How can people be like this? (2)
The word ‘opportunity’ and Jang Ilso do not suit each other at all.
That man was rather a demon who stole the opportunities of others, toyed with them, and threw them down into the deepest abyss.
But who could remain unprovoked at the word ‘opportunity’?
Those standing before him had no choice but to listen to Jang Ilso’s words.
The blowing wind lightly disheveled Jang Ilso’s neatly arranged hair. His pale fingers brushed the fallen strands back into place.
His lips began to part slowly once more.
“Isn’t it truly… moving?”
Jang Ilso’s gaze slowly turned towards the rear.
Though it was obvious that nothing could be seen, hidden behind the towering Black Dragon Ship, it was as if he were clearly showing them the true source of the emotion he spoke of.
The moment his gaze landed at Maehwado’s side, a few members of Shaolin flinched and trembled.
They still could not bear to look directly in that direction.
Turning his gaze back to Shaolin, Jang Ilso nodded as if in approval and continued speaking.
“Life is precious to everyone. And yet, those people have chosen to cast their own lives away. For righteousness and honor!”
A low chuckle floated along the river.
It was truly baffling.
Since it was Jang Ilso speaking, those words should have undoubtedly been mockery, and yet, there was clear admiration in his tone.
Thus, Shaolin monks listening could not help but be thrown into confusion.
“Namgung has proven it. That the righteousness they boasted about so desperately is not mere empty words.”
It felt as though they now understood what it meant to be drawn in by words.
Each and every word spoken by Jang Ilso captivated them.
However…
“Hold your tongue!”
Beop Jong could not simply stand by and listen to Jang Ilso’s words any longer.
He erupted with a tremendous lion’s roar, cutting Jang Ilso off.
Yet within the mighty roar, which should have been majestic, a tinge of desperation was unmistakably present.
It felt as though something terrible would happen if they didn’t shut Jang Ilso’s mouth immediately.
“You wicked demon! The disciples of Shaolin must not be swayed by his words. Guard your Upright Mind [정심(正心)*]!”
At those words, the disciples of Shaolin turned to look at Beop Jong.
Upright Mind?
What had Jang Ilso even said for them to believe he was deceiving them?
“You don’t understand, do you?”
“You…”
“I told you already. I am merely offering you an opportunity.”
As Jang Ilso chuckled lowly, Beop Gye, who was standing beside Beop Jong, twisted his face in agony.
That repulsive laugh vividly dragged up the memories of that day three years ago.
“What opportunity could you possibly offer us?”
“Beop Gye!”
Beop Jong hastily tried to clamp Beop Gye’s mouth shut, but once spoken, there was no way to take the words back.
And as if he had been waiting for that very question, Jang Ilso’s crimson lips curled into a wide grin.
“The opportunity to prove your righteousness.”
Veins started to burst in Beop Jong’s eyes.
“You…”
Unable to suppress his fury, thick veins stood out clearly on his neck.
Yet Jang Ilso laughed as if he were thoroughly enjoying the sight.
“Hahahahaha! Why are you so angry, Great Master**?”
Spreading his arms wide in an exaggerated gesture, he pointed behind him.
“Look! It’s right over there.”
“…”
“Eradicate the Demons of Death [사마(死魔)]!”
The hem of his robe fluttered as if dancing.
“Save the innocent people! Those who have risked their lives to uphold righteousness are right there, before your very eyes!”
His exaggerated tone, as if he were performing a grand Peking opera, was grating – yet precisely because of that, it was impossible to look away.
When his arm slowly lowered, even Shaolin monks held their breath along with it.
Jang Ilso, who had stirred up the atmosphere in an instant, now began to draw it down slowly.
His brows softened, as if weighed by sorrow.
“But regrettably… they are now dying.”
A deep sigh slipped out from between his red lips.
“Those with grave wounds won’t last much longer. Exhausted of their strength, surrounded by the hordes of demons, they will fall one by one. No matter how great the heroes may be, if they are stranded on an island without a single grain of food, the outcome is obvious.”
Beop Jong clenched the hem of his monk’s robe tightly.
The surge of inner energy caused the edges of his robe to disintegrate into dust, but Beop Jong did not even notice, too busy glaring at Jang Ilso as if he would kill him.
“But fortunately…”
At that moment, Jang Ilso’s clear gaze swept across all of Shaolin.
“There are heroes here who can save them.”
Snap!
The sound of Jang Ilso snapping his fingers instantly changed the atmosphere.
“It’s not difficult. Yes, it’s not a difficult task at all.”
“…”
“To save those in peril – isn’t that the natural duty of a warrior of righteousness [협사(俠士)]?”
Shaolin monks bit their lips hard.
Only then did they fully grasp what Jang Ilso was trying to say.
“Of course, of course! There are obstacles. The despicable scum of the Evil Sects are blocking the way! But… that’s not really a problem, is it? Namgung Clan proved their righteousness with their lives. Surely, you’re not going to claim that the great Shaolin cannot do the same?”
“Jang Il…”
Snap.
Before Beop Jong could even finish speaking, Jang Ilso snapped his fingers once more.
“I’m giving you a chance.”
Beop Jong almost wanted to cover his ears.
That demon burrowed into the human heart.
It was as if he instinctively knew the weakest point that lay hidden within every human soul – and now, he was digging into that weakness, tearing the wound open, sprinkling salt into it, and stomping on it without mercy.
“On the morning of the fifth day from now, when the sun rises, we will enter that island again.”
A slightly excited voice flowed from Jang Ilso’s lips.
“At that time, they will all surely be dead… not a single one left alive. Every one bearing the name Namgung.”
Beop Jong’s fingertips trembled.
“Therefore, within five days, you must decide. Will you simply stand by and watch them die at our hands, or will you fight us, clear a path, and save them?”
“Jang Ilsooooo!”
A tremendous roar burst from Beop Jong’s mouth once more.
“How could a human do such a thing? How could one, wearing the face of a man…”
It was, without doubt, a justifiable rage.
Setting aside Beop Jong’s own conduct until now, taking hundreds of lives hostage and dragging others into a pit of certain death – such acts could never be justified by any human being.
But Jang Ilso tilted his head, as if he truly couldn’t understand Beop Jong’s words.
“Is that… meant for me, Great Master?”
“You vile creature! Who else could it be if not you?”
“Ah, I thought…”
Jang Ilso openly let out a sneer.
“I thought you were speaking to yourself.”
Beop Jong bit his lip so hard that it bled.
“Isn’t that so? You were merely watching. You watched with your own eyes as they were torn apart by Surochae and trampled beneath my feet.”
Jang Ilso’s eyes sharply swept over everyone from Shaolin.
It was truly bizarre.
Jang Ilso was the villain of the Evil Sects, and those standing here were righteous warriors who protected the world from the likes of him.
Yet not a single one of them could meet the cruel leader of Sapaeryeon in the eye.
It wasn’t Jang Ilso who made them avert their gaze.
It was their own conscience that resided deep within their hearts.
And it was that conscience that Jang Ilso had struck.
“How could someone wearing the face of a human simply stand by and do nothing? Hmm? Especially Shaolin, who claims to uphold the righteousness of the Central Plains? My, my…”
“You wretch!”
Beop Jong roared, his voice bursting with rage.
If the distance between them had been closer, he looked ready to strike Jang Ilso dead with a single blow.
But regrettably, a river flowed between them, and all Beop Jong could do now was release his fury meaninglessly into the air.
“Hahahahahahahahaha!”
Jang Ilso laughed like a child, delighted by Beop Jong’s reaction.
“Why are you so angry, Great Master? Shouldn’t you rather be pleased? No matter how much righteousness one holds in their heart, without the opportunity to prove it, one cannot become a true warrior of justice, can they?”
Those words felt like a question thrown back at them.
All this time, they had preached about upholding righteousness, but could they truly risk their lives for it?
Had they not already once hesitated, valuing their lives too much to move forward?
They wanted to close their eyes.
They wanted to block their ears.
Everyone from Shaolin realized it. No matter how differently they acted from now on, the fact that they had hesitated – that they had stood still while watching Namgung clan, who was trapped in a life-or-death struggle – would not disappear.
They had already once betrayed the very righteousness they had so often proclaimed.
Why had they stopped? Because Beop Jong had ordered them to?
No, that wasn’t it.
The truth was, they had been afraid.
Afraid of throwing away their lives for the sake of someone else.
Though they had always believed it should be the most natural thing to do, the moment they were finally given the chance to act, what gripped their ankles was the desire not to die.
Beop Jong had merely given them an excuse – an excuse to stop and shift the responsibility onto someone else.
“Ah, Amitabha.”
“Amitabha.”
Buddhist chants leaked out from all directions.
It was proof of how shaken they were inside.
The truth they desperately wanted to ignore – Jang Ilso had dragged it out, branded it onto their flesh, their bones, and their very hearts.
“So go ahead. Prove it to your heart’s content.”
Jang Ilso’s lips parted, revealing his white teeth.
“Prove whether you are truly the kind of people who can stake everything for righteousness, as you have always cried out.”
“Hhhk…”
“Or whether you are nothing more than hypocrites, who have only used the name of righteousness for your own gain.”
Jang Ilso lightly tapped his lips with his fingernail.
“With those… precious lives of yours, that is.”
“…”
“Jang Ilso and Sapaeryeon would be fitting opponents for such a wager.”
Jang Ilso drove in the final nail.
“Don’t forget. Five days. That should be more than enough time to ponder. Be deeply grateful for my mercy, Great Master! Ahahahaha!”
Having said his piece, he turned around, his crimson robe fluttering, as if Shaolin were no longer worth even a glance.
There was not a hint of hesitation in his departure.
Until that figure slowly faded away, finally vanishing from sight, no one could stop him.
No one dared to confront him and prove their righteousness. They merely gritted their teeth and glared at the innocent river with eyes burning red.
“……Amitabha.”
A hollow Buddhist chant slipped from Beop Jong’s lips.
Before them loomed the Black Dragon Ship blocking the way, the dense fleet of Sapaeryeon, and beyond that, Maehwado.
Even the scattered figures of Namgung’s swordsmen were visible if one looked closely.
Taking it all in with his eyes, Beop Jong finally closed them.
“Amitabha…”
It would have been better not to listen.
From the moment the devil began whispering into their ears, it had already been too late.
He could not bring himself to look back, gripped by fear.
He was terrified to confirm what kind of expressions his disciples were wearing behind him.
‘This place…’
Beop Jong, his spirit shattered, covered his face with one hand.
‘This place is hell.’
Wherever the devil exists, that place must surely be hell.
________
*정심(正心) – righteous(just)/heart(mind) depending on the context. In Buddhism can imply cleansing the mind of delusion, and aligning it with truth or the Dharma. Pure state of heart and mind (inner self(心 – heart/mind/core).
**대사(大師) – Great Master – courtesy title used to address a Buddhist monk.
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Return of the Mount Hua 
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