Chapter 59. Master and Disciple — No Grudges Left Behind
Meanwhile, Youngwoo, within the Jurchen camp, was passing through the most peaceful stretch of time he had known.
For reasons unclear, the Jurchens treated him with genuine respect.
In such time, Youngwoo devoted himself to study.
The wounds he had received when he was captured still lingered, yet they did not hinder his breathing or movement.
His previously injured ribs felt slightly misaligned, but he paid them no mind.
In a tent set upon the grass-rich plains, he spent his time in breathing exercises, sword practice, and seated meditation.
He did not trouble himself with a future that had not yet come.
It was a kind of wisdom he had gained through long years in the army.
There was nothing he needed to do at this moment.
Time without obligation or promise was rare.
He had always run forward blindly toward something.
Now, he stood apart from the routines of the army.
Into that time, his master suddenly appeared.
Though this was the Jurchen camp, he came and went as freely as though it were his own home.
"What are you doing?"
"I am sitting still."
"And what does that make you?"
"You told me to quiet myself and cultivate the mind."
"When your master asks you something, could you not at least show a little courtesy?"
"Ah… it is my nature. Please forgive me. Besides, you said you were not my master. My heart is not lacking in respect."
"That is only a manner of speaking."
Time began again.
The moment that had paused now resumed its flow.
"What should I do?"
"Why do you ask me that? I told you to choose for yourself, and now you turn back to me."
The words were true.
Yet had there ever been such a thing as choice in his life?
In circumstances where there was nothing to choose, he had simply continued forward.
Each step carried the faint hope that something better might come after.
When he thought of it, life felt less like a matter of choice and more like being carried along by a current beyond naming.
Looking back after time had passed, it seemed as though there had been many paths.
But in that moment, only one had ever been visible.
Only a single road lay before his eyes.
There might have been many options,
yet at that moment, there had always been only one choice left.
And now, he was told to decide for himself.
Could he do it?
He had never made a decision that truly mattered.
Could he now determine another life?
"No. I must return. I am a soldier of Goryeo."
"The Khan has requested you. In the current negotiations, you have been placed as a condition."
Youngwoo bared his teeth.
"Then they may hand me over without hesitation."
"Has Goryeo ever been so irresponsible toward its own people and soldiers?"
It had not.
In war, the first concern had always been the evacuation of the people.
If they were taken by the enemy, rescuing them became the foremost task.
In the wars against Liao, many people had been carried away.
General Yang Gyu had rescued nearly all of them.
He had fought until his life was spent, until arrows pierced his entire body and left him like a hedgehog.
Yet such stories belonged to legend.
Now they served under men who treated their subordinates as pieces on a board.
As Youngwoo failed to reach a decision, Baek In-gyeom continued.
"We have avenged your enemy."
"My enemy… who?"
"Do you not know?"
"I know, but…"
"Yoon Jiwoong was discharged and sent home, and Seo Uitaek had him killed along the way.
Seo Uitaek refused to take responsibility, so we killed him.
The general has written his resignation and has been sent back to his home."
Youngwoo shouted in shock.
"Ah—ah—ahhh!"
It was the kind of half-joking cry that passed among soldiers.
"What in the world—how did such things happen all at once?"
Instead of answering, Baek In-gyeom simply smiled faintly.
Youngwoo pressed him.
"Why? Why did you do that?"
"You call me your master. Should I not at least avenge my disciple, so that he may study in peace?"
"For me? Surely not."
"It is no 'surely.' It is the truth."
"But why would sages, exalted as the heavens, concern themselves with such things?"
"Sages such as we rarely interfere in worldly affairs."
Youngwoo asked at once,
"Then why?"
"They touched my disciple. It could not be left alone. Would you have left it so?"
"The chief culprit is Seo Uitaek."
"He is dead. He was told to acknowledge his crime and take responsibility."
"He is not a man who would do so. He is tenacious."
"So it proved. Even when told that his clan would be destroyed if he refused…"
Youngwoo's eyes sharpened.
He knew their power.
They were men who did not intervene in the affairs of the common world.
"Then now…"
"Yes. Someone has already gone to his main house."
"Ah… to that extent?"
"If it is not done, resentment breeds resentment. They will negotiate directly with the head of the house. If that fails, the Seo clan will disappear."
"Please… do not go that far."
Baek In-gyeom replied,
"If it is not done, it will remain a problem for a long time. What comes after must be clean."
"They are not guilty."
"They bear the guilt of raising Seo Uitaek, of supporting him from behind. They must have profited from it as well. That matter is ours to handle."
Youngwoo's mind swam.
He could not grasp how to receive what he was hearing.
It was not something he could accept as good.
It was the destruction of an entire house.
He sat in silence, dazed.
Baek In-gyeom continued.
"One day, you must do the same for those who follow you."
"…Ah."
"Never leave behind resentment."
"It is too cruel."
"Compare it to the cruelty of the events they continue to bring about. Your entire unit was on the verge of annihilation."
"That was Park Cheolgu's doing."
"He acted so in rivalry with the Seo clan."
Youngwoo shook his head.
"If one extends causality that far…"
Baek In-gyeom cut him off firmly.
"We cut only the main trunk.
You will devote yourself to your study."
"…Yes. I understand."