As Prophet - Chapter 71



Only Krnovel

Episode 71. Hunting Part 1

First, Yang Ju-hyeon’s secretaries came to find out the possibility of admission. They asked if he could study at the next civil service examination even though he couldn’t enter right away due to work.

Dalcheon emphasized that martial arts should be practiced consistently on a daily basis, and especially that advanced strategy and tactics books such as Mu-gyeong should be studied for a long time to have the tactical ability of an actual commander. He emphasized that it is really difficult to come to the exam a few months before and expect to pass, so you should come and start studying with determination.

Jin Dong-hee was in office, so he came only in the morning or afternoon to study, and when the exam date was near, he studied while eating and sleeping. It was the consideration of the magistrate. He was also waiting for an appointment to a government post, so he did not go to Yangju but stayed at the school.

Cheolmuwoong was quickly decided to be promoted to the same position due to his experience in escorting the Grand Prince. He was promoted by three levels from the 8th rank Bongsa (奉事, equivalent to a sergeant or master sergeant) to the 7th rank Chamgun (參軍, equivalent to a first lieutenant). Since he was an officer who was already working, the promotion was easily confirmed. And as Cheolmuwoong had requested, he was allowed to continue escorting the Grand Prince without being transferred to another location.

Cheolmuwoong came to Yangju Academy a few days after the announcement of his passing.

“So, how much did your salary go up?”

“You’ll know when you get it. And the salary is just so-so. It’s not that much.”

“I guess I can afford to pay more for tuition.”

“Your Majesty, I am no longer a student. I am a teacher who teaches school children.”

“Oh my! So you’re saying you won’t study martial arts anymore? True martial arts come from my own studies.”

“Ugh.”

Dalcheon persistently found out about the military officer’s salary and urged him to pay more in school fees.

“I thought I had gained wisdom from outside the world and had little interest in money.”

“I’m not really interested… … It’s just that it costs a lot of money to run this school. I also need to build a warehouse down there.”

“So, are you emphasizing money in order to maintain the school?”

“I can’t just stick my finger out and wait for it to come out.”

“It would be better to accept the gifts from those who help you.”

* Receiving a gift: Receiving a gift. If an official held a central government post, he would receive gifts from local officials, and conversely, if he held a local government post, he would send gifts to central government officials.

“It sounds nice, but it’s a bribe. They demand a reward later. I have nothing to offer and I have no intention of doing so, so what can I do if they ask me to give it to them? Above all, if I receive the wrong money and my education is disrupted, then I really can’t handle it.”

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with receiving gifts. So, why don’t you think of it as a custom in poor countries?”

“Oh, I don’t think there’s any help without a price. So… … Well, I’m definitely going to take it from those who passed this time. I understand that you’ll take all of the first month’s salary.”

“Oh, how much is that? It’s really small. And there are frequent salary reductions. For example, there’s a reduction for a famine, or for preparing money to entertain a Chinese envoy. There are more months when I don’t get paid properly than when I get paid properly.”

* Salary reduction: Reducing the salaries of government officials across the board due to financial constraints.

“Whew! We’ve only just started, and you’re already making that sound like you’re dying. And the manager doesn’t live off his salary, right? Right?”

Although Cheolmuwoong tried to avoid him for various reasons, he could not refuse Dalcheon’s stubborn request. And he could not blush on this good day when all the successful candidates from the past were gathered, so he accepted most of the requests. After that, he envied the two people who were leaving.

Dalcheon suggested a feast. Even if we bring everything we have and nothing we don’t have, it’s not worth it. We started with nothing. Mukhyeong suggested hunting, and they decided to go with the traditional way of catching animals, offering them, and sharing the food. In the afternoon when the children returned home, everyone took up their bows and went out. It was the prince’s suggestion that they set the location around Yanggeun’s Geumwon.

“Golden money is the property of the country, so it cannot be done, and there is a lot of it around there. Since we hunt often in the gold, these guys run away to the edge, and these animals know the boundary incredibly well. The animals must also have spirituality.”

“There’s a lot of prey around Geumwon?”

“Yes.”

“Oh! Then you won’t get caught, right?”

“Even though it’s so vain, he is still the great general of this country. Would you really capture him?”

“The more this happens, the more we must obey the law.”

It was right after the children were sent away that ten of the school officials rode horses to Yanggeun. The well-known Mukhyeong led the way, and the three musketeers of the training center followed them, their eyes wide open at the mention of hunting.

“That round mountain over there is Geumwon. You must not go beyond that.”

Dalcheon gathered his party after hearing Mukhyeong’s explanation.

“What should we do? Should we gather them and catch them in one place, or should we do them separately?”

When Dalcheon asked about the method, the nine people looked at each other. Baek Ijeong asked Dalcheon.

“What would you like me to do, Your Majesty?”

“If you think of this as work, it’s a bone-crushing job. If you think of it as a game, it’s a very healthy game. How about we each do our part and give a good drink to the person who catches the most?”

“Is this a good drink?”

The general thrust his horse’s head in and asked.

“Um… … It was given to me by my father. He happened to dig up a hundred-year-old deodeok or aster, soaked it in alcohol, and left it to age for a long time. It was a medicinal herb he found by chance, but he said he couldn’t sell it because it got crushed while digging it up.”

“Hasuo! Hundred-year-old Hasuo!”

The Grand Prince’s eyes grew as big as lanterns, and after a moment they flashed with a very cunning gleam.

“If it’s a product of that level, wouldn’t it be right for us to make a bet?”

Even though they are the same students, they are not the same. That is what the Grand General said. The three people in the training center are exactly like that, and the atmosphere is tilted towards individual hunting.

“Understood. We will hunt individually. Please make sure to retrieve the arrows. There aren’t many. I hope there won’t be any unfortunate incidents of shooting at our own team. Please don’t put poison on the arrows. We have to eat them, so we can’t put poison on them. Etc.”

He kept nagging at the thought that someone might say he was a coffin master. He stopped when Baek Ui-hyeong said, “Aren’t you going to hunt?”

“I’ll catch you in one sec. Someone said earlier that even animals have spirits, so… … Well, you don’t have to catch too many. I’ll give a drink called deodeok or hasuo to the person who catches the biggest one. Ahahaha, let’s go!”

At Dalcheon’s signal, nine people scattered in all directions.

Daegun and Mukhyeong saw the group disappear and went around the mountain and entered Geumwon. There was no reason for the two of them to go anywhere else, leaving Geumwon, which was a good place to hunt.

The three members of the training center looked around furtively and headed north, while Jin Dong-hee and Cheol Mu-woong ran towards a nearby low mountain. Baek I-jeong looked around and followed Baek Ui-hyeong, and the two of them formed a group and headed east.

Dalcheon tied the reins at the starting point. He ran as if he was going to work hard, but he was completely different. I didn’t seem to have any intention of hunting. I sat down peacefully and looked up at the blue sky with white clouds floating. I looked at the mountains, fields, and forests and settled down in a shaded place with a good view. I gathered dry grass to make a place to sit, and cut a dry branch and made a white cloth like a flag.

“Phew.”

Another part passes. Now that the first successful candidate has emerged, the school will start to work in earnest. Dalcheon asked himself in a low voice.

‘Are you doing well?’

Suddenly, I regretted not bringing the children along. They are too young to ride, but if I let them ride in front of me, they would be able to experience the joy of hunting…

Hunting is not just a game. It should be considered a kind of combat training. You have to be sharp-eyed to find the movement of the beast, and you have to be able to estimate the direction of the drive so that you can shoot from the best position. You can ride a horse and run through the forest and fields, but you may also have to climb a mountain. You have to do everything in your daily life while on horseback.

Dalcheon recalled and compared the hunting scenes of the Jurchen people of Liaodong. They were organized, quick, and skilled in shooting. He had already determined that the clumsy men of Joseon would not be able to catch much. It would be a good thing if they caught a rabbit or a deer.

I sat up straight and sat cross-legged. Studying on good ground makes good progress. I decided to study my breathing for an hour, and then I closed my eyes and quietly immersed myself in myself. The energy swirling inside me quickly became calm, and a bright red energy arising from my warm dantian went up my spine. It quickly went up to the Baekhoe, then glowed white and came down to the front. In a few breaths, the small circulatory system was formed. While I was going around and around again and repeating it several times, a white ray of light leaked out from the back of the Dalcheon.

* * *

Meanwhile, the two men who entered Geumwon as soon as they started rode their horses to the place where they usually hunted. It was a place that the country used only when it was conducting a large-scale military campaign, and was usually off-limits to the general public. For them, who had come in to avoid the eyes of the government, hunting was almost the only pleasure they could have.

“That side would be better.”

“Yes, I saw a whole family of deer the other day.”

When I pointed to the place where the forest and the grassland met, Mukhyeong took the lead. The animal’s excrement was gathered in handfuls in the dry grass. The wounds on the tree bark were deep, as if the tree had been rubbed with horns.

“This is the path they take.”

It is competition. They added a prize to the competition. The owner may be a little careless, but he probably wouldn’t have played around with the prize. The herbal medicine that the parents gave him wasn’t of poor quality. The fact that it is said to be 100 years old means that there is room for reconsideration. No matter how long it is aged, deodeok cannot last 100 years. I don’t know how they calculated the time, but if it is over a few decades, it is not deodeok but hasuo.

“What should I do?”

“We only have one hour left. We can’t wait.”

“It’s a road that I come across maybe once a day. I don’t even know if I’ll come every day.”

“Well, I guess I’d better bring it.”

“You want me to wait here?”

“Wouldn’t that be better?”

“Let’s do this. How about you drive from the east and I drive from the west, centered on this sign?”

“That would be good too. Then I’ll go over there.”

Two men took out their bows, strung them, prepared several arrows, and then mounted their horses.

“Let’s go.”

“Ughhh.”

As Mukhyeong moved away from the forest, he turned far to the east. He met the soldiers guarding the gold field and explained the situation, and told them that the Great Prince was hunting. He raised the slogan of “Loyalty” and ran east, leaving those who retreated behind. In the distance, he could see the Great Prince advancing westward.

I went to the path they took, holding a long stick. It was the Golden Forest, which I could find even with my eyes closed. The green leaves swayed in the wind, reflecting the sunlight whitely. The foreground and background of the forest full of leaves moved in a jumble. The entire large forest seemed to flow like water.

The silence slowly killed the speed and expanded the senses. The intervals between the sound of horse hooves became longer. He held his breath and listened. There was nothing.

No. The forest is alive. It is just invisible to my eyes and imperceptible to my senses.