Reincarnated Sword Ghost-Chapter 19 : Special Test

Special Test
"Open the door and go up."
"To which floor should I go?"
"To the very end."
The examiner who called out Jeong-un's name pointed to the entrance of the pavilion with his finger.
His attitude was once again resolute, as if he would not permit any further questions.
'So, if I reach the very end, I'll pass?'
He could not tell what kind of test this was.
However, most of those who had come out after the exam wore expressions as if their souls had left them.
Creak─.
As he pushed the door open, a long corridor came into view.
There were doors on both sides, leading into rooms. All of them were firmly shut.
It seemed the stairs to the next floor were at the end of the corridor.
Step, step.
The sound of stepping on the wood floor echoed through the hallway. He could have concealed his footsteps, but saw no reason to bother.
After all, they would already know he had entered. As he walked, he soon reached the end of the corridor.
"......"
Nothing happened.
He wondered if something ordinary, like an arrow shooting out, might occur, but even that didn't happen.
After glancing back for a moment, Jeong-un ascended the stairs.
Another corridor appeared. It had the same structure as the first floor.
'Could it be...?'
He quietly sent out some internal energy to check his surroundings.
This was a method he'd learned with his own body during the first part of the exam.
'I don't sense anything.'
He passed through the corridor again, climbed, and was met with yet another corridor, repeating the process several times.
Eventually, with nothing occurring, he reached the final floor.
"......"
He again sent out internal energy, but felt nothing as before.
The only difference from the previous floors was that, this time, there was a large door at the end of the corridor instead of stairs.
Passing through the corridor, he finally arrived in front of the door.
Unlike the doors that lined both sides of the corridor, this one opened to both sides and was quite distinctive.
From its size and grandeur, it seemed to be a place for someone of high status.
Jeong-un gently pushed open the door and entered.
"... Here is..."
Jeong-un slowly looked around.
A blue sky without a single cloud entered his view.
Wild grass grew unchecked all around, and giant old trees, as one would expect to see deep in the mountains, stood tall.
An unmistakable mountain slope. And ahead, a shabby thatched-roof house stood alone.
It looked familiar to him.
"......"
Before moving forward, he glanced back.
As he expected, the door he'd entered through had disappeared. Jeong-un quietly stepped forward toward the house.
A hastily stacked pile of firewood to one side. A porch so old, it was rotting, nearly falling apart.
A half-broken traditional lattice door...
To Jeong-un, who had spent his whole life tucked in a corner of the Yu household, this was clearly his first time here.
However, it did not feel unfamiliar—because it was the place where he had swung his sword countless times in his dreams.
"Is this truly where the Sword Ghost(劍鬼) lives?"
At that moment, a voice called out, and he slowly turned his head. Their eyes met.
"So you're the one who wields the sword so..."
Swiish─!
Without hesitation, Jeong-un slashed his sword.
At the very moment he drew, the blade was already at the other's nose.
The speed was beyond comparison to what Pyo Jin-cheon had shown before.
Thud.
As the words left his mouth, his head was split horizontally in two, and his body collapsed.
His eyes, still wide open, stared vacantly at the air, as if he hadn't even realized he'd been cut down.
"......"
Jeong-un gazed down with a strange look. Yet his gaze went not to the fallen corpse, but to the sword he had just swung.
There was something oddly empty about it.
"What on earth...?"
At another voice from behind, he turned around. At some point, a middle-aged man had sat down on the porch.
He was looking at Jeong-un as if he were seeing something truly unusual.
"How did you cut it?"
"Did you not see?"
When Jeong-un looked back at him in puzzlement, the man waved his hand.
"No, I saw it. But what I mean is, how were you able to do it?"
"... I don't understand your question."
How could he ask how after witnessing it fully? Jeong-un wondered if the man was making fun of him.
"That's something you should never have been able to cut—"
"You mean that person?"
Jeong-un turned his head toward the corpse, a look of utter incomprehension on his face.
"No, I don't even know what that is."
"...?"
"Rather, I mean I can't tell how that appeared to your eyes. Even this place right now..."
At that, Jeong-un slowly glanced around again. Indeed, it had all been strange from the start.
How could the top of a pavilion in the middle of the capital be partway up a mountain?
The man, seeing Jeong-un's confusion, narrowed his eyes and asked again.
"That's why I asked: how did you know it wasn't real?"
"I didn't know."
"Hm?"
"I just wanted to cut it. Having met it again."
"......"
The man looked at Jeong-un as if at a loss. Then he stood up and slowly approached.
"The Heart-Demon Phantom Array peers deep into your heart and summons before you someone you can never cut. What just happened should have been impossible."
"Is such a thing possible?"
'A phantom array?' Jeong-un was somewhat startled and watched as the man nodded.
"Did you not just experience it yourself?"
Well, it requires quite a bit of preparation. The man mumbled quietly.
Meanwhile, Jeong-un was cautiously releasing internal energy and examining his surroundings.
'So this is the gate array I've only heard rumors about?'
But unlike in the previous corridors, this time his internal energy could not grasp anything.
He'd heard it was all an illusion, but it felt as if he were truly standing on a mountainside. The man, watching, spoke knowingly.
"This is the realm of the Eight Trigrams Array, divided into the Gate of Life and Gate of Death. That sort of method won't help you find the exit."
"Then, do I have to find the exit to pass?"
The man shook his head at that.
"You've already passed."
"...?"
"You cut without hesitation. That's all the test required."
"......"
He couldn't help but feel more empty than disappointed. Was the exam really just to cut down such a thing?
'How could they have prepared something so pointless?'
Whoever had created it was truly pathetic.
"Even I, who created it, could not have expected this," the man muttered, shaking his head.
"Did you perhaps prepare this yourself?"
"That's right."
"......"
"Why do you look at me that way?"
The man cocked his head, then continued.
"I do not know what you saw, but for most people, what appears is someone who makes them hesitate even to place their hand on the sword guard. Usually, it is a parent, sibling, a former lover, or an old friend."
"By 'someone you could never cut,' you mean..."
"It means, someone before whom you'd never imagine drawing your blade stands suddenly before you."
Hearing this, Jeong-un nodded in understanding.
"Then, in my case, it wasn't wrong either."
"What do you mean?"
"I always thought it would be impossible to cut that person."
"...?"
Someone who had only ever appeared in his dreams—how could he possibly cut them down?
Jeong-un gave a small nod, relieved deep down.
Honestly, there was no one else who came to mind as "uncuttable."
"... Anyway, this test was meant to gauge the candidate's boldness and decisiveness. You have passed."
"May I ask just one question?"
"What is it?"
Seeing the man's puzzled expression, Jeong-un looked back and asked,
"What was the purpose of the eight corridors I passed through on the way here?"
"Hm?"
"I mean, if passing through the Eight Trigrams Array here was the test, why make us go all the way to the eighth floor through those corridors?"
At this, the man grinned and waggled his index finger at Jeong-un.
"That's exactly it!"
"...?"
"Isn't it plausible? That's what I was aiming for."
Then he broke out into a satisfied laugh.
"......"
For there to be such a frivolous person in Heavenly Martial Hall, the martial world truly is broad, Jeong-un thought, nodding as if he'd learned another life lesson.
"In any case, you may leave now."
"Would it be possible for me to stay a little longer?"
"What?"
When the man looked at Jeong-un in confusion, he shrugged his shoulders.
"I'd like to try finding this so-called Gate of Life and Gate of Death. If I cut around here and there, it could be good practice...."
The man shouted in panic.
"There's a line of candidates waiting, so don't touch anything and just go!"
Bang─!
In the blink of an eye, he was back in the corridor. He had no idea how he got out.
'So the gate array is real.'
It was too vivid to dismiss as a mere trick. Even the crisp breeze blowing through the wood seemed real.
"...?"
Then he noticed a faint scent emanating from his body. It was like incense.
'Was it from the corridors I passed through...?'
Recalling what the man had said, Jeong-un let out a hollow laugh.
He retraced his steps down the long corridors and stairs to the first floor.
When he stepped out, a number of examinees were already standing outside.
"Already done...?"
"It hasn't even been two hours, has it?"
"The result's obvious. He must've given up."
With a calm expression, Jeong-un approached the proctor at the front. As if he had been waiting, the examiner spoke.
"Congratulations on your induction."
Everyone's eyes went wide.
"What!"
"What nonsense...?"
"How can someone finish so quickly!"
Then the examiner handed something to Jeong-un. It was the token that a man named Yong Somaeng had earlier received.
Looking down, Jeong-un could clearly see the characters engraved upon it:
Blue Scale Corps.
Anyone could see that this was the name of an affiliation.
"Go straight along this road. Soon you'll find the General Affairs Department. Take this there."
After a polite bow, Jeong-un turned around and caught sight of Murong Cheon, who was next in line.
"You passed brilliantly as expected. Congratulations."
"I'll go on ahead and wait."
Murong Cheon smiled nervously and stepped into the pavilion.
Perhaps because they'd shared a brief camaraderie, Jeong-un hoped he too would pass.
* * *
Finding the pavilion mentioned by the examiner was not difficult.
As soon as he passed by the eight-story building where the test had taken place and walked inside, he saw a large plaque inscribed: General Affairs Department.
Inside were the gentle sounds of people talking.
"...?"
As he crossed the threshold, a scene of countless figures moving busily unfolded before him.
Clearly, they were not martial artists. All were young scholars, clutching thick bundles of documents and moving busily about.
Taken aback by the unexpected sight, Jeong-un stood still for a moment, and, as if waiting, someone immediately approached.
"Are you Young Hero Yu Jeong-un?"
"Yes."
"I'm Jo Yoo-hyeon from the General Affairs Department."
He looked like a typical, good-natured young man—someone common in every village.
He held out his hand to Jeong-un.
"Please give me your token."
Jeong-un handed it over. Jo Yoo-hyeon barely glanced at it before tucking it into his robe. He then turned and shouted,
"Jeok Ah-ya!"
"Yes!"
From somewhere, a small child ran over to them.
The child stared at Jeong-un, then began to circle around him.
"...?"
Then the child looked at Jo Yoo-hyeon again.
"Finished!"
"Go deliver it well."
The youngster darted off elsewhere. Watching this in confusion, Jeong-un asked,
"What was that?"
"The child measured your body. To prepare your uniform."
"Is it possible to do that by simply looking, without touching?"
When Jeong-un asked, Jo Yoo-hyeon widened his eyes and answered,
"How could we dare touch a warrior's body?"
"......"
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