Go ahead and prove it. (4)
“What are you doing! Get a hold of yourself!”
“A-Aaah! H-Hyaaa! Go!”
At Jwa Gohak’s shout, the horse-faced man, Sima Yang [사마양(司馬洋)], screamed in fright and kicked his horse’s flanks. His black horse shot forward like an arrow.
‘To think I’d make a mistake like this.’
But it was a situation that would have flustered anyone, not just him. How in the world had that Taoist, who looked as if he had never ridden a horse in his life, made his horse start off so quickly?
The moment when those unaccustomed to riding fell from the saddle most often was precisely the moment the horse set off!
‘I need to get a hold of myself!’
It might have been luck. No, it surely was.
Luck was called luck precisely because it did not repeat again and again.
‘My start may have been a little late, but the route is long. While we circle the village, I’ll have more than enough time to catch up!’
Fortunately, Heuk-ya [흑야(黑夜) – Black Night], the horse he was riding, was a little faster than Seol-roe [설뢰(雪雷) – Snow Thunder], the one that guy had chosen.
What? Was that unfair?
Not at all. That was why they had been given the chance to choose their horses first. After all, having an eye for a good horse was also part of horsemanship [마술(馬術)].
So all he had to do was keep running like this. Then he would be able to pull ahead in no time…
“But..”
Sima Yang’s face gradually filled with bewilderment.
“Why, why isn’t the distance closing?”
All that filled his eyes was Seol-roe’s tail, galloping ahead as if it had half lost its mind.
⠀
Kaaak! Kaaaaak!
Heeheeheeheeheeeing!
“Uh… Baek Ah, the horse is going to die. Stop pestering it so much.”
Kaaak!
“Fine… do as you like.”
Jo Geol shook his head.
Baek Ah, perched atop the snow-white horse’s head, was repeatedly tapping the horse’s head with its short forepaws.
And each time those paws touched it, the white horse called Seol-roe flailed as if a red-hot branding iron had been pressed to its body.
“I suppose that’s just how it would react if a tiger licked it.”
No, maybe a tiger would be better, actually?
At any rate, Seol-roe, carrying a spirit beast it had surely never once seen in all its life… No, in all its horselife [마생(馬生)]. Though from Seol-roe’s perspective it was probably just a monster. So it was practically out of its mind, running quite literally as though its tail were on fire.
Heeheeheeheeheeeing!
As though defeat would guarantee its future as horse meat, Seol-roe raced forward without the slightest restraint.
“Oh, the gap is widening.”
Sima Yang, riding his black horse, was driving it onward while panting like a madman, but rather than closing the distance between the two horses, the gap was only growing wider and wider.
“…..I’m sorry.”
Feeling an indescribable pity for Sima Yang as he desperately urged his black horse onward, Jo Geol offered a sincere apology.
This was a contest no human could win in the first place. How could a person possibly beat a weasel?
⠀
“No, why isn’t it closing? Hyaaaah! Gooooo!”
Sima Yang screamed at the top of his lungs and kicked the horse’s flanks. But no matter how much he urged the horse on, again and again, the distance did not shrink.
“This can’t be right? This shouldn’t be possible!”
Had Seol-roe always been this fast?
There was no way. The person who knew these two horses best was Sima Yang himself. Seol-roe was a fine horse too, but it could not compare to Heuk-ya.
Then did that mean that Taoist was making Seol-roe run beyond its own ability?
‘What utter nonsense!’
Horsemanship, by its very nature, was not a skill for increasing a horse’s ability. It was a skill of not hindering the horse. In other words, there was no method that could make a slower horse run faster in the first place.
Right. That was common sense. That was obvious.
“Then why is that impossible thing happening! Why!”
It was enough to make a ghost howl.
But however contrary it was to common sense, there was no way to deny what was happening right before his eyes. Shouting that he could not believe it would not change a thing.
“Think! Think of a way to win. A way to win from here… Huh?”
In that instant, Sima Yang’s eyes filled with doubt.
“Huh? Why are they going that way?”
Seol-roe, which had been racing ahead, suddenly changed direction and headed towards the mountain.
⠀
“I’m telling you, this isn’t the right way! You crazy little weasel bastard!”
Kiiiiii!
Baek Ah was tearing at Jo Geol’s hair, and Jo Geol was grabbing Baek Ah’s legs and trying to yank it off.
“No! Does it make any sense that just because you’re a weasel, you don’t know the right way? There’s a perfectly clear main road spread out right there, you little…!”
Kiik! Kiiiiik!
“What does it matter if they look the same to you?! We’re going to lose at this rate!”
For some strange reason, when things became urgent, they understood each other clearly.
Baek Ah, flustered, kicked off from Jo Geol’s head and climbed back onto Seol-roe’s head. Then it stretched out its short front paws with all its might, seized both of Seol-roe’s ears at once, and twisted its whole body as if turning a cart, dragging the horse’s ears to the side.
At that, Seol-roe slid sideways in one long sweep, kicking wildly at the ground.
“Hiiiiiiik! I-I’m falling! I’m going to fall, damn it…!”
The moment the ground suddenly rushed up right in front of his face, Jo Geol shrieked in fright and clung to the horse’s back.
Kiiii!
Swaaaaaaak!
Seol-roe slid along the mountain path with unbelievable precision, changing direction in one smooth motion. At this point, it could no longer be called horsemanship – it had entered the realm of acrobatics.
“Uwaaaaah! Run! Faster!”
Kiiiiiiiii!
Seol-roe kicked off the ground like mad and charged down the mountain. As the three beasts(?) swiftly reemerged on the large road that ran around the village, they saw the black horse already far ahead of them.
“Catch up! Hurry! If we lose like this, you really will be beaten to death! You’ll really become a scarf!”
Perhaps imagining Chung Myung charging at him like a ghost, Baek Ah broke out in a cold sweat. Then, like a windmill, it swung its short forepaws wildly through the air, urging Seol-roe on. At that, the horse stuck out its tongue and began running with all the desperation of a creature fighting for its life.
It was not that Jo Geol felt no pity, but right now he was in no position to worry about the equine rights [마권(馬權)]. If they lost like this, it might not be Baek Ah who became a scarf, but him.
“Hang in there! Just a little more! As long as we win, I’ll empty out all the money I have and buy you carrots and whatever else you want!”
Kii?
“Not you, you brat! All you ever stuff down your throat is booze and meat!”
Had those words had an effect? Seol-roe gradually began closing the gap on Heuk-ya, which had been pulling ahead.
“Good. Just like this… Huh?”
Jo Geol’s eyes flew wide open.
A fairly long uphill slope stretched out before them. The slope itself wasn’t the problem. This village had been built halfway up a mountain, and in a place like this, finding flat ground was harder than finding a slope.
The problem was that something was now rolling down that long uphill road, one after another.
“You never said this was an obstacle course, you ink-stained bastards!”
All sorts of things were rolling down the slope. From boulders the size of half a person, to huge wine barrels, to baskets that looked as if they had been snatched from the washing area.
“Which bastard even rolled down a Buddha statue!”
If Monk Hye Yeon saw that, there would definitely be chaos. He could feel the malice of those Confucian scholar bastards.
At any rate, if even one of those things hit them wrong, losing the match would be the least of their worries. He would be thrown from the horse and crack his head open.
Sima Yang, who was ahead, guided Heuk-ya and deftly avoided the rolling obstacles. Left, right, then left again. As expected from his appearance, his horsemanship was astonishing.
“We can’t lose! Show them! Baek Ah!”
Kiiiiii!
At that moment, Seol-roe charged in a straight line towards the boulder rolling at the very front.
“Wh-What? What are you doing, you damned…! Dodge it!”
Paat!
Then Seol-roe kicked off from the ground and leapt over the boulder in a single bound.
“O-On an uphill slope?”
Kiiiiii!
Tadadadak, paat!
Baek Ah, as if it had no intention of dodging left and right in such an inferior manner, drove Seol-roe straight ahead and began leaping over the rolling obstacles one after another. A fine horse truly was a fine horse. Seol-roe successively pulled off the absurd feat of jumping over obstacles on an uphill slope.
“Wow, this is insane. Maybe I should’ve learned horseback riding.”
If he had known riding a horse could be this impressive, he would have bought one long ago. Instead of dragging carts around every day in place of an ox.
Even now, wasn’t this fascinating? Hopping over a rolling boulder, then hopping over the next massive barrel rolling down. And that one too… But then.
Why did it feel like the world was tilting a little?
“Huh? Huh… huh? Huhhh? W-Wait.”
Every time Seol-roe sprang up, Jo Geol’s body slid a little farther to the side. But because his legs had been tied to the horse’s body with a rope, he could not even fall off.
“W-Wait! No, wait!”
When he came to his senses, he was no longer riding on the horse’s back, but hanging upside down from the horse’s belly.
No matter how much of a martial artist Jo Geol was, it was impossible to crawl back up onto the horse’s back while hanging from its belly while it was running at full speed – and, at that, a horse in the middle of jumping over obstacles.
Kiiiiii!
“D-Don’t scold me! As long as I don’t fall off, it’s fine, isn’t it! I’ll hold on somehow!”
But it did not take long for him to realize that this was just reckless bravado.
Seol-roe once again charged towards a rolling boulder. Jo Geol, dangling from the horse’s belly, saw the boulder and, for an instant, held his breath.
“Uh…. But if we jump over it like this…”
Seol-roe kicked off from the ground. In that instant, the rolling boulder rushed straight towards Jo Geol’s face, as if the very space between them compressed.
“Right. That’s usually how it goes.”
Baaaang!
“Kkweeeeeek!”
A squeal, like that of a pig being slaughtered, burst from Jo Geol’s mouth as he slammed face-first into the boulder.
“D-Don’t jump over them, dodge… Ack! Aaack! Hey, you little weasel bastard! Dodge them! Kkweeeek!”
After ramming his face one after another into the rolling Buddha statue, boulders, and basket, blood streamed down from Jo Geol’s nose.
“Aaack! What lunatic put chestnut burrs inside the basket! I’ll really kill them!”
Kii!
“Ghhh… Fine, damn it, I don’t care anymore, just win, please.”
As if it understood, Baek Ah kept pounding Seol-roe’s head. Sure enough, Seol-roe, which had climbed the whole uphill road in the meantime, shook its head and snorted, then charged madly towards Heuk-ya, now only about one jang ahead.
“Let’s goooooooo!”
In Jo Geol’s upside-down view, Heuk-ya, not so far away, and the main gate of the academy in the distance began to appear. That was the finish line. They had to catch up to Heuk-ya before reaching it.
As if Seol-roe knew that fact as well, it began to run with all its might.
“Keep going! We’re almost there!”
Heeheeheeheeheeeing!
Seol-roe squeezed out the last of its strength and kicked off from the ground. At that, Heuk-ya seemed to sense danger as well, and kept glancing back.
“L-Look ahead and run! Don’t look back!”
Sima Yang, flustered, grabbed Heuk-ya’s head and twisted it forward. But it was already too late. Seol-roe did not miss that instant, caught up to Heuk-ya, and soon the two horses were running neck and neck.
“Hiyararara!”
Kiiiiiiiiii!
When Sima Yang and Baek Ah glanced sideways at each other, it seemed as if sparks flew through the air. They each seized hold of their horse and lowered their stance. They both knew that all that remained now was to charge down the straight course with all their might.
“Ruuuuuun!”
Kiiiiiii!
The two horses raced towards the main gate, overtaking and falling behind each other in turn. The horses, having reached their limits, breathed out harshly and seemed to grow slower and slower.
Kiiiiiiiiii!
At that moment, Baek Ah struck Seol-roe’s head and shouted something. Hearing that cry, Seol-roe rolled its eyes back and once again began running with every last ounce of strength it had.
“Th-This….. This can’t be! Nooooo!”
Seeing Seol-roe finally pull ahead of him, Sima Yang let out a scream steeped in despair. Now the main gate that marked the finish line was only three jang ahead. Baek Ah, who had all but seized victory, roared and pounded Seol-roe’s head.
Kiiiiiiiiii!
Heeheeheeheehing!
In that instant, Seol-roe also cried out, then kicked off from the ground and leapt high into the air.
“We wooooon!”
Even Jo Geol could not suppress the thrill that burst out of him, and just as he stretched both hands out wide.
Tuduk.
“Huh?”
Jo Geol’s eyes widened in shock.
Tududuk!
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
At that moment, the rope that had been tying Jo Geol and Seol-roe together snapped, and Jo Geol’s body slammed straight into the ground.
Kii?
And almost at the same time, Seol-roe crossed the finish line about half a horse’s length ahead of Heuk-ya.
“…”
“…”
Everyone watching the scene was left speechless. They could only look back and forth between the horse breathing so roughly it seemed about to collapse, and Jo Geol, who was embedded in the ground and unable to lift his head.
“Hmmm.”
Jwa Gohak looked at Seol-roe and Heuk-ya with a peculiar expression, then grinned.
“Seol-roe did cross the finish line first, yes.”
“…”
“But it only counts if the rider crosses the finish line as well. This match is our victory!”
A great cheer rang thunderously through the academy.
In time with that roaring cheer, Jo Geol’s body – still sprawled face-down on the ground – twitched and convulsed weakly.
________
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