Chapter 23: Petals in the Wind

“When are you going back to Wonkyung?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“But not right now, right?”

“I said you don’t need to know.”

Yun-jo sighed, grumbling to himself that he knew this would happen.

“Anyway, it’s my choice. I’ll come if I want to.”

Sahyeon stared at him in disbelief. Not only was he openly ignoring him, but he even let out a deep sigh right in front of him.

Then again, there was no way to stop Yun-jo if he wanted to come. The sacred barrier was a bit annoying, but even if he couldn’t enter the main hall, he could still hang from the window like now or loiter in the rear garden.

“I’ve seen your face today, so that’s enough. I’m going now. I haven’t been able to visit the mountain village much lately because I’ve been coming here. Beom-il must be really sulky.”

No response came.

He’s really not easy. Yun-jo clicked his tongue and stood up.

“You…”

“Huh?”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

Yun-jo turned around at the low voice and met Sahyeon’s eyes, which were already fixed on him. Yun-jo shrugged.

“It’s my choice.”

“What?”

“You don’t value your own life enough.”

“What does that have to do with you…”

“Nothing.”

Sahyeon fell silent, as if he hadn’t expected this reaction. Yun-jo continued.

“It’s just that since you don’t treasure it, I figured I should do it for you.”

For a moment, Sahyeon’s eyes widened in surprise.

Without waiting for a reply, Yun-jo dropped down from the window. Below the window, which overlooked the lake, was a slope, so he quickly disappeared from Sahyeon’s view. Even though Yun-jo was the kind of person who vanished without a trace, this sudden exit wasn’t new—yet Sahyeon stared out the window where Yun-jo had been for a long time, as if he had forgotten to turn his head.

Eventually, Sahyeon looked away from the tranquil lake bathed in the midday sun and turned his head. He was about to call someone to close the window.

“Sahyeon!”

His name was called from outside the window.

Before the window could be shut, the curtains billowed into the room, and a sparkling wind blew in from the lake’s surface—along with scattering flowers.

A flurry of petals surged into Sahyeon’s view. Unseen, Yun-jo had climbed onto the branch of the large crape myrtle tree by the window and stomped hard just as a strong gust of wind came. The force shook the fully blossomed crape myrtle flowers, sending petals falling, and the wind carried them inside the window.

The petals landed on Sahyeon’s face, shoulders, the backs of his hands, and his knees, cluttering his bed and desk in an instant.

Yun-jo laughed delightedly.

“I’m really going now!”

Sahyeon stared blankly as the petals rained down on him.

‘Again.’

He thought as he looked at the disheveled room. It was this feeling again.

It wasn’t just his bed and desk that were in disarray. Every time Yun-jo left, a trace remained. Like the surface of a lake after someone jumped in with bare feet, like the spot after the wind passed.

Sometimes, things became inexplicably chaotic. And then something inside Sahyeon wavered again.

‘Pointlessly.’

Truly so.

Ju Pyeong-gi sat in the detached quarters of Hyeongyeong, looking at the steaming celadon teacup. The tea, brewed hot and showing a clear golden color, was so precious that none was left for sale after being presented to the imperial court. The elegant petal-shaped cup was celadon with an inlaid chrysanthemum pattern, and the tall saucer had a finely engraved arabesque design.

Indeed, as the son of Ju Tae-yun—the empress’s nephew who wielded considerable influence in the court—everything from his clothes and belongings to his food were high-class items never seen in a remote mountain village like Anwon.

“You’ve been waiting.”

Seo Sang-yak entered and sat across from him. Ju Pyeong-gi glanced toward the main hall and asked.

“Is the Marquis still unwell?”

“Yes. I’ll deliver your words, so don’t worry and speak your mind, Magistrate.”

Ju Pyeong-gi’s expression turned slightly complicated. He had brought both good news and bad news; the good news was ambiguously good, while the bad news could be very bad.

Seeing him reluctant to speak rashly, Seo Sang-yak didn’t urge him. He waited while drinking tea. After some hesitation, Ju Pyeong-gi lowered his voice and began.

“Have you heard the rumors?”

“What rumors?”

“Well, it’s about Bukryeong…”

He trailed off, swallowed nervously, let out a sigh, and then continued.

“…They say that a monster has appeared in Bukryeong again.”

“Is that so?”

Seo Sang-yak didn’t seem particularly surprised, as if he had known it would happen. His lukewarm reaction made the magistrate anxious; he lifted his bottom off the seat and spoke again.

“A monster, I said, a monster!”

“Bukryeong has always had many monsters from long ago. Even after all the monsters disappeared in Baekyang, many remained in these mountains for a while.”

“That’s true, but…”

Bukryeong was a place with deep mountains, suitable for evil things to dwell. Even when monsters disappeared all at once from Baekyang, they remained in the deep mountains of Bukryeong. At one point, while the number of monsters decreased in other regions, it actually increased here, because monsters that found it hard to survive fled from Manra and gathered in the deep mountains where they could hide more easily.

“But now, even in Bukryeong, they all disappeared, and I thought the last sighting was a few years ago. How can this happen now? What is the basis for these rumors?”

“It’s because of the recent Sajik rite. Didn’t the North Gate collapse suddenly that day? The audacious reason is that a monster appeared at the Sajik rite.”

“…”

“It’s true, though. A perfectly intact gate—and the sacred gate that the god uses at that—collapsing during the ritual, isn’t that proof that the god was angered?”

The people of Bukryeong had suffered from monsters for the longest time, so they detested them. They were the ones who knew them best and also feared them the most. So, any minor misfortune would make them tremble with unease and attribute it to monsters.

Ju Pyeong-gi was no different. He also couldn’t shake off a foreboding feeling when he saw the North Gate collapse before his eyes. And with bad rumors starting to spread, he felt anxious that a monster might appear in the middle of the county seat today, making it hard to sleep peacefully lately.

“I see. Won’t it die down in a few days?”

“I thought so too, but the rumors just won’t calm down. There were quite a few witnesses at the scene. As a result, public sentiment is very disturbed these days. I don’t know how many people have come to my office to see me.”

“What’s the worry? If it appears, just catch it.”

“That’s right, just catch it if it appears… Huh?!”

Ju Pyeong-gi, who had unconsciously agreed because the officer’s tone was so calm, was surprised and asked back.

“What did you say?”

“If a monster appears, catch it. That’s all.”

“Sir, I think you might not understand because you’re from Wonkyung…”

Monsters are not beings that can be easily caught and eliminated.

A monster doesn’t die from one or two gwishal strikes. No matter how much red lacquer is applied to the gwishal spear or how many exorcism lines are carved, it’s the same. A gwishal can wound its body and scatter its soul, rendering it immobile for a while, but it doesn’t die.

A single monster would eat at least one or two people, and a strong one could devour an entire village overnight. On the other hand, killing a single monster required at least dozens of Guisaldae soldiers and hundreds or thousands of gwishal strikes.

Even if somehow driven away, a monster would always return to a village it had visited once. Their numbers also multiplied easily, with one becoming two and two becoming four in a few days. Once even one appeared, the only recourse was to abandon the village and evacuate.

“I know how terrible they are. But this isn’t something to worry about too much. Even if the rumors are true, Bukryeong still has Manra.”

Seo Sang-yak said.

The guardian god of Bukryeong, Manra.

The only god capable of eliminating monsters.

After the monsters disappeared from the world, Manra also vanished, but there were rumors that Manra still occasionally appeared in the deep valleys of Bukryeong. In the past few years, it had just been a rumor, but recently, he even appeared at Mount Yulsi.

The incident of the mysterious figure appearing alongside a white tiger, along with the Sajik rite incident, had spread widely through rumors, and now everyone not only in the county seat but throughout Gangpyeong Province knew about it.

“Will Manra protect us from the monsters this time too?”

“Isn’t that why he revealed himself?”

The officer took another sip of hot tea and said.

“Since the rumors have already spread, spread them even more. If there’s a refuge to believe in, it’ll calm down. Also, pick a day and hold a ritual for Manra. Even if that person isn’t Manra, at least make people believe so.”

“Yes, yes! I will do that.”

Although the officer left room for doubt, Ju Pyeong-gi naturally believed that the person on people’s lips was indeed Manra. What else could such a mysterious being be but a god? Slightly relieved, he decided to convey the next piece of news.

“There is one more thing to tell you. The bandits who attacked the Marquis’s carriage were captured three days ago, and they confessed. They said they were hired by someone.”

Ju Pyeong-gi had also found it suspicious that the bandits appeared at such an opportune moment that day. After dispatching county soldiers to track them, they caught some of the scattered bandits and interrogated them.

Thus, it became clear that the attack was not a coincidence and that someone had been targeting the Marquis’s life. For Ju Pyeong-gi, who had narrowly avoided being charged with threatening the Marquis’s safety, this could be considered good news.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

The Villain Everyone Once Hated Now Has Everyone’s Heart

BLComedySupernatural

Read Now →
Not interested