The Blade and Petal
I am the general who defeated the Sui.
I will not lose any war, not even with the Tang.
However,
Goguryeo cannot go to war at this time.
Now that Tang has united the continent, it will surely come for Goguryeo.
Appointing a courageous Prime Minister
is the only way to protect Goguryeo.
Installing the Crown Prince should come before electing a new Prime Minister.
The Crown Prince is too weak to go against Tang.
We both know that in the end
Tang will invade us.
However, Your Majesty and I differ in our ways of dealing with Tang.
The best preparation for facing Tang that we can do
is to finish the construction of the wall as soon as possible.
Since General Yeon Gaesomun has exceptional leadership,
why don't you go oversee the construction?
Today, we have gathered here...
The day of the Crown Prince installation will be the beginning.
Due to unexpected circumstances in the palace, the ceremony has been postponed.
The new heir to the throne of Goguryeo will be the Princess.
General Yeon Gaesomun, leave for the wall
after the parade tomorrow as scheduled.
Cheollijangsung construction overseer
Yeon Gaesomun... !
Ask the kings before you that have protected Goguryeo for 600 years.
Your Majesty! Your Majesty!
Your Majesty!
You must protect the Princess.
I will protect the Princess at all costs.
Fa... Fa..Father!!!
Episode 9
Your Majesty!!
Your Majesty!
Shi Woo!
The Princess!
Go join your father!
Step aside.
I said, step aside!!
Your Majesty!
Is this the best you can do?
Father, what now?
Shi Woo, you escort the Princess.
Father!!
Hurry.
Drop your swords!!
Boo Chi! Seol Young!
Withdraw your swords.
I said withdraw your swords!
Step aside.
This is enough.
You've stalled us long enough.
Your Majesty,
Goguryeo is now yours.
Your Majesty!
We must go back to the palace. We can't just leave like this!
No. You must leave!
I must cut off the traitor's head right now!!
I will kill them all! Let me go!
I'm telling you to let me go!
Princess!
Princess!!
Princess!
Search every nook and cranny!
I'm sure the Princess is still alive.
Is it over now?
This is just the beginning.
General!
His Majesty has been killed by Yeon Gaesomun!
I think it was heaven's blessing that you did not go to the parade!
You should leave Pyongyang at once...
General, a new Goguryeo is finally here.
Congratulations.
By the way, General Yang Moon didn't come to the parade.
That little bastard!
We should go raid his house and cut off...
What about the Princess?
There is still no word.
It's only a matter of time now.
With all our soldiers looking for her, she'll surely turn up.
What will you do with the King's corpse?
I trust that you know fully well what the law says
about how to take care of a traitor's corpse.
[Residence of Prime Minister Yeon Jung Ro]
General,
please forgive my father's mistake!
I will forgive.
I will give you a chance to undo the disgrace your father had brought to your family.
Take your life.
Son .. Son..
Kill him.
Stop.
Why didn't you come to the parade?
For you to go oversee the construction of the wall
is expected.
I didn't think
there was any need to go to the parade
to see you off.
Is that all?
If not,
does there have to be another reason?
By chance,
did you not attend because you were already informed?
If that were the case, I wouldn't have been caught by you like this.
As long as I live,
I cannot serve two masters.
What is important to you,
the king that's already dead or this nation, Goguryeo?
Goguryeo will now
be run according to your philosophy.
I can do nothing for Goguryeo.
General,
what are you waiting for? Cut off his head.
Go back to your hometown.
But, General!
Goguryeo still needs you.
However,
what Goguryeo needs is not traitor Yang Moon.
Once you're back in your hometown,
I will always wonder
what you're eating,
where you're sleeping,
and with whom you play Go.
Why are you letting him live?
He has quite a few followers.
We shouldn't leave any potential threats!
Yang Moon has great influence in the Yodong and Yoseo areas.
Killing him now will only kindle an uproar.
At least Yang Moon is not someone who'd divide the nation into a civil war.
Father. Father. Father.
She's so pretty.
Father, what happened?
Hey!
Huh, she's up.
I found you unconscious by the river.
It's been three days now.
Father.
Father!
Unni...
No.
I must go.
I have to go.
Princess.
Aren't you the Princess?
His Majesty...
has passed away.
Going back to the palace now
is basically offering your head to the enemy.
Even if I die,
I won't die alone!
At this rate, you'll die even before you get to the palace!
I'm a close friend of So Sa Bun.
I'll let you explain later.
For now, please do as I say.
Buddy!
Eh, that...
Hey, Jin Goo!
This is his last viewing.
You must only watch.
Your Majesty!
My goodness. How could this be!
Father.
Father...
The sinner Go Gun Moo has cowardly bowed his head to Tang,
violating the the sanctity of Goguryeo which our forefathers have protected thus far.
In addition,
he threatened the nation's finance and its subjects' lives through his profligate ways,
and planned to commit an atrocious act of
selling seven cities in the Yo Dong region to the enemy
for money worth mere 200 Nyang (~$1.4 million).
As such, we put this Go Gun Moo who committed a high treason
to death, according to Goguryeo's law.
Kill that bastard!
He should be killed! That S.O.B!
That S.O.B...
Farewell.
Your Goguryeo ends here.
I will never
forgive you, Father.
Your Majesty!
Your Majesty...
We don't know for sure if the Princess is alive or dead.
Since she fell from the cliff, it'd be difficult to survive.
We are thoroughly searching the river area so either we will soon find her corpse
or she would have been eaten by the beasts.
We haven't been able to capture the former King's secret agents either.
They're like rusted blades. What could they possibly do when the master has died?
Did you find the Princess?
She must have become fish food already.
Is this truly
the way of a human?
Did the way of a human serve you in anyway?
The way of a human cannot prevent war, cannot protect you,
and cannot protect your Princess either.
The reason you could not protect the Princess is because you lacked power.
I was faithful to the path I must take.
An incompetent king would
lead to Goguryeo's fall in the end,
then
my family and mouths to feed will become subjects of a fallen nation.
I made the decision in order to protect the things that I need to protect.
On the other hand,
given that you have no power or ability to stop me,
do you dare to judge me?
I am ashamed of the way you protected your people
by fabricating the King's crimes and fooling the people.
I will ask again.
Will you remain as a member of the Yeon family
or take death on this spot?
I'd rather die than
remain as a shameful descendant of the Yeon family.
Then you are no longer person of the Yeon family.
Because you are not of the Yeon family,
you cannot even die here.
Our tie
ends as of today.
All our work could have come to naught.
As we haven't been able to locate the Princess,
why do you let your son walk away free?
If the Princess were to be alive,
who do you suppose would find her first?
Then... -If she's still alive,
he'll be the first to find her.
Follow him.
Have you been on a falcon hunt?
Falcons...
never miss their target.
Soaring high into the sky, hovering in patience,
and waiting for the opportune moment with their watchful eyes.
Even before the game on earth realize that they're being hunted.
Then, when the timing is right,
they snatch their game with lightning speed.
You must become a falcon, Princess.
What should I do now?
My father and brother have left me, and I don't even know if the others are alive or not.
You must go to Jolbon.
If it hasn't been changed yet, in case of emergency, the place for Geumhwadan to meet
is in Jolbon.
You know about Geumhwadan?
So Sa Bun and I were in Geumhwadan together.
Once my daughter was born, I chose the life of an umbrella vendor over Geumhwadan.
What good is being king? Look, he died so suddenly before his time!
I'm telling you. Not even buried in a tomb! What a king!
Somebody has taken the remains of His Majesty
before us!
This is all that bastard Yeon Gaesomun's fault. He wrecks the corpse,
and then just buries it in the mountain, and now this happened!
What's important now is
for us to find the Princess before Yeon Gaesomun does.
I hear that Yeon Gaesomun's soldiers are still searching near the river.
That means the Princess is still alive.
Of course, she is. She's got to be alive.
When something happens to Geumhwadan in Pyongyang,
we must gather in Jolbon.
Would the Princess know about that?
She either does or doesn't.
I'll bet that she does.
The remains of the late Majesty and the Prince.
No one must know about this.
From now on, regardless of what hardships may come, you will have to protect the palace.
Yes.
Just like you said, I'll protect Goguryeo.
The throne was mine to begin with.
You were wrong.
You were wrong!
Nobody can be perfect,
but I trust
that you'll do your part just fine.
I am the King of Goguryeo! I am!
Soon, even Yeon Gaesomun will be kneeling before me, too.
I will definitely
become a great king in history.
Definitely!
I will definitely!
I heard that General Yang Moon has gone back to his hometown.
It must mean that he doesn't acknowledge me as king.
Is it that important,
for him to acknowledge you?
He has quite a few followers.
Besides, we still don't know whether
the Princess and the secret agents are still alive or not.
Worries only beget more worries.
What you need right now, Your Majesty,
is conviction about the new Goguryeo.
I have the conviction that I will make the best Goguryeo ever.
To have a loyal subject like you to trust and follow me,
nothing is more secure.
Don't you agree?
By the way,
what is your illegitimate son
doing these days?
Just sticking to your dad would bring wealth and glory!
Yet you want to look for the Princess, who might be dead?
Alright, let's say she's still alive.
Still, Goguryeo is no small town!
How are you going to find her?
Also, what if you do find her? Will you two get married or something?
No. I'll ask her for my penalty.
Go to Jolbon.
Some day,
I promise I'll look for you.
Let's go to Jolbon.
Your son has left for Jolbon.
Once he finds the Princess,
you must kill her first.
I'll keep that in mind.
But what do I do with your son after finding the Princess?
[Jolbon City]
Aigoo, you're here!
Hello. - Yes, yes!
You know, these umbrellas are sturdy
and don't leak, so they're popular!
Besides, the drawings are cool, too!
Can't you make more?
We'll make more, even if we have to stay up all night.
So please don't forget to tell the merchants that
they're made in Jolbon, alright?
Alright, alright. I'll make sure that word spreads.
Just bring in more. Please!
Wow!
Awesome!
Wow! Wow!
Wow!
[Youngnyu (the late king's posthumous title)]
[Youngnyu: The glory has stopped]
Wow!
By the way, where are we going to look today?
Let's focus on the downtown area.
Soon,
we'll hear some news.
So Hee, which do you think is stronger?
The sword or the flower?
It seems obvious that the sword is stronger,
but I don't think that's the answer you want.
Once the sword cuts off the flower, it would be over,
so people would think the sword is stronger.
But the flower can bloom again after being cut.
However, the sword will cut off the flower again.
The flower will bloom yet again.
And while cutting the flower like that, the sword will rust.
The sword is not for cutting the flower,
but for protecting the flower.
Goguryeo has had many insurgences by the nobles.
Geumhwadan, which means the sword and the flower,
was organized in order to protect the royal family and the people
from such uprisings and wars.
Wow, an umbrella that doesn't get wet?
I've never seen one like this before!
Waterproof umbrella for a rockbottom price!
Even the dandiest man in Tang
can't buy this because it gets sold out!
It's waterproof!
Aigoo.
Give me one.
Aigoo.
Maybe we should get one, too.
Lord Yang Moon is here!
The Lord of the city is here!
Ah, it's really crowded here, too!
Since we sold a lot of umbrellas today,
we should have something yummy for dinner!
Yes.
If we could sell so much every day, we could have...
Unni are you okay?
Aish,
listen, Hyung.
The brothel, the jewelry vender, the grains vendor,
the inn run by Tibetans,
the fruit store run by Tang people,
the butcher's, the tailor's, and even the upscale brothels!
We looked everywhere!
There's nothing unusual around Yang Moon, is there?
Nope!
Just like a haunted house, not even an ant is to be seen near him!
So, I mean,
we should give up on the Princess,
and go back to Pyongyang.
Why is Young Hae taking so long to get water?
She'll come when she comes.
Hmm.
Are you sure we're supposed to meet in Jolbon?
How come we haven't
seen neither hair nor hide of the Princess
even though we looked everywhere?
Don't you agree, Shi Woo?
Where the heck did he run off to?
Look, look! Isn't that her?
Look there! The symbol of Geumhwa (sword and flower)!
What else could it mean?
The Princess is looking for us, right?
This is a signal from the Princess. I'm sure of it!
Let's go.
[The Blade and the Petal] ~ Preview ~
You're using me to find the Princess and kill her?
I heard that you woke up twice last night at the hour of the ox (1-3AM).
Do you have me on surveillance or something?
May you sleep in peace.
I don't exist in this world.
Neither day nor night.
I don't even have a shadow.
Where is Yeon Gaesomun by now?
I think he'll get to Jolbon in a day or two.
With one strike!
I'm Mu Young.
♪ To love on my own ♪
♪ To leave on my own ♪