Night had grown deep.The prison had fallen silent.

  Half-asleep, Yeong-woo drifted into a dream.

  He was on the road back to his hometown.Across a hill thick with green grass, Ok-i ran ahead of him.

  The wind stirred gently, and above it the sky stretched wide and clear.White clouds floated slowly, and the birds by the water looked even whiter than the clouds.

  Something felt wrong.

  His throat was dry.

  He bent down toward the stream to drink, but a black shadow suddenly fell across the water.He turned just as a huge scarecrow-like figure lunged toward him.

  Cursing, he rolled over.

  Then a strange sound came from across the cell.

  In the dim lantern light, a wavering shadow raised a sword and stabbed down onto the bedding where he had supposedly been sleeping.

  “—!”

  Yeong-woo clamped a hand over his mouth.

  The fool struck the bed once with the blade and hurried away.

  In the shifting space between darkness and lantern light, Yeong-woo caught a glimpse of the man’s face.

  He was certain.

  A man sent by Park Cheol-gu.

  A chill ran down his spine.

  “Why go this far…?”

  No.

  Park Cheol-gu was certainly a vile man, but he wasn’t clever enough for something like this.

  Then… who?

  A thought suddenly crossed Yeong-woo’s mind.

  One of Seo Ui-taek’s men.

  That clumsy movement… that round, fleshy face…It reminded him of one of the men under Seo Ui-taek.

  There was a man among them who would carry out absolutely anything Seo ordered.

  Kill me.

  And place the blame on Park Cheol-gu.

  Seo Ui-taek stood a step above him.

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  In the end, that vicious man would defeat the timid Park Cheol-gu.

  Yeong-woo stared at the place where his “substitute body” had been stabbed and let out a quiet sigh.

  Despite everything, sleep crept back over him.

  The medicine.

  Everything felt bothersome.

  It might not be so bad to simply die like this.

  For now…

  Sleep.

  At dawn, chaos broke out.

  “They say there’s a sword stuck in Yeong-woo’s neck!”

  So Cheol-ryong from the next cell had seen it through the prison bars and shouted.

  A guard came to check, glanced once, and left with a snort.

  “Whoever’s prank this is, it’s a pretty harsh threat.”

  Then he walked away.

  Yeong-woo remained asleep, completely unaware.

  He had decided to leave the sword where it was.If it looked like the job had succeeded, the assassin might not come back.

  Baek In-gyeom, who had returned after a night battle, came to confirm the situation and sighed deeply.

  Even without seeing or hearing everything, the sequence of events was obvious.

  Han Ji-won had summoned Park Cheol-gu.

  Park Cheol-gu looked half-dead from exhaustion after spending the night fending off Jurchen raids.

  “Why did you stick a sword into the armor around his neck?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “There’s no one else with a motive.”

  Park Cheol-gu bit his lip.

  “If someone would benefit from that bastard’s death, then the answer is obvious. My rival. My enemy. Seo Ui-taek must have sent him.”

  “You’re saying it wasn’t you?” Han Ji-won asked.

  Park Cheol-gu’s temper flared.

  “We were harassed by the enemy all night. We barely had any men left. Do you know how hard that was?”

  “Then why did you send soldiers to their deaths?”

  “I was ordered to! Do you think I decided that myself?”

  “So you follow every order blindly?”

  “In my view, the Seo faction did this.”

  “Do you have proof?”

  “Proof? In matters like this, what proof could there be? I’m more certain than proof.”

  “Don’t move recklessly without evidence. Hoeryeong Fortress… well… you could call it a den of snakes.”

  It was the judgment of a sage.

  Han Ji-won held no official rank, merely a martial man with no formal position, yet his words were correct.

  If one acted rashly on suspicion, it would only play into the Seo faction’s hands.

  “I understand. But why summon me?”

  “I’m not concerned about you. I’m worried about those innocent young soldiers.”

  Yet Park Cheol-gu smirked to himself.

  I hadn’t even thought of that method.

  There’s always something to learn.

  Why did I struggle so much?

  If you want someone dead, just kill them quietly.

  Of course it would be a crime.

  But if no one could trace it back to you… what difference would it make?

  Perhaps Han Ji-won had sensed those thoughts.

  As he stood to leave, he added one more warning.

  “Do not cause any more trouble. Lord Baek In-gyeom is watching.”

  “Baek-gong?”

  “Yes. That’s why I came.”

  Park Cheol-gu’s large mouth twitched.

  Baek-gong was the leader of the sages.

  It was said that the sages respected him greatly—and that even the king himself knew him well.

  If only those men would take my side.

  But that would never happen.

  After what happened at the South Gate, their trust in me must have hit rock bottom.

  A thought crossed his mind.

  What if I simply killed Seo Ui-taek myself?

  Not now.

  But someday… on the battlefield…

  A quiet death could easily be arranged.

  For the time being,

  he would do nothing.