First Encounter
In the middle of the forest, about twenty people were bustling about, preparing to camp for the night.
"You there! Come here and clear away some of the stones around here!"
"Yes, sir! We'll just tie up the horses and be back!"
The ones making camp were members of the Jino Trading Caravan, based in Anhui, and because none of them had been lazy, the preparations were finished in no time.
Soon after, the iron pot began to boil, and a mouthwatering smell drifted through the air.
"I've been starving all day. I'm about ready to drop."
"Starving all day? You think I didn't see you chewing on jerky by yourself?"
"When did you see that? You should've said something. I could've shared a little."
"Truth is, I didn't see anything. I just figured you would be. And those dried-up scraps of meat are all yours, so eat them yourself."
"What?"
As the caravan members laid down their tired bodies and eased the weariness of travel, the caravan master, Mo Won-pyeong, walked over to the man standing guard alone.
"Young Clan Leader. So you were here."
At Mo Won-pyeong's greeting, the man glanced over and gave a small nod.
"Yes. I was taking a look around the area for a moment."
The man's name was Seomun Hwi.
He was the Young Clan Leader of the Seomun Clan, a family so large it had once been counted among the Five Great Clans, and one that stood on equal footing with the Namgung Clan in Anhui.
So why was he escorting a modest caravan like the Jino Trading Caravan?
The reason was simple.
After hearing that the Jino Trading Caravan would be setting out for Lanzhou in Gansu Province, Seomun Hwi had said that he himself had business with the Kongtong Sect and proposed that he travel with them.
Seomun Hwi got to travel without any trouble, and the Jino Trading Caravan gained the protection of the Seomun Clan's Young Clan Leader.
Their interests had aligned perfectly, so the caravan readily accepted Seomun Hwi's proposal and set out together.
Of course, at first some of the members had worried that instead of an escort, they would end up serving a noble guest, but those fears soon faded as Seomun Hwi naturally blended into the caravan without causing the slightest problem.
"We're only a little farther from Lanzhou now. We even showed proper respect to the Green Forest side, so what could possibly happen? Please don't worry and come eat."
Smiling kindly, Mo Won-pyeong urged him to relax and return to the fire, and Seomun Hwi could not insist any longer.
"Very well. I think I was a little too on edge because of something I heard at an inn."
"Something you heard at an inn?"
At Seomun Hwi's words, Mo Won-pyeong suddenly recalled a suspicious rumor he had heard a few days earlier in a shabby, run-down inn.
-I don't know when it started, but they say a ghost has been wandering around that area. Oddly enough, it doesn't hurt anyone. It just circles the same spot over and over, they say.
At the innkeeper's absurd story, everyone in the Jino Trading Caravan, Seomun Hwi included, had burst out laughing. But no one else in the inn laughed, and the mood had quickly grown awkward.
-Believe it or don't. That's your choice. But I warned you fair and square, so if anything happens to you, don't blame me.
After that, the innkeeper had refused to say another word, and the people of the Jino Trading Caravan had resumed their journey, still carrying a vague sense of unease.
Yet contrary to their worry, no ghost appeared, and not even a single wild beast crossed their path, so they soon let their guard down.
Only one person did not.
Seomun Hwi.
Because of that, Mo Won-pyeong was grateful that he had not laughed off such a ridiculous rumor and had not neglected his duty as escort.
Honestly, if he had been the Seomun Clan's Young Clan Leader, they would have been unable to complain even if he had merely gone through the motions of guarding them.
"As expected, it was only a rumor after all. Really, what kind of ghost would there be in this day and age..."
Rustle.
Just as the two of them turned to head back to the campsite, they heard something moving through the brush behind them.
It was too distinct to ignore, so both men froze and slowly turned their heads.
"...Could it just be a wild beast?"
Mo Won-pyeong, already on edge, spoke first, saying it must be an animal even before anyone had asked.
But Seomun Hwi shook his head.
"Wild animals are wary by nature. They don't approach people easily. Step back."
Thud.
Keeping one hand on the hilt of his sword, Seomun Hwi stepped forward with his right foot and lowered his upper body slightly.
He settled into his stance without the slightest opening, then called toward the direction the sound had come from.
"Show yourself."
But even after his low, resolute warning, there was no answer from within the brush.
This is my failure. To think I didn't notice it until it had come so close.
Seomun Hwi was still berating himself and sharpening his senses when something round rolled out to his feet.
Thunk.
He drew his sword reflexively and cleaved the rolling object cleanly in two, yet only confusion lingered on Seomun Hwi's face.
What he had felt at his fingertips was nothing like what he had expected.
A fruit...?
At the same time, a black, doll-like shape suddenly sprang out from between the bushes and startled both Seomun Hwi and Mo Won-pyeong.
Mo Won-pyeong, in particular, was so shocked that he tumbled backward onto his backside and could not manage a proper word.
"A g-g-ghost..."
Remembering what the innkeeper had said earlier, Mo Won-pyeong promptly fainted.
---
"Thank you for the meal!"
In the dark forest, a lively voice rang out.
They should have kept their voices down, since a loud noise might lure in dangerous beasts, but none of the Jino Trading Caravan members even thought to point that out.
"...And some water too, please."
After regaining his senses, Mo Won-pyeong looked at the boy who was gulping down the meat soup with complicated eyes.
This is ridiculous. So it was just a child.
The boy's identity was none other than Cheongwol, and once his disheveled hair had been neatly tied back, he finally looked like a proper human being.
"Thank you! I really thought I was going to be in serious trouble if I kept going like that. You saved me."
Cheongwol quickly emptied a bowl of meat soup and smiled brightly at Mo Won-pyeong in heartfelt gratitude, looking as if he had just been given a second life.
Mo Won-pyeong looked at the empty bowl, then motioned to one of the caravan members. The man filled a larger bowl with meat soup and handed it to the boy.
"It's all right. You've already caused us enough trouble."
Cheongwol waved it off, but Mo Won-pyeong took the bowl himself and urged him once more.
"It's leftovers, so don't refuse. Eat more."
At that, Cheongwol accepted it with an embarrassed smile.
"Then I'll eat gratefully."
"Good. Say so if it's not enough."
Unlike before, when he had refused, Cheongwol began to drink the meat soup down greedily, and Mo Won-pyeong smiled faintly as if he'd known it would come to this.
After the fire burned a little lower and Cheongwol finished eating, Mo Won-pyeong asked carefully, "What kind of hardship led you to wander the mountains looking like that? Ah, if it's the sort of matter you can't bear to speak of, then you needn't tell me."
At the question, Cheongwol looked as if he were thinking, though not for very long.
"The truth is, I was trying to get to the Central Plains, but I had no idea where I was supposed to go. So I just walked, but no matter how far I went, I couldn't get off the mountain trail, and I kept getting lost."
At Cheongwol's words, not only Mo Won-pyeong but the others too stared at him in confusion.
He wanted to go to the Central Plains?
When he was already in the Central Plains, what on earth was he talking about?
And what did he mean that he had walked for ages but still couldn't leave the mountain?
The mountains in this region were not especially treacherous, and even first-time travelers could usually make their way out to Lanzhou within a day or two, thanks to the clearly maintained paths.
"Could it be... you came from somewhere outside the Central Plains?"
"Pardon?"
At Cheongwol's faintly flustered reaction, Mo Won-pyeong hurriedly added, realizing his slip.
"I mean no offense. It's just that from the way you speak, you sound like someone from outside the Central Plains."
At that, one of the caravan members, who had only been watching from the side, abruptly joined the conversation.
"How could that be? He may look a little ragged, but even the clothes he's wearing are from the Central Plains, and he speaks the Central Plains tongue."
Another member nodded in agreement.
"That's right. Besides, he said he'd been walking the mountain paths the whole time, so he probably came from somewhere to the west."
"If he's from the west..."
"That would be the place where Qinghai Province is. It's quite far, of course, so he couldn't have walked all the way from there, but I heard a huge mountain range there extends all the way toward Gansu Province. So maybe he came from somewhere in those mountains?"
While the caravan members traded guesses, Cheongwol looked at Mo Won-pyeong with an awkward expression and spoke hesitantly.
"I'm sorry. It's hard for me to answer that."
Reading the discomfort on Cheongwol's face, Mo Won-pyeong nodded as if he understood.
"Is that so? All right. Don't worry about it. Everyone has circumstances they can't speak of."
In truth, Cheongwol himself had not known the exact place where he had lived with his grandfather, so his answer had been honest enough. But since Mo Won-pyeong glossed over the matter, he did not press the issue.
"By the way, why are you trying to go to the Central Plains? If it's difficult to talk about, you needn't say anything, but since we'll be spending the night together, I think I'd feel easier knowing the reason."
This time, Mo Won-pyeong's question was serious, and Cheongwol slowly nodded.
"I need to find a place in the Central Plains called the Kongtong Sect."
"The Kongtong Sect?"
"Yes. Actually, I tried asking directions whenever I met other people, but the moment they saw me, they all ran away."
Thinking of the black shape that had suddenly burst out from the bushes earlier, Mo Won-pyeong looked as though he now understood why.
"Then you've come to the right place after all. The Kongtong Sect isn't far from here. And as it happens, we even have someone who is heading that way."
At Mo Won-pyeong's words, Seomun Hwi turned his head and looked at them.
More precisely, he looked at Cheongwol's scruffy appearance, and at those bright eyes shining all the same.
"Hello."
Cheongwol had also noticed Seomun Hwi's gaze and gave a small smile as he waved, but Seomun Hwi only snapped his head away.