C1678. All You Have to Do Is Believe. (2)
They withdrew. No, they passed by, ignoring them.
Although they couldn't control the sidelong glances, the Heavenly Comrade Alliance ignored those who had settled here and advanced toward Wudang.
Jang Ilso, who was calmly observing the scene, smiled and turned his gaze to the person sitting across from him.
“Hmm, how ruthless.”
“……”
“I really didn't expect them to leave like that. They say the guys from the Righteous Faction are full of emotions... but it seems that's not always the case.”
“My, how you speak, damned member of the Evil Faction.”
“How fierce.”
Jang Ilso laughed heartily. He then calmly looked at the empty cup in front of Chung Myung.
“The cup is empty.”
He took the bottle of liquor in front of him and filled Chung Myung's cup.
The sound of the liquor pouring and the numerous footsteps of the people mingled and spread around them.
Clack.
Jang Ilso set the bottle down on the table and gently pushed it with the tip of his finger.
“Serve me a drink.”
“……”
“Since I’ve done this, I should at least receive something in return, right? Being the only one from the Evil Faction to drink liquor served by Mount Hua’s Chivalrous Sword seems like a fitting title.”
Chung Myung stared at Jang Ilso, who was smiling broadly, and grabbed the neck of the bottle. He began to slowly fill Jang Ilso's empty cup.
The liquor soon filled the cup and began to overflow.
However, the tilted bottle did not seem to return to its position. Jang Ilso squinted and looked at Chung Myung. The latter was looking at him with a mocking expression.
“Nowadays... it seems even the guys from the Evil Faction drink liquor from cups. In my time, they used to lick the spilled liquor off the floor.”
Chung Myung’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile.
“Come on, drink. As you said, it’s a rare honor.”
Before Jang Ilso could react, a terrifying murderous intent from the Furious Dogs (Hong Gyeon) was directed at Chung Myung.
The murderous intent, so fierce and tangible, lashed at Chung Myung like a storm, making his clothes flutter. His long hair, hastily tied, lifted.
Meanwhile, Jo Gul kept looking back.
Yoon Jong, Hye Yeon, and Namgung Dowi, who were beside him, too.
Chung Myung's figure grew smaller and smaller. Unable to find calm, he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
'Damn it!'
He couldn't accept leaving Chung Myung there alone.
However, the reason Jo Gul did not immediately oppose as usual was one: the weight of the title of Deputy Sect Leader.
They follow orders.
If they couldn’t fulfill that, what right did they have to ask others to follow theirs?
'Seriously...'
He had many things to say to Baek Cheon, who was leading at the front. But Jo Gul, instead of speaking, just gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
At that moment...
“Sasuk, are you... sure? No matter how much I think about it, this is...”
Yoon Jong spoke instead of Jo Gul, with a restrained voice. It seemed difficult for him to accept Baek Cheon's decision as well.
But Baek Cheon did not respond. Yoon Jong finally raised his voice.
“Sasuk!”
“He’ll be fine.”
“But...”
“He’s not someone who acts without thinking.”
Baek Cheon replied in a calm voice.
“And if we act as Jang Ilso wishes, we will surely lose. That was the conclusion we reached at the cost of countless sacrifices, wasn’t it?”
Yoon Jong was at a loss for words. It was hard to deny. But...
“But does it make sense to leave him alone?”
At that moment, they felt a murderous intent behind them. Baek Cheon instinctively turned.
He saw the Furious Dogs about to pounce and Chung Myung sitting calmly.
Baek Cheon bit his lip and turned his head.
Now, any words would be useless.
They could only believe. Believe that he... that he was Mount Hua’s Chivalrous Sword Chung Myung.
The tip of his long fingers traced the spilled liquor on the table. The tips of his fingers, stained with liquor, moved to his red lips.
Jang Ilso slowly licked the liquor and spoke.
“What a waste... I said it was good liquor. That’s how spoiled they are.”
Jang Ilso glanced at the Furious Dogs, who were grinding their teeth.
“Tch. How rude.”
With those simple words, the murderous intent of the Furious Dogs disappeared as if it had never existed.
“You can't behave so recklessly. How much more ridiculous would you make me look? Control yourselves.”
The Furious Dogs bowed their heads in silence. Jang Ilso looked at them with disdain and then smiled at Chung Myung, as if in apology.
“Sorry. I said I’d train them, but they’re very rebellious kids.”
“They surely resemble their owner.”
“Hmm. Without a doubt... they have that aspect.”
Chung Myung lifted the cup in front of him and drank.
Clack.
Before he could lower the empty cup, Jang Ilso filled it again. Chung Myung watched him and asked.
“Tell me the reason.”
“Reason?”
Jang Ilso repeated the question, and Chung Myung's gaze sharpened.
“Why are you doing all this? You didn’t need to do something so complicated just to catch me.”
“I just wanted to talk to you.”
“……”
“Oh, come on. Don’t look at me like that.”
Jang Ilso let out an exaggerated laugh, as if troubled.
“This shows that people should live honestly. Once someone starts to suspect you, it’s hard for them to believe the truth, no matter how sincere you are. It’s quite frustrating.”
“I didn’t know you were so stupid as not to understand what 'you deserved it' means.”
“...Ugh.”
Jang Ilso let out a deep sigh.
Whatever his intention or reason for being here, no one could deny that Jang Ilso's attitude was as natural as that of an old friend meeting after a long time.
“No need to be so defensive.”
Jang Ilso spoke softly while lifting the cup filled with liquor. It was the same cup that Chung Myung had filled earlier. He drank slowly, savoring the liquor leisurely.
“Even if you and I can’t reveal all our secrets, it’s true that I wanted to sit in front of you at least once.”
Chung Myung looked at him with dull eyes.
“And also to keep me trapped here?”
“That’s so obvious it’s not even worth mentioning.”
“And if the opportunity arises, you’d also want to stab a sword into my neck.”
“Ha, ha, ha!”
Jang Ilso laughed heartily.
“I’m not that greedy. Well, to be precise, I’m a very greedy person, but I know that if I try to eat too much, I’ll choke.”
His bright eyes drew a soft curve.
Chung Myung knew it. Behind those seemingly soft eyes, an unusual cruelty was hidden. There was a strange and chilling sensation, like observing a well-sharpened blade.
Chung Myung took the bottle of liquor.
Splash.
The liquor slowly poured into Jang Ilso’s empty cup, stretching like a thread of silk. Jang Ilso watched with interest and then opened his mouth.
“But I didn’t expect you to sit so easily. I thought I’d have to persuade you quite a bit.”
“It’s the same.”
Chung Myung replied in an indifferent tone, as if talking to himself.
“I still think it’s not worth associating with you, but maybe I also wanted to have a conversation with you at least once.”
“...Oh?”
“And it’s also the same.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Chung Myung set the bottle down with a bang and looked directly at Jang Ilso.
“Just as you think that if you keep me here, Wudang will be easy to take, I also think that if I keep you here, the Evil Tyrant Alliance won’t be a problem.”
Jang Ilso’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Do you really think that?”
“Don’t be arrogant.”
“...”
“I just think I have nothing to lose. As long as I’m here, you can’t run there no matter what happens.”
“My, my.”
Jang Ilso shook his head as if he couldn’t handle it.
“So... it’s not that I have you trapped, but that you have me trapped?”
“It depends on how you see it.”
“Ha.”
Jang Ilso laughed loudly again. But this time, his face seemed a bit distorted.
“That’s why... yes, that’s why you’re interesting. You can’t be compared to the other idiots. But, well... will everything really go as you think?”
Jang Ilso’s gaze shifted from Chung Myung’s face to the ground, where Heo Dojin was, barely clinging to consciousness.
“People... tend to overestimate themselves. Themselves and those close to them.”
“...”
“That’s why their vision gets clouded.”
Heo Dojin, hearing those words, trembled.
It must be painful.
Being humiliated by someone you consider a mortal enemy, whom you would want to kill and tear apart. He would want to bite his tongue and die right this instant.
But humiliation is an inescapable punishment for losers. Now, Heo Dojin can only endure this humiliation.
“And you? Do you really see clearly those you lead?”
Chung Myung, listening expressionlessly, let out a light laugh.
“Don’t talk about clarity. I’ve already done it excessively.”
Chung Myung reclined in his chair and looked at the sky.
“I’ve looked at them clearly, criticized them for being useless, and shouted alone.”
“...”
“Yes. Just like you now.”
Jang Ilso’s expression hardened slightly. These were difficult words to understand even for someone who played with people’s hearts.
“So, what are you doing now?”
Asked Jang Ilso, and Chung Myung looked away. At the end of that gaze was the Heavenly Comrade Alliance moving away.
“Just...”
A slight smile appeared on Chung Myung’s lips.
If someone heard it, they might think it was a meaningless answer. In the past, he would never have uttered such words.
But after irreversible failures, he finally arrived at this answer.
“I just believe.”
“...In those guys?”
Chung Myung’s eyes deepened.
“In them. And in what we’ve done, in what we’ve achieved.”
Jang Ilso’s face hardened like ice. The always relaxed expression cracked.
How can you describe the emotion on that face?
Perplexity? Anger? No, maybe despair.
He didn’t know why, but the only word that best described that expression was:
“This... is disappointing.”
Jang Ilso’s red lips revealed his white teeth.
The face that always had a bright smile was now distorted, and his soft voice had disappeared. A chilling voice came out instead.
“I didn’t expect those words to come out of your mouth.”
“...”
“I thought we could understand each other a bit at least.”
In response to that mocking laughter, Chung Myung also bared his teeth.
The air around them tensed immediately, like a bomb about to explode.
