Chapter 339: Chapter 1227: I Don't Know (Part 2)
"Uh..."
He felt the need to say something, anything. However, when he tried to open his mouth, no words came out.
He wanted to lead them all to Gangbuk right now. However, no matter how much he thought about it, it wasn't possible.
'This is not a mission I can do as I please.'
He was currently in a situation where he was leading the members of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance to save Southern Island. However, if he abandoned the mission and returned to Gangbuk, it would inevitably cause delays in time.
Then everything would go wrong.
Wasn't the reason for choosing the most dangerous land route in the first place to reduce the time it took to reach Southern Island? It wasn't a situation where they could afford to waste time on momentary indulgence.
But...
Despair filled Baek Cheon's face as he looked at the desperate Hyeongwook. Without realizing it, Baek Cheon chewed on his lips.
Still, could he just leave like this? If he did, it wasn't much different from proving what Hyeongwook said—that they only cared about the common people in words, but in reality, they prioritized something bigger.
How was that different from the ways of Beopjeong?
'I...'
It was when Baek Cheon's face twisted in anguish. As his expression changed, Hyeongwook quickly prostrated himself on the spot.
"I-I'm sorry!"
A perplexed voice trembled as it flowed out.
"I-I didn't even know the subject and blabbered...!"
"..."
"I'm sorry. Even though I shouldn't dare to speak to the benefactors who saved my life... I just rambled on because I was so frustrated. Y-You, please forgive me..."
"Don't do this..."
Baek Cheon suppressed the word 'please' and closed his eyes tightly. When he grabbed Hyeongwook's shoulders and lifted him up, Hyeongwook looked at Baek Cheon with frightened eyes.
Baek Cheon sighed and said.
"It's not that I'm angry or have any intention of mocking you. I... we are not that kind of people. I just... what you said resonated so much that I couldn't help but ponder what to do. So, you don't have to do this."
"...Sorry, Dojang-nim. I didn't mean to blabber without knowing the subject. Even if the Dojang-nim like you don't care about how we end up, it would have been easier for us if you just closed your eyes and passed by..."
Tears welled up in Hyeongwook's eyes.
"If you don't know gratitude, you're not a person but a beast... Looks like I'm that beast."
"..."
"I'm just a foolish guy who complained without knowing anything. Please don't mind me. How could someone like me hinder the steps of the Dojang-nims who are going to do something big? I'm just grateful for erasing their traces."
What really bothered Baek Cheon was that there seemed to be no pretense in Hyeongwook's words.
Rather than speaking with fear, as if he were trying to suppress his feelings, Hyeongwook genuinely seemed to think that people like Baek Cheon didn't need to worry about them.
Baek Cheon, who was looking at Hyeongwook without knowing what to do, unconsciously turned his head towards his window. He saw a group of people sticking their heads in. But they also looked bleak, as if they didn't have any answers.
They, too, seemed to send a hopeful gaze that perhaps Baek Cheon could give an answer even in this situation.
Baek Cheon's shoulders shook lightly.
Fearing that he would collapse if he didn't say anything, he spoke up when he felt Hyeongwook's desperate eyes and the gazes of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance members focused on him.
"Uh, why is the atmosphere like this? Did something happen? Is there trouble?"
With a face filled with annoyance, Chung Myung entered, carrying two wild boars on his back as if they were nothing.
"Ugh, damn it! It's hard to find even a piglet in this mountain! Sahyung, bring this to feed people!"
"Meat! Let's grill it!"
"Boil it! What if those people who haven't even seen the meat get indigestion after eating it grilled!"
"Oh, got it!"
"Anyway, I don't care!"
The moment Chung Myung appeared, the suffocating atmosphere suddenly loosened. Baek Cheon, without realizing it, let out a relieved sigh. Even his shoulders, which had been tense, relaxed momentarily.
"But seriously, what's going on? It seems like the old man is still alive, so why is the atmosphere in this mourning house again?"
"Oh... that's..."
Baek Cheon alternately looked at Hyeongwook and Chung Myung. He was in a situation where he couldn't give an answer, but he thought that maybe Chung Myung could find some answer.
No, even if there was no answer, Chung Myung didn't seem like he would hesitate.
"In fact..."
Baek Cheon began to explain the situation as it was.
After a while, when Chung Myung heard the whole story, he looked alternately at Hyeongwook and Baek Cheon. Hyeongwook had a repentant expression as if he wanted to bite off his tongue, and Baek Cheon turned his head slightly, apparently feeling uncomfortable under Chung Myung's gaze.
"No..."
"..."
In a situation where it wasn't easy to come up with an answer, Chung Myung, who had heard the whole story, made a difficult answer that dropped among them.
"Sasuk, are you really a blockhead?"
"Chung Myung! It's Deputy Sect Leader!"
"Sasuk is correct, and blockhead is also correct, but it's Deputy Sect Leader!"
"Come on, don't call Sasuk a blockhead."
"Oh, right."
Baek Cheon's face contorted miserably. While people were seriously contemplating, these guys...
He asked with a tormented face to Chung Myung.
"...Do you have an answer?"
"No… In the past, even if you weren't very lucky, you were smart, but how can it be that as humans go on, their condition gets worse? Are you worrying about this? This?"
"..."
"And you were all just sitting here sucking your fingers? That's what you were doing?"
Chung Myung glared at them and swept his eyes over the others. Everyone flinched and subtly shifted their gazes elsewhere.
"Oh dear. What was I thinking when I brought these things..."
Chung Myung sighed deeply as if the ground had opened up.
"Is there a solution?"
"The solution is to freeze to death!" ['freezing' definitely has some special casual idiomatic meaning in Korean...we'll just have to learn ig]
Chung Myung opened his eyes wide and shouted at Hyeongwook.
"Hey, uncle!"
"Yes? Yes, yes! Dojang-nim!"
"People don't act like that. You should know how to be grateful if someone helps you. Even if it's frustrating, if you ask innocent people for more after being helped, what will happen?"
"...I apologize."
"Once people like you have experienced something, they become afraid to help others. Because of one thing you said, the next person who desperately needs help may miss that opportunity. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes..."
"Really, people like you make it scary to help others. If, because of a single word from you, one has to take responsibility for someone's life, who would dare to help?"
"..."
"Speaking bluntly, the reason beggars smear themselves with filth and live is because they feel gratitude for the money they received and don't desire more. If you generously give money and then hear requests like 'Please arrange a house for us with this money,' who would want to help beggars? Then all the beggar kids will starve to death! Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Hyeongwook couldn't even make excuses and bowed deeply. It was his true feelings that came out after being pressed, but even thinking about it himself, he felt helpless.
"And!"
Chung Myung's eyes turned sharply to Baek Cheon.
"If you're going to help, help! If you're going to refuse, refuse decisively! Why are you hesitating about what to do! Does the Deputy Sect Leader lack decisiveness like that? Are you going to think about whether to fight or reconcile if enemies attack? Then everyone will die, you human!"
Baek Cheon bit his lips tightly and bowed his head. Chung Myung asked.
"Do you know what's a bigger problem than that?"
"...I don't know."
Chung Myung looked at Baek Cheon with a pitiful expression.
"Sasuk doesn't have the slightest understanding of what position Deputy Sect Leader of Mount Hua is."
Baek Cheon looked at Chung Myung as if asking what he meant. But instead of answering, Chung Myung kicked the ground and flew into the air.
"The worst one is you, you bastard!"
"Kyak!"
Chung Myung's kick exploded on Im Sobyeong's chin. Im Sobyeong screamed and crashed into the wall.
"Is it fun? Huh? Is it fun? This Evil Sect bastard seemed to be having a hard time climbing the cliff, so I treated him like a human! You just couldn't stand the fact that I was away for a moment and you're playing with people? If you don't like it, then die today, you Evil Sect bastard!"
"Ah! Aack! Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword! No, it's not like that!"
"Die! Die, you bastard!"
Hyeongwook's face turned pale as he watched Chung Myung kicking Im Sobyeong to death.
"...You might not understand, but the one who receives the blows is 'Evil,' and the one who strikes is 'Righteous.'"
"...Yes?"
"That's right."
"..."
Of course, externally it might seem like the one striking was 'Evil,' and the one being hit was 'Righteous.' From the outside, Im Sobyeong appeared to be a scholar who was born and raised in a noble family...
"Hoo! Hoo!"
Out of breath, Chung Myung dragged Im Sobyeong, beaten to a pulp and covered in blood, and threw him in front of Baek Cheon.
"Kkuu..."
"Won't you be quiet?"
"..."
"Sit!"
"Yes!"
Im Sobyeong straightened his body up like the wind and sat properly. With an annoyed look, Chung Myung spoke.
"Do those Nokchae kids know the way here?"
"...Yes."
"If they use a different path other than the cliffs, pulling out about thirty people beyond the Yangtze River is nothing. Right?"
"That, that's correct."
"It makes me angry just thinking about it. But this bastard!"
The moment Chung Myung raised his hand, Im Sobyeong hurriedly covered his head and fell flat on his face.
"Ah! Don't hit me! I'm sick!"
"If you were that sick, you should have died! You're still alive, you bastard!"
"..."
"...Ugh."
Chung Myung, who had been glaring alternately at Im Sobyeong and Baek Cheon, suddenly shoved his hand into his pocket.
Kiiiiiiii!
Baek-ah, who had been lying as if dead, screamed as if he had sensed his fate being foretold.
"Ah, can't you be quiet?"
...
Chung Myung, with a sulky look, threw Baek-ah in front of Im Sobyeong.
"Write a letter."
"...What?"
"Mobilize the elite forces of Nokrim separately. The goal is to evacuate everyone here to Gangbuk. If we take them to the manor, Sect Leader will help them settle down."
"...It's a difficult task."
"Can't you do it?"
"It could be dangerous, and... No matter how much it's a request from the Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword..."
As Im Sobyeong slowly stood up, Chung Myung turned his gaze to Baek Cheon. It seemed like he was scolding him for what he was doing. Only then did Baek Cheon understand the meaning of Chung Myung's words that he didn't really know the position of Deputy Sect Leader. He nodded his head and opened his mouth.
"What if it's not a request from Mount Hua's Chivalrous Sword, but a request by the authority of Mount Hua's Deputy Sect Leader?"
As soon as Im Sobyeong heard those words, he immediately straightened his body and sat down. The playful expression he had shown so far changed, and he began to show the dignity of the King of Nokrim.
"Is it a formal request?"
In response to the serious question from Im Sobyeong, Baek Cheon nodded heavily. Im Sobyeong immediately responded.
"If it's a request sent from Mount Hua, of course, I must comply. It's not easy, but if we mobilize the elite forces of the Nokchae, it won't be that difficult. Although it takes some time to cross the Yangtze River, we can do it if we take advantage of the fact that the Yangtze River is not showing the same surveillance as before."
"Then..."
"However!"
As Im Sobyeong stared at Baek Cheon, he said.
"Nokchae's elites are not originally meant to be mobilized for such things, so you must also consider that my reputation may be compromised by the decision to mobilize Noklim's elite troops for such a request."
"..."
"So."
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"I believe you will pay the price for this request sooner or later."
Baek Cheon nodded with a firm face.
"I will definitely do that."
Im Sobyeong's face showed a satisfactory smile. At that moment, a gloomy voice passed through his ears.
"Ah, of course. we'll pay it back..."
"..."
"As long as someone survives to return to Gangbuk. There's no way to repay the debt to a dead bastard, right?"
"..."
"Honestly, who cares if a Saipa guy dies in Gangnam? Right?"
"..."
"When someone returns to Gangbuk, I'll pay it back. There's no way to repay the debt to a dead man, right?"
"..."
"Honestly, who cares if an Evil Sect kid dies in Gangnam? Right?"
"As a gesture of goodwill, I'll do it for free!"
At that moment, everyone present felt it keenly.
Good intentions cannot overcome a plan, and a well-laid plan is meaningless in the face of a madman.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Bagel_Seeds
Bagel_Seeds idk if y'all know this, but "dong ryong" = "copper/bronze dragon".
His older brother "jin [geum?something] ryong" = "gold dragon".
I think(?) he mentioned he had a second brother named "eun ryong" = "silver dragon" (i really wanna see him, since apparently he's not a handsome arrogant asshole).
So yeah, his father's naming skills....are truly legendary.
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