Chapter 1713: That’s Enough. (8)
“Over here!”
Meanwhile, the gravely injured disciples of Wudang were being moved into the medical hall. The sounds of placing patients on empty beds and searching for medicines began to resonate loudly.
“Elder Heo Gong first!”
“Quickly bring the golden ointment and healing elixirs! His condition is very serious!”
“Mu Jin Sasuk, over here too!”
“Damn it, bandages! Where are the bandages? What are those in the medical hall doing?”
Urgent and desperate voices surged from all around, further intensifying the turmoil.
Meanwhile, the disciples of Mount Hua remained silent, as if they were all dead.
After a suffocating silence, Gwak Hoi muttered dazedly.
“What do you mean by that, Gaju-nim? That you can’t save him? That can’t be.”
“……”
“Then, does it mean that Baek Cheon Sasuk will die?”
Though it was a naive question, Tang Gunak couldn’t blame Gwak Hoi. He simply opened his eyes slowly and sighed deeply.
With that reaction, Gwak Hoi spoke passionately.
“One moment, Gaju-nim! It’s just a superficial burn! Sure, I know burns are not easy to treat, but it’s Baek Cheon Sasuk. A person like him can’t be defeated by this…”
Instinctively looking at Baek Cheon, Gwak Hoi couldn’t finish his sentence and took a deep breath.
The expression “this” felt ridiculous. If Baek Cheon was still breathing, it was a miracle in itself. Anyone with such burns would have already died.
“If it were just a superficial wound... you’d be right.”
“…What?”
Tang Gunak slowly shook his head.
“But Baek Cheon’s wounds are not superficial. The really serious ones are the internal burns.”
“……”
“If it were a superficial wound, we could try to revitalize his internal energy with needles. But his body has suffered such damage that it can’t even retain the energy. I doubt there is any internal energy left.”
Everyone wanted to cover their ears and deny reality.
Instead, they looked once more at Baek Cheon on the bed.
“It’s a miracle that he’s still breathing. As a doctor, I can’t do more. I’m sorry.”
He would die.
Baek Cheon would die.
“Ah…”
An empty sigh escaped from Baek Sang’s lips.
He had never imagined it. Though he always repeated that they were risking their lives, he didn’t think death would approach like this.
No, rather, he didn’t believe that Baek Cheon would die. He believed that even if they died, Baek Cheon would always be there.
Because he was that kind of person. Baek Cheon shouldn’t die.
‘It can’t be.’
That’s right. Baek Cheon mustn’t die. They can’t let him go so senselessly.
Then, an idea crossed his mind. Trembling, Baek Sang searched his chest.
“You said the problem was energy, right? Here it is! We can supplement his energy with this!”
Quickly, he pulled something out and showed it to Tang Gunak.
“It’s one of the last Jasodan of Mount Hua! I got it from the Sect Leader! With this, we can revitalize his energy and treat him…”
“It’s useless.”
A look of pity crossed Tang Gunak’s eyes as he looked at Baek Sang and the Jasodan. Baek Sang screamed with a face distorted by desperation.
“Why? We have a Jasodan here!”
“The Jasodan combines the extreme energies of yin and yang to form a balanced energy.”
“……”
“Baek Cheon’s body has already absorbed all the energy it could. Adding more will only cause an excess.”
“But you said he lacks energy. And now you’re saying it will be too much? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Tang Gunak sighed deeply. Though it seemed like a simple explanation, it was difficult for them to understand. But in reality…
“I understand that you don’t want to accept it.”
“……”
“But there’s nothing more I can do. I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”
Tang Gunak bowed deeply to the disciples of Mount Hua. Though it wasn’t his fault, he understood the significance of Baek Cheon’s death to them.
“Ah…”
This image of Tang Gunak made the disciples of Mount Hua understand the harsh reality. Baek Cheon, their Sasuk, was on the brink of death.
In the face of this terrifying reality, no one dared to speak.
Then, a sharp voice burst out like a thunderbolt.
“Stop spouting nonsense!”
“Sahyung!”
“Move aside!”
Jo Gul pushed Gwak Hoi aside and approached Baek Cheon limping. Tang Gunak intervened.
“What do you intend to do?”
“If energy is lacking, we need to infuse more energy.”
“It won’t work. Baek Cheon can’t retain the energy. It’s like pouring water into a bottomless barrel.”
Despite Tang Gunak’s firm warning, Jo Gul looked at him with bloodshot eyes.
“Don’t you understand the logic?”
“…What?”
“The way to fill a bottomless barrel is to pour more water than what leaks out. Damn it, we just keep pouring until it fills up!”
Tang Gunak gritted his teeth.
“Then…the barrel will break.”
“We’ll know that after we try.”
“You have to understand, Jo Gul.”
“Move aside! Don’t stop me or I won’t be responsible for my actions!”
Jo Gul’s fury emanated from him. Tang Gunak closed his eyes.
He understood that Jo Gul wasn’t ignorant. He knew that what he was doing could kill Baek Cheon faster. But he couldn’t accept Baek Cheon’s death without fighting.
What words could persuade someone so desperate?
“Ga, Gaju-nim.”
Baek Sang, almost crawling, approached and grabbed Tang Gunak’s sleeve.
“Save my sahyung, Gaju-nim.”
“……”
“He can’t die like this. Sahyung isn’t someone who should die like this. I’d rather you tell me to die, but save Sahyung…please, save Sahyung!”
“Listen…”
“It can’t be! Sahyung isn’t someone who should die here!”
No one could do anything to calm Baek Sang, who was on the verge of collapse. Finally, Yoon Jong and Hye Yeon got up with difficulty and held him, pulling him away.
“Sasuk…”
“Siju.”
Baek Sang, with a lost look, suddenly burst into tears while looking at Baek Cheon lying motionless. In his eyes boiled anger and resentment.
“Damn it, idiot…yes, I knew you’d end up like this someday. You’re an idiot who always throws himself like a rag, so I knew this would happen someday. What could be so important? What’s more important than your own life?”
“…Sahyung.”
“Answer me! Do you feel satisfied now that you’ve fulfilled your grand words? Idiot, answer!”
“Sasuk, you’re being…”
Yoon Jong, gritting his teeth, was about to shout but stopped when he saw the tears falling from Baek Sang’s face.
“Damn…idiot…”
“……”
Baek Sang collapsed to the ground, unable even to sob.
The disciples of Mount Hua lowered their heads one by one. Though the expression of their feelings differed, they all shared the same pain under the name of Mount Hua.
Perhaps Baek Cheon knew of his fate. Maybe it was he who took the first step towards this outcome.
To save one more. To prove that his words weren’t mere adornments.
But none of those present could feel proud of Baek Cheon. No one could applaud his noble and grand decision.
“Gaju-nim…”
Hye Yeon, trembling, made a gesture of reverence and looked at Tang Gunak. Though his heart shared the pain of the disciples of Mount Hua, as a member of another sect, he had to be the one to seek alternatives and try to find solutions.
“Is there really no other remedy?”
Tang Gunak responded bitterly.
“Baek Cheon’s condition is one of both lack and excess of energy at the same time.”
“What does that mean?”
“The yang energy of the leader of the Southern Sea Sun Palace is full in his body, as if he’s been poisoned.”
“……”
“That energy is burning Baek Cheon’s energy, leaving him like a barren desert. Even if he takes Jasodan, the yang energy of the leader will burn that energy too, further damaging his body.”
“That’s…”
Hye Yeon’s face turned pale.
“And if there was an elixir with extreme yin energy?”
“It would be the same.”
Tang Gunak shook his head.
“When fire meets ice, they don’t extinguish each other but cause an explosion. Baek Cheon doesn’t have the strength to withstand that impact. It’s like a burnt house; no matter how you try to put out the fire, the house will collapse.”
Hye Yeon looked at Baek Cheon with a face of astonishment.
Finally, he understood the situation. According to Tang Gunak, there was no cure for Baek Cheon.
“Amita Buddha…”
All Hye Yeon could do was murmur a desperate plea in a trembling voice.
“Isn’t this too cruel?”
Without Baek Cheon’s risky blow, they wouldn’t have been able to penetrate the leader of the Southern Sea Sun Palace. But the price was too high.
Steps resounded in the somber atmosphere, and someone approached Baek Cheon’s bedside. Neither Gwak Hoi nor Tang Gunak could stop this person.
It was Yoo Iseol.
She looked at Baek Cheon lying on the bed and closed her eyes.
-Then, Samae will be able to protect me.
Yoo Iseol couldn’t protect him. It was Baek Cheon who protected her and the other disciples of Mount Hua with his shattered body.
What does it mean to be strong? What is the purpose of martial learning?
A soft voice came out like a whisper.
“It can’t be like this, Sahyung.”
Everyone held their breath.
“It can’t end like this. You still have to give me another chance.”
“……”
“Please, please…”
Her voice trembled at the end. Yoo Iseol, who had never trembled even in life-and-death situations, was now trembling. Seeing this scene broke the last thread of hope of the disciples of Mount Hua.
Someone dropped to the ground, and others started to cry.
“Damn it…”
Even Jo Gul, unable to contain his emotions, covered his face with his hands.
A deep sense of helplessness took hold of everyone.
What’s the point of being strong? What’s the point of holding on to the right ideals? If they can’t protect what truly matters.
How can they handle this great loss and deep pain?
“Damn it!”
Boom!
Jo Gul, gritting his teeth, hit the ground. But at that moment, someone unexpected spoke.
“I want to hear more details.”
Tang Gunak was startled and turned his head.
“Elder Heo Gong!”
“Sasuk!”
“You shouldn’t get up, Sasuk!”
Heo Gong, who had been lying like a corpse, got up and looked in that direction with calm eyes like a lake.
