Mok-young terrified people by his appearance alone, to say nothing of his reputation. His towering frame of over six cheok and his extremely honed warrior's body boasted an imposing build, and the fact that he always went about with half his face covered by a black mask added to his ominousness. The mask, covering his whole lower face as if to just graze his nose, left only his sharp eyes exposed, making him look all the fiercer. When ordinary folk met the General's piercing gaze as he swept the land, meeting those fierce eyes head-on left them crushed with fear, as if they had truly seen a "ghost."
Rumor had it he bore a great scar from the battlefield. He always wore a tough leather guard wrapped around his neck, so no one could see what lay beneath. For Mok-young's part, he said he bore the inconvenience purely to "hide" the scar, or whatever it was. But it was hardly ordinary attire, and it made people find him "eerie."
The Ghost King. King of ghosts. Sweeping battlefields in that ominous guise, cutting through countless people's flesh and blood and reaping lives — it could not have been a more fitting nickname for Dan Mok-young.
***
The summer sun was long. So even after finishing all his duties at the barracks, the world was still bright, and the sunset showed no sign of coming. But Mok-young knew well that since the afternoon was already growing late, once dusk began to fall the sun would sink all at once.
Today was the day to go see the bridal house. Mok-young had not been involved one bit in choosing the house, but this was a day for simply going to "see" it, in the most literal sense. Since the imperial edict had come down, Mok-young's wedding had become the "great affair of the household," and the whole series of wedding preparations was being handled by Mok-young's elder brother Dan I-yeong — the one who would become head of the Dan household after their father.
It was his own life's great affair, yet Mok-young involved himself not at all in how things were proceeding. He simply trusted it to his brother, the eldest of the Dan house who would lead the family well hereafter, and was glad in a way to be spared the trouble. Still, it wasn't that he truly didn't care enough to show it outwardly, so when his brother called him to ask his opinion ahead of the final choice, he would go and give his "it's fine" confirmation.
It was the same now. Mok-young, who had neither reason nor need to think about the bridal house, was on his way to take a look at the "suitable nest" his brother had found after much searching. From the start it was a house found with only the other prince's preferred conditions in mind, reflecting none of Mok-young's own tastes — so it was all the more a mere formality.
To the north of the imperial capital, there was a district where great residences stood in rows in the valleys of Baekaksan, a mountain famed for its ruggedness. The roads were well kept, wide enough for carriages to pass each other comfortably, and the bustling downtown…
Unlike the crowded southern main road, a leisurely quiet hung about it — the most pleasant place in Bukan, capital of Northern Wei.
Among them, one house stood a little closer to the mountain foot with a notably large plot. That was the bridal house I-yeong had chosen with such care for Mok-young to see. Seen from afar, it had a majestic air, as if with the mountain as a folding screen. Not quite a palace, but dignified enough for a king of a nation to reside in. This place, once rumored to be the grandest mansion in the district, was known as a Junwang's great residence.
But — "once." That "once" was the one deeply regrettable point.
Built long ago, it had stood empty and uninhabited for a long time, and they said its owners had changed many times before. That it was known as a Junwang's great residence only meant the man who first built it had held a Junwang's rank; since then the owners had changed so often the title meant little now. The ominous rumors, as thick as the rumors of its frequent changes of hands and suggesting ill omens, were things like "the site is too strong" or "a spirit lingers in that house."
It was a place of striking beauty yet steeped in a lonely air — a goblin's haunt no ordinary person could endure; and of all places, I-yeong had chosen it for the state wedding's bridal house. Yet Mok-young felt little aversion to it. He was a man who lived witnessing countless deaths. Perhaps because he was called the "King of Ghosts," Mok-young was deeply indifferent to talk of strong sites and ghosts and whatnot.
And I-yeong's excuse was only that the other country's prince's side had been so demanding — he'd done his utmost.
"They say he wants a house where the west wind blows cool and the central courtyard is wide, with little division between inside and out."
I-yeong, standing in the middle of that wide courtyard, said this. Raising his head and sweeping the surroundings with his eyes, he was checking what needed repair. It didn't look like something one or two visits would fix.
And yet he was very proud that it was the most beautiful house in the district. It wasn't just that there were many places needing repair and care. It seemed every last thing needed work. Just the courtyard where Mok-young and I-yeong now stood was overgrown and desolate — hard to even gauge what to do with it. This too would have to be torn up and redone entirely.
"On top of that, he said he'd like good insulation with lots of garden plantings, so the house can't be seen well from outside. And with the mountain standing like a screen behind, he'd like to catch the mountain breeze fresh — open the window in his light room and feel the mountain wind right away."
Listening to I-yeong's explanation, Mok-young nodded. Indeed, for the conditions his brother described, this house was exactly right. But a trace of puzzlement slipped from his lips.
"…He didn't say he's dying to freeze to death?"
I-yeong burst out laughing, hearing how bewildered Mok-young sounded. He knew exactly what feeling prompted the question.
I-yeong had felt the same as Mok-young. Going through the list of site conditions the other prince's side had sent, he'd lost count of how many times he'd laughed in disbelief. The conditions weren't far outside common sense—
…not to mention the rest, but in the end it was "cool, cool, and cool again — the coldest place in Bukanseong." Keeping the house cool was, in the end, one of the major requirements, down to the chanting for coolness.
A person's constitution might run hot, but even allowing for that, one had to wonder how lightly the Namwi imperial house — accustomed to midsummer weather — was taking the cold of the northern country. Namwi's capital, Namgyeong, lay far to the south of Bukan and was known for its mild climate.
The bride had rarely left Namgyeong, it seemed, and so could hardly imagine how bitter Bukan's cold could be.
And as if the cold weren't enough, matching the other conditions ended up, feng-shui-wise, amounting to seeking out a "yin spot." Frankly, I-yeong said he'd even caught himself thinking, "Are we scouting out a grave site?"
Still, since they were welcoming a new member of the family, he'd tried to be as considerate as possible and find the best place he could. But in the end this was the only place where all the conditions lined up, and after agonizing over it he'd called his younger brother. Interested or not, he was the "principal" of the wedding, after all — if he said "it's fine," couldn't they take it as fine?
"Just do whatever he wants. If he feels death coming on, he can dispose of his own corpse."
Mok-young's answer was simple. He hadn't deliberated much. So it wasn't much help in making the decision, but it was quite efficient in terms of saving time.
Moving house might have been more troublesome, but right now he simply didn't want to spare much thought for "finding the bridal house" itself. No matter how much people called Mok-young indifferent and gruff — and truly, this marriage could hardly be called a proper one — he felt only "whatever will be." If the prince later wanted something different, he'd oblige then; he had no desire to wear himself out now lavishing care and devotion in advance.
"Right. You've mastered the Hyeoneum Divine Art, so a yin place like this won't harm you."
At I-yeong's words, Mok-young merely nodded silently. With his hands clasped behind his back, he slowly turned, his gaze sweeping the house as if looking it over — a fleeting tremor passed through it, though not enough for another to notice.
The Hyeoneum Divine Art (玄陰神法). It was the most widely known martial art in Northern Wei; according to legend, it had been left behind by the "Hyeonmuk Black Tiger," one of the two divine beasts who, 1,700 years ago, had poured their strength into quelling the chaos of the world and uniting all under heaven. It survived in written records, passed down through generations, and was said to be the cultivation method left by Hyeonmu — the strongest being in the world and ruler of all things — so that one who mastered it became "Absolute Yin" itself.
So there was no reason for Mok-young, who had reached the realm of "Absolute Yin," to fear ghosts and such, which belonged to yin things. If anything, they would only ever fear him. And seeing that, perhaps it was no coincidence that Mok-young — "such a being" — had come to bear the nickname "Ghost King."
Only, whether the Namwi prince who would live with him could bear its energy was a concern — but I-yeong reasoned, in his own way, that it would probably be fine if Mok-young kept the site's energies in check. Perhaps he was compromising with himself, thinking no better-suited house would be found — but either way, since the southern palace preparing the bridal household said it was fine, they would go with it.
"That side is a yang-in too, they say."
I-yeong, coming up beside Mok-young — who was taking the opportunity, having come this far, to look around the house a bit more — said this while still eyeing the spots that needed repair, adding the remark, "They even say he's an 'extreme yang-in.'"
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