Do ghosts exist? If they do, might I be able to see him? I sometimes had such thoughts.

Back then, if I had asked that ghost to kill Cheon Woo-rin, wouldn't my life have been different?

The darkness outside the window was the same as yesterday.

Nothing had changed. Tomorrow would be the same night.

Even after Dokgo Hyeon had left, Dokgo Hye still looked out the window. She didn't get up even after a long time had passed.

Five years ago.

She had believed her grandfather died from old age and qi deviation.

However, Dokgo Shin-wi had considered poisoning a higher possibility and was conducting an investigation.

While examining the bodies of the Dokseonmunju and the Cult Leader, Dokgo Shin-wi found traces of poison but had to hide it. It was because he had to suspect his own family.

Since using a large amount of poison would be detected, someone had fed her grandfather very small amounts of poison over many years.

It had accumulated, causing his internal organs to rot and leading to qi deviation.

It was a huge shock when she first heard the story.

All the suspicious maids were dead, and the doctor and the host had also died, so there was nothing she could find out.

She had to find out who was behind it, but she couldn't.

And a short while later, Cheon Yu-myeong became the Cult Leader.

All of the Dokgo family's suspicions naturally turned towards Cheon Yu-myeong.

For the past few years, Dokgo Hye had been reporting everything about the Cheon family to the Dokgo family.

And now, that task would also end in ten days.

'I've lived a false life.'

She had to live and act like a person who had lost everything.

"Hoo..."

With a sigh, she let the past flow away.

As the night deepened, maids came in, extinguished the lamps, and helped her lie down in the bedchamber.

The maids quietly left the room after Dokgo Hye closed her eyes.

"Yeong (Shadow). Are you back?"

Dokgo Hye looked for the shadow that protected her in the darkness and delivered information.

"He is sleeping."

Hearing the unfamiliar man's voice, Dokgo Hye's eyes shot open. She quickly reached out and grabbed the sword she had placed by her head.

"It's been a while."

Hearing the unfamiliar man's voice, Dokgo Hye turned her head.

She saw the man sitting in front of the bronze mirror, slowly got up holding her sword, and sat down.

It was a posture from which she could draw her sword at any time.

"Who are you?"

She couldn't see the man's face properly because of the darkness. Dokgo Hye asked, hiding her killing intent as much as possible.

There were no benevolent night visitors.

"Jin Sa-un."

"Jin Sa-un?"

Dokgo Hye's eyes widened, and she got up from her seat, approached Jin Sa-un, and bowed her waist.

It was to see Jin Sa-un's face more closely.

As she got closer and examined his face, a memory from the past flashed through her mind.

"It's him. That person from back then."

Dokgo Hye pushed her long black hair back and sat on the edge of the bed. She was wearing a see-through nightgown, but Jin Sa-wol was not interested.

His indifferent expression was the same as before.

She did not light the room. There was no need to, and there was no need to let the outside know she was awake.

-When you decide who I am, what kind of person I am, let's meet again then.

Dokgo Hye recalled the old memory and asked.

"Seeing as you've come to find me, it seems you've made a choice?"

"Of course."

"Who are you, Young Master Jin?"

"A killing ghost."

At Jin Sa-un's answer, Dokgo Hye closed her mouth for a moment and her eyes widened.

It was a face that had expected something different and special, but she was surprised by the unexpected answer.

Dokgo Hye smiled.

"You lived as a killing ghost, so you'll become a killing ghost?"

"For now, I intend to live as a killing ghost. But when I get what I want, I will become a person, not a killing ghost."

"That's a riddle-like statement."

Dokgo Hye's expression was not one of dislike.

"When I first saw you, Young Master Jin, I thought you were a ghost. And sometimes, I would think of you and regret just letting you go."

"What is the reason?"

"Five years ago, if you had killed Cheon Woo-rin, wouldn't my life have been different? Wouldn't it have been a bit more free and better than now? That kind of vague hope."

"I would have refused."

"I would have persuaded you until you accepted."

Dokgo Hye smiled.

Although it was dark, her smile was beautiful. And it even felt bewitching.

Five years ago, she had felt like a girl, but now it was like seeing a mature adult.

'She's changed.'

Jin Sa-wol felt that Dokgo Hye's form had no soul. A person like a lifeless doll.

"Have you taken your revenge?"

"No. I couldn't."

Dokgo Hye shook her head with an indifferent face, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"For the past few years, I have constantly seduced Cheon Yu-myeong. Whenever I had the chance, I hoped he would pounce on me. Because I wanted him to lie at my feet, gasping for breath, and die."

"You failed?"

"Yes. Cheon Yu-myeong stays away from women. I once suspected he might be impotent. Or perhaps he prefers men."

"Hmph!"

At her words, Jin Sa-wol smiled for the first time. Cheon Yu-myeong, impotent.

"My revenge is for the Cheon family's seed to dry up and completely disappear from the world. Fortunately, there are no direct descendants in the Cheon family."

A faint smile sat on Dokgo Hye's face. Jin Sa-wol asked out of curiosity.

"Did you kill them?"

"No."

Dokgo Hye shook her head with a bitter expression and then changed the subject.

"I bathe every evening. Then Cheon Mun-jung appears and peeks at me. And then there's Cheon Woo-hyeon, who watches that from afar. Isn't the lust of men amusing?"

Dokgo Hye looked at Jin Sa-wol.

Jin Sa-wol felt death in Dokgo Hye's eyes.

"It's not amusing."

"I find it amusing. I'm waiting for when he'll come into my room and pounce on me. And that time will be..."

"The day you kill the one who pounces, and you die too."

At Jin Sa-wol's words, Dokgo Hye nodded. Her long black hair flowed down and covered her chest.

Dokgo Hye turned her body to Jin Sa-wol and said.

"You put Yeong to sleep without anyone knowing and came into my room. This is not something anyone can do. You really are a ghost, Young Master Jin."

"I heard there's a major event in ten days."

In that moment, Dokgo Hye instinctively grabbed her sword.

But Jin Sa-wol did not move. He was confident he could subdue her no matter how she attacked.

Dokgo Hye hesitated and then put down her sword.

For the first time, her eyes were full of bright light. Seeing that gaze, Jin Sa-wol smiled.

"You're good at acting."

"How much do you know?"

"I only overheard the conversation you had with Dokgo Hyeon in the evening. I don't know more than that, so rest assured."

At Jin Sa-wol's answer, Dokgo Hye sighed.

"It's not an act. The event must succeed. So please act as if you didn't hear."

Since he was planning to meet Dokgo Hyeon anyway, it wouldn't be a problem if he knew about the event.

But there was no need to tell Dokgo Hye that fact.

"Alright."

"Please leave now. I want to be alone."

Dokgo Hye, flustered like someone who had been caught, waved her hand, but Jin Sa-wol did not move.

His business was not yet finished.

"What kind of person is the Demonic Cult Leader?"

"I don't know. He's family, but we haven't met often, nor have we had deep conversations."

"Anything strange?"

"It's strange that he stays away from women and wine. Usually, an absolute ruler keeps women and wine close, but the Cult Leader thoroughly stays away."

"Can you meet the Cult Leader alone?"

Dokgo Hye knew by instinct that what he was asking now was Jin Sa-wol's main point.

"Why do you wish to meet him alone?"

"Assassination."

"Are you saying you'll assassinate him by disguising yourself as my maid or guard?"

"That's right."

Jin Sa-wol's answer was short, but he seemed confident.

"That's impossible. It would be easier to aim for when the Cult Leader comes into my room."

"Can you know when he'll come?"

"There's no set time."

At Dokgo Hye's words, Jin Sa-wol clicked his tongue as if disappointed. But it was true that it was easier to wait here than to enter the cult.

"If there's no set time, we just have to make one."

As Jin Sa-wol stood up from his seat, Dokgo Hye also stood up.

"There's a major event in ten days. Before that, no disturbance should occur, so please don't do anything. The Cult Leader's martial arts are the best in the world. He is not someone you can kill alone. If he was someone who would die by a killing ghost, would he have become the Cult Leader?"

"Is there a reason I should follow your words?"

"That's..."

"I'm just doing my job."

As Jin Sa-wol's figure suddenly disappeared like smoke, Dokgo Hye's eyes widened.

"Tonight, Cheon Mun-jung will die."

A faint voice lingered in Dokgo Hye's ears.

***

If there was one person who benefited the most after Cheon Yu-myeong became the Cult Leader, it was Cheon Yu-myeong's younger brother, Cheon Mun-jung.

Because his brother was the Cult Leader, the warehouse overflowed with goods given by those who wanted to look good to the Cult Leader through him.

On the round table in a corner of the bedchamber, plates with liquor and leftover food were placed.

Cheon Mun-jung, sitting in front of it, was drinking with his upper body bare.

His eyes turned to the bed.

On the bed, two of his wives were sleeping half-naked, and both looked to be in their late twenties.

They were women who had recently become Cheon Mun-jung's concubines.

"Hmm..."

Even looking at his naked wives, he had no great interest. Only Dokgo Hye's image flickered before his eyes.

He had been watching her since the moment she came to the Cheon family estate. But apart from watching, there was nothing he could do.

Cheon Mun-jung drank his liquor and touched his protruding lower belly. Perhaps because he was getting older, his forehead was also balding and his belly was sticking out a lot.

It was a change that occurred because he had been lazy in his martial arts training.

Cheon Yu-myeong, who appeared occasionally, would tell him to train his martial arts diligently, but that was all.

It was the nature of a man to want to lie down when he sat, and to embrace a woman when he lay down.

Cheon Mun-jung, after drinking, extinguished the lamp, got on the bed, and lay down between his wives.

As he embraced his two wives in his arms and closed his eyes, a smile naturally hung on his lips.

Was it because of the alcohol? He felt like he had the whole world.

"I should go see my brother tomorrow."

Cheon Mun-jung muttered and fell into a drunken sleep.

A sword blade suddenly protruded from between Cheon Mun-jung's eyebrows, and after being stained with black blood, it disappeared downwards as if it were a lie.

Cheon Mun-jung, his eyes wide open, was silent.

Jin Sa-wol, who had slid up from under the bed, touched Cheon Mun-jung's neck to confirm his death and then left the word 'Esoteric Cult' on the wall.

"How bland."

***

The next day, Heavenly Water Fortress was turned upside down.

A rumor had spread that Cheon Mun-jung, the master of the Cheon family estate, had been killed by an assassin during the night.

There was a story that it was an assassin sent by the Martial Alliance, and there was also a story that someone with a grudge against the Cheon family had poisoned his drink and killed him.

There was also a story that his concubine had killed him, and there was also a story that a person named Jin Sa-wol had killed him.

However, as people from the Cheon family spread the story that an assassin from the Esoteric Cult had killed him, it was instantly filled with stories about the Esoteric Cult.

The guards who were guarding the area around Cheon Mun-jung's bedchamber had their necks cut, and the two concubines who had slept with him were said to have been imprisoned.

From early in the morning, a large number of warriors from the Wind Blood Pavilion entered the Cheon family estate.

Dokgo Hyeon, who had hurriedly entered Dokgo Hye's room, was relieved when he saw Dokgo Hye sitting with a calm face.

"Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine."

Dokgo Hye answered and then turned her head. But she did not say anything about meeting Jin Sa-wol.

It seemed Jin Sa-wol was still around.

(End of Chapter) 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂