As Prophet - Chapter 7



Only Krnovel

Episode 7. People who prepare for the future

Dalcheon was tying up those who confessed their sins with aura when the bastard stumbled down. Even though his body was more than halfway turned, he somehow managed to get down. It seemed like he was rolling down.

“I was wrong. I will do as you say. Please spare my life.”

“Listen to your mistakes!”

“If you could just loosen up a little… … .”

Dalcheon shook his head. He had no such intention. Yun Gaedong-i trembled as he told what had happened. Dalcheon secretly put a needle in a few places to prevent him from doing anything else.

They stole the good grains and sank the sacks filled with old rice and straw to destroy the evidence. They had no intention of killing anyone, but in the midst of the fire and the darkness of the night, they panicked and made a mistake. One person was stabbed, and two of the soldiers drowned, but they were not killed.

When asked why he said it was old rice when he was being investigated, he confessed that it was in case some of it was salvaged. He said that he had smuggled the three grains when he stopped over on an island in the South Sea and that they were still there.

He kept shedding tears, but they were definitely not tears of repentance. His body, which had been shedding tears as thick as chicken droppings, relaxed. He handed over a piece of paper, wrote down all the bastard’s wrongdoings, and made him sign it.

“What should I do?”

“As I said. You will be tried, compensated, and punished, and then it will be over.”

He ordered the bow to be brought, lit the bonfire, and shot it high into the sky. Soon after, the soldiers of Hyeon came running. Bi-jang jumped down from his horse, looked at the paper that reported the events before and after, and beat Yun Gae-dong-i like a dog. Human rights are important and people are precious, but in Joseon, criminals are not treated as human beings.

After sending them away and reporting this to the magistrate, he was in tears of joy. He even made plans to find another ship to transport the grain from the island to Hanyang, and sent the men south. One night passed without a trace.

* * *

“How did you do it?”

The spleen asked Dalcheon.

“What would I have done? I rushed at him and grabbed him.”

“You hit him? What about all those subordinates?”

“The ones who rushed in broke somewhere. There must have been quite a few with broken ribs.”

“Does that mean that evil guy is spitting it out so easily?”

“I tried to threaten him politely.”

Dalcheon didn’t say anything about bloodletting or torture.

As the dawn broke, Dalcheon walked slowly back to his lodgings.

“I’m going to rest.”

“Good job.”

Although he was a young priest, he was not visible from below. It was sad to see his small body moving with tired steps, but the long shadow that stretched along the dark wall was that of a giant.

* * *

Dalcheon, who woke up late in the afternoon, looked for water. Since he was using a small room attached to the corridor of the Bijangcheong, his movements seemed to be tangible. He crawled out on all fours to look for water. Who would bring him water, but that day, a government servant ran with a pitcher and a bowl. No, it seemed like he was waiting nearby. He poured water from the pitcher into a bowl and offered him rice.

“You should eat too, Officer Nari.”

The guy rubbed his eyes and looked up at the sky.

“Oh my, it seems like it’s almost noon.”

“You are very late.”

“I told you not to eat it unless it’s the right time.”

“Then should I not bring it in?”

The guy waved his hands hastily.

“Oh, since we’re supposed to eat everything, I have to eat. Please give me some.”

“Her Majesty Nari specially requested this. It is not a three-course meal, but a seven-course meal.”

“Oh! The side dishes have increased. What a joy.”

“He strongly urged us to treat Officer Nari specially.”

The official would often walk back and forth across the yard, then quickly bring the seven-course meal into the room and bring in the rice cakes and tea on separate trays.

Dalcheon briefly washes his face in the soldiers’ hand washing area, then glances inside the secret room.

“why?”

“I was wondering if you were here. It’s a little late.”

“Well, I told you not to touch anyone. I’ve come a long way and done important work… … .”

“I’m sorry. I’ll eat and leave.”

“You can rest.”

“Oh my.”

The boy went into the room smiling. His fellow officers came out to the door and saw him off.

At first, when I brought him here, I had a mental burden because I thought I had to teach him a guy who was lacking, but after bringing him here, I realized that he was lacking in nothing. His martial arts were better than that of a death row inmate, he had memorized martial arts by heart, and he freely performed the 18 martial arts as if he were playing with a toy.

He had some difficulties with the social aspect that he said was the only thing he lacked, but he was able to deal with people without much trouble because of his unique cheerfulness and very restrained manners. Sometimes he would say strange things, which I thought were unrealistic, but when I listened to him and thought he was just saying it, I realized that the officers were just joking.

Above all, his martial arts skills were unparalleled. When he held the sword, it would squeak, and when he swung it, a white silver sword energy would decorate the air. I thought I had brought a troublesome troublemaker, but after a few days, that thought disappeared. He was a different person from us. His martial arts skills were already close to greatness, and his pure and clean personality easily influenced those around him.

Just one thing. Sometimes I had trouble saying weird things, like this:

Is Samshinsan in the East Sea? It’s in the West Sea. It’s a legend of the Central Plains, so if it’s east of the Central Plains, it’s the West Sea, but if you go a little further, isn’t it the sea east of our Joseon?

It is said that when martial arts reach the peak, there is no need to study further. Is that really true? If martial arts are said to be the perfection of a person, then is there such a perfect form?

Is it a good thing to not do what I truly want to do when it goes against propriety? Where can I find the experience I will lose by not doing it?

It may seem like he’s talking nonsense, but if you look closely, you can see that he’s really thinking about the topic. It may seem like an unnecessary question to us, but to him, it seems like he’s approaching it as a life-or-death question and a task.

He had no trouble getting along with people. He was a young man with a pure and clean personality, polite and smart, so no one disliked him. Not only those working in the Bijangcheong but also those working inside and outside the county office liked him. It was also a part where it was hard to understand why the teacher said that he had to gain social experience, since responding to the favors of many people was a daily routine for the boy.

I felt heavy-hearted when I was told to keep him for two or three years, but in reality, when I thought about it carefully, there was almost nothing that was burdensome.

He took the lead in difficult and hard work, so many soldiers in the area followed him. Even though he was young, they respectfully called him “Officer” and followed him. What can I say, he had a talent for drawing out the goodwill of others. He was a man who always had a smile on his face. He naturally smiled when talking, and sometimes he smiled when he was alone, so much so that it made you wonder if he was lacking.

Although it is in the Bijangcheong, its main job is military affairs. In peaceful times, since there have been no invasions by foreign enemies for over a hundred years, there was nothing to do for the county’s military affairs. Even the daily summons were mostly mobilized for things like the construction of the town wall, the repair of the gate, and the repair of the bridge, so it was considered as fulfilling a duty.

However, the guy trained the soldiers from time to time. When they gathered, he trained them in formation at least once before mobilizing them for service. He repeatedly explained that he was sorry for making them do the service when they were out for military service.

Moreover, even though the military had fallen to the level of the local self-defense force, they regularly opened their weapons depots to clean and repair their weapons and armory.

The same was true for horses. The whereabouts of horses mobilized for war were identified and regularly managed, and it was often pointed out that they were military horses. They went to nearby post stations to emphasize that they were horses mobilized for war and checked their management status.

Training practically managed each role necessary to form a formation. In keeping with the characteristics of the Joseon army that valued archers, they were made to practice shooting every time they trained. If they didn’t have time, they were made to draw an empty bow. The pengbaesu and janggeomsu, whom everyone hated, were separately designated and trained the most intensely. They were made to practice hitting walls while holding shields, and to run to block after forming a line of five or ten people.

All soldiers were allowed to play the role of archers and longswordsmen, and were made to perform swordsmanship when they gathered. Even though swordsmanship by ordinary people without any background was nothing more than a military dance, swordsmanship was always performed at the beginning and end.

They used the uncultivated wasteland as pasture, and tried to make up for the severe shortage of horses by any means possible. They tried to create a small, heavily armored cavalry corps of the early Joseon Dynasty that combined the mobility of cavalry and the firepower of archers.

This kind of person… … Usually, he should be praised as being sincere, but the peace was too long. Sometimes he was treated as someone who didn’t know the ways of the world. He was someone who, when the times were not like that, was obsessed with topics that had long been forgotten, someone who was preparing for a future that had not yet come and probably would not come.

At first, most requests were rejected as being unreasonable, but as they were done one by one, the county’s military changed from a self-defense force to an army with offensive capabilities. In the peaceful Joseon Dynasty, Gyeongsan County may be the only place where an army of several hundred people was formed from a place with only a few thousand people.

It was entirely his fault that he had maintained the army in a small county quite far away, even if it was far to the north or south. According to him, it was a duty and something he had to do. He had done it by persuading his colleagues and subordinates with his characteristic affability. However, it was a useless army, and the peace lasted only a short time.

* * *

After a long time, I sat down on the porch in front of his room where he always sat. I was worried that something might get on my back as I leaned against the clean whitewashed wall.

“Why? Why are you out there?”

Did he put his eyes on the outside? He asked why he was sitting on the porch in front of my room when he obviously couldn’t see. If it was an unmanned person’s sense of smell, it wouldn’t be hard to notice, but since he had been living in the lower world for a long time, his sense of smell had become worn out and weak. Since I didn’t notice his presence very well, I tended to assume that he was the same.

“I’m waiting for you to come out after eating.”

“You told me to rest. If nothing happens, I’ll just roll around and sleep.”

“Then there’s nothing we can do.”

But since he didn’t wake up, the guy opened the door. He was eating inside, and he opened the door easily. It looks like his arms have gotten longer.

“why?”

“I’m just grateful… … I didn’t expect things to end this well. I was worried and anxious about what was to come, but thanks to you, things ended easily.”

Dalcheon tapped the table briefly with his chopsticks. Crackle.

“It’s not over yet.”

“Of course. The trial must be held, the crimes and punishments of the bastards must be clearly defined, and the Segok must be safely transported to Gyeongchang… … There’s a mountain of work to be done.”

“Not only that, there is a mastermind behind this.”

“back?”

“There was a warrior among Yun Gaedong’s people. He was not a warrior that a country ship owner could lead. Of course, in the eyes of the death penalty, he was just a poor swordsman, but he seemed to be a member of the sword world. There didn’t seem to be any particular connection, but I am concerned.

Above all, this incident was not something that a fool like Yoon Gaedong could have done. Someone’s instigation, or should I say guidance? There was something like that. A powerful politician in Hanyang shook up the thoughtless Yoon Gaedong, and it seems like he even supported people.”