Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1398. Where I should be (3)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Baek Cheon’s hand trembled slightly as he gripped the unconscious Chung Myung's shoulder.
Was he still alive? Was he still breathing?
He was even afraid to check. The faint warmth he felt through his fingertips seemed like it could vanish at any moment.
'Chung Myung-ah....'
To him, Chung Myung was like a towering great mountain.
Unshakable, never showing weakness in any situation, and that people cannot understand, and should not try to understand.
But now, that mountain-like figure lay unconscious with injuries so severe that it would not be strange if he stopped breathing at any moment.
Why did he sometimes forget?
That this man was human, just like them. That he was merely a person who gets hurt, feels pain, and worries just like them.
Baek Cheon put his hand on Chung Myung's abdomen and channeled internal strength into his body.
"Just wait a little. I'll take you to a safe place soon. Until then... just hold on until then."
Baek Cheon whispered to the already unconscious Chung Myung and pulled him closer.
Baek Cheon’s gaze, as if suppressing something overwhelming, shifted away from Chung Myung to somewhere else. There stood Ho Gamyeong, staring at them with an expression as if his cold mask had shattered.
The look on Ho Gamyeong's face was clearly one of bewilderment.
‘How…?’
Just moments ago, this man hadn’t been within his senses. Yet he appeared in an instant as if he had torn through space itself. And moreover...
Ho Gamyeong's gaze shifted slightly downward.
Lying there was the corpse of Sibi, beheaded. Even though he specializes in escort and assassination, Sibi would be a master with martial prowess lacking nothing anywhere Kangho.
Yet he had been slain in a single strike.
Of course, Ho Gamyeong wasn’t a martial artist of such high caliber, so deceiving his senses might not have been too difficult. Beheading Sibi with one strike while his attention was elsewhere might also not be such a complex feat.
But the problem was that based on Ho Gamyeong's understanding of Baek Cheon's martial prowess, this should have been an impossible feat.
Had Baek Cheon’s martial prowess skyrocketed in such a short time?
Ho Gamyeong muttered while meeting Baek Cheon's sharp gaze.
“Mount Hua bastards… they all have a knack for surprising people.”
Even Ho Gamyeong couldn't clearly discern whether his words were meant as admiration or sarcasm.
'Even so, nothing will change.'
Ho Gamyeong coldly glared at Baek Cheon.
Baek Cheon's body was covered in wounds. Blood not only stained his clothes but had soaked through them, dripping down. Chung Myung's injuries were serious, but Baek Cheon's seemed equally grave.
He must have rushed here without caring for his own body.
Thanks to that, he was able to prevent Chung Myung's head from falling, but it would be impossible to escape this place with the unconscious Plum Blossom Sword Demon by his own strength.
“Are you planning to die together?”
“....”
"Too reckless to be called loyalty, too foolish to be called Chivalrousness."
It was a provocation meant for Baek Cheon, who must have lost his composure upon seeing Chung Myung's condition.
But Baek Cheon surprisingly showed not even the slightest reaction. He just stared at Ho Gamyeong with unwavering eyes. Eyes so devoid of emotion that not a hint could be detected. Even Ho Gamyeong felt a faint chill before those eyes.
As Ho Gamyeong felt his insides twist and was about to speak, Baek-cheon spoke first.
“...Die?”
“....”
"Who?"
His voice carried no emotion. Yet beneath that feigned calmness, seething fury was beginning to take shape.
"Who do you dare to say will die?"
Hearing that voice, Ho Gamyeong forced a bitter smile. As if relieved to confirm that fury.
“You think you’ll make it out of here alive?”
“...It’s impossible for me alone.”
“You know that well…”
“But.”
Baek Cheon spat out the words.
“If it’s all of us, that’s a different story.”
At that moment, something flew over their heads. As Ho Gamyeong hurriedly looked up, the Myriad Man Manor martial artists surrounding him quickly closed ranks to protect him.
Chwaaaak!
With a sound like a fine sword slicing through silk, the heads of two Myriad Man Manor martial artists standing right beside Baek Cheon rose into the air.
Tak.
The one who had cleanly beheaded two people with a single sword strike and landed gracefully immediately checked on Chung Myung.
The indifference that always enveloped her face cracked for a moment. Yoo Iseol, her face twisted as she bit her lip, stared at Chung Myung for a moment before turning her gaze to Baek Cheon.
Before she could even ask, Baek Cheon spoke briefly.
“…He’s alive.”
That must have been what she wanted to ask. Yoo Iseol nodded faintly in response to Baek Cheon's answer, which seemed to have read her mind. Then, slowly, she turned and glared at the Myriad Man Manor martial artists surrounding them.
One after another, another person fell from above.
Kuung!
A powerful landing sent dust flying in all directions. As the dust cloud settled, the Myriad Man Manor martial artists found themselves staring at the back of a man clad in fluttering crimson monk robes.
The surroundings naturally fell silent.
The monk who had descended stared at Chung Myung without the slightest movement, as if he were a stone statue. After remaining fixed like that for quite some time, he turned his head with a breathtakingly slow movement.
Twitch.
The Myriad Man Manor martial artists who met his gaze instinctively stepped back.
It was a gaze one could never associate with a monk. The hatred burning within it pressed down on everyone.
Eudeuk.
Hye Yeon bit down hard on his lower lip.
His anger flowed out as pure killing intent. Blue veins protruded on Hye Yeon's fist, who had even forgotten that he was a Buddhist monk.
But before his rage could fully erupt, several shadows flew in one after another.
“Chung Myung-aaahhh!”
Jo-Gol, who had landed, ran towards Chung Myung with all his might. His outstretched hands stopped just before reaching Chung Myung.
He couldn’t bring himself to touch him. No matter how he looked, there wasn’t a single part of Chung Myung’s body that wasn’t wounded.
"ugh..."
Jo-Gol's hands trembled unconsciously. It wasn't because of anger. It was due to the fear that he might lose what must not be lost.
“Sa- Sahyung. Sahyung.... Chung Myung....”
Right next to him, Yoon Jong stared intently at Chung Myung without uttering a single word. As if he wanted to engrave every single wound into his memory.
“Move aside!”
Pushing past the two, Tang Soso rushed and clung to Chung Myung. With lightning speed, she jabbed several acupuncture needles into him before reaching back and shouting,
"Yosangdan, quickly!"
“Here it is!”
Receiving the bottle from Tang Pae, Tang Soso tore open the cap as if smashing it and poured the liquid into Chung Myung's mouth. Then, with trembling hands, she swiftly pressed several pressure points and pushed the medicine down his throat.
"H- Here... Ah... here too..."
She was utterly confused about where to even begin.
There wasn’t a single wound that wasn’t severe, not a single injury that wasn’t critical. The fact that he was still alive in this state was nothing short of a miracle. On top of that, his old wounds had reopened, making his condition even worse.
Chung Myung had survived countless injuries so far, but this time it was beyond the level where such optimism could be held.
“Please, Sahyung.... Please!”
Tears flowed endlessly from Tang Soso's eyes.
She had expected him to be at death’s door, but she hadn’t imagined it would be this severe. Just looking at the many scars engraved on his body, she could vividly feel how much pain Chung Myung had suffered.
"Aah..."
Seol So-baek’s face looked as if his soul had left his body. Shock, sorrow, fear, and anger seemed to have struck him all at once. His entire body trembled like an aspen tree.
Yet no one in this place sought to comfort or reassure Seol So-baek.
Since everyone's attention was focused on Chung Myung, Not a single person here had the capacity to spare any concern for Seol So-baek right now.
“...Dojang.”
Cold killing intent surged in Namgung Dowi's eyes. Even Im Sobyeong bared his teeth with his face contorted to its fullest extent.
Uncontainable fury. Hatred that burned so fiercely it threatened to burn their body.
If they had arrived just a little later, Chung Myung would no longer be among the living. No, perhaps even now, he could no longer be called a living person.
Thus, they could only rage. They could only hate.
The path they had walked, the relatively easier path they had taken, had been supported by Chung Myung’s blood and suffering.
“Sahyung… Sahyung, please…”
Tang Soso frantically tried to stop the bleeding and applied medicine to Chung Myung’s wounds. Her hands shook so badly that it seemed doubtful whether she could even treat him properly. But Tang Soso's hands did not stop for even a moment.
At that moment, the chilling voice of Baek Cheon was heard in Tang Soso's ears.
"...Will he survive?"
Tang Soso's body flinched noticeably. Unable to give a confident answer, she just continued tending to Chung Myung's wounds.
“Soso.”
“....”
“Soso!”
Finally, Tang Soso’s resentful eyes glared at Baek Cheon. Her gaze was filled with malice.
But Baek Cheon didn’t waver in the slightest and pressed her again.
“Answer me.”
“....”
“Hurry.”
Tang Soso bit her lip so hard that blood began to seep out.
“If… if it stays like this…”
Baek Cheon instinctively closed his eyes at those words.
A hellish silence fell over them. At the end of that silence where no one could speak, Baek Cheon's eyes opened again.
"He'll die if things continue like this..."
“....”
“So that means if things don’t stay like this, he can survive. What’s the way?”
Tang Soso's eyes trembled violently for a moment. It was as if Baek Cheon had pointed out something she hadn’t even considered.
“Fa- Father.”
"Father?"
“Father! We must go to Tang Gaju! If it's Tang Gaju!"
"Understood."
Baek Cheon nodded without hesitation.
Breaking through all these enemies to reach Tang Gun-ak would undoubtedly be difficult. But compared to standing by and watching Chung Myung die, it was a thousand times easier.
The others seemed to share the same thought. As soon as Tang Gun-ak was mentioned, everyone was ready to move.
A crimson sword energy flowed from the tip of Yoo Iseol's sword. It was sword energy that conveyed anger more clearly than any words or expression could.
Dense killing intent poured from everyone's bodies. An unshakable determination stood firm in their eyes.
Baek Cheon held Chung Myung's shoulder a bit tighter.
‘You’ll probably be furious.’
He would call them fools without a doubt, but the people here only have one thought.
Even if they all had to die, they would make sure Chung Myung lived.
‘You can get as angry as you want later. So... so absolutely... absolutely!'
Baek Cheon rose to his feet with Chung Myung in his arms and spoke softly. Even at this moment, he was continuously channeling his energy into Chung Myung.
"You all know what needs to be done, right?"
There was no response. There was no need for one. What was needed now was not meaningless words but action.
At this moment, Baek Cheon had only one thing to say.
"Let's go."
Different sects, different origins, different positions.
All of those boundaries now collapsed under a single purpose. Like a single streak of lightning, they shot forward toward the path they must tread.
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