Return Of The Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1540

“Keeeuk!” A scream ripped through the quiet air. Chung Myung’s fingers dug into the rough grass, the earthy smell filling his nostrils. His body arched off the ground, every muscle screaming in protest.

“Ugh!”

He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain, his vision blurring. Through the haze, he saw her. Yoo Iseol. Her face was as cold and still as stone, but her hand… her hand held a needle, poised above his bleeding ankle.

*Why her?* The question clawed at his throat, unspoken. Why, of all people, did it have to be *her* trying to fix him?

“Hmm…”

Thwack!

“Keeuk!”

Releasing the crushed grass, Chung Myung’s outstretched hand trembled.

In his pain-blurred vision, he saw Yoo Iseol. She was mercilessly sticking a long needle *around* the slightly torn wound, missing it completely.

Perfect.

The needle, infused with energy to cleanly remove the contamination, even pierced through Chung Myung’s hair.

Not a single mistake from what Tang Soso had taught.

Except…

Thwack!

“Aaaaargh!”

Chung Myung screamed.

“No! Why are you stabbing *around* the wound when you can clearly see it! Why!”

Black hair was stitched crookedly over Chung Myung’s wound. It looked like a spider had walked through ink and then across his leg.

“I’d rather do it myself! Move!”

“I can do it.”

“No, I’m doing it! Me!”

“It’s possible.”

“‘Possible?'” Chung Myung gasped, his voice tight with pain. “‘Possible to kill me with that needle!'”

‘I’m going crazy.’

How could someone who could pierce a needle hole like a gate with a sword in hand be like that when they hold only a needle?

Look, look at that trembling hand. That, that…!

Thwack!

“Keeuk⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung’s eyes rolled back, showing only white.

A long time of pain passed.

Chung Myung, utterly exhausted, silently looked down at his leg.

Dark red blood welled up, staining the white bandage on his ankle.

Was that blood really from the fragment wound?

Chung Myung’s resentful gaze turned to Yoo Iseol.

His jaw clenched so tight his teeth ached, and a firestorm of anger raged in his gut, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Her face was as indifferent as ever, and now his fellow disciples could at least see a hint of pride in it.

In the end, a sigh of resignation flowed out instead of annoyance.

And in fact, Yoo Iseol’s fingertips were probably stabbed more than his ankle. Just look at how swollen they are…

He let out a groan.

“I really don’t understand. Is sewing that difficult?”

Chung Myung can’t sew either, but honestly, it’s not this bad.

Some may find sewing difficult, but Yoo Iseol, whose precision is unmatched by ordinary people, shouldn’t be struggling this much. Especially like that.

Then, unexpectedly, the answer to that question flowed from Yoo Iseol’s mouth.

“I remember.”

“Huh?”

Chung Myung, who was pulling and holding his throbbing ankle, looked up at Yoo Iseol. Still with a face hard to read, Yoo Iseol calmly elaborated.

“In the past.”

Chung Myung, not understanding immediately, frowned slightly.

What is that…

But soon his eyes widened.

“Ah…”

Learning the sword is not that difficult. You just need to precisely follow the already determined sword path.

But creating swordsmanship is never easy.

Even if it’s not just a challenge, but at the level of creating a new sword within a time limit… you have to risk your life.

This is because sword energy doesn’t always fly in the direction you predict.

The moment the flow of internal energy and the sword path are not in sync, the sword instantly becomes a weapon that harms its owner. This is why those who isolated themselves to create new martial arts often never see the light of day again.

And Chung Myung knows. He knows the one who attempted that ridiculous thing.

The one who wasn’t even at the level to create martial arts, yet dared to create a new swordsmanship that far exceeded his abilities.

Yoo Iseol’s swollen fingertips caught his eye. They were still twitching faintly, as if recalling something.

There was no way a doctor would have been in that deep mountain to treat the father who was injured while creating swordsmanship.

Since the injuries from the sword would mostly be punctures, what would Yoo Iseol’s father have done?

Moreover, wounds that he couldn’t sew himself would eventually have to be sewn by someone else. Probably…

‘…Crazy bastard.’

He felt nauseous.

Yoo Iseol’s father also had no other choice. He couldn’t understand it, but he didn’t deny it either.

But still…

Chung Myung’s gaze turned to Yoo Iseol.

He recalled anew. Throughout all this training, Yoo Iseol had never once complained or refused.

Every time she was swept away by the encroaching memories of the past, the needle tip would lose its way and stab her hand. But even in the midst of that, Yoo Iseol silently did her part. And even though it was a mess, she managed to heal someone.

How could she do that? Why did she have to go that far?

“You don’t have to do it, do you?”

A pure question flowed from Chung Myung’s mouth.

It was a question that others wouldn’t understand, but Yoo Iseol would.

“You’re already outstanding without having to do this. There’s no reason to have to do this, is there?”

“⋯⋯.”

“Or are you just doing it because you were told to?”

Yoo Iseol, who had been quietly meeting his gaze, opened her mouth.

“Because I have to.”

It was a word filled with many things.

It’s different from ‘doing it because I was told to.’ As she said, Yoo Iseol has to do it.

No matter how much Tang Soso preaches about the necessity, it’s not easy for swordsmen who have wielded swords their whole lives to learn how to sew. It’s not that it’s difficult. It means they don’t want to do it.

Especially in a situation like now, with war on the horizon, most people would think it’s better to swing a sword one more time than to waste time on something they’re not used to and not good at.

Even Tang Gunak thought so, so how could others be different?

That’s why Baek Cheon took the lead. But in fact, Baek Cheon is not enough. Baek Cheon is what the world commonly calls a ‘genius.’ He does everything skillfully. He doesn’t experience the difficulties that others do.

But Yoo Iseol is different.

Everyone could see she wasn’t good at sewing. Her fingers were swollen and clumsy. Yet, she kept trying. Just watching her struggle silenced any complaints.

Yoo Iseol quietly looked at Chung Myung and opened her mouth.

“And, because I won’t be able to.”

“Huh? What are you⋯⋯.”

“If I don’t do it because I can’t.”

Chung Myung, who had been blank for a moment, slowly nodded his head.

That’s right. If you don’t do it because it’s difficult, unfamiliar, and not easily mastered, you’ll never be able to do it.

This was probably a fight with herself.

A fight that is so trivial and insignificant that no one will recognize it, but important to the person involved, a fight that only she can resolve.

A sigh flowed from Chung Myung’s mouth.

‘She’s really strong.’

Yoo Iseol is a strong person.

Everyone in Hwasan will acknowledge that. Anyone who has experienced her and fought alongside her.

What’s strange is that Yoo Iseol holds deeper wounds than anyone else.

Then Yoo Iseol scolded Chung Myung in a sulky voice.

“You’re stupid.”

“Huh?”

“You’re an idiot.”

“No, wasn’t that all over earlier? Why are you suddenly picking a fight again?”

“There’s something I have to do.”

Chung Myung tilted his head.

“Huh?”

“No matter what, I have to.”

What is she talking about? Is she talking about herself?

“Even if I get hurt, even if someone other than me gets hurt, I have to do it no matter what. Because if I don’t, it won’t work. He always said, ‘The result is all that matters.’ He pushed himself and others, no matter the cost, to achieve his goal.”

“Sago.”

Yoo Iseol’s gaze turned to the distant sky.

“That’s what he was. My father.”

At that moment, Chung Myung’s fingertips twitched.

A deep silence fell between the two. The sound of insects chirping quietly like a song could be heard from somewhere.

After a long time passed in that silence, Chung Myung opened his mouth.

“What do you think?”

“About what?”

“Your father.”

There was no change in Yoo Iseol’s expression. Even though it was a question that even Chung Myung was careful to ask.

“I was angry.”

“⋯⋯.”

“I was sad, I felt sorry for him, I didn’t want to see his face, but I missed him.”

The feelings of that time poured out quietly.

Chung Myung quietly nodded his head. That must have been the case. How could he explain all those complex emotions?

To young Yoo Iseol, her father would have been everything. But that everything ruined her. If Hyun Jong hadn’t saved her, what would Yoo Iseol’s life have been like?

Hyun Jong saved what he had ruined.

To Chung Myung, Yoo Iseol was like a thorn stuck in his fingertip. He would forget about it and chatter, but it would sting and throb from time to time.

“Now⋯⋯.”

Yoo Iseol’s gaze turned to somewhere in the east. Perhaps her father was buried somewhere there.

“I just feel sorry for him.”

“⋯⋯.”

Chung Myung was lost in thought. And he asked himself.

What would have been the right thing for Yoo Iseol’s father to do?

He couldn’t understand Yoo Iseol’s father, but he couldn’t deny his way of life. Knowing that he would be the one to practice such a way of life without any regrets if he were in the same situation.

As Yoo Iseol said, because he had no choice. Because there was no other way. Even if it meant some sacrifice.

When his thoughts reached that point, he felt nauseous.

The nausea Chung Myung felt while thinking about Yoo Iseol’s father might have been a feeling about himself. A sense of disgust for himself, who couldn’t deny what he knew was wrong, and who ended up pitying what he considered terrible.

“You’re different. You are.”

At that moment, Yoo Iseol opened her mouth a little out of the blue.

Chung Myung blankly stared at Yoo Iseol. She slowly shook her head as if she knew what Chung Myung was thinking.

“No. It will be different.”

“Sago?”

“Because I’m Sago.”

At that moment, Chung Myung saw it. Her firmly closed lips were drawing a faint curve.

That truly rare smile was probably drawn to reassure Chung Myung.

Strong.

In Chung Myung’s eyes, Yoo Iseol was the strongest person in the world. So much so that she couldn’t even be compared to himself, who only pretended to be strong on the outside.

But that’s why a deep question surged up.

Can she really do it?

Was she able to become strong because she had experienced all those things?

No, that can’t be.

Chung Myung knows better than anyone that wounds sometimes make people stronger, but continuous and fatal wounds break people beyond repair.

Perhaps Yoo Iseol is more desperate now than ever?

Because she has to. Yes. As she said, because she has to.

Then⋯⋯.

When there’s no need to be strong anymore? No, when she fails to protect what she tried to protect with that strength⋯⋯ what will happen to Yoo Iseol?

When her world is shattered once again, will she still be able to stand in front of Chung Myung with the same face?

“Sago. You⋯⋯.”

It was at that very moment.

“You were here. I’ve been looking for you.”

Chung Myung turned sharply at the voice that suddenly cut in.

He saw Namgung Dowi approaching.

“The strategist is looking for you, Young Master.”

Chung Myung sensed it.

The moment he saw Namgung Dowi’s hardened expression⋯⋯. No, from the moment he heard his more serious voice than usual.

Or perhaps even before that. Maybe from the moment he unknowingly held the thought that this situation was more peaceful than he had expected.

Namgung Dowi’s quiet voice pierced his ears.

“The Four Evil Sects⋯⋯ have moved.”