I Won’t Let You Down (1)
"Gwanpyeong!"
Namgung Myeong forced his qi into the dantian of the man who was slipping out of consciousness.
"Hold on just a little longer... Just a little longer!"
The wounded were only growing worse. Their physical injuries were severe enough, but the greatest problem was that they were losing the will to live.
They had lost hope.
"The Young Patriarch will surely bring back salvation. So just a little more! If you can just endure a little longer, that's all you need to do!"
Namgung Myeong shouted as if he were tearing his throat apart.
He had already drained the qi in his dantian. Sweat poured from his entire body as he forced out even the last scraps of strength. But Gwanpyeong only looked worse by the moment.
"Didn't I tell you to endure it, you son of a bitch!"
At last, a desperate cry burst from Namgung Myeong's mouth.
He pulled his hand away from Gwanpyeong's dantian and grabbed him by the collar.
"Didn't you see it with your own eyes? How the Patriarch went! Why the elders staked their lives!"
"..."
Gwanpyeong's unfocused eyes slowly regained a trace of clarity.
"Are you going to make their deaths meaningless? They threw away their lives to save yours! Then the least you can do is endure, you bastards!"
Namgung Myeong's anguished shout was almost a scream. The wounded whose consciousness was fading, and those tending to them, all bowed their heads and swallowed their tears.
Gwanpyeong, who had been staring blankly into the distance, slowly shifted his gaze and found Namgung Myeong.
"Y-Young... Patriarch..."
His cracked, parched lips trembled as they opened.
"Young... Patriarch... The Young Patriarch..."
"That's right!"
Namgung Myeong hurriedly clasped Gwanpyeong's hand.
"He'll come back. He'll definitely come back with a way to save us! So endure a little longer! Clamp your teeth down and hold on!"
Nothing had visibly changed.
It was only that the lips that had been slack and open were now pressed tightly together. He was still in terrible condition, and the situation was no different. But for Namgung Myeong, even this tiny change was enough. It was enough that they themselves had not let go of the will to live.
Namgung Myeong clenched his teeth and looked up.
"...All of you, never forget why the Patriarch staked his life."
Every pair of eyes sharpened.
"If you saw that death with your own eyes, if you bear the Namgung name that he tried to protect, then you cannot die in disgrace. So endure like your lives depend on it—by any means necessary—until the Young Patriarch returns!"
"Yes!"
Namgung Myeong bit down on his own lip and looked up at the sky. If he so much as met the eyes of the clan members, he felt certain his tears would spill all at once.
With the Patriarch and the elders gone, Namgung had lost its center. Namgung Myeong alone could not lead them. The only thing left for them to cling to was Namgung Dowi.
The Young Patriarch...
He knew. He knew too well that the expectations placed on one so young were cruel and overwhelming.
But that was the fate of the one who would become the Namgung Patriarch.
Please... come back as quickly as you can...
Namgung Myeong's gaze turned across the river, toward the vast stretch of land beyond it. Toward the land where Namgung Dowi was now standing.
* * *
Fwoooosh!
A streak of light cut through the dense forest and surged onward.
Immediately after, dozens more streaks of light split the earth behind it.
"Huhg!"
A rough breath burst from Jao-gae's mouth.
There was hardly a Beggars Sect elder who didn't have some measure of skill, and he had confidence enough in his own lightness skill. And yet here he was, doing little more than chasing after the backs of those running ahead.
The beggars from the Beggars Sect who had come with him had long since fallen behind and vanished from sight.
T-this...
Of course, there were circumstances to consider. Jao-gae had already exhausted himself completely by running at full speed to Wuhan while carrying Namgung Dowi.
But even so...
Have these people not been running back and forth between Jiugang and Wuhan the whole day already?
And they could still keep up this pace?
Jao-gae's gaze fell on the man in front. It was Baek Cheon, running with unconscious Namgung Dowi on his back.
Thud!
Every time Baek Cheon's feet slammed into the ground, his body shot forward, yet his upper body did not waver even a little. He was working to spare the severely injured Namgung Dowi as much jostling as possible.
"How is he?"
"...Not good."
Dang So-so, who had been checking Namgung Dowi's condition, gave a low answer when Baek Cheon asked quietly.
"He's lost too much blood."
Dang So-so bit her lip slightly.
Namgung Dowi had suffered several grave wounds, injuries serious enough that he should have been resting immediately. To drag such a man back onto the battlefield? From a physician's perspective, it was madness.
But...
I can't do it.
Dang So-so was a physician, but she was also a martial artist. Because of that, she could understand Namgung Dowi's position as well. His family, people who were like family to him, were waiting for death beneath the enemy's blades. And he was supposed to leave them there and stop to rest?
He would die first before doing that.
But his condition...
Dang So-so's eyes moved to Namgung Dowi's face, which had lost all color. His pulse was far too faint and erratic. So faint that if it stopped right now, no one would find it strange.
"Kuhack!"
Then Namgung Dowi, who was clearly unconscious, suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Dang So-so startled and grabbed Baek Cheon's shoulder.
"Sasuk! You can't push him any further—"
"Move."
Just then, someone cut in and approached them. Dang So-so looked back to see Dang Gun-ak, who had run up beside them at some point.
She nodded and gave him room beside Namgung Dowi.
"Hmm."
After examining Namgung Dowi for a moment, Dang Gun-ak's expression hardened slightly.
"Mount Hua Divine Dragon."
Cheong Myeong, who had been running at the front with a disinterested face, glanced back.
"His condition is extremely grave. If this continues, it wouldn't be strange for him to die on the way."
"..."
"What will you do?"
Cheong Myeong answered as if there was nothing to think about.
"A martial artist who stands on the battlefield..."
The corner of his mouth twisted, revealing his white teeth.
"If he can die riding on someone else's back, that's luxury."
Chillingly cold words. But Dang Gun-ak nodded as if he had expected nothing less.
"This isn't a suitable situation for Tang Family medicine. Do you perhaps have any healing pills or spiritual elixirs with you?"
Cheong Myeong turned his head toward Hyun Jong. Without hesitation, Hyun Jong spoke.
"Hyun Young!"
"Yes, Sect Leader!"
"Bring out a Purple Revival Pill."
"Yes."
There were only a handful of Purple Revival Pills left in Mount Hua. Their supply line to Yunnan had been cut off during the sealing of the mountain, so they could not gather more ingredients.
That was why each pill was beyond valuable. No one knew what awaited them on the road ahead, and one Purple Revival Pill might yet save one more disciple of Mount Hua.
But neither Hyun Jong, who gave the order, nor Hyun Young, who received it, showed the slightest hesitation. Hyun Young took the pill from his chest and handed it to Dang Gun-ak without delay.
"Hmm!"
Taking the small wooden box, Dang Gun-ak opened it at once. A clear, elegant fragrance brushed the tip of his nose. It was clearly a spirit medicine of no ordinary sort. This was no mere healing pill, but a true treasure.
Nodding, Dang Gun-ak slipped the Purple Revival Pill into Namgung Dowi's mouth as he rode on Baek Cheon's back.
After striking the necessary acupoints to force him to swallow the elixir, he placed his hand against Namgung Dowi's back and began pouring in his own qi.
It was not the sort of thing that could be done easily while running. One wrong move, and not only Namgung Dowi but even Dang Gun-ak himself might be in danger.
And yet Dang Gun-ak's hand never wavered.
Wooooong!
As time passed, thick beads of sweat rose on his forehead.
The people around him watched the sight seriously. For a man heading toward the battlefield to expend this much internal energy was not a decision made lightly.
It meant Dang Gun-ak, too, was pouring his heart into Namgung Dowi.
How much longer did they run like that?
"Hoo..."
At last, a long breath left Dang Gun-ak all at once.
"...The dangerous threshold has passed. But... if we push him any further, even the spiritual pill he swallowed will be rendered useless. Right now, we've only barely tied together a pulse that was about to snap."
He looked at Cheong Myeong as he spoke.
He had phrased it indirectly, but in the end, it meant that if they forced him any more, they could no longer guarantee his life.
But even after hearing that, Cheong Myeong did not so much as blink.
"And you'll still take him anyway?"
At the question repeated to him, he snorted.
"What, you think that's even a question?"
"...I can't argue with that."
Dang Gun-ak shook his head.
But he felt the same way as Cheong Myeong. As a physician, he had to offer at least the proper warning, but if he were in Namgung Dowi's place, he would have done the same.
Even if both legs were cut off, he'd crawl to the Yangtze River.
For a martial artist, there were times when something mattered more than life itself.
Dang Gun-ak's gaze slid briefly to Baek Cheon.
Whether it was Hyun Jong, who had handed over that precious elixir without hesitation to someone who was not even a disciple of the Tang Family, or Cheong Myeong, who was dragging a man on the verge of death all the way to the Yangtze River, they were all extraordinary...
But the most astonishing one may actually be this one.
Baek Cheon was running while carrying an unconscious, injured man on his back. Merely maintaining this pace while bearing another person was no ordinary feat, and the fact that he could do so with such steadiness that it inspired admiration made it even more impressive.
Considering how young he was, it was all the more unbelievable. He possessed both terrifying internal power and an exquisitely precise control of qi.
If Baek Cheon had not protected Namgung Dowi so carefully, treatment in this situation would have been impossible to even attempt.
Dang Gun-ak looked around once more with renewed eyes.
From the Mount Hua disciples racing ahead with their attention fixed on the road in front of them, he could feel an overwhelming pressure.
He had already seen Cheong Myeong's growth with his own eyes. From their sparring, what he had felt was the certainty that Cheong Myeong still had not revealed everything he could do.
But...
Perhaps the ones worth paying attention to were not Mount Hua Divine Dragon, but these people.
Before long, the distance between Mount Hua and the Tang Family began to widen. Even the Tang Family elites were struggling just to keep up with them.
Of course, lightness skill was not the sole measure of martial superiority, but it was still a deeply meaningful sight.
Even while Dang Gun-ak was thinking all these things, the Mount Hua disciples, including the Five Swords, were simply hardening their resolve.
Faster.
Fwoosh!
Baek Cheon kicked off the ground.
If they were late and Namgung was wiped out, then everything would come to nothing.
I won't let that happen. No matter what.
He no longer wanted to think about righteousness or politics. What meaning could such things possibly have now?
Baek Cheon only wanted to protect the desperate will of the martial artist on his back.
If Mount Hua were in the same position, Baek Cheon would have been no different from Namgung Dowi.
Don't worry. I'll make sure I get you to the Yangtze River!
Grinding his teeth, Baek Cheon roared like a beast.
"Pick up the pace! We can't be late!"
"Yes!"
Fwoosh!
The swordsmen of Mount Hua, carrying Namgung Dowi with them, drove themselves even harder and raced onward.
But even so... time moved on mercilessly.
At last, the sun of the fifth day Jang Il-so had spoken of began to rise over the Yangtze River.