Chapter 8 - The Crying Ghost (4)
The Crying Ghost (4)
Translator : Elizabeth
Jin Hyeon-ryeong opened her eyes.
A young child was crouching in front of the girl's eyes.
Sob...! Ugh...!
A child with the skin of her legs completely torn off, dripping blood.
It was Jin Hyeon-ryeong around the age of 10.
Looking back, bloodstains remained on the road. They were traces of her struggle to survive somehow, even while limping.
Jin Hyeon-ryeong unwittingly reached out her hand to the child. But it didn't reach.
Because the child cried loudly enough to tear her throat, quickly got up, and started walking.
Jin Hyeon-ryeong withdrew her outstretched hand and followed the child as if possessed.
From then on, the scenery changed moment by moment.
The child stopped crying abruptly, pulled out some grass, and—chomp!—put it in her mouth. Some of it was too bitter, so she frowned at times.
There was a time she found a flying beast. The child climbed a tree for dear life and saved her neck.
Around the time it rained, her body heated up, and she went into a cave and wailed.
"Hmm?"
This time, she found a very precious-looking weed. Because the child was born with mystical eyes, she could instinctively recognize it.
The child jumped up and down like crazy. This was sweeter than other grasses. She smiled for the first time.
However, where there was one stroke of luck, ten misfortunes followed.
She encountered bandits. The nightmare of almost being kidnapped came to mind. So she clawed at her own face wildly. She even smeared dirt on herself to look filthy.
Even that seemed insufficient, so she tore her clothes a little and wrapped her face. While doing so, she groaned and pretended to be sick.
Thanks to that, the bandits gagged and left.
"Phew."
The child sighed with relief. That was close! She was proud of herself.
It was a life completely different from the current Jin Hyeon-ryeong.
Constant hardships and trials approached, always hungry, smelly—it was that kind of life.
And yet, the child smiled more than the current Jin Hyeon-ryeong.
She could rejoice all day over one trivial thing, and even when overcoming a life-threatening crisis, she could stand up steadfastly.
A child who was nothing more than an orchid. However, the orchid was happy because it lived as an orchid.
"Child, you are born with spiritual energy."
And then, she met the woman.
The corners of Jin Hyeon-ryeong's mouth, which had been looking at the child fondly, stiffened.
'No.'
This time, she reached out to the child for real.
'Don't take it. Absolutely do not take it.'
You must not take it. You must not lift your head.
'If you were born as an orchid, just live like that.'
Do not lift your head. Do not look at the sunlight. Your birth is lowly.
Do not wish for anything. Do not try to bloom. Why not just accept your current life?
The child trembled and, with her head buried, conversed with the woman.
The woman spoke.
"You will have everything."
The child lifted her head.
The child's eyes sparkled. A vitality that hadn't existed before blossomed.
'Ah...'
Jin Hyeon-ryeong knew.
The moment an orchid looks at the sun, it can no longer be happy as an orchid.
The child, mistaking herself for a flower, could no longer be satisfied with trivial things.
She simply coveted the sunlight. The warmth that had shone down on her. The heart that beat loudly.
She craved this continuously.
However, the child was—
Jin Hyeon-ryeong was born an orchid.
An existence that could never bloom.
An existence for whom being trampled without anyone knowing was only natural.
That is the essence of the girl named Jin Hyeon-ryeong.
Jin Hyeon-ryeong dropped her head.
'Do I... want to go back?'
Perhaps the man's words were right.
Yes, Jin Hyeon-ryeong back then was hungry and lonely, but she was free.
Let's kill them.
A strange voice whispered.
Let's kill everyone who stops me.
She was angry. It was unfair. She was resentful.
Why me.
Why me of all people.
Why in this place.
Let's kill them. Men, women, old people, children. Let's kill everyone who makes me cry and go back.
"...I want to go back."
Jin Hyeon-ryeong muttered unknowingly.
She was angry at everything. Those who tried to poison her, those who ambushed her at night to cut her throat, those who secretly sneaked in to drive a wedge between the court ladies. She wished they would all disappear.
Flash! The world went black. Nothing could be seen. In front of the girl, only a single sword was stuck in the ground.
Here, grab it. Grab it quickly. Let's grab it and kill everyone! Let's dance with swords! Let's stick a dagger into those who betrayed you!
Tears turn into laughter.
Jin Hyeon-ryeong reached out her hand as if possessed.
Shortly after, Clap!
She grasped it.
A familiar warmth was felt.
"Ugh, it hurts like hell."
A rough tone was also heard.
Jin Hyeon-ryeong's gaze turned upward.
'...Light.'
It was dazzling. Probably similar to back then. A light resembling sunlight.
"How long are you going to keep crying so miserably? I'm really going to die at this rate."
Crackle!
A crack appeared in the black curtain.
Mumyeong's blue Qi was shattering the Crying Ghost's domain.
However, Jin Hyeon-ryeong shook off the hand she held.
"...Let go of this! I will go back!"
Jin Hyeon-ryeong wanted to go back. To the time when she knew nothing. Only then did it seem she could become happy.
Crackle!
However, the blue Qi continued to flow out. The curtain split even wider.
"Lady Hyeon-bi, honestly, whether you go back or not is none of my business."
He spoke.
"Isn't it originally the happiest way for a person to live however the hell they want?"
That was true. That's why she intended to go back. To those days when she lived as she wanted.
"But, was everything truly unhappy?"
"..."
"I guarantee you this one thing: there is no person who is only unhappy for their entire life."
Crackle!
"I want to go back too. I want to go back, but I'm not angry every single day."
"Your words are contradictory! You clearly said you wanted to escape the Imperial Palace as soon as possible!"
"Well, that's true, but think about it. Really, was there not even a single moment you were happy?"
She only suffered humiliating betrayal.
Jin Hyeon-ryeong had turned away to avoid being betrayed.
Hating to be hurt, she rejected warmth.
That was why she wanted to go back.
Let's go. There is no need to listen to such sophistry.
The whisper was heard once again.
'Hyeon-bi, disappear from my sight right now. So live in the Hyeonmu Palace as if you are dead, live just like a corpse. That is my last mercy.'
She wanted to repay the grace.
To do so, she tried to die.
Because she considered everything given to Jin Hyeon-ryeong a debt in the end, and the only way to repay that debt was to offer herself.
However, for some reason, she survived.
Deep inside Jin Hyeon-ryeong's heart, trivial memories surfaced.
'Your Highness, have you awakened?'
A morning with birds chirping.
The face of the Head Maid who always woke her up at the same time, with the same voice.
'You must only open the window a little. The wind is cold.'
The maid's casual words.
But the moment when that became the end of the day.
'...I am Jong-cheon, who has been assigned to guard Your Highness as of today.'
An honest face and blunt way of speaking.
The shadow that stood in front of the door every night and never left his post once.
'Your Highness, the plum blossoms have bloomed today.'
Petals fluttering over the wall.
The moment she stopped her steps under them for a while.
Scenes that seemed to have no meaning flashed by.
"Your Highness, grab it."
Mumyeong's hand entered her vision.
It was soaked in blood and rough, but that hand was still directed towards her.
Let's go. You must not grab that hand. The moment you hold hands, you will cry again.
The whisper dug in.
But this time, a smaller voice rang out first.
'Your Highness, have you awakened?'
'The night air is cold.'
'I will stay by your side.'
'The plum blossoms have bloomed.'
Jin Hyeon-ryeong reached out very slowly.
Carefully.
But clearly.
She grabbed Mumyeong's hand.
Shatter!
With a sharp sound, the curtain broke.
Jin Hyeon-ryeong finally opened her eyes.
Pale green vitality returned to her blurry pupils.
In her gaze, Mumyeong holding her hand was reflected.
"Phew—seriously."
Blood was flowing from the corner of Mumyeong's mouth.
"M—Mumyeong, you!"
"Don't squeeze my hand. I'm confident I could lose even to Your Highness right now."
Mumyeong cracked his neck—Crack!—and gripped his sword hilt properly.
"Hey, you son of a bitch."
Then he walked towards the Crying Ghost that had been separated from Hyeon-bi.
Aaah. Aaaaaah...!
The Crying Ghost was in despair, clutching its head.
At such a creature, Mumyeong pointed his sword and grinned.
"I missed you like fucking crazy."