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Chapter 7
I Am Dan – Part 1
The man couldn’t wait and was already standing at the end of the long corridor.
He wore only a plain white robe, yet he looked like a noble young master.
Dan’s heart skipped many times a day because of his handsome face.
The only fortunate thing was that he always had a mop in his mouth like some strange habit.
‘Right. I can’t let myself fall for a guy like that. Think positively.’
Dan cursed him in her mind while running toward him with a fake cheerful face.
“Why are you out here, brother?”
“I came to check if you had fallen into the latrine. You didn’t even eat much today, but you took quite a while in there.”
Dan scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“I only ate gruel, so my belly is weak. That stupid weasel ruined the hunt, and I don’t even have the strength to push. Anyway, I’ll check the traps tomorrow. But it feels chilly… I should rest now. I’ll sleep first tonight.”
Back in the room, Dan pushed two chairs together to make a makeshift bed.
The rain outside made her body ache all over, like she was about to fall sick.
Pulling the blanket over her head, she closed her eyes tightly.
In the middle of the dark night, without a single star, the man awoke to the sound of groaning.
Dan was curled up, shivering like she had caught a fever.
At first, he thought it wasn’t his problem, so he lay back down.
But something about it kept bothering him.
“Annoying.”
Lighting a candle, he poked at the rolled blanket.
Dan peeked out with a guilty look.
“Sorry, brother. I tried to stay quiet, but I can’t help it. I’ll endure it… but I’m too cold. Could you give me that blanket—”
But before she could pull it back, the man snatched it away.
“Woman, what did you eat?”
Dan blinked nervously.
“I didn’t eat anything…”
“Tell me properly. What did you eat?”
His sharp tone made Dan’s heart race. She sat up, pretending to stay calm.
“Come on, we haven’t eaten in days. You think I’d eat something alone? It’s just a bad fever. I’ll be fine after resting.”
The man chuckled in disbelief and handed her a mirror.
Dan frowned at her reflection—it wasn’t even her face anymore. Her skin was black, like a coal miner’s.
She gasped and looked at her hands.
All ten fingernails were pitch-black.
“Tell me the truth. What exactly did you eat?”
Dan finally admitted, trembling.
“I… I ate this. It looked like a doll-shaped ginseng, so I thought it was fine. Wait… was it poisonous?”
The man examined it, his face flashing with both shock and delight.
Then he burst into wild laughter.
“Ha! This is a thousand-five-hundred-year-old Doll Ginseng! That inscription was right after all. I can’t believe it turned up here. Incredible fortune!”
Dan’s eyes widened. She jumped up, trying to snatch it back.
“Brother, that’s mine! I found it. Give it back!”
But he hid it behind his back, sneering.
“Idiot. You, with no inner energy, ate something like this raw? That’s like pouring a river into a tiny cup.”
Dan paled.
“So… I’m in danger?”
The man smirked.
“If you can’t control its power, you’ll be crushed to death by dawn.”
Dan collapsed to the ground.
“To… to death? Isn’t there a way to survive?”
The man stroked his chin.
“Not completely hopeless. If it were right after you ate it, I could fix it. But your nails are already black. Too late now.”
Tears welled in Dan’s eyes.
“Please, tell me. There must be something! I’ll even give this ginseng to you. Just save my life.”
The man laughed coldly.
“Why should I save you when it’ll be mine anyway?”
Dan clenched her teeth.
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll haunt you after death and take revenge as a ghost!”
His eyes narrowed, then after a pause, he finally spoke.
“There is one way. Since you’re a woman… if you sleep with a man, the tangled energy inside you will be released. But the only man trapped in this formation is me. Do you really think I’d touch a grave-robbing wench like you?”
He scoffed and headed for the door.
“Enjoy your last night alive. I don’t want to share a room with a corpse.”
Dan desperately grabbed his leg.
“Brother, wait! Think of it as charity, as doing a good deed for Buddha!”
His eyes turned sharp.
“Let go, or I’ll cut your wrist.”
But Dan refused.
“No! I don’t want to die. Just think of it as… giving me your body once. Please!”
The man’s glare cut like knives.
“You shameful woman. Don’t you know that many women would die to protect their chastity? Yet you throw it away for life.”
Shame burned Dan’s face, but she thought of her waiting father.
“I cannot die like this. You are not leaving this room.”
The man laughed coldly.
“You’re insane.”
Dan spat bitterly.
“Don’t act so holy. You’re just a dog serving others, hunting for medicine. One night won’t make you any lower than you already are.”
The man suddenly grabbed her by the neck like a predator.
“Do you want me to kill you now instead?”
Dan choked but forced out words.
“I want to live! My mother gave me this life with her blood. Why throw it away for chastity? Save that for rich noble ladies. Just… take me instead.”
The man’s grip tightened, then slowly loosened.
Dan coughed, lips bleeding from biting too hard.
At that moment, his voice came, low and cold:
“If you claim to know men and women so well, then prove it. Be ready to risk your arms and legs. If you don’t satisfy me, you’ll never live whole again.”
