As Prophet - Chapter 182



Only Noblemtl

Episode 182. Rest and Visitors

Dalcheon didn’t even take off his armor and lay down on the floor. He hadn’t noticed it the whole time, but as soon as he lay down, the smell of blood rose. He turned his head away from the strong, bloody smell, but it didn’t go away even if he turned his head. If he couldn’t avoid it, he endured it. He relaxed his body while maintaining shallow breathing until he got used to it. He relaxed while giving orders to each part of his body to rest. Thoughts came to him one after another, but he observed them with his breathing and calmed his mind.

When there is something frustrating that cannot be solved, it is better to sleep. If you close your eyes for a moment, the things that have been bothering you will recede a step. Dalcheon, hoping for that, lay down and grumbled as he fell asleep. The dawn light came through the crack in the door, and the groans of prisoners could be heard from not far away. The sound of many soldiers walking in time sounded like a lullaby, and the whistle of the night watchman rang out from time to time behind.

War is something that devours the human spirit. It is a place of life and death where many people’s passions clash most fiercely. I hope to be in another quiet place, but how can I do that when I am unmanned? I just hope that when this war is over, I will go back and enjoy a quiet life.

* * *

When the smell of rice cooking wafted up, Sa-Jung woke Dal-Cheon up.

“Get up. The food is ready.”

“Rice? Is it rice?”

“The most anticipated time for soldiers on the battlefield is mealtime.”

“No, how can I… … here?”

There was nothing more to ask. A small tray was brought in, with as many side dishes as could be placed on it.

“Why are there so many? I don’t think it was like this during the Imjin War.”

“His Majesty has given me such a strong order. Half of them are from the palace.”

“No, if I eat like this… … wouldn’t you feel bad?”

As I say that, my mouth starts to water.

“His Majesty sent meat and wine to celebrate the victory. The soldiers are now eating it too.”

“Thank you. How long did I sleep?”

“Please eat first. There are many people waiting.”

“Wait?”

Dalcheon saw the situation. He didn’t pay much attention to him when he was studying at the academy, but his attitude toward him was different. He still elevated him to the status of a government official.

“He said he was tired and sleeping, so if it wasn’t urgent, I should tell him when he woke up.”

“Who are you?”

“These are the highest-ranking officials. I don’t know who is who. So please eat quickly. The food has just been prepared.”

“Let’s eat together.”

“I sat on the porch and ate some.”

“Oh, why did we make such a distinction? We did it together.”

“This is the military camp. There is a strict order to respect the true people.”

Time just passes by while recommending and declining. If you want your subordinates to eat, it is best to leave it untouched, but it is unlikely that someone in the position of Sajeong would do that. Dalcheon gave up on persuading and ate. The pure white rice melted in his mouth. The small table was filled with side dishes. Perhaps because it was from the palace, everything was delicious. The sadness he felt at the ambiguous situation melted away.

Even if it was a mistake, the choice is entirely yours, and you must accept the consequences on your own. You do not have the ability to escape the cruel law of cause and effect. You can ask His Majesty, who has the power to decide on everything, to look after you, but the dark clouds that will befall the Baek family in the future will not be easy. If Yeo-ui can turn this whole situation around, that would be another matter, but for now, there is no other way.

Nohoraha Special Forces will not withdraw. Jinin is scary, but he is likely to think that he is just an individual in front of the power of the army. There will be arrangements to protect the lives of the subordinate commanders. Killing all the commanders of the army and making them lose their ability to judge is perhaps the only way Dalcheon can do it as an individual.

We do not have the ability to change the great flow of history. It is arrogance to think that I can change something and thus change the world. The flow of the world is governed by natural law. It is said that those who follow the heavens will survive, and those who oppose the heavens will perish.

* A phrase from the upper chapter of Li Lou in Mencius.

Heaven does not necessarily refer to a king, but as can be seen from the word “sunri,” it refers to the law, the proper order of things. When Heaven refers to “ri,” it is the duty of humans to read that law and live accordingly.

Often, the king is likened to heaven, but that is just their thinking. The logic that the king was made by the will of heaven and therefore the king is heaven is just their story. The king can change. How many incompetent kings have there been, kings who would rather help the world by doing nothing? Dalcheon thought of the foolish behavior of the previous king who had approached him. A king who has no duty to provide food for the people and only thinks about his own glory is not a king. The author Jang Sa-chi cannot act as a king with his mindset.

I put down my spoon with all sorts of thoughts. I almost finished eating the rice, but I barely touched the side dishes. It’s too much. Our misguided hopes may have dreamed of such excess. There is a limit to how much we can eat.

You don’t need that much to satisfy your desires. It doesn’t have to be particularly luxurious. The eyes of others may be more important than the absolute amount. The moment you look at someone else’s, the possibility of your own happiness decreases by half. No matter what others say, you have to evaluate it by your own values, work hard to achieve it, and be satisfied. The moment you look back at someone else’s things that you obtained for other reasons, you will groan and go, hanging on to a goal that is never attainable but absolutely unnecessary. If you don’t go, you won’t know, but everyone definitely goes. And they live a short life.

Dalcheon suddenly had the thought that the palace’s precious foods were cheap. The things that were at the end of the limit of greed, the things that could be given to me were over-packaged. At first, I forgot my worries because of the sweetness, but after eating a few spoonfuls, I realized the truth of its unnecessaryness once again.

But what if all the things I hope for are structured like this? Won’t the days I’ve been running towards, setting them as lofty ideals, suddenly become vain? What if the end of my studies is another name for such vainness? Did I too easily believe that this study alone was something lofty that transcended all human desires? What should I do now that the things that separated you and me the moment I set foot on Hanyang land have become my own? It would be easy if I turned away and attributed all their relationships to something other than me, but could I do that? I threatened the death row in cold terms and turned away, but was that the right answer?

Since I couldn’t hear the sound of chopsticks, I crawled in on all fours. Since the door was low, I had no choice but to take off my shoes on the porch and turn around to crawl in.

“Have you eaten everything?”

“yes.”

“You left a lot behind.”

“It’s too much. Most of it is untouched.”

“Why, does it taste bad?”

“No. Everything was delicious, so I was happy for a moment.”

“Ahaha! Even the real person uses that word.”

“It’s precious because I don’t have it, and I want it because it’s precious. After eating a few, I realize that it was an unnecessary greed.”

“Ahahaha! They say you have to listen carefully to the words of a true person, you really have to think carefully. But… … .”

“But?”

“His Majesty has arrived.”

“yes?”

Dalcheon closed his eyes tightly and then opened them.

“Then you should have at least said something.”

“He told me not to tell anyone because he was eating. He is personally checking the defenses around Heunginjimun.”

“Oh no! This is not the time to be doing this. The King of the world has come.”

Dalcheon blinked as he thought deeply about the words he was using.

“This is not the time to be doing this. Get up. You seem quite curious.”

“Ahaha.”

“And the lady of Baekgajang came to visit.”

Dalcheon’s eyes narrowed.

“It looks like you didn’t evacuate.”

“There’s a small tea house inside the alley. He told me to tell him to wait there. He also told me not to wake him up and not to tell him I was coming. By any chance… … .”

“What is it?”

“no.”

“… … .”

“Really not.”

The situation is grinning. It seems like he is holding back from asking if that is a love story between a man and a woman. Since he was also in the school, he would know about Baek Yi-jeong’s love for her.

Dalcheon came out of the door and looked outside, then glanced at the road leading to Heunginjimun. The narrow road was tangled with thatched houses and tiles.

“Is it over there?”

“Do you want to go to Dawon first?”

“The first person to enter will not be repaid, haha.”

* From 『Gyeokam Yurok』.

“What are you talking about?”

“Would you like to go to the person who came first?”

“Is that what you meant?”

Dalcheon smiled brightly. I wish I could tell you exactly in the alphabet, but that is difficult.

As Dalcheon went to Dawon, Sajeong followed closely behind. As he followed and signaled, three or four soldiers followed behind him, and two ran toward the gatehouse. It would be right to run to His Majesty first… … Sajeong tilted his head. He quickly caught up and pointed to a tiled roof that seemed to have collapsed on one side of the road.

“There you are. I made a door outside and made a seat inside.”

“Have you been there?”

“It was a place I used to frequent. Hahaha.”

Because the person is witty, I feel at ease. Even if I’m seething with anger, I think I can maintain my composure if I have that kind of person by my side.

As I entered the door, a woman dressed in fine clothes came out, rubbing her face. I wondered what was going on so early in the morning. But it was also strange that Dawon was opening the door at this hour.

“Welcome.”

As I enter the doorway, the woman looks at me with a seductive look. Is this why it’s good to have a familiar face?”

“Didn’t you evacuate?”

“Heunginjimun is in chaos. It’s a big deal for us. Even if we have to evacuate, we have to make a profit.”

“What are you going to do if something big happens, you bastard?”

“I guess that too is fate.”

“There’s going to be a real mess, and you can’t stay here like this. Run away quickly. If you go to Ttukseom, there’ll be a boat that goes to Songpa Ferry.”

“Oh, let’s make some money.”

The conversation between the two behind each other makes me sigh. In the military, he acts like he’s cut with a knife, but in the author’s book, he seems to live like a rag.

Baek Yi-jeong stood up from her seat.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“no.”

“People didn’t wake me up because I was sleeping. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were here or waiting for me.”

The owner’s wife approached Dalcheon with a shrug of her shoulders at his polite manners and put down a drink and some crumbs of cookies.

“I’ve been waiting for you since last night, you bastard.”

Dalcheon’s eyes narrowed.

“Why did you do that?”

“I have something to tell you.”

He said he had something to say, but he didn’t. Dalcheon looked back. The woman who had been looking around to see if there was anything else to do after putting down her drink suddenly moved away.

“Please speak.”

“I wonder what happened.”

“… … What are you curious about?”

The pure white teeth lightly bit the red lips.

“I’m not oblivious.”

“Please speak.”

“Your Majesty has abdicated, and the Northern Army is coming down with rebels. My father has gone north and there is no news. What should I do?”

“There is chaos. It is war. You should have fled.”

“My father and his family have already left.”

“You’re not following me either, ma’am.”

“There was a question lingering in my mind. Would you please tell me now?”

“Tell me. What’s the problem?”