Does Lord Son Believe in Ghosts?
“They fear ghosts, so they must have dealt with it long ago.”
Seated, he opened the white notebook.
His eyes fell on the clumsy handwriting mixed with elegant script.
The clumsy writing was his own; the elegant script belonged to the heart demon.
Even in writing, the gap between them felt as vast as the difference in their martial arts.
“Tch.”
Grumbling, Dan Yeop slowly turned the pages.
He had recorded every memorable event since leaving Gosan Manor.
His own entries were somewhat overbearing and stiff, while the heart demon’s were gentle and considerate toward others.
He now knew the heart demon was no longer a threat to him.
On the contrary, it was helpful.
Without it, he would never have returned alive from the Baekwol Kingdom.
Perhaps because of that, he had begun to rely on it.
Relying on the heart demon?
Anyone who heard that would think he had gone mad.
Dan Yeop closed the notebook after finishing the last page.
He had recorded everything important so far, but left out two things.
One was his mother, who often appeared in his nightmares. The other was his feelings toward Baek Yu-hwa.
Even if he had to share his entire life with the heart demon, he intended to keep those two things entirely his own.
Though the memory was terrifying, his mother belonged to the past, and Baek Yu-hwa belonged to the present.
The past and the present.
Now, the only thing that made him different from the heart demon was that.
If he shared even that with the heart demon, he would no longer need to exist. That could never happen.
The heart demon was smarter and stronger than him.
Even his adoptive father, Dan Bul-wi, seemed to prefer the heart demon over him.
One day, everyone might want the heart demon instead.
“That must never happen.”
As dusk settled, his stomach growled.
‘What about dinner?’
In this old man’s house, one cooked in the kitchen themselves.
“Come to think of it, I never asked Elder Jang about that.”
Just as he wondered whether he should go find Elder Jang now, a voice called from outside the door.
“Young Master.”
It was Elder Jang.
Dan Yeop sprang up and opened the door.
“Elder Jang, I was just about to ask you something. About dinner—”
“The master has invited you to join him for the evening meal.”
“He’s even providing dinner?”
Elder Jang smiled faintly.
“The master instructed that you be treated not as a temporary guest, but as a resident scholar. Meals will be served in the inner quarters.”
“Thank you.”
It was a welcome offer, yet Dan Yeop felt strangely uneasy.
Free meals?
Clearly, the “temporary guest” excuse was just a cover. The real purpose was to ward off bad luck.
The inner hall of the main house.
The place Elder Jang led him to was not the outer hall, but the inner hall itself.
The inner hall was the family’s private space, which meant he was being treated as a true resident scholar.
Dan Yeop bowed respectfully to Son Yu-baek.
“Lord Son, thank you for inviting me to dine with you.”
“Come in. From now on we’ll eat together, so there’s no need to think of it as an invitation.”
“I’m grateful, of course, but I’m not sure if it’s appropriate.”
“It’s perfectly fine. Ten years ago this house had several resident scholars. They left one by one following the changing times, and now there are none left.”
Dan Yeop studied Son Yu-baek’s expression.
The mention of “changing times” suggested betrayal.
When Dan Yeop did not reply, the elderly lady smiled, assuming he was hesitating.
“Young Master, don’t overthink it. My husband simply wants to hear news of the world. If you join us at mealtimes and keep him company in conversation, that will be enough.”
“Ah, yes. In that case, I gratefully accept.”
Only then did Dan Yeop look around at Son Yu-baek’s family.
There was the couple, a beautiful middle-aged woman, and a young man and young lady roughly his own age.
The middle-aged beauty who had been watching him smiled and asked,
“How old are you, Young Master Dan?”
“I’m eighteen this year.”
“Then you’re the same age as our Ji-heon. One year older than Yeon-hwa. Please treat them like friends or younger siblings.”
The young man beside her, Son Ji-heon, clasped his hands first.
“I am Son Ji-heon. And this is Yeon-hwa.”
At her brother’s introduction, Son Yeon-hwa offered a slight bow.
If Son Ji-heon looked like a handsome young noble, Son Yeon-hwa was elegant like her mother.
Dan Yeop lightly clasped his hands toward the siblings.
“I am Dan Yeop.”
With introductions finished, the meal began in earnest.
Having eaten only flatbread and vegetable soup morning and night, Dan Yeop ate the dishes with great enthusiasm.
As expected of a grand household, the head cook’s skill rivaled that of any restaurant.
Near the end of the meal, Son Ji-heon asked,
“I’m currently studying at the National Academy, but my goal is to become a military officer. What do you do, Brother Dan?”
“I was learning the trade at a fabric shop, but I quit yesterday. I’m looking for new work now.”
“Ah…”
Son Ji-heon did not ask further, as if he understood.
His expression suggested he was not particularly impressed.
The beautiful woman smiled and interjected.
“Whether it’s study or commerce, what matters is doing it diligently. Isn’t that right, Father?”
At her question, Son Yu-baek replied in a calm tone.
“Of course. Scholars are fine, military officers are fine, but it is merchants who enrich the world. Dismissing commerce as inferior under the four occupations is foolish.”
Son Ji-heon twitched his lips but did not dare contradict his grandfather.
After finishing the meal, Dan Yeop returned to the annex.
The annex.
Seated at the desk, Dan Yeop opened the white notebook and recorded everything that had happened.
He wrote down even the smallest details so the heart demon would not make mistakes.
It was also for his own sake.
If the heart demon made a verbal slip, he would be the one to clean it up.
He stood and walked once around the room.
If he minimized movement, he might still manage some training.
‘If I take it slow, it should work.’
On impulse, Dan Yeop drew his saber.
Then he began practicing the True Heaven and Earth Saber Style with restrained movements.
Because he paid more attention to his movements than before, it actually felt like training.
‘Better than doing nothing at all.’
Of course, summoning the heart demon would make it far more proficient.
But he did not want to skip training just because of that.
Just as he finished the True Heaven and Earth Saber Style and was about to move on to the True Hundred Flow Saber Style—
Swish—
A sound came from outside the window, as if something had brushed past.
Startled, Dan Yeop flung the window open.
But there was nothing there.
“Was it just the wind…?”
He closed the window and returned to his seat.
Yet the fright had killed his desire to train.
Standing with his ears pricked, he heard a strange sound from outside.
Hoooooo—
It sounded like wind, or perhaps a beast crying.
Startled, Dan Yeop burst out the door.
Again, there was nothing.
‘What is this? Is it really a ghost?’
Fear gripped him, but he forced himself to act calm and returned to his room.
Once the door was closed, his heart pounded.
Deciding this was not something to ignore, he opened the notebook again.
[……I heard what sounded like footsteps brushing past and opened the window, but there was nothing. I ran out at the sound of crying, but it was the same. Could a ghost that failed the civil service exam in the past really be wandering the annex?]
He stopped writing there and lay down on the bed.
He intended to leave the rest to the heart demon.
‘I shouldn’t keep relying on it like this…’
Despite the self-reproach, he drew a long breath.
Focusing his consciousness on his dantian, a shining thread surged up through the Chong meridian.
Flash—!
The moment a burst of light exploded before his eyes, the eternal genius Dan Yeop opened his eyes wide.
Dan Yeop stretched with a tired groan and rose.
“Aaaah! Why does my body feel so heavy?”
Spotting the oil lamp belatedly, he muttered with an irritated face.
“Call me out while the sun’s still up. I’ve told you that how many times now?”
The dunce Dan Yeop could sleep and wake whenever he pleased, but he was different.
If he fell asleep feeling tired, he would wake up as the dunce.
That was why he had asked the dunce to summon him while it was still light.
It had seemed like he was listening, but here he was doing this again.
“Dan Yeop, it’s time you accepted that you and I share the same fate. Is your head still not working right? Ah, this stubborn fool.”
Grumbling, he sat at the desk and opened the notebook.
“Let’s see. We left the old man’s house and came to Lord Son Yu-baek’s residence? So this is the annex.”
Looking around the annex, Dan Yeop continued reading the notebook.
After finishing, he clicked his tongue.
“Tsk tsk! I wondered why he suddenly started doing something he never does. So our little Dan Yeop got scared by a ghost? Goodness, at his age, still afraid of ghosts.”
Dan Yeop closed the notebook and stood up.
He began slowly examining the interior of the annex.
He checked the floor and walls, the table, the bookshelf, and even the chairs.
Then he leaped lightly onto the main beam.
The middle of the dusty beam was clean, as if something had rubbed against it.
“So they strung a rope here.”
Dan Yeop took out a fire striker from his robe and lit it.
Fwoosh—!
For a moment, the area around the beam brightened.
“As expected! Fire strikers really are worth the money.”
A fire striker was a portable ignition tool that cost a full fifty coins.
Since it had to be discarded after about a month of use, it was a luxury only the wealthy could afford.
Annoyed by the hassle of striking flint, he had bought one the moment he received his allowance from Dan Bul-wi and had been frugal with it ever since.
The fire striker’s light revealed the beam’s condition more clearly.
He examined it with hawk-like eyes.
“Tsk tsk! I knew this would happen when he started talking about ghosts.”
He extinguished the fire striker and jumped lightly back down.
Hoooooo—!
The ghostly wailing sound recorded in the notebook echoed softly.
“Yes, yes, I’m coming.”
Dan Yeop opened the door calmly and stepped outside.
The sound vanished as if it had been a lie.
Dan Yeop stood in front of the annex, gazing at the moon.
Looking at the crescent moon like a fingernail, he felt strangely melancholic.
He had been standing there for a while and was about to go back inside because of the cold when—
Along with a strong gust of wind, the same ghostly wail echoed from afar.
Hoooooo—!
Dan Yeop’s figure shot toward the source of the sound.
When the wind died down, the wailing stopped as well.
Looking up at the eaves behind the annex, Dan Yeop muttered,
“Hmm. So that’s how it is.”
A moment later, he returned to the entrance of the annex.
The next morning.
The inner hall.
Dan Yeop ate breakfast with Son Yu-baek’s family.
Son Yu-baek casually asked Dan Yeop,
“So, did you sleep well last night?”
“Yes, thanks to your concern, I rested well.”
Dan Yeop said he had rested.
Because if he slept, his personality would change, so he had simply endured.
“Nothing strange happened during the night?”
“Not really.”
“Hmm! Elder Jang said he saw you running out of the annex last night. Are you saying that didn’t happen?”
Dan Yeop looked straight at Son Yu-baek and said,
“Does Lord Son believe in ghosts?”
“When Fan Chi asked about wisdom, the Master said this: to devote oneself to making the people righteous, and to revere ghosts while keeping them at a distance—that is wisdom.”
Though he spoke rather indirectly, it meant “neither believe nor deny.”
Dan Yeop nodded and replied,
“That’s why he never mentioned strange powers or rebellious spirits.”
“And what about you?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. Whether they exist or not.”
Watching the exchange between his grandfather and Dan Yeop, Son Ji-heon cut in.
“Then why did someone like that suddenly run out of the annex in the middle of the night? Do you have sleepwalking issues?”