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“This crazy shaman bastard… Does he take me for a fool? Where does he come off playing these ridiculous tricks?”

Seong Min-hyuk muttered in disbelief.

He scowled fiercely, channeling his Qi. Instantly, energy surged through his entire body, solidifying him and amplifying his already incredible physical prowess. Unlike other warriors whose Qi flowed like water, his energy flowed thick and viscous, akin to oil.

With the sticky energy coiling around him, he tried to charge toward Jinseong.

“You can’t charge in!”

But, compelled to stop by the trembling officer in the distance, he hesitated.

“Why not?”

“Huff, huff. You absolutely must not attack! If you do, the cost we have to pay will grow even larger!”

The officer rushed over, panting, and shouted at Seong Min-hyuk.

“It’s not a payment for services; it’s a fee! This isn’t a con by a diviner!”

Payment for services. Fee.

What’s the difference?

Seong Min-hyuk couldn’t grasp the officer’s words. The officer, seemingly frustrated, attempted to explain but, upon seeing the crumpled bills clinging to Jinseong’s body quiver and form shapes, he hurriedly positioned himself in front of Seong Min-hyuk and shouted.

“Please tell me about the fee!”

“A question?”

At the officer’s inquiry, a head wrapped in an abundance of banknotes buckled in, forming a mouth. It moved as if trying to speak, producing a sound that momentarily dazed the officer. But soon, perhaps to regain his composure, he slapped his cheek loudly and drew the Sign of the Cross.

“This isn’t a question! I pointed out that you didn’t mention what you ought to have, so how can this be a question!”

After a brief silence, Jinseong replied.

“What is a fee? A fee is the rightful payment that should be given when work is done, something that must be paid when using something. This is the proper etiquette and contract between people. Whether tangible or intangible, it is a rightful cost to be returned.”

“And you need to mention the difference from a payment for services!”

“You’re quite particular, huh?”

Jinseong turned his head toward where the officer stood. In the place where eyes should be, hollows formed, and twisting ink gathered and drew a pair of black eyes as if crafted in a drawing.

The eyes glanced at the officer, curved slyly, and then spoke.

“Did you pick up these shaman tricks somewhere?”

It looked as though it was grinning cheekily.

“Good! Very good. Magic is the root of culture, the seed of civilization. There’s no one more cultured than one who knows this, and no one greater than those who show interest in it. Yes, you must tell me. How could I take something without knowing it? Hahaha, but before that, let’s see. What is your name? Ah, I see it now… Yes, I can see it.”

The ink that formed the eyes gathered in the brow area, becoming a large eye illustration.

This eye seemed to expand and contract repeatedly, as if it were reading the three letters sewn onto the officer’s military uniform.

“Ah, Cheon Hee-soo. You are Cheon Hee-soo. Such a wonderfully fitting name, indeed. A name chosen by one who has great significance in naming. Let’s see what can be read from your name…”

“I’ll pass on the details. Just explain the difference between a fee and a payment for services!”

“Oh dear.”

Jinseong chuckled at the officer, Cheon Hee-soo, who cut him off.

“You’ve learned well. You seem to be serving a four-letter deity, and it must have been a holy sorcerer who informed you of it. Hahahahahaha!”

Jinseong laughed maniacally.

His laughter carried immense joy, and the sound resonated through the sky, enough to make the tense soldiers’ knees give way and sit on the ground.

The laughter continued for a long while, as if time had ceased, then suddenly it ceased, and Jinseong instantly erased the eyes from his face, leaving only his mouth, which began to move back and forth.

Each time his mouth flapped, the bills vibrated in harmony, the ink writhing and moving the faces of the figures depicted on the banknotes.

It was a horrifying sight, as if countless souls were speaking through their mouths.

“Payment for services is the cost of divination, strictly revolving around the fortune-telling transaction. The diviner foresaw the future and paid a cost, and those who received the reading must offer something of equivalent value to what the diviner paid. This is strictly a transaction centered on the reading, and its weight is indeed equal and equal again. There’s neither deficiency nor excess; therefore it is a truly fair exchange!”

“But what is a fee? In this case, there is nothing in between, just those who commission and those who work, meaning that the one receiving the work must receive a satisfactory sum while the one commissioning the work must pay a sufficient due that’s aligned with propriety. This is what’s known as a fee.”

After Jinseong finished his explanation, the officer whispered to Seong Min-hyuk.

“Did you understand?”

“No.”

But the response was an audaciously blunt one.

He showed no shame about his ignorance, a response that would make Confucius shake his head, muttering, “That one’s beyond my teaching.”

The officer, seeing Seong Min-hyuk’s attitude of ‘What’s the problem with not knowing?’ gave up hope for him. Instead, to make it as clear as a gorilla could understand, he extracted the key points for a simpler explanation.

“Payment for services means you just pay the set price, but a fee means you have to negotiate.”

“What? So you’re saying I have to negotiate with that bastard?”

“…Yes, that’s roughly it.”

“Is it really that complicated to explain such a simple thing? Can’t we just agree on a price?”

Seong Min-hyuk shrugged his shoulders and approached Jinseong.

“Hey, shaman dude. I don’t know what tricks you’ve pulled, but thanks to that smart fellow over there, it’s all out in the open, huh? Right?”

“Hehe.”

“I get that I’ve fallen for your shenanigans, and I understand that paying is no problem. So…”

Seong Min-hyuk pulled a 500 won coin from his pocket, folded it twice, and tossed it at Jinseong’s feet.

Clink.

“Take this and get lost.”

At those words, Jinseong let out a small ‘heh’ sound.

That quiet sound soon erupted into a huge laugh, as if it had been let out with a breath.

“Hua ha ha ha ha!”

“Hahaha!”

“Haha!”

The mummy laughed as if she could no longer hold it in, clutching her stomach.

Like it was about to pop out, she rolled around on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.

When she finally let go, a considerable hole formed in her stomach, and something began to burst forth from there.

Rustle.

Rustle rustle rustle rustle rustle.

With the sound similar to crumpling paper, golden threads burst forth from the hole in her belly, climbing up Jinseong’s body to create a mask on his face. The shape of the mask was similar to before, but its appearance was even more bizarre, featuring a design that resembled the type of crown an Egyptian pharaoh would wear, and underneath was a face strikingly similar to Seong Min-hyuk’s.

“Three questions hold truly strange significance.”

“From legends both East and West.”

“In myths.”

“In folk tales, there are countless instances of three questions.”

Jinseong shook the mask resembling a death mask made from wax, that formed Seong Min-hyuk’s face. He swayed it slowly back and forth, occasionally bringing it closer as if wanting to see Seong Min-hyuk’s face better.

Then the faces drawn on Jinseong’s body and the mouth of the mask began to shift and speak.

It was as if multiple beings were sticking to one person and babbling endlessly.

“There was a lord who tried to drive out the Jews. The lord asked three questions, and as a result of the answers given, the Jews could live plentiful lives, which was the reward for the wisdom that answered the questions. Ah, how enviable.”

“A boy who answered the three questions of the Grim Reaper gained wealth and power alongside eternal life. Ah, the cost of answering questions is indeed precious; I couldn’t be more jealous.”

“When Ahmad heard the three questions posed by the king and answered correctly with the angel’s hints, his path was laid with only beautiful things, as placed by angels. Ah, contractor Ahmad. Contractor of the angel. Living a life of happiness and opulence with the secret knowledge and wisdom spoken by the angel. Ah, truly enviable.”

“There are three questions that test wisdom, and answering them makes you wise. This wisdom is truly exceptional and deserving of the world’s blessings. Hence, the cost of this is surely valuable; ah, what a blessed and fortunate undertaking.”

As Jinseong spoke through many mouths, he suddenly sealed his lips tightly.

Then, in a disappointed tone, he said,

“However, what I’ve stated is far from wisdom. So I will pose three questions, just as I received; this is indeed a fee, and the price you owe me.”

Jinseong placed his hand, stuffed with folded bills, on the mask.

Then, grabbing the edges of the mask’s mouth, he ripped it upwards, crafting a bizarre smile.

“Just as I gave the correct answers to the proper questions, you too should answer correctly to the appropriate questions. It will only be three, and if you answer only those three, there will be no issues.”

Jinseong spat out those words and pointed behind them.

“Moreover, great power of Shesep ankh resides here, so until you answer my questions, the path shall not open, and none of you shall pass.”

Woven around like a bandage, embodying the desires and obsessions of humans.

Shaped like a fake human figure.

Dressed in mere metal, the dazzling element of gold is like a mere shell.

The doll that Jinseong controls, standing in replacement of him, mimicked a monster from Egypt and posed the first question.

“Is there anyone in this world who deserves to die?”

 

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