What’s the meaning of this? (4)

Gnash.

Staring at the blazing pavilion, Jin Hyeon bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood. His eyes were bloodshot, and the tip of his sword trembled.

He no longer cried out that they must run to Wudang.

“Sasuk….”

“Yes.”

It was clear. Who set that place on fire. Who committed that horrifying act.

The flames rising simultaneously from multiple pavilions made everything clear.

When he turned his gaze, his eyes met Mu Jin’s. From Mu Jin’s only remaining eye, bloody tears were flowing.

Mu Jin also knew. What was happening there.

“Sajil.”

Instead of answering, Jin Hyeon slowly closed his eyes. It felt as if his chest were being torn apart. He wanted to run there right this moment. But he couldn’t. Because doing so would be an insult to those who had set these pavilions on fire.

These burning pavilions were clearly conveying it.

“Sasuk.”

“……Yes.”

“The Sect Leader… says we must not look back.”

Blood seeped from Jin Hyeon’s lower lip, where his teeth had dug in.

“He says not to look behind, but to look ahead.”

“…Yes. I heard it too.”

Jin Hyeon stared once more at the burning Wudang, as though engraving the scene into his eyes for all eternity. Without a single blink, he watched it, then suddenly turned around.

“I’m sorry for my childish outburst. First…”

Crunch.

Jin Hyeon ground his teeth harshly.

“Let’s do what we must.”

Mu Jin slowly closed his eyes.

‘Sect Leader…. Sasuk.’

Even without seeing, he could tell. He felt it without needing to confirm. Who was risking their life in that place, and what that fire was trying to convey to everyone here.

“Yes.”

Mu Jin answered briefly, unable to utter anything more. He had no confidence in hiding the tremor in his voice.

‘Just believe.’

Believe that they will be safe.

Leave what happens behind to those guarding the rear. Right now, they must face the enemy before them and fight.

“Do not look back!”

Mu Jin shouted until his throat felt raw. Every disciple of Wudang standing here would hear him clearly.

“That place is not Wudang! Neither the burning pavilions nor the land we lived on can ever be called Wudang!”

Even Mu Jin, who was shouting, did not believe his own words. But the one who stands at the front must sometimes shout the words he himself does not believe. He understood that now.

“Where we stand is Wudang. This place is Wudang. Show them! What Wudang truly is! Show them why we are Wudang!”

The eyes of Wudang’s swordsmen grew red. A strange cry burst from their throats, half wail, half battle cry.

Behind them, their home was burning. Even so, they could not run there. Where should they unleash this resentment and rage?

The answer was all too simple. The ones who had caused all of this stood right before them.

“Uaaaaaaah!”

Paying no heed to their own lives, the swordsmen of Wudang began swinging their swords at the enemy.

❀ ❀ ❀

Jang Ilso’s gaze had been fixed on a single spot for a while now. It was as though he had turned to stone.

Ho Gamyeong realized that even Jang Ilso had never anticipated this outcome.

Was it a fatal misstep?

That can’t be. Every move Jang Ilso made was nearly perfect. No one could have predicted and countered all of them.

But what was the result?

Jang Ilso’s prediction that the enemy wouldn’t foresee this situation turned out to be correct. Their reaction proved it.

However, the prediction that they wouldn’t be able to respond missed the mark. They somehow managed to counter every move.

Gradually, it was becoming suffocating.

Normally, the side that devises the plan has a far greater advantage than the side that defends. But for these desperate measures thrown in the midst of such chaos to all be blocked – could that even be possible?

He felt a surge of anger rising from his gut.

But lamenting in a situation like this is useless. There is only one thing that matters now.

“….Ryeonju.”

Ho Gamyeong looked at Jang Ilso, who stood as rigid as a statue.

Did Jang Ilso still have a move left to overcome all of this?

“Hmm.”

At last, Jang Ilso let out a short groan. As if blood were returning to a lifeless stone, his body trembled slightly.

Letting out a long sigh, Jang Ilso spoke.

“This is boring.”

“…”

“Isn’t it strange?”

“Ryeonju.”

Jang Ilso’s dissatisfied gaze swept over the battlefield.

“Look. It’s a complete mess.”

Ho Gamyeong gritted his teeth in silence.

Strictly speaking, calling it a complete mess isn’t quite appropriate. In fact, the problem is that it’s all too neat and straightforward.

The battlefield was completely different from what they had envisioned. That much was perfectly clear.

The one they sent out to seize the initiative ended up losing his life to mere novices, and the sword they went to such trouble to draw was bound hand and foot.

Even their most trusted ‘dogs’ failed to break through the enemy’s defenses. The battlefield should have descended into a whirlwind of chaos by now, yet it still hadn’t gone beyond mere skirmishing.

If this continues, the outcome of the battle is obvious.

“Isn’t it strange? So very strange. And yet… somehow… it feels familiar.”

Jang Ilso, muttering to himself, let his gaze sink deeper. Ho Gamyeong’s expression grew rigid.

‘Familiar.’

It felt as if that word stabbed him in the core. Indeed, Ho Gamyeong, too, was sensing the same deja vu.

The carefully laid plan was thwarted so easily, as though the enemy had anticipated it in advance and made their preparations accordingly.

From Sapaeryeon’s perspective, this turn of events was unsettling, yet strangely, it also felt like something they had already experienced. Ho Gamyeong knew why.

“Maehwa Geomgwi…….”

“That’s right, isn’t it? But that’s why it’s strange.”

Jang Ilso spoke in a voice somewhat lower than usual.

“Look. He’s right over there.”

Jang Ilso lifted his hand. His white, slender fingers, previously hidden by the sleeve of his crimson robe, came into view. His half-lowered index finger pointed to a single spot. Standing there was Chung Myung.

“He’s right there.”

“…”

“Of course, that idiot from Diancang did something foolish… but I’d expected that much from the start. Just tying down that Taoist bastard and sealing his lips was enough for him to serve his purpose. So as long as he was still bound to one place, everything should have been going exactly as I intended.”

Jang Ilso did not overestimate himself.

He was confident in his strategies, but he never believed they were all-powerful. After all, a strategy is nothing more than the desperate struggle of someone who lacks the strength to fight head-on.

And on the opposing side stands someone who can render even that struggle meaningless.

Hwasan Geomhyeop, Chung Myung.

It’s not merely because he’s outstanding. It’s because he’s so profoundly different yet disturbingly similar to Jang Ilso – enough that each can see through the other’s moves.

There was only one way to make a strategy succeed against someone like that: grab his focus and attack where his gaze could not reach.

That was how Jang Ilso brought down Shaolin and eradicated Paeng Family. How he drove Kongtong to a state beyond recovery, and even wiped out nearly a half of Wudang.

It should have been no different here. As long as Chung Myung’s movements were restrained, Jang Ilso’s plan should have worked. And yet…

“At this rate… it’s as if there were multiple damn Taoists, isn’t it?”

Jang Ilso licked his lips as he spoke. His voice was calm, but his expression had twisted into something resembling that of a demon’s.

“Though that shouldn’t be possible.”

Ho Gamyeong, who had been listening silently, shut his eyes tight without realizing it.

He’d always felt a day like this would come. One day, those brats from Hwasan would grow to be just like that man. And when that day came, there would be no place left in the world for Sapaeryeon. Ho Gamyeong’s intense wariness and obsession with Maehwa Geomgwi stemmed from that fear.

And now, that gnawing premonition is becoming reality right here. Sooner than he had imagined, and on a scale larger than he had ever expected.

“Ryeonju.”

“This is why the world is interesting. Don’t you think so, Gamyeong-ah?”

Jang Ilso tilted his head back as he spoke. His eyes were on Ho Gamyeong.

Ho Gamyeong bit his lip over and over. It was truly impressive that he could remain so calm even in this situation, but was that really how Jang Ilso felt inside? Perhaps he was desperately masking his urgent anxiety with a facade of composure.

“At this rate, we’ll lose.”

“Hmm.”

Jang Ilso stared intently at Ho Gamyeong, then replied firmly.

“No. That won’t happen.”

“…Ryeonju?”

“When do we lose? When do we truly lose in this battle?”

“…”

“No. You know as well as I do – when it is that we truly lose.”

Ho Gamyeong looked at Jang Ilso in silence. Jang Ilso did not miss the faint tremor in Ho Gamyeong’s usually steady, cold eyes.

Jang Ilso’s eyes curved like a crescent moon.

“So… shall we try one more move?”

He directed a gaze, that was surprisingly gentle, towards Ho Gamyeong.

❀ ❀ ❀

Chung Myung exhaled deeply and slowly turned his head. The moment he did, his gaze met the eyes of the person who had been waiting for him.

A steadfast look. Since when had those eyes taken on such a glow?

His body must have already reached its limit. No, perhaps it had already crumbled. Yet the spirit contained in that body was terrifyingly clear*.

“Seriously… there’s no stopping you, is there.”

Chung Myung, who had been staring intently at the person before him, finally shook his head. Then he spoke sharply.

“You’ve already died ten times over. You know that?”

“Who knows.”

The voice that returned was gentle.

“The only certain thing is that I’m not dead and still alive. Isn’t that enough?”

Looking at Baek Cheon, who offered a faint smile, Chung Myung pressed his tightly closed lips together. To be honest, he wanted to plant his fist onto this smiling face.

Chung Myung tightened the grip on his sword.

“I’ve got a lot to say, but… let’s talk after the war is over. Stay behind me if you want to live.”

He deliberately spoke more coldly and turned away.

Protecting Baek Cheon, who was in such terrible shape, wouldn’t be easy. But there was no better option right now. And Chung Myung knew Baek Cheon wasn’t someone who would just back down quietly.

But then, an unexpectedly firm voice pierced Chung Myung’s ears.

“No.”

Chung Myung, who was in the middle of turning away, stopped. Then he turned back with a look of disbelief.

“That’s your job, Chung Myung-ah.”

“…What?”

Baek Cheon’s expression was calm. The moment Chung Myung saw the quiet conviction in his eyes, his face froze. A bad feeling flashed through his mind.

“Sasuk?”

“You lead them and fight.”

A voice, calm and without the slightest tremor, continued.

“I’ll do what I have to do.”

“What kind of idiotic…!”

“Only after all this did I come to realize something.”

When Chung Myung’s eyes filled with confusion, Baek Cheon smiled.

“Any struggle is worth it, no matter how meaningless it may seem.”

Chung Myung’s expression hardened.

“Leave it to me. I’ll struggle with everything I’ve got. That’s my specialty now.”

Chung Myung looked as though he wanted to kill Baek Cheon with his gaze, but Baek Cheon received that look with a smile.

After glaring at Baek Cheon for a long moment, Chung Myung spat out his words.

“Do whatever you want.”

“Don’t die.”

Baek Cheon answered curtly, then turned away. That was when Chung Myung shouted from behind.

“Sasuk!”

“Huh?”

“…Take Baek Sang Sasuk with you. He’ll be of help.”

Baek Cheon gave no reply.

He could feel Chung Myung gaze on his back. But this was not the time to turn around. It was the time to convey his resolve.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get it done.”

“…”

Baek Cheon ran forward.

Left behind, Chung Myung watched his retreating figure intently.

It was a back far more shabby than in the past… and yet, strangely, it overlapped with Chung Mun’s.

‘That Dongryong…’

Chung Myung, who wasn’t able to look away from that back for a long time, finally managed to turn around and muttered,

“Maybe I’ve gotten old.”

It must have been why he suddenly felt like leaning on someone else.