Chapter 1531

Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1531. What do you know? (1)

Editor: Hoamz

Co-Translator: Xoxo

They were heart-stirring words.

For those who understood Tang Soso's words, and also for those who could not immediately understand them.

But Tang Gun-ak, who clearly belonged to the former, showed no reaction. His expression remained utterly still, his calm gaze fixed intently on Tang Soso without the slightest flicker of change.

"Medical support."

"Yes."

"So you intend to use Tang Family as mere physicians?"

Tang Soso shook her head slightly.

“That’s not all. If it were simply physicians, there would be no meaning."

"Then?"

"Physicians who can protect themselves on the battlefield, who can provide the most reliable support when there are no wounded, and who can furthermore save lives."

Tang Gun-ak's eyebrows twitched. But he didn't immediately refute her and kept his mouth firmly shut.

Perhaps because of the pressure coming from her father, or perhaps because she still had much more she hadn’t yet said, Tang Soso raised her voice slightly.

“This is something I felt while training at Mount Hua and going through numerous battlefields.”

“Go on.”

“Physicians are absolutely necessary on the battlefield.”

"Tang Family is already on the battlefields. The Sichuan Tang Family will rush first to wherever enemies are."

"Yes. That's right. The Tang doesn't fear enemies. But in our current form, we can’t be present on every battlefield at once. Absolutely not."

A few of the silent listeners nodded. Tang Soso continued with conviction.

"I firmly believe that dividing Tang Family into small groups and having them accompany each sect or assigned unit is the best way to maximize the strength of the Sichuan Tang Family as a whole!"

Perhaps feeling that even this wasn’t enough, she added.

“Even if all the poison and hidden weapons are used up and gone, Tang Family’s medical skill doesn’t disappear.”

“I think the same as well, Gaju-nim.”

Tang Pae added once more in support of Tang Soso.

But other than those two, no one dared to open their mouths. It was because they knew how sensitive this issue was for Tang Family.

Even Chung Myung was staring blankly at Tang Soso and Tang Gun-ak with his mouth tightly shut.

After a breathtakingly long silence, Tang Gun-ak's voice finally flowed forth.

“That’s a good idea.”

At those words of approval, Tang Soso’s face brightened for a moment. But only for a moment.

“But you’re hasty.”

"…Father!"

Tang Gun-ak shook its head.

“Your attempt to apply your experience to Tang Family was certainly commendable. If the family could be gradually developed based on what you saw and felt like that, Tang Family would someday regain its former prestige."

Though it sounded like words of affirmation and praise at first glance, Tang Soso felt a solid and firm wall within those words. A wall so loftily high that it would be difficult to overcome no matter what means were used.

“But you are overestimating yourself too much. The reason they were able to cross that line of life and death was not because your medical skills were excellent.”

Tang Soso stared at Tang Gun-ak in silence.

“It was because they were strong.”

"That’s..."

"Medical arts can save those who have fallen and enable them to fight again. But it requires a long time. Even Hua Tuo himself would not have the ability to immediately raise an injured and fallen person right on the spot.”

Tang Soso bit her lip hard.

“But a short-term battle isn’t all there is to it...”

"Hear me out to the end."

His voice was soft yet stern. Tang Soso didn't dare to defy and closed her mouth.

"In the end, Tang Family treating the wounded from behind only creates a gap of two people. Even in situations where victory or defeat could be decided by a single sword strike or a single flying dagger. Do you understand what I mean?"

At these words, Tang Pae's face stiffened.

“Gaju-nim. But that’s...”

"Is the fight with Evil Tyrant Alliance easy enough to be fought with leisure?"

“...”

“Raising survival rates is good, of course. But that only becomes meaningful if we win. If we lose in the fight against Evil Tyrant Alliance, then something like survivors is meaningless."

It wasn't a wrong statement. At least that's how it sounded.

"But the war might drag on..."

"The desire to be active using swords, throwing hidden weapons, and utilizing poison learned through pain is natural as a martial artist."

Tang Gun-ak looked at his son and daughter with gentle eyes.

“It couldn't have been easy to suppress that natural feeling and decide to save even one more person.”

Tang Pae's shoulders shook slightly. Tang Gun-ak nodded slowly.

"That heart is enough."

Though their direction differed from that of the patriarch Tang Gun-ak, their intentions still deserved respect.

"Filling in what’s lacking doesn’t guarantee better outcomes. If having physicians accompany could produce dramatic effects, Sichuan Tang Family would already be called the world's greatest sect."

Tang Pae flinched as if he had been caught off guard. It seemed he hadn't thought that far.

"What matters in war, in the end, is securing greater power than the opponent. Whether that be force or strategy."

Tang Gun-ak let out a long breath.

“Everyone perceives what they have seen most intensely and believes in it strongly. What you two went through naturally opened a path before you, but the perspective of one person and the perspective of an entire sect are inevitably different."

By now, everyone could tell what Tang Gun-ak would say next.

And also the fact that the decision Tang Gun-ak made as patriarch wasn't particularly wrong.

"Therefore, your proposal is rejec...”

"You're wrong."

…But one person.

Even as Tang Soso, who had first brought up the idea, struggled to reluctantly accept it, someone else stepped forward to openly refute Tang Gun-ak.

For a moment, a look of bewilderment spread across Hyun Jong’s face.

“I- Iseol-ah!”

“You’re wrong. Those words.”

The faces of those seated in the hall turned pale in an instant.

Though Heavenly Comrade Alliance was a group that didn't assert authority, it was still rare for a mere disciple to directly rebut the words of a sect leader.

Moreover, this was not simply an agenda item for Heavenly Comrade Alliance. The only ones who could argue right or wrong on this matter were the people of Tang Family. That was why even the maengju, Hyun Jong, had kept silent…

“Y- You shouldn’t…”

“Because Soso was there.”

Yoo Iseol seemed completely unperturbed by the bewildered gazes pouring from all directions and remained composed. Her calm voice continued.

"Because Soso is there, we can fight."

Tang Gun-ak asked with a slight frown.

“What do you mean?”

"Mm."

Then Yoo Iseol frowned and remained silent for a moment. It wasn't because she was in a bad mood. She seemed to be contemplating how to convey what she was feeling.

Fortunately, the contemplation did not last long. Because there was no need for her to explain it.

Instead of answering, Yoo Iseol sent her gaze blankly to the side.

“...”

The person who received that gaze flinched and looked at Yoo Iseol. He soon read her intentions and let out a deep sigh before opening his mouth.

“I also agree with what Samae said.”

“Ba- Baek Cheon-ah!”

"No, these rascals?"

Un Am grew restless and fidgeted restlessly.

If things blew up here, today would surely be remembered as the ‘Rebellion of Mount Hua Baek Generation.’

But the instigator of that 'rebellion', Baek Cheon, quickly regained a composed expression and calmly spoke.

"Gaju-nim said that the way to win is to increase one's strength."

“That’s right.”

Even Tang Gun-ak's tone has changed. No matter what, he cannot treat Baek Cheon as comfortably like Tang Pae or Tang Soso.

“What Samae wanted to say was simple. We have experienced situations where we had to fight by wringing out not just the strength we had… no, even the strength we didn’t have, time and time again.”

“...”

"And the reason we could fight without looking back was because Soso was behind us. Even if I collapsed right there and then, Soso would treat me."

The gap between Tang Gun-ak's eyebrows became narrower and narrower.

“The confidence that comes from having someone you can trust your life with at your back is something those who have not experienced it can never know. How great a strength it becomes, and how it lightens the tip of your sword.”

Tang Gun-ak, who had been listening quietly, answered in a slightly cold voice.

"As I said before, if that were truly meaningful, Tang Family should rightfully have become the world's greatest sect. Tang Family is foremost in having physicians behind them."

"That’s not true."

"Hm?"

"Sadly, isn't Tang Family the only sect in the world that cannot gain that confidence? If I'm a physician myself, what would be so reassuring about having another physician behind me?"

Tang Gun-ak was instantly speechless.

Whether logic or reasoning, he had never thought about it that way before, so he was instanly stumped.

"And I actually don't think having physicians behind them while fighting was ineffective for Tang Family either."

At a glance, that could sound like he was saying Tang Family failed to become the greatest simply because they were weak. Tang Gun-ak frowned.

"Watch your words."

"No, I don’t mean it that way. I mean that Tang Family has fully enjoyed the benefits of fighting with a physician behind them but has not realized it. After all, medical skills as an ability have no meaning in peacetime, don't they?"

“Hm?”

"How often does Tang Family fight life-or-death battles as a group? Unless it’s a large-scale war like this, the value of medical arts wouldn’t be apparent."

"Ah..."

"That's right?"

Jo-Gol and Yoon Jong nodded absentmindedly.

Tang Family's medical arts were, literally speaking, a power that only gains meaning when life was in danger.

"Put another way, Tang Family only shows their true power when faced with a crisis. Therefore, what I am saying is that the secret to Tang Family being the strongest on the battlefield, as Gaju-nim mentioned, may not necessarily be just their poison and hidden weapons.”

Tang Gun-ak let out a faint groan.

"Hmm. I understand what you're saying."

"Yes. Thank you for understanding."

“But… it is difficult for me to accept your words at face value.”

In this regard, Tang Gun-ak was also adamant.

No, Tang Gun-ak was a stubborn person to begin with. He only showed his gentle side to a specific few.

“Even if your words are correct, at best, they are merely a personal impression.”

Jo-Gol and Yoon Jong clutched their heads at the words of rejection that came back again. Even Yoo Iseol’s expression was, for once, slightly furrowed, and a sigh slipped out from Tang Soso’s lips.

But Baek Cheon seemed to think that this conversation was not over.

“A personal statement, you say…”

He gave Tang Gun-ak a faint smile.

"I have one question."

"What might that be?"

“In the history of the Sichuan Tang Family, has there ever been a time when Tang Family members supported the rear of other sects?"

"That’s..."

If one were to look, it did exist.

It was said that during the Great War of Magyo in the past, Tang Family’s Dark Sovereign had stuck to Mount Hua’s Sword Sovereign like a needle and thread.

But Dark Sovereign died during the war and couldn't convey the details of that time.

"Wouldn’t you say there are none?"

"For now… I suppose you're right."

“Then doesn’t that mean we are the only ones who have actually fought a life-or-death battle with a member of Tang Family at our backs?”

It was an undeniable fact.

Those Five Swords bastards had walked a path where it felt miraculous they were still alive. Even if Five Swords had abruptly become Three Swords or Two Swords, no one would have batted an eye. That was how perilous their journey had been.

"Even Gaju-nim hasn't had similar experiences, have you?"

"Your point stands, but this concerns the Tang Family’s…"

"I simply don’t understand."

Baek Cheon cut off Tang Gun-ak mid-sentence. Simultaneously, Five Swords' eyes bulged out.

"You have those of us who’ve actually experienced it saying it helps, so why do those who haven’t experienced it insist that it doesn’t? What…"

“...”

Everyone who guessed that Baek Cheon's trailing words were 'What do you know?' ended up smiling warmly.

“That crazy bastard…”

The words muttered absentmindedly by Chung Myung captured the sentiment of everyone there perfectly.

|Note