Is There Anyone in the World Who Knows Me? (11)
Is There Anyone in the World Who Knows Me? (11)
"So, while passing through Lesser Mount Hua, a geyser erupted and overturned the cart?"
Jong Yuseop lowered his head. Even if he had ten mouths, he had nothing to say.
"Yes, that is correct. It was an act of force majeure—something entirely beyond my control..."
The client's face flushed scarlet. He was a wealthy merchant from the Yeonan region who had commissioned a precious item, placing his full trust in Venerable Geumbok's handling of affairs. The foreign pottery that Venerable Geumbok had procured at great expense now lay shattered into shards from the overturned cart.
The brilliant patterns and elegant lines adorning the fragments seemed to mourn the beauty they might have possessed if they were still whole. The merchant ground his teeth and demanded of Jong Yuseop.
"Do you take me for a fool, spouting such nonsense?"
Jong Yuseop blinked. Since becoming a peak master, he had never faced such searing anger from someone who did not practice martial arts. He lowered his head again and replied.
"I am sorry. It was an unavoidable situation..."
"There is no volcano anywhere near the Lesser Mount Hua earth veins! How could a geyser possibly erupt there! I have lived in Yeonan for fifty years! My ancestors have traveled back and forth between Lesser Mount Hua and Yeonan for generations! In all that time—never mind a geyser—I've never even heard of so much as a spring bursting forth! But now! Of all times! Just as my goods were being transported! At that very moment, a geyser strong enough to overturn a cart erupts! And by sheer coincidence, it strikes my cart—the one that happened to be passing directly above it—and sends it flying!"
The merchant was on the verge of exploding with rage. Jong Yuseop's eyes darted nervously for a moment. Though his gaze shifted slowly, his mind was racing. Yet no matter how hard he thought, he could not dismiss what he had seen with his own eyes as a lie.
"...But it really did happen..."
"Aaaaaargh!"
The merchant began tearing at his hair and throwing a fit. He could not accept this reality. He had trusted Venerable Geumbok, entrusted him with a large sum, and commissioned the pottery—only for it to arrive in shattered pieces, with nothing but this gibberish about a geyser sending the cart flying.
Jong Yuseop, the cause of the disaster, looked pitiful as he flailed his hands and spoke.
"P-please calm yourself, Elder."
"G-get out at once! Get out of my house this instant! Aaaaaargh! Venerable Geumbok, you wretched bastard! After all the money I paid you, you spin this pathetic excuse! Aaaaargh! Aaaaaargh!! I won't let this go! I swear I won't let this go! Aaaaaaargh!"
Seeing the man rolling on the floor and shrieking, Jong Yuseop had no choice but to turn and leave. No matter how far he withdrew from the merchant's house, that shriek—brimming with resentment and rage—filled the entire village.
"Aaaaargh! Aaaaaargh!"
Jong Yuseop felt his legs trembling. Nausea rose up, and a cold sweat broke out across his face.
Another failure.
It was a mission Venerable Geumbok had personally entrusted to him, and he had failed it miserably.
"Aaaaaaargh!"
Hearing the wealthy man's screams, the villagers emerged one by one. As he pulled the cart away with the sound of wailing at his back, the crowd's stares followed him as if they were watching a traitor's funeral procession.
The rich man's voice rang out.
"Venerable Geumbokaaaaa!"
Jong Yuseop had never felt more wretched.
******
While Jong Yuseop was trembling with anxiety in Yeonan, Venerable Geumbok—knowing nothing of this—was drinking tea with Zhuge Yeong-yu. Zhuge Yeong-yu wore a triumphant expression as he sipped from his cup.
"I am truly grateful that you connected me with that investor in Shaanxi this time."
Venerable Geumbok spoke these words and bowed politely. Though the two had long been allies, Venerable Geumbok now addressed Zhuge Yeong-yu with a more deferential tone, having received a crucial favor in a time of crisis. Zhuge Yeong-yu returned the bow and said.
"I merely exerted some effort to be of help to you, Elder. There is no need to express such gratitude for every small thing."
"Thanks to you, I was able to somehow cover a large expense. As you know, Jong Yuseop caused quite an incident recently."
At Venerable Geumbok's words, Zhuge Yeong-yu put on a sympathetic expression.
"Ah, I am aware of what happened. It was an unfortunate accident. I have heard that Hero Yuseop is somewhat fragile in nature, and I worry that this incident may have greatly shaken his heart."
Venerable Geumbok nodded.
"I am worried about that as well. Young people these days are all weak and easily swayed, but Jong Yuseop's disposition is especially fragile."
Zhuge Yeong-yu leaned back in his chair and said.
"Steel is tempered by being placed in fire and beaten. However, one does not simply hammer it mercilessly from the start. Likewise, a person with a fragile disposition tempers themselves by overcoming trials. Do not be so anxious—simply entrust him with simple missions to gradually build his confidence, and soon he will become as magnanimous and steadfast as any other martial artist."
"I am already doing that. I entrusted him with a simple escort mission. It is a long journey to Yeonan, so along the way he can reflect on himself and calm his mind. Then he can return with his head held high and regain his confidence."
Venerable Geumbok said this and sipped his tea. Zhuge Yeong-yu found it both fascinating and faintly disgusting how Venerable Geumbok truly treated Jong Yuseop like a son. He had thought the man was nothing but a monster, yet here was an unexpectedly emotional side.
"You truly treat Hero Yuseop like your own son. I heard you took him in and raised him from a young age."
Venerable Geumbok furrowed his brow.
"When I was young, starving was a daily occurrence. I dug into the dirt of the fields to find rotten potatoes to eat, and I went into the grass to strip bark from trees and boil it. My younger siblings lived that way too, but all of them were so frail in body and mind that they could not last more than a few years. They died at very young ages."
Zhuge Yeong-yu's face stiffened. To him, the past that Venerable Geumbok spoke of was a subject best avoided. Venerable Geumbok set down his teacup and continued.
"When my younger sibling died, I said to my father, 'Father. My sibling is not breathing.' Do you know what my father said?"
Venerable Geumbok swallowed hard. His fingers trembled, and he seemed to struggle for breath. Only after wiping his face with his palm did he barely calm himself.
"Then there is one fewer mouth to feed."
"...That is a dreadful story."
Zhuge Yeong-yu averted his eyes. The past tyranny and the nation's financial ruin were subjects the Zhuge family wished to avoid, for they were the most sensitive matters—the ones that tested their loyalty to the imperial family they served. Yet Zhuge Yeong-yu never doubted that if they could stabilize the world in this generation, a golden age of peace would surely arrive.
Because the one to whom he had offered his loyalty certainly possessed the ability to achieve it.
Venerable Geumbok, seeing Zhuge Yeong-yu's hardened expression, spoke.
"I lived like that. That is why, when Elder Jonghwan was fretting because he could not feed his children, I lent a hand. And that is why I could not leave Jong Yuseop alone, crying in the manor."
Venerable Geumbok reached out into the empty air.
As if caressing the face of the absent Jong Yuseop, his fingers slipped gently through the air. Zhuge Yeong-yu asked.
"After you conquer this land of Shaanxi, what do you plan to do?"
"That is too far in the future. I still must agonize over how to fight Mount Hua Sect. But if that time comes..."
Venerable Geumbok closed his eyes. The dark lids and the deep lines etched into his face bore the traces of profound contemplation.
Opening his eyes very slowly, Venerable Geumbok looked at Zhuge Yeong-yu and said.
"I am too old to become a king. But..."
"Elder! Young Master Yuseop is returning!"
The conversation was cut short. Zhuge Yeong-yu was disappointed he could not hear what grand plan Venerable Geumbok had been dreaming of. At the news of Jong Yuseop's return, Venerable Geumbok sprang to his feet like a man who had forgotten his age. He asked.
"Oh, yes. How did the mission go?"
"Uh, well..."
The servant hesitated. The look on his face alone was answer enough.
Zhuge Yeong-yu barely suppressed the corners of his mouth from curling upward. Venerable Geumbok, on the other hand, stared at the servant with a rigid expression, then strode out the door. Zhuge Yeong-yu closed his eyes and smiled, imagining the scene unfolding outside.
Docheol was indeed a remarkable man.
Somehow, it seemed he truly could smash Venerable Geumbok and Jong Yuseop to pieces.
*******
When Venerable Geumbok opened the door, there was Jong Yuseop, on his knees with his head pressed to the floor. Venerable Geumbok exclaimed in a flustered voice.
"Yuseop! What in the world happened! No—it was only a simple escort mission! What is the meaning of this!"
"I have committed a crime deserving of death! I am sorry! While passing through Lesser Mount Hua, a g-geyser erupted and sent the cart flying..."
Venerable Geumbok frowned.
"...A geyser erupted at Lesser Mount Hua? What kind of nonsense is that?"
Jong Yuseop lifted his head with a thoroughly aggrieved expression and shouted.
"No! It really did erupt! And the cart flew up right before my eyes with a bang!"
"...."
Venerable Geumbok could not manage his expression.