Episode 73 The more expert you are, the simpler the answer.
After leaving the Pungcheon cult leader’s residence, I went to see Ian.
She was still focusing on her training, and her Bicheon Sword Technique had advanced dramatically.
“Ian.”
“yes.”
“After receiving the kidney purification treatment, you can leave at any time.”
“yes? “Why are you suddenly saying that?”
As I was leaving the Pungcheon cult leader’s residence, thinking that shackles did not suit a man with shackles, I suddenly thought of Ian.
It occurred to me that perhaps her ankles were also shackled.
Are there only visible shackles?
Even in my will to kill Hwamu-gi, invisible shackles were attached.
Even between Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomzon, they are connected by the shackles of hatred that are difficult to break.
Then what about your father? It occurred to me that my father might be chained to the Taesa Temple, like a man in shackles tied to the Eumrei Bell. Carrying the heavy responsibility of protecting the school on his shoulders.
“It means you can choose your life. It doesn’t have to be a tattoo master. Leave the school and live while traveling in the central plains. It’s okay to live as a hidden expert in a peaceful village somewhere. Since you learned martial arts from me, there is no need to repay the favor. “You have already done enough for me, so you can choose with peace of mind.”
Ian listened to me quietly and then said with a smile.
“I have no choice but to pull out another tail.”
“What do you mean?”
“I am happier and living a better life because I am next to you. The trip is a day or two, and the hidden expert is also a day or two. I’m happy every day at Mr. Master’s fence. I’m not a fool. If she really hated me, she would have run away at night, risking her life. “I don’t know why you only look at me so kindly.”
I grinned at her.
“How many tails are left hidden?”
“Maybe there are about seven left?”
“That’s enough. Then practice.”
As I was about to turn around, I felt some worry and added a word.
“But make sure to hide at least one tail.”
In my life, I have found that it is as important as the herbivory of the spleen.
I left there, looking at her expression that said she knew everything even if she didn’t say anything. Okay, that’s all you need to know.
* * *
Ma Bul came to visit the leader of Pungcheon Church.
Because he had made up his mind, the look in his eyes when he entered was different.
“Have you come here to kill someone? “It is fulfilling to live in the body of someone who follows the teachings of the law.”
“The Buddha I serve sometimes commits the precepts of killing.”
“He became a bright light and a bright light. He is a very busy person.”
Instead of sitting down, Mabul stood in place and looked at the leader of Pungcheon. He was almost at the same height as the head of Pungcheon, who was sitting with his back straight. He was sensitive about height, so adjusting eye level in this way was a clear expression of how angry he was.
“Hey, Pungcheon Cult leader!”
“Why are you doing that?”
“How long have we known each other?”
“I don’t really remember.”
“That’s right. “It’s been a long relationship that I can’t even remember, so how could you do this to me?”
“Sit down. “Let’s sit down and talk.”
But he did not sit down and glared at the leader of the Pungcheon Church. The golden light emanating from his body became more intense.
“I didn’t know you would pull such a trick!”
“Did you say it was a trick?”
Although the leader of the Pungcheon Church had a strong impression, Mabul had made up his mind and came to visit from the beginning.
Ilhwa Geomzon and Hyeolcheon Doma moved and began to persuade the other Magons. The reactions of the mazons were different when they met Mabul and when they met Hyeolcheondoma. They were all people who had lived their lives without worrying about what other people thought, so it was impossible to be sure who they would listen to at the last moment.
So, Mabul came to attack Pungcheon Bridge directly.
“You coaxed a young disciple of the Subsoul Mazon to become your disciple? “What on earth are you talking about?”
“I didn’t trick you. “The child came to me on his own feet.”
“Then you should have sent it back! “As an adult, you should have sent it back!”
“Why should I do that?”
“Why do you want to become the teacher of our students?”
“Because the martial arts practiced by demon magicians are the magical arts of the blood religion!”
“So you’re saying you belong to a blood cult now? “Are you serious?”
Everyone knows that Pungcheongyo is the successor to Blood Religion, but that does not mean it should be mentioned or connected to Blood Religion. This is because the Blood Cult had a history of going to war with the Heavenly Demon Church several times. After all, he was invited because he was the leader of Pungcheon Church.
“Are you talking nonsense now?”
“On the one hand, I understood it when they made a joke about their sacred items being stolen. “But I just can’t stand this.”
“A self-made play? Did you come to your friend whose jewelry was stolen and say it was a play you made? I came here trusting only you, and even my belongings were stolen. “I can’t take responsibility, but it’s such a ridiculous assumption!”
“Did you think we would believe that? “Mazons are not stupid.”
“Looking at you, you don’t seem very smart.”
“what?”
“How many times in your life have you been told you are smart? “Tell me honestly.”
For a moment, Mabul’s expression hardened. He knew very well that he was not a very smart person.
Shooting at others with mean words was also a means of suppressing the other person’s momentum and leading the conversation to one’s advantage.
When the leader of Pungcheon came in, stabbing his inferiority complex, Mabul chose Kangsu.
“Look, friend. “Where you are now is not outside the country.”
“Are you threatening me now?”
“It’s not a threat, it’s a statement of reality. I have been acquainted with you for a long time, but other Mazons think differently. “I don’t know how they will come out.”
“With your poor imagination, is there anything special? “They will try to kill me in front of you.”
“If anything, then we could at least say goodbye.”
There was a lot of tension between the two people.
“Don’t look down on the Mazons. “They will try to punish you even more miserably than that.”
“Why are you looking at me so funny when you tell me not to look at them funny?”
“I don’t look at you lightly. “You just have a fatal weakness.”
“A weakness?”
“If the Mazons decide to eliminate you, they won’t make the foolish choice of attacking you directly. Instead, I will try to create a wedge between you and the leader and get rid of him. Can you handle it? “Our leader.”
When threatened over Cheonma, the leader of the Pungcheon Church could not say anything. Cheonma, who disliked blood religion, could definitely be said to be a weakness of the Pungcheon cult.
“Just pretend you’re looking for something for a few days and then leave. The disciple was excommunicated. “I will tell the Magons well.”
“What if I refuse?”
Instead of answering, Mabul laughed and left. As if that made him feel even worse, the leader of Pungcheon did not say anything for a long time.
Finally, he opened his mouth.
“I just decided.”
The leader of Pungcheon gritted his teeth as he looked at the shackled man in front of the sound bell.
“We will definitely make Lee Gongja a Heavenly Demon.”
* * *
“What’s going on? Mr. Lee Gongja.”
Even today, Commander-in-Chief Sima Ming was still buried in work.
“I came here because I wanted to play with the soldier. “If you have time, please come to Magachon with me.”
Sima Ming was surprised by my suggestion.
“What about Magachon?”
“You are the most important person in our school, but even if you mess around for a day, our school will not be ruined.”
“The sad secret is that even if I fool around for a year, I won’t fail.”
“Then why don’t you just hang out for two o’clock so that the secret doesn’t get discovered?”
“great.”
Sima Ming didn’t think twice and got up, closing the papers. He must have guessed that I wasn’t there to have fun.
“If the soldier isn’t here, the Murim Alliance will attack right away.”
“You are saying this because you do not know Tongcheongak. “There are smart soldiers lined up waiting for me to step down.”
“These are people who chose a very difficult path.”
We left his office laughing.
The place he was taken to was a pub.
“It was here, after all.”
He said he knew a lot about Pungryu taverns. Well, you know everything about me, so of course you also know about Pungryu Bar.
“Are you disappointed? “I was expecting you to go to the best place in Magachon, right?”
It was a bit of an excessive joke, but Sima Ming accepted it with a smile.
“I was hoping that I would pretend I couldn’t win and go after them.”
“This is why prejudice is scary. “I’ll make a reservation right away the next time I play!”
“ha ha ha.”
I sat across from Sima Myeong in the seat on this floor where I always sit at the Pungryu Bar.
I introduced Sima Myeong to Cho Chun-bae, who came to take my order.
“He is the leader of this school. “Say hello.”
“Ugh!”
Jo Chun-bae bowed down to Sima-myeong with a face that looked like he was about to faint. He was preoccupied with visits from high-ranking people these days. From footnotes to mazon and now to total military history. In particular, the weight of the name ‘Chonggunsa’ was different than that of any other person.
“I always respect you. “He is the person I respect the most.”
“Isn’t the person you respect the most my father?”
Cho Chun-bae was startled by my joke.
“It can’t be! “I respect you the second time.”
“Oh, I thought the second one was me.”
“That’s not true, in fact, Mr. Gakju is the best…”
He pretended to be embarrassed and adjusted the mood.
“It’s a joke. Please give me a drink first and enjoy today’s cooking.”
“yes!”
After serving the drinks, Cho Chun-bae ran to the kitchen.
I poured a drink for Sima Ming.
“Is this your first time drinking alone with you, soldier?”
“That’s right.”
“I should have brought you here a long time ago, but I was late.”
“no. “You’ve been very busy, haven’t you?”
“You’re busy, soldier. I’m always busy.”
“If you say that, what should the real idiots do?”
He was the person who knew best how diligently I had been moving around these days.
We drank and talked about various things about our daily lives. Sima Ming had a stronger drinking capacity than I thought.
“You drink well.”
“sure. “I was also a horseman when I was younger.”
“That’s unexpected?”
I couldn’t remember Sima Ming’s younger days when he was a heavy drinker.
“But what’s going on?”
Sima Ming knew that I did not come here to have fun. I also got to the point without interrupting.
“There is one thing I would like to ask you.”
“Please speak.”
“What kind of soldier is a good soldier?”
Perhaps because it was an unexpected question, Sima Ming opened his eyes wide and looked at me. Soon his gaze turned to the glass of wine.
“I asked myself this question a lot when I was young, but I forgot about it for a while.”
Originally, this question was difficult. What if someone asks me what kind of drone is a good drone? What should I say?
But Sima Ming’s answer came right away.
“In my opinion, a good soldier is one who is smarter than the opposing army. There is no profound meaning, just a military that is smarter than the opposing military. This is my answer. It is okay for there to be someone smarter than me at this school. You can stay here in this tavern. You can be smarter than me. But…”
Sima Ming said after a moment.
“You have to be smarter than the Murim Alliance soldiers. You must be smarter than the soldiers of the Apostolic Alliance. “That’s all.”
It was a truly unexpected answer. Sima Ming asked with a smile, as if he had anticipated my reaction.
“It’s a bland answer, isn’t it?”
“That’s why it really hit me.”
“When I was younger, I probably had a lot to think about and came up with a different answer. “It might have been a slightly more pedantic answer.”
I could guess what kind of feelings he had. The older you get, the more expert you become, the simpler the answer becomes.
“Unmanned vehicles moving in the field can improvise. You can change your strategy depending on the situation. But the military cannot do that. If you make a wrong plan, you will be wiped out. If you die by your own choice, you will have fewer regrets. But how unfair would it be if you died due to a wrong decision by your superiors? So I always tell my junior soldiers. Desperately get smarter! “It all depends on that.”
This was the first time I realized that Sima Ming was thinking like this. Just as I found out recently that he drinks a lot.
Sima Ming said as he filled my empty cup.
“Now it’s my turn to ask a question.”
In fact, I did not come here to hear the answer to the question of what kind of soldier is a good soldier. My meeting with him today was to hear this question.
“Why did you ask this question?”