Chapter Text
“It’s her. She is my daughter.” Jin Hokyung gasps as she is done inspecting Mudeok’s body that had been brought by two loyal Jinyowon’s maids. Her voice is full of panic and desperation upon seeing her long lost daughter’s almost petrified body. All the regrets, frustrations, and rages that Hokyung harbors are shown in both of her eyes and her trembling hands over the motionless Mudeok’s body.
Choyeon’s eyes widened in shock. “What do you mean, Mother?”
“The body is your sister.” Hokyung mumbles but clear enough for Choyeon to hear.
“Are you sure?” Choyeon asks, still won’t believe what her mother said.
“All the signs on her body are telltales.”
Choyeon snorts. “But you were so sure with Soyi, how sure you are with this killer body?”
“She is not the killer!” Hokyung raises her voice. Choyeon startles and is a little bit taken aback. “Naksu is using her body, she is the one who killed everyone.” Hokyung reprimands her younger daughter. It makes Choyeon step back along with upset feelings pooling in her stomach.
“So what are you going to do, Mother?” Choyeon asks in murmur, feeling a bit hurt.
“I am going to make her come back.” Her mother replies and it makes Choyeon feel stupid.
“What?”
“You hear me. I am going to make her alive.”
Choyeon scoffs. “It’s father’s funeral.”
Hokyung turns her body from the table where Mudeok lies, facing Choyeon. “And I don’t want to make today as your sister’s funeral also.”
Choyeon can only fall silent as she tries to swallow all the bitterness by herself.
Today is Jang Uk’s funeral, that’s what Kim Doju hears. She forces herself up from the infirmary bed in Sejukwon while still all pale, she had fainted plenty of time ever since hearing that Jang Uk died. It must not be right. It shouldn’t be her young master’s funeral. He is not stabbed by Mudeok. It is all fake news. She thought as she tried to stop all the bad thoughts herself.
“Doju- ya , you should rest more.” Heo Yeom says worriedly.
“I can’t. I have to see doryeon-nim .” She insists.
“He is still in the secret room, you can’t go there.” Heo Yeom replies.
“Why is he in the secret room? Why did you put him there?” Kim Doju shrieks. “What did he do wrong?!” Now she screams and then wails. Heo Yeom can only sighs in heartbreak.
“You might as well know this, Kim Doju.” Heo Yeom speaks softly.
“Because he was keeping Naksu? What nonsense is that? Mudeok is not Naksu!”
“She is. We just knew it yesterday.” Heo Yeom speaks the truth.
“It’s impossible, how do you know that? Did Mudeok say that?” Doju still refuses to believe.
“It has been obvious since she came and slayed everyone here, Mudeok fought similarly to Naksu. Danggu also said Uk probably knew her Naksu since the start and kept her identity a secret. We’ve discussed it over the night.” Heo Yeom explains.
“Then where is that girl, now? Have you caught her?” She asks.
“Unfortunately she is gone, probably dead by now since she looked like she was petrified. But we are still looking for the body.”
Kim Doju scorns and falls silent. “I still have to see doryeon-nim .”
“You have to speak with Park Jin, if you insist.”
It doesn’t run well. Kim Doju is dismayed by the news that Park Jin relayed, that Jang Uk’s body decided to be burned in a pier in front of Cheonbugwan, the way a criminal’s body is dismissed from this world. This is a hell of an insult for her. But her pleas never shaken Park Jin, who had sworn love to her not so long ago. Rather he doesn’t want to taint Songrim name in the name of familial love.
She can’t go against Songrim anymore, afterall Jang Uk is Songrim’s student and by the law he was indeed protecting a criminal. Why in the world did her young master do that? It really breaks her heart.
It breaks her heart more when she finally sees the fire engulf his coffin but suddenly the fire combusts into a strange big blue fire and her young master rises from the dead.
In the other places in the same night, the cursed relics rattle. Some relics in unknown places rattle silently, some relics that are still kept illegally by some mage families also rattle–inviting the owner to observe what happened. Relics inside Jinyowon rattle worse, the sound they make distracting the two Jinyowon’s maid and Hokyung that are still in the midst of doing incantation above Mudeok’s body.
“Leader Jin, the relics!” One maid shouts as she sees grayish smoke surrounding all the relics. But when Hokyung turns her head to the place where the relics are placed, Mudeok’s body is shaking.
Is the incantation working? Hokyung wonders. Mudeok’s body shakes harder and suddenly the energy combusts from her and hits both Hokyung and the remaining maid standing behind her.
A sudden whirlwind is storming inside the Jinyowon’s cave. The grayish smoke clashed with the blue energy that combusted out from the body, snatching soils and water around before it changed into fire and bursts out flame here and there, putting some plants on fire.
The maids are busy taking risk action by throwing water on the burning area with their power while Hokyung is back to the table where Mudeok lies and shrieks. “No!”
Mudeok’s body now turned to stone, totally petrified.
“No. No no no.” Hokyung traces the already hardened body.
“Leader Jin!” One of the maid shouts. “There is a person here!”
Hokyung rushes to the spot where the maid pointed at. A naked girl piles as if she is lifeless on the ground. Hokyung’s heart races while stepping forward to the girl, turning the girl’s face toward her.
“It’s not Buyeon.” Her face falls. “It is probably the assassin.”