The One-Eyed Wolf Comes Calling
It was the gray hour before dawn when Kunuma and his men reached the encampment where Lee Go-nap-hap's band was lodged.
Three of Lee Go-nap-hap's subordinates were lounging by the bonfire, warming their hands and trading idle chatter. When Kunuma showed himself before them, they scrambled to their feet in flustered confusion—and by then, Samuhatu and Kumai had already encircled them without a sound.
"Wh-whose there?!"
Irongha cried out, startled. He never even got the chance to draw his sword—could not so much as lay a hand on the hilt.
They had been caught completely off guard. Then the firelight spilled across Kunuma's profile, and Irongha's blood ran cold.
"Ku-Kunuma, sir⋯"
Kunuma's notoriety resounded throughout all of Jianzhou. Irongha had done his share of foul deeds in his day, but they did not come close to the soles of Kunuma's feet. He swallowed hard.
What in the world brings him here?
"I've come to see Lord Kunaha."
"Well, that is—he's gone to bed just now⋯"
Kunuma's frigid voice sheared the sentence clean in half.
"Lead the way."
Irongha dared not refuse. With the two other men still crouched awkwardly by the dying fire, he escorted Kunuma toward Lee Go-nap-hap's quarters, while Samuhatu and Kumai trailed behind them through the darkness like pale ghosts.
"Over there—that's the place," Irongha said, bowing with exaggerated deference.
Kunuma simply stood, silent and impassive. Irongha hesitated a moment, then went inside.
Lee Go-nap-hap had only just retired after a long night of drinking, and if Irongha failed to report a visitor who had arrived in the dead of night, a scolding was certain to follow. But the visitor was Kunuma.
With an uneasiness he could not quite name, Irongha made his way to the commander's tent.
"Who goes there?" called Olanggamokya, who stood guard over Lee Go-nap-hap's quarters.
"It's me, Irongha," he answered, his tone reluctant.
"What is it? And who's that behind you?"
"A visitor, Olanggamokya⋯ it's Kunuma, sir."
"What?" Olanggamokya frowned deeply. "At this hour of the night?"
"Nobody told me otherwise. He barged in without a word, saying he must see him right now."
Olanggamokya considered this for a moment. Kunuma held the rank of Zhihui under Lee Man-ju—but though they bore the same title, he was a far more semi-independent power than the likes of Maguulpa or Biriherimdon, who remained in Sorobirada and took orders directly. He was, in a word, a guest general—a man whose infamy rested on handling every manner of dirty work on Lee Man-ju's behalf. Where Biriherimdon openly wielded Lee Man-ju's whip, Kunuma worked from the shadows, planting knives in the backs of all who had earned Lee Man-ju's displeasure.
In short: even among their own side, he was not a man anyone cared to cross. In truth, he rarely associated with anyone but Lee Man-ju himself. So what could have brought him here, out of nowhere?
"We'd best let him in."
At Irongha's words, Olanggamokya nodded and stepped aside, one hand drifting to his sword hilt as he warily eyed Kunuma. Irongha slipped inside.
Lee Go-nap-hap was deep in dreamland, snoring like a broken bellows. Irongha approached his bedside and whispered.
"My lord. Dudu."
"Mm—hnngh."
Even half-asleep, Lee Go-nap-hap turned his head away in irritation. Irongha, left with no choice, shook him.
"Wh-what is it?" Lee Go-nap-hap mumbled, thick with sleep. "Irongha? It's still pitch dark—what do you want?"
"My lord, a visitor has come."
"In the middle of the night?" he snapped irritably. "Tell him to wait and come back tomorrow⋯"
"He insists on seeing you at once, my lord."
"What? Who in blazes is—"
Just as Lee Go-nap-hap was about to lose his temper, a voice cut in.
"It is I, Lord Kunaha. Kunuma."
Kunuma strode in with long, unhurried steps.
Irongha flinched. How did he get past Olanggamokya? If the man at the door was Kunuma, no one alive could have held him back—but there had not been a single sound from outside.
The name had apparently driven every trace of sleep from Lee Go-nap-hap as well.
"Zhihui Kunuma? What brings you here of all places?"
"Urgent business."
Lee Go-nap-hap swallowed dryly. He was barely acquainted with Kunuma—but the man was a Zhihui under the Dudu of Jianzhou Guard, which by rank at least made him a subordinate of Lee Go-nap-hap's. Of course, that was only on paper; Kunuma answered to Lee Man-ju's orders alone, so the relationship was rather ambiguous. Even so, Kunuma, as Lee Man-ju's man, would hardly treat Lee Man-ju's eldest son with outright contempt⋯
"You seem to have come a long way. Let's wet our throats first, shall we?"
Kunuma said nothing. Even with urgent business, he appeared to have no intention of refusing a drink offered in hospitality.
Lee Go-nap-hap hurried on. "Hey, Irongha. Go fetch us something to drink. Airag would do nicely. And move quickly—he's in a hurry, I'd wager."
"Yes, my lord."
Irongha rushed out—and froze in the doorway when he saw Olanggamokya. The guard was wedged between Samuhatu and Kumai, and his expression was sour indeed. In truth, the two had crept up silently, subdued him, and cleared the way for Kunuma to enter.
Irongha lowered his eyes and scurried off to the liquor store.
Now fully awake, Lee Go-nap-hap spoke first. "So. What is this business that brings you in the dead of night?"
"I hear you recently visited Anchuunbugu, my lord."
Lee Go-nap-hap winced at the question. Why would he bring that up out of nowhere?
"W-well, yes, but—"
Had Kunuma learned that he had tried to abduct Onyan Wol-yeong and been caught in the act?
Even if this cur knows, he wouldn't expose it—but he might try to use it against me.
An uneasiness crept over him like a chill. His botched attempt to seize Onyan Wol-yeong—being bested by her own handmaiden, and letting Tung Jugang and Temusi-i get their hands on a hold over him—was a shame he wanted buried six feet under. But what flowed from Kunuma's mouth was something else entirely.
"My younger brother was killed at Anchuunbugu some days ago. Did you know?"
"Your brother—you mean Bushuku?"
Kunuma nodded. For an instant, it seemed as though a flicker of something almost human passed across that cruel face.
"That's right. He lost his life."
"Good heavens—how?"
He asked, but privately Lee Go-nap-hap thought it plausible enough. The Kunuma–Bushuku brothers had shaken all of Jianzhou to its roots—but it was always Kunuma they feared. Bushuku might have matched his brother in viciousness, but in strength and command he fell far short. No one to be taken lightly, of course—but Jianzhou had warriors who could have handled him, and had it not been for Kunuma looming behind him, the man might have been hunted down long ago.
"Who dared kill your brother?"
Kunuma offered no real answer to that—only shook his head, bitter and empty.
"Have you any lead at all? If it concerns your brother, I'd set aside every pressing matter to help you."
"I caught one of the men who was with Bushuku. He died before he could speak a name."
Kunuma's brow furrowed. "He was muttering something like 'Temu-something.' Might you have crossed paths with anyone of that name at Anchuunbugu?"
"Temu-what?"
Lee Go-nap-hap's expression froze in an instant—for a piece of it fit perfectly. Temu-something, near Anchuunbugu! Who else could it be but that bastard Temusi-i?
He's the one who killed Bushuku?
Lee Go-nap-hap was startled, yet it rang true. Even if it had been a joint effort with Tung Jugang, the man had felled that enormous bear. If Tung Jugang had deemed him worthy of fighting alongside, then his martial prowess was no ordinary thing. And yet—he simply could not bring himself to believe that a pretty-faced Joseon fool had displayed such valor. Bushuku was no first-rate warrior like Kunuma, true, but he still possessed respectable strength. He would hardly have been cut down so pathetically by some nameless rabble.
Meanwhile, Kunuma's razor-sharp eye had not missed the ripple of recognition that flickered through Lee Go-nap-hap's gaze.
"You know something."
"Ah⋯ well, you see⋯"
Lee Go-nap-hap stalled—and at that very moment, Irongha came in carrying the wine skin.
"Forgive me, my lord. We drank nearly all of it at the banquet the other night, so⋯"
"No, no, it's fine! Just pour some," Lee Go-nap-hap said, flustered.
Ordinarily he would have snapped at how long it took to find one wretched wine skin—but not tonight. Irongha had walked in at the perfect moment, cutting the tension clean through. Bless this darling boy!
While Irongha carefully filled the cups, Lee Go-nap-hap organized his thoughts.
What to do⋯ do I come clean to Kunuma? Tell him it was Temusi-i who killed his brother?
Honestly, that option wasn't bad. Temusi-i was one of the men who knew his most closely guarded weakness. He hadn't used that secret to threaten him—yet. Who was to say he never would? Best to remove the uncertainty while he could.
But at the same time, he weighed what might go wrong. Look twice before you cross, as the saying goes. Even if Kunuma crushed Temusi-i, how would Onyan Wol-yeong and Tung Jugang take it? And if luck turned against him, the whole affair might be pinned on Lee Go-nap-hap himself as though he had done it—and his secret laid bare before all the world.
Kunuma paid no attention whatsoever to the airag brimming over in the cup before him.
"Lord Kunaha."
Kunuma spoke at last.
"If you know anything, tell me plainly. Hold nothing back."
"But of course."
Lee Go-nap-hap forced a laugh. "Not to boast, but I've handled many affairs under your father's command. Not all of them the sort one brags about openly—I'll admit—but such work is my trade, you might say."
The man certainly puts it delicately, Lee Go-nap-hap thought, suppressing the observation. Even he did not know the full extent of the deeds Kunuma committed on his father's behalf. A good number of them would remain a secret shared by Lee Man-ju and Kunuma alone until the grave. But even if only half the known rumors were true, Kunuma had more than earned his reputation as a thing to be feared.
"I never forget those who wrong me—but neither do I forget those who aid me, and I repay them, every debt. If you help me, my lord—"
Kunuma paused.
"—then you and I can be friends."
"Friends."
Lee Go-nap-hap swallowed dryly. His throat had gone so tight with tension that even swallowing was an ordeal.
Friends! He had no desire whatsoever to be friends with Kunuma—but the thought of making an enemy of him was infinitely worse. He mustered another strained smile.
"Friends. Yes—friends are good, very good."
"Good to me as well—if it's you, Lord Kunaha. Very well. Let us be friends, then."
Saying this, Kunuma raised his cup, and Lee Go-nap-hap lifted his to meet it. Kunuma brought his cup toward his lips—then stopped, dead still, mid-motion.
"But then⋯ friends ought to keep no secrets from one another. Isn't that so?"
Lee Go-nap-hap, who had been on the verge of touching the cup to his lips, nearly spat out his drink.
"B-but of course."
"Then tell me. Who killed my brother?"
Kunuma's one remaining eye bored into him, unblinking. Lee Go-nap-hap could not hold the gaze; he lowered his eyes, thinking to himself that the clouded, milk-white orb—ruined and gone blind—somehow seemed far more human than the sound one.
"Well⋯ I cannot say for certain," he hedged, weighing his gains and losses in a heartbeat, "but around that time, I did see a man called Temusi-i."
"Temusi-i!"
Light flashed in Kunuma's good eye. "Who is he?"
Having spent recent months wandering the frontier, Kunuma knew nothing of Hong-wi, whose name was on many lips in Hwangseongpyeong these days.
"A merchant from Joseon."
Lee Go-nap-hap gave him a rough account of the man. When he had heard it all, Kunuma snorted.
"My brother, cut down by a mere peddler? Absurd."
To Kunuma, a merchant was nothing more than the kind of wretch who trembled before a drawn blade and whined cravenly, take everything I own, only spare my life. It had never once crossed his mind that such men could take his brother's life.
But Lee Go-nap-hap had already formed a fair guess that it was indeed Hong-wi who had slain Bushuku. He now knew all too well that the young man's strength was no small thing. And above all—Bushuku had died while blockading Anchuunbugu, and now that same Hong-wi sat brazenly inside its walls. What else could that possibly mean?
Now—how do I turn this to my use?