Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 13

“Ahem.”

As if trying to shake off his thoughts, Unhyun cleared his throat loudly and raised his head.

The front seats of the two-story pavilion surrounding ChangEumGak were occupied by the royal family.

High-ranking officials sat near the front stage, and from where Unhyun was sitting, court ladies and eunuchs were seated.

Coincidentally, or rather, inevitably, the seating arrangement clearly revealed Unhyun’s current position.

‘Someday.’

Unhyun vowed in his heart.

‘Someday, I will definitely step forward to that front.’

Somewhere on the second floor, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, whom he had not yet had the honor of seeing, might be present.

And someday, the day will come when he can enjoy the performance leisurely with a pleasant smile.

If not by the Crown Prince’s side, then at least in the front.

Unhyun believed so.

Clang.

The sound signaling the start of the performance rang out, and the murmuring instantly subsided.

All eyes were focused on the brightly lit stage, and Unhyun swallowed hard without realizing it.

***

Unhyun’s steps returning from ChangEumGak were quite excited.

He barely remembered how he parted ways with Eunuch Park.

Right now, Unhyun’s mind was filled only with the scenes from the performance he had just seen.

“Amazing. Really amazing……”

Unhyun shook his head.

The performance at ChangEumGak was beyond his expectations.

Unhyun was completely immersed in the play.

The music and the actors’ performances were flawless.

It was a bit disappointing that the actress playing the beautiful woman was actually a man, but anyway, Unhyun was very satisfied with the performance.

And above all, what captivated Unhyun was the exhilarating feeling that flowed throughout the play.

“No wonder His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is interested. I’m glad I came to see it.”

Unhyun felt that he needed to revise a significant portion of his initial draft.

Through this performance, he realized from what perspective he should view the martial arts competitions of the masters.

With this alone, Unhyun could say that he had learned something truly significant.

“But there were some disappointing aspects. Other than that, the setting for martial arts seems a bit lacking.”

Unhyun smacked his lips.

In the past, he would have watched it without knowing anything, but after spending a year in training, the martial arts and dueling scenes in the performance seemed quite clumsy.

“It should have been done this way there… Iyeop!”

Unhyun unconsciously corrected one of the protagonist’s movements from the play, then quickly withdrew his hand.

He was worried that someone might see him.

Glancing to his left and right, Unhyun hurriedly began to move his feet. His head was full of sentences he wanted to write down quickly.

‘Good. I feel like things will work out well?’

Unhyun clenched his fist. Unhyun’s heart, urging his steps, was filled with hope for the future.

And time flew by like an arrow, and five years had already passed.

***

“Hoo. Damn it.”

Unhyun sighed deeply.

The ChangRyongJeon [Hall of Flourishing Dragons] signboard, engraved with soaring, magnificent calligraphy, was now just dull to him after seeing it countless times.

“Even too much success is a problem.”

Unhyun’s steps entering ChangRyongJeon were weak.

Inside, as always, SaIlCheon was sitting upright, writing something in a book.

‘What is that person always doing so diligently?’

Unhyun looked at SaIlCheon, the manager of ChangRyongJeon, with an undisguised expression of wonder.

It had already been five years since he had faced him every day as the sole manager and another scholar of ChangRyongJeon.

Even after five years, Unhyun still found it difficult to deal with SaIlCheon.

“What are you looking at?”

A cold voice rang in Unhyun’s ears.

Instead of answering, Unhyun put his hands together and bowed in a familiar manner.

When he raised his head, SaIlCheon’s blunt voice continued.

“The report?”

Unhyun said with a troubled expression.

“As I said before, even once every two months is too much. To do it properly, you need to give me at least three months…”

Tak.

‘He’s closing it again. It’s completely a habit.’

Unhyun muttered inwardly without care.

SaIlCheon was not a person who easily showed his emotions.

But he had a habit.

Whenever something displeased him, he always closed his book with a loud noise.

And opening the book again meant that the matter was over.

He didn’t know what kind of book he was reading so diligently.

“Haven’t you ever completed and submitted it in a month?”

Unhyun frowned at SaIlCheon’s words.

“As I said then, that was a special case. I can’t always submit reports like that. Above all, it’s a report to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so if I rush it, I might…”

“I’ve said it before.”

Unhyun’s words were cut off by SaIlCheon’s cold voice.

“Your job is to complete your work within the deadline. Whether His Royal Highness the Crown Prince likes your report or not is not your concern.”

Unhyun’s mouth popped out at SaIlCheon’s cold words.

“But if something goes wrong, aren’t I the one who gets reprimanded?”

SaIlCheon frowned and glared at Unhyun.

But Unhyun did not turn away.

Eventually, SaIlCheon let out a small sigh at Unhyun’s audacious attitude.

Then, in a slightly softened voice, he said cautiously.

“The higher-ups, you see, never believe that their subordinates are doing their best. Therefore, they always demand something better than yesterday.”

SaIlCheon continued with a bitter expression.

“If you want to survive here, you’d better keep that in mind. Standing out and falling behind are equally dangerous because this is not a world that needs heroes right now.”

SaIlCheon’s expression looked somewhat deflated.

Thanks to that, Unhyun also became a little subdued.

“So, once you’ve shown that you can complete a report in a month, those above will always demand more than that. Understand?”

Unhyun understood SaIlCheon’s words.

But Unhyun shook his head.

“But now I lack data.”

SaIlCheon frowned slightly.

“Lack data? How many *japseo* [miscellaneous books] are there in MunyeonGak [Hall of Literary Enlightenment]? Has that many books already run out?”

“Even if there are more than thirty-seven thousand *japseo* in MunyeonGak, there are only a little over five hundred books about the *murim* [martial arts world]. To be exact…”

Unhyun paused, counting his fingers and muttering something to himself before continuing.

“Five hundred and thirty-seven books. And there are even fewer books that record the contents of *bimu* [martial arts duels]. So…”

Unhyun counted his fingers again.

“Three hundred and sixty-four books. That includes those with overlapping dates or those that are too embarrassing to call *bimu* records.”

SaIlCheon was silently listening to Unhyun’s words.

But he didn’t have a particularly sympathetic expression.

Unhyun continued.

“It takes an average of about ten books of data to write one report. I’ve already submitted nearly thirty reports…”

“Twenty-seven to be exact.”

SaIlCheon interrupted Unhyun’s words.

While Unhyun hesitated, SaIlCheon continued to speak.

“And all of them have been submitted to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Isn’t that something you should be proud of?”

“O-of course. But…”

Unhyun swallowed the words that had risen to his throat.

‘But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince didn’t say anything, did he?’

It’s a proud thing.

But he had never heard the Crown Prince say that he liked his writing or that he appreciated his efforts.

Rather, he heard from Eunuch Park that his reports were being copied and circulated within the palace.

Apparently, they were quite popular, and someone had even drawn pictures in his reports.

Well, in an era when even the dignified scholars of Hanlimwon [Royal Academy] prefer *baekhwasoseol* [vernacular novels] to difficult ancient books, there’s no reason not to.

The problem is that none of that does Unhyun any good.

He hasn’t even heard of the common promotion, let alone the recognition of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince that he so desires.

Under these circumstances, Unhyun is really starting to doubt whether the Crown Prince even reads his reports.

‘Well, what can I expect from ChangRyongJeon, which has only two people, even if I get promoted….’

Instead of the thoughts he muttered inwardly, Unhyun uttered other words.

“What do you want me to do when there’s no data and not enough time?”

It was a successful thing, but the situation did not improve.

Rather, the urging became more severe, and his back was breaking from writing reports.

He has already submitted twenty-seven such reports.

It has already been five years since he entered the Forbidden City [the Imperial Palace], but there is no sign of improvement at all.

So it’s only natural that Unhyun’s mouth popped out.

“Isn’t the reason you don’t have enough time for other reasons?”

Unhyun flinched at SaIlCheon’s low voice.

But Unhyun answered as nonchalantly as possible.

“My training is essential time for writing reports. Surely you’re not making the foolishness of cutting open a chicken’s belly to take out an egg, are you?”

Unhyun strongly protested, but SaIlCheon chuckled.

“Anyway, don’t worry about the data. There are plenty of masters in the *gangho murim* [martial arts world], and the fighting among *murimin* [martial artists] never stops every day, so how can there be no data?”

“How can I, who am stuck in this corner of the Forbidden City, know about the data of those masters overflowing in *gangho* [the martial arts world]?”

Unhyun said as if protesting, but SaIlCheon’s answer was simple.

“Summon them.”

“Yes?”

As Unhyun questioned without realizing it, SaIlCheon’s eyebrows immediately furrowed.

What he hates the most is having to say things twice.

But Unhyun couldn’t help but question.

“Summon? What is that…”

Unhyun was bewildered by the sudden words.

But SaIlCheon said as if it were natural.

“Aren’t you a Forbidden City scholar in name? If you summon them by royal decree, who would dare not come?”

“Are you saying to summon the masters of the *murim* now?”

Tak.

With a light noise from the desk, SaIlCheon’s impression furrowed even more.

“Who said to summon the *murim gosu* [high-level martial artists]? Are they people who will come if you summon them? Just call in the storytellers. I’m talking about the people who make a living by talking about all sorts of things in the *gangho murim*.”

“Ah!”

Only then did Unhyun understand SaIlCheon’s words.

In the *gangho murim*, there are professional storytellers who make it their job to tell all kinds of stories.

Unhyun had also seen an old storyteller spitting while excitedly telling stories at an inn where he had stayed to prepare for the *gwageo* [civil service examination].

If he could meet such storytellers, he would be able to collect much more *bimu* data than the data in MunyeonGak.

Besides, aren’t they the ones who directly witnessed the *bimu*?

‘Huh? Wait a minute. Then…’

Unhyun threw the question that had just come to his mind to SaIlCheon as it was.

“Then why doesn’t His Royal Highness the Crown Prince meet the storytellers directly…”

Unhyun’s words did not end with SaIlCheon’s sharp eyes.

“Are you now suggesting His Majesty the Crown Prince meet such lowly people directly?”

Unhyun realized his mistake. But he didn’t feel comfortable.

‘Why go so far as to corner them so blatantly as lowly…’

The dignified royals would never try to meet people like storytellers, no matter how urgent the matter was.

When he thought about it, even Unhyun in his student days did not regard them as lowly, did he?

“I’ll take care of summoning the storytellers, so you can meet them directly. Be careful not to be fooled by their exaggerated words, as they are prone to exaggeration.”

SaIlCheon said quickly as if trying to finish the story.

“Keep in mind. What His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants is the real state of the *murim* alive, not the exaggerations that the storytellers have made up.”

It was a rather meaningful remark, but Unhyun nodded indifferently.

That’s the story SaIlCheon has been telling every time he submits a report.

It was precisely because of that ‘real state’ that he had to rummage through all the *japseo* in MunyeonGak, read five hundred and thirty-seven books about the *murim*, and almost memorize the three hundred and sixty-four books that recorded the contents of *bimu*.

So much so that it came out in his dreams several times.