Chapter 1090: What Sin Did I Commit In My Past Life (Part 5)

It's not that he didn't understand the fear they felt.

No, Chung Myung understood their feelings more keenly than anyone else. After all, he had experienced it once before.

When the Demonic Cult first began to push into the Central Plains, the moment Mount Hua grasped the vastness of their power and their purpose, what gripped the sect was a suffocating feeling of fear and pressure.

The fear that if they did nothing, the Central Plains might be destroyed. And the pressure that Mount Hua also had to share the responsibility. Under the weight of these, Mount Hua eventually rushed forward and sacrificed itself.

It might have been the right choice. After all, the result was the defeat of the Heavenly Demon and the prevention of the Demonic Sect. However...

'Sect Leader Sahyung.'

Chung Myung asked Cheon Mun, who was shedding tears of blood.

'Does Sahyung still believe that the decision to sacrifice was the right one?'

There's no need for an answer. The tears in Cheon Mun's eyes were speaking on his behalf.

Was there really such a thing as heaven, if you were Cheon Mun who witnessed the downfall of the Mount Hua Sect and the shame suffered by its descendants?

Perhaps, for Cheon Mun, it would be more fitting to call the world an infernal Hell rather than a realm of virtue. Observing a scene where burning in hellfire flames seems more comfortable.

And now, Hyun Jong was walking that path.

Chung Myung opened his eyes and looked at Hyun Jong. The face of Cheon Mun in front of him overlapped with Hyun Jong's face.

"Sect Leader."

"...Speak."

"I know it might sound absurd for me to say this."

"...I know, you rascal."

Chung Myung's words, heavy as they were, slightly eased the tension in the air.

Chung Myung had always been like that. Even when everyone else hesitated, he would charge into the enemy lines without a moment's hesitation, all for the sake of what he believed needed to be done. It made no sense for him to stop Hyun Jong now.

"Sect Leader, I've been thinking for a long time. Why did Mount Hua, despite upholding justice and doing what was right, collapse?"

"..."

"Why did tears of blood have to be shed even when doing the right thing?"

Hyun Jong closed his eyes slightly. In fact, this question was like an unsolvable problem for those living in the current Mount Hua. Uphold righteousness, they were taught. But the price for upholding that righteousness was too brutal. The disparity between what they learned and what they experienced. This disparity sometimes made them doubt the path they were walking.

If protecting others through one's own death was the right thing to do, then everyone here would do it without a moment's hesitation.

However, Mount Hua's disciples knew. What they were trying to now was an act that pushed even those they wanted to protect the most into the shackles of sacrifice. How could they accept that the price of their efforts to protect their precious ones was the sacrifice of those they wanted to protect the most?

Can one truly die laughing?

Can one laugh after witnessing the tragic scene of their comrades, with whom they trained together and laughed together, all dying? Can one feel joy at preventing the downfall of the Central Plains, knowing the harrowing results of the sacrifice of those comrades?

Chung Myung was now bringing up a fact that Mount Hua's disciples had subtly avoided mentioning.

"...Did you think about it?"

"Yes."

"And... did you find the answer?"

Chung Myung slowly shook his head.

"I didn't find it, Sect Leader."

"..."

"I just wished for it. For us to become stronger. And for them to be weaker than before. So that even if we repeated the same thing, the results wouldn't be as tragic as before."

Hyun Jong closed his eyes.

It was an empty and futile answer. In this regard, Hyun Jong was no different from Chung Myung. They had merely wished for things, hoping that someday, there wouldn't be a situation where their lives were at stake.

"That's why when I heard news of the appearance of the Demonic Sect, I had to go. Not to stop them, but to confirm. To see how strong they had become with my own eyes."

Hyun Jong's eyelids trembled.

It was because he could imagine the anguish that Chung Myung must have felt upon seeing the power of the Demonic Cult with his own eyes. No, it was because he could feel it clearly from those eyes.

"...You must have felt despair."

"Yes."

Chung Myung replied calmly. It was too calm, almost bitter. A sigh escaped naturally from Hyun Jong's lips.

Why did this child always keep such stories only within himself?

If he were to tell him a little more about the story contained within, perhaps he could somehow help him. No…Even if I can't help you, I will try my best.

"I fought without finding the answer. Because fighting seemed better than not fighting."

"..."

"But as I fought, I learned why Mount Hua failed."

Hyun Jong looked at Chung Myung with a vacant face.

"...Why?"

"Because I didn't believe."

"...You didn't believe?"

"Yes."

Chung Myung nodded slowly.

Chung Myung was undoubtedly an extraordinary individual. Not just in terms of the strength of a martial artist, but in terms of the strength of a person throughout his life. Even Hyun Jong, now acknowledged by Chung Myung, might appear as nothing more than a fragile person if he were to be measured against Chung Myung's standards.

But...

"At that time, Mount Hua was too strong, and the one leading Mount Hua was too outstanding. That's why... that's exactly why Mount Hua couldn't trust anyone else but itself."

Now he understood. Why Mount Hua had to bear that heavy burden alone.

Chung Myung had always been told by Cheon Mun not to go alone, to take care of his brothers. Don't go alone; lead those who are lacking with your excellence. That was Cheon Mun's way. However...

Chung Myung bit his lips slightly.

Perhaps this was the first time, throughout his long life, that he was saying such a thing.

"That way was wrong."

The moment the words came out, his tongue felt bitter. Denying Cheon Mun was almost equivalent to denying everything about Chung Myung. However, at this moment, Chung Myung had to endure that bitterness.

Not for those left in the past but for those living in the present.

"The reason Mount Hua could fight at the forefront was that there were those supporting them from behind."

Chung Myung could only fight at the forefront because there were those supporting him.

"Nevertheless, Mount Hua believed they did everything themselves."

Even so, Chung Myung believed he did everything himself.

"If Mount Hua had a little time to look back at those fighting behind them..."

If Chung Myung had looked back at those fighting behind him even a little...

"The result might have been different."

Perhaps he wouldn't have lost them all.

Having said that, Chung Myung closed his eyes quietly.

Mount Hua at that time was undoubtedly a strong and great sect. But precisely because of that, it was also an arrogant and dictatorial sect. They looked at those who did not understand the righteousness they pursued with cold eyes. It was an undeniable fact.

Cheon Mun always scolded the uncooperative Chung Myung. However, the Mount Hua led by Cheon Mun may not have been much different from Chung Myung. Since the cooperation Cheon Mun spoke of was only cooperation within the sect.

Despite that, Chung Myung always considered Cheon Mun to be absolutely right.

Because Cheon Mun was always a righteous person and too monumental for Chung Myung to follow easily.

However, he came to know during the battle with Danjagang.

Behind him, there was Tang Bo, but behind Mount Hua, there was no one.

Cheon Mun, to whom Chung Myung regarded as a great mountain, was not a perfect being either. He was just a human who suffered repeatedly throughout his life.

And now, for the first time, Chung Myung looked away from the shadow of Cheon Mun that had been hanging over him, gazing at the world. It was warm, but at the same time, it was a relief to escape the heavy and dense shadow.

"Sect Leader."

"Okay... yes, Chung Myung."

"When people become anxious, they forget what they have."

"..."

"What do we have?"

Hyun Jong couldn't readily answer that question. What do we have... what do we possess...

Justice? Harmony? Or... force?

Hyun Jong looked around at the people sitting here with deep contemplation in his eyes. And as if there was nothing more to think about, he opened his mouth.

"Mount Hua has too much. But if I were to say the most precious and important thing among them, there is only one."

Hyun Jong nodded with a slightly smiling face.

"Just people."

Chung Myung smiled back at those words. It was exactly what he had hoped to hear from Hyun Jong.

"It's different from the past. We have people. Not just Mount Hua but also those who are with Mount Hua."

After Chung Myung arrived, Mount Hua gained many things. But among them, the biggest thing would be relationships and bonds, no matter what anyone said.

"I was the same. When we were crushed by the power of the Evil Tyrant Alliance, the first thing I chose was simply to strengthen myself. I could abandon everything for that."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Originally, Heavenly Comrade Alliance should have collapsed then. Who would wait for someone who had abandoned all responsibilities to strengthen himself? But... Tang Gaju-nim waited for us patiently, even shouldering the things we had to do."

Chung Myung turned his head and looked at Tang Gunak. Tang Gunak, who received that gaze, awkwardly smiled as if feeling uncomfortable.

"Why did you do that, Sect Leader?"

"Was there really a reason? Just..."

The voice from Tang Gunak was an unusual, humble tone that was rarely heard. Therefore, without a trace of doubt, it felt sincere.

"Because we are close friends."

As if feeling awkward saying such words, Tang Gunak lightly cleared his throat. Chung Myung grinned.

If only at that time.

Back then, the time they lost what they shouldn't have lost.

If there were sects like the Tang Family in Mount Hua, if there were people like Tang Bo in Mount Hua, would they have just watched the fall of Mount Hua? Would they have ignored the flock of tigers rushing towards Mount Hua?

No, that wouldn't have happened. Absolutely not.

If it were Tang Bo, he would have risked his life to stop it. If it were the current Tang Family, no matter what happened, they would not have let them set foot on the mountain path of Mount Hua.

What Mount Hua has now, and what the Mount Hua of that time could not have.

"Sect Leader..."

These words were spoken by Chung Myung, a disciple of Mount Hua, and also spoken by from Plum Blossom Sword Saint Chung Myung to the past Cheon Mun.

"When a swordsman falters in front of a powerful enemy, what he must believe in is his own sword and the time he has spent training."

"...That's right."

"Then what should a sect believe in?"

"Well..."

Hyun Jong looked at the people sitting in front of him once again. And with a gentle gaze, he looked at Chung Myung and answered.

"The value of what we have preserved... and the confidence in the path we have walked."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

Chung Myung also smiled gently.

"The reason we created the Heavenly Comrade Alliance was because we needed people who believed in and fought for each other. Because we believed that we would become each other's source of strength and protection."

"Yeah, that's right."

Chung Myung slowly lowered his head.

"So, Sect Leader. When you're wondering what to do, Sect Leader, look back on what Mount Hua and Sect Leader has preserved. I believe all the answers are within that."

Hyun Jong quietly looked at Chung Myung, who lowered his head.

What they have done. What they have preserved.

"...I understand what you mean."

Chung Myung closed his eyes.

'Sect Leader Sahyung.'

In the darkness, Cheon Mun was still looking at him. However, Cheon Mun's face was no longer filled with pain.

'Don't worry. The kids now are better than us.'

At that moment, a gentle smile bloomed on Cheon Mun's face as he looked at Chung Myung.

With his eyes closed, Chung Myung looked at that smile for a long time.

For a long time.