As Prophet - Chapter 57



Only Krnovel

Episode 57. New Student Young Ajeossi

When the servants’ quarters were noisy, the children came running. Even though they were all from different houses, they never came alone. They came in pairs of two or three, and then joined up in the neighborhood. Fifteen of them came running, shouting, “Teacher!” and “Master!”

Dalcheon went out to meet the children, leaving behind a difficult matter. While the prince was doing a sort of handover to Baek I-jeong, Dalcheon lined up the children. The children lined up in three rows had shining eyes.

“Wide the gap! Little one further back! Youngest one, line up! Flounder, where are you looking?”

I took care of the children who were glancing at the cart and the army, and then called the army.

“Mister Young! Don’t come! Class is starting.”

The prince turned his head with a dumbfounded expression upon hearing his name called strangely. What was even more ridiculous than the fact that he was called was the order to stand behind the children. Thoughts like, ‘Are they treating me like a little kid?’, ‘Is he supposed to be with the little kid?’ came to mind, but when the instructors approached him, he had no choice but to follow them.

Dalcheon spoke loudly.

“We have a new student. This is Mr. Young. Say hello.”

The children turned around and shouted loudly.

“Hello, Mr. Young!”

They shouted in unison, as if they had already experienced this. The general raised his hand and waved. There was nothing he could do. Dalcheon climbed up onto the podium he had made and shouted again.

“Today, we will start with the Paldan Geum. Those who are here for the first time, please watch the person in front of you and follow along, and I hope the instructor will watch the movements. Let’s go!”

Everyone practiced the Paldan Geum together in the morning sunlight-filled smokehouse. Grand Prince Lee Young followed along, but he knew that it would take decades to do this. That’s why he gave up studying. However, even though he knew that he could do it, these guys wanted to do something that would take a long time. If it would take a long time, and if it would take my whole life, wouldn’t it be right not to do it?

They moved in unison as if dancing, following Dalcheon’s movements. Grand Prince Lee Young thought that the movements were like waves. I tried to do it roughly from behind, but an invisible force, the waves, shook my shoulders and passed by. I couldn’t help but follow along. I followed along one by one, matching my breathing to the precise movements. It was a simple movement, but it took a lot of nerve to do it accurately.

Anyway, I had him do the Paldan Geum exercise twice more and stand facing the eastern sun. I had him do simple movements like raising and lowering his arms about ten times, and then I had him assume a horse riding stance.

“Riding stance, one-shot! Execute!”

“Okay.”

“This is good.”

“Oh my.”

Uncomfortable groans escaped the children’s mouths.

“Put your fingertips together and look into your breathing. Anyone who doesn’t look into it will get a hard punch!”

How can I know whether I see the breath or not? But these guys follow suit. Dozens of deep, long breaths flowed into the air where the whining sound disappeared. That energy encouraged me and made me join in, so the general followed suit.

Before long, sweat began to drip down. The sweat that flowed down from my temples flowed down my neckline. I caught my breath with a sense of foreboding. A small amount of strength flowed out through my breathing and the difficult movements, spreading throughout my body. I felt like I could stay like this all day.

Mukhyeong came over and started to move. It seems that his knees were raised without him realizing it. His face turned red without him realizing it. Mukhyeong whispered softly.

“Watch your breathing, Young.”

“Okay.”

Next was Hobo. He tells people to walk on all fours like animals. The children got down on all fours and started to go first. How is it that four feet are faster than two feet?

After circling the training ground, Dalcheon rang the small bell hanging beside him. When the bell rang, sighs came out here and there, and he circled around again. The army following behind the children felt like it was going to die. It felt like the organs in his body were going backwards and the food he had eaten for breakfast was going to come up into his throat.

The leader takes another lap and the guy grabs the bell again. It looks like he wants to do one more lap.

“You have to do it three times!”

As expected, he encouraged the children and rang a bell. After circling the wide training ground three times, he made them walk the same way three times. It felt like all their joints would break. Mook-hyung followed them closely and made them do strange movements that did not allow their joints to completely bend but instead applied strength to their lower body.

Okay, you’ll follow along for today. From tomorrow, you’ll come after this is over. What will we say if you come a little late?

But Baek I-jeong was following behind me, and she did it three times.

“Please form a line of three. Say ‘whoo, whoo’ and keep your distance from each other. We will march.”

My whole body feels like it’s going to break apart. What kind of swordsmanship is this?

“Everyone, bring your swords.”

The children ran forward, screaming, “Wow!” On one side of the training ground, weapons were lined up under a low, narrow roof. Most of them were made small enough for children to use. They were only a little longer than a kitchen knife. The general also came and stood behind the children, holding one of them.

“Let’s do tax law once. Let’s start.”

Dalcheon started the ritual with his empty hands, as if he was holding a sword, and the children followed suit. But this was not ordinary. The great general was surprised by the children’s spirit, which was stronger than that of a group of capable military officers. The power gathered at the tip of the sword as he swung it, and the blade cut through the air, but it seemed as if there was nothing in the world that it could not cut. He twirled the sword in the air and then suddenly jumped down, and his sharp spirit made my heart sink.

I was having an uneasy feeling that this wouldn’t end in one go, and sure enough, just as it was about to end, Dalcheon rang the small bell again. The children continued from the beginning without saying a word.

“Kid! Hold your sword straight!”

“Flathead, straighten your back!”

Dalcheon pointed out Daegun, saying he didn’t know why only their names were called.

“Mr. Young, straighten your joints. Stretch them all the way down.”

“Mr. Jin Dong-hee, I told you to breathe. Don’t be so noisy. Breathe into your movements. Synchronize them.”

He constantly points out things while doing the tax ceremony. His sharp eyes scan through everything and there is nothing he cannot catch.

The three times of the dance didn’t end with three. I did it a few more times and then took a half-moon break. The guys were so worked up that they collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath. The grand prince’s face turned red. I danced just by following the general form, but I was able to keep up with the others, but these young guys gave it their all.

As he sat down to rest, still keeping his cool, Mukhyeong asked.

“Is it hard, Mr. Young?”

“You’re an old man.”

“I decided to call it that.”

“This is good.”

“Take a deep breath and exhale.”

“Are you done with your morning training?”

“yes.”

“Give the kids real swords?”

“That’s right. There’s also a wooden sword, but that’s only used for sparring. You have to get used to using a real sword from a young age.”

Dalcheon called Mukhyeong.

“Mr. Muk.”

“yes.”

“Today, I will show you Uncle Young and you will lead the sparring. Make sure you wear the protective gear properly.”

“All right.”

Mukhyeong went out to the children. He made them sit in a circle and brought out several protective gear. He dressed them thickly like snowmen and put lime on the end of a blunt wooden sword, and that was it.

“First one to hit wins. If you hit, no additional attacks will be allowed. Little one, flounder, forward!”

Mr. Young, who was sitting exhausted, unintentionally watched the children’s fight. The two children began swinging their swords. But this was not ordinary. Their movements were precise and fast. It could easily turn into a brawl, but they did as they were taught.

Hot and cold!

The sound of swords clashing against swords rang very quickly in my ears. Young-ahjussi opened his eyes wide and then stood up. He sat on all fours like a dog and watched the fight. I thought it would be a fight between children, but the swordsmanship fight was going on correctly, with precise movements and movements. The eyes of the man in charge of the fight were sharp like those of an eagle.

Before the half-turn was complete, the little boy’s sword pierced the flatfish’s stomach. The silent one quickly rang the bell, and the two children fell.

“Little guy wins!”

Mukhyeong briefly explained the before and after of the fight and showed the movements that the flatfish should have made.

“If I had blocked it by twisting my body instead of rushing up here, I would have had an opportunity. It is not a good idea to just block and dodge. You have to block and dodge, but make sure that the next move continues. If I had blocked it like this, the opponent’s weak point would have been right in front of me.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The flatfish nodded and took off its mask. What was interesting was that the children watching also watched with their eyes sparkling. Some children even got up slightly and imitated the movements of the mute.

Mr. Young took a deep breath and looked toward Daejeon. Dalcheon was working again. The pitiful story of having to make up for what was lacking and insufficient with one’s own labor seemed palpable.

He tried to hang a bowstring on the small Donggae Palace and pluck the string, but it seemed that he was not satisfied. He released the bowstring and wrapped the string around the bent bow. The part where he had joined the slingshot seemed to have come loose. He was holding it with force, and the temples of the person concentrating were bloodshot.

He bent the bow in the opposite direction, put the string on, and flicked it, then tilted his head. Something didn’t seem right. He guessed that the next hour would be practice shooting. The sun was rising high.

The fight ends faster than you might think. Since it’s a matter of who wins over whom, it ends quickly depending on the breathing of the two people who face each other, or because of the difference in ability. The task is actually to dress the children in their uniforms. After the fight ended quickly, I was taking the children down, but Mukhyeong stopped Daegun.

“Children, please study here.”

Five adults went to the place where they were practicing the lower article.

“I tried to make it exactly like the knights in the training center, but I made it out of wood and there are a few more of them. They run and hit and pass. The key is to not use too much force.”

“ah!”

Jin Dong-hee ran first, hit three dolls, and passed. The prince remembered his time at the training center. He had also been to the military service examination hall. He thought of those who were not good at hitting while running. Five people took turns hitting the dolls on horseback.

Training among adults made me look much better. The awkwardness I felt with the kids disappeared, and it was training on equal terms for you and me. I hit the doll with the spear that Mukhyeong gave me and passed by. After going around once, Mukhyeong pointed it out.

“You must not cross the line where it is drawn.”

“Is this a test center?”

“They are made exactly the same. The only difference is that they are wooden puppets and there are more puppets.”

“What is the goal of training?”

“It is the Lord’s request that all of them be cut down.”

“All of it?”

No one can whip faster than him on a fast-moving horse and knock down all the wooden dolls.

“What about the crown prince?”

“Yes. He could cut off a dozen heads in one breath, and then quickly stab them one by one, and each and every one of them was a fatal point.”

“Show me an example and I want you to follow along? Heh heh.”

“I can’t be like you, Your Majesty. I try to follow you, but… … .”

The great army slowed down and passed after hitting three. It was an impossible task.

“I don’t think there will be any problem passing the exam in the future.”

“They are making a fuss about whether Jangwon and Tamhwa should be included in the top three.”

“Heh heh.”

While we were talking, Baek I-jeong ran over quickly and passed by with a loud noise.

“You’re good at it.”

“Your Majesty the Grand Prince is also doing well.”

“It was because of those words that I had not made any progress until now. I thought it was true and became satisfied. Before I became wise, I thought I was a great warrior.”

“No way.”

“Everyone said I was good at it, so I thought it was true.”

Mukhyeong whetted his appetite. No matter how much he thought about it, the Grand Prince was not a master. He was just a prince who enjoyed swinging his sword. While the two men were sighing, it was his turn again, and the Grand Prince ran with his spear in his hand.