Post by ajk on May 11, 2012 21:37:26 GMT -5
It's not that far a drop, and we know Deokman can swim just fine. She sees Cheonmyeong trying real hard to pull her up, but Cheonmyeong just doesn't have the strength, and is putting herself at risk in the process. So she lets go and drops into the water. No problem. Except now we see under the water that Deokman is slowly sinking to the bottom, for no apparent reason, despite her trying hard to swim upwards. No explanation...and as she sinks, she starts to fade out, and dreams of her mother coming to her aid, and reviving her on the riverbank...And now she actually is on the riverbank! But it's not Sohwa hovering over her, it's Cheonmyeong. Turns out, Cheonmyeong jumped off the cliff to save Deokman. (So she somehow floated and saved them both? UGH.) Deokman hugs her for joy, and then they start crying in each other's arms.
Nighttime. Bojong's squad of Hwarang assassins, dressed in black, approaches Yeorae Temple.
In the woods, Deokman and Cheonmyeong have built a fire to warm up and dry off. Cheonmyeong is cold, so Deokman takes her jacket off and puts it over Cheonmyeong's shoulders. "I apologize for leaving you behind," Deokman says, but she came back so no matter. Cheonmyeong asks, "Did you really know it would rain?" No, "I just had faith, I guess. It felt like my late mother was somehow protecting me." And she tells Cheonmyeong why she's looking for Munno--hopefully to find out about her past. Cheonmyeong gets up and wants to start right away for Yeorae Temple. Deokman realizes her companion is serious and can't believe her good fortune: "You really know where Munno is?!" Then Cheonmyeong notices the small crescent birth mark near Deokman's ear. She has the same birthmark, as we see. "My father has a spot like that as well," the princess says. And now Cheonmyeong's looking at Deokman funny.
Bojong's squad climbs up the outer wall of the temple and charges into the complex. They carve up an unlucky watchman, and before long they're discovered and they're battling monks with swords....
The two girls reach the entrance to the Yeorae Temple grounds. Excitedly, they head in.
The squad has caught the monks by surprise enough to kill them, and the fight is over. But no sign of Munno. And now here's a new problem: Two girls walking right in on them! With dead bodies scattered all around. In an instant, swords are at the girls' throats. Bojong recognizes the princess, which causes a moment of hesitation--and in that moment, Deokman kicks at one of the squad, appearing to hit him in a very unkind location, and the girls manage to make a break for it. They get a head start, but the squad runs after them (one of them probably running a little funny), and now here were are with more chasing-through-the-woods. The girls find a secluded spot and hide, and as the squad charges through, Cheonmyeong sees enough of Bojong's face to recognize him. The squad stops and begins searching the woods, and unfortunately for the girls they're quickly discovered and there's a sword at their throats again. But in an instant, an arrow comes flying in, hits its mark, and the kid with the sword falls. And now a whole group of men from Who-only-knows-where comes charging in, and a wild battle ensues. The girls use the commotion to run away; Bojong sees them go and heads after them by himself. And back in the battle, look who sees Bojong going after the girls: it's Imjong, the leader of Kim Yongchun's Hwarang! So that's who these guys are, and why they showed up here now. Imjong runs after Bojong, into the darkness.
Bojong is faster than the girls, and soon he catches up to them. He fires an arrow that may or may not have grazed Cheonmyeong, but either way it causes her to fall and go spinning down a steep slope and out of sight. He runs to Deokman, puts the sword to her throat...and takes an arrow from Imjong hard to the chest. He falls over the edge of the slope, in the process knocking Deokman over it as well, and the two go rolling down out of sight. Imjong looks down the slope, not seeing anything down there in the darkness and not sure what to do now.
Kim Yongchun is before his infuriated uncle, revealing all to the king about Cheonmyeong's mission to meet Munno and her disappearance near Yeorae Temple.
Mishil and her cabal are told by Seokpum, who's subtitled as "one of Seorabeol's ten elite Hwarang," of Bojong's disappearance, and of the attack on Bojong's group. They're all understandably shaken by the news. Mishil wants to know two things: did the princess recognize Bojong (Seokpum doesn't know), and how much of this does the king already know about?
He knows enough. "Did you not say he was hit by arrows and fell off a cliff?! Who is responsible for this?" Jinpyeong is furious and accuses Yongchun of scheming behind his back. He immediately announces he's going to Manno County himself, which Eulje wisely advises against...but now Mishil arrives--and tells him she'll go with him! She says she's already made all the preparations.
The next morning: We're by a riverbank. Deokman wakes up, dazed, and looks around. Is she alone? Well, Bojong's body is nearby, with that arrow buried in his chest. No sign of Cheonmyeong, but for some reason Deokman feels confident that she survived. Just to be sure, she checks the body--and hears a slight groan. Somehow Bojong isn't dead yet. But he's in bad shape.
We see Kim Yushin and his squad of Hwarang are walking through the woods--shirtless. What the heck? They're muttering about Jukbang; maybe somebody stole their clothes while they were out for a swim? But as they walk, they come upon Cheonmyeong, laying there unconscious. We see blood; that arrow did strike her and the wound is more than trivial. So they pick her up to get her help. In the process, they check through the jacket she's wearing--Deokman's jacket--and find the medallion that was stolen from Yushin! (Remember, Jukbang had slipped it in there to keep the Hwarang from finding it when they searched him.)
The king and his retinue are now at Manno Fortress. Kim Seohyeon is called before him, and we meet him for the first time. He reports to the king on the search for Cheonmyeong; sounds like an exhaustive search and he's doing everything right. But Mishil rips him: "Your lack of virtue as prefect created this upheaval, and because of those insurrecting miscreants, Her Highness had to suffer injuries as well." Seohyeon isn't intimidated--he knows the truth--but Mishil threatens, "Should we fail to find Her Highness, or should anything befall her, Your Excellency shall pay a direful price for all your misdeeds." She seems particularly smug and pleased with herself.
Later, Mishil asks Seolwon to choose someone to replace Seohyeon; she wants him removed (read between the lines: and replaced with a flunky). And he asks her about her apparent lack of concern for Bojong. Of course I'm concerned, she answers, but this was a covert mission "so I ordered Seokpum to discreetly look for him." But you have to agree with him; she really doesn't seem all that concerned. (Does she favor her son with Sejong the noble over her son with Seolwon? Hmmm....)
Deokman has found some sort of abandoned wooden shelter and managed to drag Bojong into it. She's treating his wound, trying to keep him alive in the hopes that he'll tell her what happened to Munno. Which doesn't seem very wise, considering he had a sword to her throat...but he looks in pretty bad shape anyway, so it may not matter.
Cheonmyeong wakes up. She's in a prison cell. Her wound has been treated, but she's tied up. Yushin walks in, and confronts her about the medallion. She has no idea what it is, and immediately starts giving him lip and demanding to be untied. "Bring me to Prefect Kim Seohyeon. His Excellency shall confirm my identity." Yushin is taken aback that this girl wearing monk's attire would make such a request. Irritated, he says he'll grant the request (to humor her) and then turn her over to the local authorities as a thief.
Yushin is striking a straw figure with a pole. His Hwarang and Cheonmyeong are all sitting there watching him. Whack, whack, whack, a thousand times...whack, whack...now up to nearly ten thousand times. What is this kid's problem? Finally he stops, at 9,925...and then starts up again? 1, 2...Cheonmyeong has been forced to watch this go on and on, and that was the last straw. "What on earth are you doing?" Yushin answers, "In the final moments, my resolve abandoned my soul." Cheonmyeong thinks he's bonkers and questions his competence. "You are likely neither discerning nor dexterous. Your clan must be of unremarkable lineage...Since you are their leader, you must show them something, so what you chose is righteousness and honesty, is that all?!" No answer. "It must be the only subterfuge that vacuous mind of yours could concoct to impress your fellow Hwarang." Ouch! She's really letting him have it, and all he can do is try to assure her that "I am merely trying to live in sincerity." It comes out sounding like a pretty weak answer...but wait a minute, isn't that EXACTLY what Cheonmyeong herself said when Mishil was rattling her cage at that Hwarang ceremony? Yes it was, and Cheonmyeong remembers this, as we see in a flashback. You'd expect her to back off out of empathy (and you can't help but wonder why she's not at least a little bit grateful for his getting her to safety and treating his wound), but instead she fires Mishil's words at Yushin: "Call it sincerity, engage in all the subterfuges you wish, but nothing will ever change." And adds, "You shall remain nothing but a Hwarang populating this meager hamlet." But Yushin holds firm: "Living in sincerity shall at least change my life! And should I change, then everything shall change as well." Which seems to quiet her down for the moment, and he goes back to hitting his straw. Maybe she'll stop berating him for a while.
Evening: Bojong is starting to revive, but now his would his bleeding again. And he's started coughing up blood. Uh-oh...
We see Deokman back in Manno, unsuccessfully pleading with the local physician to come and help Bojong. No money upfront, no help. But what's that she sees? A hand reaching into a nearby stall, to steal something. She grabs it, and guess who's hand. Jukbang's. Godo is there too. She demands her pendant back. He says he doesn't have it any more and shoves her aside. "Someone is perishing," she tells him, and I need to hire a physician. Jukbang turns back and looks, seemingly concerned. Does the guy have a shred of decency after all?
Apparently so, because now he and Godo are at the shelter with Deokman and they're treating Bojong. Jukbang is saying that before his petty-crime days he was a renowned, highly skilled physician. And Godo swears that it's true. Yeah, sure he was...but look at him treating that wound. The guy knows what he's doing. Maybe it's true. He's gotten the arrowhead out; there's no more bleeding; and he's directing Deokman to prepare a treatment with herbs that he's brought with him. Deokman goes outside, and Jukbang suddenly notices the fancy metallic ring on Bojong's finger...
The two leave the shelter and bid farewell to Deokman. They tell her that the arrowhead was coated in poison, but Jukbang cleaned out the poison so Bojong will heal up fine now. "We more than made up for the pendant, right?!" Yes, Deokman says. So the guy does indeed have a shred of decency. But not enough to keep from pocketing that ring. As they leave, Deokman goes inside, spots the missing ring and gives chase...
...but she loses them. Winded, Jukbang and Godo are back in Manno Fortress. Just in time to hear Injong make a major announcement in the marketplace: "Anyone volunteering to join the search for Her Highness shall be rewarded with a chunk of silver." Kim Seohyeon is there, overseeing; so is Kim Yongchun. They've managed to draw a big crowd and get lots of takers. But not Jukbang and Godo; Godo doesn't want the silver because that ring he just bagged, "never before have I seen a ring gleam with such splendor." It's worth plenty, and they head off somewhere to fence it.
They arrive outside of an outpost of some sort. From inside they hear Hwarang discussing another missing person. A description is given, and the note that "he might have suffered external wounds," and a reward of a generous amount of gold is offered for finding him. Cha-ching! Jukbang hit the jackpot here and he knows it.
The next day, still in Manno: The king is angry and frustrated; no sign of his daughter. Mishil has on her own decided to request more troops from adjacent districts, to expand the search area, and put Hajong in charge of the search. The king doesn't look too comfortable with this, but he doesn't say anything.
We see Kim Yushin and his Hwarang taking Cheonmyeong (who's still tied up) to see Kim Seohyeon (who we've learned is his father).
Back in Manno, more announcements about the missing princess. And a drawing and description of her, prominently posted in the marketplace. The villagers react eagerly to an announced reward...just as Yushin's group walks into the scene. They study the drawing, study the description, study, read...wait for it...not exactly rocket scientists...Yushin eventually looks at Cheonmyeong, and finally he's figured out what's coming: "Are you...by any chance...."
Back at the king's courtyard, everyone is still there, looking concerned. And Cheonmyeong runs right in through the front door. Doink! She apologizes to her father for the stress she caused him. Mishil and Seolwon don't look too pleased for having their grand search plan squashed. Mishil tries to express happiness at seeing Cheonmyeong safe, but the princess only glares, knowing full well that Mishil's son tried to kill her and was up to no good.
"Your presence is requested." Uh-oh, Yushin has to go see the king and he looks close to vomiting. He thinks he's in big trouble for treating Cheonmyeong like a common criminal. He goes into the courtyard, and it's not just the king, it's everybody. Immediately he tries to confess: "My foolish ineptitude caused..." But Jinpyeong is almost amused to find out that he's Kim Seohyeon's son, and then tells him, "You have my deepest gratitude. I laud your efforts." The boy is stunned: "Wh...at?!" Turns out, Cheonmyeong only spoke nicely of him to her father, and even says, "I shall forever owe him my life" for getting her to safety (which may well be true). So apparently all of that sincerity talk made some sort of impression on Cheonmyeong after all. The king adds, "Not to mention the fact that you are my sister Princess Manmyeong's son." And he compliments Seohyeon on his son. Mishil has to stand there and listen to all this and isn't enjoying it, we can see. "If you have any request," the king generously offers, "may you voice it at once." Yushin says he has no right to ask the king for anything...but wait a minute, Cheonmyeong has a request, and drops a bomb to preface it: "I shall return to the palace, reprising my role as keeper of the Hwarang." Glaring at Mishil, she continues: "We lost countless young Hwarang in the war...so allow me to enlist Kim Yushin as part of my Hwarang, and for Kim Seohyeon's kindred to move to our capital." Mishil seethes, and Yushin looks like you could knock him over with a feather.
Later, inside, the king, Cheonmyeong and Mishil speak privately (and you can just tell this is gonna be good). Mishil rejects the idea of Seohyeon's family moving to the capital. We learn there was some bad feeling over how Seohyeon (Gayan) married Princess Manmyeong (Shillan); apparently it was arranged under some sort of duress, and King Jinheung's consort banished Seohyeon from the capital for it. That's old news, though, and Cheonmyeong waves it off. But there's Mishil's more immediate accusation of Seohyeon's alleged failure to deal with the local troubles, which she fiendishly claims led to the massacre at Yeorae Temple. "The accident at Yeorae Temple has nothing to do with the insurgents!," Cheonmyeong counters, and I know because I was with them. They're not "insurgents" at all, she tells her father; "they are merely refugees of a long war, maintaining a scanty existence." Mishil cynically answers, "Yes... insurgents are all just people, at the beginning." But Cheonmyeong insists, "They were not responsible for what happened at the temple." So who was?...deafening silence...a flashback to an earlier conversation with Kim Yongchun...and then, to her father: "I think that the man I saw at Yeorae Temple was Bojong." Mishil squirms. And Cheonmyeong pins her down: "Summon Bojong. If he indeed is at Samnyeonsamgun [where Mishil had said he is], he could reach the capital in just one day. Then, any misunderstanding on my part would vanish." But "Should he fail to answer his summoning..." "He shall be here," Mishil assures her; I'll summon him. What else can she say? She's busted and she knows it, and all she can do is smile and bluff.
"Her Highness threw down the gauntlet!!" Mishil is back in her quarters, and she's genuinely rattled. She's in a real jam. "If Bojong is to survive, we must find him by eventide, at all cost. Spare no effort nor show any scruple," she orders her cabal. Whatever it takes!"
Jukbang and Godo run into Deokman's shelter and check out Bojong. That's the guy everybody's looking for, all right, and they excitedly tell Deokman all about the search and that the reward for finding him is even more than the reward for finding the princess. And they start trying to bargain with her: 80/20...70/30...but Deokman's distracted, wondering why they're "discreetly" looking for him...60/40...especially after what she saw at the temple. The guy should be a wanted criminal, right? She wants to know the story behind all this and find out who's looking for him. So she tells the pair that they can keep the whole reward if they do what she wants....
Jukbang and Godo are at the Hwarang outpost. They want to see the reward themselves, and they want to know who's offering it. The Hwarang there don't particularly trust them...
...but now they've been brought to meet Seolwon. Seolwon sternly warns them that they'd better not be fooling around--a threat that's met with Bojong's headband placed before him! Great move. "He was gravely injured," Jukbang explains, and the herbs we treated him with, they weren't cheap, hint hint. And they again ask to see the reward. So Seolwon shows it to them; a small chest full of gold bars.
"Was it really Bojong?" Now the king is with Cheonmyeong and Kim Yongchun, and finally he's asking some questions. "I first could not say with certainty," his daughter answers, "but seeing how Mishil reacted, I am now sure it was him." They're starting to put the pieces together, because Yongchun was told by Imjong that he shot someone who had disguised himself. Jinpyeong asks his daughter, "Are you really planning to contend with Mishil? Is that why you wanted to meet Munno?" Cheonmyeong does want to know the limits of her ability to contend with Mishil, but she doesn't know if she's destined to be the one to do so.
In the shelter, Bojong is starting to revive.
Mishil and Seolwon and a squad of guards head into the woods, towards the shelter where Bojong lies. Jukbang and Godo are in the woods and meet them. Mishil steps forward and reveals herself. Off to the side, a concealed Deokman is watching.
Nighttime. Bojong's squad of Hwarang assassins, dressed in black, approaches Yeorae Temple.
In the woods, Deokman and Cheonmyeong have built a fire to warm up and dry off. Cheonmyeong is cold, so Deokman takes her jacket off and puts it over Cheonmyeong's shoulders. "I apologize for leaving you behind," Deokman says, but she came back so no matter. Cheonmyeong asks, "Did you really know it would rain?" No, "I just had faith, I guess. It felt like my late mother was somehow protecting me." And she tells Cheonmyeong why she's looking for Munno--hopefully to find out about her past. Cheonmyeong gets up and wants to start right away for Yeorae Temple. Deokman realizes her companion is serious and can't believe her good fortune: "You really know where Munno is?!" Then Cheonmyeong notices the small crescent birth mark near Deokman's ear. She has the same birthmark, as we see. "My father has a spot like that as well," the princess says. And now Cheonmyeong's looking at Deokman funny.
Bojong's squad climbs up the outer wall of the temple and charges into the complex. They carve up an unlucky watchman, and before long they're discovered and they're battling monks with swords....
The two girls reach the entrance to the Yeorae Temple grounds. Excitedly, they head in.
The squad has caught the monks by surprise enough to kill them, and the fight is over. But no sign of Munno. And now here's a new problem: Two girls walking right in on them! With dead bodies scattered all around. In an instant, swords are at the girls' throats. Bojong recognizes the princess, which causes a moment of hesitation--and in that moment, Deokman kicks at one of the squad, appearing to hit him in a very unkind location, and the girls manage to make a break for it. They get a head start, but the squad runs after them (one of them probably running a little funny), and now here were are with more chasing-through-the-woods. The girls find a secluded spot and hide, and as the squad charges through, Cheonmyeong sees enough of Bojong's face to recognize him. The squad stops and begins searching the woods, and unfortunately for the girls they're quickly discovered and there's a sword at their throats again. But in an instant, an arrow comes flying in, hits its mark, and the kid with the sword falls. And now a whole group of men from Who-only-knows-where comes charging in, and a wild battle ensues. The girls use the commotion to run away; Bojong sees them go and heads after them by himself. And back in the battle, look who sees Bojong going after the girls: it's Imjong, the leader of Kim Yongchun's Hwarang! So that's who these guys are, and why they showed up here now. Imjong runs after Bojong, into the darkness.
Bojong is faster than the girls, and soon he catches up to them. He fires an arrow that may or may not have grazed Cheonmyeong, but either way it causes her to fall and go spinning down a steep slope and out of sight. He runs to Deokman, puts the sword to her throat...and takes an arrow from Imjong hard to the chest. He falls over the edge of the slope, in the process knocking Deokman over it as well, and the two go rolling down out of sight. Imjong looks down the slope, not seeing anything down there in the darkness and not sure what to do now.
Kim Yongchun is before his infuriated uncle, revealing all to the king about Cheonmyeong's mission to meet Munno and her disappearance near Yeorae Temple.
Mishil and her cabal are told by Seokpum, who's subtitled as "one of Seorabeol's ten elite Hwarang," of Bojong's disappearance, and of the attack on Bojong's group. They're all understandably shaken by the news. Mishil wants to know two things: did the princess recognize Bojong (Seokpum doesn't know), and how much of this does the king already know about?
He knows enough. "Did you not say he was hit by arrows and fell off a cliff?! Who is responsible for this?" Jinpyeong is furious and accuses Yongchun of scheming behind his back. He immediately announces he's going to Manno County himself, which Eulje wisely advises against...but now Mishil arrives--and tells him she'll go with him! She says she's already made all the preparations.
The next morning: We're by a riverbank. Deokman wakes up, dazed, and looks around. Is she alone? Well, Bojong's body is nearby, with that arrow buried in his chest. No sign of Cheonmyeong, but for some reason Deokman feels confident that she survived. Just to be sure, she checks the body--and hears a slight groan. Somehow Bojong isn't dead yet. But he's in bad shape.
We see Kim Yushin and his squad of Hwarang are walking through the woods--shirtless. What the heck? They're muttering about Jukbang; maybe somebody stole their clothes while they were out for a swim? But as they walk, they come upon Cheonmyeong, laying there unconscious. We see blood; that arrow did strike her and the wound is more than trivial. So they pick her up to get her help. In the process, they check through the jacket she's wearing--Deokman's jacket--and find the medallion that was stolen from Yushin! (Remember, Jukbang had slipped it in there to keep the Hwarang from finding it when they searched him.)
The king and his retinue are now at Manno Fortress. Kim Seohyeon is called before him, and we meet him for the first time. He reports to the king on the search for Cheonmyeong; sounds like an exhaustive search and he's doing everything right. But Mishil rips him: "Your lack of virtue as prefect created this upheaval, and because of those insurrecting miscreants, Her Highness had to suffer injuries as well." Seohyeon isn't intimidated--he knows the truth--but Mishil threatens, "Should we fail to find Her Highness, or should anything befall her, Your Excellency shall pay a direful price for all your misdeeds." She seems particularly smug and pleased with herself.
Later, Mishil asks Seolwon to choose someone to replace Seohyeon; she wants him removed (read between the lines: and replaced with a flunky). And he asks her about her apparent lack of concern for Bojong. Of course I'm concerned, she answers, but this was a covert mission "so I ordered Seokpum to discreetly look for him." But you have to agree with him; she really doesn't seem all that concerned. (Does she favor her son with Sejong the noble over her son with Seolwon? Hmmm....)
Deokman has found some sort of abandoned wooden shelter and managed to drag Bojong into it. She's treating his wound, trying to keep him alive in the hopes that he'll tell her what happened to Munno. Which doesn't seem very wise, considering he had a sword to her throat...but he looks in pretty bad shape anyway, so it may not matter.
Cheonmyeong wakes up. She's in a prison cell. Her wound has been treated, but she's tied up. Yushin walks in, and confronts her about the medallion. She has no idea what it is, and immediately starts giving him lip and demanding to be untied. "Bring me to Prefect Kim Seohyeon. His Excellency shall confirm my identity." Yushin is taken aback that this girl wearing monk's attire would make such a request. Irritated, he says he'll grant the request (to humor her) and then turn her over to the local authorities as a thief.
Yushin is striking a straw figure with a pole. His Hwarang and Cheonmyeong are all sitting there watching him. Whack, whack, whack, a thousand times...whack, whack...now up to nearly ten thousand times. What is this kid's problem? Finally he stops, at 9,925...and then starts up again? 1, 2...Cheonmyeong has been forced to watch this go on and on, and that was the last straw. "What on earth are you doing?" Yushin answers, "In the final moments, my resolve abandoned my soul." Cheonmyeong thinks he's bonkers and questions his competence. "You are likely neither discerning nor dexterous. Your clan must be of unremarkable lineage...Since you are their leader, you must show them something, so what you chose is righteousness and honesty, is that all?!" No answer. "It must be the only subterfuge that vacuous mind of yours could concoct to impress your fellow Hwarang." Ouch! She's really letting him have it, and all he can do is try to assure her that "I am merely trying to live in sincerity." It comes out sounding like a pretty weak answer...but wait a minute, isn't that EXACTLY what Cheonmyeong herself said when Mishil was rattling her cage at that Hwarang ceremony? Yes it was, and Cheonmyeong remembers this, as we see in a flashback. You'd expect her to back off out of empathy (and you can't help but wonder why she's not at least a little bit grateful for his getting her to safety and treating his wound), but instead she fires Mishil's words at Yushin: "Call it sincerity, engage in all the subterfuges you wish, but nothing will ever change." And adds, "You shall remain nothing but a Hwarang populating this meager hamlet." But Yushin holds firm: "Living in sincerity shall at least change my life! And should I change, then everything shall change as well." Which seems to quiet her down for the moment, and he goes back to hitting his straw. Maybe she'll stop berating him for a while.
Evening: Bojong is starting to revive, but now his would his bleeding again. And he's started coughing up blood. Uh-oh...
We see Deokman back in Manno, unsuccessfully pleading with the local physician to come and help Bojong. No money upfront, no help. But what's that she sees? A hand reaching into a nearby stall, to steal something. She grabs it, and guess who's hand. Jukbang's. Godo is there too. She demands her pendant back. He says he doesn't have it any more and shoves her aside. "Someone is perishing," she tells him, and I need to hire a physician. Jukbang turns back and looks, seemingly concerned. Does the guy have a shred of decency after all?
Apparently so, because now he and Godo are at the shelter with Deokman and they're treating Bojong. Jukbang is saying that before his petty-crime days he was a renowned, highly skilled physician. And Godo swears that it's true. Yeah, sure he was...but look at him treating that wound. The guy knows what he's doing. Maybe it's true. He's gotten the arrowhead out; there's no more bleeding; and he's directing Deokman to prepare a treatment with herbs that he's brought with him. Deokman goes outside, and Jukbang suddenly notices the fancy metallic ring on Bojong's finger...
The two leave the shelter and bid farewell to Deokman. They tell her that the arrowhead was coated in poison, but Jukbang cleaned out the poison so Bojong will heal up fine now. "We more than made up for the pendant, right?!" Yes, Deokman says. So the guy does indeed have a shred of decency. But not enough to keep from pocketing that ring. As they leave, Deokman goes inside, spots the missing ring and gives chase...
...but she loses them. Winded, Jukbang and Godo are back in Manno Fortress. Just in time to hear Injong make a major announcement in the marketplace: "Anyone volunteering to join the search for Her Highness shall be rewarded with a chunk of silver." Kim Seohyeon is there, overseeing; so is Kim Yongchun. They've managed to draw a big crowd and get lots of takers. But not Jukbang and Godo; Godo doesn't want the silver because that ring he just bagged, "never before have I seen a ring gleam with such splendor." It's worth plenty, and they head off somewhere to fence it.
They arrive outside of an outpost of some sort. From inside they hear Hwarang discussing another missing person. A description is given, and the note that "he might have suffered external wounds," and a reward of a generous amount of gold is offered for finding him. Cha-ching! Jukbang hit the jackpot here and he knows it.
The next day, still in Manno: The king is angry and frustrated; no sign of his daughter. Mishil has on her own decided to request more troops from adjacent districts, to expand the search area, and put Hajong in charge of the search. The king doesn't look too comfortable with this, but he doesn't say anything.
We see Kim Yushin and his Hwarang taking Cheonmyeong (who's still tied up) to see Kim Seohyeon (who we've learned is his father).
Back in Manno, more announcements about the missing princess. And a drawing and description of her, prominently posted in the marketplace. The villagers react eagerly to an announced reward...just as Yushin's group walks into the scene. They study the drawing, study the description, study, read...wait for it...not exactly rocket scientists...Yushin eventually looks at Cheonmyeong, and finally he's figured out what's coming: "Are you...by any chance...."
Back at the king's courtyard, everyone is still there, looking concerned. And Cheonmyeong runs right in through the front door. Doink! She apologizes to her father for the stress she caused him. Mishil and Seolwon don't look too pleased for having their grand search plan squashed. Mishil tries to express happiness at seeing Cheonmyeong safe, but the princess only glares, knowing full well that Mishil's son tried to kill her and was up to no good.
"Your presence is requested." Uh-oh, Yushin has to go see the king and he looks close to vomiting. He thinks he's in big trouble for treating Cheonmyeong like a common criminal. He goes into the courtyard, and it's not just the king, it's everybody. Immediately he tries to confess: "My foolish ineptitude caused..." But Jinpyeong is almost amused to find out that he's Kim Seohyeon's son, and then tells him, "You have my deepest gratitude. I laud your efforts." The boy is stunned: "Wh...at?!" Turns out, Cheonmyeong only spoke nicely of him to her father, and even says, "I shall forever owe him my life" for getting her to safety (which may well be true). So apparently all of that sincerity talk made some sort of impression on Cheonmyeong after all. The king adds, "Not to mention the fact that you are my sister Princess Manmyeong's son." And he compliments Seohyeon on his son. Mishil has to stand there and listen to all this and isn't enjoying it, we can see. "If you have any request," the king generously offers, "may you voice it at once." Yushin says he has no right to ask the king for anything...but wait a minute, Cheonmyeong has a request, and drops a bomb to preface it: "I shall return to the palace, reprising my role as keeper of the Hwarang." Glaring at Mishil, she continues: "We lost countless young Hwarang in the war...so allow me to enlist Kim Yushin as part of my Hwarang, and for Kim Seohyeon's kindred to move to our capital." Mishil seethes, and Yushin looks like you could knock him over with a feather.
Later, inside, the king, Cheonmyeong and Mishil speak privately (and you can just tell this is gonna be good). Mishil rejects the idea of Seohyeon's family moving to the capital. We learn there was some bad feeling over how Seohyeon (Gayan) married Princess Manmyeong (Shillan); apparently it was arranged under some sort of duress, and King Jinheung's consort banished Seohyeon from the capital for it. That's old news, though, and Cheonmyeong waves it off. But there's Mishil's more immediate accusation of Seohyeon's alleged failure to deal with the local troubles, which she fiendishly claims led to the massacre at Yeorae Temple. "The accident at Yeorae Temple has nothing to do with the insurgents!," Cheonmyeong counters, and I know because I was with them. They're not "insurgents" at all, she tells her father; "they are merely refugees of a long war, maintaining a scanty existence." Mishil cynically answers, "Yes... insurgents are all just people, at the beginning." But Cheonmyeong insists, "They were not responsible for what happened at the temple." So who was?...deafening silence...a flashback to an earlier conversation with Kim Yongchun...and then, to her father: "I think that the man I saw at Yeorae Temple was Bojong." Mishil squirms. And Cheonmyeong pins her down: "Summon Bojong. If he indeed is at Samnyeonsamgun [where Mishil had said he is], he could reach the capital in just one day. Then, any misunderstanding on my part would vanish." But "Should he fail to answer his summoning..." "He shall be here," Mishil assures her; I'll summon him. What else can she say? She's busted and she knows it, and all she can do is smile and bluff.
"Her Highness threw down the gauntlet!!" Mishil is back in her quarters, and she's genuinely rattled. She's in a real jam. "If Bojong is to survive, we must find him by eventide, at all cost. Spare no effort nor show any scruple," she orders her cabal. Whatever it takes!"
Jukbang and Godo run into Deokman's shelter and check out Bojong. That's the guy everybody's looking for, all right, and they excitedly tell Deokman all about the search and that the reward for finding him is even more than the reward for finding the princess. And they start trying to bargain with her: 80/20...70/30...but Deokman's distracted, wondering why they're "discreetly" looking for him...60/40...especially after what she saw at the temple. The guy should be a wanted criminal, right? She wants to know the story behind all this and find out who's looking for him. So she tells the pair that they can keep the whole reward if they do what she wants....
Jukbang and Godo are at the Hwarang outpost. They want to see the reward themselves, and they want to know who's offering it. The Hwarang there don't particularly trust them...
...but now they've been brought to meet Seolwon. Seolwon sternly warns them that they'd better not be fooling around--a threat that's met with Bojong's headband placed before him! Great move. "He was gravely injured," Jukbang explains, and the herbs we treated him with, they weren't cheap, hint hint. And they again ask to see the reward. So Seolwon shows it to them; a small chest full of gold bars.
"Was it really Bojong?" Now the king is with Cheonmyeong and Kim Yongchun, and finally he's asking some questions. "I first could not say with certainty," his daughter answers, "but seeing how Mishil reacted, I am now sure it was him." They're starting to put the pieces together, because Yongchun was told by Imjong that he shot someone who had disguised himself. Jinpyeong asks his daughter, "Are you really planning to contend with Mishil? Is that why you wanted to meet Munno?" Cheonmyeong does want to know the limits of her ability to contend with Mishil, but she doesn't know if she's destined to be the one to do so.
In the shelter, Bojong is starting to revive.
Mishil and Seolwon and a squad of guards head into the woods, towards the shelter where Bojong lies. Jukbang and Godo are in the woods and meet them. Mishil steps forward and reveals herself. Off to the side, a concealed Deokman is watching.