If it’s an order, there’s no right of refusal. But it also felt troublesome in many ways.

Of course, the boy wanted to see ‘that being’ once too.

From the time he was born and began to perceive the world, he had heard countless times that ‘your life is prepared for that being’. It was impossible not to wonder who they were, what they did, where they lived, what they looked like…

It was even more so because he didn’t know the face or name of the subject, despite living a prepared life.

Clear curiosity, slight aversion. And confusion about whether this was forcibly implanted by others or his own sincere feeling that even he couldn’t tell.

All those things were mixed together in a complicated way.

But the thought that it was troublesome remained unchanged. It was because it would take nearly two months just to get from here to Shangluo in Shaanxi. It would be summer by the time he returned.

‘Taking the long way around.’

If it was going to be like this, it seemed they should just kidnap them now, but for some reason, the one who created him and was the master of the sect was particularly obsessive about matters related to ‘that being’.

‘What was it again? It’s not the right time? Don’t want to increase aversion?’

In fact, the boy thought it was already too late to avoid increasing aversion. He also wondered when exactly that ‘right time’ would come if it wasn’t now.

But since the master wanted it that way, it was pointless to say anything more, so he could only stay quiet.

“When will you depart?”

“It’s a long journey, but if I have to go anyway, sooner is better. I’ll leave in three days.”

“Understood. I’ll make preparations. As for companions…”

“It’s bothersome, I’ll go alone. If you assign anyone, I’ll kill them all, so keep that in mind.”

The man swallowed a sigh.

“This is a matter the sect leader considers important. I beg you to please be careful as well, young master. If you die or are seriously injured on the way, that would also be a great loss for the sect. I’ll assign just three guards to accompany you to Shangluo.”

With those final words, the man bowed slightly and left the boy’s room. As if not caring at all either way, the boy sprawled back onto the chair in the now empty room.

‘…Well, fine.’

He was in no position to refuse orders anyway. The boy decided to stop thinking about how troublesome it was and focus on what he could gain from this trip. He might as well go see what ‘that being’ really looked like. If possible, he could even have a brief conversation.

Of course, the boy knew he wasn’t in a position to judge ‘that being’ one way or another. Given that he was born and raised in the sect, and there were reasons he could grow up that way, it was a kind of taboo.

“But it’s okay to be curious about what kind of person they are, right?”

Acknowledgment and curiosity were separate, so it shouldn’t be a sin. As long as he didn’t cause permanent harm, it should be fine to get a little hands-on.

After all, even the sect leader had done it once.

When the boy arrived in Shaanxi, it was just after the spring equinox.

It could be explained as mere rebelliousness. He had taken his time coming, not wanting to rush for some reason, but when he actually arrived, he inwardly clicked his tongue, feeling the timing had become awkward.

However, after gathering various rumors and checking on the situation of ‘that’ merchant group he had heard about a couple months ago, the boy was able to immediately retract his impression of ‘awkward timing’.

It even seemed possible that he wouldn’t need to take action himself, but could just slightly encourage the situation that had already unfolded and reap the rewards.

‘They say the eldest son is stupid.’

The boy couldn’t help but laugh.

‘My eldest brother was at least somewhat clever.’

Of course, he’s no longer in this world…

With a refreshed mood, the boy once again compiled the information he had investigated.

The conclusion drawn from combining rumors heard from spies and hidden believers of the demonic sect, information from the Hao clan who could find out anything if paid well and had the ability to make connections, and facts confirmed by personally visiting and spying on several places was as follows:

The current leader of the ‘Shengchang merchant group’ associated with Huashan has four children.

Among them are two sons, and the eldest, who was lacking in many ways and not quite human, was jealous of his clever younger brother. Because he was smart enough to know he was stupid, he seemed to have been anxious that his father might pass on the leader position to his brother instead of him.

So to eliminate his competitor early on, that inadequate eldest son joined hands with a black sect branch called Heitian Gate that had recently established itself in Shangluo, avoiding the eyes of Huashan and Zhongnan.

It was a dirty symbiotic relationship formed with the promise that if they cast a spell on his younger brother to make him fall ill and die as if from disease, he would accommodate Heitian Gate’s conveniences from now until he became the group leader in the future.

From Heitian Gate’s perspective, the Shengchang merchant group, which had considerable influence on Shangluo’s commercial rights, was not a bad backing. They treated each other faithfully as partners, and it seemed they had built up quite a bit of trust in their own way.

The boy wasn’t interested in vermin associating with each other. He focused on the content of their deal.

‘As if fallen ill, huh.’

What if this point was expanded and made more serious? What if not only the second son who had already collapsed from the curse, but all of the leader’s children including the eldest son, all fell ill?

‘Since even doctors won’t know the cause, they’ll eventually misunderstand it as the work of ghosts or realize it’s due to a curse, so they’ll have no choice but to call for a Taoist priest.’

And since they’re associated with Huashan, the sect of the priest they call will be Huashan.

Heitian Gate, befitting a newborn black sect branch, used low-quality spells. The boy could use much higher-level and cleaner spells than such filthy magic, so it wasn’t difficult to create the desired situation.

The boy made all the children of the Shengchang merchant group leader, including the eldest son, fall ill. And when he confirmed that the leader wrote a letter requesting help from Huashan after much deliberation, he knew his plan had succeeded.

‘Since Huashan’s spy was so certain, they must be among the group coming.’

If not, he would kill the spy. In any case, all that remained was to wait.

The boy, who had been planning to observe the unfolding situation without causing any more trouble and try to approach ‘that being’ when the opportunity arose, suddenly changed his mind.

He thought it would be much smoother to mingle with the merchant group first, rather than looking for an opportunity.

‘…And maybe it will help a bit with the sect leader’s great and inexplicable obsession.’

Doing something good for the sect leader couldn’t be bad for the boy himself. It would also become an act that gave some meaning to the boy’s value of existence.

So after a brief calculation, he chose an appropriate position to infiltrate and soon adapted to it.

The seasonal division is now approaching Qingming.

The Taoist priests from Huashan would probably arrive here within a few days at the earliest, or a month at the latest.

‘…Eighteen.’

That thought came to mind as soon as I opened my eyes early in the morning.

I slowly pushed aside the blanket and got out of bed. The window, casting tree shadows, was still dark outside, but the temperature in the room didn’t feel particularly cool.

It’s to be expected, if you think about it. My birthday is around the time of Qingming Festival.

Since my birthday is also the anniversary of my mother’s death, ‘Ha Eun’ passed birthdays without celebration even when living at the Baek family. Because of this, I don’t know the exact date. But I was certain it was around that time.

In ‘Ha Eun’s’ memories, there’s a scene where she just listens as elder brother Dongbok says, ‘Because you were born around Qingming Festival, we have to spend a good time gloomily.’

‘Is this something to say to your younger sister?’

Anyway, because of that, I naturally counted my birthday based on Qingming Festival, and since this year’s Qingming Festival passed yesterday, I have now truly turned 18.

“I need to be careful.”

I made a promise to myself alone in the quiet room.

Eighteen, this number holds quite a deep meaning for me. I know exactly what tragedy befell ‘Ha Eun’ when she turned 18.

Now it’s just a possibility of something that can no longer happen in reality, but still, since I am Ha Eun, I planned to be extra careful and restrained for the remaining year now that I’ve reached that age.

‘If I spend it safely… I’ll have achieved my goal to some extent.’

That goal of becoming a normal adult, I mean.

Although I still haven’t found even a hair’s breadth of a clue about the body’s owner despite reaching this age, nor have I discovered any proper information about this strange possession, and I’ve just continued to age…

‘I feel sorry for the body’s owner all of a sudden…’

But there were clear limits to investigating alone. In this wuxia world without internet, digging into the word ‘possession’ was too hopeless an action.

Especially since Huashan is a prestigious righteous sect.

In a Taoist sect like Huashan, only the elders of Jemunkak who have research purposes or the sect leader can open books containing brutal sorcery like the Divorce Spell. The rest aren’t even allowed to approach the restricted section where such books are kept separately.

It’s possible to access with permission from the Jemunkak master or sect leader, but that permission is only available from first-generation disciples. I’m the youngest among second-generation disciples, so either way I can’t.

When I thought that far, a question I suddenly asked myself crossed my mind.

‘…Is it actually because I’m not desperate to find out about that problem?’

If I truly sincerely wanted to return the body to its owner, wouldn’t I have sneaked in secretly instead of giving up because I can’t?