156.Please say something that makes sense
"So that bastard likes wine, women, and the Supreme General, does he.
His hometown is Huaiyin.
And he can fight a bit."
"Yes."
"There's no one who doesn't like those things."
"He likes them especially.
He's not even riding on horseback right now but in a carriage, and it's loaded with women."
After listening to Sowoon's explanation, Yang Johwi roughly organized the man's traits in his head.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt it sounded similar to himself.
He liked wine, liked to play around.
Of course, who didn't?
But there was a vast difference between indulging after finishing one's duties and making indulgence itself into one's work.
"Then he's just like me.
I like wine and women too, and I also like the Supreme General very much…"
"Please say something that makes sense, Uncle."
Sowoon smiled brightly and cut off the nonsense.
The two stood at the edge of a green forest overlooking the open fields below, stretching their necks to peer down.
"Fine… I was joking.
So what are you going to do?"
Swaying slightly on horseback, Sowoon rested a finger against his chin and appeared deep in thought.
Then he spoke, half to himself, half as if persuading Yang Johwi.
"I think we should lure him.
If we set out wine and women and make it look like the Supreme General is there enjoying himself, he'll rush in with only a small escort to kill the General and take the women, won't he.
That's when we strike.
If we place what he loves along the road ahead, he'll slip out of formation.
They say he especially loves women and wine."
Yang Johwi snorted.
It was an absurdly naïve conclusion, yet there was a strange sincerity in Sowoon's tone that made it seem not entirely impossible.
Still, it wasn't as though only Jang Sigi liked such things.
In his innocence, Sowoon seemed convinced that not all grown men were like that—only Jang Sigi.
He believed that if everything were arranged perfectly to suit the man's appetite, he would come drooling straight into the trap.
Yang Johwi tried to explain that this was simply common human weakness, not a fatal flaw unique to their enemy.
But Sowoon would not be swayed.
He spoke as though he had uncovered a decisive vulnerability.
"Say something reasonable, Scholar Yu.
Do you think the Supreme General is that kind of man.
You've been brooding so much your brains are rotting out of your skull.
If luring the enemy were that easy, no one would ever lose a war."
"Right.
It's absurd, isn't it?"
"Yes.
Still, what you've gathered may help.
What was his weapon again?
His main one.
His killing technique."
"A spear, they say.
The tip is alive.
Like a snake…"
"A snake-spear?"
"What's that?"
"A long time ago there was something called a snake-spear.
It's no longer seen.
The tip moved in ways that were hard to evade, and it was nearly impossible to predict where it would strike.
Martial artists exaggerate, so take it with caution, but they say if mastered it surpassed the Yang family spear technique.
It's the complete opposite of what we learned.
We strike strong and straight, breaking through head-on.
The snake-spear is different.
It wavers lightly and aims for vital points.
Like a rat."
"What's the counter?"
"Close in.
If you stay at range it's troublesome, but once you enter striking distance it's said to be nothing special.
That's why snake-spear users develop exceptional footwork.
You have to cripple the feet before the spear.
It sounds absurd, but that's the idea.
Provoke from outside range, then when the chance comes, close the distance and—crack… crack."
Yang Johwi gestured with both hands and leaned forward as if smashing an invisible opponent's forehead.
He described strengths, weaknesses, and counters with such realism that he looked as though he could win a tournament of sparring himself.
"Ah… Uncle, that's impressive.
It already feels like we've beaten him.
But why does he like the Supreme General so much?
Or rather, why is he so desperate to kill him?"
"He's a sunflower.
You know what that means.
In most households it's the same.
A man who flatters those above him and tramples everyone below.
He wants to step on the Supreme General to rise higher.
This world is a paradise of sunflowers.
Even without ability or results, if you have enough of that nature, you survive and climb.
Though it's deadly to any organization."
Yang Johwi sighed and looked up at the sky.
It was absurdly blue and peaceful.
War felt unreal under such calm.
If not for this task, he would have liked to lie on the grass, drink a cup of wine, and doze.
"Then he must have plenty of bluster too."
"Of course.
Men like that usually do.
They understand the taste of power and how to wield what little authority they're given.
But their real competence is lacking.
They're political, eloquent, and full of swagger.
On the surface, perfectly polite."
Sowoon fell silent, thinking.
It was best to leave him alone at such times.
Yang Johwi was the kind who thought while speaking, spoke while thinking, and refined his conclusions through the act of talking.
A villain who loved wine and women and wielded a spear well was striving to rise.
If they created the opportunity for that rise and added the women he coveted as bait…
He would step into the trap.
After whispering together for some time, the two gathered large sackcloth bundles and heavy armor for disguise and set off.
Ga Gyeongpil offered to send three more men with them, but they declined and went alone.
The plan was crude, the conversation no better.
At first hearing it seemed impossible.
Yet there was no reason to stop them.
It required only two men.
Perhaps it was even worth encouraging.
And the fact that one of them was a master of the Hwagyeong realm inspired a strange confidence.
When a Hwagyeong master moved, trust seemed to follow of its own accord.