His clothing almost looked black. However, whenever he passed by the hanging lanterns, she could see that it was actually a dark plum color. The man didn’t forget to smile at the ladies who glanced at him.

That sly womanizer!

Yujo grit her teeth as she followed the man. Thinking back to his behavior at the ChiHwaRu and the storeroom, Yujo knew that this man’s hands and lips acted fast. As long as the girl was wearing a skirt, he acted like a besotted fool. Imagining him meeting an early demise filled Yujo with glee.

She assessed the path he was taking and quickly ran ahead. Since she couldn’t win him with her martial arts, she’d have to resort to cheating instead.

She hid in the shadows of an alleyway as she waited for him, her right hand on the hilt of her sword. However, she didn’t hear his footsteps approaching. What happened?

Suddenly, she heard the shouts of children as they ran past her.

“It’s a magician! Magician!”

Magician?

Yujo pressed her body to the corner of the wall and carefully glanced down the street. A crowd of people were murmuring as they gathered around the man.

What was he up to now?

The man stretched out his hand and picked up a dry twig from the ground. He then snapped it in half. The people around him whispered in confusion.

However, the twig suddenly began to grow longer in his hand. Even though it was all happening right before her eyes, Yujo couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her mouth opened in shock.

The people around him were in awe. The twig in his hand suddenly began to sprout green leaves. The leaves grew bigger and bigger. In the blink of an eye, a pink crape myrtle flower began to bloom on the twig!

Yujo’s eyes widened in surprise. Her head was telling her it was all a lie, but she couldn’t help but be dazzled by the scene unfolding before her eyes.

“How did he…”

Suddenly, the twig caught on fire. The sudden, violent flame caused the spectators to shout out in surprise.

The flame traveled from the twig and began to spread onto the man’s hand and arm. Someone shouted out, yelling for someone to fetch a bucket of water. Everyone was frightened by the sudden fire.

W-What’s going on?

Yujo’s body was frozen stiff, and she couldn’t move. He was burning! Burning!

“No!”

Yujo shouted out, her face pale.

“So… did you enjoy the show?”

Hearing a voice behind her, Yujo jumped up in surprise and turned around. The man she had believed to be burning in a fire was now standing right behind her.

“W-What’s going on…?”

“What’s going on? I was just testing how easily people can be fooled.”

“Why did you go and do something as idiotic as that?”

Yujo was completely dumbfounded. She had a horrible feeling in her gut.

This stupid man!

She quickly drew her sword pointed it at him.

“Tell me. Who are you?”

The light from the blazing fire flickered on his face. He was looking at her as if he were trying to solve a puzzle.

“I’ll tell you if you hand over the bamboo slip.”

“What did you say?”

“I’m also searching for the Heukra. You’re doing the same, right?”

Yujo narrowed her eyes at his straightforward manner.

He was also searching for the Heukra?

“Why are you searching for the Heukra?”

He silently gazed at her before letting out a strange laugh.

“I’m searching for a serial killer. What reason do I need?”

“Tell me.”

Her blade was sharp.

“I came from the imperial palace.”

The palace! Yujo’s eyes widened. As she thought… Was he an independent official? He was incredibly talented in the martial arts, and he had a strange aura about him. And for some reason, he gave off the scent of bureaucracy. There was a chance that the emperor had wanted this matter investigated due to the fact that the Heukra was seen with the guibin’s waistband.

Yujo glanced behind her. The fire had disappeared, and so had the man who had conjured it.

The people shouted out and claimed that it had been the work of a ghost. They were right. It was truly something that could only be done by a ghost.

What should she do?

She didn’t want to get tangled into the business between imperial family members. However, the image of the shattered bamboo slip shimmered in front of her eyes. Why did he end up taking that part?! And how did he look completely fine when he had been engulfed in flames not that long ago? She must find out. It was dangerous, but the offer was too tempting.

“Fine.”

Yujo said helplessly as she sheathed her sword.

“If you tell me how you did that just now, I’ll reveal the contents of the bamboo slip to you.”

“How can I trust that you have the bamboo slip with you right now?”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s all stored in my head.”

“What?”

“I can read the ancient language of Baran, and I happen to be pretty smart as well.”

Yujo said haughtily as she grinned.

Was it okay to follow him like this?

Yujo quickly looked back. She couldn’t see any trace of Jewol. He must have listened to what she said and gone home. It became a lot more crowded as they walked further into the festival. Wishes were written prettily on lanterns of various colors.

The man dragged her further into the marketplace. She heard the laughter of the courtesans coming down from the balconies above their heads.

It seemed that a couple of drunk man had challenged each other to a round of arm wrestling. A crowd of people gathered around them. All this excitement caused the dogs to begin barking.

They passed through this street, and the man began to walk up the stairs of an old building. Yujo hesitated before following him up the narrow stairs.

The man continued up as if he were heading to the second floor, but he stopped at the middle landing of the staircase and stepped in front of a large cabinet that had been placed against the wall. He pushed it to the side, which revealed a doorway. In the end, it seemed that the man wasn’t entering the old building as she had thought. Instead, he was trying to enter the building next to it.

Yujo marveled as she followed him inside. The cabinet closed on its own behind them. The room was wide and dark.

Is this really okay?

Yujo nervously kept her hand on the handle of her sword. Suddenly, she heard a crackle as the man lit the candles. He lit them quickly, almost as if he were used to this by now.

Every time a candle was lit, the objects within the room were gradually illuminated. Yujo’s mouth opened. This was the first time she’d seen so many odd things gathered in one place.

The room was full of books, scrolls, strange drawings, skeletons, and odd equipment.

The room was a lot larger than she first thought. Two enormous desks sat in the middle of the room, and it was full of various scraps and equipment. She even saw an astronomical globe, which she had only seen in pictures.

“What kind of place is this?”

“Well, I use this room whenever I have some business to take care of. Come and sit.”

As he said this, he realized that there was no place to sit. He waved his hand.

“Wherever is fine.”

Then he turned around and poured something into a cup. His demeanor seemed a bit unfriendly.

“Do you want something to drink?”

Yujo thought he was pouring liquor, so she shook her head. The man’s lips twisted.

“Why not? You seemed to be enjoying a glass or two with that man you were with before.”

Her body stiffened. So he had seen her with Jewol. Did he also recognize Jewol?

Yujo frowned and didn’t speak about Jewol. It would be best if she didn’t reveal anything about herself as well.

Suddenly, something caught her eye.

Arrows?

Relieved to see something so familiar, Yujo walked over to the wall where the various types of arrows were hung. There were arrows of various types and shapes. She saw an arrow meant for an iron bow that was used in the Qin Dynasty as well as the kind she used back in Yeha.

“You have a lot of arrows.”

“Ah, I’ve been interested in them lately.”

There were also various types of bows. Yujo fought against the urge to touch them. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about arrows.

“Now, why don’t you tell me first. How did you do that back there?”

“There is a book called the HwanSul-Gi (Book of the Magical Arts).”

The man took out a book from a shelf and tossed it over to Yujo. Yujo caught it with one hand and examined the book. It was old and worn.

“Magicians don’t even tell their secrets to members of their own family. However, this book has many stories that can help you understand.”

“Then are you telling me that the killer’s secrets are written in this book?”

“Not all of it, but there are clues. Magic is just a high-level method of deception. All those people thought that the twig was a real twig because I snapped it in two. However, it was actually a thin piece of silk that had been hollowed out in the middle, and the flowers were also made of silk that had been doused in white oil. But they didn’t know that.”

“How did you start the fire?”

“You just need some apatite.”

“Apatite?”

Was he talking about the same apatite that Brother Jewol had shown her? Knowing that this man had also known about apatite gave Yujo a strange feeling.

“It has a property that causes it to burn when it’s exposed to the air.”

He showed her the purple stone lying on top of his desk.

“But those flames can’t actually burn a person, right?”

“Yeah. It’s just a flashy fire that captivates people’s eyes for a moment.”

“But in the case with the Heukra, the flames were so strong that it burned a whole person to crisp.”

“I know. One cannot do that with mere apatite.”

He leaned on a chair and clasped his hands together.

“But if you have the icy-fire stone, then that’s a different story.”

“Icy-fire stone?”

“Yeah. Similar to the apatite, it also reacts with the air. Once exposed, it causes an explosive reaction. If so much as one person touches it, it will explode and engulf that person in flames. It is said that just a spoonful of the icy-fire stone powder can burn down a house. The objects touched by the victims, like the bed, a chair, or the interior of the carriage, were all covered in the icy-fire stone residue.”

“Then… all we have to do is find the person with the icy-fire stone!”

“The problem is that it’s almost impossible to obtain an icy-fire stone.”

“Why?”

The man pointed up.

“Icy-fire stones fall from the sky.”

“What?”

What did that mean?

“Very rarely, a star falls from the sky. Icy-fire stones are only found inside those stars.”

Yujo opened her mouth in shock.

How preposterous!

“A star that falls down from the sky?”

“Yeah.”

“Where is that kind of thing written? Inside the HwanSul-Gi?”

“Yeah.”

This was absolutely absurd. Was this man tricking her? A fierce flame suddenly blazed in Yujo’s eyes. The man quickly raised both his hands and tried to calm her down.

“There, there, all right. Calm down. It does fall out from a star, but there is a place where you can find the icy-fire stone.”

“Where is it?”

“Over there.”

He pointed out the window. That’s when Yujo realized that they could see the imperial palace from here.

“The imperial palace?”

“Yeah. In all of the Silver Nation, the icy-fire stone can only be found in the emperor’s store room.”

“Then is the culprit the emperor?”

“What are you talking about? It only means that the culprit was able to steal the icy-fire stone from the emperor’s store room.”

Yujo’s mouth widened. What kind of crazy person would steal something from the emperor’s store room? Was the Heukra able to do it? Did the Heukra also steal the guibin’s waistband?

“How preposterous. Who’d believe that? How do you even know if the icy-fire stone is real? Do you know what it even looks like? Have you ever seen it?”

“I have.”

He spoke so matter-of-factly.

“It was completely clear and transparent and gave off a colorful light. But it’s very unstable, so after it comes into contact with a person, that person will explode within a couple of hours. So it has to be kept in a sturdy, crystal bottle.”

“Why?”

“There is some apatite found in human bones.”

Yujo’s eyes widened as she looked at the man. So did that mean a person who had been touched by the icy-fire stone would explode at any moment?

“Fine. Then you must know of the people who have access to the emperor’s store room. Who are they?”

He didn’t answer her. He merely leaned against the window and crossed his arms as he stared back at her.

Why was he staring at her so piercingly?

Something about his gaze bothered Yujo. He was looking at her as if he didn’t want to take his eyes off her for one second. It made her feel uncomfortable.

In order to avoid his gaze, Yujo began to examine the other objects around her. Then she didn’t like how she seemed to care too much about how this man was making her feel.

Unable to look at him and unable to look away… She wanted him to quickly answer her question.

“I’ll tell you that once you tell me what was on the bamboo slip.”

A thick air of tension filled the space between them. Yujo clenched her teeth and spoke.

“I’ll only be able to tell you that once I’ve seen the remaining shards, don’t you think?”

“Aha, is that so?”

As if he’d only just realized this fact, the man took out a small silk pouch that held the bamboo shards. He poured them out onto the table. They were the missing shards of the bamboo slip. Yujo anxiously examined them.

“Now, why don’t I show you how smart I am?”

Yujo lifted her head and met the man’s eyes. He grinned back at her.