Chapter 4. A cure for all diseases.

"I just don’t understand why Jun Hoe has sent us to find a messenger we don’t know how he looks like… what if he hasn’t taken the Imperial route towards the Forbidden City?! Asshhh! That’s frustrating…" 

"Trust Jun Hoe, Baekhyun. If he says his little birds have heard something, it must be true." 

"You have such faith in him." 

"Who else can I trust in all Joseon?" 

"Hello?!"

But Chanyeol didn’t answer. Instead, he kicked his horse’s barrels strongly and started to run faster than Baekhyun, who was behind him, yelling at him and asking to wait until he could catch him. After thirty minutes of racing, Baekhyun decided to slow down a bit, and had to dodge Baekhyun’s hand, because he tried to smack him once again. The reason why they were still friends was still unknown to the young lord, but he knew he would die to safe Baekhyun’s life if needed.

"Alright… according to Jun Hoe’s information, the messenger should have to change his horse in some of the villages around this area if he wants to arrive soon at the Forbidden City." Baekhyun informed.

"I would have changed it in Pyongyang, not in the middle of nowhere." 

"The nearer he is to the border, the more possibilities to find Chinese merchants who would not report him to the authorities." 

"Guess you are right." 

"What did…"

But he didn’t finish his sentence and Chanyeol got so worried about his lack of words that he had to turn around to see his friend. Baekhyun was blinking so fast it seemed he was about to have some kind of attack. He was petrified by fear.  

"Baekhyun?

"L…oooo…k…"

His friend raised his hand and signed something in front of them, trembling and unable to close his mouth from the shock. At first, Chanyeol frowned his eyebrows, but, when he realized there was a paralyzed man floating with his horse in the air, he understood why Baekhyun was unable so startled.

"What kind of magic is this?"

Chanyeol approached the man, who by the look of his face had the features of the Uyghurs, the Turkish-Chinese ethnicity who had decided to be devoted to the Qing in order to avoid extermination.

"Jun Hoe was right. He…"

But the paralyzed man suddenly started to move, and, thinking that Chanyeol was the one who had enchanted him, he attacked him immediately with his sword.

"Chanyeol!"

Baekhyun reacted faster than the young lord and jumped from his horse, kicking the Chinese man’s head with his feet and landing behind them gracefully. But, the man seemed quite skilled, so he recovered fast and unsheathed his swords, confronting the two friends. Chanyeol was able to react and also started to unsheathed his sword.

Trying to cover Baekhyun’s attacks, he decided it was best to go for the man’s right, and leave Baekhyun his left. The Uyghur had to swords and was quite skilled, so, he was able to avoid their attacks easily. Baekhyun tried to unbalance him by doing a somersault on the floor and kick his legs, but the Uyghur jumped and started to run towards a bamboo forest near the Imperial route.

"Baekhyun! To the trees!"

The young spy started to climb the trees, following Chanyeol’s orders, and followed the Chinese through the trees, using the steams to jump and narrow the gap between him and the messenger, who, desperate to escape, cut all the bamboo he could, so Baekhyun could not catch him. But, the young man was agile and fast, and was able to trap the Uyghur.

"We just want to talk to you. No-harm will be done."

"If the Emperor discovers I spoke to you, my family will be dead." 

"Then, you gave us no choice!"

Two sharp swords obstructed Baekhyun’s path, and, with all his agility, he did a flip backwards, to avoid his new enemy. He ran towards the Uyghur and tried to stab him, but, gracefully, he dodged him with a fast spin. Then, Baekhyun moved his swords fast while slowly approaching the man. He kept studying his position, to see if there were any flaws in his defense. Once he saw one, he attacked once again, this time, being able to disarm him.

"BASTARD!" the messenger complained.

Baekhyun lunged towards him with strength, and their swords clashed once more. The young Korean had to admit it had been long since he had fought a decent rival. Nevertheless, when he saw Chanyeol approaching and stabbing the Uyghur on his left shoulder, he knew he wouldn’t have the time to test his enemy’s abilities.

"I almost got him, Chanyeol!" he complained.

"A thank you for saving your life would have been nice… you know…"

Both friends looked at the mourning man on the floor, and, when Baekhyun was about to end his agony, with his remaining strength, the Uyghur stabbed him in the chest. Chanyeol screamed and once they fell on the floor, he was already right beside his friend, holding his hand tightly and trying to see how deep the wound was. It didn’t look nice.

"Chan…"

"Shhh, keep your energy while I cure you, alright?"

Chanyeol ran towards his horse and took some medicines he had packed just in case. If he worked fast, maybe Baekhyun would survive. When he returned, his friend was starting to shake and throw blood through his mouth. His face was so pale that Chanyeol couldn’t tell apart between his neck and the white collar of his clothing.

"Noise…" Baekhyun informed Chanyeol, who was too busy taking care of his friend that he didn’t notice there were four hooded figures approaching them.

Fearing that they might be some kind of reinforcement for the deceased Uyghur, Chanyeol unsheathed his sword, ready to fight and protect Baekhyun. But, just as it happened to the Chinese man, a strange force attacked the young lord. However, this time was different: he wasn’t paralyzed, but his movements were too abnormally slow to be considered bad sword technique. Not even when instructing his body to move faster, he was able to accelerate his actions.

The four figures reached him, and, with an elegant movement, the smallest one took of his wood. Chanyeol blinked at the sight of a young lady with her hypnotizing eyes crying blood. She seemed a…

"DEMON!"

But it seemed impossible.

"Hey! Do not insult my sister when we have just saved you!" another figure complained, but Chanyeol couldn’t move fast enough to face him directly.

Another figure took of his wood, a man around his age (maybe younger) with his eyes also covered in blood. Chanyeol panicked, truly thinking he was facing demons and shocked because, although even scholars believed in deities and magical creatures, he had always been skeptical. But, seeing that kind of magic… he was scared because he was defenseless, and, if they wanted, both Baekhyun and he could be dead at any second. Too scared for his friend’s life, Chanyeol keep resisting.

"Yoon-gi… could you put him to sleep?" the woman asked. "I am getting tired of his resistance".

One of the other hooded figures moved in front of him and the strange force that kept Chanyeol unable to move disappeared. He took advantage of the situation and tried to attack them. But, suddenly, he felt dizzy and everything turned dark. 

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"Lend me this one, brother. I can read Chinese better than you." 

"Ash! This rascal, always bragging about everything."

Jeongwan and Tae Hyung were spending their days at the Royal Archives, going through any medical essay they could find. Of course the Crown Prince should be attending his royal duties as the regent, but, he had two competent ladies assisting him, so he could also feel he was doing to improve his father’s health.

"I do not brag, Jeongwan." Tae Hyung was searching through the library for some other books, once he found a big one in Korean, he gave it his eldest brother. "Why would boast about my abilities should be considerate inappropriate?" 

"Alright, alright, Tae Hyung. Take the Chinese book. But if I end mine before you do, you will need to be my slave for a week." and he sat on the floor, with the huge exemplar on his hands.

"Aren’t you too old to such childish bets?" Tae Hyung joked.

"ME?!" he truly seemed offended. "OLD?! I have just turned thirty-one!" 

"And you have two daughters and been married for almost my age… so… yes, you are old." 

"Wow! It’s true… I loved my wife even before you were an accident." 

"Accident?! ME?! I am not an accident, I am a precious child!" he complained and pouted, like a baby.

"Mother wanted daughters so no-one could ever dispute my throne, so, yes: accident. But, with that childish behavior, I should not be worried."

Tae Hyung stopped to look for more books at the library and crouched in front of Jeongwan, so serious it was quite imposing. It was in moments like those, when he truly showed he was the King’s son.

"I would NEVER try to fight for the throne, brother. You are the eldest and the Crown Prince. NEVER!"

He yelled so much that it hurt a little Jeongwan’s ears.

"Alright, alright, little accident!" 

"But… it’s true, Jeongwan!" he insisted. "You have been trained all your life for that position and are readier than anyone else. Besides, you have been my brother and my father when the King was too busy and I love you for that. I am your most loyal servant, Crown Prince!"

Tae Hyung bowed in front of him and Jeongwan felt a warm feeling growing inside his chest. It was true, ever since the youngest prince had been born, the Crown Prince had felt an instant connection and was both his brother and his father when he behaved mischievously. He loved Yeon Jun deeply, but, since Tae Hyung had always looked at him as if he was the best hero in the entire nation, he felt the urge to become a good role-model for him. The best version of himself.

"Do not be too sentimental, Tae Hyung. I know that already." 

"Alright brother." and he stood up. "Shall we continue reading?"

"Only if I can keep my original bet." 

"Damn it!" 

"That tongue, Tae Hyung."

The First Prince just smiled and sat next to his brother, both concentrated in their books, desperately looking for a cure for their father. They were so focused that they didn’t notice how it was getting dark until someone approached them some candles.

"Yeon Jun!" 

"I had to substitute you today at the monthly meeting with the scholars, Jeongwan." he objected.

"Did it go well?" he stood up and hugged the Fourth Prince: he was also a trustworthy friend. "Or did they manipulate you?" 

"Who do you are talking to, Jeongwan? Of course, they didn’t!" 

"Thank you, brother." 

"Do not make me do it again, please. I didn’t like it."

Yeon Jun lied: he actually loved it and felt powerful, controlling the destinies of so many lives with just a few words. But it wasn’t an appropriate thing to say, so he kept his feelings for himself.

"But I had to be here, Yeon Jun." 

"Why?! You are the Regent of the nation, for Heavens’ sake!" 

"If you had just agreed to help Tae Hyung…" he grumbled.

"JEONGWAN!" Yeon Jun yelled. "I am just doing what the King asked us to do: keep going and keep the Kingdom safe. So, the responsabilities father gave me come first." 

"This is my way to keep it safe! This situation is too strange, and the Clans do not like it… especially since I am a half-Park of the West and think I would give to my Clan privileged positions at Court again now that I'm regent." 

"And I am a half-park of the East and I see no-one complaining." 

"But that’s because your Clan is powerless." Tae Hyung intervened.

"TAE HYUNG!" Yeon Jun cried.

"THAT’S MEAN!" Jeongwan added.

Both princes got mad at the First Prince. It was true the Parks of the East had fallen and theirs was known as one of the biggest cases of high treason in Joseon’s history. But, it was a painful memory for both Fourth Princess Ha Yi and Fourth Prince Yeon Jun, even for the King and the Queen: they had lost so many beloved people because of that. The moment the Parks of the East decided to betray the Crown created a wound so deep not even after twenty years was completely healed.

"Do not interrupt your older brothers’ conversation." Yeon Jun threatened. "And you are also neglecting your responsibilities as the Palace administrator, Tae Hyung."

"We are not neglecting them!" Tae Hyung complained.

"DO.NOT.INTERRUPT!" Jeongwan yelled and kept looking at the Fourth Prince. "You know it is not true, Yeon Jun. We aren’t sleeping properly to have enough time for everything." 

"Yet today I had to replace you, Jeongwan." 

"We had already talked about this, Yeon Jun, and everyone agreed with the replacement." 

"Yet you know it wasn’t right. Father never spiked the meetings with the scholars." 

"Why do you talk of him in past, Yeon Jun?" Tae Hyung intervened. "Father is still alive." 

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO INTERVENE!!! HAVE YOU FORFOTTEN HOW TO RESPECT YOUR ELDER?!" Yeon Jun screamed. 

"THEN DO NOT SPEAK OF FATHER AS IF HE WAS DEAD! DO YOU WANT HIM DEAD OR WHAT?! YOU WON’T BE HIS SUCCESSOR BECAUSE YOU ARE A BASTARD!"

Jeongwan slapped Tae Hyung due to his lack of respect for Yeon Jun and the First Prince had to control the urge to cry. He had been humiliated.

"ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU!" 

The Crown Prince took a deep breath before speaking to his younger siblings once again. They were so similar yet so different that the clashes between them had b