Trembling legs took another hesitant step forward.
Despite swaying as if about to collapse at any moment, Beok Gye continued to move forward relentlessly. His body, riddled with wounds, had reached its limit long ago, but his mind clung to the determination to "keep moving forward."
Step by step, slower than an ordinary person's pace, even teetering on the brink of collapse, Beok Gye pressed on. With Beok Jeong on his back.
This was Beok Gye's last possible choice.
But because of that choice, Beok Jeong, carried on his back, was experiencing hell while still alive.
"Aaaaargh!"
Once again, the horrifying scream of someone dying echoed.
It was a familiar voice. Beok Jeong's body trembled faintly.
Another life. Another despair. And another...
"The law... of karma..."
He wished he could at least lose consciousness.
That way, he could escape from this agony worse than being stabbed all over by swords. He wouldn't have to hear the sounds of his disciples dying to save him.
What was the point of saving him now? He had already lost everything. In this world, there are countless lives worse than death. At least that was the case for Beok Jeong now.
But this qi deviation, like heavenly punishment, tore his flesh apart but left his consciousness vividly intact. It was truly a living hell.
"Me..."
With all his strength, he grabbed Beok Gye's shoulders. Of course, it was a powerless grip without any strength.
"Please, the law..."
Put me down and save yourself.
He couldn't even finish that short sentence.
Of course, Beok Gye would have understood his meaning perfectly well. Yet, he didn't let go of Beok Jeong.
"The law..."
"Do you remember, senior brother?"
Beok Gye took another shaky step forward.
Though his body was on the verge of collapse, his voice remained steady.
"Once... before..."
"..."
"...I wanted to escape from Shaolin."
One step. Another step.
Beok Gye's voice sounded like a murmur.
"I was born dull and stubborn, Shaolin didn't suit me well. I still remember the sighs of senior and junior brothers and the strict gaze of the masters."
"The law..."
"At that time, someone... sided with me, senior brother."
With each step, Beok Gye's voice became slightly clearer.
Even if Beok Jeong could respond properly, he probably wouldn't have. Because he couldn't remember.
It was a ridiculous story.
What someone considered an unforgettable event in their life, someone else merely regarded as a passing moment.
It was absurd, but there was no laughter in it. It was sad.
"At that time... senior brother was a disciple who bore the expectations of Shaolin on his shoulders. I was... happy. It was... gratifying to be acknowledged by such a senior brother. Perhaps that's why I've been able to endure in Shaolin until now."
What meaning did it hold now?
When everything had disappeared.
Under the weight of sins piled up like a mountain, making it difficult to even breathe, what meaning did it hold?
"Now that I think about it... senior brother."
"..."
"...I hated senior brother."
Beok Gye took another step forward.
These words aren't for Beok Jeong. Perhaps Beok Gye has even forgotten the fact that he's carrying Beok Jeong. He's just moving forward, unaware of what he's doing, blindly pressing on.
Foolishly and foolishly.
"Senior brother could do anything. When I looked at him, I felt so insignificant. That's why I clung to the precepts. Because even someone as foolish as me could follow them if I knew them."
"The law... of karma..."
"I couldn't do anything else but cling to the precepts. But senior brother... senior brother seemed so brilliant. That's why I hated him... Sometimes I even resented him. But... now all that's left in my mind is saving senior brother. Maybe... I liked senior brother more than I thought..."
A faint, muffled laughter was heard.
Beok Jeong's dry hand, gripping Beok Gye's clothes, trembled.
He didn't want to hear such words.
"In retrospect..."
A faint smile appeared on Beok Gye's face, filled with pain.
"That... that's destiny."
Thud.
Beok Gye, his legs giving out, stumbled with Beok Jeong. But there was no more pain in his body.
"Beok Gye... Save... me... Even you..."
Beok Jeong's voice came from behind, but Beok Gye ignored the faint desperate plea and struggled to stand up again, carrying Beok Jeong.
'Where should we go?'
Everywhere they looked, there were cliffs.
No matter where they went, they would fall and tumble down. They couldn't avoid the path of suffering.
Nevertheless, Beok Gye took another step along that blurry thorny path.
There they might be.
Other connections. Those who had become his disciples for life.
At the end of that hollow of death, what did they remember?
"Emei..."
The reason he couldn't finish the Buddhist prayer wasn't just because he was exhausted.
'Do you really watch over us?'
If so, why did you leave so many people there to die?
A single tear rolled down Beok Gye's wrinkled eyes.
He didn't stop walking. He didn't know where he was going. He just kept moving forward because he hadn't given up yet, just as he had lived his life.
"The sea of suffering..."
A murmuring voice was heard.
What was it that he was carrying on his back?
Was he trying to protect it? Or was it hope? Was it just the groans of a suffering sentient being? Or was it his duty?
Maybe it was all of those things. His consciousness began to fade.
"Live..."
Bang!
In that moment, a Taoist flew towards Beok Jeong from behind. Instinctively, Beok Gye turned his body to shield Beok Jeong.
Thunk!
The Taoist plunged diagonally into Beok Gye's body. Beok Gye's body, soaked in blood, tumbled like a torn kite. As his torn clothes were cut away, Beok Jeong's body was pushed forward.
"Damn bastards."
*Step* *Step*
True to his name, Jeok Ho, his entire body drenched in red, walked with his sword drawn. The sound of him sharpening his blade echoed in the distance, reaching Beok Gye's ears.
"Do you think you can escape?"
Shaolin disciples had relentlessly blocked his path. Even if he turned into a corpse, they would grab him and pull him down, leaving nothing behind.
With killing intent surging, Jeok Ho's eyes gleamed with cruelty.
In that moment, Beok Gye pushed Beok Jeong's back.
"Leave... now, senior brother."
"Beok Gye..."
"I said, leave!"
"..."
"Never, ever forget... You are the abbot of Shaolin."
With those words, Beok Gye stood up. He didn't wait for Beok Jeong's response.
He knows Beok Jeong. Beok Gye has already exhausted his strength.
But Beok Jeong has no choice but to leave him behind.
Even if his body is torn apart, Beok Gye will block Jeok Ho. He will try to block that person's path even if every piece of his torn body is in the way.
Beok Jeong gripped the ground with his hand.
He must go. If he doesn't, everything will collapse. Their deaths will only become meaningless deaths.
He scratched the ground and struggled forward. His legs wouldn't hold him up. Even in this moment, his body betrayed his will.
But he must survive. He must survive somehow.
Beok Jeong gave up trying to stand up and crawled forward, clinging to the ground.
It's hard to imagine that this is Shaolin's abbot. His nails are broken from grasping the ground, and his trembling hands shake with the weight of his heavy body.
Shaolin's abbot Beok Jeong, begging for his life as he crawls on the ground.
But Beok Jeong continued to move forward little by little, his face covered in blood and tears, crawling on the ground.
"Sob..."
A sob mixed with laughter escaped his lips covered in dirt.
What was he trying to grasp?
Something he could only obtain alone, something that would only be a phantom. Why didn't he realize what was more important?
A short breath is heard.
"Beok Gye..."
He couldn't even turn his gaze. Beok Jeong just reached out with his hand, struggling in the pain akin to lying on an icy surface.
"I am..."
Now he remembered.
His childhood. A time when curiosity and longing for the world still filled him. There was a little junior brother who used to look up to him. He seemed a bit foolish and naive.
His junior brother who barely smiled but always looked up to him.
"Beok Gye..."
After that, the faces of numerous people flashed before his eyes.
His master, his disciples, and his junior brothers... the faces of those he shouldn't have abandoned.
"Sob..."
Beok Jeong's trembling hand reached out desperately.
He tried to grasp something irretrievable.
Then, his hand dropped weakly.
Thunk.
But beneath the numb and blunt fingertips, he touched something other than the ground.
Beok Jeong lifted his eyes, struggling to push through the blurry vision.
There, he faced someone's gaze.
It was endlessly cold and quiet, filled with an indescribable anger. Not cold enough to be condemnation, nor hot enough to be punishment.
Struggling to speak, Beok Jeong slowly raised his head, facing the person who had stopped in front of him.
It was directed towards Jeok Ho, who had approached Beok Jeong.
The one who sharpened his blade spoke slowly.
"Leave. Before I kill you."
At the ice-cold voice, Jeok Ho stiffened momentarily.