The Big Book of Classic Fantasy

by The Big Book of Classic Fantasy (retail) (epub)

  “A ghost is playing a trick on me in broad daylight.”

  When he looked into the mirror again, he again saw the reflection of someone next to him who addressed him. “I am Wang who was killed by Jo. An official mistakenly arrested Yi for the murder while letting Jo go. If you do not avenge my death, I will not leave you alone.”

  And he disappeared.

  Yang Mungi, taking great fright, quickly made preparation for an interrogation and put Jo under arrest.

  When he questioned him, Jo pleaded innocence, but then Wang appeared out of nowhere and yelled at him. “Jo, you evil bastard! Why did you have relations with my wife and then murder me? You are the unforgiveable culprit, yet you dare to put the guilt on Yi!”

  And he disappeared. Jo became so frightened that he did not know what to do.

  Yang Mungi put Jo under torture and interrogated him further until the prisoner could not bear the pain anymore and confessed to everything. And so Yi was released and Jo was punished.

  After Unchi saved Yi, he flew around on a cloud again, until he came across two men fighting over a pig’s head in the middle of a market street. Unchi came down and asked why they were struggling so.

  One of them answered. “I bought this pig’s head at a fair price, but this official is using his position to steal it from me. That’s why we are fighting.”

  Unchi cast a spell, making the pig’s head open its mouth and bite the official, who took fright and ran away.

  And Unchi took to the sky once more and flew around until he heard the sounds of singing and musical instruments playing. He descended to the place and politely greeted the people he found there.

  “I am a passing traveler who would like to join in your merriment.”

  A group of young scholars returned the greeting and exchanged names with him. They were in the company of ten or so courtesans, who played instruments and sang. As Unchi conversed with the scholars, he found two named So and Seol to be arrogant.

  When food and liquor were served, Unchi addressed them. “I am so grateful to be tasting such precious food thanks to all of you.”

  Seol replied, “We may not be wealthy, but we can afford to keep the company of famous courtesans and eat fine food. Perhaps this is the first time you have experienced such things.”

  Unchi laughed. “That may be true, but there are things missing here.”

  “What might that be?”

  “I see no refreshing watermelon, no tangy peach, and no sweet grapes, so why pretend that this is such a sumptuous feast?”

  The scholars laughed. “How could you be so ignorant? This is late spring. Such fruits are not available now.”

  “I saw a place where all kinds of fruits were ripe.”

  Seol addressed him. “In that case, why don’t you go and get some of them?”

  Unchi took a servant and went up a hill where there were peaches hanging on trees. He had the servant pick some, and also grapes that were growing below them. They then went down to a field where there were plenty of watermelons growing on vines. They took about twenty of them and brought them to the scholars, who were astonished.

  After Unchi got drunk, he decided to play a trick on So and Seol, so he cast a spell on them.

  The two of them spoke. “My body feels so heavy, and my mind is in agony with dizziness. How strange this is.”

  Unchi addressed them. “You are arrogant and lack manners. And I don’t think you are fit to be with these courtesans.”

  The two of them became angry. “We are not eunuchs, so why do you say that we are not fit to be with them?”

  Unchi laughed. “Calm yourself and put your hands in your trousers.”

  Seol felt inside and addressed So. “My testicles have disappeared and everything is smooth down there. How could this be?”

  So asked to see, so Seol showed him, and indeed there was nothing there. So reached into his own trousers and also found nothing there as well.

  They exclaimed in shock, “Jeon ridiculed us and now this has happened. What do we do now?”

  At this point, one of the courtesans discovered that the small opening below her belly had disappeared, while a new opening appeared above her belly. She knew not what to do.

  Among the scholars, one named Eun was the brightest and the most learned, and he realized what was happening.

  He begged Unchi. “In our blindness, we committed an offense against you. Please forgive us.”

  “Don’t worry. Everything will return to normal.”

  The scholars and courtesan touched themselves again and were relieved to find that everything had returned to before.

  They expressed their gratitude. “We did not realize that a heavenly personage had descended among us, and we nearly paid for our ignorance by turning into freaks.”

  Unchi flew on a cloud to the south until he came across a group of people who were talking anxiously among themselves.

  “Jang the warehouse keeper is a good and filial man, so it would be a tragedy if he died unjustly.”

  When Unchi came down and asked for the story, one of them informed him, “There is a man named Jang Gyechang who works as a warehouse keeper at the Ministry of Taxation. He is a decent man who is good to his parents, and he also likes to help the unfortunate. But he made a mistake while writing an official report, so he ended up being blamed for the shortage of two thousand coins at the warehouse, which he did not take. We are sorry that he will be punished for it.”

  Unchi felt pity, so he rode his cloud and flew to the place where official punishments were administered. There, he saw a young man being brought forth in a wagon with his young wife following while weeping. When Unchi asked around, he was told that the man was indeed Jang Gyechang. A prison guard took the prisoner down from the wagon and announced that it was time for his punishment.

  Unchi turned himself into wind and gathered Jang Gyechang and his wife to carry them into the sky. The official in charge of the punishment was astonished by the occurrence, so he reported it to the king, who also took fright, as did all his officials who thought it all very strange.

  Unchi brought the Jang couple home, where he fed them medicine, which awakened them from an unconscious state. As they had no idea what was going on, Unchi explained everything that had happened, also informing his mother.

  Unchi took to the sky once more and flew about until he came across another person who was weeping.

  When Unchi asked what was the matter, the man answered him, “My name is Han Jaegyeong. My father just passed away, and I have a seventy-year-old mother, but I have no money to pay for the funeral or to take care of my mother. That is why I am crying.”

  Unchi took pity on him, so he reached into his sleeve and took out a scroll.

  “Take this scroll, hang it up at your house, and address it by the name of Gojik. If someone answers, ask for a hundred nyang*12 and it will be given to you. Use the money to start a business, and then ask for just one nyang per day, and use that to take care of your mother. But if you ask for more than that, a calamity will fall upon you, so beware.”

  Jaegyeong felt both hopeful and skeptical of Unchi, so he asked for his name and where he lived before he went home. When he unrolled the scroll, he found no writing on it but a drawing of a big house with a locked gate and a young boy standing before it. Just to see what would happen, the man called out, “Gojik.” The young boy answered and stepped out of the picture. When the astonished Jaegyeong asked for a hundred nyang, the boy took out the money and placed it in front of him. He subsequently started a business with it, and he called out “Gojik” every day to ask for one more nyang.

  One day, Jaegyeong had the need for more money, so he thought to himself, “What harm would it be if I asked to borrow a hundred nyang?”

  So he summoned Gojik and spoke to him. “I need a hundred nyang, so lend it t
o me.”

  When Gojik refused, Jaegyeong tried numerous times to persuade him. The boy went back into the picture without replying and unlocked the gate to the house before going inside. Jaegyeong became angry, so he went into the picture himself, kicked open the gate, and followed him in.

  At this time, the minister of taxation was getting ready to begin his work for the day, when an official came to him.

  “There’s noise of someone inside the warehouse, which is very strange.”

  The minister thought it odd as well, so he summoned his lower officials and sent them to the warehouse. They opened the door and found a man holding coins, which surprised them.

  “How did you get in here, you thief?”

  The officials then put him under arrest and reported the incident to the minister, who had the prisoner brought before him. When Jaegyeong was forced to prostrate himself below a stone staircase, only then did he realize that he was no longer at his house but at a government building.

  Jaegyeong spoke out in astonishment. “How did I come to this place? Is this a dream or reality?”

  The minister addressed him. “For the crime of sneaking into the warehouse to steal money, you deserve to die. If you seek mercy, reveal the identities of your fellow outlaws.”

  Jaegyeong told the minister everything he knew, revealing his encounter with Jeon Unchi. The minister questioned him, “When do you see Jeon Unchi?”

  “It’s been four or five months, near where I live in the southwest.”

  After the minister put Jaegyeong in prison, he went to the warehouse, where he found the place empty of money but chock-full of frogs. Another warehouse was found to be full of yellow snakes but no coins. The enraged minister reported this to the king, who gathered his officials to discuss the matter.

  At this time, officials in charge of other warehouses came and reported, “All the rice in the warehouse turned into insects.”

  Officials from military bases reported, “All the weapons have disappeared, replaced by stacks of tree branches.”

  Palace maidens reported, “All the hairpieces of palace maidens turned into golden crows and flew away, and a tiger appeared in the inner palace and killed a few servants.”

  The frightened king selected expert archers and dispatched them to the inner palace, where they found all the palace maidens there riding tigers. They couldn’t bring themselves to kill them, so they returned to the king, who became enraged and ordered them to put them all down. The archers were about to shoot them when a black cloud suddenly appeared, enwrapped the tiger-riding maidens, and took them up to the sky.

  The king spoke. “This is all the work of Jeon Unchi, so there will be no peace in the country until he is caught.”

  The minister of taxation addressed him, “The criminal who has been imprisoned is in league with Jeon Unchi, so I bid you to put him to death.”

  The king was about to order Jaegyeong’s execution, when a great wind suddenly blew and the prisoner disappeared without a trace, which was also Unchi’s doing.

  * * *

  —

  Unchi was wandering around when he happened to see one of the notices put up on the four gates of the capital calling for his surrender. He scoffed at it at first, but he ended up going to the entrance to the royal palace.

  “Your lowly subject Jeon Unchi has come to confess his guilt.”

  When the Office of the Royal Secretariat reported this to the king, he thought to himself, “This wretch possesses such powerful magic, he is liable to cause much mischief everywhere he goes. It would be a good idea to appease him by giving him an official position in the government. If he persists in making trouble after that, then I’ll have him executed.”

  So he summoned Unchi to court.

  Unchi prostrated himself before the monarch, who spoke to him, “Do you know your crime?”

  At those words, Unchi flattened himself even more to the ground. “I have committed acts for which I deserve to be executed a hundred times, so I can make no excuse for myself.”

  “In consideration of your talents, I have decided to pardon you and grant you an official position. So you must fulfill your duties with utmost loyalty.”

  He made Unchi a royal messenger, putting him in charge of the office that took care of the horses and carriages used by the king’s envoys. Unchi expressed much gratitude before leaving his presence.

  After Unchi began working there, he noticed that the other royal messengers acted harshly toward their subordinates, often hitting them with clubs. One day, Unchi casually picked up a stone pillar and smashed it into their clubs, hitting their hands as well. That caused them such pain that they stopped abusing their subordinates.

  A few months later, the other royal messengers sent their servants to Unchi with a demand that he show them respect by serving them a meal.

  Unchi replied, “Tell them to come out to the nearby beach tomorrow at dawn.”

  The next day, all the royal messengers rode their horses and went to the beach, where they found tents of blue canopies with colorful sitting mats arranged decorously inside. Sonorous music was playing, and a plentiful feast was laid out. It was all a magnificent scene.

  After everyone sat down to be served food and liquor, Unchi spoke. “All of you are here to enjoy yourself, but it would be no fun without women to keep us company. I know some women I used to be close to. Should I bring them here?”

  Many who were already getting happily drunk spoke out. “Who would have known that such a junior official would demonstrate such enthusiasm? Do as you will.”

  So Unchi took a servant and headed for the south gate of the capital.

  Many talked about him. “That junior official is so talented, I bet he could handle the most fearsome criminal.” And so they praised him.

  Unchi returned not long after, accompanied by many women whom he directed to stand outside the tents. He then had more food on large tables to be brought for the pleasure of the royal messengers.

  Unchi spoke to them. “As per your wish, I brought all these women here. How about I have them sit by all of you so that you can enjoy yourself with them?”

  When many assented happily, Unchi brought one woman and had her sit in front of the highest-ranking official. “Stay here and serve him well.”

  He then led the rest of the women and had them sit by the other officials, who only realized then that they were their wives. They were afraid to reveal what they had expected, so they kept quiet and kept their discontent to themselves. After they were done with the meal, they quickly left on their horses, which mystified their servants.

  When the royal messengers returned home, all of them found their households in disarray, as they were beset by family members, some who came to deliver terrible news, some who were on their way to the pharmacy to obtain medicine, some who were bringing a doctor who practiced acupuncture, and some who were lamenting a death. When the officials questioned them, they found out that all their wives had died.

  When a royal messenger named Kim came home, a servant girl informed him, “Your wife was fixing some clothes when she suddenly left this world.”

  Official Kim spoke out in rage, “That Jeon brought her to the party on the beach and reduced her to a courtesan. How could the wife of a nobleman bear such an insult? I am sure to lose my position now, and my family will be dishonored as well. How can I bear the sorrow of this calamity?”

  A servant girl came in a hurry. “Your wife has woken up.”

  The official’s rage died down as he ran to the woman’s chamber, where his wife sat up and spoke to him. “A while ago, I fell asleep and saw a man in a red robe who took me away. Then a servant in yellow clothing covered me with a veil, put me on a horse, and led me to some place. There, I saw many women who were respectable wives like myself. Then that wretch Jeon the royal messenger grabbed me by the back o
f my head and pushed me in front of you and said ‘serve him well.’ He then had the other women sit next to officials. When all the royal messengers finished their meal, they all saw how angry you were as you got up and left on your horse. So they also left without looking back and scattered, all in rage. I and all the other women had no idea what was happening, so we were on the verge of panic. Then I woke up and realized that it was all a dream. Everyone in the household seemed to be lamenting because they thought I was dead. What is happening?”

  When Official Kim heard this, he did not know what to say.

  All the other royal messengers were filled with indignation. “That wicked criminal Jeon Unchi wormed his way into the royal palace, and now he dares to humiliate us all. We should allay our anger by killing that bastard!”

  After Unchi tricked the royal messengers, he thought to himself, “The king did pardon me of my crime and gave me an official position, so I should be grateful for his great favor. I should turn over a new leaf and serve him with utmost loyalty.”

  And so he concentrated on fulfilling his duties well, taking good care of the horses under his charge until they gained weight and became healthy. The court became pleased with his work.

  * * *

  —

  At Gadal Mountain, there was a man by the name of Yeom Jun who was extremely courageous and greatly skilled in martial arts. He gathered thousands of bandits and set up a lair in the mountain, from where they went forth to pillage villages and assault towns to steal weapons and provisions, murdering people in the process. As a result, every town in the area became frightened.

  When the provincial governor sent a report of these events to the king, he became concerned enough that he summoned his officials to discuss the matter. “These bandits are so strong and flourishing, so who can destroy them?”

  No one replied at first, but then one official stepped forward. “My gratitude for the favors Your Majesty has granted me knows no bounds. I may not be a person of much talent, but I would like to allay Your Majesty’s concern by cutting off the head of Yeom Jun.”