Ten Paths of the Master - Chapter 103

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 103. I Prefer Hong Jin, the Blood Maitreya
Ok Hwan offered to treat Dan Yeop to dinner, leading him to Hwawolru.
Just because a place is a courtesan house doesn’t mean one cannot dine there.
When you eat enough of the dishes served as side fare, it becomes a meal in its own right.
The courtesan house provided nearly every kind of dish except for wheat cakes.
Though it was meant to be nothing more than an evening meal, the table where Dan Yeop and Ok Hwan sat commanded the finest view on the entire floor.
At first came dishes befitting an evening meal—dumplings, egg soup, lamb rolls, braised offal, five-spice pork, glazed pork belly, noodles in clear broth.
But as the Hour of Monkey deepened, grape wine was added under the pretense of a drinking accompaniment, glass by glass.
And once they had emptied two bottles, Ok Hwan stopped calling Dan Yeop ‘Pojol’ and began to call him ‘younger brother’ instead.
“Why did you become a Pojol?”
Dan Yeop chuckled softly.
He had heard this question countless times since becoming a Pojol.
“Someone asked me to help catch bad people.”
“And for that you became a Pojol?”
“I didn’t like seeing bad people run rampant either.”
“You should have taken the examination and become a censor or inspector instead.”
“What’s wrong with being a Pojol?”
“Pojol get cursed by people all the time. In noble families, if a son becomes a Pojol they cast him out. Didn’t your family say anything to you?”
“It doesn’t matter to me. I have no family to cast me out.”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“What are you apologizing for? It’s not your fault I have no family.”
“Then you’re an orphan? I’m one too.”
Ok Hwan gazed at Dan Yeop with eyes that held both tenderness and loneliness.
“Something like that.”
“What do you mean ‘something like that’? If you have no parents, you’re an orphan. If you have them, you’re not. The way you speak—you have them, don’t you?”
Dan Yeop felt that he could not lie to her when she called herself an orphan.
“A beastlike man ravished a girl he’d just met and fled. After that, the girl bore a child—his own flesh and blood—but despised the child so much she tried to kill him whenever he came into view. In the end, the child fled the house in secret just to survive, and later met an adoptive father on the streets. He lives well now.”
“Don’t tell me that’s your story.”
“It is.”
…………
Tears welled up in Ok Hwan’s large eyes.
“See? It’s much like being an orphan, isn’t it?”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I keep doing thoughtless things.”
“It’s alright. It was long ago. I don’t feel much about it anymore.”
“Still……”
“Why don’t you tell me your story? How did you become a courtesan?”
“After my parents died, my uncle sold me to a courtesan house.”
“Ah.”
Brief and stark as the words were, Dan Yeop could picture the circumstances well enough that he asked no further questions.
After the grape wine came aged rice wine and another, along with more fine spirits.
The two of them drank from their cups, using the voice of a courtesan singing as accompaniment.
From mixing wines of completely different kinds, Dan Yeop’s and Ok Hwan’s faces had flushed red with intoxication.
Then, from somewhere in the distance, a bell tolled, announcing the closing of the gates.
“Oh? It’s gotten late. I should go.”
As Dan Yeop rose from his seat, Ok Hwan took hold of his hand.
“Just sleep here. I don’t want to let you go like this.”
Dan Yeop withdrew his hand from hers and spoke.
“You just called me your younger brother a moment ago. If I stayed with you tonight, we’d become a courtesan and a Pojol. I’m leaving.”
Dan Yeop turned and descended the stairs without once looking back.
Ok Hwan, who had been sitting in a daze, suddenly burst out laughing.
She had thought it was all over once the drinking began naturally.
But she never expected him to refuse with talk of being siblings.
“How amusing.”
Several expressions crossed Ok Hwan’s face before vanishing.
***
Jang An City.
An unspecified location.
An old man was studying Go Records, the game collection of Jin Jeok-sin, from a high tower when a middle-aged man approached, making his presence known.
“Your Highness, I have completed the investigation into Dan Yeop.”
“Speak.”
“His family circumstances are rather complicated. A young woman was assaulted by a man of unknown identity and bore a child—that child is Dan Yeop. Out of resentment toward the man, the mother tried to kill the boy when he was young. He fled to escape her, and was eventually taken in by Dan Bulwi of Haowen, which is how he came to be where he is today.”
“So Dan Bulwi sent him to the Terracotta Army Tomb.”
“That is correct.”
“How did a Haowen sect disciple end up as a Pojol?”
“Jo Mujin, the Hyeonryeong of Jang An County, said he would capture the culprit in the Nak An County incident, and asked Haowen to ‘recommend someone well-versed in Jang An City affairs.’ The man Haowen sent was Dan Yeop.”
“Tsk! So that’s how it happened. Then, what manner of man is Dan Yeop? Is he the sort who would readily become the Imperial Court’s lapdog for advancement? Or is he a chivalrous swordsman who yearns to overturn an unjust world?”
“Those around him urged him to enter office, but he refused. He appeared to value Haowen more than any official post.”
“At least he won’t become the court’s dog.”
“That may be true for now, but it’s difficult to guarantee what may come to pass.”
“Why so?”
“If the Imperial Court were to present Dan Yeop with extraordinary terms, there is a possibility he might accept.”
“The current emperor would never make such an offer to a Haowen disciple.”
“But if someone were to continuously whisper such ideas into the emperor’s ear, it would not be entirely impossible.”
“Is there such a man?”
“The former provincial inspector Son Yubaek has taken it upon himself to be Dan Yeop’s patron. It is said he has already submitted a memorial to the emperor urging him to employ Dan Yeop in an important capacity.”
“Son Yubaek… why can’t he simply enjoy a quiet life in retirement…”
The old man’s expression grew troubled, and the middle-aged man ventured a careful question.
“Your Majesty, should we add Son Yubaek’s name to the Punishment Record?”
The old man did not answer at once.
The Punishment Record was a ledger kept by Cheonryeon, listing the names of corrupt officials who deserved death.
But Son Yubaek was beloved by the common people as an honest man.
As the old man’s deliberation lengthened, the middle-aged man spoke carefully.
“If Son Yubaek continuously recommends Dan Yeop to the emperor, eventually Dan Yeop will work in the emperor’s service.”
“Foolish reasoning! You have reversed cause and effect. The seduction of Dan Yeop comes first. If Dan Yeop cannot be persuaded, then add him to the Punishment Record. Without Dan Yeop, Son Yubaek is nothing but an old man in the back room—we need not concern ourselves with him.”
“I shall proceed as you command.”
“Is there a suitable person to persuade Dan Yeop?”
“Among the Beophuaja, I would suggest the Bloodied Maitreya, Hong Jin.”
The Beophuaja were enforcers of the dharma, mysterious beings unknown to the outside world.
“If you are to send one of the Beophuaja, would not the Pure Land Practitioner be better suited than the Bloodied Maitreya?”
The Bloodied Maitreya was cruel by temperament, whereas the Pure Land Practitioner was gentler.
For persuasion through dialogue, the Pure Land Practitioner would seem more fitting than the Bloodied Maitreya.
“Because Dan Yeop might refuse Cheonryeon as well. In such a circumstance, the Bloodied Maitreya would serve better than the Pure Land Practitioner.”
“Very well.”
As the middle-aged man withdrew, the old man turned his gaze back to the Go Records.
A wind that had blown from somewhere swept through the tower once and moved on.
***
Sudden peace descended upon Jang An City, which had been so anxious.
Once the murders of high officials ceased, the vigilance of the Geum O Military and the Pojol returned to its former level.
The various inspections at the city gates were relaxed.
Dan Yeop too returned to his usual patrol district.
The people forgot Cheonryeon’s terror as if it had never been.
The common folk thought little of it—it was no concern of theirs.
But the high officials did not lower their guard.
They continued to hire Ronin as bodyguards.
The Ronin alone were delighted.
Ronin from throughout the province flooded into Jang An City, eager to make their fortunes.
Word of Jang An City’s Ronin market spread even to the neighboring provinces of Hadong, Sannam, and Geomnam.
A great migration of Ronin from the three provinces was set in motion.
With the influx of Ronin, the Pojol of Jang An County grew busy once more.
Brawls among Ronin increased in both the eastern and western precincts.
The once-empty jail of Jang An County was now filled with Ronin.
After the midday meal, Dan Yeop set out with the Pojol to patrol Dae An Bang.
Of late, sword fights broke out in Dae An Bang almost daily.
Such was the consequence of Dae An Bang being Jang An City’s finest pleasure quarter.
Dan Yeop deliberately avoided Jayun Gak and Hwawolru. The thought of encountering So Yo or Ok Hwan troubled him.
As the Pojol walked along the main street, one of them spoke to his companion.
“At this rate, Ronin from all ten provinces are going to end up in Jang An City.”
“Don’t tempt fate with talk like that. Words have power, you know.”
“But I see new faces every day. It’s like day by day renewal, as they say.”
“Ha! You just throw around anything you hear.”
Dan Yeop nodded slowly at what the pojols were saying.
It was truly astounding how new faces seemed to multiply with each passing day.
‘Yet ronins alone would never hold back the masters of Cheonryeon.’
Still, watching high officials grudgingly hire more and more, and ronins flocking eagerly to their ranks, left him speechless.
It seemed they needed to do something—anything—to put their minds at ease, though he couldn’t fathom why.
To his eye, it looked like nothing more than: “It’s lonely to die alone, so let’s die together.”
Shortly after, Dan Yeop and his party turned onto Juru Street.
Despite the early hour, the pleasure quarter teemed with guests.
Most of the patrons wore Hoengdos, Straight Swords, and Daedos at their waists—nine times out of ten, they were ronins.
He sighed inwardly when a monk in a sedge hat suddenly appeared across the way.
Dan Yeop froze.
The crowd around him had vanished, leaving only the sedge-hatted monk in his field of vision.
Having never experienced anything like this before, Dan Yeop’s face went rigid.
The monk stepped to within a pace of Dan Yeop and tilted his chin slightly upward as he spoke.
“Your Gi Gam is refined, friend. Might we share a brief conversation?”
“Who are you?”
“My Dharma Name is Hong Jin.”
Dan Yeop regarded the monk with an uncertain gaze.
Though he’d never heard that Dharma Name before, he reasoned that as a novice to the Martial World, he let it pass.
“What business do you have speaking with me? I’m currently on official duty, so I’m afraid I cannot entertain private conversation.”
“Does a matter concerning the life and death of Donor Dan count as public or private?”
“Where shall I show you? An inn, a eatery, a tavern, or a pleasure house?”
“I’ve yet to take my midday meal, so an eatery will do.”
“Let us go.”
Dan Yeop instructed the pojols to continue their separate patrol, then moved with Hong Jin to a nearby eatery.
***
Mirim Gak.
Past the lunch hour, Mirim Gak was far quieter than the pleasure quarter.
As a result, Dan Yeop and Hong Jin secured a table by the window.
When a waitress approached, Dan Yeop gestured to Hong Jin.
The gesture meant: order for yourself.
“Bring us lamb soup, dumplings, and flatbread.”
“Yes, Venerable Master.”
Once the waitress had gone to the kitchen, Dan Yeop asked a question.
“Do you also eat meat, Master?”
“All things depend upon the heart. If one thinks meat is grass, then it becomes grass.”
“Ah, such profound wisdom…. But why did you wish to see me?”
“That, I shall explain after we finish eating. It is a matter of great import, and such talk drains one’s vitality.”
“I understand.”
Dan Yeop nodded and gestured toward the waitress again.
She hurried over promptly.
“Yes?”
“Bring me flatbread and lamb soup as well.”
“Right away!”
Moments after the waitress departed, Dan Yeop spoke as if making an excuse.
“I’ve been so busy that I took only a meager lunch. I should fill my stomach properly before listening.”
Hong Jin smiled faintly at Dan Yeop.
“Donor Dan is a pleasant fellow. I find such people agreeable.”
“I too hold great respect for ascetics. If I may ask without giving offense—what school or sect do you belong to?”
“It would mean nothing even if I told you.”
Hong Jin dodged the question, but Dan Yeop pressed no further.
After all, the sect hardly mattered.
‘Who is he? Why has he sought me out?’
Hong Jin had spoken plainly of a matter concerning his fate.
Had the stranger been anyone but a monk, Dan Yeop would have dismissed it outright.
Yet the grave-faced monk’s talk of destiny had unsettled him somehow.
It felt like something he simply had to hear.
‘Could it be that the Shaolin Temple has taken interest in me?’
The Five Evil Sword Sect had long countered Haowen, so it was certainly possible.
‘What if he means to discuss the governance of the Martial World? But I’m only a novice….’
While Dan Yeop sank deeper into the quicksand of his confusion, the food they’d ordered arrived.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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