Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1536. It'll be okay (1)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
Yoon Jong never imagined such words would come out of Chung Myung's mouth.
Despite having his collar grabbed out of the blue, Chung Myung didn't show even the slightest hint of anger. If anything, that sight made Yoon Jong tremble more violently.
"How can you be like this? You bastard who clearly knows why Sasuk had to do that!"
At that moment, Chung Myung seized Yoon Jong's wrist gripping his collar.
“Let go.”
"You..."
"I said let go."
Yoon Jong, who had been glaring at Chung Myung, finally released his grip.
"...Sorry."
He took a step back. He realized too late that he had done something he shouldn't have done in the heat of the moment.
Of course, he still couldn't accept it.
But even if he got into a scuffle with Chung Myung here with blood rushing to his head, the situation wouldn't improve. That alone was a clear fact.
Yoon Jong opened his mouth as if to sigh.
“I just...”
“I already know.”
But before he could finish speaking, Chung Myung's voice mixed with mockery leaked out.
“Yeah, I know. Why he did that."
“...”
“So? What is someone who obviously knows supposed to do?”
Yoon Jong's eyes shook once again.
“Should I thank him and live with my head bowed to the ground for the rest of my life? Or should I stick by his side and fight in his place?”
“You…!”
The anger that had quieted for a moment boiled back up. But only briefly. The moment he met Chung Myung's eyes, his chest turned ice-cold. Facing those emotionless, indifferent eyes, his strength drained away on its own.
Right. Chung Myung was right.
Chung Myung never asked Baek Cheon to save him. It was simply Baek Cheon's choice to risk everything to save Chung Myung.
Knowing all this, it wasn't right for Yoon Jong to impose guilt on Chung Myung and demand solutions.
Moreover, it was even an act that ignored Baek Cheon himself. Baek Cheon wouldn't want any compensation, and he would want even less for Chung Myung to feel indebted.
If Baek Cheon knew he was doing this, he might never want to see Yoon Jong again.
But he couldn't give up so easily.
"That Sasuk cannot be cured... I understand."
An emotionless voice flowed from Yoon Jong’s mouth. It was a stiff and dry tone, uncharacteristic of him.
Even though this was a situation where he should apologize, he didn't want to. Even if this were an immature reaction unbefitting a Taoist.
"But then you should at least stop Sasuk from going."
"How?"
"Don't you understand what I'm saying?"
Yoon Jong’s expression grew a bit colder.
“I’m saying we have to persuade him somehow and keep him from going to the battlefield. If that person stands on a battlefield with his temperament, he will die. You must know that too!”
Chung Myung asked back indifferently.
“So, how are you going to stop him?”
Yoon Jong found himself speechless.
There was no way.
Despite being told he would die, Baek Cheon remained steadfast. If he were that kind of person in the first place, he would not have become the acting sect leader of Mount Hua, and everyone would not be following him like this.
What other methods were left?
Should he get angry saying it would be of no help?
It would be a relief if Baek Cheon got angry and yelled back. However, Baek Cheon was the type who would then say he would carry supplies in the rear instead. And then when someone was in danger, he would try to slip in quietly.
Only one method remains.
To tell him that his very presence on the battlefield would endanger others, so he could not be with them.
‘…I can’t do it.’
How could he say such a thing?
Baek Cheon risked everything to become the leader of Mount Hua. He would continue to do so without hesitation. How could Yoon Jong say something so cruel to such a Sasuk?
Stabbing him with a sword, slicing him to pieces would be kinder. That would tear apart not Baek Cheon's body, but his soul.
“…I know it’s hard.”
Nevertheless, Yoon Jong did not give up that sliver of hope and spoke to Chung Myung.
“But if it’s you, you might find some way. We can hel….”
“If it’s me?”
Chung Myung's cold voice cut off Yoon Jong's words.
"So, you want me to say it with my own mouth?"
"What?"
"You've now become useless, so don't follow along causing trouble, but stay here quietly and recite Taoist scriptures. Since Sahyung can't bring yourself to say it, you want me to?"
Yoon Jong flinched.
"No, I mean... for another method..."
"There's nothing like another method. I already told you."
Yoon Jong's eyes trembled.
“Listen carefully. Sasuk’s Dantian is broken, and he’s not someone who can be pinned down with petty words. There are only two choices. Let him go to the battlefield, ready to throw away his life, or cut him off decisively so he can’t go at all.”
“...”
“But what Sahyung wants is the latter, isn't it."
"I..."
"If Sahyung wants me to say it like that, I'll do it for you. If you need someone to tear a person to shreds on your behalf, while you stand behind with a perfectly nice face. Fine, I'll do that for you."
"You!"
Yoon Jong couldn't contain his anger and shouted violently. Chung Myung only let out a faint sneer.
"No? If not, then it’s the usual. You want me to find some convenient way that satisfies everyone? Something you can’t do, but I can?”
“...Chung Myung-ah.”
“Listen carefully.”
Chung Myung spat the words out.
“I’m not a god.”
He continued in a sunken but firm voice.
"What Sahyung can't do, I can't too. So if there’s something you really want to do, do it yourself. Whether that’s talking or fighting.”
Yoon Jong’s face twisted. His complexion changed several times even in that short moment.
All the while, Chung Myung only maintained his silence.
How much time had passed? Yoon Jong opened his mouth with difficulty.
“...So, you’re saying you’ll let Sasuk go to the battlefield?”
“Are you asking what I think?”
"Yes."
"That's right."
Chung Myung answered readily without hesitation.
"Why?"
“Because that would be better.”
“If you’re planning to protect him…”
“I won’t.”
“...”
Chung Myung shook his head.
"If I protect Sasuk, others will die."
Emotion gradually drained from Yoon Jong's face. Only the cold moonlight settled on his features.
"Then, you're saying you'll just leave Sasuk to die?"
“...”
"No, you're saying you'll send him to the battlefield even though you clearly know he'll die? Without a care for what happens?”
"Yeah."
Silence fell again. A moment later, a short but heavy question slipped from Yoon Jong’s lips.
"Why?"
“…I already answered. Because that’s what’s better.”
Chung Myung let out a short sigh and opened his mouth.
“We could hold him back. We could break his legs, cut them off, or if that doesn’t work, we could just tie him up and throw him in a cave.”
“...”
"But that would be killing the real Sasuk. The Baek Cheon Sasuk I know couldn't endure that. If even one of us didn't return from battle, Sasuk would never forgive himself for it. No, he might never forgive us for stopping him either."
“...”
"So, if it's unavoidable anyway, it's better to let him do what he wants. That's what I think."
Even after hearing all those words, Yoon Jong asked once more.
"Why?"
Chung Myung did not answer.
Because he already answered.
However, Yoon Jong glared at Chung Myung as if he still hadn’t heard the answer.
A short sigh escaped Chung Myung's lips.
“If you don’t like my choice, then follow through with what you believe is right. That’s all there is to it.”
These were his final words.
Finally, the blank expression that had been plastered over Yoon Jong's face like a mask vanished. In its place fell a cynicism never seen before on Yoon Jong.
"Instead of coming running like this and whining every time there's a difficult problem to solve?"
“...”
"I get it."
Yoon Jong turned his body. And Chung Myung did not bother to stop him.
The distance between the two grew.
"I understand."
Yoon Jong, who had been moving his steps, briefly stopped and opened his mouth. His gaze was directed toward a distant place.
"Your words are probably all correct."
Though it sounded like agreement, the emotion in his voice was far from gentle.
"But I didn't just ask you for solutions. I wasn't seeking some clear-cut answer about the right choice."
“...”
"Maybe I phrased it wrong... I just wanted to talk to you. I just wanted to worry about Sasuk with you. Even if there’s no solution.”
Chung Myung stared motionlessly at Yoon Jong’s back.
“Even if that meant nothing to you.”
Yoon Jong gradually grew distant.
Kiiii….
Baek-ah, who had been anxiously watching the two from behind a rock, followed Yoon Jong listlessly with his tail drooping.
Chung Myung stood still until Yoon Jong’s figure had completely disappeared. Only after he had completely vanished from sight did he turn his head to look down at what he held in his hand.
A liquor bottle beaded with dew.
As he habitually raised it to his lips, he froze.
The long, quiet sigh that secretly escaped Chung Myung’s lips as he stared blankly at the pale white bottle.
His eyes slowly closed.
Eyes tightly shut as if entering deep darkness. Above them, his eyelashes trembled faintly.
“Ah! Sahyung!”
Tang Soso, who had spotted Yoon Jong on the streets of Huayin, came running with delight.
"Sahyung! Have you seen Chung Myung Sahyung? I looked all over, but he’s nowhere…”
“I don’t know.”
Yoon Jong answered shortly without even turning his gaze and swept past Tang Soso.
"Huh...?"
Tang Soso stood dumbfounded, watching Yoon Jong quickly walk away.
'What's going on...?'
She fell into thought with a furrowed brow. And rightly so, as it was a cold response unimaginable from the usual Yoon Jong.
She raised her hand to call out and ask.
“No, Sahyung….!”
Kiii….
But at that moment, something crawled up her leg.
“Hm? Baek-ah? What?”
Baek-ah swiftly scaled her body and draped himself limply over her shoulder. Tang Soso tilted her head in surprise at the unusually listless Baek-ah.
"How strange..."
This was a creature that usually didn't like being touched by people. Was something really wrong?
Though she couldn't understand the reason, Tang Soso carefully stroked Baek-ah's head, which looked dispirited. Through the small white head, a faint trembling was transmitted.
"Why are you trembling..."
Feeling that tremor, a sorrow welled up inside her for some reason . Tang Soso looked up toward the sky.
The moon, half-hidden by clouds, felt particularly cold today.
“...It’ll be okay.”
She whispered while stroking Baek-ah's warm head over and over.
"It'll be okay, everyone... Yes. Everything will be okay."
The anxiety she couldn't suppress. The fear she couldn't completely hide.
The one walking the darkened streets of Huayin, the one steeling himself in the deep valleys of Mount Hua, and the one watching over him.
The one who couldn't fall asleep and paced by the window, and the one standing alone and lonely in a distant place apart from everyone.
They were all silently gazing at the cold moon like that.
“It’ll be okay...”
Her voice, whispering like a prayer, gently spread across the stillness of Huayin as if dyeing it with her words.
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