Then do it. And don’t waver. (3)
Jinan. Five Dragon Pool*.
In a red open pavilion** built on one side of a quiet pond, an old man with a wrinkled face was seated.
The jade-colored pond with its softly rippling waters, and the back of the old man gazing out over it were, in themselves, like a painting.
From his hair, which had gone pure white yet was neatly combed and fastened with a hairpin, and from the bluish crane coat*** draped over his body, one could guess that this old man’s status was not low.
The elderly scholar, who had been silently gazing at the pond for a long while, slowly recited a short poem.
⠀
“Riding a yellow crane, gone was the Sage of long ago;
Here, only the empty Yellow Crane Tower remains.”****⠀
⠀
Just as the gaze of the old man, who had recited a poem in a subdued voice, was about to sink a little deeper, a man cautiously walked into the pavilion where he was sitting.
“My Lord.”
The man paid his respects courteously, but the old man’s gaze showed no sign of leaving the pond.
“The Black Water Manor has been destroyed.”
The old man’s white brows twitched faintly for an instant.
But the old man still said nothing, and the man, too, seemed to find nothing strange in that fact, merely waiting quietly with his waist bent.
Only after a long time had passed did the old man open his mouth.
“Did you say destroyed?”
“Yes.”
“How strange.”
Keeping his eyes fixed on the pond, the old man muttered in a weathered voice.
“I had not thought the Venomous Scorpion Sect possessed that much strength. Were they truly people capable of swallowing the Black Water Manor whole?”
“My apologies, but… they say those who destroyed the Black Water Manor were not the Venomous Scorpion Sect, but the disciples of Hwasan Sect who came from Shaanxi.”
“…”
At that moment, for the first time, the old man’s gaze left the pond.
“Hwasan?”
“Yes, My Lord.”
The old man narrowed his brow slightly. Rather than revealing any particular displeasure, it seemed as though he did not quite understand the very mention of Hwasan itself.
“Hwasan….. When you say Hwasan, you mean…?”
“It is a Taoist sect that once ranked among the ten foremost in Gangho. It fell into decline for certain reasons, but recently, they say it has been regaining the fame it lost.”
“A Taoist sect…”
The old man quietly lowered his eyes and murmured.
“My Lord. How should it be handled?”
The old man, who had been lost in thought, slowly shook his head.
“Leave it be.”
At that, the man glanced at the old man’s expression and opened his mouth again.
“But, My Lord. What we have lost is not insignificant. We invested much time and effort to raise them. If things are left as they are, will the loss not be enormous? Therefore, punishing those who caused the trouble would…”
The old man shook his head again.
“A gentleman seeks the cause in himself, while a petty man seeks it in others.”
“…”
“How could one condemn them for carrying out righteousness?”
The man fell silent and lowered his head.
“Leave it be. They merely received the punishment due for having briefly set foot upon a path that was not the righteous way [정도(正道)].”
“Understood.”
The man answered immediately, asking nothing more.
If the old man before his eyes had decided so, then for him, there was only the path of obedience. Neither doubt nor objection was necessary.
“However… In that case, the Venomous Scorpion Sect will fill the void left by the Black Water Manor. In that case, might their influence not become too strong?”
“If division into three has failed, then we have no choice but to divide it into two.”
“Understood, My Lord. I shall handle it accordingly.”
The man, who had bowed deeply, was about to turn away without delay, but then hesitated slightly. Sensing it, the old man asked in a casual tone.
“Is there something left to say?”
“…It is nothing of great importance. I was unsure whether I ought to mention it.”
“Speak.”
“That child…”
At the words ‘that child’, the old man’s expression changed slightly.
“It is said that lately he has been devoting himself to scholarly study.”
“That child has?”
“Yes. That is so.”
The old man fixed his gaze on the pond. Then, for a long while, he looked out over the water without a word. As no small amount of time passed, the man simply waited for the old man’s words, unmoving as a stone statue.
“I see… So he does not know.”
“…”
“Leave him be. Before long, he too shall come to understand.”
The man nodded and bowed once more.
“I shall take my leave.”
The old man did not answer, merely gazing at the pond. The man, too, as if that were enough, carefully backed away and left the pavilion.
The old man, now left alone, let his gaze sink heavily. The pond that had shimmered with a jade-green light had, before he realized it, been dyed red by the sunset.
“So he did not even tell his own child.”
Yes. That would be for the best. If something must be forgotten, then it is better to forget it without lingering attachment.
For the one left behind, it was the most correct choice.
But what of the one who had to leave? To die carrying such deep resentment within the heart alone – how could that ever be an easy decision to make?
“The Yu family is the Yu family, after all… Truly a child worthy of you.”
The old man, who had muttered as though mocking himself, quietly closed his eyes again.
Whether it was because the pond stained red displeased him, or because the sight of his own wrinkled hands felt futile, no one could say.
“Riding a yellow crane, gone was the Sage of long ago…”
It would have been better if, like in the old poem, only the empty Yellow Crane Tower had remained. Yet the restless ghost that could not depart merely wandered the world in bitterness.
❀ ❀ ❀
“Why should one fulfill filial duty to one’s parents?”
“Because they feed you?”
“Why should one show loyalty to one’s sovereign?”
“Because he pays you?”
“Why should one bestow kindness upon those beneath you?”
“Because then you can work them without paying them?”
“Hey!”
Jo Geol exploded with the frustration he had been holding back and flipped the study table over.
“You little bastard! Do you think everything that comes out of your mouth counts a words, just because you spit them out?”
“No, you told me to say what I thought.”
“What in the world has to be inside your head for you to call that an answer!”
“…I do not think it is particularly wrong, though.”
Yu Hanbin jutted out his lips in a pout and grumbled. Tears gathered at the corners of Jo Geol’s eyes.
‘No, this is…’
This bastard was hopeless. There was something fundamentally wrong with his head from the start. If he were merely giving sarcastic answers because he did not want to study, there might have been at least some way to fix it, but right now, Yu Hanbin was doing his best to answer in his own way.
And yet this was the result, so how was it not enough to drive a person mad?
“Tsk, tsk. Why are you getting angry at a child?”
“Look at that temper of his.”
At the comments from those cutting in from the side, Jo Geol snapped furiously.
“Would you all keep quiet! Says the people who are just sitting there watching!”
Baek Cheon, hearing that, smiled gently and answered.
“Then what besides watching am I supposed to do?”
“…”
“Shall I help? But would it even be of any help?”
“Uuugggghhhhh.”
Jo Geol tugged at his own hair. At this rate, he was genuinely afraid he might clutch the back of his neck, collapse, and die alone in this distant land.
“So, how is it?”
“What is?”
“Do you think he can pass the civil service examination?”
“The civil service examination? Did you just say the civil service examination?”
Jo Geol glared at Baek Cheon, his eyes bloodshot.
“This bastard is going to pass the civil service examination? This bastard?”
“…No. Well, pointing at a person like that is a bit.”
Jo Geol, who had been pointing at Yu Hanbin, began wheezing as though he were about to lose his breath, before finally pounding his chest with both fists.
“It would be easier for Monk Hye Yeon to grow out his hair and become a refined young master! How is this bastard supposed to pass the civil service examination! Judging by the way he answers, if he passes the civil service examination, Confucius himself will kick his way out of his grave and smash his jaw out of its place!”
“That old man sounds pretty hot-tempered.”
“I have heard people say he was rather hot-blooded even while alive.”
“Well, to instill propriety into children who do not even know what propriety is, fists are essential. In that respect, he is somewhat similar to Chung Myung.”
“What kind of dogshit are you… Ugh…..”
Jo Geol, apparently lacking even the strength to continue speaking, slowly collapsed forward on the spot. Watching him, Baek Cheon unconsciously shook his head.
“This really won’t do.”
“…You are not only realizing that now, are you?”
“I did think so from the start. In any case, it looks too much for Geol.”
Baek Cheon clicked his tongue.
“When did you say the next civil service examination was?”
“In half a year.”
“Can that brat really pass the civil service examination within half a year?”
Everyone, looking back and forth between Yu Hanbin and the collapsed Jo Geol, smiled faintly.
It seemed slightly more possible to train some mutt passing by on the street and make it beat Baek Ah.
Yoon Jong sighed and opened his mouth.
“What in the world is truly impossible? Is not ‘if you try doing it, it can be done’ something we have experienced ourselves?”
“That is true, but… even that only works when certain conditions are met.”
Baek Cheon, who had been pressing a hand to his forehead, spoke firmly.
“As expected, he needs a proper teacher.”
He did not want to admit it, but the decisive reason Hwasan had risen from a sect that was not even third-rate to its current standing was that bastard Chung Myung and a role he played. His personality was so rotten it would be useless even as compost, but his martial arts and cunningness were the real thing.
In the same sense, Yu Hanbin also needed a proper teacher now. Not someone who merely shouted at him, but a teacher who could logically persuade him with profound learning and guide him onto the right path.
“Chung Myung-ah.”
“Hmm…….”
As if lost in thought, Chung Myung kept rubbing at his mouth.
“It seems we need to find some way to bring in a teacher, no matter what.”
At those words, Yoon Jong looked troubled.
“But will that be possible? That bastard’s ill fame is no ordinary thing.”
Baek Cheon spoke up abruptly.
“Would it not work if we paid a lot of money?”
“Would some money be enough? To teach that brat, we’d need to bring in a renowned scholar, and people like that don’t move for money.”
“Then would it not work if we paid even more?”
“…You say that so easily because it is not your money, Sasuk.”
“No, it is only because there is no other way.”
With Jo Geol’s meager(?) knowledge, he could not handle Yu Hanbin. Therefore, they had to attach to him a teacher who had properly studied Confucian teachings.
But the problem was that this alone would not solve everything. To begin with, there was the question of whether Yu Hanbin would even listen properly to that teacher after they were gone.
After agonizing over it for a while, Baek Cheon turned his head to look at Chung Myung.
“What do you think?”
“Hmmm.”
Chung Myung narrowed his brow, then nodded.
“So the problem right now is that we need a proper Confucian scholar, don’t we. Preferably one who has already experienced passing the civil service examination.”
“Well, even if they haven’t actually passed the examination, someone deeply versed in Confucian studies would be preferable.”
“And if we add one more condition to that, someone who can beat that brat into submission in case of emergency.”
“…That would be ideal, but does such a person even exist?”
Baek Cheon groaned as though the thought itself gave him a headache. If they wished, they themselves could hang Yu Hanbin upside down from a tree at any time, but to those who had spent their entire lives devoted solely to scholarship, Yu Hanbin would surely be an uncontrollable menace.
Someone who could press Yu Hanbin down in both scholarship and combat – even if one searched the entire world…
“There is one.”
“Hm?”
“There is one. A person Sasuk knows well, too.”
“Come on, I am far removed from Confucian learning. Among the people I know, someone like that…..”
Baek Cheon closed his mouth. In that instant, the image of one particular person had flashed through his mind.
“Huh? No, wait, that. Huh?”
Then, as if he had suddenly realized something, he looked at Chung Myung with trembling eyes.
“Surely…….. No, surely not?”
“Why?”
“You’re not actually planning to call that person here, are you? Right?”
“Come on, what are you talking about.”
At Chung Myung’s reply, Baek Cheon let out a sigh and looked visibly relieved.
“Right. Of course. Even if things are urgent, still…”
“I didn’t say I was going to call him. I already did.”
“…..What?”
You called him? That person?
“Y-You did, when? You bastard, when on earth?!”
“Let’s see. I called for him two days ago, so shouldn’t he be arriving about now?”
It was at that moment.
Bang!
The closed door flew open violently.
Creeeak.
As the hinges gave way, the plank Hwasan’s disciples had made and hung back up to serve as a door swayed and let out an eerie sound. Everyone in the room stared blankly at the man who had appeared behind that door.
A faded green crane coat, an old official’s headdress half-crushed out of shape, skin so bloodless it looked as though he had never seen light in his life.
“N-No. W-Why are you here?”
“Huhuhuhuhu.”
Fwaaash!
The man who stepped through the doorway dramatically snapped open his fan riddled with holes and beamed brightly.
“I heard you were looking for a Confucian scholar.”
“…”
“If it was for something like that, you should have called for me long ago. Wouldn’t you agree?”
He hurried into the room in quick little steps, spread both arms wide, and grinned radiantly.
“I have arrived. A flower that bloomed from the mud! The most perfect Confucian scholar in the world. Huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhu!”
“…”
It was the moment Nokrim King, Im Sobyeong, joined them in Jinan.
________
*오룡담(五龙潭) – an actual place in Jinan. You can read about it on Wiki.
**정자(亭子) – in modern sense it’s smth like a gazebo.
***학창의(鶴氅衣) – The hakchangui – is a traditional type of Korean clothes (hanbok 한복) used by scholars as school uniforms in the 17th-century and 18th-century. It was introduced from the Chinese hakchang during the Joseon period in the 17th and 18th century and gradually became popular.
****昔人已乘黃鶴去, 此地空餘黃鶴樓. The poem also continues with 黄鹤一去不复返, 白云千载空悠悠: Once gone, the yellow crane will never return again; For ten centuries, the lonely white clouds keep rolling on.
________
OUR GLORIOUS KING IM SOBYEONGGGG!!!
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