Mount Hua Is Not the Place You Must Protect (4)
"Aaaah! Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
Chung Myung screamed dramatically as he flailed around.
"Hey! Why are you wrapping bandages so damn tight?!"
"…You’d better shut your mouth, Sasuk, before I sew it up for you too."
"…Yes, ma'am."
As Dang Soso let her killing intent seep out, Chung Myung hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.
Clench.
"Ugh…."
The way Dang Soso sprinkled the wound medicine and wrapped the bandage was clearly irritated. The feeling of sheer annoyance practically bled through every rough motion of her hands.
"Sasuk."
"Yeah?"
"I know Sasuk can neutralize poison to a certain extent. But you do understand, don’t you, that if that sword wound in your chest had gone just one inch deeper, it would’ve been dangerous?"
At her serious tone, Chung Myung gave a little shrug.
"Avoiding that in the first place is what skill is for."
That was enough to make Dang Soso start undoing the bandage she’d already wrapped around his arm.
"…What? Did I say something wrong?"
"It felt loose, so I’m tying it again."
"…."
After being made to shed a fresh round of tears for the price of running his mouth, Chung Myung let out a deep breath and slumped back into his chair the moment the treatment was over.
Dang Soso kept snapping at him, as though her anger still hadn’t cooled.
"What if Sasuk had died?"
"Ugh, you’re insufferable."
Chung Myung averted his eyes and turned his head away. The scolding of a junior sister and the scolding of a physician had blended together, and it was driving him insane.
But Dang Soso, who seemed about to keep lecturing him, suddenly fell silent.
Chung Myung let his gaze slip downward. Beneath her sleeve, her tightly clenched fist was trembling.
Lowering his eyes, Chung Myung changed the subject.
"How are the others?"
"None of the Sasuk or Sasuk-uncle figures are in serious danger. There are people who were injured, but none of them should be in immediate danger of dying. It was heaven’s luck."
"No. That was skill."
Chung Myung shook his head.
"Luck doesn’t just appear out of nowhere if there’s no skill behind it. It means the training we did actually mattered."
"Yes."
Dang Soso nodded faintly, then spoke again in a far more troubled voice than before.
"…But the elder is a bit…."
Chung Myung’s eye twitched.
"Elder Hyun Sang?"
"Yes. The poison was too deep. We treated it, but the damage came too late… He may be left with aftereffects."
Chung Myung nodded with a heavy face.
"And…."
Dang Soso bit her lip and hesitated for a moment before continuing.
"I’m not sure whether Hall Leader-nim will make it through tonight…."
Chung Myung closed his eyes without saying a word.
Then he opened them again and stood. His hand dropped onto Dang Soso’s head with a light thud.
"It’s not your fault."
"…Sasuk."
"There’s no need to beat yourself up over weird nonsense. The ones who sinned are someone else, so why the hell are you blaming yourself?"
"But…."
Dang Soso bit down hard on her lip. Her face looked pained, as if she were trying to hold back tears.
I was arrogant.
She really had confidence in her medical skills.
She had learned medicine from the Dang Family of Sichuan, of all places. She had been certain she possessed enough talent to stand anywhere without shame.
So she had believed she could easily handle Mount Hua’s Medicine Hall.
But after this battle, she had no choice but to sink into despair.
If I’d only been a little more skilled….
Then Un Geom would never have been in such grave condition.
At the moment, all she could do was seize the thread of his life as it threatened to snap and hold on with everything she had.
"Sasuk-jo will be fine. He’s not the kind of man who’ll go down from wounds like that."
"…Sasuk."
"Trust me."
At last, Dang Soso gave a slow nod.
Chung Myung patted her shoulder once and turned away.
"And get some rest for now. Even treating patients takes stamina."
"…Why are you talking like you’re already done? You shouldn’t overdo it either, Sasuk! If your wound opens back up, you’ll be stuck in bed for a whole month, moaning and groaning. Are you listening to me?"
"I know, I know."
He waved her off as though sick of the nagging and went outside.
Watching his back, Dang Soso let out a long sigh.
"What about those guys?"
"They’re all locked up."
Baek Cheon, who had been sitting beside Chung Myung, looked at him with a thoroughly dissatisfied expression.
He simply couldn’t stand the sight of the bastard wrapped in bandages from head to toe walking around as if nothing had happened.
"Why? What?"
"…Aren’t you embarrassed walking around looking like that?"
"Pot, meet kettle."
As Chung Myung had said, Baek Cheon was wrapped in bandages just as thoroughly. The wounds Yado had left on him had not been light either.
Chung Myung asked,
"Why the hell do you look so grumpy?"
"…What?"
"You don’t exactly look thrilled. I heard you cut down that Maninbang boss or whatever his name was. Wow, our Sasuk’s really a master now?"
"Don’t talk nonsense."
Baek Cheon scowled.
"If I’d fought him properly, I would’ve lost ten times out of ten. The situation around me just helped. Yeah. It was just… I got lucky."
It wasn’t false modesty. Baek Cheon really believed that. This time too, he had simply been lucky.
"Luck is skill too."
"…Those kinds of obvious consolations—"
"Don’t get cocky, Sasuk."
That was when Chung Myung’s emotionless voice cut into Baek Cheon’s ears.
"…."
Chung Myung stared at him and said,
"Saying you always want to win by skill only means you’re saying you’ll only ever fight people weaker than you."
"…That’s…."
Baek Cheon started to say something, then shut his mouth. Thinking about it, Chung Myung wasn’t wrong.
Then Chung Myung’s face softened a little.
"Still, because you weren’t afraid to fight someone stronger than you, you’re allowed to say you won by chance. There’s nothing embarrassing about that. Right?"
Baek Cheon nodded.
Hearing Chung Myung say that made him feel a little better.
Tap.
Chung Myung gave Baek Cheon’s shoulder a light pat.
"Of course, if you’d had your head cut off in the process, then you wouldn’t get to call it chance either."
Baek Cheon’s brows twitched.
"You were doing fine until now! You really can’t go five words without spitting poison, can you, you bastard?"
Chung Myung chuckled at the reaction, then smiled quietly. After that, he squeezed Baek Cheon’s shoulder.
"Straighten up, Sasuk."
"…."
"Anyway, you guys beat those Maninbang bastards with Mount Hua’s strength alone. A little while ago, that would’ve been impossible even to dream about, right?"
"…."
"Sasuk was great, and the Sahyungs too. You all did well."
"Did you eat something weird?"
"Honestly, even when I praise you…."
Chung Myung scowled and pushed himself to his feet.
"Anyway, be a little happier. You earned it. This time I’m even giving you a compliment, so take it."
He waved a hand and walked off.
Watching him go, Jo Gul tilted his head in confusion.
"What’s wrong with him?"
Yoon Jong agreed.
"Exactly. He’s not the kind of guy who gives praise like that."
"…Now that I think about it, we really did fight pretty well."
"True, but…."
As Baek Cheon listened to Yoon Jong and Jo Gul talk, his eyes narrowed.
That bastard… surely not….
War always took far longer to clean up after than it did to fight.
It took a full day to recover the injured and identify and repair the damaged areas.
The disciples who could still move ran to Hwaeum to buy medicinal supplies for the wounded, and the Medicine Hall stayed busy without a moment’s rest.
Only after a full day had passed, and night had come again, did Mount Hua finally begin to recover some of its usual quiet.
And in the late pre-dawn hours—
Creeeak.
Even the Medicine Hall members, exhausted from tending patients all day, had sunk into sleep. At that hour, the Medicine Hall door opened carefully.
The person who slipped inside so as not to wake anyone else moved without a sound.
Passing the place where the patients lay, he reached the deepest inner chamber and hesitated only briefly before opening the door. Then he stood there and quietly looked down at the man lying on the bed inside.
"…."
There was no trace of the sternness he always showed while watching over the disciples. The only things left on Un Geom’s face were a bloodless white pallor and the dark shadows around his eyes.
Chung Myung’s gaze sank heavily.
Sasuk-jo.
The upper body was covered almost entirely in bandages.
The right arm, the very lifeline of a swordsman, was gone completely from the shoulder down. The bandage wrapped around the severed shoulder burned itself into Chung Myung’s eyes like a brand.
"…."
His chest rose and fell shallowly and quickly. His breathing was faint enough to vanish at any second.
Right now, Un Geom was fighting a fierce battle at the boundary between life and death. A battle no one could help him win.
A cold chill settled over Chung Myung’s face.
The gentle expression he had shown in the daytime seemed to have been a lie, because now he wore a face colder than ice.
"Sasuk-jo."
Chung Myung called to him softly, and engraved every detail of his state into memory.
After staring at his martial uncle for a long time, Chung Myung silently turned around and left the Medicine Hall.
Clack.
He closed the door carefully, lifted his head, and looked up at the sky. Then, inwardly, he murmured,
Sect Leader Sahyung.
I guess I can’t do it.
I.
He stood there for a moment, then hardened his expression and moved forward. He was heading straight for the mountain gate when he was just about to unleash his lightness skill and take off.
"Looks like there’s a petty thief around."
Suddenly, a voice came from ahead, and Chung Myung stopped dead in his tracks.
"Yeah. Moving so stealthily in the middle of the night, he’s definitely a thief."
"…."
"Oh? And he’s even carrying a sword?"
Chung Myung’s face turned cold.
Coming out from behind the mountain gate was Baek Cheon. Behind him, Jo Gul and Yoon Jong leaped up onto the wall.
They looked as though they were blocking Chung Myung’s path.
"Where do you think you’re going, Chung Myung?"
Baek Cheon glared at him fiercely.
"You’ve been acting strange since this afternoon. You’re not the kind of guy who’d just obediently praise people and cheer them up. It looked like you were planning something no matter what. What is it? You planning to charge into Maninbang all by yourself?"
Chung Myung looked at him without a word, then said in a chilling voice,
"Move."
"…Your manners are disgusting."
Baek Cheon tapped the sword at his waist.
"I’m not letting you pass."
"…."
"You’re a rotten bastard, but you’re still my disciple. I can’t just stand by while my disciple goes and does something crazy."
Chung Myung clenched his teeth again, narrowing his eyes.
"I said move."
"If you really want to go, try cutting me down and walking over my corpse."
"Same here."
"I’m not letting you go either."
Jo Gul and Yoon Jong dropped down from the wall and took up positions to Baek Cheon’s left and right. And then Yu I-seol, who had been hiding herself behind the mountain gate until then, slowly walked out and stood behind Baek Cheon.
At the sight of them, Chung Myung let out a small sigh.
"I’ll give you credit for growing up. You even know how to stand in my way now."
"Our heads have gotten a little harder, yeah."
"But you should also know your place."
Chung Myung gripped the sword hilt so tightly it looked like he might draw it at any second.
"Do you really think four of you can stop me?"
"That’s something you once said yourself."
But Baek Cheon only smiled faintly.
"A warrior sometimes has moments when he knows he can’t win, but still can’t back down."
"…."
"Come on. You rude little disciple. I’ll teach you manners today."
It was just then that Chung Myung moved to draw his sword without a word.
"Stop this."
A low voice came from the side.
"…Sect Leader."
Baek Cheon pushed his half-drawn sword back into its scabbard and bowed deeply.
"Greetings, Sect Leader."
If it had been the usual Hyun Jong, he would have accepted their greeting with a gentle smile. But there wasn’t the slightest trace of that warmth in him now.
He only stared at them with a face full of anger.
"Baek Cheon."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
"Take the children and return to Baekmae Hall."
"But…!"
"Return."
"…Yes, Sect Leader."
In the end, Baek Cheon bowed once and turned around. Only after confirming that they had all obeyed and gone back did Hyun Jong look at Chung Myung and say,
"Chung Myung."
"…Yes."
"Come with me."
When Chung Myung gave no answer, Hyun Jong’s eyes twitched.
"Can’t you hear me?"
"…I hear you, Sect Leader."
"Then follow me at once."
Hyun Jong strode forward.
Watching his back, Chung Myung let out a sigh. Then he wordlessly followed behind.
Hyun Jong was not heading to his own quarters. After leaving the mountain gate, he walked toward Nagan Peak. Though the path was rather long, the two of them did not exchange a single word during the climb.
In the end, Hyun Jong reached Nagan Peak, stood at the edge of the rocky cliff, and looked down over Mount Hua swallowed in darkness.
Chung Myung quietly came to stand behind him.
"Chung Myung."
"Yes."
"What am I to you?"
At the unexpected question, Chung Myung hesitated for a moment before answering.
What was he? What.
He had many thoughts, but in the end there was only one answer he could give.
"You’re the Sect Leader."
A painfully obvious answer.
"Do you truly think so?"
"…Yes."
Hyun Jong turned to look at Chung Myung.
"Then I’ll ask you this."
In Hyun Jong’s face there was even a hint of coldness, and Chung Myung’s expression hardened before he knew it.
"Do you truly think of me as Mount Hua’s Sect Leader?"
"…."
The two of them faced each other in silence.
The moon hanging in the sky looked down quietly upon Nagan Peak, Mount Hua’s highest ridge, a place so lofty even the clouds did not dare to touch it.