The Sichuan journey had begun, and before I knew it, several days had slipped by.

The carriage had just barely shaken off Anhui and was threading into a winding forest path.

Whichever way I looked, it was nothing but dense woods, and even that scenery kept changing in a blink.

We were moving at a good clip on a rough road, but—laughably enough, considering my worries—the inside of the carriage was far more peaceful than I’d expected.

How could this be.

Even I, who know nothing about carriages, could tell this damned road was a mess.

As for why, the answer sat right up front, holding the reins.

Neigh—!

“Hyah!”

The old man, with only one arm to his name, handled the horses with satisfying precision.

Strangely, the horses moved as if it were the most natural thing in the world under the old man’s touch.

‘...So it wasn’t a lie.’

The old man. Just as Chu Dong had said himself, he drove a carriage exquisitely.

Truly, exquisitely.

‘Impressive.’

He had only one arm—how could he handle the team so well?

Watching him made you want to applaud.

While I was quietly taking it in with reluctant admiration—

“Are you feeling any better?”

Chu Dong glanced into the carriage and spoke.

At his question, Do Hyeong and Cheon Eujin, sitting in front, said nothing.

I swore under my breath at that sight and answered for us.

“Yes, very much so, sir. With how comfortable you’re making things for us, there’s no way I could feel unwell.”

“Heh-heh-heh. Thank you kindly for saying so.”

“Haha. Not at all.”

I forced a smile as I replied to Chu Dong. Damn it, my face felt like it was cramping.

Chatting with Chu Dong meant I had to keep forcing a smile, and since he kept directing his words at me alone, I was the only one doing the talking.

At first, Cheon Eujin and Do Hyeong had chimed in here and there, but now they’d dumped the entire job on me.

‘...Damn it.’

As if my nerves weren’t already frayed, this made it worse.

“And... young sir, you keep speaking so formally that this old man feels uncomfortable... It’s fine to speak plainly with me.”

“...No. I wouldn’t dare.”

What, speak casually to the Sword Emperor and invite disaster?

Not a chance.

‘Seriously, what is this old man after?’

A pile of questions.

The past few days had been like this; every time I looked at the Sword Emperor, I couldn’t help thinking.

‘Is this really just escort and surveillance?’

Why would a supreme master— the Sword Emperor, no less—lower himself to playing coachman and bowing his head to me.

Also—

‘Why the Sword Emperor, who vanished, would suddenly show up here doing this.’

No matter how I looked at it, it was absurd, and there was nothing I could do to dig into it.

Honestly, there was exactly one person I could ask, so I figured I’d learn soon enough.

I’d left out the most important piece.

[Keek-keek-keek.]

Namely, the man I could ask was not a normal man.

Yoo Cheongil sat in the empty seat beside me, chuckling.

I had to scowl at him.

‘Quit snickering and try explaining something.’

Since climbing into the carriage, Yoo Cheongil had worn the same expression.

The corners of his mouth hooked up as if he were thoroughly entertained.

A voice of constant mockery thrown my way.

It couldn’t have been more aggravating, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) and the part that pissed me off even more—

‘Why won’t you explain?’

The moment he saw the Sword Emperor, he reacted like he knew something; ever since, no matter how much I asked, he just sat there like this.

What had he said at first?

‘He said he wasn’t certain yet and would look into it.’

Don’t tell me he’s already figured it all out and just isn’t telling me.

Watching that attitude, it was hard not to think so.

‘No, surely not.’

He’d have to be out of his mind.

He even forgot my request to look into his own death, and now he won’t explain because he’s having fun?

‘I’m going to lose it.’

I told myself no, and still wondered. That old man would absolutely do it if it amused him.

The one thing he did tell me was that the old man truly was the Sword Emperor.

That was it.

That was the entire payload of information from Yoo Cheongil. Which meant—

‘What that old man intends is, in the end...’

Yes, the coachman is the Sword Emperor, but as for why he’s doing this, I’m to figure it out from scraps and read the room.

That was the gist.

‘...Fuck.’

Hard not to swear.

“The weather is unusually overcast today.”

“Haha... Yes, it is.”

Read the Sword Emperor’s mood, in this stiff, awkward situation.

‘You two, say something, anything.’

I shot looks at Do Hyeong and Cheon Eujin like I meant to bore holes through them, but it changed nothing.

Do Hyeong seemed a man of few words to begin with and didn’t speak.

As for Cheon Eujin, whatever had happened to him, he stared out the window with his wits drained.

In short—

‘I’m the only one who can answer the Sword Emperor.’

Those two, who didn’t know Chu Dong was the Sword Emperor, were a lost cause. In the end, only I could handle it.

‘Perfect...’

Thanks to that, day after day I’d been building an awkward rapport with Chu Dong.

“Since we’ve about cleared the mountain path today, we should probably camp only after we pass over it... Would that be all right with you gentlemen?”

“Gentlemen” or not, it meant me anyway, so I nodded quickly.

“Yes. Whatever you think best, sir. We’re all fine with it.”

I answered cleanly without a peep of objection.

Half because who would dare refuse. Half because Chu Dong was good enough at this that there was nothing to point out.

No—honestly, the first half was more like seventy percent.

‘...And the weather’s overcast anyway, so we won’t get far.’

No matter how well Chu Dong—no, the Sword Emperor—handled the team, if rain fell out here it’d be trouble, so this was the right call.

Watching the scenery flicker past outside the window, I thought:

‘How much farther?’

How far to Sichuan. We still had a long way, probably.

‘Which means I’m stuck in this garbage situation for a long while yet.’

My face creased on its own.

‘I already have a mountain of things to think about...’

Every day it was this and that, barely scraping my brain together, and I had no desire to waste attention on nonsense like this.

‘Hoo...’

I sighed inwardly and narrowed my eyes.

First, I looked at the sky. It should have been just past noon, yet the clouds were so thick and black it looked dull and dark.

Staring at it, I bit my lip.

This was my least favorite weather.

‘Too much yin.’

Daytime overcast. A sun smothered by cloud produces more yin than the night.

The energy that should be there is gone, and something else fills the void.

Because of that—

‘Spirits everywhere.’

Things I shouldn’t be seeing were dotted among the scenery.

‘Wonderful.’

Just looking made my mood chafe raw.

If I put it too strongly, I felt nauseous.

This is why, when it rains or clouds over, I don’t go anywhere.

And damnably, today was on the worse side of that.

‘At least they won’t be able to approach.’

On a normal day, it wouldn’t be strange if something annoying happened, but I had a talisman.

I shifted my gaze to Do Hyeong.

‘...Right. A guardian spirit is the answer.’

A brilliant light orbits the expressionless Do Hyeong.

With that there, the riffraff among spirits wouldn’t even dare come close.

So, a small mercy?

I could pass the time a bit easier.

‘And what is that, exactly.’

Even as I watched Do Hyeong’s guardian spirit, questions stirred.

I said it before: that’s a mountain-spirit-class guardian spirit.

What could have happened to attach such a guardian spirit to Do Hyeong?

‘Does that man have something too?’

A hidden past, for example.

A secret of his bloodline that only he knows.

Could it be something like that.

I nodded to myself.

‘Then I absolutely shouldn’t dig.’

It screamed trouble and fatigue just from the look of it.

Keep him beside me, treat him as a talisman, and when I’m done, step away quietly.

‘For now, keep him close.’

Keep him near because I need him; don’t pry more than necessary.

That was my rule for dealing with Do Hyeong.

****

By the time the clouds thickened and the world turned a shade of gray—

We finally slipped free of the mountain path.

“Gentlemen, we’ve about cleared the climb, so I’ll slow down.”

Rrrrrk—!

With those words, Chu Dong eased the carriage.

Which also meant we’d soon reach the campsite he had in mind.

He’d said a good, open field would show up a little farther on, hadn’t he?

According to Chu Dong, there was a small village nearby as well.

But there was no reason to spend the night in such a place during a top-secret mission, so we’d pass it by.

So, we slowed and rode on, when—

-Please...

-Anyone...! Someone, hear me...!

“Mm...”

The words at my ear started to pound into a headache.

‘Slowing down makes it worse.’

When we were fast, it was bearable; the moment we slowed, it became a problem.

Things I’d barely heard or seen before came into focus with all their might.

Not enough to be a real issue. Just a bit of pain in my head, and, as always, something to ignore.

The overcast only raised the frequency; it wasn’t truly dangerous.

As I said, ignore it and it’s fine.

‘As long as it isn’t like Yoo Cheongil, I can ignore it.’

Ignoring ghosts was never hard for me.

Same this time.

‘Just bear it a little.’

Headache or not, I only needed to endure.

Make a show of it and I’d just create problems that weren’t there; I only had to put up with it for a bit.

While I was pretending I was fine—

-P-Please... Please, save me...!

One voice grated on my ear more than the rest.

Unlike the other spirits, it wasn’t muddy; it was actually much clearer.

Clear enough that you could mistake it for a living person rather than a ghost.

-Please... J-Just once. Please, just this once...!!

I kept my eyes on the road ahead and probed.

It was a ghost, all right—but there was a reason I’d mistaken it.

‘A living spirit.’

A living spirit is the soul of someone who hasn’t yet died but will soon.

In essence, it’s no different from a ghost; if you had to draw a line—

‘It doesn’t know it’s dead.’

You could say it hasn’t recognized its death.

This one was a woman’s living spirit.

I got that far and let my gaze go.

‘Stick my nose in and it gets troublesome.’

If she’d become a living spirit already, it was late.

-Please... Please.

Practically as good as dead; there was no reason to stop the carriage in this weather to do something.

-Please... At this rate... at this rate...

So just ignore it and—

-My child will die...! Please, save my child...!!!

“Stop the carriage.”

“Pardon?”

Startled, Chu Dong reined in.

Thud—!

“Young Master Bang...!?”

I leapt straight out of the carriage.