Surviving the Romance Fantasy

As soon as Cheong Jin-myeong finished speaking, disciple Sim Sang-gon kicked him in the stomach and knocked him out.

He stomped on Cheong Jin-myeong a few more times, kicking up dust on the dirt floor, and then spoke in an exasperated voice.

“Do you think I’m playing house right now? what? Are you saying I’ll just close my eyes and move on? Are you going to do your job relying on that kind of recognition? “Do you even realize the gravity of what we are doing?”

– Puck, puck, poop.

Even though Cheong Jin-myeong was being trampled on, he somehow managed to get up and return to an upright posture.

Mun Ha-gwan, who was exhaling in a huff, grabbed Cheong Jin-myeong by the collar and said,

“It’s not like he doesn’t know that if he even opens his mouth, everyone will die.”

“hehehe… hehehe…”

“Right now we need to find out how he knows about the upcoming big event. And kill him.”

“It’s a sad thing to tell you, but…”

Cheong Jin-myeong, covered in dust, barely managed to answer.

“I can’t kill him. “He was an opponent whose level was so high that it was impossible to catch him off guard.”

“I can’t believe you took this pathetic bastard of mine and tried to do something about it. “This is truly my biggest mistake.”

The scholar lifted Cheong Jin-myeong’s cheek a few more times and threw the bamboo fan he was holding on the floor as if his anger did not go away.

“Whew… right… I shouldn’t have had such high expectations from a guy who used to catch ghosts in the first place.”

“…”

“Ha… Okay, I apologize. “I lost my mind for a moment.”

The scholar, who had finally regained his senses, stroked his head a few times and shook Cheong Jin-myeong’s shoulder several times.

Scholar Sim Sang-gon was always like this.

If there was something he didn’t like, he would beat him up over and over again, only to come to his senses later and comfort him.

Although he was not a good person to follow, Cheong Jin-myeong did not have much of a choice.

“Yes… Considering the situation of Black Moon University, who lost their hometown and wanders around, everything should not have come to nothing.”

Sim Sang-gon, a scholar, made a promise to Captain Blackwold.

After everything is done, Black Moon becomes a high treason criminal. Instead, it was decided to provide them with a ship heading to a distant, foreign land and to give them a large amount of gold, enough to clear new land and make it their home.

Of this, 30% had already been paid in advance, and more than half of the ships were in the possession of the Black Moon Team members. Now, if they could somehow receive the remaining balance, the members of the Black Moon Team could live a new life.

I can’t let the Black Moon Team members, who were my hometown colleagues, live forever while chopping down ghosts and weighing their lives.

That is why Black Moon Captain Cheong Jin-myeong chose to assassinate Prince Xuanyuan as the last mission of his life.

“However, if I do things this way, I will have no choice but to lose my mind. You too need to come to your senses. Isn’t it impossible to pass away in vain like your wife or daughter? How long do you plan to live your life by doing something like catching ghosts?”

When the story of his wife and daughter came up, Cheong Jin-myeong’s eyebrows narrowed slightly and then relaxed again.

His entire family was eaten by ghosts and died.

There was a woman I met while wandering the world and fell in love with her. It was a woman named Wijian. She also lived as a wanderer, chasing Cheongjinmyeong, and one day she was eaten by a ghost and died.

He also had a daughter from a relationship with a woman. It was a beautiful woman named Cheong Seorin. He followed his father’s footsteps and lived as a wandering ghost hunter, but was eaten by a ghost and died when he was seventeen.

Mentioning them is like stabbing Cheong Jin-myeong.

However, Cheong Jin-myeong gritted his teeth and lowered his head.

This was because the remaining members of the Black Moon were glimmering before my eyes.

Now, Cheong Jin-myeong’s only goal is to make them all retire.

Even though he would live as a vengeful ghost in the dark underground, he wanted to let the members of the Black Moon Corps live on this earth.

“We can’t step out already. Those wanted for assassination are entering Cheongdo Palace, and it is unclear how long the environment that has been created over the years will be maintained. “It would be better to act quickly before things get worse, but… there are still too many things to worry about.”

“Then what should we do about Seoltaepyeong?”

“Like I said, I have to kill you. However… we need to take a closer look at his intentions…”

Seol Taepyeong said that he would turn a blind eye to killing Prince Hyeonwon.

Considering his personality, it seemed impossible, but once we talked about it, my thoughts might change.

There were three reasons why Munhagwan tried to kill Prince Hyeonwon.

This is to keep in check Hwaan, the master who is the guardian of Crown Prince Hyeonwon.

This is to pass this crime on to Sangseol In Seon-rok and get rid of him.

The purpose was to replace the vacant crown prince’s position with a member of the royal family who could exercise his or her influence.

It took several years just to prepare for those three purposes. Several people had to be recruited, they had to be brought in without being noticed by the enemy, and the appropriate time had to be checked again and again.

If all this goes well as planned… the person who will sit at the top of the Cheongdo Palace civil servants in one night will be none other than Sim Sang-gon.

If we can find a point where those interests coincide, we may be able to win over Seol Taepyeong.

Then… there might not be any major setbacks in work.

“So, where is that guy named Seol Tae-pyeong and what is he doing?”

“That is…”

An extreme situation where a plot to assassinate Crown Prince Hyeonwon is just around the corner.

In such an imminent situation where the Cheongdo Palace could be turned upside down in just one night, what were Bae Po-ryeong and I doing with such solemn expressions?

“Um… So is that a plant?”

“no.”

“answer! frog!”

“no. “You have two chances left.”

“uuu… Correct! lizard?!”

“no. “This is your last chance.”

“Ahh! wait for a sec…! There is an answer, right? weird…”

The correct answer was twenty questions…

*

The level of saturation of current secret forces is a variable that Black Moon members cannot control.

The reason Bae Bae-ryeong suddenly appeared in a place like this was probably to find me.

So… I thought it was good to keep Bao Bae-ryeong from thinking about other nonsense.

As he was simply confined, Pyo-ryeong, who had been making a fuss at first, little by little regained his composure, and what eventually came was a long period of boredom.

In the end, you have to spend your time doing something, and while you were confined, there was only so much you could do to pass the time.

“The correct answer is the Ring-tailed Godwit…”

“…”

“Po Hyeonbi… Please refrain from making such facial expressions to protect your body shape… Your lips are sticking out too much…”

“Don’t create an animal that doesn’t exist.”

“No, it actually exists.”

“…really? Even though I have memorized the entire bird guide in the book storage… this is the first time I have heard such a name…”

“It is mainly found in mud flats, and it is said that it feeds on crabs and earthworms found in holes in mud flats with its long, curved beak…”

“Is it really true..?”

“It really exists…”

“Is it really true?”

“It really is.”

Yes.

Extreme boredom makes people turn up their heat on useless things even in this serious situation.

Boring. An old enemy of mankind…

“Yes, if there is Taepyeong, there is one. Ugh. Then it’s one to one.”

Even though it had been a while since we had talked, Po Hyeon-bi was surprisingly calm.

Although he may have received all kinds of hospitality as the owner of Hyeonmu Palace over the years, the fundamentals of his personality have not changed at all.

I had originally heard that people change when the environment changes, but Po Hyeonbi seemed to be a being that went directly against that law.

“The morning sun will soon rise. As I am doing this, I am reminded of a long time ago when the two of us were walking around outside the palace. “We wandered around the imperial capital together for several days.”

“…More than three or four years have already passed.”

“huh. At that time, I tried to force myself to find the old woman, but Taepyeong did everything to help me. Now that I think about it, I think it was truly amazing. “He even drew his sword against a detachment led by a military commander… You really knew what would happen.”

Hyeonbi Po put down her arms that were tied behind her back, looked at me, and smiled brightly.

“It seems like Taepyeong hasn’t changed since then.”

“…Is that so?”

“Look… you’re caught by Black Moon and you don’t know what’s going to happen, but you’re making twenty heads with me without any serious feelings.”

“I want to return those words to you. Aren’t you afraid? “I am being captured and captured by a group of unidentified assassins…”

“Taepyeong, since you are so relaxed, I feel like I am also relaxed. Taepyeong, both now and then, you give a strange sense of stability to those around you. No matter how twisted things get, it makes me think, “Oh, they will do something.” “It’s really amazing, isn’t it?”

“…”

Po Hyeon-bi waved his bound hands several times and then spoke quietly.

I felt a kind of trust in the way he closed his eyes and smiled brightly.

“Do you know that, Taepyeong?”

“yes?”

“Sometimes Taepyeong… you act as if you know the future.”

Huh.

For an instant, my breathing stopped.

There were times when Hyeonbi Bae-hwa-ryeong’s insight hit blind spots without even realizing it.

“Because you have confidence in everything and have no doubts about your own judgment. And because I promise myself that no matter what I do, I won’t regret it… So, there are times when it seems as if I know the future.”

Indeed, is this an interpretation of a dream rather than a dream?

I nodded roughly, shaking off the cold sweat.

“Actually, the reason I came to look for you like this was just because I wanted to talk about that. “While you were traveling around the northern border and catching ghosts, I was accumulating various knowledge and thinking about you a lot?”

“Is that so…?”

“huh. “I don’t know how much you know, Taepyeong, but… there are times when you feel lonely while living in the palace and receiving noble treatment.”

The appearance of Pohwaryeong leaning against the wall of an old cabin has not changed from before.

The rust-colored hair that reminded me of bright leaves, the flowers that were beautifully embroidered on both sides… they all looked the same as I had seen before.

However, there were many times when it was impossible to tell just by looking at the outside what changes he had experienced internally.

“When I walk with the maids in a palace full of magnificent tile roofs… I sometimes remember the times when I used to run around Baeksaksan Mountain alone.”

The floor of Hyeonmu Palace stretches out endlessly.

If you are trudging around there and turn your head, you will see a garden with several beautiful hydrangeas and orchids in bloom.

If you just sit back and watch your hair blowing in the wind blowing along the floor, the sight of looking down at the Imperial Capital from the top of Baeksaksan Mountain will be engraved in your eyes.

The girl ran around in the wide world as if it were her own home.

Even now, when I’m bored, I run out of Hyeonmu Palace, but given my status, it would only last for one night at most. Even so, it is a day that happens only a few times a year.

“There were times when I felt like the old days when I was running around between the tile roofs alone on a moonlit night, but it was really strange. In the past, that alone was fun, but these days, sometimes I feel empty.”

“The reason is…”

“huh. “I guess Taepyeong missed you.”

Direct and cutting words are like Po Hyeon-bi’s trademark.

“It’s just that it’s nothing special… I thought about it once in a while. Long ago, when the two of us wandered around the imperial capital. It was only about a month, but I think it meant a lot to me. lol. “How can this be so embarrassing?”

Running around the four cities, running away from the pursuing troops, asking various people about the old woman, setting up a firewood fire and sitting nearby and chatting, or when it rains, sheltering from the rain under an abandoned house,

It was a difficult and scary day, but after it passes, it becomes a memory.

The sh*tty and sh*tty memories of the military will become memories in the distant future, and the memories of the poverty I experienced as a child can now be considered romantic… because they are all in the past.

That’s what it means to pass by.

“It’s just that… when I thought about it at that time, the stuffy life in the palace was bearable. In that sense, I received a lot of help from Taepyeong.”

“That’s too much praise. And the fact that you adapted well to life in the palace is thanks to Queen Po’s efforts.”

“Uhm… Anyway…”

– Sigh

Po Hyeonbi lowered her voice and raised both arms. Ta-da – as if doing magic.

…Both arms?

“…How did you break the chains?”

“I always carry a silver sword hidden under my thigh. By now, the soldiers guarding outside the cabin must have relaxed their guard. “The noise coming from outside has noticeably decreased.”

After saying that, Pohyeonbi took out a silver sword and approached me as if she wanted to cut the ropes tied to my arms.

“This time… I’ll save Taepyeong…!!!”

It seems like flowers are blooming in those eyes. The lively and bright appearance makes every corner of the cabin feel brighter.

However, that sun-like warmth… is now poison.

“Let’s escape together, return to the main palace, and report everything we saw to our superiors…!”

“…”

“Taepyeong has returned to the main palace after a long time, but I can’t believe you’re putting me through this kind of trouble! We need to punish all these bad guys! huh! hehehehe, I’m the only one?!”

Oh, no…

That’s not enough…

Hyeonbi Po’s burning eyes are filled with a sense of justice that will save me. That will is literally to the point of tears of joy, but…

If Po Hyeon-bi saves me and returns to the main palace, all plans will be in vain…!

“Come on, Taepyeong…! Bring your arms here! I will untie all the ropes that are binding you! “If only your arms are free, you can easily eliminate the lowest-ranking Black Moon members guarding the outside, right?!”

The wonderful generosity of Po Hyeon-bi, the kindest and most beautiful person in the world, is attacking me…!

In a form I never wanted…!

“Well, that is… Po Hyeonbi.”

“huh?”

“I guess it’s because I’ve been in the same position for too long… my arm is paralyzed and I can’t move it very well.”

“don’t worry! “Just turn around and I’ll cut the rope for you!”

“No, that’s because my body isn’t moving very well, so…”

“omg! Uh, how… I guess it’s because the blood isn’t flowing…! “I need to untie the rope quickly!”

Po Hyun-bi approaches with a worried look on her face.

I’ve been rolling my eyes here and there and pushing my brain to its limit, but there’s no excuse I can come up with right now…!

“Huh…! I can’t even move my body because I can’t feel my legs! Well, it hurts when you touch it. Please wait. Pohyeonbi.”

“But first, we have to untie the rope! wait!”

I tried to make excuses to buy myself some time to think, but Po Hyeon-bi approached me with a more serious look on her face and pushed my body as hard as she could. When he couldn’t move his body, he climbed on top of him and started whining.

When he finally saw the bound arms, he began to cut off the rope with a silver knife.

“Wait a minute! Po Hyeonbi!”

“Even if it hurts, just endure it! I will definitely save you! “If you stay still and don’t feel anything, you’ll be in even bigger trouble!”

“Just wait a moment! “Don’t do this!”

“Looking at how quiet it is outside right now, it’s clear that even the guards are dozing off. “It’s best to move now!”

Just like that, Po Hyun-bi climbed onto my body with difficulty and untied the ropes that bound me, one by one. There was no hesitation in that series of actions.

– Squeak

It was that time.

There was someone who opened the cabin door and came in.

Could it be that the sound of the fight inside could be heard outside?

Pohyeonbi, who was sitting on my waist, quickly turned her head and looked towards the door. And then his face turned pale.

It would be quite embarrassing if the Black Moon Team suddenly attacked. As I gathered my thoughts on how to handle the situation, I tilted my head and looked toward the door.

However, unusual events always appear without warning.

…The person standing there was Jin Cheong-rang, the royal concubine, who was covering his lower rank with the sleeves of his palace robe.

*

The art of deception.

From Noble mtl dot com

Even those who have mastered the high-level Taoist arts countless times are often unable to move beyond the rudimentary level of delusion techniques.

The power to cloud a person’s mind cannot be obtained simply by studying it diligently. Even though he was born with a certain level of talent for pilotage, he was barely able to master it.

Queen Jin Cheong-rang is someone who has reached the pinnacle of the art of delusion.

There were many people in the palace who did not even know about the existence of that power, because they did not usually use that power for personal use.

Knowing very well that the art of seduction can be used dangerously if done incorrectly, it does not use its power carelessly.