Chapter 35
Chapter 35 Butcher Village (2)
"Long time no see, Shin Su-hyeok."”
“Lee, Lee Jang-gon… How…?”
The man in plain clothes blocked Su-hyeok’s sword.
Hongmungwan Scholar Lee Jang-gon.
Royal guard Captain Shin Su-hyeok’s mind was filled with confusion.
He had been told that Lee Jang-gon was not someone who would be easily defeated, but in his heart, he thought that Jang-gon had been attacked by the Butchers and was likely dead.
But there he was, appearing unscathed.
While he was relieved that Jang-gon was alive, another question arose.
Why was he appearing in this Butcher Village?
And why was he blocking his sword?
“Step aside! They are traitors who stole the Joseon Sealed Box!”
Su-hyeok seemed to be trying to clear his complicated mind by focusing on the task at hand.
However, Jang-gon’s attitude was unsettling.
Especially the way he was holding his sword, the blade pointed sharply at Su-hyeok, without relaxing his guard.
“Listen calmly. I’ll explain everything.”
“…You, could it be…”
Su-hyeok’s eyes narrowed slightly.
At this point, he had to utter the words that had been sprouting in the depths of his heart, but which he had tried so hard to deny.
“…Are you one of them?”
“……”
“Did you betray His Majesty and hide here?”
Jang-gon’s eyes wavered at Su-hyeok’s direct question.
But he soon seemed to make up his mind and answered in a firm tone.
“…I have already abandoned my official post. Consider the Lee Jang-gon you knew, the Hongmungwan Scholar, as dead.”
“…What?”
“I will not return from this place.”
Ji-young’s expression, who was watching from afar, also began to harden.
The Hongmungwan official who was thought to be dead.
But was it true that he had betrayed the King and stolen the Joseon Sealed Box?
“……”
Perhaps it was the last thing Royal guard Captain Shin Su-hyeok wanted to hear.
But.
Now that he had heard those words, Su-hyeok had no choice but to respond in a cold voice.
“Put down your sword. This is my last request as a friend.”
“…I can’t.”
As soon as Jang-gon’s short answer was finished, Su-hyeok’s hand, gripping his Ring Pommel Sword, moved sharply.
“……Then I have no choice but to make you put it down!”
-Clang!
Two metallic flashes collided like lightning, creating a burst of sound between the two men.
The resonance alone was enough to create tension in the surroundings.
“It won’t be easy!”
-Clang, clang!
From Suduse to Yoryaksee, and then to Heunggyeokse, the swordplay surged.
The swordsmanship of the two men was as similar as twins.
It was inevitable.
They were both wielding the Joseon Swordsmanship 24 Styles, the basic swordsmanship of Joseon warriors, like a textbook.
Years ago.
On a night when the moon was brightly shining, the two men clashed wooden swords in the empty palace garden, communicating with each other through their swords for the first time.
That day, they were surprised by each other’s evenly matched swordsmanship and smiled.
Now, both of them were recalling that day.
The only difference was that now they were holding real swords that could kill each other.
-Clang, clang, clang!
A constant metallic burst of sound echoed.
Like two tigers biting each other, their skills were evenly matched.
Now, a difference as thin as paper could end the life of one of them.
At that moment, a dark blade flew in, breaking the tense balance of power.
“Take this!A butcher woman who had been watching from the side had taken out a crude butcher knife and rushed towards Su-hyeok.
But.
-Ting!
With a sharp sound, a sword blade that stretched nimbly over a bamboo handle blocked the crude butcher knife.
It was Gong-gil’s bamboo sword.
“Why don’t we let the nobles fight among themselves, and us commoners have some fun?"Tch..."
The Butcher woman swung her butcher knife again at Gong-gil, who had intervened with a nonchalant joke.
Two blades collided, and another battle began here.
Unlike the refined swordsmanship of the military officers, the impromptu and wild swordplay collided, scattered, and mingled.
And.
“Th, that… Shouldn’t we, shouldn’t we stop them?”
It was Ji-young who spoke the extremely common-sense words.
Four people were wielding real swords and fighting.
But Yeonsangun was just smiling contentedly, looking amused.
“Hey, just stay still. Isn’t this the greatest spectacle in the world, one that you can’t see even if you pay a thousand gold?”
‘Haa. I don’t think this is the time to be saying such irresponsible things… This could really turn into a big problem.’
Anxiety began to grow in Ji-young’s heart.
Especially the duel between Shin Su-hyeok and Lee Jang-gon, a fight that would not end without one of them dying.
Was it because there were subtle emotions mixed between the two?
The tips of their swords narrowly missed each other’s throats several times.
At that time.
“That’s enough for now.”
Yeonsangun’s shout echoed.
At the same time, a sharp wind sound was heard.
-Swish!
Something flew towards the Butcher woman at an incredible speed.
As soon as he heard the sound, Jang-gon, who was in the middle of the duel, hurriedly jumped out and knocked it away with his sword.
-Ting!
What he deflected was an arrow.
But it was not just a simple arrow.
The impact of blocking the arrow was transmitted directly through Jang-gon’s sword, causing his entire arm to tremble.
‘…This, this is!’
The so-called Six-Nyang Arrow.
A bow and arrow said to have the destructive power to break through the walls of a house.
Moreover, the only bow that could fire an arrow with this much power was the so-called Iron Bow among the Six-Nyang Bows.
A strong bow that even strong men could not properly draw.
As far as Lee Jang-gon knew, there was only one person who could handle that strong bow with such precision.
Soon, a man in black Military Uniform riding a horse slowly appeared from the direction the arrow had come from.
Supreme Commander Park Won-jong.
The man known as the strongest warrior in Joseon.
Soon, similar groups of men in black Military Uniform riding horses began to appear one by one from all directions.
At the same time, the low-pitched sound of the conch shell echoed long and grandly.
-Ppoooooooo!
‘Th, those are… the Royal Escorts.’
Royal guard Captain Shin Su-hyeok murmured in a low voice with a tense face.
The Royal guard and the Royal Escorts, the King’s guard and personal guard.
They were similar yet different.
If the Royal guard was a shield that protected the King, the Royal Escorts were the iron hammer wielded by the King.
‘But… why are they here…’
The Royal Escorts were not a group that protected something.
They were the ones who attacked, killed, and destroyed.
The fact that they had appeared here at this opportune moment was impossible without His Majesty’s plan.
“The entertainment is enough for now.”
Yeonsangun turned to Lee Jang-gon with a cold face.
“I ask Lee Jang-gon, the Hongmungwan Scholar. There was something I ordered you to find.”
“…That is correct, Your Majesty.”
“Then I ask you. Where is the Joseon Sealed Box now?”
“……”
Jang-gon lowered his head as if he could not bring himself to answer Yeonsangun’s question.
Four days ago, in front of Geonchun Gate.
Jang-gon’s face was grim as he discovered the Joseon Sealed Box containing the secrets of the court.
‘It’s dangerous to keep this in the palace!’
Years ago, when an impious historical record was discovered, the meritorious subjects of the court used it as a weapon to massacre the Sarim faction.
This was an even more terrifying object than that.
‘…It contains the story of the Deposed Queen!’
With the Joseon Sealed Box in his arms, Lee Jang-gon hurriedly rode his horse somewhere.
He had to inform the Sarim faction of this fact as soon as possible.
As he was thinking that,
Suddenly, the horse that Jang-gon was riding spewed blood and collapsed to the ground.
‘Hmph…!’
Fortunately, Jang-gon was able to nimbly jump off and land on his feet before being thrown to the ground.
Looking ahead, he saw a short man wearing a mask standing there.
It seemed that the man’s sword had killed the horse instantly.
Was it just a coincidence that there was no one around that day?
“Who are you!”
The masked man slowly approached, ignoring the shout.
Jang-gon took out his Ring Pommel Sword for self-defense.
He had nothing to fear if there was only one opponent. He was second to none in swordsmanship.
As he thought that,
A metallic flash flickered, and something cold quickly brushed past Jang-gon.
Before he knew it, the masked man was behind him.
At the same time, a sharp pain flared in his abdomen, and he felt a hot liquid pouring out.
‘I, I’ve been hit.’
It was a lightning-fast movement.
Jang-gon’s legs gave way, and he collapsed without even seeing the opponent’s sword swing properly.
The last thing he saw was the back of the stranger calmly taking the Joseon Sealed Box from his arms and disappearing.
“So, you lost the Joseon Sealed Box? Is that what you’re saying?”
Yeonsangun’s expression showed that he could not believe Jang-gon’s explanation.
“…I, I am ashamed, Your Majesty.”
“So, someone knocked you down and took the Joseon Sealed Box?”
“…I am ashamed to say, that is correct.”
Yeonsangun tilted his head suspiciously.
Was there someone who could so easily defeat Lee Jang-gon, who was far more skilled in martial arts than most military officers?
It was hard to believe.
But what Yeonsangun could not understand even more was Jang-gon’s actions afterward.
“If that was the case, you should have risked your life to find the Joseon Sealed Box, but how can you shamelessly hide and stay alive?”
“……”
“I asked you, how can you be alive in this state?”
Yeonsangun’s cold gaze weighed heavily on Jang-gon.
At this moment, a woman’s voice suddenly intervened.
“…Because I saved him.”
When Yeonsangun turned his head towards the voice, there stood the Butcher woman Bong-dan with a determined expression.
“What?”
“I said that I saved him.”
Bong-dan continued in a calm voice.
“I saw him bleeding and collapsed on the evening of the day I arrived in Hanyang. He looked like he was going to die. Whether he is a noble or a commoner, shouldn’t we save a person first? So I saved him.”
Bong-dan’s voice was firm and clear.
Perhaps it was a pointed remark to the King.
“In this country… is it a sin to simply want to live?”
“Insolent! How dare you!”
Shin Su-hyeok, who had been listening from the side, shouted loudly.
Feeling that Bong-dan’s remarks were about to cross the line, Jang-gon hurriedly ran out in front of the King, knelt down, and lowered his head.
“Your Majesty, if I am guilty, I will accept any punishment. But… but please withdraw the order to leave this place.”
“What?”
“Your Majesty, I…”
By now, Jang-gon’s face was full of sorrow.
“…I am in love with this woman.”
A heavy silence fell for a moment.
A government official of the fifth rank in love with a Butcher woman, who was despised even by ordinary commoners?
In this era of strict social status, it was a word that was difficult to even utter.
But Ji-young, a modern person, felt like she could finally understand everything.
Why Lee Jang-gon was staying in the Butcher Village, why he was protecting the Butcher woman.
And why the Butcher woman had his belongings…
Lee Jang-gon and Bong-dan, they had fallen in love with each other.
At this time,
Breaking the silence that had been going on like a dead mouse,
“…Keuk.”
It was Yeonsangun’s cold laughter.
“Kekeke… Kehahahaha…”
A laughter deeply imbued with a terribly twisted emotion.
Beneath it lay anger and betrayal, a hollow and eerie laughter.
“Love, it is indeed a terrifying thing. To think it could make the great Scholar Lee so weak.”
Ji-young could vaguely feel that there was something like subtle sadness in Yeonsangun’s cynicism.
The sense of loss of losing a cherished subordinate must have scratched Yeonsangun’s pride.
But what was hidden deeper was a strange anger at the emotion of ‘love,’ an emotion that Yeonsangun himself had never properly felt.
“Supreme Commander.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
For a moment, a cruel aura flickered in Yeonsangun’s light brown eyes.
“Exterminate everyone in the Butcher Village, including Scholar Lee, without leaving a single one alive, and burn the village to ashes.”
“…I will obey Your command.”
Thump.
Ji-young’s heart sank as soon as she heard those words.
‘Ki, kill all the villagers…?’
She must have forgotten for a moment while spending nearly a few days with them.
The fact that this man was the worst psychopath tyrant in history.
“Ju, just a moment! Wh… why are you doing this!”
As Ji-young blocked his way and shouted urgently, Yeonsangun glared at Ji-young with eyes still filled with cruelty.
“…Is there a reason why these people should be alive?”
“What does that…”
“They are the ones who have defied me. Is there even one reason why these people should be kept alive?”
Ji-young was momentarily speechless.
She was rendered speechless by the shockingly clear logic.
It would be a waste of time to bring up emotional words like affection or compassion to this man.
‘But… it seems arbitrary… but when I think about it, Yeonsangun always had his own logic.’
And,
Ji-young knew that logic better than anyone else.
“There is a reason… There is a reason!”
“What?”
“There is a reason why these people, this Butcher Village, must survive.”
“…What is it?”
What Ji-young thought of in response to Yeonsangun’s cold question was the scene she had briefly seen at the entrance of the Butcher Village.
She intended to bet everything on that.
From this moment on, the lives of Lee Jang-gon and Bong-dan, and all the people of the Butcher Village, would be in Ji-young’s hands alone.
“…There is a delicacy here that His Majesty has never tasted, the best delicacy.”
Ji-young’s eyes began to shine once again.
What she had seen a little while ago.
It was definitely butter.
