Jin-ho screamed in pain as my foot slammed into his shin.
“Argh!”
Then he shouted in surprise.
“W-What? You’re not an illusion?”
“Nope.”
I answered.
“I’m here to rescue you. Let’s go home, brother.”
I looked at the others beside him and said,
“We’ve come to rescue you. Let’s head back to the merchant group.”
At my words, Jin-ho burst out.
“Why’d you come? What about the family?”
“I came to save you. I got permission from the family too. It wasn’t easy convincing them.”
Jin-ho shouted, sounding frustrated.
“No! That’s not what I mean. This place is—”
“I know. It’s the place covered in fog, where anyone who enters goes missing.”
“You knew… and still came?”
I nodded.
“Don’t worry. We set up a way to get back before coming in.”
At that, hope started returning to the faces of the merchants and escort guards.
“You must be thirsty. Let’s drink some water first, then move.”
My group dropped the water containers we had been carrying.
Jin-ho’s party rushed over, filling their flasks and drinking greedily.
You couldn’t give full meals to those who had starved for a long time. You had to start with water and thin porridge to restore their strength before giving regular food.
But here, we didn’t have the luxury of proper recovery. For now, drinking water would have to be enough.
After catching their breath, they immediately started following us.
As we walked along the twine we had laid down earlier, I noticed something was wrong.
Since we tied it to a tree, it should’ve been taut.
But…
Why did it feel like it was dragging and slack instead?
We soon found out why.
“Huh?”
Palgap held the rope with a troubled face.
The end was snapped.
“Young master… this…”
No one needed to say it aloud.
Everyone understood.
Getting out of here just became a lot harder.
But no one dared speak it. Saying it out loud made it feel even scarier.
Jin-ho asked me,
“If we wait here… someone will come looking for us, right?”
“Well…”
“…?”
“We agreed that if someone entered the fog and didn’t come out after two days, they’d send another team in.”
“…”
Jin-ho sighed deeply.
“I’m sorry.”
But I shook my head.
“How could I have known the rope would snap? You don’t need to apologize.”
“So… what now?”
Jin-ho thought for a moment before speaking.
“Let’s look for the other end of the snapped rope. If the cut part is here, then the other end should be nearby too.”
We started moving to find it.
But then Jin-ho called me.
“Seo-ho… why do you keep walking that way?”
“What are you talking about?”
“The path’s this way. Why are you heading into the bushes?”
What’s he talking about… bushes?
No. I’m walking the right way.
It’s actually them who are heading into the bushes.
And then it hit me.
I realized why people couldn’t escape once they entered this fog.
The fog interfered with your senses and judgment.
Jin-ho had told me earlier that no matter which direction they walked, even after three full days, they ended up back at the wagon they abandoned.
The fog was leading them in circles.
“Brother, about the spot where you abandoned the wagon.”
“What about it?”
“You said you gave up after walking for three days and left it there, right?”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
We got there in just one keun.
Palgap cautiously asked me,
“Young master… same as earlier… why do you keep heading where there’s no path?”
“…Same as earlier?”
“Yes.”
“But you followed me then.”
“Well… I’m your attendant. Of course I followed.”
I turned to Escort Guard Lee Pil.
“And you?”
“It’s the same for me. A guard follows wherever his lord goes.”
“…”
A helpless smile crept onto my lips.
For some reason, this fog wasn’t affecting me.
That’s why I could see the right path.
It explained why I found Jin-ho’s group within one keun earlier.
If it weren’t for that, we’d have wandered for three days just like they did before finding them.
Jin-ho’s group had walked in circles for three days over what was actually a very short distance.
“Brother. Right now, you and the others are walking into the bushes. The way I’m going is the right one.”
“What are you saying?”
“Look at your pant cuffs.”
Jin-ho glanced down at his pant legs… and his eyes widened.
They were stained green from the grass.
“Why… is there so much grass stain…?”
“Because this fog’s messing with your senses. You’ve been walking the same paths over and over again.”
Hearing that, Jin-ho and the others nodded.
They had experienced firsthand just how maddening this fog was.
“But I…”
I didn’t know why the fog didn’t affect me.
Still, it felt like I should offer some kind of explanation.
“Maybe it’s because of the martial art I trained in. The path looks clear to me. That’s why I found you so quickly.”
“I see…”
Luckily, they accepted it without question.
“At this rate, we’ll just keep wandering. Let’s wait here for a bit. I’ll go find the other end of the rope.”
“You sure you’ll be alright alone?”
“Honestly… it’s better if I go alone right now.”
Lee Pil bowed his head.
“I apologize for not being able to follow.”
“It’s not your fault. This situation is beyond anyone.”
Seo Wu added with regret,
“I followed to repay a debt… but…”
I smiled and replied,
“You’ve been more than helpful already.”
Jin-ho ordered everyone to stay put.
Come to think of it, he had been the one giving orders for a while now.
It seemed he naturally took command in the group.
I glanced at the Escort Chief who had accompanied Jin-ho.
I couldn’t help but click my tongue inwardly.
He had been completely overshadowed by Jin-ho.
Anyway, I started wandering the fog in search of the other end of the rope.
Just as I expected, the fog only slightly blocked my vision.
It didn’t affect me at all.
Before long, I found it.
The rope hadn’t been cut on purpose.
It just snapped because it was faulty.
I quickly tied it securely again and let the spool unwind as I walked back to Jin-ho and the others.
“Brother!”
As I approached Jin-ho and his group, they looked at me in shock.
“You’re back already?”
“Yeah. Just like you said, the other end of the rope was nearby.”
I held up the rope.
“Now we can leave.”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
At my words, Jin-ho stood up, and we grabbed onto the rope I had repaired and began moving.
At last, we reached the spot that marked the entrance to the Fogbound Mountain.
But we couldn’t let our guard down until the very end.
That’s why I didn’t tell them this was the exit.
“Alright, let’s move quickly.”
“Come on, keep moving.”
Just like that, we got Jin-ho and his party out of the Fogbound Mountain, and I was the last to step out.
When I finally emerged, what I saw were people crying their hearts out, overwhelmed by the sunlight pouring down on them.
It had been an entire month.
A month spent trapped in despair.
I’d seen the shriveled corpses scattered inside, so I could only imagine how suffocating their fear must have been.
No wonder they were crying like this.
Still, I worried they might collapse from exhaustion if they kept crying like that.
Perhaps sensing my concern, Escort Chief Mak Chung spoke.
“I understand how you feel… but it’s better if we return to the inn, get cleaned up, eat, and rest.”
Then he turned to the rest of the search party.
“We’re heading back to the inn.”
“Yes, sir!”
.
.
.
We returned to Eullim Inn.
With water prepared ahead of time, we washed ourselves thoroughly, scrubbing away layers of grime with expensive soap without hesitation.
Those who finished washing first headed to the dining hall and began eating porridge cooked with rice.
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
Normally, meals would be filled with conversation.
But not today.
Everyone had their faces buried in their bowls, focused solely on eating.
Jin-ho was among them.
“Brother, slow down. I get it, but you’ll choke.”
“Listen.”
Jin-ho mumbled between bites.
“In that cursed forest, I made a vow. If I got out… I’d never leave food behind again.”
“…”
“Eating like this… really reminds me of that.”
I chuckled quietly.
“Still… eat slower.”
Jin-ho didn’t stop until his bowl was scraped clean, then he turned to me with a grin.
“Ah, now I can see clearly. Even when I was starving and my vision was blurry, you still looked handsome. But now that I’m seeing straight, you’re really damn handsome, my little brother.”
“Quit messing around.”
I laughed.
“Anyway… thanks for being alive.”
“No… thank you. I know I snapped earlier but… when I heard you came to rescue me… I almost cried.”
“Didn’t you already cry when we got out of that fog?”
At that, Jin-ho awkwardly cleared his throat.
“Ahem… forget that.”
Then he smiled.
“Thank you… for saving me and my group.”
That’s when Squad Leader Jeong Chung approached us.
“Young master Jin-ho.”
“Squad Leader Jeong.”
“I’m truly relieved that you’re safe.”
Jeong Chung’s eyes glistened with tears as he looked at Jin-ho, and I added,
“By the way, Squad Leader Jeong volunteered for this search.”
“Ah! You did? For me…”
“Young master, you’re my benefactor. How could I possibly sit still?”
From that exchange, I realized Jin-ho had done something significant for Jeong Chung.
I wondered what it was that made them so close.
Even in my previous life, I never figured it out.
Guess I’ll ask later.
For now, this was a moment to enjoy being alive.
.
.
.
It had been six days since we rescued Jin-ho and his group.
The people who had suffered inside the Fogbound Mountain were finally recovering their strength.
Meanwhile, some of the escort guards, laborers, and a few merchant members had headed to the Eunhae Merchant Group’s tea plantation in Yunnan.
There was a stockpile of Pu-erh tea waiting to be distributed.
We needed to bring it back now or risk missing the selling season.
They arrived today with the tea.
Which meant… it was time to head back.
Pu-erh tea absorbed scents very easily.
The faster it moved, the better.
After lengthy discussion, we decided to depart early tomorrow morning.
.
.
.
“Thank you for everything.”
“I’m just glad you found your people.”
We expressed our gratitude to Seong Jun-baek, the clerk stationed in Yunnan, then prepared to leave.
But…
Why was I feeling so anxious?
This was the same kind of unease I felt whenever I’d missed something crucial.
What is it?
What am I forgetting?
Then it happened.
Thud… thud… thud…
The ground started shaking.
And in that moment… I remembered.
An event from when I was seventeen.
The earthquake that struck southern Yunnan.
Back then, I had only heard that a trading party had been injured while traveling mountain paths because of it.
I hadn’t paid it much mind.
It wasn’t related to the Eunhae Merchant Group, and the quake hadn’t been severe. The roads were repaired quickly.
But now… that trading party from my memory… was us.
The earth shook. Dirt and rocks tumbled down from the surrounding mountains.
The horses panicked and reared.
“Calm the horses!”
“They won’t calm down!”
“Then just let them loose!”
“Yes!”
“Everyone! Get next to the wagons! Do not stick your heads out! If a rock hits your head, you’ll die!”
Mak Chung, perhaps having dealt with this before, gave orders with perfect composure.
Seo Wu also remained surprisingly calm.
“Is Yunnan prone to earthquakes?”
“They happen pretty often.”
I see.
Merchant work is dangerous enough, but being an escort guard is truly a brutal job.
Then it happened.
“Young master!”
A guard protecting Jin-ho shouted.
I turned my head and saw Jin-ho about to fall off a cliff beside the road, unable to maintain his footing amid the tremors.
Why…?
Looking closer, I realized.
He’d pushed a Clerk out of the way.
My body moved faster than my thoughts.
Maybe it was thanks to my master’s training.
I grabbed Jin-ho’s arm as he fell and yanked him upward.
Grab!
Jin-ho made it back onto solid ground.
But…
I hadn’t considered the recoil.
Our positions reversed.
The ground beneath my feet vanished.
My hand slipped from Jin-ho’s arm.
“Seo-ho!”
The image of Jin-ho’s face, screaming my name in desperation, was the last thing I saw.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/InsanityTheGame
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt