Episode 1246 That’s it. (1)
After Cheon Woo-maeng and his party left Daejeon, the remaining elders were unable to speak for a while.
People do not collapse when they are in despair, but when hope disappears. And what happened just before their eyes was enough to take away their last hope.
“Haa⋯⋯.”
Breaking the silence, a sigh escaped from Geumyangbaek.
“As soon as the typhoon stops, order the disciples to come down.”
“Didn’t you already do it?”
“I had some regrets. “When reality hits us, there will be people who will take a different stance.”
“⋯⋯.”
“The same goes for elders.”
Geumyangbaek looked back at the elders and said.
“Just because we have been together with Haenam for a long time, there is no reason to be together for the last time. Those who will leave, leave. “No one will complain.”
Some elders grumbled at those words.
“Where do you say the things you received on the day you die go? “If we don’t have martial arts, we can’t even do that material, so when we go home, we’re just bastards.”
“That’s right, Jang Mun-in. Even the grandchildren won’t be happy to have a Haenampa coming into the house. Then, I would worry that I might be hit by a lightning bolt from the Sapae-ryeon, so what shame would I have to go back to Saga?”
Geumyangbaek chuckled.
“Shouldn’t you have done it better in advance?”
“…You should give me time to do well and say something like that.”
The atmosphere wasn’t as heavy as I thought.
When we thought we might be able to do something, we both expressed our feelings for each other, but when we realized there was nothing more we could do, even those feelings softened.
“What about the uneducated nature of those seeking excommunication?”
“…It should be abolished.”
“Why…?”
Geumyangbaek shook his head.
“It’s not because I resent those kids, it’s because I’m worried. The reason why Jang Il-so wants to attack Haenam first is because he does not want to leave trouble behind. But will you just leave children who have learned martial arts alone?”
“⋯⋯.”
“If they were excommunicated and lost their military education, they would not necessarily try to catch and kill Jang Il-so. “He is not a vicious and stupid person, so he knows the value of having the courage to do the job.”
The elders’ eyes became sorrowful. This makes sense, but if that happens, there will be no people left in the world who have mastered Haenam’s martial arts.
No matter what I did, I couldn’t erase the knowledge that remained in my head, but I knew how difficult it was to raise students without being able to demonstrate even once, so I couldn’t help but see clearly what Haenam’s fate would be after they died.
“Let’s not leave any regrets.”
Geumyangbaek seemed to understand the feelings of the elders and spoke thoughtfully.
“If heaven is watching, he will somehow continue our life. Do you know anything? Just like the volcano, I wonder if Haenam will one day receive greater glory than it does now.”
“Yes, Jang Mun-in.”
“It will definitely happen.”
Geumyangbaek smiled bitterly while listening to the elders’ words.
Even though he did it like this, he knows very well that the possibility of that happening is slim.
Rumbling.
When the sound of thunder was heard, Geumyangbaek turned his gaze to the window. The rain and wind were still blowing.
‘I hope the storm never stops.’
He looked outside with a bitter face and then sadly turned his head away.
* * *
“⋯⋯So is it just over?”
The drenched disciples looked at Guo Huanxiao without even thinking about wiping the moisture from their bodies.
“No, Ambassador. We came all the way from Gangbuk and there really was no solution? “If that’s the case, then what on earth are you going to do…?”
“Why are you questioning the ambassador about that?”
Miss Lee responded nervously.
“If you want to argue, you will go and argue directly with those Cheonwoo-Maeng bastards. “Why do people who don’t have the courage to do that ask for the big brother?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“It’s not like that! “Obviously…!”
“stop.”
Kwak Hwan-so lightly grabbed Lee Ja-yang’s shoulder and tried to dissuade her.
“You’re probably saying it because you’re frustrated.”
Kwak Hwan-so sighed and said.
“It seems that even Cheonwoomaeng didn’t expect that the Sapaeryeon would invade so quickly.”
“No, how could that…”
“We are paying close attention to the trends of the Sapaeryeon and the coast, but isn’t it difficult for those in the distant Gangbuk region to know the situation here well?”
“⋯⋯.”
“They were probably embarrassed when they saw the group of Sapaeryeon flocking to the shore. “But you came all the way here, so you should be grateful.”
Kwak Hwan-so, who spoke up to that point, burst out laughing.
To begin with, he is a person who has no taste in defending anyone. If it were any other time, he might have been the first to come forward and criticize them. Still, strangely enough, I don’t feel any resentment towards them anymore.
It is not a matter of morality or logic. It may be because the drink they shared one night remains in his heart.
‘That’s funny.’
How long was that time?
In the end, it probably means that he has been heartbroken by the neglect shown by Joong-won. As a result, I couldn’t help but feel affection for the people who came here in person.
“There is nothing to do but complain. “Have they not done enough?”
“Honestly, I don’t know what I did! If that’s the case, I’d rather not come here. “I just make people excited…”
“Why don’t you say that?”
Kwak Hwan-so said in a bitter tone.
“Your father was a sailor too.”
“⋯⋯Yes.”
“Then shouldn’t you know? “It often happens that I go out on a boat to show my son around the sea, but then get caught in a typhoon and not return.”
“I know.”
“It is the sea that is cruel, not the father. Even if that choice ended up costing the rich man his life, can you criticize and point fingers at the father for being foolish?”
“⋯⋯I know what you mean. Death penalty.”
I did this out of frustration, but in fact, the other disciples of Haenam did not particularly resent or hate Cheon Woo-maeng. Rather, it was closer to feeling grateful.
They were the only ones who found them after being left indifferent and cold for three years.
Because I told those who were with me that we should share the same goal for Haenam, which was abandoned.
Even when you thought that no one in the world needed the Haenam faction, we still told you that we needed you.
“Jayang.”
“yes.”
“When the typhoon stops, choose a sturdy boat and prepare it. So that they can leave right away.”
“…Do we even have to do something like that?”
Lee Ja-yang, who was grumbling, soon sighed when she saw Kwak Hwan-so’s expression watching her intently.
“I do it. “You can do it, right?”
“okay. “Please do me a favor.”
Normally, the person who would have complained the most was out there, so Ms. Lee couldn’t keep complaining.
“And just in case, prepare a couple of ships separately.”
“yes? “Why should I prepare another boat when I can barely burn off the fever?”
“There will be people like that. People who don’t want to die, but who don’t have the confidence to abandon the name of the Haenam faction and live in Haenam.”
“⋯⋯Death penalty.”
“Just be prepared and you’ll be good to go.”
Lee Ja-yang bit her lip.
“⋯⋯I understand.”
“okay.”
Kwak Hwan-so, who had said that far, closed his eyes.
‘I want to run away…’
Maybe that’s what he’s saying about himself. If he could, he wanted to run away right now.
To a place where he could survive.
But he couldn’t. He was the great disciple of Haenam. Someone had to carry Haenam’s name. If anyone should die, it should be Kwak Hwan-so.
“Everyone, think deeply.”
“Death penalty. We…”
“Don’t say anything you’ll regret.”
Kwak Hwan-so got up from his seat and went out.
The other disciples who were watching him also left one by one with a deep sigh.
* * *
“⋯⋯It’s exactly as the executioner said.”
An exclamation flowed out of Gohong’s mouth.
Yugong’s words that there was nothing they could do were indeed true. Even Zhang Wen and the elders had not given up their expectations at all.
“You are amazing.”
A strange sense of relief arose in my heart. The person who looks at the situation calmly like this is Yu Gong. Since such a person decided to leave the clan, Go Hong’s choice would not be wrong. However, unlike Go Hong, who constantly admires Yu Gong, there is nothing in particular to say
. He didn’t show any emotion.
“…Is that what happened?”
“Yes. Jangmun-in said that once the typhoon stops, those who leave the sect will be formally excommunicated. Instead, martial arts should be abolished.”
“That’s the right thing to do.”
“It’s a shame to lose martial arts, but what can I do? It’s better than dying.”
Yu Gong nodded.
This was something he had planned on doing from the beginning. If he goes down to Saga with martial arts skills, the danger is rather from them. He must
become an insignificant being. He must become a worm that the Sapae-ryeon does not need to chase down and kill. You can survive.
First of all, you have to survive to be able to do anything, right?
“But how did you know? I never thought there would be no solution when those prominent people came.”
“It’s not that they don’t have a solution.”
“yes?”
“Sapaeryeon is that fast and scary.”
Go Hong tilted his head as if it was difficult to understand, but Yu Gong’s gaze was no longer looking at him. Yu Gong just stared blankly at the pouring rain. It was as he expected. Not a single thing had changed. There was no realistic situation where one could hope for
something
. It wasn’t, so of course I thought it would be like this.
So, it was definitely a good thing. If unnecessary variables intervened, things could have gone awry. If he had brought in troops clumsily, Jang Mun-in might have had hope, so instead of letting his disciples leave, he mobilized everyone. There may have been a fight with the Sapaeryun.
It was truly fortunate that things went as planned without any untoward incidents. But…
‘I don’t know. Why am I so bitter?’
– You endured it well, kid.
Those words keep ringing in my ears. Strangely, those words that the little guy said so arrogantly didn’t go out as if they were stuck in my mind.
“What are you guys doing?”
“They are locked in their rooms and won’t come out. They have no shame, so what can we do?”
“⋯⋯I guess so.”
Yugong slowly shook his head.
Nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. Everything will go as planned.
When the typhoon stops by tomorrow, they will leave and the Sapaeryun will trample on Haenam. They will share their fate with Haenam. These people will accept death, and those who chose life like Yu Gong and Go Hong will walk their own path, ignoring the screams coming from behind them. With that, the
name Haenampa will disappear from the world forever.
“Stupidly…”
“yes?”
“no.”
Yu Gong shook his head.
“Prepare in advance. Just because we are in a hurry, we don’t know if Jang Mun-in will be in a hurry as well. We should leave as soon as the excommunication ceremony is over so that we don’t waste time and end up facing corruption.”
“Yes, brother.”
“…Still call it the death penalty.”
“Ah… Yes, I will.”
Go Hong scratched the back of his head in humility.
That night,
the typhoon that covered Haenam swept the land even more powerfully than the previous day. It was as if he was holding Haenam with his fingernails and struggling not to fall.
But when the sun dawned the next day.
“…It’s over.”
The fierce wind and torrential rain stopped like a lie. Like a cold and indifferent sea.
