The Shaman of Henan
When I was young.
It was a few years after I had reincarnated into this world.
It was a time when I was still adjusting to the Central Plains, and I was thoroughly sick of the trouble my so-called father and brother kept causing.
That day was no different.
It was just an ordinary day. The weather wasn't particularly hot or cold for the season; it was just... normal.
The weather was nice.
And just like any other day, a nuisance came looking for me.
"Seriously, I'm busy as hell. Why are you here again?"
I spoke with as much irritation as I could muster.
Normally, she would have spouted all kinds of nonsense, telling me to be grateful she even visited, or complaining about my attitude.
But she was unusually quiet.
Wondering what was wrong, I looked at her, and she spoke.
"Dad isn't home today."
I was slightly taken aback by those words.
The word "Dad" felt unfamiliar.
She had always used formal terms like "Lord Father" or "Father," but today, for the first time, she used a different title.
"...And? So what? It's normal for him to be busy. He's a hundred times better than the man in my house."
A man who was always busy working outside was a hundred—no, a thousand times better than a father who neglected his duties to chase after women.
I said it to reassure her, but the child's face didn't brighten.
"So, what do you want me to do about it?"
"...Dad isn't home today..."
"No, I get that. But what do you want? Are you asking me to go to your house and play with you or something?"
It was half a joke. We were only about ten years old at the time.
I assumed she didn't have any strange intentions, so I just answered in a way that suited our age.
"...Will you?"
"...What?"
At my words, the child's face lit up as if she had found a glimmer of hope.
I grimaced at the sight.
"As if. Why would I play with you in a house where the Family Head isn't even home? Get out, quickly."
Going to my ex-fiancée's house when our engagement was already broken off?
In the first place, she was the weird one for constantly dropping by my house even after the broken engagement.
When I rejected her flatly, disappointment washed over her face.
Seeing that, I felt something was off today.
"What is it? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"
She was acting completely out of character.
Even though I didn't want to ask, I had to. She was being far too strange.
So, I asked.
Drip. Drip.
Suddenly, tears began to fall from her eyes.
She wasn't sobbing, nor was she wailing.
They just fell.
Like a stream that couldn't be stopped despite her best efforts to hold it back.
The tears silently rolled down her cheeks.
"H-hey. Why are you crying?"
Startled, I stepped closer. In that instant, she threw herself into my arms.
Muffling her voice against my damp chest, she whimpered.
"Today... today is my mom's death anniversary. But Dad... Dad isn't here."
I fell silent.
I let out a quiet sigh.
So that was it. She was upset because her father wasn't home on the anniversary of her mother's passing.
I smiled bitterly.
It was information I had no real need to know, so it was strange that I even remembered it.
But seeing this girl, who was always so bratty and acted older than her years, turn back into a helpless child on her mother's death anniversary... it felt strangely painful.
"Stop crying. You're getting my clothes wet, so stop sobbing and get off me."
Unable to stand the dampness on my chest, I gently pushed her back.
As I did, her tear-stained, messy face came into view.
"Wow. You look really ug—"
A fist buried itself into my solar plexus.
"...Urgh...!"
"I am not ugly. Do you really think there's anyone prettier than me?"
Her self-esteem was ridiculously high even in this state.
Her fists were tiny, but even back then, her punches packed a sting.
"...If you know that, then stop crying. The only good thing about you is your face, and if you ruin that, you'll have nothing left."
She stared at me.
I wiped the runny nose on her face with my hand.
"Ah, don't sniffle. We aren't close enough for me to tolerate that—"
Snort.
I stared blankly at my hand.
I shook off the sticky substance on my hand.
Damn it.
I casually wiped my hand on her clothes.
"Eww..."
She grimaced in disgust. How absurd.
"Hey, it's yours. Why are you grossed out?"
"Because it's dirty."
"I said it's yours!"
"It's not mine."
"What are you talking about? Then is it mine?"
"Yes. Mine isn't dirty, so it can't be mine."
"...How shameless."
I couldn't tell if she was confident or just thick-skinned.
But at least crying had brought her back to her usual self.
Watching her, I clicked my tongue and turned around.
"Ah..."
She let out a small sound, thinking I was about to leave her behind.
She seemed to think I was going to walk away.
Without turning back, I spoke aloud.
"Chief Manager! Tell the kitchen to prepare another bowl of rice. We have a guest."
I shouted at the top of my lungs.
From a distance, I heard a faint reply of acknowledgment.
"We're already running low on rice as it is... Tsk."
I grumbled, looking back at her. She was staring at me blankly.
"What are you doing? Follow me."
"Huh...?"
"What do you mean, 'huh'? You said you didn't want to be alone today. But since I don't want to go to your place, you'll have to come to mine."
I held out my hand.
"If you're not coming, you can go back."
"I-I'm coming."
She rushed forward to grab my hand.
I lightly slapped the back of her hand.
Slap!
"Ouch?"
"Grab my sleeve, not my hand."
"...Okay."
Normally, she would have thrown a fit about me striking her precious body, but this time, she grabbed my sleeve without a word.
I dragged her along and entered the house.
That was the starting point.
Every year on her mother's death anniversary, that annoying girl would show up at my house.
And even though I grumbled about kicking her out, I always took her in on that day without a fuss.
Furthermore...
It wasn't my house she was seeking.
I realized much later that she had been looking for me.
And that death anniversary...
By the time I realized that the young girl had kept silent about it being her own birthday, choosing only to speak of her mother's death anniversary...
Several years had already passed.
The same weather and season as back then.
If there was one difference on this day that had repeated for years...
It was that I was spending it in Henan, far away from the house we always used to be in.
"..."
I kept scanning my surroundings. A place where my useless father and brother were absent, and busy strangers crowded the streets.
The only things that remained the same were the season...
"What are you doing?"
And the woman who was always by my side on this day.
"Aren't you coming?"
Moyong Yeong-sun, walking ahead of me, turned back to ask.
"...I'm coming."
I was currently walking through the streets of the town below Cheongwol Gate.
Since the Martial Alliance headquarters wasn't far, this place was one of the largest and most bustling towns in the entire Central Plains.
Perhaps because of that, crowds of people flowed endlessly through the streets.
"What on earth did we come here for?"
I asked as I walked alongside Moyong Yeong-sun.
Normally, disciples weren't allowed to leave Cheongwol Gate without permission.
But the Sowol Squadron was different.
The squadron enjoyed relatively free movement. As long as we left word, we could go out whenever we pleased.
While long-distance travel required formal approval, a brief excursion like this didn't need any of that.
"What do you mean, 'what for'? I came because I have business here."
"Well, I suppose so, but..."
I glanced around before asking her.
"...Where did you leave your guard to come out like this?"
Normally, she should have had a guard attached to her hip.
I had seen Moyong Yeong-sun's guard for nearly ten years, but he was nowhere to be found.
For some reason, Moyong Yeong-sun was walking the streets wearing nothing but a face veil.
"Mu-jeong needs a break too."
"What kind of guard takes a break when the person they're supposed to protect goes out...?"
"What could possibly happen in Henan? Besides, if anything happens, Young Master Bang will protect me."
"Like hell I will. I'm running away the second trouble starts."
Protect her? I'd abandon her and flee the moment things went south.
I scoffed, trying to dispel her strange expectations, but...
"You say that, but I know you'd save me first if something happened."
"...Where does that ridiculous confidence come from?"
"Unfortunately, it's probably not because it's me, but you would save anyone in danger. That's just the kind of person you are."
"You've got the wrong guy. I'm not that noble."
Who did she think I was, a hero?
I was barely surviving day by day myself. How could I save anyone else?
"Hmph. Sure, let's go with that."
"Hey..."
Despite my protests, Moyong Yeong-sun didn't believe me at all.
She simply turned around and kept walking.
"So, where are we going?"
I had reluctantly tagged along because she asked it as a favor.
But where in the town were we headed? I still hadn't heard our destination.
"Hmm..."
Moyong Yeong-sun seemed to ponder for a moment at my question.
"Ah. Right, Young Master Bang."
"Yes?"
"Let me ask you something first. Do you believe in fate?"
"...Huh?"
Fate?
That came out of nowhere.
She kept dragging me along until we finally reached our destination.
Staring at the place, I turned to Moyong Yeong-sun with a dumbfounded expression.
"...You talked about fate and all that, and we came here for this?"
"Doesn't it look fun?"
"..."
At her words, I looked up at the large sign.
Carved into the wooden sign were the words:
Misa Seondang
I stared at the sign, then looked toward the entrance.
What is with this line?
A seemingly endless queue of people stretched down the street. Seeing this, I recalled a conversation Do-hyeong and Cheon Ui-jin had in the past.
Do-hyeong, who surprisingly believed in ghosts and spirits, had once told me about a certain person.
"Once we return to the main sect, you should pay a visit to Misa Seonnyeo."
And Cheon Ui-jin had chimed in.
"Ah, I know of her too. Isn't she the shaman who has been famous in Henan lately?"
A famous shaman in Henan.
They had said her name was Misa Seonnyeo.
...Don't tell me this is the place?
Was the place Moyong Yeong-sun wanted to visit really the shrine of the shaman Misa Seonnyeo?
Crazy.
I never imagined I would end up here.
And for good reason.
She's a total fraud.
Do-hyeong, who had actually met Misa Seonnyeo, told me what she had said to him.
"She told me that because I lack spiritual energy, ghosts won't cling to me. That's why I never suffer from sleep paralysis."
The moment I heard that, I knew the shaman was a fraud.
Lack spiritual energy, my foot.
A Guardian Spirit was constantly hovering around Do-hyeong.
And a mountain-god level Guardian Spirit wasn't exactly common.
Of course, I don't know what that Guardian Spirit is trying to do...
The spirit hadn't saved Do-hyeong even when trouble arose.
Perhaps it didn't view those situations as true crises, or maybe it wasn't a real Guardian Spirit, but...
If she had the Ghost Eye, there was no way she wouldn't notice a Guardian Spirit attached to Do-hyeong.
Yet, the shaman Misa Seonnyeo had failed to see it.
She's definitely a fraud.
I was absolutely certain she was a fake.
So I had resolved never to set foot in this place.
"You want us to go in there...?"
"Yes."
To think I'd be dragged here by Moyong Yeong-sun.
"You practically blackmailed me under the guise of a favor just to come to a place like this?"
"What do you mean 'a place like this'? They say she's incredibly famous."
"You look so cold and rational. Do you actually believe in ghosts and spirits?"
"Why not?"
Moyong Yeong-sun frowned at my words.
"Ghosts exist. You know that."
"..."
I fell silent, my brow furrowing.
"Know what? I don't believe in that stuff."
"..."
Moyong Yeong-sun held my gaze.
I didn't look away, staring right back at her.
After a brief silence...
"...Fine. But it still seems fun, so just accompany me this far."
She clearly had no intention of giving up on this.
I wondered what she was hoping to see, but putting that aside...
"...Through that massive line?"
The queue was simply too long. It looked like it would take at least two to four hours.
It felt completely overwhelming.
"Ah, don't worry about that."
Moyong Yeong-sun immediately addressed my concern.
"I already made a reservation."
"...Huh?"
A reservation?
"...You can make reservations at a shaman's shrine?"
Was that even possible?
"Yes. I had Mu-jeong book it under the name of the Moyong Family."
"...?"
I felt a sudden wave of pity for Uncle Mu-jeong.
He had to run errands to reserve a spot at a shaman's house for his young lady.
No wonder he needed a break...
I had wondered why he wasn't around today, but he definitely deserved the rest.
Furthermore...
...Cutting through that massive line to make a reservation.
It made me realize once again just how powerful the Moyong Family's influence was.
"Now, let's go in."
As I hesitated, Moyong Yeong-sun stepped closer and grabbed my sleeve.
She dragged me inside.
This was the first time in this life that I would meet a shaman.
I didn't think much of it, since she was bound to be a fraud anyway.
At the time, I had no idea.
"B-Begone, you evil spirit!!"
"...Huh?"
I had no clue what bizarre event awaited me in that room.