Though Kanghyok didn't know who the guest was, but he must be an extraordinary person, given Soonsin's polite att.i.tude.

Standing up and tidying his dress like Soonsin, Kanghyok waited for him.

“Ahem.”

The lord that Soonsin mentioned cleared his throat outside.

At the same time Soonsin ran out and greeted him kindly.

“Welcome, milord.”

“Oh, are you prepared well to depart?”

“Yes, sir. All thanks to you.”

“Oh, no. You got the job because you're excellent in martial arts.”

Given they're chatting comfortably, they were on intimate terms.

Belatedly Kanghyok introduced himself.

“How are you, sir? My name is Kanghyok Paek.”

“Oh, you're Kanghyok!” said the middle-aged man with a huge laugh.

For some reason he was excited to see Kanghyok.

“I heard a lot about you. They say your medical skills are excellent.”

“I'm flattered, sir.”

Kanghyok kept bowing to him, saying something he didn't mean.

“Come inside, milord. Let me tell my servant to lay a table again.”

“Sure,” said the man, carrying a mat on the saddle with him.

'Why is he carrying that mat?'

At that moment Kangyok recalled the mayor of Ansung, who came to see Kanghyok from a long distance to his hemorrhoids.

Squatting on the floor, Soonsin said, “We're going to have a new table with foods and alcoholic drinks.”

The way Soonsin sat down suggested he had had never his leg injured.

Putting down a mat on the floor gently, the middle-aged n.o.bleman said, “You have your leg completely cured now.”

“Yes, I owe it all to Kanghyok.”

“I admire your wonderful medical skills.”

“Oh, I forgot to introduce you, milord.”

“Really? I'm sorry for that.”

Then the middle-aged man sat down on the mat cautiously.

He made a frown, as if he felt some pain.

'Does he have hemorrhoids?'

His symptoms looked exactly the Ansung mayor's.

“Let me introduce him, Kanghyok.”

“Yes, milord,” he said, bowing to that man once again.

“His name is Sungryong Yu. He is on intimate terms with Soonsin because they have known each other since their childhood.”

“Sungryong Yu!”

How could he recall the mayor of Ansung when he was now seeing such a famous scholar and politician in Joseon? He was the minister of culture and education at this time

“What's wrong with you?” asked Soonsin when Kanghyok made an embarra.s.sed expression.

“No, it's nothing. I just admire him a lot.”

“Hahaha. I'm flattered,” said Sungryong.

“It's my honor to see you here,” said Kanghyok sincerely.

Soonsin Lee on his right and Sungryong Yu on his left!

How could Joseon go to the brink of collapse with such reliable men like Soonsin and Sungryong?

Kanghyok suddenly thought of the top leader at that time, who was King Sonjo.

'King Sonjo, who the h.e.l.l are you?'

At that moment Soonsin's personal servant came in with a table with drinks and side dishes.

It seemed that Soonsin hunted several pheasants when he said he went out for hunting.

Three roasted pheasants were on the table, along with that delicious liquor that Kanghyok tasted before.

With a hearty laugh, Sungryong said, “This is an occasion for me to say goodbye to Soonsin leaving for the northern area. So, fill your cup now.”

“Yes, milord.”

When Sungryong proposed a toast Soonsin and Kanghyok quickly emptied their cups.

“Soonsin, you know it's a bit difficult for me to recommend you for that ranking position of chosanbo manho.”

Though chosanbo manho was a lower rank, it was still high enough for someone like Soonsin who just pa.s.sed the state civil exam on martial arts.

Soonsin was well aware that he owed it to Sungryong.

“Yes, milord.”

“So, you have to carry out your duty well.”

“I'll keep it in mind, sir.”

“Good. Let's have a good time now. Cheers!”

As Sungryon was in the drinking group, Kanghyok felt a bit uncomfortable.

He couldn't laugh or talk aloud in Sungryong's presence now.

Instead he kept emptying his cup while listening to Sungryong talking with Soonsin.

“You must have heard of it already, though it's new to Kanghyok.”

“Yes, milord.”

“Recently a j.a.panese envoy called Tachibana Yas.h.i.+ro visited Joseon.”

“Yas.h.i.+ro?”

He was totally new to Kanghyok.

“This j.a.panese envoy made fun of the mayor of Sangju, Unhyong Song, and acted arrogantly in Hanyang,” said Sungryong.

In fact, Kanghyok's impression of the j.a.panese people was not good because the j.a.panese raiders' recent attack.

Sparkling his eyes, Soonsin said, “I would have beheaded him right away if I had been there.”

“No, no, You shouldn't kill a j.a.panese envoy recklessly.”

“How could he be so arrogant? He even ridiculed the mayor by saying his hair turned grey for nothing.”

“Well, he even threw pepper at the feast for him.”

Given that Soonsin was upset with Yasuhiro, he clearly knew the j.a.panese play the bully during his stay in Joseon.

Sungryong was quietly looking at him.

“So, we're not accepting his request.”

“Does it mean that you're not sending an envoy to j.a.pan?”

“Right. How can we send one there thoughtlessly when the sea route to j.a.pan is not that safe?”

“Great decision, sir.”

Kanghyok didn't know who Yasuhiro was, but it was clear that the Joseon government would not send any envoy to j.a.pan this time.

If that's the case, it would be several more years to go before j.a.panese invasion of Joseon in 1592 broke out.

Kanghyok, who was stressed by the idea of entering a government service during the turbulent times, felt a bit relieved to hear that.

Only then did Kanghyok become enlivened enough to ask.

“Sorry, but I'm not aware of what's happening right now. What the h.e.l.l did that j.a.panese envoy do?”

At his asking Sungryong burst into a big laughter.

“Oh, you were in Suwon at that time.”

“He took part in the battle at Otan village as a medic.”

“I heard that, too. Half the letter from the mayor of Suwon was about you.”

Now see, the mayor even talked to Sungryong, the foreign minister, about Kanghyok.

Sungryon said in a moving tone, as if he was greatly impressed by the mayor's description of Kanghyok.

“I hear you eradicated smallpox in a village, along with Joon Huh at the Royal Medical Service.”

“Yes, I heard it, too. These two men are really great, sir.”

Now, Soonsin furtively pressured on Kanghyok to accept the government job offer.

'Nope, I hate King Sonjo.'

Though Kanghyok like power and wealth, he didn't want to serve a king that he didn't like.

“Anyway, this b.a.s.t.a.r.d Yas.h.i.+ro is so rude. I hear he complained to the mayor of Sangju that his hair turned grey because he spent all his life in battlefields, while the mayor's hair turned grey because he only indulged in revelry with wine and women all his life.”

Nodding his head, Kanghyok listened for him.

'It was true that Yas.h.i.+ro spent all his life in battlefields.'

j.a.pans' fierce fighting among numerous warlords across the country lasted from the 15th century until the early 17th century.

Though it was not known how old Yas.h.i.+ro was, he most likely spent several decades fighting in numerous battlefields.

Accordingly a peaceful Joseon might have looked strange to him.

'Son of a b.i.t.c.h!'

Kanghyok cursed before he knew when he thought about the upcoming war that Joseon would go through.

“So, what did he do at the feast?”

“You probably know how precious pepper is.”

“Yes, I do.”

As it was so precious, ordinary people could hardly obtain it.

'I hear they imported it from j.a.pan.'

Mostly they spent it at the royal court, and exported the leftovers to China for huge profits.

“I hear Yasuhiro threw away pepper to the partic.i.p.ants in the middle of the feast. So, the musicians and gisaeng scrambled over it.”

“I guess the feast was messed up…”

“Of course it was. What's more troublesome was what he said after the party.”

“What did he babble about?”

Sungryong couldn't open his mouth right away, as if he was incensed at recalling what had happened.

Take deep breaths several times, he said, “He said that Joseon would collapse, given the despicable state of discipline.”

“I would obviously beheaded him if I had been there.”

Then Sungryong and Soonsin quickly emptied their cups.

But Kanghyok didn't let Yas.h.i.+ro's statement go out through one ear.

'What he said was partially true.'

Without Soonsin and Sungryong Joseon would have collapsed at that time.

“By the way, you have wanted to meet Kanghyok for a long time, sir.”

“Oh, yes, yes.”

Sungryong corrected his posture as if he felt pain in the b.u.t.t.

“What should I do?”

“I think you had better give me some time.”

Usually Kanghyok would immediately open the bag and take out operating tools.

But he wanted to cure Sungryong's disease completely after thorough check-up.

“Really? What do you think is the best time? In fact, I am disturbed a lot by this pain.”

Though Kanghyok didn't know it, Sungryong once collapsed because of his painful hemorrhoids during the j.a.panese invasion of Joseon in 1592.

That suggested his condition was serious.

“Let me hurry up as much as possible to treat your disease.”

“Got it. Let me take the time out for the treatment.”