Return of the Mount Hua Sect [EN]: Chapter 1722

“Brother!” The little boy ran as fast as he could.

“Brooother!” His small hand reached out, trying to grab the back of someone walking away. It was a wide back, much bigger than his small hand. To the boy, that back looked so strong, and it was getting further and further away.

“Wait for me! Brother, wait!” He shouted as loud as he could, but the back kept moving away. No matter how hard he ran, he couldn’t get closer.

“Broooother!” The boy knew he couldn’t catch up. He screamed until his voice was hoarse.

Then, the person who was far away slowly turned his head.

The boy, who had been running so hard, stopped suddenly. The eyes of the person looking at him seemed cold and without feeling.

– Go back.

The voice was loud and clear. It had no warmth in it at all.

– This is too hard for you.

The boy’s small fist squeezed tight and shook.

“W-Why?” He felt angry and hurt.

“I… I can do it too! If I try! If I try harder…”

– It is too hard for you.

Even though the boy cried out, the man’s eyes stayed the same.

– Go back. Wanting something you can’t have will make you sad.

The boy bit his lip hard and tried to shout again. But the person who was there just a moment ago was gone, like a dream.

“Ah…” The boy’s eyes widened in shock.

“Brother!” Why? Why wouldn’t he even give him a chance? He just wanted to be with him.

He didn’t want to be better than him. He didn’t want to be stronger or show off. The boy just wanted to be next to him. To walk together.

But why wouldn’t he even let him do that?

“Ah…” So, he couldn’t have that?

No. He *had* had it before.

“You?” Other people came into view.

They wore black clothes with flower designs on their chests. ‘This is where I wanted to be,’ he thought. He had worked so hard to find this place.

“Friends… Yoon Jong, Geol!” It didn’t have to be with Jin Geum-ryong anymore. Because now, he had friends to be with.

But…

“Why are you looking at me like that?” The way they looked at him was strange, not like before. They used to look at him kindly, but now their eyes were cold, like a freezing wind.

“Hey, friends?” He asked carefully. The three people looking at him turned away at the same time, showing him their backs. Then, they also vanished like dreams.

“Hey, you guys! Where… Where are you going?” Without thinking, the boy reached out his hand quickly.

But there was nothing there. Where his friends had been, there was only empty air.

“Why…?” Why were they leaving him? Why?

The boy looked around, confused. He couldn’t see anything. It was an empty and lonely place. It was dark, and he was all alone.

“Where did everyone go?” He started to feel scared. No, maybe it was more sadness than fear.

“Why…” The boy looked around desperately. But he couldn’t see anything. It felt like there was no hope.

“Ah!” Then, he saw a small light far away. It looked like it might disappear soon, but it was definitely light.

The boy ran towards it without thinking.

“Huff! Huff!” He breathed hard, and his body felt very heavy. But he ran as if he would break. He called out the name of the person in the light, until his voice was hoarse.

“Cheong Mung!”

The person with the back that looked familiar but also strange slowly turned and looked at the boy.

“Ch-Cheong Mung. I… Let me come with you! Me too!”

Cheong Mung’s lips, which had been still and cold, slowly opened.

– Can you come?

“What?”

– I asked, can you come?

The boy’s face became sad and confused.

“I can go! I, I can do it too!”

But Cheong Mung’s eyes stayed the same. They looked like they were not alive, and they stared right through the boy.

– How?

“What?”

– Can you really come? It looks like you have nothing left now.

“What are you saying?” The boy’s eyes, full of confusion, widened. Then, Cheong Mung smiled in a cruel way, a smile the boy had never seen before.

– You really don’t know?

Just then,

“Huh?” Everything around him became blurry. No, it was the boy who was falling apart.

Like black paint spreading from his feet all over his body, the boy’s body started to break down.

“Ah, Aah…” The boy looked down at his body turning black, completely black, and screamed in pain.

“Euuugh… Euaaaaaaack!”

Slowly, his blurry vision became clearer. He felt like he was rising from deep underwater. As he woke up, his throat felt tight and strange.

‘Where am I?’ Everything felt strange. He smelled something familiar, but when he slowly opened his eyes, everything looked new.

Baek Cheon’s eyelids felt very heavy. He turned his head slowly. He saw familiar curly hair. ‘Jo Gul.’ Next to him was someone he knew, but it was strange to see them sleeping face down on the bed. ‘Samae [Sister-Disciple].’

Baek Cheon looked at them quietly, then looked up at the ceiling. He was alive. ‘I lived. I lived.’ He coughed, a dry cough. As soon as he knew he was alive, pain shot through his whole body.

‘How long was I out?’ His head felt cloudy, like it was full of fog. He couldn’t think clearly. He felt sleepy again.

Baek Cheon couldn’t fight off the sleepiness. He felt confused. Then, the side of the tent around his bed opened, and someone came in.

“Teacher-Brother? Are you awake?”

“Uh, huh?” Jo Gul had been half-asleep. He jumped up when he heard those words. When he saw Baek Cheon’s eyes open, he stood up quickly and came to the side of the bed.

“Y-You’re really awake? No, Older Brother! I wasn’t sleeping…”

“Shhh.” Yoon Jong gently moved Jo Gul aside and asked Baek Cheon, his face serious.

“Are you okay?”

Baek Cheon opened his eyes wider, but it was hard. He tried to speak, but his dry lips cracked.

“Water! Geol, get me water!”

“Here, Older Brother.” Jo Gul had already poured water from a kettle into a bowl. Yoon Jong took the bowl and carefully gave Baek Cheon water to drink.

“Cough.” Baek Cheon coughed again. It felt terrible, like he was swallowing sharp needles instead of water. But the pain helped him wake up a little more.

“Teacher-Brother.”

“Wa…” He couldn’t speak well. Baek Cheon bit his lip and tried again, speaking slowly and with effort.

“Wa…ke…up…”

“Geol.”

“Yes!” Jo Gul quickly moved to the other side of Yoon Jong. Together, they gently lifted Baek Cheon up.

“Can you sit?” Baek Cheon nodded slowly. His voice was weak and rough.

“How… long… was I out…?”

Yoon Jong hesitated slightly before opening his mouth.

“Teacher-Brother, you have been unconscious for five days.”

“That long…?”

“Yes. It was really dangerous.”

Baek Cheon nodded faintly and opened his mouth again.

“Where is this?”

“It’s Wudang.”

“The… Sa Pae Ryun [Four Seas Alliance]… are they still here?”

“They have retreated. There hasn’t been any movement since then.”

Baek Cheon stared intently at Yoon Jong. At that gaze, Yoon Jong began to speak quickly, saying things he hadn’t even been asked.

“Don’t worry, Teacher-Brother. All the other disciples are safe. Some of them are a little hurt, but they’ll get better soon.”

“……”

“And… Wudang has been badly damaged, but the worst has been avoided. If the disciples of Wudang work hard, they will be able to continue the sect. It’s all thanks to you, Teacher-Brother.”

Baek Cheon’s gaze gradually dropped.

“Yes, Teacher-Brother. You’ve really done a great job. Really.”

Even Jo Gul started giving compliments, which he didn’t usually do. He looked very awkward.

“……”

Baek Cheon, who had been blankly looking at the two, slowly shifted his gaze.

Yoo Iseol. His Sister-Disciple, unlike the others, was silently looking at him from the end of the bed. Not with her usual blank look, but with a strangely sad gaze.

Yoon Jong said.

“Right now… your body may feel heavy, but that’s because the injuries are very bad. They say you’ve been treated well, so you’ll recover soon.”

Instead of answering, Baek Cheon asked a different question.

“Where’s Cheong Mung?”

“Ah… That guy… That son of a bitch! Teacher-Brother is awake, so where did he go!” Jo Gul suddenly became angry.

All of this seemed strange to Baek Cheon. It was as if everyone was wearing clothes that didn’t fit and acting in a play.

“You guys…”

The moment Baek Cheon moved a little, the cloth covering his upper body fell down. Baek Cheon looked down and couldn’t continue speaking, closing his mouth tightly.

Even though it was wrapped in bandages, the shape of his body could be seen. The two arms, wrapped and hidden, were sadly thin, not like he remembered.

“Oh no.” Jo Gul quickly grabbed the cloth and pulled it back up to Baek Cheon’s neck.

“Your body isn’t well right now, so you should rest a little more.”

“Geol.”

“After you sleep a little more…”

“Take it off.”

“Teacher-Brother.”

“Quickly.”

His voice was firm, even though it wasn’t loud. Because he kept asking, Jo Gul looked at Yoon Jong for help.

But what could Yoon Jong do? Yoon Jong also closed his eyes tightly, as if he had given up, and nodded.

Jo Gul sighed and slowly lowered the cloth that had been covering Baek Cheon’s body.

In the silence, Baek Cheon’s eyes became dark.

Bare branches.

That was what Baek Cheon thought of first. His arms, wrapped in bandages, were not like he remembered.

Yoon Jong tried to hide his worry and said.

“The injuries are deep, Teacher-Brother. The Tang Clan leader is doing his best, so soon…”

“Take off the bandages.”

“Teacher-Brother. Right now…”

“Yoon Jong.”

“……”

“Take them off.”

Yoon Jong bit his lip. Then, as if he had prepared himself, he grabbed the bandages wrapped around Baek Cheon’s arm. He unwrapped the bandages slowly, as if he didn’t want to do it.

Silence filled the tent.

Finally, Baek Cheon’s arm could be seen.

A thin arm, discolored black in places. It was as if only bones and skin remained, like an old man of a hundred years. That sight hurt Baek Cheon to see.

“Teacher-Brother.”

“……”

Even when Yoon Jong called him, Baek Cheon silently looked down at his arm for a long time. Then, he slowly raised his head.

Yoo Iseol silently pulled back the curtains around the bed. Then, a clear sky could be seen through the wide-open window.

Baek Cheon stared at that sky.

‘So that’s how it was…’

Not even his fingertips shook. His strength was no longer in his arms.

‘That’s how it was…’

– It seems like there’s nothing left for you now?

This is broken