Do It. Don’t Waver. (5)

“Hmm.”

Im So-Byeong looked straight at Yu Han-Bin for a moment, then nodded.

“This should be enough. I think he’s ready.”

“…Ready for a funeral?”

“Hey now. Don’t be ridiculous.”

Baek Cheon gave Yu Han-Bin an awkward laugh while staring at him.

‘I don’t think he’s joking.’

His cheeks, strangely hollow now that the flesh had withered away, the shadows running down to his chin, and the way only skin seemed to remain on him made it look like he’d be in a coffin any moment now.

“Well… to master the Four Books and Three Classics in just ten days, you have to pay this kind of price.”

“Now hold on. I didn’t master them, I just memorized them.”

“…Isn’t that the same thing?”

“… ”

When Im So-Byeong shot Baek Cheon a look as if he were staring at a bug, Baek Cheon’s neck naturally shrank in.

“Tsk. There is no such thing as completion in scholarship. Memorizing the Four Books and Three Classics by heart is only the equivalent of taking your first steps.”

Swish!

Im So-Byeong unfolded his fan and said while fanning himself gently.

“But still… isn’t that first step the most important one?”

“…Aren’t you something.”

“Ha ha. Of course.”

Im So-Byeong’s nose rose sky-high, but for now they could only indulge his smugness. He really had done something impressive, after all.

“Then I suppose I can rest a bit…”

“Oh, sure. You can rest well for a day or so.”

“T-thank…”

Yu Han-Bin couldn’t even finish the words before toppling over to the side.

Chung Myung clicked his tongue at the sight and asked Im So-Byeong,

“How is he?”

“…He’s a prodigy.”

“Hm?”

“Well, maybe ‘prodigy’ isn’t the right word. It refers to someone who has learned scholarship beyond what fits their young age. To be exact, I’d call him a genius.”

“That much?”

“Well, even then, he’s only a pathetic level not even one quarter of one quarter of mine… Aaagh!”

Im So-Byeong, kicked by Chung Myung, sprawled face-first onto the floor.

“Why, why are you hitting me… cough! cough-cough!”

“You really don’t know moderation. Enough, just get to the point, bandit.”

“Groan… At this rate, passing the state exam within half a year shouldn’t be impossible. Even if that’s difficult, as long as he doesn’t give up his studies, he’ll definitely pass the next exam.”

Chung Myung nodded on his own.

“Right.”

There was no need to bring up the blood of the Confucian families of Shandong. Though he said that, Chung Myung was also someone who didn’t believe ancestral talent was passed down intact to later generations.

You could say that Yu Han-Bin, as Chung Myung had seen him, simply had the ability to be such a person.

“Then all that’s left is his own will.”

Just as Chung Myung was about to nod gravely,

“What are you talking about? There’s so much to prepare for the state exam.”

“…Huh?”

Chung Myung turned to Im So-Byeong with a blank face.

“Did you get a guarantor?”

“…G-guarantor? What’s that?”

Im So-Byeong’s face twisted sharply.

“Don’t you know you need a guarantor’s guarantee in order to take the exam?”

“What kind of exam needs a guarantor! Then why even take the exam!”

“Sigh…”

Im So-Byeong let out a long sigh and shook his head as if he hadn’t expected anything.

“Tsk. Well, if we hurry from now on, we can probably get a guarantor, so let’s set that aside. Then you must have registered at the local academy, right?”

“Local… what?”

“The local academy! The local academy!”

“So what is that?”

Im So-Byeong stared at Chung Myung with a dazed face, then snapped his head away.

The other disciples, gauging his mood, quickly averted their eyes and pretended not to notice.

“The local academy. Uh, well… it’s a good thing.”

“A scholar’s betrayal?”

“What ignorant nonsense is that? It’s a kind of scholarship.”

“Ah! That makes sense. Wow, you’re smart?”

Im So-Byeong shut his eyes tight.

What could he possibly expect from these ignorant Taoist bastards?

“So what is the local academy?”

“A provincial government school! ‘Scholar’ originally refers to a student attending the local academy, so how can someone who knows the word scholar not know the local academy! You ignorant Taoist bastard… Aaagh!”

Kicked away again by Chung Myung, Im So-Byeong screamed and went flying.

“But this bandit bastard, I’ve had enough of this!”

“No, that’s not it…”

Chung Myung rushed straight at Im So-Byeong, grabbed his neck, and shook him.

“You learned so well, and yet you had nothing better to do than go around banditing? If Confucius had known, he would’ve tried to smash your skull with the Analects! What are you so proud of, you bastard! I kept you alive because I thought you might still be useful, and now you’re talking back? Die! Just die, you bandit bastard!”

“Ghk! Kheh! I was wrong… Ghk! You’re really going to kill me!”

Tears of grievance gathered at the corners of Im So-Byeong’s eyes.

I was born a bandit, what do you want me to do about it.

“Tsk. One way or another, honestly.”

After flinging Im So-Byeong aside, Chung Myung dusted off his hands and turned around.

“So? You’re saying we need to register him at that local academy or whatever?”

“Grrr…”

Wiping away the nosebleed that had already started to trickle out, Im So-Byeong answered with a troubled expression.

“I think that’s already kind of water under the bridge. Looking at it, it seems a bit difficult for this fellow’s circumstances.”

“Then?”

“We’ll have to use another method. Applicants who can’t become scholars have to pass a preliminary exam before they can sit for the exam.”

“Then let’s do that.”

“…Pardon?”

“The person who knows this best should handle it. Prepare without any problems.”

Im So-Byeong’s face turned pale in an instant.

“Um, I think I should be heading back to the mountains soon. As you know, Taoist, I do have things to take care of…”

Hearing that, Chung Myung smiled faintly.

“It seems you’ve forgotten what you said.”

“…Pardon?”

“You’re not the one who decides whether it’s possible or not. Right?”

“… ”

Despair settled on Im So-Byeong’s face.

---

“Grr… What glory and wealth am I supposedly trying to enjoy?”

Watching Im So-Byeong grumble nonstop, Baek Cheon clicked his tongue.

“It’s something that has to be done anyway. Will you keep whining like that? A Green Forest King like you?”

“Isn’t whining exactly what a Green Forest King does?”

“…What kind of logic is that?”

Im So-Byeong twisted his face.

“If a man could live well without complaints, would he be crazy enough to strap on a sword and go into the mountains? He became a bandit because he couldn’t stand it!”

“Ah…”

“The harshest among them becomes the bandit leader, so someone like a Green Forest King is naturally going to have plenty to complain about.”

“The problem is, that actually makes sense.”

Yoon Jong, too, shook his head as if he were sick of it.

“You knew Chung Myung had called you, so you should’ve expected not to see anything pleasant.”

“…I knew.”

“Then why?”

“Just because.”

“Hm?”

Im So-Byeong looked up at the sky with distant eyes and said,

“I guess I wanted to live as a scholar, even if only for a little while…”

“Green Forest King…”

Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong looked at Im So-Byeong with somewhat pitying faces. Come to think of it, this man had truly dreamed of success and glory…

“And they said they’d pay.”

“Huh?”

“These days, the Green Forest’s finances are tough too, so what’s the point of idling around? I have to make money however I can. Tsk, if I’d known it would be this much trouble, I should’ve asked for more. With Taoist Chung Myung’s personality, he doesn’t seem like the type to give more money now. Ah, it’s done. That’s that.”

“…”

The two of them shook their heads.

Meanwhile, the group arrived at the government office where they had recently rescued Yu Han-Bin.

“So we just go in here?”

“Yes. The exam is overseen by the prefectural office. The preliminary exam is the same.”

After waving his fan around, Im So-Byeong strode into the government office.

The guards at the gate glared when they saw Im So-Byeong.

“What business do you have here?”

“I’ve come to register for the preliminary exam.”

“You?”

“No, this child here.”

The guard stared at Yu Han-Bin, then nodded.

“Go inside and wait for a moment.”

“Very well.”

Im So-Byeong shuffled through the main gate.

Baek Cheon, Yoon Jong, and Yu Han-Bin also followed him into the office in confusion.

“…Is it really okay for a bandit to just walk into the government office?”

“He’s a guarantor too, so I guess.”

Come to think of it, what a strange status.

“More importantly, Green Forest King. So can anyone take the preliminary exam just by registering?”

“No, that’s not how it works. Even the preliminary exam requires a guarantor.”

“We don’t have a guarantor.”

“Tsk tsk. You’re really slow on the uptake. Who do you think a guarantor is? Isn’t it a distinguished elder who can guarantee that person’s identity?”

“Right?”

“That is to say.”

With a swish, Im So-Byeong opened his fan, puffed out his flat belly as far as it would go, and snickered.

“It’s talking about someone like me.”

“…You’re really obnoxious.”

Though a grumble came out, Im So-Byeong just shrugged as if he hadn’t heard it.

“Don’t worry. I can vouch for him. They’ll roughly check his identity, and if there aren’t any major problems with his conduct, they’ll register him.”

“…A bandit vouching for someone’s identity. Is this really okay?”

“No, more importantly, what did you just say?”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“You said if there aren’t problems with what?”

“Conduct. It’s nothing major. Think of it as their reputation—just a simple check to see whether they’ve ever committed a serious crime before… Hmm? Why are you all suddenly sweating so much?”

“Oh, then…”

Baek Cheon, Yoon Jong, and Yu Han-Bin all started sweating profusely at once.

“I… don’t think this… will work…”

Conduct? What was that supposed to mean? Yu Han-Bin was the very worst-behaved brat in all of Jinan.

Seeing their expressions, Im So-Byeong narrowed his eyes.

But before he could open his mouth and say anything, a clerk with an annoyed expression walked out from inside.

“Right, who said they were registering for the preliminary exam?”

Baek Cheon swallowed hard and subtly pointed at Yu Han-Bin.

“It-it’s this child.”

“Hm… And you found a guarantor?”

“I am.”

At Im So-Byeong’s words, the clerk looked him up and down.

“Are you the guarantor, by any chance?”

“That is correct.”

After formally checking his identity, the clerk nodded.

“Then you’re sufficiently qualified. Write down that child’s personal details and the guarantor’s personal details. We’ll check them, and if there are no problems, we’ll register him.”

“I brought them prepared. Here.”

As Im So-Byeong pulled a paper with the personal details from his sleeve and held it out, the clerk took it and turned away.

“It won’t take long, so wait here for a moment.”

“Yes.”

As the clerk hurried inside without any special reaction even after seeing Yu Han-Bin, Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong muttered with bewildered faces,

“What is this? Why isn’t he seeing through it?”

“Rather than seeing through it… maybe he didn’t recognize him?”

“How could that be? It’s not even been two weeks since he caused that huge commotion here.”

“It’s because, sasuk.”

“Mm?”

“In half a month, the boy’s appearance…”

“Ah.”

Baek Cheon understood the situation at once.

Come to think of it, Yu Han-Bin had become almost half his former self in just ten days, so it wouldn’t be strange if they couldn’t recognize his face.

“Ah, right. His face shape has changed too.”

“Exactly.”

“Then… to them, he might be an entirely different person.”

“Probably.”

“This seems like it might go better than expected.”

Should they call this lucky?

It would have been impossible if Im So-Byeong hadn’t put Yu Han-Bin through such harsh training.

Was this what people meant by a blessing in disguise?

That was when Baek Cheon was thinking with a bitter smile.

“He’s coming back out.”

The clerk who had gone inside quickly approached them again. And the moment Baek Cheon saw him, he sensed something was off.

The clerk looked as if something had happened to him in that short time. He couldn’t even hide his bewilderment.

“Impossible.”

“…Pardon?”

“We cannot register him. Go back.”

At those words, Im So-Byeong widened his eyes and protested to the clerk.

“What do you mean? It’s only the preliminary exam!”

“I said it cannot be done!”

“Then at least tell us the reason. Is it the conduct? Or the background? If not that…”

“None of that!”

“Then what?”

Im So-Byeong kept pressing him, but the clerk only fidgeted and waved his hands.

“Anyway, registration is impossible. That child will never be able to take the exam, so give up.”

“Hey, wait!”

“Listen to me. That would be better for both you and that child. Don’t ever come near the government office again. Do you understand?”

At the unsettling words, everyone’s faces hardened rigidly.