Return of Mount Hua Sect - Chapter 737
“Hngg.”
Baek Cheon’s step to the Dining Hall was light and steady.
‘I’m dying.’
His whole body felt as heavy as a soaked cotton. No, it wasn’t just that much, he felt like he was barely walking with a rock the size of a house on his shoulder.
– What? Violet Mist Divine Art? You’re going to master Violet Mist Divine Art with such skill? What would our ancestors say if they saw this? Don’t even dream about it until my eyes are full of dirt, you brats!
Hyun Young’s fierce voice lingered in his ears. Baek Cheon shuddered.
‘That’s a devil. A devil.’
He thought Chung Myung was the only demon in Mount Hua, but who would have imagined there would be an older one?
If Chung Myung is the one who drives a person to their physical limit and makes them question, ‘Can my body withstand this?’ Hyun Young is the one who drives a person to their mental limit and makes them question, ‘Can I endure this without giving up?’
“I feel like I’m going to die, Sasuk…….”
“…So am I.”
Baek Cheon sighed as he watched Yoon Jong staggering next to him.
Swinging a sword underwater is not overly strenuous. Of course, operating his internal strength without breathing is tough, but it doesn’t push people to the limit like climbing cliffs with rocks all over the body.
The key is to endure it with your own will.
The cliff ends once you climb it. No matter how hard and dangerous it is, there is an end to it.
But swinging a sword underwater is endless. Even Baek Cheon had to resist the urge to cut the rope tied to his foot and rush up to the surface of the water several times.
Therefore, after the training, let alone tiredness, he even felt as if his head was foggy.
‘But thinking about it, it’s a very reasonable training method.’
Because now they’re not proving their strength, they’re proving their qualifications to master Violet Mist Divine Art.
Violet Mist Divine Art is a combination of the two methods, the method of managing internal strength and the method of controlling the mind.
In other words, being good at using a sword and having a strong body doesn’t help in learning Violet Mist Divine Art. Only a strong mind and firm heart (심지(心地)) can lay the foundation for learning Violet Mist Divine Art.
In this sense, this training method is optimal for determining how strong the disciples have mental strength and patience.
Yes… It’s optimal…….
‘The problem is I feel like I’m going to die right now.’
Baek Cheon, with a heavy hand, barely managed to open the door of the Dining Hall.
“…I don’t think I can eat?”
“We still have to eat. If we want to endure tomorrow’s training.”
Baek Cheon sighed and looked around for a vacant seat.
“Huh?”
Then he suddenly realized something strange.
‘What are they all looking at?’
Everyone else who was already sitting in the Dining Hall was looking to one side. Somehow all the expressions seemed to see something strange.
Baek Cheon naturally looked in the same direction and nodded convincingly.
“It’s Chung Myung.”
“Yes, Chung Myung.”
“It’s Chung Myung, nothing new.”
Everyone was about to turn their heads with a convinced face. It wasn’t just yesterday or today that the disciples couldn’t take their eyes off Chung Myung. He must have caused some kind of accident again.
Normally, Five Swords would have moved immediately to find out what the bastard had done again, but as they felt like about to collapse, they didn’t have the heart or desire to find out.
Baek Cheon, who was trying to cut his attention neatly for his mental health, flinched for a moment. Something strange just caught his eye.
“Huh?”
Turning his gaze slowly back to Chung Myung, he opened his mouth blankly.
‘Hoho.’
‘That guy.’
‘If Sasuk were here, he’d at least pretend to know. I’ll just turn my head as if I’ve seen something I shouldn’t have.’
‘Right, turn my head back completely…….’
‘Chung Myung-ah…Why are you eating like that?’
‘How can you eat with your neck twisted like that?’
“…Why is that guy acting like that?”
“Leave him alone. It’s not just one or two days that guy has been doing crazy things.”
“It’s not just one or two days, but how does he manage to do crazy things in such novel and innovative ways every time?”
Baek Cheon’s eyes became narrowed.
Sitting at the table across from him, Chung Myung was still eating in a strange posture. His shoulders were straight, but his neck was almost turned back, which was extremely odd.
“…He’s spilling it all.”
“I think it’s trickling out of his mouth?”
Unable to watch any longer, Baek Cheon squeezed his eyes shut.
‘Chung Myung-ah, please.’
‘Everyone in Mount Hua knows you’re not sane to an excessive extent, so you don’t need to do all this, do you?’
Unable to stand it any longer, Baek Cheon weakly stumbled towards Chung Myung. By coincidence, he approached from the front of Chung Myung, so all he could see was the back of his head.
“Chung Myung-ah.”
“Huh? Are you Sasuk?”
‘…At least look this way and talk when someone calls you.’
Baek Cheon opened his mouth with a wary face.
“Well… It’s rather meaningless to ask this now, but… do you have any problems?”
“Huh? Yes?”
“If there’s no problem, then why are you eating with an attitude like ‘I’ll turn a blind eye to the whole world as of today?’”
“Oh, this?”
Chung Myung smiled… no, it only seemed like he smiled since all I could see was the back of his head as he spoke.
“It’s nothing. I just kind of… somehow got an energy deviation while meditating.”
“Oh, I see. I asked something unnecessary… What, you punk?”
Baek Cheon, who was casually turning around after hearing the answer, suddenly rushed back towards Chung Myung like a lightning bolt.
“Wha- what did you just got?”
“Well, it seems like I’m having a light energy deviation… Ah, shit. Everything else is fine, but my neck won’t turn.”
When Baek Cheon, who was speechless, opened his mouth wide, Chung Myung grumbled as if he was annoyed.
“This is really, uh…….”
Then he suddenly grabbed his head and started to twist and turn it recklessly.
Udeududuk! Udeududuk!
“Do- Don’t… Don’t do it, you son of a beast!”
‘I can hear your neck breaking, you madman!’
‘No, you’re insane! What on earth did you do to have your neck twisted from having an energy deviation!
“Wow, this is strange… I’m sure I did it correctly, though. Where should I start fixing from?”
“….”
“Hnggg. I’ll eat later, I need to deal with this first.”
Chung Myung fumbled with the dining table and got up.
“Are, are you okay?”
“Can’t you tell? I’m fine!”
“….”
To what extent does this guy consider ‘fine’?
At this rate, he might even consider himself missing an arm or a leg as fine…
“Don’t worry, don’t worry. It will get better after a good sleep.”
“….”
“Hahaha. I’ve experienced all sorts of things in my life. Hahaha.”
Chung Myung stumbles toward the entrance.
Bang!
“Uh. Was the entrance not here…….”
Bang!
“Ei, damn it!”
Bam! Bam!
Chung Myung, who only found the door a couple more times after bumping into the wall, laughed and went outside. There was silence in the Dining Hall.
Jo-Gol and Yoon Jong, who had a lost look on their faces, approached next to Baek Cheon, who was dumbfounded by the spectacle.
“Will he be okay?”
“……This is just too much……”
Baek Cheon stared blankly at the door that hadn’t fully closed and opened his mouth.
“He’ll be… okay, right?”
“….”
No answer came back.
* * *
“….”
“….”
“….”
The soul gradually drifted out of the eyes of the three looking at Chung Myung.
“Sasuk, Sasuk.”
“….”
“Come and help me hold this. Ah, damn it, this arm….”
The focus came back to Baek Cheon’s relaxed eyes.
Fortunately, Chung Myung’s neck, which twisted back, seemed to have found its place. That was a very fortunate thing.
But if there’s a minor problem…….
“…What’s wrong with your arm?”
“Oh… it’s nothing. Just a trivial energy deviation……”
“Trivial?”
“Yes. Trivial.”
“Do you realize your arm is twisted behind your shoulder?”
His right arm had twisted behind his head, touching his back, and the opposite leg had turned completely backward so that the heel was in front. As a result, his waist was twisted completely sideways, as if his head was about to touch the ground at any moment. So, in other words, he looked like a twisted scythe.
‘I can’t do that even if I tried.’
‘But what? Trivial?’
“No, you crazy bastard! What the hell are you doing! What’s wrong with your body!”
“That’s weird… it’s not supposed to be like this. I did it perfectly.”
Chung Myung tilted his head nonchalantly as if it were not good.
“Was the direction going down from Daechuhyul to Myeongmunhyul wrong? But that should not be it either, though?” (Daechuhyul(大椎穴) and Myeongmunhyul(命門穴) are both meridian points)
“First of all, let’s go to the Medicine Hall, Chung Myung! To the Medicine Hall! You might die at this rate!”
“Ei, it’s not like that. I’ll recover soon.”
“….”
“But it’s so hard to dress. Tsk. Okay, Sasuk. Let me fix this first.”
“….”
“See you later, then.”
Chung Myung, who was about to walk forward with a bright greeting, suddenly stumbled.
“Euuaaa!”
Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong rushed over with pale faces to catch Chung Myung who was falling.
Then Chung Myung asked as if he didn’t understand.
“What? Why am I going backward when I tried to go forward?”
“Hey, you bastard! With one foot twisted backward, how can you go forward!”
“Oh, that’s right!”
The awkwardly smiling Chung Myung is back in position.
“Haha. Don’t worry. I’m just not used to it, so I made a mistake.”
“Make two mistakes and you could die! Let’s just go to the Medicine Hall right now!”
“There’s nothing to worry about. I know my body well. It will heal if I just rub some saliva on it.”
“….”
Chung Myung, who slightly stuck out his foot a couple of times, seemed to think that it could not be done, and then he hopped to his other foot that was fine.
“Okay! See you later.”
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Chung Myung moved away like a Jiangshi.
As Baek Cheon watched the spectacle with a face drained of all color, Jo-Gol’s voice sounded in his ear, sounding completely defeated.
“Will he…… really be okay?”
“….”
Baek Cheon covered his face with both hands and groaned.
“Please….”
“Huh?”
“Please… Can’t you live normally for once? Huh?”
“…It’s easier once you give up, Sasuk.”
Clear tears flowed from Baek Cheon’s eyes.
* * *
Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong looked at Chung Myung silently with a nervous face.
‘Doesn’t he seem fine?’
‘Doesn’t he look okay on the outside?’
Even after exchanging glances and checking again, thankfully, Chung Myung seemed fine today. At least on the outside.
‘But it’s too early to be relieved.’
Baek Cheon cautiously approached him. And, suppressing his pounding heart, he called out softly.
“Chung Myung-ah.”
Then Chung Myung smiled brightly and looked up. Baek Cheon looked at him with pale face and asked.
“Are you all right now?”
Then Chung Myung smiled even more brightly.
“Are you done with the treatme-…. Chung Myung-ah?”
An exceedingly bright smile.
But that was all. Baek Cheon slowly lowered his gaze. Chung Myung’s hand was fluttering beneath his sleeve. Upon closer inspection, it seemed like he was trying to hold and write something.
“Gol-ah.”
“Yes, Sasuk.”
“…Bring the brush and ink.”
“….”
Swish. Swish.
They placed a brush in his hand and laid paper in front of him. But his arm seemed unable to extend forward. Only when they brought the paper directly in front of his hand did Chung Myung begin to write something.
[Mute (啞巴).]
“….”
[Can’t walk forward (直進不可).]
Baek Cheon’s eyes twitched in surprise.
“Y- You….”
Baek Cheon, who was searching for something to say, eventually gave up and tore at his hair.
“Then how did you get here, you damned bastard!”
Chung Myung grinned and once again began writing on the paper.
[Don’t worry. It’ll get better soon.]
Chung Myung, who had put down the brush, suddenly got up. Then, with a big smile on his face, he suddenly fell backward.
“Hiiik!”
Baek Cheon was startled and reached out to catch him. However, Chung Myung, as if this was all intentional, extended his hand behind his head to support himself, and while maintaining a position with his stomach raised, he moved his arms and legs like a spider, crawling further away.
Looking blankly at him as he drifted away in an instant, Yoon Jong said in a weak voice.
“…Isn’t he practically a yōkai* at this point?”
Baek Cheon simply covered his face with his hands without saying a word.