Episode 126. A Tough Night for the Young
Shandong Province.
Menglin.
Around dusk.
A four-horse chariot entered Menglim, where the tombs of Mencius and his descendants are located.
This is the carriage that Yeonjeokha and his party rode in.
A sigh escaped from Yeonjeokha’s mouth, who was standing next to the horse.
After leaving Hahyeopjeomchon, I couldn’t get a proper rest because I didn’t see any inns.
Looking at the sign that said ‘Maengrim’, it seemed like a village, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t see any houses.
“Sir, it doesn’t look like there are any inns here either?”
The coachman looked around and answered.
“Yes, it doesn’t seem like there are many people. The houses look sparsely spaced out… … .”
The director was also from Henan Province, so he was not familiar with the situation in Shandong Province.
“Then, let’s rest here today. I don’t think going any further would be of much use.”
“You’ve thought it through well. It would be better to rest in an empty house than to sleep out on the streets.”
“ha!”
A long sigh escaped Yeonjeokha’s mouth.
I never knew wandering the world would be this hard.
I thought riding a carriage would be less tiring, but after a month, my butt started to hurt.
I thought it would be over after just five mountain villages, but the land is so vast.
The mover parked his carriage in front of the largest building nearby.
Soon, people came out of the carriage one by one.
Yu Geun-sik was the first to groan.
“Oh my! My back hurts. My butt hurts too. There’s no place on my body that doesn’t hurt.”
“Death Note, what if you’re already having a hard time? You’ve only just gotten one mountain vegetable.”
“Wow! I think I’ve been to about ten places. Isn’t that right, Seol Sa-hyeong?”
“Tch! What’s so hard about being young? Even the Namgung family and the senior officers didn’t say anything.”
Yu Geun-sik kept his mouth shut at Seol Cha-su’s remark.
I thought I had acted too rudely in front of Namgungcheon, Cheongungeom, and Simtong.
Namgungcheon muttered as he looked around.
“What is this place? There are houses scattered here and there, but I don’t see a single person.”
Of course, it might have been because it was winter, but more than that, it didn’t feel like people lived there.
Namgung Yeon said as he walked towards the main hall.
“Menglin is the graveyard of Mencius’ family.”
Namgungcheon followed him hurriedly and asked.
“Huh? So this whole place is a graveyard?”
Namgung Yeon went deep inside with a face that seemed to ask why something so obvious was being asked.
Yeonjeokha also quickly followed Namgungyeon.
When you go inside, you can clearly see that it is not a house but a temple.
The majestic forest seemed to be well-managed, being much larger and cleaner than the previous Possi shrine.
Suddenly, I remembered the long trip to Gangnam with my sworn brothers.
I don’t know how I walked that far on foot back then.
Seolchasu, Yugeunsik, and Jinseolha diligently walked around the area and picked up dry trees.
After a while, Yoo Geun-sik lit a bonfire in the middle of the shrine.
As people gathered around the campfire, Seol Cha-su, who was feeling awkward for no reason, started to whine.
“Haha! Still, I benefit from Mencius.”
But no one responded to his joke.
Except for Namgung Yeon, most of them were people who were distant from Confucius and Mencius, so they had nothing to say.
Knock knock. Knock knock.
All that could be heard was the sound of flames burning in the temple.
Did about 15 minutes pass like that?
Seol Cha-su, who had been sitting blankly, took out some dried food from his bag and put it in his mouth.
Later, other people also started rummaging through their bags silently.
As soon as I finished eating the sweet potato, I laid down on the fire like everyone else.
Although it is said that the body is impervious to cold, cold places are not good for the body. Even after sleeping soundly all night, my body felt stiff when I woke up.
It goes without saying that people with high status take their places on the Buddhist side. The idea that it is okay to yield because you have high status is something that only makes sense among family members.
The siblings Yeonjeokha, Simtong, and Namgungcheon are the innermost.
In the meantime, Seolchasu and his party forcefully squeezed in where the warmth reached.
How much time has passed?
Yeonjeokha, who was trying to force herself to close her eyes, suddenly sat up.
“Ah! It itches! It itches!”
He scratched his body as if he couldn’t stand the pain anymore.
As the campfire warmed up, the fleas became active.
Simtong lay down and watched Yeonjeokha fluttering and making a ‘clack clack’ sound.
To him, fleas were a part of life.
Maybe I was used to it, or maybe I was just old and my senses were dulled. Whatever the reason, the pain was bearable, so I was able to smile while looking at Yeonjeokha.
Seolchasu, Yugeunsik, and Jinseolha were itchy, but they kept their mouths shut and just scratched.
In Namgungcheon’s case, even with his experience in martial arts for over ten years, he only occasionally turns his body around.
But Namgung Yeon, who grew up well, was different.
Unable to withstand the continued onslaught of fleas, she sat up in shock.
There must be something wrong with the temple.
Otherwise, how could I suddenly feel itchy today?
‘Why are there fleas?’
Namgung Yeon’s beautiful wife, who was looking around every corner of the shrine, frowned.
A giant pile of rubble was seen abandoned in the corner.
Things that were hard to see because it was dark came into view when I looked closely.
It seems like it was used by beggars recently.
In short, it was a wrong choice.
‘ha!’
Namgung Yeon let out a sigh and quietly left.
If things continue like this, I won’t be able to sleep well, so I’m thinking of going for a walk.
Namgung Yeon, who had been walking around the area, stopped.
Four people were seen squatting in front of the temple gate.
It was Yeonjeokha and Seolchasu’s party.
Namgung Yeon, who met eyes with the four people, smiled without realizing it.
It seems like only young people without experience in the Gangho area have a hard time at night.
Yeon Jeok-ha, whose eyes met Namgung Yeon’s, suddenly stood up.
“Sister, where did you go?”
“walk.”
“Wow. I can’t sleep because it itches so much. There weren’t that many fleas in the mountains. This place seems like a flea den.”
“Looks like someone used it recently. There are a few dents in the corner.”
“I must have been a very dirty person. I’ve been homeless many times, but today was the worst.”
Yeonjeokha shook her head.
Jin Seol-ha, who had been watching the conversation between the two, quietly stood up.
“Excuse me, did you come out because of the fleas too?”
“… … .”
After a moment of silence, Namgung Yeon answered.
“is it so.”
Normally I wouldn’t have responded.
But tonight, perhaps because I was going through similar hardships, the wall in my heart seemed to have softened.
Jin Seol-ha, who had succeeded in starting a conversation for the first time, mustered up the courage to speak again.
“I guess it’s because it’s my first time on the Gangho Line, but it’s really hard for me. How are you, young lady?”
“me too.”
Although it was a short answer, I felt my shoulders tense up for no reason as I presented it.
I was proud of myself for being able to have a normal conversation with Hwayongdoksim Namgungyeon.
After Namgung Yeon accepted, later even Seol Cha-soo and Yoo Geun-sik began to talk to her little by little.
Perhaps because he was with people of similar age, Namgung Yeon gradually blended into the crowd. Of course, his answers were still short.
When dawn came, the five exhausted people went inside and collapsed into a deep sleep.
The next morning.
I woke up to the loud noise of a lover.
My eyes were heavy, perhaps because I went to bed late.
I forced myself to open my eyes and looked around. What is this?
The inside and outside of the temple were full of beggars.
The number seemed to be over fifty.
Beggars were sitting here and there, shaking off or catching fleas on their bodies.
Looking at that sight brought back memories of the nightmare from last night, and my body started itching again.
“Oh, what is it?”
When Yeonjeokha started to cry, Simtong came closer.
“Master, a group of beggars are forcibly coming in. Just give me the word and I will take them all away… .”
The reason Simtong didn’t help the beggars was purely because he was concerned about Yeonjeokha’s feelings.
just as expected?
He shook his head, frowning as if he was in love.
“Leave it. We were going to go anyway.”
The rest of the people who had been sleeping late woke up one by one because of the commotion caused by the beggars.
Jin Seol-ha and Nam Gung-yeon were terrified when they saw the beggars filling the shrine. Their faces were not of fear, but of mental shock.
I laughed heartily at the sight of Namgung Yeon’s weak appearance, which I saw for the first time.
The itchiness that had been plaguing him until just a moment ago suddenly disappeared.
It was the time when Yeonjeokha and his group were hurriedly packing their bags.
A beggar in his fifties, cleanly dressed, approached me and greeted me.
“Hahaha. This is so rude from the start of the morning. I am using Maengrim as a base for opening up in Chuseong. I am the Seochang of Chuseong Bunta. Where are the guests from?”
Baek Yi-gae Seo-chang entered the shrine late and acted like the owner.
Simtong looked him up and down and asked with a displeased face.
“If you are a scholar, why do you speak as if Maeng’s tomb is yours?”
“Ahaha! Didn’t I tell you? It’s been quite some time since I’ve used this place in Chuseong’s opening. But shouldn’t you not speak so rudely when meeting someone for the first time?”
“Huh! I don’t think that’s something you should say, you who only trust your brain and stick your head anywhere.”
For a moment, Seo-chang frowned.
I used to tolerate informal speech, but now I hear people swearing at me. And this is in Maengrim, which can be called an open living room.
‘Can’t this old man see any open paths?’
There are only about fifty people in the temple, and if you include all of the Mengrim, there are over two hundred. They are not all experts, but they can still take down at least one sect.
And yet, you have such a crazy attitude?
Even though he was angry, Seo Chang looked closely at the old man and his companions.
‘Huh? No one looks surprised?’
There was an opening and a dispute, but everyone was calm and composed.
There is even a child who frowns and looks annoyed by everything.
Seo-chang, who felt a bit burdened, asked politely.
“Are you by any chance a member of a famous church?”
He guessed that the famous religious group was going somewhere. If they weren’t famous religious groups, they wouldn’t be able to act so confidently in the forest.
Then Simtong shouted out in anger.
“You bastard! Do you think we’re a bunch of idiots? You’re crazy!”
Seo Chang’s mouth fell open.
There would be no one in the world today who would call the famous religions ‘a bunch of worthless idiots’.
“If you will, stop beating around the bush and tell me frankly! Who are you?”
Simtong said, pointing to Yeonjeokha with one hand.
“Our Confucius’s great name is Yeonjeokha! He is the general patrolman of the Green Forest! To the famous followers, he is like an angel of death!”
“Huh! Is that Confucius really the Green Forest Patrolman? Then, are you the one with the nine heavenly slaves?”
“That’s right! How dare you invade the bed where the Prince is sleeping. If it weren’t for the Prince’s orders, you would all have died by my hand.”
Along with the words, the anger that had been pent up in his heart poured out.
Tsk tsk tsk-.
Seo-chang, who was nearby, felt his hair stand on end and his breathing became suffocating.
The open methods that had been flirting inside the temple could not withstand the pressure and collapsed one after another.
Thud. Thud… … .
Seo Chang, who had been resisting by raising his air power alone, spoke with difficulty.
“Hey, stop it. Openness is not your enemy.”
Only then did Simtong withdraw his intention to kill the brother.
Seo-chang, barely free from the invisible pressure, looked between Sim-tong and Yeon-jeok-ha, panting for breath.
‘There was such a master in the Green Forest!’
Even if it is a total patrol of Yeonjeokha, the fact that Simtong follows him around like a shadow is more than I have ever heard of.
Wuxia,
