CLS-Chapter 41

Chapter 41:

Wei Yan-ho lay sprawled on the roof tiles, gazing at the crescent moon floating in the sky.

As a somewhat cool breeze blew over, Wei Yan-ho closed his eyes and savored the wind brushing against his face.

Even though it was nearly midnight, sounds of people reading could still be heard throughout the manor.

Wei Yan-ho honestly thought they were remarkable.

To continue such effort through one’s own will without anyone’s coercion was no ordinary feat. Especially for Wei Yan-ho, it was like a story from another world—completely unrealistic.

“Hmm…”

Their passion and effort were certainly remarkable.

Nevertheless, a corner of Wei Yan-ho’s heart was heavily sunken.

“Hmm…”

Wei Yan-ho rose from his position.

“Are you planning to leave?”

Then a quiet voice came from below Wei Yan-ho.

“I wasn’t planning to leave without greeting the host who fed and sheltered me.”

With a soft laugh, the host Moon Yu-hwan smiled gently.

“Then what troubles you that you’re greeting the moon on this night?”

Wei Yan-ho shrugged his shoulders.

“I just feel a bit suffocated.”

“On suffocating days, night air is good. I too enjoy night walks when my heart feels suffocated.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

“Even if not now, you’re planning to leave soon, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Wei Yan-ho spoke honestly.

He had seen many things in the scholarly world.

He had seen those who devoted themselves single-mindedly unlike himself, and those who had leisure unlike himself.

And he had seen that they too were ultimately no different from other people, and finally felt that the scholarly world was just one place in the world, no different from anywhere else.

He might be able to see more if he stayed longer in the scholarly world, but it wouldn’t make him feel much more than he already had.

It was time to leave.

“If it’s your master’s dying wish, you must follow it. However, I can’t help but feel a bit regretful. Young man, have you ever thought about entering government service?”

“Me? You mean me?”

“His Lordship seems to view you favorably as well, so if you set your mind to it, you could enter the imperial court. Do you have no interest in that direction?”

Wei Yan-ho shook his head firmly.

“I don’t think that’s for me.”

“It’s not?”

“I don’t have confidence I could endure in such a place. In a place full of nothing but cunning snakes, I’d get indigestion even from a single meal.”

Moon Yu-hwan smiled without answering.

“Anyway, I’m seeing and feeling many things before I go.”

“What have you felt?”

Wei Yan-ho seemed to ponder for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“If I may mention the two most important things, one is that even people who read books ultimately don’t live like the books they read…”

“That’s right.”

“And the other is that the scholarly world is a more frightening place than I thought.”

“Why is that?”

“I never imagined that among all the people I’ve met since coming to the martial world, the place with the greatest masters would be the scholarly world. I’ve even been to the Beggar’s Sect headquarters.”

“Lee Wang-ya’s martial arts are certainly remarkable.”

Wei Yan-ho smiled.

Moon Yu-hwan, who had been quietly watching Wei Yan-ho’s smile, also answered with a smile.

“Did you know?”

“Yes. From the beginning.”

“Hmm, that’s a bit troublesome. I have a favor to ask.”

“I won’t mention it anywhere.”

“Please, I really ask you. I want to live as a scholar.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

“Instead, please tell me just one thing.”

“Speak.”

“Can you hear it?”

“What do you mean?”

“The sound of reading now.”

“I can hear it.”

Around them, the sound of reading could still be heard.

“Those people are learning scholarship. Some must be aiming for advancement and fame, and some must be dreaming of changing this country for the better. And those now in the imperial court must have once had dreams like those people.”

“That’s right.”

“But why are those who entered the imperial court desperately trying to devour each other? Is power really that sweet?”

“…”

Wei Yan-ho continued speaking without waiting for Moon Yu-hwan’s answer.

“I understand that the Censorate and that person called Nok-gi have their own reasons and justifications. But can’t it be resolved through dialogue? Must they necessarily destroy each other? Even if it means enduring until death or sending one’s own son to certain death?”

“Hmm…”

Wei Yan-ho sighed.

“My master told me to go to the scholarly world and see the world. I thought that in the scholarly world, I would see the world’s justice and moral principles. But surprisingly, what I seem to have seen here is the world’s ugliness. Now I don’t even know why my master sent me here.”

Moon Yu-hwan nodded and quietly opened his mouth.

“Is Nok-gi a villain?”

“…I suppose so.”

“Then what about Lee Wang-ya?”

“Well, he’s not exactly a villain, I suppose.”

Moon Yu-hwan nodded.

“Then imagine if the first place you went wasn’t here but to the Eastern Palace. Imagine you were treated with honor there.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

“Then would Nok-gi be a villain?”

Wei Yan-ho hesitated to answer.

“I suppose not.”

“Then wouldn’t we, who are trying to kill him, be villains from your perspective?”

“I think so.”

Wei Yan-ho seemed to understand something, yet not quite.

“There are villains in the world who are unshakably evil no matter what anyone says. Anyone would acknowledge such people as villains. But most evil is not so clear-cut. People’s circumstances, beliefs, ideals, and the history they’ve built up become entangled and form relationships. So someone who is more benevolent than anyone to some people becomes more vicious than a demon to others.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

“At first, everyone learns scholarship and harbors ideals in their hearts. But everyone’s ideals are different. When those ideals collide, people come to understand. To unfold one’s ideals, one must first overcome reality.”

“Even if it means killing each other to unfold one’s ideals?”

“It’s wrong. It’s tragic. But knots that are too tangled can’t be untied. There’s no answer except to cut them with a blade.”

“Why must knots be untied? Can’t we just leave them alone?”

“Because you can’t use rope if you don’t untie the knots.”

“Hmm…”

Moon Yu-hwan spoke calmly.

“The world is like a tangled knot. Everyone knows that knots must be untied, but it takes far too much time to untie such knots, and there’s no guarantee that spending that time will actually untie them. Eventually, those who become impatient seek ways to cut through those knots.”

“That’s frightening.”

“That’s the identity of what you call the cunning and dirty schemes of sacrificing one’s own life or sending one’s own son to certain death.”

“Is the whole world like that?”

“The imperial palace is a bit more severe, but other places aren’t much different.”

“I don’t understand.”

Wei Yan-ho sighed deeply and continued speaking.

“I have no idea what my master wanted me to see in the world. I don’t know what he wanted me to see and feel. The world is too fast for me to see, feel, and understand.”

“Isn’t that good enough?”

“What?”

“If the world is fast, you can just follow slowly. Aren’t you already doing that?”

“…”

“Perhaps it’s not that you’re slow, but that we’re fast. That’s why we can’t untie knots. You’re slow but you’re seeing everything clearly. You saw everything that happened in this manor. So what are you worried about?”

“But I’m just lazy.”

“Lazy? Then that’s good. A diligent person will see and learn many things, but a lazy person might be able to see more clearly than a diligent person. Aren’t you already doing that?”

“That’s strange.”

“What’s strange?”

“I thought the scholarly world I knew considered laziness a sin.”

Moon Yu-hwan smiled gently.

“Didn’t I say? The world is a place created by people with different ideals and different realities becoming entangled. If everyone lived the same life, knots wouldn’t be created.”

“I suppose so.”

Moon Yu-hwan quietly looked at Wei Yan-ho.

“You said you’re troubled about what to see and feel in the world?”

“Yes.”

“See the world.”

“…”

“And feel.”

“No, what I mean is…”

“What meaning is there in thinking beforehand about what to see and what to feel, then seeing and feeling?”

Suddenly, Wei Yan-ho’s eyes widened slightly.

“Walk with your own steps, see the world as it is with your own eyes. And feel as your heart truly feels. Then the world will show you the path you should take.”

“As I truly am, the world as it truly is…”

“That’s right.”

Wind blew around Wei Yan-ho’s body.

Moon Yu-hwan was slightly startled, but seeing Wei Yan-ho’s expression was infinitely peaceful, he calmed his mind.

Wei Yan-ho simply closed his eyes as winds from around the world seemed to gather around him.

Moon Yu-hwan quietly circled Wei Yan-ho.

Eventually, Wei Yan-ho’s eyes opened.

“Hmm…”

“Do you seem to understand something?”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his head slightly, then shook his head.

“Honestly, I’m not sure.”

Moon Yu-hwan burst into hearty laughter.

“Hahahaha! That’s enough. You just need to understand with your heart.”

Moon Yu-hwan took out a small brush from his bosom and handed it to Wei Yan-ho. Wei Yan-ho narrowed his eyes and looked at the brush Moon Yu-hwan had given him.

“What is this?”

Moon Yu-hwan smiled wryly.

“You immediately put an expensive-looking blade in your bosom, but you worry first about a cheap brush?”

“Well, that’s how people live.”

“Hmm, that’s strange. Do you lack discernment? This brush is also a masterpiece among masterpieces…”

Thud!

The brush in Moon Yu-hwan’s hand was snatched like lightning and disappeared into Wei Yan-ho’s bosom.

“I’ll gratefully accept it for now.”

“I think I understand Lee Wang-ya’s feelings.”

Moon Yu-hwan shook his head and looked up at the moon.

The crescent moon was looking down at him with a smile.

“I hope you’ll find the answer someday.”

Moon Yu-hwan left those words and walked away slowly.

Wei Yan-ho lay back down on the roof tiles and looked at the smiling moon.

The moment he heard Moon Yu-hwan’s words, changes occurred in his body.

The energy around him embraced him, and the internal energy core within also breathed vitality into his body.

As Baek Mu-han had said, when Wei Yan-ho felt something, Baek Mu-han’s internal energy core sleeping within him would respond and elevate his level.

His master’s words that he would become stronger as his enlightenment deepened were true.

However, Wei Yan-ho couldn’t know.

What had he realized?

No, had he really realized anything?

Wei Yan-ho looked at the sky.

Baek Mu-han was looking at him from there.

— Have you realized?

Wei Yan-ho shook his head.

‘I’m not sure yet, Master.’

The moon was smiling like his master.