Which Will It Be—Ghost or Monster? (2)
"Uuunnngh."
Baek Cheon's steps toward the dining hall felt as though each one weighed a thousand pounds.
I’m dead.
His whole body felt heavy, like soaked cotton. No—worse than that. It was more like he’d hauled a boulder the size of a house onto his shoulders and was only barely managing to keep walking.
- What? Jaha Divine Art? You think you can learn the Jaha Divine Art with skills like this? If the previous sect leaders could see you, what would they say? Don’t even dream about it while I’m still breathing, you brats!
Hyun Young’s sharp voice was still ringing in his ears. Baek Cheon shuddered violently.
There’s a demon. There really is a demon.
He had thought the only demon in Mount Hua was that bastard Chung Myung, but who could have imagined there was an even older one lurking here?
If Chung Myung was the kind of person who pushed the human body to its limits and made others wonder, “Can the body even survive this?” then Hyun Young was the kind who drove a person’s spirit to its absolute limit and made them wonder, “Can I really hold on until the end?”
"I think I’m going to die, Sasuk…."
"……I feel the same."
Baek Cheon let out a long sigh as he looked at Yoon Jong wobbling beside him.
Swinging a sword underwater wasn’t necessarily so terrible in itself. Of course, using internal energy without breathing was difficult, but it didn’t push a person to the brink the way climbing a cliff with slabs of stone hanging all over the body did.
The real issue was that they had to endure it by force of will.
A cliff ended once you climbed it. No matter how hard or dangerous it was, there was an end.
But swinging a sword underwater had no end. Even Baek Cheon had had to bite back the urge, several times, to cut the rope tied around his feet and shoot up to the surface.
So when the training finally ended, it wasn’t just exhaustion that weighed on him—his head felt heavy too, as though fog had settled inside it.
Still, if you think about it, it really is a rational training method.
Because right now, they weren’t proving how strong they were. They were proving whether they were qualified to learn the Jaha Divine Art.
A divine art was a blend of two things: the method of controlling internal energy, and the method of mastering one’s mind.
In other words, being good at swordsmanship or having a strong body did absolutely nothing to help you learn a divine art. Only a strong spirit and an unshakable core of mind were the foundation.
In that sense, this training method was perfect for determining how much mental strength and endurance the disciples possessed.
Yes… perfect, all right….
The problem is that I feel like I’m about to die right this second.
Baek Cheon lethargically lifted his heavy hand, opened the dining hall door, and stepped inside.
"……I don’t think I can eat."
"You still have to. If you want to survive tomorrow’s training."
Baek Cheon sighed and looked around for an empty seat.
"Huh?"
Then he suddenly noticed something strange.
What are they all looking at?
Every gaze in the dining hall was already fixed in one direction. Every face looked as if they were staring at something bizarre.
Baek Cheon naturally looked that way too, then nodded as if it made sense.
"It’s Chung Myung."
"Yes, it’s Chung Myung."
"Nothing surprising. Just Chung Myung."
Everyone looked satisfied and started to turn away. When had the disciples not been unable to take their eyes off that bastard Chung Myung? He was probably causing trouble again, like always.
Normally, the Five Swords would have immediately moved to find out what the hell that bastard had done this time, but today they were all on the verge of collapsing, so they had neither the strength nor the will to care.
Baek Cheon, having just decided to shut it out for the sake of his mental health, froze all of a sudden. Something had just caught his eye.
"Huh?"
He slowly turned back toward Chung Myung and stared dumbly, mouth hanging open.
Oh, my.
That brat.
If his Sasuk had come in, he should at least have acknowledged him. Instead, he was turning his head away like he’d seen something he shouldn’t have.
Yes. His head was turned all the way back….
Chung Myung… why are you eating like that?
Can you even swallow with your neck twisted that far?
"……What the hell is he doing?"
"Just leave him. When has that bastard ever gone even a day without doing something insane?"
"I know it’s not just one or two days, but how does he manage to be so fresh and original about being crazy every single time?"
Baek Cheon’s eyes narrowed to slits.
Chung Myung was seated at the table across from them, still eating in that grotesque posture. His shoulders were straight, but his neck had practically rotated backward, making the whole sight absurd beyond words.
"……He’s spilling everything."
"Looks like it’s dribbling out of his mouth too."
Baek Cheon couldn’t bear to watch any longer and squeezed his eyes shut.
Chung Myung, please.
Everyone in Mount Hua already knows you’re not right in the head—far too well, in fact—so there’s no need to go this far.
Unable to stand it any longer, Baek Cheon trudged over to Chung Myung with no energy left at all. Unfortunately, he approached from the front, which meant all he could see was the back of the brat’s head.
"Chung Myung."
"Hm? Sasuk?"
……If someone calls your name, at least turn your head before you answer.
Baek Cheon asked, sounding reluctant.
"Well… I know asking this now feels rather pointless, but… do you happen to have a problem?"
"Huh? What?"
"If you don’t have a problem, then why are you eating with the attitude of someone saying, ‘As of today, I will turn my back on the entire world’?"
"Ah, this?"
Chung Myung grinned—no, rather, it only looked like the back of his head was grinning—as he said,
"Nothing much. I just, uh… went a little berserk while training."
"Oh, I see. I asked something unnecessary—what?"
Baek Cheon, who had already half turned away after giving a perfunctory reply, suddenly lunged back toward Chung Myung like a bolt of lightning.
"What did you just say came over you?"
"Oh, nothing serious. Just a light case of qi deviation… I think. Damn it. Everything else is fine, but my neck won’t turn."
Baek Cheon stared, speechless, his mouth hanging open. Chung Myung, looking irritated, muttered on.
"This is really weird, you know…."
Then, without warning, he grabbed his own head and started wrenching it around, twisting and turning it by brute force.
Rrrrriiiip! Rrrrriiiip!
"D-Don’t! Don’t do that, you bastard!"
You can hear bones breaking, you crazy son of a—!
No, what the hell! What kind of qi deviation makes your neck twist like that?
"Hmm… strange. It definitely seemed right. Where do I need to fix it?"
"……."
"Ugh. I’ll eat later and fix this first."
Chung Myung groped at the table and stood up.
"A-are you all right?"
"Can’t you tell? I’m perfectly fine!"
"……."
Just how wide was this bastard’s definition of “perfectly fine”?
At this point, even someone missing an arm and a leg might count as “fine” by that standard….
"Don’t worry, don’t worry. Things like this get better after a good sleep."
"……."
"Hahaha. Life sure does throw all kinds of things at you. Hahahahaha."
Chung Myung waved a hand and started walking toward the entrance.
Thud!
"Oh. The entrance isn’t this way…."
Thud!
"Damn it!"
Thud! Thud!
Only after smashing into the wall a few more times did Chung Myung finally find the door and laugh his way outside. Silence settled over the dining hall.
Staring blankly at the horrifying spectacle, Baek Cheon was approached by Jo Gul and Yoon Jong, both of them looking completely drained of spirit.
"Will he be all right?"
"……At this point, it’s just…."
Baek Cheon stared at the half-open door in a daze before speaking.
"He’ll be…… fine?"
"……."
No answer came back.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"……."
"……."
"……."
The souls in the eyes of the three people watching Chung Myung seemed to drift farther and farther away.
"Sasuk, Sasuk."
"……."
"Come here and hold this for me. Damn it, my arm is…."
The focus in Baek Cheon’s dazed eyes finally returned.
Fortunately, Chung Myung’s neck had somehow returned to its proper place. That was a relief.
The minor problem was….
"……Why is your arm like that now?"
"Uh… it’s nothing big. Just a tiny bit of qi deviation…."
"Tiny?"
"Yep. Tiny."
"Your arm is behind your shoulder right now!"
His right arm had gone behind his head and was touching his back, while the opposite leg had twisted fully backward so that the heel was facing forward. His waist was bent sideways at such a sharp angle that his head looked ready to touch the floor at any moment. In other words, he was so twisted up that he looked like a sickle.
If you told someone to do that on purpose, they still couldn’t manage it.
And he called that tiny?
"You crazy bastard! Just what the hell are you doing? Why does your body keep doing that!"
"That’s odd… there’s no reason it should be like this. I definitely did it perfectly."
Chung Myung tilted his head with complete calm, despite looking anything but fine.
"Did I mess up the direction from the Daejeok acupoint down to the Myeongmun acupoint? No, that doesn’t seem right either."
"Just—ju-just let’s go to the Medicine Hall, Chung Myung! The Medicine Hall! You’re going to die at this rate!"
"Aigoo. I told you, it’s not that serious. Things like this heal quickly."
"……."
"But putting on clothes was insanely hard. Tsk. All right, Sasuk. I’ll fix this first and come back."
"……."
"See you later, then."
Chung Myung cheerfully waved goodbye and tried to walk forward—only to suddenly tip over.
"Aaaaaagh!"
Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong, both white-faced, rushed in and caught Chung Myung before he fell.
Then Chung Myung asked, looking genuinely puzzled.
"What’s this? Why did I go backward when I was trying to go forward?"
"You idiot! One of your feet is twisted backward—how the hell were you supposed to go forward?"
"Oh, right!"
Chung Myung laughed awkwardly and straightened himself again.
"Hahaha. Don’t worry. I’m just not used to it yet, so I made a small mistake."
"A second mistake and you’d kill someone! I’m telling you, let’s go to the Medicine Hall right now!"
"There’s nothing to worry about. I know my own body. Things like this get better if you slap some medicine on them."
"……."
Chung Myung cautiously stuck out his foot a couple of times, then decided it wouldn’t work and hopped along on the side that still functioned.
"Good! See you later, then."
Boing. Boing. Boing.
Like a jiangshi, Chung Myung bounced away into the distance.
Watching that scene with a face like a soul had left his body, Baek Cheon heard Jo Gul’s dejected voice beside him.
"Will he really… be okay?"
"……."
Baek Cheon covered his face with both hands and whimpered.
"Please…."
"Huh?"
"Please… can’t he just live like a normal person? Huh?"
"……It’s more peaceful if you give up, Sasuk."
Clear tears spilled from Baek Cheon’s oily, exhausted eyes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong watched Chung Myung in tense silence.
He looks normal, doesn’t he?
At first glance, doesn’t he seem fine?
After exchanging glances and checking again, it was a relief to see that Chung Myung really did seem normal today. At least on the surface.
But it’s too soon to relax.
Baek Cheon cautiously approached him. Then, suppressing his racing heart, he called out gently,
"Chung Myung."
At that, Chung Myung looked up with a bright smile. Seeing that, Baek Cheon’s expression brightened and he asked,
"Are you better now?"
Chung Myung smiled even wider.
"The treatment is all done… Chung Myung?"
A smile as bright as can be.
But that was all. Baek Cheon slowly lowered his gaze. A hand was fluttering beneath Chung Myung’s sleeve. Looking closer, it seemed to be miming the motion of grasping a brush and writing something.
"Gul."
"Yes, Sasuk."
"……Bring paper, brush, and ink."
"……."
Swish. Swish.
They placed a brush in his hand and laid out paper in front of him. But it seemed his arm still wouldn’t extend forward. Only after the paper was brought right up to his hand did Chung Myung finally manage to write something down.
[Can’t make a sound (mute).]
"……."
[Can’t walk forward (direct advance impossible).]
Baek Cheon’s eyelid twitched violently.
"You—"
Trying and failing to find anything to say, Baek Cheon gave up and grabbed his head.
"Then how the hell did you get here, you bastard!"
Chung Myung flashed a grin and wrote again on the paper.
[Don’t worry. Gets better soon.]
Setting the brush aside, Chung Myung sprang to his feet. Then, with a radiant smile, he suddenly tipped backward and fell over.
"Hiiiiiik!"
Baek Cheon jumped in fright and reached out to catch him. But as if this had all been intentional, Chung Myung stretched a hand behind his head to support himself and, with his belly raised high, moved his arms and legs furiously like a spider scuttling away.
As he watched Chung Myung vanish in an instant, Yoon Jong said in a helpless voice,
"……At this point, isn’t he basically a monster?"
Baek Cheon said nothing. He simply covered his face with both hands and cried.