As Prophet - Chapter 164



Only Noblemtl

Episode 164. In the Darkness

As if walking through a bright moonlit yard, the feeling of Dalcheon spread across the floor, and Mukhyeong slowly returned. Another wave was spreading out in concentric circles from the center of the palace where Dalcheon was. That gentle brightness passed over the sediment. Mukhyeong took a deep breath at the hope that penetrated and passed through all beings in the world without discrimination.

Maybe it’s because of the story that he killed Do Seung-ji. You can’t change the world by swinging and swinging a sword. There needs to be the warm hearts of those who breathe and breathe in that world. I thought that in the current world, which is composed of those who try to deceive and those who try to find and kill, those who secretly draw their swords and those who try to kill them, it might be a space where we can face each other with a little more leeway.

When I think about it carefully, it seems like Yangju Academy was like that. The warmth that was different from the surroundings had the power to make people stay there. Even when I went out somewhere else, I wanted to go back quickly because of the comfort, warmth, and the sense of unity that gently caressed me. We were in a large, round space that was incomparable to the darkness of the outside world. The true man caressed the world like that. It was incomparably bigger now than it was then, but it was roundly embracing a wider world. I realized that the world where there are those who have attained the Way and the world where there are not are different.

The expressions of the soldiers surrounding the Gangnyeongjeon, the royal palace, were bright. As I entered the palace, I saw the king smiling.

“Are you here?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Who is the real person?”

“I am sitting still and virtuously improving the world.”

“What are you talking about?”

Mukhyeong pointed to the place where his feeling had passed, but it was no use. Everything had become brighter. The floor, the walls, the objects in the bedroom, and even the clothes of the eunuch lying on one side were all dimmed to a different color than before.

“He is in the palace hall in front of here. He is sitting quietly and studying.”

“Ahaha! I feel relieved when he’s here.”

“Aren’t you having a meeting?”

“I’ve called the generals. If we can just win the battle tonight, it’ll be over.”

“I sincerely hope so.”

Mukhyeong bowed deeply. He sincerely hoped that this world would become a world worth living in. He was a human being who only wanted to be well and safe, but he felt something different and unfamiliar. He looked to the side and saw a similar feeling, and the eunuch was looking down at his own hand, his eyes blinking.

Didn’t the king change? I heard that Do Seung-ji was killed in the courtyard of the side hall. Jin-in hopes that the king will embrace him, but in reality, it is not the easiest choice. Mukhyeong asked quietly for a familiar name.

“What do you plan to do, Commander-in-Chief?”

“Why? Are you worried about the Commander-in-Chief?”

“He is an adult of the royal family. And he is the leader of the Joseon army, albeit formally.”

“There’s no way they didn’t approach the commander-in-chief. If they had, it would have been even stranger. I met with them and even negotiated a sort of deal, but I think I’ll just say I did my job as a soldier.”

It is replaced by the word thought. It means that I will live in a world that is recognized as such. I am a human being with various aspects. When it comes to the question of which aspect to accept as true, I usually choose what is comfortable, easy, and familiar to me. It seems that the king has chosen his loyalty.

The list of names of the men lying at the feet of the king came into view. I looked at it so many times that the part I was holding in my hand had turned brown and turned into an old document.

It is not my place to meddle. The King has more difficult matters to deal with, and he must do so. That too will be possible after the battle tonight.

The king cleared his surroundings and kept his guard to a minimum. There were many soldiers outside Gangnyeongjeon, but the inside was empty. It was a measure that could be taken in a situation where it was impossible to tell friend from foe. It was to prevent either friend or foe from entering. The enemy disguised as friend was the scariest thing in the world, and the watermelon, which was different on the outside and inside, could do something bad at any time. Although he did not say anything, Mukhyeong bowed his head at the obvious decision.

“I will also go out.”

“Hmm. I hope you and Jinin are keeping watch over the area.”

“It would be more efficient for the wise man to look outside.”

“why?”

“Because you are the only one guarding the throne at a time when everyone else has failed. It is even more important to prevent such a situation from happening.”

“That makes sense.”

“Yes.”

“Do so!”

“Loyalty!”

* * *

The night is long. Because darkness covers the curtain. The changing of the sun and shadows makes it impossible to tell the time. Since the beginning, middle, and end are the same, time seems to pass without any flow. It is midnight, as Dalcheon said, but the enemy has not come.

The cavalry that went ahead to block the enemy circled around the palace and prevented people from approaching. They completely blocked anyone approaching the palace walls and gates, as they thought there would be internal conflict inside the palace. The soldiers also guarded from a distance of about twenty jang from the walls, and orders were given to attack and kill anyone who approached the walls and gates, regardless of their rank.

They laid countless sedges, expensive sedges, on the inside of the wall to make it impossible for anyone to step, and they installed sharp spikes on the back of the wall to climb up on. They placed a checkpoint right behind each gate to block an assault.

Many soldiers were lying in wait inside the palace. Archers were placed on the roofs of the main buildings and on the walls of the inner palace. They prevented the betrayal of soldiers who went back and forth with the Ministry of War by using codes, and moved the king’s residence to another place without anyone knowing. In the quiet night of the palace, torches lit here and there burned ominously.

At the request of the unmanned, he had no choice but to order an attack at midnight, but what else could Yeo-ui do? Dal-cheon was worried that he would use the spies inside. It was not perfect to just empty the area around the palace. This was because there were those who attended to the king, who could not do anything on his own.

The king checked the list of eunuchs and maids, and put ink, or rather, medicine, made by Dalcheon in Sogyeok-seo on each person’s forehead. Half of those who assisted the king at close range changed color. Those whose color changed were excluded, and the eunuchs were placed around them.

The king wore a thin armor underneath and a dragon robe over it. Several shields were placed at the gates of Gangnyeongjeon to protect him from blind arrows and swords.

* * *

Yoo Seok-do, who had been working for twelve o’clock, asked Dal-cheon in a tired voice. Two people were sitting on the threshold leading from Gangnyeongjeon to Pyeonjeon.

“Why aren’t you coming?”

“It would be better if you didn’t come.”

“He’s not the type of person who wouldn’t come.”

“Do you know?”

“A little bit… … I met you when you were a junior officer.”

“How is it? A person?”

“Fastid and meticulous… … Well, that’s for sure. I like things that are clear.”

“Were you the type of person who would become a king?”

“He was at the very front of the line of succession to the throne. He had great prestige.”

“So that’s why it shrunk.”

“What is it?”

“It felt like the person had shriveled up and become wrinkled, leaving only the essence behind.”

“Jinseok… … Phew. What could it be?”

“It felt like only the ideology remained. Not only the human body, but also the relationships with people had disappeared, leaving only a terrible obsession.”

“What kind of person is that?”

“He is a person who should not associate with the world.”

He speaks as if it were someone else’s business. No, it is someone else’s business to be exact. He only helps Grand Prince Lee Young’s work for a while, and he has no intention of helping Grand Prince’s politics or enjoying the movie. In a world where you can receive 5 billion won for even the smallest of duties, Dalcheon had no such intention.

“That kind of person is a bad person.”

Although Yoo Seok-do asked with a firm will to get a definite answer, Dal-cheon shook his head with a bitter expression.

“He is bad, but the society that created him is also bad. I have to attack them, so I also have some responsibility, don’t I?”

Yoo Seok-do, who naturally thought it was something different, weakly objected to Dal-cheon.

“It sounds like you are saying that the need for this society to create the best seat in the world, the highest throne, is bad.”

“Should we call it the difference between a dog and a woman? I would say it’s like a fifty-fifty difference. Take a step back and look at it. You will see that they are both the same.”

The reason I can’t leave the world is because my daily life is there. Who wouldn’t want to get out and make an elegant comment? You have nothing to worry about, and I can’t. I really wanted to say, ‘There’s no difference between you and me, you just have a little more martial arts skills.’ But you can’t say it with words. It’s social etiquette.

But he answers as if he had heard that.

“Don’t you hate the most those who insist that they are right even when there is no logic because they are strong?”

“No.”

“Think of it this way. If you had to transcend all the shackles of the earth to become strong… … Well, think of something else that might be a little more visible. In the difference between extremes and the shackles that you cannot escape, the development of martial arts is also limited. True overcoming is achieved when you overcome yourself. When you reach a truly perfect state where you are not biased toward either extreme or are not confused, you can see the utmost. It is impossible for a martial arts master not to be perfect. If you are a little strong but rough and fierce, it is because you have not surpassed the realm. You cannot surpass the realm with such effort alone.”

It sounds strange. It seems like it makes sense, but if I admit its obviousness, I feel like I’ll lose the argument.

“So are you saying that everything a strong person says is right?”

“What I said is true. Ahaha.”

“Haha, haha. How could the world’s most sage say such illogical things?”

“Anyway, that’s true. It’s too much to ask someone who doesn’t agree to accept my thoughts. I think there’s a lot wrong with this world. A society that excludes someone or a group of people is not a very mature place. They are rejected by cursing and criticizing them because they are bad.”

“Are you trying to say that this government, which founded the country with the support of Confucian scholars, is immature?”

“Similar.”

Since opening his mouth and starting a conversation, Yuseokdo has felt that he is not getting much out of it. It is better to change the subject. If you get lost in the middle of a conversation, you will get lost in it.

“Do we really need to be having this conversation now? In these critical times?”

“If not now, then there is no other time to talk. Even if there were another time, it would be a different conversation. And they didn’t come. They said they would come at midnight. I guess we were impatient.”

“Didn’t you tell me to attack you falsely?”

“It was an order given when they didn’t know we were hiding.”

“So after that, after you were caught, did you change the order?”

“I think it’s not a situation that can be easily changed. They’re defeated and barely able to gather together to give the next order. Maybe they’re supposed to gather at a certain place at a certain time. So the order to change can’t be given. If they destroy the place and everyone disappears, there won’t be anyone left.”

“Hmm, then I should come… … .”

Dalcheon stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll take a look around and come back.”

“And you shouldn’t go far away.”

“If you’re that scared, just follow me. Hehe.”

Dalcheon turned around with a meaningful smile. The hem of the long coat, which had turned gray, rustled in the wind. Yu Seok-do followed quickly, but he couldn’t catch up. He went over the wall, the roof, and the wall again, and disappeared outside the palace. He had to turn around after following him for a few steps.

He speaks without hesitation. He does not hesitate to criticize. It is hard to tell whether he is not obstructed or a bad person. He looked up blankly at the black void where he had disappeared and returned to his original position.