Episode 246

“It is done!”

“Ohh!”

The Hyun disciples had all become quite exhausted and sank back. On top of the silk cloth that was laid in front of them, the light purple color pills were neatly arranged.

“Ah…”

Hyun Jong, who was so moved that he couldn’t speak anything, looked at the scene.

“Is it really done now?”

Un Gak nodded his head at Hyun Young’s question.

It was a face that looked utterly haggard, but beneath, there was a pride that couldn’t be hidden.

“It is complete. It is definitely different from what we were trying to make, but…”

Right.

Because the Soul Vitality Pill didn’t have a purple color.

“But it is clear that this has more efficacy than that of the Soul Vitality Pill!”

“Oh!’

Hyun Sang’s felt emotional just by looking at the pills.

However, there were always people in the world who sought reason behind emotion.

“How do you know that?”

“Uh?”

Un Gak turned his head and saw Hyun Young looking at him with strange eyes.

“Can you see the efficacy of it by just looking at it? It wasn’t completely made by you, and the completion of the pill was done by Chung Myung too… so how can YOU be sure of its efficacy?”

“Ah… that…”

Un Gak faltered, making Hyun Young’s suspicion rise.

“No…?”

And then Un Gak cried out.

“Ahh! Even the eyes of an ant can see this pill for what it is! Even when I was making it in the beginning, I knew it was something good… and now you’re saying that I cannot make a judgment on its efficacy because I didn’t finish making it?”

“I-I! How dare you yell!”

To Chung Myung, Hyun Young was the kindest person in the world. But for others, Hyun Young was a terrifying elder.

That was why when he opened his eyes and glared at Un Gak, it made him afraid.

Hyun Jong smiled and dissuaded him.

“He didn’t say anything wrong, right?”

“Do we have to really let him have them?”

“Enough. Isn’t he the Medicine Hall Head who went through a lot of trouble for our Sect?”

“Tch.’

There was still a clear sign of displeasure, but Hyun Young couldn’t go against Hyun Jong, so he let the issue be.

Hyun Jong looked at Un Gak and said.

“Right. How is the effect?”

Un Gak, sighed and then politely replied.

“I don’t know for sure because I have consumed even a very small amount of it, but it seems almost certain that it is not lower than the Soul Vitality Pill. I can be sure if I have one properly, so I will have another….”

“Huhuhu. It has already been completed. What more can we do even if we know its efficacy now?”

“No, still…”

“Huhuhu.’

“…”

Hyun Jong burst out laughing without saying anything. This meant that there would never be a time for him to have another pill.

And he felt sad because of it.

“Right… but the pill looks smaller than the Soul Vitality Pill.”

“We were trying to make it for as many disciples, so it had to be a little smaller.”

“Umm. Is that so?”

“The amount of mixture which was obtained was small. Besides, although some materials are easy to find compared to others, we didn’t have huge quantities of the rare material.”

“Um. That was a bit unfortunate, but we cannot help it now.”

Hyun Jong nodded.

“But don’t be disappointed, Sect Leader. This alone is a huge amount. Have you heard of the Shaolin Sect’s tradition of splitting their famous pill in the common hall and sharing it with their disciples?”

“Of course, I’ve heard of it. What does it have to do with this?”

Un Gak smiled.

“We are going to do something like that.”

“…”

Hyun Jong went wide-eyed.

The Supreme Pill of the Shaolin Sect was known to be their best pill. It was also what made them wealthy.

This was why the Shaolin Sect’s pills weren’t easy to find. It was known to be able to save someone whose life was at risk, and it was a pill that was distributed in the name of Shaolin only to help people.

As a result, most monks in Shaolin themselves don’t get to have it. That was how great that pill was.

“Um, if we think about our pill like that, it is amazing.”

“We are lucky. We managed to have the Eunha merchant get us the ice crystals we needed. The only regret is that it is difficult to find enough of them to be used once again for a while. Since we used most of the ice crystals in the middle… apart from that, the oil has dried out, and we are out of ginseng too…”

“Hm. fine.”

Hyun Jong nodded.

This meant that it would take a lot of time for them to create this once again. However, Hyun Jong didn’t regret it.

‘Excessive greed is never good.’

Now, this level of pills is more than enough for other sects to aim their swords at them. To hope that they could create as many as they wanted was nothing but acting like hoarders.

Shouldn’t he be looking at what he had and be happy instead of wanting more?

“Well…”

Hyun Jong turned his head and looked at Chung Myung.

“Shouldn’t we call for the children and give it to them?”

Chung Myung shook his head.

“Not yet.”

“Hmm?”

Chung Myung looked at Hyun Jong, Hyun Sang, and Hyun Young.

“There is a number for everything, but you three need to have it first.”

“…”

The three of them were shocked.

“…us?”

“Yes.”

Chung Myung walked toward the three of them, took three pills, and presented them.

“Now.”

“…”

Hyun Jong smiled.

“Thank you for thinking about us. But Chung Myung, we have lived long enough, so instead of us, you should have it, one extra for a disciple is…”

“You have lived enough to have this. You need to live another hundred years with this.”

“…Uh?”

“Don’t think about leaving it all to your disciples and stepping back. Eat this and work hard for another 30 years.”

“…”

‘Is this filial piety?’

Even Hyun Jong couldn’t understand.

“We are…”

Chung Myung shook his head.

“Sect leader.”

“Um?”

“This is no big deal.”

“…”

Chung Myung spoke with a determined face.

“In the future, Mount Hua will gain more and more… we will achieve more. In the future, this will become a trivial thing. So have it and make concessions when that time comes.”

“…”

“This isn’t some huge thing.”

“Heheh. Right. Right. True. Hehehe.”

When Hyun Jong burst into laughter, Hyun Young smiled and said.

“I understand it. Since we have been living without a thought for ourselves, it is weird to be given this consideration… we are used to the pain. I have not been able to get a single ginseng root in my entire life, but to get a pill is something we have never even thought of.”

Hyun Sang frowned as he heard it.

“There are things you shouldn’t say to a child!”

“What did I even say!”

It was meant to be a joke, but Chung Myung didn’t smile.

It felt like his chest hurt.

‘Tch.’

Chung Myung bit his lip.

The core of Mount Hua wasn’t usually Chung disciples and Baek disciples.

It was just that the current Mount Hua needed them to be its core.

‘It hurts.’

Since all of them had come to Mount Hua, they all had many tough times in their lives where they had been counting their fellow disciples slowly walking out of the sect… they had seen Mount Hua turn empty at one point. And for Chung Myung, these people who had stayed here all this while had gone through enough pain.

So…

“Please have it.”

“I know your heart…”

“Ah, it is fine. I have nothing to say. Come on, eat. If you don’t, I will crush it!”

Chung Myung’s face was firm.

It looked like he really meant it.

Hyun Jong looked at it and nodded his head. And took it.

“Just take it.”

“Sect Leader.’

“Enough.”

Hyun Jong smiled brightly.

“This pill has been made by Chung Myung from start to finish, so the child has every right to offer it. So how can I refuse the words of the one who made this?”

“…yes.”

“Hehe. The day has come when I finally receive filial piety from my disciples.”

Hyun Jong smiled.

His eyes were turning red, but he was clearly happy.

“Can we just eat it?”

Un Gak answered.

“Yes. There is no special way to have it.”

“Um, right. Hurry up and get ready.”

“Yes.”

Hyun Young and Hyun Sang also had to take it now from Chung Myung.

“You can eat it right now.”

Un Gak gulped, looking at them, and he carefully spoke to them and stepped back after keeping the other pills safe. He was worried that changing the location of the pill would damage them.

“Have them…”

“Um. Right.”

Hyun Jong looked at the pill in his hand with mixed emotions and closed his eyes as he shoved it down his throat.

And then Hyun Sang did the same thing, and the two closed their eyes and began to cultivate.

However, Hyun Young didn’t have it, and Chung Myung looked at him.

“You won’t have it?”

Hyun Young didn’t seem to care about his words and then said.

“Chung Myung.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

“….”

He looked really sincere.

“I need to say these words. Thank you, Chung Myung.”

“…you said what you wanted to. Now please have it.”

“No.”

Hyun Young shook his head.

“Sometimes, there are things which need to be said out loud. There are things which aren’t good to be kept in your heart.”

“…”

“Thank you, Chung Myung. You have given us so much.”

“Ehh. This is awkward… have it already.”

“Right. It has to be eaten. Who do I give it to?”

Hyun Young kept looking at Chung Myung.

Hyun Young’s eyes…

Chung Myung, who stopped looking at his eyes as soon as they reminded him of the eyes of his former Sect Leader here, closed his mouth.

Hyun Young looked at him and then shoved it down. As it melted, Hyun Young also began to cultivate. A very small voice could be heard inside his head.

-I am the one who is thankful to have you.

‘Was it an illusion?’

But he didn’t have time to think; he had to cultivate the right way. In that manner, Hyun Young quickly fell into a trance.

Chung Myung watched the three men as they entered into a trance and looked out the window. Somehow, he couldn’t look at them after he had heard what Hyun Young had said.

‘I am sorry.’

‘I failed to protect Mount Hua.’

‘I couldn’t protect Mount Hua till the end. What I saved was Kangho and not Mount Hua.’

And these people were the ones who protected Mount Hua when he couldn’t.

Seeing the three men, who were younger than he was when he died in the past, suffering from old age due to the stress they had to go through, Chung Myung couldn’t stop the uncertainty in his heart.

If Chung Myung hadn’t died then, then they would have been the proud disciples of Mount Hua.

However, Chung Myung had died, unable to protect them.

To protect Mount Hua without him. That was the burden that had been put on these children… the hands holding the sword had become wrinkled.

Their hearts, which were filled with ambition, had dried up in front of the wall of reality, and their dreams had become buried under its pressure.

‘Sorry.’

‘I couldn’t protect you.’

‘I made things hard for you.’

‘I…’

‘I snatched away the vitality from your life.’

‘I…’

‘You stupid people.’

‘What did Mount Hua do for you to stay here and dedicate your life to it? If you had abandoned this place like the others, you would have lived comfortably.’

‘Stupid people.’

‘Foolish people.’

‘So.’

‘I will bring it back.’

‘The dream you haven’t dreamed.’

‘Your desire to run through the world.’

‘I will make it happen.’

‘I cannot make you sit on the mats anymore; wherever you walk, I will become your shade.’

‘So my descendants don’t say it.’

‘Don’t call yourselves old. Don’t say you are fine with everything.’

‘Did your dreams disappear as you got older?’

‘Have you lost your wishes?’

‘No. That isn’t it; I know it better than anyone.’

‘You just stayed patient and ignored yourself.’

‘You stopped dreaming of things which couldn’t be achieved.’

‘I will make you dream again.’

Chung Myung closed his eyes, and trembled.

And then he slowly walked and stood there near the window as he looked up at the sky with sorrowful eyes.

‘Sahyung.’

‘Sect Leader sahyung.’

‘I…’

‘I still owe a lot more to Mount Hua.’

‘Sahyung…’