Chapter 79: Interrogation Officer [2] What kind of nonsense was this now?
The eyes of everyone else there, Kanghyeok included, widened.
Among them, the one who reacted most strongly was Ryu Seong-ryong, whose lifelong chronic hemorrhoids Kanghyeok had cured.
"No, where would you find another physician as good as this man? How can you slander him like that?"
"You have received help from him yourself. He truly is an excellent physician."
"Then why say such a thing?"
"Does not being a good physician mean being someone who handles the human body well?"
Yi Hangbok let a faint smile spread across his face as he looked at Kanghyeok.
"If he can heal people, would he not also be good at ruining them?"
A chill ran down Kanghyeok's spine.
Was that not the very thought he himself had had only a few days ago?
He had never said it aloud, so no one could have passed it on.
Yi Hangbok truly was an extraordinary man in some ways.
"Hmm."
At the idea of turning a physician into an interrogation specialist, both Jeong Cheol and Ryu Seong-ryong frowned first.
Their expressions were similar, but what lay beneath them was completely different.
Jeong Cheol's greater concern was whether Kanghyeok could really make the man talk.
If that alone succeeds…
If they could catch even the smallest piece of evidence that Jeong Yeo-rip was plotting rebellion—
then would not the age of the Easterners end, and the age of the Westerners come sooner?
He felt a little sorry toward his friend Ryu Seong-ryong, but that could not be helped.
There was no room for private affection in factional strife.
At least I can make sure Seongryong does not get hurt.
Was he not a subject especially favored by King Seonjo?
No matter how much he belonged to the Easterners, he was not someone they could touch carelessly.
It was better to leave at least one alive.
Seongryong, after all, was someone with whom reason could still be exchanged.
This is a serious matter, a very serious matter.
That, naturally, was Ryu Seong-ryong's own thought.
From what he had personally experienced, Baek Kanghyeok was without question the greatest physician in all Eight Provinces of Joseon.
No—perhaps the greatest physician across all ages, East and West.
Otherwise, how could he have so thoroughly cured an illness that had tormented him for decades?
He would probably be good at torture too…
And yet, it was difficult for him to openly oppose it here.
Because no matter what, the reason Jeong Cheol had come all the way here to speak of this was obvious.
It is a warning and a consideration for my sake.
A kind of warning, and also consideration, telling him not to become entangled with Jeong Yeo-rip under any circumstances.
Once an oksa began, that blade would have neither eyes nor affection.
It would simply cut down anyone it caught without mercy.
"Hmm."
At this groan, Jeong Cheol's and Ryu Seong-ryong's eyes met.
Then both men nodded at the same time.
"All right. Let us entrust it to him once. Can you do it?"
Now the ball had been passed to Kanghyeok.
It was a heavy ball, one he did not want to pick up, but also one he absolutely could not refuse.
Kanghyeok's mind spun rapidly.
Gichuk Purge… Gichuk Purge.
Fortunately, it was something he had been keeping an eye on all this time, so fragments of memory began floating up.
First of all, the Ryu Seong-ryong here had managed to pass through that purge unscathed.
In fact, he would later even become a State Councillor, so one could say it had turned into a blessing in disguise.
The original Gichuk Purge… the timing was very peculiar.
That monstrous purge had erupted only two or three years before the Imjin War.
Surely neither Jeong Yeo-rip nor the Westerners had intended it that way.
But as a result, it had caused them to waste most of their strength on pointless matters instead of preparing for the Japanese invasions.
If it is going to break out anyway, better to bring it forward instead.
Kanghyeok nodded helplessly.
"Yes. I will do it."
"Good, very good. If you render merit, there will naturally be a fitting reward. So do not worry."
"Yes, Elder."
Though Kanghyeok kept nodding, he also carefully watched Ryu Seong-ryong's face.
By now, he too roughly understood how the power structure in Joseon worked.
There was no way this was a comfortable place for Ryu Seong-ryong to be sitting in.
As the leader of the Easterners, even if Jeong Yeo-rip was now little better than a kite with its string cut, he was still discussing the burial of an old comrade.
But Ryu Seong-ryong was a man with excellent judgment.
He did not cling to what could not be helped.
"It is fine. You need only do your assigned task diligently."
"Thank you, Elder."
Now they had more or less said everything they wanted to say.
Jeong Cheol and Yi Hangbok both relaxed the stiff expressions they had maintained so far, and light smiles began to appear on their faces.
That sudden change felt even more frightening to Kanghyeok.
Politicians really are the same, past and present.
People who could control not only their thoughts but even their emotions according to need.
They were people born fundamentally different from Kanghyeok.
"Now, now, let us stop talking about such headaches… Let us talk of something else."
As if he had truly forgotten all about it, Jeong Cheol tossed back his wine.
"Right. Was there not a major event in the Ministry of Rites not long ago?"
"Ah. Are you referring to Yoshitoshi and Genso's delegation?"
Seongryong replied with a smile already on his face.
Jeong Cheol clapped his hands as though that was exactly it.
"Indeed. Exactly."
"Truly, regarding that matter, I was really astonished by my Hangbok."
"Hmm? And what was that about?"
"Previously, was there not a man named Tachibana Yasuhiro who came as an envoy?"
"I know of it."
At the time, Jeong Cheol had been in exile, but it seemed he still knew all that mattered.
At least, judging by the way he kept nodding.
Well, a man at the level of leader of the Westerners would not have his eyes and ears in Hanyang cut off simply because he was in exile.
Kanghyeok quietly nodded to himself.
He was recalling the conversation Yi Hangbok and Ryu Seong-ryong had had at the time.
That was when I realized why that man became a historical figure.
That sharp yet deep insight—
it was more than enough to inspire admiration.
"When that man Yasuhiro returned, Hangbok said something to me. I found it rather interesting even then, so I still remember it now."
"What did he say?"
"He said that man Yasuhiro had surely died, and that they would soon send another envoy. He said it would be better to receive them with greater care when that happened."
"Huh. Yes, I also heard he died. So that is why you held such banquets."
Jeong Cheol nodded with a face that said he now understood.
The way he looked at Yi Hangbok was full of deep trust and affection.
He must have found him reassuring beyond words.
After all, having someone as capable as Yi Hangbok among the Westerners was a kind of blessing.
"Yes. And this time, we intend to send a favorable reply. The exact schedule has not yet been set, but…"
"Have you decided to send an envoy?"
"Yes. That is correct."
"And you have not yet spoken of it to His Majesty?"
"Yes. It is merely my own thought for now."
"No, no. If you say so, then I will support it as well."
"Thank you."
A major national decision was being quietly plotted in Ryu Seong-ryong's sarangchae.
Kanghyeok could only be astonished that he too was sitting in such a place.
Well, the leaders of the Easterners and the Westerners are in one room…
Of course, Easterners like Yi Sanhae and Yi Bal held higher rank than Ryu Seong-ryong, but those men were practically mortal enemies with Jeong Cheol.
They would neither have arranged such a gathering nor attended it.
After that, the conversation continued for quite some time, covering affairs of state and each man's personal circumstances.
By the time the drinking party broke up, it was already quite late.
Kanghyeok was putting on his leather shoes in the torchlight when Yi Hangbok approached him.
Having drunk quite a bit, his breath was thick with the smell of alcohol.
"Hoo. Are you all right?"
"Yes? Ah, yes. I am fine."
"I always think this, but you truly can hold your drink."
"Ah, haha. Well. That is how it is."
"Do you have some secret method?"
Kanghyeok's ability to drink was already quite famous.
Within his class year, no one could match him as a heavy drinker, and even above and below that, even in the entire hospital, it would have been difficult to find a real rival.
That was why the internal medicine seniors dragged me off.
He had even had to bleed for it.
Not because he was beaten, but because they had run blood tests.
The result had shown that not only his alcohol dehydrogenase but even his acetaldehyde dehydrogenase levels were several times higher than those of an ordinary person.
—This bastard is basically a monster, even among Westerners.
He still had not forgotten the words shouted by that senior.
So Kanghyeok's tolerance for alcohol could only be called something he had been born with.
"No. I have simply always been like this since I was young."
"I envy you. Once, after drinking seonon—wine bestowed by the king—I collapsed flat on my back. I nearly made a disgrace of myself before the royal presence."
"Ah. I heard about that from my father as well. He said that when he was in the Office of Special Advisors, he too got thoroughly scolded because of it."
"Yes. Ever since then, whenever I see someone with a high tolerance, I cannot help but envy them."
Seonon.
It was hard to think of it as merely a cup of liquor.
The meaning contained within it was considerable.
Was it not wine bestowed by the king himself, in the age of absolute monarchy no less?
Wine bestowed by the sovereign was glory and grace; one could not spit it out.
The best course, they said, was simply to drink whatever was given and collapse quietly.
"There is nothing to envy, haha."
"In any case, I am not entrusting this matter to you for no reason."
The drunkenness had vanished from Yi Hangbok's voice.
He continued in precise pronunciation, but quietly.
"By chance, I was able to meet one of the Gwanghui gang who escaped from your house."
He said it was by chance, and that he had met him, but the reality surely was nothing of the sort.
Most likely it had been no chance at all, and "captured" would have been the more accurate word.
"For whatever reason, it seemed he had received rather harsh treatment at your house. He could barely walk. Is that right?"
"Ah… yes. I did not mean particularly to torture him, but that is what happened."
"He was so frightened that he answered even questions I had not asked. The problem was that he was too lowly to know anything."
"Hmm."
"So do not make this harder than it needs to be. You only need to look after the Pyeonsu alone. That low creature is so stubborn. No matter what we do, he will not open his mouth."
"I see."
Kanghyeok was curious what exactly Yi Hangbok meant by "no matter what we do."
That question was answered soon enough.
At a nearby house Yi Hangbok owned separately.
Even before opening the private gate, they could tell that a strange smell was wafting out.
Behind him, Dolseok pinched his nose and muttered,
"This means… this patient must be in terribly serious pain."
He only thought Kanghyeok had come to treat someone Yi Hangbok knew.
So he had quite a few useless curiosities.
"But why did you only bring Makbong? If Yeoni or Miss Yeoju were here too, they could have helped."
Instead of answering, Kanghyeok only nodded.
They would have helped, yes.
But for some reason, this was not something he wanted discovered.
No matter how bold and spirited Yeoni was, she was still a woman.
And one for whom Kanghyeok held a certain amount of affection.
If he wanted to show such a person a scene of torture, then he would be no better than a psychopath.
It was even more so for Yeoju, who had been raised so carefully.
"Well, let us go in first."
"Yes, Young Master."
Makbong simply seemed pleased that he had been chosen over the other two.
He even looked cheerful while carrying an armful of ball sacks.
That was, at least, until they came face to face with the patient lying in the room.
"This is…?"
Though he had grown thinner than before and bore wounds here and there, he was someone both Makbong and Dolseok had seen before.
"Isn't this that Pyeonsu from before?"
"No… I didn't beat him this badly."
"Hmm."
Seeing him in person, Kanghyeok could understand just how much effort Yi Hangbok had put into making this man talk.
The man who had once been the Pyeonsu of the Gwanghui faction had by now become little more than a rag.
You mean to say he still did not open his mouth even after being brought to this state?
Kanghyeok felt even a trace of respect for such thick loyalty.
But the words Yi Hangbok had spoken on the way there steadied his resolve.
—Jeong Yeo-rip truly is plotting rebellion. All kinds of disloyal men are gathering around him. At a time when the country is troubled both within and without, we cannot leave such a source of worry behind. We need proof of it.
Kanghyeok clenched and unclenched his fists several times as he looked at the man.
Even in that condition, the sharpness in his eyes still remained.
"You… you're that thug from before."
And his arrogance remained as well.
It would have been easier on my mind if he had just been groveling instead.
Clicking his tongue regretfully, Kanghyeok opened his mouth.
"Listen. From now on, I'm going to torture you. You'll probably feel pain unlike anything you've experienced up to now… so for both our sakes, why don't you open your mouth now?"
"Get lost."
"You're taking the easy road and turning it into the long way around. Can't be helped. Dolseok, open the bag."
"Ah… yes."
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