As True as a Dream Chapter 112

 

“Hongo!”

 

Before he could even open his mouth to ask what was going on, Yi Ho called his name.

 

His voice was like grinding teeth.

 

Even Hongo, who had followed Yi Ho for so long, stiffened at the sound of his ferocity.

 

He had grown accustomed to the lazy and indolent Yi Ho as his physical condition had deteriorated over the past decade and the number of youkai he faced had decreased drastically.

 

On the other hand, Yi Ho’s rarely seen face made his heart sink as if something had happened.

 

“Hae-Joo is missing. Find her.”

 

“Hae-Joo? What do you mean, she’s gone? Didn’t she go to the department store?”

 

Hongo asked, coming back to his senses.

 

After Mrs. Na had tried to kidnap her the other day, he had put a crow on her as Yi Ho had instructed.

 

Today, however, he was with Yi Ho, so the crow didn’t follow her.

 

“He disappeared from the department store. Find out where Saito Mao is.”

 

“You mean Mao Saito?”

 

Hongo narrowed her eyes at Yi Ho’s unclear words, but Yi Ho added again.

 

“Has Governor Saito also returned to Jingsheng Province?”

 

“Governor Saito…? There was no news of Governor Saito’s return… Oh, no, did Mao Saito return?”

 

A plausible premise immediately formed in Hongo’s mind.

 

“…Could it be that Miss Hae-Joo disappeared right after meeting Saito Mao at the department store?”

 

Saito Mao’s obsession with Yi Ho was something Hongo was well aware of.

 

He’d even stationed the governor’s staff around the Song Yue Pavilion to lurk around, and he’d apparently taken such a dislike to Yi Ho that he’d even given Hae-Joo, Yi Ho’s alleged love interest, a box of dead mountain birds.

 

“What are you still doing standing there?”

 

Yi Ho growled in annoyance as Hongo stood in one place, mouth agape, trying to connect his thoughts.

 

“Oh, yes, I’ll… I’ll… I’ll move right away!”

 

Quickly scanning his surroundings and seeing that no one was around, Hongo turned into a red crow and flew over the small courtyard where the executive office was located.

 

Hongo cried out loudly, and a series of crows’ cries echoed in response from all directions.

 

In the blood-colored sunset, black crows from all directions gathered together in a flock, but soon scattered in confusion.

 

Looking up at the scene, Yi Ho threw off his cumbersome fox mask and immediately left Song Yue Pavilion.

 

After his encounter with Mao Saito, the department store caught on fire, and Hae-Joo disappeared.

 

This was no coincidence.

 

“It doesn’t matter if you’re the governor’s daughter or the emperor’s daughter, if you want to die, keep going. This is your last warning. There will be no third.”

 

His words to Saito Mao were not empty words.

 

***

 

Governor Saito’s residence, empty because of the provincial tour, was guarded by a few soldiers from the Governor’s Department.

 

The soldier guarding the back entrance, which was less traveled, squinted at the darkened surroundings for a moment, then opened his eyes again.

 

In that brief moment, a black shadow stood before him.

 

It was Yi Ho.

 

The soldier’s legs momentarily gave out from under him as he reacted to the sudden presence of Yi Ho, but he was caught off guard again.

 

The bayonet in his hand was snatched from his hand by Yi Ho in a dark suit.

 

He didn’t even know how it was taken.

 

It was ghostly.

 

And when he woke up, the razor-sharp blade under the muzzle was pointed at his eyes.

 

And at a distance of less than a finger’s breadth!

 

The soldier couldn’t even blink, and he stiffened and swallowed a gulp of saliva.

 

“[Saito Mao has returned to the residence?]”

 

Yi Ho, who had appeared out of nowhere, asked in a tone that didn’t have any ups and downs.

 

“[Nu, who… you, who….]”

 

The soldier was afraid to speak, so he leaned in even closer, as if a knife would pierce his pupils.

 

The soldier could say no more.

 

Finally, he asked, “[Has Mao Saito returned?]”

 

The soldier, his lips pursed in terror as if the pointed tip of the knife would pierce his eyes at any moment, managed to answer.

 

“[Uh, no…]”

 

“[Where is she?]”

 

“[I don’t know, I got word that she’s back today, but…]”

 

As the soldier stammered out his answer, the knife disappeared before his eyes.

 

The cowering soldier flipped his face like a palm as the threat vanished.

 

He was about to spit out the words, “How dare you…!” as a soldier of the Great Japanese Empire.

 

If he made a sound, the soldiers guarding the residence would hear him and come running.

 

But contrary to his expectations, no sound escaped his mouth.

 

Yi Ho’s white hand grabbed the soldier’s throat and snapped it with a crunching sound.

 

The soldier’s body slumped to the floor as Yi Ho released his grip.

 

As Yi Ho turned away, cold-faced, and made his way along the wall that surrounded the manor, the fluttering wings of a feeding bird could be heard not far away.

 

He looked up at the sky.

 

A crow circled above his head and flew away.

 

Not looking for him, the crow flew straight across his head.

 

It wasn’t just one or two.

 

It was a bizarre scene of dozens of crows frantically flying overhead.

 

“There’s nothing in this world I can’t have, and I will have it, whatever I want, whatever it takes!”

 

The voice of Mao’s incomprehensibly maniacal obsession came to mind.

 

Yi Ho clenched his fists into crumbs.

 

If anything were to happen to Hae-Joo, if anything were to happen to her…

 

No matter if it was a crazy bitch like Mao Saito or a soldier armed with a bayonet, they were no threat to him.

 

But she was different.

 

She’s just a normal, ordinary person with no thick, strong skin or extraordinary physical abilities.

 

An ordinary person who hurts when she gets hurt, and who might die if she’s unlucky.

 

And a person like Mao Saito, who doesn’t see people as people, is just a monster in human form.

 

The more he thought about it, the more unbearable the impatience became, and a knot formed in his temple.

 

A maniacal murderous intent to kill everything in sight burned through his body.

 

His eyes bulged with blood, and the shadow at his feet shifted into the form of a fox.

 

Yi Ho’s jaw tightened at the sight of the fox shadow at his feet.

 

As a child, his shadow had turned into a fox on nights of the full moon and other times when he was unable to control his powers or was emotionally upset.

 

This had never happened to him as a child, so the sudden appearance of his fox shadow was strange.

 

Just then, a crow descended from the sky toward him.

 

He wondered if it had come with news.

 

But it wasn’t a human, so it squawked loudly and took off again.

 

As if gesturing for him to follow, Yi Ho swallowed his irritation and set off.

 

It wasn’t long before they arrived at a small Japanese restaurant not far from the residence.

 

The crow perched on the side of the wooden building, built in the Japanese style, and watched him with its tiny head.

 

Landing lightly on a tree in the garden, Yi Ho peered inside the window where the crow was perched.

 

“[Why did my father get rid of all the people who use the manor? There’s not a single one I like].”

 

“[I’m sorry, miss].”

 

Yi Ho’s face fell at the sound of a familiar voice from inside.

 

Mao Saito.

 

Leaping lightly from the tree to the ground, Yi Ho continued up the low stairs and opened the door to Mao’s tatami room.

 

He saw Mao sitting in front of a table laid out with a bounty of Japanese food.

 

“[…I knew you’d find me, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon. Shall we have dinner together?]”

 

Mao gave him a sullen glance at his sudden entrance into the room.

 

But then the corners of her mouth lifted and he smiled.

 

Mao’s eyes no longer held the same glee as before.

 

Instead, a creepy, perverse venom flashed through them.

 

Of course, Yi Ho didn’t care about the twisted emotions of a crazy girl.

 

“[You took her away?]”

 

“[What do you mean?]”

 

“[You’re the only one.]”

 

At his words, the smile on Mao’s lips deepened in amusement.

 

“[…I don’t know what you’re talking about, this place has good sushi, would you like to try it, especially this pufferfish porridge].”

 

Saito Mao lightly touched the white bowl on the side of the table with her fingertips.

 

“[Where’s Hae-Joo? You’d better answer while I’m still asking nicely].”

 

“[It’s sad that you keep talking so badly. I left my father behind to come back to Gyeongseong to meet with Mr. Ban. Why doesn’t he know?]”

 

Mao muttered wistfully, then nonchalantly picked up a piece of sushi and shoved it into his mouth.

 

It was the perfect alumni answer.

 

Yi Ho didn’t want to talk to this bullshitter anymore.

 

The time for nice words was over.

 

If she can’t talk, he has to use his hands.