85 Chapter 84 (1/2)
”It's already late into the night though.”
”I'll see him in the morning.”
”Clan Leader!”
The voice of the guard standing by Kang-hyuk's door suddenly rang out.
”Clan Leader! The emperor's messenger, Ha Du-gyeong, is coming….”
Before the guard was even able to finish his sentence, Ha Du-gyeong entered the room.
Kang-hyuk anticipated the messenger to be angry, but for some unknown reason, the man was smiling.
Kang-hyuk felt an unexpected nervousness at Ha Du-gyeong's smile. The man seemed to be more powerful than he had initially thought.
He was able to ascertain this not just by his grin, but also from the energy that encapsulated him.
”Ah-ahem. I was going to come to you, but you seem to have arrived personally! You must have been in a hurry. But I'll see you tomo….”
*Tak.*
As Kang-hyuk attempted to address the situation coolly, Ha Du-gyeong plopped a bottle of liquor onto his desk.
His eyes were instantly drawn to the bottle.
”After hearing that the Clan Leader knew how to drink, I thought I could be like Li Po [1] tonight and drink with you, but seeing as you seemed to be busy, I came myself.”
”I-Is that so?”
”This is liquor that the emperor has given to me. I don't know if you've heard of it or not, but this is a liquor among liquors, the Purple Cloud Wine. Not only that, but it's a special variety of Purple Cloud Wine.”
”Th-that famous….”
”How about one shot?”
*Gulp.*
Kang-hyuk ended up finishing the whole bottle of wine with Ha Du-gyeong.
Even after the incident, for many years, Kang-hyuk and Ha Du-gyeong continued to meet, drinking wine together until Ha Du-gyeong's death.
Ha Du-gyeong died from a fall.
If he held on and survived a little longer than he had, Kang-hyuk would have found a way to treat him somehow, but unfortunately, Ha Du-gyeong had died almost immediately after falling on an icy street in winter.
Kang-hyuk's was greatly pained at the news of his sudden death.
'It's hard to find good friends like him….'
They had met, and shared a few drinks together two days before Ha Du-gyeong's death. Kang-hyuk still vividly remembered the words he had spoken to him on that day.
”Why our family so esteemed…we might even be cursed as I've heard others say.”
”Cursed! Don't say things like that.”
”I only have a single offspring, my son, and that son only has a son and a daughter….”
”If you're really that concerned, why don't you take a concubine?”
”If you're saying that, you really don't know much about our family, do you?”
”What do you mean?”
”Up until now, none of the women that have entered our family as concubines have never become pregnant, or if they did, they never successfully delivered the child.”
”....”
If the situation of the family's fertility had reached such an extent, they could really have been cursed.
”In that case, it's strange that your family lineage has even continued on for so long.”
”That's true. Hahahaha!”
”I've heard that the people of Moorim live longer than us ordinary people.”
”Well, that's dependent on the person. People who live by the sword are always walking on a fine line between life and death.”
”Even so, in the case that you live longer than me, could I ask you to look after my family?”
”To look after your family?”
”Yes…. I don't want a lot of help or anything. If you can just assist one time if my family is experiencing a difficult time, that would be more than enough. All I want is some help so that my lineage can continue on. Is it too much of a burdensome request?”
”I can't refuse you. I can do that.”
”Thank you. On another note, today, Go-jun….”
”Are you boasting about your grandson again?”
”That rascal really took after me….”
”Damn it! How can you be boasting like this to someone that doesn't even have a grandson?”
Kang-hyuk could still see Ha Du-gyeong's cheerful face before his eyes.
He began to feel enraged as he remembered Ha Du-gyeong's final request.
This was because he had almost not fulfilled it.
He blinked, and looked at Ha Go-jun once more.
At present, the five students under Kang-hyuk's care were his top priority, and he had already assigned Shim-gu to the task of dealing with the warriors that were after Ha Go-jun. This in itself fulfilled Kang-hyuk's duty towards his old friend.
There wasn't really a need to go beyond what he had already done.
'B-but if I just let him go like this, I won't feel at ease. What if Ha Du-gyeong comes into my dreams wailing….'
Kang-hyuk sighed after mulling over the issue.
'I should do a little more as thanks to the fellow that spent so much time hanging out with me.'
Moreover, it wasn't right to send away his long-gone friend's grandson away without properly receiving him.
Not only that, Kang-hyuk felt that investigating the situation further was of great importance. He addressed Ha Go-jun, ”You smell like blood. That means that many have lost their lives at your hands.”
”That's correct,” Ha Go-jun replied without hesitation.
”Up until today, I've killed around eighty eight…no, after I escaped I killed two more, so in total, I've killed ninety people.”
Kang-hyuk clicked his tongue.
He was aware that weapons weren't permitted in blood fighting arenas.
It was dangerous to hand over a weapon to a slave, since there was a possibility they would use it to break out. Also, there was less fun involved in watching a fight using weapons.
Kang-hyuk found the fact that Ha Go-jun had killed eighty eight rivals and survived through his blood fighting career without a weapon quite surprising.
'He's a tough one. And as that fellow used to boast, he's quite a smart lad as well.'
*Thud!*
Ha Go-jun suddenly bashed his forehead onto the ground.
”It's okay if I die. I'm a murderer who has caused the deaths of many. How could I hope to live! But, but…”
He continued, ”I just want to find my younger sister. I just want to find her and tell her that I've been fine all of this time. I want to tell her to not worry about me. Please let me go!”
Tears began to well up in Ha Go-jun's eyes. They were tears he had held back for all of these years, tears of pain and hardship.
Kang-hyuk stared at Ha Go-jun.
'This lad, does he think that I want to arrest him?'
Kang-hyuk bent down, putting his hand on Ha Go-jun's shoulder.
”Stand up.”
”....”
”I'm not a figure worthy enough for you to be prostrating like this. So please, lift your head now.”
Ha Go-jun slowly lifted his bowed head, slightly startled.
Kang-hyuk's gaze towards him was a gaze of sorrow.
”If you say you're a murderer, I would be a mass murderer.”