Chapter 7: Shadows and Signals

But on that path, bandits appeared instead. This could be misinterpreted as intentionally luring the Marquis into danger, and even raise suspicion that he had brought the bandits to harm the Marquis of Jangsan.

When he came to his senses, sure enough, Chief Pharmacist Seo was staring at him with sharp eyes.

This is terrible! Joo Pyeong-gi panicked and started making excuses as they came to mind.

“I-I don’t know how this happened. I was worried the Marquis might encounter a tiger, but I never expected bandits…”

“You’re right about that, Magistrate Joo.”

“…Pardon?”

“There was a tiger.”

Aaaaagh!

Joo Pyeong-gi’s face turned as white as possible from screaming internally. Soaked in sweat, his trembling limbs barely kept him upright, making him look more like a wet blanket hung on a line than a person. He quickly prostrated himself on the ground.

“I apologize!”

The son of the Grand Tutor and a beloved nephew of the Empress, who had personally sent Chief Pharmacist Seo along the long journey, had encountered bandits and been confronted by a tiger—on his way to his post, on the road he himself had suggested. He had no idea what sins he committed in his past life. Oh, ancestors!

He became worried that the Marquis might not be coming out of the carriage because he was injured and unable to move. What if he was seriously hurt?

What if he was very badly hurt? What if he never recovered?

What if the Marquis died in Anwon?

Just imagining it sent a chill down his spine. That would be a crime punishable by dismemberment.

“B-But the tigers of Yulsi Mountain are said to be spiritual animals that don’t attack people. How could this happen…”

“Are you saying this old man is lying, Magistrate?”

“N-No, that’s not it. I apologize. I’ll organize a tiger hunting party tomorrow…”

“No need for that.”

A low voice from the carriage cut off Joo Pyeong-gi’s rambling. Even in the middle of his flustered speech, he recognized the voice and shut his mouth. Chief Pharmacist Seo looked at the carriage with a surprised expression.

The curtain of the window, whose outer screen had fallen off, was slightly lifted.

The voice was hard to describe. It didn’t sound very old—probably a young man around twenty. But his tone was strangely weary for his apparent age.

Whether it was true that he was sick or not, each word came with a faint breath.

“Why would you say that?”

Chief Pharmacist Seo said reproachfully. Without answering him, the guest inside the carriage continued speaking to Joo Pyeong-gi.

“I’m only here to recuperate. I won’t interfere with your affairs, so don’t mind me.”

“Then perhaps in a few days…”

“Did you not hear me, Magistrate Joo?”

Unlike the gentle tone of his first words, his voice now carried a cold, dignified authority that discouraged further talk.

“N-No.”

Joo Pyeong-gi quickly shut his mouth and swallowed dryly.

The cloth covering the window dropped again. After a brief silence, Chief Pharmacist Seo spoke with a slightly awkward air.

“Then I’ll go in now. Magistrate Joo, I’ll see you separately later.”

The octagonal carriage soon moved away and disappeared into the distance. The luggage carts and escorting servants followed. Those left behind just stared at the departing carriage, speechless.

The Marquis’s party decided to stay at the military camp outside the town.

That place had been set up as a garrison when evil spirits ran rampant in Bukryeong before. After the government office moved to Anwon, it was left empty, but since it had been used by high officials, the buildings were reasonably well-equipped. In fact, it was too large for fewer than twenty people.

The main hall of the camp was named Yeonhwadang. Behind it, there was a fairly large square pond. Looking down from the veranda through the open window, lotus leaves covered the surface in vivid green. By morning, the hidden lotus flowers would bloom, living up to the name Yeonhwa.

“Your Highness.”

The Crown Prince turned around. Across the main hall, Chief Pharmacist Seo stood with an acupuncturist.

The Royal Pharmacy had sent not only the Chief Pharmacist but also an acupuncturist and two medicine boys. As soon as they arrived, the medicine boys started a fire and decocted medicine, filling the air with a thick herbal smell. That was also why they didn’t stay in the town.

If they released such a strong medicinal scent every day, everyone inside the small town would smell it. In fact, by tomorrow morning, rumors would spread, and within days, the news would reach all of Bukryeong.

Chief Pharmacist Seo said, “The journey was long, so your energy and blood are disturbed. Please receive acupuncture first.”

Prompted by his glance, the acupuncturist came up with his needle case, bowed before the Crown Prince, and quickly inserted needles into his arms and palms. Chief Pharmacist Seo followed and knelt beside him, watching.

After the acupuncturist finished and prostrated himself again, he was dismissed. Then Chief Pharmacist Seo spoke.

“Why did you act like that earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“Weren’t you trying to catch that tiger? If the magistrate sent a hunting party, Your Highness wouldn’t need to do anything…”

The Crown Prince didn’t answer. Glancing at him, Chief Pharmacist Seo continued.

“Shouldn’t we also look into what happened with the bandits? If a tiger is holding the mountain, it’s likely that bandits don’t usually roam Yulsi Mountain. When I asked earlier, the magistrate seemed unaware. But it’s certainly strange that so many appeared right there, as if waiting.”

The Crown Prince, who had been listening as if it were someone else’s business, suddenly asked.

“What about him?”

“Him?”

“The man who was with the tiger.”

“Ah, that man.”

Since the Crown Prince never came out of the carriage, he didn’t see whether the man had truly escorted them as he promised. But it was true that they encountered no further trouble until arriving at the town.

“That’s really strange. He clearly followed us until we came down the mountain. But near the red gate, he vanished without a trace.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. The area near there is flat, so it would be hard to hide.”

The red gate was a vermilion structure for warding off evil spirits, erected at each entrance of the fortress and in front of government offices and academies. As the party descended the mountain, whenever they turned their heads, they saw the white tiger and the man in the distance. But when they approached the red gate, a few paces from the south gate, they suddenly disappeared. It was truly baffling.

Just then, a medicine boy brought the decocted medicine. Chief Pharmacist Seo took it and offered it. The Crown Prince drank slowly. When the time was up, Chief Pharmacist Seo removed the needles. Unlike when they were inserted, the tips of the silver needles were black. He gathered them into the case and spoke again.

“What do you think, Your Highness? Do you believe that man is a god?”

Freeing his arm, the Crown Prince propped his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand.

“I don’t know.”

His wide sleeve fell back, revealing a wrist so pale it looked white. Blue veins showed on the inside of his wrist. His hands, which had never held a sword, were as delicate as a craftwork. At the same time, they gave off an impression of fragility, as if about to shatter.

“But I hope so.”

The Crown Prince’s voice carried both weariness and longing.

“If there is a god, then my wish might come true.”

There were several fast-travel points set in the game, allowing easy travel from one point to another. Any location that had been visited at least once could be set as a point.

In dreams, he could move in a similar way. Most rules in dreams were the same as in the game. It seemed that his unconscious had set it that way, but even parts that didn’t need to follow the game rules did so thoroughly. Sometimes he wondered if he was really this meticulous.

In other words, as long as he had been to a place in a dream, Yun-jo could instantly move there, no matter how far from his current location.

Since Yun-jo always returned to his main camp in Yulsi Mountain to end his dreams, this skill was very useful for traveling far and returning quickly. Especially when he got tired of wandering deep mountains and wanted to go back to camp. Beom-il would come back on his own, so there were no worries.

Anyway, moving between coordinates was an advantage available to any game user. But to someone unaware, it looked like superpowers, so he needed the common sense not to use it in public.

This was the first time he used it in a place with many eyes, like earlier. Though he had sent the carriage ahead and taken advantage of a moment no one was watching, those present must have noticed that he vanished in an instant.

It couldn’t be helped. Usually, he would feel the dream ending one or two hours before waking and leave naturally, but sometimes he felt like waking suddenly. Then he would be pulled out, like today.

When he opened his eyes, the clock in the recovery room already showed nearly ten in the morning. The nurse told him he had been asleep for about an hour and a half after surgery, and they had to wake him because he wouldn’t get up.

Back in his hospital room, Jeong Yun-jo first took out his phone. Not the one running the game, but the other one in his bag.

The old phone with the beta version was used solely for the game now, while he had a separate phone for daily use. His fingers, still under the effects of anesthesia, had trouble gripping, so he clenched and unclenched his hand several times before turning on the phone.

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