A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 95

95. Beginning of the Journey (2014.07.29.)

Mornings at the academy are always quiet.

Having grown accustomed to sharing meals, Elder Gun, Shin-ui, Son Bin, and Dang Wor-ah finished their light breakfast and tidied up. The four of them enjoyed tea, savoring the tranquility before the children swarmed in.

Clink.

Setting down his teacup quietly, Son Bin said,

“I intend to go to Mount Wudang.”

The silence broke, and all eyes turned to him.

Shin-ui asked,

“What’s the reason for suddenly wanting to go to Mount Wudang?”

His voice held a note of concern. He remembered the advice Namgoong Cheon had given him some time ago, that going to Mount Wudang would not end well.

“There is a promise I must keep,” Son Bin said quietly.

“And there is someone entrusted to me. I have been neglecting them, using my circumstances as an excuse, but now that I realize it, I will not delay any longer.”

Shin-ui frowned. Son Bin’s resolve seemed firm, so he couldn’t say anything more.

“And if circumstances allow, I might visit the Moryong Clan as well. I heard that the Moryong Clan is in Wuhan, Hubei Province, so if things go well in Wudang, I might have a chance.”

Wudang Mountain, where Wudang is located, is also in Hubei Province. Although it is not a short distance, it is on the way, so if he is determined, he can go.

Shin-ui asked again,

“Have you decided to accept the Moryong Clan’s invitation?”

“Not necessarily, but I think it would be okay to hear their story.”

Last night, Son Bin thought about the letter.

A letter sent to a stranger, relying on vague possibilities. Despite such uncertainty, if they invited him so politely, their circumstances must not be trivial.

If it is not a difficult matter, he could at least show them the courtesy of listening to their reasons.

Slurp.

Elder Gun made a noise as he drank his tea. Shin-ui and Son Bin’s gazes turned to Elder Gun. In a low voice, as if it were nothing, Elder Gun said,

“If you want to go, then go.”

Elder Gun chuckled.

“As long as I am alive, no one in the world can break your will.”

That sounded too exaggerated, so Son Bin smiled awkwardly. However, Shin-ui, who roughly guessed the situation, sighed and muttered,

“Is this crazy bastard now going to fight with Wudang too…”

Elder Gun silently sipped his tea. Son Bin asked,

“Will you come with me this time?”

“Why would I?”

Elder Gun replied in a blunt tone. But Elder Gun had already followed him to Namchang in the past.

Son Bin waited quietly. After a moment, setting down his teacup, Elder Gun said,

“Damn it. Fine, let’s go.”

Son Bin smiled.

“What will you do, Shin-ui?”

“I am not going.”

Raising his teacup, Shin-ui said,

“The medical book I was scribbling is not finished yet. I’ll take care of the children, so be careful on your trip.”

“Thank you. I feel relieved to hear you say that.”

Shin-ui nodded as if it were nothing. But Son Bin’s words were not over yet.

“Ja-woo is cheerful but tends to play too much, so you need to be firm sometimes. Gyeon-ja mostly follows what Ja-woo does, but she is tender-hearted, so you should speak gently. Ho-doo seems like he doesn’t listen well, but he does very well when asked, so praise him a lot. And Jang-ah…”

“Wait. Are you going to list all the children now?”

“Yes. Jang-ah, Ah-oh, So-so, Aeng-aeng, Jung-oh, and Gye-gu are still left…”

Shin-ui sighed softly. Meanwhile, Son Bin continued to speak.

“Jang-ah often dozes off, but it’s just because she’s tired due to her weak constitution, so don’t scold her and just tell her again. Her comprehension is quite fast…”

“Stop.”

Shin-ui frowned.

“How am I supposed to memorize all that? I could memorize a hundred medicinal herbs, but the children’s names are all so similar that I can’t distinguish them or remember them. So, write it down and bring it to me instead.”

“Ah, that would be better.”

Son Bin was delighted. He immediately got up to get paper, brush, and ink.

“If you know any unusual medical history or health conditions, write them down too. You can even write down their dental condition. The teeth are easier to distinguish than the names.”

At Shin-ui’s words, Elder Gun muttered, ‘Strange fellow,’ under his breath.

Son Bin, who was going to get the writing tools, suddenly stopped in front of Dang Wor-ah. She was quietly savoring her tea, as if she were completely unrelated.

“Would you like to come with us, Miss?”

It might have been an unconscious action. She had accompanied Elder Gun to Namchang, and she was already being recognized as a member of this household.

However, lightly asking a proper young lady to accompany them like this is a very rude act, depending on how it is received.

Son Bin belatedly realized this and felt a pang of regret, but Dang Wor-ah had already nodded.

“Yes.”

The answer ended there. As if she had not said anything, Dang Wor-ah was already savoring her tea again. It was Son Bin who had more thoughts.

‘W-will it be okay?’

Son Bin hesitated for a moment. During the last journey, she couldn’t take her eyes off the ordinary scenery. She didn’t seem to dislike traveling, and although she was shy, she seemed to think of him and Elder Gun as familiar.

But still, she is a young lady, so he wondered if inviting her was the right thing to do.

‘Actually, the meals are also a problem…’

If he left her behind like this, perhaps her house would be burned down by the time he returned. No, even if that was an exaggeration, it was true that her diet would have serious problems.

‘Ah, now that I think about it…’

Suddenly, an idea came to Son Bin, and he turned to Shin-ui and asked,

“What will you do for meals?”

Shin-ui frowned.

“Don’t worry about it.”

He muttered quietly. Son Bin was relieved, but that was too early of a judgment.

“I’ve survived for a month eating only the grass from the mountains. I tried following what Shennong [a legendary Chinese ruler and deity in Chinese mythology credited with inventing agriculture and herbal medicine] did, and it was surprisingly a good experience.”

Son Bin’s expression twisted. He probably had to write down how to prepare meals as well.

‘No, more than that, I might have to take him with me…’

Son Bin sighed without realizing it. It seemed he had to find someone to prepare meals.

∴

“Don’t worry and have a good trip.”

Jeok Se-hwa, standing gracefully, said with a smile.

He had asked if she could find someone to prepare meals in the meantime, but Jeok Se-hwa offered to do it herself.

No, she seemed more interested in helping with the task of teaching her younger brother, Jung-oh.

“I’m quite good at preparing simple meals. And I wanted to see Jung-oh studying too. Sometimes, it’s necessary to assert my authority as his older sister.”

Son Bin nodded. It would be better for Jeok Se-hwa to help than for Shin-ui to be alone with the children. There were some slightly incomprehensible words mixed in, but he decided to ignore them.

“Goodbye, Teacher! Have a safe trip!”

The children all raised their voices in unison, as if singing in chorus.

Son Bin stroked each of the children’s heads once and turned around. After walking a few steps and looking back, the children were smiling brightly and waving their hands, making Son Bin’s heart feel uneasy.

So-so, still with a dissatisfied expression, had her lips sticking out, and Aeng-aeng was standing next to her, waving her small hand timidly.

“Let’s go.”

Elder Gun said, urging him. Dang Wor-ah was standing quietly, waiting for Son Bin without any luggage.

Son Bin adjusted the bundle on his back. The White Dew sword, wrapped in clean cloth and carried on his back, and the iron sword hanging from his waist, clanked.

Son Bin looked back at the children once more.

He smiled and waved at Shin-ui and Jeok Se-hwa, who were standing behind, and at his small disciples who were still waving their hands diligently. Then, Son Bin moved his feet.

*

*

*

Clatter, clatter.

“Whoa!”

The coachman driving the carriage pulled the reins. As the rattling baggage cart began to slow down, the people riding inside were already packing their belongings and getting off the carriage.

“Ugh, my whole body is stiff.”

“That’s what you get with a cheap carriage.”

Perhaps because they had been sitting in the narrow and uncomfortable carriage for a long time, people moved their necks and arms to loosen their stiff bodies.

“Let’s go in quickly. There might not be any seats left if we’re late.”

“It looks like a cheap inn and probably tastes bad, but there’s no way there won’t be any seats. Anyway, let’s go in. It’s better than sleeping outside.”

The dozen or so people who got off the carriage entered the inn, chattering. The coachman shouted at them,

“We’ll be leaving right after breakfast tomorrow morning!”

Hardly anyone paid attention to the coachman’s voice. As the last remaining people got off, the coachman drove the carriage into the inn’s stable.

“Are you alright?”

Son Bin, who got off the carriage, asked. Elder Gun was old, and Dang Wor-ah was a young lady, so he wondered if they were okay. But Elder Gun seemed fine, and Dang Wor-ah didn’t even answer.

“Let’s go in.”

At Elder Gun’s words, Son Bin picked up his bundle and took the lead.

Swish.

Pushing aside the tattered curtain with only a few strings of beads left, they entered, and a cacophony of sounds and the smell of food rushed in.

The three sat down at a suitable spot and ordered some food. The waiter put a small dish with some peanuts and a few kinds of roasted seeds on the table.

“Come to think of it, did you bring those… what were they, those silver chopsticks?”

Elder Gun, who was shelling peanuts while waiting for the food to come out, suddenly asked Dang Wor-ah. Dang Wor-ah was silent for a moment, then answered quietly,

“Just a few. And as I said, it’s not the silver (銀) character [meaning ‘silver’ in Chinese].”

Rarely, Dang Wor-ah’s voice had a slight hint of discomfort. Elder Gun pretended to ignore her tone and replied,

“Ahem, good job. You might need them at the academy too. Nothing will happen, but these days are suspicious…”

‘What are they talking about? Did Wor-ah have something like silver chopsticks?’

Son Bin was about to ask about the strange conversation between Elder Gun and Dang Wor-ah when…

Swish.

“Hey, damn it. What’s this? Why are there so many people?”

At the loud voice, the inn became quiet in an instant.

The person who had just entered the inn was a martial artist with a fierce impression and a large sword at his side, who didn’t seem very polite at first glance.

The person who appeared to be the innkeeper quickly stepped in front of him and bowed his head.

“Are you the owner? What kind of business are you trying to run like this? Huh?”

It was clear that he was picking a fight, but the innkeeper was just sweating profusely and didn’t know what to do. People were also watching the scene with uneasy eyes.

“Do you know who I am? If I wanted to, this damn inn… cough.”

The man, who was glaring and continuing to speak, suddenly turned blue in the face and his body stiffened. Then, he collapsed to the side like rotten wood.

Thud.

“Oh my. Customer, what’s wrong? Customer!”

The innkeeper was surprised and examined the fallen man. But the man was unconscious, rolling his eyes and even spitting out foam.

“What should I do? It looks like there’s some kind of strange disease. Why did someone like that come here… Ugh, damn it.”

With the innkeeper’s emotional grumbling and confirmation that the situation was over, the customers breathed a sigh of relief and began to chatter again.

The owner had the unconscious man moved to a room and told someone to call a doctor. The waiter, who had unnecessarily gained work, grumbled and ran off, and the inn returned to its previous state.

Son Bin looked at Elder Gun. Elder Gun was munching on peanuts and seeds in front of him, pretending not to notice. Son Bin asked Elder Gun,

“Will it be alright?”

“He’ll open his eyes around noon tomorrow. I hate noisy nights.”

“Thank you.”

Son Bin said with a smile. Elder Gun said casually,

“That guy should be thanking you. If it were before, that guy would already be dead.”

Perhaps because of the appearance and disappearance of the fierce man, people were talking about the martial world [Wulin, the community of martial artists].

Some people were worried that the Jiangnan [region south of the Yangtze River] martial world was being taken over by the evil sects, seeing those kinds of guys acting up, and others said that the Namgoong Clan and Hyeokryeon Clan would not be shaken no matter what.

“But the Blood Peak Alliance is also amazing, right? I heard that a master called Guigyeonsura defeated Namgoong Ryeol of the Namgoong Clan a while ago? The rumors are spreading like wildfire in Guizhou…”

Suddenly, Son Bin overheard some merchants chattering next to him.

“Shh, be quiet! You’ll get into big trouble if you talk like that carelessly. What if you’re branded as a collaborator of the evil sects for praising the Blood Peak Alliance?”

“Evil sects? How many real evil sects are there in the Blood Peak Alliance? Most of them, like the Golden Sword Sect or the Jo Family Clan, were neutral.”

“The Martial Alliance has designated them as evil sects, so what are you going to do? And these days, it seems that real evil sects have joined the Blood Peak Alliance in large numbers. The Blood Peak Alliance probably can’t help it either. They have to fight the Namgoong Clan right away, so they don’t have time to discriminate against sects, do they? Anyway, the Blood Peak Alliance is now a real alliance of evil sects.”

“Hmm. I’ve always had a good impression of the Golden Sword Sect and the Jo Family Clan, but this is disappointing.”

“Anyway, be quiet. Let’s not even mention the Blood Peak Alliance until we cross the Yangtze River.”

They lowered their voices, looking around.

“Food is here!”

Just in time, the waiter brought the food. He skillfully brought several large dishes at once and placed the food down one by one.

The food looked quite plausible and smelled good, so Son Bin felt the hunger he had temporarily forgotten.

“Let’s eat.”

Son Bin said. Elder Gun picked up his chopsticks without hesitation. Son Bin suddenly looked at Dang Wor-ah and said,

“Ah, you can use the silver chopsticks, Miss Wor-ah.”

Dang Wor-ah flinched. Son Bin said it because he thought she might not be using the silver chopsticks because of him, but Dang Wor-ah was silent for a moment, then said quietly,

“It’s okay. And there’s no such thing as silver chopsticks.”

Dang Wor-ah turned her head and looked at Elder Gun once. Elder Gun coughed for no reason and pretended not to notice.