A mundane daily life repeated in the laid-back household of the Je-Gal family.
Recently, the Je-Gal family was buzzing with two pieces of news from outside. One was, of course, that a certain black-haired guy had come to the Je-Gal family to marry the head of the family’s daughter.
“Ho Pil’s new book has come out? The Ho Pil from ‘The Rise of the Tang Family’?!!!”
The other was a story related to a forbidden book.
“I’m serious. Haven’t you heard the rumors from Hyun-won Dae?”
“We’re not very close with Hyun-won Dae, you see…”
“They say ‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes’ is Ho Pil’s new work. Those guys are boasting about it, yet they won’t share the book!”
If you’re not going to show it, then don’t brag about it! The man gritted his teeth, recalling the sense of superiority that Hyun-won Dae had.
“Well, a word from above came, so they can’t openly circulate it.”
“Then just shut up! I’ve been searching high and low for a way to get it! They said the people from Man Geum Battlefield are sharing ‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes’!”
The fact that an internal notice told them not to view it means, conversely, that there were many who enjoyed it.
‘The Rise of the Tang Family’ was indeed a shocking book for the Je-Gal family, and even now, many were secretly anticipating the next volume despite it being forbidden.
‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes.’ Ho Pil’s new book, huh.
With Hyun-won Dae openly talking about it, the interest of the family members naturally increased.
“Is it okay if they share Ho Pil’s new book within the family?”
“Did we bring it in? It came from Man Geum Battlefield.”
“No matter what….”
“If a guest is sharing a gift, is it polite to fuss? Besides, isn’t Man Geum Battlefield run by the head’s father-in-law? Hurry up and let’s go!”
The man pointed toward the pond, indicating where Man Geum Battlefield was sharing the book, urging his friend to follow.
“If the Elders catch wind of this, it’ll be a disaster.”
“If they’re not interested, they can just turn around. I’m going to stand in line. I need to see just how great a book they rate above ‘The Rise of the Tang Family!’”
This was a golden opportunity to snag ‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes.’ He couldn’t let it slip away. The man’s eyes burned as if saying nobody could stop him.
“I’m worried for you! Don’t you know how much I love ‘The Rise of the Tang Family’? Let’s go together.”
“As long as we don’t get caught by the Elders, it’ll be fine! We have to hurry before the Elders start talking!”
The two turned their bodies toward the pond as if resolving not to hesitate any longer.
“You two.”
Who’s interrupting when we’re about to run? Just as the two were about to dash off, they turned around in shock.
“Who? Huh?!”
“O-Oh Elder?! Wh-what are you doing here?”
The one who spoke to them was Elder Oh from the Elders’ Council.
Why on earth is Elder Oh here? How much did he hear? The two’s eyes trembled like aspen leaves.
“Elder, I happened to hear that some unruly folks are distributing a problematic book, so I was on my way to keep an eye on them.”
The man quickly made an excuse.
“What?!”
“I’ve heard it all, so just be quiet.”
“Is that so….”
It’s the end. The man shut his eyes tight.
Why is the Elder from the council here of all places? No, wait. Could it be a trap set by the Elders? No wonder it felt suspicious that a new book from the author was coming out. They haven’t even finished ‘The Rise of the Tang Family.’
What to do? He had just barely established his position in the family. Should he kneel before the Elder and beg for forgiveness?
Just when the man felt his knees wavering, he unexpectedly heard a question.
“Um, um! If you want to stand in line, do you just follow them?”
“Yes?”
———
“How did you come?”
No matter how hard he tried to hold back, he couldn’t contain himself.
While others suggested different ways to obtain it, the only option to get volume two directly was to go there.
Near the pond, where Man Geum Battlefield’s people were distributing ‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes,’ Elder Oh lifted his hat to cover his face and cleared his throat softly.
“Um, um! I’ve come to get volume two of that book.”
“That book? We’re distributing several books, so please specify.”
“‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes’, that is. I’ve come for volume two.”
Well, other books are quite common, so hurry up and hand it over! Why do I need to say it twice?
Elder Oh, in urgency, didn’t notice the change in the glances of the people from Man Geum Battlefield as he revealed his face.
“Oh, I see. Which author’s ‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes’ are you referring to?”
“What?”
“There are those who send people to collect the books instead of coming themselves. We’re only distributing to readers who come in person, so please be specific.”
Why on earth do they need to verify this? Elder Oh wanted to say something but held back, recalling the empty-handed servant.
“H-Ho… Ho Pil’s….”
“I can’t hear you! If you can’t even say that much, you can’t proceed to the next step!”
“‘Chronicles… of the Wind… Cloud… Heroes… I’ve come for volume two. Please let me speak a bit quietly.”
He was dying to see volume two of ‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes,’ but he didn’t want his own reputation to spread. He came incognito, after all!
Elder Oh put his finger to his lips, gesturing for the Man Geum Battlefield person to pay attention.
“Louder! I can’t hear you! Speak clearly! Tell me!”
Of course, the Man Geum Battlefield people had no intention of listening.
In the end, Elder Oh had no choice but to shout with a tearful feeling.
“I’ve come for volume two of Ho Pil’s ‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes!!!’”
“Alright! Such enthusiasm!”
“Ugh.”
“Elder Oh! O! Elder! Please give a test paper for loyal readers of ‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes’!”
——
“Elder Oh came to take a test?”
“What in the world is going on……”
In the end, they got found out. The area near the pond began to buzz with the arrival of the Elders’ Council, but what was important to Elder Oh was something else.
“Is this even reasonable!!!”
“Elder Oh, what’s wrong?”
Elder Oh held up a test paper, his face flushed red as he yelled.
“No! Why do I have to write down the number of stairs Yun-hyeon walks up carrying a water jug to visit the master every day? How could I possibly know that! Change the questions!”
The test had ten questions. Surely if you had read ‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes,’ you would find the answers easy, but the last one truly was unexpected.
Were they trying to roast him with this kind of question? No, they were definitely trying to make him look foolish. Did they not just humiliate him moments ago?
As Elder Oh was about to explode with rage, the people from Man Geum Battlefield pointed to someone under the tree in the distance.
“There, the other elders have already answered it…”
“What?!”
When Elder Oh turned his head, he saw the other members of the Elders’ Council approaching him with smirks.
Those guys said they wouldn’t come! Since when were they here?
“What’s up? Elder Oh. Didn’t get it right?”
“Tsk tsk, can’t remember even that? Wasn’t it the moment Yun-hyeon recalled his mother struggling to fetch water from the mountain and resolutely made up his mind? How could you forget the 324 steps he climbed back then?”
“You memorized that?”
Are you kidding me, did they get all of that right? In response to Elder Oh’s question, the other elders just smiled leisurely without answering.
“Didn’t I tell you not to just read the dialogue, but to find the meanings in each word? Think about the number of stairs. 324 is three times the 108 troubles. This means the author wanted to express that no matter how tough the path, Yun-hyeon resolved to live his best for both his father and mother!”
“Right. I thought so too. At first glance, it looks light, but it’s layered with profound meaning!”
“What the hell are these old geezers talking about…”
They said it was a book written by that forbidden author, and they thought everyone would just read it sloppily. When on earth did they memorize all that?
“I knew he’d do this. Back in our youth, we thought we could slack off, but it really backfired. What was that follower’s name? Almost lost his hands for slackening off.”
“I remember! He checked if his hands were still attached after winning!”
“Ha ha ha!”
“Why the hell are we talking about this now!”
“See, this is why foundational skills are important! Foundational skills!”
“Since when has the number of stairs been foundational skills?”
“An individual from the Je-Gal family came to take an exam and is blaming the test questions!”
“That guy! We should remove his name from the Elders’ Council.”
To outsiders, the Elders’ Council members were respected figures not to be treated lightly. However, when it came to their own, it was a different story.
They were just friends and brothers who had seen each other through thick and thin all their lives.
Now one among them had become the only failure. The Elders couldn’t hold back their laughter, pointing to the newly emerged source of amusement.
“Uh huh!”
“Elder, here’s volume two!”
With a polite demeanor, a worker from Man Geum Battlefield handed volume two of ‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes’ to the elders.
“Thank you! Our Elder Oh will take the volume two that he can’t read! Enjoy!”
“Give me the test paper back! I’ll answer it right now!”
Everyone passed, and only he didn’t. Elder Oh suffered a small injury to his pride and immediately reached out.
“Those taking the second exam will have different test questions.”
“What?!”
“You’ll have to line up again.”
“Line up again?!”
Elder Oh turned to see the crowd of people already gathered near the pond, not caring where they had heard about it. He thought they were asking him to line up again at the tail end. If he did so now, he would be utterly humiliated.
A wave of despair washed over Elder Oh’s face.
“Whoever thought of this is downright vicious!”
“I won’t lend anything!”
“Me neither!”
“Losers, go home!”
“Get back so others aren’t kept waiting!”
Elder Oh thought about it for a long time but found himself unable to escape the line and had to stand at the very end.
