As Prophet - Chapter 43
Only Krnovel
Episode 43. Schoolboy Admission
It was a coincidence that Hodong’s father took his ten-year-old son to Yangju Hakgwan. He didn’t have any great hopes. He had been thinking about sending him to a seodang since the winter solstice, but he was busy with other things and didn’t have a chance. He heard that a school had opened just as he was thinking about visiting a seodang, so he left the village. Farmers were busy working everywhere in the fields full of spring air, and wild flowers were in full bloom as if to celebrate the footsteps of the two.
Hodong, holding the child’s hand, tried to read the sign that his father could not read, and turned his body at the fierce momentum he felt from above. What the two found was a man and a woman swinging swords in front of the tent to the east and west. It was a terrifying swordsmanship that could not be compared to the swordsmen of the county. The wind blew, and the silver blade reflected the sunlight in tens of thousands of gestures. The splendid and delicate sword fluttered like a celestial maiden’s clothes.
“wow!”
“Ahh!”
The rich man shouted.
“Oh, this looks like it’s real.”
“Father, I want to study here.”
“Okay.”
Dalcheon, who was loitering at the end of the training ground and found two people blankly watching, quickly walked out.
“How did you come here?”
He is young and energetic, but has a lively and sturdy appearance.
“Yes, I am Hodong’s father who lives in Eunmok Village down there. My child is old enough to go to a private school. I was wondering where to send him, and then I heard that Baekgajang opened a good school, so I came here.”
“Oh, it’s this kid. How old is he?”
“I am eleven years old this new year.”
“I think he’s ten years old.”
“Children grow up so quickly.”
The father, worried that the child would not be accepted because he was too young, lied about the child’s age by one year. At that moment, a horse came up from below, dragging a thick log. One side of the long log was tied with a rope, and the person dragging it staggered badly on the slope.
“What is that?”
“We’re building a building. Ahaha! There’s no building yet.”
Dalcheon showed me the barracks with his hands. My father took a deep breath at the grandeur of the barracks, which were shabby but well-made. The white tents against the blue sky high above looked like they would fly into the sky.
“I just managed to get some land a few days ago. I didn’t have time to build a house. Hahaha. Just wait.”
He guided the two men to the practice range. Dalcheon chose a small sword from among the several he had carved and handed it to the boy.
“If there’s anything you know how to do, try it.”
The boy smirked and swung his sword while shouting, “Hey! Hey!” It was a sword without any rules. If you did that in the alley, you’d get hit.
“Haha, it worked.”
“… … .”
“Have you taken down the Thousand Character Classic?”
“no.”
“i get it.”
Dalcheon smiled brightly and guided his father into the barracks.
“It is best to start when you are young. Send it to me every morning at the end of the dragon hour. I will send it to you in the afternoon.
Our school aims to pass the military service examination. We teach eighteen martial arts, including swordsmanship, archery, and spearmanship, as well as horse riding and archery while riding a horse.”
“Oh, yes.”
“We will have them read and recite the martial arts to develop the qualities of a commander. We will study the classics for the civil service examination, and it will be no worse than a village school.”
“Oh, yes.”
Dalcheon called the child over and measured his height. He was planning to prepare a sword and spear that would match the child’s height. He measured the length of his arms and patted his head.
“You look so brave.”
“Hehehe.”
“Come early tomorrow morning. You have to come every day, and you can’t be late when you come.”
“Yes, Master.”
After seeing off the two rich men, I sat down in the barracks. What if there were one person? What if there were two? It is a matter of fate forming and unraveling. The whole of one person’s life is coming together in an encounter.
That was the first, and before the day was over, two more came. Dalcheon captivated the hearts of the fathers and mothers by explaining what they would study, introducing the school he was building, and talking about the contents of the studies related to passing the military service examination.
It goes without saying that the two people’s studies, which were practiced one million twenty-one times, were deeply engraved in people’s minds. In addition, people’s favorability increased because of the feeling of a wide and energetic land without buildings. It was a land with an unmanned spirit that seemed to arrogantly look down on the world. It was an empty land with only the ground leveled, but a blue wind blew, and the sky was clear as ice.
* * *
The next morning, early, three boys arrived. They were about the same age, ten or eleven. Dalcheon had Mukhyeong teach the children the basics of tax law.
“Me?”
“I demonstrate and teach them one by one, and then later on I teach them to do it as a connected movement. So the goal is to be able to do the three laws of motion one at a time.”
Mukhyeong held back the words, “Then what do you do?” with difficulty. He had been feeling like he was looking into his inner thoughts for some time now, and he had been controlling his inner thoughts. As expected, he answered something Dalcheon had not asked.
“I’m going to prepare for archery. Those kids don’t have bows to use. I can’t even cast a bow.”
“Oh, yes.”
“First, show them, then have them do it the second time, and then correct them the third time. If they don’t do it right, show them again, have them do it, and then correct them. It’s easy.”
“What if it repeats forever?”
“Ah, ah! Before we do that, we need to warm up. Let them do horseback riding, duck walking, and tiger walking, that is, walking on all fours. Since it’s the first day, don’t do it too hard.”
“All right.”
I almost said, ‘Loyalty!’ because I felt that the young boy’s thoughts were strong.
Dalcheon called Baek Ijeong.
“why?”
I was angry because he didn’t teach me how to study and told me to repeat it, but I couldn’t say anything. But when I tried to ask for something, he immediately responded with a harsh response.
It would have been right to say something like, “Did you call me?” I thought it was too much, so I smiled bashfully. I knew that this smile would make me look like an idiot, but I couldn’t help it. It’s like spilled water, and it can’t be picked up.
“What’s not working?”
“I am working hard.”
“It is difficult for a woman’s strength. One million and twenty-one times.”
“So you’re not saying it can’t be done? If it doesn’t work after a million and twenty-one tries, I’ll just do it!”
The words still just flow out.
“What day is it now? At this rate, the sword should be glowing.”
“No way.”
“It only takes a moment to reach another level.”
“You didn’t call me to criticize me for not making any progress, did you?”
I didn’t mean to do this, but a few days of hardship make a person sharp. If I do it any more, I become dull… … Dalcheon advised me to rest.
“It might help to take a break.”
“Just rest?”
“No. I heard there’s a craftsman who makes bows in the village across the street.”
“But?”
“Um… … I need to teach the children to practice, but I can’t do it with an adult bow.”
I can see the before and after. It is necessary to rest. It is because of my need. The world does not look right due to the hardships of the past few days.
“Buy three or four bows that children can shoot, small in size and that require less pulling force.”
“There is no bow that size. We will probably have to make one.”
“Then let’s do that.”
“It’s there if you go to the city hall in Hanyang.”
“If it looks like we can’t get it here, I’ll send someone to get it for you.”
“If it doesn’t work out, I’ll go and come back.”
Dalcheon hit the log chair I was sitting on with a loud noise.
“I told you to take a short break. If you waste a day like that, all the studying you’ve done so far will go back to the beginning. Just go to the village across the street and come back.”
“Okay, but you’re not giving me money?”
He said that even though he knew that he didn’t have it. He didn’t teach it to me and instead made me repeat the same thing, so I felt bad for him. Dalcheon blinked. I guess I’m lacking in this area. He probably doesn’t even know how much the bow costs.
“I see. You don’t have any money. Well, then I’ll just go back to studying. Go and do it one million twenty-one times.”
Baek Yi-jeong sighed when he was told to rest more after taking a short break, but to do it again. After several days of forced marching, his whole body was in shambles. He didn’t even have the strength to lift chopsticks. He wanted to rest. Running errands was an opportunity to rest without worrying about what others thought.
“I’ll try to do something with my own money. You’ll have to pay me back later.”
Dalcheon laughed brightly.
“Okay, write it down there.”
Dalcheon pointed to a thick tree that was erected in the center of the tent. Baek Yijeong got up and looked at the thick tree. There were many people’s expenses written in a tight manner. I was about to say, “That guy is tight,” but stopped myself. It was because it felt like he could read people’s minds.
“Are you doing this without a single penny?”
“Whew, that’s right. Hehehe.”
“Don’t even think about going somewhere and doing business or anything.”
“They say that’s the fastest and most accurate way to make money.”
“There are people who can do it, and there are people who can’t.”
“Am I a bad person?”
“Absolutely not.”
“But that doesn’t mean you can climb to a high position.”
“What does that mean?”
“Someone once said that the easiest way to make money is to climb up high and swing your weight around.”
“It is a crime.”
“But they don’t arrest them. I think it’s a crime, but they all say they do it and make a living.”
“Whew. The way of the Taoist is to pretend not to know the bad things in the world.”
“Oh, I’m thinking of catching a tall guy and stabbing him in the side. I don’t have much money.”
“It’s better to not think about anything and just focus on teaching the children. Even now, the children are being taught by Mukhyeong.”
“He is someone who can teach well enough. And while teaching, you can reflect on yourself. No matter how hard you try, things that you couldn’t do, once you stand in a different position while teaching, you can clearly see your mistakes.”
“Oh, so it had such a deep meaning?”
“There was a need.”
Talking about it would only prolong the useless conversation. Baek Yi-jeong got up and headed toward the empty stable. He got on his horse and galloped west without looking back.
She returned an hour later and put down five small bows. Dalcheon was building a firing platform on one side of the training ground.
The carpenters took the leftover wood and made it into something that looked like a rag woven together in a haphazard manner.
“I bought a bow.”
“Oh! As expected, it’s Miss Baek. Thank you.”
“What are you doing?”
I ask even though I know. When we first settled in, we said we would make this place a place for the children.
“We are creating a four-legged race.”
“It looks a bit odd.”
“This should be level… … . Phew.”
“You asked the carpenter.”
“I’ll do it right away. Hahaha, the carpenters are building a house.”
“You are in too much of a hurry.”
Dalcheon stretched his body and stood up straight. He turned slightly to see if his back was sore, but his gaze was directed toward the target. He had tied up the wood in a haphazard manner and hung several dirty bags that he had picked up somewhere. How could he possibly be this bad even if he had no skills?
“Are you going to make the target like this too?”
“Hehehe. It should have a plank, but with my skills… … .”
But in order to make things happen, he is determined to do it himself. Baek I-jeong pointed to the main barracks.
“Would you like to see the bow first?”
“Ah! I see.”
On one side, three boys were performing the three laws in succession. Dalcheon looked at Baek Ijeong as he watched the children.
“why?”
“Just like that.”
Baek Yi-jeong asked pointedly.
“I’m not that different from them, am I?”
“No. How much of a difference does one more swing make?”
The bow was in good condition. It was a small bow, like a toy. The bow was bent in the opposite direction to make a bowstring. It was a flat bow.
“That’s a nice bow.”
“… … .”
“But how could there have been five of these?”
“It seems like they knew a school would be built.”
Baek Yi-jeong’s attitude has been unpleasant for the past few days. I wondered if it had something to do with her tired body, but she never responds kindly to anything.
Dalcheon closed his eyes. So he thought, ‘Isn’t it bad for a woman to be in a military uniform?’ He thought that he should tell her to leave after a while, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he comforted her for her hard work and let her rest.
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