84
Do Not Pursue
Then they scattered, fleeing all at once.The groups split the falling snow and were swallowed into the inner folds of the white valley, as if drawn inward.
Park Seong-jin moved by instinct, about to drive his heels in.His body leaned forward before thought could intervene.
At that moment—"Stop! Don't chase them!"
Oh Jin-cheol's shout cut the air.Short and sharp, like a blade skimming ice.It carried the warning of experience, the concern of a senior, and certainty all at once.
Park Seong-jin's hands reacted a half-beat late.Still, the reins were pulled.
The horse skidded to a halt, spraying snow.Hot breath burst from its nostrils.His chest rose and fell hard, but his fingers were already obeying the order.
Oh Jin-cheol came close and spoke low."It could be a trap. Chase them, and it's over."
"Affirmative."
A brief reply.In that single word, the heat of uncooled blood was pressed down.
Park Seong-jin turned the horse's head.Only then did the cold flood back into his body.It was the signal that the fight had ended.
Two bodies lay on the snow.One was frozen stiff with an arrow lodged in the head.The other, struck in the side, still twitched faintly.
There should have been one more.The thought came—someone hit by an arrow who had fled.But there was no sign of him.
That subtle absence caught the eye more than anything.Movement felt slow and dull, like a creature beneath ice.
"…The same kind we saw at Geumseong."
The image of the body trapped under the ice returned to him.The color of blood stiffening, the strange red spreading across snow—the two overlapped.
Hoofbeats approached.It was Huang Hyun-pil.
He leapt down from his horse and roughly hauled up the writhing man.Snow flew in all directions.
"Who do you belong to?"
No answer.
"Why were you here? What were you trying to do?"
The man did not open his mouth.Only terrified eyes rolled wildly.His lips trembled as if frozen solid.
Park Seong-jin guided his horse in a slow circle, taking in the scene.Blood, ice, the breath of horses, a broken spear—each entered his view in turn.
Then he said quietly,"He's too scared to speak."
Huang Hyun-pil turned to look at him.A brief pause passed.Then he grinned and struck the man hard across the cheek.
"Open your eyes."
Smack.
The sound rang long in the frozen air—sharp enough to snap the mind awake.The man's head snapped to the side.Still no words came.
Tears spilled from his eyes and froze where they fell, clinging to his cheek.
Just then, other friendly cavalry arrived at speed.They did not stop.They swept past, heading in the direction the others had fled, and vanished from sight in moments.
Park Seong-jin watched their backs for a long while.This was not the end of the fight.It was the beginning.
The blood on the snow had not yet cooled,and like the water sounds beneath the ice, invisible ripples were already moving.
He exhaled quietly.
This winter was not over yet.
The prisoner knelt on the snow.His face, scraped raw by ice, was smeared with blood;his lips were split, red saliva leaking out whenever he tried to speak.
More than the marks of battle, his body bore the traces of brutal terrain—of a body thrown again and again against nature itself.
His hands were bound behind him.There was no sign of resistance.He gasped for breath, coughing at intervals, his body folding inward with each spasm.
Huang Hyun-pil stepped forward."Who do you belong to?"
The man bowed his head."There is no place worthy of being called an affiliation."
"What does that mean? Speak clearly."
"We are remnants. Defeated men. We scattered after Liaoyang."
The air seemed to stiffen for a beat as the words fell.
"Defeated."
Oh Jin-cheol stepped closer, brows drawn tight."We broke apart after the battle at Liaoyang. Those who survived split northward."
The man tried to steady his breath, then continued with a ruined expression."We heard control was still loose north of Liaoyang. We trusted that rumor and moved. Supply was cut—we survived three days in the snow. We came this way looking for food."
"You came too close," Huang Hyun-pil said, gaze fixed."There must be another reason."
"The weather was brutal. Enemy eyes everywhere."
"Then you didn't come to fight."
Huang Hyun-pil's voice dropped.
"That's right. We have no strength left to fight."
The man shuddered, a laugh slipping out."Two handfuls of grain a day. That's all."
Huang Hyun-pil signaled with his chin.Park Seong-jin handed over a rock-hard rice ball.
The man clutched it with both hands and devoured it.The grain entering his mouth seemed more urgent than the arrow lodged in his side.
"So that's why you were roaming around," Oh Jin-cheol said.
"We searched for hay and food. With the cold dragging on, there were no animals, no trees. We dug for buried storehouses or scavenged grain from the remains of burned villages."
Park Seong-jin spoke slowly."Then you weren't hunting us. You were hunting food."
"Yes."
The man bowed deeply."We are already as good as dead. Only breath remains."
No words followed.Only snow drifted down.The sky pressed low; the wind sounded like weeping.
On the battlefield, such deaths are common—more common than those counted in combat.
After a moment of silence, Huang Hyun-pil spoke."Fine. Bind him. Hand him over when the advance unit arrives tomorrow."
He turned with a short breath."White Lotus or defeated remnants—it doesn't matter. They crawled here to live. That's the same."
Huang Hyun-pil chose a relatively flat spot below the slope and set a temporary camp.They cleared snow and turned small carts on their sides as windbreaks.It was a formation that could blunt even a cavalry charge.
Firewood was scarce.They mixed in horse dung to start the fire; acrid smoke stung the nose.Soldiers dismounted and gathered around the flames, brushing snow from their faces.
Some chewed rice cold as ice.Others silently re-fletched arrows.
Huang Hyun-pil sat by the fire and called Park Seong-jin and Oh Jin-cheol over."Defeated or not, they came too deep. If it were us, we'd have pulled back farther."
"Yes," Oh Jin-cheol replied quietly."If the snowstorms continue, supply lines cut us off too. Their three days of hunger could be us next."
"Liaoyang won't be far behind," Huang Hyun-pil said, shaking his head."But we're sufficient. We have enough to last until spring. We'll use what they gathered."
His tone was firm."We don't move now. We hand over when the advance unit arrives. Our mission here isn't pursuit—it's firepower."
"We hold position."
"Affirmative."
The campfire flickered in the snow, burning long.
Watching the flames, Park Seong-jin felt it—the likelihood that today's single captive would not be the end.
Somewhere in the snow, the same hunger was already moving.