Chapter 1594. Rocking (4)

Vroooom...

Kang Jin-Ho’s foot depressing the accelerator shuddered ever so slightly.

I’m not in a state to drive, it seems.

The damage he suffered this time was genuinely bad. Not to his physical body, however; no, he was thinking about the toll on his mind.

The physical injuries were already healing nicely, but his spent mental energy showed no sign of recovery just yet.

Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t help but chuckle weakly as this languidness washed over him.

How long has it been?

When was the last time he felt this way after training, not after an actual fight?

He couldn’t quite remember. It had been too long.

This makes it harder to deny, then.

Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor’s accusation of Kang Jin-Ho being too stained by peace stabbed him even deeper into his gut.

Even after reaching the loftiest of lofty positions in Zhongyuan, Kang Jin-Ho never stopped training. Not only the image training, but he also had resorted to various means to improve his strength back then. But now?

He couldn’t use the excuse of things being different in the modern era. After all, he already knew that the current era was not all that different from ancient Zhongyuan.

The weak would helplessly watch on as everything of theirs got taken away. They would lose everything. As if to prove that notion... He had taken over the Martial Assembly. The Round Table and even Japan lost their “lives” to him in the end.

So what guarantee was there that the same thing wouldn’t happen to Kang Jin-Ho?

He might have some excuses for not training in the early days after his return. However, slacking off even after learning about the existence of the Three Kings? Nothing could excuse him for that.

Squeeze...

Kang Jin-Ho depressed the accelerator a little harder, prompting his sleek supercar to shoot forward on the highway even faster than before. However, to Kang Jin-Ho’s sharpened on-edge mind, it still felt like everything was moving in slow motion.

I am...

Everything began with one desire: the desire to survive.

That was his overriding motivation that propelled him forward, whether it was back in ancient Zhongyuan or in the current era. But another proposition was added on top as he experienced the life of a modern-era man.

I must do it together. With everyone.

Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor might accuse him of being a weakling for such a mindset.

However, Kang Jin-Ho did not want to concede on this one. Heavenly Crimson Demon King had basically lived his entire life alone, so it was impossible for him to understand Kang Jin-Ho’s sentiment.

Now that Kang Jin-Ho had learned to share feelings with other people, there was simply no way he’d give up on this way of life.

The path he chose was at least twice as difficult. And there was only one way to succeed on this path.

In his previous life, Kang Jin-Ho relied purely on his strength to successfully stand at the top as the sole survivor. However, in this life, he must rely on his strength to protect others as well. And in order to do that, he must become at least twice as strong as his previous self!

I’ve still got a long way to go, then.

Kang Jin-Ho used his left hand to press down on his waist. Pain akin to his flesh getting ripped out shot through his senses, causing all the hair on his body to stand.

Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor was strong. The thing was, though, his martial prowess, his realm, didn’t surpass Kang Jin-Ho’s by much. As a matter of fact, Kang Jin-Ho should be able to cross swords with him. In theory, at least. However...!

Yeah, the beating I got was pretty much one-sided, wasn’t it?

Even though their martial realms didn’t differ too much, Kang Jin-Ho was utterly helpless against him. To think the orthodox faction in Zhongyuan had to deal with a monster like that! He even felt a pang of sympathy toward those who were working together to kill him back then.

Where did this gap in strength come from, though?

One’s martial realm isn’t everything.

Kang Jin-Ho got a fresh reminder of this crucial fact.

Since he already possessed it, he hadn’t felt the need to remember it again. But that made him forget about the “strength of the individual”. To win, one must possess this crucial element working in conjunction with one’s martial prowess. And Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor’s strength surpassed Kang Jin-Ho’s so much that they weren’t even on the same planet!

However...!

“Hah...”

A barely suppressed chuckle leaked out of Kang Jin-Ho’s mouth. Because he could see it.

He could see the path that would get him to where Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor was.

If he could successfully regain Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor’s sense, his hunger, for victory while continuing with the new type of cultivation he was mastering, then combining everything with his current martial realm...! Kang Jin-Ho would become incomparably stronger than his past self.

Even if the destination is far away, seeing it means I’ll reach it eventually.

What Kang Jin-Ho needed to do from now on was make that happen sooner.

Right now, it felt like he had finally spotted the flicker of light coming from the distant lighthouse, showing him the way on this fog-covered endless ocean.

Rumble, vroooooom!

Kang Jin-Ho’s car sped up even more. It scythed past all the other cars on the road that looked stationary from his perspective to take him to his next destination.

***

“You’re home, son?”

Kang Jin-Ho entered the foyer of his home, only for him to grow awkward after spotting his mother sitting on the living room couch and waiting for his arrival.

“I thought you’d be in bed, mother.”

It was almost time for sunrise, after all.

Baek Hyeon-Jeong sighed. “How could I sleep when my son is staying out late and hasn’t called home once?”

“I’m sorry. I did want to call you, but thought you’d be asleep, so...”

“It’s fine. Stuff like that can happen, anyway. Besides, nothing happened, right?”

“Yes, mother.”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong nodded. “Good. Your father will be able to sleep now, too.”

“...He was awake as well?”

“Don’t you know how your father operates? He’s lying on the bed, his eyes wide open, even now.”

“...” Kang Jin-Ho sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “I’m not a kid, you know.”

“Yes, we know. That’s why we aren’t saying anything else, son.” Baek Hyeon-Jeong grinned brightly. “I know you will take good care of yourself. But Jin-Ho?”

“Yes, mother?”

“Having an excellent son doesn’t mean that the parents will stop worrying about him.”

Kang Jin-Ho silently stared at his mother and waited.

“Actually, parents will worry even more sometimes because of how excellent their children are.”

“I see. But you don’t have to worry about me.”

“Sure. And you don’t have to mind me, either. It’s not like I was staying up because I was worried about you, anyway.”

“I’m sorry?”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. That didn’t make much sense to him.

“That’s how it is, son. I don’t want to become a mother who never worries about her son just because she knows he will be okay on his own, and nothing bad will ever happen to him.”

Kang Jin-Ho subtly bit his lip without realizing it.

Baek Hyeon-Jeong grinned back at her son again. “Did you know that I’ve been happy for a while? I don’t know what you’re up to, but you seem to be having fun. And your father has found his calling, too. As for your sister... Well, she...”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong furrowed her brow.

“Let’s not count her for now, shall we?”

“Yes, mother.”

I totally agree with you on that one, mother.

“In any case! I’ve been happy because everyone seems to be having fun lately. But that makes me anxious sometimes. What if something happens one day and takes our happiness away?”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded.

This conversation didn’t sound like something a mother might have with her son. No, it felt more like a discussion between two adults. What Baek Hyeon-Jeong said accurately matched Kang Jin-Ho’s current concern.

“That’s why...” Baek Hyeon-Jeong sighed. “I was thinking of attending a homemaker class starting from next week.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Why are you so surprised, son?” Baek Hyeon-Jeong grinned brightly. “Yes, I’m helping out with the cafe and looking after the family, but... That’s not what I’ve been wanting to do, you see? With the cafe, your father could use an extra pair of helping hands. And the family needs home-cooked meals, so that’s what I do.”

“I... see.”

“But what I’m anxious about is that I might not be able to find my own happiness. If you sit back and wait for the others to do this and that for you, you’re bound to get anxious. Don’t you agree?”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded in silence again.

“Since everyone is having fun, it’s about time I also find my own happiness, too. I can’t keep looking after you or your father forever, anyway. You will cheer for me, won’t you?”

“Of course. I think that’s a good idea, mother.”

“Good. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hold you up like that when you must be tired from staying up the whole night. Hurry and wash up, son. And get some sleep, too.”

“Yes, mother.”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong got up and lightly patted her son on the back before disappearing into the main bedroom.

Kang Jin-Ho stood alone in the empty living room for a while.

With my own hands...

How coincidental was this? Something he was thinking of today eerily matched what his mother was thinking of, too.

No, wait. That’s not true.

Every person alive had their own worries and difficulties. Regardless of who they were, however, people’s worries and difficulties were inevitably similar to one another.

Happiness, is it...?𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Maybe the thing Kang Jin-Ho had been chasing after all this time was also happiness but with a different name.

Whether it was his reluctance to let his people or things go, or his desire to live together with everyone else in his life... It was all because he didn’t want to lose the happiness he felt while being surrounded by them, after all.

Yeah... I’m not pushing myself beyond my limits by doing this.

He was merely doing what needed to be done. If he wanted something, he must put in the corresponding amount of effort first. Sitting back and sucking on his thumb would get him nowhere.

Just like Baek Hyeon-Jeong, in other words.

Kang Jin-Ho changed out of his clothes and entered the bathroom. He turned on the shower and let the cold water hit him from above. Sure enough, his injured body began screaming in pain.

While stewing in the pain, Kang Jin-Ho leaned his head against the shower wall.

I must do everything I can.

Realizing this was already a meaningful achievement on its own. Undoubtedly so.

***

Next morning.

“I’m off,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

However, when he opened the front gate and stepped outside the house, his brows subtly rose higher.

“What’s this?”

“I’m here to take you to work, Chairman!”

Lee Hyeon-Su, kitted out in a sharp business suit, bowed smartly at Kang Jin-Ho. His car was parked in front of Kang Jin-Ho’s house, too.

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. “What are you doing?”

“Eii~, don’t be like that and match my pace, sir.” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled, then pointed to his car. “Please get in.”

“Huh?”

“I’m serious, sir. I wanted to drive you to work. Weren’t you planning to head to the Assembly right away?”

“Yeah, sure. But...” Kang Jin-Ho glanced at the garage. “It’s not like I don’t own a car, and my hands are functioning perfectly fine, so...”

“Yes, sir. So are your feet. Even so! I figured you’d want to devote every ounce of your energy, including the energy you might waste on driving around, to your training.”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned confidently.

“...Oh.” Kang Jin-Ho was about to say something, only for him to chuckle helplessly. “Looks like you have too much free time.”

“Of course not. I’m so busy I can hardly breathe, sir. However, since your priority is getting even stronger, my priority must shift to assisting you to the best of my abilities, too. Everything else compared to that is secondary.”

“...”

“You said you’re doing what you can. The same goes for me, as well. I will do what I must do. That’s why...”

Clack!

Lee Hyeon-Su opened the rear passenger door, then bowed while pointing into the car’s interior.

“Please climb aboard.”

“...”

“Hurry, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho groaned deeply. “I don’t want to, because you drive like a snail.”

“Trying to save five minutes on your travels can lead you to lose fifty years of your life, sir.”

“That won’t happen to us, though.”

“True, but someone might end up paying the price instead, you know? Always stick to the national speed limit, sir. Let’s be law-abiding citizens and keep our society beautiful.”

“...Uh-whew. Sure. Fine.”

Kang Jin-Ho dismissively waved his hand and slipped into the car.

“I’m closing the door~!”

Lee Hyeon-Su shut the door, then trotted around the car before sliding in to the driver’s side.

“Allow me to drive you to work, Chairman!”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “By the way, why are you calling me ‘Chairman’?”

“Because! When you’re being chauffeured around in a car like this, you must be called the chairman, sir. I mean, calling you the Assembly Master makes it sound like you’re running an alumni association or a club, after all. It just doesn’t sound cool and impressive, you know what I mean?”

“...”

“Please don’t worry about a thing, sir! I give you my word that it will be the smoothest car ride you’ve ever had.”

Lee Hyeon-Su got the car moving while whistling away.

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced. Lee Hyeon-Su must be exhausted, too. After all, he was still hard at work even as Kang Jin-Ho got ready to go home a few hours ago.

Considering Lee Hyeon-Su’s personality, he probably kept working until he was finished with whatever he was doing. Which could mean he drove here right afterward, so...

“...Will you be okay?”

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled. “Missing a few nights’ sleep won’t kill me, sir. I may not look like it, but I’m still a martial artist, after all.”

“...Oh.”

“What kind of reaction was that, sir?”

“It’s nothing.”

Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t help but chuckle softly while reclining against the back seat, his gaze locked on the humming Lee Hyeon-Su.

The strong preyed on the weak. Yes, that was the unchanging law of the jungle. The world hadn’t changed. Nothing was different back then or now. This rule—the rule where the strong preyed on the weak—could be the most powerful truth governing Kang Jin-Ho and the rest of society.

Even so...

Even so, that’s not all that matters in life, Crimson Demon.

After all, this era had people Kang Jin-Ho had formed relationships with.

He closed his eyes as Lee Hyeon-Su’s humming registered in his hearing.

I swear I won’t become like you.

He’d become even stronger. So that he wouldn’t have to throw everything away just to focus on his own strength!

Much stronger. So much stronger!