Chapter 1369: Do You Know What Shame Is? (Part 4)

A heap of red soil had been piled high. The elderly man, who covered the last handful of dirt with a dirt-stained hand, wiped away the tears that gathered in his eyes with his muddy hands.

"Is there a case where a child goes first, leaving the father behind...? This heartless thing."

The old man knew it too. That it wasn't Hyeong Wook's fault. But he couldn't bear it without saying it like this.

His child had suffered cruel torture in front of his eyes and eventually succumbed to death.

It wasn't that he turned away because he found his son's remaining days to be pitiful. Rather, his child's remaining days were undoubtedly more valuable than the soon-to-be-expired life of someone like him.

If the old man had succumbed to his anger and rushed at the evildoers, being tortured wouldn't have been the only consequence. The villagers, including his family, and even the young grandchildren, would have ended up in the same state as Hyeong Wook.

That's why those with no strength eventually have to turn their heads away. Even if they have eyes, they can't see, and even if they have mouths, they can't speak.

"That's right... That's right, it's me..."

The old man couldn't continue speaking and just sobbed helplessly. The villagers who approached him as he sat down offered words of comfort.

"Village Chief... Hyeong Wook left like a true man."

"He won't have any regrets."

But those words didn't bring any comfort. Instead, it seemed to intensify the old man's sorrow even more.

He shouted, spitting out saliva like a fit.

"What's the meaning of that, huh? What's the meaning! When you die, everything ends! Loyalty, favors, accepting such empty things leads to this kind of situation!"

The old man struck his thigh forcefully. His eyes were bloodshot, and resentful words poured out of his mouth incessantly.

"Live a good life? Who doesn't know that's right? Living a good life and ending up like this is what we know! People like us have no conscience, no shame! You villain! The worst scum in the world!"

The sounds of the wife who lost her husband and the remaining children weeping could be heard continuously.

"Martial artists or heroes! Where were those sneaky bastards who promised to help when passing by? And what changed? What changed even if they were there! Where were they when we were in this situation surrounded by those evil bastards!"

Everyone fell silent.

"That's why we should have turned away... It shouldn't have been exaggerated, I kept saying that...."

The old man collapsed as if crumbling, sobbing uncontrollably. Everyone, watching this scene, couldn't untangle their complex emotions.

It's a clear fact that they escaped the danger of their lives thanks to the people from Mount Hua. However, those who tried to repay that kindness found themselves in a more perilous situation than if they had died initially, buried in that soil.

What was the right thing to do?

"...Still, isn't it a fact that we are alive, even if barely, thanks to them?"

"How do you know that? Even if they hadn't helped, things might have miraculously worked out!"

"Why speak like that? To those who kindly helped us...."

"Kindly helped? So, why did we end up like this? The village head is absolutely right. While we were trembling surrounded by those wicked bastards, what on earth were they doing? Didn't they run away saying they would survive!"

Voices around the burial mound escalated in various tones. Although the deceased was not visible, they, too, were highly agitated due to the events of the previous day.

"If they're not going to take responsibility to the end, they shouldn't have helped!"

"Is there anyone among them who did something, even a little? Where are those who didn't even do that?"

"Isn't it because of them that we're in this situation? What a pointless expectation! Even if Hyeong Wook didn't know where they went, he wouldn't have gone through such hardship!"

At that moment, the old man, who had been silent, turned his piercing gaze towards the people.

"...And who's to blame for that?"

"...Village head?"

"If everyone had just kept their mouths shut, it would have passed without any issues, it would have! But in the middle of that, who sold out my son?"

The old man's distorted face was now truly tragic.

He had seen clearly and heard everything. The villagers he had considered as family betraying his son. Those who turned away from such acts passed by as if nothing happened.

"Those who will receive this divine punishment...."

"Why is that our fault?"

However, someone couldn't just listen to those words.

"...What?"

The old man squinted his eyes. Then, a person with a dissatisfied expression spoke up again.

"That's what I'm asking, why is it our fault?"

"...Y-you shameless...!"

"Yes! I am shameless, and I have no conscience. But didn't the village head say the same thing?"

The old man widened his eyes as if he had received a shock.

"Me?"

"Isn't it? To survive, ignorant people like us should not think about gratitude or anything else. You said we should think about how to save our lives immediately, not about gratitude, cooperation, or affection. You said those things are for those who have the luxury, and you said this to all of us just two days ago."

The old man looked at the man in front of him as if he had received an unexpected blow.

It wasn't a lie. He had definitely said those words. But he hadn't thought about things like this when he said them. With widened eyes, the old man said:

"H-Hyeong Wook, was he an outsider? A strong person? People like us should help each other...."

"First, shouldn't we survive?"

The man shouted as if he were swearing. As the voices got louder, people around tried to discourage him, looking at the old man.

"Hey! What are you doing to the village head!"

"Can't you stop?"

"No! Did I say anything wrong?"

But the man couldn't hold back.

"You neglected the martial artists who saved our lives and was thinking about how to survive. What on earth did Hyeong Wook do so remarkable that I have to risk my life to protect him? I have to live and see! I!"

"...."

"Weren't you all thinking the same? When Hyeong Wook mentioned where those martial artists went, who was there to report? Weren't you all thinking the same?"

"Hey, this guy! Regardless of what happened, Hyeong Wook has just been buried in the ground! Is this the place to discuss that in front of his..."

"For goodness' sake, don't pretend to be kind now! Do you think I wouldn't have heard you selling out Hyeong Wook?"

"W-When did I..."

The man's neck had vivid veins on it.

"If you had shut your mouth there, we would've all died! So, just to save that guy, we all had to die?"

The man stared at the old man threateningly.

"What's the difference! Didn't the village head tell us to do as he said! He told us not to think about morals or nonsense! What did I do so wrong? Tell me!"

With the last bit of strength, the man collapsed to the ground as if his legs had given way.

"What are you trying to do, what!"

While pounding the ground with his fists, he shouted with a beast-like voice.

Listening to that sound, the old man's strength seemed to drain away.

Whom could he blame? There wasn't a single incorrect word in that statement. The one who had emphasized that they had to live like that was the old man.

That saying killed his son, created the village in this state.

'Yeah. I have to live.'

Isn't that enough as long as you're alive?

Even if it meant selling the benefactor who showed kindness or pushing the one who had lived together for decades under the blades of enemies, wasn't it enough to survive?

Wasn't that the right thing to do?

"Haha...."

For a moment, heartbroken laughter spilled out of the old man's mouth.

"Haha haha...."

However, everyone knew it wasn't laughter. That sound was a sigh of a lost soul, a sob.

The villagers couldn't bear to look directly at the old man and avoided his gaze.

After sobbing for a while, the old man's voice, which had become slightly firmer, came out.

"...Get ready to leave."

"Yes?"

Everyone looked at the old man in confusion at his sudden words.

"Village head, what is this about...?"

"I'm not saying to leave the village. Do you think I have the power to tell you all to leave?"

Some people pursed their lips at his words.

"It's just that we can't live here anymore, so let's leave."

"W-We can't live here anymore?"

"Will they just let us be?"

"...W-Well, didn't they just leave?"

It was an innocent remark. The old man chuckled weakly and spoke without much strength.

"If the world's problems were easily solved, we wouldn't be going through this hardship. Even if Hyeong Wook ended up in the ground, the fact that we resisted them wouldn't change. Whether it's now or later, anger will come to the village."

The villagers, who had not thought about it until now, looked at each other in confusion.

Now that they thought about it, it was a valid point. This village had already caught the attention of the Evil Tyrant Alliance. Even if they safely passed through this incident, if they were caught even in a small way, severe persecution would pour down upon them.

"We should leave... We can't survive by sticking to this cursed land."

"Wait, Village head. We've lived here all our lives. Where on earth should we go?"

"Do you all understand?"

"...O-Our homes and fields are all here..."

The old man laughed at the good-natured words.

"Then you can stay."

There was no reply. Despite speaking realistically, the old man's eyes were empty.

"We have to live... Even if it's such a miserable life, we have to live somehow. Even if there's a bit of hope in going to an unknown place and building a new life, we have to live..."

The faces of everyone who realized the dismal truth about life in front of them gradually darkened.

The old man stared blankly at the covered bier of Hyeong Wook. His heart had become empty.

What had he lived for? In the end, the last thing he had to see was this scene... What had he survived so tenaciously for?

Did he, knowing that others could abandon him if he abandoned them, pretend to be smart alone?

In the end, he knew nothing.

"Get ready to leave."

"Yes? R-Right away?"

"Do you think those who left because of their pride won't send people after us?"

"...?"

"If it were me, after sweeping through the village, I would report to the authorities that the village faced a disaster unrelated to them. We have to live, people. We have to somehow endure this harsh life. So get ready..."

The villagers lowered their heads.

Where had it gone wrong? Where had things become so twisted? They hadn't done anything, so why were they going through such hardship?

"Don't dawdle and move. Leave before they lay hands on us."

"Vi...Village head?"

"What are you all waiting for...?"

"N-No, it's not that. There, there! Over there!"

A man with a bluish face pointed somewhere. The old man weakly turned to look.

"Haha..."

At the village entrance, a group of men was approaching. Cold expressions and large knives at their waists. The old man laughed bitterly.

"It seems we're too late..."

Perhaps this was the fitting end for this village. The old man thought so and closed his eyes in silence.