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Chapter 14
“Yes, yes, I understand.”
“Come now, let us return.”
“You’re already heading back?”
“I have filled myself for the night. It will appear again tomorrow.”
With that, Sayeol began walking first, and Wol naturally followed after her. Sayeol asked the man trailing behind her:
“Where did you come from? I thought perhaps you were from the Open Sect, but it seems you are not.”
“I cannot tell you.”
“Do you know someone called Ma Wolhu?”
Wol abruptly stopped. At the mention of that name, he froze and furrowed his brows. A flare of hatred flashed through those blue eyes—Sayeol could tell immediately he was no underling of Ma Wolhu.
“Enough. Let us part and mind our own matters.”
“……”
Sayeol then returned to her chambers accompanied by So-hwa and Hwa-yeong, who had come out to meet her. Rather than staying in the room provided by Geum Sang-ho, Wol sat in front of her chamber doors, sword at his side, eyes closed.
Like a guard dog keeping watch.
Late that night, after sending the attendants to sleep, Sayeol sat cross-legged and began regulating her breathing. The abnormal internal energy within her was identical in amount to what she possessed in her body a hundred years ago. Somehow, the same energy had crossed a century and settled into a new body.
How strange.
As though someone had transplanted it. She slowly opened her eyes. Cold air rippled around her. When she exhaled, her breath scattered white like frost. She stood and slid open the chamber door.
“Where are you going?”
Wol, sitting at the door, reacted instantly. Sayeol gave him a brief glance and answered simply:
“A walk.”
“I’ll come.”
She did not reply, but she did not refuse—so Wol quietly put on his shoes and followed her toward the main gate. No one knew the two were moving at this hour. They slipped past even the gatekeepers as though ghosts themselves. Though such behavior should have seemed strange, Wol asked nothing.
Just as she asked nothing of him.
“That way.”
Once outside the gate, she pointed toward the north side of the village. It was a forest—dark, ominous, and seething with disturbing energy. Ordinary humans couldn’t sense it, but any first-rate martial artist could.
“Is it in there?”
“There should be an object—its core. It will be hidden.”
“Who hid it?”
“A child who has lived far too long.”
“……”
She spoke of Ma Wolhu. Wol surely understood, for he too seemed to bear a grudge. Sayeol studied his face closely. Her memories of the past were all hazy, but she did not recall any man with such blue eyes.
The blue eyes she remembered all belonged to the women of the Ice Palace. Perhaps that was why she accepted his presence so easily—those eyes stirred nostalgia. That was all.
“Your senses differ from ordinary experts. Call me when you find it.”
“I will.”
The two figures vanished into the northern woods.
Near dawn, Geum Sang-ho was still unable to sleep. That such a peaceful, tiny village had truly been visited by a ghost—it was unbelievable. At first he had hoped to handle it quietly, but the villagers had all seen it now.
“Can we really trust those two?”
“…Hmm. Still, they seemed familiar with ghosts.”
“That man, perhaps. But the young lady—she’s far too young.”
“Yes, even if she is of the Namgung clan, a girl of that age cannot possibly possess great martial arts.”
“We should ask the Namgung Academy for help after all…”
Geum Sang-ho spoke cautiously.
“As it happens, a letter arrived today from the Namgung Academy.”
“What? From the Academy?”
“It’s not far from here, you know. It seems they sensed something unusual and sent someone. Since the letter arrived first, they should get here tomorrow.”
“Oh, thank heavens…”
His wife let out a relieved breath. But Geum Sang-ho felt uneasy—he sensed tonight would be the noisiest of all. Outside the open window, the round full moon shone with an ominous, cloud-choked light.
Meanwhile, the two who had entered the forest split up in opposite directions. The entire woods were so thick with eerie energy that knowing where to begin would normally be impossible—at least for an ordinary warrior.
There.
Because she had not only dealt with ghosts but had once lived as one, Sayeol sensed their presence better than anyone. She walked deeper into the forest.
Soon, she found a long pair of scissors driven halfway into the ground, seeping with pulsing violet energy. Yellow talismans clung all over it, radiating sinister force. This was indeed the object she sought.
“Come out.”
At her command, the swirling violet energy scattered like wind. Then came a sound.
Clatter, clank!
Clatter, clank!
A great metal scissor opened and shut. Instead of retreating, Sayeol watched calmly. From below it, a white hand emerged—its angle unnaturally bent—as it groped along the ground to grasp the scissors. The arm extended farther and farther, joint after joint appearing—three joints in total—grotesquely long. The second arm rose from the earth as well.
— Who awakened me…?
The voice rasped like a throat full of frothy blood. A blackened face suddenly jutted upward from the ground, hair wild and covering most of it. A red mask-string dangled within the tangled hair. Sayeol watched silently.
“Who is your master?”
— Master? Master? Master? Do I have a master?
Skreee—
Hee—
Heeheehee—
Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee…
The ghost cackled, bones twisting as it lurched toward her, limbs bending horribly as it danced, opening and closing the huge scissors.
Clatter, clank!
Clatter, clank!
The creature—over six cheok tall—leaned forward until its face was level with hers. Inside its pitch-black eyes, the eyeballs rolled grotesquely. Sayeol stared at the ghost with her yellow moonlit eyes.
— How lovely you are… But…
It brushed aside the strands of hair. What appeared beneath was—
— Am I not lovelier?
A mouth slit all the way to the ears. Red gums, a tongue, and teeth mottled black with dried blood. Torn skin peeled away with a sticky sound. Blood filled the mouth.
“Close your mouth. It is unsightly.”
— Unsightly?
The tone shifted.
— You say… I am unsightly?
“Yes. Your appearance is so vile I can hardly bear to look.”
— You wretch…!
Clatter!
The scissors snapped open. In an instant, the woman with the torn mouth lunged.
— I’ll make you look just like me!
Sayeol quietly closed her eyes. And then—
Kaang!
Metal struck metal. When she opened her eyes, she saw Wol’s back. With the forest overflowing with ghostly aura, it should have been difficult to locate her—but he had come unerringly.
“Is that the one?”
“It is.”
“I’ll handle it.”
Wol drew his sword. The bluish blade exuded a terrifying aura, wrapped in a dark crimson glow. Sayeol narrowed her eyes at the sight.
Where had she seen that before?
