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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Great King Namsaeng
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"What kind of favor?"
"Please teach me martial arts."
I was caught off guard by the unexpected request and asked,
"What? Martial arts?"
"The martial art you used to take down those assassins barehanded in the market earlier."
"Ah! That."
Only then did I remember that I'd used a jujutsu armbar. It was a familiar martial art in modern Korea, but it must have seemed foreign here in Goguryeo.
"Jujutsu, right?"
"Is that what that martial art is called?"
"Yeah, it's about twisting the opponent's arms and legs to subdue them."
"It looked like lightning the way you took them down. If I learn that, I could serve you even better, Master."
It seemed more like pure curiosity about the martial art itself. Either way, I didn't mind, so I nodded.
"Perfect timing. Adokbang can learn it too. We'll have to roll around on the floor, so let's head to the living room."
Geom Mojam jumped up like it was absurd, but I dragged him along anyway. Adokbang looked clueless about what was going on. Goguryeo homes were built upright without the large wooden floors like in Joseon, and they had open living spaces inside. The floor was laid with baked earthen bricks, perfect for rolling around on.
I had Geom Mojam lie on his back first, then lay diagonally across him. I grabbed his right arm.
"Grab the arm like this and wedge it between your groin."
I locked his arm tight, then yanked my body backward sharply. At the same time, I twisted his arm outward. Geom Mojam, who had been still, started thrashing around.
He brushed off his clothes as he got up and asked,
"You okay?"
Clutching the arm that had been in the armbar, Geom Mojam grimaced and replied,
"It felt like I was dying."
"No one can endure having their joint twisted backward."
"I saw one of the assassins you caught with this technique had a broken arm."
"If they resist, it'll snap or pop their shoulder out."
"It seems perfect for bodyguard work."
"I'll teach you whatever comes to mind."
"Thank you, Master."
Geom Mojam bowed his head in thanks, then led the still-dazed Adokbang out.
"Things are unfolding in strange ways."
Back in Korea, I'd learned jujutsu to help with writing novels, but I quit due to my sluggish reflexes and poor stamina. Things changed after possessing Yeon Namsaeng of Goguryeo. Maybe because he was a golden boy, but he'd eaten well and trained hard—his muscles were no joke.
'Even when I swung that sword earlier, it felt light as a feather.'
My head was spinning trying to figure it all out.
'Of all people, Yeon Namsaeng.'
I pushed those thoughts aside for later and lay down on the bed, finally realizing,
"I killed five people today."
And who knew how many more I'd have to kill—this was far from over. If war broke out with Tang, my decisions could determine the fate of hundreds of thousands.
"First, I need to stop Yeon Gaesomun's coup."
That was the decisive reason Goguryeo lost to Tang. They held strong while Yeon Gaesomun lived, but after his death, strife among his brothers led to civil war. Namsaeng's surrender to Tang sealed their doom, branding Yeon Namsaeng forever as a traitor in history.
"That's me."
Possessed or not, I didn't want to go down as a traitor. Especially not the one who destroyed the Goguryeo I loved.
"Adapting to this body is hard enough—now I have to save the country too?"
The silver lining was having written novels set in this era. Some details were accurate, some not, but it gave me a rough roadmap.
'Use that to change the world and become a hero. One for the history books.'
Then another thought struck me. Beyond foreknowledge of events, my mind held other knowledge too.
'I know things that don't exist in this era.'
Researching historical novels had left those facts etched in my memory.
'Time to become inventor Yeon Taehwan—no, Yeon Namsaeng.'
Lost in thought, I didn't notice Yeon Suyeong slip in until she was there.
"Knock before you come in."
"What's that?"
I laughed it off at her question.
"Never mind. What is it?"
"Brother, I heard you killed someone today?"
How does news spread this fast? This isn't a sitcom, I grumbled inwardly. I nodded instead of answering, and she asked,
"How was it?"
"What?"
"Killing a person."
"Not great."
"Really? You used to say it didn't bother you."
Her words made me curse the original Yeon Namsaeng in my head.
'Didn't even bat an eye after killing?'
But I couldn't say that outright, so I played it off.
"It got to me today."
"Have you gotten too emotional lately?"
"Maybe I'm just getting older."
She smiled as she asked, but I worried my cover might slip. If it did, the consequences were easy to imagine. I needed to distract Yeon Suyeong, who was always hanging around.
'What to do?'
Then I hit on something perfect for her curious nature.
"Want to study with me?"
"What kind?"
"I've got some ideas from lying around. Bring a brush and paper."
"This'll be fun, right?"
"Extremely."
Yeon Suyeong dashed out excitedly. Meanwhile, I organized my thoughts.
"What should we make?"
Gunpowder came to mind first, but the ingredients would be hard to source, so I shelved it. By the time she returned with maids carrying paper and ink, I'd decided.
"Got the paper and inkstone."
"Sit there and draw what I describe."
"Got it."
Yeon Suyeong placed a stone on the corner to flatten the paper.
"First, the name."
"What should I write?"
"Yeon Clan Cannon."
"What's that?"
"Just write it. And..."
She brushed the Hanja for "Yeon Clan Cannon" on the paper.
"Draw two large pillars first."
"Like this?"
She sketched quickly with the brush. It wasn't exactly as I envisioned, but close enough.
"Now, lay a long pole across between them. Know what a lever is?"
"Of course. You think I don't?"
"That's the lever spanning the two poles. Make one side long, the other short."
I gave the next instructions watching her draw.
"Under the short end, draw a big box. Connect them with ropes."
"What's this?"
"Just draw it. At the long end, draw a rope hanging down. Then behind the pillars, draw a waterwheel—not a cart wheel, a waterwheel."
"Why a waterwheel?"
"I'll explain after."
Arts and literature type, she wasn't great with mechanics. Grumbling, she finished the drawing.
"Done. How does it work?"
"If you fill that box under the pole with stones?"
"It'll be heavy and go down."
"Now, with it down, pull the rope connected to the other end using the waterwheel. The stone box will rise again."
"That's why the waterwheel's there. Then?"
Her interest piqued, I got a bit excited.
"What if you release the waterwheel?"
"The box drops, lifting the other side."
"Right. Lever principle. Hang a rope from that end and attach a big stone?"
"It'll fly. Far."
Her eyes widened as she set down the brush.
"This is the Yeon Clan Cannon."
"How'd you think of this? The best we had were catapults pulled by men hurling stones."
"I did a lot of thinking while lying down."
I wanted to brainstorm more, but held back to avoid seeming too weird. Now came the practical issue.
"Is there anyone who can build this?"
Staring at the Yeon Clan Cannon sketch, Yeon Suyeong answered,
"Just ask in Sui Captive Village."
"Sui Captive Village?"
"Where Sui prisoners live. They make waterwheels and such—they'd be good at this."
"Guess I should visit."
She stared at me intently.
"Those slaves you beheaded today were from there. Take plenty of escorts."
"I should apologize."
She stared even harder.
"Can a person really change this much?"
"What about me?"
"Father's pleased, anyway. I don't mind either."
"Enough weird talk. Go now."
"Fine."
After she left, I stared at the paper for a while. Even working and thinking, those five necks I'd severed lingered in my mind.
"Damn."
Pacing the room, I sketched pulleys and waterwheels on the leftover paper. Suddenly, I pondered how to survive in this world. If I'd been born to an ordinary family, I'd live quietly—foreknowledge and tech mean nothing without power. But no, I possessed Yeon Gaesomun's eldest son, Yeon Namsaeng. Now I had the power to change the world, and the knowledge to make it happen.
'What kind of twist is this?'
I'd become the protagonist of my own novel. The problem? Unlike fiction, death here was real—for others and me.
'Maybe there's a reset or something?'
That strange voice before blacking out nagged at me. Pacing more, I flopped onto the bed.
'Tomorrow, Sui Captive Village it is.'
Sleep came as I closed my eyes.
The next morning, I rose early, filled up on porridge, donned a tall hat with a golden bird feather, and threw on a robe. I called Geom Mojam.
"You're going to Sui Captive Village?"
I nodded at his question.
"Prepare right away. I want to leave immediately. Beef up security."
"It's not that..."
"Worried about the families of those I killed yesterday?"
"Probably."
"We can't avoid it forever. Better to apologize for wrongdoing."
"Apologize? Why should you?"
"I killed their kin. Hurry and prepare."
I shot him a look that said no more arguing, and he bowed and left. Adokbang, watching from afar, pretended not to notice.
Soon, an ox-drawn cart arrived at my quarters. Fifty armored cavalrymen on horseback assembled, plus about thirty escorts like Geom Mojam. Even the drivers and porters looked tough.
"This is overkill."
"Forgot the market ambush? Cut the guards, and I'll kill myself right here."
I shrugged at his firm tone.
"Fine, let's go. How long?"
"If we leave now, we'll arrive by afternoon. It's near Great Star Mountain."
Clutching the Yeon Clan Cannon sketch Yeon Suyeong had drawn, I boarded the cart. As Geom Mojam closed the curtain, Yeon Gaesomun's voice boomed,
"Where to?"
Is he spying with CCTV or what? I grumbled inwardly. The curtain flew open, revealing Yeon Gaesomun. He wore a flowing robe inlaid with gold thread and a blue silk hat riddled with holes like a mosquito net—a noble's blue bamboo hat, I realized.
"Heading to court?"
"The Great King summoned me. Hop in; I'll ride with you a ways."