Wandering Through Vol. 3 Chapter 75 - The Journey

“Tsk.”

 

Eunbi looked down at the village at the foot of the mountain, where lights were moving around even in the middle of the night, and clicked her tongue. 

 

Before coming up the mountain, she had asked the old herb gatherer to leave a signal if any suspicious outsiders came looking for them. 

 

And true to their agreement, the old herb gatherer had tied a cloth to a tree as a marker.

 

So those lights were undoubtedly traces of outsiders searching for Eunbi.

 

Eunbi entered the thatched hut hidden deep in the mountains with a dark expression.

“Have those searching for us arrived below the mountain?”

 

Though Gungmu was clearly blind, he spoke as if he had seen Eunbi’s darkened face. 

 

Eunbi asked in return,
“How did you know?”

 

“Normally, the mountain should be free of spirits, but suddenly the miscellaneous ghosts that wandered the village below have come up the mountain. It seems someone like a general has arrived in the village.”

 

Miscellaneous ghosts, unable to even maintain human form, instinctively avoided those born with strong energy. 

 

It was no coincidence that folklore advised that if someone was possessed by a spirit, the youngest and healthiest person in the household should sleep in the same room.

 

“What could there possibly be to see in this small village to attract someone with such formidable energy? If they’re not looking for us.”

“…Not us, but me, most likely.”

 

Eunbi took Gungmu’s hand and asked,
“With your ability, can we avoid their eyes?”

“Of course. Hiding until they leave is simple enough…”

 

Suddenly, Gungmu’s words cut off. His head turned toward the foot of the mountain. 

 

At his ominous silence, Eunbi asked,
“What is it?”

 

After a moment, he replied,
“…The Great Lord has come, Eunbi.”

“…”

 

A chilling silence flowed between the two.

Eunbi did not fully understand how terrifying Leegwang was. 

 

To an ordinary person like her, who had never seen or sensed a ghost, Leegwang was just an odd character. 

 

Getting close to him did send a chill down one’s spine, but he was a man who never let anyone get close to him, not even Eunbi, who had once been his wife.

 

However, just by looking at the deathly pale face of the Shaman, Eunbi could grasp how fearsome Leegwang truly was.

 

The Shaman was gripping her hand so tightly that it felt like her blood vessels might burst. This was unlike his usual self, where every touch was cautious and careful around her. 

 

It was clear he wasn’t even aware of his own strength.

 

He had lost his composure to that extent—he was terrified.

 

Eunbi gripped his hand back tightly. She had to keep her wits about her.

 

Sometimes, ignorance makes a person bolder and more courageous. 

 

Precisely because Eunbi did not know Leegwang’s true nature, she could speak with resolve. She first focused on understanding the situation.

 

“Are you certain the Grand Prince has come? There’s no chance of a mistake? Would a man who can’t even be bothered to breathe truly come all this way just to capture me?”

 

The Shaman nodded, his face ashen.

 

“There can be no confusion. He is the only human capable of commanding every ghost that falls under my sight as if they were his own limbs. He is, for all intents and purposes, the king of all ghosts. There cannot be another like him.”

 

Shamans performed all sorts of chaotic rituals and conducted ceremonies to chase away or summon spirits. 

 

But Leegwang was a man who had no need for any of those rites or ceremonies.

 

That man could not even be called a shaman or a sorcerer.

 

Just one command, and they make the impossible possible—something even a Shaman who has trained their whole life couldn’t achieve even after conducting rituals for three days and nights. 

 

How could you call such a person a weaver or a Shaman?

“Those who have received the Grand Prince’s orders are different from others. He has definitely come here.”

“Then, is there no way for us to avoid the Grand Prince’s notice?”

Closing his lips and pausing for a moment, the state councilor answered without hesitation.

“Yes.”

But Eunbi did not give up. She asked again.

“Is it impossible for even you alone to escape?”

“That…”

Only then did the state councilor seem to come to his senses, shaking his head.

“I will not do that. The chances of escaping alone are slim anyway.”

“Slim is not the same as impossible.”

Eunbi hugged him and whispered. His body, stiff and rigid, softened in her embrace.

“And haven’t you always listened to me?”

 

After all, Eunbi was confident she would survive. She might suffer humiliation so great she could never hold her head up again, but she would not die. 

 

However, the man she held in her arms would surely die. 

 

That was the difference between a lowly Shaman and a nobleman’s daughter.

 

And even if her luck ran out, and she were to die… She did not want to see this man die.

 

💫

 

It wasn’t a difficult task for Leegwang to seize Eunbi, who was sitting alone in the mountain hut, and drag her down the mountain.

 

Eunbi showed no sign of trying to escape and simply followed Leegwang with her head bowed deeply, obediently allowing herself to be tied up and placed inside the storage room of the village shrine. 

 

In fact, she seemed more on edge that he might leave her there and go somewhere else.

 

Seeing her like that, Leegwang thought it was foolish for her to worry about state affairs when she should be worrying about herself. 

 

In fact, he had considered capturing the Minister of State as well…

 

“Do you know about my former wife?”

 

…but since it was this woman, Yiseo, who had shown a reaction, not the Shaman, he had postponed that for now. 

 

It wasn’t as if he couldn’t capture him later if he delayed a little.

 

“The daughter of the Kim family, who they say was married to me for ten years. Do you know her?”

 

Eunbi, who was sitting tied up on the floor, looked up at Leegwang as if she had heard a completely unexpected question.

 

“Huh…?”

 

“You don’t know? A woman who was small and pale.”

 

It was natural for women to be smaller than men, and noblemen’s daughters were pale because they avoided the sun. 

 

If she had been married to Leegwang, she would naturally have been from a prestigious family, so of course she would have been small and pale.

 

Eunbi looked up at the man who spoke as if there were only one small, pale woman in the world, doubting her own ears.

 

For Eunbi, who had imagined questions like why she ran away or sarcastic remarks about whether she thought she wouldn’t be caught even after escaping, the question was far too sudden.

 

“She knew you. I simply cannot guess how on earth she knew you,” said Leegwang.

 

In the dark night, his face, barely visible in the moonlight, was as chilling as seeing a ghost.

 

“What was your relationship with my wife?”

 

“Did you… Come to capture me to ask that now?”

 

“If I must be precise, I came to kill you.”

 

Leegwang casually spoke of Eunbi’s life as if it were nothing. 

 

Eunbi hunched her shoulders.

 

“I originally wanted to live with my wife, but wouldn’t it be troublesome if you were still alive?”

 

Though it was unclear what he intended to use the pitiful woman for, it seemed he had decided to remove Eunbi from this world to achieve it. 

 

Eunbi tightly shut her eyes, thinking of the Shaman.

 

‘There was no other way…’

 

She had believed he would even find killing her to be a bother, but it seemed her judgment was wrong.

 

“But when I said I would get rid of you, my wife said she disliked it and subtly expressed concern for you… I found it quite irritating.”

 

For a moment, Leegwang’s words sounded almost like jealousy to Eunbi. Though that couldn’t be possible.

 

“What exactly is your relationship? Why would the former wife and the current wife, who share the same husband, worry about each other? If you’re going to do something, you should be jealous. Then I would have said I have no one but you and even offered your neck. It’s somewhat endearing that you’re so apathetic, but it doesn’t sit well with me.”

 

A stream of chilling words poured out. 

 

Eunbi was terrified and turned pale. She had thought the man, who was always languid and listless, had regained his energy, but it seemed what he found wasn’t energy but madness.

 

“I heard that on our wedding night, I abandoned you and went to her, and spent several days violating her. Have you had contact since then? Or was it later, when I brought her to the inner quarters and locked her up?”

 

Leegwang now seemed like a madman. 

 

Every word that came out of his mouth was insane—What terrible things had he done to his former wife?

 

Eunbi stammered, barely managing to deny it. Before he could say more.

 

“I-I don’t know. I have no contact at all with that pitiful—no, with the Grand Prince’s former wife.”

 

“…”

 

Leegwang bent down in front of the collapsed Eunbi and met her eyes. 

 

Even in the darkness, his vividly shining bluish eyes made her heart feel as if it would stop.

 

“How do you know my wife? What is your relationship?”

 

And the more questions he asked, the more certain Eunbi became that this was less about suspicion and more about jealousy.

 

“Was it you who helped my wife run away last year? If it were me, I would have surely kept her locked up well. How did she manage to escape…”

 

The continued interrogation was practically no different from torture.

 

It was as if she were inside a ghost’s belly, a chilling sensation as if her body were freezing solid. 

 

If she were a shaman, she would have known she was being oppressed by an evil presence, but Eunbi, unaware, could only continue to wet her dry lips with her tongue and deny Leegwang’s questions.

 

There was truly nothing she could answer.

 

Eunbi knew nothing about that pitiful woman who was entangled with this madman, Leegwang. 

 

Truly…

 

She knew nothing other than that the woman was weak and had been sent away to be a concubine.

 

And now, hearing this mad talk, she wondered if the woman’s weak body wasn’t also because of this man’s torment.

 

“…If you refuse to answer like this, I have no choice. I’ll have to go bring your husband in instead.”

 

At that moment, Eunbi’s eyes, which had been listlessly dazed, shot wide open in an instant.