Episode 21: I Am Hua Yeo-wol
"We've had a great success in the Hyangsi at our Cheongsan Academy, further enhancing the reputation of the Three Great Academies of the World. Moreover, Scholar Yang is one of the Three Talents Under Heaven. He will surely pass the Imperial Examination as well, so we should make a good impression on him. Let me offer you a drink."
It seemed they were celebrating the success in the Hyangsi. Upon hearing this, Won Seung sighed.
'If I were at the Won Manor, I would have taken the Gwageo too.'
He was only sixteen. Even if he took the Imperial Examination now, it wouldn't be too late. But his current situation was that of an assassin, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.
With a heavy heart, he took a sip of his drink and looked out the window. Across from the Cloud Flower Pavilion, he noticed Jong Bi watching him.
He had known for some time that Jong Bi was keeping an eye on him.
He hadn't killed Lee Eon-pae because of that guy. The strict security was a reason, but more than that, Won Seung disliked having his assassination missions observed.
Won Seung planned to exhaust Lee Eon-pae by announcing his assassination monthly. The announcement would make him nervous, and after three or four times, Won Seung would take a month off and strike when the guard was down.
In the meantime, he had come to Xiangyang to gather information on his First-Class Mission Target.
'That guy must have some money, right?'
Money, money, money... Won Seung's mind was filled with thoughts of money.
'If I need more funds, will they give me more?'
If it was necessary for his assassination mission, they might provide it. As he pondered this, someone approached him.
"I haven't seen you around here before. Are you from the Dongshan Academy?"
Turning around, he saw a woman who had made eye contact with him earlier. It was bold of her to speak to a stranger first.
Won Seung ignored her and turned his head, saying, "I'm not from around here."
The woman's eyes narrowed slightly at Won Seung's cold response. She was offended by his informal speech.
"I think I'm older than you. Why are you speaking so casually?"
"You did too."
The woman's eyes narrowed further, and her neck turned red. She looked at Won Seung for a moment, took a deep breath, calmed herself, and sat across from him.
"You're an interesting guy."
Then she flipped over a nearby cup, grabbed Won Seung's bottle, and poured herself a drink.
"That's my drink."
The woman frowned slightly.
"I know. This drink is a bit bitter."
"Life is bitter."
Having tasted the bitterness of life since he was six, Won Seung's words made the woman chuckle, and she called for the server.
"Bring a bottle of Milsohwa."
Then she turned to Won Seung and said, "If you drink sweet wine, life becomes sweet too."
She smiled, showing her white teeth. Won Seung's gaze was drawn to her hands. The calluses on her hands caught his eye. They were the hands of someone who wielded a sword.
"I'm Hua Yeo-wol. What's your name?"
"Me?"
He almost said "Number Fifty."
Then he snapped back to reality at the mention of her name.
'Hua Yeo-wol?'
According to the information from Red Blood Mountain, Hua Yeo-wol was the only daughter of Hwa Cheon-woon, the Third Master of the Clear Water Sect, and the niece of Hwa Cheon-gang, whom he was supposed to kill.
After a brief pause, Won Seung replied, "I'll tell you later."
"What? Why?"
"I don't think we're meant to know each other."
I might end up killing your uncle.
As Won Seung dismissed her, Hua Yeo-wol felt a surge of anger.
'What kind of guy is this?'
But she couldn't hit a scholar, so she suppressed her anger and asked, "Does that mean we'll know each other later?"
"You never know. Even if I don't tell you, you might find out."
Hua Yeo-wol pondered his words. The implication that she might find out without him telling her was intriguing.
'Is he famous? If he's a renowned scholar...'
The Three Talents flashed through her mind. The Three Talents were three outstanding scholars known throughout the world, and Senior Brother Yang Dae-hyun, who was present today, was one of them.
'It can't be.'
The Three Talents wouldn't travel alone like this.
Just then, the server brought the Milsohwa.
Hua Yeo-wol poured a glass and offered it to Won Seung. True to its name, the wine was sweet.
"How is it? Doesn't life feel sweeter?"
Won Seung, slightly surprised, held out his glass.
"It does seem that way. Pour me another."
Won Seung, who didn't yet know the depth of alcohol, found the sweet Milsohwa more enjoyable than the drink he had ordered.
"Where are you from?"
"The Imperial Capital."
Hua Yeo-wol scrutinized Won Seung's attire again. Now that she thought about it, he did seem like a young noble from the Imperial Capital.
"The Imperial Capital... Do you live there?"
"Yes."
Won Seung answered, recalling the Won Manor.
"I heard the southern avenue of the Imperial Capital is wide enough for ten carriages to travel side by side."
"That's right."
"They say the Thousand Flower Road in the Imperial Capital has everything in the world."
"Who knows? There are a lot of things. With a thousand shops, there must be more than a thousand items."
Hua Yeo-wol asked various questions about the Imperial Capital, and Won Seung answered as best as he could. His answers were based on what he had heard when he was only six, but they were enough to dispel Hua Yeo-wol's suspicions.
"Why did you look at me like that earlier?"
With a face flushed from the alcohol, Won Seung said, "You guys were being noisy. You interrupted my contemplation. Don't do that next time."
Hua Yeo-wol almost dropped her jaw at such a trivial reason.
'Well, we were a bit noisy when we came in.'
With her suspicions cleared, Hua Yeo-wol's curiosity about Won Seung grew. Just then, someone approached. It was one of the scholars, curious to see Hua Yeo-wol with a stranger.
The scholar, with a slightly furrowed brow, asked Hua Yeo-wol, "What are you doing here? Who's this?"
"He's a scholar from the Imperial Capital."
Hua Yeo-wol answered for him and introduced the scholar to Won Seung.
"This is Senior Brother Jong."
Upon hearing "Imperial Capital," Jong Won-bo looked at Won Seung with curiosity.
"I'm Jong Won-bo. Which family are you from in the Imperial Capital?"
"I can't tell you that."
Won Seung's curt refusal made Jong Won-bo frown. He clearly thought the young man was being arrogant.
"If you lived in the Imperial Capital, you must have heard of Jong Taehaksa. He's from the Sangyang Jong Clan here."
"Really? I don't know him."
Having drunk for the first time, Won Seung felt a bit dizzy. He knew Jong Won-bo was testing him out of displeasure, but he didn't feel the need to explain himself.
"If you're here to drink, just drink. Why are you prying into my background?"
He poured himself another glass of Milsohwa and drank it. His face turned even redder than before.
Jong Won-bo, seeing that Won Seung seemed drunk, frowned and glared at him for a moment before turning to Hua Yeo-wol.
"A scholar who doesn't know Jong Taehaksa... This guy doesn't seem genuine. Today's the celebration for our fellow scholars. Let's return to our seats."
"I'll return soon. You go ahead."
Seeing that Hua Yeo-wol had no intention of getting up, Jong Won-bo gave them both a disapproving look before returning to his seat.
"Be careful of that guy."
Won Seung said, watching Jong Won-bo's retreating figure, causing Hua Yeo-wol's eyebrows to twitch slightly.
"Be careful of Senior Brother Jong?"
"He looks at you like he wants to devour you. Seems like he has some lewd thoughts."
Hua Yeo-wol was taken aback and stared at Won Seung in disbelief. What was this kid thinking?
The young man, drunk, muttered, "I know that look."
He couldn't say that the instructors looked at the girls with such eyes.
"You... you're a bit..."
With no appropriate response, Hua Yeo-wol changed the subject.
"Cheongsan Academy is considered one of the Three Great Academies of the World. They strictly evaluate both scholarship and character when accepting students. Senior Brother Jong isn't that kind of person."
"Hmm. Have any of the people from Cheongsan Academy gone on to hold central government positions?"
"Many. That's why it's one of the Three Great Academies."
"Then that character evaluation can't be trusted."
"What?"
"Officials take bribes and conspire to slander others. The ones who remain are those who survived that mudslinging. If many officials from Cheongsan Academy hold central positions, then the students there are likely to have the potential to become bad people."
Hua Yeo-wol's mouth dropped open.
"You're really twisted. What kind of life have you lived to see the world so cynically?"
Won Seung looked at Hua Yeo-wol with a slightly pitying gaze and spoke as if to enlighten her.
"It's not twisted. I'm just telling you about the dark side of the world."
"The dark side of the world?"
Given how he had lived, it was only natural that he was well-versed in the dark side. But he couldn't say that.
"The world has yin and yang, and a coin has two sides. Life has both light and darkness. It's the same thing, but it changes depending on which side you look at."
Hua Yeo-wol pondered his somewhat profound words.
When Won Seung was growing up, his father, Minister Won, was solidifying his position, embroiled in power struggles, so what he saw and heard was all about schemes and intrigues. After that, he learned only about slandering and killing people in a remote mountain.
Unaware of these facts, Hua Yeo-wol felt both curious and sorry for the young man, wondering what kind of storms he had faced to become so narrow-minded.
Just then, loud laughter erupted from the group of scholars. The laughter was bright and hopeful, without a hint of darkness.
"Or maybe they start with good character but change once they become officials? Who knows."
Won Seung muttered to himself, taking another sip of Milsohwa. Hua Yeo-wol, slightly surprised, said, "That drink is sweet but strong. You should stop drinking. You can't handle alcohol, can you?"
After drinking continuously, Won Seung's face was now bright red.
"You're right. I should stop. Milsohwa is sweet, but it's making me dizzy. If someone wanted to kill me now, I'd die without knowing it. A sweet life is dangerous. I should go to bed."
Muttering to himself, Won Seung stood up and staggered out.
As he headed towards the third floor where the guest rooms were, he bumped into someone. The person seemed to appear out of nowhere like a ghost and let out a groan before angrily shouting.
"Can't you watch where you're going?"
"Huh?"
Won Seung saw that the man had narrow eyes and a slightly sly look, but his sturdy build, the knife at his waist, and his attire suggested he was someone's guard.
"I'm drunk, but you're sober. Why did you bump into me? Did you do it on purpose?"
"What? Are you picking a fight?"
The man grabbed Won Seung by the collar.
"Come with me. I'll teach you what happens when you run your mouth in Xiangyang."
"Hahaha."
With his collar grabbed, Won Seung turned his head to Hua Yeo-wol, who was watching, and said, "This is the dark side of the world. Who would have thought a few words would make someone hold a grudge?"
Knowing that the guard was a servant of the Jong Clan, Hua Yeo-wol looked for Jong Won-bo.
"Senior Brother Jong!"
Jong Won-bo pretended not to hear Hua Yeo-wol calling him, continuing to drink and chat with the other scholars without even glancing over.
Hua Yeo-wol stood up and called out loudly to Jong Won-bo again.
"Senior Brother Jong!"