Episode 1223 Can I do this? (3)
“Father! Open your eyes, Father!”
Baekcheon looked blankly at the back of the sobbing elder.
‘father?’
That village road belongs to that man?
Are you the father of the man who just a moment ago said that such an old man’s life was such a big deal?
“Senator! Councilor! Please save my father! Please! Please, I beg you like this!”
“Calm down. If you do this, you’ll be in the way!”
Dangsoso also seemed surprised and embarrassed.
“The wound is not deep, so if you endure it well, you can survive. So, calm down first.”
“Thank you. I really… thank you so much.”
The man repeatedly hit his head on the ground.
“This person…”
He hesitated for a moment, as if he was afraid to ask, and then with difficulty pushed the next words out of his mouth.
“… Is this your father?”
The man flinched and nodded. His face was already covered with tears. It was hard to believe that this was the face of the person who had been smiling slavishly while saying ‘that old man’ just a moment ago.
“Yes… yes, he is my father.”
“But how…”
But how can you say something like that?
How can I belittle my father and pray humbly in front of the evil enemy who cut him down with a sword?
I instinctively felt that this was something I shouldn’t ask. But Baekcheon had no choice but to ask.
The man sobbed and answered that question.
“Then… Then what shall we do… Then…”
The man cried and looked down at his unconscious father. A young sense of guilt pierced Baekcheon’s heart in those two eyes.
“Just thinking about it makes me want to tear him into a thousand pieces, or even 10,000 pieces and kill him! I want to bite my father right away to save him! I’m a human too, so how could I not!”
“……”
“But then what difference will it make? Even those who are left will just die, right? Everyone!”
The man grabbed his father’s hand.
“The living… I have to save the living somehow. If I had the power, I wouldn’t hold back. If I had the power, I wouldn’t have grovelled to my enemies. But what can I do? I don’t have the power
. “If you want to save even one more person, you have to lick your enemy’s feet. What can you do? What can you do?”
A desperate voice burst out. It was anger and resentment.
“That’s how… you have to live like that. You put up with what’s wrong and don’t let it go… you just have to pretend like you don’t know anything and live like that. If you don’t… if you don’t… ”
The man couldn’t speak any more and sobbed.
Baekcheon bit his lip.
At the thought, he felt like tearing out his tongue, which had criticized that man just a moment ago.
I can’t even fathom how this man felt as he bowed his head to his enemy, so what on earth did he know to judge people carelessly?
“Whoops…”
The man, who had been sobbing for a while, wiped his face with his sleeve and bowed deeply again towards Baekcheon.
“thank you.”
“Don’t do this.”
“No. Even though I knew they were a scam, they went out of their way to help people like us, so how could I not be grateful? Thanks to you…thanks to you, I was able to survive this tough life a little longer. Really
. … Thank you. I thank you on behalf of the village.”
Baekcheon’s eyes trembled.
I wanted to say that it wasn’t like that. I wanted to yell at you for measuring the price of your lives just a moment ago.
I wanted to scream that I was weighing which was more important: the lives of the dozens of people here or the danger that would come to them.
But Baekcheon could not bear to say those words out loud.
Behind him, the people who had thrown away the Sapa bastards slowly approached. Their expressions were heavy and dark, as if they had heard what was going on over their shoulders.
“How dare I ask about the identities of the Silver Dukes?”
“We…”
Baekcheon, who was about to say something, shook his head.
“Don’t ask.”
“……”
“If anything happens, it would be better that way.”
The man nodded without asking further whether he understood what he meant.
“Thank you… really… thank you so much.”
The man fell face down and bowed his head to the floor. Baekcheon turned his head, unable to bear to see the sight any further.
At that time, a slightly annoyed voice was heard.
“How is your grandfather?”
“… He’s a bit critical. The wounds aren’t deep, but he’s very old, so I’m worried about whether his physical strength will hold up.”
“Hey big party.”
“……yes?”
“Is there a yo top?”
“There is. But this is…”
“Don’t talk nonsense, just give me one. All the people I care about are so upset that they can’t even eat it. If I had known it would be like this, I would have used it all.”
“…… All right.”
The party leader nodded, took out a small ring, and handed it to Tang Soso. Tang Soso nodded and accepted the rosary.
It is a precious medicine made with the vision of the Tang family, so it will be of great help to Chonro in recovering from his wounds.
“And hey.”
“Yes, seal.”
Namgung Do-wi, who noticed that he was being called, answered with a stern expression.
“What about those bastards?”
“…I suppressed it for now.”
That means they didn’t kill him. Cheongmyeong spoke calmly in a slightly low voice.
“Destroy the dantian and cut off the muscles and veins of the limbs. Even if he survives, he cannot act as a human being.”
“……yes?”
“Why? Can’t I?”
Namgung Dowi glanced at Cheongmyeong and then nodded with a dark face.
“I’ll do it.”
He drew his sword and headed towards the fallen. Seeing that, Cheongmyeong stiffened his mouth.
This is why he doesn’t treat the Sapa guys like people.
If the Sapa bastards had just killed each other, Cheongmyeong might not have viewed Sapa so negatively. At least that’s what we both agreed on.
However, Sapa’s sword does not distinguish between those who have power and those who do not.
Power wielded without control can become an uncontrollable disaster for some.
To avoid danger, to push out bigger evils. A small evil left unattended with numerous excuses can completely destroy someone’s life at any moment.
The person who collapsed has no choice but to be someone’s parent, someone’s child, or someone’s relative.
‘I, too, have reached the end of my life.’
Cheongmyeong bit his lip.
If it were him in the past, he would have jumped out and decapitated the old man before he could cut him. But he hesitated for a moment, and that hesitation led to this result.
excuse? Of course there is.
Although it is Cheng Ming’s mission to learn the sword to protect the civilians, they are not the only ones he must protect. That’s why I couldn’t help but hesitate.
But if even Cheongmyeong hesitates at that moment, if he endures it for his own life and everything else that needs to be protected, who on earth will protect their lives?
Cheongmyeong looked at the expressions of members of Cheonwoo-maeng who were looking at Chonro. Although they clearly did something righteous, everyone’s faces were filled with heavy emotions rather than sadness.
They may also be feeling similar emotions to Cheongmyeong. You may be feeling self-destruction for having hesitated until the very end.
“Are you going to wake me up?”
At Cheongmyeong’s words, everyone suddenly raised their heads and looked at him.
“Treat those who need to be treated and organize the rest here. There is no time to waste.”
“Yes, seal.”
“Put the cart at the bottom of the mountain and erase all the wheel tracks. Don’t leave any traces that anyone has entered this village.”
“yes.”
“What do they do?”
Cheongmyeong glanced at the unconscious Sapa bastards and gritted his teeth slightly. Then he turned his head and looked at the older man.
“Is there a cave or something nearby?”
“What if it’s a provincial cave?”
“A cave with nothing in it will do.”
“… There are a lot of caves. This is a mountainous area…”
“Please appoint a suitable person to guide us. You guys.”
“okay.”
“Put these bastards in the cave and block the entrance.”
“Then you will die.”
“Either die or not.”
“…… I get it.”
Yoonjong and Jo Geol moved to settle the matter along with the others.
Cheongmyeong, who was watching the scene, turned his attention to Chonro, who was lying down. The pale complexion that had been pale seemed to have taken effect just now, and was regaining some of its shine.
“Sasuk.”
“…… okay.”
“You have to do what you have to do.”
Baekcheon nodded silently.
Cheongmyeong knew what he was feeling right now, so he didn’t say anything more. When he left Hwasan and faced the reality of the civilians, he was shocked similar to Baekcheon.
We must help the poor people. Consultation is for the powerless.
This is something I have heard and learned countless times. But most don’t truly understand what that means.
It is only when the common people, who have to endure injustice because they have no power, are properly exposed to the reality, that they realize what they have been taught so hard.
When I realize that my small hesitation and hesitation can cause great despair to someone else, suspicion is no longer an option.
When Baekcheon suddenly turned his gaze, he saw people who had not yet dared to approach this way. Even though the situation had been resolved up to this point, they could not bear to get close to Cheon Woo-maeng and his group.
The young fear was clearly visible on those dirt-covered faces.
A momentary sigh escaped Baekcheon’s mouth.
Doing a trick. I thought that alone would be worthy of respect. Of course, I didn’t do it because I wanted that, but on the other hand, I thought it was a view that would naturally follow.
But now, even though they had clearly acted in cooperation, their returning gazes were still full of fear and concern.
It’s not unpleasant. I just felt sorry.
I’m not doing this because I don’t know that there is no malice. Even though you know, you can’t do anything about it.
An instinctive fear of people who can control other people’s lives simply based on their mood. They have to live in that fear for the rest of their lives.
“Cheongmyeong.”
“why?”
“Honestly, I’m still not sure if I did a good job.”
Baekcheon saw them busily erasing their traces.
When all the circumstances are taken into account, the probability of causing great danger may not be high, but it would be difficult to compare it to not taking action.
“If this mission fails or someone here gets hurt because of this, I may never be able to forgive myself.”
“……”
“But that’s it.”
He sighed briefly and continued.
“Even though I know all that, if I were to face the same situation… even then, I would run out.”
Cheongmyeong grinned.
“okay.”
“……”
“That’s enough.”
People may be living their whole lives doubting their own choices.
Those who want not to be shaken but have no choice but to be shaken. What such people need is just an unwavering guidepost.
“That’s enough.”
It was a moment when a straight milestone was clearly engraved in Baekcheon’s mind.
