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It all began the day before April 1st. After they had just finished their afternoon training, the disciples were cleaning the training grounds, and Chung Myung had just went up the mountain to train by himself.
Suddenly, Jo Gul came and spoke from behind the disciples.
"Guys! Do you know what tomorrow is?!" He yelled in a playful tone which caught everyone's attention. When they turned around, what they saw was a wicked grin.
"Tomorrow?" Yoon Jong asked. As far as he knows, there's nothing special they had going on tomorrow.
"Don't you know?! It's April first!!"
"So?"
Jo Gul scratched his head in frustration.
"I guess you country bumpkins have been living like mountain goats without knowing the outside! Listen. It's an exclusive day."
"Stop beating around the bush Sahyung, what is it!?" Tang Soso shouted, growing impatient.
"Alright, alright! It's April Fools Day! It's the one and only day when we can legally mess with anyone..."
"...And I have a suggestion I bet you all will like" he continued with a mischievous smile
The disciples looked at each other. Then, as if something in their head clicked, an evil smile appeared in their faces.
"Let's mess with that bastard" one of the disciples said
"He's the only one not here.." another said
"Perfect! The heavens must be on our side"
"But what can we do to mess with him? Nothing can get past that monster, he'll know it's our doing and beat us up" Baek Cheon said
" *Ehem* so here's my idea..... We pretend that we got attacked while Chung Myung was away"
Jo Gul told them about what he had in mind. The disciples were intrigued and they easily agreed after some more information. But for it to work, they had to get the elders in on the joke.
That evening, Jo Gul, Tang Soso and Baek Cheon went to the sect leaders residence to tell them about the plan. The elders were skeptical at first, but with Jo Gul and Tang Soso's persuasion, they eventually agreed. And since Baek Cheon was also there with them, they we're at ease.
All of them left the residence with satisfaction. After all, they succeeded in negotiating.
One, the elders agreed to send Chung Myung on a fake erand in the morning.
Two, the elders will stay in the Baek building since Chung Myung never goes there.
And three, they allowed the three to descend the mountain momentarily to buy the supplies for their 'scheme'.
And so, all three of them descended.
------
Meanwhile at the plum blossom building, the disciples prepared their "old" clothes, or the most worn out robe in their closest. They'll change into those when the scheme is on play tomorrow. It's just so they won't have to worry about dirtying or cutting them.
They also made sure not to talk about it, fearing Chung Myung might hear. So even if they were really excited and wanted to talk amongst themselves, they held back. They weren't risking it, they're taking this way too seriously.
After some time, Jo Gul and Soso entered and they all gave each other a thumbs up.
"Where is he?" Jo Gul whispered to a disciple, who gestured towards a closed door.
'So here's back' he thought.
"Let's all go to sleep, we have training tomorrow" he said, to which everyone nodded.
-------
At the same time, Baek Cheon was behind the sect leaders residence with a shovel.
"This should be good enough" he said, patting the soil flat.
Baek Cheon had to make a detour around the sect gate just to keep Chung Myung from detecting the supplies.
'That bastard is such a pain in the ass'
He had to bury the supplies at least four feet deep, just to make sure it won't be detected no matter what, specifically, the fake blood.
After that, Baek Cheon finally went to his quarters, nodding back to Yu Iseol who was waiting inside.
------
Morning came and everyone was doing their training as usual. Chung Myung was shouting curses at them when Baek Sang came.
"Chung Myung-ah! The sect leader is looking for you"
Chung Myung nodded before walking towards the sect leaders residence. Then, after some time, Chung Myung can be seen rushing to the sect gate while mumbling angrily.
The disciples, who we're doing planks, looked at each other with determined faces.
It was time.
"The bastard's finally out!!!"
"Start preparing Sasuk, Sahyungs!"
They got up and left the training equipments(rocks and boulders) scattered on the ground. Yoon Jong got the robe everyone prepared while Baek Cheon came back with the supplies.
They wore the robe and added the fake blood on themselves.
"Eughh!! It smells foul!"
"Is this actually- Blehh!"
"Jo Gul Sahyung where did you get this?!"
Complaints were heard left and right.
"That's pig's blood. Otherwise, how else would it be believable?" Jo Gul explained with a smile. And all the disciples smiled back with outmost devilry.
Tang Soso was incharge of doing makeup, together with Yu iseol. It wasn't anything fancy, they just added what looked like bruises and cuts.
"Here's some broken swords, Sahyung!"
"Ohh!! Some of us should pretend to be stabbed!"
"I can bend my arm like it's broken. Does it look convincing?"
"Woahh!! That really does look broken!!"
"Sasuks! Your hairs are too tidy! Who goes into a fight and still have tidy hair?!"
The disciples were all preparing meticulously. They were all so absorbed into this scheme.
Meanwhile, Hye Yeon and Baek Sang who now looked like escaped patients, decorated the dining hall to make it seem as if a fight had occured. They pushed the tables, drew some blade marks on the walls and floor. Thankfully, there were already real blade marks to begin with. Added in pools, smears, and blots of blood and it's finished!
"Hurry up inside! Knowing him, he might be back way earlier than we expect" Baek Cheon yelled.
The disciples went inside the dining hall and went into position. Some lying on the floor, others on the table, some leaning against the wall, and others who are flexible enough, bending their bodies in weird ways.
"Remember everyone! You are dead! Not unconscious, dead! No breathing when he comes ok?" Jo Gul reminded.
"We'll be dead for real soon" Hye Yeon commented
"It'll be worth it monk!" Soso replied cheerfully.
Just then...
"Everyone, he's here" Yu Iseol said and the whole hall became quiet. They heard footsteps coming up the mountain.
"In position!" Yoon Jong whisper shouted and they all started acting. No one was breathing as they waited and waited.
Soon, the footsteps missed a beat. It became clear to them that the footsteps were getting faster and faster. Their hearts were thumping in anticipation.
-----
Just halfway up the mountain, Chung Myung suddenly froze, and his carefree expression became serious as his senses caught something in the air. It was the smell he was all too familiar with, and one that shouldn't be found on Mount Hua.
It was a strong smell of blood.
Why would it be coming from Mount Hua? He felt shivers down his spine, and the hair in his arm rose at the implication.
Immediately, with a hint of panic, he speeds up the mountain, each step kicking the ground with force so great that it crumbles as he propels himself forward. He felt his body pulsing like a drum as his heartbeat fastened, sweat running down his forehead, and his breathing was getting frantic.
He was panicking more and more. The closer he got, the stronger the smell became. And what's strange was that he heard no footsteps—not a single step to indicate that anyone was walking around the sect.
'please, please, please, please-'
He kept repeating in his head, praying to whatever god out there that his hunch wasn't correct—for the gods to prove him wrong even just this one time.
Finally, he reached the sect gate. He quickly passed through, kicking the door. He heard the wooden door break behind him, but he paid no mind. He ran to find his fellow brothers.
"Sect leader!! Sahyung! Sasuk!" He shouted while checking the white plum blossom building, but there was no one. He checked the sect leader's residence, but again, there was no one.
"Arghh!! I'll fcking kill you all! Where are you bastards!?"
He ran frantically. Then he checked the dining hall, and his world shattered. Upon opening the door, a horrifying sight welcomed him. It's as if Chung Myung had just entered a nightmare.
In front of him was a bloody room, and his fellow disciples were scattered in different places. They... They weren't moving. Weren't breathing.
"Huff. Huff. Huff." For a moment, Chung Myung could only stare with wide eyes at the scene, still panting from having run. His face was a mixture of shock, disbelief, and pain.
He can distinguish each of them. Every disciple, the five swords, Hye-Hyeon, Soso, even elder Un Geom. Their faces, pale and lifeless. Stabs, wounds, ragged robes, limbs broken...He was too shocked to notice the signs that could indicate that all of this wasn't true.
Suddenly, he felt severe nausea from the scene. His stomach felt upset, but he held back the bile that rose from his throat. And as if the world had just fallen on him, his knees gave out. Hand tracing the door frame as he slid down with a thud.
His breathing was picking up. His gaze, which stared at... at those lifeless bodies, fell on the floor. His head bowed as he felt extreme guilt, as if his heart were being gripped and stabbed.
"I... I..."
He choked on his words, his voice trembling. Uncontrollable tears, which he didn't even know had clouded in his eyes, fell relentlessly. His whole body was trembling. He felt the same hopelessness that he felt in the past.
"I- I was too late- I came too late..."
"I should've came earlier. I- I'm sorry, forgive me."
"I couldn't s-save *sob* anyone. Again... I failed again! I'm sorry, I'm sorry-"
He gripped his chest while the other hand clawed on the ground. He closed his eyes tightly as sorrowful sobs wracked his body, and he completely fell apart. Words poured as he cried as if he had lost the world.
"Not again. I can't do this again *sob* Cheongmun sahyung..."
"I can't lose everything again. Have I not repent enough? What more do I have to do?!"
"Please. Please forgive me *sob*"
To him, being left alone in this world, with memories that only he alone knew, was too difficult. He lived even though there were times when he felt extremely lonely and felt like dying; some days, he lived just because he had to. Because he still has to kill Cheonma.
But now that his mission was over, he felt relieved and lost at the same time. As if his purpose no longer existed, but watching the chicks grow and one day even become the strongest in the world, just that was enough to keep him grounded on this earth. He persisted and lived for months more after the second war.
...Now that they're gone though, what then? Just like how he took revenge for his brothers of the first life, would he need to live for revenge again? Was it a cycle? But now he was truly alone, and all the progress he had achieved was taken in an instant.
"......-ah!"
".....myung!"
"Chung Myung!!"
Suddenly, he felt a voice calling him, and his eyes opened tiredly. He saw his Sasuk, Baek Cheon, in front of him. Bloodied like a corpse. But his expression was that of... concern?
His sight was so unfocused that he couldn't fully register what was happening. The disciples have gotten up and were calling him, yet their voices were muffled. They were saying something he couldn't decipher. He couldn't hear them clearly. Or maybe his mind refused to; it didn't matter.
The room was still red. The smell of blood was still strong. The image of the disciples' lifeless bodies still haunted his mind. He still failed.
He felt an embrace. But he was too numb to feel, thus it felt phantom. He didn't bother to resist, his body felt limp, his arms just hanged on his sides. Tears still run down from his eyes, but he strangely felt serene, or empty would be more accurate.
"....."
"....... ......"
'what were they saying? Their mouths were saying something.'
He can see the blurred figures of his brothers standing in front of him. Some, he thinks were kneeling on his side and only Baek Cheon who was in front of him remained clear.
But the image of the past flashes in his mind, overlapping with the scene of the room he had witnessed.
'I must be going crazy.'
'They are hallucinations. Everyone has already died because of me. But...'
In the back of his mind, he knew that he should avenge his brothers deaths.
But he no longer felt any strength to chase them down, nor the will to continue on another day. Just the thought of living was exhausting.
He felt Baek Cheon hold him tighter. Now, the hug felt somewhat real.
"We're all alive. This was just a joke—a terrible joke, we know. None of us are dead, Chung Myung! We're right here."
"Baek Cheon sasuk..."
"Yes, Sasuk's here. I'm so sorry we-"
"I don't need you to add to my hallucinations."
Chung Myung said, voice uncharacteristically monotone. His eyes were unfocused, drained of any life. Then, his gaze shifted just a bit above and he called out to someone who they couldn't see.
"I can't do it again... Cheongmun sahyung"
"Kill me. I want to die." he said lifelessly with a resigned voice.
-------------
The disciples were alarmed. They hadn't expected this kind of reaction out of their sajil. Who was he? He was Chung Myung, the unshakable fortress that none of them could even dream of defeating in terms of strength. The madman who bullies everyone and is unfazed of anything.
They had suspected that they'd be found out in an instant. That their ears would bleed from his angry remarks and that they would be killed near instantly the moment that bastard opens the door.
Frankly, they didn't believe the prank would work and were already thinking of excuses as they lay in their spots.
Many were already determined to sell Jo Gul out if the situation required it. After all, he was the mastermind for all of this.
But the moment Chung Myung opened the door, there were no angry remarks, no spiteful behavior. The disciples waited, with their breaths held, but none came.
Suddenly, they heard a thud followed by a painful labored breathing. They heard Chung Myung's voice, and the words were haunting. His voice cracked and trembled pathetically, and the disciples knew they messed up.
The disciples scrambled to get up. Panic was evident in their movements. Eyebrows furrowed as they listened to the painful cry of their sajil. It was a heartbreaking cry, filled with pain, sorrow, and despair.
"Chung Myung-ah!!" Baek Cheon was the first to call the fallen sajil, running beside him in an instant.
"Chung Myung! Chung Myung! It was just an act; we're alright. I'm sorry" Baek Cheon said frantically. And when Chung Myung lifted his head, everyone froze.
How can such eyes that were blindingly fiery and bright just hours ago now be so hollow? As if his soul had left his body, as if his heart was gauged out of his chest, leaving nothing but an empty shell behind.
Quickly, the five swords were at his side, though he didn't seem to notice. He just stared ahead, as if he were looking past Baek Cheon, who was in front of him. As if seeing something only he could see.
Baek Cheon's hand trembled, and he simply embraced Chung Myung.
"Chung Myung! It was a bad joke, we're sorry!" Jo Gul said, panicking. Extreme guilt eating at his conscience.
"Sahyung, we'll get you some alcohol- so please- just talk to us!" Soso was already crying beside him.
"Sajil..." Yu Iseol had her head down in regret.
The other disciples were also saying apologies, yet none was recognized. Chung Myung didn't respond, react, or do anything really. He just stared at them while tears rolled down his expressionless face.
Seeing the lack of response, Baek Cheon held him tighter. Hoping the warmth was enough to ground him back to reality, to prove that he was alive and that his heart was beating.
"We're all alive. This was just a joke—a terrible joke, we know. None of us are dead, Chung Myung! We're right here."
He said, and sure enough, Chung Myung heard this. Everyone felt relief when they heard Chung Myung respond.
"Baek Cheon sasuk..."
"Yes, Sasuk's here. I'm so sorry we-"
"I don't need you to add to my hallucinations."
Everyone was left speechless. The disciples were now too guilty to even meet his eyes. That voice was haunting. It was monotone, nothing like his usual voice. It felt... unfamiliar as if it were a different person.
Suddenly, they saw Chung Myung tilt his head just a little bit higher. As if something had caught his attention. But nothing was there aside from the disciples that were surrounding them. Just when they thought he was finally looking at them, he called out to someone who they didn't know, someone only Chung Myung could see.
"I can't do it again... Cheongmun sahyung."
"Kill me. I want to die," he said lifelessly with a resigned voice.
Everyone felt shivers, and their senses heightened at the statement. Tears are shed left and right.
'What had we done?' they thought to themselves.
And that's when, the scared Soso pulled out her needles and struck Chung Myung to sleep. He completely fell limp in an instant.
After a few seconds, they've come to their senses and hurriedly took Chung Myung to the medicine hall.
The rest of the day was quiet as they cleaned up everything. Many were angry at Jo Gul, but the matter was settled by Yoon Jong.
Un Geom ordered Baek Sang to report this to the elders since it'll be weird if he didn't show up for dinner.
"I- I guess we can all agree, no more April Fools?" Jo Gul tried lightening the mood but was met with angry remarks.
"I'm gonna kill you, Sahyung!!"
"Stop me, I might just rip out all of his hair!!!"
"What have we done! Jo Gul, you bastard!!"
"Let's just kill him whilst he sleep."
"Eek!!" Jo Gul was terrified throughout the night.
-----
Morning came, and Chung Myung finally stirred awake. He was greeted by a worried Soso with puffy eyes. She said he should rest, but Chung Myung stubbornly insisted that he was fine.
He was still confused about what happened, not knowing if what he saw was a really, really vivid dream or reality.
Once he opened the door, he was stunned to see the Baek and Chung disciples kneeling on the training ground with their arms up. In front of them were the elders and Hyun Young screaming like there's no tomorrow.
When he walked closer to see what was going on, many heads turned towards him with relieved expressions.
Suddenly, "C-Chung Myung-ah!!" Many stood up, and even the elders came running to hug him. They continuously muttered apologies.
"W-what the—get off me! What's gotten in you all—AHH GO AWAY!!" He was very much confused.
But then they revealed what had happened, and Chung Myung just got annoyed, saying he'd double up the training because of that.
Though he was being several times more grumpy, in his mind he kept saying...
'Thank god. Thank goodness it wasn't real.'