Chapter 76: Daedong-gye [2] The situation began to take a rather strange turn.
Kanghyeok looked back and forth between Byeon Sungbok and Yeoju in bewilderment.
The anger that had been surging through him vanished without a trace.
All that remained was sheer absurdity.
"What? You know him?"
Yeoju shook her head from side to side.
"No. I don't know him."
"Now that I've heard your voice, it really is Yeoju."
But Byeon Sungbok spoke with complete certainty.
He had already let go of Yeoju's pale, slender nape.
Because of that, he had noticed the syringe she had been preparing for her decisive strike, but he did not seem to care at all.
"Who are you?"
"Ah. Well, it would not be strange if you don't remember me."
There was something nostalgic in Byeon Sungbok's expression.
"But why are you here? Where is Brother Changgwon?"
"You know my father?"
It truly was a name she had not heard in a long time.
Though she repeated it to herself every day.
Even so, hearing it from someone else's mouth felt unfamiliar.
As if it belonged to someone very distant, or someone from a very long time ago.
"If I did not know Elder's younger brother, what would that make me? I even came to your house several times. Together with Elder."
"Elder...?"
Byeon Sungbok did not seem inclined to explain who this "Elder" was.
Judging by how quickly he changed the subject.
"Anyway, where is Brother Changgwon? Is he perhaps in Hanyang?"
"Mm."
Yeoju bit her lip, as if it pained her to speak further.
The sorrow that rose from her expression was so clear that even Byeon Sungbok did not dare step closer.
Taking advantage of that moment, Yeoni, who had been secretly edging around behind her, suddenly pulled Yeoju back and said,
"Milady, are you all right?"
"Ah. I'm fine."
Yeoju rubbed the bright red handprint left on the back of her neck.
Perhaps feeling a little guilty, Byeon Sungbok lowered his head at once.
"My apologies. I did not mean to."
"It's all right."
"But has something happened to Brother Changgwon?"
"Mm."
Yeoju bit her lip once more.
Only after her crimson lips had turned white and she had stayed silent for a long while did she finally speak.
"He died in the unrest that happened in Eotanmyeon this time."
"Huh. So something like that happened."
Judging from the way he sighed, they must have been fairly close.
At the very least, there was sorrow in that sigh.
"What a pity. He was a valuable man. Then why are you here dressed like that?"
Byeon Sungbok shook his head and pointed at Yeoju.
In truth, anyone who knew Yeoju's status could have asked that.
No matter how one looked at her, she was not dressed like a young lady from a noble household.
Yeoju looked down at her female physician's attire and answered,
"I've been learning medicine and drawing pictures."
"Hm. They did say you had a defiant streak since you were young."
"But if you studied together with my father, how have you come to associate with that sort of group?"
At Yeoju's words, Byeon Sungbok let out a booming laugh.
It was not the kind of laughter used to conceal embarrassment.
Rather, it was filled with reproach and ridicule toward the question itself.
"How could a mere woman understand a man's ambition?"
Even after saying something so arrogant, he kept laughing for quite a while.
He only stopped when he saw the patrol running toward them from the distance.
Judging by the way the torches were swaying here and there, there seemed to be more than one or two of them.
"Anyway, it was good to see you again after so long. I'll be going now."
With those words, Byeon Sungbok leaped away and vanished into the darkness.
He was not as swift as Yeoni, but he seemed extremely familiar with the surrounding terrain.
Seeing how he had already disappeared far away without a sound.
"We should leave too, for now."
"Yes, Young Master."
What good would come from running into the patrol for no reason?
This was not Suwon, Kanghyeok's own front yard.
It was better to avoid anything troublesome.
"Milady, get on my back."
Makbong turned his broad back toward Yeoju.
Given the situation, Yeoju did not try to refuse.
Her legs had already gone weak.
She would have had trouble even walking, let alone running.
"All right."
"Then let's run."
Kanghyeok bounded forward with his long legs.
Perhaps because he had been training in taekkyeon lately, his movements were definitely better than before.
There was no need to mention Yeoni.
Even Dolseok could at least keep up with Makbong carrying Yeoju.
The problem was Dorikkae, who was truly running as if his life depended on it.
"Those bastards. We lost them."
By the time the patrol came rushing over, no one was left there.
"Ah, what's this?"
"That looks strange."
There was only a single syringe lying on the ground, one of the ones Dolseok had prepared with measured pufferfish poison.
It had fallen during the chaos, and none of them had noticed.
"We should take it with us, just in case."
"Be careful. That thing's really sharp."
"Yeah. What, do you take me for an idiot? Of course I'll be careful."
"That's funny coming from the man who fell into the ditch yesterday."
"Haha. Come on now."
By the time the patrol went back carrying only that syringe, Kanghyeok and the others had already reached their lodging.
They had run back so fast that even Yeoju, who had been carried, was gasping for breath.
Dorikkae, who was already rather slow to begin with, looked like he would die if someone just poked him.
After taking a while to catch his breath, Kanghyeok muttered,
"We didn't really do anything wrong, but we still ran."
Come to think of it, they had only been on their way home late at night after treating Yi Hangbok's wife and planning to fry chicken.
Even if the patrol had caught them, they would have had plenty to say for themselves.
The thought that they had fled for no reason slowly crept into his mind.
But Dorikkae thought very differently.
"No, sir. Running first is the best choice."
"That's because you're a thief."
"No, what an unfair thing to say. I've washed my hands of that life now."
"You washed your hands of it? I'm the one who washed you clean."
"Well... even so, it's best not to get mixed up with people like that. Even if you did nothing wrong, once you get dragged in, suddenly you've done something wrong."
"Hm."
It was not exactly impossible to imagine.
Even in the twenty-first century, such things were not entirely unheard of.
In Joseon, one could safely say they happened all the time.
Especially to powerless commoners like Dorikkae.
As for me, I'm a nobleman, so it doesn't really matter that much.
And not just any ordinary nobleman.
Was his father not a nobleman famous enough that if one shouted his name in the marketplace right now, several people would immediately recognize it?
His father's disciples were still scattered all throughout the central ministries.
There was no need even to drag Seungmun into it.
Even considering Kanghyeok alone, there were quite a few noblemen with whom he was on familiar terms.
And not just any noblemen, but men whose names were enough to make anyone show respect.
Ah, come to think of it...
Kanghyeok looked over at Yeoju, who was catching her breath some distance away.
Ever since the name Jeong Yeo-rip had come up, she had seemed to be hiding something, but now it looked as if she was tied to him far more deeply than that.
Surely that man Byeon Sungbok held a fairly high position, if nothing else.
The fact that someone like him recognized Yeoju made the whole thing undeniably strange.
"By the way, Yeoju."
"Yes?"
"Who exactly was that man just now? How does he know Elder Jeong Changgwon?"
"I don't know very much either. But..."
Yeoju paused, still catching her breath.
Everyone, including Kanghyeok, waited for her to continue.
The degree varied, but all of them were curious.
"Since he kept referring to Elder, Jeong Yeo-rip..."
Yeoju stopped mid-sentence and closed her mouth again.
If it were anyone else, I'd have smacked the back of their head off by now.
Kanghyeok suppressed the rising curiosity and irritation and waited calmly.
Fortunately, the wait was not long.
After swallowing once, Yeoju continued,
"I think he serves under the man who would be my eldest uncle."
"Jeong Yeo-rip is your eldest uncle?"
"Shh. What if someone hears you?"
"That's true. Have you heard anything else?"
Kanghyeok's face turned serious as he repeated the name to himself.
Jeong Yeo-rip. Jeong Yeo-rip...
So the man who would soon die for plotting treason was none other than Jeong Changgwon's elder brother.
Which also made him Yeoju's uncle.
A chill ran down his spine.
"I don't know much either. Father rarely spoke of my eldest uncle."
"I see."
Yeoju did not easily let her guard down.
Instead, she looked around in every direction with a stiff expression.
Even though the night was already deep enough that not even the slightest human sound could be heard.
Only the rough breathing of their group echoed through the yard.
"My father always said my eldest uncle was a dangerous man. He also said it was a pity, because he was a man of ability, but difficult to draw close to. He was not someone who spoke carelessly, so I thought it best to be cautious."
Even while speaking only briefly, Yeoju kept watching the others' reactions.
In particular, her gaze toward Dorikkae, who had joined them only recently, was full of worry.
She seemed afraid he might go out somewhere and let something slip.
To Kanghyeok, it all looked like pointless worry.
That idiot's several times more ignorant than I am... and he's a thief himself.
He was exactly the sort of man who already had enough on his own plate.
But Kanghyeok was not cold-hearted enough to simply ignore the concern of those around him.
"All right. I understand. Let's talk in the room for now. Dolseok, take Dorikkae and the others and go to sleep first."
"Ah, yes, yes, Young Master."
After all the commotion, their appetites had vanished as well.
No one brought up fried chicken.
They simply obeyed Kanghyeok's order in silence.
Kanghyeok went into the room with Yeoju.
The only one who followed them inside was Yeoni.
"Whew."
By the lamplight, Yeoju's face was still clouded with worry.
Yeoni's expression darkened with it.
"Milady, is your neck all right?"
"Ah... yes. It's just a little sore."
"Let me take a look."
Only after examining Yeoju's neck from several angles did Yeoni let out a sigh of relief.
"Still, it's fortunate it ended there. We should not have let that bastard go."
"Don't blame yourself. If it weren't for you, something serious could have happened."
After praising Yeoni for her service, Kanghyeok went straight to the point.
"All right. Tell me about your eldest uncle. I don't think Yi Hangbok was being sensitive for no reason."
Even if Kanghyeok did not possess vast historical knowledge, he was still exceptionally quick-witted.
Judging by how everything was unfolding, this man Jeong Yeo-rip was clearly a problem.
There was no telling what kind of butterfly effect this chance encounter might create.
It might even bring the Gichuk Purge forward.
If things go wrong, this could become a real disaster.
Kanghyeok reminded himself that this was still an era when guilt by association existed.
"Yes. I can trust you and Yeoni. I will tell you everything I know."
Yeoju spoke while looking back and forth between Kanghyeok and Yeoni.
From her point of view, there were probably few people left in the world she could trust and rely on as much as these two.
From the moment she first injured her foot until now, when she had become an orphan with nowhere to turn, they had remained the same.
"My eldest uncle... that is, Jeong Yeo-rip, is a man who advocates Hasa Bigunron and the Theory that All Under Heaven Is a Public Thing."
She had clearly gathered great resolve to confess this, but unfortunately neither Kanghyeok nor Yeoni understood a word of it.
Fortunately, Yeoju already knew that Kanghyeok's learning did not run especially deep, so she immediately began to explain.
"Hasa Bigunron means that the saying 'a loyal subject does not serve two rulers' applies only temporarily at the moment when that king dies. In other words, why should anyone not be able to become king, no matter whom they serve?"
"Mm. Depending on how you hear it, that does sound quite dangerous."
"As for the Theory that All Under Heaven Is a Public Thing... all under heaven, that is, the state, is a public thing that should belong equally to everyone, so how could it possibly have one fixed owner?"
"Oh."
That sounded almost like outright treason.
It was enough to make Kanghyeok wonder whether this man Jeong Yeo-rip had somehow gone and learned democracy somewhere.
If so, then he was definitely the same Jeong Yeo-rip at the center of the Gichuk Purge.
"And he goes around talking about things like that openly?"
"I don't think so. But that man we met earlier, Byeon Sungbok, probably shares his ideals. Daedong-gye must surely be that kind of organization."
"Mm..."
Now that he heard it, it made sense why Yeoju had been so careful with her words.
This was not the sort of thing one could casually speak of anywhere.
No matter how powerful one's backing might be.
A single misstep could sink even that backing along with it.
"All right. It would be best to be careful. It may even help that you're going around in disguise here."
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