𝗦𝗨𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗥 𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗦, Go Won

➷(6) POISON

After shopping, Da-hye headed back to Songrim. Dang-gu ran up to her. "Da-hye! Did you hear?" Dang-gu grabbed Da-hye's arms and shook her a little bit.

"Did I hear what?" Da-hye asked, ripping her arm out of Dang-gu's grasp

"Jin Mu of Cheonbugwan will be burning Naksu's body." Dang-gu explained. If Mu-deok was Naksu, she was going to be there to see her body being burned. Da-hye needed to confirm that Mu-deok was Naksu. She couldn't let that theory go just yet.

"When will this happen?" Da-hye asked Dang-gu.

"I'm not sure." Dang-gu pursed his lips. "That's all I know."

And finally, Naksu's body was going to be burnt. Naksu's body was laid out on pieces of wood. It was the traditional funeral. Being burned. Da-hye noticed that Yul had the bird whistle in his hand.  Da-hye knew that Naksu was Yul's childhood friend.

"Begin." Jin Mu said.

"Yes, my lord." Cheonbugwan mages began lighting the wood on fire.

Da-hye spotted Mu-deok in the crowd. Perhaps Da-hye was right about Mu-deok. Naksu's body began burning. As Naksu's body began burning more, people started leaving.  Yul, Dang-gu and Da-hye had also left. 

She had nothing to do there because she had just confirmed that Mu-deok was Naksu. The look on her face had unfortunately gave it away. No one would look at a burning corpse of an assassin that way, unless it was their former body.

"At least we know Naksu won't be returning to her body." Da-hye commented on the walk back to Songrim.

"Thinking about that gives me the chills." Dang-gu said, shaking his head.

After that, Da-hye went to Jeongjingak for her training. She stayed in Jeongjingak for most of the afternoon. She was mostly reading books. She liked doing that because she could forget about everything going on in her own world. Yul was also in Jeongjingak.

Suddenly, Dang-gu ran into Jeongjingak. Da-hye got up and walked towards him. Had Dang-gu gotten himself in trouble? Had Uk done something stupid again?

"Da-hye...." Dang-gu had a worried expression on his face. He clinged onto Da-hye's arm. "Yul..." Dang-gu said as Yul walked towards them. "Uk ingested poison." he stuttered nervously. Da-hye furrowed her eyebrows with confusion. "They say he's going to die." he sobbed.

Da-hye was too shocked to reply. But could Master Heo not concoct an antidote?  "What?" Yul said the same thing she was thinking.

"Mu-deok was the one who gave it to him."  Dang-gu revealed that information. Da-hye let out a gasp. Why would Mu-deok do that? Was this her way of killing him? She really was Naksu , then.

"But she will not say what kind of poison it was, so my uncle is torturing her right now." Dang-gu sobbed. . Da-hye ran to the secret room. She knew her uncle and Mu-deok would be there.  Mu-deok's hands were tied to a string that she was hanging from. Da-hye's uncle was standing in front of Mu-deok. There were other mages in the room, including Sang-ho.

"What was the poison?" The leader asked. There was no response from Mu-deok.

"Keep going." The leader told the mages who were torturing her. If Mu-deok was willing to die just because she wouldn't say which poison it was, there was something else going on. Was Mu-deok trying to get Uk's gate of energy opened...?

"She could die, my lord." Sang-ho said.

"Uk is dying." The leader said. "We must find out what it is in the next two hours."