That’s Just How He’s Made. (2)

“Ugh…”

A gut-turning sensation. His body spun, and he felt endlessly falling toward some unknown floor. With that familiar yet strangely unfamiliar feeling, Jo Gul painfully opened his eyes.

Blurry shapes streaked past his vision one after another. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, scanned his surroundings, and spoke in a hoarse voice.

“…What.”

“Awake?”

Only then did Jo Gul look beneath him.

“Sahyung?”

“Yes.”

A familiar back of the head was in front of him. Jo Gul realized he was being carried on Yoon Jong’s back.

“…Where are we?”

“We’ve left the Ten-Thousand Great Mountains and are heading north toward Northern lands.”

“Already… cough cough ah…”

He kept coughing, perhaps from not using his voice for a long time.

“Rest a bit more.”

“I’m fine now. Put me down…”

“Not yet, rest more.”

Jo Gul fell silent at Yoon Jong’s firm tone. He’d put on a brave face, but his body was in terrible shape. Just being carried was already hard to endure.

“Soso.”

“Yes. I’m already checking.”

“…You scared me.”

Jo Gul forced his stiff neck to turn and looked back. Tang Soso, carrying Yu Yiseol, was right behind him with her hand on his back.

“The pulse is normal… internal injuries seem okay enough now. The problem is the external wounds; they won’t heal easily, so you need to be careful for a while.”

Jo Gul blinked and looked at Yu Yiseol on Tang Soso’s back. Yu Yiseol hadn’t regained consciousness yet.

‘Well…’

The wounds he had and the wounds Yu Yiseol had were incomparable. His were from a brief overexertion, but Yu Yiseol had fought until every last drop of blood—so she would need much more time to regain consciousness.

‘Wait…’

Realizing that, Jo Gul snapped his head up. He looked intently at Baek Cheon and Im So-Byeong running ahead, and at the Southern Island disciples following behind.

“S-sahyung! What about Chung Myung?”

“Why? Were you afraid he was dead?”

“No, what kind of guy would he be to die that easily? I mean, where did he go? He was a total wreck.”

“He woke up long ago and is cutting through the Ten Thousand People Clan bastards.”

“With that body?”

“He says he’s fine.”

“…Ah.”

At this point, it wasn’t a joke—one might doubt if he was even flesh and bone. Chung Myung had taken the most wounds and looked the most exhausted.

Yu Yiseol was still comatose, Jo Gul had only just regained consciousness, and Chung Myung was already up fighting?

“…Is he even human?”

“I’m suspicious too.”

Jo Gul shook his head in disbelief.

“Is it dangerous?”

“Not to that extent. It’s not risk-free, of course, but compared to the situation in the gorge, it’s nothing.”

Indeed, to Jo Gul it also seemed so. Those ahead were fine, and even those behind looked far better than before.

Yoon Jong, thinking Jo Gul was sufficiently conscious, quickly explained the current situation.

“So the others are following behind?”

“Yes.”

“…But what if our paths split and we get separated?”

“Southern Island would never do that. And we’re keeping the pace moderate just in case.”

“Hm.”

Jo Gul nodded.

There were odd parts, but it was a plan everyone had carefully devised. Lying back comfortably wasn’t the time to question every detail.

And if it was a plan by Baek Cheon and Im So-Byeong, it was probably better than anything he would’ve come up with.

At that, Yoon Jong spoke, sounding exasperated.

“And you crazy bastard.”

“…Yes?”

“Worried about others the moment you wake up? Think about yourself! You’re patched up like some rag sewn together.”

At that, Jo Gul silently glanced at his own body. Through the wide sleeve, the marks of being stitched up like a centipede were clearly visible on his forearm.

“Hey, at least sew it properly. What kind of doctor lacks finesse…”

“What? You want me to sew your mouth shut?”

“…No.”

Tang Soso’s sharp voice from behind made Jo Gul quietly hush. He couldn’t get at her now; well, truth be told, he usually couldn’t either, but anyway…

At that moment, Lee Ja-Yang, running beside them, raised his voice.

“Keep going straight?”

“Northeast!”

“Yes!”

Im So-Byeong finished speaking and immediately changed direction. Lee Ja-Yang, having confirmed it, kicked off and leapt up, drawing his sword.

Kashak!

The sword qi he emitted etched a tiny cut on the crown of a tall tree ahead—so small it was hard to notice unless you looked closely.

Jo Gul couldn’t help frowning.

“Can you even see that while running?”

“Apparently so.”

“…No…”

Lee Ja-Yang, who returned to his place quickly, answered that question.

“No need to worry. Other sects might miss it, but Southern Island people would never.”

“Eh?”

Lee Ja-Yang continued firmly.

“Southern Island’s disciples have sailed since childhood. To catch fish on the open sea, you can’t miss even the smallest bubble rising on the waves.”

“Oh…”

“Not all, but most have sharp eyes. Don’t worry—they won’t miss a mark.”

Jo Gul nodded. He couldn’t fully grasp it, but he got the gist—it’s akin to how people from the steppes have keen eyesight.

“Sahyung.”

“Yes?”

“…We’d never spot that no matter what, right?”

“You might not even know it’s there.”

“I suppose…”

“They say every sect has a vision like that. Seeing it in person, it’s lived up to its reputation.”

“Every sect? Do we have something like that?”

“We did.”

“Eh?”

“It’s gone.”

“…Ah.”

It burned up. Of course—Mount Hua never lacked anything; it just got burned to ashes.

“Anyway, if we can’t recognize it, the Evil Sect bastards sure won’t.”

“That’s right. We’re relying on that mark to keep changing direction. Even if they find traces of us, they won’t be able to guess our route.”

“Ah.”

No wonder they were carving marks on trees while changing direction sharply…

“As long as our allies can recognize it, that’s enough.”

“Looks like they have.”

“Eh?”

“Behind us.”

At Yoon Jong’s words, Jo Gul turned to look back.

Contrary to Yoon Jong’s remark, he couldn’t see anything obvious. But when he forcibly raised his qi sense, he felt something approaching from the dense woods back there.

Tension tightened through his whole body in an instant.

‘An enemy?’

But that worry quickly eased—the sensation from the one approaching ahead felt familiar.

“It’s the Tang Young lord.”

As soon as Yoon Jong spoke, Tang Pae appeared from behind. The Southern Island people running after him were clearly visible too. One of the separated groups had successfully rejoined without trouble.

“…Wow, they really recognized it.”

“So it’s some kind of vision, right?”

Jo Gul nodded. The idea that only certain sects could recognize it made him oddly unsettled.

“Sahyung.”

“Yes?”

“When we get back, let’s make one of those too.”

“…Why?”

“They seem useful. And…”

Jo Gul lowered his voice, sounding a bit embarrassed.

“I’m kind of jealous, too.”

Yoon Jong snorted. The bastard had just been a wreck and barely regained consciousness, yet he was already talking about Mount Hua. His body wasn’t in good shape either.

“Alright, we’ll definitely make one.”

He swallowed the next words that hovered in his mouth.

‘If we can return safely, that is.’

While the two talked, Tang Pae fully joined them. He brightened at seeing Jo Gul conscious.

“Taoist Jo Gul! Are you feeling any better?”

“I’m fine!”

Jo Gul bent his arm to flex his muscle as a show, then suddenly twisted his face in pain.

“Ouch ouch…”

“Just stay still, you wriggling fool!”

“Well, the ride’s a bit rough…”

“What, you bastard?”

Tang Pae couldn’t help smiling at Jo Gul’s banter.

They hadn’t known each other long or talked much, but Tang Pae felt inexplicably glad Jo Gul was awake.

“…Quiet.”

“Oh! Sago, are you awake?”

“My head’s ringing. Be quiet.”

Yu Yiseol clutched her head with one hand and groaned. Jo Gul tilted his head.

“You’re kind of speaking like the old days. Is this regression?”

“Sahyung, do you really want to die?”

“Does ‘sahyung’ and ‘do you want to die’ really go together?”

“On Mount Hua, they do!”

“That might be true…”

It seemed others felt the same. Just his being conscious brightened the group’s mood, even though it was far from time to relax.

Perhaps this was Jo Gul’s true strength.

“By the way, where are we going right now?”

“I don’t know. That’s decided by the sasuk and the Green Forest King. Or maybe that damned Chung Myung set it beforehand.”

“Indeed.”

Jo Gul nodded as if he understood.

Then, as if on cue, Baek Cheon’s voice came from ahead.

“First priority is distance—forget direction. Because they focused their defenses to block us, this side is practically empty.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Up until the Ten-Thousand Great Mountains had been hell, but once they broke through, there was no one specifically blocking them. It might be premature to decide, but so far it seemed that way.

“If we can just keep the distance, we might reach the Yangtze river without issue.”

“…As long as someone doesn’t suddenly pop up ahead. Like a high priest of the Demonic Cult or something…”

“Ah, shut up!”

“Shut your trap!”

“Someone knock this bastard out again!”

Jo Gul chuckled at the flurry of voices erupting here and there.

They’d already lost many. But that didn’t mean they had to fall into despair. They could mourn the dead once everyone got out safely.

‘Somehow, at least to the Yangtze…’

At that moment, Jo Gul’s head tilted slightly crooked.

“Hey, wait a moment. But…”

“What, you again!”

“Sahyung, shut your mouth! Before I really sew it shut!”

“Ah, no, it’s not that… This mark can only be recognized by the Southern Island sect, right?”

“How many times are you going to say the same thing? Did you hurt your head?”

“No. I mean… then how does Chung Myung know and chase after us?”

“Huh?”

In that instant, everyone’s blank stares focused on Jo Gul. He fumbled awkwardly as he added.

“I—maybe I’m being dumb, but Chung Myung doesn’t know this mark, right? Yet he’s supposed to be all the way at the back.”

“…Right?”

“Then how does he know where we are and come after us?”

Jo Gul asked with an awkward look. Surely a bit of ribbing would follow, and someone would hand him the answer.

But contrary to his expectation, no scolding came. Instead, everyone glanced awkwardly at each other.

‘Huh?’

Oh… this… this isn’t good…?

Jo Gul looked ahead with one last hope. Even if these fools didn’t know, at least those two would…

“Oh…”

But at that moment Jo Gul saw.

Im So-Byeong and Baek Cheon—the two most reliable people responsible for the group—stood there looking at Jo Gul as if they’d been hit.

“That… is true?”

“…”

“How is he coming?”

“…”

You have to trust those you can trust… trust those you can…