As Prophet - Chapter 60



Only Krnovel

Episode 60. The Young Student

At the fork in the road, several people split up and a young boy entered the side road on the opposite side with a view of Mt. Geomdan across the river.

“This way.”

“Oh, it’s just a mountain.”

“There is a path between that mountain and that peak.”

“Wow, there’s no end to the valleys!”

After passing through a narrow, winding road and passing a hill, a small basin appeared between the mountains. It was a beautiful place where six or seven houses were huddled together, and a terraced rice field built on a steep slope slowly ascended. The water in the rice-planted rice field reflected the sunlight like silver.

“Your house is over there!”

“Yes. It’s the house in the middle.”

The little boy gestured in the direction with his hand and ran wildly. The two men followed him, walking faster. The little boy shouted in the yard of the house with a clean thatched roof that had been newly put up this spring.

“Mom… …! The governor is here! Mom!”

A woman with her head wrapped in a white cloth came out, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand.

“Hello. This is Dalcheon from Yangju Academy.”

“Oh, aren’t you the Lord?”

“Haha. I stopped by for a moment to discuss something.”

“Oh, yes. What… … .”

The little boy held his mother’s hand and dangled, then he smiled and gently grabbed the cheek of a younger girl who was following him out of the kitchen.

“He’s my little brother. He’s nine now! Hahaha.”

Dalcheon smiled brightly and took a quick look around the house.

“What about the adults outside?”

“I went out to work.”

The little girl’s mother pointed to a place not far away, beyond a low earthen wall.

“Over there.”

Dalcheon looked back at Baek Ijeong and asked.

“Shall I wait?”

Lee Jeong shakes his head.

“No. Mother, you are about to go out to the field with a new knife. Your father is in the field.”

The little girl’s mother nodded vigorously.

“Then let’s go together. It would be good to go and talk together.”

“Oh, yes, I see.”

“Please wait a moment.”

The little girl’s mother went into the kitchen, and her younger brother followed her, holding onto her mother’s skirt. After a while, she came out carrying a large basket covered with a tablecloth. Dalcheon stepped aside, so she led the way.

Behind the mother, two younger sisters followed, and the little one ran like a squirrel next to the ridge. The rice field was not far away because it was between the mountains. A healthy man in his 40s was tending to the rice field where he had planted rice seedlings. His face was dark as he straightened his back. Dalcheon greeted him while he was putting down a new crop on the grass at the end of the ridge.

“Hello. This is Dalcheon from Yangju Academy.”

“hello.”

He shook off the dirt on his hands, washed them roughly in the paddy water, and then went up to the grass field. His mother had already spread out a basket full of new rice and divided up the food for him.

“I came here because I have something to tell you.”

“What did our child do wrong again?”

“No, you’re too good.”

“Oh, yes, that’s great. Thank you always.”

Dalcheon spoke with difficulty.

“It’s nothing else than that I want my child to live in the school’s dormitory.”

You don’t seem to know what fortune telling is, but you know what eating and sleeping are.

“Aren’t you coming home?”

“It’s time to study more deeply. I want to study at night, too. That’s why I want to be allowed to stay overnight.”

Mother looked at Father’s face.

“I thought I had an accident again.”

“No, I’m good at it.”

“Wouldn’t that be expensive? If you were living at home, you could just earn a little extra money, but you’d have to pay for the cost of living at the school.”

The answer was given by Baek I-jeong.

“It won’t cost that much. Just put one more there like you put a rice bowl here.”

A shadow fell over my father’s face. He cannot be free from the problems of cost and money.

“Actually, I have an older child. He goes to a village school across the street. I also need to send my second child, the youngest, but I couldn’t send him because it was too much of a burden. But then a school opened and the cost was cheaper, so I sent him just in case. It’s still difficult, and I can’t bear the burden any longer.”

It wasn’t a rejection, but it sounded like a rejection. Father lowered his head. If he said another word, tears would fall from his dark face. Dalcheon swallowed hard, and his mother offered him rice. It was a small bowl of rice, completely filled with barley.

Baek Yi-jeong smiled gently and picked up the rice bowl.

“I’m not here to make money. The governor is very interested in the education of children, and he pays more attention to children who are doing well. The little one is doing very well, and this is a very important time. I will try to figure out how to handle the cost, so please don’t worry too much, and I hope you will allow the child to stay here.”

“As you can see, the fields are in the mountains, so the yields are not very good. It was only yesterday that we had a very hard time until the barley came out.”

“Yes, I know.”

Dalcheon closed his eyes. Poverty is everywhere. It was his mother who changed the direction of the conversation.

“Is our little one that good?”

“Yes. Now is the important part.”

“Are you going to pass the military service exam later?”

“It will be more than that.”

The future is unknown. But that is what happens when you do nothing. If there is a possibility, and if you put in the effort, wouldn’t it be something that can predict the future of an unknown person?

“Then we must do it. We must do it right away.”

Dalcheon looked at his father, who was bowing his head. He was poor, and he did not have the money to send his child to a private school. It was not his fault at all, but he saw it all as his fault because he was looking at his child’s life. He knew all too well that he could do nothing for his child’s life.

The father’s expression was distorted with discomfort, but he could not bear to look at the strong-willed woman. Dalcheon spoke earnestly.

“I’m not trying to make more money. Just send me enough grain for this guy to eat here. Soon, our situation will improve.”

“Is that okay?”

“I was more worried that you might be concerned about letting him sleep outside.”

“… … .”

“I’ll make it a point to come home once every ten days. Once my studies get back on track, I think I can go back to doing what I’m doing now.”

“Thank you. Thank you.”

The couple offered food. All they could do was push the tray full of side dishes towards them.

The green land bathed in sunlight outside the thin shade was as soft as a mother’s embrace.

“Oh, the new one is delicious.”

“Everything tastes good when you eat out. What about in the school?”

“The kitchen lady makes it, but if she doesn’t have it, then just… … No. I’ll definitely make it from now on.”

The wife responded with a soft smile. They knew each other’s shortcomings better than anyone else. Dalcheon gently stroked the little boy’s head. He felt much lighter because he had easily obtained permission.

Dalcheon, who was looking at the rows of rice paddies, licked his lips. He thought that he didn’t have to do this, that he didn’t have to work like this, but it’s not good to interfere with other people’s lives. It’s arrogant.

“If we find some fields later, could you please give them to us?”

“Of course.”

If you add another field while farming, you can produce more grain. So the land of the adjacent field is really valuable, but it is unfortunate that there are not many. I was about to say that Dalcheon should be reclaimed, but I stopped myself. It was because I thought it would be impossible to even think about going up to the steeper slope.

The meal consisted of barley rice, kimchi, two kinds of salted seafood, and pickled spring vegetables, but it was so delicious.

“We had a delicious meal. We’ll just get up and go. When he comes tomorrow, just pack some clothes for him. There are blankets.”

“Oh, yes, Your Majesty.”

The two couples kept bowing.

* * *

Since you walked, you have to walk back. Baek I-jeong asked on the way back.

“Is that guy that good?”

It’s not just simple curiosity. I’ve started studying, so I’m curious about how things are going, and I’m worried because a brat says he’s good at it.

“I have already practiced the Iljucheon. I plan to practice the Bukdu method in quiet times.”

“The North Star?”

“If you take in the energy of the sun, moon, and stars, you will go a little faster.”

“I want to do that too.”

“Well, Miss Baek, it would be better to do as you are doing now.”

“Why? Don’t I have to study more deeply?”

Dalcheon read the complaint mixed with a bit of rebellion. He answered with a bright smile that he never showed before.

“Each person has a different temperament. Their horoscopes are different. Therefore, the best times and methods are bound to be different. You know that flatfish? It doesn’t help much for that child to practice swordsmanship in the morning. After noon is better. However, since the schedule is like that, there was no other way. Everyone is different. I think it’s right to say it’s different. Even Miss Baek is different. It’s better to do it now. I’ll tell you separately when you need to study something else. For now, just focus on swordsmanship as you have been doing. Combine swordsmanship practice with swordsmanship.”

But the explanation is in the past tense.

“Oh, yes. Then what about the plan for the flounder?”

She smiles brightly again. I can’t say anything else because of her pure, untainted smile.

“I’m thinking about it. I think there might be a way.”

On the way back, we walked around Guinea Dorandoran, chatting about the past. The green Han River flows over the green grass on the embankment. Over the black mountains, clouds float against the blue sky.

“And don’t think about anything and just focus on your studies. Thinking too much isn’t good. I think that’s also a characteristic of Lady Baek… … .”

“There must be a way, right?”

“When you start to have wandering thoughts, try doing something else, like practicing your breathing, swinging a sword, or reading sutras. You’ll quickly see what works best for you.”

“You’re telling me not to be stupid and focus on just one thing.”

“Hehehe, it’s similar. Oh, and walking also helps. You can’t have no thoughts at all, but it’s not good if your worries get in the way of your studies.”

It’s obvious. Anyone can say it, but it sounds new because it’s a prescription based on Dalcheon’s medical examination.

“I also want to become a martial artist who transcends boundaries like Confucius Dalcheon.”

“That will happen.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Even if it’s just a joke, it’s good talk. During the conversation, all the complaints I had until then just melted away.

“I will work hard.”

“I’m rooting for you.”

* * *

A few days later, three officers knocked on the door.

“How did you come here?”

“I came here upon the introduction of the training center’s Dojeong elders.”

Why was the little guy there?

“Please wait a moment.”

The guy came running like a squirrel.

“Your Majesty! Three officers have arrived with the introduction of the training center’s Dojeong Elder. Please wait a moment.”

“… …Why are you guarding the gate?”

“I thought that a guy who eats and sleeps should do something.”

Dalcheon’s gaze became clouded with loneliness. It was clear that a sense of debt had developed in his young mind. It was a change that had occurred while he was living there.

“The school is there for the students. We don’t ask students to do any other work.”

Baek I-jeong, who was placing a book on the bookshelf next to him, laughed and took the little boy’s hand and walked to one side.

“How can I understand you if you speak so difficultly? Don’t do that anymore! If you keep harassing me for the price of food, I’ll kill you.”

“Profit! Why?”

“I gave you room and board so that you could focus on your studies. But if you do something to earn money for food during that time, it won’t be worth it.”

“yes.”

“You are not a slave here. You are not a gatekeeper. You are a student! A student like any other! Do you understand?”

“yes.”

“The answer is small. Okay?”

“yes……!”

Dalcheon laughed heartily and called the little boy.

“Okay, since you’re a guest, would you mind showing me here? Let’s just stop there.”

“Yes, your Majesty.”

Baek I-jeong, who is older and a woman, is better at dealing with children. Dal-cheon tends to treat them too much like adults.

“I will keep an eye on the level of study… … .”

“What again?”

Dalcheon scratched the back of his head and went out to the main hall.