The Farewell
Kongji wept without end.
From that pure, unguarded sincerity, I could tell she was speaking nothing but the truth.
"I lost my mother when I was very young, so I barely remember her face. But… the moment I saw her in my dream, I knew at once. That Heavenly Maiden was my mother."
"I see."
I wiped Kongji's tears with my sleeve as I listened.
"Mother said she had originally come down from the heavens only to settle some business before returning. But then she met my father… and when she came to carry me, she sought the Jade Emperor's leave and was granted a single year to remain here."
Listening to her, I could more or less picture it — a Heavenly Maiden who had fallen in love with a mortal man, kneeling before the sovereign of the skies to beg for time.
"Father never knew her true nature, so when she returned to the heavens, he believed she had died. And after Father passed away, Mother went down into the Underworld."
"Ah."
There had been something that puzzled me. If Kongji's birth mother truly was a Heavenly Maiden, wouldn't she have watched over her daughter? That question had lingered — but now I understood why she hadn't been able to.
After Kongji's father died, she had wandered the Underworld searching for his soul, determined to carry it up to the heavens. In the process, she had even brawled with the grim reapers and King Yama himself. Kongji's mother, it seemed, was no ordinary celestial being.
Hunting for one soul across that vast Underworld had taken so long that she simply could not keep watch over Kongji.
"When Mother realized I was being tormented by a monster, she flew into a rage. Several peach trees near the cloud where I stood snapped clean in half."
Kongji let out a little puhu of laughter as she described the scene from her dream, as though the memory delighted her.
Breaking the peach trees of the Heavenly Realm with nothing but the force of her aura… my image of Kongji's mother was growing stranger by the minute.
Still, the important thing was that Kongji looked thoroughly happy. I would have felt the same. To learn that the mother you thought had died in your childhood was actually a Heavenly Maiden who had been fighting all this time to protect you — even after years apart, the longing and joy would flood through you all at once.
"What did the Heavenly Realm look like?"
"Ah! Let me tell you! The whole world was spread with clouds. Hanok houses and plants grew upon them, and all around, music wishing for an age of peace rang out…"
She went on for some time about her mother and the Heavenly Realm. Perhaps Kongji was more beloved in the heavens than one might expect.
That a child of a Heavenly Maiden and a mortal could roam the Heavenly Realm so freely must mean countless gods — and the Jade Emperor himself — had given their blessing.
In some tales, the Heavenly Realm is painted as a rather stern place. The fact that she had wandered about laughing and smiling suggested they had extended her every courtesy.
"And Mother… she spoke of you as well, young master."
"…Of me?"
That, I had not expected.
"What did she say…?"
"At first she was angry, thinking some stranger had approached me. But when I hurriedly explained, she was quite pleased."
"Whew… well, that's a relief."
"A-and she gave me one more request…"
"Hm? What was it?"
"…Never mind! I'll keep that one to myself…"
Kongji's cheeks flushed crimson as she averted her eyes. A moment later, having composed herself a little, she spoke again.
"Young master. Thank you for listening to my story. Truthfully… I thought you might dismiss it as nothing more than a dream."
"…To be honest, the thought did cross my mind."
"I thought the same. After everything you told me yesterday, I figured it had simply appeared in my sleep. But then…"
Kongji held something out to me.
"…Beads?"
"When I woke, these were in my hand."
What?
Then that meant…
"These were Mother's final gift to me. She said she picked a lotus from the Heavenly Realm, breathed her wishes into its seeds, and made these Five-Colored Beads."
"…"
"She said that so long as I hold them, I will always know the warmth of her heart — and that if I use them in a moment of danger, she will come to my aid."
I was stunned. If that was true, then everything Kongji had said was real — she had truly visited the Heavenly Realm. And indeed, a sacred energy was radiating from all five beads. I found myself believing, without effort, that they would help somehow in a time of need.
"I want to entrust these beads to you, young master."
"…What? No. Absolutely not. These aren't something I should keep. Your own mother gave them to you."
I refused firmly, but Kongji forced my hand open and set the five beads upon my palm. Then she closed my fingers around them, laid her own hand over mine, and said:
"Did you not save me, young master? I, too, wish to be of some small help on the journey that lies ahead of you."
"But…"
"You rescued me, my stepmother, and the entire village from the monster's schemes. For a good while, we will live free of danger. That means Mother's beads would only sit unused."
Kongji had always been articulate, but a week of study had sharpened her tongue even further.
"I believe it would also be unfilial to let the help my long-lost mother gave me go to waste. Would it not be better to give the beads to you, who need them more than I do?"
"…That sounds like a stretch to me."
"Then… think of it this way. Carry them on your person like a talisman, as a prayer for your safety — and once your journey is over, stop by the village again and return them to me."
…I had already planned to visit Kongji's village once the civil service exam was behind me. Keep them until then, then drop by and give them back… that was a little harder to refuse.
"If the beads are all intact when you return them, I will be relieved knowing your travels were safe. And if any of them are gone, I will be glad knowing I was able to help you."
"…"
"So… won't you grant a mere girl's request…?"
In the end, I had no choice but to nod. Pushing back any further would have been no way for a man to behave.
She's doing this for my sake in the first place. Being too stubborn about it would be rude.
Perhaps Kongji felt something like a child who, after being rescued by a firefighter, wants to donate snacks or safety gear out of pure gratitude.
"Very well… I'll do as you ask. I'll do everything I can to return these beads to you whole."
"…! Thank you, young master!"
Kongji broke into the brightest smile I had ever seen on her face.
A few hours later, I stood at the village entrance, seeing off by the villagers and Kongji.
"Kim Shin-ryong! So you're leaving at last!"
I was receiving the Magistrate's boisterous send-off.
"Y-yes, sir."
"Good! With your martial skill, courage, and wisdom, you're certain to pass the civil service exam! So don't you worry!"
"Thank you for the advice."
"Ah, and one more thing, in case you were curious."
"What is it?"
The Magistrate leaned in close and whispered.
"…I turned the Golden Pig monster into jeotgal and scattered it around the village — mixed with branches of sacred wood, stone markers, and talismans."
…What? He made it into what?
"I made Monster Jeotgal from the creature's carcass. Other monsters will take one look and be too terrified to approach the village."
What a deranged way of thinking.
…Then again, if I were a monster and saw one of my own kind reduced not merely to a corpse but to fermented paste, laid out alongside sacred wood and talismans, I would run for the hills on the spot.
For the record, monsters barely have a concept of community, so there was no need to worry about any of them burning with a desire for revenge over the jeotgal. And looking at the Magistrate's build… he could probably thrash any ordinary evil spirit that came calling.
Next came the villagers' farewell.
"That's far too much — I won't be able to move!"
"Oh, come now! A young master who vanquished a monster couldn't possibly struggle with a little weight like this!"
"No, really…! It's too much!"
I stood there flustered as they crammed every kind of rice cake and snack into my pack as parting gifts. I wasn't a picky eater, but this was excessive. In the end, though, I couldn't snub the villagers' generous hearts, and I ended up with a pack twice as heavy as the one I'd carried into the village.
Last of all were the Stepmother and Kongji.
I didn't exchange much of a greeting with the Stepmother. She simply stood in quiet gratitude.
And Kongji… for all the times she had already said goodbye, the reality of my departure seemed to hit her now, and tears were streaming down her face.
I smiled at her.
"What are you fretting over enough to cry like that? I thought you said you look best when you smile."
"Please… travel safely…"
I stepped closer so the others couldn't hear.
"I'll send letters whenever a messenger is available. Will that put your mind at ease?"
"…! Truly? Then every night, I'll be waiting for your letters, young master…!"
"I won't be able to write quite that often."
With that, I truly left the village behind.
From the entrance, past the gravel field where I had first met Kongji, I climbed into the mountains. And until the village had shrunk to a black speck in the distance, I turned back again and again to look at it — then strode forward with purpose.
"From here on, it's straight to Hanyang."
No matter what happened, I would not stray from the path.
.
.
.
"Aigoo, Cheong-ah! Where have you gone, my daughter Cheong-ah!!"
…Wait.
That name… I know that name.