บท 672: Chapter 1560: Can We Back Out? (Part 5)
Baek Sang found himself deep in contemplation.
It was none other than Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong.
While the Finance Hall managed the finances of Mount Hua, ultimately, it was people who decided how the money would be used. Someone had to make judgments on where to allocate the limited funds.
That was why Baek Sang was well aware.
Who held the most presence in Mount Hua where everyone seemed equal under the sect leader and Chung Myung? Which individuals were at the heart of the Mount Hua Sect?
'Why...?'
Baek Sang sometimes considered himself fortunate, and at other times, relieved. The relationship between the two most influential figures in the Mount Hua Sect wasn't bad.
There were times when the two seemed to understand each other as if they were each other's only confidants.
However, right now, in front of his eyes, those two were openly colliding without hiding their enmity for each other.
"Wait, Yoon Jong. You..."
"Don't interfere, Baek Sang."
Before Baek Sang could say more, Baek Cheon coldly interrupted him, freezing Baek Sang with surprise. Baek Sang turned to look at his Sahyung, whose eyes were filled with coldness.
Baek Cheon turned his gaze back to Yoon Jong.
"Continue. So, what's your plan?"
"Sasuk."
"Are you planning to stop me with force?"
Yoon Jong sighed slightly with a weary expression.
"Sasuk knows what he's doing right now is not right."
"Do you think your actions are right?"
"...It's not like that."
"Really?"
Baek Cheon observed. Yoon Jong's calm face seemed to subtly distort as if it was cracked.
"Why...?"
"Don't be presumptuous, Yoon Jong."
In response to Baek Cheon's words, Yoon Jong's shoulders flinched involuntarily.
"I don't know why you're doing this. But it's not right. Don't force your thoughts on me."
"Sasuk!"
"Step aside."
"..."
"Step aside."
Baek Cheon's momentum was infinitely cold, and Yoon Jong unknowingly bit his lip tightly.
"Isn't it for the Mount Hua Sect?"
Baek Cheon, who was about to step forward and ignore Yoon Jong, paused.
"...What do you mean?"
"Why are you pushing yourself so hard if it's not for the Mount Hua Sect? Isn't it your duty as the Deputy Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect to fulfill those responsibilities?"
Baek Cheon remained silent.
"You clearly told me that, Sasuk."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm asking if what Sasuk is doing is really for the disciples of the Mount Hua Sect."
"Yoon Jong."
"Namgung is not Mount Hua!"
A stillness settled. Baek Cheon, as if he had taken a blow, stared blankly at Yoon Jong.
"I'm not that saying sacrificing one's life for Namgung is wrong. If Sasuk asks me to do so, I'll do it any number of times, a hundred times, a thousand times! But Sasuk... Does Sasuk really need to do that? Does Sasuk really not know what kind of presence he holds in Mount Hua?"
Baek Sang couldn't grasp the situation and looked back and forth between the two.
Their conversation seemed strangely discordant. Differing intentions were woven throughout their words.
"Are you implying that I am such a significant presence in the Mount Hua?"
"Of course..."
Baek Cheon's words cut off Yoon Jong's trailing statement.
"Or do you mean I am a person who can no longer bear all of that?"
"Sasuk!"
Yoon Jong, unable to endure any longer, burst out with a cracked voice. There was a hint of anger, but also a clear, unintentional, resentment.
However, Baek Cheon's eyes remained infinitely cold.
"If not, step back. I am your Sasuk and the Deputy Sect Leader of Mount Hua."
"It is the command of the Sect Leader and the command of the Great Sect Leader!"
"So?"
So? Yoon Jong's face noticeably distorted.
This was not the Baek Cheon he knew. If it were the Baek Cheon he knew, he wouldn't react like this in front of the names of the Sect Leader and Great Sect Leader, even if they presented an opposing opinion.
What had made this person so stubborn and narrow-minded?
A sharp remark slipped out of Yoon Jong's mouth.
"Are you looking for a place to die?"
"Hey!"
Baek Sang couldn't hold back and shouted. However, Yoon Jong didn't even glance at Baek Sang; his gaze was fixed solely on Baek Cheon.
"Why are you so desperate? If Sasuk doesn't go, is someone going to die? Even if Sasuk goes, what on earth..."
Yoon Jong, who was speaking, abruptly closed his mouth as if realizing something.
Baek Cheon was able to guess what Yoon Jong, who hadn't been able to say it himself, meant.
"Would you do?"
"...No. I..."
Yoon Jong couldn't finish his sentence. At least momentarily, he couldn't deny that he had thought that way.
Yoon Jong thought. Even upon reflection, he was not wrong.
It was absolutely unacceptable for Baek Cheon, whose body was not in its prime, to rush into a dangerous battlefield and die a dog's death.
Baek Cheon wasn't strong because he was Baek Cheon.
Even if he lost all his martial arts and couldn't kill even one ant with his own hands, he would still be Baek Cheon, Yoon Jong's Sasuk, and the next Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect.
He couldn't lose Baek Cheon like this. No way.
Looking at Yoon Jong emitting not only determination and even venom, Baek Cheon spoke bitterly.
"Lacking ability is not an excuse."
"..."
"Didn't you used to say that often? Isn't that right?"
Yoon Jong bit his lip.
The situation was different. He wanted to say that. Even if he became someone who said one thing and meant another.
But...
"I'll say it one last time. Step back. If you still consider me your Sasuk and the Deputy Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect."
A sigh of disappointment flowed long from Yoon Jong's mouth.
If only he hadn't said those words...
"Understood."
In the end, Yoon Jong took a step back.
"Instead, I'll follow. You won't stop me from doing that, will you?"
Baek Cheon silently nodded towards Yoon Jong, who had stepped aside. He couldn't stop that. Yoon Jong, too, wasn't deliberately obstructing him out of malice.
But...resentment sprouted in a corner of Baek Cheon's heart.
For some reason, all of Yoon Jong's actions were now making Baek Cheon miserable.
'It's difficult.'
Baek Cheon tightly closed his eyes.
But in his eyes that reopened, hesitation had long disappeared as if washed away.
"We're moving. Right now!"
"Yes!"
Leading the Baek line disciples, Baek Cheon rushed ahead.
Baek Sang, rather than following immediately, stared intently at Yoon Jong. Unlike before, his gaze was somewhat uncomfortable.
"Of course, there must have been a reason. Because you are none other than Yoon Jong."
"..."
"But he's your Sasuk. Was it right for you to show that attitude? You can't always justify the means with the end."
Upon hearing those words, Yoon Jong bowed his head deeply.
"I'm sorry."
Baek Sang, who stared at Yoon Jong without a word for a moment, reluctantly followed behind Baek Cheon after turning his body to the cold wind.
Watching the departing Baek disciples with a complicated gaze, Yoon Jong heaved a long sigh and spoke.
"Let's go too."
"Yes, Sahyung."
Some of the disciples, answering, looked at Yoon Jong with eyes that seemed to suspect something, while others had uncomfortable expressions as if they couldn't understand Yoon Jong.
For some reason, something choked up inside. But Yoon Jong, who seemed to be about to spill something, pressed his lips tightly after exhaling a long sigh.
'It wasn't about wanting to be understood.'
"Let's go."
"Yes."
Yoon Jong bit his lips as he strode forward.
'I'm not wrong.'
Absolutely.
To where they left, where the two descended.
"Why didn't you stop them, Sago?"
Jo Gol asked Yoo Iseol, seemingly unable to comprehend. In response, Yoo Iseol spoke with a voice devoid of emotions.
"For what purpose."
"They fought unnecessarily. Of course, we should stop them..."
"How?"
"Huh?"
"How?"
Jo Gol was momentarily speechless.
Yoo Iseol wasn't just asking to irritate him. Jo Gol also knew that.
"Well... Of course, those two must have their own thoughts, but Yoon Jong Sahyung was too extreme. He's still his Sasuk."
"What about you?"
"Me?"
Yoo Iseol stared intently at Jo Gol. It was a transparent gaze.
"Do you want to send Sahyung to the battlefield?"
Unable to answer rashly, Jo Gol hesitated.
If he had to be specific... Jo Gol was leaning towards sympathizing with Baek Cheon.
If Jo Gol were in the same situation as Baek Cheon, he wouldn't be able to endure it either. After living with a sword and denying everything, he couldn't just give up and step back. Even if the result wasn't favorable, shouldn't he struggle as much as he could?
"Well, I..."
"Then you would see Sahyung's corpse. Would you say it was well done then?"
"No, Sago."
"Once you die, everything ends."
Jo Gol flinched. It was a calm, composed, and oddly eerie voice.
"Just because there are good intentions, just because there are reasons you can't give up on, it all ends when you die. The burden on the remaining people only gets heavier."
"Sago."
"Was Yoon Jong wrong?"
"Well..."
Jo Gol tried to agree as usual and step back.
But something caught in his heart as if one thing had stuck in his mind.
Normally, he would have told Yoo Iseol everything in his heart, not bothering to build walls, but...
"Just because everything is meaningless once you die doesn't mean that anything is okay as long as you live, right?"
"…What?"
Jo Gol spoke a bit hesitantly.
"That's how it is. You can't tell Sasuk to step back and watch. That's not a favor. Isn't that killing a person while they're still alive?"
Yoo Iseol stared at Jo Gol with an expressionless face.
Silence descended.
The stillness became too heavy, and before it could crush them both, Yoo Iseol turned her body and walked away.
"You can say that because you haven't experienced loss."
"Sago."
"I'll go ahead. You can stay behind."
Whoosh.
Yoo Iseol quickly moved away like the wind. Left alone, Jo Gol rubbed his face vigorously with rough hands.
"Damn it!"
Why bother asking if you weren't going to listen anyway?
In the end, they decided on their own, treating his thoughts as if they were worth nothing.
"Fuck."
Uttering another curse, Jo Gol scratched his head roughly and sighed heavily.
When he lifted his gaze, the sky was clear and blue.
His chest felt stifled for some reason. Even though the world was the same, it felt like only they were swaying.
"...Why is it so complicated?"
It didn't seem like this until now.
No matter how difficult things were, their world was simple, so all they had to do was stick to their ways.
But when did their ways start not aligning and twisting each other?
"Sahyung."
"I know."
Jo Gol, who turned around to face the approaching disciples, nodded heavily.
"For now, let's follow. Somehow, things will work out."
"Is that really okay? Our instructions are..."
"I'll take respon..."
Jo Gol couldn't finish his sentence. The word 'responsibility' felt too heavy all of a sudden. So heavy that he couldn't easily utter it.
"Let's go for now. Please."
"Alright, Sahyung."
With no spirit, Jo Gol reluctantly put strength into his steps.
'What would he have done?'
For some reason, he wanted to see that damn guy's face.
The guy who would have kicked their butts without even thinking about it.
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