Chapter 9 

“So, you truly never suspected a thing not even in your dreams! Everyone was in on it except you! Even if you devote your pitiful loyalty, all that noble person desires is your body. What use is your devotion? Your predicament is truly a spectacle! Even a hunting dog that has outlived its usefulness is disposed of with more dignity. What awaits you will be worse than paenghyeong!”¹

“General! It’s getting late!”

At that moment, the adjutant hurriedly cut in. Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, he grabbed General Tae’s sleeve.

They had already dismissed the ears of the Military Camp Office,² but General Tae was gradually crossing the line. In particular, insulting the Imperial Prince³ was the sort of reckless gamble that could cost him his life.

Only then did the rage consuming General Tae’s eyes begin to subside.

Before the general could even judge how much he had already revealed, Dam Yun walked toward him with slow, measured steps.

Despite the horrific wound on his arm, his movements did not waver in the slightest. With every step, blood dripped from his fingertips, each crimson drop carrying an overwhelming sense of menace.

“You…!”

General Tae felt as though he were suffocating.

The fear that had faded as Dam Yun walked away now surged back with renewed force.

But Dam Yun was not approaching him.

Instead, he headed into the inner chamber.

With his uninjured right hand, he lifted the overturned table that had been thrown aside just as General Tae himself had been earlier.

Then he hurled it.

Crash!

The antique display cabinet that General Tae treasured shattered into countless pieces.

General Tae’s clenched jaw trembled.

He opened his mouth to shout, but the shadow of Dam Yun, who had already stepped back before him, crushed his courage. Only a weak gasp escaped.

“So, you were planning to gift me a new Bihyu ornament.⁴”

Dam Yun’s voice fell calmly over General Tae, who was half-slumped against the floor.

Its tone was utterly devoid of emotion.

“I’ll consider this advance payment.”

He looked down at the defeated man.

“You’ve provided me with rather useful information. Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

General Tae’s face gradually turned ashen.

The adjutant lowered his gaze as he bit his lip.

Indeed, mentioning the Imperial Prince’s secret intentions had been a grave mistake.

A choking breath mixed with bloody phlegm burst from General Tae’s throat.

Unable to withstand the crushing mental and physical strain any longer, his eyes rolled back.

Foaming blood spilled from his lips as he finally lost consciousness.

*

“Commander Bangryeong, are you alright?”

The soldiers, who had just finished holding a simple memorial rite for those who never returned from the wasteland, looked toward Dam Yun. Their trembling gazes settled on the blood still dripping from his arm.

“It’s nothing.”

Still concealing the stream of blood soaking his sleeve, Dam Yun returned to the Central Quarters with Miseol.

The moment he entered his residence, he collapsed onto the floor, leaning blankly against the wall.

The guilt over the soldiers who had died…

The words General Tae had spoken…

Everything came crashing down upon him at once.

His heart felt hopelessly lost, and exhaustion weighed upon every inch of his body.

“Please, give me your arm.”

Meanwhile, Miseol had gathered everything needed for treatment.

She neatly folded her hands and quietly chanted as she performed Saenggeumsul, a healing technique.

A cool, soothing energy spread across the throbbing wound as his pulse steadied.

The blood he had lost was replenished, and the torn flesh ceased opening further, yet it remained a grievous injury.

Though he knew alcohol would only worsen the wound, Dam Yun still raised the cup.

It had been brought by Miseol.

The rice wine was the bitterest he had ever tasted.

It scraped across his tongue and throat before burning its way into his stomach.

“We need to treat the wound properly. I’ll do everything I can, but as you know, my techniques are still lacking.”

She carefully inspected the injury.

“I’ve only managed to seal the surface. Please be careful.”

Following her instructions, Dam Yun removed his blood-soaked clothing.

She wrapped the wound tightly with thick cloth before finishing the bandaging.

Her hands moved swiftly as she spread fragrant medicinal oil across his skin.

The rich floral scent one Lady Damga disliked filled the room, bringing with it an unpleasant wave of drowsiness.

“It is already past the Hour of Yu. That honoured person is waiting for you.”

Even through his overwhelming fatigue, Dam Yun frowned.

Come to think of it, he would have to pay his respects to the Imperial Prince almost immediately.

Yet the things General Tae had said remained completely unresolved in his mind.

Despite the turmoil within him, his exhausted body refused to move.

Miseol gently laid him upon the bed.

Rows of Bihyu ornaments silently watched over the two of them.

Miseol was not a Bihyu…

Yet in the darkness, her eyes seemed to glow faintly.

As Dam Yun stared into those strangely luminous eyes, the last thread of consciousness he had been clinging to finally snapped.

Slowly…

He drifted into sleep.

*

Today, the Bihyu that came to greet him possessed unusually deep-coloured fur.

One moment it resembled dark storm clouds.

The next, it was as white as the down feathers of a young crane.

Resting comfortably upon its soft back, Dam Yun rode toward Yumongru.

By the time they arrived at the mysterious pavilion, Mokjin was already waiting at the entrance.

Without hesitation, Mokjin lifted Dam Yun into his arms and hurried inside.

Dam Yun, still dazed, looked around at the twisted interior.

The ancient Yumongru, a place he had visited for years, appeared even stranger today warped and distorted in ways he had never noticed before.

“I missed you.”

 

They had been apart for only a single night, yet Mokjin’s voice sounded unusually deep.

Had it been the usual Dam Yun, he would have laughed lightly and replied, “Your teasing has gone too far,” closing the distance between them with casual banter.

But today, Dam Yun chose silence.

The overwhelming affection Mokjin lavished upon him and the hidden truth behind that affection, revealed by General Tae, shattered into fragments that pierced painfully at his heart.

Mokjin continued.

“Perhaps it would have been better if we had not seen each other for a while. Seeing you every day has only made my longing grow deeper. The moment I sent you away yesterday, I nearly ordered a Bihyu to bring you back. Before long, I may simply have to drag you here before dawn and keep you by my side. Only then will I be satisfied.”

As he whispered, a gentle hand slipped around the back of Dam Yun’s neck.

Dam Yun forced himself to suppress the revulsion rising within him.

“Even a hunting dog that has outlived its usefulness is disposed of with more dignity. What awaits you will be worse than paenghyeong!”

General Tae’s mocking words crashed through his mind like thunder.

“The scent of flowers is rather strong today.”

At Mokjin’s quiet remark, Dam Yun remembered the fragrant oil Miseol had carefully applied before he had fallen asleep.

One’s appearance within Mongro usually reflected the state they were in just before falling asleep.

Not only one’s clothing

Even one’s scent.

The fragrance Miseol had applied was Uiranhyang .

Among the many extravagant gifts that the Dam household eagerly seized for themselves, this perfume was one of the few that had somehow remained with Dam Yun.

The reason was Lady Tae’s firm refusal to allow such an alluring fragrance, one meant only for the bedchamber inside the family’s respectable household.

Miseol had merely used it to conceal the smell of blood that clung to Dam Yun’s wounds.

She had not wanted the Imperial Prince to notice his injuries and become concerned.

It was exactly the sort of thoughtful consideration unique to Miseol.

Suddenly, Dam Yun narrowed his eyes.

A faint sense of unease brushed against the corner of his mind.

Like trying to peer through layers of dense mist, he searched for the source of that vague feeling.

Then “It is stronger than usual today.”

Mokjin exhaled warmly, as though intoxicated by the fragrance.

A perfume reserved for the bedchamber.

Remembering Lady Tae’s harsh criticism of it, Dam Yun instinctively stepped back.

But the strong arm around him refused to let go.

Through the closeness of their bodies, he could clearly feel Mokjin’s undisguised arousal.

The discomfort that had nowhere to escape finally reached its limit.

Unable to endure it any longer, Dam Yun shoved the Imperial Prince away.

No matter how exceptional a martial artist Mokjin might be, he could not overpower someone as naturally gifted as Dam Yun.

Caught completely off guard, Mokjin raised his voice in surprise.

“So-yun.”

“Is it true… that you ordered the soldiers to be offered as sacrifices?”

Mokjin did not answer immediately.

The gentle smile that had always resembled a warm spring breeze disappeared.

Instead, he simply looked down at Dam Yun with eyes as cold as frost.

Within that merciless silence…

Dam Yun found his answer.

Deep down, perhaps he had wanted to believe otherwise.

When General Tae had first spoken those cruel words, Dam Yun’s first instinct had been denial.

That can’t be true.

After everything we’ve shared… Mokjin would never betray me.

No matter how different their values might have been, Mokjin had always cared for him in countless ways.

And Dam Yun, in turn, had sincerely respected and trusted him.

“…Yes.”

A brief answer escaped with a sigh.

There was no trace of guilt on Mokjin’s face.

Instead, only unwavering resolve…

And the faint dissatisfaction of someone who believed Dam Yun simply failed to understand him.

“Cheonrang delivered an oracle.”

He spoke calmly.

“It foretold that evil spirits would appear upon the wasteland. Human lives would have to be offered as temporary sacrifices to avert the coming disaster.”

His explanation sounded absurd to Dam Yun.

Offer human sacrifices…

Purchase several years of peace…

Then allow Cheonrang to restore its divine authority before destroying the evil spirits…

Wasn’t humanity supposed to worship divine beasts like Cheonrang precisely to avoid making such sacrifices?

Perhaps sensing the resentment hanging silently between them, Mokjin spoke again, almost as though defending himself.

“So-yun.”

“Aren’t you standing here safe and unharmed?”

“I promised that I alone would protect you.”

“Do you have any idea how many measures I took to ensure that promise?”

Dam Yun bit down hard on his lip.

Not only had Mokjin dragged him into this cruel ritual of human sacrifice…

Now he was making it sound as though everything had been done for Dam Yun’s sake.

“I know.”

“It was your own desire that brought me into all of this.”

“I heard everything from General Tae.”

“You’ve already concluded marriage negotiations⁶ with the Dam family.”

“You’re planning to make Dam Sosa⁷ your Cheongwi…”

“…and take me as your secondary consort.⁹”

For the first time Mokjin’s eyes trembled.

Born with Cheonrang’s most exalted bloodline, Mokjin had never needed to earn another person’s heart.

He simply commanded…

And took what he desired.

That was why he had patiently waited all these years, hoping Dam Yun would one day confess his own feelings first.

“I don’t care who receives the title of Cheongwi.”

“But as for my own future…”

“I will never obey.”

His sincerity was repaid with what felt like betrayal.

Fury surged inside Mokjin, though he forced his expression to remain calm.

“…I see.”

“In truth, I was rather pleased that you belonged to the Dam family’s collateral branch.”¹

Yet there was no hiding the obsession that had consumed him for so many years.

It trembled unmistakably within his voice.

“Even if I were to ascend above all others and rule this nation…”

“…if I took the heroic Cheongwi as my secondary consort, every minister in the court would oppose it.”

In other words it was far easier to take the insignificant illegitimate son of a newly risen military clan as a secondary consort than to claim the nation’s celebrated hero.

“Didn’t you also wish to escape forever from nothing more than the empty name of ‘Dam Sosa’?”

Mokjin ended the conversation coldly.

Only then did Dam Yun finally realise…

Every cruel word General Tae had spoken had been the truth.

Even the remark that a hunting dog destined to be boiled and eaten after the hunt had a better fate.

To become the unwanted secondary consort of someone he did not love…

To spend the rest of his life imprisoned once more…

For a fleeting moment, Dam Yun thought death itself might be the kinder ending.

 

Footnotes 

1. Paenghyeong (팽형) – An archaic and extremely humiliating form of execution or punishment, often used metaphorically for a fate worse than death.
   
2. Hour of Yu (유시) – A traditional East Asian time period, approximately 5:00–7:00 p.m.