THIS WAS YOUR DOING, WASN'T IT?
OH WELL. I GUESS THERE ISN'T ANY POINT IN ASKING THAT QUESTION.
HERE'S SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW.
I WON'T GIVE YOU A QUICK DEATH.
THIS TAKES ME BACK...
REMEMBER THE DAY WE MET BY THE LAKE?
I TRIED TO END IT ALL, BUT YOU STOPPED ME.
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT?
I WASN'T ACTING. I DID WANT TO DIE BACK THEN.
SO I WONDER...
...IF YOU'LL BE ABLE TO STOP ME ONCE AGAIN.
THIS ISN’T THE TIME, KAI.
YOUR TIME HASN’T COME YET.
I STILL NEED YOU TO DO MANY THINGS BY MY SIDE.
STAND BACK. YOU CAN LEAVE THIS TO ME NOW.
I’M SURE HE HAS PLENTY TO SAY TO ME AS WELL.
THE GHOST’S SHADOW, WAS IT?
TRACING BACK MY MEMORIES...
...I WAS PROBABLY AROUND FIVE YEARS OLD...
...WHEN I STARTED NOTICING THE WAY MY TRIBE LOOKED AT ME AND MY MOTHER...
...WITH CONTEMPT IN THEIR EYES.
AND THOSE DISTURBING GAZES LED...
...TO A TRAGIC END.
THAT'S PROBABLY WHEN I UNDERSTOOD...
...I DIDN'T BELONG HERE.
HEAD CHIEF...!! W-WAIT...!
P-PLEASE...
PLEASE FORGIVE ME... JUST THIS ONCE...
THEY'RE WORTHLESS HALF-BLOODED WENCHES ANYWAY...
YOU'LL NEED THIS TO SURVIVE.
HIS HELP WAS CRUDE BUT KIND.
WITH HIS HELP, I TRIED MY BEST FOR YEARS TO SURVIVE IN THE TRIBE.
BUT I STILL COULDN'T FIT IN.
THAT FEELING NEVER LEFT ME.
THAT'S WHEN I WAS ASSIGNED TO SPY ON JOSEON.
I SAW IT AS A CHANCE.
A CHANCE TO GET AWAY FROM ALL THE SCORNFUL GAZES.
I WANTED TO LEAVE BEHIND THOSE SAVAGE AND CRUDE BARBARIANS...
...AND START ANEW IN JOSEON.
UNFORTUNATELY, IT DIDN'T TAKE LONG...
...TO REALIZE THAT IT WAS NOTHING BUT A FOOLISH DREAM...
...FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME.
THINGS WEREN'T ANY DIFFERENT IN JOSEON.
IF ANYTHING, THEY TREATED ME MUCH WORSE THAN THE JURCHENS EVER DID.
I WAS TREATED WORSE THAN A SLAVE.
ONLY THIS TIME, I HAD NO ONE TO SHIELD ME FROM THEIR SCORN AND CONTEMPT.
SO IT BECAME CLEAR TO ME.
A HALF-BLOOD LIKE ME WASN'T WELCOME ANYWHERE.
I HAD NO HOMELAND.
BUT I HAD A PERSON.
AND SO, INSTEAD OF CHOOSING A HOMELAND...
...I DECIDED TO FOLLOW THAT PERSON.
BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONLY ONE...
...WHO SAW ME AS A HUMAN BEING.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE...
THE LAST TIME WE SAW EACH OTHER WAS WHEN HADAR DIED, RIGHT?
HEAD CHIEF... DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!
HE'S ALREADY--
YES, I KNOW.
IT WOULD SEEM THE LITTLE SPARK OF EMBER...
...HAS GROWN INTO A RAGING FIRE.
DID YOU KILL FUXIANU AND BURO?
THAT'S QUITE IMPRESSIVE. AND AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE TOO.
YOU'RE FAR BETTER THAN KUNUMA.
KAI. ARE YOU HURT?
N-NO. I'M FINE...
THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR.
YOU DISGUST ME.
EVERY WORD YOU SAY...
...?
AS IF YOU CARE ABOUT OTHERS...
IT MAKES ME SICK.
YOU MADE MY SISTER DROWN IN THAT ICE-COLD RIVER...
AND YET, YOU PRETEND TO CARE ABOUT OTHERS WITH THOSE REVOLTING WORDS...
LET ME ASK YOU SOMETHING, GWIYEONG.
HOW MANY JURCHENS DID YOU KILL ON YOUR WAY HERE?
WHAT...?
AND HOW MANY MORE HAVE YOU KILLED BEFORE THAT?
I'M SURE YOU'VE KILLED ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE. OLD, MARRIED, AND EVEN CHILDREN.
DO YOU GET WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY?
I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU, AS A PERSON, MIGHT HATE US.
BUT I CAN SEE IT MORE CLEARLY BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE A HOMELAND.
THIS ISN'T ABOUT GOOD OR EVIL.
IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF ONE'S INTERESTS.
WE'RE NOT THE MONSTERS YOU THINK WE ARE.
WE HAD TO KILL PEOPLE OR SPARE THEM AT TIMES IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, JUST LIKE YOU.
SO SPARE ME FROM YOUR ONE-SIDED JUDGMENT.
WE ARE ALL BUT TINY PIECES ON THE BOARD, TRAPPED IN THIS VICIOUS CYCLE.
HA...
HAHA... HA...!
HAHAHA!
AHAHAHA!
RIGHT... WELL SAID.
LET ME SEE IF I UNDERSTOOD YOU CORRECTLY.
SO THAT'S YOUR JUSTIFICATION FOR ALL THOSE FILTHY DEEDS YOU COMMITTED, RIGHT?
WHAT A LOAD OF SELF-RIGHTEOUS NONSENSE...
GOOD OR EVIL, HUH...?
FINE. I MADE UP MY MIND.
....?
I CHOOSE EVIL THEN.
I JUST THOUGHT OF THE PERFECT THING A VILLAIN MIGHT DO...
YOU DIDN’T LISTEN TO ANYTHING I--
NO, I HEARD YOU.
MANZHU LI... YOU KNOW WHAT? I’M GLAD YOU’RE A HUMAN BEING, AND NOT A MONSTER.
THAT MEANS YOU ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT SOMEONE.
HARI... I MEAN, KAI.
I WILL HAVE MANZHU LI WATCH YOU DIE.
I HEARD MY MASTER KILLED YOUR FAMILY, LI.
AND NOW, I WILL TAKE EVERY LAST THING YOU HAVE LEFT.
I THOUGHT YOU HAD GROWN, BUT I WAS MISTAKEN.
HOW ARROGANT AND FOOLISH YOU ARE.
YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING OF HONOR.
HONOR?
DO I HAVE TO CARE ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
I HATE COMPLICATING THINGS.
The chapter opens with a furious confrontation as Gwiyeong faces Manzhu Li, who is revealed to be the Ghost's Shadow. While pulling Kai aside and trying to protect him, Li explains that as a half-blood he was ostracized both in the Jurchen tribe and in Joseon, left stateless, and chose to follow the one person who saw him as human. The two engage in a harsh war of words over those who were killed, honor, and good and evil. In the end, Gwiyeong declares that he has chosen evil and threatens to make Li watch his loved ones die.
Spoiler Warning
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