Read Novel Full Chapter 1234: That’s What They Say? (4)
Chapter 1234: That’s What They Say? (4)
The sea with rippling waves.
Sunlight lay softly, and seagulls cried idly. It was a scene that could only be called peaceful...
“Puhhaaaah!”
Faces as if freshly escaped from hell burst up through the surface, shattering that peace.
“Kek! Kek! Kehehek!”
Tang Pae, sputtering water from his nose and mouth in agony, glared.
“Hey, why the hell did you suddenly push people into the water? Why!”
“Ugh, hyung. Just calm down a bit...”
“Do I look like I can calm down? Calm down? I almost died!”
They were frantically bobbing for their lives; being suddenly pushed under was enough to scare anyone.
But unlike Tang Pae, who had only seen Chung Myung’s mischief from afar and never truly experienced it, the Five Swords were delighted even though they had been forced underwater.
“Sahyung! Sahyung! Did you see that huge fish just now?”
“I saw it! It was about the size of a person?”
“Could that be some kind of whale or something? Wow! I’ve really never seen anything like that.”
“Shall we go see it again?”
“I want to touch it...”
At the sajil’s innocent chatter, Baek Cheon smiled contentedly.
‘That’s a shark, you crazy idiots.’
If you touch it you’ll lose your hand.
Baek Cheon debated whether to teach the gleeful sajil the harsh realities of the world, then shook his head. They didn’t really need to know there were sharks circling at their feet.
Even if they were attacked, they weren’t the sort to die that easily...
“Wow! It’s coming this way! Something’s poking out—should we pet it?”
“Don’t go that way, you idiots!”
When Baek Cheon shouted, Jo Gul and Yoon Jong went sullen.
“Why is sasuk angry?”
“Sasuk doesn’t really like animals, does he?”
“Oh, is that so?”
“He doesn’t like Baek Ah either.”
“...Isn’t that just because he has a weird sense of rivalry with Baek Ah? Same Baek clan, same Baek family, after all.”
“I think it’s more that he hates fur getting on his clothes. He’s kind of obsessed with cleanliness.”
No! You’re all wrong, you crazy bastards!
While Baek Cheon stewed over the unjust accusation, those who didn’t care at all about his feelings spoke indifferently.
“We’ve come farther than I expected, Sago.”
“Yeah. More than I thought.”
“At this rate we’ll get there quickly, won’t we?”
Yu Yiseol nodded lightly.
They don’t know about other sects, but Mount Hua people were used to swimming. Chung Myung’s theory had always been that a swordsman must be able to wield a sword in the air, underwater, even in fire. So Mount Hua disciples practiced swordsmanship in every possible situation.
Mind you, Chung Myung’s scheme to shove them into pits of fire, saying they should be able to swing a sword in flames, was thwarted by Hyun Jong’s furious side kick.
Of course, even then Chung Myung couldn’t let go of the thought, ‘They might get caught in fire attacks later, I should toughen them up,’ but thanks to those harsh times, Mount Hua disciples could swim this distance easily.
The slightly higher waves were a bit annoying, but they’d experienced decent surf on the Yangtze river, so this was nothing...
“Don’t waste time, let’s go quickly.”
“At this speed we could arrive before sunset, right?”
When Namgung Do-Wei showed high enthusiasm, Tang Pae snorted with a laugh.
“Before sunset? The sun’s already halfway down; that’s nonsense.”
“What? What do you mean? Sunset? Is the southern sea’s day that short?”
“Huh? No. As far as I know, daytime here is actually a bit longer.”
“Then why is the sun already setting? By the clock there’s still plenty of time; it should only be around noon.”
“R-Really? Then why is it so gloomy?”
“Gloomy? It’s this bright...”
Namgung Do-Wei quickly shut his mouth.
“...Huh?”
Just moments ago it had clearly felt like a hot summer midday, but now, as Dang Pae said, it had grown truly gloomy.
“No, why did it suddenly get so dark...”
At that moment.
Kuurururung!
At the ominous sound from somewhere, everyone slowly turned their heads.
Only then did they see the huge, gathering black clouds.
“...It’s pitch black.”
“In the Northern Sea blizzards were novel, and here these clouds come rolling in as if sketched with a straight line.”
“Isn’t this impressive in its own way?”
“Haha. Indeed...”
Kuurururururung!
In that instant they all saw.
From the ink-black thunderclouds hanging over the sea, white flashes literally erupted one after another.
For a moment everyone was silent.
Staring blankly at the sight, Namgung Do-Wei muttered without realizing it.
“Wow...that is a killer.”
It was a sight that could kill in many senses.
“Looks like a typhoon, right?”
“To me it looks like a storm.”
“What’s the difference?”
“They’re certainly the same thing, basically.”
Kwaaah!
In that instant a fierce wave swept over them with a howling wind. For a moment everyone reverted to a three‑year‑old’s mind; riding their father’s shoulders, they laughed awkwardly.
Kwarururung!
Lightning and gale surged together, and an enormous wave the size of a house rose above them. Jo Gul smiled contentedly and said.
“We’re screwed.”
And properly so.
Kwaaahhh!
“Aaaaaaaaah!”
The tsunami tossed people like sheets of paper. Those who had been thrown up several times were suddenly hurled down below.
“I’m gonna die! I’m dying!”
Jo Gul rolled his eyes and screamed.
He was a swordsman trained long at the notorious Mount Hua. Even if thousands of enemies charged, he’d rush in without blinking to swing his sword—a man of extraordinary...no, courageous spirit.
But that’s when there are enemies.
“Aah! Swooosh! I’m telling you I’m dying... grrururuk!”
What can a sword do against several towering waves crashing overhead? Even if their martial skill were legendary, able to slice dozens of waves with one stroke, the sea could just sneer, ‘Fine. Next wave, please.’
“Shut up and swim! Don’t just flap your gums!”
“How are we supposed to swim with waves like this!”
At that moment Baek Cheon opened his eyes wide.
“Waves be damned, we are disciples of Mount Hua! Endure it and that’s that!”
“We’re Taoists!”
“So what?”
“Taoism is about yielding to nature! What sect ever teaches you to fight against nature!”
“Then just die!”
“That’s something to say in this situation...”
At that instant, not far away, a white lightning bolt struck down.
Kuururururung! Kbang!
At the thunderclap that followed, everyone gaped.
“Wow...that’s insanely fast.”
“If anyone ever talks to me about ‘lightning-like sword’ again, I’ll tear their cheek open.”
“...Nature is supreme and all cycles...”
“Is this the time for such words? Huh?”
Everyone felt a tingling sensation run through their bodies.
Seeing lightning up close made it clear: a direct strike would send even the greatest swordsman or the most extraordinary demon straight to the afterlife.
“T-I’m telling you, let’s go back, sasuk!”
“...No.”
“If we stay like this we’ll only die! We should retreat to the shore now and come back after the typhoon subsides!”
“I get it, but...”
“Southern Island this and that! If we live, they live too! Even if Jang Ilso personally came instead of Four Sects Alliance, seeing this typhoon he’d go, ‘Hmm. Let’s just drink until it passes!’ So we can come later too.”
“No! That’s not the point, you idiot!”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“...The problem is that going back isn’t easy anymore.”
“Huh?”
For a moment a flustered Jo Gul looked back with trembling eyes. Far away, a very distant shore was visible.
“...”
“Whether we go forward or back, it’s the same—we’ll die.”
“...What a tragic life.”
Even dying, they’ll do it in style.
“Then we advance!”
Madness flashed in Baek Cheon’s eyes. Before that madness could fully erupt, a surge of seawater smashed into his face.
“Gurgle!”
“...Well done.”
Kwarururung!
Kwarururururung!
White lightning bolts struck repeatedly.
At this point it’s no time for theatrics. The rapids whipping people at incredible speed and the house-sized waves looming overhead were terrifying.
Even if you could deal with all that, the lightning striking again and again in the blink of an eye was beyond human control.
‘We’re really going to die!’
Everyone’s face went pale as they instinctively turned their heads.
“Chung Myung!”
“Hey you bastard!”
“Do something!”
Chung Myung looked at them as if they were pathetic.
“No...do they think I’m some sort of magic bag? What do they want me to do about a typhoon?”
“You said to set out!”
“You said to swim!”
“You said we’d arrive in half a day, you idiot! We might arrive, sure—it’s just that the place we arrive at is the netherworld!”
“Oh dear, Sect leader...your disciple departs here!”
“...Dad.”
“Sago, don’t cry!”
Chung Myung clicked his tongue, watching the half-mad group blankly.
“The great Mount Hua’s...no, the great Heavenly Friends Alliance’s disciples are all such cowards. And yet you claim to be heads of a branch and Acting Sect leader of a sect...”
Kwarururung!
“Ow, damn!”
Lightning struck barely ten feet away and Chung Myung’s body trembled.
“See, you bastard!”
“What are you going to do about this?”
“These bastards...do they carry their brains on a string?”
Chung Myung snorted and was about to speak proudly when—
“Everyone, dive!”
“...Yes?”
Chung Myung turned, slightly stunned. Im So-Byeong, looking like a wet rat with pale lips, spoke again.
“Dive! If you go down just a few layers beneath the surface it’s calm sea. Even if lightning strikes, it won’t reach that far down.”
“Oh!”
“That’s the Heavenly Friends Alliance’s tactician!”
“Wow...there are times that man looks cool. His face is so pale...are you okay?”
Im So-Byeong, whose face had been hit by the rough current, smiled weakly.
“Haha. I’m fine... cough cough fin... cough uueeeek!”
“...Wow, blood’s spurting from his mouth like a spring.”
“At that point it’s strange if ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) he doesn’t die.”
“Something whitish seems to be coming out above his head.”
“Sahyung! Sahyung! Recite the ritual chant! What do we do...”
Kuurururung!
Then the sky roared loudly again. Everyone exchanged panicked glances and shouted.
“Get in!”
“Dive!”
“Aaaaaaah!”
“I, I have a bit of thalassophobia...”
“They said this guy also has acrophobia! Shut up and get in!”
The Heavenly Friends Alliance party drew a long breath and dove deeper and deeper.
Kwaaah!
A house-sized wave tore violently across the surface where they had disappeared.