A Tale Of A Scribe Who Retires To The Countryside [EN]: Chapter 377

377. The Untouchables

Dispelling the villagers’ misunderstandings wasn’t easy. However, with Son Bin and Hwang Bang-ju’s persistent persuasion, the people finally accepted that Son Bin’s group were merely travelers.

Even so, the fear of Dang Wol-ah remained, so Dang Wol-ah had to stay outside the village with Sa Su-yeon.

“So, they thought you were officials from the court.”

Son Bin said, looking at the old man who was the village chief. The gaunt old man with white hair and beard, and a swarthy face, still looked at Son Bin cautiously, his expression not free from anxiety.

Responding to his gaze with the softest smile possible, Hwang Bang-ju shook his head and replied.

“It’s a bit different from court officials. To put it simply, they’re like religious police who collect taxes from those who believe in other religions or punish those who violate their religious laws.”

At those words, Son Bin frowned. Religious police? Even in regions with strong religious influences like Seojang, he hadn’t heard such a term.

“Other religions? Doesn’t everyone in Cheonchuk believe in Buddhism?”

“Hey, you. What era are you living in…”

Hwang Bang-ju clicked his tongue.

“There are hardly any people in Cheonchuk who believe in Buddhism anymore. Well, if you really searched, you might find a few, but very few. Most people, like in this village, believe in Hinduism, that is, Cheonchukism.”

Son Bin, who had assumed that Cheonchuk, being the birthplace of Buddhism, would have many Buddhists, was surprised.

“There are almost no Buddhists left?”

“That’s not all.”

Hwang Bang-ju shook his head and said.

“The religion of the people who rule Cheonchuk now is different again. They are Muslims from Persia [modern-day Iran].”

Persia was a great empire even further west than Cheonchuk. For Son Bin, who wasn’t very interested in religion, both Cheonchukism and Islam were unfamiliar concepts.

“Wasn’t Persia Manichean or Zoroastrian?”

No-gun suddenly interjected. Hwang Bang-ju tilted his head.

“I don’t know about that. But Persia converted to Islam even before Buddhism disappeared in Cheonchuk. Persia is now entirely Muslim.”

“So, the ruling class’s religion, Islam, which governs Cheonchuk, has religious police?”

Hwang Bang-ju nodded.

“That’s right. These people are Cheonchukists, so they’re worried that the religious police will come and collect taxes and take people away.”

“But why did they think that about Miss Wol-ah?”

“Muslims wear veils.”

Hwang Bang-ju gestured around his mouth, imitating a veil.

“As far as I know, even Muslims only cover themselves formally, but Dang Yeo-hyeop completely covered herself with a black veil, so…”

Only then did Son Bin understand why the villagers feared Dang Wol-ah. So, they thought she was a devout Muslim.

“Actually, there’s another problem.”

Hwang Bang-ju said hesitantly.

“A problem?”

At Son Bin’s words, Hwang Bang-ju turned his head to look at the well. The well in the middle of the village, in a small open space, was surrounded by animal bones.

It was clearly the village’s communal well, but it was strange to surround it with bones.

“That’s a marker.”

Hwang Bang-ju continued with a bitter expression.

“It shows that this village is made up of people who are despised even within Cheonchukism. Cheonchukism has particularly strong discrimination, and surrounding the well with bones signifies that they are untouchables.”

‘Untouchables’ meant people who shouldn’t even be touched; the lowest rung in the caste system.

At that harsh word, Son Bin’s brow furrowed involuntarily.

“The dirtiest and most lowly people in the world. People who are killed if they accidentally touch people of other classes, that’s who they are.”

Instantly, Son Bin felt his blood run cold. Words that should never be used on people, words that should never exist, were being used so casually.

“Ahahaha.”

At the sound of children’s laughter, Son Bin turned his head.

The children squatting down, and Seo-rin, who was squatting a little further away, were laughing as they talked about something.

The reason they were keeping their distance was probably because the children’s parents had told them never to go near Seo-rin. But the children’s hearts couldn’t help it, so they were smiling at each other even while sitting apart.

Swish, swish.

Feeling Son Bin’s gaze, Seo-rin smiled and waved her hand. The children with their swarthy faces also looked at Son Bin with their dark eyes and subtly gestured.

Just looking at those smiles and eyes that seemed to brighten his heart, Son Bin had to clench his teeth without realizing it. Otherwise, he felt like tears would burst out.

* * *

Hwang Bang-ju’s merchant spirit shone even in this village.

Spreading out various things he had somehow packed, Hwang Bang-ju started trading next to the village well.

“Come on, we have amazing things from beyond the Great Mountains!”

At Hwang Bang-ju’s words, all the villagers, literally everyone, gathered. In such a village, spectacles were extremely rare.

Of course, there was almost no actual trading. The poor villagers had nothing to offer. Therefore, all the gathered people did was look at the amazing things with sparkling eyes, or admire each other and chat.

“Take a look at this too. Oh, you can’t touch it. Ah, you can touch that one. It doesn’t wear out. Hehehe.”

Throughout, Hwang Bang-ju didn’t lose his generous smile. In fact, his purpose was to talk to the gathered people and hear various news.

The villagers answered Hwang Bang-ju’s various questions, and Hwang Bang-ju occasionally shared small snacks, building friendship.

Seo-rin was just as busy.

“This way! Oh, what was it in Cheonchuk language?”

At Seo-rin’s words, the children laughed and said something in Cheonchuk language. It was amazing that there seemed to be no problem in communication even though she clearly couldn’t understand them.

Hwang Bang-ju succeeded in getting the village chief’s consent, saying, ‘Foreigners are exempt from Cheonchuk’s laws, right?’ Of course, the small gift he gave to the village chief played a significant role.

Thanks to that, Seo-rin was laughing and playing with the children again.

Seo-rin was incredibly popular with both boys and girls, and she was already communicating with the children in simple Cheonchuk language.

Sa Su-yeon was resting outside the village with Dang Wol-ah. The villagers were still wary of Dang Wol-ah. Dang Wol-ah seemed more shocked than expected, and Sa Su-yeon was comforting her, enjoying a rare moment of peace.

However, the children seemed to have let their guard down about Dang Wol-ah and even went close to stare at her. In fact, the children had never been wary of Dang Wol-ah in the first place.

“I’ll go take a look around.”

No-gun said so casually and disappeared. He was going to see if there were any other villages or anything dangerous.

And Son Bin was sitting silently alone under the shade of a large tree next to the well. He looked at the children running around with Seo-rin, or at the people gathered around Hwang Bang-ju, but it was clear to everyone that he was deep in thought.

Therefore, neither Seo-rin, Sa Su-yeon, Dang Wol-ah, nor Hwang Bang-ju spoke to Son Bin, allowing him to fully reflect on his thoughts.

Around evening, No-gun returned. And Hwang Bang-ju conveyed the greatest achievement of the day.

“The village chief has agreed to have dinner with us.”

Hwang Bang-ju said to Son Bin’s group with a grin. Son Bin and Seo-rin, as well as Sa Su-yeon and Dang Wol-ah, and No-gun, who had gone out of the village, were all present.

“These people are like baby kittens, they’re really shy. I guess they’re afraid we’ll say ‘You bastards!’ and chop off their heads. Hahaha.”

It was a joke, but half of it was true. These villagers were not simply rejecting Son Bin’s group, but fearing them.

“Is it okay to have dinner together?”

Sa Su-yeon asked cautiously. She couldn’t possibly not know how wary they were.

“It’s okay, Miss Sa. In fact, if you think about it, we are of a lower status than these people. If a foreigner converts, they immediately become an untouchable like them.”

At Hwang Bang-ju’s careful answer, Sa Su-yeon looked dumbfounded.

“If you convert to Cheonchukism, you become the lowest class?”

Sa Su-yeon’s question was natural. If you become the lowest class after converting, who would want to believe in Cheonchukism?

But Hwang Bang-ju nodded as if it were obvious. Sa Su-yeon asked with a puzzled expression.

“Then why are these people afraid of us?”

“That’s the principle, but in reality, foreigners are treated almost like nobles. We have lighter skin than them.”

Sa Su-yeon was bewildered as to why the story of skin color suddenly came up. As if guessing her question, Hwang Bang-ju immediately continued.

“In Cheonchukism, this class system is called ‘Varna’ [caste], which means color. The families that make up the upper class mostly have light skin, and the families of the lower class have dark skin. In the case of Miss Sa, these people think of you as a goddess.”

Sa Su-yeon, who was from Bukhae, had the fairest skin among the group. ‘Goddess’ was a great compliment, but before that, Sa Su-yeon couldn’t hide her bewildered expression, wondering what this was all about.

“It seems that the ruling class families and the lower class families are different races.”

Dang Wol-ah said quietly. And her words were correct. If you divide classes by skin color, there is only one reason. The ethnic groups between the classes themselves are different.

“That’s right. Miss Dang.”

Hwang Bang-ju said in a respectful manner. Even though they were young, Hwang Bang-ju was using honorifics to Sa Su-yeon and Dang Wol-ah. That was because he had seen their martial prowess, but also because of Dang Hwa-ryeon, the general military officer of the Dang family.

“There’s not much difference now, but that’s how it was originally. The families of the high-ranking monks and nobles mostly have white skin and often blue eyes. Why, don’t you call them colored eyes? Eyes with color.”

At Hwang Bang-ju’s words, pointing to his own eyes, Dang Wol-ah replied quietly.

“That’s called ‘Semu people’ [foreigners] in the sense of various kinds of people, not in the sense of having colored eyes. But I understand what the situation is.”

Originally, there were classes divided in Cheonchukism, and then a new ruling class, Islam, came in.

It was a combination of existing ethnic discrimination and religious discrimination, so it was nothing short of a double whammy for the lowest class people like this village.

“How were the surroundings?”

Dang Wol-ah turned her head and asked No-gun.

“Nothing special.”

Hwang Bang-ju added to No-gun’s short answer.

“There’s a big village about three days’ journey to the south. And there are a lot of ominous rumors going around these days. Mainly in the northwest, there are rumors of a big disaster and rumors of monsters running wild.”

As expected, Hwang Bang-ju, who had heard rumors all day, had the most to say. At Hwang Bang-ju’s words, No-gun frowned.

“Monsters like those we saw in Seojang?”

“I don’t know about that. It’s just a rumor… But they were talking about some kind of demon gods?”

“Demon gods?”

“Yes. Demon gods.”

No-gun’s white eyebrows furrowed greatly. The word demon god (魔神) certainly felt more ominous than monsters or the Demonic Sect.

“Are you talking about the Heavenly Demon?”

“I don’t think so? They said there were six or eight of them?”

“Not just one or two?”

Hwang Bang-ju shrugged his shoulders at No-gun’s words, who was frowning altogether.

“It’s a rumor, so I don’t know if it’s true. But these people are more worried about the disaster than monsters or demon gods. The place where we are now is the northern region of Cheonchuk, and rebellions have broken out everywhere. They even say that a war has broken out in the south…”

Hwang Bang-ju, who was talking, sighed.

“Originally, there was a great Shah [ruler] who was a Muslim but practiced good governance… Ah, ‘Shah’ means emperor. Anyway, there were good emperors, but from the time of the previous emperor, they suddenly started collecting excessive taxes and religious police started wandering around. Then the previous emperor died and a new emperor was enthroned not long ago, but he is so old that he doesn’t know when he will die.”

“He hasn’t been enthroned for long, but he’s dying? What does that mean?”

At No-gun’s frowning words, Dang Wol-ah answered.

“That’s what happens when the previous emperor has been in power for a long time. The imperial family usually sees to the succession relatively early, but if the father emperor is in power for a long time, the next emperor will inevitably ascend to the throne in old age.”

No-gun clicked his tongue at Dang Wol-ah’s answer, worthy of the best student in Seowon [Confucian academy].

“Living as the crown prince for the rest of his life and becoming emperor when he’s about to die, it’s enough to drive him crazy.”

Living as the crown prince for the rest of his life is never a pleasant thing. Because you have to spend the time that can be said to be the prime of your life without doing anything.

“The long reign of the previous generation also means political stability, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good situation.”

Long political stability is not always desirable. There are cases where a golden age is achieved, but there are also cases where corruption and decline accelerate.

The current situation in Cheonchuk seems to belong to the latter. If even the current emperor’s health is uncertain, it is obvious that social chaos will occur.

“That’s right. So Cheonchuk is very chaotic right now.”

Hwang Bang-ju nodded and said.

“It seems that the problem here is not monsters or the Demonic Sect.”

Everyone in the group agreed with those words. Just looking at these villagers, isn’t the immediate problem making a living before monsters or the Demonic Sect?

“So, what are you going to do? Bin-ah.”

No-gun suddenly said, as if throwing it out there. It was towards Son Bin, who hadn’t said anything until now.

Son Bin was silent for a moment. But everyone knew that he had been thinking deeply all day.

They also knew how deeply he was saddened to hear that this village and the children were called ‘untouchables’ who should not even be approached.

“I.”

Slowly, Son Bin opened his mouth.

“I don’t think I can change the world. And even if it seems unreasonable to me, it may be that they have their own reasons.”

Son Bin’s words that he ‘cannot change the world’ sound arrogant at first glance. But the group, especially No-gun, was afraid that Son Bin would sincerely decide to do so. Because if it was Son Bin’s nature, it wouldn’t be strange for him to come forward and say he would do it.

But Son Bin himself knew that he could not become a saint who would change the world. Besides, Son Bin is a foreigner here. He can feel humanly heartbroken and angry, but he cannot rashly judge and condemn.

“Yeah, that’s right. And where else is it like this? If you know, we also have slaves, and there are those who are particularly despised, right?”

No-gun said. That was very much intended to comfort Son Bin.

“People live similarly everywhere. It’s just that this place is going through a tougher time right now. Besides, don’t we have things to do?”

Certainly, as No-gun said. The religion and social system here seem absurd, but there were times when the Central Plains was worse than that.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the situation here is justified, but at least we shouldn’t make hasty judgments.

“That’s right. We have things to do.”

Above all, Son Bin’s group has the important task of following Mu-je and stopping the Heavenly Demon who opened the gates of hell. They had already experienced in Seojang what kind of consequences would come if they neglected it.

No-gun was relieved inwardly. But Son Bin’s words were not over yet.

“Still, it wouldn’t hurt to get a little help, would it?”

At Son Bin’s words, No-gun was about to nod but stopped.

“Get help? Not help them?”

“Yes.”

Son Bin said with a smile.

“We don’t know the situation here. We didn’t even find the mark left by Gwigyeon-sura. So wouldn’t it be good to stay for a few days while we figure out the situation?”

No one didn’t know that that meant he wanted to help these people after all. No-gun also shook his head as if he was dumbfounded.

“Yeah. Well, I can go around and find out about the marks…”

It’s not ‘a little’ going around. At least to go to the big villages and cities around, No-gun will be quite busy. But if we have to wait while looking for the marks anyway, it’s not bad to stay in this village.

“Do as you wish.”

No-gun said with a smirk. At that clumsy but warm affection, Son Bin bowed deeply and expressed his sincere gratitude.

(Author’s words)

A Cheonchuk version of the saying ‘Harsh taxes are more terrifying than tigers.’ The fact that it’s true is more of a problem.