As True as a Dream Chapter 83

Too much has happened in the past not to believe, too many rumors to be true.

 

No, not necessarily.

 

There is also the evil snake that lives in the painting and eats people indiscriminately.

 

A what-if suddenly flashed through Saito’s mind.

 

‘What if the curse is real?’

 

‘What if there is something to the owner of Song Yue?’

 

‘What if something as mysterious as the ten thousand people at his side was working behind his back?’

 

As he narrowed his eyes and pondered, his subordinate continued to report.

 

“[The person who put the bounty on Guishan Dao is related to Song Yue Pavilion.]”

 

Saito’s eyelids twitched ominously as the name Song Yue appeared again.

 

“[It is said that when a source of information about Guisahn Dao appears, Master Hongo of Song Yue Pavilion is notified first. It seems that the information goes to the person who paid the bounty through Master Hongo as an intermediary].”

 

Saito looked at his subordinate with a scowl.

 

Obviously, the amount of the bounty on the Guishan Dao was not something to be taken lightly.

 

It proves that the man’s wealth is not insignificant.

 

Of course, there are not many people in this Joseon land who can offer such a sum of money.

 

Song Yue was frequented by dignitaries from all walks of life in Gyeongseong, but Saito had a strong hunch that the owner of Song Yue was behind it, rather than the possibility that they were using Master Hongo as an intermediary.

 

“[If we can find out something from that Master Hongo, it’ll be enough.]”

 

“[Yes. Sooner or later, I’ll find a reason and summon him to the governor’s office. ….]”

 

“[Sooner or later?]”

 

Saito raised an eyebrow, not liking his subordinate’s answer.

 

“[No, sooner rather than later….]”

 

*Knock! Knock! Knock!*

 

Just then, a staff member on an errand knocked on the door and spoke in a cautious voice from outside.

 

“[Your Excellency, there’s a guest here who says it’s urgent.]”

 

“[A guest?]” Saito asked in surprise.

 

The people who used the residence were sharp.

 

Anything less would have been chased away so as not to disturb his morning.

 

Instead, they knocked on the door of his study.

 

“[Eight years ago, she said, he had a very special deal with His Excellency the Governor General. She gave her name as Na Jung-ae.]”

 

A special agreement eight years ago? Na Jung-ae?

 

As Saito pondered over the information the user had given him with a somewhat stunned face, the face of a woman with an extremely well-groomed and refined smile flashed in his mind.

Was this the woman who had sold him the Guishan Dao?

 

Not knowing why she had come to visit him, Saito was silent for a moment before clapping his hands.

 

“[Let her in.]”

 

Saito nodded to the man standing aside, motioning for him to step aside.

 

Soon, the door opened and a slightly older version of the woman he remembered walked in.

 

“[How are you, Your Excellency, it’s been a long time.]”

 

“[What brings you here?]”

 

He had done business with Na Jung-ae once, but that didn’t mean he had asked her how she was doing.

 

He asked stiffly, and she raised an eyebrow and smiled.

“[It was a long time ago, so I forgot, you didn’t like a lot of things, and I guess you still don’t, so let’s get down to business, shall we?]”

 

Saito looked at Na Jung-ae without answering, and Na Jung-ae nodded and smiled in understanding.

 

“[I heard that you are looking for the person who is looking for Guishan Island, and I know who it is, so I’m here to sell you some information.]”

 

Saito looked sharply at Na Jung-ae, who smiled nonchalantly.

 

Even eight years ago, Na Jung-ae had been quite the information dealer in Gyeongseong.

It had been more than ten days since Saito had set out to find the person who had paid the bounty on Guishan Dao.

 

If she really wanted to sell information, she should have come to him earlier.

 

So there must be a reason why she’s finally found him now.

 

“[Why should I pay you for information? There are plenty of ways to get you to talk without paying you. You don’t know that, do you?]”

 

Saito looked at Na Jung-ae with high pressure, and the hardened Na Jung-ae quickly regained her composure and smiled sweetly.

 

“[I’m glad that you’re as eloquent as ever, General… No, I’m talking to you now, Governor General… Yes, of course you’ll have plenty of ways to get me to open my lousy mouth since you’re in such an exalted position, but for old times’ sake… Let’s hear my story, I’m sure you’ll find it interesting].”

 

Na Jung-ae took his silence as an acceptance and continued.

 

“[Before I tell you my story, I have one condition: I want you to wipe one person off the floor of Jingsheng Province, whether you kill him or make him an idiot, I don’t care how you do it.]”

 

“[Who?]”

 

“[His Excellency the Governor General, you may have heard of her. She’s the fiancée of the owner of Song Yue Pavilion, and there’s something I don’t feel comfortable doing myself, so I’d like you to help me. Isn’t that an easy thing for you to do?]”

 

“[Is that the only reason you came here so early in the morning?]”

 

“[My very survival in this area is at stake, and you’re not unimportant to the reason why we need to get rid of the Duchy, which I just told you you should know about].”

 

Saito chuckled.

 

The Na Jung-ae he remembered was a woman who would sell anything for money, be it her land or her own children.

 

He couldn’t trust anything that came out of that smart mouth.

 

“[Cut to the chase.]”

 

When he pressed her with a fierce tone, as if speaking in riddles, her face stiffened under his pressure.

 

“[You have a short temper. All right, I’ll get to the point. The person who is looking for Guishan Dao with a huge reward is Ban Yi Ho, the owner of Song Yue Pavilion, and his fiancée came to me because she’s looking for the whereabouts of Guishan Dao, who disappeared eight years ago. Don’t you see the connection?]”

 

Saito’s eyelids twitched at the mention of Mr. Ban Yi Ho, the owner of Song Yue, offering a reward for finding the painting.

 

He remembered the arrogant man in the white fox mask and his fiancée standing next to him, smiling broadly.

 

“[The owner of Song Yue…? Why?]”

 

Na Jung-ae, who heard his words as if he was talking to himself, replied.

 

“[I don’t really know why he’s looking for it, but Mr. Hongo, who works under Mr. Ban Yi Ho, sometimes finds old books and strange things on the black market, so I wonder if he has a collection wall or something.]”

 

Saito frowned at Na Jung-ae’s next words.

 

The strange feeling of uneasiness he had felt while listening to his subordinate’s report had returned.

 

As she had said, this had definitely piqued his interest.

 

Ban Yi Ho and his fiancée are spending a lot of money to find the Guishan Dao.

 

‘Why are they looking for it? A collection?’

 

The thought that it couldn’t be such a simple reason penetrated his mind.

 

“[Eight years ago, it was Yeon Hae-Joo’s foster father who entrusted me with the painting until I handed it over to Your Excellency.]” Na Jung-ae added as he connected his thoughts.

 

But Saito’s thoughts were already there.

 

He waved his hand.

 

“[All right, go away.]”

 

“[So I take it you’ve accepted this deal?]”

 

The color drained from Na Jung-ae’s face as she confirmed his obviously enticed expression.

 

“[Then I’ll wait for the good news.]”

 

Her tone was confident that Saito wouldn’t sit idly by as long as the Guishan Dao was involved.

 

Having achieved her goal, Na Jung-ae soon retreated from the study, and Saito, left alone, tapped his index finger on the desk.

 

The curse of Song Yue Pavilion and the Guishan Dao sought by the owner of Song Yue…

 

The more Saito thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

 

A nagging, strange feeling of unease kept tugging at his nerves.

 

In his mind’s eye, Saito remembered Yi Ho’s displeasure with Mao’s argument at the birthday party.

 

‘Could it be that he…?’

 

Saito stopped tapping his fingers on the desk.

 

There was definitely something about this Song Yue.

 

Something that defied logical interpretation, just like Lord Man Insa!

 

At that moment, the door to the study flew open.

 

Saito stared at the door with a stern and commanding face.

 

It was Lord Man Insa who appeared at the door.

 

His heart sank when he realized that he hadn’t seen him for days.

 

“[You…?]”

 

“[Father!]”

 

He ran into the study with a bright smile on his face, and was a fist taller than he had been a few days ago.

 

“[You look like this… How much did you eat?]”

 

“[One, two, three, four… I don’t know, but I listened to my father and cleaned up all the leftovers and picked out only the people from the village!]”

 

Kyung-in, who had looked fifteen just a few days ago, now looked about eighteen.

 

He had grown as much as he had fed on human blood.

 

Saito turned to see a half-stunned Sae standing in the doorway, staring anxiously at the back of Kyung-in’s head.

 

Behind her, he could see several puzzled employees looking around the study.

 

An unspoken but bizarre aura surrounded him.