Following Man-Ju, the Queen arrived at the shooting range, where she found the crowned prince skillfully firing arrows. He consistently hit the bull's-eye, his shots ringing out in quick succession. When he finally exhausted his supply of arrows, he flung his bow aside and let out a powerful shout. The Queen took charge, instructing those around her, "I need all of you to leave us." The soldiers and court ladies bowed in acknowledgment and stepped away from the scene.
The Queen approached her son, who was breathing heavily over a table. "This is entirely your brother's doing. He poisoned the King's mind, so your father doesn't regard you as a worthy heir. The King always preferred his sons from that dead woman over you."
She continued manipulating Prince Man-Ju, planting jealousy in his heart. "He selected the younger prince as his successor, not you, simply because you're the son of a concubine. If that boy had not stepped down, the throne would have been his, not yours." The Queen noticed Man-Ju's grip on the table tightening, his eyes blazing with fury and resentment.
Queen Eri continued her psychological manipulation of her son, insisting, "You must surpass that little brat at all costs, my son. He is insignificant compared to you." She grasped his hand firmly. "What you have achieved is a result of our relentless efforts. Never allow him to diminish that. If the opportunity arises, reclaim everything he has stolen from you."
Finally, Queen Eri gave the crowned prince the most poisonous advice she could give. "Your Father values his youngest son's idiotic words over your wise advice to him. He will gladly risk the security of our country, rather than listening to your heartfelt words. Never let that happen to you, for the sake of your claim to the throne, be ready to sacrifice what is needed to secure the crown"
Prince Man-Ju, consumed by his anger could no longer think rationally. He responded with the very words Queen Eri had been waiting to hear: "The throne belongs to me; everything is my birthright, not his." A wicked smile spread across the Queen's face, as her scheme to instill rivalry between the brothers began to take effect.
It was already noon when Young-Sik and Jin-Ri reached the west side of the market. They saw three slaughterhouses in the same area. "Which one is it? If we barge in the wrong one, it may alert the bad guys, and they could get away," Jin-Ri expressed, unsure of their next move.
Young-Sik observed the slaughterhouses, and after a while, he asked, "What is wrong with this picture?" He asked his court maiden, trying to see if she observed the same thing he did.
"Wrong? What do you mean your highness?" She asked the prince unable to answer or understand his question.
Prince Young-Sik pointed out his observation "The other two have live animals outside, but the second one has none. Also, the other two have open doors for ventilation, the second one has its doors closed." He explained to his court maiden.
Cracking her fingers, Jin-Ri charged at their target hideout "So that's the place huh? Let's go Your Highness, I will lead the way" She bravely exclaimed to her master
Young-Sik, quick to act grabbed her by her hair, gently pulling her behind him "Hold on miss Shameless! I know it is useless to tell you to wait here, so just do me a favor and stay behind me" Now ahead of Jin-Ri, the prince led the way.
The two of them walked straight up to the two men guarding the second slaughter house "I am a wandering swordsman; I require funds and I heard that your boss can help me with that" Young-Sik said introducing himself
"So what? Do you think we just shell out money to anyone?" One of the guards told the pair
Jin-Ri let out a startled squeak as Young-Sik suddenly yanked her forward. "I know, I know! That's why I'm planning to sell my servant," he declared with a mischievous grin.
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head as she turned to him. "You're going to what? Sell your what?"
Young-Sik quickly covered her mouth, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "If your boss decides to buy her, he might think about cutting her tongue… she can be a bit too chatty," he said, half-joking.
"HMMMM?!" Jin-Ri's muffled response was a mix of shock and indignation. The guards exchanged glances, then opened the doors, gesturing for Young-Sik to enter.
The guards examined Jin-Ri "She is not even a looker; I mean even if the boss decides to buy her it would be cheap" One of the guards explained, "Are you okay with that?" Young-Sik nodded in agreement, the guard opened the door and led them in.
Once his hand was off her mouth, Jin-Ri leaned in, her voice low and fierce. "You're actually going to sell me? Seriously?"
"No" Was the only thing that Young-Sik replied
"You also told them to cut off my tongue" She reminded Young-Sik while giving him a light punch on the side.
"That…was honest advice for them," Young-Sik said with a grin "Quiet, here comes the boss," He said to her, as they were led to a man sitting behind a table.
Jin-Ri looked around her, she counted twenty maybe twenty-five men including the boss. Along the right side, she saw a man close the door to a room filled with young children. When she glanced at the front she saw the three men the prince defeated whispering to the boss.
"So, you're a wandering swordsman you say, what's your name stranger?" The boss asked the prince.
Before answering, Young-Sik observed that the boss was a fat man, shorter than him, his hair and beard were bushy and coarse, his skin dark and oily. His face was marred by a large scar, his nose bulbous and with flaring nostrils. He also noticed that he was breathing heavily despite just sitting, it was probably a heart problem he deduced. "Yong is my name" he finally answered.
"Tell me Yong, how did a vagabond, land a young girl as a servant?" The boss asked, his troubled breathing became more apparent
Young-Sik answered the boss' question "I found her wandering around near Mt. Yangge, so do we have a deal? Thirty gold coins would be a fair price for her don't you think?"
The boss laughed at the prince's asking price of thirty gold coins, Young-Sik shook his head in disgust at the large belly wiggling from the laughter. The boss then glared at the prince "Why don't I give you a different deal? I'll let you live if you tell your father to make me the King…Prince Kim Young-Sik!"
Jin-Ri's eyes widened with surprise when two men suddenly grabbed her "How…how did he know that he was the prince" She looked at Young-Sik "Your Highness run!" She yelled to the prince.
The prince was about to charge the men holding Jin-Ri, when the boss shouted "Make a wrong move and the girl gets her throat slit!"
Young-Sik stopped in his tracks when he saw the blade aimed at Jin-Ri's neck. He glared at the boss and let go of his sword. "That's a good boy, you better start to follow the orders of your soon-to-be King," The boss told the prince, turning to his men he gestured with a chin jut, and the two men hit the prince on the back of his neck, making him crumple on the floor
Young-Sik groaned from pain, much to the surprise of the panic-stricken Jin-Ri "Your Highness are you alright?" She asked the prince, concerned etched on her face.
Young-Sik struggled to stand up "Let her go," the prince demanded from the boss.
"I will, as soon as you agree to give me the most priced treasures of the palace" The boss explained while laughing at the defiant prince in front of him.
"Like I'm going to agree to coercion" Young-Sik replied, but as soon as he did, one of the men suddenly kicked him in the abdomen.
The boss did not like how defiant the prince was so he snapped his fingers, signaling his men. The two men started to kick the prince repeatedly. Young-Sik curled up in an attempt to protect his body from the blows.
Jin-Ri struggled to break free, but the men holding her were too strong. She shouted and screamed at the boss "You animal! You're going to kill him, enough, stop it!" she glanced at the prince as he was being mauled, her heart ached for her master "Your Highness, please stand up, don't let them do this to you. Forget about me, just please defend yourself"
The boss chuckled at Jin-Ri's pleas "He can't, because he knows I'm going to hurt you and the children if he does"
Jin-Ri could do nothing but cry as the men continued to assault the defenseless prince. The two men were so entertained by the sight of the prince being attacked, that their grip on Jin-Ri loosened. The court maiden took this chance and suddenly pushed her captors away. She ran towards the room where the children were being held, opened the doors, went inside, and closed the doors shut.
The children inside all screamed in fear but Jin-Ri calmed them "Don't cry kids, I'm here to help, please don't be afraid" She then proceeded to untie the children.
Outside, the moment Young-Sik saw Jin-Ri locked herself with the children, he bolted into action. He blocked the kicks first with his hands. He grabbed an enemy's leg to give him leverage, and with his legs, he swept his attackers, making them stumble.
The prince pulls his legs close to his chest and rolls back onto his shoulders. He launches himself upright by forcefully kicking his legs out and pushing off with his hands. A man attempted to hit Young-Sik's legs, but he skillfully dodged with a handless somersault. Upon landing, he crouched down, fell onto his left hip, and swept the legs of two attackers, knocking them off balance. Grabbing his sword, he performed another flip and quickly stood back up.
Young-Sik pulled out his sword, its blade shimmering in what little light penetrated the dark place. He held the blade in front of him with an outstretched right arm. The sharp edge is directed downward, "Time to die!"
The boss' expression turned dead serious, he glared at the prince for a while and then gave the order "Get them!"
As Young-Sik anticipated, the first to strike were the five men lurking behind him. They lunged forward, but he swiftly pivoted to his right, his blade glinting as it sliced through the air. In a heartbeat, the prince's sword cleaved through flesh and bone, severing the heads of the attackers and sending blood gushing from their necks.
He then focused on the three adversaries directly in front of him. He first plunged his sword into the neck of the man on his left, yanking it free before swiftly slashing at the one on his right, ensuring the blade penetrated deep enough to sever vital arteries and the spine. With fierce determination, Young-Sik raised his sword high and delivered a devastating downward blow to the third man, splitting him cleanly in two.
Young-Sik turned around and saw three men rushed towards the room where Jin-Ri and the children were and with lightning speed, the prince rushed to intercept them. He spins to his left to add momentum to his speeding blade, and the results were devastating, the three men fell to the ground dead and with wide, gaping, and deep cuts to their abdomens.
Jin-Ri upon hearing the commotion took a peak, but the door flew open when a man that Young-Sik threw hit the door. Terror gripped Jin-Ri as she shrieked in horror, her eyes widening in disbelief at the prince's brutal actions. The gruesome tableau of fallen bodies scattered across the ground sent shivers down her spine, amplifying her fear.