Novel Test - Chapter 4

Chapter 1. The Way of Heaven

Guannei Province (present-day Shanxi region).

Lu’an County.

One spring.

Jin Gahan visited Guangbul Temple with his wife and daughter.

After walking briskly, he paused subtly at the temple gate, waiting for his lagging wife and only daughter to catch up.

Just then, a gust of wind swept down from the mountain, brushing past him.

The azure sky, white clouds, and mountains adorned with fresh leaves—along with the serene temple gate nestled within—made him think once more, “Retiring to the countryside was the right choice.”

After passing the imperial exams, he had risen to the position of Vice Minister of Revenue, but after a close friend’s sudden death, he felt life’s impermanence and let go of everything.

His family hoped he would rest briefly before returning to office, but he had no such intentions.

‘How wonderful!’

Though he never voiced it aloud, Jin Gahan’s recent fascination lay entirely in the newfound path of immortality.

Some might ask, “If you seek immortality, why visit a Buddhist temple instead of a Taoist one?”

But that only showed their ignorance of Guangbul Temple.

Guangbul Temple taught not only of Buddhas and immortals but also the mystical knowledge of deities from the Western Regions.

‘To think Buddhas, immortals, and Western deities all stem from the same root…’

Upon reflection, it made perfect sense.

If they truly existed, how could the realms of Buddhas, immortals, and Western deities exist separately?

The abbot of Guangbul Temple explained it using the analogy of water.

—”It is like water. As the saying goes, ‘Things will reverse when they reach their extremes.’ In winter, it becomes ice; when boiled, it turns to steam and rises to the heavens. Though water, ice, and steam differ completely in form and function, their origin is the same. An enlightened Buddha is an immortal, and an immortal is the child of a deity. Therefore, do not fret or quarrel over differing beliefs. There are many paths up the mountain—focus only on reaching the summit.”

As Jin Gahan nodded with a pleased expression, his wife and daughter approached.

He stood in the sunlight, waiting for their sweat to dry, then strode confidently through the temple gate.

Guangbul Temple.

Sermon Hall.

That day, the conversation between Abbot Mok Jung-an and Jin Gahan stretched unusually long.

“…Immortal Lü Dongbin called spontaneity the ‘Way.’ The Way is the nameless, formless nature—the Primordial Spirit that governs life. This invisible nature and Primordial Spirit rely on the light of heaven. When we circulate this heavenly light within our bodies, it becomes the Primordial Supreme Ultimate Qi.”

Seizing the moment, Abbot Mok Jung-an even taught him the cultivation method for Primordial Supreme Ultimate Qi.

Lost in the pursuit of immortality, the lecture on Primordial Supreme Ultimate Qi lasted until deep into the night.

Leaving the Sermon Hall late, Jin Gahan hurried toward the guest quarters where his wife and daughter waited.

His excitement over the new cultivation method was short-lived—the moment he saw his wife’s pale face outside the guest quarters, his heart sank with foreboding.

“What happened? Where’s Eunseol?”

“She… she went to the outhouse but hasn’t returned for over half an hour.”

“Did you check the outhouse?”

“I checked every one—she wasn’t there.”

“Heavens! What if a wild beast took her?”

Jin Gahan rushed to inform Abbot Mok Jung-an that his daughter had gone missing within the temple grounds.

Startled, the abbot dispatched his disciples to scour every corner of Guangbul Temple.

But the midnight commotion ended sooner than expected.

Jin Eunseol was found asleep in a firewood shed not far from the guest quarters.

When the disciples woke her and brought her back, Jin Gahan, who had been anxiously waiting, exploded in anger.

“You said you were going to the outhouse! What grown girl sleeps in a shed?!”

“I don’t know… After meeting a porter… I woke up in the shed.”

“A porter? Abbot, does Guangbul Temple employ porters?”

After a moment’s thought, Abbot Mok Jung-an cautiously asked Jin Eunseol,

“Miss Jin, did the porter have thick eyebrows and a slender face?”

“Yes… I think so.”

Flustered, Jin Eunseol nodded as she recalled the porter.

The abbot then instructed his disciples,

“Find the porter surnamed Seok from the village below. He couldn’t have gone far—bring him here!”

Abbot Mok Jung-an intended to question Seok about what had transpired.

But despite searching the temple grounds and surrounding villages, the vanished man was never found.

By all appearances, Seok had fled after causing trouble.

The abbot apologized profusely to Jin Gahan, his wife, and Jin Eunseol, then ordered his disciples to keep silent.

Though their efforts preserved the secret, they could not defy the Way of Heaven.

Jin Eunseol, still unmarried, gradually swelled with child and gave birth to a boy the following year.

***

Jin Family Annex.

“Goo-goo… ma-ma…”

As the baby babbled, Jin Eunseol reflexively turned her gaze away.

Looking at the small, fragile child, she suddenly felt a surge of affection.

But that tender emotion didn’t last.

Her gentle expression soon twisted into something unrecognizably vicious.

After giving birth, Jin Eunseol had fallen from golden jade to family disgrace.

As her belly grew, she was exiled—in all but name—to the annex, where she remained even after delivery.

Confined for over two years.

To her, the child was a lifelong shackle—a curse.

Gritting her teeth, she clamped her hands over her ears as the babbling continued.

When it didn’t stop, she screamed, “Enough!” and choked the child.

Only when the baby’s face turned blue did she finally release her grip, panting heavily.

“Haa! Haa! Stop it, please just stop…!”

That evening, a maid entered the annex to collect laundry.

But Jin Eunseol, drained of energy, lay beside the child, blankly staring at the ceiling.

As the maid gathered an armful of diapers, her eyes inadvertently fell on the baby.

The child’s neck was riddled with fingernail marks.

The baby, who had been giggling moments earlier, froze like ice when meeting the maid’s gaze.

‘Tsk tsk…’

Clicking her tongue inwardly, the maid hurriedly stood, careful not to alert Jin Eunseol.

After quietly closing the door, she shook her head in dismay.

A more cursed bond could not exist.

The young mistress had even taken potent abortifacients—all failed, leading to the birth.

Since then, this had been their reality.

The mistress teetered on madness, while the child clung to life under her lethal care.

‘Heavens, someone will die at this rate…’

***

Life is unexpectedly tenacious.

Four years passed since the unwanted child’s birth.

Though the boy’s neck remained grotesquely scarred, he survived.

After five years of living like a prisoner in the annex, Jin Eunseol looked more corpse than human.

The annex was forbidden territory within the Jin estate.

Its walls stood high, its gate—barring servants’ comings and goings—always firmly locked.

Jin Family Main House.

A summer night.

Counting dates on his desk, Jin Gahan suddenly murmured,

“Already four years.”

His wife, Shin Yewan, cautiously replied,

“He’s old enough to walk now—shouldn’t we at least give him a name?”

She avoided direct reference.

To the Jin family, the annex child’s very existence was a disgrace.

“……”

Encouraged by her husband’s silence, Shin Yewan pressed further.

“And perhaps unbar the annex gate. Eunseol isn’t a criminal…”

“Hmph! Can you say she’s blameless?”

Jin Gahan, silent until then, flared up.

“It wasn’t her fault.”

“If you lose your nose to a thief, blame the thief—who else?”

“The abbot said Seok was likely a martial arts master in disguise.”

“That’s the only reason I didn’t disown her. Otherwise, I’d have severed ties long ago.”

Contrary to his stern stance, the annex gate was unbarred the next morning.

But this proved disastrous.

The four-year-old boy from the annex—whom no one cared for—vanished without a trace.

Jin Gahan and his wife only noticed the child’s absence that afternoon.

Yet neither the grandparents nor the mother, Jin Eunseol, made any effort to find him.

***

Early summer.

At the Hour of the Goat (1 PM), a mild-mannered man in his early forties slowly entered the marketplace.

Dan Bulwi, a low-ranking officer of the Amen (a human trafficking syndicate).

“Let’s see if there’s anything worth picking up.”

There had better be.

If not, he’d have to buy—and business wasn’t good.

The bountiful harvest this year meant fewer people willing to sell, even at higher prices.

Weaving through the crowd, his eyes suddenly lit up.

A three- or four-year-old child stood at a street corner, staring intently at vendors’ stalls.

The plain clothing suggested no noble lineage.

Dan Bulwi quickly scanned the area but saw no accompanying adult.

‘Jackpot!’

Internally cheering, he casually approached the child.

“My, whose bright little child is this? Hey there, how old are you?”

The child bowed its head and held up four tiny fingers.

“Four years old, huh?”

Suddenly, Dan Bulwi noticed the child’s neck.

The tender skin, still bearing baby fuzz, was covered in wounds—as if repeatedly clawed and gouged.

Even a leashed dog wouldn’t suffer such marks. What manner of horror was this?

“Where are your mom and dad?”

The child flinched, shoulders hunching.

Dan Bulwi gently patted the small head.

“Aigoo, how cruel to leave such a little one alone. What’s your name?”

“Don’t know.”

“Don’t know? That’s okay. You’ll learn when you’re older. Say—it’s lunchtime. Have you eaten?”

“…No.”

“Aigoo, you haven’t eaten? You must be starving. I’ll buy you something tasty. Want to come?”

The child, who had been staring at the ground, looked up with wide, startled eyes.

Such kindness existed in the world?

Mother only ever screamed—and when their eyes met, she attacked like a killer.

The child’s hand unconsciously touched its neck.

The scabbed ridges from Mother’s nails were palpable.

Suddenly, its heart pounded, ears ringing, body paralyzed.

As the child hesitated, Dan Bulwi seized its hand.

“Uncle will buy you delicious candies over there. So good you’d kill for them.”

Dan Bulwi, just met, had already become “Uncle.”

When the child didn’t resist, his lips curled upward.

‘This easy? Today’s my lucky day.’

Gripping the small hand tightly, Dan Bulwi walked with steps light enough to fly.