Chapter 308: Chapter 1196: How On Earth Did You Endure This? (Part 1)
"What do you think?"
"I know it won't happen, but... still, there isn't any problem, right?"
"Are you okay?"
Tang Soso turned her sullen face. Where her gaze landed, Chung Myung was lying on a cot, groaning.
"Um... well..."
She hesitated slightly and closed her eyes tightly before speaking.
"He has the weeping illness." [Could also be "hysteria illness" or "tantrum illness"...there's no good translation lol]
"The weeping illness?"
"Yes, the weeping illness."
Yoon Jong blinked.
"Well... uh... so..."
Looking at the groaning Chung Myung, he asked hesitantly.
"There really is a disease called the weeping illness?"
"Yes. You've probably heard many stories of people experiencing great difficulties and then moaning and eventually dying."
"Yeah... I've heard of that."
"That's the weeping illness."
Yoon Jong turned his head again to look at Chung Myung lying down. Next to the groaning guy, Hye Yeon was carefully applying a wet towel to his forehead.
Just by watching how delicately Hye Yeon took care of the patient, it seemed like he was a truly kind monk. However, there was a small problem...
"Maha Prajna Paramita Hridaya Sutra, Gwanjaejae Bodhisattva Hengshin Prajna Paramita..."
"Hey, monk! Don't recite Buddhist sutras while taking care of the patient!"
"Are you casting a spell on a corpse!"
"No delicacy! No delicacy!"
When Jo Gol, who was helping with the treatment, approached at the outcry of The Five Swords, Yoon Jong, noticing his intentions, looked at Tang Soso with a tongue-in-cheek expression.
"No, but the weeping illness? What is this..."
"It's quite unique."
Tang Soso protruded her lips.
"Usually, this disease affects weak people or old people who have lingering resentment. But that guy..."
"Not that guy."
"Not at all. It's not a disease he should get."
"Among the people I know, the person who is least suited for the word 'weak' is Chung Myung, Sahyung."
"Is that so?"
Yoon Jong looked at Chung Myung, who kept clicking his tongue and groaning.
"Even if it's possible for him to get the weeping illness, to see him lying down and groaning like that just because he got sick..."
"Oh wait, Sahyung. It's not our place to say something like that."
"Huh? Why?"
Jo Gol, with a slightly upset expression, said.
"If you think about it, isn't this a really serious matter? That bastard didn't let out a single groan even when he was shredded in the North Sea. For a guy like that to lie down covering his head, he must be really in pain."
"... That makes sense."
After hearing that story, the groaning Chung Myung looked a bit pitiful... Well, not really pitiful... Anyway!
"How much weeping must have occurred..."
"Yeah..."
And the moment that statement was made, their gazes naturally turned to one place.
Leaning against one side of the room, Baek Cheon had his head tilted with a face that seemed to have lost everything. At a glance, his appearance seemed somewhat faded...
Feeling the attention directed at him, Baek Cheon, with a trembling voice escaping through his cracked lips, slowly opened his mouth.
"I... I..."
His dying voice seeped through his trembling lips.
"I took the position of Deputy Sect Leader...Is it worth lying down and groaning like that?"
"..."
"Huh?"
Well, Sasuk, who knows?
"So, for him... rather than Jang Ilso feeding him trouble...or the Demonic Sect rising again ....rather than the Southern Edge Sect going wild, or Shaolin dancing in front, his weeping illness exploded when I became the Deputy Sect Leader?"
"... Is that so?"
"I should just die. Why would I... for the sake of what prosperity..."
Baek Cheon began to wither away. Alternating between Baek Cheon, who was absent-minded, and the groaning Chung Myung, a deep sigh involuntarily escaped Yoon Jong's mouth.
The phrase 'a fight with no winner' was probably used for situations like this.
"I've never thought I'd live to see a martial artist get the weeping illness. That bastard is truly amazing."
"Well, that's incorrect."
"Woah, what a surprise!"
"Appear after speaking, monk!"
Suddenly, Hye Yeon, who had cast aside Chung Myung, approached with his shiny bald head. Everyone was surprised, so he spoke with a slightly embarrassed face.
"...Amitabha, I apologize. I thought you were having an interesting conversation."
"But saying that it's incorrect?"
Hye Yeon nodded.
"It's not strange for martial artists to get the weeping illness. In fact, speaking differently, martial artists are the ones who are most prone to the weeping illness in the world."
"Really? I don't think I've ever heard of a martial artist getting the weeping illness in my life."
"If you change the wording a bit, it's a story you've often heard. Isn't there a term in Kangho that refers to a phenomenon where anger accumulates, and the body becomes abnormal?"
"Huh? Oh, you mean qi deviation?"
"That's right."
Hye Yeon grinned.
"And if you look at the term 'qi disruption' in a broad sense, it can be considered a similar phenomenon. It's not uncommon for symptoms related to the weeping illness to occur due to psychological trauma, just as with qi deviation."
"Is that so?"
"So, considering it, there might not be many people as prone to the weeping illness as martial artists. Since those living in the regular world, unlike martial artists, don't live with the caution of guarding against qi deviation or qi disruption."
"...Listening to that, it does make sense."
"After all, aren't the Kangho people the weakest?"
"They are indeed among the most vulnerable when it comes to the weeping illness."
Originally, the Kangho individuals were not the kind to hold back when it came to a dispute, always ready to draw their swords at the slightest provocation. Regular folks either settled things through words or sought legal resolution, but Kangho people were the ones to rush in first.
So, they were the perfect candidates for contracting the weeping illness.
Especially that guy; among the Kangho, he was known for his quick temper and filthy personality. Looking back, it was quite miraculous that he had managed to avoid the qi deviation and had stayed healthy until now...
"Well, wait a moment. So, Chung Myung is currently suffering from qi deviation?"
"Just because Sasuk became the Sect Leader, he got a qi deviation?"
"Are you a human?"
As Baek Cheon's face paled, Tang Soso cut in sharply.
"No, that's just weeping illness."
"..."
"It's neither qi deviation nor qi disruption. It's just pure weeping illness. If it were qi deviation or qi disruption, I'd know."
"I see."
"That's right. Soso knows everything."
"It has nothing to do with martial arts. No, if you think about it, an ordinary person can contract qi deviation, but Sahyung's strong martial arts skills would've shielded him from the effects. Anyway, the result was that he just couldn't handle his temper and collapsed."
"...Is that fortunate?"
"Is it fortunate?"
Yoon Jong looked at the lying Chung Myung with a content smile.
"It reminds me of the saying 'improvement day by day' (日新日新又日新)."
[The Korean phrase "일신일신우일신" (日新日新又日新) emphasizes a commitment to constant self-renewal or improvement.]
"Isn't that a good saying?"
"It is a good saying. I already knew he had a dirty temper, the the more I see him every day, the dirtier it becomes. How could it be anything but good?"
"Just openly swear at him."
"That crazy guy."
At that moment, Yoo Isol entered the room, glanced around, and, upon spotting Baek Cheon lying down, poked him with her finger.
"Sahyung."
"Sahyung."
"Uh, yeah?"
Baek Cheon, who was drifting away, managed to catch a bit of consciousness and looked up at Yoo Isol.
"The sect leaders have gathered. We should go."
"Sect... meeting, we should go. Right, let's go..."
Baek Cheon, whose light had faded away, slowly got up like a mollusk.
"I should go. I'm the Deputy Sect Leader... A young man shouldn't be late. Don't worry. I'll go now."
Tang Soso watched Baek Cheon staggering away. Then, she suddenly had a thought.
"Jo Gol Sahyung."
"Huh?"
"The next Sect Leader should be handled by Sahyung."
"...What nonsense is this all of a sudden?"
"A good position should be given to Sahyung."
Just as Jo Gol was about to ask about the bizarre statement.
"Where is he going? Where is he going?"
Lying down in agony, Chung Myung suddenly raised his upper body and blinked his eyes.
"Leader? Meeting?"
"...Why is he acting like that again?"
"Soso, don't you have any sleeping pills? The ones that'll make you sleep for about a month."
"I do have sleeping pills..."
"Give them here. I need them for something."
"...If you use them wrong, he might die."
"That might be better. Think about it."
Chung Myung, who had almost kicked away the blanket covering his body, suddenly stood up and swayed, perhaps feeling dizzy.
"Uh, um..."
"Why are you doing this, you punk!"
Everyone protested, but when they asked, Chung Myung's eyes rolled upwards.
"I'm going too!"
"No, you're not in good shape..."
"No! I... I'm the one who revived the Mount Hua Sect! I can't let that guy mess it up!"
"Chung Myung... he's your Sasuk."
"Yeah. We can't let that Sasuk bastard mess it up."
No matter how you look at it, you are the one messing up the Mount Hua Sect right now, Chung Myung. And it seems like it's going to mess things up even more at this rate.
"I, I have to go..."
Chung Myung, who was trying to move his feet, swayed, holding the back of his head.
"Ouch. My back..."
"Uh, he's going to collapse."
"Someone needs to support him, right?"
"That's true, but honestly, I don't want to touch him."
"Me neither."
Although people around them had already backed away, but there was no way something like that could be seen in Chung Myung's eyes right now.
"Mount Hua, I'll protect it... Mount Hua..."
Everyone sighed simultaneously as they watched Baek Cheon walk away like a tiger and Chung Myung follow him like a sick man.
The sect... was functioning well.
* * *
"First... "
Tang Gunak cleared his throat slightly and began speaking.
If Hyun Jong had been present in this position as before, there would have been no need for such words. However, Hyun Jong, for some reason, did not attend this gathering, presumably to support Baek Cheon.
Thus, as the second-in-command of the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, he needed to organize the situation and speak.
"As everyone is well aware, Baek Cheon Dojang has taken the position of Deputy Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect."
"Yes, Gaju-nim."
"Even though it was hastily passed over due to the lack of circumstances, originally, we should all congratulate him."
Everyone gathered nodded.
"Yes, that... since new young blood has joined the Heavenly Comrade Alliance, it's appropriate to offer congratulations for the future of the Mount Hua Sect and the Heavenly Comrade Alliance that Deputy Sect Leader Baek Cheon will lead... Though it's fitting..."
Tang Gunak looked at Baek Cheon and Chung Myung, who were seated in front, with a somewhat weary expression.
"...Deputy Sect Leader."
"Yes?"
"...Why on earth do you look like that?"
"..."
"Did you come across the Demonic Sect in that short period of time?"
Baek Cheon, with a half-faded face, opened his mouth with a lonely look.
"I... I'm fine, so please don't worry."
Baek Cheon limped like a sick chicken, but Chung Myung's condition was even more serious. He fluctuated between being depressed and being angry, as if his mind had almost gone. He swayed as if he were going to collapse with every breath.
'Maengju-nim...'
Tang Gunak closed his eyes tightly in a strangely uneasy mood.
'How on earth did you endure this?'
It was a moment when Tang Gunak was also struck by the excruciating stomach pain that those who dealt with the Mount Hua Sect must have experienced.
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