Where Are the Others Now? (1)
The white carriage and the Maninbang forces trailing behind it receded into the distance.
Dang Gun-ak, who had arrived at the head of the Sichuan Tang Family, let out a low sigh at the sight.
“...It seems I arrived far too late.”
“No.”
Chung Myung shook his head.
“You came in time.”
“Your body...”
“This? It’s nothing.”
He looked like a rag that had been beaten to death and dragged through the dirt, but Chung Myung only smiled as if it were no big deal.
In truth, injuries like this had meant little to him in the past. It wasn’t as if his arms and legs had been torn off.
“...I brought several people skilled in medicine, so receive treatment first.”
“No, I’m fine. More importantly...”
As Chung Myung turned away, Dang Gun-ak suddenly grabbed his shoulder.
“...”
Chung Myung looked back in confusion, and Dang Gun-ak repeated with stern finality, “Get treated first.”
“...”
“What are you waiting for?”
“Yes, Family Lord!”
An elder of the Dang Family with a white cloth draped over his shoulder hurried over. Chung Myung clicked his tongue, looking a little put out.
“I’ll get treated. Seriously, I will. But not now. I need to finish cleaning this up first.”
“Is it urgent?”
“Not exactly urgent. Just... something that has to be done.”
Seeing Chung Myung’s eyes, Dang Gun-ak hesitated, clearly displeased, before finally nodding reluctantly.
“Very well. But remember this: your body is not yours alone. That is what it means to lead.”
“...”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, it’s just... nothing.”
Chung Myung scratched the back of his head.
“It’s nothing.”
He had heard those words quite often before.
- You brat! Do you think your body belongs only to you?!
Those damn lectures...
He hadn’t expected to hear such a painfully familiar scolding here of all places. Perhaps because they had just come through something so urgent, his nose stung for no reason at all.
“So. How was it? Jin Il-so?”
“...He’s a snake.”
“A very big snake. The world calls huge snakes dragons.”
“Dragon my ass. He’s still just a snake.”
Chung Myung glared at the carriage of Jang Il-so, now only a faint dot in the distance.
Laugh all you want now.
But when they met again, that smile of his would be stripped away clean.
“Tch.”
Chung Myung clicked his tongue and turned sharply.
“Let’s go up. The Sect Leader is waiting above.”
“Very well. But what exactly happened? Judging by your condition, there must have been a fierce battle. And yet why did Jang Il-so withdraw so easily? He doesn’t seem to have suffered any real damage.”
“That...”
Chung Myung searched for the right words, scratched his head, and let out a sigh.
“It’s a bit complicated to explain.”
Dang Gun-ak’s eyes filled with suspicion.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Chung Myung!”
The Mount Hua Five Swords, who had been waiting in restless anxiety all this time, jumped in shock and rushed toward him when they saw Chung Myung climbing the cliff again.
They had said they’d go with him, but Chung Myung had told them that if too many people went, the fight might break out again, so they had no choice but to wait here. It wasn’t as if they could stop him even if they begged.
“You all right? That bastard Jang Il-so didn’t pull any more tricks, did he?”
“That piece of trash? If he doesn’t want to die, he should shut the hell up!”
“...I really don’t understand you.”
After checking Chung Myung’s condition and confirming he had no new wounds, they all let out deep breaths of relief.
“What the hell did you do down there?”
“Nothing much. I just couldn’t stomach sending him off like that, so I went and turned his insides over a bit.”
“...You crazy bastard, please, for once...”
Baek Cheon clutched his throbbing head. Just then, Hyun Jong walked out from behind them.
Chung Myung, seeing him come to a stop right in front of him, spoke awkwardly.
“Sect Leader...”
Hyun Jong bit down hard on his lip.
Looking at Chung Myung’s condition, he felt as though fire were rising in his chest, so fierce it was nearly cutting flesh from bone.
With trembling hands, he placed them on Chung Myung’s shoulders.
“...You worked hard.”
Even as he said it, he lowered his head slightly, as though he could not bear to meet Chung Myung’s eyes.
“You truly... truly worked hard. I have no face to show you...”
Blocked by Maninbang, they had not been able to do anything. He had believed it was the best choice to reduce the disciples’ losses, but now that he stood before Chung Myung, even that excuse felt hollow.
Was it right to force this one child to bear all the sacrifice so the others could be protected?
I...
At that moment, Chung Myung quietly covered the hand on his shoulder with his own.
“You did well.”
“...”
“If the Sect Leader had lost his cool, none of us would have come out of that alive. Because you were there, we were able to fight without worrying about the bigger picture.”
Hyun Jong could not bring himself to say another word and shut his eyes tightly.
That rotten little brat.
Why was he still thinking of others in a situation like this? Of everyone here, Chung Myung himself had suffered the most.
This child has walked through hell like this every single time.
It struck him all at once.
Mount Hua as it existed now may well have been built on the blood Chung Myung had spilled. The reality he could no longer pretend not to see seared blackly through Hyun Jong’s heart.
“I...”
“Sect Leader. The Dang Family Lord has arrived.”
Hyun Jong, who had been about to say more, gave a long sigh instead.
When he lifted his head, he saw Dang Gun-ak standing a little behind them. As Chung Myung stepped aside to make room, Hyun Jong clasped his hands and greeted him.
“It’s been a long time, Family Lord Dang.”
“I greet the Alliance Leader.”
Dang Gun-ak returned the courtesy with great restraint.
“I apologize. I arrived far too late...”
“Not at all. We are grateful simply that you came. But how did you know...?”
“I received a message from the Mount Hua Divine Dragon.”
Hyun Jong turned as if to confirm it, and Chung Myung scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed look.
“The situation felt a little strange. If you came all this way only to make a wasted trip, it would’ve just drained your strength for nothing. But it’s better than walking into danger blind, right? Sorry I didn’t tell you in advance.”
“No. No, it’s fine.”
Hyun Jong shook his head.
He had not even had time to suspect that something was off on the way here, so it would have been difficult for Chung Myung to explain it to him in advance.
He’s been dragging us around by the ankle, that one.
And yet Mount Hua, and even now, was still far too weak to fully stand on its own without Chung Myung.
“I heard the basics on the way here, Alliance Leader.”
At those words, Hyun Jong let out a small sigh. He could hear that Dang Gun-ak’s voice had gone colder than usual.
“...Where are they?”
Dang Gun-ak bit down hard on his lip and asked again.
“Where are the others now?”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Ugh...”
“Are you all right, Junior Brother?”
Those who had gone back down the cliff were busy tending to the wounded. Every time they looked at the bodies strewn around them, an unspeakable desolation shadowed their faces.
“S-seon...”
One of Wudang’s injured disciples, still twitching weakly, grabbed the arm of the person helping him and squeezed out a voice.
“Th-those Sapa bastards...”
“...”
He could not bring himself to answer. The one with his eyes shut tight merely turned his head and replied briefly.
“Worry about your body first.”
“...S-seon...”
“Move him to the ship.”
“Yes.”
They hoisted the wounded onto their backs and hurried toward the docked boats.
Jin Hyeon, watching them, closed his eyes without meaning to.
Righteousness was built upon sacrifice. Those who bore the name of justice were taught to cast aside their lives like worthless straw in service of what was right. That was how he had always understood it.
Then... what had those who died here died for?
They had failed to protect righteousness. They had failed to protect justice.
Then what, exactly, had the survivors protected? In the end, all the living had preserved was their own miserable, lingering lives.
“Hurry up!”
Namgung Hwang’s icy voice rang out.
“We need to finish before the sun sets!”
“Yes.”
The Namgung Family members answered, but their voices had no strength left in them compared to when they had first arrived.
Of course, Namgung Hwang could not blame them for it.
Clenching his fists until the joints creaked, he looked around. He could see the surviving members of the Black Dragon Clan glaring at them from a distance, as if keeping watch.
His teeth ground together.
Those hateful bastards were laughing at them, but Namgung Hwang could do nothing to them. They had already lost enough. Taking revenge on them now would only make them look even more pathetic.
The Yangtze River...
Perhaps they did not need a treaty after all.
He would never set foot on the Yangtze River again. If he saw its waters with his own eyes, today’s humiliation would surely come rushing back to him all over again.
“Family Lord, the cleanup is done.”
“The bodies?”
“...They’ve been handled with proper respect...”
Namgung Hwang nodded slowly.
When he looked at it more carefully, the damage was not all that severe. Those who had fallen off the cliff had suffered serious injuries, but the number of dead was actually not very high.
His gaze fixed on one spot.
There, amid the fallen boulders, he saw the back of a young monk busily clearing debris and tending to the wounded.
He was not a man who often expressed gratitude to others, but in this moment he truly felt thankful to him. If that monk had not held the Black Dragon Clan in check from below, all the injured who had fallen would have lost their lives at their hands.
“...Was his name Hye Yeon?”
“Yes. The one who was traveling with Mount Hua...”
“Mount Hua again.”
Why had things come to this?
When they first came here, every one of them had been full of spirit. But now they had become like dogs with their tails between their legs, forced to crawl home in defeat.
Namgung Hwang suddenly looked toward the source of all this with a gaze full of hatred.
Heo Do-jin-in.
There he was, clearly visible, restraining the disciples of Wudang as he helped load them onto the ships.
Gnashing his teeth, Namgung Hwang spat the words out.
“Now the whole world will point fingers at us.”
“Family Lord...”
“How are we supposed to bear this humiliation?”
“There will come a time to avenge it. They say a gentleman’s revenge is never too late, even after ten years. One day, we will cut down that wicked leader of Saperyeon and repay today’s debt.”
“...Damn it.”
And then it happened.
“Hm?”
At the sudden sensation of unfamiliar presence, Namgung Hwang turned his head. Several people were descending from the cliff above.
Mount Hua?
His expression twisted slightly.
He did not want to see Mount Hua right now.
He was human, after all, so of course he felt grateful to them. But that was one thing, and this was another. If anything, having even a shred of decency made it hard for him to show his face before Mount Hua now.
But... the reality Namgung Hwang faced was a little more cruel than that.
The first face he saw was that of the now-familiar Mount Hua Divine Dragon, Chung Myung. And behind him followed...
Recognizing him, Namgung Hwang’s face turned deathly pale.
Perhaps the last person in the world he wanted to see right now was standing there.
Thud.
The man who descended to the bottom of the cliff stepped forward slowly.
A face cold and rigid as though cast in steel.
Deerskin gloves visible beneath the broad sleeves of his green robe.
“Dang... Gun-ak...”
A sound like a groan escaped Namgung Hwang’s lips.
The Family Lord of the Sichuan Tang Family, Dang Gun-ak, walked straight toward him.
Step. Step. Step.
When he stopped about ten paces away, Dang Gun-ak slowly looked around, then fixed his gaze on Namgung Hwang.
His mouth opened slowly.
“...Is this...”
“...”
“The choice of the so-called Five Great Families?”
Dang Gun-ak’s face twisted like that of a demon.
“You worthless fools who don’t even know what this humiliation means!”
Namgung Hwang, crushed beneath that unfiltered fury, finally shut his eyes tightly.