The RoFan Novel Fan Has Reincarnated Into A Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 50: Interview with the Ghost Monk

When Yeon came out of the stone chamber, the monk was waiting with an awkward expression.

“Sorry. I took a while, didn’t I?”

“It’s quite all right, benefactor.”

Despite his words, his face said otherwise. He led Yeon and Cheongang outside. Dusk had already fallen.

Yeon worried the monk might suspect something. If he took a closer look at the life-size statue—especially if he lifted the robe—he would realize the prayer beads were missing.

“He probably won’t touch the statue recklessly,” she thought.

But fretting was no use; it was already spilled water, and her shoes were already wet. Accepting that, Yeon moved away from the Hall of Repentance with Cheongang. The ghost didn’t speak to her.

“Young Lady Yeon, what were you doing in there?”

“Oh, well...”

Yeon explained to Cheongang what had happened inside the stone chamber. As expected, he looked like he was struggling to believe her.

“So, you’re saying that was the ghost of Master Myoeun?”

“More precisely, a ghost claiming to be Myoeun. I still don’t know for sure.”

Yeon pulled out the prayer beads from her robe. Under the darkening sky, the black-brown beads looked ominous. She wasn’t sure if bringing them out had been the right thing to do.

“I grabbed them in the heat of the moment. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go back in there...”

Honestly, just taking them out might have been a huge mistake. No, it probably was. Yeon glanced at Cheongang, but thankfully he didn’t seem to be blaming her.

[Hwangbo Yeon!]

A voice pierced her head, and Yeon abruptly stopped walking. When Cheongang flinched, she raised a hand to signal him to wait.

[Finally, I got through.]

“Finally?”

[I’ve been shouting this whole time and you didn’t respond.]

“I didn’t hear anything at all.”

Beside her, Cheongang was staring. To him, she probably looked like she was talking to thin air.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Yeon switched to speaking inside her mind.

‘Can you hear me now?’

[Yeah.]

‘Earlier, we could talk fine even when we weren’t close.’

[Beats me. Something changed the moment you took out the beads. Maybe because I got separated from my remains?]

‘Hold on a second.’

Yeon held out the prayer beads to Cheongang.

“Cheongang, if you hold this, you’ll understand what I mean.”

He accepted them with a skeptical yet trusting look.

“Hm?”

Suddenly, his face flushed deep red. He quickly handed the beads back to Yeon. The moment she touched them again, a mischievous laugh echoed in her head.

“You—you can hear him, Young Lady Yeon.”

“What did he say to you?”

But Cheongang clammed up for some reason. Yeon turned to the ghost and asked,

‘What did you say?’

[Nothing special.]

That teasing tone tipped Yeon’s suspicion further toward him actually being Myoeun. For some reason, he reminded her of Gongye. Maybe that Great Prajñā Vajra Art was only passed down to weird monks?

Suddenly, the thought of the murder Myoeun had committed crossed her mind.

‘He seems so cheerful... How did he fall into demonic madness and end up doing that? Was it because he was a genius?’

Geniuses often had incomprehensible inner worlds. It wasn’t uncommon for that brilliance to spiral in the wrong direction. Especially in oddballs like this—it was always the eccentric ones who caused massive incidents.

“Cheongang, I want to talk a bit while walking.”

“I’ll stay with you. But, um...”

“What’s wrong?”

“Did that ghost say... anything strange to you?”

He looked a little uneasy. Tilting her head, Yeon recalled what Myoeun had asked earlier.

‘Do you love the man who came with you?’

Don’t tell her the ghost monk asked Cheongang the same thing?

“Oh. No, he didn’t.”

Yeon forced a smile to reassure him. She had no interest in having some sketchy ghost genius monk meddling in her relationship with Cheongang.

“Let me talk with him for a bit. I’ll fill you in when it’s over.”

“Yes.”

Yeon deliberately took the long way back to the lodgings. Walking slowly, she began preparing for her interview with Myoeun.

Where to start? There were countless questions, but the priority was obvious.

‘Tell me now.’

[Tell you what?]

‘The location of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.’

[You’re joking, right? If I tell you, you’ll just ditch me.]

It sounded like a clingy ex-boyfriend line. Not that Yeon had ever had one—but that’s what it felt like.

‘Then what do you want me to do?’

[Don’t worry. I’ll guide you. I couldn’t explain it all in words anyway. My memory’s fuzzy.]

‘Because it was so long ago?’

[That, and I only went there once. Do you think I made it all the way to the Ice Palace by myself? I just followed the Palace Lord.]

‘The Palace Lord? Then why did you ask me her name earlier?’

For the first time, his steady stream of replies paused.

[I was curious. About what happened to the Ice Palace after I died.]

‘What does that have to do with anything?’

[Well, if the Ice Palace came out into the central plains, you’d probably know the Palace Lord’s name, right? She would’ve been famous.]

‘Huh?’

[Don’t be like that. I couldn’t trust you blindly either. Just like you don’t trust me now.]

That reminded Yeon of what Gongye had told her. When Myoeun killed his fellow monks, the only one who survived was the Palace Lord of the Ice Palace.

‘He’s not planning to finish an incomplete murder, is he? What if he possesses me the moment we meet her?’

She didn’t know if double possession was even possible, but it was a frightening thought. Worst case, she could just ditch the prayer beads after he guided her there.

‘Why do you want to go to the Ice Palace?’

[Don’t wanna say.]

She had slipped the question in casually, but as expected, the ghost wasn’t that easy.

[What do you think I am, huh? A prayer bead that answers anything? Hey, I have rights too, you know. I’m still a monk—well, a ghost.]

That sounded like something only Gongye would say. Yeon frowned. If the two had been alive at the same time, they probably would’ve gotten along too well. Though Master Damdeok’s wrinkles would’ve doubled.

Wait—didn’t they say they had known each other?

‘Do you know Monk Gongye?’

[Yup.]

Now he answers easily.

[Of course I do. I’m the one who took him in.]

‘Took him in?’

[I can’t explain it in detail. Gongye might not like it.]

Yeon briefly considered asking about the black flames, too.

But judging from the flow of conversation, he probably wouldn’t give her the important answers yet. She would have to wait for the right time. There wasn’t enough trust between them yet.

[Just so you know, I wouldn’t tell Gongye or anyone in Shaolin about me if I were you.]

‘Why not?’

Yeon hadn’t planned to, but she asked anyway.

[If they find out I’m like this, do you think I’ll ever make it out of Shaolin?]

‘Even Monk Gongye?’

[If Gongye knows, then it’s as good as the whole place knowing. That kid couldn’t keep a secret to save his life.]

‘That’s... true.’

Of course, Gongye had freely spilled Myoeun’s story.

It was probably a hidden part of Shaolin’s history.

‘Didn’t you say you couldn’t lie?’

[I said I couldn’t. And did I ask you to lie? Silence and lying are entirely different things.]

He was a monk, but he reeked of lawyer-speak.

That was where he was similar to Gongye, yet clearly different.

‘Fine. So we agree on heading to the Ice Palace, right?’

[Yeah.]

‘Good. If there’s anything I need to prepare, tell me. I’ll leave as soon as I can.’

[But why do you want to go to the Ice Palace?]

At Myoeun’s question, Yeon smiled—a smile he couldn’t see.

‘Don’t want to tell you.’

****

Yeon relayed her conversation with Myoeun to Cheongang.

The prayer beads were tucked back inside her robe.

‘Is the monk going to be bored in there all by himself?’

Probably—but Yeon didn’t worry about it.

He was a monk, after all. He could meditate or something.

“So, in the end, he agreed to guide us to the Ice Palace.”

“It sounds like a good result.”

“For now.”

The reality of talking to a ghost and then relaying that conversation didn’t quite feel real.

Cheongang, surprisingly, didn’t seem to have much trouble accepting it. Maybe because he had heard Myoeun’s voice himself?

“You’re keeping the beads on you?”

“Yes.”

“Should I hold onto them instead?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“You haven’t felt anything strange? Headaches, maybe...?”

Cheongang suddenly stepped closer, examining her expression.

The smell of incense and wood that had filled Yeon’s senses was replaced by his scent—one uniquely his, soft and sweet.

It was such a comforting smell that calling it a fragrance didn’t feel like a stretch.

She quietly flared her nostrils so he wouldn’t notice.

Then Cheongang bent his knees slightly and placed his palm on her forehead, eyes full of concern.

“You don’t have a fever, do you? Your face seems a bit flushed...”

“I-it’s nothing.”

To be looked at like that and touched on the forehead—

For someone emotionally stunted, it was a direct missile strike from a beautiful man.

An air raid siren went off inside Yeon’s chest.

She now understood why people warned not to be kind so casually to pretty men.

‘How can anyone not get the wrong idea...’

Because you want to misunderstand. So badly.

Back when she first met him at the guest hall, it was better.

She’d just been possessed, knew nothing, and boldly charged in.

But now, the more she got to know Cheongang, the more her feelings grew—and the harder things became.

He seemed to feel the same... maybe?

Or maybe not?

Whatever the case, Yeon was sure of herself.

She was drawn to Cheongang. She liked him. So much that even the slightest touch made her tremble.

But actually expressing that in the moment... was almost impossible.

Maybe because she wasn’t being completely honest with him yet.

Or because of the faint distance he sometimes kept.

Or maybe just because physical affection itself was unfamiliar.

Yeon suddenly felt the urge to grab her modern father by the collar and shout:

Dad!

‘If you’re watching me, give me a damn clue... please.’

At that moment, her forehead—she was worried it might actually be hot—was suddenly cooled.

The spot where his palm had been was now brushed by the night breeze of the forest, as if telling her to snap out of it.

“Ah...”

“Fortunately, you don’t seem to have a fever.”

“R-right?”

“Still, don’t let your guard down. When you sleep, keep the beads stored separately. Or like I said—just hand ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) them over to me.”

Cheongang, uncharacteristically, rambled.

His concern was entirely focused on Yeon’s well-being.

As Yeon twisted awkwardly and gave a sheepish smile—

“Benefactor!”

A brisk voice approached.

It was Monk Gongye.

“Monk?”

“You weren’t returning to your lodging, so I came looking. I thought maybe you got lost.”

Sweat dotted Gongye’s forehead.

Yeon realized how slow her pace had been.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were looking.”

“No harm done, then. Ah—but no, this won’t do...”

“What is it?”

“I need to report to the monk who spoke to me earlier. If the abbot hears about this, I’m doomed. They’ll say I didn’t properly attend to the guests.”

“The abbot? I think it’ll be fine.”

Cheongang had already received permission. Surely Master Damdeok was aware.

But Gongye still looked worried.

“You don’t understand, benefactor. The abbot is terrifying.”

When he said it, his face was different than when he was scared of Yeon.

More like a child recalling a strict parent.

On the fear scale, that seemed far more intense.

‘So Monk Gongye does have something he’s afraid of. And it turns out to be Master Damdeok, the picture of kindness.’

“Okay. I’ll head back on my own. You go on ahead.”

“Yes! And may you return safely as well, benefactor.”

“Yes, monk.”

As Gongye hurried away, Yeon felt something strange.

The back of his head—which she usually found annoying—looked weirdly pitiful tonight.

She debated whether to pull out the prayer beads from her robe.

“Monk!”

“Yes?”

He turned around.

Looking at his clueless face, Yeon slowly lowered the hand she had raised.

“Have a good night.”

Gongye scratched his bald head like he’d just heard something bizarre and gave a bow.

As he turned away, she heard him mutter under his breath.

“Did she eat something wrong...”

“What was that?”

Gongye’s figure vanished into the darkness.