GMLS Ch 65

Yeo Yullyeong’s last words were still vivid in my mind.

‘The imperial library’s Snake section. Third row. Take a look at the sixth book.’

Despite being warned that I might come to resent him, my heart was strangely calm as I stood before the bookshelf.

Without a second thought, I pulled out the book. It had no title. No contents either. Most of the pages I flipped through were blank. Then, around the middle, about three pages were filled with writing. It was unmistakably Yeo Yullyeong’s handwriting.

The written content was divided into two parts.

One was about Tanakhan. The other was about the antidote.

My grip on the book tightened. I lifted my head and looked at the empty space I had left. This book must have been changed regularly. In preparation for something happening to him, the book would have changed according to my growth, and the situations I faced at the time.

Father, you really are.

“……an amazing person.”

I smiled like a hazy mist and examined the contents in detail.

The real power of The Jihan Kingdom had long since passed to Tanakhan. The reason or motive was unknown, but his will for a war of conquest was so great that he had been securing war funds from behind the scenes and gradually expanding his military forces.

Yeo Yullyeong had described his own countermeasures in neat handwriting. However, it was doubtful whether they would be effective. Could he not have known that it was Yeo Yullyeong? At the end, he had written in bold letters, ‘The best strategy of all is to prevent the war itself.’

Next, the information about the antidote was mainly about its ingredients. However, the combination method was still an unknown and incomplete area even for Yeo Yullyeong, so there was little written about it.

The more I compared the two, the more clearly I began to see the path I had to take. I also naturally came to understand why Yeo Yullyeong had said I would resent him. Still, I felt no resentment.

On a night with a brightly shining moon. Tanakhan was leisurely reading a book in his quarters. It was a collection of folk tales that was popular among the common people of The Geum Empire. Beside him, a light medicinal wine and a platter of snacks were prepared. He occasionally sipped the wine and read the text with a placid expression.

Migur approached the side of such a Tanakhan. He whispered in Tanakhan’s ear, who did not take his eyes off the book. The corners of Tanakhan’s tightly closed lips curled up.

Thud.

He closed the book he was reading with a sound. His gaze turned to the window. The latticed window opened and a night visitor entered. It was a man in black martial robes and a mask.

“I was just thinking it was about time you came.”

Yihwa pulled the mask he had worn over his nose down to his chin.

“A lot has happened.”

“That’s why I waited quietly, isn’t it? The matter with the Shangshuling was unfortunate. It’s late, but I offer my condolences.”

Yihwa’s insides boiled. It was still just a guess, but Yeo Yullyeong’s death. The starting point of that chain was the man before his eyes.

Tanakhan looked at Yihwa with eyes full of affection and longing. He was like someone seeing a waterfall flowing backwards, or a flower rooted in ice. Eyes that had encountered an impossible mystery of nature.

I now know that this is because his heart is being manipulated by the formless power of an ancient force. Nevertheless, Yihwa was calm. He had done things too destructive to me to feel any sympathy.

Tanakhan, who smiled kindly, spoke first.

“By any chance, do you know that Muryun tried to seek asylum in The Jihan Kingdom?”

“That’s impossible.”

Tanakhan smiled with an expression that said he had finally caught one.

“You don’t know. I received a message when I was in The North Palace.”

“Ah, if it was then, that could be possible.”

But it was a completely different reaction from what Tanakhan had expected. On the contrary, his expression of pity, wondering how difficult it must have been for him to even think of such a thing, was clearly visible. Tanakhan was dumbfounded.

“I thought you were talking about after he became emperor. To say such nonsense so confidently, is he mad? I don’t have a hobby of talking to madmen, what should I do. It was truly perplexing.”

“……Did I do something to get on your bad side?”

“You would know that better than anyone.”

Tanakhan thought, ‘Look at this?’. He looked into Yihwa’s eyes. His resolve was firm. It wasn’t just a probing question. It meant he knew something, or at least had a guess.

Right after learning about the running race, Tanakhan did what he had to do as the de facto ruler of The Jihan Kingdom and what only he could do. The former was to send warriors disguised as an internal force to eliminate the three princes, and the latter was to manipulate the weather to help him.

The bizarre localized torrential rain that poured down, forgetting the season and the region. It was Tanakhan’s doing. Thanks to that, Tanakhan had to lie sick in bed for a week afterwards. It was the first time even for Tanakhan to make it rain for so long in such a distant place.

Tanakhan’s eyes narrowed. He was curious about how much Yihwa knew.

“Let’s continue the story from last time.”

However, Yihwa had no intention of talking more about it.

“I want to change the conditions. If I go to Your Highness, please promise me that you will not covet The Geum Empire even after my breath is gone.”

“That’s difficult. I want to achieve my dream of unifying the continent in my lifetime. Besides, with that condition, the option of committing suicide as soon as you set foot on The Jihan Kingdom’s soil increases.”

“What if I swear not to commit suicide.”

“It’s still the same.”

This time, Tanakhan stood above Yihwa.

“You, you’re not going to live long anyway, are you?”

“……”

It hadn’t been long since Tanakhan learned of that fact. He certainly didn’t know it when he first met Yihwa. Even learning it was close to a coincidence.

He had people tailing Yihwa as he dug into his surroundings. However, since there were so many formidable people around him, they could only watch from a distance. That was how he witnessed the scene of Yeo Yullyeong’s kidnapping.

When his subordinate went to the place after everyone had disappeared, a folding fan and a wooden box were left there. The wooden box with a fish-shaped lock made no sound when shaken.

The folding fan was examined from all angles and then left as it was. It was an ordinary folding fan no matter how you looked at it. There was nothing to find out. Besides, the blood had already dried and caked on it, so it was an object that would likely cause trouble if taken.

The wooden box that fell into Tanakhan’s hands spat out a blood-stained cloth. Why did he have something like this? Next to the tilting-headed Tanakhan, Migur said.

‘Judging by the color, it’s hemoptysis caused by poison, and the way the blood is stained, it was wiped from the mouth.’

‘How do you know that.’

‘If you see cloths used to wipe up coughed-up blood often, you will know it naturally.’

Migur was the legitimate son of a noble family in The Jihan Kingdom. That family had served as the royal guard of The Jihan Kingdom’s royal family for generations, but behind the scenes, they also served as the king’s assassins. Tanakhan recalled that his weapon was a poisoned hidden weapon. He had forgotten because he had been by his side for so long.

He then offered his opinion.

‘In the middle of that race, the warriors obtained a quiver of poisoned arrows from the 3rd Prince’s group. They deliberately chose only the low-ranking ones and pushed them into a deadly situation, and they cackled as they took the arrows.’

‘Hmm……’

‘It’s unknown where those arrows were used. However, we found out through investigation that Captain of the Guard Yeo Yihwa was hit by several arrows during the race and hovered between life and death.’

Migur had followed along wearing a mask for the purpose of management and supervision at the time. However, he still wasn’t sure.

‘I was dealing with the 2nd Prince at the time, so I couldn’t confirm it with my own eyes. I only heard through a report that the Shangshuling was at the scene. Above all, because of the Ammukdan bastards, they were all massacred.’

‘No, that’s enough. It’s certain with what you just said.’

Massacre.

The Ammukdan were bastards who killed strictly out of necessity. Their swords had not a shred of personal feelings or killing intent. That was the truly terrifying thing about the Ammukdan.

But for such corpse-like bastards to massacre enemies they should have captured to extract information? That itself was the answer. Tanakhan thought he knew why the Ammukdan had been so enraged.

“How much time is left?”

And he despaired.

“I cannot tell you.”

“Are you saying you can’t reveal your bargaining chip?”

Tanakhan smiled bitterly. A painful sincerity was embedded in his contorted eyes. Yihwa, who saw it, flinched.

“Just deserts. I used to think such words didn’t exist.”

His laughter was hollow. His expression was one of extreme pain. Yihwa was bewildered. However, he regained his composure at the words that followed.

“I never thought my ideal would be in that place.”

“So it was you after all. What on earth have you done?”

“I did what I had to do as the de facto ruler of The Jihan Kingdom and what was perfectly plausible.”

“You mean messing up another country’s succession dispute?”

“Messing up? Please call it a check.”

Tanakhan, who chuckled, added.

“And you may not believe me, but I’m regretting what I did then as if my insides are being torn apart.”

The seal of The Ice and Snow Qilin…… no, the curse of The Ice and Snow Qilin was formidable. To think it could sway a person so clearly even after nearly 400 years.

Yihwa thought of the person for whom that seal must have been the clearest. Wimunhyeon, who loved Geum Yunju terribly. Wimunhyeon, who loved her so much that he founded a country and even started a war. One day, he suddenly stopped the war and began to search for a person. And he married that person and had descendants.

For some reason, a chill ran down Yihwa’s spine, and he swallowed dryly. Perhaps it was because the source of that superimposed emotion was a terrible tragedy.

“No. I believe you.”

“You believe me? Really?”

“That’s why I came here to make a deal. I don’t trust you, but I trust your sincerity towards me.”

“I see. Yes.”

Yihwa drew the final line.

“I will go to The Jihan Kingdom, to Your Highness’s side. In return, please do not touch The Geum Empire for three years even after I die.”