Ki Ha had already used 4 talismans to get a week's travel away from Lee Jinwoon's hometown. "He really came from far away!" Ki Ha had to walk two days until he found a village. The news of the king's death still hadn't reached this area. After asking around he found a coach that was going towards Lee Jinwoon's hometown.
The coach made the journey faster. Within 3 days, he arrived at Lee JInwoon's hometown. When he got out of the coach, Ki Ha remembered that he never asked Jinwoon where his house was. 'I'm sure with such a history, people would know where to find him.
He had luck with the first person he asked. "Lee Jinwoon? Do you see the house at the end of the street? The one with the black doors. Yes. Take a left there, it's the only house with a fence around it." Ki Ha thanked the man.
"Uhm, I don't want to be nosy but how do you know Lee Jinwoon? As far as we know, he had never traveled anywhere outside this town." The man looked at Ki Ha full of curiosity. "I'm just here to give him a message."
The man looked shocked. "Oh dear, then you came here for nothing." Ki Ha frowned. "What do you mean?" The man looked around before softly telling Ki Ha that Lee Jinwoon died months ago. "Some men found his body at the bottom of a cliff. They think was attacked because they only brought bits and pieces of him."
Ki Ha stared at the man with eyes wide open. 'Then who is at the palace with Sung Hoon. Or did the stepfather use a double.' "Did anybody see his body?" The man nodded. "The man brought his body to his mother and stepfather. They buried him the next day."
Ki Ha had no idea what was going on. 'Can Jinwoon do magic? Or did the men do something sinister?' "Can you bring me to the men, who found his body?" The man pulled a face. Ki Ha quickly grabbed his money bag and gave the man some coins.
The man's mouth fell open. "P...Please follow me! The men are always in the pub. I'll take you there!" The man took Ki Ha to a large wooden building with 3 stories. The sign read 'The Black Aves'. The man opened the door for Ki Ha.
The inside was clean with long tables. The place wasn't packed. "There over there." The man pointed at the table at the back. Ki Ha handed him more coins. "Thank you very much." The man gave Ki Ha a big smile before leaving in a hurry.
Ki Ha walked over to the table. There were 7 men sitting around the table laughing and drinking. They stopped and looked at Ki Ha with a mix of irritation and contempt. "What do you want?" One of the men asked.
Ki Ha smiled. "Are you the boss?" The man scoffed. "Who wants to know?" Ki Ha still had a smile on his face. "I was sent here with a message for Lee Jinwoon but I just found out that he died. I heard that you found him. I just wanted to know what happened."
The men looked at each other. "Who sent you?" "Is that important?" Ki Ha stared at the man until he looked away." A burly man sitting in the middle started to laugh. "You can call me Chan. I'm the leader of these men." Ki Ha turned the Chan.
"Nice to meet you." Chan pointed at Ki Ha. "Not going to say your name?" Ki Ha shook his head. "My name is not important and it won't benefit you in any way." Chan scowled. "What can we help you with?" Ki Ha rolled his eyes. Ki Ha refused to ask again.
After a while Chan's face turned slowly red. He wanted to show Ki Ha and his minions that he was the boss but Ki Ha refused to play his games. After clearing his throat he started to tell Ki Ha what happened.
"Lee Jinwoon had run away with Lord Seo's money. Lord Seo wanted us to find him and bring him and the money back. We looked for days but we were too late. He had died from what seemed like he was attacked by something."
"You didn't find his body?" Chan shook his head. "Just an arm and some clothing. Nothing more." Ki Ha now knew for sure they were lying. "Thank you for answering my question. I can at least give the sender an explanation. Good day."
Ki Ha turned and left the inn and walked towards Lord Seo house. After knocking, an old man opened the door. "Can I help you?" Ki Ha nodded. "I'm looking for Lee Jinwoon's mother." The old man looked confused but he indicated for Ki Ha to enter.
They entered the house and walked until they were at the back. "She is in the garden." The old man opened the doors for Ki Ha to walk through. Ki Ha took a few steps and saw a sad looking lady sitting in a chair with red and with roses in the backdrop.
Ki Ha walked over. "Excuse me. Are you Lee Jinwoon's mother?" Startled, the lady looked up. "Yes..." Ki Ha bowed. "My name is Ki Ha and I was sent here to give Lee Jinwoon a message but I just heard that he has passed away."
Tears started to form in Lee Jinwoon's mother's eyes. Ki Ha didn know if he should tell her the truth. "Lee Jinwoon, he's...." "Who are you?" Ki Ha turned to see an elderly man walking towards them. The man saw Ki Ha mistrusted look. "Lee Jinwoon was my stepson."
Ki Ha frown. "I heard you are younger than your wife?!" Lord Seo looked angry at Ki Ha's words. "It's stressful. I just turned 70." Ki Ha couldn't help but winch. 'He looks older than Young. Evil deeds really do rot a person."
"I heard that you had a message for Jinwoon? SInce he's no more, would you mind telling us?" Ki Ha saw the greed in Lord Seo's eyes. Ki Ha shook his head. "The message was for Lee Jinwoon only. I just came to give my condolence and also to verify if it was true."
Ki Ha bowed towards Lee Jinwoon's mother and Lord Seo before taking his leave. The old servant was nowhere to be found so Ki Ha retook his steps back to the front door. He left the house and didn't look back.
"Mr?! Mr?!" He turned around to see a young man running towards him. The man looked around before pulling Ki Ha into an ally. "My name is Myung. I'm Lady Choi's servant. Lady Choi wants to see you in privat. Please follow me." Myung looked around again before leading Ki Ha to the back of the house.
Most people would think that it might be a trap and that it was a bad idea following a person you've never met before. Ki Ha wasn't most people. Even in the most dangerous situation, he could use the talismans to get away. Just like Young he had a magic bag.
"This way." Myung pushed away some branches and walked through. Ki Ha followed him and discovered that they were in a different part of the garden. Lee Jinwoon's mother Lady Choi Da Sung was sitting and waiting for him.
She didn't let Ki Ha sit before bombarding him with questions. "Is my son safe? Where is he? Does he need anything?" Ki Ha brows went up. "So you know your son is not dead?" Choi Da Sung nodded. "Jinwoon had never worked in his life but the hand they bought had calluses."
Ki Ha finally sat down. "He might have had to work after leaving." Choi Da Sung shook his head. "My son was too lazy for that." Ki Ha remembered Jinwoon's story. "Jinwoon is indeed safe. He's at the capital and in good health."
"I came here because the Crown Prince wants to marry Lee Jinwoon." Choi Da Sung's mouth fell open. "Is the Prince sure?" Ki Ha couldn't help but laugh. "Jinwoon has changed very much. The only problem is that he has to show his lineage."
"He is scared that his step father would hunt him down in the capital." Choi Da Sung nodded straight away. "You don't have to worry. After I had my twins, Jinwoon was made head of his own household. On paper it looks like he's an orphan."
Ki Ha was wondering something. "Do you know if your husband ordered this charade?" Choi Da Sung looked at her hands before nodding. "Why are you still with him?" Ki Ha really needed to learn to think before he talks.
"He's a good man. Lee Jinwoon brought me so much heartache that he thought it was the only way to make the heartache stop." Ki Ha shook his head. "If they had really killed your son, would you still be able to live with him?"
Ki Ha stood up and left when she nodded.