Chapter 27
“Aigoo, what brings our cute little Hanyang masters to a place like this?”
“Looks like they wandered into the wrong gisaeng house.”
Facing the bandits who were exchanging jokes and snickering amongst themselves, Royal guard Captain Shin Su-hyeok gave Yeonsangun a look that pleaded for a command.
He looked ready to draw his sword and wipe them out in an instant, if only the order were given.
But instead of giving a command, Yeonsangun nonchalantly munched on his rice soup and finished the remaining bowl of rough rice wine.
Then, without even glancing at them, he took out a bundle of coins from his sleeve and threw it onto the dirt floor of the tavern.
“…Take what’s enough and leave without harming anyone.”
Cheon Dal-sam, the bandit leader, who had been watching the scene with an absurd look, approached Yeonsangun, brought his face close, and made a phlegmy sound.
“Hey, sis. What did you say just now?”
“I said, take that and get your ugly face out of here.”
Cheon Dal-sam’s face gradually contorted at the cold tone, without even a glance in his direction.
Cheon Dal-sam took out a sharp dagger from his chest and held it up threateningly.
“Does this sis have… like, multiple lives or something?”
“That’s what I want to say to you.”
Yeonsangun said nonchalantly, draining the remaining rough rice wine.
After a moment of bewildered expression at the unexpected words, Cheon Dal-sam suddenly burst into hearty laughter.
“Wow, this sis has a unique sense of humor. Hilarious.”
As Cheon Dal-sam started laughing, the other bandits also began to snicker and laugh along.
It was an attempt to hide their momentary embarrassment and appear relaxed.
However, seeing the Drunken clown mask even sneering at his Korean Traditional Coat, Cheon Dal-sam slowly began to feel like he was being made a fool of.
“Laughing? You’re laughing in this situation? Does this sis really want to see a corpse?”
As Cheon Dal-sam’s voice grew rough, Shin Su-hyeok’s hand, who had been watching the scene, slowly moved to the hilt of his sword.
At that moment, one of the bandits next to Ji-young shouted loudly as if he had discovered something.
“Hey, Captain, come over here and take a look. This one smells a bit different, don’t you think?”
Cheon Dal-sam, who had been glaring at Yeonsangun for a while, slowly turned his gaze and strode towards Ji-young.
Then, he brought his dirty face close and began to sniff around.
“Hmm… this is definitely… a woman’s scent…”
Cheon Dal-sam grabbed Ji-young’s chin roughly, lifted her head, and examined her from side to side.
“Come to think of it, her face is too pretty.”
“Ugh…”
Ji-young frowned as if a bug had touched her face, but Cheon Dal-sam, undeterred, rolled his bestial eyes.
“Well, there’s a simple way to confirm.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Cheon Dal-sam suddenly grabbed Ji-young’s jacket roughly.
“Kyaa-”
Ji-young was startled and clutched at her collar with both hands, but it seemed that Cheon Dal-sam had already caught the scream that had just burst out.
“Hehehe… so it’s a woman after all?”
Cheon Dal-sam revealed his missing front teeth and gave a grotesque smile.
At that moment, a cold voice suddenly came from behind.
“Hey, ugly bastard.”
“…Which bastard is….”
What flew into his eyes as he turned around, angered by the word ‘ugly,’ was
A earthenware pot filled with rice soup.
-Crash
The earthenware pot shattered as it hit Cheon Dal-sam’s head, and the hot soup inside flowed down his face.
“Kuaaaak!”
Whether it was the pain of being hit by the earthenware pot, the heat of being burned by the boiling soup, or both, Cheon Dal-sam screamed and began to roll on the floor.
The person who struck his head with the earthenware pot was none other than Yeonsangun.
Although he had a faint smile on his lips, his eyes were already filled with anger.
“This, this guy has no fear!”
Seeing their leader collapse and writhe on the floor, four or five of his subordinates hurriedly raised their weapons.
“Eat this!”
The moment one of the men at the forefront raised his weapon and charged, a metallic flash streaked past his eyes.
At the spot where the flash stopped, Royal guard Captain Shin Su-hyeok, who had already drawn his sword, was taking a stance.
Leopard Head Stance
The fastest movement among the 24 stances of Joseon Swordsmanship.
“…Next is your head.”
At Su-hyeok’s chilling words, the bandit who had just attempted to attack finally discovered the blade lying on the floor.
The middle of the hilt he was holding had been cleanly cut off in an instant.
“Kkieeeeek?”
Startled by the sharpness, he fell to the floor, and the remaining bandits, terrified, began to step back cautiously.
“Uuuuu…”
There were five bandits remaining, and only one opponent.
However, despite their numerical advantage, the bandits, sensing that it would not be an easy fight, exchanged glances and quickly adopted a different strategy.
“Eat this!”
One of them quickly ran up, grabbed someone, and held a blue-edged blade to their neck.
A despicable tactic to threaten with a hostage.
And the hostage who was grabbed by the bandit and had a knife to their neck was none other than Ji-young.
“If you don’t drop your sword right now, this guy, no, this girl will be seeing the afterlife.”
Ji-young suddenly felt dizzy.
It was inevitable, as she had suddenly been taken hostage by a bandit and had a knife to her throat.
“Tch.”
In this situation, Royal guard Captain Shin Su-hyeok, who had drawn his sword, could not move recklessly.
There was a risk that the Royal Cuisine Master Ji-young’s life could be in danger.
Feeling troubled, he turned his head slightly to gauge his lord’s reaction, but Yeonsangun, on the other hand, was showing an expression as if he didn’t care.
“Do as you please.”
“Wh-what?”
“I said, kill her or let her live, do as you please. But one thing is for sure, know this: afterwards, not a single one of you will be left alive.”
It was a nonchalant tone, but his eyes held a bizarre madness.
“…I will kill each and every one of you so painfully that you will regret being born, so be warned.”
“Wh-what kind of guy is this…”
Faced with this, it was the bandits who were rather taken aback.
Looking at those mad eyes, it was clear that he wasn’t just bluffing.
Moreover, threats wouldn’t work on someone who wouldn’t regret killing a hostage.
So, in the end, there were only two options: retreat as they were, or fight to the finish.
Such a tense standoff continued for a while.
-Ttekttedureureureu
Suddenly, a Masked clown mask rolled between them.
A Drunken clown mask painted in red.
Following it, a tall man wearing a red vest came in, picked up the Masked clown mask.
“Oh dear, how did this Masked clown mask roll all the way over here, my goodness.”
The man who picked up the mask, Gong-gil, gave a hearty smile that didn’t fit the situation, looked around, and suddenly blurted out something out of the blue.
“…But aren’t you done with your business yet?”
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
In a situation where they were already tense and facing off, what kind of clueless remark was this?
Just as the angry bandits’ gazes were about to focus on Gong-gil, a hurried voice suddenly flew in from somewhere.
“L-l-let’s go back!”
The one who shouted those words was Cheon Dal-sam, the leader of the Kalbongsan Salyakgye, who was lying face down with his face all red from the hot rice soup.
“L-leader? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“L-let’s go back quickly! J-just follow me quickly, you bastards.”
Before he could even finish his words properly, Cheon Dal-sam darted out of the tavern.
The remaining bandits seemed to be standing there dumbfounded for a while, but soon they fled one by one, without even properly gathering their valuables.
“…Are you hurt anywhere?”
After the bandits left, Yeonsangun asked Ji-young, who was clutching her collar and calming her startled heart, in a nonchalant manner.
“I-I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
She said that, but Ji-young still couldn’t shake the trembling from her whole body.
Not only had she overcome countless near-death experiences, but now she had even had a gang of bandits holding a blue blade to her throat…
Moreover, Yeonsangun had clearly said a moment ago that he didn’t care whether she lived or died.
If she were to think positively, it might have been a means to escape the crisis…
‘…As expected, that man is a psychopath who can’t be trusted.’
Narrowing her eyes, Ji-young only reaffirmed her firm conclusion.
Unexpectedly, however, Yeonsangun was handing a bundle of coins to the tavern owner, who was crouching in the corner and trembling.
“Take this money and clean up the mess.”
Could it be that Yeonsangun was showing compassion to the people?
As the tavern owner cautiously examined the situation and picked up the bundle of coins, Yeonsangun continued.
“Report to the government office when it gets light, but do not utter a single word about our group of four. If you do, your body will not be safe. Do you understand me?”
The tavern owner nodded hastily with a terrified face.
There was a reason why Yeonsangun was acting that way.
If the tavern owner were to reveal the presence of Yeonsangun’s group in plain clothes at the scene to the government office, the government’s pursuit would surely follow.
If that happened, a situation might arise where Yeonsangun’s identity would have to be revealed, and then the meaning of going on a secret excursion to avoid the eyes of the court officials would be lost.
‘…Of course. In the end, it’s to silence them…’
Indeed, there was no way that the infamous Yeonsangun would act with pure altruism without any self-interest.
Anyway, even if he had silenced the tavern owner for now, they couldn’t stay here any longer, as an incident had occurred that could involve the government.
Yeonsangun gave the order without delay.
“We will cross the pass tonight and move on. We will rest after that.”
* * *
It wasn’t a full moon, but the quiet moonlight was enough to illuminate the night pass.
Yeonsangun and Ji-young were on horseback, and the Clown troupe Gong-gil and Royal guard Captain Shin Su-hyeok were holding the reins.
Compared to when they first departed from the palace, Su-hyeok and Ji-young’s positions had been reversed.
“Royal guard Captain, I’m sorry. I should be the one leading the horse…”
“No. How can a man let a woman walk and ride the horse? During the day, we had to do it that way because of the eyes of others, but at night, this is the right thing to do.”
Indeed, the current appearance looked a bit strange.
A person wearing a bamboo hat was riding the horse, and a person wearing a Korean Traditional Coat was leading the horse.
“Well, what’s right is right. I’ll be seeing all sorts of bizarre sights.”
Gong-gil, who was leading the horse next to him, grumbled to himself as if he didn’t like something.
“Hey! Watch your words. His Majesty has also permitted it.”
“Hoo-hoo, then why are you taking credit for His Majesty’s command?”
“…Do you really want to die? I told you to shut your mouth.”
“Yes, yes, I understand.”
Su-hyeok watched Gong-gil’s back as he received the words in a twisted manner, as if his mood was soured.
In fact, there were more than one or two questionable points.
A mysterious Clown troupe who suddenly came to live in the palace, even though it was His Majesty’s command.
Come to think of it, the first time he met him was when he encountered the Clown troupe in the marketplace.
Moreover, wasn’t it that Drunken clown mask who blocked his attack with a single hand at that time?
‘Although it was a brief moment, his movements were definitely not those of an ordinary person…’
Furthermore, the bandits of Kalbongsan ran away just by looking at the Masked clown mask in the marketplace?
No matter how he thought about it, it was difficult to understand.
As Su-hyeok glanced sideways, he saw that His Majesty, who was riding the horse, was nodding off and dozing.
If he didn’t take this opportunity, there wouldn’t be many chances to talk openly with that Masked clown.
“Hey, Clown troupe.”
“Why are you calling me again? I’m tired to death.”
“…Who are you?”
Gong-gil, who received the sudden question, turned to Su-hyeok without a word and gave a strange smile.
“Who am I? I’m a Clown troupe.”
“Why did those bandits run away earlier? You can’t deceive my eyes, so tell me the truth.”
At Su-hyeok’s cold gaze, Gong-gil sighed lightly as if he couldn’t help it and began to speak.
“…Do you know what a Clown troupe means?"The character 'gwang' means 'wide,' and the character 'dae' means 'big.'"’ The widest and biggest thing in this Joseon land is a Clown troupe. So, that means we’ve been everywhere in the eight provinces.”
“…Continue.”
“As we’ve been sticking around here and there, we’ve got a lot of entanglements. We owe a lot to organizations like the Guwolsan Sword Fraternity and the Jirisan Monk Brigade, and we have a lot to receive as well.”
“So?”
“Ah, think about it. If you mess with those guys, wouldn’t you have a headache? Whether it’s favors or grudges, they’ll all come after you.”
Gong-gil pointed to the Drunken clown mask on his head and continued.
“My father was the leader of our Clown troupe. You noblemen may not know it well, but he’s a legendary figure among us Clown troupe. This Drunken clown mask is my father’s relic. He wandered around as a Clown troupe his whole life, so how many people would be involved with this Masked clown mask?”
“…So that’s why the bandits retreated when they saw it?”
“Believe it or not. It often works.”
It wasn’t a satisfactory answer, but since he had heard the answer, there was no point in questioning him further.
It was at this moment.
“Shh!”
Su-hyeok said in a low voice, bringing his finger to his lips.
“What’s wrong?”
The group all stopped walking.
Without a word, Su-hyeok cautiously pointed to a corner in the bushes with his finger.
What could be seen there were two huge eyes shining in the moonlight.
The low growl of an animal echoed eerily in the forest.
