◈Episode 703.
Between death and fate (3)
The smoke rising from Jongnam Mountain did not disappear even after a day.
The smoke contained sadness, relief, despair, and exhaustion.
It took half a day just to collect the dead disciples. After the battle, many swordsmen collapsed from stress, and others ultimately lost their lives due to serious injuries.
Those who had the energy hurried down to the village and brought with them talented lawmakers. Although martial arts practitioners usually had basic medical skills, they could not compare to experts in that field.
Fortunately, there was little damage inside the Jongnam headquarters. However, like any other sect, the organization’s assets are its people.
He lost many disciples and even lost three of his elders. It was a major loss in the history of Jongnam.
In addition, many of the plum blossom swordsmen of the volcano and plum blossom spearmen lost their lives. The elders of the volcano did not die, but that was also damage that could not be ignored.
It was as if the entire Shaanxi martial forest was on alert. If troops the size of Hyeolrangdan invade once again, Jongnam may truly be annihilated.
However, the immediate damage was too great to worry about an uncertain future.
Over the course of three days, the Jongnam literati recovered the sect.
But my mind was not restored. Even after three, four, or five days passed, the shadow cast over Jongnam did not disappear.
Seven days have passed since the battle ended.
* * *
“hmm.”
Arriving at Yeonhojeong’s residence, Paeyul looked at Mukbi sitting on the steps in front of the door.
Mukbi, who was inspecting the Hongryeon Palace, stood up.
“Are you here?”
Paeyul raised his hand.
“What about him?”
“Not yet.”
“Not yet… You’ve been sleeping for a long time.”
“It’s not like I just keep sleeping. I wake up three times a day. “After eating, I go back to sleep.”
“I feel comfortable inside.”
Paeyul patted his waist and sat down next to Mukbi.
Mukbi looked at Paeyul with eyes of surprise.
Although they knew each other, the two had no real friendship. Even though he seemed familiar, sitting next to me felt awkward.
Mukbi, who was quietly looking down at the loss rate, sat down again.
Paeyul took out a gombangdae from his arms.
Add less than a handful of powder, flick the flint, and ignite the fire. I took a deep breath and exhaled it, leaving white smoke scattered in the air.
“Have you ever smoked tobacco before?”
“I smoked it. “I haven’t smoked lately because of various reasons.”
“I heard it’s not good for your health.”
“that’s right.”
There was no other answer. Pae-yul was silently clucking at the gombangdae.
Mukbi asked as he smoothed the bow of the Hongryeon Palace.
“You managed to survive well.”
“hmm? “You mean me?”
“no. “I am a practitioner.”
Paeyul chuckled.
“He won’t die even if I kill him. “It’s gross in a way.”
“I saw him fighting the enemy general. “Yet he came back with a body that was on the verge of collapse, saying the war was not over.”
“….”
“It’s probably always been like that.”
“It did.”
“Even if one’s martial arts skills increase and one’s level deepens, there is a limit to a person’s mental power.”
“He is like that too.”
“In the future, will practitioners be able to live like now without giving up until the end?”
Paeyul shrugged his shoulders.
“Are you worried about that fishman now? In fact, you probably know that better than me.”
“I don’t know anymore.”
“is it?”
Mukbi looked up at the sky.
Jongnamsan Mountain was immersed in sadness, but the sky was clear.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. It was an unusually long time. But when I met the practitioner again, he became a completely different person.”
“He’s such a monster.”
“I felt a lot stronger and a much deeper sense of responsibility. But…”
“….”
“It looks a bit dangerous.”
“Whoa.”
After spitting out the smoke, Paeyul wiped the entrance to the gombangdae with his sleeve and handed it to Mukbi.
“Would you like to smoke it sometime?”
Mukbi shook his head.
“are you okay.”
“Doing it once or twice won’t ruin your health. Especially if you have the strength of heaven and earth.”
“….”
“ruler.”
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Mukbi, who was watching the defeat rate, accepted Gombangdae.
After fiddling with the gombangdae a few times, Mukbi carefully sucked out the smoke.
“Cough!”
It was inevitable that I would cough.
“Cough! It’s very spicy, isn’t it? “Wow!”
“Is that so too?”
“Why do you even want to smoke something like this?”
Paeyul, who received the stick from Mukbi, wiped the entrance with his sleeve again.
“If you smoke these things often, your lung function will weaken. But it’s not like I’m particularly worried. There are times when I feel hazy and happy, but after a few washes, I get used to it. On the contrary, there are times when my head feels heavy.”
“I think so.”
“It’s a monster that only harms the body and has no benefit. Alcohol is better. They say that drinking it in moderation can be good for your health. “When you drink something, you can’t say it in moderation.”
Paeyul’s eyes, quietly looking down at Gombangdae, were deep and clear like a lake.
“I wanted something like that.”
“yes?”
“A battle of life and death.”
“….”
“I don’t know why, but I liked the fight so much. But if you think about it, this fight is no different from the beginning of the year. “It only takes away lives and doesn’t help anything.”
“….”
“Once I got into it, there was no such thing as moderation. There weren’t many opportunities for sword fighting, and since he was an elder of Jeomchang, one of the world’s most renowned clans, he couldn’t hastily draw his sword. “I can’t tarnish the name of a monk just to make myself feel better.”
“…okay.”
“The more it happened, the more I wanted to fight for my life.”
Push!
The gombangdae, which could not overcome Paeyul’s grip, broke into pieces.
“I didn’t think about why. Good luck? Pleasure? That can’t be a reason. If that was really the reason, he would have thrown away everything that was worthy of the name of the sect, found a worthy expert, and swung his sword with all his might.”
“….”
“I should have thought of a reason. “Why did you want to fight so much?”
“Did you get an answer?”
“no.”
“….”
“But I realized one thing during this battle.”
“what is that?”
“Fighting just to win is meaningless.”
A doubt appeared on Mukbi’s face.
Paeyul pointed back with his thumb. It was Yeonhojeong’s room.
“There is probably no one in Tanggeum Wulin who fought as much as that crazy guy. But that guy has never enjoyed fighting itself. “He was happy to have risen to the level of martial arts and his combat skills were excellent, but he was not crazy about the fight itself.”
“….”
“I felt joy and excitement while fighting my opponent, but in the end, I was always fighting to protect him.”
Mukbi’s eyes deepened.
Paeyul looked up at the sky.
“Have you seen the prosecutors coming and going?”
“Jongnam?”
“okay.”
“Yes, I saw it.”
“Did they look alive?”
Mukbi, who was watching the loss rate in silence, shook his head.
“He was dead.”
“okay. “It’s alive, but it looks dead.”
Paeyul closed his eyes.
“That is the result of this fight. Turning even living people into dead beings. “That’s what war is.”
Mukbi’s eyes wavered.
When Paeyul opened his eyes again, his expression looked somehow empty.
“I couldn’t bear to think that those faces were the disciples of the text.”
“….”
“Whether there is a purpose or not, fighting costs lives and depletes the mind. “This time I finally realized that the fight I wanted, the battlefield I was crazy about, was ultimately hell.”
“….”
Mukbi somehow seemed to be able to understand the loss rate.
Paeyul shook his head.
“Yeon Ho-jeong, that guy is really a great guy.”
“yes?”
“You said he’s changed a lot, but to me, he hasn’t changed since we first met.”
“…!”
“It’s different from me, who was born and raised in this world and didn’t want to be of any help and just wanted to fight. “I have been struggling from the beginning to this day to protect my people and my land.”
“….”
“I knew it at a young age. How much war devastates people. “He knew right away that the damage my people would suffer would be indescribably painful.”
“….”
“That’s why I always live alone. It won’t matter what other people think. There is no time to be swayed by the reputations around you. “It is more important than anything that my people do not suffer.”
At that moment, Mukbi felt his heart become solemn.
Yeon Ho-jeong said that he returned after drawing on the past and living in the future.
She decided to believe it, but it wasn’t really something she believed. This is because it is an area that cannot be understood by human common sense in the first place.
However, when I heard Paeyul’s words, I remembered the past and future era that Yeon Ho-jeong confessed to.
It was a time when the entire central plain was engulfed in war. A time when people lived unhuman lives. The era of beasts who could not trust even their friends and would even stab their families in the back to make a living.
‘Was it really true?’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s face came to mind.
His face always seems confident, yet lives fiercely in every moment.
‘Are you working so hard to prevent those times from ever returning?’
Paeyul, who was staring into space in silence, stood up shaking his butt.
“There was a lot of unnecessary talk. I’m getting older too. “It’s embarrassing.”
“no.”
Paeyul looked down at Mukbi.
“Support it well.”
“yes?”
“I became more independent, stronger and more responsible. Still, this guy doesn’t break down. “The driving force behind living is the same.”
“….”
“But, as you said, a person’s mental power has its limits. At times like that, the people next to you should be your sanctuary.”
Mukbi smiled.
“What about you, senior?”
Paeyul snorted.
“You want me to at least comfort that guy? Don’t be funny. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. “We didn’t have that kind of relationship to begin with.”
“is that so?”
“Thanks to this guy, I gained great insight. In most cases, it is a favor that is difficult to repay. But that is that and this is this. On the contrary, if you show signs of hardship in front of me, I might break your head.”
“It’s exciting just thinking about it.”
Faeyul smiled and turned around.
“Tell me when you wake up later. “Let’s all have a drink together.”
“Okay.”
Just like that, the loss rate disappeared.
Mukbi sighed softly.
‘It’s the reason for the fight.’
I’ve never really thought about it seriously. At least it wasn’t as bad as the loss rate.
Thanks to Yeonhojeong, I came into the world, and thanks to Yeonhojeong, I met people who were like family.
Is that why?
In any fight, I just did my best on the spot and didn’t look beyond that. Because those reasons were not important to her.
However, the words Paeyul left behind resonated with her more than ever.
‘Heukjeseong.’
Mukbi remembered what Yeon Ho-jeong said in the past.
‘Emperor of Darkness… God of the Five Great Gods… Shrine….’
The past and future that only Yeon Ho-jeong knows, which she does not know.
‘Was I really that different back then from now?’
At that time, did I clearly find the reason for living? Or would I have been swept up in a vague and vague friendship like I am now?
Silence sighed softly.
“I still have a long way to go.”
It was then.
“Manager Mook!”
There was a person running quickly towards this place. It was full of regrets.
“Are you here?”
“What is the number of years? Are you still recovering?”
“Yes. What’s going on?”
Full Sang sighed.
“Jongnam Jang Mun-in has arrived.”
