Quest Group: 112851 — 14 steps

Can you tell me the story of the one-eyed physiognomist?

Are you asking about the man who lives down in Gowun Plateau?
Why are you interested in such matters?
While I'm currently tending to horses and whatnot here,
Our family has been responsible for the royal steeds in the capital for generations.
Regardless of the years that have gone by,
How dare we speak of others' tales casually?
I'm already toiling away in this rural area,
I'm famished and parched beyond measure.
Cease this nonsense and go away!

Quest Walkthrough
Step 1
Objective Can you tell me the story of the one-eyed physiognomist?
Summary Are you asking about the man who lives down in Gowun Plateau?
Why are you interested in such matters?
While I'm currently tending to horses and whatnot here,
Our family has been responsible for the royal steeds in the capital for generations.
Regardless of the years that have gone by,
How dare we speak of others' tales casually?
I'm already toiling away in this rural area,
I'm famished and parched beyond measure.
Cease this nonsense and go away!
Step 2
Objective Have a hearty bowl of gukbap.
Summary Oh my goodness! What's this all about?
How do you know that I've been famished all day long today?
Step 3
Objective And drink this as well...
Summary You're quite perceptive, aren't you?
But hold on, it's getting close to the time to harvest reeds...
If you could fetch some reeds to lay on the stable floor,
who knows, my mood might change a bit...
Step 4
Objective Hand over Reed x10.
Summary Thank you, the horses will love this!
Step 5
Objective I've heard a lot of rumors... I want to know the truth behind it all.
Summary Don't pay attention to mere rumors,
wasting time chasing after them!
Step 6
Objective I wonder if he got hurt while he was drinking.
Summary ...So the one who holds such thoughts gave me the makgeolli Knowledge Item?
Take it back and be on your way!
Step 7
Objective Even though he's such a skilled physiognomist, he hadn't read his own face?
Summary As for reading his own face...

It happened more than a decade ago.

The physiognomist believed that rectifying a person's flaws was the path
to their betterment, so he freely expressed his critical views.
News of the outspoken physiognomist spread far and wide,
reaching even the upper echelons of society, until the king summoned him.
Upon receiving the summons, he set off for the capital with the goal
of aiding the king in governing the people with fairness and wisdom.
However, once he entered the palace...
he began criticizing and pointing out faults to everyone in the palace.
His words had the power to sway decisions
and cause turmoil in various matters.
It was probably around that time
when he started turning to drink.
Step 8
Objective Having obtained great power, why did he turn to alcohol?
Summary Ah, well... It's not like he was crazy, so constantly expressing his sharp views
to everyone around must have been undoubtedly tormenting.
When even the officials devoted to serving the nation were subject
to his criticism, it's no wonder that jealousy and resentment grew.
In the capital, he faced numerous brushes with death,
and his talent had already been transformed into a political tool.
So, could he really find peace of mind to fall asleep?
Naturally alcohol has become a habit for him.
Yet, the more people grew to fear him, the less likely the king
would allow this behavior to continue without taking action.
...I've been talking for a while, and my throat feels a bit sore.
Do you happen to have something to drink?
Step 9
Objective Hand over Jujube Tea Knowledge Item.
Summary Thank you!
Being here with not much to say... My throat gets parched quickly.
Step 10
Objective What kind of test was it?
Summary The king made a request, challenging the physiognomist
to read the face of a rat trapped in a jar.
They say his reply was that the rat would die young because of its offspring.
But the courtiers stated firmly that it didn't have any offspring.
The king was enraged, saying that the rat had no offspring to kill it,
and he had no intention of killing it himself.
That day, my father was on guard duty, and has the inkling that
he would witness someone meeting their end.
Anyway, it seemed like the courtiers thought it was the perfect moment
to unleash their menacing words against the physiognomist.
Fearing that he might face actual execution,
the physiognomist thought it best to flee the palace.
So, he asked the young son of the constable, whom he had been friendly with,
to bring him a large amount of alcohol.
That way, he became heavily drunk...
and then... stabbed out his own eyes.
Step 11
Objective Could it be you are...
Summary ...

That's right. In fact, I am that son of the constable.
What if I hadn't gotten him the alcohol on that day?
I regret it and blame myself every day, unable to move on from this place,
Gowun Plateau, where the physiognomist resides.
However, when I think back on that incident in this secluded place,
there seems to be something strange about it.
Step 12
Objective What's strange?
Summary It's hard to believe that he could have made a mistake
in his facial readings...
After driving the physiognomist away, whenever he came up as a topic,
people got quiet and acted as if they were hiding something, which seemed strange.
Later on, I tried to find the records of that day, but I heard that the library
where the records were kept had burned down, leaving no trace of them.
Or maybe the records disappeared without anyone noticing, as some say.
There are also rumors that
the records have been going around among wandering merchants...
Well, those who specialize in spreading and selling rumors would probably know better.
For me, it's a tale from the past now,
and being stuck here makes it challenging to go searching around.
Step 13
Objective I need to find the records of that day.
Summary Finding such an old record might prove challenging.
It's possible that it was indeed destroyed in a fire.
Step 14
Quest Text
Details
Quest Group112851
Steps14