Chapter 337. The Battle of Liaoyang 6 — Oyeon Jik's Bloody Struggle
The two bodies tilted together, tangled in a grapple.
Oyeon Jik slipped one hand behind the man's waist.
He clenched the small knife in a reverse grip, drove the point into the man's lower back, and dragged it with all the strength he had left.
The man's shocked face seemed to swell before his eyes.
His eyes went wide, and his mouth opened as though it were as large as his head.
The body trapped in Oyeon Jik's arms went rigid and trembled.
Hot breath reeking of wine burst from the man's mouth.
Oyeon Jik felt every shudder through his chest and arms.
They collapsed together onto the ground.
Blood flowed from the wound on Oyeon Jik's shoulder.
Something hot ran down his arm and over the back of his hand.
It did not matter.
He had already expected to die here.
Even if he died, the hidden gate had to be opened.
Then a shadow of steel fell over him.
It was the blade of the man on the right.
Oyeon Jik closed his eyes.
He had no hand left to block it with, and no strength left to roll away.
If the end was coming, perhaps it was better simply to shut his eyes.
If he kept them closed and died...
He pushed at the man sprawled over him and wriggled like a grub.
His body would not obey him.
He knew he could not evade the blow.
It felt as though everything was about to end.
But the sword never came down.
Oyeon Jik shoved the dead man away and rolled to the side.
Dirt, blood, and the smell of spilled wine smeared across his face.
He barely managed to rise and looked ahead.
The man was gone.
Then an animal-like scream erupted from beside him.
Oyeon Jik turned his head.
The soldier who had been charging him with a sword was now sprawled on the ground, thrashing.
A blade was buried in his back.
The person gripping the hilt was the courtesan who had been pouring wine only moments before.
She had little strength, so the blade had not gone in deeply.
Her face was deathly pale.
Her lips trembled.
Both hands were frozen around the sword hilt, unable to let go.
The hands that had been smilingly offering wine only moments earlier were now gripping a blade buried in a man's back.
Oyeon Jik staggered toward her.
He placed his own hand over hers, seized the hilt, and drove the blade deeper.
The man's body shuddered violently, then went stiff.
Dark red blood surged from his back.
Oyeon Jik planted one foot against him and pulled the sword free with the last of his strength.
Blood ran in a long line down the blade.
He struck downward once more.
The point punched through the man's back.
His arms and legs struck the ground once in a short convulsion.
Then his body went limp.
Breathing hard, Oyeon Jik turned toward the courtesan.
"It is dangerous here. Get back. Run."
The woman collapsed backward onto the ground.
Red blood had spread like flower petals across her pale peach-blossom-colored clothes.
She stared blankly down at her own hands.
There was no time to distinguish the dead from the living.
Still gasping for breath, Oyeon Jik approached the hidden gate.
The walls had been built in overlapping layers so that the entrance could not be seen from outside.
Within that narrow gap stood a tall, narrow door.
Seen from close up, the wood was dark with damp, as though it had remained shut for years.
A thick locking beam stretched across the inside.
Oyeon Jik seized it.
His bloody hands slipped against the wood.
Grinding his teeth, he lifted.
The beam was heavier than he had expected.
It seemed swollen with moisture from years of neglect.
Where it sat in its groove, it resisted stubbornly.
Just as he finally managed to lower the first locking beam to the ground, footsteps sounded behind him.
Oyeon Jik turned.
It was the woman from before.
"It is dangerous."
She approached without answering.
With both bloodied hands, she took hold of one end of the beam.
Her thin arms trembled, but she did not release it.
When Oyeon Jik lifted again, she threw her entire body into helping him.
Covered in blood, she clenched her teeth and shouted,
"I am Balhae too!"
Oyeon Jik's eyes widened.
"Ah... Balhae."
That one word was enough.
He turned back and seized the beam again.
The two of them worked together without another word.
The wood slowly lifted from its groove, old dust spilling down around it.
They were removing the third beam when a shout erupted behind them.
"Stop them!"
The soldiers had realized the gate was being opened.
Of course they had.
There was no hiding the commotion, the screams, the smell of blood, or the bodies lying before the hidden gate.
More than a dozen soldiers came charging through the darkness with weapons in hand.
Oyeon Jik thought that this time he really was going to die here.
He shoved the final locking beam aside, grabbed the woman by the arm, and pulled her behind him.
The wound on his shoulder tore open again.
Blood ran down his arm.
Still, his hands did not stop.
The beam fell aside with a dull crash.
The door shifted inward slightly.
Oyeon Jik threw his body against it.
The long, narrow hidden gate opened as though by a miracle.
Cold night air rushed through the gap.
And through that opening, a young commander walked calmly inside with a hwando in one hand.
Firelight flashed briefly across the blade.
He looked at Oyeon Jik and the woman.
"I am Balhae too. You have done well. We will take it from here."
He must have heard the woman shouting from inside.
Oyeon Jik swallowed a ragged breath and pointed behind him.
"The enemy is coming."
The young commander's lips curved softly.
It almost looked like a smile.
His expression said it was nothing to worry about.
Who was he?
Instead of answering, the young commander stepped forward toward the soldiers rushing at them.