Chapter 79
**
Sujeok revealed the location of the waterway. He hastily waved his hand, promising to guide me directly.
I ignored his moaning as we headed back to the boat and asked Ju Ryeongryeong.
“Lady So.”
—Thud.
A sound of bone breaking echoed. A writhing mass lay beneath her.
The fierce energy contained within her nails peeled the skin away like slicing tofu. His mouth, already resembling that of one who had been tongue-tied, emitted only strange noises.
But I felt no sympathy for him.
After all, he was a cheap character.
“There’s a waterway nearby. The remaining Sujeoks should be gathered there. Shall we go?”
“…Yeah. And So Hye?”
“I’m right here.”
“Keep holding her. My arms are dirty.”
All the Sujeoks on the boat were split in two. Their limbs torn apart, only grotesque faces remained on their bodies, all of them already breathless.
But Ansasugwi was different. She grabbed his neck, unsure if he was dead or alive.
“It can’t be over yet. Ansasugwi.”
“G-gack…gack…!”
“Let’s go together. To your home.”
We boarded the ferry. The boat filled only with corpses drifted further away.
I pulled out a bandage from my pocket. Standing before her as she sliced into Ansasugwi, I spoke.
“Lady So. Just a moment.”
“…….”
I had no intention of interrupting. However, her wounds were more serious than I had thought.
Her leg dripped with blood, as if bitten by a ferocious beast. First, I cleaned it thoroughly with the water I had brought and then applied the medicine on top.
Ju Ryeongryeong stared down at me. Then she asked suddenly.
“Why did you come to me?”
“I wanted to.”
“You have to go to Eungmin.”
“I don’t plan to delay. The longer I take, the harder I’ll have to work. But the past can’t be caught no matter how fast I run, so I thought this should come first.”
“We don’t have that kind of bond between us.”
“We shared our things, talked until we slept, and even trained our bodies together, didn’t we?”
I tightened the bandage securely.
“What’s so special about friendship? If our hearts connect, I believe that makes us friends.”
“…….”
The hand that was cutting into Ansasugwi stopped.
“Can you…hand So Hye over?”
I handed her over. Though the limbless body had no strength to move, at that moment it turned its gaze back to Ju Ryeongryeong as if to embrace her.
It felt like the last flickering flame was burning brightly once more. Perhaps realizing it too, Ju Ryeongryeong forced a smile.
“Yes… sis. So Hye, do you recognize me?”
“…….”
“Sis… I’m so late, right? I’m sorry. I should have known sooner… my, my sister… so…”
“…….”
“You were… in so much pain… I… I shouldn’t have taught you martial arts…”
So Hye turned her head. It was a faint gesture, but it was definitely her shaking her head.
“Ugh… this…”
Her distorted voice was trying to say something.
“Ah… yeah…”
“Yeah. I’m listening. So Hye.”
“Ugh… ooh… oh… uh… uh…”
She panted. Just as the fragile flame threatened to go out, she grimaced. The corners of her mouth rose awkwardly as she squeezed her eyes shut…
And smiled.
For Ju Ryeongryeong.
“Sis… it’s not your fault…”
Surely those words should have been muffled.
It shouldn’t have been audible given she had no tongue.
But those words reached beyond Ju Ryeongryeong and to me as well.
An occurrence that shouldn’t be happening.
Ju Ryeongryeong’s hands trembled. She closed her mouth once. The saliva she couldn’t swallow fell with a plop onto the floor of the boat.
The words she hadn’t been able to voice fell along with it. The words curled up also scattered everywhere.
“I… I…”
“Sis.”
“I’m… I’m sorry… I truly… I…”
“Sis.”
I saw something shifting behind So Hye.
Bai Ya cried sorrowfully. I caught her gaze as she turned slightly.
She smiled.
“I made a friend. I’m glad.”
“……”
“Do you know how to make dried fruits? Did sis tell you?”
The movements of her spirit overlapped on her lips.
A flaming soul, even I could see.
At that moment, I realized. What was moving her wasn’t the struggles of the living.
The spirit of the dead was borrowing the corpse to speak.
Master Guigok Yajang.
That strange phenomenon I had seen in his workshop.
Because of this, the Ear Sword must be mourning as well.
So Hye…
Had already died.
Just leaning on the moonlight, she was sharing her final moments.
“I heard you.”
“Do you think of me as a friend?”
“Of course.”
“…Then just a little… only until sis stops swaying, please take care of her.”
“Leave it to me.”
So Hye turned her head. Her mouth moved, but the sound diminished as if time was running out.
The wind blew. The boat rocked slightly. The spirit behind her swayed as if it might break apart.
But she mumbled, as if she had more to say.
“Sis. Come closer. I can’t speak well…”
“Yeah… yeah… I’m here…”
“Do you remember? The day we first met? That thing I gave you… I really put a lot of effort into drying it?”
“…….”
“I wanted to give it to you… so I dried it really hard. I thought next time I wouldn’t have to dry it so hard. But… I kept doing it after that. I just wanted to be close to you.”
“……”
“You treated me so well. Always taking care of me, piling things on me. You know how much mom appreciated you, right? Thanks to you, I grew this much. Really, I shot up. If I hadn’t eaten the fish you caught for me, I wouldn’t have grown like this.”
“…So Hye…”
“Sis. I’m sleepy. But not yet. You know? Sis. What you gave me was confidence. Because of that, I could always walk with my shoulders back. I could speak up in moments when things seemed strange.”
One by one, her expressions faded away.
“That was good. A lot. So that’s who I wanted to be.”
“I… I… shouldn’t…”
“Of course it hurt. It was hard. It would be a little awkward to say otherwise. But that’s not what I wanted to tell you. Sis, you know? I haven’t been able to find you at all since I became a Spirit User. So… so I have so much that I’ve kept unsaid. I’m much stronger than the other Spirit Users, you know? You’re curious, right?”
“…….”
“There were a few I saved. Got extra rewards for safely finishing the Spirit journey? You know, and…”
The stories poured out.
Stories of So Hye.
Ju Ryeongryeong nodded slowly. She continued to listen to her words without adding a single one of her own.
As if every single word was precious, she made no sound at all. Occasionally, she only grimaced.
I turned my head. Among the approaching presence, I saw numerous boats floating on the river.
The Sujeok rowing murmured.
“Those are… our people from the waterway…”
I rose to my feet.
Drew my sword.
Bai Ya cried as if she were weeping in surrender.
“Row the oars.”
“B-but…”
“Shut up and row.”
I stepped onto the frozen water.
“There’s no time for beastly noise to mix in.”
…
Memories overlap.
Memories intertwined with recollections.
Ju Ryeongryeong smiled softly. While listening to So Hye’s story, her lips even curled up.
How many stories had been honed in that tiny body.
There was no end to the stories. Ju Ryeongryeong wanted to hear all of them.
But there was a limit to the time given.
“Sis. I’m really… sleepy now.”
“…Yeah.”
I stroked her head. I combed her frizzy hair with my hand.
“Sis.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you there?”
“I’m here. So Hye, I’m right here.”
“I’m hungry.”
“I have dried fruits, do you want some?”
“Eww, yours isn’t tasty.”
“I dry them well now.”
“You gave me the moldy ones before. You just threw them anywhere because you were lazy.”
“Not anymore. I even fixed up the house, you know? I cook well.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really. I wanted to make something for you when you came.”
“I want to eat it.”
“Should I put it in your mouth?”
“Later.”
“……”
“Sis.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you there?”
“I’m here. So Hye, I’m constantly here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You’re not going anywhere?”
“Yeah. Of course. Where would I go?”
“…Hehe. But still. You’ll go far away.”
“How could I go leaving you behind?”
“Go far and tell me all about it. You know? When I become a Spirit User, I’ll get to go to places others can’t go.”
“……”
“Sis always boasted, but maybe… I’m supposed to be right where I need to be. So I want to tell you about the things I’ve seen here and there.”
“……”
“They say when you become a Spirit User you can go far, really far. And while doing that, you’ll accumulate stories. When I come back, I was gathering them to tell you all about it.”
“……”
“Sis.”
“…Yeah.”
“Did you like my story?”
“I liked… it…”
“Do you want to go see it too?”
“Of course… I do…”
“Now you can go anywhere. So… after you see it, come back and tell me.”
“…….”
“The fun things. The joyful things. The first sights… everything.”
“…….”
“You have to do it, even if it’s burdensome. Will you wait for me?”
“Yeah. I’ll tell you. So Hye, everything… everything at all.”
“…….”
“…So Hye?”
“…….”
“So Hye… So Hye…”
“…….”
“So… Hye…”
Ju Ryeongryeong slowly moved her head. She pressed her forehead against So Hye’s, which no longer moved.
There was no response. Even when slightly shaken, there was none. No pulse, the still heart could be felt against the foreheads now touching.
I swallowed my tears. Afraid she might hear.
Instead, I whispered.
A promise.
“I’ll see everything… everything and come back…”
“…….”
“So…”
I slightly opened her small mouth.
Put the dried fruit inside.
“Sleep well, So Hye.”
I pulled away from her forehead. I gazed down at her.
For a while, I quietly stared at her peaceful face.
Not saying a word…
Just quietly.
…
Before the day passed, I sorted all the Sujeoks. I found several women in the waterway who looked exactly like So Hye.
Ju Ryeongryeong asked them what they wished to do.
They said, in clumsy tones, that they all wanted to die.
Death. That was probably the only gift I could give them. Ju Ryeongryeong moved her hand, and I watched.
The waterway was eradicated. Only the last remaining Ansasugwi was left nailed to a tree, pecked at by birds.
Gold and treasure were also found.
All of it was gathered and loaded onto the boat.
“…You can take it.”
“It’s arranged nicely for you to carry, Lady So.”
“I don’t need it either.”
“I don’t need it either. If you sincerely have no use for it, then throw it into the river on your way.”
“…Really.”
Ju Ryeongryeong uprooted a tree. She carved it with her fierce energy to create a coffin.
Inside, she laid So Hye’s corpse. After closing the lid, she hammered nails into the coffin.
“What are you planning to do with So Hye’s body?”
“There’s a place where we used to stay together. I plan to bury her there.”
“It’s not Lady So’s fault.”
Ju Ryeongryeong leaned her head against me.
“…Call me by my name.”
“……”
“Is it a no?”
“Ryeongryeong.”
“Yes. Good.”
Ju Ryeongryeong looked up at me.
“That’s torn. Wouldn’t it be better just to take it off?”
I felt her face. The torn Infimyeon-gu hung awkwardly after being ripped by a hit.
There was no spare. It was something difficult to make in the first place. Reluctantly, I tore off all the remaining Infimyeon-gu.
“Wouldn’t that be much better?”
“Ryeongryeong, how do you make a face cover?”
“I guess they’d look at you weird if a man wore it.”
“Is that so?”
“I don’t really know. I just picked one up in the village. Haha.”
Ju Ryeongryeong loaded the coffin onto the boat. Two boats heading down the same path.
“Could you row a bit?”
“I’m about to learn.”
“…I made us late.”
“If we hurry, it won’t be so late.”
“Why did you help?”
“I told you, didn’t I?”
“…I just wanted to hear it once more.”
Instead of answering her question, I stroked Ju Ryeongryeong’s head.
I spoke for the noble sister who had never once cried out loud, fearing her younger sibling might hear.
“It’s not your fault, Ryeongryeong.”
“…Huh…”
My shoulders got wet.
“So… Hye… So Hye…”
“…….”
“So Hye… So Hye…”
“…….”
“My… my…”
“…….”
“Ugh… AHHHHHH…”
The belated wails swept across the river and floated far away.
How much time would it take to grasp that?
I didn’t know.
I just…
Wished that everything wouldn’t descend upon her again.
With all my heart.
