Monopolizing Fortunes (209)
Monopolizing Fortunes (209)
"That's right."
"So you went to the Southern Barbarians again this time, I take it?"
"Yes...... wait?"
"Come on, last time you went to the Southern Barbarians and brought back antidotes. Eight. Whole. Ones."
"Wh-why are you bringing that up?"
"No reason. Just curious."
Ha Su-ran was watching Do Tong-dal with bright, sparkling eyes as well. She had only heard that Do Tong-dal had resolved the matter, and knew nothing of the method.
"Well...... I went. Since it was the same poison."
"How many did you bring back this time?"
"Why are you so curious about that?"
"Does being curious need a reason?"
"T-ten......."
Do Tong-dal did not mention that two had died on the way back. Even so, Hwangmi Dal and Ha Su-ran both let out a gasp of surprise.
"Su-ran."
"Yes, Alliance Leader."
"Be careful at night."
"I will keep that in mind."
* * *
Do Tong-dal and Ha Su-ran traveled to Beijing together. There were matters to discuss with Yeon Ja-yeon and Namgung Seol-rin.
Along the way, Ha Su-ran learned the Disguise Art from Do Tong-dal. It simply could not compare to what she had clumsily picked up from Namgung Seol-rin.
Thanks to learning a little at night and then receiving intensive instruction all the way to Beijing, Ha Su-ran became reasonably proficient in the Disguise Art.
She had not reached Do Tong-dal's level of naturally disguising herself by moving only her facial muscles, but with the aid of tools, she had reached a natural-looking level.
"Finally, I can go around without this face veil."
"It'll feel a bit stuffy at first."
"It's a hundred times better than the veil."
The two enjoyed the journey and would have liked to travel slowly to Beijing, but reality quickened their steps.
Ha Su-ran was regretful, but she could not slow Do Tong-dal's pace. They arrived in Beijing the day after leaving the Northern Unorthodox Alliance.
"Will you be going to the imperial palace?"
"I have to. If nothing comes up, I'll likely head to Liaoning Province, where Prince Yeongun is, as soon as possible."
"Don't forget to stop by and see Ja-yeon before you go."
After a regretful farewell with Ha Su-ran, Do Tong-dal went to the imperial palace and met with Yang Su-pan.
"Have you found out about Prince Yeongun?"
"The security around Hyeonju Fortress, where Prince Yeongun is staying, has been reinforced. Reports say the garrison has doubled from before, reaching eight thousand, and men who appear to be martial arts masters are frequently spotted."
"You must have confirmed Prince Yeongun's residence, right?"
Yang Su-pan scratched his head with a troubled expression.
"Well, they say he rotates between five different places to sleep."
"He's certainly wary of assassination."
"Given the times, it's only natural."
"What about the state of the guards?"
"I've drawn it out here. I thought this would be easier to understand."
Do Tong-dal received ten sheets of paper from Yang Su-pan and scanned the layout of Hyeonju Fortress and the state of its security.
"This is even more stringent than the imperial palace."
"You'd have to consider assassination nearly impossible."
"I'll make the plan on the way to Liaoning Province. What about Jeon Jin-gu?"
"They say he regained consciousness this morning."
Do Tong-dal stood up.
"Then let's go see him."
Jeon Jin-gu was bound to the bed by leather restraints on both hands and feet, and a gag had been placed in his mouth to prevent him from taking his own life.
Do Tong-dal entered the room alone. Jeon Jin-gu turned his head to look at Do Tong-dal, then soon shifted his gaze to the ceiling.
Those empty eyes held no emotion whatsoever. Not even the fear that should naturally be present in such a situation was visible.
Do Tong-dal recalled the report he had received on Jeon Jin-gu's past on his way here.
—He became a eunuch at fourteen and has not caused a single incident in twenty-five years. He was called a model eunuch. It was widely said that the position of Director of Ceremonial Gifts was already as good as his.
There had been nothing unusual about him at all. Had he not spent about one shichen with Ju Hyeong-seon, he would still be a model eunuch to this day.
Do Tong-dal placed a chair beside the bed where Jeon Jin-gu was bound and sat down. He first removed the gag, then took off the restraints on his hands and feet as well.
Jeon Jin-gu looked at Do Tong-dal with a puzzled gaze.
"Have you heard that all the men captured with you have been released?"
"Who are you?"
Do Tong-dal had spoken informally, and Jeon Jin-gu responded with formal deference.
"I'm the one holding your life and death in my hands. Isn't that enough to have a conversation with you?"
"I was dragged here without cause and tortured, and I've said everything I have to say. If you mean to kill me, then kill me quickly."
"You haven't said everything. Because His Majesty's poisoning is connected to you."
Jeon Jin-gu suddenly shouted.
"I've said hundreds of times that I have nothing to do with it! If you won't believe me, then just kill me!"
An ordinary person would have seen truth in that shout filled with anger, but to Do Tong-dal, it looked like a desperate struggle to deceive even him.
"Do you know Song Do-uk?"
"Who is that?"
'Oh-ho, look at this.'
With almost no information on Jeon Jin-gu, he had thrown out the eunuch name of Won Jung-bang, the former head of the Revenge Society. It had been a light question meant to find any kind of lead, but the man had lied.
Not just a simple lie, but a violent lie. His expression was calm, but Do Tong-dal saw desperate resistance.
"You should know. And the Revenge Society too."
A eunuch living deep within the palace had no reason to know the name of a martial sect. Even mentioning the name of the Nine Sects and One Gang would earn one a reputation as a eunuch with extensive knowledge of the martial world.
Yet Jeon Jin-gu reacted to the Revenge Society as well.
"I've never heard such a strange name."
Do Tong-dal's mind raced.
'Was this man a subordinate of Won Jung-bang?'
The odds were fifty-fifty. He had entered the palace earlier than Won Jung-bang, but he had not learned martial arts either. He was diligent, but there was no reputation for exceptional leadership or control.
Do Tong-dal had to choose one of the two possibilities and ask his question. If the choice was wrong, the question would change, and if the question changed, the information he could obtain would inevitably change as well.
"To pretend not to know after using Song Do-uk for so long. The dead Song Do-uk would be disappointed. Or should I call him by his real name, Won Jung-bang?"
The man's mental fortitude in not revealing his inner thoughts was admirable. But that was precisely why the Mind-Reading Art existed—to read even a heart as solid as an iron wall.
'Did this man really control Won Jung-bang? Then was the Revenge Society merely one branch of a much larger tree?'
If the poison used on Namgung Cheol-hyeon and Hwangmi Dal was identical to the poison used on Ju Hyeong-seon, that was a sufficient link to the Revenge Society.
"After Won Jung-bang died, you kept your head down for quite a while. Why come out of the water now?"
That was what Do Tong-dal was curious about. After staying quiet for over three years, he had begun to move as if he had been waiting for Do Tong-dal to emerge from closed-door training.
'No, is it just a coincidence?'
As he was thinking that, Jeon Jin-gu's expression changed.
"I didn't believe it, but you really can read minds just from a person's face. You're worth coveting, as that person would say."
When he uttered the title "that person," an ember of boundless reverence rose in Jeon Jin-gu's expression.
"That person? Who is he?"
"You must not become my master's rival. Die here."
Jeon Jin-gu's face began to swell, and soon his entire body began to change like a pig's bladder being inflated with air.
Do Tong-dal hurriedly pressed his pressure points, but it had no effect at all. Jeon Jin-gu's body, swelling more and more, became almost a sphere.
Judging that it was already impossible to reverse, Do Tong-dal, driven by a bad premonition, hurled himself out of the room.
BANG!
A sound like a leather sack full of wind bursting rang out. The remains of Jeon Jin-gu—blood, skin, entrails, and bone all mixed together—showered over Do Tong-dal, who had raised his Protective Qi.
The remains of Jeon Jin-gu carried force like hidden weapons thrown by a master. The furnishings in the room were shattered to pieces, and debris embedded itself in the corridor outside as well.
But it could not penetrate Do Tong-dal's Protective Qi. Do Tong-dal was merely covered in the remains and suffered no injury. What was wounded was not his body but his pride.
He had failed to notice that Jeon Jin-gu possessed Internal Energy. He had missed the most basic thing.
"Damn it!"
Eunuchs and the Embroidered Uniform Guard came running belatedly. The Embroidered Uniform Guard asked Do Tong-dal, drenched in blood, if he was all right.
After saying he was fine, Do Tong-dal immersed himself in bathwater prepared by a palace maid.
Resting the back of his head against the edge of the tub, Do Tong-dal carefully replayed his time with Jeon Jin-gu.
The information that the Revenge Society was not the main current but merely a tributary was quite valuable.
It would have been nice to learn who the "that person" Jeon Jin-gu mentioned was, but wasting mental energy on a fish that had already slipped away was pointless.
"So he's connected to the Revenge Society in some way."
But although he had gone through all of the Revenge Society's documents, nothing about a backer had appeared.
It was an unfamiliar dead end for Do Tong-dal.
"Won Jung-bang and Jeon Jin-gu were both eunuchs. Is the imperial palace the center of the conspiracy?"
It was only one of countless possibilities. Do Tong-dal felt the warm water over his whole body and calmly settled his mind.
Rushing would not accomplish anything, and he must not rush. If he rashly chose a path and it was wrong, he would clearly be struck from behind.
The first thing to do was to prevent the war. War drove too many people into suffering.
The first step in that was dealing with Prince Yeongun. Perhaps Prince Yeongun was a variable created when Ju Hyeong-seon became emperor.
In his previous life, the First Prince had become emperor, so that was probably the case. The order was to eliminate that variable first, then stop the northern invasion.
The war in his previous life had driven countless commoners into suffering. At the time, Do Tong-dal had lost one leg and come to Hangzhou, so he had not gone to the battlefield.
But he at least knew that the war had turned into a complete mess because of an incompetent emperor and ministers just as incompetent as he was.
If the people changed, the course of the war was bound to change as well. This war would be different from the one in his previous life.
Unlike the sudden war that had broken out while everyone sat idle, this war would be fought amid thorough preparation, and that thorough preparation might even prevent the war itself.
Do Tong-dal drew a map of Hyeonju Fortress, where Prince Yeongun was staying, in his mind. The basics of assassination were to sneak in at night and kill the sleeping target.
But for Prince Yeongun, who moved between five places depending on his mood that day, that basic principle became a difficult condition.
Excluding sleeping hours, the assassination had to be carried out at a predictable place, at a predictable time, by an unpredictable person.
No matter how much Prince Yeongun feared assassination and moved from place to place, he could not conduct his official duties that way.
A plan naturally formed in Do Tong-dal's mind. In truth, the hardest part of assassination was not the killing, but safely escaping afterward.
In that respect, Do Tong-dal was different from ordinary assassins. As long as he killed the target, escaping alone would not be very difficult.
He possessed martial arts that vied for the title of best under heaven (probably), and he had mastered an exceptional movement art.
Both the killing and the escape could be accomplished without much difficulty. The remaining problem was succeeding in the assassination at a moment the enemy did not expect, by a method the enemy did not expect.
"That's not difficult either."
Having formed his plan during the bath, Do Tong-dal sought out Yang Su-pan.
"Something Prince Yeongun does every single day without fail?"
"Yes. For example, meetings with his ministers."
Do Tong-dal had naturally assumed there would be such meetings. But Yang Su-pan's answer defied his expectations.
"They say he only holds meetings when there is business, and otherwise summons only the necessary people to give orders."
"Can a prince do that?"
"That's up to the prince. If the First Prince or Second Prince had become emperor, they would have left state affairs to their ministers and indulged in wine and women every day, wouldn't they?"
Indeed, even the previous emperor had spent many days bedridden with illness, yet the country had managed to run passably.
"Then what about people he sees or meets every day?"
"The privy and his favored concubine, I suppose? Oh! What if you used that Disguise Art of yours, or whatever it is, and transformed into the concubine? They say Prince Yeongun is lately head over heels for some concubine named Jeong Hwa-yeong."
For a moment, Do Tong-dal thought.
'Is it possible to disguise myself as a woman?'
There was no reason it couldn't be done. If he stuffed his chest with cotton and used the Bone-Shrinking Art to make his whole frame smaller, it seemed possible.
If he assassinated the target in bed, escaping would also be much easier.
"That's not a bad idea."
"Huh? I was just joking."
"I know. Good ideas only come out of you when you just blurt things out, Lord Yang. Don't think too seriously when handling state affairs from now on."
"I can't tell if that's a compliment or an insult. Are you really going to disguise yourself as Jeong Hwa-yeong? You don't even know that woman's face."
* * *