Dying.
Actually, it is not an unfamiliar word. No, it might even be quite familiar.
But the words that came out of Chung Myung’s mouth weighed on everyone’s chest like a giant boulder.
“...No....”
Baek Sang was about to say something but closed his mouth again.
It was because he had no idea what to say.
Chung Myung grinned.
“What great luck, wasn’t it?”
“....”
“If Heo Dojin had not stepped up and stopped the war.”
“....”
“No, if the war had only stopped a little later.”
Everyone turned their heads, unable to face Chung Myung’s gaze.
“If Myriad Man Manor hadn’t held their ground to earn time, but had really gone all-in with the intent to wage war.”
“....”
“Would we all be sitting here discussing fame and gains?”
Baek Sang bit his lips.
“But that’s....”
“Right.”
Chung Myung interrupted Baek Sang’s words and shrugged his shoulders.
“As long as you’re a martial artist, you should always be prepared to die. If someone who wields a sword thinks they won’t be stabbed, that’s disgusting arrogance.”
“....”
“But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to die.”
Chung Myung shook his head.
“The world has already changed. Going forward, the battlefield we’ll be on won’t be as amiable as it used to be. The days when you could fight as if you were practicing for experience is over. And it won’t come back again. It’s all about life and death from here on out.”
The Evil Tyrant Alliance has changed the world.
And that fact is known to everyone here.
“But isn’t that.......”
Baek Sang still seemed unconvinced.
“Isn’t that exactly why we’re uniting the sects and raising our power? If it’s the power of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance....”
“Sasuk.”
Chung Myung stared straight at Baek Sang and asked.
“Do Sasuk really think so?”
“....”
Baek Sang sighed as he chewed on his lips.
Chung Myung said.
“I told you, I also like money. And fame and honor, too.”
“...Then why?”
“But if it costs the life of anyone here, then I don’t need such things.”
Chung Myung’s voice was calmer and firmer than ever.
“Do you know what truly drags a person into hell?”
“...Seeing the death of Sahyungje with your very eyes?”
“No. That’s nothing.”
Chung Myung shook his head.
“The real hell is surviving. And then realizing late that you could have in fact saved your Sahyungje from death.”
“....”
“What truly drags a person into hell is regret.”
It was a calm voice.
But those who heard it felt their hearts weighed down by an inexplicable sorrow.
“Someone here will die. It’s inevitable. We’re all acting like nothing’s wrong, but we all know, don’t we? Someday, someone here will die, and it won’t be in the distant future.”
“....”
“Then....”
Chung Myung cast his gaze upward.
“The brilliant fame resting on your shoulders.”
“....”
“The great wealth held in your hands.”
“....”
“The lofty honor of having saved the world.”
While everyone was silent, Chung Myung, who had briefly looked up at the ceiling, slowly opened his mouth again.
“Do you think any of it will be worth a damn?”
Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung in silence.
Baek Cheon knows.
That Chung Myung is not saying that to the Sahyungjes. He’s saying that to himself.
“I don’t want to regret.”
“....”
“If I can’t avoid witnessing someone’s death, at least it shouldn’t be a death caused by my complacency. It shouldn’t be a dog’s death from my wrong choice. It shouldn’t be a death that could have been avoided.”
Yoo Iseol nodded slowly.
What if, as consequences, he came across the fallen corpse of Baek Cheon one day in the future?
Baek Sang would never forgive himself. Absolutely not.
Knowing this, he couldn’t oppose any more.
“It seems... we’ve reached a consensus.”
At that time, Hyun Jong, who had been silently listening to their conversation, opened his mouth heavily.
“When Chung Myung came to me last night and brought this up, I had a lot of worries, too. In regard to what the correct course of action should be.”
“...Sect Leader.”
“There are numerous opportunities in Mount Hua. And there is a heavy responsibility on Mount Hua’s shoulders.”
For Hyun Jong, more so than anyone else, this holds true.
Others only need to consider what Mount Hua stands to lose. But as the leader of Heavenly Comrade Alliance, Hyun Jong has additional burdens to bear. Even if limited to just Mount Hua, he has to consider much more than the disciples do.
“I couldn’t find the answer in my head. So, for the first time, I asked my heart. What is the path that I desire?”
Hyun Jong smiled broadly as everyone paid attention.
“My heart told me. Neither heavenly treasures nor the fame that echoes throughout the world nor the honor that could illuminate Mount Hua’s name...”
His eyes were brighter than ever.
“None of these are worth any single disciple of mine.”
“...Sect Leader.”
Hyun Jong smiled.
Perhaps, as the Sect Leader leading a sect, this is something he shouldn’t say. But at the same time, it was the genuine sentiment that a Sect Leader should have.
That is precisely what Hyun Jong’s heart is saying right now.
The opportunity that Mount Hua has now is something that he dearly wished for in the past.
But now, Hyun Jong knows.
“I am fine with Mount Hua not becoming the greatest sect in the world.”
“....”
“Even without that title, Mount Hua is Mount Hua. It is not Mount Hua because it is strong and great. but...”
Warmth filled Hyun Jong’s eyes.
“Mount Hua without you all is not Mount Hua.”
Everyone clenched their fists.
There may be countless words in the world, but none could resonate their hearts more than this.
“As the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, I want to protect Mount Hua.”
“....”
“Is there anyone against it?”
Silence.
Everyone looked at Hyun Jong silently. After a moment of silence, someone answered first.
“There is no one.”
Baek Sang.
Once he answered, everyone else followed suit.
“There is no one.”
“There is no one, Sect Leader!”
“We will follow Sect Leader’s will!”
Hyun Jong nodded slowly.
“Mount Hua’s disciples, listen.”
“Yes, Sect Leader!”
“By the name of Mount Hua’s Sect Leader, I hereby order Mount Hua to enter Bongmun from this moment on. There will be no set end date.”
“Yes!”
Hyun Jong looked at everyone with gentle eyes.
It may be an unreasonable request. But no one objected, nor did they send disapproving glances.
Everyone was willing to follow his words.
How could he not protect such people?
“Let’s go back. To Mount Hua.”
“Yes! Sect Leader!”
Thus, the decision to return to Mount Hua of Shaanxi was made.
Just when everyone was warmly smiling at Hyun Jong, a chilling voice was heard.
“So it’s decided then?”
Crack. crack.
Chung Myung cracked his neck side to side. The sound of bones cracking from his neck somehow felt creepy.
“Ah, there’s something I forgot to mention.”
“...Huh?”
“That part about how someone here will die soon, it won’t necessarily be because of the war.”
“....”
“I’m going to really give it my all this time. If you’re going to die anyway, it’s better to die by my hands than by someone else’s hands, right? Don’t you think so?”
“....”
“I’m just saying. Keep that in mind.”
Souls drained from the eyes of Mount Hua’s disciples. When they looked at Hyun Jong with frightened deer-like eyes, Hyun Jong dodged their gaze with a kind smile.
“Let’s hurry up and go back without wasting time. We’re going to get busy now.”
“....”
The gate to hell is always beautifully adorned.
It was only then that Mount Hua’s disciples realized that they had walked into hell on their own feet.