MP 07

Chapter 7: I Am Dan – Part 1

The man was already waiting at the end of the long hallway, as if he couldn’t stand waiting any longer.

Even though he only wore a plain white robe, he looked like a noble young master.

With such handsome looks, Dan’s heart dropped several times a day.

The only small comfort was that this man always carried a foul tongue like a mop in his mouth.

‘Yes. I can’t let myself fall for someone like him. Think positive, Dan.’

Dan cursed him in her heart but ran over with a fake happy face.

“Huff, huff. Why are you out here, brother?”

“I came to check if you fell into the toilet. You didn’t even eat today, yet you’ve been in there so long.”

“My belly is weak because I’ve only eaten porridge. And thanks to those damn cats, we lost all our game today. Now my bottom has no strength left. It’s too late to hunt tonight, so tomorrow I’ll check the traps early. Maybe it’s the rain, but I feel chills. I’ll sleep first, brother.”

Back in her room, Dan pushed two chairs together to make a small bed.

Maybe it was the rain. Her whole body ached, like she was coming down with a fever.

She pulled the blanket over her head and shut her eyes tight.

“Uhh…”

In the deep night with no starlight, the man awoke at the sound of a woman groaning.

Dan was curled up, trembling as if with a fever, even though she hadn’t been caught in the rain.

He thought it wasn’t his problem and lay back down, annoyed.

But in the silence, the groans stopped. Strangely, that bothered him.

“…Annoying.”

Click.

He lit a candle and tapped the rolled-up blanket.

Dan lowered it with a guilty face.

“Sorry, brother. I tried to stay quiet, but it’s hard. Still, I’ll endure. But… it’s too cold. Please, give me some of the blanket.”

When Dan tried to pull it up, the man quickly snatched it away.

“What did you eat, woman?”

“I-I didn’t eat anything.”

“Say it while I ask nicely. What did you eat?”

Feeling his sharp mood, Dan sat up nervously. She wanted to deny it completely.

“Eii, I’ve been starving for days. Would I really eat something secretly? Must just be a bad fever. If I rest, I’ll be fine.”

The man let out a cold laugh, grabbed a brass mirror from the corner, and handed it to her.

Dan was puzzled, but when she looked inside, her face looked black, like a coal miner.

“B-brother… the room is too dark. Light another candle.”

“The darkness is you.”

Only then did Dan notice her own hands. All ten fingernails were pitch black.

“Tell me the truth. What did you eat?”

“I… I actually ate this. It looked like a Human Shape Ginseng. I-Is it poison?”

The man examined the root carefully. For a moment, shock and joy flashed across his face.

Then he suddenly laughed like a madman.

“Hahaha!”

“B-brother, w-what is it?”

“What else? This is a 1,500-year-old Human Shape Ginseng! That record was true. Haha, what luck!”

He smiled brightly, showing his perfect white teeth.

Dan jumped up, excited too—until she realized her hands were empty.

“Huh?”

The ginseng was already in the man’s hand.

Dan grabbed his sleeve desperately.

“Brother! That’s mine. I found it! Give it back.”

He hid it behind his back and sneered.

“Do you wear your head just for decoration? Eating this raw without any inner power—how foolish. Like putting pearls before swine.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“This is Human Shape Ginseng. Even a martial artist can only eat it after controlling its power with inner energy. But you, with no martial arts, just stuffed it in your mouth. It’s like pouring a river into a tiny cup. I don’t even know how this treasure ended up in your hands.”

“I knew it was valuable! I found it with great effort. Please give it back!”

“Hmph. Losing it to me isn’t your problem. If you can’t release the tangled energy, you’ll be crushed to death before sunrise.”

“C-crushed?!”

“Yes. Crushed under the overwhelming energy of the medicine.”

“Isn’t there any way?”

“Right after eating it, if I had opened your energy channels, maybe. But your black nails show it’s too late. You brought this on yourself, sneaky girl.”

Dan’s legs gave out, and she collapsed on the floor.

“To die after eating a treasure like this? Impossible…”

“There is… another way. But—”

“What is it? I was going to give it to my father, but I’ll give it to you instead! Please, just save me.”

“Heh. Why should I? It will be mine anyway.”

“Then at least tell me the method. If you don’t, I’ll become a ghost and haunt you forever!”

At those words, his face stiffened.

After a moment of thought, he spoke coldly.

“Hmph. Even if I tell you, you can’t do it. Better to die quietly.”

“Please, brother!”

“You’re a woman. If you sleep with a man, the tangled energy will be released. But in this trap formation, the only man here is me. Do you think I’d sleep with a grave-robbing wench like you? Ridiculous.”

He walked to the door, still mocking her.

“Since it’s your last night alive, you can have my bed. I won’t share a room with a corpse.”

Dan panicked and clutched his pants.

“Brother! Don’t go. You’ve killed many before, haven’t you? Then think of this as earning merit for Buddha—share your body with me just once!”

“You shameless woman. Let go, or I’ll cut your hands first.”

“I won’t! I don’t want to die. Can’t you think of it as giving charity?”

His eyes cut into her like a knife as he pried her hands off.

“Hmph. I knew it from the start—you don’t know what chastity is. Some women kill themselves to protect their purity. And you—tsk, tsk.”

Shame burned through Dan at his scorn. But then she remembered her father waiting for her and steadied her mind.

“I can’t die like this. You’re not leaving this room.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Don’t act like a saint. You’re just a dog digging through graves for treasures. I can see your low life clearly. It’s just a body—why act like it will wear out?”

The man grabbed her by the neck like a predator catching prey.

Their faces were so close, she could feel his hot, angry breath.

“So you’d rather die in my hands tonight?”

“I—I want to live. Truly. My mother risked her life to give birth to me. Why should I throw that away for chastity? Let the noble ladies keep their purity. You, just use my body.”

“You cling to life like a cockroach.”

“You won’t regret it, brother. I know men and women’s affairs very well. And don’t forget—if I die, you’ll never escape this formation. Will you stay here forever, alone until you rot?”

The veins on his hand bulged as he tightened his grip.

Dan’s face grew pale. Just as she thought she would suffocate, his hand released.

“Cough! Cough!”

Dan bit her lip, barely opening her heavy eyes.

She could feel his burning gaze on her.

Then his chilling whisper slid into her ear.

“Woman. If you know men and women so well, then prepare yourself. At least be ready to lose an arm or a leg. If you don’t satisfy me, you’ll never live whole again.”