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Chapter 16
“If you want to survive on Jejado, don’t wander around at night. And no matter how sweet a piece of taffy someone offers you, don’t follow them thoughtlessly and cause trouble.”
It wasn’t night, nor was she a child, so there was no reason she’d follow someone just because they gave her candy.
Judging from what I-sin had said, creatures like that shadow fiend only appeared at night.
Since it should be safe now, Yeongwon was just thinking that she ought to go look for the piji.
“Have you woken, my lady? I brought breakfast from the kitchen.”
The polite voice of a maid sounded from outside the door.
“Let’s eat first, then go.”
Yeongwon whispered softly, and Sorae nodded before going to open the door.
It was the maid who had guided them to the guest quarters yesterday.
Behind her stood two other maids, each holding one side of a tray laden with food.
“Please come in.”
Sorae fully opened the door.
After breakfast, Yeongwon headed out of the Geom (黔) household with Sorae as planned.
But finding the path they walked last night was not easy.
The road had been very dark, and her memory was hazy from being lured by the shadow fiend.
In the end, Yeongwon had to circle the same area several times before finally reaching the desolate mountain path from the night before.
“My lady, is this the place?”
“Yes. This is it.”
Sorae’s hair stood on end at the sight before her.
A rotten, broken tree… a pile of stones stacked taller than a man… the stench of mold… damp soil…
It felt as if the sun never reached this place—gloom filled every corner.
“This must have been a shrine to the guardian spirit long ago.”
Sorae’s gaze lingered on the faded five-colored cloth hanging forlornly from the broken tree.
Yeongwon looked at it too before briskly moving forward.
Coming back in daylight gave her courage, but this was certainly not a place she wished to linger.
“My lady!”
Falling behind, Sorae hurried to Yeongwon’s side, scanning the surroundings as if ready to attack anything that might jump out.
Her anxious stance made Yeongwon smile faintly before she turned her attention back to the area.
Among the collapsed stone piles were rocks as large as a person’s head.
Just as the memory of last night surfaced and Yeongwon stopped walking, Sorae bumped into her back.
“Hiss—!”
“What’s wrong?”
Startled by her sharp intake of breath, Sorae grabbed Yeongwon’s arm.
Yeongwon shook her head instead of answering, slowly easing her tense body as the sudden pain subsided.
Even though I-sin had shielded her, stones flying from all directions had still hit her.
The bruises seemed worse now.
“…Are you bruised, my lady?”
Sorae asked quietly, already guessing the truth since she had heard the whole story.
“I’m fine. Let’s find the piji first.”
“I’ll look for medicine once we return, my lady.”
“Let’s do that.”
Yeongwon took a deep breath and continued walking, Sorae following with cautious steps.
The two women searched among the stone towers that someone, long ago, must have carefully stacked while making wishes.
If it wasn’t here, they would have to retrace the path I-sin carried her down.
The thought made Yeongwon’s heart sink.
With her eyes shut tightly last night, she had no idea what route he’d taken.
Fortunately, heaven seemed to favor her—before long, she spotted the piji lying between dirt and stones.
Smiling brightly, she picked it up and dusted it off, when suddenly Sorae spoke.
“My lady? Did you also lose your jade pendant?”
“Hm? Jade pendant?”
While responding vaguely, Yeongwon reached through her clothing to feel for the pendant that should be in her under-robe.
“Isn’t this yours, my lady?”
Sorae straightened up and turned toward her, holding an all-too-familiar black jade pendant.
Yeongwon raised her brows in confusion.
Because beneath her own clothing, she could still feel her pendant—her half of it.
“Mine is right here… Hold this for a moment.”
Passing the piji to Sorae, Yeongwon took out her own pendant and then accepted the one Sorae held.
“They’re identical, my lady!”
At Sorae’s exclamation, Yeongwon nodded.
There was no need to wonder whose pendant it was.
Just as she had dropped the piji, I-sin must have dropped his half during last night’s chaos.
“…It must be his.”
Without thinking, Yeongwon brought the two halves together.
The fierce goblin carved into the jade regained its full face.
And then—
Suddenly, the cracked edges of the pendant glowed red, like metal heated in a fire.
Yeongwon blinked several times, thinking her eyes deceived her.
But the truly astonishing thing happened next.
The pendant, which had always been split in two, fused together seamlessly—now a perfect circle with no trace of having ever been broken.
“Huh?”
“What is it, my lady?”
Sorae looked up from folding the piji neatly and widened her eyes at the sight of the round pendant in Yeongwon’s hands.
“My lady, how did you put the pendant back together?”
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“I didn’t put it together.”
Yeongwon stared blankly at the pendant.
How could two broken pieces become whole in the blink of an eye?
It was enough to make a ghost weep.
She tried pulling the pendant apart again, gripping both ends—but it wouldn’t budge.
Her mouth went dry with panic.
It had been split in two all this time.
One half hers, the other I-sin’s.
Now that it had become one, what was she supposed to tell him?
His cold eyes—never once warm toward her—flashed through her mind.
Yeongwon unknowingly swallowed a sigh.
✦✦✦
About half a sijin (one hour) away from the village, deep in the forest—
There stood a shabby thatched cottage with four rooms and a central open floor.
Its twisted gate looked like it could fall off at any moment, and the inside was no better.
The straw roof sagged and rotted in places, the main beams were thick with cobwebs, and the yard, porch, and middle floor were littered with broken or dusty furniture.
At a glance, it looked like an abandoned house.
But strangely, the wide yard was bustling with people.
“Please, we’re truly innocent! Have mercy and accept us as residents of Jejado!”
“We risked our lives to escape here. We’ve committed no crimes—we’re innocent!”
“Please accept us, sir!”
Three burly men lay prostrate on the ground, pleading at the top of their lungs.
Broken shackles still hung from their ankles—clearly, escaped convicts.
They were surrounded by over a dozen men whose intimidating looks rivaled theirs.
“Jejado is our last hope. We have nowhere else to go.”
I-sin, who had just arrived, leaned casually against the crooked gate, watching the scene with a faint, unreadable smile.
Du-yeong, standing near the three convicts, opened his mouth to speak when he saw I-sin.
But I-sin lifted a hand and gave a slight jerk of his chin.
Continue.
Du-yeong turned back to the men sobbing into the dirt.
“You three are brothers?”
“Yes, sir! We live in Minan-hyeon. We worked as day laborers at noblemen’s and merchants’ houses.”
The three brothers had clashed with a steward at one merchant’s home.
Being mere hired workers, they swallowed their anger and went home.
But when they returned the next day, they were dragged to the local office and accused—without explanation—of murdering a distant relative who had come seeking refuge at the merchant’s house.
“That wretch of a steward committed the crime and framed us because he disliked us!”
The slight curve of I-sin’s lips deepened into something sharper.
He turned and left the yard, and several men near the gate immediately followed.
“Paejoo! They were brought in by Jinmo, who was on patrol at dawn. Escaped convicts, seeking refuge on Jejado.”
“I figured. Pick a few men and search the path they must have taken to get here.”
I-sin’s voice held a strange, scheming amusement as he addressed the overly polite middle-aged man.
“Yes, sir.”
Though puzzled, the man—solid as a rock—moved at once.
