Episode 25. I was moved to tears
.
Only then did I painfully realize what it was like for a person to die.
You don’t know when it’s busy.
When you become lonely… When you are alone, only then do you experience the shock for yourself.
It is said that traces of a person are defined by memories with that person… As I
entered the cave and looked at the items that Song Myeong-cheon had used, I suddenly felt my eyes becoming hot.
Although Song Myeong-cheon’s temperament was so eccentric that it was hard to accept him, and at first he was anxious because he couldn’t catch him… but as
time went by, he started to treat him with sincerity.
Ah…and his life.
How miserable he lived after being falsely accused of being a criminal who harmed the person he loved…. If
only one-tenth of the story had been understood, the people in the world would not have been able to just point fingers.
A momentary silence.
The silence was as bitter as the depth of infinity.
‘It’s lonely. It’s so lonely.’
It was like that.
Spending the night alone in the snow-covered mountains was a terrible experience. I was lonely to death.
Han Yi-bi suddenly pulled out Song Myeong-cheon’s jade tablet from her arms.
A transparent, polished jade tablet of the highest quality. Song Myeong-cheon’s relics.
Han Ibi thought while shaking her head vigorously.
‘Sell this? How could I, knowing that desperate story, do that? It’s truly an impossible task.’
Then I thought again.
‘If you get the chance… it would be a good idea to give it to the woman who is the hostess of the shaman faction. If my name is cleared, Old Man Song will be happy in heaven. But…’
Han Ibi took a deep sigh.
‘What should I do now….’
Han Ibi was quietly practicing in silence and envisioning the future.
‘Of course I should go home. ‘But how?’
You must defeat the evil spirit ball. Then what else should I do?…
Ah, that’s right. Hero.
It will be important to follow the main character.
He has been digging into the evil spirit master throughout the novel, so he will definitely get clues in the future.
And all you have to do is watch from the side and intercept the ball.
It seems a bit cruel, but I can’t do it. Shouldn’t you go home?
‘But… I don’t know if this guy named Jong Ri-hyuk treats Gaechaban’s younger brother like a brother.’
It’s not that they weren’t, but rather than being blood relatives, the two brothers were closer to being enemies to the core.
It was mainly treated as trash by Jongrimae, but…
‘Well. good. If you get kicked out, another way will come up as soon as you get kicked out. Let’s go and see it first. But if you are a Qingcheng sect, are you in Qingcheng Mountain? ‘Where… is it?’
* * *
Han Ibi trudged down the mountain.
The weather was unpredictable, and the bright sunlight was pouring down on the entire mountain, so the sparsely melted snow made it quite muddy.
Even now, when I look back, it seems like Song Myeong-cheon is walking with me with a blunt expression.
The bag of medicinal herbs he had collected so far was clattering around his waist, following him.
I didn’t want to sell the jade tablet. If you want to go on a trip, you will need Lao Tzu.
So, he thought he should earn travel expenses by selling medicinal herbs to ‘Magok Clinic’ like Song Myeong-cheon did.
But….
‘Wow! ‘How did this happen?’
The signboard had fallen and was broken, and the clinic was abandoned and empty.
‘Did you quit being a member of the National Assembly because of the shock of that time?’
He tilted his head for a moment and then walked away without hesitation.
This easy-going personality could be said to be Han Ibi’s greatest strength.
Or maybe it was a drawback…
Now there was only one place left for him to go.
Cheongyugaekjan.
Han Ibi said to the person who was sweeping the yard.
“How are you?”
“no! Who is this? “How can this happen without any message?”
“When did we say goodbye to each other?”
“He didn’t come with us?”
Hwang Bang, the guesthouse owner, was looking at Han Ibi with a surprised expression.
* * *
I told the lady I wanted to have a drink. Just be quiet and alone.
He said that the old man had passed away.
Aunt Jinsook prepared the food with care without saying a word.
I was so grateful, but my heart ached at the thought of my mother.
There is only one person. Two glasses.
Han Ibi poured two glasses of white liquor. One drink will be for yourself and the other will be for Song.
‘Tak’
I placed the drinking glass on the table opposite.
‘Chang!’
Have a drink. Didn’t you like it so much?
The glasses clashed together, making a transparent sound. He immediately raised his glass. Then he took a gulp of strong liquor.
The face did not frown.
At that time, I heard the voices of guests sitting diagonally to the left. I am the only customer in the early hours.
It seemed like he had stayed overnight. Looking at their clothes, they look like ronin or third-rate warriors.
Seeing that everyone’s faces are already red, it seems like they’re all very drunk.
A thin, middle-aged man asked a man with a round, chubby face.
“older brother. “By the way, have you heard that rumor?”
“What rumor?”
“Oh my. Isn’t that there? Non-partisan.”
“Independent? “What is a non-partisan?”
Yes? Shaman?
Han Ibi seemed to be distracted and opened one ear to raise an antenna.
The thin man looked around for a moment to see if he was looking around, glanced at Han Ibi, and then said.
“It’s a long, non-partisan statement.”
“Are you talking about a long sentence for adults?”
“That’s right. “It is him.”
“What is he?”
The thin man lowered his voice even further and spoke.
“It’s a hot rumor these days, so you haven’t heard about it?”
“Yekki. This person. “I’m too busy training to die. What kind of rumor are you talking about?”
“oh my. Is your brother Suryun? After all, practicing drinking alcohol is also training.”
“Are you going to get dusted from a foreigner’s guesthouse in the morning?”
The thin man waved his hand with a mischievous expression and shied away.
“no. no. “I was wrong.”
“okay. You just need to know. But why did you bring up the long story about non-partisan adults?”
“It looks like you really didn’t hear me. Why are you the hostess of the Shaman faction? “What was the name…?”
I can’t believe it…
Han Ibi’s ears pricked up as she filled her glass with all her concentration.
“ah! I can’t help but think of it too… Anyway, wasn’t she the grandmother who was very pretty when she was young?”
“Ugh. My brother too. “What is a grandmother? A grandmother.”
“What’s wrong with calling a grandmother a grandmother?”
“Ugh. All right. “I shouldn’t say anything.”
“ah! That’s it. “Why did you bring up that grandmother again?”
“ah. yes. “There was a rumor circulating around the world that the hostess and Tak Bu-yong, Jang Mun-in, had split up.”
“what?”
“Yes? Strange, right? They were a famous couple in the martial arts world, like a pair of mandarin ducks… It was said that the wife had been stopping at public events for some time. According to one theory, he returned to his hometown.”
“hometown?”
“yes. “I heard somewhere that the wife was not originally a shaman, but the daughter of a Jang Mun-in of the Cheongseong faction.”
The stout man said, his face twitching.
“You’re saying you married someone from a third-rate sect like the Qingcheng sect?”
“I do not know. “I heard this at first glance…”
“It looks like that woman was having an affair.”
“Wind?”
“okay. wind. What kind of person is Tak Buyong? “Isn’t he the noblest of noblemen whose brilliance, righteousness, and uprightness are like abstractions?”
“Of course I do.”
“So how can there be any other reason? “I can’t use that woman very much.”
Was it because he was already drunk?
Their stories bounced around wildly. I went to Shaolin, I went to Gongjae, I went to Hwasan…
Mainly, the core forces of Gangho were the subjects of the chat.
Especially about their various ‘unconfirmed stories’.
The fact that I like talking about other people’s gossip is the same as it was then.
And then it ends up being a lewd joke about ‘giru’ and ‘women’. When men get together, the conversation always ends in this way.
Han Ibi shook her head and took another drink. This time, my face automatically frowned.
Hwangbang, who happened to be passing by and saw the scene, approached Han Ibi and said.
“But… do you have money?”
Han Ibi held out the medicine pouch without saying a word. Hwang Bang asked with a puzzled expression.
“what’s this?”
“This is all I have.”
Hwang Bang, who had searched the bag, said with an expression of bewilderment.
“This… these are medicinal herbs. “What on earth are you asking me to do with this?”
“What are you doing? “Please give me another bottle of alcohol.”
“what? “He has no money!”
“And uncle.”
“Why this guy?”
“Is Qingcheng Mountain very far from here?”
* * *
I felt it even when I was working, but… Hwangbang and Jo Jin-sook and their wife are really… salty. Absolutely…
I wanted to at least give some of my old money, but what the heck. Go to the street and try selling medicinal herbs.
If you’re lucky, wandering herbalists may pass by…
‘Damn it. Whether in Korea or here… you can’t do anything without money. In martial arts novels, the main character walks around without making a single penny…’ After
saying goodbye to Cheongyugaekjan’s family, Han Ibi took up the sack and went straight to the street.
‘Wait a minute… Where and how can I sell this…’
That was the time.
I heard people gathering and making noise. It was a large vacant lot in the middle of the market.
People were trying their best to look inside by tiptoeing over the shoulder of the person in front of them.
Tsk tsk tsk. It’s obvious.
In these village markets, there are many swindlers who sell fake medicines and products at high prices while performing strange tricks.
I’m sure they are like that too.
It is also a common subject of martial arts novels…
But…
How can the human mind only move rationally?
If there is such a thing, it is human nature to look at it for at least 4 to 5 seconds to be relieved.
‘Do you know anything else? Since they are medicine sellers, they might need medicinal ingredients.’
Deceived herself, Han Ibi walked fast and squeezed through people.
At that time, ‘Ppwaak-!’ With the sound, a hot energy passed over my face. ‘Wow!’ ‘Aaaah~!’ The cheers of the audience followed suit.
‘What…what is it?’
Han Ibi was startled by the unexpected sight. When I came to my senses, I saw flames rising into the sky.
And beneath the flames, a man with his top down was spewing fire into the air.
Or, to be more precise, he was holding a torch and spraying liquid toward its end.
It must have been flammable, so every time it was blown on, a huge amount of flames shot up into the sky.
Then…
he turned towards the audience. Then the audience said in surprise.
“no! no! it’s crazy?”
“Get it off me!”
“Uh-uh! “What is that!”
However, the man, naked from the waist up, sprayed flames at the people. A rush of hot energy rushed over me.
Han Ibi was also surprised by the sight and took a step back. Some children screamed and ran away crying.
But nothing happened.
The flames rushed a few inches in front of the people at the front of the audience and then shot back like an ebbing tide.
The so-called ‘fire show.’
The audience, who experienced a moment of thrill, threw all previous criticism into oblivion and cheered and applauded.
“Wow, I almost thought I was going to burn to death. awesome!”
“Wow, you look cool~!”
“Wow, it’s been ten years.”
“Once more! Once more!”
Han Ibi saw the man again.
He seemed very fat, but Han Ibi was able to confirm with keen eyes that it was not a fat layer but a ‘muscle layer’.
At that time, a slim young man who had been quietly watching the fire show from the side came into the center of the stage holding a gun. It seems like a colleague.
It’s a familiar pattern.
Because at this climax, you will have to hold the board and shake things up.
said the young man.
“Sleep, sleep. everyone. “Did you enjoy our Hwamyojutsu?”
However, the tone was very thin.
weird.
I think it’s a girl, not a young man.
It’s hard to tell if he’s a man or a woman because of his shaman-like appearance.
However, as soon as she spoke, the crowd began to turn their backs one by one, like a lights-up theater with the end credits of a movie playing.
The girl shouted as if she was embarrassed.
“Wait a minute. everyone. “Please listen to me for a moment.”
I turned around and could hear the crowd talking to each other.
“Just listen to something. It’s probably asking you to buy some quack medicine.”
“The old man next door, Mr. Lee, put a salve from a place like this on a boil on his buttocks, and it swelled up and he died.”
“You have to be careful because this is a world where you can get your nose cut even with your eyes open.”
“Is this a bit of a rip-off?”
Then she shouted sharply.
(Continued in the next part)
