Chapter 1173: A Man Who Can't Even Answer (Part 3)

Everyone held different expressions.

Jo Gol's face contorted, while Hye Yeon quietly harbored disapproval, his complexion slightly paling.

Tang Soso wore an expression on the verge of tears, and standing beside her, Yoo Iseol remained stoic, but her gaze was darker than usual.

And then, Yoon Jong, with the most inscrutable expression, let out a sigh.

'It always comes up.'

At times like these, he realized that the world didn't always follow what he had learned.

They were taught to respect righteousness, a lesson ingrained in all members of the righteous sects. It was considered natural for a swordsman to uphold righteousness even at the cost of their lives.

Yet, there was another lesson to be learned: to value the lives of their fellow sect members even more than their own.

Each of these teachings held undeniable truths.

However, if the righteousness they so fervently protected led their beloved sect members down an irreversible path, what was the purpose of safeguarding that righteousness?

"...Your words are excessive."

Jo Gol retorted with a sharp tone, prompting Baek Cheon to raise his head.

"We've felt it too, haven't we?"

"..."

"Honestly, there is probably no one here who hasn't entertained such thoughts. Don't you think?"

Baek Cheon raised his head, and at this moment, no one could meet his gaze. Even though he had committed no sin, they quietly avoided eye contact as if something made them feel uncomfortable.

"I've thought sometimes. Maybe the reason we've been able to discuss righteousness without hesitation is because we haven't experienced significant losses."

"No... Sasuk, is there a place that has lost as much as Mount Hua?"

"Did you lose it?"

"What?"

"Did you personally experience what Mount Hua lost?"

Jo Gol fell silent at Baek Cheon's words. Observing him closely, Baek Cheon sighed subtly.

"We are disciples of Mount Hua. That's why we should regard Mount Hua's struggles as our own. However... objectively speaking, it was Mount Hua that suffered the losses, not us. Think about it rationally. Did we lose anything when we entered Mount Hua?"

Jo Gol bowed his head deeply.

Lose? There couldn't be such a thing. From the beginning, Mount Hua was in such a state of ruin that there was nowhere worse, and after the arrival of Chung Myung, it had developed in an unimaginable way.

Ironically, because they had joined the most devastated sect, they, in turn, gained the most.

"Those who haven't experienced pain don't understand the agony of being struck. Those who haven't been cut by a sword don't know how fearsome that light blade can be. So... we, who have never lost, can never fully comprehend the pain of those who have lost."

Baek Cheon chuckled sardonically.

"Isn't it absurd? If someone who has never been cut by a sword claims that he is not afraid of being cut ten or a hundred times, what would you think?"

Jo Gol bit his lip slightly. What could he say? Someone who didn't know the pain of being cut by a sword was boasting.

"If such thoughts occur to you, perhaps everything we've proudly shouted so far might just be a boastful display to those who have never experienced a sword's cut. Because we haven't lost, we could shout that we would endure losses too, perhaps."

Baek Cheon lowered his eyes silently. They always staked their lives. They always fought for what they believed in. But...

"Looking back, it seems I was quite a cowardly person."

"Sasuk... What do you mean all of a sudden?"

"When we set off for Hangzhou, there was not a shred of hesitation in my heart. It was filled only with certainty. I thought it was something natural for a disciple of Mount Hua."

"Isn't that a natural thing to do? How does that become cowardice?"

"But now, I think that way. Indeed, if Chung Myung hadn't been in front of me at that time..."

"..."

"...If we had to set off for Hangzhou without him, could I have walked without hesitation? Could you have done that?"

Yoon Jong lowered his head.

"Sasuk. That's a meaningless assumption. Righteousness doesn't necessarily mean throwing yourself into the impossible, right?"

"Is that so?"

The corners of Baek Cheon's mouth twisted slightly.

"When you can win, fighting without weighing gains and losses is called righteousness. But when you can't win, not engaging in reckless battles becomes righteousness, doesn't it?"

"..."

"Let me ask again. Could you really have gone to Hangzhou without him? If you believed that was right, could you have practiced righteousness without caring for your life and the lives of your fellow sect members?"

No one could answer. A rather long and excruciating silence continued. Baek Cheon, who had been waiting silently for an answer, finally spoke heavily.

"If not, then the righteousness we've been shouting about is ultimately the arrogance of those who have never lost... No, it's just the cowardice of those who have never faced the possibility of losing. It's no different from a three-year-old child standing behind his father shouting he will not tolerate injustice from his ten-year-old brother."

"Amitabha...."

Hye Yeon briefly frowned and looked at Baek Cheon with solemn eyes.

"Baek Cheon Dojang, what do you want to say?"

"I'm saying we should face it. And we should think."

"..."

"Now looking back, we have never once stepped out of Chung Myung's shadow. We haven't even experienced fighting where Chung Myung wasn't present."

Hye Yeon's expression stiffened.

After hearing those words, it became clear once again. How unnatural their battles had been until now.

"In the past few years, Mount Hua has fought numerous battles, rising from a small sect in Shaanxi to the leader of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance."

"..."

"However, despite all that, Mount Hua has never once split on the battlefield. It has never even deployed a small detachment or a parallel formation with two forces in a single battle. Do you understand what that means?"

Yoo Iseol bit her lip. Seeing her expression, Baek Cheon nodded.

"Yes. He has never let us fight outside his view. He has always tried to keep all members of Mount Hua, regardless of the battle, within this sphere of protection."

"..."

"But now, that may no longer be possible. No, it shouldn't be."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Baek Cheon sighed deeply.

"He talks arrogantly, but just because he's a great figure doesn't mean he has a sharp answer. This is a problem we all need to think about. And the starting point of everything is understanding where we stand, isn't it?"

"Right, Sasuk."

"Is keeping righteousness the right thing? Is it right to abandon the Southern Island Sect to save more people? Is it right to sacrifice the ones I cherish and love to save strangers? Am I not afraid of losing my life to uphold righteousness?"

Baek Cheon listed the thoughts in his head without any order. There was no need to organize them. It wasn't a problem to be solved with a single answer.

"Everyone will have different things they consider important and prioritize. However... yes. It seems there's only one way to find the answer."

Baek Cheon's voice sank indefinitely.

"Someday, when we stand in the middle of the battlefield, someone will die. Inevitably."

"..."

"At that time, what's important is not whether you can enter the death voluntarily. It's whether you can let your comrades, who are by your side, go to their death knowing it and still let them go without stopping them. That's when your commitment to the righteousness you've upheld until now becomes true."

Yoon Jong's shoulders trembled. Those were excessively harsh words.

"If Mount Hua truly follows the value of righteousness, then, for the sake of righteousness, we must be willing to sacrifice not just our lives but even the lives of Mount Hua's disciples. Saying that we should be the first to die is nothing more than a temporary escape to avoid making a choice."

"Sasuk."

"...Can you really do that?"

Once again, there was no returning answer.

"Think about it. What were we really trying to do? Is this really the only path? Or should we choose a different path now?"

Jo Gol bit his lips harder. It was almost to the point of drawing blood. Even Yoo Iseol, who was always calm, had slightly trembling fingertips.

Everyone was unsettled.

"If it's not possible, then following the Bangjang's words might be better. Then, at least Mount Hua won't shed as much blood as others, and we can face the same outcome as others. We won't have to accept harsher consequences in the name of righteousness. I will make it like that."

Baek Cheon stood up.

His face was composed. However, those who knew Baek Cheon could see that beneath that composed expression was a coldness that had never been seen in him before.

"Think about it. I will convey the conclusions you reach to the higher-ups."

Baek Cheon turned away to leave, but Yoon Jong called out to him.

"Sasuk."

Baek Cheon's step abruptly stopped. Yoon Jong asked him.

"Has Sasuk made a decision?"

"Does it matter?"

"..."

"Deciding what's right or wrong is up to each individual. Don't ask others. There's no need to consult each other. At least, ask yourself how you will use your own life."

Yoon Jong's head drooped.

Silently, Baek Cheon, who had been gazing at Yoon Jong, distanced himself from them. Those who had been standing there like statues for a while looked at each other briefly and then silently turned to head back to their respective places.

The exceptionally heavy moonlight rested on their shoulders.

Baek Cheon's slow footsteps echoed in the darkness.

'It's difficult.'

Even when he tried not to, sighs kept escaping.

"Difficult...."

A few years ago, he wouldn't have had such concerns. It would have sufficed to aim only to become stronger and focus on revitalizing Mount Hua.

Dealing with those immature Sajils, bickering with the Samaes, and making an effort while shouting was all that needed to be done.

However, now the world was forcing him to make a choice. It commanded him to bear the weight befitting his strength. Although he hadn't shouldered a considerable burden yet, his shoulders already felt too heavy. To the extent that it felt like he might be crushed and disappear.

'So, this is how it is.'

Fighting against powerful adversaries. Until now, he hadn't fully understood the depth of the meaning contained in those simple worlds.

That statement encompassed everything he had upheld until now—fighting with life, relationships, values, and everything else.

'What kind of fight was it?'

His ancestors who fought a harsher battle a hundred years ago—what did they see, and what did they feel? If they were by Baek Cheon's side now, what would they have wanted to convey to him?

Baek Cheon turned his gaze toward the moon.

Time had flowed too far, and the world had changed just as much. Voices from a hundred years ago were impossible to hear. However, the moon still floated there, whether it was a hundred years ago or now...

Suddenly, Baek Cheon's face, which had been gazing at the moon, went blank. No, actually, his gaze was directed below the moon.

On the eaves that half-embraced the moon, a person's back came into view. Shoulders that seemed a little sad, partially overlapped with the moon.