Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1277. I wasn’t wrong (2)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Go Hong looked at Yoo Gong with complicated eyes. Seeing the intense resentment in those eyes, Yoo Gong bit down hard on his lower lip.
“Sahyung....”
"Call me hyung."
Yoo Gong said shortly and coldly.
“We are no longer disciples of Hainan Sect.”
“...Yes, Hyung-nim.”
Go Hong looked at the other disciples of Hainan Sect standing next to him.
Their Cheonghae Village (청해촌(淸海村)) was the largest village among the villages adjacent to the shore. Because of that, there were several Hainan Sect disciples who had come down from the mountain living there. Right now, Yoo Gong had gathered them all.
"...As you know, we must sail the ships."
“N- No, Hyung-nim!”
Go Hong shouted with a voice charged with anger.
“We’re from Hainan Island! Are you really pretending not to know what will happen to us if we board those ships?"
The other Hainan Sect disciples, though silent, were sending the same looks as Go Hong. Despite their resentful gazes, Yoo Gong answered icily.
“Then what?”
"Yes?"
“You want everyone here to just die?”
At that, they all fell silent. Yoo Gong spat out his words as though chewing them up.
“If it were just us dying and that was the end of it, I would at least consider it. But that’s not what’s happening here, is it? If we don’t step forward, the entire village will be wiped out. Are you suggesting we should just sit back and twiddle our thumbs?"
“B- But Sahyung. No, Hyung-nim!”
Go Hong said, unable to hide his uneasiness.
“It’s true we can sail the ships, but we’re not exactly skilled, are we?”
"But we can sail them."
“No... If you put it that way..."
"Then?"
Yoo Gong cut off Go-hong's words and glared at him.
“You suggesting we put villagers who don’t even know martial arts on those ships?”
“T- That’s…”
"What I don't want to do, others don't want to do either. At the very least, if the situation turns dangerous, we can jump off the ship and escape. Even if we reach Gangnam and see that things are hopeless, we’ll still have a chance to run away.”
“....”
“But the others don’t have that option, do they?”
Go Hong bowed his head deeply.
It wasn’t exactly wrong. All men of Hainan Island, to varying degrees, knew how to handle a ship. The same was true for Hainan Sect disciples. So sailing itself wasn't the major problem.
The real problem was that the ships they were tasked to sail were carrying Evil Tyrant Alliance, and the ones they were chasing were none other than Hainan Sect—the very sect these gathered men had abandoned.
“There’s nothing more to say.”
Yoo Gong said with hardened face.
"Wasn’t the reason we descended from Hainan Sect in the first place because of the families left behind in the village? There’s no reason to hesitate now.”
“That’s true, but....”
At that moment, Dam Hwan (담환(譚還)), who had been silently listening to Yoo Gong, spoke with a twisted tone.
"I don't understand why we suddenly have to do this."
“What do you mean?”
“You make it sound grand, but really, other people could just as well do this job, right? They just need people who can sail ships, and there are others in this village besides us who can do that."
“Is that something you should be saying?”
Yoo Gong’s eyes flared with anger at the sudden outburst, but Dam Hwan doubled down rather than intimidated.
"Stop acting self-righteous, Sahyung."
"What?"
Yoo Gong's eyes flashed with anger at the words that suddenly burst out. However, instead of being frightened, Dam-hwan became even more upset.
“Aren’t we the ones who abandoned the sect and our Sahyung to save our own skins?”
Yoo Gong closed his mouth as if speechless. He wanted to refute it, but nobody knew better than he did that Dam Hwan’s accusation was true.
"And now you talk about noble intentions and Chivalry, saying we should risk our lives? If that were what we wanted, we wouldn’t have left Hainan Sect in the first place.”
"You..."
“I won’t do it.”
“Dam Hwan!”
Dam Hwan spoke through gritted teeth.
“When we hesitated to leave, wasn’t it you, Sahyung, who asked what would happen to our families if we died? It was your words that made me carve my name out of Hainan Sect’s records with my own hands! I left Hainan Sect, where I swore I would never leave!"
“....”
"And now you tell us to risk our lives again? To do the right thing now? Why should I? Wasn’t Sahyung the one who said saving our own lives was the right call?”
“Isn’t the situation different now?”
"Is it really different?"
“....”
“Really?”
Yoo Gong shut his mouth. He certainly felt the situation was different, but it wasn’t a matter that logic alone could settle. Different people think differently, and they accept things differently.
Dam Hwan raised the corner of his mouth in derision.
“I have no idea if those who abandoned their sect and Sahyung to save their own skins still have any conscience left. Haven't we come too far to talk about conscience now? A despicable person should live like one. Do as you please about the ships. Someone else will go even if I don’t.”
"Are you saying it doesn't matter who it is? This is the village where we grew up."
"Hainan Sect was where we grew up too! Damn it!"
Dam Hwan shouted vehemently, making Yoo Gong flinch slightly. Grinding his teeth, Dam Hwan glared at Yoo Gong with malice-filled eyes.
“If you wanted to act like you cared about others, you should’ve stayed and swung your swords alongside Hainan Sect! If we had at least fought together there..."
He trailed off as if about to say something else but then shook his head. He felt there was no point in saying anything more now.
He knew it too. Even if Yoo Gong had nudged him, ultimately the choice had been his own.
And the consequences of that choice were his alone to bear.
"...Anyway, I won't do it. Figure it out yourselves. It’s not like I’m that good at handling ships, so I wouldn’t be much help anyway.”
Dam Hwan turned around coldly. Then he suddenly stopped and spoke again.
“Oh, and....”
“....”
“Guilt isn’t something you can wash away like that. If you wanted to avoid it, you shouldn't have committed the sin in the first place."
With those final words, Dam Hwan walked away with agitated steps.
Yoo Gong opened his mouth as if to say something but could only let out a deep sigh. Taking advantage of that moment, other voices hurriedly cut in.
"I- I think it would be difficult for me too, Sahyung."
“Me as well. You know my father’s sick. If I leave, there’s no one to take care of him.”
“I’m sorry. Then....”
Two other disciples also looked around nervously before sneaking away. Fearing Yoo Gong might stop them, they scurried off without so much as a backward glance.
Yoo Gong clenched his fist. His trembling fist spoke volumes about his current state of mind.
After closing his eyes for a while and calming his mind, Yoo Gong looked at Go Hong. Go Hong gazed back with a face full of discontent.
“...Aren’t you going?”
“Me?”
“Don’t you also have a sick mother?”
“My mother?”
Goh Hong asked sarcastically. Yet despite his tone, his feet remained rooted to the spot.
After a brief silence, Go Hong let out a self-mocking laugh.
"I expected this would happen from the moment Sahyung called for us."
“....”
"Do you know what my sick mother said when I told her I might need to leave?"
“...I don’t know.”
“She said if I was going to be a burden, she would rather throw herself into the sea.”
Yoo Gong bit his lips.
“That’s how the women of Hainan are, apparently. They wake up one day to find their husbands drowned in the sea, and the next day, one of their children ends up as fish food.”
“....”
"Yet they don't just sit sucking their thumbs in sorrow and waiting. They dive for seafood to feed their remaining children and grit their teeth to survive however they can. So she said she can’t stand seeing her son make excuses to avoid going out to sea.”
Go Hong laughed as if in disbelief.
"She said all this while coughing between every other word."
“....”
“I guess her mind’s all over the place. If we sail that ship and the villagers survive, it’ll mean I’ve killed my Sahyung with my own hands. I guess her thoughts didn’t go that far.”
“Go Hong....”
“But what can you do? If I’m going to deal with a crazy old woman, I’ll just have to match her madness. At the very least, I can’t let her die thinking her son was a coward who pushed others into danger. It might be different if no one was going, but you seem determined to go, Sahyung."
“That’s....”
“She’s the one who always used to say, ‘Your father bravely went out to sea to feed you and died there, so you should take pride in him all your life’. And she’s proud that she raised her son alone and made him a proper disciple of Hainan Sect. My mother doesn't even know I left Hainan Sect. So... how can I tell her I won't go?"
Yoo Gong couldn't bring himself to speak. Go Hong muttered self-mockingly.
“If I knew it would end up like this, I would’ve just stayed in Hainan Sect. Why did I even leave…?”
Yoo Gong unconsciously lowered his head. An awkward silence passed between them..
Trying to shake off this awkwardness, Yoo Gong turned his gaze to the remaining disciple.
"You guys?"
“Well, more or less the same.”
“...I see.”
Yoo Gong nodded and opened his mouth.
There was no point in dragging the conversation out any further, and they didn't have the luxury of doing so. They had work to do first.
"Since they won't go, we'll need to recruit more people than originally planned. Assign at least two to each ship. And on the ship we’ll be on, only one of us will board.”
“Yes, Sahyung.”
“…Understood, Hyung-nim.”
“Let's move.”
Yoo Gong let out a deep sigh as he watched the disciples dash away. Turning his gaze to the sea, he saw that it was as indifferent and endlessly blue as ever.
“We’re ready.”
“That took a while.”
Ho Gamyeong looked at Yoo Gong with dark eyes.
“…We actually finished quickly.”
"Hm."
Ho Gamyeong nodded, seemingly satisfied.
“I’ll assume you picked out those who can steer the ships well. If we get delayed, you’ll pay the price.”
“....”
“Let’s depart.”
“...Yes.”
Yoo Gong turned toward the ship. The others were already aboard. Once he boarded, they would set sail.
As he forced his unwilling feet to move, Yoo Gong unconsciously turned his head. The villagers were gathered along the shore.
From those watching him with gratitude, to those observing with indifference, to his Saje glaring with hostility.
Yoo Gong's gaze stopped on one figure.
His wife stood there, eyes brimming with tears. Yoo Gong took in the clear sight of their young son in her arms, then squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as if afraid the image might escape.
‘I will return alive.’
No matter what it takes… I will definitely return alive.
By whatever means necessary.
Watching Yoo Gong board the ship, Blood Sword Platoon Daeju Go Yang asked Ho Gamyeong in a disinterested voice.
“Is there really a need to take those guys along? Feels like they’ll just get in the way.”
"You don't understand."
"Hm?"
"The most frightening thing in the world isn't enemies."
“....”
"It's traitors."
Hearing that, Go Yang looked at Yoo Gong’s back with a slight spark of interest. Ho Gamyeong's voice came with a hint of laughter.
“And there’s nothing more vicious than a traitor weighed down by guilt. You will soon understand.”
A smile spread across Ho Gamyeong’s lips.
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