The Girl of an Old Mansion

23. First Step

Moving forward in the dense forest, they came across the tree titled the Tree of Empyrean. It was the same as mentioned in the book. Standing in the middle of the forest, illuminated in silver rays of the moon, it was covered with beautiful blue flowers with a hint of purple in them. The tree was not as tall as others of the forest; it was average in size but there was something truly majestic about it, it was a feast for the eyes. Bathing in the angelic moonlight the scene felt like it was from a fairy-tale. All of them were in awe of its beauty.

Lord Yong, Si-ri and Nyang stood there for a moment astonished by the charm of the Tree of Empyrean.

"My child! The commencement of breaking the curse begins with this tree. You should take your first step to break the curse," said Lord Yong to Si-ri, breaking away from the mesmerising sight before him.

Si-ri steps forward taking a knife in his hands and sits under the tree close to its roots. Si-ri looked at the dagger intently, squinting at the glint of light that blinded her momentarily. She clutched the blade furiously into her palm and didn't even notice the blood that soon covered her hand in no time. Si-ri's attention was on scrutinizing the tree as she dredged it with her blood.

Lord Yong watched her as the blood seeped out of her skin and rushed to Si-ri. He gripped her bleeding hand and started to dress the wound to stop the bleeding as the wound was deep. The moment Lord Yong finished bandaging Si-ri's wound, Nyang pointed towards the tree.

The tree began to shed its beautiful blue flowers and leaves suddenly turning to a parched brown colour. All the small creatures such as fire flies, butterflies, crickets and others residing on the tree abandoned the lifeless tree.

Soreness made its place in Si-ri's eyes as she witnessed this enchanting and lively tree transforming into a lifeless, scrawny stick.

"We should proceed to the Shrine of Sagas before we get caught up,'' said Nyang.

Lord Yong nodded and they all headed to the Shrine of Sagas for the safety of Si-ri.

As per the verses of the book, the Shrine of Saga is a place where meditation and other religious acts had been performed in the past years. Wandering from place to place hermits choose a particular place free from interference and touch of humans to dwell and pay their sincerity to the God in the deep wilderness. These kinds of places were so blessed, it was enough to save people in distress from dark arts because of its piousness. Thus, the place was given the name the Shrine of Sagas.

One could hear the rush of water long before they could see the falls. Coming out of the dense forest, a thin white stream cascading over the rocky outcrops tumbling into the river, welcomed them. From a distance it looked like silver tear tracks on the wrinkled face of the mountain. Rushing water swishing over the rocks joyfully creating a mist. To add to the beauty, the nectar of wild flowers fragrance dissolved in the air giving the whole place a magical aura. It could raise the spirit of any spectator.

Si-ri was overjoyed and enchanted glancing at the magnificent view. For a moment she forgot all her pain and miseries as if nature had cast a spell on her.

The waterfall tied and plunged into the depth of the crystal clear pool full of water lilies floating over it. Fireflies could be seen everywhere, the sound of frogs and other creatures were adding the cacophony in the ambiance.

Lord Yong was puzzled at the site before him, it wasn't anything like he had expected. It didn't look like a shrine at all. He turned to look at Nyang in a state of entropic disarray.

"Master, the shrine is to the right side of the waterfall. The path through the cave should lead us straight to it. Follow me," answered Nyang.

A large fracture in the rock served as an entrance to the cave. The cave was built into the muddy brown rock of the cliff, the stone guarding the entrance was jagged and uneven, arranged in such a way that it would be difficult for passers-by to spot.

Nyang shone the beam of his torch and the cave came into view. They slowly stepped into the cave. Dripping of water for the stalactites hanging over can be seen throughout the cave. As they accompanied deeper into the cave, they came across a small pool from which warm water oozes out. On the other side of the pool lay a threshold.

Nyang opened the door and the other two followed him, being a mute spectator, unaware of their surroundings. As they entered inside, they saw some carvings on the stone wall of the room and some ancient books were also placed on the platform. The room was fairly large and also had another room to its other side.

"I have already cleaned up this spot for sister Si-ri. The next room can be used as a bedroom as it is warm. I have also placed groceries for some days around the corner."

"You both take some rest, while I cook something for you," said Si-ri.

On the other hand, Lord Yong and Nyang were discussing the next step.

Out of curiosity Nyang asked Lord Yong, "Master, you gave Si-ri the book to read everything about the curse. Does this mean that she is now no stranger to the fact that in the end one will have to sacrifice his life for her?"

"No, I gave her the book but she only knows the half-truth. Before handing over the book to her, I had torn the page of that part," answered Lord Yong

After awhile Si-ri served them hot porridge. Lord Yong and Nyang then proceeded towards the town. Mi-sook had always been suspicious of Lord Yong as he had always been loyal to the King and she was still somewhat anxious about being expelled from Noam like before because of him.

Lord Yong knows very well, being in the palace she would definitely try to trap the King in her grip like she did with the Queen.

"It's a relief that Si-ri is now safe otherwise she would have had to face the horrendous shadows as mentioned in the book. But now I am worried for the Crown Prince. In two days, Mi-sook and the Queen will know the truth that the Princess is still alive and I didn't sacrifice her on that day."

"Should I tell the King about the Princess and the book?"

"No, this can be dangerous for my daughter. Even if I told the King about the solution, Mi-sook would surely somehow convince them to kill the Princess in place of going for the long process to break the curse. I can't lose my daughter," Lord Yong thought to himself..

"Destiny seems to have other plans for the Crowned Prince. At the time of his birth, the moon passed through its last quarter of the constellation. Those who are born under that constellation are believed to get everything in their life but the native of that constellation is not blessed with a long life. As for Si-ri, even though she was born only minutes later she was born under another constellation which represents a long and prosperous life. Both were born on the same day but have different fate and this cannot be changed even through Mi-sook's dark arts."

"As long as Si-ri is safe and alive it will drive Mi-sook crazy. Performing dark arts is like dealing with such a person who affects your life deeply and they last with you till your end. Selling your soul to the devil can be an enticing deal as it can bring you everything you want but for every failure the devil asks you to pay back all at one by taking your life. After all he is a master of lies, illusion and seamless greed. Performing this art is also addictive as it eats a person up in greed of power, fire of revenge and in pledge to destroy someone."

There is something called a reverse which in case of dark arts causes failure to backfire at the person who performs it.

"And it'll backfire at Mi-sook also. She will pay for her sins one fine day."