Episode 195. This is not a winning strategy.
It was not yet meal time, so the restaurant was empty.
Yeonjeokha and Gucheonnodo Simtong sat across from each other in their usual window seat.
Simtong placed the bag on the table with a proud look on his face.
“It’s ten thousand five hundred nyang.”
“great job.”
“If I had been a little faster, I could have found a few hundred more nyang. It’s too bad.”
“Where did you find them?”
“In Jeonyeong. I caught him resting in the inn after playing in the kiru for three days.”
Simtong briefly told the story of his journey from Jeongju to Bokyang and Ha-taek.
“But where did you catch it? It seems like the officials can’t even do anything.”
“Those guys pretend not to know anything outside their territory, so we can’t catch them unless someone comes and catches them.”
“By the way, you said the world was in turmoil because of the Murimcheop? Was that really true?”
“Ah! Don’t even mention it. The Justice Alliance is gathering its forces in Nanjing, and the Yuming Church is gathering its forces in Jeongju. Every inn they go to is filled with martial artists.”
“Is it really a war atmosphere?”
“This time, it seems that way. Didn’t the Justice League investigate the Ten Horsemen for that purpose?”
“I feel like there aren’t many stories about the Sipduma Soldiers.”
Yeonjeokha tilted her head.
The merchants coming and going from the inn only talked about famous religions and martial arts.
“Perhaps the report of Seolchasu’s party was buried. Aren’t the leaders of the Justice Alliance the heads of the Chilpai Clan and the heads of the three great martial arts families? Those stubborn old men would never listen to stories about monsters. It’s obvious that they would think it’s witchcraft.”
“Even though Brother Namgung Cheon and Sister Namgung Yeon witnessed it themselves?”
“Wouldn’t it have been different in the past? Nowadays, no one calls Namgung Sega a martial arts family. The Justice Alliance won’t listen to Namgung Sega’s words.”
“Then it’s a big problem.”
“Isn’t it not a bad thing for us? The Justice League guys should experience it too.”
Simtong, like Madu, rather liked the situation where Jeong Ui-maeng was at a loss.
“Do you think I’m doing this because of the Justice League? Namgung Se-ga is doing this because he’s worried that people will be harmed. They must have gone to Nanjing too.”
“If you’re that worried, then go to the Justice League… … . Hmm, that’s not it.”
Simtong looked at Yeonjeokha with an embarrassed face.
Now, even if Yeonjeokha went to help, it was clear that the Justice Alliance would refuse.
There’s no way the Chilpa-mun, who always has the curse of the devil on their lips, would accept the Nokrim General Patrol! They’d be lucky if they didn’t stab them in the back.
“Oh! But how long do you plan on keeping those con artists alive?”
“It won’t last long. Nokdam-pyeong is no ordinary place.”
“That’s what it looks like when you roll your eyes. That kind of person should be completely discouraged or killed to avoid any repercussions. I guess that’s why you ordered the three-year mourning period?”
“Huh? I just did it to show some filial piety.”
“Oh, you did very well. If you still do not become gentle in three years, I will kill you. It would be better for the sake of your friend, Confucius.”
While the two were chatting away, Sangdo approached them cautiously.
“Excuse me, Your Majesty. It’s almost dinner time. Shall we start bringing out the food?”
“No. I’ll go to Hyojaam and eat.”
Yeonjeokha suddenly stood up from her seat.
He told me to get it checked three times a day, so it was time to go and check.
***
Yeonjeokha and Simtong went out to Hyojaam.
Nokdam-pyeong, who had been tying a rope around the waist of the ox and the stone man, bowed in greeting.
I passed him by and sat down on a folding chair.
It was refreshing to see the pale expressions of the bull and the stone man.
This is why people seek revenge.
Nokdam-pyeong, who had finished preparing, turned his gaze towards Yeonjeok-ha.
I’m asking if I can start.
The lover just watched silently without giving any specific instructions, as if telling her to do as she pleased.
The cow and stone man, who had been hesitating, were pushed away from Hyojaam Temple one by one.
“evil!”
“Ahh!”
The bull and the stone man screamed.
Soon, the rope was pulled taut with a ‘thud’ sound.
The face of Nokdam-pyeong, who was holding the end of the rope, turned bright red.
Now, after a while, you will have to rewind the line again.
The con artists did not answer the question of who would die for their comrades.
In the end, it means that you have to kill that guy.
That’s not difficult.
You just need to wrap one side a little later.
right left?
That’s when he was worried.
“Hehehe. Your Majesty, I can hear that kid’s brain working from here. It’s hard to pull it up, so I wonder which one he’ll kill?”
“I told you. That’s just the way he is.”
“I thought it would take at least three or four days, but it’s fast.”
“… … .”
Nokdam-pyeong’s eyes lit up at the word ‘three days’.
That meant they both had to be kept alive for three days.
‘Those damn kids… … ‘
I don’t understand why you keep harassing so many people instead of just killing them.
Nokdampyeong gritted his teeth and turned both wrists.
It felt like a tingling sensation every time the rope was wrapped around, but after a while I couldn’t feel anything at all.
A couple of swindlers came running up, each with a rope tied to his forearm.
Nokdampyeong hurriedly untied the rope from his arm.
Only when blood began to flow slowly to my dead, blue arm did my hand start to tremble.
‘Fuck! This isn’t going to help with external training.’
He was so exhausted that he didn’t even have time to check if the bull and the stone man were still breathing.
After a while, Nokdam-pyeong took a breath and turned his head to the folding chair.
The seat was empty when I returned.
Just then, a rustling sound was heard in the forest, and the Sambobang gang appeared carrying food.
Nokdampyeong picked up the still warm dumplings with trembling hands.
And then, just as he was about to eat it, he stopped and spoke to Song Kang, who was nearby.
“Check if those two are alive.”
Song Kang immediately ran to the bull and the stone man and touched the back of their necks.
“I am alive.”
“Oh my! Those bastards are like enemies. I can’t just kill them all at once.”
Nokdam-pyeong, who had been grumbling, tore open a dumpling, put it in his mouth, and chewed it.
***
next day.
After waking up leisurely and finishing breakfast, Yeonjeokha and Simtong went out to Hyojaam.
Nokdampyeong tied the bodies of the bull and the stone man together again and pushed them down the rock.
The bull and the stone man did not scream as they had become accustomed to it.
Nokdampyeong dragged the two people up again, then collapsed on the ground.
Nokdam-pyeong’s face looks more miserable than the swindlers who were pulled out of the water.
His raised arms were bruised and their original color was difficult to discern.
Instead of the exhausted Nokdam-pyeong, Song Kang of Sambobang jumped out and organized the rope.
After the commotion had passed, the couple sat down on the edge of the rock.
visor-.
The sword was pulled out of its sheath and circled over the river before falling vertically.
The fishing has started again.
Simtong, who was looking at the fish fluttering on the sword, asked with a surprised face.
“Your Majesty, have you finally managed to forge the Yigi Sword?”
Then Yeonjeokha answered with a sullen face.
“This is not a winning strategy.”
“Yes? No?”
Simtong looked at the sword with the fish pierced through it and the Yeonjeokha alternately with a puzzled expression.
Did you clearly see the sword flying alone and catching a fish?
“Then what? You don’t think that’s a secret technique, do you?”
“Where can you find such a secret technique? This is a type of folding technique.”
“The art of folding? There is no such art of folding. I think you have misunderstood something, Confucius. It is the Igi-eo-geom.”
“Old Man Shim is mistaken.”
He pounded his chest as if he was feeling suffocated.
“Oh my! I told you it was the Igi-eogeom! Even a three-year-old child would know that it was the Igi-eogeom.”
“Oh! Even if you don’t say that, it’s like that. I know how to do it, so do you understand, Old Man Shim?”
“If anyone saw it with their own two eyes, they would say it was the winning sword. Green Gaya!”
“yes?”
Nokdam-pyeong, who was resting in front of the hut, came running in one stride.
“You must have seen the swordsmanship of Confucius, right?”
“yes”
Nokdampyeong looked at Simtong and Yeonjeokha’s expressions.
How could you not see a person fishing with a sword from a rock all day long?
‘Fuck! I’m not even showing off my skills. Why are you catching fish with a sword? Excuse me.’
“Do you think that’s a magic trick? Do you think that’s a sword?”
“Of course I’ll win.”
“Look. Doesn’t that guy say he’s a winner? Anyone can tell that he’s a winner.”
Yeonjeokha clicked his tongue with a pitiful expression on his face.
“Tsk tsk! You have no discerning eye. That’s why you hear the words “sewage” every day. This is nothing more than a trick. This isn’t how you win.”
Simtong asked with a dumbfounded face.
“Then what exactly is the winning sword?”
“It’s not like you can always win by using your true energy. Rising [昇], descending [降], falling [離], and joining [合] are nothing more than the art of folding.”
“sure?”
“It is said that responding to all things with true energy is the beginning of swordsmanship [眞氣應物 漸入御劍]. Do you know what all things are? Everything we see with our eyes is all things. If you respond to all things with true energy, you will go beyond the process of rising and falling.”
“Beyond that?”
Simtong felt like his head was spinning.
In my opinion, the art of swordsmanship is the art of ascending and descending with true energy. No, anyone in the world would think so.
But it goes beyond swordsmanship?
why?
“Your Majesty, the art of swordsmanship is to ascend and descend with true energy. That is all there is to it.”
“Oh my! You don’t know anything about swordsmanship, so what are you talking about? It’s clearly written in the Cheon-dun Sword Technique. Responding to all things with true energy is the beginning of swordsmanship.”
“It’s not…….”
My heart was heavy, but I couldn’t refute the fact that it was the Cheon-dun Sword Technique.
‘What on earth did the merchants of heaven and earth teach Confucius?’
I went to get a clue about the Leegi Sword, but I feel like I learned something strange for no reason.
“So you keep throwing your sword into the Yellow River? Are you trying to master the sword?”
“Of course. I want to know what it means to respond to all things with true energy. If we continue to go up and down here, I think we’ll start to see a clue.”
“Confucius, what would a person who climbs to the top of a mountain see when he looks up?”
“You can see the sky.”
“Confucius is saying that he will ascend to heaven.”
“That is the limit of the old man Sim. Even the Nine Heavenly Women can come down to the lower world, so how can I not go up to the heaven?”
“Are you really going to do a fable?”
“What the fable about the Uhwadengseon. I’m just trying to learn how to win.”
“Ha! I told you that you are already using the Igi-geom. Fishing with the Igi-geom! How can that be possible? This is like cutting up an earthworm with a butcher’s knife.”
The conversation returned to its origins.
Nokdam-pyeong, who was watching the two people, took a step back.
I felt envious of Yeonjeokha, who was younger than me, telling Simtong that she didn’t know anything.
When I think about my situation where I can’t even handle the sword, I can only sigh.
‘If I stay here for three years and learn martial arts, will I get better?’
Without realizing it, Nokdampyeong clenched his fist tightly.
For a moment, my arm felt like it was going to tear apart.
‘Ugh!’
If I keep doing this, I might end up with a cripple in my arms, let alone my martial arts skills.
Nokdampyeong glared at the two unconscious swindlers with life-threatening eyes.
‘If those guys die quickly, I can live a normal life… … .’
I think I’ll have to drink a little more water starting from lunchtime so that no one notices.
Wuxia,
