GMLS Ch 26

“I am sorry.”

“There is nothing to be sorry for. You have protected His Highness, so rather, it is something deserving of praise. Well done.”

The words were so quintessentially Wi Junghyuk that I laughed. Also, the feeling that I had grown close enough to dare think ‘that’s just like Wi Junghyuk’ after knowing him for only a week wasn’t entirely bad.

“I think I understand a little why soldiers form such strong bonds on the battlefield. When you suffer together for the same purpose, the distance between you shortens.”

“Nonsense.”

“How are my wounds?”

“Not good. There’s nothing fatal, but there’s too much bleeding. If you aren’t treated right away, your life will be in danger.”

“Is that so.”

Even though I heard I might die, my heart was at peace.

“I don’t want to say this, but this might be the end. So if you have any last words, tell them to me.”

Last words for Muryun? There was no way I could decide on such a thing. There were far too many things I wanted to say. It was no different from being told to hold the entire ocean in my two hands.

“……Sweet treats.”

So, I decided to convey a small wish instead.

“If this is truly the end, please tell him to place sweet treats on my grave with his own hands.”

Wi Junghyuk’s face, which had been set with grim gravity, contorted in bewilderment.

That’s how out of place my words must have been in this situation. I understood. Erect a monument in my honor. Record my achievements so they will be remembered for generations to come, not just in unofficial histories but in official ones. There were plenty of things a loyal servant who died in place of his master could say.

But that wasn’t what I wanted.

“Is that really all?”

“Yes. That is all.”

“Alright. I understand.”

Wi Junghyuk lifted me into his arms and moved me into a crevice between the rocks. He laid me on my side, took off his cloak, and covered me with it. Even so, the hand he had placed on my shoulder was reluctant to leave.

“You should go. Your place is by His Highness’s side.”

“I know. And the same goes for you.”

His fingers gripped my uninjured shoulder tightly. From the touch, which held my arm as one would a child’s, unable to apply force, I read his feelings.

“Your place is also by His Highness’s side. Do not forget that.”

“That’s not something the person who coolly took my last words should be saying.”

“Because that is the role of a military commander. What would happen if the head of the warriors, who protects the lord and leads his subordinates, were not level-headed?”

“Then you should remain level-headed to the end. Why are you being like this?”

“……That man Monghyul is simple-minded, has a frivolous side, and his conduct is light, not befitting the retainer of a noble person.”

Suddenly, he started bad-mouthing Monghyul. I looked at him as if to say, what kind of bullshit is this in this situation? Wi Junghyuk was still serious.

“But he is also the one among us who has served our lord the longest. And that man has been concerned about you all along. To the point of hesitating to leave even in a situation like the one just now. I believe that hesitation ultimately represented the heart of our lord.”

“……”

“I was born dull, so I still cannot see the big picture. However, there is one thing I have come to realize while journeying together. That if your injuries had been revealed in the recent situation, and if it had been decided to leave you behind, His Highness would not have moved a single step.”

My eyes began to sting. I bit my already tattered lips, feeling like tears were about to fall. I will not cry. I must not cry.

But more than Wi Junghyuk’s words, the thought of Muryun, who might have truly acted that way, softened my firmly resolved heart once more.

‘Without overflowing, without wavering.’

It was all wrong.

‘……No.’

It was impossible right now. With the death I had met five years ago in some mother-of-pearl box or chest loitering by my head, how could I possibly maintain a peaceful state of mind?

Rather, the true feelings of the humble commoner boy, suppressed under the names ‘Shangshuling’s son’ and ‘heir to the Yeo family,’ twisted and burst into tears.

“It may seem hypocritical for the one leaving you behind to say this, but please, survive.”

Was it because my heart was already so shaken? It was Wi Junghyuk in front of me, but to my ears, it sounded just like Muryun speaking. The him who was heading for The Sky Monument, unaware that I was dying.

“Of course. I will not give up on life so easily. I will somehow survive and wait for the Ammukdan. There is no way the Shangshuling would just let this situation be.”

So, stop worrying about me and go. Go and protect him in my stead.

Wi Junghyuk read the remaining intention in my gaze. His hand left my shoulder. His presence vanished in an instant. Even his steps, which showed no lingering attachment, were like those of a steadfast tiger, truly befitting of Wi Junghyuk.

“Huk, haa……”

I slowly closed my eyes. Unable to draw up my internal energy, my body temperature dropped in an instant. Still, I didn’t feel the cold. My breathing was so shallow that even my breath didn’t form a mist anymore.

No. This won’t do. I need to get a grip…… but……

‘Ah……’

I forced my closed eyes open. The wide-open sky filled my vision.

It felt as if I had just been flying in that sky. I felt like a falcon that had been flying freely, unbound by anything, and had briefly folded its wings to land on the rocky mountain.

Through my ear pressed to the ground, I heard countless footsteps. The group that had fired the arrows was approaching. At the same time, I sensed a presence from the opposite direction. Light and quiet footsteps, as if treading on blades of grass, and a sharply honed aura. It was quite a contrast, and also familiar.

“Wh-What are these things!”

“The executioner’s dogs!”

“Even so, they’re just a mere group of warriors-” 

Keoheok!

The Ammukdan, a mere group of warriors? How foolish. I suppose it’s because you’re so foolish that you grabbed onto a rotten rope. A small laugh escaped my lips.

The falcon flapped its drooping wings and prepared to fly again. They say everyone falls downwards when they faint, but I, on the contrary, soared towards the sky.

The deep blue sky enveloped my body. A cool breeze brushed every corner of my feathers. It felt less like flying and more like being gently carried, but anyway, that’s how it was.

“What’s so funny that you’re laughing? You foolish thing.”

I thought I heard Yeo Yullyeong’s voice on the wind.

I had a long dream. It was so long that the content changed several times in the middle, a long, long dream that made me wonder if it would ever end.

At first, I was standing in the village where I was born. My hands and feet became small, and my body became shabby. When I turned my head, my siblings were gathered together in a house that was like a burrow. But when I called my second brother, he disappeared, and when I called my fourth, he disappeared too. Would my first brother and the youngest also disappear if I called them? In the end, I kept my mouth shut.

Soon, my first brother, having packed his things, casually lifted the youngest onto his back and tied him securely with a rope. The two of them became distant dots and disappeared. I was left alone.

Next, a dream of becoming a giant white beast and protecting a mountain. A dream of fighting a shadow monster that was seven feet tall. A dream where Monghyul and Wi Junghyuk were competing to see who was Muryun’s true retainer, then suddenly embraced each other. Anyway, they were all nonsensical dreams.

At the end, I dreamt for a long time of being a falcon and flying.

I was free. The feeling of cutting through the cool wind and flying in the blue sky was exactly as I had imagined. The fantasy that I had snorted at as silly when my two feet were on the ground took me to the sea beyond The Yeon Continent.

A vast, boundless sea without a single island. The sky was also blue without a single cloud. It was a world of clear blue no matter where I looked. I became excited and continued to fly, then felt a strange presence at my feet.

It was deep in the sea. It felt as if a giant serpent was writhing under the floorboards of a house.

Should I go in? But a falcon can’t breathe underwater. No. It’s a dream anyway. Without hesitation, I threw myself into the sea.

Down. Down. I continued to descend, chasing the strange presence. The light grew more distant. Bizarre sea creatures, indistinguishable from fish or monsters, passed by my side.

It was at the bottom of the sea.

‘This is……!’

At the bottom where not a speck of light reached, only its scales glowed faintly. The analogy of a serpent under the floorboards wasn’t entirely wrong. However, it was a far superior version.

A giant black dragon was sleeping in the deep sea. It was just an imagination, but the sense of pressure was immense. Yet, strangely, I wasn’t afraid.

How long had I been watching it? The black dragon opened its eyes. From between the jet-black scales, sharp eyes and golden-yellow pupils resembling gold were revealed.

—……The White Tiger of Cheontae? Is that you?

Its long tail swayed lazily. That alone was enough to stop the low currents flowing around it.

—No. That one is already…… Tsk, is it because I slept for too long? I feel quite muddled.

Its tail, black as night, slammed onto the floor. At that moment, my body was flung out with a thump.

My soaring body instantly retraced the path it had come. The endless sea. The boundary between the continent and the sea. The rugged mountain terrain of the inland flashed past my vision, and before I knew it, I was at the shrine on the summit of Cheontae-baek Mountain.

“Ah.”

“Huh?”

To be precise, I was lying quietly face down in a room somewhere in the shrine. When I opened my eyes, Yeongchun, who was soaking a dry towel in a brass basin, dropped it in surprise. The splashed water poured right onto my face.

“Ugh-phuh.”

“Heok!”

The startled Yeongchun fumbled for a new dry towel and ended up wiping the water away with his own sleeve. The rough texture of the fabric rubbing against my face finally brought me to my senses a little. Right, I was shot by arrows.

“Yeongchun, what happened with the test-”

“Young Lord, you’ve finally woken up! To the Shangshuling, no, this isn’t right, His Highness first, no, is Heukwol first?!”

He was babbling something, but I couldn’t understand a single word. He told me to wait a moment, then opened the door and ran outside.

He could have just told me the test results on his way out. I let out a deep sigh and dropped my hand onto the bed. To be honest, I felt like I knew even without asking.