Episode 1606. It’s the same when I open my eyes. (1)
When he went out in a temporarily arranged military battle, his adjutants followed him.
“Military training…?”
Instead of answering, Hu Jiaming glanced at his adjutant. Looking at those cold eyes, the adjutant realized his mistake and quickly got to the point.
“Voices of dissatisfaction are emerging, centered around the sun sign.”
“More precisely.”
“⋯⋯It’s already been more than three days since I came here, and no orders have been given yet⋯⋯. “I want you to tell me whether you want to move forward, back down, or at least stay here.”
Hu Jiaming’s face became a little cooler.
“You mean you can’t wait just three days.”
“⋯⋯.”
“I guess that’s not what I want to say.”
Ho Jiamyeong asked in a mocking tone.
“What about the others?”
“There hasn’t been a big response yet…”
The adjutant was speechless for a moment, then his eyes instinctively turned to one side and then returned.
“I have some doubts…”
widely.
The sound of Hu Jiaming’s footsteps hitting the bluestone became slightly louder. The adjutant quickly closed his mouth.
“Pathetic guys.”
“⋯⋯I’m sorry.”
Only a few days have passed since Sapa achieved a great victory unprecedented in its history. But are voices of dissatisfaction already leaking out?
‘I’m sick of it.’
I know this is Sapa’s physiology, but I get really disillusioned every time this happens. The adjutant added.
“⋯⋯It’s not a level of concern yet.”
“I get it.”
Hu Jiaming passed the adjutant and walked forward. The adjutant flinched for a moment and was about to say something, but then shook his head.
Hu Jiaming, who noticed the sign, eventually couldn’t bear it and let out an uncomfortable groan.
‘At best…’
Every time something like this happens, I feel it painfully.
Ten days.
Without the name Jang Il-so, I couldn’t last even ten days. This sand castle called Sapaeryeon.
No matter how hard he tries and accumulates numerous achievements, the moment the pillar of Jang Il-so collapses, all of this will crumble like Sasang’s pavilion.
“Sometimes it’s true that you can only confirm it by achieving a great victory.”
Nervousness was evident in Hu Ga-myeong’s steps toward the large pavilion in front. Hu Ga-myeong climbed the short stairs of the palace in one go, passed by even the guards guarding the front, and stared sharply at the civil servant standing in front of the door.
Shibi flinched.
“Meet the old soldier…”
“How long have you been inside?”
Shi Fei lowered his head deeply, not even able to see Hu Jiaming’s eyes as he sharply cut his horse’s waist. A look of fear was evident.
“That’s since last night…”
Hu Jiaming’s eyes became even colder.
“It is good to be considerate of the owner, but a dog that is presumptuous usually gets its head cut off.”
Shibi now began to tremble like an aspen tree.
“again.”
“Actually, since yesterday around lunch…”
The pale and tired Sibi repeatedly lowered her head.
Hu Ga-myeong looked away from that with a gaze without a trace of warmth. The door was tightly closed at this moment.
It is not a matter of blaming right or wrong.
“Who went inside in the meantime?”
“Oh, you said not to let anyone in.”
Hu Jiaming nodded briefly and ordered.
“Open.”
Shibi was trembling as if she was about to collapse at any moment.
Not surprisingly, it was Jang Il-so, the defeated army, who ordered no one to be allowed inside. And the person who tells you to open the door is the military pseudonym of the Sapaeryeon.
From her perspective, it is difficult to ignore what anyone says. I had no choice but to tremble on the spot, unable to do this or that.
“⋯⋯No, it’s done.”
In the end, Hu Jiaming let out a small sigh and grabbed the doorknob himself. Shibi took a step back without realizing it.
Sigh.
The tightly closed door slowly opened. A thick cloud of white smoke flowed out of the gap.
Hu Jiaming reflexively frowned, but soon adjusted his complexion as usual, as if something had happened. And then he walked into a room filled with smoke.
This acrid smell that hits your nose is the scent of a dream.
Although Jang Il-so enjoys using it from time to time, its scent is especially strong today. It’s like his heart right now… No, as if it shows Jang Il-so’s heart.
Jerk. Jerk.
Ho Ga-myeong walked without hesitation through the room, which was filled with the scent of a dream and made it difficult to see clearly. And soon it stopped standing tall.
I saw a large bed placed in the center of three incense burners that continued to emit white smoke, and a person lying on it.
Bottles of alcohol were rolling around here and there, and the smell of alcohol was so strong that it could be clearly felt even in the middle of a dream.
Hu Jiaming, who was watching this scene, bit his chapped lip.
Others might think it was a common sight, but they knew the nickname. Jang Il-so, who is now passed out drunk with incense and alcohol, is noticeably different from usual.
“Ryeonju.”
There is no answer.
“Ryeonju.”
It doesn’t even move.
Is it because I’m drunk, or because I’m drunk on a dream, or because I’m drunk on scent? No, maybe it’s because I’m drunk on the world.
“Ryeonju, you need to wake up. “Ryeonju…”
Paaaaat!
At that very moment, Hu Jiaming’s vision turned black.
Right in front of his eyes, something was writhing as if crying. Before I knew it, Jang Il-so’s grip had stretched out like lightning.
Hu Jiaming stood there as if frozen.
The tips of my nails dig into my skin. A grip tightened around my head as if it could split my skull at any moment. Meanwhile, heavy breathing, like that of a wounded animal, was pouring into Hu Jiaming’s ears.
After a while, a voice was heard.
“⋯⋯Is this an alias?”
Finally, the grip that was holding my face was released.
What Ho Ga-myeong saw between the fingers moving away was Jang Il-so’s bloodshot eyes, as if blood was about to pour out at any moment.
Jang Il-so, who was flopping down on the bed, looked blankly at Hu Ji-myeong with a dreamy face, and then picked up the bottle of alcohol that had been placed by his bedside.
gulp. gulp.
The remaining half of the strong drink went down Jang Il-so’s throat roughly. The alcohol that had just flowed from her lips drew a long line along her messy front hair.
Only after a while did Jang Il-so lift the bottle from his mouth. When I held it upside down and lifted it high, the clear liquor started flowing in drops and then stopped.
The burning thirst still didn’t go away, but the bottle emptied first. Jang Il-so looked at this blankly and then let out a dry laugh.
Teuong!
The thrown liquor bottle bounced back violently.
Hu Jiaming quietly wiped his face with his hand. I was covered in cold sweat.
Although his head wasn’t very tense, his body was aware. A little while ago, I stepped into the gates of hell and barely came back alive.
But that wasn’t what was important to Hu Jiaming right now. The reason it’s difficult for him to breathe right now…
“⋯⋯Ryeonju.”
Because it’s dangerous.
This is Jang Il-soda, which I have seen countless times. I am confident that there is no one in the world who knows Jang Il-so better than Ho Ga-myeong.
However, the current Jang Il-so was more dangerous than anything I had ever seen before. It was like a candle swaying in the harsh wind.
Jang Il-so’s body slowly hangs down on the backrest, as if a thread that had been pulled tautly suddenly lost its strength. Jang Il-so slowly rubbed his face with his long, large hands.
It was a hand gesture that seemed infinitely calm and relaxed, but Hu Jiaming did not miss the fact that the fingertips resting on his face were faintly trembling.
“⋯⋯No one!”
The voice, which rose briefly, slowly subsides again.
“I would have told you not to come in.”
Hu Jiaming took a long, deep breath without saying a word.
What should I say and what expression should I make now? How should I stand in front of that person?
The path he chose was simple.
“Please stop standing up.”
“⋯⋯.”
A calm, no different voice from usual was addressed to Jang Il-so.
“You rested too long. There are people who are agitated because of the absence of Lord Yeonju. Sometimes things like wild cats sneak in, taking advantage of the gaps. If it’s something I can handle, I’d like to let you play for a few more days, but my abilities don’t reach that level, so what can I do? “You’ve had enough fun, now you have to do some work.”
After Hu Jia-myeong’s words, a short silence followed.
It could not fill the wide space, so only the breathing sounds of two people wandering around were the only sounds.
“⋯⋯Cook.”
Soon, a slightly high-pitched laugh rang out above the breathing.
“Cluck cluck.”
Jang Il-so’s hand slowly fell from my face.
At the same time, Hu Jiaming let out a short sigh. Jang Il-so’s face, which appeared before him again, had returned to the look he was familiar with.
He is leisurely and pretentious, and looks like a loser in an era that makes people anxious just by looking at him.
“Hmm.”
Jang Il-so’s eyes, which have suddenly returned to their original color, are staring at Ho Ji-myeong.
“There are things that are agitated?”
“Yes, Lord Ryeon.”
Jang Il-so chuckled.
“I guess that’s not it.”
Jang Il-so pulled his upper body up slightly.
“Aren’t they also wondering if I ended up suffering a serious injury in the fight with that guy?”
Hu Jiaming could not deny those words.
“If you’re making a fuss, I guess I’ll just make the wound worse and eat it.”
Jang Il-so chuckled as if he was oblivious and swept up his disheveled hair.
“i get it.”
“⋯⋯Ryeonju.”
“I’ve had enough rest, so now it’s time to move again. “Stop worrying and call the quarrels.”
It was a euphemistic congratulatory guest. However, when Hu Ga-myeong did not move easily, Jang Il-so briefly clicked his tongue.
“Anyway, I’m always worried like an old man.”
Jang Il-so slowly got up from his seat.
“I was just about to move slowly. “Even if I want to rest well, I can’t rest because I can hear the sound of those pigs sniffing all the way up here.”
A twisted smile blooms on Jang Il-so’s lips. Only after seeing that did Hu Jiaming finally nod his head.
“I will start a fight.”
“Sure. “If possible, a bottle of alcohol.”
“Absolutely not.”
“That’s heartless.”
Hu Jiaming turned and left the palace hall. One thing was certain. No matter what the situation, Jang Il-so does not change.
However… Still, I couldn’t bear to ask for the family name.
There was only one real question left in his mind.
chin.
Jang Il-so, who was left alone, collapsed on the bed again. The reflexive fumbling for a bottle of alcohol soon subsided in vain.
His head slowly tilted back. Out of focus eyes turn to the ceiling.
My vision was blurry.
The blurry ceiling soon becomes clear, but then quickly becomes blurry again like the first time. No, it begins to gradually change, distorted into a different form from the first time.
Red and red again.
A sight that will never be forgotten.
The entire wide land is red. The ground overlaps the ceiling in front of you.
Everything returns to death. The sight, which I should not have seen, does not disappear, as if it were engraved in my eyes. I keep seeing it.
“⋯⋯Now it’s the same when I open my eyes.”
A short, empty laugh escaped his mouth.
Everything in the world is crushed, distorted, and melts into that place. It’s pouring and getting tangled and crushed.
Everything he created. Everything he touched. Something I once held onto and believed in. And… even Jang Il-so himself.
A red, red, red, red world.
The destruction of everything in the world permeates his vision as it slowly blinks and withers.
And in the middle of that world, I see someone standing alone.
Jang Il-so’s hands, which had regained stability at first, begin to tremble slightly again.
A lonely person in a world dyed red.
That sight takes his breath away.
The back of someone I’ve never seen before. The one who will bring everything back to ruin.
“Cook… “Cook, cluck.”
A dry laugh leaked from Jang Il-so’s mouth.
“⋯⋯I don’t have time.”
You’ll have to hurry up a bit.
His oily eyes turned red again, little by little, to the dark red light that was the color of the world he saw.
