Chapter 1853– Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1853. I don’t see myself that way. (3) ❀ ❀ ❀

“So what?”

A voice like a rough scrape echoed from Yu Gong’s throat.

“Yu Gong.”

“So what do you want me to do now? Are you saying I should go save those idiots now?”

Yu Gong ground his teeth.

“Do you think there’s anything left between me and those bastards? Unlike you, you pathetic bastard, I don’t cling to things that are already over. Let me make this perfectly clear.”

Yu Gong shouted sharply, as if making a declaration.

“Hainan is already a fallen sect.”

The resolute conviction in his voice seemed unshakable by anything.

“It’s just a sect that’s already collapsed. Even if they survive, the outcome won’t change. It’s only a matter of whether their last breath comes sooner or later. Got that? You damn fool.”

Spitting out his words like fire, Yu Gong roughly wiped his face. Then, as if the feeling of the mask on his fingertips was suddenly unfamiliar, he paused briefly, then resumed with biting words.

“Do you really think I still have any lingering attachment to that kind of sect? Do you think I want to go crawling back to Hainan now, like some beggar...?”

At that moment, Baek Cheon interrupted him.

“No. You can’t go back to Hainan anymore.”

Yu Gong flinched and frowned.

“What’s been broken for so long can’t be fixed. No matter what you do now, your sins won’t disappear. So, chances are, you’ll never be forgiven.”

“You…”

Yu Gong gritted his teeth. But Baek Cheon, staring back at him calmly, spoke with resolve.

“But not being forgiven—and not being able to return—doesn’t mean you can’t do anything for them.”

Yu Gong said nothing.

It wasn’t because he was moved by Baek Cheon’s words. It was more accurate to say he was too dumbfounded to respond.

“Sometimes you have to do something even knowing you can’t go back. Even if you’re not rewarded, even if you feel it’s unfair, there are things you simply must do.”

Yu Gong stared blankly at Baek Cheon.

He didn’t need to ask—he could tell. That bastard Baek Cheon was being sincere.

He wasn’t just saying this to sway Yu Gong’s heart. He truly believed what he was saying.

If their roles were reversed, Baek Cheon would’ve done everything he could without a moment’s hesitation to save the sect and his sahyungs.

Knowing this only made it harder for Yu Gong to understand.

“For what, exactly?”

“Because they’re your fellow disciples.”

Yu Gong let out a hollow laugh.

“That’s it? That’s your grand reason?”

“…”

“After all your self-righteous talk, that’s all you’ve got?”

“Yes. That’s all. But... sometimes that’s everything.”

“Ha. Haha.”

Yu Gong laughed in disbelief.

“You’re really insane. Do you think anyone would fall for that crap?”

Baek Cheon shook his head dispassionately.

“No way.”

“You’re well aware.”

“Then why don’t you leave?”

“…What?”

Baek Cheon looked straight at Yu Gong and said.

“If you really thought what I’m saying is ridiculous and worthless, you wouldn’t be standing here. I can’t force you to stay—you know that too. So why are you still here?”

A flicker of confusion crossed Yu Gong’s eyes.

“That’s because you…”

“Isn’t it you who’s actually trying to find a reason?”

“….”

“Trying to find a way back, a way to be forgiven, a way to live without needing that cheap mask…”

“Shut that damn mouth.”

A thick killing intent burst from Yu Gong.

“Don’t speak like you know everything. That kind of attitude is what pissed me off about you from the start. Acting like you know when you don’t know anything!”

“You’re right—I don’t know.”

Baek Cheon clenched his teeth as he spoke.

“I don’t know. That’s why you, who does, should be the one to find it. A way to save those who need saving. A way to ease that burden even a little, even if you can’t be forgiven. A way to live with dignity until the end instead of barking excuses as a dog of the evil sect!”

Yu Gong fell silent. His gaze was still sharp as a blade, but something had clearly changed. Even Baek Sang would’ve noticed.

After a long pause, Yu Gong finally spoke.

“They’ll treat me like a bug.”

“…Probably.”

“Even if I save them, I’ll be lucky not to get stabbed.”

Baek Cheon nodded calmly.

“They probably will.”

“And yet, I’m supposed to risk my life to save them?”

“Yes.”

“Stop spouting nonsense!”

Baek Cheon’s eyes darkened.

“To you, it might sound like nonsense. But if it were me—I’d do it. Because they’re my fellow disciples.”

“….”

“How long will you leave Hainan under the heel of the evil sect? Will you let your child live the same life as you?”

“Shut your damn mouth!”

“We just have to win here. If we take them down, Hainan can return to what it was. You likely won’t be part of that future. But Hainan will regain its peace. No more being threatened, no more holding your breath in fear, no more living in shame by turning a blind eye to injustice.”

“…Do you really think Jang Ilso would lose to the likes of you?”

“Yes.”

“Based on what? You know how terrifying he is.”

“We do. But I also know how amazing my fellow disciples are. I believe in them.”

Yu Gong closed his mouth again. Foolish. He felt ashamed for even speaking with this man. How could someone be so persistently foolish?

He wanted to be sarcastic. To laugh and mock him without restraint. Or just ignore him entirely.

But he couldn’t do any of that.

Even if the most brilliant sage in the world came and said the same thing, Yu Gong would have laughed in his face. But not this man.

Because Baek Cheon had lost everything. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was far deeper in the mire than Yu Gong. Yu Gong had made his choices; Baek Cheon hadn’t even had that luxury.

Yet this man, instead of cursing the world, was desperately trying to do what he could. Who could possibly mock such a person?

No one with a human heart could.

No matter how hard Yu Gong tried to avoid regretting his past, he couldn’t bring himself to ridicule Baek Cheon’s resolve.

“…So then…”

Baek Cheon looked Yu Gong straight in the eye.

“I need your help.”

Faced with those unwavering, resolute eyes, Yu Gong shut his eyes tightly. He felt suffocated. When was the last time he had felt something like this?

Yu Gong opened his mouth, his voice filled with hostility.

“And if I refuse to help—then what?”

He wanted to rip Baek Cheon’s skin to shreds. But Baek Cheon answered far too easily, as if he didn’t even need to think about it.

“Still, I have to find the hostages. No— I will find them. Even if it means my energy is drained and I die from sheer exhaustion.”

In those unshaken eyes, Yu Gong saw his own reflection. Baek Cheon asked.

“Your answer?”

Yu Gong suddenly looked up at the sky.

“From start to finish... every last word... is complete bullshit.”

A twisted smirk formed on his lips.

❀ ❀ ❀

Blue flames, vivid enough to sting the eyes, flickered like a demon’s tongue. Standing before it, Tang Soso felt an unfamiliar emotion consume her. It was a sickening, intense sense of wrongness—so overpowering that it smothered even the hatred that had been swelling inside her.

No—this was closer to alienation. But the reason behind it was hard to pinpoint.

The Tang family was a craftsman’s sect. Blue flames were hardly unfamiliar. She had seen them countless times, rising endlessly from the family’s Blue Furnace. [cheonglo, 청로(靑爐)].

’It’s not just because it’s blue. That flame... is clearly different.’

Tang Soso bit her lip hard.

The blue flames, the flame-forged steel, even the chilling energy emanating from the fire—all were elements she had encountered before. None should have been unfamiliar. [yeomgang, 염강(炎鋼)]

But the moment they came together, an overwhelming wrongness settled upon her.

Yes—just like the existence of Jang Ilso.

Humans feel unease in the face of the unknown. In the end, this indescribable, extreme alienation was just another name for fear.

A fear made flesh—an existence beyond comprehension—charged at Tang Soso, pounding against the ground.

The flame swirling around Jang Ilso burned fiercely, engulfing her field of vision. No, it felt as though it consumed the entire world.

No matter how powerful Jang Ilso might be, it shouldn’t be possible to stir up such dense and massive energy. It had to be a trick. Otherwise, it was just an illusion that only her eyes, infinitely intimidated by the presence of Jang Ilso, could see.

And yet, even as she told herself that, she was utterly overwhelmed.

The crude word ‘strength’ couldn’t fully capture it.

She could feel the gap in level—a chasm so vast that no amount of effort or grit could bridge it.

Kwaaaah!

The moment her entire vision was dyed blue, Tang Soso sensed death approaching. All she could do was grit her teeth hard.

’I will not tremble.’

Her father surely met such an end as well.

And so, she too had to stand firm. If she could not avoid death, then she had to preserve her dignity. That was the attitude instilled in her as a disciple of Mount Hua—and the pride she carried as a daughter of the Tang family.

True courage was not the absence of fear, but the will to face it. At last, she understood the true meaning of that phrase. And so, she stared down her oncoming death without hesitation.

But in that moment—

A golden aura surged into view. Radiant, yet not piercing to the eyes—rather, it felt warm, as though it embraced the world.

The golden energy pushed back the blue flames that had been devouring everything.

Kuuuuung!

A massive impact sounded loud enough to shake her skull. Her entire body quaked from the shock.

“Are you all right?”

“Ah…”

Having just stepped back from the edge of death, Tang Soso flinched and looked up at the back of the figure standing before her.

“M-Monk?”

“Amitabha. Fortunately, I wasn’t too late.”

Hye Yeon’s voice was calm and gentle, as always. But Tang Soso didn’t miss the slight tremble in his shoulders.

“Wh-what…”

Unconsciously, she reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

As she did, she caught a glimpse of his face. Blood was streaming from his pale lips.

Hye Yeon spoke.

“There is no need to worry. It is only natural—the opponent is Paegun.”

He smiled slightly, then turned to face Jang Ilso and folded his hands into a prayer gesture.

“Of Shaolin…”

He paused briefly, then resumed, his voice darker than before.

“….This one is Hye Yeon of Shaolin.”

Tang Soso realized it immediately.

Since being expelled by Beop Jeong, Hye Yeon had never once referred to himself as a man of Shaolin. Yet now, he invoked that name.

Perhaps… it wasn’t she who held the greatest hatred for Jang Ilso in this place.

A cold blue light began to shine from Hye Yeon’s eyes.

“Amitabha. I had hoped to speak without hatred... But it seems, with my lacking practice, I cannot even show mercy to you, siju.”

Grip.

His prayer hands clenched tightly into fists.

“Prepare yourself, siju.”

From Hye Yeon surged a fighting spirit fiercer than anything he had ever shown before.

Next Chapter

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