Episode 1031 We are not there. (1)
The river just flows.
No matter what happens in the world, the river just flows. What changes is simply the person watching the river.
Cheongmyeong sat alone by the riverside, feeling the blowing wind.
On the right, there was a pure white liquor bottle as usual, but unlike usual, it was full and just took up space.
Refusing to drink, he just stared across the river in silence. His sunken eyes were so dark that it was difficult to guess his inner thoughts.
He slowly ran his hand down my face.
Only after stopping at the chin did Cheongmyeong lower his hand, which was full of scars and wounds, and suddenly looked down.
Then, without realizing it, I started laughing.
When I first came back to this world, how embarrassed I was when I saw my flawless little hand. However, within a few years, it suddenly became no different from the hands of the Plum Blossom Swordmaster of the past.
In the end, I thought it was telling me that people are unchanging beings, so I opened my mouth.
Cheongmyeong, who had been looking at his hand like that for a while, cast his gaze across the river as if he was being led again.
The whole time I was sitting, I felt like my stomach was being squeezed. Just thinking about those cursed things out there made my mind go blank and my heart boil.
Cheongmyeong pressed his chest with his rough hands.
‘Has it changed?’
Is Cheongmyeong really different from before?
Perhaps the answer may be yes. If he had been in the past, he would never have sat here silently. As soon as he heard the word ‘magic bridge’, he would have put aside all surrounding circumstances and crossed the river to see the situation with his own eyes.
But now Cheongmyeong is sitting here in silence.
So, can we say that things have changed from the past? really?
‘What…’
Before I knew it, blood was showing from my crushed lip.
‘What on earth?’
If things were different, I wouldn’t feel this way. You shouldn’t feel the pain of your soul being ripped out just by hearing the two words ‘Demon Cult’.
The fact that this deep-rooted hatred felt towards them has not changed means that Cheongmyeong has not been able to escape even one step from its terrible past.
But… how can you escape?
How on earth could you forget that?
Every time I close my eyes, I think of the images of those who died without even being able to close their eyes on that cold mountain. The feelings of those who had to die without leaving anything behind are vividly portrayed.
How on earth can things change?
Cheongmyeong quietly grabbed his knees.
His fingernails dug into his flesh, but Cheongmyeong, who could not even feel the pain, just gritted his teeth and stared somewhere beyond the river.
And… not too far away, Ogum was staring at Cheongmyeong.
Jo Geol, who couldn’t hide his anxious gaze the whole time, glanced back at Baek Cheon. But the moment he saw Baekcheon’s expression, he almost swallowed the words out of his throat.
Seeing Sasook as frozen as ice, I couldn’t speak to her.
“why?”
However, Baekcheon opened his mouth as if he did not miss the sign of such a joke.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“No, that’s it…”
After hesitating for a moment, Jogeol carefully opened her mouth.
“…If you’re going to stop him, wouldn’t it be better to get a little closer, Sasuk?”
“….”
“If that guy decides to run towards the river, there’s nothing I can do to stop him.”
Baekcheon’s eyebrows twitch slightly.
“Are you sure you can stop it if it gets close?”
“That’s…”
Jogeol closed her mouth.
What Baekcheon said is correct. Even if they surround them, if Cheongmyeong really wants to, there is no way to stop them.
With his skills, he could easily break through the combined efforts of those here.
“No… Still…”
Jo Geol glanced in Cheong-myeong’s direction, as if he was still feeling lingering regret.
“What the hell!”
At that moment, Tang Soso could not stand it and raised his voice.
“Why on earth is the death penalty like that?”
“….”
“Demon Cult. I know. It’s hateful. The Tang family was almost destroyed because of the Demonic Cult. “Is there a strongman who doesn’t hate the Demonic Cult?”
“Sosoya.”
“no. Of course, I know that Hwasan is the sect that suffered the most damage from the Demonic Cult. But… the volcano has now overcome its past wounds to some degree, right?”
“….”
Jo Geol closed his mouth without answering.
“But why on earth is the death penalty done like that? “What kind of grudge do you have with the Demon Cult that makes you lose your mind like that when you hear the Demon Cult?”
“stop.”
Baek-cheon interrupted Tang Su-su in a stern tone.
Then Tang Soso looked at Baek Cheon with an expression that he could not understand at all.
“Sa-suk was the one who was most angry because of Sa-hyeong’s incomprehensible behavior.”
“…It’s not because of incomprehensible behavior.”
Baekcheon paused for a moment and bit his lip slightly.
“Everyone has a story. And there are also evils that cannot be revealed.”
“Then you can tell us.”
When Tang Xiaoxiao complained, Baekcheon looked at her quietly.
“Are you telling us your whole story, everything you think?”
“That’s…”
Tang Soso trailed off.
Of course that can’t be true. Because everyone has something that they cannot reveal to others. Even if it means being like family. No, even if we are truly family, there are definitely things we cannot show.
Baekcheon said in a calm tone.
“I have no curiosity whatsoever about what you did before entering the volcano.”
“….”
“If you need to know all of a person’s thoughts and past to understand that person, that is nothing more than a pretense in the name of understanding.”
“…Then why are you so angry?”
It is not yesterday or today that Baekcheon got angry because of Cheongmyeong. But everyone here knows. It was the first time Baekcheon was so truly angry at Cheongmyeong.
Baekcheon looked at Cheongmyeong’s back and said.
“…It’s not that I don’t understand.”
A glimpse of anger flashed across the side of his face once again.
“I won’t make you understand, so I can’t make you understand, so your attitude of not explaining and taking the blame on yourself is shitty.”
“….”
“I don’t want to explain the reason or anything, so if you had told me to just shut up and follow me to Gangnam… I might have called you an insult, but I would have followed him without hesitation.”
At those words, Yoonjong and Jogeol nodded without delay.
Baekcheon sighed slightly and said.
“My family is in Jongnam.”
Everyone looked at him in slight confusion at the somewhat unexpected remark.
“My father is Jongnam’s elder, and my older brother is Jongnam’s great disciple. But even though he teased me about it, he never once tripped over that fact. “He would grind his teeth and stir up competition at the mere mention of Jong-nam, but he didn’t even care about my past because I was a volcano person.”
Yoonjong took a long breath and said.
“…Isn’t that a very natural thing, Sasuk?”
“Then I will ask.”
Then Baekcheon looked at Yunjong with a serious face.
“What would you think if my family was in danger and I had to run to Jongnam Mountain to protect Jongnam? Or, if my family was murdered by someone and I ran to Jongnam to take revenge, what do you think that person would have done?”
“That’s right…”
It’s a no-brainer.
If they knew Cheongmyeong, they would have drawn their swords and sprinted towards Jongnam Mountain before Baekcheon even asked for help. Before they are Jongnam people, they are Baekcheon’s family. Because we are blood relatives.
And the same goes for those here.
“I guess he did that. Of course it was.”
“….”
“But that obvious thing… he doesn’t ask us for that very obvious thing.”
Everyone fell silent at those words.
“What I’m really angry about and what I’m worried about is not that that damn bastard is going to get killed for doing something stupid. “When that guy dies doing something pointless…”
Baekcheon bit his lip.
“…I’m the reason we’re not there.”
“….”
“I…. Yes, I’m angry about that.”
The veins in Baekcheon’s tightly clenched fist were bulging.
Tang Soso, who was watching this, slowly lowered his head.
“…I’m sorry, Sasuk.”
“No… it’s not for you to say you’re sorry.”
In the end, Dang Soso’s words came from concerns about Cheongmyeong. Everyone knew that and couldn’t have blamed her.
“You look like a child.”
Yu Iseol, who had remained silent until now, opened her mouth in a blunt tone. She generally maintains the same tone, but for some reason, she felt slightly agitated today.
“Like a fool.”
“….”
Baekcheon just sighed without saying a word.
‘What a damn bastard.’
I know. There is a temperature difference between the way they look at Cheongmyeong and the way Cheongmyeong looks at them.
I know this, but this is the first time the difference has been revealed as clearly as this.
That clear difference made Baekcheon unable to bear it.
“Sasuk.”
At that moment, Yoonjong opened his mouth. Unlike others who looked anxious and nervous, his gaze was still calm and clear.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“…What.”
“It is extremely dangerous to go to Gangnam now. “We cannot guarantee your life.”
“okay. Of course…”
“And Cheongmyeong is not the only thing that Hwasan must not lose. “Perhaps, in today’s volcano world, cleanliness is more important than death.”
Baekcheon closed his mouth at those words.
“So, let me ask you. What will Sasuk do if Cheongmyeong asks to go to Gangnam with him? Are you going to follow that guy into a grave?”
Baekcheon seemed to know why Yunjong’s gaze was so clear.
While everyone was looking at Cheongmyeong’s anxious-looking back, Jongman Yoon was calmly looking at Hwasan’s future. So, I am asking Baekcheon this question.
Therefore, I could not answer this question half-heartedly.
“I…”
It was at that moment when Baekcheon’s lips were moist.
“Jang Mun-in is coming!”
Everyone turned around at Jo Geol’s urgent words. Hyeonjong was approaching, accompanied by Hyeonjae and Hyeonyeong.
Ohgeom postponed the conversation he was having and paid his respects to King Hyeonjong.
“Meeting Jang Mun-in.”
“….”
Hyeonjong only nodded lightly to receive their courtesy. His expression was colder than usual.
Before he knew it, his gaze went beyond them and towards the back of Cheongmyeong.
Hyeonjong, who had been looking at that direction in silence for a moment, took a long stride.
Oh-geom, who was confused as to what to do, heard Hyeonjong’s low voice in his ears.
“You guys follow me too.”
“…Yes, Jang Mun-in.”
With a hardened complexion, Ogeom followed behind Hyeonjong and approached Cheongmyeong.
