“Did I really say that?”

            “Yes. What I’m trying to tell you, Hong Sahye, is that you have inherited the divine spirit more than anyone else, so you should not worry about weak spirits or evil spirits attaching themselves to you.”

            A person born with the blood of the Punglim family more than anyone else...

            With heavy eyelids halfway closed, she thought drowsily. Ah, was that why she could summon the wind without having received the divine possession? Maybe mother also suspects something.

            Rustle, rustle.

            Once again, the blunt end of the rain stick moved along her parting. The hand stroking her head slowly brushed away her cluttered thoughts. She found it hard to fight the drowsiness.

            She laid herself down in her mother’s lap like a lullaby, and the sleep that came was incredibly deep and sweet.

            ── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✦ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──

            In the short two days since, she had not seen the young master fraternising with the evil spirits. He had kept his promise. On the second day, as the young master hinted, she stealthily made her way to the back door of the designated pavilion.

            Of course, there was a promise with the young master, but her purpose for coming here was different. Just because the evil spirits weren’t visible lately didn’t mean they were gone. They must be lurking nearby.

            Since listening to her mother, she was more certain. The evil spirits also fancied the man here. Perhaps someone with a fate as twisted as hers.

            Upon reflection, she also had an inkling about the source of the evil spirits. So while Master Ki was away, the young master opened the front gate for her, and she was on her way to check things out.

            She greeted the butler who had been informed in advance and climbed over the back gate of the Master Ki’s house. Once inside, she circled the pavilion, examining it closely.

            The young master was still living in the outer house, but there were new plants that hadn’t been seen before, making the place smell more human. Though there were only two, there was a housemaid in residence, and the tiny flowerbed seemed well-tended.

            However, that was all. When compared to the inner quarters where the young master’s brothers lived, the outer house was quite shabby.

            Master Ki was sitting on the porch with one knee up, leaning on his arm, and his eyes looked different than usual. Young master! She was about to call out energetically but hesitated.

            A bitter song carried by the wind danced in her ears. The young master sat as if paralysed, unable to move a limb, gazing across to the inner house and singing. The song of the bluebirds that would bring news of longing.

            She stood there like a statue, unable to announce her presence. After she left, she suddenly wondered what the young master did all night alone in the other building. Was he longing, staring hopelessly beyond the bustling walls?

            “If you miss your father, you should just go see him.”

            The song stopped abruptly at the sound of her presence. His eyes, which had turned cold for a moment, softened as soon as they recognised her.

            “You’re talking nonsense. How long have you been there? You should have said something when you arrived.”

            “I did, but the young master didn’t hear me. Your health has improved, yet you don’t live with the family in the inner house.”

            “I prefer it here,” he said simply.

            His firm eyes seemed sincere, but his voice, full of yearning, belied his actions as he sang.

            She sighed lightly and sat down beside him.

            “It’s been a while since I’ve been here.”

            “It hasn’t even been three days,” he replied.

            The young master was wearing a robe dyed in violet and a light-yellow belt, holding a long stick with a broken end in his hand. It seemed he had been playing in the sand under the porch.

            A servant approached almost unnoticed, set down some tea and nuts, and left.

            “Is this what you study?” she asked, changing the subject upon spotting a book lying around.

            “They came and went before you arrived.”

            “Even though I warned against fraternising with them.”

            “I was unwell and couldn’t go to the study yesterday. I didn’t invite them, but they came uninvited, insisting on telling me what they learned yesterday. Really... I had no choice. I can’t fall behind, right?”

            His keenness for learning was surprising, as it seemed to be a private matter to him only. She wanted to pat him on the back and say, “I see you’ve had it tough.”

            But before she knew it, she had overstepped her bounds and acted on that impulse.

            “Don’t touch.”

            His cold tone made her awkwardly retract her hand from his shoulder. Was her touch so offensive? After all, he was a high-born nobleman, and she a lowly commoner; it made sense that he would dislike her touching him so freely.