Episode 829 Where are the others now? (4)
Cheongmyeong slowly opened his eyes.
What I could see was an unfamiliar ceiling with a faint light from a lamp.
I lay down blankly, looked at the ceiling, and then frowned slightly.
‘I’m dreaming all my old dreams again.’
He burst out laughing and got up with a groan.
Throbbing. Throbbing. Throbbing.
“Ouch…”
At that moment, a familiar yet unfamiliar pain surged throughout my body. Almost his entire body, including his upper body, was completely wrapped in bandages.
“no. “What…”
I looked around and saw that even my face was covered in bandages. If the intention was not to turn a person into a jiangshi, it would mean that the wounds he suffered were that serious.
Cheongmyeong, who was laughing out loud, was about to take off the bandage.
“Hmm….”
“Huh?”
Cheongmyeong turned his head when he heard sleep talk coming from somewhere.
In the room lit by a small lamp, several people were curled up and asleep.
Jo-geol lying on the floor and Baek-cheon Yoon-jong leaning against the wall in the corner. And Dang So-so and Yu I-seol were sleeping side by side while sitting in front of his bed.
‘It feels like I’ve seen this before…’
Cheongmyeong scratched the back of his head.
It seemed like she couldn’t overcome her fatigue and fell asleep after sticking around to take care of him.
It would be natural. Tang Xiaoso must have been exhausted from treating the wounded with Cheongmyeong, while others fought with Cheongmyeong against Jang Ilso. Ogeum’s body was also covered in bandages here and there.
‘It’s foolish.’
Since you received the energy of Jang Il-so from the front, you probably have no healthy body parts. Because that’s what it means to face a master.
And yet, you foolishly sleep on that cold floor.
Cheongmyeong glanced at the sleeping people, then got up and got up. Just in case they wake up, I had to be as careful as possible.
“Ki.”
“Shh.”
Baek-ah raised her head at the sight of Cheongmyeong and opened her mouth, and Cheongmyeong quickly put his index finger in front of his mouth. Baek-ah, who understood and nodded her head a couple of times, ran over to him and jumped on top of his head.
Cheongmyeong quietly came out with Baekah on his head, closed the door quietly, and looked around.
‘It doesn’t look like it’s oral, and it looks like they’ve found accommodation nearby.’
He looked around the pavilion and headed towards the bushes in front. After muttering my footsteps and going deep into the forest for a while, I found a suitable place. Cheongmyeong roughly sat down and looked up at the night sky.
The moon was unusually bright.
“Ha…”
As I took a long breath and remained blank, the face of Cheongmun I saw in my dream came to mind. Cheongmun, overlapping with the moon, was looking down at Cheongmyeong and smiling.
“Don’t look.”
Cheongmyeong grumbled and pouted his mouth.
“Oh, don’t look.”
However, seeing Cheongmun’s still smiling face, Cheongmyeong completely lay down on his back.
“ouch! Oh… it hurts so bad.”
Cheongmyeong, whose face was distorted, ripped off the bandage on his face.
“I’m really embarrassed…”
I was beaten almost one-sidedly.
Of course, in my defense, there are many factors. But Cheongmyeong knows. That nothing can be a proper excuse.
There is only one reason why all of this happened.
That he was weak.
Doing the best you can in the current situation?
That’s just a bad idea. The important thing in becoming a strong player is not to do your best according to the situation, but to create a situation in which you can win from the beginning.
‘Jang Il-so.’
Clutter.
Cheongmyeong ground his teeth softly.
I gave him a blow at the end, but that wouldn’t relieve his anger. To put it bluntly, everything that happened in that canyon ultimately flowed under Jang Il-so’s calculations.
“If Cheongjin had seen it, he would have laughed endlessly.”
What he has to say sounds good to my ears.
– execution. So, I’ve told you time and time again that war isn’t just fought with swords, right? yes?
‘You’re right.’
Cheongmyeong covered his face with one hand.
‘It’s not enough.’
Everything is lacking.
If it had been a volcano in the past, it would have been able to wipe out 10,000 people in one go.
But now the volcano is lacking everything. No, it’s not a volcano, it’s a lack of clarity. In every way.
Like Cheongmun, he does not have the ability to lead people and lead them to unity.
He didn’t have a brain as sharp as auscultation.
Even inactivity is at a trivial level compared to the plum blossom sword of the past.
If he had regained even half of his past inaction, the aspect of the war would have been completely different. And if the past inaction had been completely restored, the war would not have been possible in the first place.
The leadership ability to lead a sect.
The intellect to seize victory.
And the power to make that victory a reality.
The three most important elements in waging war are all lacking. Words like you fell for a trick or someone betrayed you are nothing more than excuses for your own shortcomings.
No matter how stupid Heodo did, if he had been a volcano in the past, he would have overcome it without a problem. No, if this place had been a volcano in the past, Heo Do would not have even dared to think of doing something like that right in front of his eyes.
In the end, his shortcomings led to his defeat.
Cheongmyeong’s eyes were dark as they looked at the moon in the sky.
This is not the first defeat.
Rather, they suffered countless defeats. Because that’s what war is. It is no exaggeration to say that the war against the Demonic Cult was his history of defeat.
But the defeat I experienced this time was quite different from that time.
Now….
“Don’t laugh.”
Cheongmyeong, who was lost in thought, kept smiling and glanced down at Cheongmun, pouting.
I was getting excited for no reason as I was looking at Cheongmun, who was just smiling without knowing what other people were thinking.
But what can you do?
The image of Cheongmun that remains most strongly in his memory is his smiling face.
Cheongmyeong slowly closed his eyes.
“…It’s not like I’m lonely or anything. Those idiots over there don’t give people a chance to be lonely. So it’s not like that…”
Cheongmyeong’s low murmur permeated the dark night landscape.
“It’s just like that. What if I hadn’t come back alone? The death penalty… and it wouldn’t have been the same if the Cheongjin priests had come back together. No… even if that’s not the case….”
Cheongmyeong closes his mouth.
After hesitating for a long time, I parted my lips, unable to separate them.
“If the death penalty had come instead of me, Volcano would have been better off than it is now. I didn’t know anything at first… but now I think I understand. “I was stupid. I will be sentenced to death.”
When he opened his eyes again, Cheongmun’s face was still smiling.
“…That’s really true.”
Cheongmyeong’s face suddenly distorted.
“People are harsh.”
When you look at that face, you can’t say anything weak.
Of course, Cheongmyeong also knows.
This is just a rumor. If they were watching Cheongmyeong from the world of immortals, they would be lamenting that they could not lead the volcano on their own.
“I just… complained a little. If there was a death penalty, I would have cried and cried, and if Cheongjin had been there, I would have scolded him. By myself… yes. Because I’m alone. “I just have nowhere to talk.”
The sound of insects crying came from somewhere.
“Ki.”
Baekah, who had been clinging to his side the whole time, looked up at him with worried eyes. Looking at those black eyes, Cheongmyeong chuckled. And then he tapped Baekah’s head with his index finger.
“It’s not enough to worry you.”
A sigh escaped Cheongmyeong’s mouth.
difficult.
It’s not that difficult to become much stronger than you are now. You just have to follow the path you took in the past. But that shouldn’t be the case.
That’s why you can’t block the Heavenly Demon.
We must become much stronger than before. We must go to a point where no comparison can be made. In order to do that, we had to take each step with certainty, even if it was slow.
So I was nervous.
I’m afraid the volcano will collapse before he’s finished. I’m afraid that the Heavenly Demon will show up before he becomes perfect.
As the days go by, instead of getting lighter, my shoulders become heavier. Although the children are now grown enough to have his back, the pressure is becoming more intense by the day.
“That’s strange.”
Cheongmyeong, who was lost in thought, scratched his head.
“Now that I think about it, I haven’t been like that lately, but I don’t know why I keep thinking about long sentences like this today. “I guess it’s because he came here after being beaten… he’s not a kid.”
Cheongmyeong chuckled.
“Okay, so don’t look at me like that. This is Cheongmyeong. Just whine for today and you will be fine from tomorrow. It’s just… people need that kind of time.”
It was clear throughout the day, and the night sky was clear, making the moon look even clearer.
Cheongmun was a really strong person.
But at the same time, he was also a frustrating person. In the past, Cheongmyeong sometimes did not understand and found it frustrating that Cheongmun was so stubborn and upright in keeping to his standards.
But… I think I kind of understand it now.
‘The death penalty was also lonely.’
That’s what it means to be in a leadership position.
No one can tell you whether you are walking on the right path. Since there is no one in front of you, you have to constantly ask, doubt, and agonize over yourself.
To Cheongmun, ‘degree’ and ‘consultation’ must have been like a light that kept him and his volcanoes from going down the wrong path.
I must have wanted to walk down a path that was not right several times, but I must have suppressed my own desires. Not for yourself, but to lead those who believe in you and follow you to the right path.
It was only when I was in the same position as the hearing that I was able to understand the difficulty and loneliness.
That means that even the past Qingming could not fully understand Qingming.
How lonely was the death penalty?
Cheongmyeong, who was vaguely considering what was going on, closed his eyes.
‘I’m hungry for a drink.’
Where can I get some alcohol nearby?
That was it.
“Cheongmyeong!”
“Where did this bastard go again!”
“Find it now! “I might be drinking!”
“I’m going to kill you.”
“….”
A loud noise broke the silence. Cheongmyeong sighed and looked in the direction where the sound came from.
‘Those ghostly things.’
It seemed like they suddenly discovered that he was gone and came out in a hurry. Cheongmyeong flinched from all the swear words and looked up at the sky.
“see. Did I tell you? They say they won’t give you a chance to be lonely. “They are much better kids than I used to be.”
Cheongmyeong stood up.
“Tskcha.”
After patting his butt, he grabbed Baek-ah, who was climbing up his body, placed her on his shoulder, and muttered quietly.
“Do not worry. Because I’m strong. So, just relax and watch. “I will beat up all those bastards.”
It was that moment when I smiled and took a step forward.
– Strength is….
Cheongmyeong cast his gaze to the sky again.
– It is not the power to not fall, but the power to get up again even if you fall. Cheongmyeong.
This is what Cheongmun once told me.
Cheongmun’s face, which was looking down at Cheongmyeong along with the moon, began to slowly disappear. Cheongmyeong, who was looking at the scene blankly, soon had a calm smile on his lips.
“Anyway, nagging.”
I straightened my back and looked ahead. His eyes showed a clearer determination than before.
It’s okay if it’s not enough.
It’s okay if it’s still not enough.
You can no longer fill an empty bowl with water. Being lacking also means that we can still move forward.
So…
Cheongmyeong walked towards the executioners who were calling out at the top of their lungs.
There was no more hesitation in his legs moving forward.
