233.
A Conversation on Horseback — Asking About Fate
For a moment, silence settled in.
The wind swept across the plain, stirring the banners of the column.
After hesitating briefly, Park Seongjin spoke with care.
"There is one more thing I would like to ask."
Yi Jiseon turned his head.
"Please."
"You said that through Qimen Dunjia one can read a person's fate—and even a nation's fate."
"That is so."
Park Seongjin chose his words, then asked,
"Then… can you also see the fate of Goryeo? Reforms are underway now."
The reins were drawn back slightly.
The two horses slowed, their hoofbeats softening, leaving only their voices clear in the wind.
Yi Jiseon smiled faintly.
"That lies beyond my scope. There are those who see such great currents—daegwan, a broader vision."
He shook his head.
"I am not yet at that level. I am merely a student."
The corner of Park Seongjin's mouth lifted slightly.
"That means… someday you might be able to see it."
Instead of answering, Yi Jiseon shook his head again.
"Seeing is not everything."
He spoke evenly.
"No matter how clearly one sees, if nothing changes, what meaning does that vision have?"
After a brief pause, he added,
"I too wish for Goryeo to endure. But…"
His gaze drifted toward the distant sky.
"There are too many problems: the subtle subordination to Yuan, the rise of the Red Turbans, the Japanese raiders in the south, a distorted land system, the excessive concentration of vested power, the poverty of the people, and the imbalance of taxation."
He continued, as if steadying his breath.
"Each one gnaws away at the bones of the state."
His voice was calm, yet a cold resignation clung to the end of his words.
"To be honest, no matter how exceptional a king might arise… I believe it is impossible to change the Goryeo of today."
"Impossible…"
Park Seongjin's gaze narrowed.
The word lodged deep within him.
Was this as far as the adepts could see?
Yi Jiseon nodded.
"Even without Qimen Dunjia, it is a reality already known to everyone."
Park Seongjin said nothing, staring toward the distant mountains.
Everyone was climbing that impossible slope—
knowing it could not be done, yet striving to climb it to the end.
Because it was a path, and because people do not stop.
A pale ray of sunlight filtered over the ridgeline.
Quietly, he said,
"Even so… someday, please look again with Qimen Dunjia."
After a pause, he added,
"One never knows. Heaven might open."
Yi Jiseon let out a short chuckle.
"Oh? So even you would try to stir heaven, Commander?"
"I only hope things turn out well."
It was a brief reply.
Yi Jiseon shrugged and flicked the reins.
Though he had slowed only slightly, he soon drifted toward the rear of the column.
The wind passed through, and his figure gradually faded into the dust.
Park Seongjin remained there for a long while.
Impossible.
The word echoed in his mind.
And yet, strangely, within that impossibility, he felt a small spark begin to glow.
It had to be so.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for humans to struggle and move within fate at all.