Wandering Through Vol. 3 Chapter 73 - The Journey

“Especially the way you lift your chin and look down on others. Among all the lowly creatures I’ve met, you’re the first with a neck as stiff as yours.”

 

At the man’s words, Eunbi gripped her mask and bowed deeply.

 

“My apologies. I was afraid the mask might fall…”

 

“Then just take it off. I’ve been curious about your face—go on, show me.”

 

“This humble face is not worthy of your gaze, my lord. More importantly, you should hurry to see your younger brother, who has just awakened.”

 

As Eunbi took a few quick steps back, the man strode forward and reached for her mask. Instinctively, she swatted his hand away.

 

A sharp, audible slap rang out.

 

The man slowly looked down at his struck hand, then back at Eunbi.

 

“How dare a lowly thing strike a nobleman’s hand? You’re truly unlike any commoner I’ve met.”

 

Eunbi bowed, so deeply that her forehead nearly touched the ground. Deliberately stumbling over her words, she spoke like an uneducated fool.

 

“This mask… must not be touched by others… Forgive me, my lord. I acted rashly, fearing it might be defiled…”

 

Nobles finding fault with their inferiors was nothing unusual. But to behave this way toward a shaman who had just saved his dying brother was strange. 

 

Even the most reckless nobles, who beat their servants on a whim, would never raise a hand before a shaman—lest they invite impurity. 

 

They might spit behind her back, but never openly.

 

Noticing Eunbi’s wary expression, the man smirked.

 

“Your hands are fair—I wondered if your face might be too.”

 

So that was his game. He simply wanted to knock her down. 

 

Relieved her suspicions hadn’t been worse, Eunbi replied, “Lately, to keep the rituals free of defilement, I must keep my body pure…”

 

The words carried an implicit warning, ‘If you don’t want your brother, who just returned from death, to die again, don’t lay a finger on her.’ 

 

The man seemed to understand, clicking his tongue in regret.

 

“Then I’ll take my brother and leave now. See you again.”

 

See me again? What nonsense! 

 

Eunbi scowled deeply behind her mask, repeatedly bowing as she saw him off.

 

The rumor that all the sons of the Minister’s household were tall, handsome, and brilliant must have been nothing but flattery to please that family.

 

No matter how lowly a shaman might be, his rudeness toward the person who saved his brother’s life was beyond compare.

 

His brother just came back from the dead, and in the middle of it all, he has the nerve to think of flirting with a woman?

 

After scattering salt where the man had stood, Eunbi turned sharply on her heel. 

 

Striding inside, she tore off her mask and threw it aside before collapsing into the arms of Gukmu, who was sitting on the floor.

 

“They’re gone. Those brothers are completely out of their minds. One is possessed by a ghost, and the other is just plain insane. Absolutely.”

 

Gukmu, caught off guard by Eunbi suddenly in his arms, flailed helplessly before finally cupping her cheeks. 

 

Wiping away her makeup with his sleeve, he asked, “Were they very disrespectful to you?”

 

Eunbi shook her head vigorously.

 

“He asked me to take off my mask, so I thought he recognized me—but it was just a cheap trick. Said he wondered if my hands were as pretty as my face or some nonsense.”

 

“…”

 

Gukmu fell silent, his expression stiffening. Noticing his reaction, Eunbi smirked faintly.

 

“What, are you jealous?”

 

“What else did he say?”

 

“He nitpicked, saying I didn’t act like a lowly shaman.”

 

“…”

 

His mood darkened beyond mere jealousy. Sensing the shift, Eunbi’s smile faded.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“It might be best if you leave this place for a few days.”

 

“Did I do something that might expose me…?”

 

“No. It’s not your fault, Eunbi.”

 

Gukmu took Eunbi’s hand and slowly rubbed each of her fingertips with his fingers, gently enough to feel the calluses on her fingers.

 

“Your hands are as delicate as those of a noblewoman. Only the fingertips are calloused from embroidery, while the rest remain flawless and smooth.”

 

“…”

 

“It may be nothing, but one never knows. Someone might notice your hands and spread word.”

 

The sleeves of the mubok were long, so only the fingertips were visible. 

 

Yet, the guest’s unnecessary comment about her hands being beautiful couldn’t help but unsettle her. Holding Eunbi’s hands, which had turned cold from tension, Gukmu soothed her.

 

“Most likely, it’s nothing at all. Perhaps I’m just worrying over nothing. I tend to be overly cautious about such trivial things. Don’t be too anxious.”

 

“…I understand.”

 

Eunbi leaned her forehead against Gukmu’s shoulder. Gukmu carefully stroked her back, doing his best to ease her tension. 

 

As his hand moved, Eunbi let out a deep sigh and whispered.

 

“After the grand gut, my energy is depleted. Let’s say I went to the mountains for ritual purification and avoid the village for now. We’ll spend a month or two moving between the mountains and observing the situation.”

 

🦋

 

Before dawn, a servant tending the medicinal brew on a brazier in the rear quarters of the grand prince’s residence dozed off, nodding sleepily. 

 

The servants had been taking turns keeping watch over the decoction, ensuring the brazier’s flames stayed neither too strong nor too weak. 

 

The servant pinched his thigh, sharply monitoring the fire before repeatedly succumbing to sleep, his eyelids drooping once more.

 

But suddenly, a chill crept down his spine, making him shiver violently and jolt awake.

 

Even in the darkness, a pair of bluish eyes stared down at him. The servant sprang to his feet.

 

“M-my lord!”

 

Though the grand prince rarely showed his face to the servants, his was not a visage easily forgotten. 

 

The servant recognized him at once. 

 

Leaving the flustered servant behind, the grand prince swiftly snatched the medicine pot and vanished. Suddenly left alone, the servant wondered if he had been bewitched by a ghost.

 

Only the empty brazier, now devoid of the medicine pot, proved that what had just happened was real.

 

Moving like a specter, his hair and clothes disheveled, Leegwang carried the medicine bowl into the inner chamber.

 

Inside the dimly lit room, Yiseo lay sprawled across the bedding, deep in exhausted slumber.

 

‘Sleep’ was hardly the right word—she had more likely passed out from exhaustion—but Leegwang preferred to think otherwise.

 

“Yiseo. Yiseo. You should take your medicine before sleeping.”

 

He stubbornly pulled her upright, gently shaking her. But her limp body swayed weakly in his grip, clearly unable to wake for at least half a day.

 

Leegwang clicked his tongue in displeasure at her frail state.

 

Of course, he had deliberately pushed her until dawn. He figured it was better to let her sleep deeply while he stepped out for the day.

 

Even if Yiseo didn’t exactly despise him, he knew she was still waiting for a chance to leave him.

 

So, unlike usual—when he would coax her gently—he indulged freely this time. He knew that if she slept at night, she’d eventually wake during the day, so he kept rousing her whenever she tried to rest, until she finally burst into tears.

 

Leegwang pressed his lips to Yiseo’s reddened eyelids.

 

Honestly, he couldn’t help but worry—her body was so weak she couldn’t even last a single night. He’d never particularly coddled anything before, but Yiseo seemed like the kind of person who needed to be wrapped in endless care just to function like a normal human.

 

He tilted her head back and pried her lips open. 

 

After confirming with his tongue that the passage from her mouth to her throat was clear, he tipped a medicine bowl against her lips.

 

Then, feeding her the medicine in small sips to make sure she swallowed properly, he made sure she drank every last drop.

 

Even though her body was limp with sleep, he still stroked her back and kissed her—whether as praise for taking her medicine well or simply to satisfy his own desires, only Leegwang himself knew.

 

After tucking Yiseo back under the blankets, Leegwang straightened his disheveled hair and clothes before standing up. Then, he left the room and latched the door behind him.

 

Having spent the night entwined with him and even taken a potent drug, there was no way she would wake up for at least a day—but still, one could never be too sure.

Her body was already like an empty house—who knew what wandering spirits might try to invade?

Though the possibility of such a thing happening to a body thoroughly steeped in Leegwang’s energy was nonexistent, he still believed he was doing this to protect Yiseo in his own way.

 

Leegwang strode out of the inner quarters and mounted his horse.

 

Lady Shanggung had mentioned that the place where Eunbi was last seen was a village about three days’ journey north of Hanseong. 

 

Riding through the night, he could reach it in a day.

 

Of course, sending someone else to capture her would have been far more convenient, but—Every time he vowed to punish Eunbi, he recalled the subtle tension in Yiseo’s expression and frowned. 

 

Something told him he shouldn’t deal with Eunbi anywhere near Yiseo.

 

Clearly, the two had some kind of connection…

 

If he dragged her back and interrogated her, she’d surely spill everything about Yiseo. 

 

And if she stayed silent, he could always bring in the bastard who ran away with her and crush him underfoot—that ought to loosen her tongue.

 

By midday, Leegwang arrived at the nameless village where Eunbi was staying.

 

At the exact same moment, Ban came tumbling into the grand residence of Hanseong’s royal prince.