not to China. Even when I was young my mother would tell me this tale to frighten me. To keep me from being peculiar.”
I tapped my finger against the veranda, thinking. “Then what about Councillor Ch’oi? You said His Lordship summoned Shim to his residence—you have no idea what they talked about?”
“No. I wish I could be of help, but as close as Officer Shim was to Inspector Han, I know little about him. Besides the fact of his illegitimacy, he is a mystery.”
“I also know that Myeonmok village is his—” My heartbeat suspended in midair as my attention shifted to the village’s name. Myeon-mok. Names in our kingdom were packed with meaning. I didn’t know what myeon meant, but the word mok sounded familiar. We called the field where ranchers tended to horses mok-jang.
“Do you know where Myeonmok village is?” I whispered.
A pause, and then Ryun said, “I do.”
“Does the village have anything to do with stables?”
“The village is famous for its horses.”
“Why do they raise horses there?”
“The village is located at the base of Mount Yongma in the town of Goyang, and that is where it came from, the legend you told me about. They believe the yongma horse-dragon spirit descends upon the stables every New Year, and that is why their horses are so strong and fast.”
I clutched my skirt, knuckles white. “Myeonmok village. This is Officer Shim’s hometown, and this must also be where Madam Byeol conceived Councillor Ch’oi’s illegitimate son. I was told this, that Madam Byeol was from a town close to Mount Yongma. Her father was a rancher.”
Ryun’s eyes widened and his brows rose high. “I think you are right,” he said. “There has to be more to these coincidences.”
“What will you do now?”
“I need to question servants,” he replied. “I am acquainted with a few in Councillor Ch’oi’s household. One of them might have heard what went on between the two.”
“I hope so…” There was still a sinking weight in me that Inspector Han might have been involved in the killing. The possibility of Shim’s connection to Councillor Ch’oi did not prove Inspector Han’s innocence.
But I hoped Ryun would prove me wrong.
I looked around, noticing my surroundings again. The broken screen door creaked on its hinges, swaying back and forth in the wind. And ahead of me, I saw the pine tree with its sharp green needles, and there seemed to be something there. I rubbed my eyes, wondering if exhaustion was fogging my vision, for I could see a white haze watching me from beneath the branches.
“You know this place.”
Ryun’s voice startled me; it took a moment to gather my thoughts to reply. “I came here once out of curiosity. I heard this mansion was haunted.”
“I mean, you know this place,” he repeated, and when I met his solemn gaze, I sensed that he knew something. “I was ordered to follow your trail before, Seol.”
“Ordered? By whom?”
“Inspector Han, after you left a mark on his face and he heard you say, ‘Never my brother,’ I followed you all the way to Madam Song’s inn. I wanted to find out why you’ve been digging into my master’s past, and through her, I learned that you were looking for your brother, a boy named Jeong Inho. I know that name. I know who it is, and I know the new name he goes by.”
Shock jabbed at the tender spot right under my ribs. Breathing was painful as I waited for the questions, questions about why I had kept silent about my connection to Inspector Han, about why I had betrayed someone related to me by blood.
Instead, Ryun kicked the ground, and said, “You shouldn’t have come back for him.”
“What?”
He raised his hands at me. “The inspector told me that. He said you shouldn’t have looked for him. There is an old saying that before a man embarks on a journey of revenge, he ought to dig two graves. He said his life has reduced itself to only that. Two graves.”
Inspector Han’s life had no room for me.
Ryun said no more. Some concern had sewn his lips together, or perhaps it was the expression on my face. I realized that my jaws were locked, teeth clenched, my eyes wide, and from the light-headedness, I imagined I must look frightfully pale. And I was holding my breath, resisting life so I could resist change from happening.
I had so much fear in me.
Fear that in this change my home would disappear. I had grown up under