"Episode 18" ""In death I will be reborn as a flower,"" ""And you will become my butterfly."" ""We will find a green valley, and spend an eternity there."" ""O love, my love, my beloved one."" "Daegil!" "Ahh..." "I always try to keep them as clean as my habits, but it still itches." "You..." "Are you listening to me?" "Anyhow, I was saying..." "Daegil wanted me to get some new garments, and he just started pouring money down on me!" "So let's see some fine cutting over there." "The deeper your poverty, the more you should value your garments." "Daegil..." "You know, Daegil..." "He saved up quite a lot of money!" "And you know why?" "Because he's Joseon's finest slave hunter." "The authorities should be dealing with runaway slaves." "Ahh..." "But..." "They don't even bother with them..." "They just don't." "Because they can't catch them!" "Like there would only be a couple of them." "Be it slave hunters or officers, we all work for this country's sake." "But those yangban treat us like beasts." "Here..." "It is all done." "Wow!" "You know what?" "This beast is going to don quite the garments, for once!" "We could not just send you away." "Who are you and where do you come from?" "What would be the matter?" "How could you be sure only your child incurred this malady?" "Should any of your kinfolk be contaminated, we will need to deal with this matter." "I already sent my varlets to alert the authorities." "The physician told us to do so." "Fine." "You may go." "Eonnyeon..." "I will have to open the dances once and for all..." "How dare you leave your post?" "Daegil!" "Daegil." "Daegil." "You fools!" "Hurry up!" "Daegil!" "Daegil!" "I said let's go!" "Don't let the criminal go!" "Trail them!" "Daegil!" "This way!" "Trail them!" "Daegil!" "Daegil!" "Daegil!" "Wake up, you fool!" "Wake up!" "Daegil!" "Daegil..." "Where am I?" "Where do you think?" "It's hell!" "General!" " You knave, let me go!" " Ohh..." "Yes..." "I shall escort him, so you take the front, and you the rear." " Why is it always you?" " Tell me about it!" "Is this the time to be arguing about that?" "You can rest assured." "From here on in, I shall escort you." " Is that so?" " Pave the way!" "Guard the rear!" "Pave the way!" "Long!" "General..." "I missed..." "Long!" "You must wear these garments." "Are you suggesting we leave him here?" "Can a man of arms choose where his demise will come?" "Why indulge me with all this?" "May you escort me back to the board prisons." "I'm afraid that will be arduous." "Did you perchance commit any crime to warrant it?" "That Song is a runaway government slave who injured Training Command officers, while that slave hunter was implicated in the Apgujeong pavilion murders." "But tell me, what did you do to warrant imprisonment?" "Are you not free from any culpable blemishes?" "!" "What are you waiting for, you fool?" "Let's get going." "Hey..." "Get up..." "We need to get going." "We sure do, you fool..." "Ahh..." "General Song!" "I missed you." "How have you been faring?" "Here, have a seat." "Long... passed away." "What did you do with his body?" "We had no time to deal with him." "Wrap them in silken threads, and bury them in his hometown." "After helping the Royal Successor to the throne, what is it you wanted to accomplish?" "Within our borders, to accord peace and prosperity to the populace, and to open our nation to all cultures beyond our frontiers." "Is that not all it amounts to?" "It "amounts" to?" "!" "Is that something a ruler obsessed with the throne he spuriously sits on... and the perfidious courtiers fawning before his might could ever achieve?" "Wouldn't achieving it yourself suffice?" "Are you trying to appease me?" "Do I look like the kind of varmint who would abandon his principles... and betray his compeers?" "I am neither attempting to appease you, nor asking you to abandon your calling." "But merely telling you to achieve what you wish for." "Nothing more." "Your Excellency." "Song Taeha was rescued?" "!" "And by whom?" "We did find a few bodies, but they neither have tags, nor can we find any way to identify them." "Their identity is uncertain..." "Could it be those who followed Song Taeha's..." "It's not them." "They could never have found out and so quickly gathered." "Ingguldai was behind this." "What?" "!" "Gather a few trustworthy men, and keep a keen eye on the Royal Embassy." "Yes." "Song Taeha has met his demise." "His woman might be escorting the Royal Successor, but could she escape from nationwide inspections on her own?" "It is all over." "I will therefore ask you." "Did you truly have followers by your side?" "Weren't they disciples of the former Left State Councilor, Im Youngho?" "I myself... shared the same principles with my master." "And that is your problem." "Without first mentioning Im Youngho's name, you are powerless." "Even in demise, is not the late Im Youngho's influence always trumping yours?" "You might even fulfill your calling, but honor and accolades would always adorn Im Youngho's tomb." "Those who forever walk under someone else's shadows... shall never find the light to kindle their own path." "There must be a list of people who joined your cause." "Inscribe your entire past upon that paper, and kindle your own path together with me." "Let others walk in the shadows of your grandiose accolades." "I will leave soon." "Where would you be headed?" "This is the safest place in Joseon." "I need to escort the Royal Successor." "Let us know where he is, and we will escort him for you." "I engaged in conjugal ties." "My spouse is escorting His Highness, but she left the place we were lodging at." "Then, where did she head for?" "Her kinfolk live in Yeoju, so I plan to look there." "A mere woman carrying the Royal Successor..." "She is a sagacious woman." "Not to mention full of courage." "Still, anything could happen, so I must hasten." "Does it feel warm?" "Hold it tight." "How does it feel?" "It's warm..." "Is it?" "Yes." " Wasn't it cold?" " Yes..." "If you depart now, you will be captured before you escape the capital." "Shrewd as he is, the Left State Councilor might already be observing us." "Suggest a hunting spree to His Majesty." "Hunting?" "!" "That is clever." "If you join the hunt in disguise, and escape the capital in the meantime, you will be safe." "Daegil..." "Let's have a rest." "Get up." "So this is how you witness how wondrous that sky can be..." "Get up." "You fool..." "Give it four days, and every mongrel will recognize its keeper." "What if I'm a tiger, then?" "Right..." "Our Daegil..." "Our Daegil is a tiger!" "Hurry and get up." "Ehh Ehh!" "Are we opening those traps or not?" "Where did Daegil go?" "I'll be damned!" "Uh?" "!" "Where would a wounded beast go?" "Somewhere!" "How could we possibly know that?" "Should I stick the cudgel where the sun doesn't shine, and see if you talk?" "He hasn't even taken a step in this direction." "Give it a try over there where the sun does shine, and think, uh?" "!" "Unless he's a foolish halfwit, why would anyone bother coming here, uh?" "!" "So, what..." "You're suggesting I'm acting like a foolish halfwit?" "Oh my..." "I was just saying..." "Who could possibly mean that?" "!" "Ahh..." "He must have told you something at least." "We don't even talk to that wretched son of a swine." "Like you wouldn't know..." "Anyhow, let's all get going." "Go... where?" "Where do you think?" "You'll follow me to the capital bureau, and confess it all." "Shouldn't we learn what he eats and how he shits, if we want to find him?" "We might have seen him eat, but as for taking care of business after that..." "Ohh Ohh!" "Will you follow me quietly, or do you prefer being forced there all tied up?" "Do something..." "I..." "What are you yapping behind my back, like a bunch of thieving twats?" "!" "I ought to just tie up those tongues for good..." "Say..." "Chief Oh!" " Wait a moment." " Ohh Ohh!" "Where are you touching?" "Why waste time hacking when you're hunting chickens?" "Just a moment and it'll do." "What are you talking about?" "What's with the pushing?" "What is he trying to do?" "Still, doesn't it seem like he might convince him?" "You really can't walk?" "Should I just leave you on the way?" "You know there's no devotion in this trade." "Daegil..." "That Hwang Cheolwoong from the Training Command... killed all our boys except you and me." "So, you know what?" "I wanted to avenge them together with you." "I was the one who helped you today." "What a noble proposition..." "Daegil..." "You..." "You remember what I taught you, right?" "Sure do." "You might not remember benevolence, but never forget any affront." "That was truly helpful." "I'll be damned..." "Think of all the times I endured endless lashing..." "Shut that trap, will you?" "Ohh!" "You..." "You!" "Enough with that." "What is Daegil, some foolish halfwit?" "Why would he come here?" "Start by ransacking the area around Dongdaemun." " Leave no stone unturned." " Yes!" "Ahh!" "Also, should Daegil contact you in any way, you must alert us without hesitation!" "Ahh..." "Say it twice, and I'll croak in embarrassment, uh?" "If I ever see that damned son of a swine, I'll just..." "Alert you immediately, uh?" " Let us meet again." " Yes." "So how did you manage to send away that wretched demon?" "When the weather goes batty, you let prayers deal with it..." "When the cudgel-carrying fools do it, you throw some money at them, uh?" "!" "Then, how much are you going to spend on him?" "I'll just throw a few pennies his way, out of compassion." "I'll take care of it, so you don't worry about a thing." "My!" "I always tell you we needed a man around here!" "Go back in." "What could my General Choi be doing?" "Good morning." "Jjakgwi Eonni..." "The wounded leg is killing me, so I was hoping I could sit a little more comfortably like him..." "Ohh!" "Sure, go ahead." "Sit comfortably..." "If you want to croak." "I'm fine as it is, yes." "You know?" "This is my philosophy of life." ""Ahh!" "Boundless are my skills, but so little time to display them."" "Life's short." "So let us have some fun along that journey." "Most discerning utterances." "Yes!" "It's all right..." "That won't kill you." "Didn't even go two fingers deep." "Yes, Eonni..." "Ahh!" "Where was I again?" "What?" "Ahh..." "That..." "Yes." "About having fun along the journey." "Ahh!" "Indeed!" "Indeed." "From here on in, don't even think of barging in while I talk." "Or I'll tear that dirty trap into pieces." "Look, Jjakgwi." "L... "Look"?" "!" "Are we not about the same age?" "Is two years "about the same"?" "!" "Only when elders are respected will your country have a future." "Do you wish to hear me call you "Eonni" that bad?" "Boys!" "Yes!" "Take them out, hang them upside down, and bury their heads in the sand." "Yes!" "Wait..." "Wait a moment!" "Big Eonni!" "Big Eonni!" "Eonni!" "If you really want, I'll call you that." "Indeed!" "Indeed!" "Indeed you will." "So, how about Daegil?" "Did he get shot in the head, or stabbed to death?" "Or..." "Is he still sniffing after Cheon Jiho's buttocks?" "You know what?" "I found Eonnyeon." "Deranged fool..." "You wasted your time." "Tell me about it." "I told you I w...ould find her." "Yes..." "Yes." "But, you know something?" "I thought she was living in prosperity, but it wasn't even the case." "He never listens, does he?" "!" "Didn't I tell you I would find her for you?" "If you spewed anything nice, I'd be much happier to listen." "In all my years on the street, I've never met a wretched scoundrel like you." "No..." "Except that Jjakgwi, I guess." "You fool..." "Don't you worry." "The longer you survive, the more people like me you will find." "I witnessed enough of it already, this wretched world." "Is witnessing all that life is about?" "You need to experience it firsthand." "Dae..." "Daegil..." "Daegil..." "Daegil." "Still, you..." "You gave me these new garments... on my final journey." "Daegil..." "Why are my damned toes... itching so much?" "For the last time..." "Will you... scratch your Eonni... your Eonni's toes?" "Look what I have come down to..." "What do I have to listen..." "The smell..." "Ahh..." "Tickles?" "It sure does, you fool..." "Must feel great..." "Doesn't it?" "Uh?" "!" "It's been so long, it must feel great." "Does it?" "Uh?" "!" "Ahh..." "Where did your tongue go?" "Uh?" "!" "Does it feel good now?" "!" "Look..." "They were all frozen..." "I'll warm them up." "Rise at once." "Ahh..." "Naeuri..." "I deserve to perish." "Just a word and I'll get up." "Let's split in half, Eonni." "Uh?" "Here's your cut." "See?" "I'm Daegil..." "Lee Daegil!" "Even if hordes of scoundrels like you come my way," "I won't die." "And you left without knowing that?" "Eonni..." "What is it you have done for me?" "So you should at least have found Eonnyeon..." "If you did so, you wouldn't have croaked this way." "I wouldn't have had to send you away in this manner, you fool." "You wouldn't have died this way!" "Cheon Jiho!" "Your end is just as wretched as your life was!" "All your last words amount to is asking someone to scratch your toes?" "Just because you croaked, think I would cry?" "You know, based on firsthand experience..." "Crying will not make a single difference." "Is anything the matter?" "I don't really know..." "Whether we can just kill people, for the sake of our great cause." "What?" "That's just how life is." "There is no soul out there without their own vicissitudes..." "You..." "Have you ever seen a wailing dhole?" "Where could you find a beast unable to cry?" "I often heard this back when I hunted tigers." "That you should never shoot a weeping beast." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Wouldn't it... just mean that we can shoot them next time?" "Shoot who?" "Who else?" "Those beasts." "Let's go." "Time to go back." "Who's that?" "Isn't that Banjjak?" "!" "Did you have dinner?" "Came here to visit your family?" "Then..." "Did you run away?" "You wench..." "Mother..." "How dare you come back here?" "Hurry up and leave." "I'd rather die than go back there." "Listen to that!" "Mother..." "I spend every night writhing in fear." "Mother, help me out." "If they sold you to that place, you belong to them!" "Why bother coming back?" " Father..." " Think you'll be the only one to pay?" "Give it a rest." "Why do you think she came back?" "You go back inside and tend to your business." "Milord will depart in the morrow." "Are you still standing here, you wench?" "What are you trying to do?" "You wench..." "Have you gone batty?" "What do you know anyway?" "Do you even realize what I have to cope with every day?" "I'd rather die here than go back to that place." "Think you're the only one facing that?" "You were all born to face this, so just accept it!" "Think that running away would suddenly solve all your problems?" "There are ruthless slave hunters all over the place, it's obvious you'd be captured!" "And even if they don't, you will struggle to find even a meager handful of rice." "Just consider yourself dead, and live as it comes." " Don't get any second thoughts." " Mother..." " I'm scared!" " I know..." "I faced the same exact thing." "Still, I'm alive, isn't it?" "Bring her back home." "If they find you along the way, just say you came for a visit." "Eating and sleeping it off... until the day you die is what our life is about." "Don't cry." "I'll rescue Banjjak whatever it takes." "Listen, Jjakgwi Eonni." "Let's get rid of that "Listen," shall we?" "We will remain here a few days, so give us lodgings and some food." "Eonni!" "Tell Daegil to hurry here." "So I can get rid of him once and for all." "He will soon come looking for us here." "Indeed, indeed..." "Indeed he will." "Since I'm done eating..." "Let's move onto today's tasks." "By chance, have you heard?" "Of that scorching summer, when Daegil and I engaged in fierce confrontation?" "I've heard it was winter?" "!" "Ahhh!" "Right..." "Right." "Winter!" " Winter!" " Daegil is here!" "After a sound beating by Cheon Jiho, Daegil came looking for me." "So that he could learn how to fight." "I was eager to teach him." "So much for a damned lesson," "but I'm grateful anyhow, Eonni." "Indeed, indeed." "Indeed you should." "Can you prance out there all by yourself?" "Life is short, Daegil." "Come back to me." "That short life of yours, I'll make it brim with excitement." "Uh?" "!" "Know what happens when a loach puts on airs and goes after a toad?" "It becomes just like Daegil." "Daegil." "Let seniority falter, and your country will crumble." "Ahh..." "I deserve to be punished, Eonni." "Ahh..." "Thought I could make it!" "Forget all the bravado, and come back under my wings." "You still have a lot to learn." "Need to mention it?" "Of course, Eonni." "Indeed, indeed..." "Indeed I don't." "Let's wag the tail, shall we?" "Ahh..." "That?" "!" "Can a man squander his life prancing about as a mere slave hunter?" "Become a hoodlum dominating the streets instead." "His Majesty might rule the nation by day, but at night, we are the royals." "I will be as loyal and faithful as a hungry mongrel." "After that, those who weren't there to witness started believing I was vanquished." "You know, in life..." "A bad rumor and you're done with." "Bad enough that I had to leave Hanyang." "What Daegil told me was the complete opposite?" "!" "From what I hear, you pleaded for your life by cutting off your own ear?" "!" "I'll go ahead and cut off one of yours as well." "Aigoo..." "Eonni..." "Big Eonni!" "You know I've always been on your side, right?" "Right..." "Right." "Then, we can start with you." "Enough with the jesting." "If Daegil comes back and sees this, he won't be pleased." "It's all right." "I'll cut off both his ears anyway." "Eonni, Eonni!" "Spare me..." "It won't kill you, don't worry." "Can't you live without an ear?" "!" "Aigoo..." "Ajeosshi!" "Ohhh..." "Right." "What is it?" "Was wondering if Daegil Ajeosshi came as well." "They're all here except him?" "!" "Why?" "Ajeosshi..." "Ajeosshi, don't you remember me?" "A...igoo!" "Of course I do!" "Aigoo!" "Need to ask?" "!" "They proposed hunting?" "!" "So he can take the opportunity to flee the capital." "If he infiltrates the delegation and tries to escape, we would lose him without making a move." "What is the matter?" "I was informed that someone rescued Song Taeha." "We're discussing possible culprits." "All our troops were either slain or severely wounded in crucial spots." "It is clear evidence of trained individuals, so the culprits could only come from the Qing delegation." "Did I not tell you we're still discussing the matter?" "Ingguldai proposed a hunting spree, I've heard?" "I see news travel fast." "Will you surround the hunting area and try to capture him?" "You may leave." "If that is your intention, then you're bound to fail." "Song Taeha will not join the hunt." "I will not join the hunt." "And what is that supposed to mean?" "I will depart immediately." "Now?" "!" "They must be examining what is truly behind your proposal." "That is exactly the perfect time to act." "He will let you focus all efforts on the hunt, and take the opportunity to flee from the capital." "I will deal with it." "Don't be imprudent." "We still haven't fully grasped the situation." "I first followed Your Excellency's plans, but now it is time to act on my own." "May you not defy your covenant, Your Excellency." "Should Song Taeha move whilst you keep squandering time here?" "I already appointed men to guard the Royal Embassy." "He will not let a few furtive eyes derail his plans." "We must dispatch troops to the embassy at once." "You're letting obstinacy get the better of you." "Did you not clamor me to do so?" "I prepared this, for the day we would once again meet." "Should you vanquish me, I shall spare all your men." "But should I win, what will you do?" "Think I would let a paltry barbarian vanquish me?" "Barbarian?" "!" "Can Joseon boast any swordsmanship?" "Forgive me for looking down on Joseon's men of arms." "And I apologize for calling you a barbarian." "Let us find the Royal Successor, and come back to Qing territory with us." "You can always foster him from there, and one day help him back to the throne." "Once I find the Royal Successor," "I plan to meet Crown Prince Bongnim." "After which I shall advise him to absolve His Highness." "You will meet the Crown Prince?" "!" "Doesn't His Highness's safety come first?" "Indeed." "I shall be waiting for you here." "Did you complete all preparatives?" "Yes." "Follow him discreetly." "Whatever it takes, we must secure the Royal Successor." "Eonni." "You know?" "I've been crying too much, these days." "So it seems like all my tears have dried up." "If this keeps up, I wonder if I'll become a wretched scoundrel like you." "You know?" "Think I'll have to head for Yeoju." "Those cudgel-carrying ruffians are after Eonnyeon." "Once I'm back, I'll deal with Hwang Cheolwoong, and then I'll move you... to a place where the sun will shine on you all day long." "Uh?" "!" "So don't go anywhere and wait for me." "Let me ask you something." "Look." "Stop!" "Stop there!" "How dare you treat a noble this way?" "You were the first to run away from us, so why even ask?" "Let me go!" "If you are innocent you shall be released, so quietly follow us." "This country is finally going to crumble..." "Runaway slaves prancing all over the peninsula." "Go along your path." "This only involves me." "Are you in any position to say that?" "Those cudgel-carrying twats are wandering the country looking for that Royal Successor." "But the same fool who clamored he would die in honor... now tells me to step out?" "!" "Before he is the Royal Successor, he's my child." "But at the end, he remains the Royal Successor." "He's not your child anyhow." "If I had known, things wouldn't have gotten to this point." "So, what is the reason you suddenly ran away?" "You captured an innocent noble, so should you not first explain the reason?" "You do show remarkable vim in your answers, but you will be exposed in no time." "Confess your provenience." "I said confess at once!" "I am the sister of Kim Seonghwan from Eomok-Gol." "My name is Kim Hyewon." "Eomok-Gol..." "We might not be able to flaunt virtue or influence, but how could you treat a woman on a visit to her relatives... like a criminal?" "If that's her clan..." "I have no time to squander with you." "Hey..." "Slave." "Let me ask you something." "Who are you going to rescue?" "The king's grandson?" "Or is it Eonnyeon?" "Did I not tell you?" "That I know no woman by that name." "You're not all that different, are you?" "You and those vile yangban." "I must have told you not to interfere?" "!" "You worry about shaking your own arm." "I will deal with mine." "~ On The Next Episode Of ~ SLAVE ~@ HUNTERS" "Stuff yourselves as you wish." "You don't have much longer to live anyway." "I wanted to start with your keeper..." "Don't kill him." "There's this Banjjak, she was recently sold to your keeper." "Will this suffice?" "I was mistaken about you." "Did you gather followers out of resentment... against a world that doesn't acknowledge your feats?" "Shut that vile gob!" "Did I not tell you to head for Suwon?" "I am on Song Taeha and the Royal Successor's trail." "We received an urgent report from the Yeoju administration." "Make all preparations." "We will head for Yeoju." "So you will defy my orders?" "The target of our attacks tonight is a clan which oppressed slaves for generations, exploiting their lives and ruining their existence." "They will be forced to tag along." "I will recommend His Highness's absolution." "And think that they would let you go, if they find his identity?" "I have no time to squander arguing with you."