Fortunately, they did not set out for the Ghost Gate at once.
That was because Tanghangseong’s Ghost Gate was Mu Grade.
“Whatever else, I’m posing as a Gi Grade Messenger right now. Wouldn’t it draw suspicion if I said I was going into a Mu Grade Ghost Gate?”
“Th-that’s a relief....”
As Wonhyeok relaxed, though, a vague suspicion suddenly came over him.
He understood why Haje was pretending to be a Gi Grade Messenger rather than revealing himself as the immutable Number One, a Gap Grade Messenger. It would naturally draw attention.
But why a Gi Grade Messenger in particular?
Seeing Haje conduct inspections like this, there was a strong possibility that the claim he had not conducted inspections since becoming Number One as a special exception had been a lie.
Besides, Haje seemed somehow... somehow different from the Ghost Gate Messengers Wonhyeok had imagined.
Once that thought occurred to him, questions naturally followed.
Such as, “Who had Haje conducted Ghost Realm Inspections with all this time?”
Or, “Why did he specifically choose Wonhyeok himself as his accompanying inspector...?”
But it did not seem as though Haje would answer even if he asked.
Whenever Wonhyeok had asked such questions before, Haje had never given him a proper answer.
I can’t expect a straight answer from him, no matter what I ask....
Suppressing his faint curiosity, Wonhyeok asked about the matter at hand.
“...Do Ghost Gate Messengers normally handle even such trivial matters during Ghost Realm Inspections?”
“Well, most of the time there are plenty of bastards who need to be dealt with through force.”
“Most of the time? Is this a special case?”
“No. If anything, the more complicated a case becomes because people are mixed up in it, the more often mid-ranked messengers handle it rather than lower-ranked ones. Uncanny powers and wicked spirits can be taken down by a group, but mid-ranked messengers usually handle these messy cases involving people.”
In other words, lower-ranked messengers were generally assigned complaints that could be simply resolved without an investigation.
If the upper ranks ran from Gap Grade to Byeong Grade, the middle ranks ran from Jeong Grade to Gyeong Grade.
“Is that why you are pretending to be a Gi Grade Messenger?”
“Well, the only extra plaque I have is a Gi Grade Messenger plaque. Our role is merely to take a quick look and make these lax local functionaries nervous. There is no need to bring someone of a higher rank.”
“Pardon?”
“When things become urgent, what does rank matter? They mix everyone together and assign them work anyway. What matters for a Ghost Gate Messenger is whether they can subjugate uncanny powers and wicked spirits.”
After hearing that, Wonhyeok could not help thinking, Ghost Gate Messengers are pretty haphazard too.
And no matter how much they made those lax functionaries feel “nervous”...
People would not so easily return to their original resolve. The local functionaries would surely just feel relieved that they had gotten through yet another Ghost Realm Inspection.
They might even hide their schemes more cleverly. But Haje did not seem like someone who would fail to know that.
Then he must have some other scheme in mind.
Haje either already knew the whole story or possessed some other information.
The problem was that he did not share it with Wonhyeok.
Why ask me to keep records if he is going to be like this?
“To summarize, you do not want to draw attention, and since this is an easy matter, you can simply resolve it as a Gi Grade Messenger by making them feel ‘nervous.’ Is that what you mean?”
“Yeah.”
“The more I think about it, the less I understand. Will another Ghost Gate Messenger take over this case afterward?”
“Who knows?”
For a Ghost Gate Messenger of the Office of Ghostly Inspection, who received a salary from the state, that was quite a thing to say.
The people across all eight provinces of Joseon would beat their chests in despair if they heard it.
Struggling to soothe his aching stomach, Wonhyeok asked, “No matter what I say, you have decided not to get involved, Haje. Then why on earth did you come here?”
“So you could take a look at a Ghost Gate. If you are going to work in the future, you will need to get used to Ghost Gates too. And do not call me by my name. Keep calling me Messenger, or we might grow attached.”
We have to share hardships for the duration of our contract at the very least. Would growing a little attached give him a rash?
Wonhyeok grumbled inwardly and nodded.
Still, he could not put his mind at ease.
He opened his book again to record what Haje had just said, but the brush clutched in Wonhyeok’s hand would not move.
He understood in his head that it was difficult for a Ghost Gate Messenger of the Office of Ghostly Inspection to interfere deeply in the affairs of the living, but his heart could not accept it.
No, it seemed he did not entirely understand it with his head either.
Watching Wonhyeok, Haje glanced briefly into the air.
As Haje tilted his head while gazing at the blue communication network visible only to Ghost Gate Messengers, Wonhyeok asked, “But is it really appropriate for a Gi Grade Messenger to inspect the management of a Mu Grade Ghost Gate...?”
“We are only inspecting the management. We are not going inside to resolve anything.”
“What if the lock comes undone...?”
“Then it is a complete wipeout.”
Ghost Gate Messengers really do run things by the seat of their pants...!
Wonhyeok heaved inward sighs as he continued scribbling his record.
[Haje, disguised as a Gi Grade Messenger, inspected Tanghangseong, where corrupt officials held sway, but he was not very enthusiastic about it.]
It was a brutally honest record.
As Wonhyeok continued writing, Haje lay flat on the floor and said calmly, “Anyway, the fact that they showed us these records first instead of taking us to see the Ghost Gate right away means the lock on Tanghangseong’s Mu Grade Ghost Gate is not about to come undone. They mostly intend for us to read what they wrote and leave.”
“So we each leave feeling as if we have done our jobs.”
“Exactly.”
It sounded almost like praise, but Wonhyeok did not feel any better.
“And I said we are not going right away. We still have to go see the Ghost Gate once.”
“......”
“Your brush is trembling, Clerk.”
Confucius, Mencius, Buddha, Mountain Spirit, Primeval Heavenly Venerable, save this pitiful commoner.
Looking into the air again, Haje heard Wonhyeok say, “Th-there is work that must be done, so we should do it... But even if we resolve the poor management of Tanghangseong’s Ghost Gate, the lives of the people here will not improve overnight. That weighs on me.”
At those words, Haje furrowed his brow mercilessly, as though he had stuffed his mouth full of something sour. No one could see it beneath his black veil.
“But I feel as though, if I begged you to arrest the corrupt officials, Messenger, you would stuff me into a rice chest in Tanghangseong and leave.”
“A rice chest? How can you say something so frightening? But if I were to put you in one, I would wait eight days before returning.”
“Do not give such a strangely specific number of days.”
Haje shrugged as though being deliberately mysterious.
Just as Wonhyeok finished recording and put away his book and traveling bag, Haje asked, “What will you do for me if I punish the corrupt officials?”
“Pardon?”
What sudden change of heart had this Ghost Gate Messenger undergone?
Wonhyeok did not fall for it, glaring at Haje suspiciously.
Haje shook his head and lamented, “How can you distrust your accompanying inspector so much?”
“You should have made yourself trustworthy.”
Wonhyeok had only accompanied Haje through the maiden ghost village in Ansan and the corrupt Tanghangseong. They still did not know each other well.
Even so, this abrupt change in attitude stirred up suspicions Wonhyeok had not even possessed before.
“What sort of scam are you trying to pull this time?”
“A scam? That is harsh. Forget it, forget it. If you do not want it, never mind.”
“W-wait!”
As Haje acted as though he were about to rise, Wonhyeok hurriedly stopped him without thinking.
“To what extent would you punish them? You are not merely going to report the corrupt officials and be done with it, are you?”
“Hmm. Right... The standard matters too. How about this? I report the corrupt officials and make sure the treatment of Tanghangseong’s poor improves.”
At that point, Wonhyeok truly looked at Haje with insolent eyes.
What is this old man plotting?
That thought showed plainly on his face, and Haje merely clicked his tongue inwardly.
“Your eyes are insolent, Clerk.”
“I-I mean... I do not know why, but that is a very good intention... What can I possibly do for you?”
Should he give money to Haje, a Gap Grade Messenger? What else could he offer?
Now that it came to this, Wonhyeok had nothing he could do for Haje.
Haje seemed to think for a moment before saying, “How about a wish token?”
“...A ‘wish token’?”
“Yeah. If I ever ask you for something you can do, you grant my wish once.”
“......”
Wonhyeok looked at Haje’s upright index finger.
He had no idea what this Gap Grade Messenger might ask of him....
As always, Wonhyeok had expected Haje to suddenly cackle and tease him, saying, “Heh heh heh, if you want me to punish the corrupt officials, awaken first, brat!”
Staring at Haje’s face, hidden beneath the black covering, Wonhyeok finally sighed and nodded.
“Understood.”
“Really? Trust matters, even in small things like this.”
“I do not go back on my word. And how is this a ‘small thing’? The lives of the people and my own life are at stake.”
“I do not know why the latter is at stake, even if the former is. I will not make a wish amounting to human trafficking, like asking for you.”
Of course, Wonhyeok had not thought Haje would demand, “Become my slave!”
He was merely afraid because, compared to Haje, he had nothing to offer and possessed nothing at all.
With a sullen expression, Wonhyeok asked, “So, what are you going to do?”
“Wait a moment.”
There was a smiling lilt in Haje’s voice.
For some reason, hearing it made Wonhyeok feel as though he had been scammed, but he ignored that feeling and thought, Come to think of it, Haje is a Gi Grade Messenger right now, not a Gap Grade one. How is he going to act? Is he going to reveal that he is Joseon’s Number One?
At that moment, someone knocked on the inner gate of the guest hall.
Haje rose to his feet and laughed.
“He is here.”
“Pardon? Wh-what, who is?”
Whether Wonhyeok was flustered or not, Haje opened the papered door and called loudly, “Come in.”
A man then opened the inner gate and entered the guest hall courtyard.
A familiar pleated robe and military hat, and a height well over six cheok....
When he spotted Haje and Wonhyeok, he beamed.
“It has been a while, Haje~!”
“Wh-who are you?”
Haje answered Wonhyeok’s question.
“A secret royal inspector.”