Chapter 1656
And I Like Those Kinds of Idiots (1)
"W-What happened, Sect Leader?"
Heo San-ja, who had been waiting with mounting anxiety, blurted the words the instant he saw Heo Do Jinin. But Heo Do Jinin merely glanced at him and walked straight into his quarters without a word.
"Sect Leader Sahyeong!"
Startled, Heo San-ja hurried after him.
"What did those boys say? They didn't insist to the very end, did they?"
Fear and hope churned together in his eyes. Heo Do Jinin stopped and looked at him for a long moment before letting out a short sigh.
"They did."
"Th-They did…?"
Heo San-ja's eyes widened as if someone had seized his throat. Suddenly, he sprang up.
"I—I'll go talk to them again! No—if I have to, I'll beat sense into them—"
"It's useless."
Heo San-ja froze mid-movement.
Heo Do Jinin shook his head slowly, his expression beyond resignation—almost hollow.
"It's useless. No words… yes, no words will reach them."
"No…"
"This is not something persuasion can resolve. No—perhaps…"
Perhaps even persuasion itself would be a lie.
How could one convince people who wished to live exactly as they had been taught?
A faint, ironic smile touched Heo Do Jinin's lips—not directed at the disciples who loudly proclaimed pride and integrity without fully understanding the world, but at himself and at Wudang, which had always preached righteousness yet chosen safety whenever crisis arrived.
"So we just… let it happen?"
"…"
"Sect Leader Sahyeong! Are you really going to let them die? All of them, cut down by Sapaeryeon?"
Heo San-ja was nearly screaming.
Heo Do Jinin answered quietly.
"Then what should we do?"
"We persuade them!"
"I told you that won't work."
"Then we drag them away by force! Treat them like ignorant children if we must!"
"And leave behind the stain that Wudang survived on the sacrifice of its young?"
Heo San-ja faltered.
Doubt crept into his eyes.
The Heo Do Jinin he knew would never hesitate to sacrifice himself—or others—for Wudang.
But now—
"If that would truly solve everything, I would have done it already," Heo Do Jinin said. "So answer me this. After they survive like that… what comes next?"
"…What?"
"If this ended the war, I would swallow any humiliation. But what if it doesn't?"
Heo San-ja opened his mouth—then stopped.
Even if they endured this once, the war would continue.
Then what?
Fight for revenge?
Or keep surviving by pushing danger onto others?
Heo San-ja couldn't answer.
"But… isn't there a chance it won't come to that?"
Even he didn't believe it.
"There were precedents. In the past—"
"In a land where everyone has three eyes," Heo Do Jinin said quietly, "those with two are crippled."
"…What?"
"Back then… everyone had three eyes."
A bitter smile formed.
This was not the era of the Great Demonic War.
Then, every sect but one had prioritized survival. Only one had appeared mad.
Now was different.
Cheonumaeng had declared righteousness as its banner.
What would Wudang become if it fled again?
The same—yet entirely different.
One man had changed everything.
Hwasan Geomhyeop Chung Myung.
"Then those people…"
"No."
Heo Do Jinin shook his head.
"I did not decide this for strategy. I simply… refuse to run away a second time. As a swordsman. As a disciple of Wudang. As a man who speaks of righteousness."
"…"
"How could I crush their resolve with words when I was the one who taught them to live this way?"
"How can that be cowardice?" Heo San-ja cried. "Who would dare call you a coward?"
Heo Do Jinin stared into empty space.
Right and wrong were never simple.
No one here was wrong.
The disciples' righteousness had merely grown large enough that it no longer fell short of his own.
Pride and grief twisted together in his chest.
"So… you truly intend to…?"
"Heo San."
"Yes, Sahyeong."
"Persuade them."
"…What?"
"Some may be swept up in the moment. Make sure no one dies unwillingly. Send away as many as you can."
"The lineage must continue."
He smiled faintly.
Heo San-ja clenched his fists.
"Forcing them would save them."
"Yes."
"Then let's do it—"
"But from that moment on," Heo Do Jinin said calmly, "Wudang would no longer be Wudang."
The truth crushed him.
"How could cowards offer rites to the ancestors?"
"Go."
"Sahyeong…"
"My duty is not to crush the will of Taoists who have grown to stand beside me."
"…"
"I will stay with them."
"Sahyeong!"
But Heo Do Jinin's eyes were steady.
"There is only one way left."
"To show the world what Wudang is."
"With swords. With lives. With resolve."
His voice was calm—yet his hands trembled faintly.
He had borne all blame to protect them.
Now they would die for Wudang's honor.
How could words contain that pain?
"Go."
Heo San-ja bowed deeply.
"Take care."
He left without looking back.
Heo Do Jinin stared at the empty doorway.
"…Two days?"
No. Perhaps one.
"So that's why… Hwasan Geomhyeop."
Now he understood why that man—who hated sacrifice—had raged at him.
Those who retreat to avoid sacrifice always pay a greater price.
"…Something I should have realized sooner."
He closed his eyes.
Wudang's disciples were walking a better path than he had.
Even if it ended in death—
They would bloom again.
"Sect Leader…"
Would Wudang bloom again?
No answer came.
❀ ❀ ❀
"They won't retreat?"
"That's right."
"Why? Why do something so foolish?"
"Because they're human."
Im Sobyeong stared at Chung Myung.
"And being foolish," Chung Myung shrugged, "is what makes us human."
"…But this is Wudang."
"And I like those kinds of idiots."
Chung Myung stood.
"What—no! Didn't we say it could be a trap?"
"So what?"
"If it's a trap," Chung Myung said calmly, gripping his sword, "we'll crush it."
"I won't let those idiots die alone."
He smiled.
Right, Sahyeong?
—Of course.
The answer rang clearly.