I Knew This Would Happen (5)
“Damn it! Why won’t this thing come out?”
Baek Cheon snarled as he tightened his grip on Chung Myung’s arm and yanked with all his strength.
“There’s no way it should be stuck like this... Dammit, Geol! Pull harder!”
“His arm’s broken, Sasuk?”
“And who here isn’t a mess? Who?”
Seeing Baek Cheon’s bloodshot eyes bulging like that, Jo Gul glanced up at the sky.
I thought he was Chung Myung for a second.
Sasuk. Please don’t go too far. You scare me sometimes.
“Grrrraaah!”
Pop!
At last, Chung Myung’s body came flying up out of the ground.
Thud—crash!
Unable to withstand the recoil, Baek Cheon sprawled face-first on the ground and let out a groan.
“No, seriously, how did he even get stuck—wh, what the hell is that, you bastard?”
Baek Cheon shouted before he could stop himself when he saw the enormous bundle that had been pulled out together with Chung Myung.
No wonder he wouldn’t come out if he was clutching something like that!
“What else?”
Ignoring Baek Cheon, who looked ready to grab the back of his neck and collapse, Chung Myung chuckled. Then he untied the bundle and showed what was inside.
“Those bastards stashed away a lot of good stuff. If I’d left it there, it would’ve just been buried when the mountain caved in, so I brought it back to use for something worthwhile. Heh. Smart, right?”
“…….”
Baek Cheon stared at him blankly.
So he’d actually taken that while the cave was collapsing?
What the hell is in that bastard’s head?
It was a bundle only in name; really, it was wrapped in old, bloodstained clothes. And inside were all sorts of things packed tightly together.
“What is all th—holy hell?”
Baek Cheon cried out in alarm after checking the contents.
“My God, these are Ice Crystals, aren’t they? How many are there?”
“Heh-heh-heh.”
Chung Myung laughed with shameless greed and stuck his belly out. Every time he moved, his joints made ugly cracking sounds, but he didn’t seem to care.
“They really did gather up a ridiculous amount. Now that they won’t be making Ice Crystals in the North Sea for a while, we’d better take every last one.”
“A-and what are these bottles?”
“Smell test says they’re probably Liquid Sky Essence.”
“L-Liquid... Liquid Sky Essence?”
Baek Cheon’s jaw dropped.
That actually exists?
He had heard of it. Liquid Sky Essence.
Spiritual herbs like Snow Ginseng or Human-Shaped He Shou Wu that remain undiscovered by human hands inevitably reach the end of their life someday.
But because spiritual herbs were so saturated with energy, they did not simply rot away; they melted down into liquid instead.
If they grew in a forest full of soil, the liquid would soak into the earth and return to nature. But spiritual herbs that grew in places like sheer cliffs sometimes pooled in special terrain and aged there instead.
As that essence absorbed the energy of nature over hundreds of years, it became the liquid known as Liquid Sky Essence.
It was the greatest of all elixirs—something a single drop of could slap the face off most other spiritual medicines.
“All of that is Liquid Sky Essence? All of it?”
No... those crazy Demonic Sect bastards?
Even if just one drop were released, it would stir up blood and chaos across the Jianghu. That was the value of Liquid Sky Essence. It was beyond gold, beyond jewels.
And they’d been carrying enough of it to fill bottles the size of wine flasks, all while holed up in some backwater, eating dirt and living like rats?
“They must’ve been collecting it to feed to the Heavenly Demon when he revived. Not that a guy like the Heavenly Demon really needs spiritual medicine, but what would those idiots know?”
How do you even know that?
Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung in disbelief. His mind was so tangled it felt ready to explode.
But there was no time to think further, because more unfamiliar objects kept coming out of the bundle one after another. Both the Bishop, who had gathered all this, and Chung Myung, who had carried everything off, were disgustingly meticulous and thrifty.
“Good grief...”
Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t all that strange.
Even if they had only recently established themselves in the North Sea, according to the Bishop, these people had been plotting the Heavenly Demon’s resurrection ever since the Heavenly Demon died.
Considering that they had spent all those years stockpiling wealth while wielding power capable of slapping entire great sects in the face, it might even be fair to say they had gathered too little.
“I figured it was just a whole lot of hard work with nothing to show for it, but at least I picked up some useful stuff at the end.”
Chung Myung grinned and retied the bundle before slinging it over his shoulder.
That was when—
“Chung Myung Dojang! Dojang!”
Seol So-baek came scrambling over the mountain of collapsed cave debris and rushed straight at Chung Myung.
“Oh? You’re alive—”
Then, without warning, he threw himself at Chung Myung and clung tightly around his waist.
“Aaaaaaagh! You bastard! The wound! The wound! Aaaagh!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Chung Myung kicked Seol So-baek away.
“Aaagh!”
Seol So-baek tumbled all the way back down the slope he had just climbed, rolling end over end as he fell. Baek Cheon laughed weakly.
That almost became touching for a second.
As if.
Chung Myung couldn’t even touch his own injury; he was groaning and grumbling in pain.
“Is that guy insane or what? It hurts like hell.”
“Chung Myung.”
“Yeah?”
“You can’t kick the palace lord like that.”
“Hell if I care about some palace lord.”
Annoyed, Chung Myung brushed his hands off and started stomping downhill.
“Um... Chung Myung Dojang.”
“What?”
Chung Myung snapped his head around and glared at Han Yi-myung. The man had been unable to say a word the entire time and had only now managed to open his mouth, so that look made him flinch.
“Are y-you all right—”
“Just in case, don’t get any ideas about this stuff! I busted my ass to bring it back, so don’t you dare touch it. If you lay one finger on it, the North Sea Ice Palace is going up in flames the same day.”
I’m not taking it, you bastard! I’m not taking it!
Han Yi-myung shut his eyes tight.
To think the hero who saved the North Sea was this kind of person...
Somehow that was more disturbing than believing him dead.
He opened his mouth as if to say something else, then hesitated and stopped. Chung Myung’s martial robe was soaked through with blood. Now that he looked closely, every step Chung Myung took left a dark red stain behind him.
Dojang...
Only then did he truly grasp what kind of brutal battle this man had fought.
Yes, so what if his attitude was terrible? In the end, this was the man who had defeated the Demonic Sect and saved the North Sea.
Han Yi-myung vowed he would never forget that.
“Wow. I really thought I was dead. This time, I seriously almost died. Those damn Demonic Sect bastards. I let them off way too easy. Dammit, screw it all!”
“......”
...Maybe he could afford to forget a little.
“......Seriously.”
“......”
“You guys all look...... awful.”
“......”
Seeing one another’s faces, the Mount Hua disciples snorted with laughter. Chung Myung chuckled as well.
“Never thought I’d see the day Dong-ryong looked ugly.”
“Stop calling me Dong-ryong in front of other people.”
“What, should I call Dong-ryong anything but Dong-ryong?”
“Hhghmrmph.”
Baek Cheon, grinding his teeth as he spoke, groaned from the pain in his face.
His nose was broken, and his face was swollen beyond belief. But for all that, his expression was strangely relieved.
“Oh? Why does Sago’s face look like that?”
“......”
Seeing Yu I-seol’s face looking like Baek Cheon’s—or rather, even worse—Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, sure you are.”
And it wasn’t just the two of them.
Not a single one of the Mount Hua disciples was unharmed, and not even Hye Yeon looked normal.
“Still, everyone... Mom! Jeez, you startled me!”
Chung Myung asked in alarm at the sight of Yoon Jong’s cheeks, both puffed up and swollen.
“Sahyung’s face is like that too? That doesn’t look like just getting hit a little while ago.”
“......”
Jo Gul whistled and quietly looked away.
Chung Myung let out a dry laugh.
“...What a fine-looking sect we’ve got.”
Every one of them had been beaten to hell and back, until they all looked like horrifying wrecks.
“You guys...”
Chung Myung seemed about to say something, then gave up and snorted a laugh instead. For some reason, it was hard to start speaking.
“Uh, so everyone...”
That was when—
“Dojang!”
Having finished organizing the area, Seol So-baek came forward with the remaining Ice Palace warriors.
“Huh? Why’s he coming over?”
“Isn’t he going to get revenge for you kicking him earlier?”
“To get beaten up.”
“...Chung Myung, you are a Daoist.”
“Exactly. I didn’t say I was going to kill him.”
“...How admirable.”
“You think I need to say it?”
The Ice Palace warriors approaching them were not in good shape either. Their injuries from the battle with the Demonic Sect were severe, and blood stained them all over.
Yet unlike when they had first arrived here, their eyes were full of confidence.
They all look like true warriors now.
Chung Myung smiled quietly at the sight.
It had been a horrific war, but the North Sea would have gained much through it.
“Dojang.”
Standing in the center, Seol So-baek took a deep breath while looking at Chung Myung.
Then he brought both hands together in a formal salute and bowed as deeply as he could.
“As the lord of the North Sea Ice Palace, and as one of the people of the North Sea, I sincerely thank all of you from Mount Hua for your help!”
Chung Myung watched Seol So-baek quietly.
Though he had his head lowered, there was a dignity to him. He looked like someone who had survived disaster and risen again.
Chung Myung stepped back, and Baek Cheon immediately understood his meaning and stepped forward to receive Seol So-baek’s salute.
“We only did what had to be done. Please don’t trouble yourself over it, Palace Lord.”
It was an impeccably courteous reply.
Seol So-baek raised his head and looked at the Mount Hua disciples. His bright, determined eyes shone with resolution.
“The North Sea will remember Mount Hua.”
That was enough.
The Mount Hua disciples smiled back. Of course, with every face on them battered to hell, it wasn’t exactly a pretty sight, but to Seol So-baek it looked admirable beyond words.
“Before that...”
“Yes, Dojang!”
At Chung Myung’s words, Seol So-baek stared at him with sparkling eyes.
“Recover the bodies first.”
“......”
“It’s a joy to survive a bitter war. But if you’re the palace lord, you need to care for the dead before anything else. The formal thanks can come later.”
At Chung Myung’s words, Seol So-baek hurriedly nodded.
“Yes, Dojang.”
“That’s right.”
Chung Myung patted Seol So-baek on the head as if pleased with him, then shook his own head and groaned.
“Ugh. Then call me when it’s done. I don’t even have the strength to stand. Damn, I’m exhausted. Ugh...”
And without caring one bit about anyone’s gaze, he plopped down on the spot and sprawled out flat on his back.
Not a single person, not even Baek Cheon, tried to stop him.
“...Then I’ll...”
“My legs won’t hold me up.”
“Amitabha...”
“...I’m dead. I’m seriously dead.”
“S-Sago, at least lay your clothes down first...”
Instead of stopping him, they followed Chung Myung’s example and collapsed onto the ground one by one.
Throwing aside dignity and everything else, the Mount Hua disciples sprawled out however they pleased. Seol So-baek looked a little flustered at the sight. Then Chung Myung, still lying there, cracked one eye open and asked:
“What are you doing?”
“Huh? Ah, yes!”
Seol So-baek, startled, quickly began giving orders to the Ice Palace warriors. They moved without complaint and with swift discipline. They were all so exhausted they looked ready to fall over at any moment, but they couldn’t refuse the duty of collecting their fallen comrades.
Everyone busied themselves cleaning up the valley.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to recover the bodies inside the cave.”
“...It can’t be helped.”
Han Yi-myung looked toward the cave with a sorrowful expression.
Elder.
It wasn’t as if the man had been right.
But in the end, he had fought for the North Sea until the very last moment, and he had died for the North Sea.
He may have lacked much, but wasn’t that enough in itself?
Don’t worry.
The North Sea would change now. They had all learned so much from those people.
“We’re almost done, Palace Lord.”
“We’ll need to bring carts to move the bodies.”
“Please hurry.”
“Yes!”
With Seol So-baek and Han Yi-myung taking charge, the cleanup was finished in no time.
There was still some work left to do, but it couldn’t be done with only the people and tools here.
Seol So-baek wrapped up what he could, gave the final orders, and turned around.
“Dojang! Then now, to the Ice Palace—”
But as he turned toward Chung Myung, he fell silent.
Chung Myung and the Mount Hua disciples were already leaning against one another’s backs, fast asleep.
“......”
It was more accurate to call it passing out than sleeping, but even so, their expressions were so peaceful it was hard to think of it that way.
“Dojang...”
“Leave them be.”
Han Yi-myung stopped Seol So-baek with a hand on his shoulder.
“Aren’t they the heroes who saved the North Sea? Let them rest a little until the sleds are brought.”
At that, Seol So-baek quietly nodded.
Peace had settled over the ruined faces of the Mount Hua disciples.
“...They have good faces.”
“Indeed.”
Listening to the faint breaths escaping the Mount Hua disciples, a slight smile touched Seol So-baek’s lips.
Please rest well.
The North Sea would remember.
Those who had come all the way from faraway Zhongyuan, asking for nothing in return, and who had wagered their lives to fight for them.
Kyii!
Baek Ah, perched on Chung Myung’s shoulder, straightened its back and looked up at the distant sky. Its black eyes glittered.
Riding on a wind that seemed to have grown just a little warmer, it almost felt as though the scent of Mount Hua’s plum blossoms were spreading through the air.
Far away. Very far away.