Secret of the Two Kings (89 CHAPTERS - ON HOLD)

제 9 부

Dae Wong and his men jumped to their horses and immediately rocketed to the public market. The hands of time were ticking so fast as if it had a terrible sting from a queen bee. (Ahhhhh! It's itchy, it's swelling. Heeeeelp!) To hold it from its hysterical tantrums, they needed to catch it by the whip and noose its neck. Down boy. My, my. We need to arrive at the palace before the ceremony (at least, someone was claiming it.)

When they were a few gallops past the north entrance of the public market, the quickest route to the palace, their journey came to a sudden halt when a group of riders surfaced from the thick bushes and blocked their way. Thankfully, their bodies did not eject from the saddles when the horses abruptly stopped in a screech. Neiggggghhhh!

"Chil Yook." mumbled Dae Wong. He knew that the devil was on the tip of their trail, sniffing their musk like a wild hyena.

"In a rush, Minister?" Chil Yook asked, grinning.

Dae Wong's eyes narrowed into an extreme rage. He imagined Chil Yook in his purest white robe, his head wrapped in a black silk cloth, hands tied, and lining up with other nation criminals ready to be hanged in public. "Get out of the way! You tricked us! All of you!"

Clueless with what the minister said, Chil Yook wondered in silence. Tricked? What does that mean? Does it mean that he talked to that monk already? He scrutinized Dae Wong's snarling face, a delightful sight indeed, and the devious plan would come to action. Change of plan. I need to stop him from talking to the King.

"You need to answer to the King!" Dae Wong roared.

Chil Yook's lips pursed into a thin line. He pulled his sword and jumped down from the horse. The nangdos (yellow and red) followed with instincts and pulled their swords, ready to defend their masters in an alert standing position. Dae Wong remained on the saddle, his hands sweating, his grip to the whip tightening.

"Step back, My Lord. We got this!" a yellow nangdo assured.

"Minister, we both have orders to follow. I shall not be compassionate this time," warned Chil Yook.

"My, my. So will I."

The Grand Marshal twitched his sword and dashed to Dae Wong, his body whirling like a cyclone. One of the minister's nangdos slid in quick reflex. He swung his sword upward and fought the death scheduler. Quite a struggle for the juvenile. His arms were shaking and bending in resistance like a bamboo tree amidst a storm; his legs were faltering, losing its balance. Their intersected swords formed an unstable X mark. Chil Yook goggled into his neck like an eagle targeting his favorite monkey, and he stroke it with his palm. The nangdo fell on the ground in a thump and lost his awake moment.

Dae Wong's breath heaved to his throat in that horrific moment, his gastric juice rising to his mouth. The other nangdo rushed to his mate and checked his condition. Of course, he was alive. Jung Ho had made himself clearer than the cumulus-deprived sky. Not a drop of blood was compulsory.

Chil Yook walked forward, with his mocking, self-absorbed smile, to the minister. "Listen, Lord Dae Wong. I hated to do that in front of you. A noble, respectable man like you shouldn't have seen that. But you left me with no choice. Any barrier should be moved out of our ways for us to move gracefully, shouldn't we?. I was just honoring my master's little favor." Part of his statement was a lie. He would hook the moon for the Prime Minister and serve it in a golden plate with a glass of a centenarian wine—come what may, but this time—Lady Jang was on the top of his million-motive list. She would die if he failed, and for that, he would never forgive himself. "Why, bloodshed is not necessary. Since you're making it hard for me to do my job, I'm afraid I cannot promise. Let me give you an unsolicited, yet important advice. Give me that almanac, and we are through."