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Episode 7
We shall escort you.
Let me go...
Let go!
Help me.
Please.
These are clan matters.
Do not risk your fettle in vain.
What is it?
Getting an itch down your pants because they're taking your wench away?
That's quite the tiger we have there.
Baekho...
Are you all right?
Milady!
What's with your walking?
If there's one thing in the world you can never trust,
that's women.
Let's go.
Daegil trailed them alone, so he might be facing trouble.
Wait...
Daegil!
Free the way!
Get out of the way.
Have you seen how many there were?
In the frenzy of the moment, we could not.
One man tagging along.
One hunter trailing her.
And one more.
Also, the last one.
They were four in total.
Couldn't they all be people sent by Lord Choi?
Their fighting styles were all too different for that to be the case.
Particularly that woman.
What woman are you referring to?
The one up on that roof?
She wore peculiar garments...
She's not from Joseon.
After the Ming's downfall,
there was word that errant masters infiltrated Joseon.
She's likely an assassin from the old Imperial Office of Eunuchs.
How could someone with ties to the Ming involve herself with people like Lord Choi?
His clan purchased yangban status after trade flourished.
If they established connections during his days as merchant, it's possible.
Will you be able to move?
I must.
Any word from the others?
Nothing so far.
- Leave a signal behind. - But...
Where will we go, now?
They headed south.
We shall trail them that way.
Eonni!
Ahh... Really! They all croaked?!
I ought to...
Shouldn't we get out of here?
If we get embroiled in a murder case, there will be no place to hide.
You go wherever the wind leads you, anyhow...
Now that the dances have started,
we'll have to make it worth it.
Let's just go, Eonni.
The stakes on the table are too high for people like us.
Higher the stakes, bigger the risk.
Seemed like over a thousand nyang are waiting for us on that table...
Go in and take care of the bodies.
Yes. Certainly, Naeuri...
What are you waiting for?
Some more money to encourage us, maybe?
Did I not pay the entire sum in advance?
That was merely what brought you here.
But if you're asking us to deal with murders,
then I'm afraid we might need to up the ante a little.
Do you have a death wish?
It's just that the laws of the street dictate that...
you don't work on an empty stomach, so...
Forget the laws of the street.
If you defy me once more, this time it will be your neck to pay.
I will bear it in mind, Naeuri.
Take care of the bodies at once.
Move.
We will, Naeuri.
But...
When will you pay us the rest?
Eonni.
You sure have guts.
I thought I'd die in there, but you were placid as if nothing happened.
You fool. The palace has its rules.
And the streets have laws of their own.
Let anyone with an official robe or a blade frighten you,
and they'll run you dry.
It's our Eonni we're talking about, after all.
We even made a hundred nyang more thanks to that.
But how could you be sure he wouldn't just slay you?
If he did so, who would take care of all the dirty work?
That's more hits in a while than I ever wanted to...
But if you croaked, couldn't we have dealt with it ourselves, more or less?
Isn't that right?
Why, if a loach prances about in the sky, it becomes a dragon?
Of all times, you pester me with silly jests now?
Set him on fire. Fire...
You two, reach the Apgujeong pavilion by midday in the morrow.
If you are only an instant late,
your lifeless mugs will be staring at your feet.
The rest, follow me.
- Understood. - Yes.
Insolent little scamp.
Look how he talks to you...
Eonni. Are we really going?
This doesn't smell right.
Is the charming scent of shit what attracts the flies?
Let us just tag along.
You truly risked your fettle this time.
It was like staring at a buck-naked slattern while a dog feasted on your jewels.
Eonni. Before it's too late, let's go after them.
I'm sure it was her.
Who are you talking about?
Eonnyeon...
What cow manure are you spewing this time?
It was Eonnyeon for sure.
Wake up!
Why would Eonnyeon run away with Song Taeha?
Got pierced by a dagger.
Who, Song Taeha?
Eonnyeon.
Aigoo, he's gone batty...
Gone for good.
That dagger...
I threw it.
Calm down, and since we all suffered injuries,
let us forget this and return.
Wait a moment.
Forget what and return where? You'd drop a 500-nyang hit just like that?
He was trained at the Military Training Command.
There is a good chance courtiers might be involved already.
Again! Again with that!
Why would you always be so fearful of those courtiers?
We wear the crown in this trade, what's wrong with you?
Enough with your banter.
Enough with what?
If it really daunts you that much, let us deal with it.
I told you to stop with your banter!
No... Why don't we just split the money and go our separate ways?
You really...
Is that all the loyalty you can show?
What is loyalty?
Is that not something you can buy with a few pennies, these days?
Are you sure it was her?
She was riding away on that horse...
While she was falling down, I saw her...
You must have seen only the side of her face.
Was it about a year past?
- Get going. - Yes.
- Stop! - What are you doing?
You were sure it was her back then as well,
and opened a married lady's carriage,
after which we faced staunch reproof.
I still can feel the bruises from all those lashes at the Capital Bureau.
No, I'm sure I saw her. This time it's for real.
You said the same thing last year.
And the year before that.
Three years past, you said the same.
Our eyes are cunning enough to let us see whatever we wish for.
Think about it.
Whether that woman was truly Eonnyeon.
Or if you only wished it to be her.
She would have no reason to be tagging along with him.
Why would a runaway wench end up with a former Training Command officer?
I suppose what you say is right.
Let's get going.
You made a wise decision.
- Let us return to Hanyang... - No.
We'll have to catch Song Taeha.
Once we get our hands on him, we will find out.
Whether it is Eonnyeon or not.
Must we really do so?
We completely lost them.
We can beat them to their destination, then.
Ahh... Can't even talk now...
Come get some.
Who?
Me?
Let's see who gets to be the elder here.
Uh? On the streets, the pack follows the strongest, isn't that...
Of all the spots you could hit...
What are you doing?
Let's pack things and go.
Something seems missing...
How much longer am I supposed to wait?
How could you leave her alone, you useless prat?
Weren't you the first telling her to keep an eye on the horses?
You still should have brought her along!
- With all that disorder... - Let's just leave her behind.
She can't cook and won't even strip a single string, what's the point anyway?
Told you to use that brain sometimes, didn't I?
Where do you think all our supplies and money are?
On the horses, you irritating little twat!
Let's go catch her.
I just ought to...
Didn't they slay Im Youngho?
Once the authorities learn of the murder, they'll be on alert all over.
Let's wait until the eventide before we leave.
The former Left State Councilor was murdered,
so constables will be all over the place.
We have amulets* and Bureau passes,
*mapae: horse amulets for secret royal emissaries
so we can just get through inspections with those.
Listen to your elders for once, will you?
Once you get embroiled in all this, there will be no escape.
You...Young Master...
Can you hear me?
Youn...
You want me to gather water ox horns?
Gather all the petty merchants and smugglers you can find,
and corner the market as much as you can.
Your Excellency.
I am much too unversed to envision what kind of stratagem you're planning.
May I ask why you're requesting all that?
Aren't water ox horns an essential attribute of horn bows*?
*gakgung: more flexible and lighter; made with water ox or sheep horns
And you know that the Qing only import horn bows from Joseon.
When their delegation arrives in a matter of days,
they will announce their decision not to trade water ox horns anymore.
They probably will, as they wouldn't want to see our military strengthen itself.
However, once His Highness* ascends to the throne,
*Injo's 2nd son, to be King Hyojong; staunch opponent of the Qing
he will clamor for a northern campaign against the Qing.
And what will be our most pressing need, then?
None other than water ox horns.
They will bring the world to anyone who possesses them.
But, Your Excellency.
This might also cause an upheaval...
Look.
Would I be the only one to benefit?
It will both benefit them and us all.
I must amass all the power I can before I entrust this country to you,
if this old cur is to spend his final days in tranquility.
I am not worthy, Your Excellency.
You will have to fill my void, in due time.
As you well know, I have no sons.
I will.
From the morrow, I will contact every merchant I know for those horns.
It must begin today.
A day squandered in state affairs means a thousand years lost in oblivion.
How blistering is the summertide's resolve.
Brisk vittles is all I'd ask for, to quench this oppressing swelter.
How scornful of me, neglecting my esteemed guest.
I shall immediately soothe your appetence.
Speak no more.
Lest I be blistered for being a fastidious varmint,
I shall rather endure the blistering sun.
Our paths are laden with years of inseparable consonance,
why so wistfully abandon yourself in formalities?
Anyone out there?
Bring something refreshing for our guest.
Yes, Yes... Naeuri.
I will bring it immediately.
Ehh... Really...
If the heat bothers you so much, don't stuff yourselves with warm food.
Or if you really have to eat it, then don't start bitching with me.
"Soaring up high in the sky is the gleaming moon,"
*Song dynasty poet Shao Yong's "Song of a Clear Night"
"As the breeze gently caresses the water."
"So unwonted is the sight of men fathoming this glory,"
"A clear and limpid light in an ocean of darkness."
Only a sip, and you recite one of Shao Yong's classics!
You make scholars proud!
Meager as it may be, here is a token of our allegiance.
Once you don official robes, use it for the betterment of our state affairs.
Ohh Ohh... Is talebearing that swift?
Were you not going to accept the Left State Councilor's overtures?
- A compeer's comity is all he asked for. - Let us not be vainglorious.
It is clear that he would not stop at exchanging amicable amenities.
At this age, an official robe is a most intriguing proposition,
but we shall see whose hands providence will grace.
To our humble eyes, providence has already chosen!
Should you make it to minister,
may you allow us to serve you, Your Excellency.
Listen to you... Minister?!
Should I truly don a minister's vest,
we shall gorge our every night away in jubilation.
We can have a feast today.
Help yourselves.
Go ahead and eat.
Before dawn breaks, we need to finish.
Skip a single weed, and you'll taste the cudgel.
Too busy stuffing yourselves to answer?
- Yes. - Yes!
And why are you still keeping quiet?
Did you eat your tongue?
I got it.
Eopbok, you know that you must work twice as hard, don't you?
Ahh... Give it a rest, will you?
You don't even bother mongrels when they eat.
And who should you be thankful to for that food?
Think you'd find it easy to stuff yourself like that out there?
It is all thanks to Milord's benevolence, you fool.
Yes... Sure is.
That motherless son of a two-nickel tramp, look at how he answers...
Lowly peons should know their place.
Why ignore a perfectly fine moniker like servant, you ignorant...
- That... That... - That little son of a...
What did that fool start, reading?
Is he coming, or what?
He'll come.... He said he would, so just wait.
But have you ever seen that gentleman?
Gentleman who? That fellow?
He's no gentleman, just a fellow minion.
Ehh... You're all so ignorant. Minion? What's with that?
You ignore a perfectly fine moniker like commoner...
So, what now, have you learned how to read?
You start talking so airy and stuff...
Airy, that?
- The hell?! - Oh my!
Ehh... It almost scared me to death.
I'll be damned...
I'm sure the white stuff must be paper...
And all this black is what's written on it, I suppose?!
Be my guest.
What is it?
You spent all this time preaching linguistics,
and you couldn't even learn the vulgar script*?
*eonmun: original form of current hangeul, as opposed to hanja (Chinese characters)
If I did, then what, would it help me catch tigers?
All I needed was to be good with the matchlock.
Where is Gaenom Ajeosshi when you need him?
Ahh... Maybe that will work. Wait a moment.
Chobok.
Chobok, are you there?
Why?
They still haven't come?
Do you know how to read?
I can read the vulgar script a little.
That's it!
Good, take a look at this.
"The circumstances prohibit me from coming,"
"so forgive me for not being able to see you."
Wow... Chobok is really something, uh?
She even knows the vulgar script.
It says here to kill this yangban called Park Byeong?!
*Jinsashi, one of two national civil examinations (focused on poems)
He passed the prose examination*...
If he passed the examination, he must be quite the influential specimen?!
What does influence matter anyhow?
Weren't you going to infiltrate the palace?
Listen to that... Has your tongue gone batty?!
What are you prattling about?
Why? Did I say anything strange?
Should I go on reading?
Ohh... Go ahead.
*as in scholar who passed the jinsashi
"Park Jinsa*, despite releasing his slaves, kept the registers."
"When any of those slaves managed to amass any riches,"
"he would send slave hunters on their trail,"
"confiscate their goods by using his slave registers,"
"and force them back into slavery."
"Contending that any and all wealth on their name belonged to their keeper,"
*equivalent of the nyang until 1894
"the assets he confiscated are worth thousands of jeon*."
That motherless swine...
*7~9pm **9~11pm
"Tonight between the hours of the dog* and swine**,"
"he will head towards Soseomun,"
"and he will be carrying a 1000-nyang draft on him,"
"so use the money for our endeavors."
Th... Th... Th... Th...
- A thousand nyang?! - That... Aigoo.
With a thousand nyang, we could buy a dozen matchlocks.
But it says he always travels with two guards.
Why would one carrying a rifle fear a couple of blades?
What are you going to do?
We'll have to see some action tonight.
Those who sleep catch no fish.
Aigoo... So D... D... D... D...
Do you need more people, or something?
Should I alert the others?
No.
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Forget it. I'll do it myself.
- Eonnyeon! - Young Master!
Look at what we have to endure...
But would Seolhwa just sit placidly waiting for us?
She's not the type to do nothing about it?!
And where could she possibly go?
She wouldn't last a day out there without us.
And what would you know about women anyway?
A leopard can lose its fangs but not its spots.
We told her to wait, so she'll be waiting.
Want to bet?
By now, she should be prancing about without a worry in the world.
A wench's existence can sure be ill-starred.
Always abandoned...
Seeing what remarkable specimen I heretofore have neglected,
I ask you to forgive my inexcusable disdain.
Don't say that, Your Excellency.
Your summoning alone is a sign of your peerless forbearance.
You maundered in disheartenment for over a decade,
so your resentment for the royal family...
Do not even mention such mortifying utterances.
I am the only one to blame for my inadequacy,
why would I ever resent anyone for that?
You're blessed by forbearance yourself.
The reason I summoned you here today...
is none other than...
The reason I summoned you today...
Have a drink.
I hear your august father was engaging in trade?
I wouldn't call it trade.
Always concerned about my failure to gain office,
he used our clan assets to purchase selected items,
but those are dealings of many moons past.
Is that so?
And what items are we dealing with?
Qing needles and water ox horns.
He was adamant that prices would skyrocket,
but they are still gathering dust in our cellars.
From what I hear, those horns alone are worth thirty-forty thousand nyang?
According to my father,
they are worth over fifty thousand nyang by now.
I see...
Before it's too late, you should gain a post in the court.
For a remarkable specimen such as yourself,
*champan: vice-minister **panseo: minister (of one of the six boards)
would becoming minister* in a decade be that arduous?
I am in awe at your benevolence, Your Excellency.
I shall do the utmost to support you,
so will you do your best to become an esteemed courtier?
I shall pledge my every earnest effort for the sake of our nation!
And what is this?
It is a deed regarding the concession of your clan's water ox horns.
Your seal.
My apologies, Your Excellency.
That is something I must first discuss with...
We are not asking you to just hand it to us.
Here.
A draft worth a thousand nyang.
A fifty-thousand nyang item for a thousand...
It is not something I can decide upon, so...
It is something your country will purchase from you,
so do not consider it such a loss.
I shall confer with my father,
and promptly return with his...
As deep and unyielding as your filial piety is,
I trust your fealty would be the same?!
You will become a remarkable courtier.
I will leave him to you.
Yes, Your Excellency.
What is so important about fifty thousand nyang's worth of horns,
when becoming a minister is at stake?
How dare you wobble that spurious tongue in my face?
Did I not say I will confer with my father first?
Will your father pave the way to the court?
Providence is as blind as it is fair in according opportunities.
Blind as foolish people who fail to see an opportunity when it graces them.
Bedecked in official robes, not only fifty thousand,
would even five hundred thousand nyang be such an unfeasible yield?
Hand me the brush!
Considering the situation,
getting even only a chicken during harvest season is out of the question.
Damn it... Without a piece of meat in our bellies,
how are we going to endure the scorching summer?
We'll have to do with some wandering mongrel,
or, worst comes to worst, even by catching snakes.
So why would you run away and spoil it all?
When one slave runs away, all the rest pay the consequences.
You must all be aware by now,
but if you leave here, what would you find other than distress?
Whatever the Master pesters you with,
just consider yourselves blessed for warm lodgings and three meals per day.
Where are you going at this hour?
To take a leak.
Not to run away, I hope?
Run away?!
Who, me?
With this on my face, how could I?
Just to take a leak.
Ajumeoni.
Can I go to the latrine?
What did you drink all day?
Will be back in a moment.
That wench's behind is always in tumult, isn't it?
Mother... I need to sleep...
Stop prattling and go on.
You just wait.
Once I don official robes, forget fifty or a hundred thousand,
I'll make five million nyang.
I shall pay back today's affront tenfold!
You knave, think you will be Councilor for an eternity?
How did he look?
A promising courtier, one who will exploit those under him...
and fawn his way into his peers' graces.
You wayward slattern...
Is that what you call a promising courtier?
Would he not be much easier to tame than one of unyielding principles?
If you had been born a man,
this country would have knelt before your guile.
Ever heard of beauty that can destroy a nation?
When it comes to causing a country's downfall,
women are much more apt than men will ever be.
Is that kind of beauty such a commonplace sight?
Depends on whom looks at her, and what his standards are,
don't you think?
We have a new arrival, care to see her?
It's an ambush!
~ One Thousand Nyang ~
Did you set up camp in the latrine?
What's with all the sweat?
When I shit, I always seem to get fever.
Was it bigger than your hole?
Need to eat properly, if you want a smooth sailing in the latrine.
All we get are weeds, so every time it feels like I'm shitting entrails.
Listen to those mongrels, yapping all night.
Should just make a nice soup out of them...
Did you hide a swain in the latrine?
Look at all that sweat...
You didn't go shake that behind in someone's face, did you?
What are you saying? It hurts like hell...
What is it, that time of the month?
Ahh... I've had enough of it.
Does it hurt bad?
Feels as if my back is about to snap.
You shake that behind all day, it's natural you'd feel hurt.
Did you wear cloth for the menses?
What do you think? As if there was any cloth left.
Aigoo...
Eonni.
Quiet?
As quiet as it gets.
Let's get going.
Aigoo... Take a look.
No horses, and only the shit they left behind.
Ahh... What did I tell you? She wasn't going to sit still.
Like you'd have a clue...
She won't have gone out of the capital, would she?
No need to even ask. Is there only one gate leading out of here?
Instead of squandering time looking for her,
why don't we just forget it and make up some money on the side?
Do I look like someone who would let that little moppet screw me?
I'm Daegil.
General Choi, you go right, and Wangson will take the left.
If you find her, bring her to our place,
and come back before the curfew in any case.
Got it?
Ehh... Let's just go.
Wait until I catch that silly little wench...
Are you feeling any better?
Did you...
I know it betrays the division of the sexes*,
*NamNyeoYuByeol: one of the core tenets of Confucianism
but the severity of your wounds left me no other choice.
Forgive me.
I thought you had left without your sword.
Men of arms never leave their swords behind.
If they do so before departing,
it is only to tell someone they will return.
Are you always so blunt?
I suspected you weren't a susceptible man from the start,
but your tone is always so curt...
It leaves no space for me to convey any word.
Is that so?
You didn't know?
I have spent my entire adult life on the battlefield.
It was a world made only of orders taken and given.
We can no longer squander any more time.
If you can walk, I will help you to the foot of the cliff.
Yes.
What are you staring at?
Never seen a wench drink before?
Ohh Ohh... I can already feel our guiding morals being trampled on!
A wench reproaching me?
So what?
Is it that repulsive?
Hearing your ribald raillery,
meseems we are not in a damsel's presence?!
How did you guess?
That I'm not the kind who would leave for her marriage in a carriage...
Aigoo... Apprehension is drawn on your visage!
And your life seems laden with vicissitudes,
so let us partake in some soothing parley.
Sure you don't want to partake in something else?
Ehh Ehh! Partake in parley and you will partake in endearment,
and eventually partaking in each other's embrace is Buddha's way!
Is that not the case?
Here... Here...
Let me pour you a drink.
I wonder why all men are so much alike.
All they do at the first sight of a wench...
is trying to get her drunk and laid.
Let me pour you a drink instead.
Will you pour me one as well?
You men...
Ehh... Here's money!
Waste it all on drinks!
*Taepyeongga (Song of Peace) by Jung Sain
"Why abandon yourself in an instant's rage?"
"Why fall for an impetuous spark of fire?"
"Life is but a fleeting journey of illusion,"
"So let us not drench it in tears..."
- "of regret" - Of regret!
"Ninano! Nilliriya Nilliriya Ninano!"
"Oh! Feels good."
"Oh! Feels so good."
"Butterflies flitter their wings in search of their beloved flowers."
"Will a good liar live in happiness?"
"Will utmost sincerity give you abundance?"
"His deceiving ways brought me tears only this once,"
"But I shall never let him fool me again."
It is time you stop.
If you tell my brother, he will understand.
He is afflicted by great disquietude himself.
We all lived like family.
Must you really do this?
Let us return.
If I had any intention to,
I would have never left to begin with.
Escort her.
Your confidence surpasses every limit.
She thinks of you as family, so how could I use a real blade?
- Naeuri... - You needn't worry.
Think of it as two men jesting, and enjoy the sight.
Let us begin.
The charging fowl* is as effective as it is easy to anticipate.
*one of the basic stances of Joseon's native martial arts, with one foot forward
When you charge from a defensive stance,
always bear in mind that your right side will be exposed.
The hidden tiger* will only limit your viewing field.
*suggesting a hidden tiger in ambush charging from the forest
I shall accept demise, but not your ridicule.
Do not see it as ridicule,
but merely as notions I imparted upon you.
Swordsmanship has a life outside simple lectures.
Are you planning to continue trailing us?
I was ordered to, so I cannot stop.
It can't be helped, then. Go on as instructed.
But will you honor our duel, and stop trailing us until the morrow?
I'd like to face no quandaries, if only for tonight.
I shall do so.
Our duel itself was karma, shall we exchange our names?
*current Gaeseong, North Korea
I am Baekho from Songdo*.
And I am...
Song Taeha from Hanyang.
By Song Taeha,
you mean the former Commissioner of the Training Command...
Forgive our impudence.
Were you formally trained?
Yes.
We went through training for four-five years.
It would more than suffice to pass the military examination,
why be content as a meager private guard?
You will forgive me,
but I still see no reason why I should serve our current ruler.
The nobler a man of arms' intents are,
the more easily he will be exploited by treacherous courtiers.
And that all goes back to our ruler's lack of virtue.
If you renege any association with the court because of corruption,
there is no light that will ever kindle the darkness you avoid.
Only when you stare at darkness in the face you will see how deep it is,
and find your own light illuminating the righteous path.
Should the opportunity arise, let us duel for real next time.
I shall make sure it does.
Milady.
What should I tell the Master about today?
I...
engaged in conjugal ties with this man.
Go on and enjoy your life.
Why should I care about who abandoned me, anyhow?
It's all right.
Go ahead and leave!
When it comes to bedtime matters, first come first served!
What are you, jumping the line?
Ohh... Orabeoni!
You prick!
You little scamp, I ought to...
Oh! Feels good!
Feels good...
You prick.
Why did you abandon me?
Why did you? Who the hell do you think you are?
Nilliriya!
We met by accident and fell for each other in the past,
but because of the distress of not being able to meet him,
I ended up running away.
I will go back in due time, so tell him to stop trailing us.
Did you truly marry him?
Yes.
We had a meager ceremony* at a mountain hermitage.
*jaksuseongrye: how peasants would often marry, before a bowl of water
That is...
what happened.
Let us go.
Orabeoni...
Orabeoni.
Don't think of me as a slattern.
Did you abandon me because of that?
Do you even realize how being abandoned feels like?
They all abandoned me...
They will no longer trail us.
I no longer want to owe you...
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Main Translator and Timer: MisterX
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Editor/QC: thunderbolt
Coordinators: mily2, ay_link
~ On The Next Episode Of ~ SLAVE ~@~ HUNTERS
We'll have to sell her and make some money.
So now you even want to sell me?
- What a pleasant meeting! - Spare me...
Help me... Help me...
- So you slew him. - Where is Song Taeha?
We'll head to Jeju, and find the Royal Successor.
- Where would he be headed? - Jeju, of course.
Suspicious men were after her.
Led by a slave hunter named Lee Daegil.
You must slay him!
At all costs.
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