Chapter 18 - HIBI

Junho had finished his morning court rather early today and decided to visit his beloved daughter, Yuna. He hardly had the chance to spend time with her. She was always busy with her journey to attaining knowledge. He was busy with his work as usual. This was the only chance for him to make it up to Yuna.

When he arrived at his estate, he noticed a little girl that was sitting by the entrance. She looked unusually familiar to him. He strode towards the stranger to find out what she needed. He called out to her, “Why have you come here? Who are you?”
The girl smiled and there were twinkles in her eyes. He didn’t find her cute like his daughter at all. She seemed rather coy and deceptive. He was used to seeing gisaengs (prostitute) that behaved in a similar way. He wasn’t interested in the gisaengs because he had a wife that he loved to death. He didn’t have the time to spend at brothels, but he did know a few that came to the battlefield to appease the soldiers.



He didn’t interact with them much, but he encountered a spy that was dressed as a gisaeng that behaved the same way the Haemi was behaving. He was used to deceit on the battlefield and it was much easier to read a person’s actions when they weren’t a well-trained soldier. The girl dressed provocatively for a young woman. He especially despised those that didn’t know the virtues of being a proper woman.

Haemi answered him shyly, “My name is Kim, Haemi and I am the daughter of the third son of the Kim Family. I am your niece. I wasn’t given a chance to meet you, sir.” Junho didn’t really care for his brother’s family. He purposely chose to avoid that family. He despised his brother for his gambling addiction. He certainly wasn’t curious about his other family members.

Junho scoffed, “So what if you are my niece. Is there a reason for you to visit this uncle? We don’t know each other. It would be best if you return to your residence and… “ Haemi cut him off, “Uncle, I wasn’t trying to be a bother, but as you can see, my carriage has broken down in front of your house and I need assistance. If you could be kind as to let me stay at your residence for one day.”

Haemi was too poor to afford a palanquin and had to resort to using borrowed carriages. She didn’t care what she had to do to get a chance to meet Yuna. It wasn’t easy for her. Junho could see through her lies. It was still morning and she was trying to stay a night at his residence. He disliked her from the start. He didn’t know what her true motives were, but it didn’t seem like a good idea. He refused, “I cannot allow that. It is still daytime. I can arrange for you to get a new carriage. There shouldn’t be any problems if my servants are fast.

Junho called the servants and ordered them to find Haemi a new carriage. He requested that they help her get back to her own residence. Haemi broke out in a cold sweat when she felt her plan was going astray from her original plan. She didn’t have her own servants, but she had a few men that were infatuated with her.

Those men were ninjas that specialized in assassination. If she could get them to kill the servants, her uncle would have no choice but to let her reside in their household for a night. She would definitely be caught if the general witnessed her contacting the assassins. It would be best for her if she pretended to leave with the servants and got her men to get rid of them secretly.

Then all she had to do was come back to the residence with blood on her clothes and tears in her eyes. They would have no choice but to let her in. Haemi followed the servants back with a brand-new carriage. Junho wiped off the dirty feeling he felt and walked into the residence.

Meanwhile on the journey back to her household, she demanded the men to stop the carriage. She jumped out from the carriage and told them that she needed to find a restroom. She was familiar with the area and had an advantage against the general’s guards. They weren’t used to the countryside where her household was located.

Not far from her location, was the headquarters of the ninja assassins. She quickly entered the entrance without being noticed by the guards. Before arriving in front of her lover, she ripped her dress and made it look like she had been violated. She ran to her beloved with tears in her eyes. Her lover was 13 years old and he was surprisingly in a high position.

He became the youngest ninja to achieve becoming one of the head assassins. She had come across this boy on a chance encounter. She had easily found out his identity and used his infatuation with her as a way to manipulate the assassins. She wasn’t that powerful, but she sure had a lot of supporters that were gained by unscrupulous ways.

She cried, “Those guards outside are trying to rape me. Please help. I was lucky enough to escape them, so none of them have succeeded in raping me. Please.” The ninja grew furious at the men outside. They were men that were over 30 and they dared to lay a hand on his beloved future wife. He would not stand for it.

He instructed his underlings to help him get revenge. They grabbed their swords and put on their masks to hide their identities. They rushed out in waves and began fighting with the guards. Most were caught off guard and ended up being killed by the sneak attack. A few of them had a fast reaction and were able to fend off the hordes of ninjas.

The general had strong soldiers and guards under him, but he didn’t account for the hundreds of ninjas that would attack them. There were only 13 guards that surrounded the carriage, and the result was inevitable. All the guards were slaughtered like cattle. Haemi secretly got blood from one of the dead guards and smeared it on her clothing.

Her lover came back to her and stared at the blood that covered her clothing. He became worried, “Are you hurt? Why didn’t you stay inside?” Haemi acted innocent, “I’m not hurt. The blood must have gotten on me when you slashed them with your sword. I can’t believe you would save me like that.” Haemi put her arms around his neck and began making out with him without regard to the countless dead bodies that surrounded them. Although the ninjas supported their brethren with his romance, they didn’t like the kiss in this setting. There was blood on both of their clothes and the blood that was splattered all over the ninja’s face had spread to her face. It was a disgusting sight to see.

After their make out session, the ninja asked his lover where she would like to go. He wanted to take her to a safe location. He asked, “Do you want me to walk you back to your residence? Where would you like me to take you?” Haemi pressed her chest to his arm and looked up at him with sparkly eyes, “I would like for you to take me to my uncle’s house. You do know that my uncle is the war-hero General Junho. He should be able to take care of the aftermath.”

The ninja agreed, “You’re smart. I can just act like I’m a passing martial artist that saved you from the mess. It wouldn’t be smart to let the general know that I’m a ninja.” Haemi nodded, “I wouldn’t want you to have to go through trouble because of my problems. Please, go and change. I’ll wait for you here.” The ninja could not let his girl stand outside with her clothes torn up. He said, “Why don’t you get changed as well?”

Haemi refused, “If I change, how will the general know that I’m telling the truth. I must go there the way that I am. Please understand.” The ninja could not refute her or else he would lose her. He didn’t force her to change, but he still gave her his cloak to cover her from the wind.