Chapter 115 — Meeting the Master
They slowed their pace and turned off to the side.
The road opened into a vast plain, stretching endlessly ahead.
Before long, mountains rose, and the path narrowed.
Even as they crossed a valley and climbed along the ridge, Han Ji-un did not reduce his speed.
His horsemanship was exceptional.
Only then did Young-woo begin to wonder where they were going.
"Where are we headed?"
"We've come this far—shouldn't you see your master before you go?"
Young-woo was startled.
"My master is here?"
"For now…"
The explanation was brief.
He had always been that kind of man.
As Young-woo climbed the mountain pass, the view suddenly opened.
There was a small yard, a single house, and a narrow path trailing off behind it.
"Is he here?"
"Sometimes."
They tied their horses and straightened their clothes before heading toward the house.
The door opened, and a young boy ran out.
"You've arrived?"
He bowed deeply to Han Ji-un.
"Yes, nothing unusual?"
"No, sir."
The boy then looked up, brought his hands together, and greeted Young-woo politely.
"It's my first time meeting you. I am O-ryang. I've heard much about you."
Young-woo let out an awkward laugh.
The child was far too young to be receiving guests like an adult.
He glanced at Han Ji-un.
"Who is he?"
"He serves the elder. His name is O-ryang. He's quite capable."
"O-ryang… serving…"
Han Ji-un asked,
"Where is the elder?"
"He's gone into the mountains. He should return soon."
The two entered the small cottage.
A place had already been prepared on the wooden floor.
It was spotless.
The boy wiped the table once more and set out the tea utensils.
"I'll boil the water."
"Thank you."
"It's nothing."
He hurried into the kitchen.
Han Ji-un turned over the teacups one by one.
Young-woo asked,
"Do you usually stay here?"
"It's a place I stop by when passing through. It seems he's here for now."
There was nothing fixed.
No permanent home, no settled dwelling.
At times here, at times elsewhere.
"How did you know I'd come this way?"
"I knew you would pass through here."
"This is the route?"
"If you flee north, this is the path. That's why they were waiting here as well."
Young-woo fell silent.
The man's foresight was uncanny.
It was as if he could see the flow of the world in advance.
Not through effort, but as something naturally understood.
If asked how he knew, he would likely answer simply—
that he just did.
Young-woo spoke again.
"How did you hear about what happened to me?"
"It's all over Kaegyeong. It would be stranger not to know."
Young-woo sighed.
"It's frustrating. Trouble follows me wherever I go. I've started to think maybe it's my fault. This mouth of mine… that's the problem."
He stuck out his lips and tapped them lightly in self-reproach.
Han Ji-un smiled gently.
Just then, O-ryang returned with tea.
"It's hot."
"Thank you. Sit with us."
"May I?"
The boy sat neatly beside them.
His posture was firm and composed.
He was well-trained.
Han Ji-un quietly examined the tea.
As he sensed its temperature, even his breathing seemed to still.
Time itself felt suspended.
In that silence, Young-woo studied the boy.
The child wore small robes dyed in ink, like those of a recluse.
They resembled a monk's garment.
His arms were plump, and he seemed no more than ten.
"I'll prepare it."
"Go ahead."
The boy handled the tea with practiced ease.
"Please, continue your conversation."
Young-woo turned back to Han Ji-un.
"What lies beyond that path?"
"He's been taking walks lately."
"Walks…"
"He seems to have many thoughts."
Young-woo did not fully understand.
But he chose not to ask.
"More importantly, what were you thinking? You said everything about the army's problems."
"I didn't intend to. I was asked, and I got angry, so I said what I knew. Only a part of it—personnel issues, reports, collusion with the enemy."
"You did well."
"No. The court is in chaos now."
"Leaving things buried solves nothing."
"Exposing them doesn't solve them either. I regret it now."
"No. Parents who sent their sons to the army have risen up. They refuse to send them under such men. The Privy Council has shut its doors, and the Military Council stands empty."
Young-woo exhaled deeply.
At that moment, a presence approached along the narrow path behind them.
His master had returned.
Young-woo rushed out and dropped to the ground in a bow.
"Master, I greet you."
"Oh, Young-woo has come."
"Have you been well?"
"And you?"
"Much has happened."
"I've heard the court is in turmoil."
"I'm sorry. I've caused trouble wherever I go."
Han Ji-un guided Baek In-gyeom to the seat of honor.
It had been left empty from the beginning.
Baek In-gyeom looked at Young-woo in silence.
To him, none of this seemed particularly significant.
Such events were merely one among many in the span of life.
"Young blood runs hot. That cannot be helped. I do not blame you. One must be that way when young. If anything, we are the ones who should feel sorry."
"There are many who criticize me."
"Those are the voices of men who find themselves inconvenienced. Pay them no mind. If it had gone further, we would have stepped in. You acted before that."
Young-woo closed his eyes.
The past months resurfaced vividly.
"Now you must look inward more deeply. Draw back the force that rushes outward. There is a time for study. Guard your quiet hours."
Young-woo bowed deeply.
Excuses crossed his mind, but he spoke none of them.
"Time will resolve it."
"I will make more time for myself."
"When you stand on the battlefield, do not let yourself be stained by blood."
"It is war, but we do not fight every day."
"I am curious to see how far you will go."
"I will do my best."
"You must."
His master slid a teacup toward him.
Not a single sip had been taken.
"Thank you."
"The battlefield may feel more at ease."
"I should face reality, but I keep turning away. Because of killing."
"Speak."
"Here, I cannot draw my blade. The sense of killing weighs on me."
"That is because society presses upon the individual. That is why those who study keep distance from the world. Wherever you are, you must be able to focus wholly within yourself."
"I understand."
"Were you trying to head north?"
"No. I had nowhere to go. If I returned home, they would follow. If I went to General Park, I would only burden him. So I left."