Central Plains' Premier Exile Island - 5
I sat blankly on the bed, staring at the letter. It instructed them to demolish the house where he'd been staying and distribute the materials from the demolition to the people of Haenam. No matter how many times I checked, the content didn't change.
That's weird. I clicked my tongue softly at the short, simple sentence. The content itself wasn't strange. No one claimed ownership of the house Yu Bok-tong had lived in. Since no one was living there, demolishing it wasn't a bad choice. Better to break it down into materials and share them than let a perfectly good house rot into a ruin.
But leaving such a short, simple request in a letter? And with the condition that it be handed over when an official from Kaepyeong arrived?
Is that necessary? A request to demolish a house could have been left verbally right before death. If he'd asked the villagers—or the martial artists guarding his belongings—it would've been torn down in a day. But Yu Bok-tong hadn't done that. He'd deliberately left it in writing and passed it to an official.
I don't get it. It was complicated. Normally, hearing a deceased person's last words clears up mysteries about them, but instead of resolving doubts, they were piling up. What to do? Should I just demolish the house and call it a day? No matter how I thought about it, this letter full of questions only officially requested the demolition. Fulfilling exactly what the deceased asked and ignoring the rest would cause no issues.
Of course, anyone could see there was a trick hidden in this letter. It was screaming, "I've got something concealed here." Failing to notice would make you the weird one. This was absolutely not just about demolishing a house.
But if the hidden message never came to light, that wasn't my fault. It was the deceased's fault for hiding a complex gimmick in his will.
Did he enjoy mystery novels in life... I wasn't sure if mystery novels existed in the 14th-century Central Plains.
"Damn it." I ruffled my hair roughly and sighed. If I hadn't questioned Yu Bok-tong's ghost army delusion at all, I'd have demolished the house without a second thought and holed up in some inn waiting for Kaepyeong's reply. Logically, that was the easiest choice.
Yet I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'd gone around asking the villagers directly for info on Yu Bok-tong, and the payoff for all that legwork was just demolishing a house? At this point, I'd feel too indignant to quit.
"Kki-ing-i."
- Kki-ing?
"Bring me a few pieces of wood scraps."
I asked Kki-ing-i, who was wandering in the courtyard. It trotted out leisurely, returned with several long branches in its mouth. Spirit beasts truly were heaven-sent companions. It had found exactly the right stuff.
"...Now that I look, we don't have a single fire-type."
- Kki-i-ing?
"No, nothing. Good job finding them."
Worried Kki-ing-i might understand and feel hurt, I quickly stroked its head. Back then, even empty compliments wouldn't have worked, but after traveling with me, it listened well and behaved sweetly. How could I complain about fire-types in front of such a good Kki-ing-i? Humans could provide fire just fine.
What if one actually shows up? Casually voicing regret might summon a real fire-type spirit beast, which would trouble both me and it. A guy wandering with six spirit beasts already—looking like a Pokémon trainer without the Pokéballs.
Gym badges swapped for conquering murim sects. Then Pokémon Master would be Murim Alliance Lord...
To uncover the secret, I tried every trick. Scorched the back with fire, soaked it in water and dried it in the sun, infused it with internal energy, even squeezed fruit juice over it.
"At this rate, the letter will tear first."
- Kki-i-ing.
- Kki-ong.
But nothing worked. Fire just blackened the innocent paper; water made it wrinkle. Internal energy and fruit juice were useless too. Maybe like a lottery ticket, I needed to scratch the surface? But it nearly tore when I tried with my nail, so I gave up.
No trick at all? Doubt crept in. What if there was no secret and I was overreacting? Did tricks for hiding writing even exist in the 14th century? Even if they did, would a lifelong swordsman exiled to Haenam—a diehard martial artist—use one?
Should I quit? I hesitated; a bit more fiddling and it'd cease being a letter. If the content really was just "demolish the house," I'd pass it to Yi Yeon. No need for secrecy, and it had value as Yu Bok-tong's handwriting for her to keep.
But destroying it through my tinkering? That'd be mortifying.
...Let's quit. Yeah, quit. I'd done enough. The dealings between Grandfather and Yu Bok-tong were secrets even old founding retainers didn't know. Too deep and dark for a twenty-something punk like me to dig into. Sure, glossing over it might make me twitch in my sleep later, but obsessing over the unsolvable was folly too.
Demolition can start the day after tomorrow. No rush, but I'd give Yi Yeon until tomorrow. Right to build a few memories in her birth father's final home. And who knows—maybe Yu Bok-tong hid some fateful encounter in his house. Something only family would recognize. Me...
The house. The urge to keep going surged back just as I was about to quit. Should I search the house interior one last time...?
Gaga, who'd said she'd check Yu Bok-tong's house and come back soon, hadn't returned even after a long while. With dinner time approaching, I wondered if I should go look, but just as I stepped out of the inn—
"I'm back."
Gaga returned first.
"Sorry. I'm really late, huh?" She apologized with fatigue etched on her face.
"No, it's fine. If Gaga's late, there must be a good reason."
"A reason..." Her expression darkened further at my words. What happened? What on earth did she find at Yu Bok-tong's house to change her face like that?
"Oh. Where's Yi Yeon?" But before I could ask, Gaga preempted me. I nearly felt a twinge of jealousy at her seeking another woman right away, but given she'd found something at the house, it was probably business-related—Yoo something.
"Still talking with the martial artists. They knew her father's end, so lots to discuss."
"Yeah. Not a quick chat." Gaga nodded slightly, plopped into a chair, and sighed.
- Kki-i-ing...
- Kki-o-ong.
Kki-ing-i and Kki-ong-i followed her into the inn and licked her face. Unusual—they stayed outside unless Gaga sought them first, given their size. What really happened at that house?
"Gaga."
"……."
"Gaga?"
"Huh? Did you call?" She reacted late even to my voice, totally spaced out. My heart sank. Gaga, who handled incidents across the Central Plains, but I'd never seen her this lost.
"You okay? If you're tired, lie down for a—"
"No, I'm fine. It's all done." Her smile hurt my heart more. She was smiling, but her eyes were deeply sunken in sorrow. Was "done" referring to her mental state? If so, that was bad...
"I Yeon-ah."
"Yes, Gaga."
"Let's rest seven days, then head to Guangxi."
Separate from my worry for her, I tilted my head. We were staying in Haenam to await Kaepyeong's reply—not something to wrap up quickly. Gaga herself had said we'd be here weeks. Yet now, seven days and off to Guangxi? Was that okay?
"Don't worry. The reply will come within seven days." Reading my face, she chuckled reassuringly. She needed comforting more, but staying silent seemed best for her now.
My head's still spinning. Like getting clocked in the back of the skull. But I suppressed it as best I could. To keep my emotions off my face. To keep what I saw a lifelong secret for myself alone.
Regrettably, I couldn't fully suppress it, earning Ak I-yeon's worry, but mere worry meant my endurance was holding.
Crazy bastard. I bit my lip, picturing Yu Bok-tong in the afterlife. I'd heard he was eccentric, but not this much. If alive, he'd rank among the three great eccentrics with Grandfather and Gu Gangwang.
Founding retainers are all nuts. I pressed my forehead, sorting my thoughts.
Yu Bok-tong's house—specifically his bedroom—was a perfect rectangle. Like the letter I had, same proportions. That madman had hidden the real will in the floor. Treating the letter as the room, he'd buried it where the writing was.
Thanks to that, I pried up the floorboards alone, dug into the earth... what a mess.
Up to there, no problem. Learning the letter was just a treasure map left me deflated, but I'd uncovered the secret. Actually glad at that point.
The issue came after finding the real will.
[Whoever found this must have decent wits and brains. Still, check your surroundings carefully and read this letter.]
[I didn't come to Haenam for a crime. It's a remote fringe beyond Gu Gangwang or Dong-gu Wang's reach, pirates run rampant, an island across the sea where government control is weak. That's why an idle guy like me ended up here.]
[Could've come as a dispatch, but it was for the Baekryeon Cult Leader. With the Emperor's eldest son stuck alone in a remote area, how many fools would get ideas? I came under exile pretense to weed them out. If a duke—not a criminal—is in Haenam, rebels would hesitate. Also a warning that even founding retainers could be purged if needed.]
[Pirate suppression, boosting local control, eliminating rebel prospects eyeing the Cult Leader, warning other retainers. More reasons than I thought.]
[But that bastard Shandong. Said he'd call me back in a few years, then nothing.]
[Wanted to relax in warm southern seas before dying, volunteered. Who knew a joke would turn it real? Can't even joke with friends anymore. Sad.]
[Anyway, no hair means no leisure, I guess.]
— Yu Bok-tong —
It started with grand justice, but the exile tale twisted into real banishment from the Emperor's rage over a reverse scale jab.