Chương 226: Chapter 227 — Another Attempt

Late into the night, he sat up at the feeling of the ground trembling. He could not see them. As his cultivation deepened, he could gauge others through the faint tremors of the earth. Number, depth of training, the presence or absence of internal force, and things commonly categorized as qi could be known. The soft, intermittent taps were approaching carefully on foot. They had stopped their horses quite far away and were coming on foot.

They thought they were being stealthy in their own way, but it was useless against a master. A sigh came out at the provocation of such insignificant men. Had his departure truly been such a thing to be enraged over? In the darkness of night, the stars had risen in brilliant clusters. Each point of starlight was so clear it seemed ready to fall right beside him. They had camped again and again, yet tonight felt especially dry. It was because of thoughts that had not settled.

He could not kill them all, yet he could not acknowledge that they were doing well either. Suddenly, he felt keenly that this place too was simply a place where people lived, a world where hostility and jealousy, conflict and blame ran rampant just the same. He had thought there were only straightforward people of pure and clean temper. There were many such people, but everything of human affairs existed here just the same. Lately, human affairs had grown difficult. Breathing together among them felt burdensome.

Not long afterward, one of Zongwang's scouts approached.

"Loyalty. An unidentified group is approaching." Zongwang, who had been leaning against something soft laid over his gear, raised himself.

"How many? How many men?"

"Around fifteen." As Zongwang was about to rise, Yeongu caught him.

"At night, distinguishing friend from foe is dangerous."

"Fortunately, they have dismounted and are coming on foot." The scout was startled. Yeongu knew something he had not said.

"What will you do?" Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Have the cavalry surround and threaten them, then make them put down their weapons." Yeongu pointed in a direction.

"They are one hundred and fifty jang away. Have the cavalry surround them like this."

"Understood." Zongwang drew a deep breath and rose to wake the soldiers. In the middle of the night, the soldiers rose and, as Yeongu said, drew a wide circle around the men and surrounded them. The men sensed something strange and looked around. Their steps clearly showed panic. When they saw several torches encircling them in a ring, they stopped moving. Dismounting had been their mistake. They had dismounted to be stealthy, and thus became prey for cavalry.

"Throw down your weapons and raise your hands high!" When Zongwang shouted, the men raised their hands. Yeongu shouted,"I will take it that any man who does not obey may be killed." Three men did not raise their hands. They thought the darkness hid them. Yeongu drew his bowstring. Zongwang said,"Spare them." Yeongu loosened the bowstring he had drawn taut. Zongwang's character was truly worthy of respect. He knew that even those who had come to kill were Jurchen.

He hated their wrongdoing, yet first tried to save the person. Unfortunately, Yeongu knew that this applied only to those inside their own circle. Toward those outside the Jurchen boundary, they had not even the smallest generosity. That double standard was not easily understood. Yeongu turned his body with a snap. He returned to his original place and lay down on the long sleeping spot laid out at the camp. Because he could not act according to his temper, his anger rose even higher.

He tried not to care what happened, but he felt everything they were doing. The emotion of somehow trying to find a way was carried through the air with discomfort. He could see the shallow mind that, once caught, would claim nothing had happened. Yeongu quietly slipped out to the opposite side from where they were confronting the men. Even as he moved away, he could feel everything those men were doing. It was because his sense of qi had become keen.

There were people who insisted on their own position with absurd words. Because Yeongu had tried to leave them, they had to kill him. They repeated only that they had to make sure he could never come back. He could not fathom how such a logical leap was possible. The thought that things would not be favorable when he returned came to him uneasily. He was not doing this to look good to them, but even so, a lonely feeling filled his chest.

He left the campsite and went far away, to a place where he could neither be seen nor heard. In the end, the place he went was a place without people. Even after he moved more than ten li away, he could still feel the tremors. That was how focused his nerves were. Whether they had brought horses or not, a cluster of hoofbeats trembled noisily, and even after that, they did not leave. It was by chance. As he wandered back and forth across the broad field, he discovered men hiding.

They were concealed behind a low ridge from which the light of the campsite could be clearly seen. Whether because they were careless or because they thought there was enough distance, he could hear them murmuring. One man asked and another answered, and the sound carried through the dark field's air, reaching him entirely.

"So that is where that bastard is."

"Yes."

"How did you know?"

"The rumor that he came has spread everywhere."

"Hm. Well, the bastard is something, I will grant that. But there are quite a lot of them."

"He brought another Goryeo support group."

"Not soldiers?"

"There are soldiers too."

"These bastards mean to openly stand against us." Several years after the Battle of Gwiju, Goryeo and Liao went through several rounds of diplomatic negotiation and reorganized their relations. Just because Goryeo had greatly defeated Liao's army at Gwiju did not mean it immediately cut diplomacy with Liao and kept only the blade's edge raised. Goryeo achieved military victory, but it did not choose the path of keeping Liao forever as only an enemy.

Liao sent envoys again, and Goryeo restored diplomatic relations on the condition that official envoy exchanges with Song be reduced. In war, Goryeo had won. In diplomacy, Goryeo lowered itself one step and accepted reality. But that was not submission. Outwardly, it accepted Liao's investiture and reduced official diplomacy with Song, but inwardly, it kept the Six Garrisons east of the river and strengthened the Yalu River defensive line.

Official envoy exchanges with Song were cut off for a time, but trade through merchants continued. Yeongu could easily feel that the men's conversation stood in Liao's position. One thinks others will not know where one stands, yet it can be known all too easily. It is a matter of attitude and the way one first engages.