Chương 392: Chapter 363. A Bloody Battle 3

Okjeong nearly sank to the ground where she stood. The man who had been sitting across from her in the reception room only a short while ago was now standing on the roof above them, looking down with blood and snow covering him. His eyes were colder than anger. They were the eyes of a man who had confirmed betrayal. Go Hoewon spoke in a trembling voice.

"Commander Yi, this is—" Youngwoo cut him off.

"Someone entered the space above the ceiling of my room. Poison was dripped down on me. Men with swords were waiting outside the door. Then short bows, long swords, long spears, and longbows were brought into the courtyard one after another." He pointed the spear toward the detached residence. Screams, shouts, and the clash of weapons could still be heard from that direction.

"Could any of that have happened without help from inside?" Go Hoewon could not open his mouth. Go Youngchang's face hardened. He tried to look like an angry man, but his eyes wavered first. Okjeong managed to step forward.

"I knew nothing about it." Youngwoo's gaze settled on her. The moment she met his eyes, Okjeong swallowed. Whether she truly knew nothing, or had known something and chosen not to see it, no longer mattered. What mattered was that a trap had been laid inside this estate to kill him, and the people of the main residence had remained standing in silence while all that noise filled the night. Youngwoo spoke quietly.

"If you truly knew nothing, that is an even greater problem." The words struck Okjeong in the chest. She could not answer. Go Youngchang stepped forward.

"This is a misunderstanding. Someone must have tried to harm you—" Youngwoo looked down at him from the roof.

"Someone." That one word stopped Go Youngchang's explanation. Youngwoo slowly turned the long spear in his hand. The hook beneath the spearhead flashed through the snowfall. The warriors in the courtyard shifted their footing without realizing it. But no one dared move first. They knew what had happened at the detached residence. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Dozens of men had been thrown at a single master, and that master was still standing alive on the roof above them. Youngwoo asked again.

"Who ordered it?" Snow continued to fall. It gathered white on the roof tiles, the corridors, men's shoulders, and sword hilts. Under that snow, no one answered easily. Go Hoewon hurried to explain.

"That is not what happened." Youngwoo had been betrayed too many times before. His gaze turned cold.

"What exactly is not what happened?" Go Hoewon raised both hands.

"I am saying we did not order this." Youngwoo looked down over the main courtyard. Poisonous smoke still drifted from the detached residence, and blood was spreading across the snow where men had fallen.

"They look like people from this estate." Go Hoewon's face stiffened.

"I am just as shocked as you are."

"I will be moving my quarters."

"There is no need to go that far—""There is." Youngwoo's voice was low, but firm. He turned his eyes to Okjeong. Only a short while ago, she had been speaking with him about the future of Balhae. Now she stood in the courtyard with her face dark and rigid. Youngwoo asked,"Did you do this because your useless fiancé wants to become king?" Go Youngchang's body trembled. The tendons stood out on the back of the hand gripping his sword hilt. Okjeong's face darkened further. Youngwoo continued.

"You wanted to make him king, even if only for a few months." The entire courtyard froze. Go Hoewon lightly jabbed Okjeong's arm. Answer quickly. Say no. Say you knew nothing. Say you had nothing to do with this. Okjeong pressed her lips together for a moment. That brief silence felt long. Snow settled on her shoulders. At last, she raised her head. Her voice was quiet, but clear.

"I did not do this." Youngwoo looked at her in silence. He did not say that he believed her. He did not say that he did not. He simply stood on the roof with the bloodstained spear upright and examined the faces of those in the courtyard one by one.

"If that is true, then why are all of you standing here instead of fighting the intruders who broke into your own house?" Go Hoewon spoke urgently.

"No, that is not—" Youngwoo cut him off again.

"I will move my quarters." His voice had become cold and settled. It was not the voice of a man exploding in anger. It was the voice of someone who had already made his decision.

"I will stay at Guangyou Temple. This estate is to be emptied before sunrise. Clean it out completely. Do not leave a single person behind. Anyone still here will die. Whatever the reason." Go Hoewon's face twisted.

"No, this is our—" Youngwoo interrupted him.

"If this is your house, then that makes it stranger. Armed men are tearing it apart over there, while the owner stands in this courtyard watching." Go Hoewon took a step forward.

"Please, listen to what we have to say."

"If so much as a rat remains here after sunrise, I will not forgive it." Go Hoewon's voice shook.

"What is the meaning of this? This is our home." Youngwoo looked down at him from the roof. Snow settled on his shoulders and on the bloodied spearhead. He did not raise his voice. The quiet words pressed down on the courtyard more heavily than a shout.

"I will say it only once more. Empty the place." Go Youngchang clenched his teeth. His hand trembled around the sword hilt. But he could not draw. The instant he drew his blade, there would be no explaining this away. The attack would become open rebellion and assassination. Okjeong stared up at Youngwoo, her face pale. Only a short while ago, she had asked him to help them. She had asked him to save Liaoyang. Now Youngwoo was ordering them to abandon their own estate.

She understood how frightening that declaration was. His decision to move to Guangyou Temple was not simply a change of lodging. It was a public declaration that he no longer trusted Go Hoewon's household or Go Youngchang's faction. Youngwoo looked over each person standing in the courtyard. None of the dozen warriors dared move first. They had seen the devastation at the detached residence. They were looking at a man they had failed to kill even with short bows, long swords, long spears, and longbows.

"Clean up the bodies near the detached residence as well." Youngwoo added. Go Hoewon's lips hardened. The snow grew heavier. White accumulated on the bloodstained courtyard, the roof tiles, the corridors, and everyone's shoulders. Youngwoo shifted the spear in his hands and walked toward the edge of the roof.

"General Go." Go Youngchang raised his head.

"If you want to become king, learn to control the blades around you first. Talking about a country while failing to protect even one guest in your own courtyard is laughable." Go Youngchang's face flushed red, then darkened. Okjeong closed her eyes. The words were aimed at Go Youngchang. But they pierced her as well. Youngwoo looked away.

"Every fool with a pulse thinks he should be king." He muttered the words under his breath and left the estate. With a light step across the roof, he launched himself into the falling snow. His figure blurred for a moment between darkness and white as he headed back toward the detached residence. Those left in the main courtyard remained silent for a long time.