Chapter Text
Blood.
There was so much blood.
So much of it that no would doubt the fact it could form an endless river in it's wake.
And that thought scared everyone just the same.
The blood that seemed to flow endlessly dyed the white sheets of the bed red as if It's original color had always been that way.
Countless voices, people in panic, people filled with worry, filled with anger, confusion, and cries that continued on stabbing ones ears.
Countless hands, towels, medicines all laid in front of an unconscious body that was present on the now bright red bed.
Desperate eyes, hurried but careful movements that continued on working it's magic in order to stop the bleeding that seemed to flow continuously.
Panicked and worried voices were heard everywhere. People going in and out providing whatever help they could do were bustling the medicine hall.
And the person laid on the bright red bed with it's blood staining it looked almost peaceful and dead.
Whenever they met that peaceful and serene look, their hearts would spike up and beat in a panic almost as if it would jump out of their chests.
He wasn't supposed to be having that kind of look. He wasn't supposed to be looking peacefully in rest.
He was supposed to be in pain so that at least they would know the fact he was struggling and the lingering hope that he was alive could be seen.
But he looked dead, pale, vulnerable. Not like his usual self that healed almost in an incredible rate.
Chung Myung wasn't supposed to look like that.
In front of them, filled with his own pool of blood. His body littered in wounds and injuries that made anyone who was looking, turn their heads around the other way holding back the urge to gag their insides.
Their Sajae wasn't supposed to look like that.
.
.
.
.
.
"He's alive."
Tang Soso who was the closest on Chung Myung's side, to keep his condition in check, didn't even look up to return the gazes of the people in the room. Not that they cared about trivial things such as that.
Right now, Chung Myung was their priority.
Her eyes were sunken. Dark circles and red puffy eyes were visible on her now tired face. Her hands that showed clear signs of dried blood didn't leave Chung Myung's wrist.
She was checking his pulse every second as if she was terrorized of the fact it could disappear at any moment. Her shoulders were slumped as if at any moment she would collapse from exhaustion.
But no one advised her to rest. She wouldn't even try to take a nap if they forced her to. And no one tried to step in, as just like her, they were scared something would happen if Soso were to disappear.
It wasn't just Soso who looked deprived of her sleep.
Baek Cheon and the others along with Hye Yeon looked just as terrible. If someone would look at them right now, they wouldn't doubt about the fact they just came back from a terrible war.
It wasn't entirely a wrong justification.
Hyun Jong and the elders along with Un Geom were in the room with the same complexion.
The Heavenly Comrade Alliance were already informed of what had happened of Chung Myung and they were most likely already departing on their way to Mount Hua.
Silence continued on for a while as they stared at Chung Myung's unconscious figure. His body which was full of bandages and stitches looked so unfamiliar.
It was like an entirely different person was laid out in front of them.
Eventually, Soso spoke up once more.
"Although he's alive, his dantian was damaged."
Everyone held their breaths as they took in Soso's words. What did it mean for a swordsman to have their dantian damaged?
One word. It was a death sentence to them. No. Death for them would be better than to have their dantian damaged.
Everyone continued on silence as if they were waiting for Soso's next words. And meeting their expectations, she spoke.
"His dantian can be repaired. But a considerable amount of qi needs to be injected."
Everyone looked at Soso who didn't let go of Chung Myung's wrist even now.
"We need to inject our qi to help him recover. It could take days, weeks, even longer if the damage is severe."
Everyone thought about it. Injecting qi was easy enough. But to do that for days, weeks, or even longer? That would be a pain.
It wasn't an easy task. It needed someone that had a high qi, a strong will, someone with good stamina and wouldn't be easily tired out to continue the process of injecting it.
One wrong move and it could cause considerable damage to the body receiving the qi.
Soso, as of right now, didn't care about their thoughts as she spoke up once more clearing them out of their thoughts.
"I'll do it, but only me won't be enough."
Soso finally looked up and met everyone's gazes. They couldn't help but flinch at the fiery gaze she was emitting.
Soso was someone who was highly sensitive to anyone who had even a mild injury. Everyone in mount hua wouldn't disagree.
There were times she was serious, fooling around and putting others over herself.
If someone had asked Soso who was the person most likely to get hurt. She would with no hesitation say Chung Myung's name.
Although there were times she was mad at him for getting injured, that was also because of out of worry with how reckless Chung Myung treated his body. Everyone would agree with it.
And right now, Soso was most likely sensitive, angry, worried and panicked out of her mind. She would do anything to save Chung Myung or anyone's life with all of her might. And that was why they could count on Soso anytime if something were to happen to one of them.
It didn't take long for another silence to descend once more before Baek Cheon also voiced.
"I'll do it too."
Not long after, every one of the five swords followed suit. With one monk not lagging behind.
"Me too."
"Same as me."
"Me as well."
"Amitabha. I'll do my best to help Siju."
Although they more or less already decided on that, they still turned their heads on the direction of where Hyun Jong was sitting.
Injecting qi would make them vulnerable and someone had to be there to protect them, but it was also important to have their sect leader's permission for this decision.
Hyun Jong who could see through their thoughts merely smiled albeit his tired face and nodded once. He couldn't bring himself to speak, afraid that his voice would tremble and shake.
The elders and the other important figures who were on the room also nodded their heads as if reassuring them that they would be here to keep an eye out.
With that now settled, they didn't waste any more seconds as they moved closer towards Chung Myung. They had to will themselves to move and stand right in front of him to inject their qi properly, each one of them holding Chung Myung.
Now they were all seated properly, their eyes closed and focused only on injecting their qi and guiding it into his damaged dantian. It was similar to a meditative state which is why they would be vulnerable for any outside interference.
But with the others protecting them, they had nothing to worry about now. Only that Chung Myung had to regain his consciousness, and fast.
It wasn't relatively hard to inject qi and guide forward towards Chung Myung's damaged dantian. They could last a few days with these, although lasting a week would be hard they could hold on.
If it was for their Sajae and Soso's Sahyung, they could endure. Just as how Chung Myung was enduring between life and death as of right now.
The only problem was that they were dumbfoundedly confused as of now.
Right in front of them were things, no, it was like someone's memories were being played out like a theater play. That wasn't all.
'What the...'
'Huh?? Gul, I can hear you...'
'Sahyung?? But I'm not speaking...'
'A-amitabha...?'
'...'
'...'
'...'
Soso, Baek Cheon, and Yu Iseol remained silent. It wasn't because they weren't able to speak. It was more like they couldn't comprehend what was happening.
Memories were being shown right in front of them even though they all had their eyes closed. They could hear each other even though it was as silent as a dead lake in their surroundings.
Why could they suddenly hear each other's thoughts...? And who's memories was this?
What the hell was going on?!