云月之间
Chapter 1
Yeo Woon watched the men pick up the black parcels from the ground and move them to the ship's cargo bunk. He frowned at the thought of going to China. He hated the Chinese, for his fate was sealed with Heksachurong, which was founded by them.
"Cheon Ju, the goods are loaded," reported one of the men, bowing before him. Yeo Woon nodded and stepped on board. As the ship set sail, the glittering waves greeted his eyes and a light breeze whispered in his ears. Casting a reluctant look at Joseon, he headed for his quarters, trying to forget those he would be leaving behind temporarily.
Once on Chinese soil, Yeo Woon had his men send out the parcels to the Chinese lackeys of Pyongpan Hong Daeju. Then he sent them on their way back, while he prepared to infiltrate the Chinese population and learn more about the Pyongpan's extent of political power.
Emerging from the guesthouse dressed in a suit of dull grey civilian clothes, he spotted on of the Chinese minor lords rushing past in a hurry. Curious about his motives, Yeo Woon kept his distance and followed the minor lord.
The man entered a brothel in midday, much to Yeo Woon's surprise. Subsequently, some other minor lords entered, looking around surreptitiously. Without Guhyang's aid, Yeo Woon decided not to risk entering on the sly. He didn't trust the Chinese courtesans could be bought over by money, so he waited at a safe distance.
Before long, the minor lords dispersed. One of them picked a route leading out of the city towards the woods. Homing in on this man, Yeo Woon followed closely behind. The man began walking along a deserted mountain path that wound along a quiet lake. Without warning, the masked Yeo Woon struck out at the man.
"Tell me all you know," he hissed, the sword blade pressed against the man's throat. The man swore in Chinese and gulped hard, refusing to speak at first. Yeo Woon pressed the blade harder and a tiny trickle of blood ran down the edge of the blade.
"I'll speak!" squeaked the man. "Hong Daeju Pyongpan's gifts were received. The Heksachurong will now be watched even more closely because the Pyongpan doubts its credibility now that Cheon Ju is gone. He said that the new Cheon Ju is young and dubious…"
A sudden crunch of gravel down the road distracted both men for a moment. The Chinese man took advantage of this opportunity to try and flee. Yeo Woon made to go after him, but at that moment a peasant appeared along the path. The Chinese man grabbed the peasant and held a blade to her throat. "Let me go," he snarled, "or she dies!"
Before Yeo Woon could react, the peasant girl reached up and pulled the man's arm away from her neck. She dug her grubby nails into his skin and bit down on his flesh. Howling in pain, the man struck her on the back with his free hand. She refused to let go until his hand gave way and the blade fell to the ground. Shoving her to the ground, the man kicked her hard on her side. "Scum! Filthy rat!" he spat.
Yeo Woon struck out at the man, who fell back a few steps. Then all of a sudden, the man lunged at Yeo Woon, flicking something out of his hand. A small dart scratched Yeo Woon on the left shoulder, just below the collarbone. Angered by the man's audacity, he retaliated and drove his sword through the man's abdomen. When he stood up, the man was already dead.
The peasant had pushed herself off the ground into a sitting position. Yeo Woon turned around to silence her, but the scratch on his shoulder began to burn. The world spun and he found himself falling to the ground. His vision blurred as he tried to get up. Then everything went black.
The peasant gasped in shock, looking from the dead minor lord to the unconscious boy. Then she hastily got up, dragged the dead minor lord's body into the bushes and rolled it under a fallen tree. The blood on his clothes stained her hands and she was terrified, but she hated the cruel lord.
Next, she hurried back to the path. The unconscious boy's wound was bleeding, and his lips were turning pale. "Poison," she thought. It was the way some minor lords in their town used to get away in fights. The boy was still breathing, but she could not wake him up.
Ignoring the pain on her back and in her side, she managed to straddle him on her back. Then she hurried down the path, and took a small track off into the woods.