Glug, glug.
The cups were filled with liquor.
Chung Myung, who silently tipped the bottle, glanced at the person sitting across from him. It was someone meticulously wiping a throwing knife with a white hemp cloth.
“…Get rid of the throwing knife. It’s spoiling the taste of the drink.”
“Good grief, who cares about the taste of the drink in the midst of war like this? As long as we can drink, that’s all that matters.”
Tang Bo, having meticulously wiped off the oil from the throwing knife, twitched his eyebrows. His impeccable care for his weapon was evident, as expected of someone from the Tang Family.
“Does all that fussing keep it sharp?”
“Hey, don’t talk if you don’t know. A human butcher like Taoist Hyung-nim could just pick up some sword that’s laying on the ground or something and starts swinging, but someone like me needs to have a weapon that fits my hand perfectly. You don’t know how much of a luxury good this is.”
“Luxury good my a$$.”
Regardless of that, Tang Bo meticulously took care of all twelve throwing knives. After thoroughly cleaning, smoothing out any scratches, and applying oil, he finally set the cleaned throwing knives in front of him.
Then, he lifted up the bottle and filled the empty cup of Chung Myung.
“Why is our Taoist Hyung-nim in such a bad mood again?”
“….”
“No. That’s not it. It’s always bad. Hum, that’s right. It’s like a law of nature.”
“This bastard?”
“Now, now, a drink? A drink?”
When Tang Bo grinned and raised his cup, Chung Myung chuckled and raised his cup in response. Their cups clinked briefly in the air.
Chung Myung, who slowly emptied his glass, asked as he looked at Tang Bo sitting across from him.
“How many got killed yesterday?”
“About twenty?”
“…I’m asking how many got killed, not how many you killed.”
“Five. Freaking bastards, I told them to not go overboard…..”
Tang Bo distorted his face as if he was annoyed. It seems that there were quite a few victims in the Tang Family he led.
That’s what war is all about. No matter how careful you are, no matter how hard you try, deaths are inevitable.
“Those bastards have been going crazy these days. If I had screwed up, my head would have been blown off.”
Tang Bo pretended to slit his neck with his hand blade.
“Crazy guy.”
Chung Myung chuckled lightly.
Such a trivial joke, but here, no one makes such jokes.
In this place where the fact that the seat of someone who sat and ate in the same place yesterday became an empty seat today could be skipped with just a glance, jokes about death are too heavy to be taken lightly, yet too trivial to be discussed seriously.
“I could have really died, you know. I ran into a bishop bastard.”
“Hmm.”
At the mention of a bishop, Chung Myung’s eyes slightly narrowed.
Although several bishops had already lost their heads to his sword, the name of bishop was still a threat to Chung Myung.
“We didn’t fully engage, so we just let it slide…”
Tang Bo pressed down on his chin thoughtfully.
“If we had fully engaged, my life would have been in danger. Damn it, why was I born in the Tang Family?”
“You’re weak, that’s why. Why blame the Tang Family?”
“Aigoo. It seems like our Taoist Hyung-nim lives alone in the mountains and doesn’t know much about things. It’s not that I’m weak, but that’s the characteristic of throwing knives. It can handle up to a certain level, but beyond that, there’s a limit to what a throwing knife can do.”
“You’re just weak.”
“No, I mean…..”
“You’re just weak.”
“….”
Tang Bo smiled brightly with veins popping on his face.
“Be careful on your way home. I’m afraid blind throwing knife might get stuck in your back.”
“Then it wouldn’t be a blind throwing knife, but a blade thrown by a blind man.”
“Ei, damn it.”
Tang Bo grumbled, fiddling with Chuhonbi in front of him. It looked like he was considering whether he could actually throw it straight at Chung Myung’s forehead.
“Anyway, so… I’m thinking of developing some sort of useful technique.”
“Technique?”
“Yes. A technique to deal with those damn bishops, or that dog-like bastards Heavenly Demon. Black clothes, bastards wearing black clothes. Ah, it would be better if that bastard carried a sword.”
Chung Myung silently looked down at his clothes.
Hmm, they’re quite dark. Really dark.
Chung Myung smirked.
“Don’t waste your time and just do what you’re good at. Even if you create a new technique now, would you have the chance to use it? You’ll only get to use it once in the underworld.”
“Well, it’s not like I’ll use it right away.”
“Huh?”
Tang Bo smirked.
“As long as I get a rough idea, I can leisurely develop it after the war.”
“Are you confident you’ll survive until then?”
“Ah, I am Tang Bo, you know. If the Grim Reaper bastard comes to get me, I’ll just stick this Chuhonbi on its forehead.”
“Crazy guy.”
Tang Bo chuckled.
Tang Bo, who was staring at the empty glass in his hand with a slightly strange expression, grabbed the bottle and filled his cup with alcohol.
“Even if by some chance I can’t make it all…”
Chung Myung looked up at Tang Bo as he spoke in a subdued voice.
Tang Bo, swirling the liquor in his cup, downed it in one gulp.
“Someone will continue it. Someone who carries the blood of the Tang Family and masters the Twelve Throwing Knives.”
“….”
“If that happens, even if someone ends up in the same situation as me someday, they won’t have to worry like me, right?”
“Hmm….”
Chung Myung was about to say, “You are actually thinking, how unlike you,” when Tangbo’s slightly irritated voice was heard.
“Then at least my descendants won’t be beaten by a black-robed Taoist from a barren mountain. Just imagine getting hit by a Chuhonbi in the back…”
Seureurung.
“Ah! Hey, hey! Why are you drawing your sword? We’re just drinking! Seriously, you can’t take a joke. Are you some Taoist that came down from a mountain or something?”
“Crazy bastard…”
Chung Myung chuckled, sheathed his sword back, and picked up his cup. The liquor tasted unusually bitter as it went down his throat.
“What’s the point of all that?”
“Yes?”
“Descendants and all…”
Chung Myung’s eyes, heavy with gloom, turned towards the window. The dark clouds that covered the sun looked like they were going to pour rain at any moment.
“What’s the point in worrying about those who survive? I don’t even know if I’ll be alive until tomorrow.”
“Hmm. Well, that’s also true.”
Chung Myung’s dim gaze returned to Tang Bo.
“Even though you’re treated like a nobody by the Tang Family, you’re still thinking about your descendants.”
“Who’s a nobody? They just can’t handle me!”
“…Well, that’s understandable.”
“Is that an insult?”
“It’s a compliment.”
“It was definitely an insult!”
Tang Bo gritted his teeth. Seeing him like that, Chung Myung eventually smirked.
Rather than laughing because it was funny, he tried to somehow laugh whenever there was something to laugh about.
This may be the reason why, whenever he has time on this hellish battlefield, he keeps seeing Tang Bo rather than his Sahyung.
‘He’s an odd one.’
In this battlefield where people lose the reason for their existence as human beings, it’s truly remarkable to be able to shout, get angry, joke, and laugh like that.
“But that’s just how it is.”
“Huh?”
Tang Bo said, toying with the edge of his Chumonbi in his hands.
“Someone…”
Looking at his reflection in the blade, his gaze darkened. Any expression was quickly washed away from his darkly shaded face.
“Someone who’s going to succeed shouldn’t repeat the mistakes made by ancestor bastards. Shouldn’t they at least be better than us?”
“….”
However, as if it had never happened, Tang Bo quickly erased the sorrow that had appeared on his face and smiled brightly.
“Since they might not have a boring Taoist who’s ghostly good at using swords by their side.”
“Nonsense.”
“What can I do? We still share the same blood after all. In the past, I hated seeing those idiots, but as I’ve gotten older year by year, I start to worry about them.”
Tang Bo laughed heartily. Chung Myung also laughed heartily and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling.
‘Someone who succeeds…’
What a foolish thought.
What is there to succeed? It’s not like they’ll ever meet each other.
Why would he care about what happens after he dies? He isn’t even able to save the lives of those he meets every day. As time goes by, he only loses more.
“If you have time to think about that, kill one more.”
“Yes?”
“It’s okay as long as you don’t make any mistakes. If you cut off that bastard Heavenly Demon’s head, at least your descendants won’t have to fight him.”
“Well… that’s true too.”
“So don’t worry.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Chung Myung curled the corners of his mouth.
“I’ll slit that bastard’s throat.”
“You keep saying it’s yours.”
Tang Bo clicked his tongue.
“Good. If Taoist Hyung-nim takes Heavenly Demon’s head, I’ll give you a gift.”
“Gift?”
“Hmph! I’ll let you be the first to behold a technique that this Tang Bo will make! That will be the day you have Chuhonbi lodged in Hyung-nim back, and from that day on, I’ll be the greatest in the world… N- No! Stop drawing your sword over a joke!”
“Die, you bastard!”
“Eeeeek! A Taoist is killing someone!”
Tang Bo, who was making a fuss and exaggerating, suddenly dissolved the sword energy Chung Myung had thrown at him and laughed.
“If that day comes, I have no wish anymore.”
“…Just drink.”
“Here. I’ll fill your cup.”
The liquor flowed from the tilted bottle and slowly filled the white cup.
The two men passed the drink back and forth as if competing with each other. As if to quench some dried-up parts within them.
The two just drank until the rain that came with the night washed away the bloody smell from yesterday.
* * *
Chung Myung opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling with a blank face.
His head slowly turned to the side. Sunlight was coming through the window.
‘Is it morning?’
He used to automatically wake up at dawn and go out to train as part of his daily routine… But it seems like the tension that had been controlling his body for years had finally loosened since he returned to Huashan.
Maybe that’s why he had such a dream.
“…That did happen.”
Right. He had forgotten about it.
He hadn’t considered each thoughtless conversation important enough to remember. No, he didn’t know it was important.
“The first to behold, huh…”
Chung Myung chuckled to himself. It was the face that the past Plum Blossom Sword Sovereign would have shown.
“Stupid punk.”
Yes. He had kept his promise to slit Heavenly Demon’s throat. In the most pathetic way possible, he had severed that head.
And Tang Bo also kept his promise. In the most foolish way possible.
Both were truly foolish and silly.
So….
Chung Myung looked up again. The ceiling he saw now was different from the one at the moment back then.
“…I told you I wouldn’t let it happen again.”
After all that effort, if such things were to repeat… What meaning did those past deaths hold?
What meaning could they possibly…
Kwang!
Then the door opened violently and familiar faces came into the room. No, more accurately, they crashed in.
“Argh! What the hell, shit!”
Even the world-renowned Chung Myung could not help but freak out at that moment.
“Ahh! Didn’t I tell you not to push!”
“No! It’s because you didn’t move aside!”
“I told you to let him rest! The spar wasn’t easy, you know!”
“Why are you waking someone who’s sleeping!”
The face of Chung Myung blanked out when he watched Five Swords bickering while entangled on the floor, He then clasped his face with both hands.
‘For these guys…’
Tang Bo. Doesn’t it seem like a dog’s death? Huh?
“…What is it?”
As Chung Myung helplessly asked, Baek Cheon who was at the bottommost covered his mouth with his fist and cleared his throat. Though, while being squashed by his Sajils, no dignity could be found from him however hard one looked.
“No, that… I had a question about the spar yesterday.”
“….”
“We just couldn’t understand the use of the technique, no matter how much we thought about it.”
“Explain a bit.”
“….”
Chung Myung, who was momentarily speechless, looked at them blankly and asked.
“That’s the only reason you all came all the way here at dawn?”
“What dawn! It’s been a while since the sun came up!”
“If we’re to put this off again, what if we forget? This must be resolved right away.”
A resigned laugh escaped Chung Myung’s mouth.
With sparkling eyes…. No, looking at those twinkling eyes, he felt like a fool for being depressed even for a moment.
“Technique?”
“Yes.”
“You think you can understand if I explain?”
“….”
“You see as much as you know. As much as you know. It’s hard to explain something you can’t see because you’re weak. It’s like teaching letters to a monkey.”
“You son of a…”
“See? I told you we wouldn’t hear anything nice anyway!”
“Kaaakh! Ptoo!”
As the loud response poured out, Chung Myung shook his head and climbed out of bed.
“If you have time to talk nonsense, go train. Don’t slack off just because you’re back at Mount Hua.”
“Everyone else has already trained, except you?”
“Huh?”
“You’re the one who slacking, you son of a beast!”
Baekcheon shrugged his head and blocked Chung Myung from leaving. Chung Myung looked up at him dumbfoundedly.
“What?”
“I’m sure I don’t understand it with my head.”
“Huh?”
“But…”
Baekcheon twisted his lips into a smirk.
“I think I can understand it with my body?”
“….”
“What do you think? As a warm-up?”
Chung Myung opened his mouth as if to say something but then shook his head.
“The place where you were hit last time is healed now, I suppose?”
“It’s already healed, you bastard.”
Baek Cheon grinned triumphantly. With his almost boastful attitude, Chung Myung couldn’t help but laugh.
“Alright, let’s meet in the training ground. I’ll break that spot again for you, prettily.”
“Bring it on.”
Five Swords headed outside without saying a word. Jo-Gol, who was at the back, grabbed Baek Cheon’s shoulder and rushed forward.
“I’m first!”
“No, this bastard? Hey, this punk! Don’t you understand the ups and downs!”
“When has Mount Hua ever had that!”
“A gap.”
“Samae! Oi! Yoo Iseol!”
Chung Myung watched them from where he stood. Looking at the back of Five Swords running out, it seemed like he could hear the voice from his dream.
– Someone who’s going to succeed shouldn’t repeat the mistakes made by ancestor bastards. Shouldn’t they at least be better than us?”
Chung Myung looked out the window where sunlight poured in. Unlike then, the day was remarkably clear.
“Yeah. They are better than us.”
Better than idiots like you or me.
![Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]](https://cpunovel.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/arcane-sniper.jpg "Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]")
