Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1539

A small stone was thrown into the river. *Plop*. It disappeared quickly under the water, just like something lost and forgotten. Jo Gul watched it sink, feeling a bit like that stone himself.

“Damn it…,”

Jo Gul cursed under his breath and picked up another stone to throw. The stone flew through the air, then fell into the water and sank.

“What did Baek Cheon say?”

“He told me to deal with it myself.”

“Baek Cheon said that?”

“That’s what he said.”

Tang Soso looked at Jo Gul, surprised. Did those words really come from Baek Cheon’s mouth?

‘That Baek Cheon?’

She found it hard to believe. Baek Cheon, who always complained and interfered, was ignoring this? The Baek Cheon she knew would have grabbed them, maybe even hit them, or made them become friends again somehow…

Tang Soso glanced at Jo Gul.

It was unbelievable, but she had no reason to doubt it. If you asked if Jo Gul was trustworthy, she would say no, but if you asked if he was a liar, the answer would be the same.

Tang Soso wasn’t looking at Jo Gul because she doubted Baek Cheon’s words. It was because of Jo Gul’s expression as he said them.

“Senior Brother?”

“What’s wrong, Senior Brother?” Tang Soso asked, looking closely at him.

Jo Gul blinked. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“You just… you don’t look good.”

“How can I look good in this situation?”

“It doesn’t seem like it’s just because of that, though?”

Jo Gul pressed his lips together at the comment.

– What are you going to do without me?

He couldn’t say anything.

He really couldn’t say a word. All he could do was stare at Baek Cheon with his mouth shut, and then turn away from the cold dismissal.

‘Damn it.’ What was he supposed to do? How could he answer such a question? He had never even thought about it before.

It wasn’t Jo Gul’s job to worry about what might happen, prepare for it, and find new paths. That was Cheong Myeong, Baek Cheon, or Yoon Jong’s job.

Jo Gul just had to fight hard based on their decisions. So why was he being asked such a thing now?

“Senior Brother.”

At the sound of her voice, Jo Gul turned to Tang Soso. Her face was serious as she looked at him.

For a moment, Jo Gul wanted to tell Tang Soso all his worries.

But…

“Nothing’s wrong.”

Jo Gul threw the stone in his hand high into the air again, as if annoyed.

Plop.

The stone disappeared quickly under the water.

“Everyone’s just getting sensitive as the war gets closer.”

“That doesn’t make any sense…”

“Why? They’re people too. How can they be comfortable with a war coming where people might die?”

“…That’s true.”

Tang Soso muttered, still not convinced. Jo Gul changed the subject.

“Do you have time for this?”

“Pardon?”

Their eyes met.

“You’re so busy with your work that you shouldn’t have time to chat with a jobless guy like me. I heard you’re incredibly busy?”

“…”

“Don’t worry about other things and do what you’re supposed to do. No…,”

As he spoke, Jo Gul felt like he was saying too much, so he quickly added something he didn’t usually say.

“This is your dream, after all.”

Jo Gul knew.

It might seem like something she started without thinking, but Tang Soso had been struggling with the development of the medical unit and the Dang family for a long time.

Everything she had seen, heard, felt, and experienced was in the work she was doing now.

Sometimes, the most important thing in a person’s life happens when they’re young.

If she missed this chance, Tang Soso’s dream would never come true. If they won without the medical unit, everyone would underestimate it, and if they lost, there would be no more chances.

Tang Soso knew this very well. She sighed.

No matter how much she worried, the water flowed on. Just like the war that was coming closer even now.

If only she could stop it for a moment. Even just for a moment.

“Focus more on the medical unit instead of worrying about this.”

“Senior Brother!”

Jo Gul grabbed a stone and threw it hard.

“You know, you can’t change anything by worrying about it now. They’re the three most stubborn and ill-tempered people in Mount Hua. I don’t know what they’re upset about, so let’s just leave them alone for a while. Time will solve it, or it’ll get better than it is now.”

Tang Soso was quiet. But Jo Gul could hear the words she wasn’t saying.

Do we have time to leave them alone?

Well, who knows.

“So, focus on your work. Don’t ruin what you’re doing because of this.”

Tang Soso stared at the stream where Jo Gul kept throwing stones.

Jo Gul’s words were right. There was no point in worrying about a problem that couldn’t be solved. It was better to do what she could.

“I understand for now.”

She nodded weakly. And as if she would do as Jo Gul said, she turned to leave.

“However, Senior Brother.”

“Yeah?”

Tang Soso said, her back to him.

“You said that what I’m doing now is my dream, right?”

“…”

“That’s right. But… the reason this is my dream is because it’s the only way to keep the people of Mount Hua from dying.”

At those words, Jo Gul’s fingers trembled slightly.

“…It was pointless to say. Forget it.”

Tang Soso walked away, getting further and further.

Jo Gul opened his mouth as if to say something to her, but then closed it again. And he looked down powerlessly at the flowing water.

Regret.

How many times had he felt it already?

There was no way for Tang Soso or the Dang family to cure Baek Cheon. Tang Soso had probably been thinking of ways to do it a hundred times more than Jo Gul.

He shouldn’t reopen her wounds. Tang Soso would think that all of this had happened because she wasn’t good enough.

“Haa…”

Jo Gul watched the stream sparkling in the sunlight and lay down. The blue sky filled his eyes.

“Disgustingly blue.”

He quickly closed his eyes, as if he didn’t want to see it.

That night, late.

Flash!

Cheong Myeong’s sword pierced the rock in front of him.

Crack!

The rock shook when the sword twisted slightly.

“Kuh!”

Boom!

The rock exploded. Inside, there were many holes shaped like plum blossoms.

Cheong Myeong stared at the inside with sharp eyes and then spoke.

“…Damn it.”

His voice was almost a growl.

Lacking.

If it had been a perfect sword strike, the rock wouldn’t have exploded.

A good sword technique could destroy the inside of the rock without damaging the outside.

But this rock was shattered.

Cheong Myeong saw several distorted shapes among the hundreds of plum blossom-shaped sword marks inside the rock. He wiped the sweat from his face.

“Hoo…”

He took a long breath to calm himself, but his mind didn’t calm down. The worry he had been hiding crept up.

‘Am I this far away?’

The Plum Blossom Sword Saint seemed far away.

Strong, proud, and fearless.

That was Cheong Myeong’s past, a place he had been before. It felt like he could reach it, but he couldn’t.

Of course, he knew it in his head.

Just because you climb a mountain once doesn’t mean it’s easier to climb again. And he couldn’t climb a path that had taken him decades in just a few years, no matter how skilled he was.

But even knowing that…

Crack.

Cheong Myeong’s sword plunged into another rock. The red sword energy gathered at the tip of the sword and covered his wrist.

Boom!

But this time, the result wasn’t much different.

It exploded even more violently. Cheong Myeong bit his lip. He was worried.

He didn’t need to be stronger than he was in the past to solve the problems he had now.

He had more now than he did in the past, and he was more skilled.

Focusing on personal strength was ignoring everything he had built since he woke up here again.

But even knowing that, he couldn’t stop.

He put strength into the hand holding the sword again.

“The sword is heavy.”

At the voice, he looked to the side.

A familiar figure came through the darkness. Cheong Myeong released the sword energy and sighed. He asked coldly.

“Why?”

Normally, he would have joked about this place becoming a meeting spot, but Cheong Myeong just spoke coldly, ignoring the many possible responses he could have made.

It was a reaction that would have surprised anyone. But the person coming didn’t care about Cheong Myeong’s sharp reaction.

It was impossible to know if she cared or not.

Yoo Iseol always had the same expression.

She walked at a normal pace and stopped in front of Cheong Myeong.

They stood in silence.

Cheong Myeong gave up first, unable to stand the silence.

“What brings you here? Normally, this place is…”

But Cheong Myeong had to stop. Yoo Iseol was looking down, ignoring his words.

She looked at Cheong Myeong’s ankle. The white uniform was stained red. A piece of rock had cut his ankle.

It was an injury that Cheong Myeong wouldn’t have gotten normally. But today, he was hurt and didn’t even know it. It showed how confused he was. Cheong Myeong bitterly…

Yoo Iseol’s gaze went downwards. She saw the red stain on his white uniform near his ankle. Her usual blank expression didn’t change much, but maybe her eyes narrowed just a little. *Thwack!* Her sword, still in its scabbard, hit Cheong Myeong’s head.

“Ack!”

Cheong Myeong covered his head and stepped back, surprised.

Yoo Iseol was holding her sword, still in its scabbard.

“Why are you suddenly hitting me!”

Thwack!

Yoo Iseol’s sword hit Cheong Myeong’s head again.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Cheong Myeong covered his head and dodged the attacks.

“Are you crazy? What’s wrong with you!”

Cheong Myeong shouted angrily, and Yoo Iseol spoke with an indifferent expression.

“Stupid.”

“…Huh?”

“Idiot.”

“Why are you picking a fight…”

“Put your leg here.”

“Huh?”

Cheong Myeong looked down at his leg. There was blood, but it was just a scratch.

“…Why are you making a fuss over something like this? It’s fine.”

“Put it here.”

“I said it’s…”

Swoosh.

Yoo Iseol slowly drew her sword with an eerie sound.

Cheong Myeong held out his injured leg with an awkward face.

“Here.”

…Honestly, Yoo Iseol was scary to him too.