Chapter 6: The Contract (Part 2)
The man stood in front of Dan with a questioning look.
Seizing the moment, Dan quickly held out his wrists and ankles to him.
He seemed determined not to speak unless the bindings were loosened first.
The man reluctantly cut the ropes with his knife.
“You should’ve tied them loosely. What’s with tightening them so much?”
“What?”
“Look, you tied them so tight that my wrists and ankles are turning purple with bruises.”
Dan complained, and the man’s eyebrow shot up in anger.
Dan tried to ignore his words and spoke as if nothing had happened.
“Time is money, let’s get on with the contract.”
“Alright. What’s the contract?”
“Could you please give me your hand for a moment?”
“Why do you want my hand?”
“It’s for the contract, of course. This contract doesn’t need paper or a pen. Hurry up, brother.”
Dan’s eyes sparkled suspiciously.
The man, with a doubtful expression, extended his hand.
“Wow. Your hands are surprisingly delicate.”
Dan gladly grabbed the man’s hand and began to twist it around.
Just as the man’s suspicious eyes stayed on Dan’s face, Dan, like a hungry dog that hadn’t eaten in days, suddenly bit the man’s hand hard.
The man growled lowly, clutching his bleeding hand.
“How dare you! What is this?”
“What’s it look like? It’s the contract.”
“Looks like you want to die.”
“Really? You’re going to kill me just because I bit you?”
It was ridiculous, like an animal complaining about getting hurt after biting someone.
The man, staring at Dan, tilted his head, confused.
“I’ve never spared anyone who made me bleed. I won’t do it now either.”
“I have a reason! What if you break the contract and don’t get out of this technique? That’s why I bit you. If you kill me, I’ll come back as a ghost, and haunt you for breaking the promise.”
“Heh. Funny.”
The man’s killing intent was sharp, and Dan could feel the tension rising in the air.
Dan almost lowered his head, but then an old saying popped into his mind.
‘That’s right. They say a dead ghost with unfinished business still looks fine. I should at least try.’
“You’re underestimating the curse of a woman. Even the Empress of the Imperial Palace pricks needles into straw dolls every night. That’s been a tradition for hundreds, even thousands, of years. Don’t you think it works?”
A cold silence settled between them.
The man slowly raised his eyelids.
“So, what curse are you planning to cast on me?”
His sharp black eyes pierced Dan.
The shadows under his long eyelashes seemed to provoke fear.
Normally, Dan would have lowered his head by now, but he didn’t care. He had nothing to lose anymore.
“Heh. If you kill me, I’ll come back as a tragic ghost and make sure all your teeth rot away.”
“Haha. Is that all?”
“That’s it. I’ll make sure you can’t use that thing of yours that stands up every morning. You’ll never be able to use it again. If a beautiful woman tries to seduce you, she’ll probably end up crumpling her face like paper. Haha. And, well, also…”
“Shut up, woman. Before I kill you right now.”
Dan’s sharp gaze clashed with the man’s cold stare.
It seemed like the man was ready to kill, but he didn’t act quickly.
The man seemed to want to cut Dan’s throat, but couldn’t think of any other solution.
Dan looked at him with a sly expression and said, “A real man should stop acting like a coward. I’ll just check the formation, as per the contract. Let’s see, the exit should be this way.”
Later
Dan and the man crouched in the bushes, staring at the rabbits grazing in the field.
The rabbits hopped around, unaware of the danger.
When the two men stood up, a group of wild cats suddenly appeared on the field.
The rabbits quickly scattered in fear.
“Ah, so close! We could’ve caught them if we’d waited a bit longer. Those damn cats. We’ll need to move to another spot.”
Dan dusted the grass off his clothes and stood up.
The man sighed quietly and stood up too.
“I don’t think we’ll be hunting today.”
“Eh?”
Dan looked up at the sky, following the man’s motion.
It had been clear and sunny, but now dark clouds were gathering.
“It’s going to rain. Let’s head back to the lodge.”
Dan and the man walked to the house they had stumbled upon while searching through the formation.
When they first discovered it, Dan was amazed by how well-preserved it was. Even after so many years, the beams and furniture looked new, as if the owner had just stepped out.
The sky had turned black, and heavy rain started to pour down.
Inside, the man was sitting by the table, listening to the soothing sound of the rain as he calmly drank tea.
It was the tea he had made from the leaves he found in the kitchen earlier.
“Girl, how long do you think it’ll take to get out of here?”
Dan, looking out the window at the garden, stayed silent.
The man raised an eyebrow at her silence.
Dan’s voice came out reluctantly.
“It’ll be two more days.”
The rain outside seemed to get heavier, and the red petals of the hibiscus flowers began to fall off, one by one.
It was a beautiful scene, but Dan was thinking about something else.
‘Tch. Once the rain stops, he’s going to make me clean the yard like catching rats. This guy acts like a woman when it comes to dust. When will he ever clean it?’
While Dan was thinking angrily about the man, the hibiscus petals looked like shiny red beads, sparkling in the rain.
“Glistening, so glistening.”
Dan quickly rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the strange thoughts.
When he looked again, the petals were still falling, just like before.
‘What’s going on? I must be losing my mind after being stuck in this technique for so long.’
At that moment, the man set his teacup down and spoke threateningly.
“Hmm. If you try to run again, I’ll cut off your legs.”
“Ugh. I’m not running. How could I escape from you? I think the time gap will open in the north. It’ll only take a moment to find it, so trust me. Brother.”
After finishing admiring the hibiscus, Dan headed out.
The man stared at his back, displeased, and asked, “Where are you going now?”
“To see Sofi. Do I really need to report everything to you?”
Dan glared at the man and left the room.
As he hurried to the bathroom, his heart raced.
‘Please, I hope he’s not following me to the bathroom.’
Every time Dan had tried to escape, the man seemed to find him without fail. It was impossible to shake him off.
‘Must be nice for martial artists who can run around and disappear.’
It was like the saying, “A sparrow chasing a stork ends up with its legs torn.”
Dan realized that he couldn’t escape from the man, and now it seemed like whatever happened would happen.
He had reached the point where he didn’t care anymore, whether he lived or died.
Still, as he walked toward the bathroom, why was his heart pounding so hard?
‘Heh. I won’t be able to enjoy this with him, though.’
When Dan arrived at the bathroom, he carefully checked around.
He had secretly taken out the best of the ginseng, called Human Shape Ginseng.
A few days ago, while sneaking away, he had found it by sheer luck.
Even though he studied medicine on the surface, he knew that Human Shape Ginseng was the most valuable kind.
‘Many martial artists climb cliffs and search deep in the mountains to find this. It’s something that can’t be bought with money.’
Dan, who had been starving all day, now sat alone in a smelly bathroom, feeling a little sad but also accepting it.
The red berries of the Human Shape Ginseng glowed like jewels.
“Glistening, so glistening.”
Dan stuffed the root and leaves into his mouth quickly, not even bothering to dust it off.
He thought of his father, who must be worried about him, as he chewed.
‘Ugh. That was good. I’ve been gone too long, I better go back.’
Dan quickly left the bathroom and hurried toward the man’s room.
After trying to escape several times, he now felt like a duckling searching for its mother, frantic and uneasy.
He understood the fear of being trapped, but…
‘Honestly, I’m the most worried person here.’
Every day, his life hung in the balance.
One day, maybe he’d be able to take revenge once he knew the man’s name.
But until then, he just had to survive.
