Read Novel Full Chapter 1294: This Is Just The Beginning. (4)
Chapter 1294: This Is Just The Beginning. (4)
Gwak Hwan-So opened his eyes after briefly finishing his circulating qi.
The moment he opened his eyes and checked his condition, a gloomy look hung over Gwak Hwan-So’s face.
‘This much...’
Normally he could dispel most of his physical fatigue with just circulating qi. But not now. His internal qi had somewhat recovered, yet his body still felt heavy like waterlogged cotton.
Worse was that the foggy feeling in his head wouldn’t go away.
But Gwak Hwan-So decided not to be greedy and brushed himself off to stand.
Even as they did this, the enemy kept pursuing them. If they were tracked down from behind, it would truly be the end.
‘But... can we really escape?’
Their course so far wasn’t wrong.
No, they’d been piercing through enemy lines at a surprisingly fast pace. Without the help of those from Mount Hua, they wouldn’t have dared.
But that made them even more uneasy.
‘If this speed can’t shake the enemy off...’
Could they really reach the Yangtze river safely? Could they maintain this pace while breaking through Southern Lands?
Gwak Hwan-So shook off the anxious thoughts not by willpower but because Lee Ja-Yang, who had been circulating qi beside him, happened to get up.
“Are you all right?”
“...My body is a wreck.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
Lee Ja-Yang sighed deeply and looked around. Many disciples were still circulating qi. He pressed his lips together and spoke.
“Sahyung.”
“Don’t think about anything.”
Gwak Hwan-So shook his head.
“For now, just think about getting out of their grasp.”
“...Yes, sahyung.”
The disciples of the Southern Island who had finished circulating qi stood up one by one. A deep, lingering fatigue showed on their faces as well.
“You okay, sajae?”
“...Yes, sahyung. I’m fine.”
“This is nothing short of hell...”
Those who rose first had to wait for those still circulating qi to finish. All they could do in that time was talk about their situation.
And neither Geum Yang-Baek nor Gwak Hwan-So could stop it, no matter what was said among them.
“...How far have we come?”
“We’re only in Guangdong. We barely passed the Dam River.”
“Only now?”
The one who asked froze in astonishment and went blank.
Of course, it’s not a short distance.
The distance from the shore where they landed to the Dam River wasn’t very different from crossing the Southern Island. Ordinary people would take at least five full days.
They had covered that distance in less than half a day, a record-worthy feat. But....
“Only...”
The disciples of the Southern Island knew.
Southern lands is vast. The distance they’d passed so far was only one-tenth of what they still needed to break through.
Yes. One-tenth.
They had barely passed that much and their stamina was already depleted, and they’d lost six sahyungs. Including those lost in the Southern Island sect, the casualties approaching ten in getting this far.
Even by simple math, over a hundred casualties would occur before reaching the Yangtze river.
No. That calculation isn’t accurate. The farther they went, the stronger, more relentless, and more vicious the enemies would become. Considering that....
Gaining the strength to think wasn’t necessarily good. Those who had been doing their best just to move exhausted legs, once they had breath to spare, began to worry about the situation.
They started to realize how reckless they’d been and how brutal the place they’d stepped into was.
Amid everyone’s daze, someone spoke in a terrified voice.
“They haven’t even sent their main force properly yet, right?”
This was undoubtedly the worst thing to say in this situation.
“The Ten Thousand People Clan is chasing from behind... if a similar force comes from the front, won’t we just be surrounded and die?”
“Why say that now all of a sudden! It’s not like we didn’t know!”
“No, I mean, I knew, but...”
Thinking vaguely and experiencing it directly were too different. Yet they couldn’t bring themselves to voice it; it would be admitting their complacency.
They hadn’t known that a person could die so easily.
And that a person’s death could be treated so lightly.
They had imagined dying heroically in battle since childhood, but who could have imagined running until the sky seemed to pale and their mouths tasted sweet from fear, only to be stabbed in the side and die? And to be left discarded on the roadside afterward.
“If that’s the case, the Southern Island should have...”
“Stop.”
Gwak Hwan-So cut their conversation off at the right moment.
“Useless talk can wait until after we escape the enemy’s clutches. Conserve your strength to speak now.”
“Sahyung... but...”
“Didn’t you hear the sahyung?”
Lee Ja-Yang glared sharply. The disciples bowed their heads. Gwak Hwan-So sighed heavily.
‘It’s not for me to say either.’
He’d thought the same until a moment ago. In truth, nothing really changed now.
At that moment, the one who had been circulating qi until the end got up.
“Yang Po, are you okay?”
“...Yes, sahyung.”
Yang Po rubbed his blood-soaked thigh. The pierced thigh had not yet fully healed.
“That wound looks bad...”
“Can you walk?”
The other disciples gathered around him with worried faces. At a glance, Yang Po’s wound looked severe.
“I-I’m fine.”
“Fine, my foot!”
“No, that wound isn’t ordinary...”
“Damn it! I said I can go!”
When Yang Po suddenly shouted, everyone was startled and all eyes turned to him.
“Why are you acting like that when I said I’m fine!”
“No, I just...”
“I can run! I said I’m fine!”
Those who had been speaking fell silent. They realized what Yang Po was thinking.
If he couldn’t run properly, if the injury was so deep he couldn’t keep up with the group’s pace, what then? Would someone carry him and run in his stead?
The others were just as exhausted. It was hard enough to carry their own bodies. In such circumstances, there was no capacity to care for wounded.
If it were an orderly, organized retreat, they could take the wounded along. But when fleeing pursued by the enemy, the wounded are usually the first to be abandoned. No matter how loyal, how many would give their life to save another?
“What are you thinking! You lunatic!”
You could tell by his bloodshot eyes. Yang Po feared being abandoned. He was terrified that the sahyungs he’d lived with all his life would treat him as baggage and leave him behind.
“We wouldn’t... would we...”
Those who were about to scold his doubt and fear suddenly couldn’t continue and fell silent.
Because fear had gripped them.
They had sworn they’d never abandon one another, that they’d die together.
In the past they could have boasted such vows without a second thought, but now they knew. The word ‘usually’ meant nothing here. Everything they’d upheld had no more value than a speck of dust in this place.
Which made them afraid—to face the possibility of breaking their own spoken vows.
“What do you mean ‘wouldn’t’? What are you trying to say?”
Yang Po spat out the words in a burst. At that moment, a calm, firm voice interjected.
“Please step aside.”
Tang Soso had approached and stood holding several tools she’d pulled from her bosom.
“Not stepping aside?”
“A-a physician?”
“Yes. I’m from the Tang Family.”
“Ah...”
Those surrounding Yang Po hurriedly stepped aside. Tang Soso hurried to Yang Po and examined the wound.
“Hm. It’s opened up more.”
In fact, if he’d stayed still after being wounded, a penetrating wound like that would have started to heal by now. But because he’d kept running, it had opened wider than at first. It hadn’t festered yet, thankfully, but it needed immediate treatment.
“Someone bring in clean water.”
“H-here.”
Taking the canteen someone offered, Tang Soso stared intently at Yang Po.
“Hold still.”
“Yes...? What is... Aaaaaah!”
At that moment Yang Po screamed.
She pried open Yang Po’s wound with her fingers and poured water into it. Then she clicked her tongue in displeasure.
“...This won’t do.”
Those damned Evil Sect bastards don’t properly maintain their weapons. The Justice faction is raised to treat their cherished weapons as their lives and maintain them, so weapons are often clean even in battle. Thus wounds don’t easily fester.
But the Evil Sect’s weapons are often rusted or caked with filth, so wounds easily fester. If not properly washed, the flesh rots and becomes irreversible.
“Sahyung! Chung Myung sahyung!”
Chung Myung, who was farther away, frowned at Tang Soso’s shout.
“Ah, what?”
“Do you have alcohol?”
“Tsk.”
Chung Myung tossed the liquor bottle hanging at his waist to Tang Soso. She caught it and immediately opened the cap to sniff it.
“Ugh, it’s strong.”
The smell was pungent enough to make one frown.
“Anyway, no matter how you dry him out, he only drinks strong liquor.”
But that was quite useful now. Tang Soso looked at Yang Po and spoke firmly again.
“Hold still.”
“What?! Wh-what now... Aaaaaaaah!”
This time Yang Po rolled his eyes and fell back.
Even drinking it normally would burn the throat; getting that strong liquor into a pierced wound would cause excruciating pain nearly impossible to endure.
“Enough.”
Tang Soso set the bottle down, applied ointment to the wound, and began stitching it quickly with needle and thread.
“Ugh... ughhh...”
Even a layman could see how swift and precise her hands were. The gaping wound closed in an instant and disappeared from sight.
“You endured it well.”
Tang Soso nodded as she wrapped the stitched area with cloth. At this, there shouldn’t be a problem. The liquor Chung Myung carries is so strong it disinfects by simply pouring it on.
“However... you shouldn’t use your leg for a while.”
At her words, everyone turned to each other with pale faces.
How could they not use a leg in this situation? This was more despairing than news that a wound couldn’t be treated.
“Who will carry him?”
The Southern Island Sect’s disciples looked at one another.
Of course they desperately wanted to carry their wounded comrade, but that choice might get Yang Po killed too, so they hesitated.
“Then I’ll...”
As Gwak Hwan-So, watching the situation, stepped forward, Tang Soso abruptly turned her head and called someone.
“Monk, Hae Yeon.”
“Yes, Taoist.”
“You need to carry him for about a short distance. Can you do it?”
“Amitabha. Of course.”
“Please keep him as steady as possible. If the wound opens again, it’ll be a headache.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Hae Yeon’s face was calm. The Southern Island Sect’s disciples watched him dazedly.
‘That person... how can he take this for granted?’
How could someone unrelated to Southern Island Sect...?
“And also.”
Then Tang Soso’s voice caught their attention once more.
“Minor or whatever, it doesn’t matter. Anyone with even a little wound, don’t delay—come quickly. If wounds fester later, it’ll be truly the worst.”
“...”
“What are you doing, hurry up!”
“Th-then, my arm here...”
“I’ve injured my leg too.”
Those who’d been wounded began to gather around Tang Soso one by one.