As Prophet - Chapter 38
Only Krnovel
Episode 38. I Want to Learn Swordsmanship Too
I took a kid who didn’t know how to do anything and taught him this and that, and now there’s nothing he can’t do. Carpentry…
“Why don’t you build a house?”
“I wish there was one on the mountain, but I need to learn more to build a house.”
“Why are you trying to do it all yourself?”
“It’s studying. You learn and look inside yourself.”
“Isn’t this martial art already at its peak? What are you going to do more of?”
“I intend to go all the way.”
“Until the end… … ahem.”
“It may be possible because I started studying at a young age and woke up early.”
Baek Ui-hyung agreed.
“The master also praised you and held you in high esteem.”
“I guess you’ll look at it favorably. I still have a long way to go.”
“How about this? When you reach the end, it is not a matter of enlightenment. Then, studying Buddhism… … Isn’t there a temple nearby?”
“I’m thinking of going there sometime. Hahaha.”
There was no place to hide, so it was nice to see. Bright and pure. However, in Baek-ui-hyeong’s eyes, there were things that seemed like childishness that couldn’t adapt. If you offered to help with work, who wouldn’t like it if they thought you were a cheap labor force? I thought it was a shameful thing to do when you were just being used by those guys. I thought I would go to the shipyard later and pulled my butt back.
Baek I-jeong, who had been silent the whole time eating, glanced at her brother-in-law and smiled faintly.
“What? Why are you laughing?”
“If you look closely, the two of them look similar.”
“It’s an insult to me. Comparing me to that thoughtless guy. Running wild without knowing anything about the world. It’s the perfect thing to be surrounded by that idiot.”
Baek Yi-jeong changed the subject.
“Hohoho, but Prince Dalcheon.”
“yes?”
“I also want to learn swordsmanship. Why can’t I?”
“Oh my.”
“I don’t think someone who dreams of a world without discrimination would discriminate against women.”
Dalcheon scratched the back of his head as he stepped away from the dining table.
“That means I will protest against the unfair discrimination that is done to me, but it does not mean that I will not recognize the differences in values that I see.”
“It’s hard to say.”
Baek Ui-hyung intervened.
“Aren’t you saying that you admit that you discriminate, but you can’t stand it when others discriminate against you?”
“Oh my.”
“Haha.”
“Hehehe.”
The three people looked at each other and laughed.
“It’s been a while since you came here, so why don’t you go get some food instead of playing with me?”
“I have important work to do today, so I have to see it and learn it.”
Baek Yi-jeong straightened her posture.
“I’m not just saying this. I also want to learn swordsmanship.”
Dalcheon doesn’t answer and instead looks back at Baek Ui-hyeong. He always does this when he wants help.
“Ugh. What should I do?”
“Why do you ask me about your choice?”
He’s not in the mood to help. He doesn’t plan on stopping a woman from learning swordsmanship.
“Won’t your elders scold you later?”
“I know! You be the judge.”
While Dalcheon was in trouble, Baek I-jeong took out a small sword from his hands.
“I carry it with me for self-defense.”
“Eww! If you have a weapon, you’ll get hurt worse. It’s better to just get hit once.”
“How can someone like that say such things?”
“If you have a knife, you might get stabbed.”
Baek I-jeong coaxed, coaxed, and coerced Dal-cheon to learn from him. Dal-cheon licked his lips and went down to the yard to do the basic movements and had him follow along. However, Baek I-jeong was already able to do it to some extent. He followed the movements precisely. Of course, it was just dancing and gymnastics.
“Do this one million twenty-one times and you will become a master.”
“Is that what you are teaching?”
“I’ll see you while I’m doing it.”
“A million and twenty-one times?”
“You have to do that much. The posture and angles seem to be coming out well, so just a little bit will do.”
Baek Yi-jeong swung her sword under the Sarangmaru. Dal-cheon was amazed. A woman wearing a white blouse and jade-colored skirt swinging a silver sword could not be more beautiful. When the ceremony was over, I clapped my hands without realizing it.
“Are you okay?”
“Very good. And beautiful. It’s like dancing.”
“You’re not swearing at dancing, are you?”
“There is not much difference between dancing and swordsmanship. Keep going. There is no special secret, just repetition. Since this is your first time, just breathe while saying ‘Umpa, Umpa.’ When you thrust the sword, exhale with a ‘pa,’ and when you pull it back, inhale with a ‘um.’ Just by distinguishing your breath, the sword will be different.”
“Oh, yes.”
The beautiful sword dance began again.
“Oh my, what are you doing after eating a nice meal? Hehe.”
Baek Ui-hyeong clicked his tongue, but Dal-cheon is a man who sees to the end what he starts. He pointed out an important part of studying tax law.
“You have to practice a lot, and you have to do it well. So do it correctly and repeat it. What happens if you keep practicing the wrong thing? You will end up doing the wrong thing well. So your posture and movements have to be precise. Try again.”
It’s not a very long tax, but once you do it, you’ll be out of breath. After finishing it, Baek I-jeong comes over, out of breath, and asks questions, and Dal-cheon makes a few suggestions.
“Is that all I need to do?”
“Once you can do that, practice it hundreds of thousands of times. Next is breathing, you said. Anyone can dance if they put their mind to it. If you want to cut and stab the enemy with it, you need strength. Adding breathing is next.”
“Oh, yes.”
“This time, try to distinguish between sound waves.”
Dalcheon’s method was very ignorant. He made them do it and watched them. He told them to continue. It is not easy for a person’s body, accustomed to daily life, to adapt to the sword. He tried to swing it at a height that was easy to swing. It’s not that I’m lazy, but the human body naturally finds the easy way.
Baek Ui-hyung grumbled behind him.
“No, what’s going on after eating? Knife fighting?”
“When would you like to make time for me? I’m going up right away. Hahaha.”
“Aren’t you going to fix your stomach?”
“Why? Are you going to follow me?”
“Of course. I need to see what this death row inmate is doing and what kind of person he is. I need to check to see if he’s being surrounded by any other guys.”
“Then let’s go together.”
When Dalcheon took a couple of steps back, Baek Ijeong stopped his swordsmanship. He knew that the difficult time was over.
“No, why are you stopping? Repeat until you get there and back.”
“yes?”
“If you can do it once, there is no one who can’t do it. It is very important to put your breath into the sword. First of all, today’s goal is to be able to distinguish between suction and wave. Keep doing it.”
“Until when?”
“Until the end.”
Before another answer could come out, Dalcheon quickly turned around and left. The man at the gate followed him a few steps, but he didn’t look back to see if he would say anything else and ran towards the river.
* * *
It was a small wooden boat, about three or four feet long. There was no separate repair shop, so the boat was pulled up to the water’s edge and repaired. The riverbank was strewn with rocks, dirt, and trees.
“Is this it?”
“Don’t say anything. I just got this job. You shouldn’t be talking nonsense.”
“Ugh.”
As the two approached, the carpenter who had been tearing off the bottom of the boat suddenly stood up. Dalcheon waved his hand in greeting.
“Hello. I’m here.”
At times like this, he was completely innocent. The carpenter bowed deeply to Baek Ui-hyeong, who was standing behind him, without even thinking about receiving Dal-cheon’s greeting.
“Are you here? I am Mulpuregi, the maker of Baekgajang.”
Dalcheon blinked. He didn’t even know the name.
“Oh, I see. You came to help me move.”
“It was late and didn’t help much.”
“Thank you, but are you going to fix your stomach too?”
“I was originally a carpenter. Since this job is not steady, I have to farm to make ends meet. Thanks to Baekgajang, the nearby villages are peaceful. By the way, are you acquainted with Dalcheon?”
“Yes, he is my disciple. We studied under the same master. We also worked together as a secret agent when you were the magistrate. We all moved to Hanyang a while ago, but you said you wanted to stay here, so I left you alone. I came down today because I was worried that something might happen.”
The carpenter bent his back.
“You said I was a person from a wealthy family. I was just a passing guest, so I thought I was a homeless wanderer and used me like crazy.”
“What did you say?”
“After hanging around for about half an hour, I made you do odd jobs because you said you wanted to learn the ropes. I’m sorry.”
Dalcheon glared at Baek Ui-hyeong. If he was not careful, he could lose his job.
“No. I am a person who has benefited from the grace of the elders of the Baek family. Since it has nothing to do with me, please let me continue my work.”
“No, I have been rude to your majesty. It was a mistake made due to ignorance, so I ask for your generous forgiveness.”
“If you want to learn a job, you have to start with chores. Can I just do what I did yesterday?”
The carpenter looked back and forth between Dalcheon and Baek Ui-hyeong to check their mood. Baek Ui-hyeong held his breath. It was ridiculous. It wasn’t a lie, but he didn’t tell his true identity either.
“So I said I was a passing guest and wanted to learn the job… … .”
“Yes.”
The corners of Baek Ui-hyung’s eyes turned up sharply.
“Make him do it severely.”
“No. I didn’t know, so I did that. Now that I know, who would have been the elder if I had done that?”
“No. If you’re going to learn anything, you have to learn it properly. Make them do it hard. Even from chores and hard jobs.”
As Baek Ui-hyeong stepped aside, the carpenter began his work in a carefree manner. He was tearing off the lower planks of the ship and replacing them with new wood.
“Well then, just look at what they’re doing next to you.”
“Oh, yes.”
When the carpenter took down the board, Dalcheon ran like a squirrel and brought a new piece of wood that was roughly the same size. The carpenter checked it by eye. He stood the wood up and cut it into very thin pieces, tested it once, and then hit it with a wooden hammer. But it went in so tightly that Dalcheon’s eyes popped out as he watched from the side.
“oh!”
I tapped and hit the front wooden board and the jaw so that it met, and hammered in a wooden nail, and one board was finished cleanly. I evenly sanded the surface, and the wood grain was very thin and long. I sanded so that the height of the old wood and the new wood were the same, and one board was connected in a very smooth curve.
“Wow, wow! That’s amazing!”
A single board that fit perfectly contrasted with the existing board in color and gently revealed the beautiful lines of the wood. Dalcheon touched it lightly with his fingertips and was amazed.
“Wow, that fits perfectly!”
“I’ll do that this time.”
When I knocked out another board, some of the wood next to it had rotted. After tearing it off, I cut the remaining pieces with a thin saw and cleaned the surface with a chisel. Dalcheon came up with a new piece of wood to use there like a ghost. He had a keen eye. He had a sense of what to do next and what was needed. The carpenter guessed by eye and scratched the side with a chisel.
“How do you fit that?”
“I match it by eye, apply it thinly, and then straighten it.”
“Can you guess by eye? It’s so streamlined.”
“I’ve been doing this my whole life. Wouldn’t it be ridiculous if I couldn’t do it?”
The carpenter’s speech was different from yesterday. He spoke to me in a polite and respectful tone, as if he were talking to a rich man. When he was making one and then another, he even subtly invited Dalcheon to try it. Until yesterday, he had not even let me touch it…
Dalcheon chuckled at the awkward change, but he slowly cut the wood grain because he wanted to do it. Since he couldn’t use a hammer, he used a knife and cut it thinly with force as if he was carving a seal, and it turned out pretty good. The carpenter quickly brought in a new board and attached it, worried that things might go wrong.
The carpenter’s skill is the work of a lifetime. How anxious must the carpenter be when he sees it once and tries to do it. Before he knew that he was the best in the world, he would yell at him and tell him not to do it, and only make him do menial tasks. But when it’s time to respect him, he’s worried that things will go wrong, so he quickly does the important parts himself.
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