Chapter 81 - Gichukoksa [2]

Chapter 81: Gichukoksa [2]
It was after the third injection when the man opened his mouth.
After the second injection, his lips were moving but he was surely hesitating.
Ganghyuk wanted to make it sure, so he gave one more injection.
‘I stabbed the syringe without hesitation.’
Therefore, the man started to confess everything he knew.
Lee Hangbok and Jeong Cheol watched Ganghyuk making the magic with the smile of satisfaction.

Wonderful.


Yes, indeed.


You said that he did not say anything no matter what you did.


Yes, he was a real tough cookie.

Lee Hangbok exclaimed.
He was cold to the bone.
Hangbok brought people who were famous for torturing, but nobody succeeded.
He called Ganghyuk with the idea to clutch at straws, and he found that Ganghyuk was not a straw but a strong rope.

What is your name?

The man flinched at Ganghyuk’s inquiry.
Ganghyuk held the syringe in his hand.
He looked like a gangster rather than a doctor.
Nobody would think that he was a famous doctor in Suwon and son of Seungmun who was a high-ranking official and famous for his virtues.
His people were well worth seeing.
They were standing at the left and right side of Ganghyuk with swollen lips. They held balloons in their hands with angry faces.
Makbong moved his mouth secretly to remove hair in his mouth. Probably ox fur went in his mouth when he tried to inflate the balloon made of the scrotum.
It made the mood more grotesque.
‘Eui… Yeon…


Euiyeon?

The name did not ring a bell to Ganghyuk.
But Lee Hangbok was different.
He came closer to the man with shining eyes.

You are Euiyeon?


Yes.


I know Euieyon is a monk. You don’t look like a monk at all.

Hangbok was suspicious.

He is not ready to talk yet.

Ganghyuk tried to roll up his sleeve and pretended to measure his pulse.
The man shrieked with fear.

No, no. I am ready to talk. I am Euiyeon.

It seemed that he did not tell a lie.
Ganghyuk asked lifting his hair which was half loose and half tied.

Is there a monk who has long hair like you?


I let my hair grow since I met Scholar Jeong…


Scholar Jeong. Do you mean Jeong Yeorip?

Euiyeon hesitated to say for a while but he gave up protesting soon and nodded his head.
In his eyes, there was fear and despair.
Although he was fully conscious, he could not breathe. The pain and fear he had experienced were enormous. No matter what you expect, it might be higher than expected.
For him, Ganghyuk gave the cruelest torture.
If he used operation tools, it might give him wounds on the body but not in the mind.

Yes.


Why are you working as a Pyeonsu?

Euiyeon did not answer quickly.
Lee Hangbok could not hide his urgency but Ganghyuk did not.
He patiently waited for the answer, as he had had such experiences in the hospital.
Ganghyuk knew that the confession after long waiting was never a lie.

I…. We want to organize Daedonggye in Hanyang.

Daedonggye was the martial art group that was organized in Hwanghaedo and Jeollado.
It was very famous, so even Ganghyuk had heard of the name.
The face of Lee Hangbok became dark.
He did not think the Daedonggye was in Hanyang.
Ganghyuk continued interrogation staring at Eiyeon’s eyes.

Daedonggye! You organized a martial art group?


Yes, you are right.


Heum.

Ganghyuk nodded his head.
Thinking of Yeoni and Makbong, it was not difficult to disguise a martial art group as performance group.
Martial art training and practice for performance look similar.
It might be the most suitable way to disguise.

What is the size of the group?


Not that big. It is fewer than a 100.


Heo, one hundred…

Lee Hangbok shook his head.
If 100 people were already in Hanyang, it could make a serious incident.
If they have an insider in the palace, they could make the treason successful.
Jeong Yeorip still had many followers and friends in Dongin.
When he thought of this, he felt goosebumps on the skin.

Where are they now?

Lee Hangbok asked but the man could not give an answer instantly.
Instead he looked at Ganghyuk.
More specifically he looked at the syringe in Ganghyuk’s hand.

I don’t know because…. I have been in custody here for a long time.


You don’t now?


No, I am telling the truth. Please believe me.

It did not seem a lie.
Lee Hangbok took him at the marketplace some time ago.
Ganghyuk nodded his head and grabbed his shoulder.
As Ganghyuk was a big guy with a big hand, grabbing itself could be a threat.

What did you want to do with the martial art group? In Hanyang?


We wanted to open a new era by dethroning the stupid king.


Treason! You plan to commit a treacherous behavior, right?

Ganghyuk was really angry.
Seonjo was not a good monarch. He was an unable and irritating king, Ganghyuk thought. But a King is a King.
‘Are they crazy. Imjinwaeran is coming near and how can they think of treason? Of course, they do not know that they will have a war with Japan. But I cannot suppress my anger. Crazy guys.’
But Jeong Cheol and Lee Hangbok were angrier than Ganghyuk.
Jeong Cheol was fishy about the gills. His beard was trembling.

Treason, treason!

Jeong Cheol murmured clenching his fists.
Makbong and Dolseok were frightened, too.
They came here thinking that they would treat a patient.
They were embarrassed to know that they had to torture someone.
But now the man who was tortured said that he tried a treason.
It was not an ordinary thing.
Even though they were not noblemen and were very ignorant, they knew that they were involved with a fearful incident.
‘Can we live further?’
Ganghyuk opened his mouth slowly, while the two of them shuddered because of fearful thinking.
Ganghyuk spoke as calm as possible.
He had known that this would happen, so he was not much surprised.
His voice sounded natural and calm.

Lord, according to this guy, it is certain that Jeong Yeorip is planning a revolt.


Yes, yes. It owes much to you. Without you, we could not have an evidence…

Lee Hangbok was at a loss.

We should not stay here longer. We need to take him to Euigembu [Police to execute noblemen’s crime in Joseon] and report it to the King.

Jeong Cheol was a sophisticated and professional politician.
Although he was shocked by his confession, he knew what should be done first.

Ah, yes, Lord.


Yes, Ganghyuk. I will not forget your contribution. I will give you a good reward. Thank you.

Jeong Cheol did not forget to praise Ganghyuk as well as Lee Hangbok.

Thank you, Lord. I just did what I had to do.


Yes, yes.

Jeong Cheol called the servants who were waiting outside.
It was to take the man to Euigeumbu.
Ganghyuk asked Jeong Cheol while looking the man with a resigned look.

Lord…


Tell me…


It will not harm Lord Ryu Seongyong…


Yes, of course, I will keep my promise. Don’t worry.


Thank you, Lord.

Ganghyuk wanted to make it sure.
As the time changed, people who were prosecuted could be changed.
Ganghyuk gave a sigh of relief watching Jeong Cheol talking confidently.
If this incident affected Ryu Seongyong, it would make the situation worse. It would bring a national disaster.
‘The state may be destroyed.’
It did not take long to remove the man from the scene.
In a minute, all except Ganghyuk, Dolseok and Makbong left.
Dolseok was still frightened. But Makbong returned to his original status.

Sir, it is not a small thing.


No, it is really a big incident.

Ganghyuk knew that it would bring a massacre.
‘Does he think I am a dumb?’
Dolseok added, when Ganghyuk became to angry at him.

It is treason. I think you had better not visit Lord Ryu Seongyong for a while.


Oh.

Dolseok was very smart.
‘Yes, he is right. It is a power game between Dongin and Seoin… I do not need to be involved. Nobody will know about Yeoju… I need to make it secret.’
The probability for Yeoju to be identified as a relative of Yeorip was low but if it happened, the result would be disastrous.
As it is treason, she could be killed or exiled.

Yes, you are right.


Let’s escape here first.


Yes, let’s go.


Yes, sir.

The three of them hurried on their way.
Yeoni, Yeoju and the Flail were working as usual.
Yeoni was practicing her martial art, Yeoju was drawing and the Flail was doing house chores.

Ah, sir, you came back.

Yeoni and Yeoju greeted him with gladness.
Ganghyuk felt sorry for Yeoju.
Yeoju was at risk.

Eum, you two, come to the room.


Ah, yes.

Yeoni wiped sweat on her forehead and followed his order.
She had already laid down the wooden sword.

Yes, I will follow you soon.

Yeoju followed his order without a question.
She left the painting tools on the floor.

What should we do?

Dolseok asked rubbing his hands.

Eum

He did not feel hungry even though they did not eat much the whole day.
It might be because of guilt.
When he felt tired like this, chicken is the best solution.
‘We have flour now.’
He could manage to get it, but he did not have time to use it.

Fry chicken.


Ah! Yes.

Dolseok and Makbong were already accustomed to fried chicken.
They went to the back yard uttering cheers.
Some time later, there were shrieks of chickens.
Ganghyuk came into the room with smile.
Yeoju and Yeoni sat side by side.

Why did you call us?

Yeoju asked.
She noticed that something might happen from Ganghyuk’s eyes.

Eum

It was not easy for Ganghyuk to tell them that he had tortured someone before coming home.
He opened his mouth with hesitation.

I met someone today before I came home.


Whom?


Euiyeon. You have told me before…

Yeoju became frozen with the name.
There would be many Euiyeons in the world.
But there was only one Euiyeon that Ganghyuk and Yeoju knew together.
He was the one who joined Daedonggye and became a schemer of Jeong Yeorip.

Ah, yes.

Yeoju pretended to be good.

He confessed.


Confessed what?


Your uncle… Jeong Yeorip is planning a treason.


What?


Hiss. Quiet. Nobody knows that Jeong Yeorip is your uncle except three of us.


Ah. Yes.

Yeoju dropped her head.
She did not imagine her uncle was planning a treason.

Therefore, you must be careful. Yeoju. You must wear men’s clothes even in the house.


Yes, sir.


Yeoni, please find the place where she would hide in case of emergency.


Yes, sir.

Ganghyuk looked around the house.
It was quite a good one, as it belonged to the governor.
‘When the war arises, we should leave here.’
He wished that it would not come.
While Ganghyuk was wondering where he should go, people in Seoin were moving busily.
Jeong Cheol ordered.

Tell Hwanghaedo Gwanchalsa [Provincial Governor] Han Jun, Anak Gunsu (Chief of County) Lee Chuk, Jaeryeong Gunsu Park Chungggan, and Chincheon Gunsu Han Eungin to investigate and make a report of Jeong Yeorip and his fellows.