Follow Your Heart [EN]: Chapter 75

#75.

When Ijae rushed in, the room where the King lay asleep was silent.

The Captain of the Guard, who was guarding the room, asked her,

“Your Majesty, the Queen, what’s wrong?”

But she didn’t even have time to answer.

The Yin energy [dark, negative energy in traditional Chinese philosophy] was flowing out. This meant the barrier was already breaking down.

Just what kind of things had gathered to cause this?

Ijae pushed past the people and rushed into the room.

And then she collapsed to the floor.

It was the first time she had ever felt such a ghostly aura.

With a trembling hand, she covered her mouth and murmured,

“Good heavens… God, what on earth is that?”

The vengeful spirit that had broken through the barrier was alone. But it was enormous, and it looked more terrifying than anything she had ever seen.

It had long, sharp claws on its hands, and those hands were strangling the King’s neck. Thick, black fur was matted and bristled all over its body.

The evil spirit seemed to notice her presence before long and turned its head.

Its eyes were bloodshot, and thick fur grew all over its face.

It was an evil spirit in the form of a monster rather than a person.

Ijae shuddered with horror.

She shook her head repeatedly.

She couldn’t possibly face something like that.

But if the barrier broke down any further here, other vengeful spirits would rush in.

Even as she trembled, Ijae spun the prayer beads on her wrist and thought of a way.

If only she had written a few more talismans. If only she had more ritual implements.

A bow, a bell, a sacred sword, peach wood to ward off evil spirits.

None of those things were available to her now. But as she thought of various methods in her head, one idea flashed through her mind.

“Peach wood… wood.”

Ijae rushed back out of the room.

And she clung to the Captain of the Guard without thinking.

“Jade, please move His Majesty to the Forest of Asher. Just to the entrance…”

“Your Majesty, the Queen, what’s going on?”

“We have to go… Oh, what should I do…”

“Your Majesty.”

Ijae, who had been rambling, dragged Jade into the King’s room.

It was to explain the King’s condition to him in secret.

If it was the Captain of the Guard, if it was his friend who would not betray His Majesty… he would believe her.

He would help her.

Jade’s face became even more serious.

Because the King was simply sleeping soundly with a peaceful expression.

But she kept seeing other things.

The sacred energy was now protecting the royal body.

However, the King’s vitality was gradually being depleted.

‘That thing is strangling His Majesty’s neck.’

That was no different from a death god, and it was clear that the King would not wake up even if he were awakened now.

If he spent the night like that, he would eventually die.

Just like a healthy person suddenly dying for no reason overnight.

But the huge evil spirit suddenly released the hand that had been strangling the King’s neck.

Then the King’s energy and breathing became more comfortable than ever.

The evil spirit looked at her confusion and smiled slyly.

It was planning to deceive Jade and the King’s people.

To make sure no one would believe her.

At that moment, the evil spirit also dug into Ijae.

-You’re alone.

-You always have been, and you always will be.

-You know it too. You’re dirty.

Ijae let go of Jade’s hand.

She staggered back from the sharp malice, her eyes filled with tears, and lowered her gaze.

But she soon looked at the King with trembling eyes.

If she gave in to those words, that person would bear it with her.

She didn’t want to bring defeat to the person she loved.

Ijae squeezed her eyes shut and calmed her mind.

‘Accept it, but don’t give in.’

‘Overcome yourself and move forward.’

Even as she trembled, Ijae glared at the evil spirit.

‘Yes, I know. But don’t mislead innocent people, you wicked thing.’

She turned her back and came out of the room.

And she started running towards the forest with all her might.

The Forest of Asher was the very essence of the Kaien royal family.

It meant that it most closely resembled the King’s innate energy.

Ijae, who was limping because of her still-unhealed leg, groped the dark floor to find even a fallen branch.

But the sacred forest was unusually clean today, and the trees all stood tall.

Eventually, she tried to grab the tree in front of her and shake it.

Then one proposition flashed through Ijae’s mind.

-Don’t damage it.

-Kang Ijae. Keep in mind. You can’t handle that energy with your power.

A cool night breeze blew, and the mysterious sound of leaves rustling against each other could be heard.

She had known it since she first saw this forest. She wanted to kneel before the sacred energy.

Ijae hung her head and hesitated, but soon bit her lip.

“What does that matter? What if I get punished by heaven? My life has been full of heavenly punishments from the start.”

Tears seemed about to spill, but Ijae shook the tree.

Then, when it didn’t work at all, she kicked it.

She felt pain in her sprained ankle and collapsed, but even as she fell, she grabbed the tree trunk and shook it.

All that happened was that a few leaves fell.

It was then that Ijae felt a powerful force. When she raised her head with tears in her eyes, the boy king was staring down at her expressionlessly.

Ijae immediately knelt down and bowed her head.

“Please save him. Just once, please. I’ll do anything you want.”

The boy king’s face, who was silent, looked much colder than usual.

But he soon sighed and snapped off a branch, throwing it in front of her.

-This is really all I can do for you. Go.

-Kang Ijae. I’m not your guardian spirit.

It was an incomprehensible statement.

The boy king was Roderick’s guardian spirit, and the one she was trying to save was Roderick.

But Ijae wiped her eyes and bowed to the boy king.

And she picked up the branch and tidied her clothes.

This time, she bowed deeply.

When the Queen suddenly reappeared, the people were very embarrassed.

Moreover, the branch she was holding so precious fueled their suspicions.

The Queen would look at doll-like cute things with a sullen expression, but she would hold such a piece of wood in her arms.

Ijae silently looked at their faces and tried to go inside.

Jade gently grabbed Ijae’s sleeve.

He knew it was rude, but he had no other way to stop her.

“Your Majesty, the Queen. Why are you doing this? I wish you would tell me.”

“……”

“I have confirmed, but His Majesty is sleeping soundly now.”

Jade thought that even the sane Queen seemed to be suffering from madness.

In fact, Ijae was now half out of her mind.

She shook off the Captain of the Guard’s hand and went inside.

“I want to be alone, so don’t let anyone in!”

After locking the door, she immediately turned towards the King’s bed.

Ijae knew very well that she was the only one in the castle who could see this.

Then she had to do it. It was absurd to be born with the energy of a shaman and borrow the hands of ordinary people.

But she was also human, so sometimes this life was too painful and scary. She was selfish, but there were times when she thought that.

‘If only I could see this scene with people.’

And she knew that such a wish was too great a sin.

Does pain really become half when shared? I want to know.

Ijae slowly approached the evil spirit.

“Who sent something like you to this world? You shouldn’t be here.”

“Who is casting spells in this room?”

Not just anyone could summon an evil spirit of this level.

The spells cast in her room were just a smokescreen to cause confusion compared to this. As if they knew the situation in the castle.

“Did the Duke do it?”

The evil spirit, which had been strangling the King’s neck, slowly turned its head at her question.

It was a distinctly different aura than before.

It was because of the royal tree Ijae was holding.

Peach trees are auspicious trees. So her ancestors had used peach trees and their flowers to ward off evil spirits since ancient times.

But the tree that had been rooted in the Forest of Asher for a long time had a much more miraculous energy than that.

It was a substitute for a ritual implement, but it was a material worth enduring the punishment of heaven.

“Gather auspicious energy. May harmony be achieved.”

Ijae recited the mantra with a tense face.

“All kinds of auspicious energy. Gather like clouds at this end. May different energies harmonize and finally achieve harmony.”

To be honest, she didn’t know if this was okay.

Because it was the first time she had ever done this.

But Ijae continued to pour her energy into the royal tree.

Hoping that her energy and the royal family’s energy would gather at the end and harmonize.

Ijae placed the royal tree on the bedside where the guardian spirits were.

Then suddenly, dark red blood flowed from the King’s mouth.

The evil energy that the evil spirit had injected was escaping.

The energy was so terrible to look at that Ijae turned her head and shuddered.

She couldn’t understand how he was still alive while harboring that.

But soon, a fierce energy began to erupt from his body as well.

It was the royal family’s energy that repelled darkness and evil.

‘It’s done.’

After confirming that the evil spirit had moved to the wall, Ijae hurriedly brought the Yama statue [a Buddhist deity who judges the dead]. The most important ritual remained.

The evil spirit’s appearance was so terrible, but Ijae took a deep breath.

“Actually, I don’t even know if I’m the one defying the heavens right now, or you.”

-Don’t you know yet? The King should have died a long time ago. You too.

The evil spirit tore its mouth and laughed at Ijae, but she nodded and said calmly.

“Yeah. I don’t know. I don’t have that kind of ability.”

“If I’m the one defying the heavens like you said, then I’ll be punished, right? It turns out that taking someone’s side is this difficult.”

“Promising to fight together is a promise to endure something for that person.”

Ijae steeled her heart once again.

This was a fight that she would not have jumped into if she were an ordinary shaman.

Because there is an unwritten rule among shamans not to defy the heavens, and they do not jump into things that they are not sure of and do not have the ability to do.

Then this was paradoxically something she could do only because she wanted to be on his side.

No other reason was needed.

“Courage is doing what is right.” (견의불위무용야) [A Confucian saying emphasizing the importance of acting on what one knows to be right].”

Ijae slammed the Yama statue down on the evil spirit’s instep.

At that moment, the evil spirit tried to rush at Ijae.

Because it was not just any vengeful spirit.

Ijae also did not give in and blocked it with her prayer beads.

Ijae took out a talisman from her pocket, brought a candlestick, and began to burn the talisman in front of the evil spirit. Her lips moved incessantly as she recited the mantra.

But the people outside were paying attention to the state of the bedroom.

When they smelled something burning, they murmured.

“Your Majesty, the Queen, is something wrong? We will enter. Please forgive our rudeness.”

“I told you not to come in!”

She shouted sharply and continued to burn the talisman.

Blood was dripping from the vengeful spirit’s eyes, and its fur moved grotesquely every time it struggled.

But she didn’t have many talismans.

Her breathing was also labored and had been rapid for a long time.

Ijae squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and tore off a piece of her skirt.

And she bit her finger as hard as she could.

Ijae wrote a talisman with the dripping blood.

It was the last one. If this didn’t work, she might die even if the King was safe.

Vengeful spirits are bound to look for the weak.

Ijae covered the evil spirit with the blood-stained cloth.

And she started burning it with a candle.

“The heart of a person caring for another person… cannot be defeated.”

A terrible scream was heard.

Ijae shuddered and continued to drive the vengeful spirit towards the wall.

“Evil cannot harm the human king.” (비기귀불신 기신불상인) [A traditional saying expressing the belief that evil cannot overcome a virtuous ruler].”

And when she had burned all the blood-written talismans, there was nothing there.

She had finally succeeded in destroying this terrible evil spirit.

“Haa…”

Ijae collapsed to the floor. Blood was mixed in with her heavy cough.

She tried to hold back the cough, but at that moment, blood gushed out of her mouth.

She looked at where the King was.

Dark red blood was still flowing from his mouth like hers.

Ijae covered her face because she didn’t know what this sudden feeling was.

At that moment, a child-like cry burst out.

The King woke up four days later.