Chapter 49
49 Episode: Truffle
- "Oink!"
A small lump popped out of the pig's mouth as it let out a strange cry.
Ji-young quickly ran over and picked it up.
The round, damp object, about the size of a walnut, looked like goat dung at first glance.
But Ji-young brushed off the dirt and scratched it with her fingernail to examine the cross-section.
White patterns, like veins, were densely spread throughout the dark body.
At the same time, a rich, musty aroma, like burning leaves, rushed to her nose.
'It's definitely a truffle! This must be at least 50 grams!'
If this truffle were thinly sliced and placed on top of a dish, even a fried egg or a bland soup would instantly transform into a top-class meal.
"Let's look around some more! There must be more around here."
"Y-you want me to do this some more?"
Royal Secretary Im Sungjae, already covered in pig saliva and dirt, looked utterly disgusted.
But they couldn't come all this way and only take one piece.
"The more we find, the better. This one piece is incredibly expensive!"
"U-ugh. T-this is expensive...?"
Sungjae couldn't flatly refuse at the mention of expensive ingredients, and grumbled.
Just then.
- "Oink, oink, oink."
The pig cried out again and began to run madly somewhere.
"Kuh-huh-uhk."
Drawn by the pig's energy, Sungjae, who was holding the leash, ran after it.
'Already the second one...?'
Ji-young couldn't help but admire the sight.
'Im Sungjae... does he have some talent for this?'
* * *
Emerald Cloud Garden.
Sitting in the dark inner chamber, where a lamp flickered, was Royal Concubine Jang Nok-su.
And kneeling before her was a woman dressed as a Water maiden.
The Water maiden was trembling, unable to lift her head and meet Nok-su's eyes.
Chu-wol, the Supervising Court Lady sitting next to Nok-su, quietly opened her mouth.
"This is the girl who made holes in the Wheat Flour sacks in the Royal Kitchen warehouse during the last banquet."
"Oh, you must have had a hard time. Don't be afraid. I intend to reward you."
Nok-su soothed the Water maiden as if praising her, in a gentle voice.
"So, your residence is outside the palace?"
"...Yes, Your Majesty."
Unlike formal court ladies, Water maidens who did odd jobs in the palace often lived outside the palace.
That's why it was more difficult to verify their identity.
"Thanks to you, the Royal Cuisine Master couldn't use the Wheat Flour that day, so you carried out my orders faithfully."
"I-I am honored, Your Majesty."
"But what to do? You couldn't settle things that day, so all your efforts were in vain... Besides, I heard that an investigation has begun into the damage to the Royal Kitchen ingredients?"
"Y-Your Majesty..."
Before the Water maiden could finish speaking, Nok-su nodded lightly.
Then, with lightning speed, a long needle was stabbed into the Water maiden's neck, next to the carotid artery.
Chu-wol had quickly inserted the Large Needle.
"Keuk."
The Water maiden couldn't even let out a proper scream, and instantly rolled her eyes back and collapsed to the floor.
Foamy saliva flowed from her mouth, and her small body twitched convulsively as if in a seizure.
After a while.
When even that movement subsided, Chu-wol pulled out the Large Needle stuck in the pressure point.
"It will be troublesome if the Royal guard smell something, so quietly dispose of her outside the Corpse Gate before dawn."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Chu-wol wiped the Large Needle with a silk handkerchief and quietly put it in her arms.
Before being a Supervising Court Lady, she was a female doctor.
She was a cruel woman who didn't hesitate to use her skills not to save people, but to kill them.
But to act as Nok-su's right-hand woman, she probably had to be that way.
"What's the situation in the Royal Kitchen?"
"The Royal Cuisine Master and the Royal Secretary went somewhere in secret. I have sent people to follow them."
"So, did anything come of it?"
Instead of answering, Chu-wol handed over a small, rolled-up Secret Order.
"This is the last place they were seen."
Nok-su's eyes began to glow strangely as she unfolded the Secret Order.
"Anseong... a blacksmith...?"
The corners of Nok-su's bright red lips curled up, and a chilling nasal sound flowed out.
"Heu-heung~ What are you doing there, Ji-young?"
* * *
On the way back to the Anseong blacksmith.
Ji-young's expression was much lighter as she rode her horse.
Because she had brought back a lot of truffles, enough to fill a small bundle.
Besides, she had stopped by the Chungju Magistrate's office to have dinner and get a good night's sleep.
Now, all she had to do was check the completed pressure cooker as soon as she arrived at the blacksmith.
'As soon as I check that the pressure cooker is working properly, I can go straight to Hanyang and make it in time.'
Unlike Ji-young's brighter expression, Sungjae, who had been suffering from hardships he wasn't used to for the past few days, seemed to have his heart twisted.
"If that pressure cooker doesn't work properly, I'm going to give him a good scolding..."
Leaving Sungjae, who continued to grumble even as he tied his horse to a post after arriving at the Anseong blacksmith, Ji-young hurried into the hut.
There, Jang Chun-saeng was absorbed in his work, his face covered in black soot.
"Oh, you're here?"
"How's the pressure cooker? Is it finished?"
"You came just in time. Take a look."
Chun-saeng pointed to the result with his fingertips.
There, a pot the size of a pot with a strange device attached to it was placed.
'Wow-'
Ji-young looked around the completed pressure cooker and exclaimed inwardly.
To be able to realize this much even after looking at a roughly drawn blueprint.
"I had some trouble finding a way to completely seal the lid."
Looking closely, he had applied the mortise and tenon structure used to build traditional Korean houses to lock the pot lid as if bolting it.
'There's no way there's a technology to cut metal screws in Joseon, so he sealed the lid in this way.'
To do that, there must be no play between each part.
Chun-saeng had finished the seams smoothly and made them fit perfectly.
"Now it's time to check if it works properly."
"Should we?"
Chun-saeng filled the pot with water, closed and sealed the lid, and placed it on a brazier with a fire.
"Okay, everyone, stay behind this."
Chun-saeng guided Ji-young and Sungjae behind a shoulder-high wooden board that had been set up in advance.
Seeing this, Sungjae seemed to have a bad feeling.
"S-stay behind? What do you mean?"
"If it fails, the pot won't be able to withstand the internal pressure and will explode. Then the fragments of the exploded pot may fly like blades in all directions."
"H-hee-eek-"
As soon as he heard that, Sungjae, who had turned pale, hurriedly hid under the wooden board and only peeked out.
But Ji-young was more curious than afraid right now.
'...If it succeeds, that thing in front of me will be the world's first pressure cooker.'
Soon, the sound of water boiling inside the pot began to be heard.
A little later, as the pressure inside the pot increased, the sealed pot could be seen shaking.
Ji-young and Chun-saeng swallowed hard without either of them saying anything.
'Will it succeed?'
The movement of the pot, which had been shaking little by little, seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, and suddenly a strange sound burst out.
- Pee~
White smoke gushed out with a sharp, flute-like sound.
"Kkyaeek! It, it's exploding!"
Sungjae, who was peeking out and watching the situation, was startled by the sound and slipped under the wooden board.
But the reaction of the other two was completely different.
"Kyaa! It's a success!!"
"Haha! I knew it would be like this!"
Seeing the two people jumping up and down with joy, Sungjae carefully got up and asked with a puzzled face.
"S-success? Then what the hell is that ghostly sound?"
What Sungjae was pointing at was the pressure cooker, which was emitting white smoke with a pee- sound.
Ji-young burst out laughing.
"It's the sound of steam escaping through the small hole on top before the pot actually explodes."
The small hole in the pot lid was usually blocked by a weight, but when the pressure rose above a certain level, it pushed the weight up and steam escaped through the hole.
'It was the same structure that was on Fapein's pressure cooker.'
Because a large amount of air escapes quickly through a small hole, it tends to make a sound like playing a flute.
"I made it so that you can adjust the pressure inside the pot by moving the weight."
Chun-saeng smiled proudly.
To be able to create a device he had never seen before in just a few days, he was indeed a craftsman worthy of being called the best in the country.
At that time.
"D-don't you hear something?"
Sungjae, who seemed to have calmed down a bit, began to look around again with an uneasy face.
"What sound are you talking about? It's the sound of steam escaping from the pot."
At Ji-young's words, Sungjae shook his head violently from side to side.
"No, no, not that sound... I mean the sound from outside."
"Sound from outside?"
"Can't you hear this!"
Sungjae opened the wooden door of the hut with a bang, as if frustrated.
- Squeak
Right at that moment.
Drops of blood splattered on Sungjae's face.
"Heok!"
Immediately afterwards, what came into Sungjae's eyes was the Royal guard officer, who was supposed to be guarding the outside of the hut, barely standing with his body covered in blood.
"P-please... flee... Royal Secretary..."
The Royal guard officer's eyes suddenly lost focus as he squeezed out his last words.
"Heok!"
- Thud
Behind the Royal guard officer, who collapsed helplessly like a straw doll, was a strange man with his face covered in a black mask and holding a sharp blade.
"W-w-who are you!"
In Sungjae's eyes, who was screaming in panic, came the sight of another Royal guard officer lying far away.
Surrounding him was a group of strange men wearing black masks.
"Kkyaeeeek-"
Sungjae screamed and hurriedly pulled the wooden door of the hut shut.
However, the speed at which the strange man's blade was coming through the gap in the door was faster.
No matter how desperately Sungjae tried to close the door, it wouldn't close as long as the blade was caught in the gap.
- Thud, thud
"Kkyaeek, I'm going to die, I'm really going to die!!!!"
Behind Sungjae, who was screaming in fear, Ji-young's desperate voice was heard.
"Open the door!"
"What?"
"Open the door!"
"Are you crazy? No, I'm going to die!"
Pushing Sungjae, who was screaming, Ji-young threw the door open.
At the same time, she splashed a bucket of boiling water she was holding in her other hand outside.
- Sizzle
"Kuaaaak"
The strange man in front of the door, who had been splashed with boiling water, covered his face and stepped back.
Only then did Ji-young close the door and lock it.
"Heok, heok, heok"
Looking at Sungjae, who was sitting on the floor with an almost crying face and gasping for breath, Ji-young asked.
"W-what's going on?"
"What's going on! Our location has been discovered!"
"What does that..."
A moment ago, her body had reacted on its own, but Ji-young's hands began to tremble as she belatedly realized what was happening.
Sungjae glared with tearful eyes and screamed.
"Didn't you see the Royal guard officers being attacked? They are highly skilled Assassins!"
There was no way a gang of bandits would come to rob such a poor blacksmith.
Besides, Assassins who could kill the bodyguards so horribly in an instant. It was clear that they had come to take Sungjae and Ji-young's lives.
At this time.
- Thump.
The wooden door that had been locked shook.
At the same time, the entire hut vibrated and dust fell from the straw-woven ceiling.
"T-t-the door! They're trying to break down the door!"
Sungjae was screaming mindlessly in fear, but another voice was heard from behind.
"Who would let them break down someone else's house?"
The owner of the voice was the blacksmith Jang Chun-saeng.
In his hand was a long stick with one end wrapped in cloth.
When he unwrapped it, what was revealed inside was a bamboo-like shape made of metal.
"Th-that is..."
Ji-young had seen that before.
She remembered seeing it as an illustration somewhere in an old Korean history textbook.
A firearm for personal use that had been used since the early Joseon Dynasty.
"...It's a Hand Cannon."
