Chapter 17: The Slums’ Prophecy

This district, tucked away on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital beyond even His Majesty’s reach, was the infamous slums.

Even in broad daylight, outsiders rarely dared to enter.

Those who set foot here generally fell into one of two groups.

Either they wandered in by accident after losing their way…

Or, like me, they came by prior arrangement.

Because the demon had clung to me at every opportunity, I had been unable to appear on the day we had originally agreed upon.

Now, following the newly designated meeting place, I walked deeper into the slums.

Then a harsh, grating voice—like iron scraping against a hook—called out.

“Hey, you woman.”

For a moment, I assumed the speaker couldn’t possibly be addressing me.

After all…

I was the only person standing in that alley.

Turning toward the voice, I finally noticed the figure hidden in the shadows.

An old woman.

Her eyes were clouded entirely white.

Her deeply wrinkled skin sagged so heavily that it was impossible to guess her age.

She crouched beneath a crumbling wall, staring up at me.

She wore rags patched together so many times that their original fabric was impossible to recognize.

Her white hair, once tied into a bun, had long since come loose into a tangled mess.

She did not appear to be in her right mind.

“Yes.”

“You.”

“You woman.”

Though her pupils were hidden beneath milky cataracts, they pointed directly toward me.

Apparently she wasn’t completely blind.

After mistaking a perfectly healthy man for a woman, the first thing she did was hurl an insult.

“Unlucky b*tch.”

“…Excuse me?”

“You cursed little b*tch.”

“You stirred up the fire.”

“You angered the God of Fire.”

“You should’ve just humored him.”

“But your sharp little temper made you challenge someone you never should’ve.”

Most of her teeth were missing.

Every word escaped with an airy whistle, making half her speech unintelligible.

Still…

I understood enough to know she was talking complete nonsense.

“You stubborn little b*tch.”

“Because of you, the God of Fire abandoned his chance to ascend and remained in this filthy human world.”

“That’s your karma.”

“Your path ahead is doomed.”

“Completely doomed.”

At least make your nonsense understandable.

Her ramblings were so absurd and incoherent that it was impossible to respond.

Was she truly insane?

Or was this some trick…

Scare travelers with ominous curses before demanding money for an exorcism?

I lifted the brim of my hat.

Whether those cloudy eyes could actually see or not, I couldn’t tell.

I simply assumed that once she saw my face, she’d realize her mistake and fall silent.

I was wrong.

“What a pretty little girl.”

She grinned.

As though she could see my face perfectly.

Her bark-like skin folded into even deeper wrinkles.

She opened a mouth where every tooth had either fallen out or rotted away.

The smile made her resemble some grotesque spirit.

“You’re ruining your own fate.”

“You foolish girl.”

“There’s an easy road waiting for you.”

“So why insist on taking the hard one?”

“One sweet smile from that pretty face of yours and he’d melt.”

“You stubborn fool.”

“Keep resisting all you like.”

“A woman should find herself a man who’s hopelessly devoted to her.”

“That’s the easiest life she’ll ever have.”

Half nonsense.

Half insults.

Reasoning with her seemed pointless.

Arguing with an old woman was beneath me.

I turned to leave.

Then…

“You think you can run away?”

“Haven’t you already tried?”

“Haven’t you already died?”

A chill shot straight down my spine.

Her words dragged a memory from the depths of my mind.

The dream.

The dream that foretold the rebellion.

At its end…

I died.

Driving the hairpin into my own throat hadn’t truly been an act of courage.

It had been escape.

Escape from witnessing His Majesty’s death.

Escape from my own guilt.

Escape from that unbearable future.

“Well?”

The old woman cackled.

“Were you able to run?”

Her laughter sounded thick with phlegm.

A metallic rasp that scraped unpleasantly against my ears.

“It seems the God of Fire spent all those years burning himself away just to catch you.”

“He burned everything.”

“Wiped it all away.”

“He was a fool too.”

“Throwing away paradise because he lost his mind over a woman.”

“And ending up trapped in this filthy cesspit.”

“Tsk.”

Seeing my reaction only delighted her further.

Like a fisherman who had finally hooked his catch.

My stomach twisted.

I couldn’t bear to let her continue spewing those ominous words.

Yet…

She was only a frail old woman.

Had she been a healthy grown man, I would’ve struck him without hesitation.

But this old woman…

One blow might kill her.

Only then did I realize how tightly I had clenched my fist.

Slowly…

I relaxed it.

“…If you head west from the village entrance, you’ll find the public shelter.”

“It’s a bit of a walk.”

“But even someone your age can make it if you take your time.”

What would I gain from fighting someone like her?

She had clearly lost her mind.

Judging by her condition, even her own children must have abandoned her here.

Whether I retaliated or not…

She would likely spend the rest of her days wasting away in these slums.

Losing my temper would accomplish nothing except lower me to her level.

Forcing myself to dismiss her words, I turned and walked away.

Yet…

I had already heard them.

Had they been complete gibberish, I could have ignored them.

Instead…

Just enough of them echoed my own circumstances that an unpleasant sense of foreboding lingered stubbornly in my mind.

“Running away, are you?”

“You think you can run?”

“I told you!”

“You can’t escape!”

“Hehehehe…”

Her shrill laughter clung to my back.

No matter how quickly I walked…

The sound neither faded…

Nor fell behind.

The appointed meeting place was one of the few wooden buildings left standing within the slums.

Every window had been covered with thick cloth, blocking out the sunlight.

Smoke lingered inside until the room resembled a badger’s den.

A candle, melted nearly flat against the table, flickered desperately as it consumed the last of its wick.

With my arms folded, I stared blankly at the teacup before me.

Greasy oil floated lazily across its surface.

Crash!

Noisy footsteps approached.

The door burst open.

Several rough-looking men stood outside.

Only one entered.

Their leader.

The poorly dressed man had a pronounced hunchback.

With both hands clasped respectfully before him, he bowed repeatedly as he sat opposite me.

The gap where his front teeth should have been irritated me for some reason.

“My lord!”

“What an honor!”

“I can’t thank you enough for personally coming all the way here.”

“…”

Despite his pitiful appearance…

He was not someone to underestimate.

He ruled not only this gang…

But the entire slum district.

His reputation for underhanded methods was notorious.

These were men too ruthless and dishonorable to be accepted even by the Beggars’ Sect.

At first glance they looked utterly worthless.

Yet every gang of thieves, robbers, and beggars throughout the Imperial Capital had one or two people like them.

They lurked in the filthiest corners of society.

Hidden like rats.

When something they desired appeared…

They never hesitated to kill.

I knew perfectly well their methods were wrong.

And I also knew…

One day those consequences might return to haunt me.

Had I not dreamed of the coming rebellion…

I never would have associated with people like them.

But after deciding to prevent it…

I had resolved to use any means necessary.

Even if it meant sinking into the same mire they inhabited.

Like crocodiles lying motionless beneath muddy water…

They waited patiently.

The moment their prey appeared…

They struck.

Whether someone died in the process meant nothing to them.

Perhaps because of that…

The information they gathered was astonishing.

There was almost nothing they didn’t know.

I had never revealed my identity.

Yet from the moment I hired them…

They had probably uncovered everything.

My past.

My household.

Perhaps even the exact number of spoons in my kitchen.

The hunchback rummaged through his robes before placing several scrolls upon the table.

“This one’s everything we dug up on the heads of the Five Great Clans.”

“And this…”

He tapped another.

“…concerns His Highness the Fifth Prince.”

I pulled the scroll toward me and opened it.

The handwriting changed constantly.

One section was crammed with crooked, ugly characters.

Another flowed elegantly in refined calligraphy.

The information lacked any sense of order.

Yet buried within the chaos…

The important details remained.

Whoever compiled these scrolls was unknown.

But I doubted there were any baseless rumors among them.

After reading everything by candlelight…

I touched the edge of the scroll to the flame.

The fire caught immediately.

Without hesitation, I tossed the burning parchment into the battered brazier beneath the table.

The paper curled and blackened as thick smoke rose into the room.

The hunchback limped over and pulled aside the heavy cloth covering one of the windows.

Even then…

His mouth never stopped moving.

“I figured digging into the Fifth Prince would be the hardest.”

“But would you believe it?”

“Turns out he’s the Imperial Family’s unwanted child.”

“He doesn’t even know how his own mother died.”

“Spends his days grabbing random people just to chatter because he’s bored out of his mind.”

The man chuckled.

“Never seen anyone so hopelessly naïve.”

He continued babbling about every trivial thing he had learned during his investigation.

“As for the head of the Hwangbo Clan…”

“That old fellow’s living the dream.”

“Surrounded by courtesans every single day.”

“Strong family.”

“More money than he could ever spend.”

“The Beggars’ Sect says the luckiest creature in the Empire isn’t even the Emperor.”

“It’s the Hwangbo family’s pet dog.”

“They say if you manage to steal food from that dog’s bowl…”

“…you’ve got yourself a feast for the day.”

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