Eun Jin-ho, Gone Missing (3)
I recalled my past life.
Back then, strange phenomena had appeared in the Yun-nam forests—namely, the No-Exit Fog Mountain.
It was a mountain shrouded in thick fog with no way out.
Once you entered, you never came back. People simply vanished.
I'd considered various possibilities for why Jin-ho hyung had gone missing, and the No-Exit Fog Mountain was one of them.
But I'd deliberately ruled it out.
The No-Exit Fog Mountain wouldn't become known until three years from now.
But my thinking had been wrong.
It had existed even at this time.
The No-Exit Fog Mountain gave rise to one taboo in Yun-nam: never step into the fog, and if it rolls in, stay put and don't move.
It might not be ordinary fog but the No-Exit Fog Mountain itself, and wandering around to escape was far more dangerous than waiting for it to lift.
Once the missing exceeded a thousand, the imperial palace finally took action.
They assembled a massive investigation team and headed to Yun-nam. Midway through the probe, the No-Exit Fog Mountain vanished.
I had been twenty-five at the time.
The palace and the investigation leader earned great praise for it.
After the No-Exit Fog Mountain disappeared, corpses were found in its place—people who seemed to have wandered the fog until they died.
Among the many bodies were some that appeared to have killed each other with weapons.
That meant there was nothing inside threatening Jin-ho hyung and his group.
As long as people were cautious of each other.
If Jin-ho hyung had truly entered the No-Exit Fog Mountain and vanished, it was actually fortunate.
Because I knew how to get out.
Out of that No-Exit Fog Mountain, one person had emerged alive.
When asked how he'd escaped, he answered:
"The thread from the sack I was carrying got caught on a tree branch and unraveled. I grabbed that thread and followed it out."
For him, that unraveled sack thread snagged on a branch had been a stroke of luck.
In any case, it was too late today, so we decided to begin the search early the next morning.
Thick fog blanketed everything, visibility zero.
In an ordinary forest, you'd hear mountain beasts or birdsong, but here there was nothing—making it all the more eerie.
Crunch, crunch.
The only sound was the group's footsteps.
How long had they walked like that?
Eun Jin-ho spotted a cart ahead and sighed.
"Ah...."
It was the cart his group had abandoned.
A month ago.
As Eun Jin-ho's group traveled the mountain path, thick fog suddenly rolled in.
Fog was common here, so they thought little of it and pressed on.
By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late.
They should have reached the tea fields in just three more days, but endless forest paths stretched on forever.
"Y-Young master."
The wagon master spoke up.
"We've only got about ten days' worth of rations left."
On merchant trips, anything could happen, so they always packed extra food.
They carried personal dried meats too.
Even excluding personal stores, ten days' rations meant the situation was dire.
Eun Jin-ho discussed it with the escort leader and wagon masters, then decided.
Abandon the cart.
They needed to escape the forest fast.
But even after nearly a month of wandering, they hadn't broken free.
The eighth time they encountered a cart, Eun Jin-ho finally squeezed his eyes shut.
Whispers rose from the group behind him.
"Are we gonna die here like this? I don't want to! No way!"
"This guy's at it again."
"Like those guys we saw on the way in, all dried up...."
"Hey! Shut it! Why would we die?"
"The escort agency and merchant group must've sent a search team by now."
"So hold onto hope."
"But...."
Someone continued.
"I hope they don't come."
"What're you talking about?"
"If they come in here and end up like us, I'd die with my eyes open from guilt."
"...."
Eun Jin-ho gave a bitter smile at that.
He felt the same.
Starving to death here was bad enough on his own.
If rescuers ended up lost like them....
If his family was among them....
"What do we do?"
The wagon master asked the escort leader, who laughed hollowly.
"Honestly, I don't know."
The escort leader slumped to the ground.
The horses they'd brought were long since eaten.
Rationing scraps to one meal a day left no strength.
Seeing their leader give up broke the others; they sat too.
Surviving this long was a miracle, proof of the Eunhae Merchant Group's unity.
But they were human, with limits.
Eun Jin-ho looked at them.
Exhausted, starving, pitiful.
Gurgle.
His own stomach growled, drawing an unwitting laugh.
"Hahahahaha."
All eyes turned to him. He said:
"In a situation like this, even all that sword training's useless. Food really is king."
Everyone nodded.
He'd unwittingly drawn their focus.
"I've made up my mind. Once we get out, I'll never waste food again."
Laughter rippled through the group.
Eun Jin-ho told the wagon master:
"Let's rest here today. Build a fire to stay warm."
"Got it."
They bustled into action.
Plenty of wood around.
Even damp from fog, skilled escorts and wagon hands could manage a fire.
Staring into the flames, a sob echoed from somewhere.
Lamenting their fate, no doubt. Eun Jin-ho felt it too.
The fog evoked winter nights.
That must've been why.
He started talking without thinking.
"I heard a story from Grandpa once. A warrior set off on a journey one day. That warrior had...."
The group listened raptly. They realized something.
Listening to stories made hunger fade.
When Eun Jin-ho finished, another spoke.
"Now I'll tell one I know."
Stories chained into the night, helping them endure another day.
After a night at the Ul-lim Inn, I came down to the first floor. Worry over Jin-ho hyung had kept me awake, but I'd forced some sleep.
I needed to be in top shape to search without dragging them down.
Breakfast was dumplings and duck soup.
A bit heavy for morning, but necessary.
Yun-nam wasn't kind to those running on thin gruel.
After eating, Mak-chung the escort leader unrolled a large map on the restaurant floor.
It was an escort agency chart.
"No carts found nearby means they took them inside. We'll search paths wide enough for carts."
He continued.
"Three days from here is the tea fields—no inns, just campsites. No trace of them camping there, so this is our search radius."
I nodded along.
No wonder Cheong-in Escort Agency's chief sent Mak-chung.
He grasped essentials and issued orders.
"We'll split into three teams."
Mak-chung's team, Jeong-chung team leader's, and mine.
My team: Palgap, two escort warriors, Seo-u Warrior, two from Jeong-chung's third squad—seven total.
"As I said yesterday, we might enter fog and vanish, or find starving survivors. Pack extra rations. If fog hits, tie the provided ropes to nearby trees quick."
Safety protocols checked.
"Search starts now. Don't turn rescuers into rescues."
"Yes!"
We set out.
I hadn't told them about my bracelet, the Blood Resonance Bracelet.
"Seeing treasure stirs greed."
Artifacts held immense value; no need to tempt fate.
Palgap didn't know either—just thought it a market trinket.
I glanced at my sleeve.
Red in the merchant house, now bright silver.
The other teams went first; we followed.
"Let's move."
"Yes."
The full search for Jin-ho hyung and his group began.
"Eunhae Merchant Group!"
"...."
"Cheong-in Escort Agency!"
"...."
We shouted, cresting ridges, crossing valleys, combing the woods.
Only echoes answered.
Piiik! Piiik!
Rest horn.
I sat on a rock, sipping from my canteen.
Ah, finally living.
Seo-u Warrior tilted his head.
"Something's off, though."
"What?"
"This area's crawling with bugs usually. None in sight."
"...Is that so?"
"Definitely weird."
I startled inwardly.
Like in Sacheon before—my fault, surely.
Yi-pil Warrior spoke.
"Must be me circulating inner energy while moving."
"Makes sense."
Bugs shun energy.
"You'll tire fast."
"Can't let milord get bitten."
Yi-pil smiled meaningfully at me.
Clear.
He'd noticed from our Sacheon trip—it was me.
Stepped in to cover my awkward spot.
Thanks.
Piiik!
After an hour's break, search resumed.
Half a day in the mountains.
I checked my wrist.
"...!"
Bracelet turned red—Jin-ho hyung within ten zhang.
Hope surged.
I subtly guided by the bracelet, reaching thick fog.
No-Exit Fog Mountain entrance.
"This is it. Signal."
"Yes."
A Silver Wind warrior fired a flare.
Jin-ho hyung's inside.
Doesn't react to the dead—he's alive.
I ordered Palgap to tie the rope to a nearby tree.
He did, uncoiling it.
"Going in like this?"
"Better if I go alone."
"What?"
They balked; persuasion failed.
Yeo Eung-am Warrior and one Silver Wind man stayed for incoming teams; rest entered with me.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
We plunged into the No-Exit Fog Mountain.
Hyung, hang on a bit.
I'm coming.
.
.
.
The fog enclosed us thickly, zero visibility, just as described.
About an hour in, we found them—a group.
Jin-ho hyung and company.
Easier than expected.
"Hyung! Jin-ho hyung!"
Jin-ho hyung, dazed by the campfire, saw me and smirked.
"Now I'm hallucinating."
He stood, approaching.
"At least I see you before dying."
His mutter nearly brought tears.
I yelled bratishly instead.
"Argh! Seriously! What're you saying? Idiot hyung? Can't tell real from fake?"
Then kicked his shin hard.