Translator: Nox

Chapter 50

50. Hand Cannon

• Thud!

The wooden door shook violently once more with a loud crash.

At the same time, the entire shack shuddered, and even more dust than before rained down.

"Eeeek!"

Each time, Im Soong-jae screamed as if he were about to pass out.

However, Jang Chun-saeng's voice, who was holding the Hand Cannon, was rather calm.

"...I will count to three, and then you open that door."

At those words, Ji-young nodded resolutely, but Sungjae only trembled, his face a picture of misery.

"Th-think about it again. If you open it rashly, we'll all die!"

"If we stay still like this, we'll really all die."

Chun-saeng held the Hand Cannon in one hand, firmly securing the end of the long barrel under his arm.

Then, as if in a tug-of-war, he widened his stance and lowered his posture.

This was the action of someone who knew how great the recoil of the firing would be.

'…He must have fired a Hand Cannon many times.'

In Chun-saeng's other hand was a torch.

He seemed intent on igniting the gunpowder directly, without waiting for the wick to burn down.

"One."

Ji-young, watching this, swallowed hard.

"Two."

Sungjae was trembling, his face pale.

"Three!"

No sooner had the word left his mouth than Ji-young unlocked the bolt and threw open the wooden door.

At the same time, the torch in Chun-saeng's hand touched the rear of the Hand Cannon.

In that instant.

• Bang!

With a violent explosion, the Hand Cannon spat fire, and dozens of iron pellets shot out with terrifying force.

It was a power reminiscent of a shotgun seen in movies.

• Papapapat!

"Kuaaaagh!"

As the iron pellets rained down on the thugs who were trying to break down the door with logs, red blood sprayed out like mist.

"Close the door!"

Before the words were even finished, Ji-young quickly closed the wooden door and bolted it shut.

"Hah, hah."

Already tense, opening and closing the heavy door left her breathless.

Before long, the acrid smell of gunpowder filled the shack.

"The one in the front must be dead, and those around him won't be unscathed either."

Chun-saeng said, using a wooden ramrod to poke and shake out the gunpowder residue inside the fired Hand Cannon.

"There aren't many iron pellets left, so we can only fire one or two more shots at most."

Chun-saeng scooped gunpowder into the Hand Cannon's muzzle, then rammed in clay called 'toe-gyeok,' packing it tightly with the ramrod.

This was to seal it tightly so that the gunpowder gas would not leak.

Then, he inserted the iron pellets and again pressed the 'toe-gyeok' firmly to seal the opening.

All of this was done with a natural and swift flow.

'…To think a village blacksmith would be so skilled at firing guns.'

A feeling that was a mix of admiration and suspicion welled up within her, but when she turned to the side, Sungjae, who had been trembling just moments before, was now puffed up with arrogance.

"Khahaha! How does it taste, you bastards!"

He acted as if he had fired the Hand Cannon himself.

'Haa…'

As Ji-young sighed lightly at the pathetic sight, she heard the voices of the thugs whispering outside.

[The guys inside have a cannon.]

[It's dangerous to go in like this.]

[Bring it quickly! Hurry!]

'Huh? What are they hurrying to bring…?'

A sense of unease began to sprout in Ji-young's heart.

If there was a choice the people outside could make in this situation…

Could it be…!

"You bastards! Where did all that energy go? Come on and attack!"

Sungjae was still shouting in a spirited voice.

Perhaps it was due to the dramatic emotional shift from thinking he was about to die to finding a way out.

But then.

An odd sensation above Sungjae's head.

"Huh? But suddenly… why is it so… hot?"

Sungjae's eyes widened as he looked up.

"F, f, f, fire!"

Smoke was already rising from the shack's roof, and flames were spreading.

"Fire! They set the fire!"

The thugs, having confirmed that there was a cannon inside the shack, intended to set it on fire from the outside.

Since the shack was made of woven wood and straw, once the fire started, it would blaze uncontrollably in an instant.

The inside of the shack was already filled with acrid black smoke.

"W-we're all going to die like this! We have to get out!"

Chun-saeng blocked Sungjae, who was about to rush out the door without thinking.

"No! They're just waiting for us to come out!"

This was a method used when hunting foxes hidden in a den.

Deliberately starting a fire to target those who run out.

"Th-then what are we supposed to do! Are we all going to burn to death here?"

Sungjae shouted, his eyes filled with tears, but Chun-saeng flinched and turned his head sharply.

"D-damn it! Gunpowder!"

"……What did you say?"

"There's gunpowder that we've been collecting in that corner!"

When she looked at where Chun-saeng was pointing, a tightly sealed wooden box caught her eye.

Moreover, the surging flames were already approaching that box.

"Kkieeek! No!"

Sungjae's face turned blue, and his unsightly screams were heard again.

But at that moment, a thought flashed through Ji-young's mind.

"Th-that box! Bring the gunpowder box over here! Quickly!"

Chun-saeng hurriedly moved the gunpowder box in front of the wooden door.

The flames, which had already spread throughout the shack, were now surging from all sides except for the wooden door leading outside.

"I'll open the door, so kick the gunpowder box out."

"What?"

"That's the only way now!"

Chun-saeng looked into Ji-young's eyes for a moment, then nodded.

"…Since we're in a desperate situation anyway, let's do it. Let's give it a try."

There was no way that Sungjae, who was quick-witted, wouldn't realize what this meant.

"N-n-no way! That's too dangerous…"

Before Sungjae could finish speaking, Ji-young threw open the wooden door.

At the same time, Chun-saeng kicked the gunpowder box out as if pushing it.

"It's out!"

As soon as the shack door opened and something flew out, the thugs' blades flew in as if they had been waiting for it.

If someone inside had rushed out, they would have been torn to pieces by those blades in an instant.

But what the thugs stabbed with their swords was not a person, but a wooden box filled with gunpowder.

At the same time, what came into their eyes was Jang Chun-saeng aiming the Hand Cannon at that wooden box.

"Eat this!"

• Bang!

The Hand Cannon spat fire, and the iron pellets exploded against the wooden box.

And the moment the frictional heat generated as the wooden box shattered was transferred to the gunpowder inside.

"……Son of a bitch."

A low curse escaped from the mouth of a thug who had intuitively grasped the situation.

And then.

• Kwaang!

With a tremendous sound that shook the earth, the gunpowder box exploded.

* * *

How much time had passed?

Ji-young slowly opened her eyes to the pungent smell of gunpowder that pricked her nose.

Every joint in her body ached, but she could barely lift her head.

'…The shack must have collapsed from the shock of the gunpowder explosion.'

She must have been thrown out by the shock and lost consciousness for a while.

Looking around, not only the thugs but also Chun-saeng and Sungjae were caught in the explosion and were lying on the ground.

Amidst all this, what lay scattered before Ji-young's eyes was the special pressure cooker, smudged with soot in places.

It looked annoyingly intact.

She also felt the truffle bundle in her arms, and it was still there.

'…I'm really going through all sorts of things just to cook once.'

Just as she let out a quiet sigh of relief, a chilling sight entered Ji-young's eyes.

The figure of a thug slowly raising himself on two legs.

His clothes were torn to shreds by the explosion, and his whole body was covered in wounds, but he must have avoided fatal injuries, as his eyes were still full of murderous intent.

The thug discovered Ji-young, who was still alive, and drew a gleaming dagger from his chest.

'M-my body won't listen.'

She had to get up and do something quickly, but her body wouldn't move, perhaps because of the shock of the explosion.

The thug, raising his dagger, was getting closer step by step.

Ji-young tried once again to get up, her whole body trembling, but it was in vain.

'…Am I going to die like this? So futilely…'

But then, a strange sight began to appear in Ji-young's eyes.

'Huh? What is that?'

A blurry figure approaching from afar.

Looking closely, it was the figure of a man riding a white horse, slowly coming into view as if in slow motion.

Moreover, the one riding the horse was a familiar face.

'Could it be…'

Yeonsangun?

'…I'm finally seeing things.'

Even as her mind grew faint, Ji-young could only laugh in disbelief.

To have the image of Yeonsangun come to mind at the last moment.

Well, he was such an absurd person.

He was the one who made her experience all the hardships she would have experienced in a lifetime in just a short time.

Maybe that's why she was seeing his image.

…She thought, but then.

"Keoheok!!"

With a scream that was all too realistic, the white horse carrying Yeonsangun charged at full speed into the thug in front of her, sending him flying.

'…Huh?'

Soon after, cavalrymen in black Military Uniform came rushing in with the sound of hooves shaking the earth and formed ranks.

Yeonsangun on his white horse slowly approached Ji-young, who was still lying face down with a bewildered expression, not yet grasping the situation, and looked down at her.

"What are you doing lying here, Royal Cuisine Master."

"Y-your, Your Majesty?"

Ji-young was speechless at the surreal situation unfolding before her eyes.

"Didn't you say you were going to get the utensils needed for the banquet? Well, did you get all the items?"

"Y-yes, I did."

Ji-young hurriedly reached for the pressure cooker that had fallen in front of her and hugged it tightly.

Yeonsangun, seeing this, spoke sharply.

"Then, you're saying you can now flatten the nose of the Ming Dynasty envoy!"

"Yes, Your Majesty. But…"

What Ji-young was most worried about now was time.

She had to go straight to Hanyang as soon as she received the pressure cooker to barely make it on time.

But because of the thugs' attack, she had lost consciousness and delayed too much time.

"I'm afraid it's too late…"

Before she could finish speaking, Yeonsangun suddenly held out a hand.

"Get on."

"……Pardon?"

"I said, get on the back."

As Ji-young slowly reached out her hand, Yeonsangun abruptly grabbed her wrist and pulled her up behind him.

"Kyaak!"

"Hold on tight. This is the fastest horse in Joseon."

"Y-Your Majesty? Th-there? Wait…!"

"Kkiryat!"

Before Ji-young could even prepare herself, Yeonsangun grabbed the reins and struck the horse's flanks with his heels.

[Kiiing]

And the white horse, carrying the two of them, roared loudly and began to dart out with terrifying speed in an instant.

'Kyaaaak! …Cr, crazy!'

To avoid falling off at that speed, Ji-young had no choice but to hug Yeonsangun's waist tightly.

'I think I saw a record somewhere that Yeonsangun danced the Cheoyongmu on horseback…'

Ji-young, on the verge of fainting from the speed, had to think of something, anything, to avoid losing her mind.

'…That means he's incredibly good at riding horses!'

"Hyah!"

Whether he was enjoying riding the horse at full speed for the first time in a while, or whether he was excited at the thought of crushing the envoys' pride.

Or was it something else that made him feel elated?

Under the bright moonlight, Yeonsangun's face, as he rode with Ji-young, wore a smile.

※Author's Note

<The King was in Pyo-nae, sometimes dancing the Cheoyongmu on horseback, sometimes riding the horse, sometimes even riding the horse upside down, doing everything.>

• Annals of Yeonsangun, 11th year, March 20th