Meanwhile, Wonhyeok had run himself nearly breathless.
To place a frail civil-examination clerk in such danger!
But whom else could he blame?
Had Wonhyeok not stepped forward himself because he could not pass by injustice?
As a result, he was now involved in a pursuit with guards that had never been in his fate.
When Tanghangseong’s city wall came into view, Wonhyeok ran with every last ounce of strength he had.
Had he possessed even a little more energy to spare for thought, he might have found it strange that guards—and even a Ghost Gate Messenger—could not catch a mere civilian.
Regrettably, Wonhyeok’s stamina did not allow it.
Just as Wan Pilseok intended, Wonhyeok was faithfully heading toward Haje, the “Gi Grade Messenger.”
“M-Messenger, Messenger!”
The moment Wonhyeok called for the Ghost Gate Messengers and crossed the rear gate of the city wall, a chilling air descended through the fully darkened sky, as though a straw-cutting blade had fallen.
The atmosphere changed in an instant, as though the city wall completely separated its inside from its outside.
Wonhyeok froze for only a moment before the Red Arrow Gate entered his sight.
The vivid crimson gate now erected before Ghost Gates as well looked like the maw of a gigantic beast at this moment.
Between the rising trees, Wonhyeok saw a small clearing.
Swallowed by night, the clearing was dyed strange colors by dim lanterns lit with Ghost Jade.
For some reason, his skin crawled.
Wonhyeok looked toward where the narrow path ended and furrowed his brow.
A lone single-bay gate stood there without a wall or anything around it. Wonhyeok instinctively knew.
That is the Ghost Gate.
Something black seemed to wriggle through the crack of the gate.
“Oh-ho.”
Where Wonhyeok could not hear him, Haje watched and murmured in low admiration.
Park Yehu also widened his eyes and whispered to Haje, “Did... did the Ghost Gate just move?”
“You saw that? Your eyesight is good too.”
“Is it true that it moved?!”
“Quiet.”
“......”
Meeting Haje’s golden eyes, Yehu reflexively shut his mouth.
The moment Clerk Lee Wonhyeok emerged from the city gate and approached the Red Arrow Gate, the Ghost Gate had weakly wriggled in Wonhyeok’s direction.
A Ghost Gate moved? That only happens when there is a problem with the lock....
Having thought that far, Yehu turned pale and looked at Haje.
“I-is that not dangerous? If the lock comes undone, Clerk Wonhyeok will be caught up in it....”
“Leave him.”
“But....”
“Royal Inspector, have you fallen for our clerk? Why are you fussing so much? Does that Ghost Gate look like there is a problem with its lock?”
If there is no problem with the lock, then why did that Ghost Gate move?!
Yehu wanted to argue, but when he saw Haje staring at Wonhyeok in the darkness, he could only fall silent as gooseflesh rose all over him.
In front of Wonhyeok, Haje acted slippery and avoided responsibility. Yet within the Office of Ghostly Inspection, Park Yehu ranked first after Haje.
The court and the Office of Ghostly Inspection watched Yehu closely for that reason, and Yehu himself was devoted to the work of a Ghost Gate Messenger.
And before him, a frail scholar was being led near a dangerous Ghost Gate by an unworthy Ghost Gate Messenger...!
Though Park Yehu fidgeted anxiously, Haje merely stood calmly in the night sky.
Meanwhile, Wonhyeok crossed beneath the Red Arrow Gate and looked around in every direction, unaware of where he had entered.
“Messenger! Messenger, where are you?!”
Panting, Wonhyeok looked around. Naturally, he could not find the Ghost Gate Messengers hiding through concealment techniques.
Such was the sorrow of an ordinary person.
You told me to come here!
If the Ghost Gate Messengers were here, it did not seem as though they could have failed to hear Wonhyeok’s desperate calls.
Wonhyeok wondered whether Haje and Yehu had truly gone to the Ghost Gate.
Trust the Ghost Gate Messengers versus do not trust the Ghost Gate Messengers.
They are probably sprawled out in the guest hall...!
Regrettably, his distrust of Ghost Gate Messengers had grown too great.
Seeing the guards’ red-orange torches begin to flicker beneath the Red Arrow Gate, Wonhyeok hunched his shoulders.
He lamented, “Trusting those lazy Ghost Gate Messengers was the most foolish choice I have made since putting my fingerprint on that contract.”
At those words, Yehu unconsciously glanced at Haje.
For some reason, Haje seemed to find Wonhyeok’s lament amusing. He lowered his head and shook with silent laughter.
That was when Wan Pilseok suddenly came close and crossed beneath the Red Arrow Gate.
“Where is your accompanying inspector, Clerk?”
“Gasp!”
Wonhyeok grabbed a nearby pine branch at random and held it like a sword.
But perhaps a bow was one thing. Nothing could be more pathetic than a sword held by a civil official.
Sure enough, Wan Pilseok snorted and kicked the long pine branch Wonhyeok held.
With a kick like he was kicking overgrown grass, the branch flew away and stabbed into the ground.
“I asked where that Gi Grade Messenger bastard is. Did he already run away?”
“Y-you are the Ghost Gate Messenger colluding with Tanghangseong’s local functionaries, are you not?”
“What will you do if I am?”
“I-I have already discovered that you, the Military Clerk, and the Revenue Clerk are colluding. Even if you oppress me here, it is useless. My accompanying inspector knows every detail as well!”
Please, I hope that sounds convincing!
A single frail clerk trembled as he faced a Jeong Grade Messenger. He could not reveal the secret royal inspector’s existence, nor could he even bluff using Haje, who was not here.
Park Yehu, hidden in the shadows, nearly cried at such straightforward honesty.
Wan Pilseok snorted again.
The guards and the Military Clerk belatedly arrived behind him.
“I am asking where that splendid accompanying inspector is! Let us introduce ourselves! Since you came to Tanghangseong, you should introduce yourselves to our <Castle Guard> guild too!”
“Castle... <Castle Guard>?”
“Yeah. We are the guild that has managed Ghost Gates in Tanghangseong and the surrounding area. If you bastards want to inspect how our <Castle Guard> works, should you not at least come introduce yourselves?”
“...! It was not an individual colluding with them. An entire guild was colluding?”
As Wonhyeok cried out in shock, the Military Clerk shouted at Wan Pilseok, “Stop talking nonsense!”
“Why? Judging by the way he took the record stone and has only been standing around, this clerk does not seem to know how to use it.”
So this stone is a record stone! But what is a record stone?!
Wonhyeok looked back and forth between Wan Pilseok and the Military Clerk in confusion.
Noticing from Wonhyeok’s eyes that he had guessed right, Wan Pilseok bared his teeth in a smile.
As for Park Yehu, he turned to Haje with a face that plainly had many things to say.
“You made him put his fingerprint on a contract without even telling him what a record stone is?”
“He will find out eventually. Why waste time explaining?”
“......”
Clerk Wonhyeok, how did you get caught by someone like this...?
Meanwhile, Wan Pilseok began taking one step at a time toward Wonhyeok.
“Should we not save him?”
“Wait a little longer.”
Wait for what?
What on earth was Haje waiting for?
Was he planning to intervene only after Clerk Wonhyeok was beaten into a bloody pulp by that Ghost Gate Messenger?
Wan Pilseok grabbed Wonhyeok by the collar.
“If I quietly kill you here, then take the evidence and records before leaving, what could even your accompanying inspector do?”
“I-if you do such a thing, then naturally....”
“Naturally what? Did your accompanying inspector not tell you? Ghost Gate Messengers are survival of the fittest, each fighting for themselves. Even if you drop dead somewhere, the court will not take responsibility.”
Wonhyeok’s eyes widened as he struggled in midair. What was that supposed to mean?
Of course, Ghost Gate Messengers took risks in the course of subjugating uncanny powers and wicked spirits.
But that was an unavoidable trait of their profession. Surely Ghost Gate Messengers attacking other Ghost Gate Messengers could not be allowed.
...Or was it?
“Let me see your identification tag! Later, I will just check the Ghost Gate Messenger roster and find your accompanying inspector!”
A rough hand reached for Wonhyeok’s front lapel as though to tear it open.
At that moment, Wonhyeok felt another shiver run down his spine.
It was not because of Wan Pilseok.
It felt as though a tiger truly stood behind him....
“Huh?”
Wan Pilseok stopped with a blank expression, halfway through grabbing the identification tag in Wonhyeok’s robes.
Prrr.
The sound of a horse snorting echoed above Wonhyeok’s shoulder.
Wonhyeok felt all his hair stand on end.
Turning reflexively, he met a pair of black eyes.
RING—
It felt as though someone had placed a gong inside his head and struck it.
It was an auspicious beast.
It looked like a mixture of a dog and a horse....
Its body was blue, then white.
Its head was black, and the moment it saw a person, it immediately flew up and departed—
A Heavenly Horse?
At that moment, something unlocked with a CLATTER!
Before Wonhyeok could even turn around with the reflexes of a lowly civilian, Wan Pilseok shrieked and threw Wonhyeok backward.
At that, the horse whose entire body shone blue leaped happily, bit Wonhyeok by the nape, and dashed backward.
“What is that?!”
“The lock is coming undone! Back away at once!”
As the guards and Military Clerk screamed, Wan Pilseok wildly waved his arms.
In the midst of not understanding anything, Wonhyeok saw his identification tag fall to the ground.
“Oh, my identification tag....”
Just as he blankly reached for it—
KABOOOM—!
With a sound like a drum being torn apart, the Ghost Gate opened and Wonhyeok was dragged inside.
The Ghost Gate, which had rippled as though it might smash through the single-bay gate and burst free, swallowed Wonhyeok. It shuddered and thrashed wildly before soon falling still, its gate firmly shut.
Wan Pilseok sank down in stunned disbelief as the Military Clerk panted and cried out, “W-was that a Heavenly Horse? How could a Heavenly Horse emerge from a Mu Grade Ghost Gate?”
A Heavenly Horse was a famous uncanny power and wicked spirit that appeared from at least a Byeong Grade Ghost Gate.
Though legends said it chose emperors or walked alongside gods, in present-day Joseon it was a troublesome monster that dragged anyone and everyone into Ghost Gates whenever it appeared.
It was particularly infamous for cunningly targeting the unawakened.
In any case, their goal had been accomplished. It was strange, but the Ghost Gate’s lock did not seem likely to come undone again.
Wan Pilseok picked up Wonhyeok’s fallen identification tag.
“The name is... Lee Wonhyeok.”
...Lee Wonhyeok? That name sounds familiar.
As Wan Pilseok thought that, a shadow darker than the night descended before him.
“Well, then. Is it time to avenge my clerk?”
His gaze met golden eyes.
Behind the military hat worn by the black figure, the moon hung like an aureole of the night.
“The ‘Gi Grade Messenger’ you were looking for has arrived.”