Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1713. That’s it (8)
Editor: Hoamz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“This way!”
Meanwhile, the severely injured Wudang swordsmen were being moved inside the Medicine Hall. The sounds of laying patients on empty beds and searching for medicine began to rise noisily.
"Elder Heo Gong first!"
"Quickly bring golden wound salve and spirit pills! His condition is too poor!"
“Mu Jin Sasuk this way, too.”
"Damn it, bandages! Where are the bandages! What are the Medicine Hall people doing!"
Urgent and desperate voices erupted from all around. Because of that, the commotion was bound to be even more intense.
In the midst of this, Mount Hua disciples were silent as if they had all died.
Only after a suffocating silence flowed did Gwak Hwe mutter blankly.
"What... do you mean, Gaju-nim? You can't save him. That can't be."
“….”
“Then are you saying that Baek Cheon Sasuk will die…?”
It was truly a stupid question, but Tang Gun-ak couldn’t blame Gwak Hwe. He merely opened the eyes he had been holding closed and let out a deep sigh.
At that reaction, Gwak Hwe spoke fiercely.
"Wait, Gaju-nim! It’s just that the flesh got burned a little, isn’t it! I- I know burns aren't easy to treat, but still, this is Baek Cheon Sahyung! Someone like Sahyung wouldn't be done in by something like this…”
Gwak Hwe, who had been crying out earnestly and unconsciously looked at Baek Cheon, couldn't complete his words and gasped.
The words ‘something like this’ he had just uttered felt utterly absurd. It was only because it was Baek Cheon that his breath was still clinging. If an ordinary person had suffered such burns, their breath would have been cut off long ago.
"If it were truly only flesh wounds… You would be right."
"…Huh?"
Tang Gun-ak slowly shook his head.
"But Acting Sect Leader's injuries now are far beyond that. As you said, the visible burns may be insignificant. The truly serious problem is… the burns he suffered inside.”
“…….”
“If skin wounds were the problem, I could insert needles deep to stimulate energy and induce recovery. However, Acting Sect Leader's condition is such that everywhere the needles can reach has been burned, making it difficult to draw out energy. No, it's questionable if there's even any energy left to begin with."
Everyone suppressed the urge to cover their ears.
Instead of covering their ears and turning away from reality, they stared once more at Baek Cheon lying on the bed.
“The fact that his breath still clings to him is a miracle. Beyond this… as a physician, there’s nothing more I can do. I’m sorry.”
He will die.
Baek Cheon will die.
"Uh…."
A dumbfounded sigh leaked from Baek Sang’s mouth.
He had never once imagined it. He had repeated countless times that they were risking death, that death could come at any moment. But he never knew death would approach like this.
No, to be precise, he thought Baek Cheon alone wouldn’t die. Even if they themselves died, he believed that Baek Cheon would always be there.
Because he was that kind of person. Because he was someone who must not die.
'No.'
That’s right. Baek Cheon alone must not die. They cannot let that man go so vainly like this.
Just then, a thought suddenly crossed his mind, and Baek Sang frantically rummaged through his robes with trembling hands.
"Y- You said energy was the problem, right? H- Here it is! Can't energy be replenished with elixirs?"
And he hurriedly thrust what he took out at Tang Gun-ak.
"These are the few remaining Purple Dawn Elixir (Prev. Jasodan) in Mount Hua! I received it from Sect Leader. For now, use this to boost his energy and treat..."
“It’s impossible.”
An apologetic look crossed Tang Gun-ak's eyes as he looked at Baek Sang and the Purple Dawn Elixir in his hand. Baek Sang's face contorted as he shouted.
“W- Why? When we have the elixir right here!”
"The Purple Dawn Elixir is a spiritual elixir that gathers extreme yin energy and extreme yang energy to achieve mixed origin (혼원(混元)), that is, the middle path."
“…….”
“Acting Sect Leader’s body has already absorbed as much of Purple Dawn Elixir’s energy as it can. Even if you infuse more energy into it, it will only overflow.”
"But didn't you say there's a lack of energy? And now you say it will overflow? What kind of absurd nonsense is that?"
Tang Gun-ak let out another long sigh. Though it might sound like the same line of reasoning, it was not. But right now, they couldn’t understand that fact.
No, to be precise...
"I understand not wanting to accept it."
“….”
"But there's no other way. I'm sorry. It's all because I am lacking."
Tang Gun-ak bowed deeply to Mount Hua disciples. Of course, it wasn't something he needed to apologize for. This was something both Mount Hua Hua disciples and Tang Gun-ak himself knew well.
Nevertheless, the reason he bowed his precious head was that he could fully comprehend what the person called Baek Cheon and that person's death meant to Mount Hua disciples.
"Uh..."
Rather, this appearance of Tang Gun-ak made Mount Hua disciples realize the reality keenly. The fact that Acting Sect Leader Baek Cheon’s breath would soon cease.
Before this bleak and terrifying reality, no one dared to open their mouth.
But then, a sharp shout erupted like thunder.
"Stop sputing nonsense!"
"Sahyung!"
"Move!"
Jo-Gol roughly shoved the flustered Gwak Hwe's shoulder and limped towards Baek Cheon. Tang Gun-ak blocked his path.
"What are you trying to do?"
"If energy is lacking, shouldn't we just infuse more energy?"
"It's useless. Acting Sect Leader currently lacks even the life force to hold the energy he receives within his body. It's like pouring water into a bottomless jar."
When Tang Gun-ak sternly dissuaded him, Jo-Gol glared at him with bloodshot eyes.
“Gaju-nim, you seem to know medicine well but not logic?”
“…What does that mean?”
"The way to fill a bottomless jar is to pour in more water than flows out! Damn it, if we push more in before it all drains out, wouldn't that work!”
Tang Gun-ak bit his lip tightly.
“Then… the jar will break.”
"Isn't that something we'll know after trying?"
“Listen here. Jo-Gol Dojang.”
“Move aside. If you block me any further, I won't stay still, even if you Gaju-nim!”
Fierce killing intent poured from Jo-Gol's entire body. Tang Gun-ak squeezed his eyes shut.
Tang Gun-ak could tell. Jo-Gol wasn't acting this way out of ignorance. Nor was it out of foolishness.
Even if his actions might lead Baek Cheon to death sooner, he simply couldn't stand idly by and accept this death.
What use were words before someone so desperate?
“Ga- Gaju-nim.”
Baek Sang, who had approached almost crawling, grabbed Tang Gun-ak's sleeve.
“Sa- Sahyung... Please save Sahyung, Gaju-nim.”
“…….”
"It cannot. Sahyung can’t. He's not someone who should die like this. I'd rather you tell me to die, but Hyung-nim… please save Sahyung at least!"
"Listen…"
"It can't be, damn it! Sahyung isn’t someone who should die here like this!"
No one could do anything about Baek Sang, who looked on the verge of fainting. In the end, Yoon Jong and Hy Yeon barely managed to stand and pull him back.
“Sasuk….”
"Siju."
Baek Sang, whose eyes had been unfocused as if his soul had slipped away, suddenly poured out his pent-up rage toward Baek Cheon lying as if dead. Anger and resentment boiled in his eyes.
"That damned bastard, damn it! Yeah, I knew someday you'd end up like that! A man whose body isn't even sound throws himself around like a rag every single day, so I knew this mess would happen eventually! What's so damn important! What's more important than your own life!"
“…Sasuk.”
"Tell me, Sahyung. Are you satisfied now that you’ve ended up like this? Are you very proud now that you’ve kept the words you spouted so much? Answer me, you moron!”
“Sasuk, you’re going too far…!”
Yoon Jong was about to shout while grinding his teeth, but flinched instead. Baek Sang was shedding tears so profusely that his entire face was soaked.
"This… This fool of a man… This idiot…"
“…”
Baek Sang collapsed right there and began to heave without even being able to sob.
Mount Hua disciples bowed their heads one by one. Though the degree of expression differed, anyone living under the name of Mount Hua Sect would feel the same.
Perhaps Baek Cheon knew his own fate. Perhaps the one who stepped toward this conclusion was none other than himself.
To save even one more person. And to prove that the words he had spoken all this time weren’t just empty talk.
But no one here was proud of Baek Cheon. They couldn't applaud or cheer for a great and noble choice.
“Gaju-nim….”
Hye Yeon clasped his hands together with trembling hands and faced Tang Gun-ak. His heart might be with Mount Hua disciples, but at least he belongs elsewhere. He had to take on this difficult task. Step forward to converse, to search repeatedly for a nonexistent method.
"Truly… is there no other way?"
Tang Gun-ak said bitterly.
“Right now, Acting Sect Leader is in a state where his energy is insufficient and excessive at the same time.”
“…What does that mean?”
"The Sun Palace Master's yang energy fills his body. As if poisoned by an extreme toxin."
“….”
"That energy is burning away Acting Sect Leader's own energy, turning him into a dried-up desert. So even if he took the Purple Dawn Elixir, the Sun Palace Master's yang energy would burn that energy too, damaging Acting Sect Leader's body further."
"That’s…."
Hye Yeon's face turned pale.
"Then if there were an elixir of extreme yin..."
“It’s the same.”
Tang Gun-ak shook his head.
"When burning fire meets ice-cold water, it doesn't immediately settle but momentarily flares up. Acting Sect Leader currently has no strength left to endure even that fleeting shock. It's like a house that's already burned to the ground. No matter how you try to extinguish the fire, the house collapsing… likely can't be stopped."
Hye Yeon looked at Baek Cheon with a stunned expression.
Now he could fully understand the situation. According to Tang Gun-ak's words, all medicines were ineffective for Baek Cheon now.
“A…mitabha….”
All Hye Yeon could do was desperately recite the Buddha's name with a trembling voice.
'Isn't this too cruel?'
If it hadn't been for Baek Cheon's life-risking strike, it would have been impossible to break through the Sun Palace Master at once and open the path. But the price was too horrific.
Step.
In the miserable atmosphere, someone approached and stood at the head of Baek Cheon’s bed. Neither Gwak Hwe, who had blocked Jo-Gol, nor Tang Gun-ak stopped this person.
Because the one who slowly approached was Yoo Iseol.
She stared silently at Baek Cheon lying on the bed, then closed her eyes.
- Then Samae can protect me.
Yoo Iseol failed to protect him. Rather, Baek Cheon protected her and the other Mount Hua disciples. With that body of his.
What was strength? For what does martial arts exist?
A low voice escaped like a whisper.
"You can't, Sahyung."
Everyone held their breath.
"Not like this. You still have to give me more chances."
“….”
"Please."
The end of her voice came out trembling. Yoo Iseol, who had never wavered even when facing her own death, was trembling now. The unexpected sight severed the last thread of composure for Mount Hua disciples.
Thud.
Someone collapsed on the spot, another began to shed tears.
“Fuck….”
Even the world-renowned Jo-Gol couldn't control his surging emotions and covered his face with both hands.
A profound sense of helplessness swept over everyone.
What was the use of becoming strong? What was the use of carrying out a righteous will? When they can't protect what they should protect.
How should they bear such a great sense of loss and deep pain?
"Damn it!"
Kwang!
Jo-Gol ground his teeth and struck the floor. But just then. An unexpected person spoke up.
“I would like to hear the details a bit more.”
Tang Gun-ak turned his gaze in surprise.
“E- Elder-nim!”
“Sasuk!”
"You mustn't get up yet, Sasuk!"
Heo Gong, who had been lying on the bed like a corpse all this time, raised his upper body and looked their way. With eyes calm like a lake.
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