Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 4

004. Thirty-Seven Thousand Volumes of Miscellany

For a while, Unhyun stood blankly, staring at the stacks of miscellaneous books before him, then turned away with a hollow sigh.

“So that’s how it is…”

Step.

Unhyun left Munyeongak [a library or archive], walked down the stone steps, and muttered weakly.

“Haa, so that’s the story.”

The thought that he was receiving great special treatment had long since vanished.

From the moment he saw the residence specially prepared for him by His Highness the Crown Prince, he had a feeling that something was wrong.

The Changryong Hall, named by the Crown Prince himself, was also like that.

Unlike the outer court, the official palaces of the Forbidden City, Changryong Hall was located in a corner of the inner court, and the only scholars assigned to Changryong Hall were the aloof Sa Ilcheon and himself.

As the days passed, he felt more and more that something was amiss.

Perhaps that’s why he threw himself into the ‘Research and Investigation of Murim History’ [Murim refers to the martial arts world]. To find something that would earn him recognition from the Crown Prince.

However, here in Munyeongak, Unhyun had to confront the true nature of that feeling of ‘something is wrong.’ It was his true position here in the Forbidden City.

“So, in the end, my real job is a scholar dedicated to the Crown Prince’s hobbies. Hahaha.”

He laughed without realizing it.

“A thousand bushels of rice, a house of gold, and beautiful women…”

Suddenly, a passage from a book of exhortations brushed past his ears.

—In books, there are a thousand bushels of rice; in books, there are houses of gold; in books, there are beautiful women.

“There was a house of gold in the books, indeed…”

Unhyun sighed as if the ground would cave in.

“But it turns out it’s someone else’s house.”

His heart felt empty, as if a hole had been punched through it. But there was nothing he could do.

Sighing endlessly, Unhyun trudged towards Changryong Hall.

All that awaited him there were miscellaneous books about Murim, but even so, in this vast Forbidden City, the only place he could go was Changryong Hall.

Thud, thud.

Unhyun moved his steps precariously. Behind him, the setting sun cast a long shadow.

***

The eunuch Park Gyu in the Forbidden City was in a good mood.

The time was early summer, the most pleasant weather in the Forbidden City.

In the sweltering summer, sweat would pour down your back with the slightest movement. For eunuchs, who always had to move quickly, summer was a continuous series of days soaked in sweat.

Winter was just as hard to endure. The outer court of the Forbidden City, where official events took place, was not heated separately.

Standing motionless in one place on a cold winter day, attending to official events, was tantamount to being on the verge of freezing to death.

On the other hand, days like these, warm and easy to move around, were not so many in a year, so it felt like a waste to let each day pass.

“Ho, hoho…”

The eunuch Park Gyu, gathering his hands together and walking with quick, short steps, was humming a little tune.

Passing through Geoncheong Gate, passing Bohwa Hall and Junghwa Hall, and brushing past Taehwa Hall, his steps were as light as if he were flying.

Tap, tap, tap.

Before him, a pavilion with a black roof appeared.

In this Forbidden City, where everything was covered with golden roofs, the only place with a black roof was Munyeongak (文淵閣), which contained the hope that the black color, symbolizing water, would prevent fires.

Rustle, rustle.

The eunuch Park Gyu climbed the steps of Munyeongak with light steps.

Click.

As soon as he entered, Park Gyu bowed deeply to the manager of Munyeongak.

The Munyeongak manager, recognizing his face, nodded haughtily. However, he did not ask Eunuch Park Gyu to state his affiliation.

No matter how powerful a manager might be, they were worth less than an insect’s life to the imperial family.

And eunuchs were the people who served the imperial family most closely.

So, even though he was the manager of Munyeongak, he couldn’t openly ignore or look down on Eunuch Park Gyu.

Of course, there was no friendly conversation either. To him, a manager of the Forbidden City, the existence of an eunuch was nothing more than a bothersome presence.

The eunuch Park Gyu raised his head, which had been deeply bowed, and headed towards the bookshelves.

Rustle, rustle.

‘Let’s see, what book should I bring today?’

He passed by the Daejeon [a comprehensive collection of laws and regulations], which was displayed prominently at the front, without even glancing at it.

The Daejeon, said to be the culmination of all knowledge, numbered over ten thousand volumes.

It was certainly a great work created by thousands of scholars over several years, but because of its enormous size, no one actually read it.

Above all, there was the question of whether it could obtain the Emperor’s approval.

Therefore, the Daejeon, which proudly occupied the foremost position in Munyeongak, was, like the Forbidden City itself, just another ornament to flaunt the Emperor’s authority.

“Ho, hoho…”

Following the melody still ringing in his ears, Eunuch Park Gyu hummed a tune.

Stopping at one of the bookshelves, he raised his finger and began to scan the densely packed books up and down.

His finger, which had been moving lightly as if dancing, suddenly stopped at one moment. It was not because he had found a suitable book.

‘What is that sound?’

The eunuch Park Gyu listened carefully. The sound he had just heard was clearly someone’s sigh.

“Haa, I thought so, but this is…”

A small voice was heard from beyond the bookshelf. A smile spread across the face of Eunuch Park Gyu, who had been perking up his ears.

‘Aha!’

Recognizing the owner of the voice, he lightly moved his steps closer to where the sound came from.

After turning around a few bookshelves, the person he had expected was standing there.

“Oh my, isn’t it Master Unhyun?”

At the eunuch Park Gyu’s greeting, the person who had been sighing while looking at the bookshelf turned his head.

It was Unhyun, a scholar belonging to Changryong Hall.

“Ah, it’s you.”

The expression on Unhyun’s face as he turned around was gentle.

The eunuch Park Gyu was momentarily puzzled, but soon smiled and bowed his head.

“Yes, Master Un Jin-sa [a title for those who passed the civil service exam].”

The eunuch Park Gyu raised his head and examined Unhyun’s expression.

However, Unhyun’s complexion was still brighter than he had expected.

‘Hmm?’

Unhyun belonged to Changryong Hall.

A place that had nothing to do with national policies or the country’s long-term plans, but simply to satisfy the Crown Prince’s interest in Murim.

That was Changryong Hall.

The former scholars who realized the reality were all unable to escape from the shock.

It was common for them to lock themselves in their rooms for days or wander around with blank faces.

After spending their days like that, they all disappeared within a few days.

So, the expression on Unhyun’s face, speaking so comfortably, was quite puzzling to the eunuch Park Gyu.

“Come to think of it, I still don’t know your name.”

The eunuch Park Gyu, who had been examining Unhyun’s appearance, bowed his head and replied.

“Yes, my name is ‘Gyu.’ My family name is Park.”

“Ah, Eunuch Park, I see.”

Unhyun nodded.

“But Gyu? That’s an unusual name.”

The eunuch Park Gyu smiled.

“Having brought disgrace to my family name and forsaken the grace of my parents, how could I use the name I was given? It’s just a name I made up as I became a eunuch, yes.”

Unhyun’s face stiffened slightly.

The eunuch Park Gyu smiled as if it were nothing, but that couldn’t be the case.

Unlike court ladies, eunuchs who had given up their manhood were always the object of contempt and ridicule.

Unhyun was ashamed and embarrassed that he had not considered his position.

“Ah, I didn’t realize…”

As Unhyun stammered in embarrassment, the eunuch Park Gyu covered his mouth with one hand and laughed. He looked exactly like a court lady.

“Hoho, it’s a matter of course for a lowly person like me, so you don’t have to worry about it, yes. Hohoho.”

Unhyun couldn’t find the words to answer.

After a while, when the eunuch Park Gyu stopped laughing, an awkward silence hung in the air.

“Seeing that you have come to Munyeongak again today, Master, I wonder if you couldn’t find the book you wanted yesterday?”

Unhyun, who had been awkwardly averting his gaze, raised his head at his words.

“Ah, that is…”

Unhyun’s gaze naturally turned to the bookshelf.

While the books on the other bookshelves were placed carefully and preciously, Unhyun’s bookshelf was filled with books that simply filled the space without any classification.

“Do you know how many books there are in this section… by any chance?”

Unhyun asked with a doubtful heart.

The eunuch Park Gyu tilted his head for a moment and then said.

“Well, I don’t pay much attention to this side, so who would know the exact number, but still, it’s roughly about thirty-seven thousand volumes…”

“Haa!”

Unhyun involuntarily exclaimed.

Thirty-seven thousand volumes.

Thirty-seven thousand volumes is just a number, but it would take a hundred years to read one book a day.

In a way, this was to be expected.

Even the books written by the scholars of the imperial palace and the Hallimwon [the Royal Academy] were pouring out hundreds of volumes a year, and wasn’t this area ‘miscellaneous books’?

“Thirty-seven thousand volumes, you say…”

Unhyun muttered with a hollow expression.

It was the moment when he fully understood why the Crown Prince needed a scholar.

No matter how interesting the story, it would be daunting to find it in this huge pile of miscellaneous books.

Moreover, if the books he found were stiff and far from interesting, even the most intriguing task would lose its appeal.

Perhaps sensing Unhyun’s feelings as he sighed while looking at the bookshelf, the eunuch Park Gyu said from the side.

“This place is literally full of miscellaneous books, yes. If you just skim through them and pick out the ones about Murim, the number won’t be that large.”

That was true.

Even if there were thirty-seven thousand volumes, he didn’t have to read them all.

If he only picked out the ones about Murim, the number wouldn’t be that large.

But wouldn’t he have to look through the titles of all thirty-seven thousand volumes first?

Even if he looked through the covers of a hundred books a day, it would take a full year just to check the titles.

Unhyun became despondent.

He had resolved this morning that he couldn’t just sit back and that retreating in the face of difficulties was not the attitude of a gentleman, and he had made a new resolution.

Besides, no matter what anyone said, wasn’t he a scholar belonging to the future sky, the Crown Prince?

He even thought that if he did this well, it might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

But the resolution he had made so firmly at dawn was melting away like snow.

‘If I had known this would happen…’

He even thought that he shouldn’t have made a resolution in the first place.

What a shameful thing it would be if a great man’s resolution didn’t even last a day!

“Haa…”

Unhyun unconsciously let out a long sigh. Then, noticing the worried gaze of the eunuch Park Gyu standing next to him, he quickly glossed over it.

“Ahem, hmm. Ah, thank you, Eunuch Park.”

The eunuch Park Gyu realized that Unhyun was not feeling comfortable and quickly bowed his head.

“Then I will step back now, yes.”

Eunuchs are quick-witted. Park Gyu was especially good at it.

When the other person’s mood is uncomfortable, it is best to step back first.

“Ah, please do. Then see you later…”

Leaving Unhyun’s greeting behind, the eunuch Park Gyu turned and returned to the bookshelf.

From behind, Unhyun’s listless voice was heard softly.

“In the end, I’m stuck wrestling with books again…”

A slight smile hung on the eunuch Park Gyu’s lips.

After all, as a top graduate of the civil service examination, he must have been sick of books.

Perhaps he was now dreaming of the splendid days of the Forbidden City as an official.

But now he was faced with not the Four Books and Five Classics [Confucian texts], but miscellaneous books, and thirty-seven thousand of them, so he couldn’t help but sigh.

‘Still, it’s admirable that he doesn’t give up. But how long will that last…’

At first, everyone tries to find a way.

But most people realize that there is only one way.

If you don’t want to rot here, you have to use connections or bribes to get out to another place no matter what.

Giving up his official position and returning to his hometown to run a private school is also a way, but who would give up so easily after studying for more than ten years and barely passing the exam?

‘Well, if he had connections, he wouldn’t be in such a situation in the first place.’

So, all he can do is sigh like that.

Before he knew it, the eunuch Park Gyu’s finger was resting on the book he would borrow today.

Picking up three or four carefully placed books, he turned away from the bookshelf and walked away with quick, short steps.