Kim Seon-a stopped in the center of the hall.
A jade royal seal lay at his feet.
When the King of Goryeo stood up, his sleeve swept over the royal desk, and the royal seal rolled down the nine steps, chipping off a corner, before finally coming to rest in the center of the hall.
Everyone in the hall saw it.
Nobody dared to pick it up.
Kim Seon-a bent down and picked up the royal seal with two fingers.
She wiped the ink stains on her face with her sleeve.
The pale silk absorbed the wine, leaving a dark stain. She didn't mind, wiped it clean, and carried the seal up the steps.
The old eunuch standing beside the throne stepped back.
One step, two steps, and only stopped on the third step.
He retreated skillfully, and there was nothing unusual on his face.
Everyone in the palace has been retreating like this for three years; no one dares to stand within three feet of the Princess.
Kim Seon-a placed the royal seal back on the desk and straightened it.
"Father, the seal is still intact."
The King of Goryeo stared at the chipped mark, his lips moved slightly, but he remained silent.
"The royal city still exists."
She turned around and faced the assembled officials.
"More than twenty experts from my sect have already rushed to the front lines to resist the Japanese pirates. I request permission to go to Great Yan."
There was no movement inside the hall at first, then a loud hum, like a pot of water boiling.
The clerk in charge of rites was the first to step forward, his beard trembling violently.
"Your Highness, your noble birth is too precious to risk your life at sea!"
The military advisor knelt down as well.
"The seas are full of Japanese ships! Your Highness is in danger!"
There was also a younger civil official with a high-pitched voice who spoke rudely.
" The Great Yan people hold a grudge against us. The poison came through our port, and the spies entered through our trade routes. Your Highness has gone, and they're already being polite by not beheading you as a sacrifice to their flag."
Kim Seon-a did not interrupt.
She waited until they had all finished speaking before she spoke.
"You're right."
The civil official was taken aback.
"We did something wrong, so we sent a minor official, but he won't even open the city gate."
She raised her hand and pointed outside the hall.
" Park Roejang knelt outside for half an hour. He had been to Great Yan, but what was his identity? A wealthy merchant and a spy. Who in Great Yan would take his words seriously?"
The hall fell silent again.
"If you want something from someone, you have to offer something substantial."
Kim Seon-a turned to look at the King of Goryeo.
"Your subject is Father's eldest daughter, the eldest princess of Goryeo. When your subject stands before Great Yan, it is as if Goryeo stands there."
The King of Goryeo finally spoke.
"Sea route..."
"I am aware of the presence of Japanese ships on the sea routes."
An old general in armor walked out of the martial arts troupe.
His name was Choe Won-hyeong. He had guarded the capital for thirty years, and a scar on his face ran from his brow bone to the corner of his mouth.
"Your Highness's words are reasonable; this old minister is convinced."
He clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice deep and rough.
"But this old minister is not at ease. Eight hundred men from Busanpo were gone in half an hour. The Wa are like dogs that have gone mad with hunger. How many blows can Your Highness take alone?"
Kim Seon-a looked at him.
"General Cui, would you like to try? Then draw your sword."
Choe Won-hyeong was taken aback.
"In the imperial court, this old minister dares not."
"I'll let you cut it."
Kim Seon-a took two steps forward and stood on the open ground below the steps.
"Use the back of the knife. If you miss, shut up. If you hit, I won't go."
Choe Won-hyeong hesitated for a long time before glancing at the King of Goryeo on the throne.
The King of Goryeo did not speak, but simply waved his hand.
Give it a try.
The sword was drawn.
Choe Won-hyeong flipped the knife over so the back of the blade faced outwards, shifted his feet, and slashed diagonally at Kim Seon-a's left shoulder.
He held back three-tenths of his strength in that strike.
Even a fraction of that force would be enough to break a collarbone on an ordinary person.
The back of the knife was still three feet away from her.
A breeze picked up inside the hall.
The wind rose from beneath Kim Seon-a's feet, pushing outwards along the ground, making the few shards of porcelain on the hem of her skirt spin around.
Four white figures emerged from behind her.
It's a tiger.
The four translucent white tigers, one lying in the east, one perched in the west, and one each in the north and south, circled her halfway before each stopping in a different position.
Choe Won-hyeong's blade struck it.
There was no sound.
The back of the blade stopped in mid-air, as if it had been cleaved into a thick wad of cotton, unable to be pushed forward even an inch.
The next moment, the clump of cotton bounced back.
Choe Won-hyeong slid back five steps, his boots scraping two white marks on the bluestone slab, his hand split open, and blood dripped down the hilt of his knife.
Everyone in the hall was stunned.
Kim Seon-a didn't touch it.
From beginning to end, her hands remained at her sides, and she didn't even lift her sleeves.
The four white tigers gradually faded, leaving only a faint ring of white light that circled her body once before dissipating.
Choe Won-hyeong looked down at his hands.
After a long while, he sheathed his knife and knelt down.
"Shut up, old minister."
The senior officials in the palace had all heard of this skill.
The Eastern Peak Tiger Spirit Art.
For over a hundred years since the founding of Goryeo, a secret ancient technique had been kept in the royal treasury, and none of the ten generations had mastered it.
This skill requires sitting in meditation by a cold pool at the summit of Eastern Peak for twelve years at a time, without descending the mountain in any season, and subsisting on pine nuts and snow water.
On the day of success, the true energy within the body will spontaneously generate the four symbols, transforming into four white tigers to protect the body.
Within three feet, it is impervious to external forces.
A knife cannot cut through it, an arrow cannot pierce it, and a palm strike will bounce back.
However, this skill comes at a price: the protective aura around the body is no longer under one's control.
Other people's protective shields are like umbrellas, which can be opened and closed at any time.
Hers, however, was always on.
Simply put, the price is that you can never have contact with anyone for the rest of your life.
If anyone touches her, her protective aura will spontaneously break outwards. For an ordinary person, a light touch would cause a bone fracture, while a heavy touch would rupture their heart meridian.
The year she came down the mountain at sixteen, her wet nurse was overjoyed and rushed up to hug her.
As a result, the wet nurse's two arms were broken.
From then on, the Astronomical Bureau in the palace wrote four characters in her name.
Heavenly Calamity Lone Star.
She ate alone, slept alone, and the palace maids who combed her hair were all top-ranking officials of the Third Rank, and they always had to be separated by a long-handled wooden comb.
The King of Goryeo sat on his throne and gazed at his daughter for a long time.
"Are you really sure?"
"Your subject has made up his mind."
The Wa know your kung fu.
So what if I know?
Kim Seon-a's voice was very flat.
"I'm afraid they'll send out some chaotic ninjas to harm you."
"Your subject is not afraid."
The King of Goryeo closed his eyes.
After a while, he opened his eyes and ordered someone to bring him the official letter and half of the tiger tally.
"Take the official letter and the tiger tally with you."
He pushed the things to the side of the imperial desk.
"Give Great Yan whatever you want. As long as we can drive the Wa back into the sea, Goryeo will give us anything."
Kim Seon-a did not go forward to take it.
The old eunuch picked up the imperial edict and the tiger tally, walked down the steps, placed them on the ground three feet away, and stepped back.
She bent down and picked it up herself.
"Xuanpu Park Roejang."
When Park Roejang was carried in by two guards, the blood on his forehead had already scabbed over.
He knelt for half an hour, his knees were so sore he could no longer stand, and he collapsed to the ground as soon as he entered the hall.
"The alliance was spearheaded by your Park Family. Now that things have gone wrong, you should atone for your sins by doing good deeds!"
Do you know the way to Great Yan?
"I recognize it."
Kim Seon-a tucked the official letter into her sleeve.
"Leave the city at midnight tonight and head towards the west coast."
Park Roejang raised his head, his face obscured by blood and mud.
"Your Highness... how many people did you bring?"
"Twenty."
"Twenty?"
"With too many people, the boat can't be hidden."
By the time the court session ended, it was completely dark.
A crack appeared in the side door Gyeongbok Hall.
A young eunuch carrying a lantern squeezed through the gap, walked westward along the palace wall, turned into two alleys, and entered a closed seafood shop.
The shop was lit.
A man dressed in hemp clothing sat under the lamp, wearing a pair of straw sandals with split toes.
The young eunuch knelt down and spoke a few words in a low voice.
After hearing this, the man took out a small piece of gold from his pocket and threw it on the ground.
"Midnight, west coast."
He stood up and blew out the lamp.