Well, it’s nothing much. (2)
“Wait…”
Baek Cheon looked at So Jung-gyeong as though he did not understand what he meant.
“What do you mean, we might lose our lives?”
“Did I not say? Retired old ‘monsters’ are gathered here. The people you are about to meet from now on are those who stand at the very peak even among those old monsters.”
“…”
“Though they have stepped back from the front lines, it means they are people who still possess enough authority to erase the likes of you from the world at any time with a single gesture. How could there be no danger in facing such people?”
“That’s….”
Bewilderment settled over Baek Cheon’s face.
He was not afraid of enemies. No matter who the opponent was, Baek Cheon would never retreat. But this was somewhat different.
‘Authority, he says.’
Baek Cheon did not know how to stand against authority. Was this not a situation where even Hwasan might suffer great harm because of their choices?
Just then, Tang Soso asked in a cautious voice.
“But when it comes to reputation, you are someone who does not fall behind anyone, Elder. Since you invited us as your guests, surely something like that wouldn’t really happen?”
So Jung-gyeong, his expression grave, shook his head.
“The problem is, that is not necessarily so.”
“Pardon?”
“On the contrary, because you are my guests, it may be even more dangerous.”
“No, why would…?”
As if somewhat embarrassed, So Jung-gyeong cleared his throat with a small cough, then continued bitterly.
“As I said a moment ago, every scholarly lineage under heaven continues in this place. Even among Confucian scholars, what they learn and what they pursue differ from one another.”
So Jung-gyeong cautiously examined the expressions of Hwasan’s disciples.
“Do you understand what that means?”
The one who answered that question was Jo Geol.
“…Does it mean they are less than strangers, but a little better than enemies?”
“Exactly.”
“I knew it….”
“W-Wait a moment.”
Yoon Jong looked at Jo Geol with a bewildered expression.
“No, Geol. No matter how different what they’ve learned may be, they are still Confucian scholars, so why would they hate one another that much?”
Jo Geol, looking rather uncomfortable, scratched the back of his head.
“Well, without going into a long explanation, just think of those Wudang bastards…”
“Ah, I understand perfectly now.”
Yoon Jong nodded automatically.
Did Wudang and Hwasan get along simply because they were both of the Taoist path? Not in the slightest. If Wudang had been located near Hwasan, they would have become enemies even worse than Jongnam.
“So, I am sorry, but I do not think I will be able to be of help.”
Baek Cheon quickly shook his head.
“We are grateful enough simply that you have created this opportunity for us.”
“Thank you for saying so, at least.”
Just as a somewhat warm atmosphere was beginning to form, an indifferent voice cut through between them.
“So.”
“Hm?”
Everyone’s gazes turned to Chung Myung.
“You talked about it at length, but in the end, what you’re saying is that up ahead there are eccentric old men who enjoyed all the authority and wealth and glory the world had to offer, and now that they have nothing left to do, they’re just passing the time here? And we have to persuade those old men?”
“…Well, you could put that way, yes.”
At those words, the mood among Hwasan’s disciples grew serious. From Chung Myung’s explanation, they immediately understood just how difficult this task would be.
If they carelessly offended those people, there was no telling what might happen. No, simply facing them was dangerous in itself. There was no guarantee that trouble would not break out. Were there not some among the Confucian scholars who despised Taoists to the extreme?
“…We may need to think this over a little.”
Even the ever-spirited disciples of Hwasan became somewhat discouraged. And even Yu Hanbin seemed to feel the weight of it, flinching as though he were about to say something.
“If you are worried, you may turn back here. Perhaps that might be the wiser choice…”
“Well, it’s nothing much.”
Chung Myung casually tossed out the words as if it were no great matter.
So Jung-gyeong looked at Chung Myung, blinking in surprise.
“It’s nothing much?”
Chung Myung placed his clasped hands behind the back of his head and said calmly.
“I’m used to things like that.”
“…”
So Jung-gyeong looked at Chung Myung with a strange light in his eyes.
‘Pretense?’
No, it was not. Chung Myung’s words and actions were far too natural to call it pretense. As if he truly had experienced such things countless times. But So Jung-gyeong knew better than anyone that such a thing made no sense.
Wasn’t that Sodojang far too young to have had many experiences facing such powerful men?
“Certainly, you are… quite a peculiar person.”
“Could I compare to you, old man?”
“Hoho. That, too, is true.”
So Jung-gyeong nodded, then soon stopped walking and pointed ahead.
“This is the place.”
“…”
At those words, everyone looked at the thatched hut So Jung-gyeong had pointed to.
“The people you must meet are in this house. Let us see…whether you can persuade them. I, too, will watch.”
Hwasan’s disciples nodded heavily. Only Chung Myung still wore a carefree expression.
So Jung-gyeong strode towards the thatched hur. Beyond the low wall, which seemed to have been put up less to keep outsiders out than simply to mark the boundary, white-haired old men could be seen.
“Is anyone there?”
“Hm?”
The two old men, who had been playing Go on an old wooden platform set in the courtyard of the thatched hut, turned their heads and looked at So Jung-gyeong.
“Master Dangbaek?”
A trace of surprise appeared in the old men’s eyes.
Slowly rising to their feet, they offered their respects to So Jung-gyeong. It was a neat and restrained etiquette. A form of courtesy imbued with a peculiar moderation: one that respected the other party, yet did not lower oneself.
And in that moment, all of disciples of Hwasan felt an inexplicable pressure.
“It has been a long time, Grand Secretary.”
“It has indeed been a long time.”
One of the old men burst into a hearty laugh.
“We had only heard rumors that you had long withdrawn into Eunildam, yet for all that long time it was difficult to see your face even once. So what matter could have brought you to come seek out all of us personally?”
A barb nestled in those words. Was it not said that there could be thorns hidden inside one’s speech? Though he did not particularly sharpen his tone, from those brief words alone it was easy to guess that the relationships between these men and So Jung-gyeong were not especially close.
“It was not my intention to lose contact.”
So Jung-gyeong, too, seemingly having no desire for a lengthy exchange, lightly passed over the greeting and spoke again.
“I came because there are people I wish to introduce to you.”
“Introduce? Do you mean those people standing behind you?”
“That is so.”
White-haired old scholar with a large frame stood behind So Jung-gyeong and stared at Hwasan’s party, who awkwardly bowed their heads. Then, before long, he burst into loud laughter.
“Hahaha. Master Dangbaek. Hahahahahah.”
His laughter was so booming and hearty that everyone who heard it flinched.
“They say people are bound to change as they grow old, but even that change ought to remain within the natural order. Have things truly deteriorated so far that you now even admit those wicked occultists into Eunildam?”
“Occultists?”
Baek Cheon’s face twisted sharply.
Occultists. Practitioners of wicked arts. Whichever word it was, it was a term used to look down on Taoists. No matter how powerful these Confucian scholars might have been, it was not something one should dare say in front of the people concerned.
But before Baek Cheon could even burst out in anger, So Jung-gyeong snapped at the old scholar.
“It seems your words are indeed correct. They say that when one grows old, one comes to lose sight of what the natural order is. Have you now forgotten even the most basic truth, that propriety comes before learning?”
At that, the old scholar displayed an amused, peculiar smile.
“Hoho, Master Dangbaek’s tongue is as sharp as ever.”
“I did not come here to trade insults. This is a matter that may concern you as well, so hear it first.”
“Concern us… Us and these people, you mean?”
“That is so.”
The old scholar’s gaze, fixed upon the disciples of Hwasan, darkened.
The old scholar seemed to ponder for a moment, then nodded as if he had made up his mind.
“Very well. Never in my life did I imagine the day would come when I would exchange words with a Taoist, but if Master Dangbaek speaks so, then I shall at least hear you out.”
When the old scholar said that, So Jung-gyeong slightly turned his head and looked at Baek Cheon. At the sternness in that gaze, Baek Cheon quietly pressed down the anger rising within him.
‘Hoo. Right, this is not a place I came to for my own sake.’
Therefore, it was only right to set personal feelings aside.
“I am Baek Cheon, a disciple of Hwasan in Shaanxi.”
Baek Cheon offered his respects with a fist-and-palm salute. The fact that he greeted them according to the customs of Gangho might perhaps have been an expression of the resentment he could not completely suppress in the end.
“The reason we have come all the way here is none other than…”
Baek Cheon opened his mouth with a hardened expression.
⠀
“Thus, we have come to ask whether you might open the path to government service [출사(出仕)] for this child.”
The gazes of the old scholars, who had been listening to Baek Cheon without much comment, turned to Yu Hanbin.
“The Shandong Yu family, is it.”
A peculiar look settled over their faces.
“To think the legitimate heir of the Yu family was still alive.”
“I thought their line had been cut off.”
“Indeed. The line of a family of such a great status would not be severed so easily. Such is the order of the world.”
A faint trace of emotion seeped into their voices as well. When they had first entered official service, the standing of the Shandong Yu family had been like an impregnable fortress that could not be brought down. To hear that such a family had now fallen into ruin, leaving behind only a single descendant, they could not help but feel the transience of time.
“Certainly, what you say does not go against reason.”
The old scholar, withdrawing his gaze from Yu Hanbin, spoke to Baek Cheon.
“No order has been given to block the official road of those bearing the surname Yu. Therefore, it could be said that it is naturally that child’s right to sit for the county magistrate’s examination.”
“Yes! That is so.”
Baek Cheon nodded, his face brightening.
He had been worried because of So Jung-gyeong’s earlier warning and the sharp reactions of the old scholars, but fortunately, it seemed they could be reasoned with after all.
“Then, could you help us?”
But that was only what Baek Cheon thought.
“Help, you say.”
The tall old scholar looked at Baek Cheon with a faint smile.
“Is there any reason we should help with that?”
“….Pardon?”
Bewilderment settled over Baek Cheon’s face.
“What do you mean?”
Had they not just said that preventing Yu Hanbin from sitting the examination was wrong?
“It means exactly what I said. I asked why we should help that child.”
“Well… would it not be because that is the right thing to do?”
“Right. ‘The right thing,’ you say. And who is to judge that?”
“…What?”
Baek Cheon’s face twisted of its own accord. At this point, it was enough to make him wonder whether the man was openly trying to pick a fight.
“As you say, that child is without sin. But have you never considered that the unjust treatment imposed upon that child may perhaps have been a conclusion reached after someone’s deliberation?”
Baek Cheon furrowed his brow.
“What sort of absurd sophistry is that? No matter what circumstances there may be, something unjust is simply unjust!”
“Sophistry, is it…….”
The old scholar shook his head.
“People are naturally inclined to fill in the parts they do not know as they find convenient. Have you not already reached your conclusion before even thinking it through?”
“What do you mean?”
“That this matter began from the wicked whim of some evil person in power.”
“…”
“And so you believe that correcting that whim and returning things to how they were is the righteous thing to do. Is that not so?”
Baek Cheon’s face flushed slightly. Because the moment he heard the old scholar’s words, he realized that he had indeed been thinking exactly that way.
“In truth, you should put it like this: that you do not know whether this is right or wrong, but simply wish to help the child because you pity him.”
“…”
The old scholar smiled gently.
“Do not make such a face. I am not reproaching you. Rather, I am admiring you.”
“Admiring me?”
“Is that sentiment not truly noble? I never imagined that those who pursue the Tao would willingly endure such trouble for the sake of benevolence.”
At words that could not be discerned as praise or insult, Baek Cheon pressed his lips tightly together.
“But as I said, if what you seek to do is merely something decided by individual thoughts and private emotions, then we have no reason to help you.”
“That is….”
“Go back.”
The old scholar issued his dismissal in a voice devoid of emotion.
“If you intend to stand against something seditious, then you need to formally report it to the authorities. If not, then it is something you must strive to resolve yourselves. Why do you not understand that trying to settle this matter through us in the first place is also improper?”
Baek Cheon clenched his teeth, suppressing the emotion rising within him.
Logic aside, that attitude itself was the problem. There was not even room for a single needle to slip in. From the very beginning, this man had never had any intention of listening to them.
But Baek Cheon did not back down. His pride was hurt and his insides twisted, but now was not the time to put his pride forward.
“Is there truly no way?”
“Why seek that way here? I will say no more. Please go back.”
It was a demeanor so cold it seemed stripped of all warmth.
However, just as the old scholar firmly turned his head and looked back at the Go board before him.
“For heaven’s sake, what ridiculous bullshit is this?”
A voice distorted beyond measure dug into their ears.
________
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