Chapter 29
Mount Geumcho.
That was the name of the spirit Saheun had captured.
Strangely, the spirit’s death anniversary was clearly visible — about a hundred years ago from now.
In other words, the spirit standing before me had lived more than a century ago.
But what stood out even more than that was the surname Geum (金).
“Could it be… one of my ancestors?”
At first, it seemed possible.
After all, there are ancestral spirits that remain with a family.
I’d even seen a few during my travels through the martial world.
‘Y-yes! I am your ancestor!’
The spirit even chimed in, agreeing with what I said.
But no matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t shake my doubts.
“You don’t look like me at all for an ancestor.”
Geum Chosan had the face of a rat and was rather ugly.
Meanwhile, no one in my Geum family line had such features — and all of us were fairly good-looking.
Even a hundred years’ difference shouldn’t make such a complete lack of resemblance.
And his so-called “explanations” were ridiculous.
‘L-look closely. There must be something similar. Maybe the fingernails. Or the toenails…’
I cut him off before he could ramble any further and asked point-blank:
“Do you have any proof that you’re my ancestor?”
‘Proof… Of course… I do.’
Geum Chosan trailed off, clearly stalling for time.
I could practically hear his gears turning.
Finally, Saheun, unable to bear it, raised his hand and smacked the spirit’s head.
Smack!
“Waaagh!”
Apparently, nothing was more terrifying to wandering souls than a reaper from the underworld.
Geum Chosan rolled on the floor clutching his head, screaming in pain — so pitiful even I felt sympathy.
But Saheun, a cold-hearted reaper without pity or tears, raised his hand again.
And at once, the truth poured out of the spirit’s mouth.
‘I’m not an ancestor spirit! Please, spare me!’
What was there to spare? He’d been dead for a hundred years already.
Watching him, I couldn’t even tell if he was human or ghost anymore.
‘At least Saheun helped me confirm he’s not my ancestor.’
Seen this way, he was definitely a peculiar one.
‘He’s not an ancestral spirit, but he’s not an evil ghost either… and yet he’s remained in the living world for a hundred years.’
And in the same appearance as when alive, no less.
This was extremely rare.
A lingering spirit in the living world inevitably accumulates foul energy, loses reason, and becomes what people call an evil ghost.
That’s simply how the world works.
Continuing a life not granted to you comes with a price.
Of course, there are exceptions.
‘If he was a truly extraordinary person while alive, perhaps…’
With great spiritual power or immense accumulated merit.
But Geum Chosan before me was clearly neither.
‘I’m curious… but.’
I decided not to pry into his past.
People might dismiss wandering ghosts as lowly, but no ghost exists without a story.
Even I had no right to demand it.
But for other matters, I did intend to demand answers.
“Why did you come to the Geumhwa Trading Company? What’s your purpose?”
There’s an old saying: a ghost follows, or a ghost clings to you.
It’s something to be wary of.
‘This Geum Chosan fellow may not be dangerous at all.’
But getting entangled with beings like him rarely ends well.
So I wanted to know the reason and prevent such things from happening again.
‘W-well… I was just passing by and— eek! I’ll talk! Treasure! Yes, treasure! I was drawn here by the scent of treasure!’
He was about to spout nonsense, but seeing Saheun raise his hand again, he blurted the truth — and the answer was completely unexpected.
“Treasure?”
Could there be one?
One of the reasons souls linger as ghosts is greed.
So a ghost wanting treasure wasn’t strange in itself.
The real question was what treasure could attract a ghost like him.
At that moment, a name popped into my head.
“Could it be because of the Geum Family Vault?”
It was very possible.
There were certainly treasures in there anyone would covet.
But oddly enough, Geum Chosan didn’t know the name of the vault.
‘I don’t know. I just followed the scent of treasure from yesterday. I swear this is my first time here.’
It didn’t seem like he was lying.
Still, to be sure, I glanced at Saheun — who raised his hand again.
Geum Chosan flinched, but didn’t change his answer.
‘Couldn’t the scent I sensed yesterday have come from this “vault” you mention?’
He cautiously offered his own guess.
I was also fairly sure myself.
‘I did visit the vault yesterday, after all.’
It seemed that was the trigger linking him to us.
But there was still something that didn’t make sense.
‘The vault may have been hidden, but are we sure it hasn’t been opened once in the past hundred years? If so, Geum Chosan would’ve come much sooner.’
I had to assume not.
Even the restricted sacred tree, the Geumdan Tree, likely knew of the vault and accessed it.
That meant there was some other reason at play.
I had to find it — to avoid more surprises like this.
I was still puzzling over it when I noticed something by chance:
Geum Chosan’s eyes.
Even while watching us nervously, his gaze kept straying somewhere.
If the answer lay in the vault, his gaze should’ve been toward it.
But it wasn’t.
It was somewhere completely different.
Not even far away.
Right behind me.
More precisely—
“Geumdu?”
No.
“Now I see. The ‘treasure’ you meant was Gillang.”
Geum Chosan’s eyes were fixed on Gillang.
Once I saw that, everything clicked.
‘Of course. Anyone would covet Gillang.’
Not just any treasure, but—
‘Gillang had even been buried underground within the vault.’
Until I found him, he’d been perfectly hidden in a separate space, concealing not just his body but even his aura.
Even if the vault had been opened many times before, no one would’ve noticed his existence.
Not even a ghost sensitive to treasure scents.
With the mystery solved—
“Now there’s just one question left.”
I turned to Saheun.
He was the only one who could answer it.
“Will more ghosts come seeking Gillang’s scent?”
I knew some things about spirits, but compared to an underworld reaper? Not even close.
This was his area of expertise.
Saheun, understanding my meaning, observed both Gillang and Geum Chosan carefully before giving his professional answer.
‘I don’t think that’s likely.’
“Really?”
‘At least in my opinion.’
Then, as if to verify something, he scrutinized Geum Chosan again and continued:
‘Ghosts who covet treasures are usually called agwi (hungry ghosts). Their desire makes them powerful, but even they aren’t as sensitive to scents as this one. And this one isn’t an agwi at all. Agwi have such overwhelming hunger they can’t maintain their selfhood like he can.’
I glanced at Geum Chosan.
Indeed, he didn’t seem like a ravenous hungry ghost.
‘Then we need to identify what he actually is. As you know, spirits this old rarely maintain both self-awareness and form unless they had great spiritual power or merit in life. Yet look at him — his appearance suggests otherwise, doesn’t it?’
At that moment, Geum Chosan, looking wronged, protested:
‘Saying that to my face is a bit much…’
‘Why? Did I say anything untrue?’
‘N-no…’
A single fierce look from Saheun made him curl up.
Saheun nodded as if to say, “See?”
‘As you can see, he’s greedy and small-minded. That leaves only one answer.’
I spoke up:
“Wait, can I guess?”
I’d already thought of it from Saheun’s words.
When he nodded, I immediately said it:
“A treasure. One powerful enough to preserve a dead person’s soul. Right?”
And such a treasure was essentially a divine relic — among the highest rank.
I couldn’t help but wonder.
“But you have no intention of telling me, do you?”
The moment I said it, Geum Chosan’s whole demeanor changed.
Even without words, it was clear: he’d never reveal it, even if dragged to the underworld right now.
Such greed even in death.
Then again…
I could understand.
“I know. I’ve died once myself.”
I muttered bitterly.
When the Purple God Sword broke, I had essentially died.
Yet I refused to accept it, wrestling with underworld reapers, clinging to life.
So perhaps Geum Chosan wasn’t so different.
I had thought him pathetic for wandering after treasure scents.
But now that feeling was gone.
That’s why—
“Go. I’ll let you go this once.”
I decided to release Geum Chosan.
‘Young Master!’
Saheun’s voice followed, full of disapproval.
It was his job to capture ghosts and drag them to the underworld.
Naturally, he reacted this way.
But my decision didn’t change.
“Just turn a blind eye for today.”
‘…Understood.’
Saheun reluctantly accepted.
I bowed my head in thanks.
Then I turned back to Geum Chosan, who still hadn’t left, intending to tell him again to go.
That’s when I noticed something odd.
He was staring at me in disbelief, trembling.
‘Y-you died once and came back? H-how?’
And at that moment—
My Insight Eye activated automatically.
Geum Chosan’s life, unseen before, flashed quickly before my eyes.
And I realized—
“Seer, you were wrong.”
Saheun had been wrong about his looks.
Geum Chosan had never lived as his face suggested.
He hadn’t been greedy. He’d been generous.
The reason he clung to treasure was only one:
“You were like me.”
Because he wanted to live.
