When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 91
Chapter 91
Youngsun's expression turned grave.
She spoke to the boy in a coaxing tone.
"How about this? I'll make sure to convince Sa Yeonju to stay at our mansion. You won't have to serve her at all."
"R-really? Do you mean it?"
"Yes. But for that to happen, I need your help. You know where Elder Sa Jungsan and Lady Yeonju are meeting, don't you?"
The boy shook his head. "N-no, I only overheard Elder Sa Jungsan talking about receiving a letter."
"Hyeongbo, if you don't tell me where it is, it will be difficult to arrange for Lady Yeonju to stay at our mansion."
"B-but..."
"I must meet Lady Yeonju, and you don't want to serve her. So how about this?"
"...What do you mean?"
"Come with me now to where Elder Sa Jungsan is staying, and somehow relay the meeting location to me. Then I'll bring Lady Yeonju to our mansion."
"..."
"Think about it carefully. You won't risk getting beaten while serving her, and I'll get to meet Lady Yeonju. It's beneficial for both of us."
"But if I return without Elder Myoungyun's letter... I'll surely be severely punished..."
"I'll explain it well. I'll say I came along because they wouldn't trust just sending you."
"I-I'm not sure if that would work..."
Though the boy hesitated at Youngsun's proposal, his expression already showed signs of acceptance.
"Then let's go now. Ah, wait. Just in case, let's take some guards with us."
Youngsun approached the door and called to a passing person, instructing them to bring three warriors from the mansion.
Knowing Youngsun was the young lady's trusted aide, three mansion warriors quickly gathered at her call.
"You're here. I have a task that requires your assistance."
When the warriors nodded, Youngsun beckoned to the boy.
"Come here. Now that our guards are here, let's depart quickly."
"Y-yes. I'll lead the way."
"Good."
At that moment, as the limping boy approached with a worried expression, Youngsun suddenly grabbed his hair.
"Aagh!!"
The boy screamed in pain as his scalp was yanked.
She was the largest of the three sisters. The scrawny boy was no match for her strength. His small body flipped backward and tumbled across the floor.
She kicked the boy's limping leg to prevent him from getting up, then struck his gaunt cheek hard.
Whack!
Though it was just a palm strike, it produced a sound like a drum bursting.
While the boy trembled, unable to even groan, Youngsun spoke to the guards.
"This is what I need you to do. Gag him immediately, bind his limbs, and take him to the storehouse. Call more warriors too."
There wasn't a trace of sympathy in Youngsun's eyes as she looked down at the boy.
To prevent any warriors from showing mercy, she emphasized one more time.
"Treat him as someone who won't be left alive."
The warriors raised by Ju Myoungyun never questioned orders or let their guard down just because someone was young.
Three men swiftly pounced, gagged the boy, and bound his limbs.
Only after reaching a secluded storehouse in a corner of the vast mansion did they roughly throw the boy to the ground.
The boy's face had completely drained of color.
He trembled as he watched Youngsun enter and close the door behind her.
"S-sister, why? Is it because I dared to ask questions about the young ladies?"
Youngsun didn't even bother to respond.
"Hit him."
Five of the now eight warriors firmly blocked the entrance.
Two warriors mercilessly struck the small boy with staffs.
With each strike of the staff into his small body, the boy burst into tears and screamed.
"Aah!! P-please spare me! Please spare my life!"
Without any interrogation, Youngsun simply let the warriors beat him.
Only after a long while did she slowly raise her hand to make them stop.
The boy, who had been writhing in pain and barely able to speak properly, whimpered.
"At least tell me why you're-"
"Hit him."
The dull beating continued again.
Blood burst from his small back and limbs, and his lips, bitten until bloodied, trembled.
Yet even while watching this frail and pitiful sight, Youngsun didn't blink once.
It was the same when her young lady had struck Sa Yeonju. When watching her young lady shoot arrows with terrifying precision from atop the roof ridge, Youngsun had learned much.
Someone who wouldn't easily kill even an insect had mercilessly turned those people into beehives.
From that, Youngsun could understand her young lady's resolve.
Her young lady's war had already begun.
As someone who chose to be her young lady's hands and feet, Youngsun couldn't step back from things she hadn't done before or show weakness by bringing up sympathy.
What mattered most to Youngsun was the wellbeing of her young lady and those her young lady held dear.
For that, she had to be willing to commit acts more demonic than anyone else.
When the hellish pain rained down again, the boy who had been sobbing heavily pleaded in a voice like a groan.
"P-please. Sis- no, Young Lady. Please..."
At that plea, Youngsun raised her hand to stop the beating.
The boy seemed to lack the strength to speak, but believing he couldn't survive without saying something, he forced out his cracked voice.
"If, if you're doing this because my questions bothered you, then I truly apologize-"
"..."
"If, if not that... then perhaps... because of my slip of tongue earlier? That was just a childhood habit of mine-"
"No. Whether you call yourself Hyeongbo or something else, you don't need to explain anything to me. I was planning this from the moment you set foot in this mansion under Elder Sa Jungsan's orders."
"...What?"
"How could I trust you? How could I know what you're capable of?"
"Y-young lady!"
"Whether you came to deceive us or were just an ordinary child, you would have ended up like this anyway. Well, at least I fed you well before killing you."
"!"
Youngsun smiled slightly as she repeated the word "Hyeongbo."
"But when you made that slip of tongue, even I got a bit tense. Worried you might run away thinking things had gone wrong. I had to naturally call for the warriors."
The boy, who had been gaping, finally seemed to realize Youngsun was serious. His face turned ashen as he responded.
"If, if you k-kill me, Elder Sa Jungsan won't stay quiet..."
"That elder who threatened to break your legs if you didn't obey? Well, I don't think he'd care much if you died."
After finishing her words, Youngsun turned to the warriors and said.
"The young lady will want to see this child too. Whether you break his legs or make him half-crippled, I don't care, but make sure he can't move or escape or harm the young lady."
With those words, Youngsun opened the storehouse door.
Turning back briefly to glance at the boy, she saw his bloodless gaze fixed on her.
"If you were an innocent child, I'm sorry. But."
She had seen people refer to themselves by name before, so that alone wasn't special.
But the way the child had corrected himself at that crucial moment was most suspicious.
Youngsun wouldn't tolerate even the slightest mistake in matters concerning her young lady.
Even if it meant killing this innocent child.
"You don't seem to be such a child, so that's fortunate."
Youngsun closed the storehouse door behind her.
"P-please! Young Lady! Young Lady Youngsun!"
Thud! Thud!
Through the narrowing gap, along with the dull sounds of staff strikes, the boy's screams burst forth again.
Confirming several times that there were no ears to hear, Youngsun quickly moved her feet.
"What?"
Youngchae and Youngmu, who had quickly approached at Youngsun's urgent appearance, widened their eyes at her subsequent words.
"What do you mean suddenly going to the secret house? And you've put that boy in the storehouse?"
"Yes. The story about Sa Yeonju must be a lie too. How could she have written a letter when the Mystic Ruler confined her to a sealed room after the last incident?"
"Right. The branch elders don't know about Sa Yeonju yet, so they must be using her as bait."
Youngsun shook her head at her sisters' words.
"But Sa Yeonju knows how to break the barrier at the secret house. The branch elders might have learned it from her."
"..."
"So we need to change the barrier now to prevent others from entering. All the items there are things our young lady will need importantly."
After hesitating, Youngchae shook her head.
"No. If they decided to use the secret house, they would have already checked the barrier. Who knows what they might have done? What if we go and end up getting captured as hostages, becoming burdens to the young lady?"
"But what about the items there? We can replace the herbs and grain, but what about the spirit stones? We bought every single one available."
"That's..."
"Remember how the young lady repeatedly emphasized not to miss even one, to buy them all? It must be something she absolutely needs. What if they hide them or prevent the young lady from using them when needed? What if that ruins an important matter?"
"Still, let's ask the young lady first. Seeing how she said not to disturb her, she seems to be in the middle of urgent business. Let's wait a bit until she finishes-"
"No. We should go now. While the young lady doesn't know."
Youngsun firmly shook her head.
She looked at her sisters and asked.
"If we ask and the young lady also says we need to retrieve the items from the secret house, that we need to change the barrier immediately... who do you think she'll send, especially now that she's earned the hatred of both the Mystic Ruler and the Young Lord?"
"..."
"She wouldn't want to endanger anyone, so she'd surely go herself. You know that too."
A moment of silence passed.
"Then let's go together."
Youngmu suddenly spoke.
Startled, Youngsun tried to dissuade her.
"What are you saying? You need to stay by the young lady's side, especially in case something happens to me."
"No. Two is better than one. If something happens, at least one can report back to the young lady."
Youngmu added with frightening seriousness.
"Think about it. If something happens to us, the young lady needs to know what happened and who did it. We need two people for that."
"..."
"Youngmu is right. But you both need to know this."
While Youngsun couldn't respond, Youngchae added resolutely.
"If you're both going on this dangerous path, absolutely do not try to save each other if one gets into danger. You can't create a situation where you both fail."
Youngmu nodded.
"Yes. This applies not just to this situation, but to everything from now on."
"Good. Then let's promise. No matter what happens, we won't look after each other's lives. Our only thought should be that even one of us must return to attend to the young lady. Understood?"
Three pairs of eyes blinked at the same moment.
Youngsun took out a barrier stone from a secret location and put it in her clothes.
Meanwhile, Youngmu called six agile guards and finished preparations before approaching.
Youngchae spoke while trying to hide her worried expression.
“You must come back. We have to protect the young lady’s side.”
“Of course. I’ll just change the Barrier Stone and come back quickly.”
“Okay. Then go ahead. Be careful.”
With Youngchae seeing them off, Youngmu and Youngsun, along with the six guards, discreetly departed, choosing a deserted path.
Youngchae watched their retreating figures with worry for a long time.
The inside of the warehouse, located in a remote part of the vast residence, was eerily quiet.
Inside the dark warehouse, secured with double and triple locks, sat the blood-soaked boy.
The ropes that had bound the child's body were now untied and scattered on the floor.
The boy's lips trembled with pain and rage.
“That bitch…”
A hollow laugh escaped from between their parched lips.
“Even if she tried to send that woman to the residence, she shouldn't have done that to me. There were other ways.”
They had deliberately acted suspiciously, pretending to make a slip of the tongue, in order to lure her into the residence, just in case she might disregard the situation.
If they had known that the bitch’s hand would be so merciless, they would have devised another method.
“I thought she was just a lowly servant, but who knew she had such a vicious side.”
Ptoo, the boy spat blood-tinged saliva onto the floor and continued to curse.
Annoyed, lamenting the situation, they stuck needles into their own leg.
The limping leg returned to normal.
Long needles were now stuck into their face and neck. Then, the boy's skeletal structure began to change little by little.
It was a very subtle difference, but as these subtle differences accumulated, a completely different person appeared.
The wretched boy's appearance was gone, and the appearance of a beautiful and delicate woman was revealed.
“How dare she inflict such pain on this Seowol?”
However, the hideous murderous intent seething within the delicate woman’s eyes was unmistakable.
“Mystic Ruler’s matter is important, yes. But I can't forgive that bitch either. Absolutely not.”
Seowol, with her lips curled up, fiercely wiped her blood-soaked lips and declared.
She desperately wanted to find Youngsun right away, cut her throat, and rip out her tongue.
That desire created an excuse.
“Yes. Before kidnapping that bitch Sehwa, it would be fun to kill the things she cherishes first.”
She might be less vigilant due to her grief, and it would be easier to take the despair-filled Sehwa with her. The Mystic Ruler would be even more pleased, she reasoned.
Seowol, her eyes gleaming fiercely, vanished without a sound.
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