Chapter 46. Dream of the Jade-Blue Sea (3)
Once the sun had completely disappeared, the two men slipped out of Beopsindang.
They hid themselves inside the forest surrounding the royal palace of Hongyang.
Both were dressed from head to toe in plain black clothing.
Even so, neither man could completely hide his tall figure or refined air.
Walking side by side, they attracted attention in completely different ways.
If Seongha looked like a bright and brilliant moon, Hyeon was like the mysterious darkness of the night itself.
Crown Prince Nam Hyeon’s plan was to follow an underground waterway on the northern side of the mountain and enter the palace through the royal ice storehouse.
The ice storehouse was a long cave hidden between rocky cliffs where sunlight never reached.
At its far end was a secret gate leading inside the palace.
Ice stored there during winter would remain frozen until the following summer.
It was a mysterious natural stone cave.
During summer, officials frequently came and went.
But now that autumn had arrived, the place was completely empty.
It was essentially a secret passage known only to someone intimately familiar with the palace grounds.
The two men walked deeper into the dark tunnel.
A terrible cold seeped through the stone walls.
Their fingers went numb.
Even their shoes slowly became damp.
Wherever their lantern light passed, shadows formed strange and gloomy shapes against the rocks.
Seongha glanced to the side.
Then he suddenly flinched so violently that the lantern slipped from his hand.
It rolled across the ground.
Crackle.
Tiny sparks scattered.
Then the flame went out completely.
Frozen human heads were wedged between cracks in the rocks.
They wore official hats.
Their beards had been carefully maintained.
They appeared to be palace officials.
Their eyes had not even been closed.
They had died with pure terror still frozen across their faces.
It was a horrifying sight.
Hyeon, who had been standing nearby, quickly grabbed Seongha’s shoulder when he lost his balance.
“How could this...”
Hyeon’s expression turned grim.
“I heard rumors that several officials had mysteriously disappeared inside the palace.”
He stared at the frozen corpses.
“I never imagined their bodies had been hidden inside the ice storehouse.”
Even Hyeon had not expected to encounter something so horrifying before they had even properly entered the palace.
He spoke quietly.
“When the owner of this palace eventually changes, I will make sure each of them receives a proper burial.”
His gaze hardened.
“For tonight, however, we must continue.”
The two men forced themselves onward and left the ice storehouse.
Even after stepping outside, the cold seemed to cling to their bodies.
Because the Fifteenth Day Festival was approaching, many workers from the palace had temporarily left the capital to prepare for the event.
The palace grounds were therefore quieter than usual.
Even so, standing troops remained stationed throughout the area.
They could not afford to lower their guard.
Hyeon and Seongha watched their surroundings from the shadow of the secret gate.
“Follow me carefully.”
Hyeon lowered his voice.
“We will soon meet the one who agreed to accompany us.”
He quickly moved toward the blind spot between two buildings.
Seongha nodded and followed.
Long ago, Hyeon had confidently walked through the palace courtyard along the Crown Prince’s Path, which stood to the left of the king’s road.
Back then, his path had been straight and covered with bricks.
Now he wore the clothing of a wandering assassin.
He had no choice but to move through the shadows like a fugitive.
As Hyeon looked at the palace buildings beyond the walls, deep regret appeared in his eyes.
A short while later, Hyeon and Seongha stopped beneath a beautifully carved bridge.
“Here! Over here!”
A low-ranking official in the distance spotted them and quickly approached.
He seemed to be the companion Hyeon had mentioned.
However, the moment Seongha saw him, his hand instinctively moved to the hilt of his sword.
The man’s face was pitch black.
It was so dark that his features were nearly impossible to recognize.
His appearance was deeply unsettling.
Worse, he did not walk on two feet like a normal person.
He bounced toward them like a frog or grasshopper.
There was nothing human about his movements.
Hyeon frowned.
“You fool. Do you seriously call that a disguise?”
To Seongha’s astonishment, Hyeon acted as if all of this were perfectly normal.
“You look even more monstrous when you imitate a human so badly.”
The black-faced ghost looked embarrassed.
“That’s strange. Don’t I look exactly like a person?”
He glanced down at himself.
“I even went through the trouble of finding clothes.”
Then he jumped again and smiled with his unnaturally wide mouth.
His attention turned toward Seongha.
“Who’s this scholar?”
The ghost stared intensely at him.
“His energy is so straight and pure.”
A strange grin spread across his face.
“It makes me want to dirty him.”
The Black Sword Ghost approached Seongha and sniffed around him.
Before he could get any closer, Hyeon struck his shoulder and stopped him.
“Mind your words.”
Hyeon’s expression turned cold.
“He is my man. You will show him respect as well.”
Seongha narrowed his long eyes at the ghost.
He clearly did not want such a suspicious creature accompanying them.
“Your Highness, who exactly is this?”
“He is called the Black Sword Ghost, an administrator of hell.”
Hyeon glanced at the creature.
“We need him for what we intend to do tonight.”
The Black Sword Ghost immediately became excited.
“You really need me?”
He circled Hyeon happily.
“Does that mean you’re finally willing to join hands with me?”
Seongha found the scene completely strange.
Why would a horrifying being from another world desperately try to gain Hyeon’s favor?
The two of them standing together seemed completely unnatural.
The ghost suddenly turned toward Seongha.
“Scholar! Are you wondering why I followed him?”
Seongha stiffened.
It was almost as if the creature had read his mind.
“There’s no special reason.”
The Black Sword Ghost grinned.
“Ghosts simply enjoy interfering in the affairs of the living.”
Then he added,
“If you ever need me, Scholar, just say the word.”
His smile widened.
“There are far more problems in this world that human strength cannot solve than you realize.”
Seongha turned his head away without answering.
His expression clearly said that such a day would never come.
The Black Sword Ghost tilted his head and laughed.
His long, torn mouth made it look as if he were mocking Seongha.
“So why exactly did the Crown Prince and the Scholar come to the palace tonight?”
Hyeon answered immediately.
“We are going to close the first gate of the Ghost Path and stop my father’s games with the dead.”
It was not enough to make practical preparations for rebellion.
If King Nampyeong unleashed beings from another world, all of Hyeon’s preparations could become meaningless.
The Black Sword Ghost frowned.
“Even if you cut off the Ghost Path, it’ll only be temporary.”
His voice became playful.
“Chaos has already begun.”
“The ghosts have tasted freedom. Do you really think they’ll obediently return to their own world?”
Hyeon answered without hesitation.
“It only needs to remain sealed until the Fifteenth Day Festival.”
His eyes sharpened.
“I intend to fight my father as one human against another.”
The Black Sword Ghost twisted his neck and limbs into unnatural angles as he approached Hyeon.
Crack. Crack.
The sound of his joints twisting echoed through the night.
“Hehe. What a waste.”
He looked at Hyeon.
“Your talent for commanding ghost soldiers is greater than your father’s.”
He pointed one long fingernail toward the Crown Prince.
“You should have accepted my offer when you were in hell.”
His grin widened.
“Then you wouldn’t have to sneak around the palace like this.”
Hell...
Seongha remembered something Hyeon had once told him.
[You said you had visited Heaven. The place I visited was hell.]
Seongha looked at Hyeon.
“Your Highness.”
His voice was serious.
“What kind of place was the hell you visited?”
Hyeon raised his head.
Moonlight fell behind him.
One eye reflected the light.
The other remained hidden in darkness.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
Then he began telling an old story.
“I once died after being attacked by assassins sent by my father.”
Seongha stared at him.
He died?
What did that mean?
“My soul left my body.”
Hyeon spoke calmly.
“I looked down and saw my own body collapsed in a pool of blood.”
His voice remained steady.
“So yes. I am quite certain I died.”
Because of the hatred he carried toward his father, Hyeon’s soul had become filled with the energy of a vengeful spirit.
Unable to ascend to the Heavenly Realm, he entered the road traveled by the dead.
The underground roads of hell were complicated.
There were enormous scales used to measure the weight of sin.
Dozens of different paths led toward purgatories where different punishments awaited each sinner.
