A Desperate Plea

Several days had already passed since we began our journey to Sichuan.

Having barely managed to escape Anhui, the carriage was now winding its way through a dense forest path.

Thick, overgrown woods lined both sides of the road, the scenery flashing past in a blur.

Despite our breakneck speed and the rough terrain, the interior of the carriage was surprisingly peaceful, making my initial worries seem foolish.

How was this even possible?

Even to someone like me who knew nothing about carriages, this road was an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠absolute disaster.

The credit for this smooth ride belonged entirely to the man currently driving the horses.

Neigh!

"Yah!"

The old man handled the reins with remarkable skill, using his single remaining arm.

Miraculously, the horses moved in perfect harmony with his every touch.

...So he wasn't lying.

The old man—Chu-dong, as he called himself—drove the carriage masterfully, just as he had claimed. Truly masterfully.

Impressive.

It was fascinating. How could someone with only one arm control horses so flawlessly? It was enough to make anyone marvel.

As I watched him in silent admiration, Chu-dong glanced back into the carriage and spoke.

"Are you feeling alright, young masters?"

Neither Do-hyeong nor Cheon Ui-jin, who sat across from me, offered a reply.

Swearing inwardly at their silence, I forced a polite response.

"Yes, I feel wonderful, Elder. You've made the ride so comfortable that it's impossible not to feel well."

"Hahaha. I am glad to hear that, young master."

"Haha, not at all."

I forced a smile as I replied. Damn it, my face was starting to cramp.

I had to keep up this fake smile while talking to him, and since he only ever addressed me, I was forced to carry the entire conversation.

In the beginning, Cheon Ui-jin and Do-hyeong had chimed in occasionally, but now it felt like they had dumped the entire burden of socializing onto me.

...Bastards.

I was already stressed enough as it was, and this only made things harder.

"And... it makes this old man rather uncomfortable when you speak so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠formally to me, young master. Please, feel free to speak casually."

"...No, I couldn't possibly do that. How could I dare?"

Speak casually to the Sword Emperor? What kind of death wish would that be? Absolutely not.

Seriously, what is this old man's angle? What is he after?

It was a complete mystery. Over the past few days, every time I looked at him, I couldn't help but wonder.

Is he really just here to guard or watch over us?

Why would an absolute master of his caliber, the Sword Emperor himself, play the role of a humble carriage driver and bow his head to me? And more importantly...

Why did he suddenly vanish, only to reappear here of all places, doing this?

No matter how I looked at it, the situation was absurd. Yet, even if I wanted to dig deeper, I had no way of doing so.

Honestly, I thought I would get answers quickly since I had someone to ask, but I had overlooked one crucial detail.

The person I could ask was far from normal.

Yoo Chun-gil sat in the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠empty seat beside me, chuckling to himself. I frowned at him.

Stop laughing and explain what's going on.

Yoo Chun-gil had worn that exact expression ever since we boarded the carriage. The corners of his mouth were curled up in amusement, and he kept casting mocking glances my way.

It was incredibly annoying, but what infuriated me even more was his silence.

Why won't you tell me anything?

The moment he saw the Sword Emperor, Yoo Chun-gil had reacted as if he knew something. Yet, no matter how much I pressed him afterward, he just sat there like that.

What did he say at first?

He said he didn't know yet and would look into it.

Could it be that he had already figured everything out and was just withholding the information? Looking at his attitude, I couldn't help but suspect it.

No, surely not.

Unless he had completely lost his mind, he wouldn't do that. He had already forgotten to ask me to investigate his own death, and now he was refusing to explain just for his own amusement?

This is driving me crazy.

I wanted to believe he wouldn't, but with that old man, anything was possible. The only thing he had confirmed was that the driver was indeed the Sword Emperor.

That was it.

That was the grand total of the information Yoo Chun-gil had deigned to share. Which meant...

What that old ghost wants is basically...

Yes, the driver is the Sword Emperor, but you'll just have to walk on eggshells without knowing his motives or reasons.

That was essentially his message.

...Fuck.

I couldn't help but swear.

"The weather is unusually gloomy today," Chu-dong remarked.

"Haha... Yes, it certainly is."

Having to walk on eggshells around the Sword Emperor in this awkward, suffocating atmosphere was pure torture.

You guys, say something. Anything.

I glared at Do-hyeong and Cheon Ui-jin, but it changed nothing. Do-hyeong was naturally taciturn and rarely spoke to begin with. Cheon Ui-jin, on the other hand, looked completely spaced out, staring blankly out the window as if his soul had left his body.

In other words...

I'm the only one who can respond to the Sword Emperor.

Since those two had no idea Chu-dong was the Sword Emperor, I was the only one left to handle him.

Goddammit...

Thanks to that, I had spent the last few days building an incredibly awkward rapport with Chu-dong.

"I think we should cross the mountain pass before setting up camp today... Would that be alright with you, young masters?"

Since I was the only "young master" actually listening, I nodded quickly.

"Yes, Elder. Do whatever is most convenient for you. We are fine with anything."

I answered instantly without a single complaint. Half of it was because I didn't dare oppose him, and the other half was because Chu-dong was genuinely doing a great job, so there was no need to complain.

Actually, scratch that. The former reason was probably about seventy percent of it.

...Besides, with this gloomy weather, we won't be able to travel much further anyway.

No matter how skilled the Sword Emperor—no, Chu-dong—was at driving, things would get difficult if it started raining here. This was the right call.

I watched the rapidly changing scenery outside the window and wondered.

How much further do we have to go?

How far was Sichuan? We probably still had a long way to go.

Which means I have to endure this miserable tension for a long time.

My face scowled.

I already have a mountain of things to worry about...

I was already exhausting my brain every day trying to plan our next moves. I didn't want to waste mental energy on this nonsense.

Sigh...

Letting out a silent sigh, I narrowed my eyes. I looked up at the sky first. It was barely past noon, but the thick shroud of dark clouds made everything look dim and gloomy.

I bit my lip as I stared at it. This was the kind of weather I hated most.

There's too much yin energy.

Dark clouds during the day. The sun blocked by them created even more yin energy than the night. When the natural light that should be there vanished, other things rushed in to fill the void.

Because of that...

Spirits are everywhere.

Things that shouldn't be seen flickered in and out of the passing scenery.

How lovely.

Just looking at them made my skin crawl. To put it dramatically, it was enough to make me feel nauseous.

This was why I preferred to stay indoors whenever it rained or when dark clouds gathered. Unfortunately, today was particularly bad.

Well, at least they won't be able to get close.

Normally, it wouldn't be surprising if some annoying spirit tried to cause trouble, but I had a human talisman with me. I shifted my gaze to Do-hyeong.

...As expected, a Guardian Spirit is the ultimate cheat.

A brilliant light swirled around the expressionless Do-hyeong. As long as that light was there, low-level spirits wouldn't dare come anywhere near us.

So I suppose that was a relief. I could relax at least a little bit.

But what exactly is that thing?

I couldn't help but wonder as I stared at Do-hyeong's Guardian Spirit. As I've mentioned before, that was a mountain-god level Guardian Spirit. What could Do-hyeong have possibly done to attract such a powerful entity?

Does he have some kind of secret too?

Like a hidden past. Or a secret lineage only he knew about. Could it be something like that?

I nodded to myself.

In that case, I should definitely avoid digging into it.

It had all the makings of a massive headache. I would just keep him close as a convenient talisman, and once our business was done, I'd quietly distance myself.

For now, though, I'll keep him by my side.

Keep him close because he's useful, but never pry. That was my golden rule for dealing with Do-hyeong.

By the time the dark clouds thickened and painted the world in shades of gray, we finally managed to clear the mountain pass.

"Young masters, we've cleared the pass. I shall slow the carriage down now."

Rumble!

Chu-dong slowed the carriage as he spoke. This meant we were close to our intended campsite.

If I recalled correctly, he had mentioned a clearing ahead that would be perfect for resting. He also said there was a small village nearby.

But since we were on a top-secret mission, there was no reason to risk staying in a village, so we decided to bypass it.

We continued on at a leisurely pace, but then—

"Ugh..."

A dull headache began to throb behind my temples as the voices echoed in my ears.

Now that we've slowed down, it's getting even worse.

When we were moving fast, it was manageable, but the moment we slowed down, the trouble started. Things that had been faint and blurry were now coming into sharp focus.

It wasn't a serious threat. It just gave me a slight headache, and as always, I could just ignore it.

The frequency had only increased because of the dark clouds; there was no actual danger. Like I said, all I had to do was ignore them.

As long as it's not another case like Yoo Chun-gil, it's easy enough.

Ignoring ghosts was second nature to me. This time would be no different.

Just bear with it for a bit.

Headache or not, I just had to endure. Showing any reaction would only invite unnecessary trouble, so I just needed to hold out a little longer.

I was trying my best to look unfazed when—

A voice grated on my ears, standing out from the rest. It wasn't faint and distorted like the other spirits; it was incredibly clear. Clear enough that one might mistake it for a living person.

Keeping my eyes fixed straight ahead, I scanned the area. It was definitely a spirit, but there was a reason for its clarity.

It's a Living Spirit.

A Living Spirit was the soul of someone who wasn't dead yet, but was on the verge of dying. Technically, it wasn't much different from a ghost, but the key distinction was...

They don't realize they're dying.

They were completely unaware of their impending demise.

This was the Living Spirit of a woman.

Having figured that out, I looked away.

Getting involved will only lead to trouble.

If she had already manifested as a Living Spirit, it was likely too late anyway.

Since she was practically dead already, there was no reason to stop the carriage in this weather.

So I should just ignore it and keep going—

"Stop the carriage."

"Pardon?"

Chu-dong pulled the reins in surprise, bringing the carriage to a halt.

Thud!

"Young Master Bang...!?"

I immediately flung the door open and leaped out of the carriage.