Chapter 12 - The Hunt (1)
The Hunt (1)
Translator : Elizabeth
The one thing I did to death before coming to this Golden Dragon Palace was hunting.
So I didn't particularly feel bothered about going hunting with the Emperor. Rather, I felt good about hunting after so long.
I can just hunt something like a wild boar and roast some meat. I think building a memory like this isn't bad.
"You've come."
When I roughly packed my gear and arrived in front of the Golden Dragon Hall, the Emperor welcomed me.
He seemed to lack some dignity for a king of a country on the outside. Should I say he felt like a familiar old man, just like Baekrok?
Actually, the Emperor didn't bring any eunuchs along. Even common guards were nowhere to be seen.
His attire was also too simple to be called an Emperor's. Just a hunter vibe. That level of clothing.
When I asked about this.
"Since Gyeong is here, what is there to worry about?"
He said.
"Is this really okay?"
"Tsk, everyone other than Gyeong is a hindrance. The hunting clothes are the same. The hunting clothes prepared by the eunuchs are unnecessarily heavy."
"No, well. If you insist, it doesn't matter to me."
Anyway, we entered a mountain valley not far from the Golden Dragon Palace.
No, but seriously, what is this person?
The Emperor set up a shelter with truly skilled dexterity.
First, he gathered dry firewood and started a fire. Then he chose a few straight trees from the surroundings and set them up as supports, weaving thin branches on top to make a frame.
And by layering leaves and twigs one by one, he even completed a quite plausible roof.
"With this, we won't have to worry even if it rains."
"Your Majesty, this doesn't seem like the skill of someone who's done this only once or twice."
The Emperor burst into laughter at my words.
"Mumyeong, do you know? The Golden Dragon Palace is frustrating as hell. So when I was young, I often left the palace as if escaping. There were times I almost died too."
Indeed, a gentleman who uses a cheap tone for an Emperor. Now I'm getting a bit suspicious.
"Your subject is not in a position to say this, but shouldn't Your Majesty think about your noble body a bit more?"
"That is why I came with you. No one in the Imperial Army can cut an evil spirit. But you are a martial artist who cut an evil spirit and even hunted the Black Tiger. What is there to fear?"
...Don't tell me, is this a strategy to coax me with blatant flattery?
The Emperor snorted as if reading my expression.
"Do not worry. As I said before, I shoot an arrow quite well. So Mumyeong, you just need to do as you usually do. I just want to know the martial artist named Mumyeong. I will take care of my own body."
"Ah, yes."
"Then let's begin."
The Emperor held his bow and cast his gaze toward the forest. Suddenly, he licked his finger and held it up.
"It's a southeasterly wind. In this direction, the scent flows below the ridge."
I stared at him with somewhat fascinated eyes because I didn't really use such orthodox methods.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. There are many deer around here. And deer are cowardly, but their noses are as sharp as ghosts."
The Emperor deliberately went around the ridge in a big circle to position himself so the wind flowed behind his back.
There was not an inch of waste in that movement. His steps were moved so as not to step on dry leaves, and his weight was placed only on bare rocks.
"The Crying Ghost, that evil spirit bastard is no less sharp. No, those wretched things can probably smell even better than this. That is why I am curious. Just how on earth did Gyeong lure out the Crying Ghost?"
There wasn't really a method. So I answered honestly.
"Since the creature revealed itself suddenly, your subject did nothing."
"...I see."
The Emperor nodded and took out a small leather pouch from his waist.
Inside was a mixture of finely crushed pine needles and animal fat.
"The Chancellor told me. That there are two cases where an evil spirit reveals itself on its own."
He smeared the powder on his palm and rubbed it lightly on rocks and tree roots.
"One. When it has finished all preparations itself."
"Naturally, it is so for any living creature in the world. To it, eating humans is no different logic from hunting. Just like this."
A scent of spring wafted from the powder the Emperor sprinkled. It was probably a scent that deer liked.
Rustle!
Soon the grass shook, and the Emperor immediately pulled the bowstring.
Then Thwack! A dull sound was heard. It was a hit. He slowly approached the grass.
"To them, humans must be beings on the level of beasts. Thus, we had no choice but to be helpless. Isn't that so? How can a mere lowly creature peek into the thoughts of an existence that transcends itself?"
He pulled out the arrow stuck in the deer's body. Blood dripped. However, he wiped it off without hesitation and tied a rope to the deer's legs.
"Therefore, I hadn't thought about the latter case mentioned by the Chancellor at all."
Just then, Rustle—! again.
A deer revealed itself. It was bigger than the deer just hunted.
"To assume that an evil spirit revealed itself because it was cornered... Ha, truly."
The Emperor laughed low and shook his head.
"Isn't that no different from a beast stepping in front of a hunter on its own?"
He raised his bow again.
"That one must be the mother."
"Yes, it looks like it."
"If it only thought of its own body, it could have run away."
Soon he pulls the bowstring.
"However, that one cannot leave. Because somewhere in that grass, there must be young ones still alive. The weak eventually erase their choices and have no choice but to choose the best method available. That, that poor thing."
Thwip!
"But funnily enough, the Crying Ghost also made the same choice as that one. It didn't reveal itself on its own, but stepped forward because it couldn't retreat. At least, I think so."
Hitting the target again with an arrow, he glanced back at me.
"The moment you set foot in the Hyeonmu Palace, the Crying Ghost became the prey. Chased by you, with nowhere left to hide, it eventually revealed itself. If it had finished preparations, well, even you wouldn't have been able to cut it."
"Is that so?"
Somehow that bastard. Did it pop out suddenly because it was scared?
Anyway, this gentleman shoots arrows really well. I was more interested in this person's archery skills than the Crying Ghost story.
"Hoho, you're not listening at all. Even though I am praising Gyeong in my own way."
"Didn't I tell you it was just luck?"
The Emperor shrugged as if used to it now.
"I see. Let's say it was."
Then he looked at me and raised the corners of his mouth unpleasantly.
"By the way, Gyeong's hunting skills are much poorer than I thought."
"Pardon?"
"Hmm. Is Gyeong as a martial artist only this much?"
Look at this old man?
"I apologize, but may I propose one thing?"
I rotated my shoulders vigorously.
At this, the Emperor tilted his head.
"A proposal?"
"Yes, let's make a bet. Who catches more prey before sunset. How about it?"
"Tsk, Gyeong is sneakier than I thought."
"Instead, your subject won't use weapons. I'll just catch them with my bare hands."
The Emperor's eyes narrowed.
"No matter how outstanding Gyeong's martial arts are, you won't use even a single sword? Will hunting even be established with that?"
"Then I will show you once."
You're dead. Dare to provoke me? For all my looks, I've never lost to anyone in hunting.
I placed my hand on the ground. And closed my eyes.
"...What are you doing now?"
"I am searching."
"So, for what?"
Geez, you talk too damn much. Just watch.
Okay, focus.
The wind brushed by. Leaves shook, and minute vibrations were felt in the soil.
Then Srrr— I released my Qi.
Wide-range search using Qi. This is a pretty difficult technique. I barely mastered it by hunting like crazy. Since it requires fine adjustment of Qi, it demanded considerable concentration.
Actually, sweat already formed on my forehead. My lips trembled too.
Focus. Focus.
"...Over there, forty paces west. A rabbit under the giant tree. Two roe deer in the rock shade behind it."
I turned my head.
"And a wild boar is looking this way from the valley side."
"...What?"
The Emperor opened his eyes wide.
"Ha, your joke is severe. I didn't know you were a kind so steeped in bluffing?"
"Would you like to check?"
He followed me with suspicious eyes.
Shortly after, forty paces, one rabbit cut.
Behind that rock, two roe deer cut.
Finally, the wild boar over the valley also cut.
"...Huh."
"Well, it's about this much. Your subject hits pretty hard in hunting too."
So don't mess with me again.
I shrugged my shoulders ostentatiously.
"...Truly, amazing."
But getting pure admiration back is more embarrassing than I thought.
Well, it is right to be surprised.
"So, will you take the bet?"
When I asked with a grin, the Emperor stared blankly for a moment then slapped his knee—Smack!
"Haha! I never fight a losing battle."
He said.
"Rather than that, won't you have a drink? Since we've hunted this much, it should be enough, so let us return to the campsite."