Reincarnation - Chapter 7

Translator: Sin | Editor: Nebosuke

There was a large table by the window overlooking the beautiful scenery of West Lake, and a dozen guys sat around it.

They were Lee Jung-ryong’s older brother and his best friends who were three years older than me.

The descendants of the famous Fighter Family in Hangzhou were in fact allies Lee Byung-ryong managed in preparation for a war with his brothers in the distant future.

Three beautiful women from the party looked so beautiful that it was hard to imagine where only such ladies would have gathered.

Among them was Cho Young-young. Cho Young-young, the only daughter of Suhyang Mun-ju, was the one whom Lee Jung-ryong had a crush on.

The white, clean face was as beautiful as a fine craftsman made from flour.

‘It is said that she is one of the three most beautiful women in Hangzhou.….’

By the way, just ten days ago, when I encountered her here, she and I and the people around me were in a very difficult situation.

Well, to be honest, I wasn’t that embarrassed because I wasn’t really Lee Jung-ryong.

“I stopped by to say hello to my third brother and his friends on the way. Did you enjoy your meal?”

“Did the Iron Tower catch you trying to run away?”

“No way.”

“You know we know each other, so why don’t you say hello?”

Lee Byung-ryong, who resembled his mother and looked like a toad, came out and greet us, looking alternately between me and Cho Young-young.

He meant that he and Lee Jeong-ryong were alumni of Yedang Seowon from a long time ago.

It was probably around that time that Lee Jung-ryong took Jo Yeong-yeong into his mind. She would have been whiter and cuter then than now, so I think I would have fallen for it too.

“Jeong-ryong, long time no see.”

In order to break the ice, Cho Young-young pretended to talk first.

She smiled a little, and it felt like flowers were blooming right in front of me. What about that bird-like voice?

“Yes…… It’s been a long time.”

“You shouldn’t talk down to her though Young-young calls you brother. Don’t you know there’s been a marriage arrangement between me and Young-young?”

Lee Byung-ryong raised his eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

“Silly boy.”

“I’ll be careful next time.”

“What’s next time? You have been gambling and staying at brothels every day. You didn’t learn martial arts or study at all. It’s said that the lowlife couldn’t be hidden, but how could a man like you be born in my family?”

This was too strong. No matter how close his friends were to him, was it necessary to speak so harshly? Even if I am his half-brother, he’s going to lose face in the end.

It was because of Cho Young-young. Lee Byung-ryong usually had his ugly face and inferiority complex. In particular, he hated being compared to his younger brother Lee Jung-ryong.

Lee Byung-ryong was trying to show her that she made a good decision by choosing him by turning me into trash in front of Cho Young-young, who was rumored to be with me. 

‘That’s all you’ve got?’

I greeted everyone else. To be exact, I greeted them unilaterally, and they, who were one or two years elder, were greeted as superiors.

The men frequently visited Cheonryong Pyoguk to meet Lee Byung-ryong, so they were all familiar to him.

He also knew Cho Young-young and one other girl, but the other was a face she had never seen before.

It was as pretty as Cho Young-young, but she was more elegant and quiet. But I felt like I saw her somewhere.

‘Where did I see her?’

She slipped away when his eyes stayed on her for a while. Realizing my mistake, I turned around quickly and bowed down to the people.

“Then I’ll leave now…….”

“Gongja Jeong-ryong, weren’t you here to have a meal?”

The woman sitting next to Cho Young-young caught me trying to turn around. With a cute smile, she was Jin Geum-bong, the only daughter of Yongmugwan, one of the top three military officers in Hangzhou.

“Come and join us. If we go to another spot, it will be full of students.”

“No matter what, I can’t interrupt your time.”

As I spoke, I skimmed over the table. The table was filled with colorful dishes that I had never seen before.

“Bro Byung-ryong, is that okay?”

Jin Geum-bong asked Lee Byung-ryong for permission with a nasally sound. She even had a little dimple on her face.

It was so easy to notice that Jin Geum-bong was jealous of Cho Young-young now.

If the marriage is successful, Cho Young-young will become the third daughter-in-law of Cheonryong Pyogukllongpyoguk, the richest and most powerful family in Zhejiang Province.

Moreover, compared to Cho Young-young, one of the three most beautiful women in Hangzhou, Jin Geum-bong cannot challenge her in terms of beauty.

They hung out together as friends, but since all men only liked Cho Young-young, the jealousy accumulated so far seemed to explode.

The other men also added some more.

“Please allow him. Seeing that he can’t take his eyes off the food for a while, he must be skipping meals. Hahaha.”

“It’s been a long time since dinner, and where have you been so busily? If it’s a good place, don’t just keep it to yourself — share it with us. Hahaha.”

He is mocking me for not getting a meal because I have been enjoying brothels and casinos since the morning.

There was a burst of laughter at the two men’s words. Among them, Lee Byung-ryong was the one who laughed the most. It was clear that he didn’t regard me as his brother at all.

Otherwise, at this moment, he should not have laughed but should have rolled up his eyes and gotten angry.

The only people who didn’t laugh at all were Cho Young-young and the mysterious woman he saw for the first time today.

Cho Young-young kept drinking water, avoiding attention whenever it was uncomfortable to be with me.

The mysterious woman just looked around calmly. Lee Byung-ryong said, “If you don’t mind eating leftovers…….”

“Well, can I take a bite? Jang-sam, take your seat at the other table. I’ll hand you some leftovers.”

I quickly sat my butt down on the chair. Everyone looked embarrassed as if they didn’t know I would really sit down.

I didn’t care, but I grabbed the greasy chicken leg first.

“Confucius said, ‘No one has ever starved for 3 days and not stolen food.’ The increase in the number of bandits is due to the fact that the commoners went into the mountains to avoid starvation. But how can we say that the only solution is to punish them with the government army?”

“As the law says, if the cliffs are steep, the beasts will not come. So, they will not fall and die. The same goes for governance, and if the law is strict, it will govern itself.”

Lee Byung-ryong and his boys were fiercely arguing over the answer to today’s exam topic.

The topic was: “Discuss how to solve the problem caused by the bad harvest in the Hwabuk area.”

It turned out that all the men gathered today seemed to have taken the exam at a different test site.

Why do the descendants of the Fighter family take the literary exam instead of the martial art exam? 

There’s a reason for everything.

First, they had no intention of becoming fighters. Second, for those who were born in a Fighter family and trained in martial arts since childhood, the martial arts exams were like children’s pranks.

Therefore, no one recognized them even if they passed the military examination.

But the literary exam is different. If they pass the liberal arts exam, which selects only 200 out of tens of thousands, they will be evaluated as a “fighter with great literary capacity” throughout their life.

This is why the descendants of the fighter family challenge the liberal arts exam.

Unlike the Confucian scholars, however, those who also had to train in martial arts lacked time.

Thus, rather than studying Confucian Classics from the basics, they had to study by rote memorization based on a kind of masterful scripture, a stereotyped answer, or a so-called “Palgomun.”

As a result, the thought was rather rigid and narrow-minded. Even now, the examiner’s intentions are nowhere to be found, and they were only thinking of it as a dichotomy, such as whether to defeat or persuade bandits.

What’s surprising is that even with that level of knowledge and insight, my brother, Lee Byung-ryong, passed the final exam, even though he was the last one to be picked out of 200 people.

The argument went on and on.

“The problem is a fundamental solution. Hanbiza said that the only way to rule the world is to eliminate the cause of the chaos…… Blah blah blah.”

Perhaps because he was in front of ladies, he was scrambling to say the names and difficult words of saints that others didn’t even know. It was like me trying to brag that I had even read such an article.

“What do you think, Gongja Jeong-ryong?”

Jin Geum-bong suddenly asked me.

After eating a chicken and two freshwater softshell turtles, I tried hard to hide my annoyance. I just took my hand to the ‘steamed carp with five flavors’ and said, “I don’t know much about that.”

“Oh, you are so modest. Hohoho.”

Jin Geum-bong patted my shoulder with her thin white hand, saying something she didn’t mean.

It was a soft touch that led to the sound of nasal congestion, and a coquettish smile.

The intention was to stimulate the male competitive spirit and jealousy. Stupid males snapped at the bait.

“Yes. Talk to us at ease. Jeong-ryong must have an idea since he has studied quite a bit.”

“Now that I know, Jeong-ryong was born and raised in Pyoguk. He must know more about the bandits in the forest than we do.”

“I agree with you.”

I didn’t say I didn’t know because I really didn’t know. I just didn’t want to get involved in a useless conversation.

But these young boys were swollen to the brim with the thought of disgracing me in front of women.

“Can I be honest with you?”

“Of course.”

“No, I won’t.”

“Well, say it comfortably.”

“Really?”

“I told you so.”

Looking at the table next to where Jang-sam was sitting, a chicken turned into a handful of bones as big as a toothpick.

We’d eaten enough food, and we shall slaughter all of these bullshits? Gosh, I don’t know. I licked my fingers and said, “It’s Han Biza, not Sunja.”

“What?”

“The tiger’s claws and stuff. It’s not Sun-ja, it’s what Han Bi-ja said.”

“Hahaha. I think Jeong-ryong must be mistaken. Maybe it’s because you still don’t have enough learning. That’s fine. I understand.”

“If you don’t believe it, there are 200 Confucian scholars on the first floor who have studied for their life, so bring anyone and ask. If you buy them a bottle of liquor, they will be happy and even open up a book and check it out.”

When I said this, the smile on the guy’s face was gone. Even he is not sure. In my opinion, I retorted all the quotations from others.

“It is not Hanbija but Mukja who said we should know the cause of the chaos, and it is not Ohja who said that the people leave if the law is too strict, but it is a quote by Confucius from the story of ‘Joajeon’. And then…….”

I kept correcting the men one by one. Ten people argued fiercely during one meal, but only three did not make any mistakes in the participation, quotation, or content.

People didn’t believe me at first. They didn’t even think I knew about any of those things.

However, my outspoken attitude, meticulousness that corrected even trivial details, and my confidence to bring the Confucian scholars from the first floor to check them out dampened their spirits.

At this point, everyone looked as if they were covered in shit.

One was shaking his lips, one bit his molars, and another clenched his fists…….

The ways were all different, but their eyes were all saying the same thing.

‘How did that shit idiot……!’

Jin Geum-bong, who had no idea what would happen, looked at Cho Young-young with tears in her eyes.

Cho Young-young was looking at me with a look on her face as to whether that person was the Lee Jung-ryong that she knew.

I finally made a focal point. 

“Not only is the Nine Chinese Classics a book. Not only is Palgomun is a sentence. Read other books evenly. Byung-ryong’s friends are very poor at quoting books.”

“Pfff!”

It was a mysterious woman who had been listening to the conversation without a word.

Though hurriedly covering her mouth with both hands, she could not help laughing as she was about to burst out loud. But her shoulders were still wriggling.

However, no one could express their disapproval to her. Rather, their faces turned red with shame.

Then, I did realize that the target that all men tried to look good in front of was especially the woman in question. Even Lee Byung-ryong…….

‘Who is she…….’