Chapter 33
33 Bear Paw (2)
- Crack!
The Dohobusa (Prefect), struck unexpectedly across the face, turned his head, a grotesque sound echoing as if his neck joint had snapped.
Yeonsangun, a chilling smile on his face, slowly approached the Dohobusa (Prefect) who had fallen to the ground like a frog from the impact.
“Since it is the King’s palm, is it not the ‘King’s Palm’?”
Yeonsangun grabbed the fallen Dohobusa (Prefect) by the scruff of his neck, hauled him up, and once again delivered a full-swing slap across his face.
- Thwack!
“How does it taste? Is it not the most exquisite flavor under heaven?”
The Dohobusa (Prefect), who had once again collapsed to the ground, was already on the verge of losing consciousness.
Yeonsangun seized the Dohobusa (Prefect)’s topknot roughly, bringing it close to his own face.
“Do you recognize me now?”
The Dohobusa (Prefect)’s face, covered in blood gushing from his nose, grew increasingly pale, turning deathly white.
Only then did the memory return.
A face he had seen only once, from a distance.
It was His Majesty’s face, which he had seen for the first and last time when he was dismissed from his official post and left Hanyang.
At that time, His Majesty was a young man of just twenty years old, dressed in Dragon Robe and a traditional hat.
Time had passed, the situation and attire were different now, and he could never have imagined meeting His Majesty like this, so it was only natural that he had failed to recognize him.
“Yo… Your… Your… Your Majesty…?”
“It seems you’re finally coming to your senses.”
Yeonsangun gripped the Dohobusa (Prefect)’s topknot even more tightly, his eyes coldly glaring as the Dohobusa (Prefect) trembled in terror.
“Plea… Please… Spare my life…”
The Dohobusa (Prefect) squeezed out a barely audible voice, like the buzzing of a mosquito.
The arrogant attitude that had been so deeply ingrained in him just moments ago was nowhere to be found.
“…You wish to live?”
“Please… Have mercy…”
The Dohobusa (Prefect), still clutching his topknot, let out a pitiful moan.
“If you truly wish to live, there is a way. Immediately open the warehouse and return all the wealth you have accumulated to the people. If you fail to do so…”
Yeonsangun’s chilling voice continued, piercing the Dohobusa (Prefect)’s eardrums like a sharp awl.
“…I will have you torn limb from limb and exterminate your entire clan.”
Upon hearing those words, the Dohobusa (Prefect) was plunged into shock and terror, nearly losing his mind.
Before long, the Dohobusa (Prefect)’s lower garments began to grow damp.
* * *
“Lee Bang (Clerk)! Lee Bang (Clerk)!”
“What in the world has happened here?”
The Guards who had arrived at Sudeok Valley mountain village on the order of the Dohobusa (Prefect) discovered Lee Bang (Clerk) of the catfish whiskers, tightly bound to a tree.
“Mph, mph!”
Lee Bang (Clerk), his mouth bound with a rag, writhed and made strange noises, as if he had something he desperately wanted to say.
As soon as one of the Guards untied the rag, a torrent of shrill words poured out.
“They are… Traitors! The traitors have gone to the government office!”
“Yes…?”
Confused by what was happening, the Guards were met with Lee Bang (Clerk)’s frustrated shouts.
“You blockheads, this is no time to be standing around like this! Four outsiders have conspired and gone down to harm the Dohobusa (Prefect)!”
“Outsiders, you say…”
Upon hearing those words, one of the Guards seemed to recall the sight of unfamiliar men he had encountered on the way up to the mountain village.
“…I believe I saw two gentlemen in Korean Traditional Coat and two servants heading down earlier…”
“Those are the ones, those are the ones! We must catch them!”
Lee Bang (Clerk) rolled his eyes back in his head, thrashing against the tree as if having a seizure.
Perhaps it was because the memory of being repeatedly slapped by Yeonsangun had resurfaced, causing his resentment to boil over.
“Untie me quickly! We must go to the government office immediately and deal with those bastards. Hurry!”
“Y-yes, sir.”
Just as the Guards were rushing to untie the rope binding Lee Bang (Clerk)’s body, Lee Bang (Clerk)’s face suddenly began to contort dramatically.
“Be… Behind… Behind!!!”
“…Yes?”
“Look behind you, you fools!”
Lee Bang (Clerk)’s urgent voice echoed incoherently.
But before Lee Bang (Clerk)’s words could be properly conveyed,
- Thwack!
With a dull thud, one of the Guards standing at the very back collapsed powerlessly.
The remaining Guards, startled by the sound, turned around to see a large group of villagers, each armed with oak clubs and farming tools.
At the very front was the Village Chief, an old man with a face full of fury.
“…We can’t take it anymore.”
Lee Bang (Clerk), his face pale at the menacing sight, stammered.
“L-listen here, Village Chief. I think there’s been some kind of misunderstanding… Let’s not do this, let’s talk it out, shall we? Yes?”
Soon, the sound of clubs striking flesh and Lee Bang (Clerk)’s shrill screams echoed faintly from deep within the mountains.
- Thwack, thwack, thwack!
“Eeeeeek!”
* * *
“Sir! Dohobusa (Prefect)!”
The burly Hyungbang, known among the people as a Fierce official, was hurrying toward the Sarangchae, Ring Pommel Sword in hand, followed by several Guards.
He had been waiting not far away, acting as a bodyguard while the Dohobusa (Prefect) was having a private conversation with a guest, when he had heard a series of strange sounds coming from the Sarangchae, as if something was being repeatedly struck.
“Dohobusa (Prefect), are you alright?”
At the entrance to the Sarangchae, which he had rushed into breathlessly, he saw two men standing firmly in place.
A dark-browed man standing with his arms crossed, wearing a Navy robe, and a man in a red vest, casually dangling a hat.
“Step aside at once. I must see if the Dohobusa (Prefect) is safe.”
“…Our elder is currently engaged in an important conversation, so you may not take even one step beyond this point.”
“You scoundrels! Will you not move aside immediately!”
The Hyungbang, putting on a menacing expression, drew his gleaming Ring Pommel Sword, as he always did when trying to intimidate the people.
Clang.
As the metallic resonance spread softly, the corners of Shin Su-hyeok’s lips, the man in the Navy robe, quirked upward slightly as he watched the scene unfold.
“…You won’t regret this?”
“?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a flash of sword light erupted from Su-hyeok’s fingertips like a bolt of lightning.
At the same time, the hat that the Hyungbang was wearing was split precisely in two and fell to the ground with a thud.
“…Just now, your head could have been sent flying.”
At those words, the Hyungbang’s face turned deathly pale.
The opponent was undoubtedly an incredible master.
But as if not wanting to reveal his bewilderment, the Hyungbang turned his head toward the Guards who had followed him and shouted loudly, feigning bravado.
“What, what are you all doing! Attack!”
However, what he saw was the sight of the Guards all collapsed on the ground, sprawled out.
And standing above them was Gong-gil, a staff slung over his shoulder, wearing a nonchalant expression.
“Oh, I just gave them a little nudge. They’re the ones who fell down…”
“You… You dare… Defy the government…!”
Just as the Hyungbang was trembling, unable to lift a finger, another commotion erupted from the direction of the government office’s main gate.
“Dohobusa (Prefect)! Come out here!”
“We need to discuss the problems with the tribute goods!”
“We need to settle the Defense tax payments!”
It was the people of Sudeok Valley mountain village who had stormed into the Dohobu government office.
They were all armed with clubs, iron rakes, and flails, their spirits high.
“You… You dare… This is a place of…”
The Hobang blocked the way, glaring with wide eyes, but today, his usual intimidation tactics were not working.
“You just shut your mouth and get out of the way. We’ve come to speak directly to the Dohobusa (Prefect).”
Casting the Hobang aside like a worn-out shoe, the mountain village people swarmed into the inner office.
The momentum of the surging crowd was such that even mobilizing all of the government office’s Guards on duty would not be enough to easily stop them.
These were the common folk who had never been able to voice a single word of complaint, but now they had nothing to fear.
No, it would be more accurate to say that they had nothing left to lose or protect.
There was no room for luxuries like fear in the hearts of such people.
“Come out now! Dohobusa (Prefect)!”
“We know you’re inside!”
At that moment.
- Creak
As if responding to the commotion, the door to the Sarangchae slowly opened.
And the figure of the Dohobusa (Prefect), walking awkwardly onto the Dongheon’s wooden floor, appeared.
“Oh, he’s finally come out.”
The murmuring of the people gathered in the courtyard quickly subsided, and all eyes were fixed on the Dohobusa (Prefect).
But the Dohobusa (Prefect)’s demeanor seemed somehow different from his usual imposing self.
As if he had seen a grim reaper, his face was pale, and he was trembling, barely able to walk with his weakened legs.
Yeonsangun, who followed him out of the room, wore a broad smile in stark contrast.
“Oh my, it seems that the Dohobusa (Prefect)’s beloved people have gathered here in great numbers. Truly, he is a model official of this era, dispensing virtuous governance. Everyone, the Dohobusa (Prefect) has something to say.”
Seeing the large crowd of people gathered in the Dongheon courtyard, Yeonsangun shouted loudly, as if he had been waiting for this very moment.
“……”
But the Dohobusa (Prefect)’s face remained as sour as if he had eaten dung.
Seeing this, Yeonsangun whispered coldly in the Dohobusa (Prefect)’s ear and poked him in the back.
“Shall I have you torn limb from limb right here and now?”
Only then did the Dohobusa (Prefect) startle and stammer out the words that had been circling in his mouth.
“F-f-from this moment on, I-I-I will open the warehouse and d-d-distribute goods to the p-p-people.”
“……?”
“What… What is he saying?”
A light murmur began to spread among the people, who had heard such unexpected words.
It was only natural.
It was a difficult thing to believe.
Seeing this, Yeonsangun shouted loudly, as if frustrated.
“Didn’t you all hear him clearly? The Dohobusa (Prefect) is going to return your wealth to you!”
“Co… Could it be…”
After a moment of stunned silence, a roar of cheers erupted, shaking the entire government office.
“Waaaaah!”
* * *
“I do not know who you are, but I am sincerely grateful. You have saved us all.”
“Thank you so much.”
The Village Chief bowed deeply to Yeonsangun.
Beside him, his granddaughter Sun-i, who had followed her grandfather, also bowed her head.
“Hmph… It’s… It’s not like I was trying to save you or anything. It’s just that the Dohobusa (Prefect) was so detestable that I wanted to teach him a lesson.”
Yeonsangun stammered, his expression flustered, as he spoke.
A smile flickered across Ji-young’s face as she watched him.
Perhaps this man had never heard anyone say thank you to him in his entire life.
He would have heard words like ‘Your benevolence is boundless’ every day, but he had never received a genuine expression of gratitude.
As if to prove it, he was fidgeting and acting as if he had broken down as soon as he heard the words of thanks.
‘Maybe he’s not such a bad person after all.’
As Ji-young thought this and turned her head, she saw another conversation unfolding in front of the government office’s warehouse, where goods were being distributed to the people.
“…Shouldn’t we take our share from there? We still have a long way to go, and now we have nothing left.”
“Hush, if you take even one thing, that would be embezzlement.”
As he watched the people receiving goods, Gong-gil muttered regretfully, and Su-hyeok replied in a stern voice.
“Oh ho? If the King is requisitioning goods for official business, how can that be embezzlement?”
“Hey! Lower your voice. Have you forgotten that we are incognito?”
The ever-flexible clown Gong-gil and the rigid, principled Su-hyeok always clashed on such minor points.
Ji-young smiled once again at the sight, which was slowly becoming familiar to her, when something suddenly caught her eye.
‘That… That is…’
An object rolled up and piled in a corner of the warehouse.
She had definitely seen it before.
“Wait, just a moment.”
Ji-young pushed through the bustling crowd and hurriedly went inside the warehouse, taking out the rolled-up object and spreading it out on the floor.
‘I’m sure of it. This is what I saw at the cattle market back then…’
A neatly cut piece of cowhide.
The scene from the cattle market a few days ago flashed vividly in Ji-young’s mind.
The image of the Butcher woman skillfully cutting the cow’s belly skin with her knife and peeling the hide from the flesh.
‘I heard that the way of peeling the hide is different for each worker…’
The cowhide, with the exact same working method she had seen back then, was now spread out before her eyes.
Moreover, even the unique fur pattern of the Brindle cattle that the woman had slaughtered was strikingly similar to this cowhide.
‘I heard that many refugees were created when the King established Restricted area around Gyeonggi Province…’
If so, it would make sense that the Butchers who had been wandering around Yangju had flowed into Chuncheon Dohobu and were paying tribute goods.
“Excuse me! Call the Hobang!”
Ji-young shouted loudly. Her eyes were already sparkling with conviction.
“…I think I’ve found those Butchers.”
