Side Story Episode 94. Perspective on magic (2)
Grumbling.
The time when darkness fell.
Next to Commander’s Temple, in a huge open space, firewood was stacked one high and burning brightly.
“It was my first mission. There were bound to be casualties.”
Yakshas standing around with a fire in the middle.
Yang Baek-ho said while looking around at the yakshas.
“Everyone fought bravely. “It was a mission in which it was not strange for anyone to die, and even though they knew it, the dead comrades did not hesitate to give up their lives.”
“… … .”
“This is why we can hold funerals here.”
Yang Baek-ho lifted an iron bar with a large bundle at the tip.
Inside the bundle were the sleeves of dead yakshas. Only the sleeves of personal clothing remaining in the residence were cut off and collected.
“Because they fought bravely, they will be able to go to the world of desire. No, it must have already arrived. “That fire is not a funeral, but a sign of respect for the comrades who went to the world of desire first.”
Yang Baek-ho threw the bundle onto the firewood.
Pusss! Grumble!
Firewood burning even more vigorously.
Yang Baek-ho, who took three steps back, got down on one knee and bowed his head. Soon everyone knelt down and bowed their heads.
After a while.
“Get up.”
When everyone got up, Yang Baek-ho smiled and said.
“We do not send our comrades away in tears. You will drink alcohol and eat meat in front of this place. “Let us forget our fatigue with alcohol and meat and pay respect to our comrades who went before us with laughter.”
“Jonmyeong!”
The staff at the headquarters laid out food and alcohol prepared in advance.
It was made with great care, so the quantity was very large. There was so much that it wouldn’t go away even if I ate it, and there was so much that it wouldn’t decrease even if I drank it.
The yakshas got drunk in an instant.
They say fighting is everyday life, but the first mission was particularly difficult and extreme. Since he even fought with Shaolin monks and monks of the Dragon Quan Gate, he was bound to feel great mental fatigue rather than pride.
After half an hour passed, more than half of the yakshas collapsed on the spot and snored.
After one hour, there were less than a hundred yakshas left sitting and drinking.
Yang Baek-ho did not wake them up as they were sleeping on the bare floor, telling them to go to their dorm. The subordinates had the right to vent freely. Today was a day when it was okay to look bad in front of my superiors.
Fortunately, the monarchs did not take anyone. To begin with, Yuljeoksan was a maldrinker, Gwichang did not enjoy drinking, and Lee Cheonsang also drank only in moderation.
“Eurachacha!”
Yuljeoksan brought a large barrel of alcohol and sat down next to Lee Cheon-sang.
“Oh my, those damn bastards. “Even if you want to move around, they grab you and won’t let you go.”
Lee Cheon-sang sipped his drink in silence.
Yuljeoksan chuckled and poured alcohol into a new glass and gave it to him.
“Thank you for your hard work, Lord Ilgun.”
“Thank you Lee Gak-ju for your hard work.”
“Oh, now that I’m back, does that mean I’ll become a footnote again? “It’s so confusing.”
Yuljeoksan, who emptied his glass while giggling, burped loudly, poured alcohol into the empty glass again, and asked in passing.
“Are you okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“You lost a lot of your subordinates.”
Lee Cheon-sang looked around.
Many of the Yakshas in particular had fallen down. This is because it was the unit that suffered the most damage and fought the bloodiest in this battle.
After briefly checking on his subordinates, he sipped his drink in silence again.
Yuljeoksan, who heard no answer, spoke in a calm tone.
“The sadness of losing Suha cannot be expressed in words.”
“… … .”
“I feel like it’s all my responsibility, and I feel guilty, like it’s my fault. When you drink a little, you start making excuses that even you can’t convince yourself of. I couldn’t help it, it’s my responsibility, but it’s not my fault… … Well, nonsense like that.”
“… … .”
“And then I realize it again. “In the end, it’s my fault.”
“Did Lee Gak-ju do the same?”
“It was like that, a lot.”
Yuljeoksan’s face was stained with bitterness.
Lee Cheon-sang slowly opened his mouth.
“They fought valiantly.”
“I guess so.”
“Everyone believed in me. “I didn’t know it before, but now I understand that it’s difficult for people to trust others transparently.”
“Are you tired. “That’s why you’re so great.”
“It’s my responsibility, but it’s not my fault.”
Yuljeoksan looked at Lee Cheon-sang with sad eyes.
But Lee Cheon-sang’s words were not an excuse.
“If I say that their death is my fault, then I think the death of the yakshas is like a dog’s death.”
“… … is it.”
“I’m still vague about what that feeling is like. “I think I know, but if I think about it closely, I don’t know what it is.”
“… … .”
“By the same token, I know what shame is, but I don’t feel it in my heart like people say. “I’m still like this.”
“… … .”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“But I am certain that they died without shame.”
Yuljeoksan laughed slightly.
Lee Cheon-sang lifted his glass and emptied it.
“I haven’t died, so I don’t know if there is an afterlife, but if there really is, we’ll meet later.”
“Yes, that will happen.”
At that time, a laughing voice was heard.
“Two big guys get together and recite poetry.”
Gwi-chang sat next to Lee Cheon-sang.
“Wow, it smells like alcohol. “Give me a drink too.”
Yuljeoksan handed Guichang a drink. There was Lee Cheon-sang between the two.
Guichang coolly emptied his glass and said.
“It was a very difficult mission. “Isn’t that so?”
Lee Cheon-sang and Yuljeoksan nodded.
Guichang sat in a room-sized position. It was an attitude that did not suit his personality.
“I want to rest for a while. I never thought I would be fighting a Shaolin monk. “I couldn’t even imagine.”
“That’s right.”
Yuljeoksan sipped his glass and said.
“But since it’s a unit, we won’t be able to rest for long. “Maybe three days at most?”
“Three days is enough. “If you rest any longer, your body will become stiff and you won’t be able to do it.”
“That’s true.”
Gwi-chang glanced at Lee Cheon-sang.
“Uninote.”
“Please speak.”
“You had a hard time.”
Like Yuljeoksan, Gwichang did not try to console her in detail. I just expressed my gratitude and apology for the hard work I had to do.
Lee Cheon-sang nodded.
“You had a hard time.”
“Would you like a drink?”
Lee Cheon-sang held out his glass. Then the ghost filled his cup.
Lee Cheon-sang poured the cup he received into his mouth without leaving a single drop behind.
Guichang, who had been staring at the huge fire in silence, stood up.
“It’s so hot. “I’m going to drink with my kids.”
It was a pretty refreshing exit.
Yuljeoksan, who was watching Gwichang moving away, said.
“The Delta State feels indebted to you.”
“He doesn’t owe me anything.”
“Of course it is. “Still, they say they’re sorry and thankful.”
“I think I understand.”
“You think you understand?”
“With my head.”
Yuljeoksan, who was laughing, opened his eyes round. Lee Cheon-sang stood up from his seat.
“Where?”
“Let’s go get some air for a moment.”
“Young guy… … Come back quickly. “Don’t get drunk and sleep in a dark place.”
Lee Cheon-sang, who turned and walked without answering, suddenly looked around.
I saw familiar faces. Among those who still drank alcohol were Heo Pil, Yang Geon, Juyeon Gyo, and Seol Ijeon.
It seemed quite enjoyable. After returning from a life-threatening mission, how great will the relief and pleasure be? Heo Pil, who had an eccentric personality, was also very drunk and laughing.
Lee Cheon-sang, who was quietly watching them, walked towards the corner.
The wind was very cool, perhaps because I came out after being in front of a hot fire.
After a while, Lee Cheon-sang arrived at the vacant lot in front of the corner and sat down, leaning his back against a large tree.
When I looked at the sky, the stars were bright. The moon was almost full, but I was more interested in the stars than the moon.
Lee Cheon-sang’s eyes, which had been looking at the stars with insensitive eyes, became increasingly blurred.
He thought of the yakshas.
Awkward faces that I know why they make that expression, but I can’t understand.
I spent some time with them, which was neither very short nor too long, and practiced my strategies.
It was inevitable that everyone would have different skills. Still, they tried to become one, and only became one in actual combat.
‘… … ?’
Lee Cheon-sang, who was casually continuing his thoughts, suddenly felt strange.
If they become one, wouldn’t it be right for them to die when the others die too?
And shouldn’t I be alive here too? But why are you alive and breathing here?
Could it be wrong? In fact, I wonder if the five senses I am feeling right now are a dream that seems extremely realistic.
The alcohol tasted better than I expected, and I thought it could have been a dream. He had never thought that alcohol tasted good. In the first place, he thought that alcohol for taste did not exist.
Is it a dream or reality?
A shooting star made an arc in the sky and then disappeared.
The faces of the yakshas were visible on the disappeared line. It looked like the jawline, eyes, and hair of one of the dead yakshas.
When I thought about it that way, each and every star in the night sky seemed unusual.
Lee Cheon-sang connected stars to stars.
Maybe it was because I had been drinking, but from the tenth line onwards, I was confused about where the first line was and which star it connected to. Still, I drew it. I drew it quickly so as not to forget the first line I drew.
Then, at some point, I started to get used to the work. In an instant, the lines were connected and the faces of the Seven Jo Gudams appeared.
Lee Cheon-sang drew the faces of Song Hyo, Hajong, Wang Tae, Mungyeong, and Jongryeong in order next to Gudam.
The dark sky was pure white paper, and the countless stars were invisible reference points revealed on the paper. Lee Cheon-sang connected the dots with a brush called Sangsang and drew the faces of the yakshas one by one.
Ten people became twenty. The number of twenty soon grew to forty.
By the fiftieth drawing, I had forgotten where Gudam’s face was that I had drawn for the first time.
I felt uncomfortable, but I drew the next yaksha again. Then he lost the paintings of Song Hyo, Hajong, and Wang Tae one after another.
And then I drew it again. Lost and lost again.
When I drew the last dead yaksha, all the yakshas I had drawn before disappeared.
It was a mess. The stars twinkled. It seemed as if the moon had come in and erased the pictures of the yakshas.
I felt like I had a mouse on my forehead, so I touched it and found that I was frowning.
As I pressed it down, a large glass suddenly appeared in front of my nose. It was a glass full of transparent liquor.
It was a familiar hand. It was the main school.
As I emptied my glass, someone again gave me a glass full of alcohol.
This was also a familiar hand. It was clear that both sides were the same.
Lee Cheon-sang drank all the drinks the two men gave him and looked up at the sky again.
do.
The faces of the forgotten yakshas came back to me clearly again.
Lee Cheon-sang started drawing the faces of the yakshas again. It wasn’t easy to memorize what I drew because I was close to eighty.
If I failed to remember everything, I got another drink and drank it again. The more I drank, the clearer the faces of the dead yakshas became.
How many times did it repeat?
Suddenly the stars became blurry. A bright light began to leak out of the dark sky to the east.
Only then was Lee Cheon-sang able to capture the faces of all the dead yakshas.
The starlight that was stored in my head passed through my nose, mouth, down my throat, and stopped at my chest.
Lee Cheon-sang drank alcohol. He couldn’t stop drinking it, even though it didn’t taste good.
It was a strange day.
martial arts,
