If I did not run now, I might lose my chance. I took a step back, the soil crunching beneath my step, and he looked up.
I froze.
“I saw you enter Lady Kang’s home yesterday afternoon. An acquaintance?”
I blinked. “She rescued me the day I got lost on Mount Inwang. I do not know her too well.”
“Tell me what kind of conversations you had with her.”
“We only spoke about … about … I cannot remember, sir. It must not have been important.”
“You never asked her what the cargo was?”
“Cargo, sir?”
“On the night you disappeared on Mount Inwang, we crossed paths with Lady Kang. She was disguised as a gentleman, but we recognized her, the notorious Catholic rogue that she is. She had cargo, and as she was a noblewoman, we could not order a search. You do not know what it was?”
“No. No, not at all.”
“Not suspicious at all? You did not see what was inside?”
“No…”
“Perhaps you did.”
I kept quiet.
“Catholic books were in there. Perhaps you did see them but chose not to report the matter to the authorities and instead chose to keep quiet. Are you a Catholic, Damo Seol?”
“I am not!”
“Then are you sympathetic toward them?”
“I…”
“In which case, you will not easily tell me what I want to know.”
“What is it you wish to know? Of course I will tell you, sir!”
“Did you see a man inside her mansion?”
“I did,” I blurted out, “but just a glimpse. He is gone now.”
“Good, you admit it. All I want is information, Seol, and nothing more. What did he look like? What was unique about his appearance? Did he speak our language well?”
“He … he … He had long, long white hair,” I lied. “His face was that of a very old man. I believe the man was Lady Kang’s relative—”
“It is getting late.” Officer Shim tossed the hoe aside and looked up at the sky, the light fading, and for a long moment, he seemed interested only in admiring the colors of the sunset. At length, he lowered his eyes to me. “I already know the priest was within, but it seems he was moved elsewhere. I also know that he is no old man. You are fooling no one, Seol.”
Deadly silence strangled me. Had Woorim told him that Priest Zhou Wenmo had been moved elsewhere? Shim might even think I knew the secrets of the priest’s whereabouts, and if he discovered that I truly knew nothing, he would dispose of me. Scrambling through my thoughts, I searched for a way to pique Shim’s interest, a reason to keep me alive even a moment longer. All I could think of was the truth. “You are Councillor Ch’oi’s son, are you not?”
This seemed to catch him unawares. “What makes you think that?”
“Because of Councillor Ch’oi’s horse-dragon pendant, and … and because you were born in this village, right next to Mount Yongma.”
“You’re a very clever girl,” he said, almost regretfully. “Though perhaps you would have come to the truth much quicker had both you and Inspector Han worked together.”
I had to keep him talking. “And the noses? Why did you slice them off?”
“You continue to surprise me with your boldness, Seol. You seem to have come to a firm conclusion that I am the killer.” He unraveled a coil of rope hanging by his side, slowly and with heavy hands. “Seeing a dead person continues to be difficult, but with their nose removed … it reminds me that they were heretics. Wicked people.”
Cold sweat dripped into my eyes. I took a step back, and now I was five paces away from the man who clearly did not expect me to live. That was why he was telling me the truth. I knew too much now for him to let me go.
“And all this,” I said, my voice tight with fear, “did Councillor Ch’oi order it of you?”
His eyes flashed. “Councillor Ch’oi had nothing to do with this. It was me, all me. I am the one that approached him first. I swore I’d find the priest for him. He was confused by my offer, but a man whose neck is on the line knows not to ask too many questions, and I’d promised to explain everything in due time. Once I catch the priest, that is when I will tell him who I am.” He sounded eager to share his wretched story with me. It seemed the weight of his unspoken life had become unbearable, and he had chosen me to be