Chapter 36
If it had been only one or two, I might have just overlooked it.
But there were already five from the Geumhwa Merchant Guild alone.
And I heard there were others of the same sort outside the guild as well.
It didn’t take long before I spotted a group all heading in the same direction.
Roughly about a hundred people.
Since the number wasn’t small, I didn’t immediately think of Geumchosan.
After all, it made no sense that a mere ghost could bewitch a hundred people in broad daylight, and in less than half a day.
“Something like that would only be possible for a great monster from legends. A lowly wraith that’s lived a hundred years at best couldn’t possibly pull it off.”
But more than that—
“Their eyes are far too clear to be called bewitched.”
Still, I couldn’t completely dismiss my suspicion.
Because the direction they were all heading in was none other than Cheonmun Temple.
From the Geumhwa Guild, it took about half a day’s journey to reach Cheonmun Temple.
And that was after climbing a fairly rugged mountain. It wasn’t the kind of place one could decide to visit on a whim.
And yet today, strangers with no ties to one another were all flocking there together?
There was no way that was a coincidence.
It had to be connected to Geumchosan somehow.
At first, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but then I recalled the common trait of the guild members I’d found earlier.
“They all looked half-asleep.”
And in that state, each of them had discovered or picked up something.
“So, they did something inside their dreams.”
I let out a short, incredulous laugh.
“What is it, some ancestor god? Why meddle in other people’s dreams?”
And to top it off, it was exactly the sort of thing ancestors were said to do—
appearing in the dreams of their descendants to tell them where to find something they’d lost.
I had never imagined it would move people like this.
“Quite the trick.”
Sure, latching onto dreams was a ghost’s specialty.
But to do it in broad daylight, to a hundred people?
That was not something just any ghost could manage.
Even one that had lived for a hundred years.
This was definitely one of the things that made Geumchosan special.
“Well, at least it isn’t possession.”
If it had been, neither Sahun nor I would have tolerated it.
Possession, manipulating a person’s body, was something only evil spirits would do.
In that sense, this situation was a little ambiguous.
I didn’t like that it had approached my people and others, but—
Not a single one of them looked dark or despairing.
They had walked there of their own accord, not through force, threats, or manipulation.
And because of that, they radiated vitality instead.
Expectation.
Desperation.
Or perhaps greed.
Whatever the reason, they were clearly heading toward Cheonmun Temple of their own will.
It wasn’t a difficult conclusion to draw.
“First, it must have won their favor by finding each of them a treasure.”
A child who stumbled upon free money.
A wife who discovered her husband’s hidden stash.
An old man who recovered a family heirloom stolen by his son.
Compared to something like Gilnang’s powers, perhaps modest—but for them, those were indeed treasures.
It meant that Geumchosan’s ability wasn’t limited to finding great treasures, but could be used in a wider way.
That much certainly earned it extra credit.
“Interfering in human affairs is wrong. But if that interference harms no one, and even brings happiness instead—”
Then it’s hardly a problem.
In that sense, there was one more test left for Geumchosan.
“So far, it hasn’t caused any harm. But will that hold true in the future?”
Going to Cheonmun Temple wasn’t the end.
Inside, they had to search for Geumdu, who was in hiding.
And if this many people scoured the temple grounds to find it?
Would there really be no one harmed in the process?
“We’ll see soon enough.”
I was going to follow them to the end anyway.
Among them were members of the Geumhwa Guild.
There didn’t seem to be much danger along the way—no bandits, nothing of note—but you never know.
And after all, this whole situation had started with me.
Taking responsibility was the least I could do.
In the end, my worries were unfounded.
They arrived at Cheonmun Temple without a single problem.
They weren’t traveling as one large group, but even so, with so many people moving at once, I expected at least some trouble to crop up.
Instead, I often saw them treating one another with respect. It made me wonder what trick Geumchosan had pulled this time.
That’s why—
“I thought we’d see it once we arrived.”
But no matter how I looked around the temple grounds, Geumchosan was nowhere to be seen.
“Well, considering the energy flowing here, maybe that’s not so strange.”
The entire mountain was overflowing with a sacred aura.
It felt different from when I saw Gilnang’s ability being restricted.
And since I’d already found traces of Jincheon’s mark here, Cheonmun Temple was anything but ordinary from the outside.
But once inside, aside from being larger in scale, there wasn’t anything remarkable.
“Even if something is hidden here, it won’t be easy to find.”
Through Gilnang’s sight, I’d found nothing beyond Jincheon’s mark.
So I thought I might as well look around while I was here—but it didn’t look easy.
And surely the same would be true for the hundred others searching.
If they wanted to find Geumdu, they’d probably have to scour the temple inch by inch.
And in that process, just as I feared, they’d end up troubling others.
But right from the start, they defied my expectations.
“Monk, could we help out around here? With anything at all.”
When a hundred people showed up offering help, the abbot himself came running, forgetting all formality.
Beaming, he personally found work for each of them.
Since it was a large mountain temple, it seemed there was no shortage of chores.
And when I realized most of those chores were cleaning the temple, I almost forgot Jincheon’s mark for a moment, marveling at it instead.
“So this way, instead of being a burden, they actually help the people here while searching for Geumdu.”
I had planned to stay in the background and just observe the situation.
“Ah—! Y-young Master Soga? What brings you here?”
Even he called me Soga-joo as if it were natural.
Anyway, I turned to the guild member who had spotted me.
“Mind explaining what kind of dream led you here, doing all this?”
“……Did you perhaps have the same dream, young master?”
“No, I did not. That’s why I’m asking.”
“R-right, of course.”
Flustered, he nevertheless answered.
“It wasn’t exactly a clear dream. But there was a voice I heard in the midst of it.”
“And what did that voice say?”
“……It told me where to find something I’d lost. And then…”
“And then?”
“It said… if I wanted to find something greater that I’d lost, I should accumulate good deeds. Specifically, here at Cheonmun Temple today.”
I couldn’t help but marvel again.
I’d more or less guessed, but hearing it firsthand was staggering.
“And it also said—was it Geumju? No, Geumdu?—yes, there was a mole, and that since it was a mole, I should pay close attention to the ground. If I did, I might discover it. And then, I was told to be sure to say these words.”
I didn’t even need to hear the end.
“‘I found it!’—is that what you were told to say?”
“H-how did you know?”
I could only laugh.
The task I’d given Geumchosan was to find Geumdu, not to bring it back.
Still, I never thought it would even outsource the finding to someone else.
“Well, I never said it had to find it personally.”
I hadn’t imagined it would try to complete the task this way.
“At the very least, when it comes to finding things, it’s a natural-born genius.”
“Sir?”
“Never mind. Go on with your work.”
I sent him back, having heard enough.
But then he added one more thing.
“Oh, right. The voice also said—if anyone asks about the dream, I should tell them to go to the pine forest thirty li west of Cheonmun Temple.”
To think it had even arranged that far ahead.
I was speechless.
“Thank you.”
After sending him off, I mulled it over.
Should I go straight to where Geumchosan was?
Or wait a little longer to see what unfolded?
“No need to rush.”
I was curious why it had specified a location, but not enough to run there.
Besides, the test hadn’t been decided yet.
Better to wait and watch.
“Might as well take a look around Cheonmun Temple while I’m at it.”
Since it was an open place, and plenty of others were present, there were no restrictions.
But I found nothing out of the ordinary.
“If anything were here, it would have been found already.”
The temple’s structure made it unlikely that any hidden chambers existed.
Not impossible, of course.
“Unless it’s buried underground, like the Geumgabigo.”
If something was hidden here, that seemed the only possibility.
But that possibility was vast.
Digging it all up alone would take decades.
Fortunately, I had two who could save me the trouble—
Sahun and Geumdu.
“If Sahun searches and Geumdu digs, that’ll do it.”
That is, if such a place existed at all.
I wasn’t expecting much.
Jincheon wasn’t exactly the type to painstakingly create hidden sanctuaries.
So I half gave up on it.
If it was there, good. If not, no problem.
“For now, let’s wait.”
The test was still underway.
If I went barging in on Sahun and Geumdu now, it could affect the outcome.
So I kept some distance from the temple, waiting.
How long did I wait?
Not long after sunset, the faint cheer I’d been expecting reached my ears.
“I found it!”
It wasn’t loud, but I heard it clearly.
When I went back toward the temple, no people were in sight.
Instead, Geumdu had emerged, no longer hiding, and Sahun stood beside it looking devastated.
‘……Did I really lose? I, the great Sahun, to a mere wraith?’
Calling yourself “the great Sahun”?
I was about to tell him he wasn’t all that, but one look at his face stopped me.
He really did look as if he’d lost the whole world.
Anyway.
“Here.”
I tossed something I’d been carrying.
A tuft of fur leapt up and snatched it from the air.
Of course, it was—
‘Geumdu!’
‘Pii!’
Gilnang and Geumdu.
Separated only a little while, and they were already overjoyed.
I glanced between them and Sahun.
One gloomy, the other ecstatic.
‘Looks like I’ll have to wait a bit longer.’
Not the right moment to ask for favors, so I left them be and walked toward Jincheon’s mark.
“Even seeing it directly, nothing feels different.”
And just then—
“Quite the peculiar scribble, isn’t it?”
Someone entered the temple.
