Work Text:
Baek Cheon did not understand anything. The only thing that worried him at that moment was the severe pain in his head and the too loud ringing of his earflap. Probably to this one could add a huge column of dust and, damn it, the darkness in which they found themselves due to the pure bad luck of Jo Geol, who, damn him, pulled some chain sticking out of the ground without thinking before it. Oh no, he thought. I thought with loud shouts, “ha, look, they’ve set a trap for us!” and “I’ll break it now!” And he didn’t think about the fact that this chain was covered with such a layer of rust that one could assume that it was ready to crumble at any moment.
As soon as the young man pulled on it, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble and before they had time to react, they fell down. Even Cheong Myeong, who was in deep thought at the time, did not have time to react properly.
But when the ringing in his ears went away and his vision stopped being blurry (at least he had that feeling), Baek Cheon heard loud screams and pleas for salvation and swearing. Yes, Mad Dog had already bitten the culprit, for which, to be honest, everyone was grateful.
“Sahyun! Leave at least one untouched place on it so that I can stick my thickest needle there! It is desirable that it be a head, so that we can check whether there is a brain there at all.”
No, he was wrong. There was a man on Mount Hua who was much worse than Cheong Myeong when it came to treatment or, more specifically, needles.
The young man slowly threw off a piece of earth or something else and slowly sat down on his knees. Just at that moment, something large flew past him and crashed into the nearest wall. Is this guy even alive?
“Cheong Myeong, stop it. If he breaks his limbs, will you carry him?” From the cruelty of such words, a sob was heard from the side where the body flew away.
“I have nothing to do.” The youngest student of the sect answered sarcastic and... suddenly a light lit up in his hand, bright and warm.
“This is...” Finally, it became visible that Yun Jong had emerged from under the rubble, pointing his finger at a small luminous ball. “Is this what I think? I don't think so?”
“No, you don’t think so.” Iseol answered him, holding her bruised head. She probably hit it hard when she fell.
“Where did you get it from, brat?!”
“Nah, don't shout.” Cheong Myeong waved his hand as if he was shooing away a fly. Of course, he was not going to tell them the truth that he took this ball from his hiding place in a small cave in the rocky cliff. He was worried about the obsessive thought of taking it just in case and, apparently, his intuition did not let him down. “Be glad that I have it. Now let’s quickly find a way out of here, since the ceiling above us is blocked.”
No one began to argue with him and, picking up the limping Joe Gul by the arms, the group moved deeper into the cave. At first, it was no different from all the caves that they had seen on Mount Hua, but then, as soon as they moved away a strange stone that did not fit into the general situation, since it was perfectly white, a dark corridor appeared in front of them. It was like a corridor lined with bricks, and there was even marble on the floor, covered with a layer of dust and dirt. Apparently, no human has set foot here for a long time. Iseol noticed the torches on the wall and checked them. It turned out that they could be lit. But with what? Then Soso took two different pebbles out of her pocket and, clicking them over the torch, moved away from the burning fire. Everyone stared at her.
“What? I never know in what conditions I will have to prepare medicine, and I can’t breathe fire, you know.”
Well, it was the pure truth, so all the questions disappeared by themselves. The group moved in one direction and came across a massive door, which, instead of handles or recesses, had two large iron rings. Cheong Myeong gave the ball to Soso and he went to one ring, while Baek Cheon, Yun Jong and Jo Geol went to the other. Together they pulled them. Dust fell on their heads as the doors began to slide apart with a roar. However, the three boys soon ran to the other wall along with the girls when one side of the door fell off and fell, causing another plume of dust and a gust of strong wind. Luckily, Iseol hid the torch behind the remaining part of the door, where Cheong Myeong was loudly coughing and swearing.
“As soon as we get out of here, I'll beat you bastards!”
“Can we continue walking? We don't have much time.” Baek Cheon objected, having recovered from his cough. “Hye Yeon won’t be able to protect the village on his own. He may be strong, but there are many more of those bandits.”
“Tsk.”
The younger one clicked his tongue, snatched the ball from Soso and stepped forward, gradually slowing down when his gaze caught something in front of him. Then he found himself behind the backs of the children, and then generally turned around some ledge with some kind of frescoes, which no one noticed, because... In front of them were two people and several animals, although for some reason one hid! The guys ran forward, the strangers also ran towards them.
Baek Cheon stopped in front of a girl with a beautiful outfit and delicate features. She also had a shawl on her shoulders, which was usually worn by dancers.
“Hello? Are you injured anywhere?” And then he froze, like everyone else. These people, even animals, completely repeated their facial expressions and even movements. “It's me?”
“Snake? Am I a snake?!” Soso screamed, next to whom Iseol was looking at the face of some official in front of her. Not far from them, Yun Jong, without any emotion, looked into the two small button eyes of a gray-brown hare, whose ears stuck straight up.
“Monkey?!” A loud scream made everyone turn to Geol, who, with a complex expression on his face, stared at the animal in front of him, which seemed to convey emotions better than him.
“You know, that would explain a lot.”
“No, that’s essentially how it is.”
“Yes, because he behaves exactly like a monkey.”
“Agree.”
The disciples nodded their heads, as if they had finally understood the reason for the stupidity of their brother in arms, whose eyes at that moment were not only bloodshot, but also filled with tears. However, he quickly realized that someone was missing among them, and the light from the ball was behind the ledge.
“Hey, Cheong Myeong! What are you doing over there? Come here!” There was no answer. “Cheong Myeong?”
“Oh, there’s a door there too.” Yun Jong said this almost simultaneously with him. The door was at the other end of the room and, most likely, the mirror was the entire length of the wall. This meant that they would see their outrageously absurd reflections until the last moment. “Cheong Myeong, come on! We need to leave!”
“Go first.”
“Eh? What the heck?!” Swearing loudly, Baek Cheon pointed his hand in front of him to the floor. “We don’t know what could be here and you propose to go behind us in the distance?!”
“Sahyun, let's go already!” Soso shouted. “Or are you, damn you, afraid of your own reflection?”
There was no answer. Then Jo Gheol laughed loudly, clutching his stomach.
“Don't tell me that you are some kind of monster with four arms and six heads.”
“You know, he now speaks reasonable words.”
“It turns out that a monkey’s brain sometimes works.”
“These bastards..!”
While one was arguing against a group of people, Iseol gave the torch to Baek Cheon and went to the younger one. When she turned the corner, she found him slightly bent at the back, peering at the ancient frescoes. There were people depicted around a large mirror (?), who carefully looked after him. Then one child stood in front of the same mirror, but his reflection was a completely different person, an adult, who had different facial features and his clothes could symbolize his belonging to the warriors. From this, Cheong Myeong only pursed his lips, which the girl did not fail to notice.
“This is scary.”
“What exactly?” She was surprised, but didn’t show it too much. Cheong Myeong almost never showed such emotions in front of them or talked about them at all.
“Your reaction.”
“Why?”
He didn't answer and took a step away from the frescoes with a deep sigh. Then, having thought something over, he moved towards the rest of the group. Iseol followed straight behind him.
“Hey, brats!” He shouted loudly, walking towards them with confident steps. He stopped and pointed behind them. “Just don’t try to shout.”
“Why would we..?” Baek Cheon quickly closed his mouth when he saw Iseol’s expression. Fear? No. Horror? Also no. Her eyes opened wide and her pursed lips trembled. She slowly looked at each of them and slowly nodded her head, looking behind them again.
Before anyone could say anything, Jo Gheol screamed loudly and jumped so high that he almost disappeared from the light of the ball and the torch (how high were the ceilings here?) and landed on his butt, looking back and forth between their sage and mirror. Then Soso squeaked, and Yun Jong muttered Taoist chants with his hands clasped together.
“I didn’t expect this...” he muttered quietly.
“Oh my God, Cheong Myeong-ah, please...” Baek Cheon turned around without any remorse, only to then freeze in place.
Like the whiteness of his own Mount Hua Righteous Sword robes, the face in the reflection was deathly pale and stained with blood. His hair was matted with dirt and... scraps of flesh. Lifeless eyes looked at each of them. Goosebumps ran across the young man's skin from the cold. The gaze dropped lower and grabbed the plum blossom emblem on the warrior’s heart, and with it the severed hand.
“I never thought that I would see my face again.” Cheong Myeong said and went to the mirror to lean a little closer to himself. However, he soon turned away and began to walk towards the door. “It's time for us to go!”
Nobody said anything and they continued on their way.
…
“And… what is this?”
Cheong Myeong stared at the cart with various gifts, among which were fabrics, but they were laid out in a kind of nest where the children were already lying. No, of course, he didn’t want to force anyone to pull the cart this time, given their injuries, and Hye Yeon himself would not be able to reach these utensils, especially on the steep slopes of Mount Hua. The monk himself settled some issues with the local residents, and he had to pack a supply of food and medicine for several days.
And how did he get to this point?
“Cheong Myeong?” Baek Cheon called him weakly, causing goosebumps to run down the callee’s back. So strongly was this call similar to how his brothers and sisters called to him in the last moments of their lives, when they slowly died in his arms.
“What's happened?” he asked, approaching the edge of the nest (?). There the students, barely able to keep themselves awake, turned their heads towards him, or at least tried to do so. Baek Cheon, who was closest to him, grabbed his sleeve, pulling him towards himself. “Um... Guys?”
He tried to move away, but the grip was strong, although it was shaking. And again the memories came flooding back to him, forcing him to press his lips tightly together. Cheong Myeong took a deep breath and climbed into the free space among the fabrics, and then... His chest was used as a pillow, which made him angry, to be honest.
“No, these little bastards..!”
“Alive.” Soso muttered quietly before her breathing slowed, and Iseol fell asleep with her. Joe Ghoul started snoring loudly. Crap.
Only Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong remained conscious.
“Iseol managed to tell us that that mirror showed a person’s past life, so that it would be much easier for him to find his own path in life.”
“Well, this is what could be understood from those frescoes.”
“Then... you were a disciple of Mount Hua?”
“…Yes.”
“And do you remember your past life?”
“Yes.”
Yun Jong, who had been silent until now, spoke up:
“Then what was your name?”
“Cheong Myeong.”
“No, I'm serious.”
“That's what they called me, brat.” He looked at the bright sky and, without knowing it, stroked the heads of the children who were talking to him, which surprised them a lot. “But what does it matter now? The past cannot be changed, but if someone finds out the truth, then...”
He did not continue speaking, but even without that his unspoken words were clear as clear water. To prevent the children from continuing to question him, he tried to get up, but tenacious hands grabbed him by his hastily mended clothes, forcing him to freeze in place. Were these idiots mocking him? Of course, he had collected everything and had nothing left to do, but this did not mean that he would lie among this makeshift nest.
“Let go.”
“Don't go.” Why didn’t they let him go? Especially Baek Cheon? “Please stay.”
“You... Ha-ah, okay.”
Cheong Myeong didn't notice it, but the children always re-read the books with the techniques of the Twenty-Four Movements of the Plum Blossom, which was written by their most prominent ancestor who lived a hundred years ago. And his name was Cheong Myeong, the Saint Sword of the Plum Blossom. The children were not stupid and could finally put the whole picture together: the words blurted out of pure emotion, the swordsmanship that many envied, the knowledge and understanding of the sect's techniques, the knowledge of the Demonic Sect, and the revealed reason for his hatred of the Ten Great Sects. All this told them about one person.
But the image in the reflection did not give them peace of mind.
Therefore, they wanted to feel his heartbeat as soon as possible, to make sure that he was alive. Baek Cheon blamed his wound and the poison on his own over-emotionality as a single tear rolled down his face and his voice dropped to a barely audible whisper.
“Just don't leave, please.”
He did not answer him and directed a small part of his pure qi to slow down the spread of poison in the young man’s body.
These kids will drive him crazy.