I’m Looking Forward to That Day (6)
“...Cheon Ma...?”
In the heavy silence, Tang Gun-ak’s voice slipped out like a groan.
“Do you even know what you’re saying right now?”
“Of course I do.”
“He’s already dead. More than a hundred years ago!”
“Yes, I know.”
Chung Myung was the one who had cut off that head. If Chung Myung didn’t know that fact, who in the world would?
“How can a dead man come back?”
Chung Myung turned his head slightly and looked at Seol So-baek.
He figured it would be better if this came from Seol So-baek’s mouth. Catching on to Chung Myung’s intent, Seol So-baek gave a silent nod.
“I’ll explain in a little more detail what happened in the North Sea.”
Seol So-baek, slightly tense, slowly opened his mouth.
A little while later.
After hearing the explanation, Tang Gun-ak and Maeng So both had faces hardened like ice. They had heard that Chung Myung had fought the Demonic Sect in the North Sea, but this was the first time they were hearing the details.
“Cheon Ma’s... resurrection.”
Maeng So muttered, frowning. His voice rumbled in his throat like a beast’s growl.
“Is something like that really possible?”
“Yes. As everyone knows, the Cheon Ma who appeared in Jianghu wasn’t just one man.”
“True. In the end, ‘Cheon Ma’ is just a symbolic term referring to the Demonic Sect’s leader and cult master.”
“Yes. But...”
Chung Myung let out a brief sigh before continuing.
“Maybe that wasn’t just a simple title. Maybe Cheon Ma really has been resurrecting over and over again.”
“...No, that’s just absurd...”
Maeng So shook his head vigorously, as if to deny the very possibility.
Of course Chung Myung understood him. If he hadn’t gone through something like resurrection himself, he would’ve dismissed it as nonsense too.
But Chung Myung had no choice but to believe it.
It was something he had experienced with his own two eyes.
The Bishop of the Demonic Sect had poured everything into the Soul Summoning Ritual, only for it to end in failure.
And above all...
— Remember this, disciple of Mount Hua. This is not the end. The mag will return again. And when that time comes, the true path of demons will open. A demonic world no one can stop...
Cheon Ma’s last words.
Back then, Chung Myung had thought it was nothing more than the curse of a dying bastard. But now that he looked back on it, the words had been eerily meaningful.
“If you ask me to present clear proof, I honestly have nothing to say.”
“Hmm...”
“I can’t even say I’m absolutely certain I’m right. But I think Cheon Ma has already been resurrected. And if that’s true, then the same thing that happened in the past will happen again.”
Tang Gun-ak bit down hard on his lower lip.
That horrifying disaster again...
The Orthodox-Demonic War.
The Great War Against the Demonic Sect.
There were too many names for that war.
Ordinarily, a great war would be given a clear title. But people didn’t want to remember that terrible conflict, so they avoided even saying its name, and in the end it became an ugly patchwork of labels.
A war so awful that just speaking of it felt revolting, and it might happen again?
“If Cheon Ma... yes. If Cheon Ma returns, then that’s what will happen. After all, the Demonic Sect wasn’t completely wiped out in the first place. The Demonic Sect members, after losing Cheon Ma, simply withdrew like a receding tide and vanished.”
“After burning Mount Hua once already.”
“Mm.”
Tang Gun-ak looked at Chung Myung with a bitter expression and asked,
“So what do you think we should do?”
“Believe it?”
“Of course.”
He had thought it would take a long time to convince them. He had even wondered if they might leave without believing him until the very end. But Tang Gun-ak’s words were calm, with no trace of doubt.
“Everyone here gathered because they trust you. If we don’t believe your words, then whose words would we believe?”
“...“
“The people of Sichuan don’t give their trust easily, but once they do, they don’t doubt it. There is no reason for you to falsely threaten us.”
Maeng So nodded in agreement.
“I think the same.”
“...“
“It’s such an absurd story that it’s hard to believe at a glance... but Lord Tang is right. If it’s the Mount Hua Divine Dragon speaking, then there must be a reason and a basis for it.”
Seol So-baek hurriedly spoke up.
“I trust the North Sea, of course. I’ve lived through it.”
Chung Myung looked at the three of them for a moment, then turned his gaze to Hyun Jong. Hyun Jong smiled gently and nodded.
“Continue.”
Chung Myung was suddenly overwhelmed by a strange feeling.
In the past, he had been incomparably stronger than he was now. But no matter what he said or did, it hadn’t been trusted the way it was now.
Even at the end of the war, there might have been people who blindly revered his strength, but there were few who had trusted his words without hesitation.
Not even at Mount Hua, where he had once belonged.
And yet now, the leaders of each sect—the people who should have been the most cautious of all—were saying they believed him, despite the lack of any clear proof.
Chung Myung couldn’t say exactly what he had shown in this second life to make them speak like this. But... the trust they were giving him filled one corner of his heart to the brim.
“...What do you think the reason for forming the Heavenly Alliance was?”
Chung Myung steadied the slight tremor in his voice.
Everyone answered in silence.
“Expanding influence based in western Central Plains, with trade routes stretching from the North Sea to Yunnan. In doing so, each sect could make up for the others’ shortcomings and create an opportunity for mutual growth.”
“And there’s also the goal of overturning the existing system represented by the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families.”
“And the Five Outer Palaces as well.”
All of it was true. But Chung Myung slowly said,
“Of course. But... none of that is really the reason for me. There’s only one real reason.”
His eyes shone with unwavering resolve.
“To survive.”
“...”
“A great wave is coming. A wave unlike anything we’ve ever seen, something so huge it can’t be compared to anything else. No one can survive it alone. We have to cling to each other, grab hold of the ones being swept away, grit our teeth, and endure if we want to live.”
Then Tang Gun-ak murmured,
“That great wave... is the Demonic Sect.”
“Yes.”
“Or it could be the fire Jang Il-so sets.”
“Right.”
Chung Myung’s firm voice struck everyone’s ears clearly.
“Whatever it is, it’s the same. The existence of the Heavenly Alliance could end up pouring oil on that fire, or it could make the waves even higher. But that doesn’t mean we can just sit back and do nothing. We’ve already been through it. We know what price has to be paid by those who grew complacent, thinking only of the present.”
Mount Hua wasn’t the only one scarred by that war.
All four sects here had suffered enormous damage at the hands of the Demonic Sect.
“Being able to watch each other’s backs isn’t just a symbolic phrase meaning sects help one another. We’ll really have to stand back to back and fight soon.”
Tension swept through the room.
They all knew it well. Chung Myung never spoke such serious words unless it was necessary. That was why the weight of what he said carried more force than ever.
“That kind of resolve is necessary.”
At the same time, Chung Myung realized the change in his own words.
When he first conceived the Heavenly Alliance, he had wanted a shield—someone else to bleed in Mount Hua’s place. But now, even he no longer thought of these three sects as mere shields.
In his heart as well, the Heavenly Alliance had already become exactly what its name suggested: an alliance. Mount Hua and the friends who would protect him, and whom he in turn had to protect.
Then Maeng So stroked his chin and said,
“I thought forming an alliance would just mean taking the benefits, but things are getting a bit more complicated.”
He let out a hearty laugh, then fixed Chung Myung with a sharp gaze.
“When do you think that time will come?”
“It won’t take years. No, it might be tomorrow.”
“Years... no, maybe even days. Or tomorrow...”
After quietly sorting through his thoughts, Maeng So nodded with clarity.
“Then there’s only one thing we need to discuss now.”
Everyone’s attention snapped to him.
“It’s not my job to run an alliance while looking far into the future. That’s the alliance leader’s and Lord Tang’s role. My job is one thing: to decide what the Beast Palace needs to do right now to survive that huge wave.”
“Hmm.”
“From this moment on, I’ll devote myself to strengthening the Beast Palace’s power. First things first—the Beast Palace has to get stronger.”
It might have sounded a little selfish. But Maeng So’s next words even shut Chung Myung up.
“If we can’t do that, then it’ll just be a repeat of the past. The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace was once saved by Mount Hua and the Plum Blossom Sword Saint! So this time!”
He looked at Hyun Jong and Chung Myung with blazing eyes.
“The Beast Palace will protect Mount Hua.”
Chung Myung bit his lip lightly without saying a word.
It wasn’t meaningless.
What he had done in the past, what Mount Hua had protected—none of it had been for nothing.
“The North Sea Ice Palace is the same.”
“...”
Seol So-baek spoke with a resolute face.
“It would be difficult for the North Sea Ice Palace to say we’ll protect Mount Hua. I know better than anyone that our strength isn’t that great. But...”
His gaze was so firm and straight it was hard to believe it belonged to a child.
“The Ice Palace will fight at the very front and retreat last. At the very least, we’ll prove that our spirit is no less than anyone else’s.”
But Hyun Jong, listening to him, shook his head.
“It is not a matter of protecting one another.”
“...”
“We fight together. That is what brothers are.”
“Then the conclusion is simple.”
Tang Gun-ak spoke with a faint smile.
“The strong survive. That is an unchanging truth. But from now on, instead of simply repeating training, we’ll need to train for actual combat.”
“We’ll also need to prepare coordination between the sects.”
“And also...”
Maeng So added,
“The more people, the better. It might be good to look for other places that can join the Heavenly Alliance.”
“Aigoo! Why look so far away? Here! The Green Forest is right here!”
Maeng So gave Im So-byeong a sidelong glance and said dryly,
“Somewhere trustworthy, I mean.”
“If you look at me, you’ll see trust written all over my face—”
“The bandit can be quiet.”
“...Yes.”
Dejected, Im So-byeong fell quiet again. Then Maeng So spoke with a slightly more serious expression.
“There’s one thing we must keep in mind.”
“Yes?”
“If that horrifying disaster known as the Demonic Sect’s invasion happens again, it will undoubtedly be several times harsher than the last war. Back then, the Plum Blossom Sword Saint stopped Cheon Ma. This time, there’s no one like that.”
“...”
“If Cheon Ma returns with the same martial prowess he once had... we may end up in a battle we have no chance of winning. He is Cheon Ma.”
Everyone nodded with dark faces.
The Greatest Demon of All Time.
A being who was human, yet beyond human.
His name was carved into the hearts of all who lived in Jianghu like a brand. How could anyone remain calm before that name? But then Chung Myung said flatly,
“We stopped him once, though.”
“Hm?”
“So we can stop him again. That’s what the Heavenly Alliance is for.”
At those words, Maeng So let a faint smile appear.
Mount Hua, huh...
In the past, the Beast Palace had been saved by Mount Hua’s Plum Blossom Sword Saint. And now, for some reason, he had the feeling that they would be saved by this young swordsman from Mount Hua as well.
“That’s exactly how it should be!”
“You have to remember this. There’s no meaning in brothers dying together. The meaning is in surviving together.”
“...”
The words carried a weight that made them seem strangely more serious than mere encouragement. Everyone focused on Chung Myung’s words.
Chung Myung held out his hand.
“So let’s survive. No matter what.”
Tang Gun-ak smiled and covered Chung Myung’s hand with his own.
Maeng So promptly stacked his large hand on top.
Seol So-baek’s still small hand climbed up, and Hyun Jong’s wrinkled hand rested over it all.
Im So-byeong, after glancing around nervously, gave an awkward smile and shoved his hand in from underneath so it nestled beneath Chung Myung’s.
“Not dying together.”
“Surviving together.”
The strength in their joined hands grew.
“We absolutely will!”
After long preparation and discussion, the Heavenly Alliance had finally found its true meaning and come to rely on one another.