Chapter 36

Jun-gyeong let out a faint laugh at the sight.

“Are you kidding me?”

Jun-gyeong pressed his fingers
to his brow in disbelief.

“Who gave you permission to use my name?”

Jeong Da-hye recoiled in shock and shouted.

“What? Y-You’re telling me you can’t see Lord Kang Jun-gyeong, the great military commander of Goryeo, standing before you?!”
“Kang Jun-gyeong, a military commander of Goryeo, huh. A military commander, she says. I suppose I should thank you for that much.”

Jun-gyeong looked at the enormous man and spoke quietly.

“What are you?”

The man froze on the spot.

“Huh?”
“What do you mean, huh? I asked what you are. Why is someone like you using my name?”

The man immediately threw himself flat onto the floor.

“C-Commander!! G-General! I-I pay my respects, General!”

Jun-gyeong’s brow twisted deeply.
He walked over, crouched in front of the man’s head, and tapped it with his finger.

“I’ve asked you twice already, you bastard. This is the last time. If you don’t answer me now, I’ll just cut you down. Who are you?”

Each time Jun-gyeong tapped the back of his head, the spirit possessing the man’s body trembled violently.
The man struck his forehead against the floor as bloody tears streamed down his face.

“T-This humble one is Jo Chung-gil, Deputy General of the Right, who served under you on the northern front.”
“Jo Chung-gil?”

Jun-gyeong’s eyes narrowed.
He remembered him.
The idiot who always subtly slipped toward the rear whenever a battle began, yet trained his body to exhaustion every day and did nothing but bulk himself up.
On top of that, he had been shamelessly ambitious for promotion, constantly eyeing higher positions with drool practically hanging from his mouth.

“Why did you appear under my name?”
“Forgive me! I was merely wandering restlessly after death when I became entangled in that wicked shaman bitch’s sorcery! General, how could I ever dare raise a hand against you?! I will leave this vessel immediately, so please spare me!”

Jun-gyeong gave a faint laugh and stood.
Then he turned toward Jeong Da-hye.
The shaman stared blankly back and forth between the man and Jun-gyeong, utterly stunned.
Her hair had already turned completely white, and deep wrinkles covered her face.
It was only natural after sacrificing her own life force.
Jun-gyeong looked down at her and spoke.

“Where did you get the Mana?”
“…What?”
“The Mana mixed into the talismans you were using. Where did it come from?”
“M-Mana? The cinnabar… my spiritual mother gave it to me… Kgh! K-Kgh…”

Mid-sentence, the woman suddenly vomited blood and slumped forward, her head dropping to the floor.

“Spiritual mother? Then there’s another shaman out there who uses Mana.”

The true reason she had been able to wield such power.
The talismans she used had been able to gain power and send sal at the calamity bearer not because Jeong Da-hye possessed genuine supernatural ability.
It was because the cinnabar, the red pigment used to write the talismans, had Mana mixed into it.
That was why they had produced such powerful effects.

Taking the danger of Mana firmly to heart, Jun-gyeong looked at the man and spoke quietly.

“Disappear. Before I erase you completely.”
“Yes! Understood!”

Black smoke poured from the man’s body as he collapsed to the floor.

“Hoo… Jo Chung-gil, huh…”

He could not appear in the world unless someone summoned him in the first place.
Fortunately, he had never become an evil spirit and was merely a soul wandering restlessly after death.
And now he could no longer appear in the world under the name Kang Jun-gyeong.
Since no one remembered his true name, he had become a being who could never manifest in the world again.
That was punishment enough for him.

The real problem revealed today was that somewhere in this world, there was another shaman capable of using Mana.
That was something he could have Ok-hee investigate.

Jun-gyeong glanced once more at Prosecutor Kim, who was still writhing in agony, then headed out into the courtyard.

Once outside, Jun-gyeong’s eyes narrowed.
When he had entered earlier, the gangsters had distracted him from noticing the dozens of pitch-black threads of causality tangled around the trunk of Jeong Da-hye’s car.
A mass of threads woven from other people’s tears of blood and greed. He didn’t need to open the trunk to guess what was inside.
They were goods steeped in other people’s greed, but he knew an appropriate use for them.

Jun-gyeong scratched his head.
Then he went back into the villa, retrieved the car keys, and came outside again.
Chief Secretary Kim Hyeon-seok got out of the car and approached.
The gangsters had already piled into their vans and disappeared, leaving only Jun-gyeong and the Chief Secretary in the courtyard.

“Help me move some things.”
“Of course.”

Jun-gyeong walked over to the shaman’s car and opened the trunk.
Inside were around fifteen duffel bags.
Each bag contained somewhere between fifty and one hundred million won.
There was roughly one billion won in the trunk altogether.
Jun-gyeong and Kim Hyeon-seok carried the bags over and loaded them into the trunk of the Mercedes sedan.

“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”

Hyeon-seok’s Mercedes, loaded with money, set off for Seoul.

Jun-gyeong sat in the living room and quietly observed his inner state.
The final light Yeon-hui had left behind when she passed on.
Those particles of pure gratitude had seeped into Jun-gyeong and were causing a delicate, pure-white lotus bud to bloom within him.
The bud was tiny, but the warmth flowing from it was enough to fill his chest.

That gentle warmth brought a smile to Jun-gyeong’s face.

A lotus blooms even in muddy water.
And it purifies the water around it.
In the same way, it would purify Mana into internal energy and gift it to him.
He had not yet unearthed the Mana Stones still sleeping underground, but he knew where they were buried.
And if he wished, the Seonghwangsin could move them beneath his home.

There was no need to rush.
Tempering could not be rushed.
You had to hammer slowly, inspect carefully, and adjust the thickness with precision.
Only after thousands, tens of thousands of strikes could it truly be called tempering.

Jun-gyeong slowly opened his eyes.

“Right. There’s no need to rush.”

It was not particularly loud, but activity began to stir outside.
A car stopped outside the courtyard, and Hyeon-seok got out and walked in.
He gave a proper greeting, approached the entrance, and rang the bell.

“Come in. It’s open.”

Hyeon-seok entered and bowed again.

“Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah. You must be tired. Why aren’t you resting?”

Hyeon-seok smiled as he answered.

“Tired? Staying up all night is nothing. I came because the construction around the house isn’t finished yet. It may get a little noisy.”
“Construction?”
“Yes. We purchased the surrounding buildings as well. You’ll need parking, and we thought it would be better to give you a separate place to train.”

Jun-gyeong nodded.
He had already been somewhat concerned about training after moving here.
They had furnished a home gym for him, but the machines were still unfamiliar.
Of course, he knew how to use them, but his training did not end with conditioning his body.
He also needed a place where he could calm his mind and swing his sword.
His old rooftop home had given him freedom for that, but it would not be so easy here.

“That’s fortunate. I needed somewhere to practice with my sword.”
“Yes. We’ll build it so it’s directly connected to the house.”
“Thank you. For everything.”
“Not at all.”

Hyeon-seok bowed again and turned to leave.
Jun-gyeong’s gaze followed him, then stopped on the duffel bags stacked near the entrance.

“Hyeon-seok.”
“Yes.”
“Help me with something.”
“Sorry?”
“I need to repay a meal.”

Hyeon-seok’s eyebrow twitched.

Park Mi-jeong woke in the morning and stared at the ceiling.

Rain still pattered beyond the window, the smell of mold still hung in the air, and the room was still damp, hot, and oppressively humid.
And quiet.

She sat up and looked at the refrigerator.
Yeon-hui’s writing was still stuck to the door.
The little bit of soda left inside.
Everything was exactly the same.

The only thing that had changed was that her body no longer hurt.
She hadn’t woken coughing up blood.
That was enough.
Hope rose within her that she could work again.

She clenched her fist and pressed it to her chest.
The memory of holding Yeon-hui one last time yesterday felt like a dream.
But it had been real.
The piece of rolled egg still sitting on the table proved it had not been a dream.

“…Right. I need to be happy.”

Mi-jeong decided she would at least return to the restaurant where she had worked before becoming ill.
She squeezed her eyes shut and spoke softly, almost like a confession.

“Yeon-hui. Mom has a dream now.”

Her voice was quiet, but she continued.

“Someday, I’m going to open a little restaurant. A place where people like us can come and eat comfortably. So… cheer me on. Mom’s going to be happy.”

Tears gathered in her eyes.
But they didn’t fall.
Instead, the corners of her mouth rose into a smile.

The restaurant owner welcomed her back.
Though she had quit because of her health, she had always been a diligent employee.
For the owner, Mi-jeong returning was a stroke of good fortune.

“Good to have you back. Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes.”

The owner warmly embraced her.

“Come on in.”

The predawn air no longer carried the smell of cement dust.
After nearly a month of construction, the old buildings around Jun-gyeong’s home had been neatly cleared away.
A spacious parking area had been opened up, and behind the house stood a fully soundproofed training hall where he could practice with his sword.
Jun-gyeong sat before a low tea table, faint steam rising from his body as though he had just finished training.

Swipe, Swipe.

The dry sound of pages sliding across a document tablet echoed over the tea table set up along one side of the training room.
Kim Hyeon-seok, seated across from Jun-gyeong, took a sip of warm tea and continued.

“She volunteered for kitchen duty from her first day back. She’s already earned the owner’s trust and now even accompanies them to the early-morning market to purchase ingredients.”

The tablet displayed clear photos of Park Mi-jeong wearing a cook’s cap and smiling brightly at the market.
Bandages were wrapped around nearly every finger as though she had cut herself repeatedly with knives, but the gray, dying complexion she once wore was nowhere to be seen.

“It’s grueling work. She goes in early in the morning and leaves late at night… but reports say she smiles every single day. Even the neighboring merchants keep praising her, saying a blessing has come into the restaurant.”

Jun-gyeong looked out the window and gave a faint chuckle.

“I told her to think about how she wanted to be happy, and all she came up with was working herself to the bone in a kitchen.”

She was hardworking to the point of foolishness.
But that foolish diligence, those drops of sweat, were the shape of the life Jo Yeon-hui had left behind for her mother in exchange for her own.
Jun-gyeong felt the tiny pure-white lotus floating above his dantian, the White Lotus.
The more vitality returned to Mi-jeong’s life, the more that clear energy of merit quietly accumulated within Jun-gyeong as well.

“…Looks like it’s time to repay that meal.”

Jun-gyeong murmured quietly.
It seemed she was finally ready to reach for happiness.

After Mi-jeong began handling the food, the restaurant gradually started gaining a reputation for its cooking.
It didn’t suddenly become a place with long lines and waiting lists, but regulars began visiting more often, and everyone had something good to say about the food.

“Boss, did you change the kimchi? Why is the kimchi stew so much better now?”
“Wow~ This spicy pork is incredible. Are you trying to make me drink soju at lunch? Why is this so good?”
“Boss! Another rolled omelet over here, please. This is amazing. You have to teach me how you make it.”

Every compliment about her food lifted Mi-jeong’s spirits and made her work even harder.
Then one day, after the lunch rush had ended and Mi-jeong was catching her breath in the kitchen, the restaurant owner rushed in.
The owner’s face was flushed with excitement, and she carried a thick document envelope in her hand.

“Mi-jeong! Come with me for a bit.”
“What? Me?”

The owner nodded so vigorously her head nearly snapped off and grabbed Mi-jeong by the hand.

“Come on, hurry!”

Without explaining anything, the owner bundled Mi-jeong into the car.
The car stopped near a local university district.
It was not a nightlife district like the areas around Ewha or Hongdae, but there was plenty of foot traffic and a commercial street lined with popular restaurants and good places to eat.
In the middle of it all stood a neat, welcoming restaurant that looked freshly renovated.

“What do you think of this place?”
“Sorry? This place?”

Mi-jeong looked around.
Lunch had ended and most restaurants were on break, but plenty of people still walked the streets, going in and out of nearby cafés and restaurants.

“It looks like business would be good here.”
“Right?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go inside.”

The owner took Mi-jeong by the hand and led her into the restaurant.
The interior had already been completely and neatly finished.
It was a small restaurant with around six tables.
Out of habit, Mi-jeong immediately looked toward the kitchen.
Even the kitchen equipment, which would normally be bought used, was all spotless and brand-new.

Mi-jeong looked at the owner in confusion.
The owner smiled brightly and placed the thick document envelope she had been carrying all along into Mi-jeong’s hands.

“This place belongs to you now.”
“What?”

The owner’s warmth began spreading through Mi-jeong’s stunned hands.