Chapter 1655 - It's A Good Day (5)

Tap! Tada tap!

Urgent yet nervous footsteps echoed through the air.

"Hey, Sect Leader..."

"Move aside!"

Onlookers quickly stepped to the sides in shock, making way for Heo Dojin, who walked briskly. Passing through the middle gate within the temple grounds, an old-fashioned Taoist shrine unique to the temple appeared.

It was the Memorial Hall. In this sacred ground of Wudang, where the ancestral tablets were enshrined, a dozen Taoists were performing their rituals.

"This...."

Heo Dojin almost let out a shout but managed to suppress his fury by biting his lower lip. This place housed the tablets of ancestors who had lived and ascended for the sake of Wudang. It was the most sacred site, where no noise or disputes were permitted. Not even Heo Dojin could break this rule.

"You rascal...."

"First bow."

Though Heo Dojin gritted his teeth and spoke, his voice was overshadowed by a solemn, firm, and calm voice. The disciples in the Memorial Hall respectfully bowed towards the ancestors' tablets.

Heo Dojin clenched his fists tightly. Despite bowing in the Memorial Hall, those Wudang disciples could not be unaware of Heo Dojin's presence. Yet they were blatantly ignoring him, as if he didn't exist.

How could he not understand the meaning of this?

"First bow!"

Nine bows. This ceremony, exclusive to the Kangho, could only be offered to masters and ancestors. It was completed with perfect precision, and only after this did the disciples rise completely.

Waiting for the ceremony to conclude, Heo Dojin, biting his lip, finally spoke in a cold voice.

"What is the meaning of this?"

The disciples in the Memorial Hall simultaneously turned their gazes to Heo Dojin.

"I asked what you are doing!"

"As you can see, we were bowing to the ancestors."

"You know that's not what I'm asking!"

"Lower your voice, Sect Leader."

"...What?"

"The ancestors are watching."

Heo Dojin's gaze instinctively turned past the people in front of him towards the tablets enshrined in the Memorial Hall. Incense smoke wavered gently before the well-maintained, luxurious tablets.

"Heo Gong. Was this your doing?"

When Heo Dojin asked, Heo Gong, who had been bowing in front of the tablets, slowly turned around. He gazed at Heo Dojin silently before deeply bowing in greeting.

"Greetings, Sect Leader..."

"Answer me!"

Unable to contain himself, Heo Dojin cut off Heo Gong's greeting harshly, displaying a rare outburst of anger.

"Was this your doing? Did you order this nonsense?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, Sect Leader."

"You don't understand?"

"Yes."

Unlike the agitated Heo Dojin, Heo Gong was exceptionally calm, even in the face of direct anger.

"What is it that you don't understand? Answer properly right now!"

"I said what I meant. I don't understand why the Sect Leader thinks this way."

"...What?"

"Do I have the authority to command Wudang's disciples?"

For a moment, Heo Dojin was at a loss for words.

"Are Wudang's disciples the kind of people who would be swayed by anyone's command?"

"Then, are you saying..."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

Heo Gong nodded.

"There was no one who gave any orders. No one dared to do so. This is simply the collective will of the disciples."

The more Heo Dojin listened to Heo Gong's calm voice, the more frustrated he felt. His chest tightened as if it were about to burst. After glaring at Heo Gong for a long time, he turned to the other disciples.

And he asked.

"Is this true?"

"...."

"Answer me, Mu Jin. Is it true?"

In response to the chilling question, Mu Jin sighed deeply.

"Yes, Sect Leader. There was no coercion. We simply agreed on the matter."

"Jin Hyun. Is it the same for you?"

"Yes."

Jin Hyun nodded without any hesitation.

"It was my decision and my will."

Grit.

The sound of teeth grinding escaped from Heo Dojin's tightly pressed lips. Although his stern expression did not change, that sound alone conveyed the extent of Heo Dojin's anger.

"What are you thinking?"

"Sect Leader."

"What on earth are you trying to do! You foolish bastards!"

"Sect Leader. Our ancestors are watching over us."

"Heo Gong! You brat!"

Finally, Heo Dojin's reprimand burst out like thunder. The ancient building shook violently, as if it might collapse at any moment due to the force of his voice.

"Because the ancestors are watching, I ask you! What are you doing? Are you planning to end the legacy of Wudang in your generation? What would the ancestors of Wudang say if they saw you now?"

"They would say we are admirable."

"...What?"

"They would nod in approval, saying we are commendable. That is why I came to pay respects to our ancestors."

"You, you...."

Heo Dojin's body started to tremble. He couldn't tell if it was from sheer anger or frustration.

"At the moment of cutting off the Wudang lineage, do you think the ancestors would find you commendable?"

"Yes."

"Do you really believe that makes sense?"

"Of course it does."

Unlike the bewildered Heo Dojin, Heo Gong responded calmly.

"Because it is the right thing to do."

"..."

"Wudang exists not to continue its lineage but to uphold righteousness. If we lose our lineage upholding righteousness, it is far better than preserving it unrighteously."

"You, you rascal..."

Heo Dojin's hands trembled uncontrollably.

"Do you understand the gravity of what you just said?"

"Yes, I understand it clearly. Sect Leader, no, Sahyung."

"..."

"We must not repeat an irreparable mistake. This much I know for sure."

"Heo Gong!"

"Sahyung knows this too. We should not have retreated."

"..."

"Though we should not have retreated, we did. Just as spilt water cannot be gathered again, what was lost due to a wrong choice cannot be recovered. So how can we make the same choice again?"

"That is not your burden to bear! It is mine! This is my burden to carry! How can you take that burden upon yourselves?"

"Why is that the burden of the former Sect Leader?"

Jin Hyun, who had been silently listening, spoke in a cold voice.

"It is Wudang's burden."

"It was my choice."

"Yes, former Sect Leader. It was your choice. But just because you made the choice doesn't mean you can bear all the consequences. Thinking so is arrogance and overconfidence."

"What did you say?"

"I said it is arrogance."

Jin Hyun looked directly at Heo Dojin with clear eyes.

"Regardless of what you think, we accepted the Sect Leader's choice. We cannot be free from that sin. And now you tell us to commit the same mistake under the same orders? To use the excuse that you instructed us?"

"..."

"I have lived as a disciple of Wudang. And among the teachings Wudang imparted, there was no cowardice."

"You, you rascal..."

"If you are truly my master, do not ask me to beg for my life with cowardice disguised as loyalty. That is not the way to save me, but to kill the rest of my life."

Heo Dojin's face changed multiple times in a short span. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke.

"Are you saying you will die?"

"...."

"Are you saying you will throw away your life even knowing an enemy you cannot handle is coming? For that righteousness you think is right! For that stubbornness, even though you can't be sure if it's truly right, do you need to turn yourself, your master, and your brothers into cold, dead souls to be satisfied?"

"No one forced us, Sect Leader."

"...."

"Only those who chose it themselves. As you said, those who believed in their own 'righteousness' and chose to sacrifice their lives."

Jin Hyun's gaze went beyond Heo Dojin, looking at something behind him. Heo Dojin instinctively followed his gaze and turned around.

He saw countless disciples lined up outside the central gate.

Their eyes were all shining with determined will. It was the look of those prepared to die. Perhaps it resembled Heo Dojin's own expression when he spoke with Heo Sanja not long ago.

Ranks and positions were meaningless. The first-generation disciples and the second-generation disciples all looked at him with the same eyes.

Seeing Jin Hyun standing with a determined face and Mu Jin silently firm, Heo Dojin turned his gaze back to Heo Gong.

"Gong...."

"Don't say anything, Sahyung."

"...."

"I know what you want to say. You probably want to take all the responsibility and set us free. That's the way of the Sect Leader, after all."

"Heo Gong...."

"But Sahyung, while that way might bring you peace and deceive the world, it cannot deceive my heart."

Heo Dojin bit his lip.

He understood.

Perhaps Heo Dojin could free them with his heroic death. Maybe he could liberate them from the world's condemnation.

But he also understood what Heo Gong meant.

Even if the whole world accepted Wudang's penance, no, even if the world once again praised Wudang, the scars from fleeing from the enemy under Heo Dojin's orders would never disappear.

No one can deceive their own hearts.

Once aware, they had no other choice.

"Is that your answer?"

"Yes, Sect Leader. And this is my answer, their answer, Wudang's answer, and your answer."

"My... answer?"

Seeing Heo Dojin's puzzled expression, Heo Gong smiled faintly for the first time.

"If you were in our position, you would have done the same."

Heo Dojin closed his eyes, feeling a momentary dizziness.

"This is what we learned at Wudang and from you, Sect Leader."

An involuntary sigh of regret escaped him.

'Why....'

He had thought their wounds would have deepened during the closed-door period.

But he hadn't realized that those deepened wounds and thoughts would also foster their growth.

They were no longer the naive disciples who blindly followed his commands. They had become dignified Taoists whom even Heo Dojin couldn't easily command.

'...But why does it have to be now?!'

Their growth, their righteousness, and their way would lead Wudang to destruction.

The growth he had desperately wished for.

He could see the tragic end unfolding before his eyes. A heavy wave of emotions, whether despair or sorrow, surged over him.

'Great Master of Heaven... this is... this is too cruel....'

Heo Dojin tightly closed his eyes, his eyelids trembling.

It was regretful and sorrowful.