“Uh, what happened, Jang Mun-in?”
Heo Sanja, who had been waiting impatiently, shouted as soon as he saw Heo Dojinin. However, Heo Do stared at him for a moment and then silently walked into his quarters.
“Now, long sentence!”
Heo Sanja was startled and called again. Then he hurriedly followed Heo Do-jin into the living quarters.
“What do they say? “You weren’t stubborn until the end, right?”
“… … .”
“Long sentence! Please say something. Are you sure you will do that? “Even though Brother Jang Moon himself said it?”
Fear and anticipation flashed in Heosanja’s eyes at the same time. A short sigh escaped from the mouth of Heo Do-jin, who was staring at Heo San-ja.
“They said they would.”
“Well, that…” … . What were you thinking… … .”
For a moment, Heo Sanja stuttered with his eyes wide open, as if he had been strangled. Then he lifted his butt off the floor, stood up, and shouted.
“Okay, let me go and talk to you. no! Even if I have to knock them out right now… … .”
“It’s no use.”
Heo San-ja stopped in a hesitant position and looked at Heo Do-jin in a daze. Heodo Jinin shook her head with an expression that seemed almost dejected, to say the least.
“It won’t be of any use. No words… … . Yeah, you won’t hear anything.”
“no… … .”
“This is not a situation where I can persuade you by saying the right things. No, maybe… … .”
Even those words of persuasion may be lacking in truth.
How on earth should we persuade people who want to do what they have learned on their own?
Heo Do-jin, who was lost in thought, had a faint sneer on his lips. This was not directed at her young disciples, who had no idea what was going on in the world and raised their voices to protect their sense of purpose and self-respect.
About myself, who shouted with his mouth that he had to maintain agreement and pride, but when a crisis came, he forced himself to back down, saying that it was important to avoid harm first… … . It was a mockery directed at the shamans of the past.
“So, are you saying we’re going to let go like this?”
“… … .”
“Long sentence! Are you really going to kill all those children? “You’re going to make all of those guys die under Sapa’s blade!”
Now He Sanja almost seemed to be screaming. Heo Do-jin took a long breath and asked.
“Then what should we do?”
“I have to convince you!”
“Didn’t I say it wouldn’t work?”
“Then you have to stop me, even if it means pulling me by the collar and kicking my ass!”
“Are you treating me like a child who doesn’t know anything about the world?”
“Now, with such comfortable words… … .”
“So, are you saying that we should deprive the shaman disciples who will continue to grow up of the opportunity to express their own will, and further stigmatize them as having survived in an indecent manner through the sacrifices of the ascetics?”
Heo Sanja’s excited eyes shook. At the same time, a question flashed in his eyes. It was something I didn’t understand.
The Heo Do-jin he knew was a person who had no hesitation in putting into action what he said. He was also someone who was willing to sacrifice his life or the lives of his disciples at any time for the sake of the shaman.
however… … .
“So if it was something that could be resolved, it should have been done that way. Then I will ask again. After you come back alive, what happens next? “What are you going to do after that?”
“… … “What do you mean by that?”
“If this is how the war ends, we will be told to chew up and swallow the shame. But what if it doesn’t end? “What should I do after that?”
“Yeah… … .”
Heo Sanja immediately opened his mouth and looked at Heo Dojinin as if he missed it.
Even if they survive this time, the war will not end. The fierce battle against the Sapaeryun will continue for a long time.
So what should the shaman do at that time?
Should you fight ahead of others for revenge? Or should we quietly take a step back, deferring dangerous tasks to others in order to survive even then?
“that… … .”
Heo Sanja was unable to answer readily as if his tongue was stiff.
I would like to say that you should choose the former. However, if you choose the former, only the time of death will change, and the result will not be much different. Perhaps the shaman will have to endure damage that is close to annihilation.
the latter? If you choose the latter, it may be possible to survive. But can a shaman who cowardly stayed away throughout the war really be called a ‘shaman’ even after the war?
Heo Sanja’s eyes darkened. Then he asked with a nervous look on his face.
“that is… … “That may not necessarily be the case, right?”
However, there was no confidence on his face as he asked the question.
“Isn’t there already a precedent? The past… … .”
“In a country of people with three eyes, people with two eyes are treated like idiots.”
“… … yes?”
“then… … “Because everyone had three eyes.”
A mockery flowed from Heo Do-jin’s mouth.
It’s different from the past when it was Magyodae. At that time, all factions except Hwasan were busy taking care of their own safety. So only Hwasan ended up becoming a strange sect.
But it’s different now.
Now that Cheon Woo-maeng has declared that he will unite numerous sects and raise the standard, how will the shaman who ran away from the enemy for the safety of the sects be treated?
The situation is similar, but completely different.
One hero, Cheongmyeong of the Hwasan Sword Association, completely changed the position of those caught up in the war.
“Then they… … .”
“No.”
Heo Do-jin shook his head.
“I didn’t think about that before deciding. just… … I guess it means I don’t want to run away a second time. “As a swordsman, a disciple of a shaman, and a person who must keep the agreement.”
“… … .”
“What words can break that meaning? It was I who argued and taught that a disciple of a shaman should live properly. “I am only facing my own cowardice in not being able to do what I said and taught.”
“How can you call me cowardly for that? Who would dare criticize the person who took on all that yoke and even gave up his own life for being a coward? Brother Jang Moon is definitely not that kind of person!”
He Sanzi distorted his face and shouted, but He Dojinin’s eyes simply followed the empty space.
What is right and what is wrong.
If it’s as simple as dividing by numbers, what’s difficult about it? The world is so complex and confusing because each person’s mission is different and each person’s method of carrying it out is different.
No one is wrong.
It’s just that their ‘correctness’ has grown to the point where it is no longer inferior to Heo Do-jin’s ‘correctness’. Heo Do-jin was extremely proud of that, but also felt immeasurably sad.
“Well, so… … really… … .”
“Heosan.”
“Yes, long sentence.”
“Conciliate the disciples.”
“yes? “What is that?”
“There are probably some who don’t want to but are caught up in the atmosphere and end up risking their lives. “To prevent such people, please persuade at least one more person to get out of the mountain.”
“Death penalty!”
“It has to be the line.”
Heo Do-jin smiled slightly.
Heo Sanja could not accept it at all. How many of those people would be able to gather them all together? Can we call what is left by collecting such people ‘shamans’?
“Is there really no way? “How can you give up so easily?”
“… … .”
“If you forcefully break the will of those guys by asserting your long-standing authority! “Then they have no choice either!”
“okay. “Then you can live.”
“If you do it right now… … .”
“But at that moment, the shaman is over. Even if everyone survives without a single hair injury, the shaman from then on will no longer be a shaman.”
Heo Sanja’s hands trembled slightly.
He wanted to refute it a hundred times, but he already knew that what he said was correct. How can a shaman who has been branded a coward become a shaman?
How can those who cowardly begged for their lives be able to perform rites on the memorial tablets of the patriarchs?
“Go to the store.”
“execution… … .”
“If you still see them as children, you might do as you say. but… … .”
Heo Do-jin shook his head.
“My duty as a teacher is to properly observe and acknowledge their growth. He became a Taoist just as good as me… … . No, the will of those who have already become better Taoists than me cannot be broken by the oppression of authority.”
“… … .”
“I intend to stay by their side.”
“execution!”
Heosanja let out a miserable scream as if all his insides had been scraped out. However, Heo Do-jin’s eyes were still heavy and calm.
“Now there is only one way for the shaman to continue.”
Now, instead of a seething life, a refined sense of duty filled his eyes.
“I’m just showing you. What kind of faction is a shaman? To those who dare to aim for this place, to the world that is watching, and to other people who try to confirm our choice.”
“… … .”
“With your sword, with your life, with your will. I’m trying to show it clearly. Then, that death will become the fertilizer that will make the shaman bloom again.”
It was a calmer voice than ever.
However, the hand on Heo Do-jin’s knee was faintly trembling, unable to hide his inner feelings.
He took all the insults to save his disciples. But now we see the disciples we saved dying for the honor of our sect.
How on earth can you describe what’s inside?
“Move.”
“execution… … .”
“hurry!”
There was silence for a moment. He Sanja, who was staring at He Do Jin-in, soon bowed sincerely.
“Please be considerate.”
That way, he left the room without even looking back.
Heo Do-jin, who was looking blankly at the spot where Heo San-ja had disappeared, let out a helpless laugh.
“Two days?”
No, maybe just one day. It is about counting the time left for the shaman. Then, I suddenly thought about my late realization.
“so… … . That’s why, Hwasan Sword Association.”
Why did a person who cared so much about people and despised sacrifice so much get angry at him for trying to save his disciples?
The Hwasan Sword Association knew. Those who back down out of fear of sacrifice will inevitably pay a greater price one day. If I truly wanted to protect my students, I should not ignore the duty given to me.
Now… … . Okay, I think I understand now.
“Something I should have known sooner.”
Heo Do-jin, who muttered softly, closed his eyes deeply.
It’s not as sad anymore.
Because I learned that the shaman’s disciples were walking a better path. Because they confirmed that they were Taoists who did not fail like him.
Even if the end of the road is despair and death… … .
It will eventually bloom again. So that at the end of the road, it will be splendid, for the whole world to see.
“Jangmun-in.”
Heo Do’s voice rang hollow.
What he was chasing was someone whose face he had never seen. He had already died and disappeared a hundred years ago, and he was not even a shaman, but a long-time member of a different family.
“Will our shaman bloom again?”
Like a volcano that blooms again, right?
No matter how much Heo Do-jin closed his eyes and remained silent, there was no answer.
* * *
“Are you saying you won’t back down?”
“okay.”
“No, why! “Why would you do such a stupid thing!”
“Because I’m a human.”
Lim So-byeong stared at Cheongmyeong as if he could not understand at all. Cheongmyeong shrugged his shoulders.
“You’re human because you’re stupid. “You can’t just make the right choice, that’s why you’re human.”
“… … But he is a shaman. But what is that… … .”
“And I like stupid people like that.”
As if he had finished speaking, Cheongmyeong stood up. The eyes, which had been dark, were suddenly shining silently.
“Goes.”
“yes? It’s not possible! “Didn’t you say it could be a trap?”
“so?”
When Cheongmyeong asked, everyone was speechless. Cheongmyeong spoke firmly to Lim So-byeong and everyone who looked at him.
“If it’s a trap, just destroy the trap. “I can’t just let those idiots die like that.”
Cheongmyeong grinned as he tightened his grip on the sword.
‘Is that right, death penalty?’
– It sounds obvious.
The answer seemed to come sweetly to my ears.
Volcano Return
