If one must bear it. (15)
Jin Songwon’s eyes trembled. It was hard to believe the scene coming into his sight.
Simply explaining the situation wasn’t difficult.
Maeng So, the Lord of the Beast Palace was blocking the Lord of the Sun Palace. Nokrim King and the Sect Leader of Jongnam were facing Dangju of Maninbang and Cheon Myeon Susa.
The situation itself wasn’t all that complicated, but he couldn’t understand it because he had never once pictured such a scene.
‘The Beast Palace Lord…….’
Diancang is located in Yunnan together with the Beast Palace.
Because of this, Jin Songwon, the Sect Leader of Diancang, knew very well that just because they both resided in Yunnan didn’t mean Diancang and the Beast Palace could be similar sects.
Even though they were both in Yunnan, Diancang was acknowledged as part of the Central Plains, whereas Nanman Beast Palace was treated simply as savages [야인(野人)].
Jin Songwon himself didn’t know the exact reason for that.
Perhaps it was simply because, unlike Diancang, Beast Palace was situated near the border of Yunnan closer to Nanman.
Or maybe it was because many of Beast Palace’s disciples were from various tribes rather than from the Central Plains.
No… Maybe none of these were the real reasons.
In any case, what is certain is that Beast Palace was treated as ‘outsiders.’ More than anyone, Jin Songwon had witnessed how deeply the Central Plains discriminated against those labeled as ‘outsiders.’
There were even disciples of Diancang who would habitually say they were relieved not to have joined the Beast Palace, and Jin Songwon himself had often thought the same way in his youth.
Because of that, on some level, he could understand. Why they resented the Central Plains. Why they were so hostile towards it.
Yet now, the Lord of the Beast Palace, Maeng So, was fighting to save the young talents of the Central Plains. Even going so far as to fight those same outsiders like himself.
Jin Songwon knew better than anyone the significance of this unbelievable sight.
“…The Beast Palace Lord.”
That wasn’t all.
The Beast Palace Lord’s course of action was actually more sensible when compared to what was unfolding elsewhere. More so than seeing Jongli Gok, the Sect Leader of Jongnam, and Im Sobyeong, Nokrim King, fighting side by side.
In order to save Tang Gunak, those who have established an unshakable position in both the Just and Evil Sects – people as incompatible as water and oil – were now standing shoulder to shoulder.
Just because they’ve been placed together in the same bowl called Cheonumaneg doesn’t mean that everyone inside it becomes comrades. After all, even within a single sect that isn’t part of an alliance, not everyone can get along perfectly.
Yet now, such an impossible event is taking place. If one hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, would they have dared to imagine it?
“Can you see it?”
Jin Songwon bit his lip firmly.
“I said, do you see it!”
Baek Cheon’s hands were still trembling. He couldn’t even grab Jin Songwon’s collar properly, yet he clung to it for dear life.
A faint sound of teeth grinding could be heard, and then Baek Cheon’s voice followed.
“I have never once done something like giving up.”
It was such a worn out, outdated statement that one might get sick upon hearing it. Yet when considering who was saying it, it naturally came across differently.
“Even if my dantian was shattered, even if I lost both arms! Even if I was excommunicated from my sect, and the internal energy I forced out in my struggle was gnawing away at my life, I have never once threw it all aside saying ‘let the fate take its course’!”
On the contrary, Jin Songwon felt his breath catch at the raw sincerity crashing into him.
“What about you?”
Baek Cheon’s eyes were bloodshot.
“I have nothing left anymore. Even so, I’m still standing here. But you… you still have something left, don’t you?!”
“…..Vice Sect Leader.”
Baek Cheon yanked Jin Songwon’s collar even harder.
“Open your eyes and look straight ahead! If you have the courage to throw it all away like that, then you could at least hold on and fight for it!”
Hearing that voice, which sounded close to a wail, Jin Songwon ground his teeth. Then, with a swatting motion, he pushed away Baek Cheon’s hand that was gripping his collar.
Thwack!
“Don’t go boasting like that.”
“Sect Leader!”
“Who wouldn’t spout such obvious nonsense?!”
In the end, Jin Songwon swung his fist and punched Baek Cheon in the face. Baek Cheon went flying backwards.
“Hold on? Even a cornered rat will bite a cat. Do you think I’d just die quietly?!”
Unable to contain the wrath surging from deep within, Jin Songwon let out a furious roar.
“If you were going to say such things, then you should have done that from the start! We’ve already stepped onto a path of no return. You know that perfectly well, don’t you? Now there’s no way we can be forgiven! There’s no way at all!”
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Baek Cheon stood back up resolutely.
“Whose idea is that? That it’s irreparable and impossible – who decided that?”
Jin Songwon clamped his mouth shut and glared at Baek Cheon.
“I’ve witnessed those ‘impossible’ things more times than I can count.”
“Enough already…!”
“Doesn’t the Sect Leader see it?”
At Baek Cheon’s words, Jin Songwon’s gaze instinctively turned.
Yes, it’s definitely there. Something impossible. Something that, until just a moment ago, was unimaginable is happening.
“‘There’s no way’ is just an excuse for the weak.”
“…”
“Yes, it will be difficult. They won’t forgive you. You won’t be forgiven. But so what? If you can’t be forgiven, then you should bow your head until you are. Even if it’s utterly humiliating, isn’t that a hundred times better than giving up, Sect Leader?!”
Despite gasping for breath, Baek Cheon burst out in a shout.
“If you still have the strength to shout and lament, then why don’t you have the courage to bow your head?”
At that moment, a sudden question arose in Jin Songwon’s mind.
Why is this man so desperate? This isn’t Baek Cheon’s business. He’s neither a disciple of Diancang nor a family to Jin Songwon. And yet, why is he so…
At that moment, a certain figure appeared in Jin Songwon’s sight.
Chung Myung. He too had lowered his sword and was watching Jin Songwon. Or perhaps he was actually watching Baek Cheon.
Jin Songwon let out a faint chuckle.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. Maybe the dynamics between that one who looks so strong and the one who looks so weak is the exact opposite of what he’d assumed.
It might sound absurd, but sometimes an instinct can be closer to the essence of things than logical reasoning. Jin Songwon slowly opened his mouth.
“…Let’s say I change my mind. Then… what about the children in Yunnan?”
No one could answer that. Of course not. Yet Baek Cheon responded without a moment’s hesitation.
“We have to save them!”
“…”
“By any means necessary.”
Jin Songwon couldn’t help but laugh. This man… in many ways, he managed to make Jin Songwon laugh.
“For me, that’s impossible.”
“So what if it is?”
“…What?”
Baek Cheon gritted his teeth and said.
“Of all the things I’ve accomplished so far, there wasn’t a single one I could do on my own from the start.”
“…”
“It’s the same here. If it’s too difficult for you alone, I’ll help. No, everyone will help!”
Jin Songwon let out a hollow, empty laugh.
“I’m your enemy, remember?”
“I know.”
“I committed unforgivable deeds.”
“Haven’t I said I know that already?”
“And yet…”
“Damn it! So what if that’s the case?! The ones I need to save aren’t the ones who committed those sins, but the children trembling in Yunnan! What does your crime have to do with saving those kids?!”
At that moment, Jin Songwon’s eyes trembled violently.
“If it’s too much for you, if you just can’t endure it!”
Baek Cheon straightened his shoulders.
“Pass it on to me. If one must bear it, I will. Your sins, and your fears as well.”
Wasn’t this all a ridiculous farce?
He’s someone who can’t even firmly hold a sword without some kind of supporting device. Someone whose cracked dantian could shatter completely at any moment, whose very life might be quietly crumbling from within… yet he’s volunteering to shoulder Jin Songwon’s burden.
Everything about the situation was laughable, but the biggest joke of all was that Jin Songwon himself couldn’t laugh at Baek Cheon.
“Sect Leader.”
“…”
“Sect Leader!”
Jin Songwon’s vision, which had blurred briefly, came into sharp focus again. But his gaze moved beyond Baek Cheon, to the person who had been standing at some distance behind him, observing silently.
“What do you think, you over there?”
When Jin Songwon posed the question, Chung Myung cut him off immediately, as if there was nothing to consider.
“It’s nonsense. No different from a child throwing a tantrum.”
Jin Songwon nodded. It wasn’t far from his own thoughts.
Baek Cheon’s passionate outburst contained nothing of substance. It was filled with determination, but there was no actual plan behind it. It might pierce one’s heart, yet, if you really think about it, it’s all empty words.
“The world isn’t so gentle. If you listen to that now, sooner or later you’ll shed tears of blood in regret. And that time isn’t far off.”
He agreed with that as well.
Though they stood at sword’s point against each other, it seemed that Jin Songwon and Chung Myung had a similar view of the world.
“So, would you push me away as well?”
Surprisingly, Chung Myung shook his head this time.
“No. If I were you, I’d listen to him.”
“…Why?”
“Because I saw it.”
“…”
“I saw someone who ignored all the so-called smart bastards, the ones who loved nothing more than to brag about themselves, and stubbornly walked a path everyone else pointed at, calling it foolish.”
Chung Myung looked Jin Songwon straight in the eye and answered calmly.
“And that’s how I found out: when those self-proclaimed geniuses can’t accomplish anything, it’s those ‘fools’ who open the way. That’s all there is to it.”
Jin Songwon let out a hollow laugh.
‘What nonsense.’
Open the way? There’s nothing convincing about it. Baek Cheon is trembling so badly he wouldn’t surprise anyone if he collapsed right this moment. The reason he’s been silent for a while isn’t to give Chung Myung and Jin Songwon a chance to talk – it’s likely because even opening his mouth has become too much of a burden.
Isn’t he far too weak?
If there were no one standing in his way, he could snap that neck in the span of a single breath. So very easily.
Yet even in such a circumstance, Baek Cheon’s eyes shone with unwavering clarity.
“Sect Leader…”
Baek Cheon approached Jin Songwon once again. Jin Songwon, biting his lip lightly, struck Baek Cheon’s chest.
Thud!
Baek Cheon, who had managed to stand up with difficulty, collapsed once again as though all his effort had been for nothing.
Jin Songwon let out a sigh and spoke.
“No matter how much you rant, nothing will change. It’s too late to turn back now.”
“But..!”
A flicker of some emotion crossed Jin Songwon’s eyes as he looked up at the sky.
“But at least the part about ‘if you have the courage to die, you might as well struggle to live’.. that much might not be wrong.”
He then turned his body around.
“Nothing has changed. I’m still your enemy. I will see this grudge through to the end.”
With those words, Jin Songwon kicked off the ground and leaped into the distance. In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished.
Perhaps he’d gone to gather his disciples.
Now that he could no longer rule them with a single word as a true Sect Leader, he had to step forward in person. Maybe that process would prove to be a bit of a struggle.
Baek Cheon tried to stand once more but sank down again, as if all his strength had left him.
“Hah..”
His hands were shaking like aspen leaves.
It couldn’t be considered the result he had hoped for. To put it bluntly, it was not even half a proper patch-up – it looked more like a loosely stitched up rag.
Even so…
‘I did it.’
Baek Cheon covered his face with his trembling hands.
There was still something he could do.
Perhaps the one who had truly been saved was Baek Cheon himself.
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Guys, I’m renaming the chapter to “If one must bear it,” bcs it makes more sense now, that the phrase was put into a proper sentence! If one must bear it, I will. I love Baek Cheon. BAEK CHEON!!!
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