Change of Route and the Hunt
Between sparse shrubs, a narrow path of mixed rock and soil wound long around the mountainside and climbed upward.
Because few people traveled this way, the mountain road was overgrown with grass, and as spring approached, small green shoots pushed up through the dry blades.
Three mounted men descended carefully, maintaining steady distance between them.
There were sections of the mountain pass too dangerous for horseback travel, yet they did not dismount.
They tilted precariously but moved forward slowly with practiced ease.
Whenever the road slanted, the long swords at their waists swayed.
After riding for some time, they scanned their surroundings, rode off the path to check the wider area, and occasionally stopped to listen carefully.
Horse and rider moved as one body.
They neither rushed nor idled, but steadily climbed and descended the slopes.
They were the vanguard of the White Dragon Unit.
They had abandoned the main road that led straight south.
After several ambushes, they chose to cut across mountain paths and fields instead, sending scouts ahead as before.
They changed the road entirely.
Instead of openly traveling along official routes, they now took side paths.
They moved through places no one used—mountain trails, field crossings, trackless ground.
There was no need to risk unnecessary danger.
They would not lose in battle, but any casualties would fall entirely on the White Dragon Unit, so this was an unavoidable decision.
It was a choice for safety.
Their enemies could replenish their numbers even after losses and receive treatment for injuries.
The White Dragon Unit could not.
They traveled alone, without support.
No one could help them.
There would be no medical care if wounded, no reinforcements if battle erupted.
But their enemies could draw from endless supply.
For the White Dragon Unit—once accustomed to large-scale warfare and devastating charges with mounted spears—this method was unfamiliar.
They had fought openly.
They had never hidden.
With the distant Taihang Mountains in view, the road winding along the pass was peaceful and quiet.
There was no battle.
They had clearly shaken off pursuit.
For days they traveled without enemy attack.
Though the terrain was rough, the White Dragon Unit moved at the speed of open plains.
It was because of the scouts who advanced quickly and surveyed ahead.
They followed the signs left behind by the vanguard without ever dismounting.
They hunted for provisions.
If they found a mountain village, they gathered what supplies they needed.
With a little diligence, life became almost comfortable.
In some ways, since choosing these deserted paths, the days had grown peaceful.
They even changed direction—turning west instead of continuing south.
They ate well.
They rested well.
As spring arrived and the scenery brightened, it almost felt like an outing.
So-un acquired a bow.
When leaving the imperial capital, he had surrendered all issued equipment, so he had desperately needed a small cavalry composite bow.
He managed to obtain a few from a hunting village.
When someone suggested going hunting, they left the small village serving as their lodging and climbed a low hill that lay slanted beneath the Taihang range.
Because So-un shot well, he had been told to bring something back.
But it was his first hunt.
Had they not been fleeing in urgency, it would have been a truly beautiful road.
And hunting on such a road—there was no greater pleasure.
"It's my first time hunting… what should I do, uncle?"
So-un still called his comrades "uncle."
"Just do as I say. Don't worry. Scholar, just hit the target. You shoot well."
Because his archery was exceptional, he was assigned as shooter.
Having practiced since childhood and now tempered by real combat, strength filled his arrows, and he pierced chosen points as precisely as if pointing with his finger.
"If we go back empty-handed, everyone will be disappointed."
"Don't worry! Come on! Let's go over there."
Gun-myeong spun halfway around, brushed off his feet, and left the long forest path.
They veered into untrodden ground.
"Where are we going? And why did you brush off your feet?"
"You can't hunt walking on roads. Animals follow their own paths. They never take the roads humans use. Brushing off the feet… well, it's a sign we've entered the forest. A different domain—not where people live. Hard to explain. We've always done it that way."
"I see."
After crossing two rocky hills, Yu Gun-myeong concealed himself and stared ahead for a long time, then signaled So-un where to lie in ambush.
Gun-myeong would drive the prey.
So-un would shoot.
"Is something there?"
"Wait. Something will break out from over there. About your size. Shoot clean. Cut the throat in one strike. Don't hesitate. Kill it quickly so it suffers less. Understood?"
"You saw it?"
"Instinct. Predator's instinct. A warrior's spirit…"
"The prey will laugh at you. I'll just shoot."
Gun-myeong had once pointed out that So-un's fingers weakened at the final moment when finishing an enemy.
His heart was too soft to kill.
That could not happen in a hunt.
Then So-un felt it.
Not sound.
Not scent.
Something like the vibration of footsteps striking the ground.
A presence larger than ordinary prey.
A dark mass occupying space.
It's coming.
A yellow roe deer burst from the brush.
He shot lightly.
He missed.
He quickly nocked another arrow, predicting the landing point of its leap.
This time he aimed where it would fall.
The arrow buried deep into the shoulder, piercing the heart.
The deer dropped instantly.
"Ha!"
It was exhilarating.
More fun than any childhood game—if only it were not killing.
But another movement came.
Smaller than the roe deer.
A water deer.
He shot again using the same method.
It fell as well.
Two in succession.
"Ha!"
He leapt up in triumph.
"Did you get it?"
"Yes!"
Gun-myeong searched.
"Not those. There was something bigger."
"What was it?"
"A big one. A real big one."
Gun-myeong scanned the area.
"Strange. It ran this way."
He gathered the two carcasses.