Chapter 9: Dream, Let’s Be Friends

Gangchan clicked his tongue pityingly as he approached the dispersing crowd.

“Excuse me, but do you know where the Elder Guno-in is?”

“Guno-in? Are you looking for Elder Guhoe?”

“Ah, so your name is Guhoe, Elder. Where can I find you?”

“See that stable building over there? Just go there and look for him.”

“Thank you very much.”

After expressing his gratitude, Gangchan headed toward the building.

The door to the building was open.

Peering cautiously inside, he saw individual stables lined up along both sides of the building, each separated by partitions.

He entered and approached a man working in the front-most stable.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for someone named Guhoe.”

The man glanced sharply at Gangchan and replied with annoyance, “Go to the third stable from the end on the left side.”

“Thank you.”

As Gangchan moved further inside, he noticed some of the stables were empty.

Finally, arriving at the third stable, he looked in to see an elderly man stroking the large body of a horse and speaking softly to it.

“Excuse me, are you Elder Guhoe?”

The old man looked at Gangchan in puzzlement.

“Who are you? I am Guhoe, yes.”

“Hello, I was sent here by a man named Manpyeong.”

“Manpyeong? The owner of the textile shop, Manpyeong?”

Gangchan smiled.

“Yes.”

“And what is your relationship with Manpyeong?”

“Nothing special. He told me to come here when I said I was looking for a horse…”

“Have you ever ridden a horse before?”

“No, this is my first time.”

“Alright. How far do you plan to go?”

“I’m just sightseeing and thought I’d try riding a horse once.”

“Then you’ll need a docile, well-trained horse that listens to people…”

“That makes sense. Are there horses like that?”

“There are, but those horses are expensive.”

“How expensive?”

“At the very least, fifty silver taels.”

Gangchan was momentarily stunned by the price.

His entire fortune was only thirty-three taels, yet the horse cost at least fifty.

He would have to reconsider.

“That’s quite expensive,” Gangchan said with regret.

“If you’ve ridden before, you might find horses for twenty taels, but for a first-timer, I can’t give you those. It’s not right for the horse or the person.”

Guhoe said firmly.

“I see. Understood. Thank you.”

Giving up on buying a horse for now, Gangchan thanked Guhoe and slowly stepped outside.

Guhoe quietly watched him go.

Outside, Gangchan’s eyes caught sight of a black horse standing in a corner, motionless as if asleep.

He turned back and approached the black horse.

The black horse stood alone in a fenced corner.

None of the other horses dared come near it.

Gangchan carefully stepped closer.

***

After staring for a long moment, he sensed movement and turned his gaze.

Guhoe was approaching him with a smile.

“You’re still here? If you can’t break this stubbornness, it’ll probably starve to death.”

Gangchan looked at the old man, slightly surprised.

“Things like this happen in life. If someone’s too exceptional, even heaven grows jealous. I think this one might be a crossbreed between an Ojumma and a Monggoma. Look at its size, right in the middle, with those thick, straight, strong legs, the black coat, and that magnificent mane.”

“Among all the horses I’ve seen living with me, it’s one of the few I can count on my fingers. It’s probably very intelligent — maybe it even understands my words. That horse saw its mother die right before its eyes, killed by people. How could any beast eat from those hands afterward? The smarter they are, the harder those memories are to forget.”

Gangchan listened quietly, looking at the horse.

He slowly absorbed the horse’s energy with his whole body.

The sorrowful aura of the horse mingled with the Jieugiseong’s energy, swirling around Gangchan’s body.

Gently stroking the horse’s spirit, Gangchan sent his feelings through Jieugiseong to the horse.

“I lost my family right before my eyes too. It was painful and lonely like you, but I thought my family would hate it if I just died. So I chose to live… Could you try to live too?”

The black horse looked at Gangchan with its large eyes as if it understood.

“I don’t have a family either. How about becoming my family? Let’s go see the world together, alright?”

The black horse stared at Gangchan for a moment, then turned its head.

“Elder, I don’t know much about horses, but may I stay here for a while doing odd jobs?”

“Why do you want to save that one?”

“I want to, but is it really possible? I just want to be there for it, so if it’s dying, it won’t be alone.”

“Ha ha. You have a kind heart. Then so be it. There’s plenty of work to do. I’ll provide food and lodging.”

With Guhoe’s approval, Gangchan began cleaning the stables for the horses Guhoe cared for at Jangchun Stable.

***

While staying at Jangchun Stable, Gangchan often approached the black horse and offered food, but it remained motionless.

The black horse slowly grew thinner.

During that time, Gangchan visited the black horse daily, attempting conversations through Jieugiseong.

Their talks were simple: memories of playing happily with his father and older brother in childhood, the subsequent death of his father and disappearance of his brother, and the blue mountains and sky he encountered while training in martial arts…

Ten days passed with the black horse.

That day, Gangchan picked up some hay from the feed bucket and brought it to the horse’s mouth.

The horse glanced at him once, then took the hay into its mouth.

Surprised, Gangchan called out to Guhoe.

“Elder, the horse is eating hay!”

Startled, Guhoe rushed over, looking between Gangchan and the horse in amazement.

“Ha ha… What did you do? What did you say to make it eat?”

“I just told it to live with me.”

“That’s a relief. Really a relief.”

Tears welled up in Guhoe’s dry old eyes.

As the black horse began eating, Gangchan didn’t leave its side all day.

Guhoe watched with satisfaction.

Noticing Guhoe, Gangchan nervously approached him as if he had something to say.

“Do you have something to tell me?”

“Elder, I only have thirty-one silver taels left. I will pay the rest later. Could you sell this horse to me?”

Guhoe pondered for a moment, then said,

“Take good care of it and cherish it. If it weren’t in this condition, it’d be worth its price. It’s too precious a life to just let starve. Yes, that’s right.”

Guhoe handed Gangchan eleven silver taels back out of the thirty-one.

“If you give me your entire fortune, how will you pay for its food? When you pass by here next time, make sure you show me how healthy and lively it’s become.”

“Thank you. I’ll make sure it becomes even more splendid.”

“Wait a moment. I’ll give you a saddle and some essentials as a gift.”

While waiting, Gangchan decided to give the horse a wonderful name.

“Your name is now ‘Mong (Dream).’ Understand, Mong?”

Thus, Gangchan, once alone, now had family.

Though Mong accepted Gangchan, both were inexperienced — Gangchan had never been near a horse before, and Mong had never carried a rider.

Both horse and rider were novices.

This tricky problem was simply solved by Guhoe.

“If you help me out for a while, I’ll teach you how to ride.”

“Thank you!”

Worried another horse might appear, Gangchan replied quickly.

Thus began Gangchan’s first friendship and horse-riding lessons, which lasted about a month.

A month later, Gangchan bid Guhoe farewell.

Together with his friend Mong, he began wandering through the Qinghai Wulin.

Through their journey, Gangchan gradually realized Mong’s true value.

Mong was no ordinary horse — almost a spiritual beast.

No matter how long they ran, Mong never grew tired.

Even more surprising, Mong protected Gangchan from outside threats when they camped overnight.

Most wild beasts dared not approach at the mere glance of Mong.

Once, while camping in the mountains, they were attacked by wolves.

But after Mong attacked, the wolves dared not continue and fled.

From then on, Gangchan could rest easy.

With his goal to experience life among many people, Gangchan took every opportunity to try anything new during their travels.

Sometimes that meant Mong couldn’t accompany him.

Whenever Gangchan told Mong to wait in the mountains, Mong seemed to understand and stayed alone for days.

But whenever Gangchan called, Mong always appeared and stayed faithfully by his side.

Mong became Gangchan’s first friend and family in the world.

Together, they traveled through the Middle Plains, following the road ahead.

On a silent night when all things seemed asleep, the blue moon hanging high in the sky deepened the unrest in a troubled heart.

In a dark room, only a faint candle illuminated the space, casting a blurred shadow of a person.

The old man looked over sixty, bowed low but slightly lifted his head, staring forward as he spoke.

“We are about to begin Tianfan Difuk.”

In front of the bowed man sat an unknown figure.

“Is the preparation complete?”

“Thirty years ago, my mistake caused us to miss the current of the times — a regret that will last a thousand autumns. This time, we will never make that mistake again.”

Filled with self-reproach, he spoke.

A stern voice chastised him.

“How could that be your fault? It was my own pursuit of perfection that caused it…”

“That is not true, my lord! Under no circumstance is it your fault.”

“Ha ha… Why so stiff? I’ve told you countless times, it wasn’t a big deal.”

“But…”

“Enough. The mistake from thirty years ago is past. Even though we prepared a lot then, we gained nothing. But the world is not singular. Though we failed to take the realm ruled by the Tianzi, if we seize the Qinghai Wulin, wouldn’t that be a great achievement? If people revere us forever, that might mean even more.”

“Your words are just. I will keep that in mind and prepare thoroughly.”

The great storm that would sweep across the Jianghu began quietly, unnoticed by anyone.