GMLS Ch 20

It was said in a passing tone, as if it were nothing of consequence. But Heukwol’s circumstances were not something to be spoken of so lightly.

“There are other circumstances. So do not be rude.”

I tried to speak as calmly as possible, but I couldn’t help the edge in my voice. Was it because I had maintained a cautious attitude all this time? Wi Junghyuk looked at me as if surprised. At the same time, his thought of ‘How dare you’ was revealed in his cold expression.

“Then shouldn’t you have informed me beforehand? Who would know if you just keep your mouth shut? Besides, we are carrying out an important mission. Whether he is a mute or just a guy with a difficult personality is not important. What is important is that in the former case, you should have given me a heads-up.”

Wi Junghyuk said firmly.

“Swift communication is the basis of a mission like this. And what kind of path are we on? It is a path where we must reduce as many unstable factors as possible. This is a journey where everyone in this place is risking their lives.”

I had a mouth but no words to say.

Everything he said was right. It was clearly my fault. I thought it wasn’t right for me to step forward and reveal his shame when Heukwol was quiet, so I had said nothing. Even though I was not ignorant of Heukwol’s personality.

How could I be so foolish? Even as I was being unilaterally beaten down, I had no rebuttal. I was frustrated and angry. But my feeling of apology was greater. Because of my foolishness, Heukwol was also lumped in and scolded.

“Your learning ability is worse than a five-year-old’s.”

A cool voice flew over. Wi Junghyuk, surprised, looked back at Muryun.

“Your Highness, this is not a quarrel, but-”

“Wi Junghyuk. Sword.”

Muryun did not listen. Wi Junghyuk did not say any more and rose from his seat. I urgently told Muryun.

“Your Highness, no. This is my fault.”

But Muryun pretended not to hear and asked Wi Junghyuk.

“Wi Junghyuk. Did you not receive a letter from the Shangshuling a while ago?”

Wi Junghyuk paused. Muryun smiled, his eyes crinkling.

“That letter, what did you do with it?”

“I burned it without looking.”

What is it, a curse doll?!

“And you talk of a heads-up.”

“……”

Not knowing what the contents were could not be an excuse. Wi Junghyuk became a mute who had eaten honey. Muryun did not stop there.

“Even if it were truly Yihwa’s fault, it would be the same. If a mistake was made, it is only right for someone with more experience to lead wisely. What reason is there to have to listen to words that are no different from venting anger?”

“……”

“Did you not say it yourself? It is an important journey where everyone is risking their lives. A guy who knows that so well fought with Monghyun with such stubbornness?”

Monghyun, who had been sitting quietly, was hit by a stray stone and looked this way. Unfairness was written all over his face.

But thanks to that, I also had a realization. Come to think of it, that’s right. Yesterday, in front of His Highness, the two of them even drew their swords. Now I see, it was the pot calling the kettle black. I looked at Wi Junghyuk with a face that had gone cold with saltiness.

He silently went outside. The tip of his sword stuck into the muddy ground. A walking stick stood upside down in the rain.

The remaining people held an urgent meeting about their future course of action. Wi Junghyuk also added his words from the rain. The content mainly consisted of which direction to go, how to go, and contingency plans for unforeseen circumstances.

No one mentioned it, but everyone in the place knew. That as soon as this conversation ended, they would depart-that was already a settled matter.

“It can’t be helped. We depart immediately. The goal is two days. We will reach the Sky Monument within that time.”

⊹ ࣪ 💮⊹₊

Subeak (獸伯) is called so because it means the head of beasts.

Long ago, in the days when that was still a word referring to an ethnic minority within the Geum Empire, they possessed senses, internal energy, and physical abilities several times greater than ordinary people.

Do not touch the head of the beast. It was a widely spread saying among those who lived in the vicinity of the Subeak.

They were so reclusive that they rarely came out of their territory. As long as you didn’t provoke them first, there were no particular problems. Then, occasionally, a peculiar person would be born and enter politics, and they could easily attain the rank of a great general.

Quiet and gentle monsters. They were people who would have continued to live in that place, no matter how the history of the Yeon Continent flowed.

But the Geum Empire had a long history, and thus, countless emperors, and among them, some were petty cowards. To him, the Subeak were monsters under the same roof who could one day turn on him and swallow him whole.

The emperor raised an army. The Subeak people fought for a long time and gradually moved south, and in the process, they mixed their blood with people outside their ethnicity. The glory of the past faded, but in its place, their power spread thinly and widely, becoming the strength and foundation to build a new nation.

Today, the people of Subeak, one of the five southern nations, are born with a basic martial physique.

When it came to martial arts, they showed a growth rate twice that of ordinary people with just a little effort. And one in a thousand. A person born with the bloodline of their slumbering ancestors would appear. Also, one in ten thousand would be born who could not be defeated even if ten of them attacked.

That was exactly what Heukwol was. But this blessed quality, a gift from the gods, plunged Heukwol’s life into the abyss.

‘-Before I met the Shangshuling, I resented the heavens for making me born like this. I thought that if the Sangseon truly existed, he could not have done this.’

Those were the longest words Heukwol had ever said to me.

The 2nd Prince’s mother, using her family, gathered children with even slightly outstanding qualities from Subeak, sparing no effort. Buying and selling was on the gentlemanly side. If the parents refused, she killed the parents and kidnapped the child.

The children gathered in this way were sent to a secret training center within the Geum Empire. I heard from Yeo Yullyeong what kind of place that was. What I had experienced was nothing. That place was a living hell.

They used drugs to melt and destroy the children’s tongues and vocal cords. In the process, a third of them died. If they survived, a greater hell awaited the children.

The training there was not something that could be described as just harsh. If one couldn’t keep up with the process, they were tied to a pillar as punishment and killed by being stabbed with thin skewers one by one. It was said that they would giggle amongst themselves, betting on how many skewers it would take to kill someone.

There was no way of knowing how many children had died there before it was discovered and dismantled by Yeo Yullyeong.

When the training center was discovered, the 2nd Prince and his mother immediately cut their tails and saved their own skins. They were so quick to flee that even Yeo Yullyeong had to click his tongue and concede defeat.

At that time, the children Yeo Yullyeong saved were only ten, including Heukwol. Five of them were already injured and sick, so they died within a few days of being rescued. Two grew sick and died from a diseased heart, one committed suicide, and the other disappeared somewhere.

Yeo Yullyeeong took in the lone remaining Heukwol and raised him. He said that Heukwol had protected himself by sending his heart far away. So far away that it took a long time to return.

‘What if it never comes back?’

‘It will come.’

‘How can you be so sure?’

‘Because it is people and life that things can be achieved if wished for. Otherwise, the word ‘hope’ wouldn’t even exist.’

‘In the end, aren’t you saying that even you, the Shangshuling, cannot guarantee it?’

‘No. It will definitely come, and it is not even that far away.’

The Shangshuling looked at me as if he knew everything.

‘The fact that you came to find me so urgently because of Heukwol is, in the grand scheme of things, part of the same context.’

At that time, I thought that this man might really know everything. Not ‘as if.’

I stopped reminiscing and raised my head. The rain was finally subsiding. The ground was still muddy, and landslides had occurred around the valley, but it was much easier to move.

“Excellency.”

“It is not right to call me Excellency. I am no longer the Captain of the Imperial Guard, so just call me Wi Junghyuk.”

“Yes, Excellency.”

“……”

Wi Junghyuk turned his head and looked at me. Our gazes met in mid-air.

‘Are you picking a fight with me now?’

‘No, sir.’

‘Yes, you are.’

‘Do you want to become a walking stick again?’

Unspoken swords were exchanged. As they say, a dog at a Seodang recites poetry after three years, and after five years as Yeo Yullyeong’s son, one becomes quite confident with their tongue.

“I’ve thought about it again, sir. Your words are all correct. You are ten years my senior, you were the former Captain of the Imperial Guard, and you are someone who has dedicated ten years of service at the imperial palace. What could be wrong with the words of such a person? It is all my fault for being young and inexperienced.”

Muryun looked this way. Wi Junghyuk flinched.

“It is a matter that His Highness covered up as my fault. Let’s not speak of it anymore.”

“Then I will say just one more thing and stop. Do not speak of Heukwol as you please ever again. At that time, I will not stand by idly, no matter who you are.”

“……How dare you now.”

“Yes. I dare to warn you.”

After shouting coldly, I moved away from him. Wi Junghyuk couldn’t bring himself to approach me and stiffened his shoulders in anger.

I know. The words I said were meant to be sarcastic, but at the same time, they were all true. He was not at fault. Nevertheless, the reason I was so sharp with Wi Junghyuk was because I had made the same mistake as he had.

‘It has been quite some time since I have been with you, yet I have not even heard your voice. Why do you not speak?’

It was an insensitive question. It was also a foolish question, so much so that saying I was young could not be an excuse.

After hesitating, Heukwol silently took my hand. Even then, he hesitated for a long time before writing characters on my palm with his finger. It was the first time I had such an experience, so Heukwol’s actions were just exciting. Of course, that childish excitement did not last long.

The finger that had been shrinking from the ticklishness stiffened when he wrote the character for ‘to not have.’

‘-I do not have a tongue.’

I grabbed his hand as it tried to pull away in an instant. Then I hesitated for a longer time than Heukwol. I was worried about his heart, which might have been hurt because of me, so the words did not come out easily.