beggars had their limits when it came to assessing the Demonic Cult’s strength.
And the Beggars’ Union experts capable of properly gauging the Demonic Cult’s power had all withdrawn from Hangzhou because of the non-invasion pact of Jiangnan.
In the end, the only channel that could provide a proper picture of the Demonic Cult’s current strength was the Evil Tyrant Alliance.
But……
The people holding that information were the least trustworthy people in the world, leaving Dang Gun-ak trapped in indecision.
They couldn’t trust the Evil Tyrant Alliance, so they had to verify the information. But the longer they spent verifying it, the more rapidly the suffering of the common people would grow.
How in the world were they supposed to resolve this?
“……So what you’re saying is that we should just believe the Evil Tyrant Alliance and walk straight into that hell called Jiangnan with our own two feet?”
“I’m only saying that’s what the situation is.”
Cheong Myeong’s gaze moved from Dang Gun-ak to Hyun Jong.
“The choice is yours, Alliance Leader.”
Those eyes pressed heavily upon Hyun Jong.
“There’s no such thing as the right choice, Sect Leader.”
Cheong Myeong growled the words out.
“That’s just not how the world works. A choice isn’t about finding the correct answer. It’s nothing more than deciding which direction you’re going to take. Saying you want to find the right choice is no different from saying you don’t want to choose at all.”
Hyun Jong’s fingertips, hidden inside his sleeve, trembled faintly.
“However, that is precisely why there is no such thing as a wrong choice either. It’s only different, that’s all.”
“……”
“The reason a Sect Leader exists, the reason an Alliance Leader exists, is because there are always moments when someone must choose between things that cannot be neatly sorted into right and wrong. Someone has to be the one to make that call. Whatever you choose, it will always be better than doing nothing and putting it off.”
Hyun Jong nodded.
Those were wise words.
“So just choose. That’s enough. The alliance members and disciples will follow the Alliance Leader’s decision.”
Only then did Hyun Jong feel his heart ease a little.
“Then……”
Just as he was about to answer, someone else spoke first.
“I have a question.”
Baek Cheon, who had remained silent until now, suddenly opened his mouth. Hyun Jong’s eyes flickered in surprise as he looked at him.
It was rare for Baek Cheon to speak first like this in a Heavenly Friends Alliance meeting instead of a Mount Hua discussion. To interrupt Hyun Jong, even.
There was even something like killing intent in Baek Cheon’s stiff, frozen expression.
“If Sect Leader decides not to face the Demonic Cult here, and chooses to watch from this place……”
“……”
“What will you do?”
The question was directed at Cheong Myeong. But Cheong Myeong said nothing. Rather, he didn’t even turn his gaze toward Baek Cheon, and instead kept staring only at Hyun Jong, almost as if urging him on.
“Answer me.”
“Sect Leader.”
When Cheong Myeong continued to ignore him and call only for Hyun Jong, Baek Cheon finally raised his voice.
“Answer me, not the Sect Leader, you bastard!”
His tone was thick with anger. It was truly insolent, but no one there blamed him for it.
Because everyone present had heard Cheong Myeong’s answer in his silence.
That bastard was going.
Even if it meant leaving everyone here behind, he would head for where the Demonic Cult was—alone if necessary. Tang Clan or not, the people of Mount Hua understood his intent clearly.
In the end, Baek Cheon seized Cheong Myeong by the collar and yanked him hard toward himself.
“You said the disciples and alliance members would follow the Sect Leader’s command?”
“……”
“Then what about you? Aren’t you an alliance member? Aren’t you a disciple of Mount Hua? Is there no need for you to do that? You damned bastard.”
Baek Cheon nearly hauled Cheong Myeong off the ground, his face twisted in a way none of them had ever seen before. It was an enraged face, one he had never shown until now.
“Answer me!”
Cheong Myeong looked back at him with indifferent eyes.
“Let go, Sasuk.”
“Sasuk? You really think of me as your Sasuk?”
“……”
“You wretched little—”
“Enough! What is this disgraceful behavior!”
In the end, Hyun Sang could not stand it any longer and roared at them. Baek Cheon bit down hard on his lower lip. Then, reluctantly, he released Cheong Myeong’s collar and stepped back a pace.
But the fury in his glare toward Cheong Myeong did not soften in the slightest.
Baek Cheon was not alone.
The other Five Swords standing behind him were glaring at Cheong Myeong with the same eyes.
Hyun Jong swept a rigid gaze over them all.
In a situation like this, he absolutely could not allow himself to look shaken. Hyun Jong understood that more than anyone.
He opened his mouth, and a commanding voice flowed out.
“As the Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Friends Alliance and the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, I hereby command this.”
“Yes, Alliance Leader.”
Hyun Jong’s eyes pressed down on the assembly. He looked every inch the firm leader worthy of the position of Alliance Leader of the Heavenly Friends Alliance.
“The situation in Jiangnan is urgent, but entering Jiangnan without proper information would be far too dangerous. We need a minimum amount of intelligence before deciding our next move.”
Cheong Myeong’s gaze sank darkly.
“The most reliable information will, in any case, come from the Beggars’ Union. We will consult with them, and at the same time make contact with the Ten Great Sects gathered nearby to discuss cooperation. And if we cannot secure proper information from the orthodox sects…… we will not shy away from contacting the Evil Tyrant Alliance either.”
“……”
“One day.”
Hyun Jong declared firmly.
“None of this will take longer than a day, and after that we will determine the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s course of action. Until then, I strictly forbid all alliance members from leaving their posts. No one is to leave this manor; all of you are to wait for the next order. This is my command as Alliance Leader. Anyone who disobeys will be punished without mercy!”
“We obey the Alliance Leader’s command.”
Everyone present bowed toward Hyun Jong.
But only one person, Cheong Myeong, did not bow his head. Instead, he simply looked at Hyun Jong with a cold, level gaze.
No one knew what he was hiding in those deep eyes.