CLS-Chapter 623

Chapter 623:

“Ugh…”

Gwak Cheol-ho let out a groan. It felt as if his entire body was being crushed.

‘Am I… am I alive?’

Naturally, he thought he was dead.

No, he might actually be dead. This pain couldn’t be proof that he was alive. Perhaps he had fallen into hell where he would have to feel infinite pain.

He tried to open his eyes.

His eyelids, heavier than a thousand geun, trembled and slowly opened.

His eyes hurt.

It felt as if unbearable light was rushing into his eyes all at once. Gwak Cheol-ho squeezed his eyes shut again. Tears streamed down from the corners of his eyes.

He slowly opened his eyes again.

“Nggh.”

A moan escaped involuntarily.

But he could see light.

When he opened his eyes, what entered his vision was not complete darkness but dazzling light, which reassured Gwak Cheol-ho. At least this place wasn’t hell.

But this intense pain he felt in his eyes and throughout his body was something he couldn’t accept positively no matter how hard he tried. It was pain that truly deserved to be called terrible.

Was he really alive?

He couldn’t tell. Having never died before, how could he know whether his current state was connected to life or death?

Fortunately, there was a voice to help Gwak Cheol-ho.

“Don’t overdo it.”

“…”

“Your body isn’t normal, so if you try to force yourself up, the blood and qi that has been carefully treated might flow backward. So taking rest is the priority right now.”

The gentle voice that reached him drained the strength from his body.

This wasn’t hell.

A demon from hell wouldn’t speak with such a voice.

“Where…”

His throat was so dry and cracked that no proper sound came out. The moment he opened his mouth to speak, his throat felt as if it was splitting and blood was gushing up.

Gwak Cheol-ho closed his mouth once, gathered his dry saliva and swallowed it, then finally managed to speak.

“Where is this…?”

“The Medical Hall of the Righteous Martial Alliance.”

“…Righteous Martial Alliance.”

Gwak Cheol-ho relaxed his eyes. Hearing the words “Righteous Martial Alliance” made him feel his tension ease.

‘How did I get here?’

Let him remember. The last place he recalled was Hefei. He had gone to Hefei to fight the Hundred Sword Castle, and somewhere he had felt a strange energy rushing toward him.

Then his memory disappeared.

‘Memory…’

Gwak Cheol-ho’s body flinched.

No, his memory hadn’t disappeared. The memories that had been hazy were beginning to surface again.

‘I…’

He remembered what he had done. He had lost his reason and attacked his comrades. His fists clenched involuntarily and his teeth ground together.

He couldn’t understand why he had done such a thing. The person at that time wasn’t Gwak Cheol-ho—wasn’t himself. The memory was clearly there, but he couldn’t understand his own actions.

Right, that wasn’t Gwak Cheol-ho.

But then…

How was he here now?

“The… the others…”

“There’s nothing to worry about. They’re all receiving treatment.”

“Ah…”

“It’s not something for you to worry about others. Those in the Medical Hall are in the worst condition. At least those who are alive are all in better shape than you, so don’t worry.”

Gwak Cheol-ho nodded slightly.

This was the best expression he could manage. As his consciousness cleared, the terrible pain had somewhat subsided, but he had no strength in his entire body. Even his dantian felt completely empty.

‘It’s amazing I’m alive.’

It was miraculous that he was still breathing in this condition.

“You should consider yourself fortunate. If the Radiant Sword Hero had been just a little later, you wouldn’t be among the living anymore.”

“Radiant?”

“Ah, you probably don’t know this epithet yet. I’m talking about Light Sword Wei Yan-ho.”

Light Sword Wei Yan-ho.

Gwak Cheol-ho repeated that name in his mouth.

Wei Yan-ho, Wei Yan-ho…

It was the most famous name in the martial world recently. Was he saying that Wei Yan-ho had saved them?

‘Then that light?’

The last scene remaining in his memory was something emitting light before his eyes.

Dazzling light, utterly dazzling light.

‘Radiant…’

If the one who emitted that light was Wei Yan-ho, it was a perfectly fitting epithet. It seemed to express Wei Yan-ho better than when he was simply called Light Sword.

“He… he saved us.”

“Indeed, he accomplished something remarkable. Even though he’s still a young child, he’s truly amazing.”

If it was true that Wei Yan-ho had saved them, then being young or not was meaningless. The reason young children don’t receive the treatment of adults is because they can’t accomplish what adults can.

If a child was superior to adults, they naturally deserved recognition.

“Where… where is Wei Yan-ho?”

“Well, he seems to be holed up in his room and won’t come out. But why are you looking for Wei Yan-ho?”

“To express my gratitude.”

“Tsk tsk tsk.”

The sound of tongue-clicking was heard.

“Knowing gratitude is certainly a person’s duty. But for you right now, recovering your body is more important than fulfilling duty. You need to live to have duty, don’t you?”

“…”

“And one more thing…”

A low sigh was heard.

“Never forget that feeling right now.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m saying don’t forget your gratitude toward Wei Yan-ho. Remember it.”

Thinking that tone was a bit strange, just as he was about to ask again, he felt a hand pressing on his pressure points. Gwak Cheol-ho slowly fell asleep again.

Watching this, the Medical Hall Master let out a sigh.

‘They’re starting to wake up.’

The fact that patients were beginning to wake up even in this place where the most critically ill patients were gathered meant that everyone elsewhere was already waking up.

‘This is troublesome. How will they accept this situation?’

Half of their internal power was gone.

Since they hadn’t completely lost their martial arts, there wouldn’t be many who would foam at the mouth and charge at Wei Yan-ho, but they would all harbor resentment deep down.

The Medical Hall Master let out a deep sigh.

When he reported this matter, the Divine Strategist had smiled bitterly and said:

“It can’t be helped. It’s like fate.”

Fate.

Fate…

The Medical Hall Master couldn’t agree with those words.

The lives of heroes who save people aren’t always beautiful. The later years of those called heroes are surprisingly difficult to find examples where they ended well.

Heroes who survive until the chaotic times end are inevitably isolated.

Those who admired them when heroes were needed come to envy and resent them when heroes are no longer necessary.

Because they can’t catch up.

It’s not common for people to envy someone becoming a hero in their own time. When people really want to bring a hero down is when they can no longer catch up to that person.

When the war ends and they can no longer achieve merit, when they realize they can never catch up to the brilliant achievements of the hero no matter what they do, humans feel envy and jealousy.

Even those not tormented by ambition are the same.

Fame and achievements ultimately bring profit. Those who praised the hero when he protected them turn into enemies the moment they feel the hero is taking away the benefits they should receive.

That’s why heroes throughout history have had poor endings.

Because they can’t choose either side.

If they fight against those who oppress them in pursuit of profit, their completeness as heroes crumbles. But if they just sit idle, they end up losing everything.

Heroes who survive can no longer be heroes. Heroes are beings praised by everyone. How can someone not praised be called a hero?

Therefore, the only heroes who receive true praise are those who died before the war ended.

Guan Yu, called the enemy of ten thousand, was like that, and Zhuge Liang, called a divine mountain, was like that.

Xiang Yu, despite his defeat, left his name in the world even more than Liu Bang, and Yue Fei continues to be spoken of no matter how much time passes.

‘It’s a sad thing.’

How can this be called fate?

Everything is just because greedy people couldn’t leave heroes alone.

The Medical Hall Master quietly examined Gwak Cheol-ho’s condition and stood up.

‘I should meet with the Military Advisor once more.’

Wei Yan-ho’s situation was definitely not good.

If the Divine Strategist couldn’t control the atmosphere here, the ungrateful situation would occur where those Wei Yan-ho saved would harbor resentment against Wei Yan-ho.

Though it would be incomprehensible by common sense, that’s how people are. If someone helps you but you suffer damage, isn’t it human nature to completely forget the favor and remember only the resentment?

The Medical Hall Master left the Medical Hall.

Though the treatment rooms were full of patients, they were all patients with depleted energy, so he didn’t need to stay and watch over them personally. They had already passed all the dangerous hurdles.

As the Medical Hall Master left the Medical Hall and moved toward the Divine Strategist’s temporary office, he heard people’s voices.

“So he saved all those people?”

“That’s what they say. In the process, he also defeated all the villains of Hundred Sword Castle.”

“One person?”

“How can you say one person? Righteous Hero Wei Jeong-han was with him, and Little Beggar of the Beggar’s Sect, Musan of Shaolin, Peng Dao-ji of the Peng Family, and even Zhuge Mun-in of the Zhuge Family helped.”

“What help could they be?”

“Heh, you don’t know what you’re talking about. They’re not what they used to be. The Radiant Sword Hero taught and led them, so now they’ve become at least as strong as elders of the Nine Sects and One Union.”

“…Does that even make sense?”

“Why not? Think about it logically. Is it possible at that age to defeat Heavenly Flow Sword, break the sharp edge of the Demonic Cult, and single-handedly block Hundred Sword Castle’s attack?”

“Now that you mention it, that’s right. Rather, raising a few people to elder level would be much more realistic.”

“Exactly. That’s why he’s the Radiant Sword Hero! He’s a hero sent from heaven. Those prestigious Shaolin, Wudang! And the Namgung Family tucked their tails and ran away, but the Radiant Sword Hero stood proudly against them…”

At that moment, the man speaking closed his mouth.

He sensed murderous eyes glaring at him.

“…Tucked their tails?”

“Ahem.”

When someone wearing Wudang’s robes glared at the man, he coughed awkwardly and left.

The Medical Hall Master, who watched this scene, let out a deep sigh.

‘This won’t work.’

Cracks were forming. If these cracks weren’t resolved in time, the Righteous Martial Alliance might collapse from within. The great sects would feel shame that Wei Yan-ho blocked Hundred Sword Castle in their place, and Wei Yan-ho would want to receive the proper treatment he deserved.

Then problems would inevitably arise.

Mediation had to be done before it was too late.

Mediation.

…Or so he thought.

“Mediation?”

The Divine Strategist scratched his ear and looked at the Medical Hall Master.

The moment he saw that expression, the Medical Hall Master realized he had thought something wrong.

“Between that guy and the great sects?”

The Divine Strategist chuckled and slowly opened his mouth.

“It seems you need to see that guy once.”