Blood Moon Rising Over The Plains - Chapter 5: Zhongdu (2)

Clink.

Why am I here? I sat on a thick pile of straw and looked down at the shackles on my ankles. I was sure I was going to the old man, but one of the soldiers said that someone had called him and took a different path, and the remaining soldier suddenly changed direction.

And the place we arrived at was this prison. The door, made of thick wooden bars connected vertically and horizontally, didn’t seem very sturdy. Inside, there was only this pile of straw.

I can’t figure out how the story is going. It seems to be related to war. The ‘guy’ that the old man was talking about seems to mean Temujin.

If I had known I was coming here, I would have run away somehow when I was in the baggage cart. Now there were too many soldiers to run away. It would be easy if I could fly away, but I don’t have gravity shoes.

I rolled my eyes around outside the iron bars, surveying my surroundings. Fortunately, this prison was in the furthest corner, and there wasn’t a sound, let alone a sign of people. I sat back down on the rustling pile of straw and lifted my heavy wrist.

After groaning, I finally brought my face close. I didn’t know shackles could be this heavy. My arm felt like it was hurting from constantly holding it up. I fiddled with my fingertips and inserted them into the cloth gagging my mouth. It was wrapped so tightly that it was difficult to find even a small gap.

“Phew.”

Only when the tightly bound cloth went down below my neck did the suffocating feeling lessen. Okay, so what should I do now?

“Noah, is there a way to get out of here safely?”

—Multiple instances of confinement and kidnapping have been detected. This act was listed in the artificial intelligence’s database, but it was removed from the list of crimes in an update 12 years ago. Therefore, it is difficult to determine that the current situation is harmful to the Master, and it is difficult to execute a safety alert.

“Hmm, I was wondering, so that’s why the safety alert didn’t go off.”

I can’t add crime items with my authority either. I rolled my eyes again and called Noah again.

“What if I hit my head on my own and get hurt?”

—This is presumed to be ‘self-harm’ and is classified as an Level 8-Special Alert.

There was even a Special Alert? This is the first time I’ve heard of it…

“What happens when an Level 8-Special Alert is executed?”

—When an Level 8-Special Alert is executed, the Master will be restrained for the Master’s safety. Afterwards, an android robot related to mental treatment is programmed to be dispatched.

Oh, this method is not good. Since an android robot cannot be dispatched now, the result is that me being restrained is all there is to the ‘Level 8-Special Alert’. What a useless alert.

“What if they all try to hurt me?”

—As soon as multiple instances of murder and intent to kill are confirmed, a Level 1 Alert will be executed. Please note that when a Level 1 Alert is executed, all nearby elements with harmful factors will be subject to removal.

“If it’s just one or two people, will Level 1 be triggered?”

—In the case of murder or intent to kill by a small number of people, it is classified as a Level 3 Alert.

While organizing Noah’s story, I tilted my head.

“If it’s Level 1—”

Clang.

“You’ve kept her safe, haven’t you?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I closed my mouth at the voice coming from outside. Noah seemed to have judged that the question was over and turned off the clock screen.

The sound of footsteps and metal clashing gradually narrowed the distance. Judging from the voice, it was the Prince I met with Temujin and the soldier in splendid armor who stood at the front of the group that took me away when I first came here, telling the other soldiers to be quiet.

So the two knew each other. It was that Prince who brought me here. Could it be because the person who brought me here was from Temujin’s side?

“This Westerner is essential for the survival of Jin.”

The Prince, who had walked in front of the prison where I was trapped, looked down at me with a stiff face. The soldier standing next to him glanced at me and turned his head.

“Will he really change the alliance conditions for this Westerner?”

“It’s not difficult to determine whether those actions are sincere or false. The rumors of the Khan are so rampant. But we have no other way to use.”

The Prince frowned as if he was resentful and clenched his fists so hard that his body trembled.

“Your Highness…”

“Father and even my brothers are ignoring the Khan. They see them as barbarians and look down on them. They still can’t read the landscape of war!”

“His Majesty is now blinded by revenge and only sees the enemy in front of him. The Khan’s elite soldiers cannot be countered by mere ordinary soldiers, not even trained commoner soldiers. The walls will soon collapse, and Jinseong will be captured.”

“We must contact the Khan before that. Once the war breaks out, it can no longer be stopped.”

“But where is he…? The Khan’s group, which was on the outskirts of the capital, has also disappeared. Even if we search right now, there is not enough time.”

Rolling my eyes, I carefully opened my mouth.

“…Um.”

“She speaks…?!”

The Prince looked at me with a surprised expression. Hmm, well, I’ve been pretending not to hear and not to speak until now. Temujin told me not to speak, but it seems like a necessary moment now—

“I know where Temujin is.”

‘If you get lost, you can look at this and find your way back.’

Could I say I’m lost now? I checked the map filling my vision, where my red dot and the blue dot were almost overlapping.

* * *

“What? What do you mean she disappeared?!

Bang!

At the Emperor’s roar, the soldier who had received the order slammed his head on the floor and prostrated himself.

“T-that’s… I-I definitely handed her over to the soldier. O-on the way, I was called by General Li Wei and left my post… I-I deserve to die, Your Majesty!!”

At the soldier’s cry, the Second Prince, Madagal, frowned. General Li Wei specifically called out a soldier in this situation? And even the soldier who was taking away that Westerner woman?

Li Wei. Isn’t he the martial arts teacher and close aide of the Third Prince, Wudobo? This damn bastard, how dare a half-blooded prince do such presumptuous things?! Madagal grimaced and shouted at the Emperor.

“Father! We must search Wudobo’s palace immediately!”

“What? What are you saying about Wudobo?”

“Didn’t that guy vehemently oppose the war with those barbarians! He’s clearly trying to offer that woman to them!”

“Surely he wouldn’t be so foolish.”

The Emperor stroked his beard and answered gruffly. He was a guy who constantly opposed his words and was not very pleasing, but surely he wouldn’t betray the country. Besides, that guy was also eyeing the Emperor’s throne.

It was suspicious that he hadn’t shown up in this place, but as Emperor, he couldn’t openly suspect and search his son’s palace. Besides, that guy often ignored his words. The Emperor narrowed his brows.

“Madagal, calm down. Even as Father, you cannot search that guy’s palace based on mere suspicion.”

At the First Prince Yoonje’s whisper from the side, Madagal contorted his face and gnashed his teeth.

“Then what are we supposed to do? It’s clear that he’s the culprit. How outrageous…!”

“That guy wouldn’t be foolish enough to hide that woman in his palace. It would be immediately exposed if we searched openly. But there are many guys we’ve infiltrated into his palace.”

“Hmph, that’s why he doesn’t even let a palace maid into his room.”

“It seems he’s getting carried away just because he has one person on his side, being the child of a palace maid, but what can he do with just that one person?”

“What are you saying? Brother, you’re talking in circles too much.”

Madagal frowned at Yoonje’s ambiguous words and grumbled.

“The moment he lets go of that one person, his life will be in danger. Would he gamble on letting go of that one person? Especially with the war right around the corner. Then where would he have hidden that woman?”

“Oh, it wouldn’t be in his own palace, where there are many eyes watching. It would be immediately exposed if we searched.”

“She’s already a noticeable Westerner. No matter how much he hides her, he can’t expose her to the outside. He doesn’t have anyone on his side in the other palaces either. After all, he’s just the child of a commoner palace maid. On the other hand, our mother is still healthy. There are many officials who came from our mother’s family.”

“So you’re saying he smuggled her out?”

“It’s impossible to hide that noticeable Westerner and smuggle her out within such a short time. You can hide her hair, but how would you hide her eyes?”

“It’s also impossible to make her pretend to be a blind person in the palace, where she’d be noticeable. So what are you saying, brother…?”

“Yes. That woman is inside the palace, in a place where people’s hands don’t reach.”

“Such places are rare.”

Madagal curled up the corners of his mouth with a smirk.

* * *

It was so inconvenient that there were no means of communication here. There was no way to know if the Prince had met Temujin well, even if he had, in this place without even a clock, let alone an old-fashioned cell phone, or even an older walkie-talkie.

It would be nice to have a device, but I didn’t have such good manufacturing skills. Even if I asked Noah, it was only possible if there were materials, so I couldn’t do anything in this place without even wires or plastic.

The inside of the prison was too humid and damp. The floor was stone, and the inner partition of the wall and the corridor were made of wood, unlike the outer side, which was made of stone. In the dark space without a single window, I sat on a pile of straw and hugged my knees.

Being here somehow felt like going back home. The difference was that it wasn’t bright? Oh, and this underwear-like clothing. Oh, and the shackles… There were more differences than I thought.

It wasn’t cold because the wind was blocked by the lack of windows, but the fabric was thin, so I could feel the rough texture of the straw pile.

Home was full of things for a prosperous life. On one side was a sleep capsule, on the other side was a screen filling an entire wall, and an Air Zone for growing plants for landscaping and air purification.

Looking at the sunny window, there were maglev trains running without a sound, one-person airships moving sequentially with signals from the sky, and countless brilliantly shining high-rise buildings.

More android robots than people, and more time spent talking to artificial intelligence than talking to people, a place different from here.

Clang, tap.

Along with several footsteps, I lifted my head at the sight of red and gold-threaded clothes at the end of my vision. It was definitely the man who was next to the Prince when I saw that old man. A dozen soldiers were lined up behind him. The man smiled bitterly.

“Finally found you, woman.”

The man then waved his arm and shouted.

“What are you doing? Get that Westerner woman out of here right now!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Huh, wasn’t Prince a name? I tilted my head at the soldiers’ shouts. Judging from what they were saying, it seemed I was mistaken. Prince was a title.

Clang—!

Bang!

At the man’s command, the soldiers began to strike the locks and wood with the edges of their swords. The wooden bars, which were not stone or even asphalt, shattered so easily, and soon they were bent and broken.

Clang.

As I stepped back to avoid the debris, the shackles on my ankles collided roughly. I stood in place and looked at the soldiers. They had swords and were coming at me, but they weren’t threatening.

The wood was easily broken, and the soldier strode towards me. Even if I resisted here, it would be inconvenient to escape, and the space wasn’t wide.

After thinking, I was led out obediently by the soldier’s hand. My gaze was forcibly turned as a hand grabbed my chin, which was staring blankly ahead.

“I felt it earlier, but your face doesn’t change at all. Can’t you understand what I’m saying? Then you should be trembling in this situation even more. Or do you think that barbarian will save you?”

The man smiled bitterly and tapped my cheek. Save me? Temujin? Well, I’ve never thought that far. Actually, even though I was kidnapped, all that was done to me was bathing and changing clothes, so it didn’t feel like a big threat.

At that time, they discussed my treatment, and the result was torment… hmm. Ah, was it called ‘torture’? It was closer to that than torment. Usually, people die from torture, so it was fair to say that they had the intention to kill me.

The problem was that the action didn’t affect me now. It would be better if they attacked me right away so Noah could take care of it. Noah is an artificial intelligence, so it’s difficult to grasp the intention to kill me just from the tone.

When I stared blankly into his eyes without saying anything, the man contorted his face and roughly let go of my body as if throwing it away.

“…How unpleasant. Are all Westerners like this? Are they [stupid] or just [arrogant]? Hmph, that [barbarian] also chose the same thing as me. Just you wait, I’ll pluck out those nasty eyes with my own hands.”

It wasn’t a scary threat at all. Temujin was more frightening when we first met.

***