The Mountain Estate — Losing the Way
The two men lit a small campfire and chewed on dried meat, deciding to take turns sleeping.
They did not even know where they were, yet they had no choice but to spend the night outdoors.
So-un had exhausted himself, so Gunmyeong told him to sleep first and planned to rest later.
Spring nights were still bitterly cold.
If it was this cold now, how harsh must it have been before spring arrived?
Gunmyeong, who had been keeping watch, dozed off for a moment.
Half-asleep, he thought he heard something.
He blinked, but saw nothing.
When he closed his eyes and listened, a faint rustling reached him.
The sound of cloth brushing against his cheek…
Then he sensed it.
He saw it.
A pale human silhouette briefly blocked the space between the campfire's light and the illusion beyond, then vanished.
He cursed himself for having slept so carelessly.
So-un was still asleep.
Gunmyeong made a decision.
He sprang to his feet, drew his sword, and shouted.
"Who's there! Who dares play tricks!"
Startled by the shout, So-un woke.
"What is it?"
Still half asleep, he asked, but Gunmyeong did not answer.
Sword drawn, he stared ahead, then whipped around sharply.
His silence and rigid posture revealed his tension.
Since nothing was visible in the dark, So-un tossed more dry wood into the fire.
They needed light before they could do anything.
If it's an assassin of the Black Blades…
If the Black Blades had followed them this far—
Before the thought even finished forming, So-un drew his sword.
Holding the blade steadied his heart.
Though he had driven himself to exhaustion earlier, a short sleep had restored him considerably.
A tingling current flowed through his arms.
He could no longer tell whether it came from the sword or from his breath, but he knew the blue energy was with him.
Back-to-back with Gunmyeong, he peered into the darkness.
There was nothing but blackness.
"Uncle, what was it? What did you see?"
Only the faint outline of the path, trees, grass, and the lingering warmth of the wind under moonlight.
No human presence.
"Did you see the King of the Mountains?"
"No. Something passed between me and the fire. I didn't see it clearly… but something was there."
Time stretched endlessly.
There is no time longer than one spent standing still.
So-un did not doubt Gunmyeong's senses.
He was former Imperial Guard, trained in orthodox martial arts, respected even within the White Dragon Unit.
"Uncle."
"What."
Still crouched and ready to fight, though nothing appeared, So-un's curiosity flared again.
"Why did you go to the White Dragon Unit?"
"Is that really the question to ask right now?"
"As Imperial Guard, you protected the Emperor directly. Promotions, salary, prestige—you had them all. Why go to Haran? Did you do something wrong?"
So-un already sensed there was nothing nearby.
He was softening the tension with conversation.
"I volunteered."
"Why?"
"Because I thought that's what a soldier should do. A warrior, at least… something like that. But wait—that's strange. The fire we saw earlier—it's gone."
"What fire?"
"The one at the end of the path. We saw it before. Now it's not there. Look."
"You're right."
"What do you mean 'you're right'?"
"Doesn't that mean it's normal now? Earlier was strange. If it's back to normal, that's good."
"If this is some formation, that means the formation changed."
"I don't believe you can make a formation out of trees and rocks without soldiers. We might have mistaken it. You can block sight with smoke and hide troops behind it, but how do you confuse people with trees just standing there?"
Their back-and-forth seemed endless.
Gunmyeong realized again he was being drawn into So-un's questioning.
"No, So-un. Think. Even if it's impossible in theory, we saw something earlier that isn't there now. That means something changed. Right?"
"Yes."
"If something changed, how? Before, we circled no matter how straight we walked. If we no longer circle, that means we can leave. Use that clever head of yours."
So-un needed no further prompting.
The reasoning was obvious.
"Then let's get out quickly."
"You just said there's no formation, and now you want to escape one?"
"Whatever it is, whatever we call it, we shouldn't stay stuck in a loop."
So-un had grown certain that something unseen was at work.
Though invisible, something capable of altering space was present.
"Yes. Let's get out."
If someone was hiding—someone playing tricks—So-un felt they deserved punishment.
If the formation had not changed, he would not have thought this way.
He deliberately raised his voice.
"If someone is there, playing games with us, then it wouldn't be wrong for me to punish them."
"What are you saying now?"
Gunmyeong asked cautiously, wary of being pulled into another spiral.
"If such a being exists, I'll teach it a lesson."
The boy's voice rang through the forest.
"How?"
"I'll burn this place down. We'll clear a path while we're at it. Dry brush, the gentle wind… burn it all. Then we'll leave once it's ash."
So-un was convinced someone was responsible.
If the formation was man-made and could be altered, then surely the threat of fire would provoke a reaction.
He sheathed his sword and lifted the largest burning log from the campfire.
"Uncle, let's burn it all. Clear a path and kill any cunning beasts hiding here."
Quick-witted, Gunmyeong realized So-un was not threatening him, but someone unseen.
He picked up a flaming branch as well.
So-un had said "cunning beast."
If the hidden presence was not a beast, being called one would sting.
It was a tactic—to provoke anger and force it to appear.
And the mountain was dry.
At the cusp of spring, everything was brittle.
If fire caught the brush, it would spread through the forest in an instant.