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Chapter 07
Young and small-bodied Sohwa shouted so loudly that no one could understand where such spirit came from. Her outcry was so forceful that the servant girl blocking her flinched and stepped back.
‘If she had been born in her previous life, she would’ve been a general.’
Sayeol, watching the situation, thought so. In peaceful times like these, she was just an ordinary servant, but if this were the wartime of the past, she might have been noticed early on and taught martial arts.
‘No… thinking about it, she wouldn’t necessarily need someone else to teach her.’
Sayeol looked at the small back standing boldly before her. The body she had awakened in belonged to a child who carried the blood of the Ice Palace, and she herself had once been directly taught a portion of the Ice Arts by the former Ice Palace Master.
‘Rather than letting everything fade away, perhaps having a disciple wouldn’t be so bad.’
The problem was that she didn’t know the full details of the Ice Palace’s higher martial arts. But that wasn’t truly an issue. In the past, she had reached the peak of the martial world without ever receiving proper instruction from anyone—that was who she was.
Back then, they called her techniques those of a ghost, but now… who knew how they would be regarded? She had wandered as a ghost for so long, but now that she was in a human body, her memories had become unclear.
Only faint, hazy shadows of drifting above the ground remained. And now certainly wasn’t the time to be lost in such empty recollections.
Her one and only servant was fighting bravely; she should stand firmly behind her.
“Your servant girl is quite arrogant.”
“You, you…!”
“I clearly told you I’m your elder.”
“Since when were you ever my elder?!”
“Since the moment I was born.”
Sayeol spoke shamelessly as she pressed her fingertip to little Hongryun’s forehead. The child, lightly pushed back, widened her eyes as if she was more shocked by the fact that Sayeol had touched her forehead at all.
“M–My mother, she…!”
“She just passed by. Run and tell on me if you want.”
At that, Hongryun’s face turned bright red. It sounded as if Sayeol were poking fun at the previous incident. The child stood there with her mouth half open, and Sayeol slowly blinked.
“It seems you’re not too young to understand shame. Little liar.”
She walked quietly past, whispering as she went.
“Run along before I eat you up.”
Hongryun’s face drained of color and she spun around, bolting away. Sayeol could feel the servant girls who had chased after Hongryun turning to glare at her, but to Sayeol, they were no more bothersome than pebbles on a path.
“Miss, are you really all right?”
“What of it?”
For someone who had stepped up like a general just moments ago, Sohwa now crept closer with worry. Sayeol belatedly remembered the girl’s age. Yes… she was still just a child.
“I’m fine.”
“When did you become so bold?”
“Seems dying and coming back to life will do that.”
“…Oh dear, don’t say such frightening things.”
“Sometimes I feel like I’m possessed by something.”
At her words, Sohwa blinked. Her expression grew thoughtful—and then she suddenly asked,
“You mean a gui (ghost), yes?”
“That’s right. You’re clever.”
Sohwa quickly looked around the empty corridor, then boldly came to stand directly in front of Sayeol, staring intently at her face. Her narrowed, serious eyes made her seem deeply concerned. For the small Sohwa’s sake, Sayeol leaned down so she could look more closely.
“Hmm. You really are my Miss.”
“And how did you know that right away?”
“I’ve served you for years!”
Sohwa beamed. She then walked behind Sayeol as though nothing had happened, and while walking toward the room, Sayeol thought:
Even I don’t know what exactly I am.
‘Am I truly the Murim Alliance’s ghost? Or perhaps…’
Could it be reincarnation, like the monks of Shaolin spoke of? Whatever the case, she thought it would be amusing. The memories were faint now that she had a physical body, but she clearly remembered drifting across the earth as a ghost.
“Mother! Mother!”
Hongryun burst into the main hall without decorum, rushing into her mother Lady Seo’s quarters. Seeing her daughter running, the servants quickly opened the door. Lady Seo always cherished her youngest daughter more than the household rules.
Of course, she was strict when needed, so Hongryun couldn’t always whine to her freely—but running into her mother’s arms when frightened was always allowed.
“What’s wrong, Hongryun!”
Though Lady Seo disliked unruly behavior, she wrapped her skirt around Hongryun, who seemed frightened. The girl’s expression was a strange mix—part fear, part anger—her breaths short and fast.
“It’s a ghost, I’m sure of it!”
“My dear, what?”
“Sayeol—Sayeol! She’s definitely possessed by a ghost!”
“A ghost?”
“She said she’d eat me!”
Lady Seo flinched involuntarily. She recalled that face—standing in the dark corridor, eyes shining like a westerner… no, like a ghost.
Still… a ghost?
It was not a word to be spoken lightly.
“These days, where would you even find a ghost? You’re still such a child.”
She stroked her daughter’s head lovingly.
The Blood Palace, maker of ghosts, had long been sealed. Even the Heavenly Demon had vanished, bringing peace. Even grudges that naturally birthed ghosts had almost disappeared. Ghosts were practically legends now.
“Still, seeing you this frightened… that child must have done something foolish.”
Lady Seo smiled gently and handed Hongryun off to her senior maidservant. The maid cooed softly to the child and signaled the younger maids to bring refreshments.
“I should take another look at that girl.”
She had already scolded Sayeol in front of Hongryun the other day for touching her daughter’s belongings—something she normally would never do. She preferred quiet discipline.
So today she would handle it calmly.
While the perceptive maids escorted Hongryun to her comfortable bedchamber, Lady Seo quietly left with several trusted servant girls.
Behind her, her oldest maid spoke.
“Shall I send ahead the ones who will administer the beating?”
“That would be good. I was too agitated last time.”
Lady Seo smiled contentedly. The household had been restless lately, and the girl seemed to have lost her senses and grown bold—but once she was taught her place, she would surely shrink back down again.
But when Lady Seo reached her room, she realized that was not the case. What greeted her was far from normal.
“Uninvited guests have arrived, so…”
“M–Madam, p–please save us…!”
The trained maids—those usually brought along to correct wrongdoing—were sprawled across the floor, each with her hair grabbed tightly. Their hair was wild and disheveled, tears streaming as they were held fast by pale hands.
“W–What is this…?”
Lady Seo’s face turned white. Sayeol smiled as if amused and shook the handfuls of hair she held. Screams rose—Aah! Kyaa!—and she laughed as if they were music.
“They lacked manners, so I was teaching them some.”
“Y–You mad girl…!”
“You only realized that now? I thought you had realized earlier.”
Thud.
“Hh—!”
“Ah—!”
Sayeol dropped the handfuls of hair. The maids, who had been unable to breathe, gasped desperately and scrambled across the floor, trying to get away from her.
The way they flailed looked like frogs in a pond. Sayeol laughed and clapped like a child.
“Ahaha, when you can’t recognize your betters, this is what happens.”
Shrrrk.
Her black robes brushed across the floor as she approached. Lady Seo stared, pale and trembling. She had thought Hongryun’s terrified wailing was nothing but childish exaggeration. But those eyes—like a westerner’s, no, like a ghost’s—and that white-haired girl looking down on her… were terrifying.
As though she had lived far, far longer.
“E–Elder? You dare call yourself an elder when you’ve done this to your master’s people!”
“Well, that’s because the one who came to see me was the wrong person.”
Sayeol stepped right up to Lady Seo.
