Had he truly been this strong? (5)
“Didn’t I tell you to move!”
“But, Sir! We can’t just… leave all this baggage behind…!”
Jwa Gohak ground his teeth.
They were losing time. They needed to hurry, but the people simply would not move as he wished. If they had merely collapsed from exhaustion, he could have carried them away on his back, but when they insisted they could never abandon the carts they had hauled this far, all he could do was clench his fists.
“How many times have I told you that we’ll find a way to provide you with food!”
“But!”
“I promise you! I swear we will compensate you for what you leave behind!”
In his desperation, Jwa Gohak shouted once more. But all he received in return were looks tinged with fear and distrust.
“H-How can we believe that?”
“…..What?”
An old man whose face was caked with grime clutched his granddaughter’s hand tightly. At the sight of the old man’s pitifully trembling hand and the child’s hollow eyes clouded with fear, Jwa Gohak’s heart sank.
“If we have no food, this child will soon starve to death. If that’s how it’s going to be, we’d be better off dying here. How could officials like you possibly know how wretched it is to starve to death!”
Jwa Gohak squeezed his eyes shut.
He had heard those words countless times on the way here. By now, they had been hammered into his ears so often that he was absolutely sick of hearing them.
But he couldn’t blame them outright. This was not their fault. It had happened because the Imperial Court had failed to earn their trust.
Promises had been broken time and time again, and every sign of calamity had been thoroughly concealed. Even so, the Emperor had abandoned everyone who trusted and followed the Imperial Court and fled alone.
So how could they possibly believe the word of a man in official robes? If Jwa Gohak had been in their position, he would not have meekly believed and followed him either.
But that did not mean he could simply stand by and do nothing.
It was only right that their distrust should be directed at the Imperial Court. Even if Jwa Gohak became a target of that distrust as well, it was something he had to accept, having chosen the path of an official [관로(官路)] of his own accord.
But the ones paying the price for that distrust with their very bodies were none other than the disciples of Hwasan. The longer they delayed here, the greater their sacrifice would become. Knowing this, Jwa Gohak could no longer afford to indulge these people’s circumstances and give them more time.
“I understand, so am I not telling you to leave the carts behind for now! If you refuse to listen, I will deal with you according to the law!”
“Fine! You might as well kill us, then!”
“You…..!”
Even after hearing such words, he could not bring himself to lay a hand on them. It was just as Jwa Gohak trembled helplessly, unsure of what to do.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I knew this would happen.”
At the nonchalant voice from behind him, Jwa Gohak turned his head around sharply. There stood a stranger dressed in worn scholar’s robes.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Im Sobyeong, but… well, what importance could my identity possibly have? What matters is the fact that these supposedly outstanding officials are merely wasting time because they cannot even control the common folk.”
“What?”
Jwa Gohak’s face twisted.
Judging by his clothing, he was certainly a Confucian scholar. Yet no matter how thoroughly Jwa Gohak searched through his memory, he could not recall the man. That meant he was either a scholar who had failed to enter public office or nothing more than some newly appointed official.
And someone like that dared to stand before Jwa Gohak and…
As though he had read Jwa Gohak’s thoughts, Im Sobyeong snorted.
“This is why nothing ever gets done when you work with gentlemen obsessed with propriety. Now.”
Snap.
Im Sobyeong flicked his finger lightly. At that, a group of men emerged from behind him.
“What?”
Jwa Gohak flinched at the sight of the men who had appeared so suddenly. And with good reason – their appearance was that of typical ruffians [야인(野人)], in other words, bandits.
But the moment Jwa Gohak saw them, a certain fact surfaced in his mind.
“Im Sobyeong?”
Nokrim King Im Sobyeong. As far as Jwa Gohak knew, he was certainly an ally of Hwasan. He was someone whose name Jwa Gohak had heard several times in the past, wasn’t he? And now that very man had brought mountain bandits with him to this place.
“There was a misunderstanding. My apologies.”
Jwa Gohak quickly bowed his head to Im Sobyeong.
Of course, to Jwa Gohak, Nokrim King was nothing more than a lowly mountain bandit. Just because Jwa Gohak was friends with Hwasan did not mean he respected everyone in Gangho.
But if this man had appeared with his subordinates at Hwasan’s request, then he must have come to help the fleeing commoners. Jwa Gohak had doubted and berated someone who had come to their aid, so an apology was only proper.
“Well.”
But Im Sobyeong merely answered with an enigmatic smile.
“Let’s wait a little longer. Then we can see whether you should thank me or get angry.”
“….Pardon?”
It was then.
“Burn it all! Leave nothing behind!”
“Yes!”
The bandits shoved the commoners aside and rushed towards the carts in an instant. Then they pulled white bottles from inside their robes and threw them at the cargo.
Crash.
The ceramic bottles shattered as soon as they struck the carts, scattering the clear liquid. At the strong smell that suddenly filled the air, Jwa Gohak’s eyes widened.
“Oil?”
The bandits promptly pulled ‘huozhezi’ [화섭자(火攝子) – a type of a portable fire starter] from inside their clothes and set the oil-drenched carts alight all at once.
Whoosh!
The oil-soaked carts went up in flames in an instant, before anyone had a chance to do anything. The startled commoners wailed and struggled. But the bandits surrounding the carts showed not the slightest hint of sympathy as they mercilessly shoved the commoners back.
“What in the…”
Jwa Gohak, who had been dazed for a moment, soon ground his teeth.
“What the hell are you doing, you lawless bastard!”
“This is more efficient.”
Im Sobyeong opened the fan in his hand and spoke lightly, as though it were nothing important.
“If the men you brought helped…!”
“Yes. Then things would go a little faster. But even so, the delay would remain the same. That is inevitable as long as the baggage remains. And no matter how long you try to persuade them, they will never give up their belongings.”
Jwa Gohak fell silent.
“Then all we have to do is get rid of their belongings. Now the only way for them to survive is to somehow make it to the next place where food has been prepared. The desperation they felt to protect their belongings will turn into desperation to keep moving forward. Isn’t that right?”
Jwa Gohak, his face twisted, looked around at the commoners. As he watched the old people wailing and the children crying along without even understanding what was happening, he could hardly tell who was the demon and who was the righteous man anymore.
“Even if that is the right answer, is this really the right way to do it?! Is this something a human being should do?!”
“Something a human being should do? Well, if you think wasting time for no reason until everyone here dies, along with those holding the enemy back, is something a human being should do… then I suppose those esteemed high officials of yours aren’t all that impressive either.”
“What did you say?”
“ ‘…what is right he will follow’ [의지여비(義之與比)*]. Confucius said so himself, did he not? A gentleman follows only what is righteous. Not personal sentiment!”
Jwa Gohak flinched at those words.
“If you’re going to stand there spouting useless nonsense and getting in our way, then move aside. I’m in more of a hurry right now than I look. At this point, would anything really change if I cut down one more official for babbling nonsense?”
The tip of Im Sobyeong’s fan pointed straight at Jwa Gohak’s face.
“The reason I have kept you alive until now is because it is more efficient for you to command them than for me to do so. So do what you are supposed to do, esteemed official.”
Hatred filled Jwa Gohak’s eyes as he glared at Im Sobyeong.
Jwa Gohak was a man who would break rather than bend. The very idea that he might yield to a bandit’s threat because he valued his own life was unthinkable.
Even so, he eventually nodded. The reason was simple. He had seen the tip of Im Sobyeong’s fan, which was pointed at him, tremble ever so slightly.
So this man is desperate too.
That meant everyone had to be evacuated as quickly as possible – even if it required using such an extreme measure. And yet, was Im Sobyeong really wrong?
Jwa Gohak squeezed his eyes shut once, opened them, and spoke.
“I will do as you say. Thank you for making me see reason.”
“…”
Im Sobyeong narrowed his eyes as though surprised. A faint bewilderment crossed his face, and then he gave a brief exclamation of admiration.
“Let us hurry.”
Jwa Gohak nodded without answering, then turned around.
“Move!”
At the sound of his anguished voice ringing out, the wailing commoners flinched and turned their heads.
“There is no more baggage for you to drag along. Now the only way for you to survive is to move forward to where the provisions we prepared are.”
Jwa Gohak relayed Im Sobyeong’s words exactly as they were. There was no need to add anything else.
“Go. You can survive! I said move at once!”
The commoners stared blankly at the carts that were still burning. Even then, Jwa Gohak’s desperate voice rang out like thunder.
“Are you planning to sit here and die? Take that same tenacity you showed clinging to your belongings and use it to find a way to live! Can’t you see the path to survival right before your eyes!”
At that earnest cry, the commoners finally began to rise, one by one.
Just because they had clung so fiercely to the carts filled with their belongings did not mean they were foolish. Finding a way to survive, no matter how desperately – that was the nature of the common people.
Now that the carts had burned, there was only one path left for them to choose.
“Let’s go.”
“But…..”
“Damn it! It’s all burning! Even if we put out the fire now, we won’t be able to salvage much!”
Moreover, if they wasted time putting out the fire, the only path left to them would be one where they all died together. In that case, there was only one thing to do. Glaring fiercely at the bandits, the commoners gritted their teeth and began to move.
Watching them, Jwa Gohak let out a faint sigh.
“There is no time.”
Im Sobyeong’s impassive voice reached Jwa Gohak’s ears.
“Move instead of wasting time sighing. We’ll have to chase down every group that gets held up and set their carts on fire. We did it for you this time, but from now on, do it with your own hands.”
“….You needn’t tell me. I was planning to do so.”
“So you’re not a complete fool.”
The words could have been taken as an insult, but Jwa Gohak did not react. He merely left him with a single remark.
“If I were clever, I would have become a bandit.”
As soon as Jwa Gohak finished speaking, he turned and ran. Im Sobyeong hummed and opened his fan.
“Nokrim King.”
“He’s no pushover. Anyway, everyone connected to Hwasan is like that.”
Im Sobyeong looked at the retreating Jwa Gohak, then turned his head. As he shifted his gaze north, his expression had already hardened like ice.
“…For now…..”
Even if he joined the battlefield immediately, the situation would not change. His task was not to die alongside those people. It was to make a path for them to retreat.
He knew that in his head.
“Nokrim King. Next….”
“…I already told you.”
“Huh? What did you just say….”
Im Sobyeong’s hand shot out like lightning. He seized the throat of Nokrim bandit who had approached from the side, yanked him roughly closer, and gritted his teeth.
“I told you to get rid of every last one of those cumbersome things as quickly as possible, didn’t I?”
“S-Sorry…”
Im Sobyeong glared at Norkim bandit with cold eyes, then slightly raised both hands and released him.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m just in a hurry.”
“Cough. N-No, it’s fine. I’ll carry it out immediately!”
“Good. Hurry it up. All right?”
After finishing the conversation, Im Sobyeong’s gaze turned north again. In the distance, brilliant crimson blossoms were chaotically intertwining with black demonic energy.
“Seriously… They just have to make me do things that don’t suit me at all.”
Im Sobyeong shook his head slightly, then kicked off the ground. He himself had to get moving at once.
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*Analects, Book 4. The full quote looks like this: 子曰：「君子之於天下也，無適也，無莫也，義之與比。」 – The Master said, “The superior man, in the world, does not set his mind either for anything, or against anything; what is right he will follow.” A person of high moral character approaches the world without a fixed, stubborn agenda and without blind rejection. Instead, they judge every situation purely on its own moral merits. They do not decide what to support or oppose based on personal relationships, self-interest, or prejudice – they side exclusively with righteousness.
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