Time passed, and before he knew it, it was the middle of winter.
"Who do you think you are, trying to take me to the hospital! I'm fine! I'm fine, I tell you!"
It was a day when thick snow was falling heavily. From the early morning, Elder Yoon stood at the front gate, shouting loudly, and once again, the welfare workers had no choice but to leave empty-handed.
After suffering from a severe cold, Seonoh recovered quickly, regaining his usual energy after just a few days of taking the medicine Elder Yoon had brought home. But Elder Yoon's condition didn't improve. His face showed clear signs of illness.
So, Seonoh tried to stop him from leaving the house with his handcart. He insisted that he stay home and rest for at least a day or go to the hospital. But Elder Yoon disregarded his words and got angry, locking Seonoh in the shrine room before leaving the house.
"..."
Once again locked in the shrine room, Seonoh sat with his knees pulled up, chewing on his lips. As he stared at the snow falling outside the window, he suddenly felt an overwhelming surge of anger.
"Sisi."
Seonoh rolled up his sleeve and woke up Sisi.
"Is there a way to get rid of the talismans?"
"Yes. There is."
"Tell me."
Sisi's eyes sparkled as it looked at Seonoh.
"I told you last time, didn't I? Keke."
"I told you last time, didn't I? Keke."
Sisi said it was the same method as before, but there was no need to draw blood when breaking the talismans. All he had to do was concentrate energy into his hand. Seonoh grabbed the doorknob and closed his eyes. He drew the strokes of the character for "break" in his mind. Then, the door opened easily.
It opened so easily that he felt ridiculous for having stayed locked up so obediently all this time.
As he stepped out, the talismans on the door burst into flames and crumbled to the floor. Seonoh went straight out to the yard and ran to the gate. The talismans on the gate also disintegrated in his hand.
Meanwhile, the ghosts gathered at the window, whispering among themselves.
For the first time, Seonoh opened the gate and ran outside, running and running along the mountain ridge. The sky was cloudy and dark white, and snow was falling heavily.
Although he had left the house, Seonoh had nowhere to go, so he wandered aimlessly through the mountains. As he gasped for breath, with sweat forming on his forehead, he felt a thrilling sense of liberation.
"Ugh. It's too cold. It's too cold. Let's go back soon."
At some point, Sisi started to complain.
"We'll freeze to death at this rate. We'll freeze to death!"
Seonoh pulled his sleeve over his wrist to cover Sisi. Sisi then said,
"That's a bit better." Seonoh's body was already frozen stiff. The sweat he had worked up warmed him for a moment, but he quickly grew cold again. He began to wonder if he should go back home.
"I think there might be a place where we can warm up if we go that way. Keke."
At Sisi's words, Seonoh looked around. It really did seem like there was a house in the distance. As he got closer, he saw an old hut that looked like it could collapse at any moment. On one side, there was a soot-stained hearth with a pile of ashes. The house lit its fire with matches, but there was nothing here to kindle a flame.
As Seonoh crouched down to look inside the hearth, he suddenly noticed something.
"Huh...?"
Inside the pitch-black hearth, he locked eyes with a pair of glowing eyes.
"You're... an earth ghost, aren't you?"
The earth ghost was also a fire spirit, sometimes settled in places with firewood or abandoned hearths. It had also entered their house a few times before.
"It's cold, so can you light a fire?"
When Seonoh bluntly made his request, the ghost mumbled something quietly. It seemed like it was asking for something to burn if it was going to light a fire. Seonoh looked around. But no matter how much he looked, there wasn't anything that could be used as firewood. Moreover, it was snowing heavily outside. After thinking for a moment, Seonoh decided to take off his clothes.
"Hey, hey, Seonoh, don't do that. Listen to me."
Suddenly, Sisi opened its eyes wide from Seonoh's wrist.
"Your clothes are too valuable; how about you cut off some of your hair instead?"
"My hair?"
Seonoh fiddled with his long, tied-up hair. It did seem better than giving up his clothes. As he looked around the hearth, he noticed something like scissors buried in the ashes. He pulled them out.
Although the blades were dull, he managed to cut off some of his hair. Just as Seonoh was about to toss the clump of hair into the hearth—
"Hahaha! Hahaha!"
The earth ghost suddenly started laughing loudly.
"It's been so long! It's been so long!"
Boom—!!!
At that moment, an enormous force exploded, pushing Seonoh away. Startled by the soaring flames, he was flung backward. As he groaned and got up, Seonoh's eyes widened.
Blue flames surged and began to burn furiously.
"What... What's this? This..."
The blue flames seemed ready to devour Seonoh whole. Alarmed, he quickly ran outside. It was truly an enormous fire. The blue flames engulfed the abandoned hut in an instant. These blue flames left no trace, not even ash. It was a fire that consumed even the ashes.
"What just happened?"
Seonoh looked down at his wrist.
"I... I don't know either."
Sisi seemed equally bewildered. Seonoh fled into the mountains.
***
The blue flames only died out after a full day. The mysterious blue flames were invisible to ordinary people and only extinguished after they had burned everything around them without a trace. The entire area disappeared as if it had been gouged out, with nothing but ash left behind.
It took Seonoh nearly two days of wandering through the mountains before he could return home. He had lost his way in the mountains.
As a result, he was covered in dirt from head to toe.
As he trudged back home in his filthy state, Seonoh felt a strange premonition as he approached his house. Looking at the closed gate, he felt an eerie stillness, a silence like the calm before a storm.
When he entered the house, that premonition turned into certainty.
The house, which usually resembled a garbage dump, was astonishingly clean, and everything was neatly organized. Most notably, all the doors and windows were wide open.
"Our Seonoh is back."
Grandfather Yoon was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room.
"Grandpa."
Elder Yoon smiled warmly.
"Our Seonoh has finally caused some trouble."
He had seen the blue flames that had burned through the mountains. Seonoh said nothing. And Elder Yoon seemed to already know it was Seonoh's doing.
"No matter how much you try to hide it, you can't hide it. That's
Seonoh（宣悟）for you."
..."
"So, did you enjoy your time outside?"
"..."
Feeling a strange sense of unease, Seonoh couldn't bring himself to approach Elder Yoon. He stood in the doorway, looking around.
Then Elder Yoon silently gestured to him. Hesitantly, Seonoh approached, and Elder Yoon dusted off his clothes with his wrinkled hands.
"Follow the mountain ridge to the northeast. There's a small temple called Nakseonam."
"..."
"It'll be better than staying here. The head monk there is a bit eccentric, but he's an old friend of your grandfather's."
"..."
Seonoh thought that Elder Yoon was finally kicking him out. He had told him not to leave the house, but Seonoh had gone out anyway and set the mountain on fire, so it seemed that Elder Yoon was deeply angered. Seonoh silently looked at him. The old man's eyes were clear and calm.
"..Where are all the others?"
Then suddenly, Seonoh realized the source of the strange unease.
The annoying miscellaneous spirits that usually lingered around were nowhere to be seen; not a single one was in sight.
"I sent them all away."
"Sent them... where?"
"To make sure they wouldn't suffer when they left, I sent them off myself."
Elder Yoon brushed Seonoh's cheek with his wrinkled, rough hand.
"From now on, don't look back and just run. Understood?"
Seonoh couldn't fully comprehend what he was saying.
"Go out through the side gate, not the main gate. Now, go on."
"Huh? Oh... okay..."
Elder Yoon was smiling, but there was an unmistakable firmness in his demeanor. So, as if being pushed by something, Seonoh left the room. He slowly walked toward the side gate at a slow pace.
"..."
As he climbed back up the mountain, he had only gone about ten minutes before his steps came to a halt.
Hesitating, Seonoh turned around. He went back to Elder Yoon.
When he re-entered the room, he saw him lying flat on the floor, unlike before.
"Grandpa, am I really leaving?"
At that moment, Elder Yoon burst into silent laughter. His shoulders shook uncontrollably. Seonoh finally began to smile, thinking it was just a joke. He approached him and tried to lift him up by the shoulders.
"Grandpa! You're joking..."
Seonoh's face stiffened. Elder Yoon was crying silently and in pain.
"You fool... Why did you come back, Seonoh!"
"Gr- Grandpa. Why..."
Elder Yoon pulled Seonoh close and hugged him tightly. Then, in a hurry, he led him behind the folding screen with the shamanic painting on it. Behind the screen, there was a large chest. Elder Yoon opened the chest, shoved Seonoh inside, and threw a blanket over his head.
"Don't come out, no matter what. The last time. This is my last request. Do you understand?"
Before Seonoh could say anything, Elder Yoon shut the lid of his chest. Everything went dark. Seonoh had no idea what was happening. Anxiously, he looked down at his wrist, but it was too dark to see Sisi engraved there.
Just then, an unfamiliar voice came from outside.
"Yoon Wonjoong. You are charged with developing forbidden techniques and fleeing..."
"Yes, I know."
"But if you cooperate fully today, the disciplinary committee may..."
Seonoh strained to listen through the slight gap. It was hard to hear clearly, as he was under a blanket. He could tell they were having a conversation, but the details were unclear. After some hesitation, Seonoh carefully lifted the lid just a tiny bit.
At that moment, the other person shouted harshly.
"Yoon Wonjoong! Who started the fire!"