Go ahead and prove it. (3)
“We won!”
“Uahahahahaha! Soso won!”
Baek Cheon and Jo Geol threw both arms up into the air and cheered. Hye Yeon and Yu Hanbin got swept up in it as well, shouting and cheering along.
“Serves them right for acting so high and mighty!”
“What was that? Some genius this, some prodigy that? Aigoo! What are they going to do now, after running their mouths like that? How embarrassing!”
“Looks like they didn’t know you shouldn’t try to match the Tang Clan when it comes to throwing things and shooting!”
The disciples of Hwasan threw a fist postato* at the Confucian scholars lined up on the opposite side.
And seeing that, Tang Soso squeezed her eyes shut.
“…Sahyeongs. Please, have some dignity.”
But it seemed her words did not reach her fellow disciples at all.
Shaking her head, Tang Soso grumbled to Yoon Jong, who was at least managing to remain calm.
“Please do something about these idiots, Sahyeong.”
“…If I could do that, I wouldn’t be living like this.”
“That’s true.”
Tang Soso laughed faintly and was about to turn away, but then stopped.
“But… why do you look like that, Sahyeong?”
“Hm?”
“You look like something is bothering you.”
“Mm. It’s not so much that something is bothering me…”
Yoon Jong, seeming to think for a moment, casually asked Tang Soso.
“Soso.”
“Yes?”
“I’m asking just in case. If you hadn’t been here, would we have been able to win this match?”
“Well…”
Tang Soso seemed to find the question unexpected, and fell into brief thought.
“Hm. Wouldn’t it have been… difficult? If Chung Myung Sahyeong could have stepped forward, that might have been different, but since he can’t take part in every event, it would be a bit much to put him forward for archery.”
“Right.”
“If anyone else had gone out there, I don’t think they could have won.”
“I suppose not.”
Yoon Jong looked at the Confucian scholars with a slightly more serious expression.
‘It’s a good thing Hwasan has Soso. If Soso hadn’t been here, that means we would have lost the first match.’
That meant the scholars’ level was higher than he had expected. That man named Song Hyeon, too, would be more than worthy of being called a talent who would one day become a divine archer once he left this place.
“…So Yurim is truly a place where all the talents under heaven gather.”
“Huh?”
“No. No, it’s nothing.”
Yoon Jong gazed at the scholars, his expression slightly stiff.
While a celebration had broken out among the disciples of Hwasan, the scholars watching them remained silent, as though by prior agreement.
In that heavy atmosphere, Song Hyeon’s shoulders slumped as if a great burden had been placed upon them.
Step. Step.
Someone slowly approached Song Hyeon. When Song Hyeon raised his head and saw Jwa Gohak standing before him, his face stiffened.
“Raise your head.”
“…Sahyeong.”
Jwa Gohak smiled gently.
“The Six Arts are virtues of a gentleman, but they are not something a gentleman must necessarily devote himself to mastering. It would be good to win, but even if one loses, it cannot be helped.”
“…”
“I only hope that the sight of your despair does not amuse them any further.”
At those words, Song Hyeon raised his head again.
“I am sorry.”
“It’s all right.”
As though it were nothing of consequence, Jwa Gohak lightly tapped Song Hyeon on the shoulder and turned away.
He appeared not to mind in the least, but Song Hyeon knew. That cold, detached way he turned his back were Jwa Gohak’s true feelings.
This place was overflowing with the greatest talents under heaven. No matter how minor the flaw, there was no reason to keep dragging along a talent that had already been blemished.
Song Hyeon could say nothing more, and returned to his place. The moment he turned away, Jwa Gohak’s gaze grew cold, but he soon looked towards the disciples of Hwasan and smiled warmly.
“It was a good match. As expected, the people of Hwasan, renowned throughout the world, are not to be taken lightly. I truly did not expect that we would lose from the very first round.”
Baek Cheon grinned and answered Jwa Gohak.
“Ah, is that so? Then that’s a relief. We were actually rather flustered because it turned out to be much easier than we expected.”
The disciples of Hwasan whispered behind Baek Cheon’s back.
“Didn’t we barely win that?”
“Soso even bled, too.”
“Leave him be. There’s no stopping that man today.”
Facing Baek Cheon, who was openly smirking, Jwa Gohak’s face twisted slightly.
“Ah…. Is that so?”
“Yes. Hmmm. Since you said that Yurim was a place where all the talents under heaven had gathered, I had raised my expectations somewhat, but this is rather… Ah, my apologies. This was a mistake committed by an uncouth Taoist who knows nothing of propriety, so I ask that your generous forgiveness.”
Grind.
Jwa Gohak ground his teeth hard, then nodded with a forced smile on his twitching face.
“If… we have disappointed you, then I apolo… gize.”
The disciples of Hwasan watched the scene with lifeless eyes, like fish that had been left out of water for several days.
“Why is he falling for such obvious provocation? Didn’t they say he was a prodigy?”
“How would we know?”
“That’s not what matters. As you go through life, everyone is bound to have someone they absolutely want to beat.”
“It seems Sasuk has an unusually large number of people like that.”
As the disciples of Hwasan watched the two men shoot blazing gazes, Jwa Gohak soon clapped his hands, changing the mood.
“Now, then, let us move on to the next event.”
“By all means.”
“The next event is none other than Charioteering [어(御)]. Specifically horsemanship.”
“Horsemanship?”
Neiiiiiigh!
No sooner had Jwa Gohak finished speaking than the sound of horses neighing rang out, and the Confucian scholars led two horses in through the great front gate.
A white horse as bright as snow and a black horse as black as absolute darkness. Both had glossy coats and proud gaits, and one could tell at a glance that they were exceptional steeds.
“The rules are simple. Each representative will mount a horse and compete to see who can circle this village the fastest.”
At those words, Yu Hanbin’s face lit up.
“That’s it!”
“Huh?”
“Horsemanship is a specialty of warriors, isn’t it! This is at least an event we can manage. Isn’t it?”
Yu Hanbin turned to the disciples of Hwasan with eyes full of hope. But they were far too busy avoiding his gaze.
“Taoist Masters……?”
“Uh… I have ridden an ox before.”
“I once climbed onto a tiger’s back.”
Yoon Jong, appalled, scolded Jo Geol.
“Why would you ride a tiger, you lunatic!”
“What? Aren’t you curious, Sahyeong? What it feels like to ride on a tiger’s back.”
“…”
“You are curious, aren’t you? Be honest, you are, right?”
“A little… I suppose I am.”
“Don’t just accept it!”
Yu Hanbin, who had been listening to their conversation with a blank face, suddenly flinched and pressed the disciples of Hwasan further.
“No! You can’t ride a horse? You’re joking, right? How does it make any sense for martial artists not to be able to ride a horse!”
“Oh. That was good wordplay. You’re pretty sharp, aren’t you**?”
“I’m not joking!”
“Hanbin-ah.”
“Yes?”
Baek Cheon lightly grasped the shoulder of the furious Yu Hanbin and smiled.
“Horses are expensive.”
“…”
“Bows are expensive too, but horses are truly expensive. And until not long ago, Hwasan was a beggar sect.”
“Th-Then what about Monk Hye Yeon? He’s from Shaolin.”
“Hohoho. Amitabha. Siju, have you ever seen a monk riding a horse in your entire life?”
“…No.”
“That is how it is.”
Hye Yeon smiled brightly, as if it were only natural. Yu Hanbin turned deathly pale and looked over the disciples of Hwasan one by one.
“W-Wait a moment. Then there really isn’t a single person here who knows how to ride a horse?”
“Soso, you know how to handle a horse, don’t you? You’re the daughter of a wealthy family.”
“Of course I learned at least horseback riding. But I just went out for archery, so I can’t go again.”
“What about a disguise……”
“Say something that makes sense, Jo Geol Sahyeong. But what about you, Sahyeong? You must have handled horses when you went out on trading trips.”
“I rode in the cart, so……”
“Then there really isn’t anyone who knows how to ride a horse?”
“It seems that way?”
“Ha…. Haha.”
The disciples of Hwasan looked at one another and smiled warmly. These utterly useless things…
“Should we forfeit?”
“Still, how can we forfeit? We have our pride.”
“I think forfeiting would hurt our pride less than suffering every kind of humiliation on the back of a horse we’ve never even ridden.”
“Hwasan may endure being pathetic, but it cannot endure having no grit. Absolutely not!”
“Then what are we supposed to do? Will you go?”
“Ugh….”
Just as Yoon Jong let out a sigh deep enough to make the ground sink…
“But is there any need to worry about this?”
“Huh?”
At the sound of Chung Myung’s voice, everyone turned their heads sharply.
“Do you perhaps know how to ride a horse?”
“Me? I’m faster when I run myself. How could I ride something like that without dying of frustration?”
“Right. I didn’t expect anything from you. Then what did you mean just now?”
“No, I mean, horseback riding doesn’t necessarily mean knowing how to ride a horse.”
“What?”
The disciples of Hwasan tilted their heads. What kind of new nonsense was this now?
“Horseback riding is knowing how to ride a horse, you bastard!”
“No, think about it carefully. In any case, all you have to do is move the horse the way you want, right? You only ride on top because you can’t run as fast as the horse beside it.”
“What kind of nonsense are you… The problem right now is that we don’t have anyone who can get on top of that horse and move it as they please.”
Hearing that, Chung Myung grinned.
“That’s right. There’s no person.”
“Hm?”
“But there is, you know. Something that isn’t a person.”
The others, who had not understood Chung Myung’s words for a moment, stared blankly at him, then, as though by agreement, all turned their heads sharply at the same time.
Kii?
Baek Ah, who had been standing on two feet beside Chung Myung, blinked its pitch-black eyes and tilted the little head. The disciples of Hwasan, who had been staring at it as if entranced, looked at one another with indescribable expressions.
“This is, uh……”
“It might…… make sense……?”
“Isn’t it possible? We even dressed it in Hwasan’s robes.”
“It’s not even a question of whether it’s possible or not…The truth is, we don’t exactly have any other options.”
For now, they had no choice but to push through with sheer momentum!
⠀
“…Are you joking right now?”
“Yes, I thought you would say that. I apologize.”
Baek Cheon bent at the waist in a perfect 90-degree angle to bow to their opponents, then immediately turned around and came back.
“They say we can’t.”
“…That is common sense, after all.”
“I told you, putting it in robes doesn’t make everything possible!”
Just as the disciples of Hwasan were about to let their shoulders droop, Chung Myung cut in with an indifferent voice.
“No, I mean. You’re going about it the wrong way.”
“What?”
“I’m not saying it should compete as the representative. Anybody can go out there. The weasel just has to sit on that person’s shoulder.”
“…”
“It’s not like they’re going to call it cheating just because someone brought along a pet they keep, right?”
The disciples of Hwasan once again looked at one another. Across every face flashed the same sudden realization.
⠀
“Geol-ah! Stay strong!”
“You’re the only one we have!”
“You have to win, Sahyeong!”
Tears of sorrow flowed from Jo Geol’s eyes as he sat atop the snow-white horse.
“So why me……”
But what could they do? The youngest had already competed once, and there was no way he could beat that mad dog of Hwasan.
Kiiii!
Baek Ah, perched on his shoulder, thumped its own chest as if to say Jo Geol should have some trust, then tapped the back of Jo Geol’s head with its front paw.
“…Right, thanks.”
This was no joke – he really had no one else to rely on. In any case, it was called the king of spirit beasts, so surely it would show them something worthy. That was Jo Geol’s perspective, at least. His opponent clearly didn’t share it.
“…You are my opponent?”
Well, judging people by their appearance was not a good habit, but the man looked so perfectly suited to a horse-riding competition, with that horse-like face, that the thought arose automatically.
He looked Jo Geol up and down, then frowned.
“Have you ever ridden a horse?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Your posture is not that of someone who has ridden a horse before.”
“I have ridden one before. I have.”
At those words, the man frowned even more deeply.
“Then why are your legs tied down?”
“…In case I fall off.”
“And you call yourself a martial artist?”
“…I said I would be fine, but my Sahyeongs insisted.”
No, they had probably just wanted to make fun of him. Those damned bastards.
Jo Geol looked down at his legs, which had been tightly bound to the horse’s body with ropes, and let out a deep sigh.
“And what is that weasel?”
“…Must I answer every single question?”
“Hah, honestly.”
The horse-faced man shook his head.
“This is hopeless. I’ll be impressed if you even manage a proper start. Be careful. If you fall off of one of these animals, you won’t get away with just a broken bone or two.”
Jo Geol agreed that it was hopeless. Just not for the same reason.
“Now then. Shall we begin!”
Standing between the two horses lined up before the main gate, Jwa Gohak stepped forward.
He raised his hand high above his head, looked in turn at the two men mounted on the horses, and then brought his arm sharply down.
“Go!”
At that instant, the snow-white horse shot forward like a streak of light.
“Huh?”
The horse-faced man atop the black horse was just about to set off when his mouth fell wide open.
“Wh-What?! What is that? Why is it doing that?”
Seol-roe***. That was the name of the white horse.
A beautiful white steed that was adored by the scholars of Eunildam, always carrying itself with perfect elegance and grace.
That white horse was now rolling its eyes back and frothing at the mouth as it galloped, as if a tiger were clinging to its back.
At a terrifying speed unlike anything anyone present had ever seen or even heard of.
Special Spinoff Chapter 44 >>>
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*Well. ‘Fist potato’ is a sign, where you hold/hit your one arm with another and show a fist, mocking someone. Google 주먹 감자 and the first images will be fist potatoes. I am not sure, is there a specific term for it in English?
**말을 못 탄다니 – can’t ride a horse, where horse is 말(mal); 말이 되다 – to make sense, where 말 means words/speech/what’s being said. So he uses the sound ‘mal’ twice, for horse and for makes sense.
***설뢰 – no hanja for the name. It could mean anything… at least 뢰(雷) can mean thunder/lightning bolt.
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