Chapter 370. Guangyou Temple — Go Youngchang's Visit 1
Before the evening service began, word came that a visitor had arrived.
Youngwoo was about to head for the guest room in the monks' quarters when he was told there was a reception hall near the front of the temple and that he could use it instead.
When he entered the reception hall, Go Youngchang was already there waiting.
Youngwoo blinked the moment he saw him.
"Oh. You again."
It was an absurdly casual thing to say.
Even after blood had been spilled and blades crossed, some shamelessly flippant remark still came out of his mouth first.
Go Youngchang rose and bowed properly.
His face was clean, as though he had washed it several times through the night, but deep shadows lay beneath his eyes.
"I brought what you asked for."
Youngwoo tilted his head.
"What was it I asked for again? Hm."
Go Youngchang took a folded document from inside his robe.
It was the plan detailing the assassination from beginning to end.
At the top of the document were the words:
Plan for the Elimination of Those Obstructing the Founding of the State.
Youngwoo's gaze darkened briefly.
Elimination.
It was a chilling word.
The document had been written on the very day Youngwoo arrived in Liaoyang.
It explained what kind of obstacle Yi Youngwoo represented, what preparations would be needed to remove him, and in what order additional forces should be committed if the first attempt failed.
First, hire an assassin.
If the assassin failed, position short-bow archers around the detached residence.
Pin him down with rapid short arrows, then send in swordsmen and spearmen once his movement slowed.
If even that failed, surround the area with longbowmen and loose together.
The writing was cold and meticulous.
It listed the positions of the holes through which poison was to be dripped, the number of swordsmen stationed on either side of the door, the order in which men were to enter the detached courtyard, and even the positions from which archers were to shoot from the rear.
The assassin's abilities, achievements, and previous experience were recorded in detail as well.
It was a document that divided the work of killing a man as neatly as one might organize an account book.
The names of those responsible, those assigned to each task, and the field commander were all written down.
Youngwoo read to the end, then stopped where the final handmark had been placed.
If only a handmark were written clearly enough for anyone to recognize the name behind it.
Instead, the end of the document bore a strange twisting symbol, recognizable only to the person who had made it.
It looked less like writing than the trail left by a snake writhing across the paper.
Youngwoo lifted the document.
"Whose handmark is this?"
Go Youngchang quietly raised his hand.
"The final approval was mine."
Youngwoo's eyes widened.
"Well, then. So you were the final boss."
Go Youngchang lowered his head.
"I owe you an apology."
Youngwoo set the document down and looked at him for a long moment.
The scents of incense and paper mingled inside the reception hall.
Outside, the quiet footsteps of monks preparing for evening worship passed by.
"Then why did you pretend you had nothing to do with it? A lot of people died for nothing."
Go Youngchang's shoulders sank slightly.
"I wanted to establish the state quickly. The meetings could not move forward because you opposed it. I ask your forgiveness."
He was more honest than Youngwoo had expected.
Youngwoo let out a hollow laugh.
"You wanted to found a country quickly, so you decided to kill someone?"
Go Youngchang could not answer.
Perhaps that was one of mankind's most ordinary tendencies—knowing full well that something should not be done, and doing it anyway.
Youngwoo tapped the document again with one finger.
"'Elimination of Those Obstructing the Founding of the State.' Fine wording. Give the killing of a man a proper name, and suddenly it becomes a righteous cause."
Go Youngchang's face went pale.
He lowered his head even further.
"I was foolish."
"No."
Youngwoo's voice dropped.
"You wanted to become king."
Go Youngchang swallowed.
He could not deny it.
A king.
Not merely an officer or a governor.
A king.
If one decision could make that possible, then what man would not want to try, at least once in his life?
From outside the reception hall came the indifferent sound of the wooden moktak.
It was calling the monks to evening worship.
Yet inside this small room, a single sheet of paper lay on the table, recording how one man's desire had driven nearly a hundred others to their deaths.
Youngwoo did not fold the document.
He left it spread open on the table.
"General Go."
"Yes."
"Arrest every person named in this document."
Go Youngchang raised his head.
Youngwoo continued.
"And submit yourself for punishment as well."
Go Youngchang's face hardened.
This time, however, he did not retreat.
If anything, he looked like a man who had come here expecting to hear those very words.
"Understood."
Even after hearing the answer, Youngwoo's expression did not soften.
A moment later, he asked quietly,
"Did Lady Okjeong know?"
Go Youngchang's eyes wavered.
That brief movement answered half the question on its own.
"She did not. She may have learned later. To be precise, she was not part of the conspiracy. Everything is my responsibility."
Youngwoo withdrew his gaze.
"I will believe you on that."
Go Youngchang bowed his head again.
Youngwoo remained seated.
He rested one hand on the document and sat in silence for a while.
This had been a rebellion initiated by the leadership itself.
Could men like these truly establish a country?
Could they look after the people's food and devote themselves to keeping ordinary lives safe?
From outside came the low sound of the monks chanting.
"Namu Shakyamuni Buddha."
"Namu Shakyamuni Buddha."
Youngwoo finally spoke.
"Sit here until the evening service ends. I need time to think as well."
Still, Go Youngchang had come with the actual plan and placed it before him without lying about what it contained.
Perhaps that much, at least, deserved acknowledgment.