Episode 20. Second life and death decision2013.11.09.
It has been three days since Sonbin and Sajahyeok stayed at the guesthouse in Seoan.
Son Bin was quite satisfied with the days of watching Sa-hyeok Sahyeok’s Hyeoncheondobeop in the middle of the night, organizing records and grinding food at dawn, and exploring various places in Xi’an during the day.
However, on the third day, Sonbin also began to wonder, ‘Is this okay?’
“Are you okay?”
Sonbin asked while drinking tea after finishing breakfast.
“What do you mean?”
Sajahyuk raises the teacup to his lips and asks.
“Didn’t you say there was someone following you?”
Sajahyeok smiled faintly at Sonbin’s question.
“I followed him to Sichuan, but since I heard news from Hubei Province, he probably thinks he was deceived. “It should be somewhere in Hubei Province by now.”
“Hmm.”
Anyway, it doesn’t really matter to Sonbin. After nodding her head politely, Sonbin lifted the teacup to his lips.
Slurp.
The bitter tea refreshes your mouth. Sonbin, who savored the taste for a moment, asked again.
“When will the fierce tiger of Sichuan come here?”
“soon.”
Sajahyeok answered.
“He is very cautious, but he is also curious and impatient. “When the wind blows, he will be the first to come here.”
Sonbin tilted his head.
“You say Meng Hao is very cautious?”
“Have you ever seen a tiger?”
Sonbin shook his head in response to Sajahyuk’s question.
“I’ve heard about it, but I’ve never seen it in person… … .”
“Tigers are very smart. So I am very curious. Not only does he intuitively recognize opponents who are stronger than him, but he also shows endless caution in everything he does. A tiger shows its teeth only when he is confident that he can win. But this time, that curiosity will get the better of you.”
“exactly?”
Sonbin said while tilting his head.
“If it’s a fierce tiger, I just have the impression that he’s strong… … .”
“Because you don’t know, you just suffer.”
Sajahyeok raised his teacup and said.
“If you know, you will be able to hunt.”
The words were somehow meaningful, so Sonbin took out a book and a pencil without realizing it.
∴
It was that afternoon that the news Sajahyuk had been waiting for arrived. Nobok, whom he had seen in Giru, came to visit Sajahyeok at his guesthouse.
As he was sitting at the table for dinner, Sonbin was able to see Nobok come to visit Sajahyeok.
After paying his respects to Sajahyuk and Sonbin, Nobok briefly said a few words to Sajahyuk in a low voice.
Even Sonbin, who was sitting right across from me, couldn’t hear it properly. The slave bowed politely again and disappeared out of the guesthouse.
“Are you here?”
Sonbin asked. Sajahyuk’s eyes were deeply sunken. It was the same look I saw in Sacheon a few days ago. The look in your eyes that is about to determine life or death.
“Yes.”
This is the second life or death decision. Sonbin asked.
“Are you okay?”
“Okay.”
Sajahyeok’s deeply sunken eyes showed a faint smile.
“Didn’t you tell me? “If you know, you can hunt.”
Sweet.
Sajahyeok got up from his seat.
“Take a rest. “I’ll have to hunt a fierce tiger tonight.”
Sonbin nodded silently. The second life or death situation has come.
***
As soon as the moon rose at night, Son Bin left the guest house with Sajahyeok.
Perhaps because it was still early at night, the streets of Xi’an were sparkling with lights. As soon as I got on the carriage that was waiting in front of the guest house, the carriage started moving.
Many sides, many sides.
“Take it.”
Inside the shaking carriage, Sajahyeok held out a very small box. Sonbin accepted the small box with a puzzled expression.
It was a small box that could easily fit in the palm of your hand, but it looked quite old.
Sweet.
When Sonbin applied a little force, the box opened. A refreshing scent spreads throughout the carriage.
“What is this?”
What was inside the box was something like a small milky white bead. A small bead was neatly placed on a red silk cloth.
“It will be necessary.”
Sajahyuk spoke in a calm voice.
“You just need to keep it in your arms. But if you think it’s dangerous, put it under your tongue, and if you think it’s really the last moment, swallow it. “I will save your life, at least once.”
Sonbin somehow felt creepy.
“Is your life in danger?”
“Didn’t you say it was a fight between life and death?”
‘A fight that risks life and death.’
That’s right. But that was Sajahyuk’s case, and Sonbin didn’t feel like he was in danger.
That was because Sajahyeok was always with him, and also because he was essentially just an observer.
But at least for this meeting, it seemed like that might not be the case.
When Sonbin looked at the small bead and said nothing, Sajahyuk suddenly spoke.
“If you don’t feel like it.”
Sonbin raised his head at that voice.
Tap, tap.
The light passing outside the carriage passes by Sajahyeok’s face. And his calm and deep eyes looking at Sonbin. Suddenly, it occurred to Sonbin that those eyes resembled someone else’s.
“You don’t have to go.”
Sajahyeok said. Sonbin smiled bitterly.
“Don’t you think we’ve come too far to get off?”
“There is no such thing as an irreversible path.”
Sajahyeok said.
“That is why the responsibility of the walker exists.”
It was like he was saying it to himself.
“I don’t know much about fatalism.”
Sonbin said.
“I will go. “I have to do my job.”
Sajahyeok listened to Sonbin’s answer in silence without saying a word. Meanwhile, the carriage was passing through the long streets of Xi’an and heading out of the castle.
∴
The place where the carriage carrying the two people stopped was near a small lake not far from Xi’an. It was a quiet place with no sign of popularity, and all that could be seen was a small pavilion standing by the lakeside.
‘It’s a lonely place.’
A thin moon shadow is reflected on a small lake. The only light around was a small lantern hanging in a pavilion by the lake, so I couldn’t see the surroundings properly.
However, amidst the sound of lapping water, there is only a night sky full of stars.
“If you just take my word for it.”
Sonbin turned his head when he suddenly heard Sajahyuk’s voice.
“There is nothing to worry about.”
Sajahyeok said that and walked towards the illuminated pavilion. After putting his hand in his arms and checking to see if there was anything he had received earlier, Son Bin followed Lion Hyuk towards the pavilion.
As I approached the pavilion, listening to the sound of lapping water, I saw the shadow of a person standing with his back to me as if looking down at the lake. And next to him stood the shadow of another slightly smaller person.
Jerk, jerk.
Sajahyeok stopped near the entrance to the pavilion. I saw two people standing under a lonely lamp.
One was a young man, holding a sword in his arms. His sharp eyes are directed at Sonbin and Sajahyuk.
The other person was a man of quite large stature. He was facing the lake with his back facing the lake, so only his back could be seen, but he was wearing silk clothes with colorful patterns.
The sparkling jewelry on the wrists and fingers looked as if a high-ranking official had gone out for a night out.
Okay.
The person looking at the lake slowly turned around. His shiny silk clothes, which seemed to be woven with a mixture of gold and silver threads, swayed gently under the lamplight, and his intense eyes, like those of a fierce tiger, glared at Son Bin and Sajahyeok.
‘Ugh.’
Sonbin flinched without realizing it. His middle-aged man’s eyes were fierce and intense. A feeling of tension ran down my spine, as if I was looking into the eyes of a tiger.
“It’s been a while.”
The man spoke in a heavy voice with a faint smile.
“I’m glad to see you again.”
“I’m happy too.”
Sajahyeok said. But there wasn’t a single smile on his face.
“Because you are still a hypocrite whose words and actions are different.”
A smile spread across the face of the middle-aged man with a tiger-like expression.
“Are you saying this because of what you have read around you? But that’s not me.”
‘Hadog?’
Hadok means that poison has been sprayed. Sonbin looked down without realizing it. But there was just ordinary grass and dirt under her feet, and there was nothing strange to see.
“Why would I do something like that when I clearly know it won’t work on you? Most poisons won’t get anywhere near you. “That is a young work from this child.”
He turned his head and saw a young man standing next to him.
“It’s a pretty good skill, but there’s no way it can work on you.”
The eyes of the young man holding the sword in his arms shined sharply. Aside from his fierce eyes, he was a handsome man with fairly thin lines.
“Say hello. “He is a close friend of Nobu.”
The young man, who was looking at Sajahyuk with challenging eyes, slightly lowered his head.
“nice to see you. I am… … Please call me Snow Sword.”
Even the young man’s voice was thin. However, Sonbin somehow felt bad. And the reason is.
“You still have the habit of shifting responsibility to others and trying to elevate yourself by putting others down.”
Sajahyeok spoke instead.
“I am Lion Hyeok.”
Sajahyuk looked back at the young man. Looking at the young man’s provocative gaze towards him, Sajahyuk smiled thinly.
“The look in your eyes is quite lively.”
Seolgeom’s eyes were slightly distorted. Sajahyuk said.
“But make sure you are not wrong about what you should see.”
“Hehehe. “Advice to a child you are meeting for the first time.”
The middle-aged man laughed. He said, running his fingers over his well-groomed beard.
“You are very old too.”
“Because a lot of time has passed.”
Sajahyeok said.
“But I stand before you like this. “As promised.”
“promise? Ah, promise. Yes, I told you so.”
The man nodded. And soon, a sneer appeared on his lips.
“When that lowly woman dies instead of you. Thanks to you, my sword got dirty, right? So even now.”
The man slowly turned his gaze to look at the snow sword.
“This is how they make the child carry it around.”
His gaze was directed at the single sword held by the snow sword.
“It’s that sword. “At that very moment, the very sword that pierced that woman.”
He said with a bitter laugh.
hook.
At that moment, Sonbin felt a fiery force coming from Sajahyeok.
‘W-what… … .’
The moment I felt Sajahyeok’s hand move, Daedo Powell had already revealed himself. And just like that, Powell fell vertically toward the ground.
thud!
A dull sound arose. And what followed was a tremendous force rising from Powell and spreading in all directions.
Phew.
‘laugh.’
The force gently enveloped Sonbin and flowed backwards like water. At that moment, what her Sonbin felt was tremendous heat. But she passes by in an instant without even a moment to feel it.
‘what? this… … .’
Surprisingly, I felt like it was nothing special. However, it was only Sonbin who felt that way.
The force that swept all around caused the grass to lie down all at once facing outward, and dry blades of grass fluttered here and there. Moreover, the grass on the ground surrounding them was turning yellow all at once.
“Tsk tsk tsk tsk.”
The middle-aged man laughed.
“In the past, you would have driven out the poison with just force, but now you have to borrow Powell’s power. As expected, you… … .”
His tiger-like eyes flashed.
“You’ve changed.”
“You haven’t changed.”
Sajahyeok said.
“It’s such an obvious tactic to agitate the other person with words and then use the time to criticize them.”
A bitter smile spread across Sajahyeok’s lips.
“Anyway, don’t you think it’s too easy?”
The middle-aged man shrugged his shoulders.
“The royal road never changes. “It is always a valid law.”
“That is a shallow number. for example.”
Sajahyuk sneered and raised one hand. A thin line of smoke, like incense, rose from his clenched fist.
Cheezy.
When Sajahyeok opens his hand, black burnt debris falls down.
“Like this phoenix needle you just threw.”
“After overcoming a major crisis, you naturally let down your guard. But the truth is, I’m a little surprised too.”
The man spoke in a calm tone.
“Before, you wouldn’t have even dared to try something like this. “As expected of you.”
He smiled brightly.
“I’ve changed.”
The tiger-like man’s eyes seemed as if they could pierce a lion’s skin. And after a while, those big eyes moved slightly.
“But, what is that kid?”
The target of his gaze was Sonbin.
“I am… … .”
It was when Sonbin was about to speak.
“He is the one who watches and records.”
Sajahyeok answered.
“One who watches and records?”
The man frowned slightly.
“What does it mean?”
“Literally.”
Sajahyeok said.
“He is the person who will watch my secrets and write them down so that the world can know them.”
“Hoo.”
The man’s eyes sparkled.
“That’s okay. “Why didn’t I think of that earlier?”
He nodded, as if he was genuinely impressed.
“Snow sword.”
“yes.”
“Doesn’t it look like he’s about the same age as you? “They’re both young, so I think they’ll have a good conversation.”
Sonbin turned his head and looked at Seolgeom. Seolgeom also saw Sonbin.
At that time, Son Bin clearly saw a thin sneer passing from the corner of Seolgeom’s mouth. Her face was straight and handsome, but her personality seemed not to be.
“He is said to be the one who watches over and records my close friend’s military affairs, so his coat of arms must also be a prestigious one of the time. However, it doesn’t seem fair to leave the records to only him. That’s right, Seolgeom.”
“yes.”
“You write it down too.”
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martial arts,
