Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1397. Where you should be (2)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Paaaat!
Chung Myung swung his sword. It was a strike filled with every last ounce of strength poured into.
Kagagak!
But his sword failed to pierce through the incoming dao and was repelled.
"Aaaaaaaaaaa!"
Chung Myung, gripping the deflected sword with both hands, let out a scream and swung his sword at the enemy again and again.
"Y- You madman!"
The Myriad Man Manor martial artists were terrified as they watched Chung Myung repeatedly strike the chest of the already fallen man.
"Die!"
One of the Myriad Man Manor martial artists swung his sword at Chung Myung's back.
Sogok!
The flying dao slashed Chung Myung's back. A thick drop of blood sprays into the air.
Chung Myung thought.
Was there ever a place for him?
Paaaat!
The surrounding Myriad Man Manor martial artists jumped from all directions and brought their daos down toward Chung Myung. Chung Myung immediately rolled on the ground to dodge the incoming dao.
Sogok! Sogok! Sogok!
The dao energy grazing his body left shallow wounds all over. Reaching out to grasp the dirt while rising to his feet, Chung Myung swung his sword like he was having a seizure. Screams erupted from all over.
"Aaaak!"
"M- My leg!"
“Guh!”
Blood-mixed coughing continuously burst from Chung Myung's mouth as he rose to his feet while trembling.
Was there ever a place for him?
- Who are you, peeking into someone else’s room? Are you a thief?
Chung Myung had always believed otherwise. This wasn’t where he belonged. He had already lost the place he should have been.
He knew. The ending he would eventually face. From the beginning... he knew from the beginning
He was a ghost who shouldn’t have been left behind. The fate of one who should not exist was already decided.
So he thought it would be enough if he could just do what was left undone before that final moment came. But...
- What's your name?
- Yoon Jong, sir!
If he had to confess, sometimes even Chung Myung himself forgot that fact.
Tuung!
Chung Myung’s legs momentarily gave out as he tried to stand. His body lost its balance and collapsed forward.
“Now’s our chance!”
Hungry jackals would never let a wounded beast go. Those who confirmed Chung Myung’s weakness rushed in fervently.
Kaang!
Chung Myung, propping himself up with one hand on the ground, barely managed to deflect the spears and daos with his sword.
Kwadeuk! Kwadeuduk!
But he couldn’t block the spear that came from behind, and the blade dug into his back without fail. Chung Myung's body was unable to withstand the impact, and he stumbled forward.
'Chance!'
To behead of the bastard! That would be an undeniable war achievement that no one could deny. As the giant fell, someone witnessed this close in front of Chung Myung with a face full of desire. But before he could even swing his dao, Chung Myung's hand suddenly shot out and grabbed his neck.
“Cough!”
The falling Chung Myung and his enemy became entangled as they toppled forward.
“Guh… L- Let go…!”
Even as he fell, Chung Myung twisted his body with sheer force. The man whose throat he held was forcibly turned to shield Chung Myung's upper body. What filled his vision next were countless dao energies raining down on Chung Myung.
Sogok! Sogok! Sogok! Sogok!
The enemy’s eyes widened in horror as his body was ruthlessly torn apart by the onslaught of dao energies.
"Keu, keuuu..."
In his dimming vision, he saw something darken the sky as it came plummeting toward him.
Kwadeuduk! Kwadeuk!
The weapons that poured down like rain pierced the already lifeless corpse countless times.
“Cough!”
So fierce were the swords and daos that they mercilessly pierced through the corpse whose previous dao energies hadn't fully dissipated, and stabbed into Chung Myung's body beneath it.
“Ugh…!”
Chung Myung swung his sword like lightning to cut away the sword embedded in his body. Then, Without a moment’s hesitation, he rolled violently across the ground.
Kwaaaaang!
The very spot where he had lain just moments ago was engulfed in a devastating explosion of concentrated energy.
Chung Myung’s body, unable to withstand the aftermath, was flung away like a leaf caught in a typhoon.
- Who are you?
But now.... Right, he thinks he understands now.
There had never been a place he was meant to be. There was only… the place where he wanted to be.
Though he realized it a bit too late.
Kuuung!
Chung Myung's body slammed into the ground. An impact so massive it nearly sent his consciousness flying assaulted his entire body. But somehow he clung to consciousness. Because the moment he let go, everything would be over.
Swaeaeaeaek!
Chung Myung kicked off the ground and rolled away once more.
Kwagagak! Kwagagagak!
The dao energies that successively pierced the ground cut into it deeply as if it were mud. In the chaos, a dao energy he couldn’t dodge grazed his neck.
Blood gushed from his deeply cut neck. But before he could even feel the pain, he raised his sword toward the approaching enemy.
The sound of his heartbeat and ragged breathing echoed in his ears.
'Plum blossoms...'
Countless plum blossoms he had bloomed. But his sword could no longer bring forth those blossoms. They are half-drawn before vainly distorting and fading away.
‘Survive…’
Like plum blossoms withering as winter comes, his sword too was withering.
Euaaaaat
Not missing that opportunity, the enemies leaped on top of Chung Myung at once and brought down their dao.
Dodging the dao was pure instinct, nothing more, nothing less. He kicked off the ground and barely avoided the dao. But before he could catch his breath, more weapons rained down upon him.
Sogok! Sogok!
He desperately rolled again and again to avoid the enemy's attacks. But now, clear and vivid wounds were slowly adding up on his body.
“P- Please die…!”
Sogok!
Chung Myung’s sword skewered the chest of Myriad Man Manor martial artist who lunged at him in desperation.
Kwang!
But the sword that failed to pierce the enemy's vital point precisely left room for counterattack. Before the pierced enemy fell, his fist struck Chung Myung’s chest.
Chung Myung spat blood from his mouth as he tumbled backward.
Kung! Kung!
Bouncing off the ground, Chung Myung lunged forward again only to collapse. As he groaned and tried to rise once more.
Kwadeuk!
A spear hurtled through the air, piercing through the back of his knee and pinning him to the ground. Chung Myung's body, who had been trying to push himself up, collapsed face-first.
His face was buried in the dirt, already soaked with someone's blood.
Only a faint groan, as if it would stop at any moment, could barely escape.
'I....'
Isn't it enough now?
Isn’t it fine to finally let go now?
How much more pain must he endure? How much more of this hell must he suffer?
Just let go. If he just lets go, he can find relief. Hasn't he done enough?
'To Mount Hua....'
Chung Myung raised his head with great difficulty. Thick blood trailed down his face, stretching all the way to the ground.
His neck, so weak it seemed about to break at any moment, stubbornly turned toward the back. He reached out with a quivering hand and grasped the spear that had pierced his knee.
“Urgh…”
But no matter how hard he tried, the spear wouldn’t budge. His blood-soaked hands kept slipping, refusing to obey his will.
Chung Myung finally pulled the spear toward himself with all his might. Grasping the twisted spear shaft as if embracing it while it dug into and tore his flesh, he bit down hard with his teeth.
With no strength in his hands, he had to use his teeth to pull it out.
Eududuk. Geuguguk. Geuguk.
The spear, now stained red with the blood flowing from his mouth, slowly began to pull free from his knee. Even Myriad Man Manor martial artists who had been about to charge stopped in their tracks.
It was wretched. He was their enemy, but they couldn’t bear to watch.
Tuk.
The spear that was finally pulled out fell to the ground. Chung Myung, unable to even close his gaping mouth, slowly lowered his head.
- Who might you be, young brother? I’ve never seen your face in Huayin before.
His fingertips were numb. Should he be relieved that he could still feel the cold, that sensation remained?
He wants to find relief. He wants to just let go.
But just as much... he wants to live.
- Chung Myung Sohyeop! Stop right there!
What was I to you all?
Did you see in me the back that I so desperately wanted to resemble?
The motionless hand of Chung Myung suddenly twitched.
Everyone held their breath as they watched that faint movement. His hand, moving agonizingly slowly, fumbled across the ground until it finally grasped his sword.
Someone's groan escaped like a sigh.
Eyes half-closed. A body completely ruined without a single intact part. Even in a situation where he should have died several times over, this man still insists on fighting.
Complicated emotions surfaced on the faces of Myriad Man Manor martial artists.
Were they afraid? No, that wasn’t it. What was there to fear in someone so battered?
But their feet wouldn’t move.
In the end, they too were martial artists. No matter how much they were scorned as Evil Sects, they were people who had devoted their lives to martial arts.
There’s no way anyone who had lived as a martial artist could not feel respect at this sight.
If they could, they would have turned away. They would have fled this scene.
Even knowing that this man had slain countless of their comrades, that he was an enemy who must be killed.
A suffocating silence spread out.
Only Chung Myung's faint breathing, which seemed like it could stop at any moment, quietly echoed in that stillness.
“What are you doing?”
At that moment, a cold voice broke the dry silence.
Everyone turned around and startled to find Ho Gamyeong standing there with an expressionless face. At some point, he had moved from the rear to stand before them.
“A- Advisor-nim!”
“I asked what you were doing.”
The Myriad Man Manor martial artists were unable to answer and avoided Hoga Myung’s gaze. After glancing at them, Ho Gamyeong quickly turned his cold gaze toward Chung Myung.
The Myriad Man Manor martial artists hesitantly stepped back to both sides, clearing a path between him and Chung Myung. But Ho Gamyeong made no effort to walk that path. He just stared blankly at Chung Myung.
It was an utterly miserable sight. It was hard to believe that this was the same Sword Demon who had tormented him and Myriad Man Manor so terribly.
But Ho Gamyeong didn’t let go of the last shred of caution.
“...Kill him.”
A heavy voice escaped his lips.
Even though the order had fallen like an autumn frost, Myriad Man Manor martial artists hesitated to move.
Ho Gamyeong narrowed his eyes slightly and inwardly clicked his tongue.
Why don't they understand?
Hesitation only prolongs the man's suffering.
The greatest reverence they could offer him now was to end his pain as swiftly as possible.
No matter how much hatred they had exchanged, no one would want to see such a man groaning in pain and dying miserably.
Even Ho Gayeong, who perhaps hated Chung Myung more than anyone else in the world, felt as such.
“Sibi.”
“Yes, Advisor-nim.”
"Bring me the Sword Demon's head."
"I obey!"
The man who had been standing behind Ho Gamyeong walked towards Chung Myung without any emotion. The dagger he drew from his sleeves gleamed with a chilling light.
A cold killing intent approached.
The word ‘death’ was taking a clearer form as it came for Chung Myung. A light so cold it seemed almost pale.
But even as he felt death drawing near, Chung Myung couldn’t resist.
No matter how hard he tried, his body no longer moved. It felt as though even the last fragments of his soul had faded into ashen gray.
'I....'
I want to live. I want to survive and set foot on the soil of Mount Hua once more.
I want to stand amid the scent of plum blossoms filling Mount Hua, laughing and chatting with my Sahyungje, voices drunken and carefree.
That’s all I want. As it has always been.
'...Cheong Jin-ah.'
He thought he understood now. What Cheong Jin, who died alone, must have thought in his final moments.
'You must have felt the same.'
Only now could he understand. What remained in Chung Myung wasn't hatred, regret, nor worries. Just the desire to see them, at least one more time. Those silly bastards.
Phew!
At that moment, a fierce energy shot toward Chung Myung. A massive shock that made the world go dark enveloped his entire body, and soon his body became as heavy as waterlogged cotton.
The consciousness he had desperately clung to slowly began to drift away.
A feeling he had experienced once before. Surrendering himself to it, Chung Myung fell into an infinitely cold place.
An endless sense of floating and chilling cold.
- You're a little late.
From within that vast emptiness, something warm wrapped around his shoulders.
That awkward warmth pried open his tightly shut eyes.
Through the blurry world, something began to take shape. Soon, what he faced was the face of someone he had longed for so much.
‘…Sa…hyung?’
Cheong Mun. He was smiling gently at Chung Myung. As if simply proud of him.
A great, inexplicable emotion welled up.
'Sahyung, I....'
Perhaps because there was too much he wanted to say. He tried to speak, but no words took form.
Cheong Mun just waited for such Chung Myung with a warm smile.
Words of resentment, words of longing, things that couldn't be expressed in words....
Just as he was about to say something, the face of Cheong Mun looking at him began to blur again.
From a familiar face to a foreign one, but a face that was foreign yet... familiar.
'Sahyung?'
He didn't recognize it at first.
The blood-stained face was a little awkward. But when that face took on its full form, a single word slipped from Chung Myung’s cracked lips without him realizing it.
“…Sa…suk?”
It was a face covered with so many wounds that one could hardly bear to look. But the eyes, red and moist, were unmistakably those of someone Chung Myung had seen countless times.
Was this a hallucination before death?
Even if it was a hallucination... this was too cruel.
At that moment, a familiar voice flowed into his ears.
“...Did you wait?"
The blood flowing from Baek Cheon’s hand carried warmth to Chung Myung’s shoulder.
“Sorry I was late.”
The trembling in his shoulder told him this wasn’t a hallucination.
Chung Myung, speechless, stared blankly at Baek Cheon.
But only for a moment, as Chung Myung's body, having exhausted all its strength, slowly crumbled forward.
Baek Cheon carefully caught the falling Chung Myung.
“...Let’s go back, Chung Myung. To where... where you belong."
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