Chapter 1656. I Like Fools Like That. (1)
“What happened, sect leader?!”
Heo Sanja, who had been waiting impatiently, shouted upon seeing Heo Dojin. However, Heo Dojin looked at her for a moment and then quietly entered his room.
“S-Sect Leader-Sahyung!”
Heo Sanja was shocked and called again. Then she hurriedly followed Heo Dojin into his room.
“What did they say? You weren't stubborn until the end, right?”
“.....”
“Sect Leader-Sahyung! Please say something. Are you sure you're going to do it? Even if the sect leader herself gives the order?”
Fear and hope were seen in Heo Sanja's eyes at the same time. Watching her closely, Heo Dojin let out a small sigh.
“They said they would.”
“T-That’s... what they think...”
For a moment, Heo Sanja stammered with wide-open eyes, as if she were being strangled. Then, barely lifting her bottom off the floor, she stood up while shouting.
“Alright, let me go talk to them. No! Even if I have to end them now...”
“Useless.”
Heo Sanja stopped in a hesitant position and looked at Heo Dojin confused. Heo Dojin shook his head with an expression that seemed almost sad.
“It won't help, they don't want to listen anymore.”
“No...”
“This is not a situation where I can persuade them by saying the right things...”
Even persuasive words may not contain the truth.
How can we convince people who want to do what they have learned for themselves?
Heo Dojin, who was daydreaming, had a slight smile on his lips. This was not directed at the young disciples who ignored what was happening in the world and raised their voices to protect their sense of self-esteem.
“So, are you saying we're just going to leave it like that?”
“.....”
“Sect Leader-Sahyung! Are you really going to let all those children die? You're going to let all those children die under the sword of the Evil Faction!”
Heo Sanja almost seemed to be screaming. Heo Dojin took a deep breath and asked.
“Then, what should we do?”
“We have to convince them!”
“Didn't I say that wouldn't work?”
“Then we have to stop them, even if it means pulling their necks and kicking their asses!”
“Are you going to treat them like little children who know nothing of the world?”
“Now is not the time for sweet words-...”
“Then, are you saying that we should deprive the Wudang disciples, who will continue to grow, of the opportunity to express their own desires and stigmatize them even more as people who survive by indecent means through the sacrifice of asceticism?”
Heo Sanja's eyes, filled with emotion, trembled. At the same time, doubt shone in her eyes. It was something she didn't understand.
The Heo Dojin she knew was someone who didn't hesitate to carry out what he said. He was also someone who was willing to sacrifice his life or the lives of his students for Wudang.
However...
“So, if there is really something that can be resolved, it should be done that way. Then I'll ask again. After returning alive, what happens next? What will you do then?”
“What will we do next?”
“If the war ends like this, we will be asked to chew and swallow the shame. But what if it doesn't end? What will we do then?”
“Well....”
Heo Sanja immediately opened her mouth and looked at Heo Dojin as if she hadn't thought about it.
Even if they survived this time, the war would not end. The fierce battle against the Evil Tyrant Alliance would continue for a long time.
Then, what should Wudang do at that time?
Should they fight before others to seek revenge? Or should they quietly step back, postpone dangerous tasks, and give them to others to survive?
“Well....”
Heo Sanja couldn't easily answer as if her tongue was stiff.
She wanted to say to choose the former. But if they choose the former, only the moment of death changes, and the result is not very different. Perhaps Wudang would have to endure damage until it almost disappears.
Then the latter? If they chose the latter, they could survive. But, could the Wudang that distanced themselves cowardly during the war really be called 'Wudang' even after the war?
Heo Sanja's eyes darkened. Then she asked with a nervous expression on her face.
“That... Not necessarily going to be like that, right?”
However, there was no confidence on his face as he asked that question.
“Isn't there already an example? In the past....”
“In a country with a population of three eyes, those with two eyes were treated like fools.”
“...What does that mean?”
“It simply means everyone has three eyes.”
The sarcasm came out of Heo Dojin's mouth.
It was different from the past when they were still in the Demon War. Back then, all the sects except Mount Hua were busy taking care of their own safety. So only Mount Hua was a strange sect.
But now it was different.
Now that the Heavenly Comrade Alliance has declared it will unite many sects and raise the standards, how will the Wudang, who fled from the enemy for the sect's safety, be treated?
The situation is similar, but very different.
Chung Myung, the Mount Hua’s Chivalrous Sword, completely changed the position of those caught in the war.
“So, they...”
“No.”
Heo Dojin shook his head.
“I didn't think about that before deciding. I just..... I think it means I don't want to run away a second time. As a swordsman, a Wudang Disciple, and a person who must keep the agreement.”
“.....”
“What words can break that meaning? I was the one who argued and taught that a Wudang Disciple must live with dignity. I will only face my own cowardice for not being able to do what I said and taught.”
“How can you call yourself a coward for that? Who would dare criticize the person who bore all that burden and even gave up his own life as a coward? The sect leader is definitely not that kind of person!”
Heo Sanja turned her face and shouted, but Heo Dojin's eyes remained staring into space.
What was right and what was wrong.
If it was as simple as separating them like that, what was the difficulty? The world is so complicated and confusing because everyone's goals are different, and the way to achieve them is also different.
No one is wrong.
It's just that their "truth" has evolved to the point where it is no longer inferior to Heo Dojin's "truth." Heo Dojin was very proud of that, but he also felt very sad.
“R-Really....”
“Heo Sanja.”
“Yes, sect leader-Sahyung.”
“Calm the disciples.”
“Yes? What does that mean?”
“There may be disciples who really don't want to die, but get carried away by the atmosphere and end up risking their lives. To prevent that, please persuade at least one more person to leave the mountain.”
“S-Sahyung!”
“The descendants must remain.”
Heo Dojin smiled weakly.
Heo Sanja couldn't accept it at all. How many people would they gather by bringing them all together? By gathering those people, could he call 'Wudang' those who remained?
“Is it really impossible? How can you give up so easily?”
“.....”
“If you suppress their will by force using your old authority! Then they have no choice either!”
“Okay. Then, I guess we can survive.”
“If you do it now...”
“But by then, Wudang will already be finished. Even if everyone survives without a single hair wounded, Wudang from then on will no longer be Wudang.”
Heo Sanja's hands trembled slightly.
She wanted to refute it a hundred times, but she already knew that what he was saying was true. How could those labeled as cowards still be Wudang?
How could those who cowardly begged for their lives perform rituals at the ancestors' memorial tablets?
“Go.”
“Sahyung.”
“If you still see them as children, you can do as you say. But...”
Heo Dojin shook his head.
“Our duty as teachers is to observe and acknowledge their growth properly. They have become taoists as good as myself... No, the will of those who have become better taoists than I, cannot be suppressed by forced authority.”
“.....”
“I intend to stay by their side.”
“Sahyung!”
Heo Sanja let out a miserable cry as if all the contents of her stomach had been eroded. However, Heo Dojin's eyes still seemed heavy and calm.
“Now there is only one way for Wudang to proceed.”
Now, instead of a boiling life, a subtle sense of responsibility filled his eyes.
“I am only indicating it. What kind of sect is Wudang? To those who dared to point at this place, to the world that watched, and to others who tried to confirm our choice.”
“.....”
“With my sword, with my life, with my will. I intend to show it clearly. Then, that death will be the fertilizer that makes Wudang flourish again.”
It was a quieter voice than before.
However, the hands on Heo Dojin's knees trembled slightly, unable to hide his inner feelings.
He bore all the insults to save his disciples. But now he watched the disciples he saved die for the honor of his sect.
How could one describe what was in his heart?
“Touching.”
“Sahyung.....”
“Hurry!”
There was a moment of silence. Heo Sanja, who was staring intently at Heo Dojin, immediately made a sincere bow.
“Please, be careful.”
With that, she left the room without looking back.
Heo Dojin stared blankly at where Heo Sanja had gone, laughing helplessly.
“Two days?”
No, maybe just one day. It was about calculating the time it would take for them to reach Wudang. Then, he suddenly thought of his belated realization.
“Is this how things should have been done, Mount Hua’s Chivalrous Sword?”
Why would someone who cared so much for others and hated sacrifice so much get angry with him for trying to save his disciples?
Mount Hua’s Chivalrous Sword knew. Those who retreat out of fear of sacrifice will surely pay a greater price someday. If he truly wanted to protect his disciples, he should not neglect the responsibility entrusted to him.
Now... Very well, I think I understand now.
“Something I should have known before.”
Heo Dojin, who was murmuring in a low voice, closed his eyes deeply.
This was no longer sad.
Because he knew that the Wudang Disciples were walking a better path. Because they confirmed that they were taoists who did not fail like him.
Even if the end of this path is despair and death....
In the end, it will bloom again. So that the world can see it beautifully at the end of the path.
“Sect Leader.”
Heo Dojin's voice sounded hollow.
Who he was calling was someone whose face he had never seen. It was a person who had died and disappeared a hundred years ago, and wasn't even a Wudang.
“Will our Wudang bloom again?”
Like Mount Hua finally blooming again, right?
No matter how much Heo Dojin closed his eyes and remained silent, there was no answer.
-----------------
“Are you saying they won't retreat?” asked Im Sobyeong.
“Yes.”
“Are you serious?! Why would they do something so stupid?”
“Because they are human.”
Im Sobyeong looked at Chung Myung as if she didn't understand anything. Chung Myung shrugged.
“They are human, so they are stupid. They can't always make the right decisions, that's why they are human.”
“...But they are Wudang. So why?”
“And I like fools like that.”
As if he had finished talking, Chung Myung stood up. The eyes that had been dark suddenly shone silently.
“We're going.”
“Yes? That's impossible! Didn't I say it could be a trap?”
“So?”
When Chung Myung asked, everyone fell silent. Chung Myung spoke sternly to Im Sobyeong and everyone watching her.
“If it's a trap, let's destroy the trap. I can't let those idiots die.”
Chung Myung smiled as he gripped his sword.
“That's right, isn't it? Sect Leader-Sahyung?”
-That's right.
The answer sounded sweetly in his ears.
