The East Palace

The poisoned Crown Prince dies beside the East Palace Pond under circumstances presented publicly as suicide. His rage at being denied the throne transforms him into an ak-gwi determined to destroy King Ju Sang's bloodline.

Involved: King — Bereaved Father · Queen Dowager — Curse Witness · Crown Prince — Deceased Heir

Soon after the Crown Prince's death, Prince Yeongan becomes gravely ill and displays signs of possession. His condition convinces King Ju Sang that the royal bloodline faces an immediate supernatural threat.

Involved: Yeongan — Possessed Victim · King — Father

When the palace seeks help against the renewed curse, the Monk identifies Gu Cheon as the spirit slayer capable of entering the Realm of Gwi. His recommendation directs King Ju Sang's agents toward Gu Cheon.

King Ju Sang has Gu Cheon abducted after the spirit slayer refuses to become involved. Gu Cheon must save Prince Yeongan or face death, while Saeng Gang is assigned to guide and observe him.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Coerced Spirit Slayer · King — Commissioning Authority · Saeng Gang — Guide and Observer · Chief Eunuch Kim — Royal Attendant

Gu Cheon crosses through the East Palace Pond to fight the spirit attacking Prince Yeongan. Saeng Gang assists from the living world, but Gu Cheon's sword breaks and the first exorcism attempt fails.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Spirit Slayer · Saeng Gang — Living-World Support · Yeongan — Endangered Victim · Favored Court Lady — Suspected Pond Spirit

Court women connected to the palace crimes are trapped inside the Salt Storehouse and die during a fire. Their remains are sealed in jars, leaving them as resentful spirits and removing witnesses who might expose the succession conspiracy.

A dangerous supernatural bargain leaves Gu Cheon vulnerable inside the Realm of Gwi. Saeng Gang pulls him back through the pond, and their forced partnership begins developing into genuine mutual reliance.

Involved: Saeng Gang — Rescuer · Gu Cheon — Rescued Investigator · Ggeomeoksali — Dangerous Gwi-Mae

Ggeomeoksali emerges as a dangerous gwi-mae connected to Gu Cheon's bargain and Yang energy. Although initially threatening, it begins following Gu Cheon and gradually becomes a recurring companion.

Gu Cheon and Saeng Gang discover the remains of court women sealed inside the Salt Storehouse. They release the trapped spirits and learn that the Favored Court Lady is believed to have cursed the royal family.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Investigator · Saeng Gang — Spirit Listener · Queen Dowager — Target of the Spirits · Favored Court Lady — Suspected Source of the Curse

The audience learns that Park Su is secretly working for Ik Sang rather than serving the Queen Dowager faithfully. Their plan uses the supernatural crisis to remove King Ju Sang's heirs and advance Prince Inha.

Involved: Prince Ik Sang — Conspiracy Leader · Shaman Park Su — Secret Operative · Yeongan — Target · Queen Dowager — Deceived Sponsor · Prince Inha — Intended Beneficiary

Approximately thirty years before the present story, a court lady favored by the previous king becomes pregnant with his child. Her pregnancy threatens the Queen Dowager's position and begins the grievance later associated with the East Palace Pond.

The Queen Dowager falsely accuses the pregnant Favored Court Lady of having an affair with a Royal Guard. The accusation is intended to destroy the woman's standing and remove her as a threat within the royal household.

The Royal Guard is coerced into falsely confessing to an affair with the Favored Court Lady. He complies because the Queen Dowager threatens his family, and his testimony gives the palace justification to punish the innocent woman.

The Favored Court Lady loses her unborn child after being framed and persecuted. She later dies near the East Palace Pond, and the injustice surrounding her death leaves her behind as a resentful spirit.

Gu Cheon and Saeng Gang pressure Lady Jang into describing the false affair accusation and the Favored Court Lady's death. Her testimony establishes the Queen Dowager's role in creating the pond spirit's resentment.

Involved: Lady Jang — Confessing Witness · Saeng Gang — Investigator · Gu Cheon — Investigator · Queen Dowager — Exposed Culprit · Royal Guard — Coerced Witness · Favored Court Lady — Persecuted Victim

Gu Cheon confronts the Royal Guard's ghost and learns that the alleged affair was fabricated. The guard reveals where he buried the Favored Court Lady's baby shirt, providing an object capable of reaching the pond spirit emotionally.

Involved: Royal Guard — Ghostly Witness · Gu Cheon — Spirit Investigator · Saeng Gang — Evidence Finder · Favored Court Lady — Wronged Subject

As a child, Gu Cheon survives a drowning incident connected to the supernatural death of Gu Cheon's Mother. The trauma awakens or intensifies his connection to the Realm of Gwi and leaves him believing that he caused her death.

Gu Cheon nearly loses himself after Ggeomeoksali consumes hostile spirits in the Realm of Gwi. Saeng Gang reaches him through the guilt surrounding Gu Cheon's Mother and restores his awareness before he attacks the living.

Involved: Saeng Gang — Emotional Rescuer · Gu Cheon — Spirit Slayer at Risk · King — Potential Target · Gu Cheon's Mother — Source of Gu Cheon's Guilt · Ggeomeoksali — Catalyst

Gu Cheon and Saeng Gang use the baby shirt and a coordinated attack across both realms to subdue the Favored Court Lady. Her resentment dissolves, and Prince Yeongan appears to recover.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Spirit Slayer · Saeng Gang — Ritual Partner · Yeongan — Recovered Victim · Favored Court Lady — Released Spirit

Saeng Gang confronts the Queen Dowager and forces her to acknowledge the jealousy and deception behind the old accusation. The admission exposes one layer of the palace's hidden history but does not explain the continuing royal deaths.

Involved: Queen Dowager — Confessing Culprit · Saeng Gang — Accuser · Lady Jang — Witness · Favored Court Lady — Wronged Victim

The Queen Dowager's faction attempts to silence Gu Cheon after he learns the truth about the Favored Court Lady. Kim Sang Seon intervenes under King Ju Sang's authority and enables Gu Cheon to escape.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Abducted Investigator · Chief Eunuch Kim — Rescuer · Queen Dowager — Ordering Authority · Lady Jang — Faction Agent · Saeng Gang — Advocate

As Prince Yeongan remains unable to fulfill his ceremonial role, the Queen Dowager elevates Prince Inha to perform duties associated with the succession. His advancement gives Ik Sang's branch a visible position within the royal household.

Involved: Prince Inha — Alternative Heir · Queen Dowager — Political Sponsor · Prince Ik Sang — Father and Political Beneficiary · Yeongan — Displaced Immediate Heir

Prince Yeongan dies unexpectedly after the pond spirit has supposedly been released. His death proves that the Favored Court Lady was not the force killing the present royal heirs and sends Gu Cheon back into the investigation.

Involved: Yeongan — Victim · King — Witness and Father · Gu Cheon — Investigator · Saeng Gang — New Target · Crown Prince — Hidden Supernatural Killer

Gu Cheon performs another dangerous crossing into the Realm of Gwi and discovers that the Crown Prince's resentment is spreading throughout the palace. The finding redirects the investigation toward the dead heir as the true present-day antagonist.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Spirit Investigator · Saeng Gang — Protector · Choi Suk Bin — Secret Host · Crown Prince — Hidden Ak-Gwi

Park Su locates the weakened Gu Cheon and helps palace forces capture and injure him. At the same time, the Crown Prince's supernatural attack reaches King Ju Sang, who collapses inside the palace.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Captured Investigator · Shaman Park Su — Attacker · King — Supernatural Target · Prince Ik Sang — Conspiracy Leader · Crown Prince — Supernatural Attacker

Saeng Gang secretly removes the Crown Prince's body from his tomb so the investigators can determine how he died. Gu Cheon confronts the prince's spirit, but Park Su's guardian spirit interrupts the attack.

Involved: Saeng Gang — Body Examiner · Gu Cheon — Spirit Combatant · Shaman Park Su — Obstruction · King — Endangered Father · Crown Prince — Deceased Subject and Hostile Spirit

During the earlier succession crisis, Choi Suk Bin secretly poisons the princes positioned ahead of her son. She exploits the palace's belief in the Favored Court Lady's curse to conceal the human cause of the royal deaths.

Royal Concubine Han is compelled to assist Choi Suk Bin with the succession poisonings. Her participation is coerced rather than voluntary, but her knowledge later makes her a threat to the people protecting the conspiracy.

With the princes ahead of him dead, King Ju Sang becomes the surviving successor and eventually takes the throne. He does not initially understand the full extent of the murders Choi Suk Bin committed to secure his accession.

Choi Suk Bin has Royal Concubine Han poisoned after Han becomes a liability to the succession conspiracy. Her death prevents her from exposing the truth and becomes the central unresolved trauma driving Saeng Gang's investigation.

Evidence from the Crown Prince's body and spirit reveals that King Ju Sang poisoned his son. The discovery overturns the official appearance of suicide, although the King's reason for the execution remains concealed temporarily.

Involved: Saeng Gang — Possessed Intermediary · King — Accused Father · Gu Cheon — Investigator · Crown Prince — Revealing Spirit

King Ju Sang orders the inhabitants of a plague-stricken settlement killed to prevent the illness from spreading. The decision alienates Saeng Gang and creates resentful spirits that later strengthen the Crown Prince.

Involved: King — Ordering Authority · Saeng Gang — Moral Opponent · Prince Ik Sang — Informer

Choi Suk Bin admits that she poisoned the princes who stood ahead of King Ju Sang in the succession. She also reveals that Royal Concubine Han was forced into the conspiracy and later killed with other witnesses.

Involved: Choi Suk Bin — Confessing Architect · Saeng Gang — Granddaughter and Investigator · King — Unknowing Beneficiary · Queen Dowager — Misled Royal Elder · Concubine Han — Coerced Accomplice and Victim

Choi Suk Bin poisons Saeng Gang after revealing the old crimes, choosing secrecy over her granddaughter's life. Saeng Gang's weakened state allows the Crown Prince to possess and manipulate her.

Involved: Choi Suk Bin — Betrayer · Saeng Gang — Betrayed Granddaughter · Crown Prince — Opportunistic Possessor

Park Su accepts supernatural power from the Crown Prince and attacks Gu Cheon. Gu Cheon loses his ability to see spirits in the living world, leaving him unable to fight effectively through ordinary means.

Involved: Shaman Park Su — Attacker · Gu Cheon — Injured Spirit Slayer · Crown Prince — Supernatural Patron

Gu Cheon enters the Realm of Gwi and takes a gwi-mae's eyes to restore his ability to see spirits. The forbidden method allows him to continue the investigation but deepens his connection to the other realm.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Spirit Slayer

With King Ju Sang's acknowledged sons dead, Prince Inha is elevated to continue the royal succession. The appointment strengthens Ik Sang's position and makes Inha the newest heir exposed to the palace threat.

Involved: Prince Inha — New Crown Prince · Prince Ik Sang — Father and Political Beneficiary · Queen Dowager — Succession Sponsor · King — Reigning Monarch

The Crown Prince secretly kills his royal brothers to eliminate rivals and guarantee his succession. King Ju Sang eventually discovers the murders, creating the conflict that leads directly to the Crown Prince's death.

Involved: Crown Prince — Perpetrator · King — Discoverer and Father

After discovering the Crown Prince's murders, King Ju Sang secretly poisons his son. The King conceals the execution, allowing the death to appear to be suicide rather than a royal judgment.

Involved: King — Confessing Father · Saeng Gang — Truth Seeker · Gu Cheon — Investigator · Crown Prince — Condemned Son

Gu Cheon confronts the Crown Prince while the spirit controls Saeng Gang's body. After learning that Royal Concubine Han acted under coercion, Saeng Gang rejects the prince's manipulation and forces him out.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Rescuer · Saeng Gang — Possessed Victim · Crown Prince — Possessor · Concubine Han — Subject of the Revealed Truth

Gu Cheon tells Saeng Gang that her mother's soul was destroyed during the supernatural conflict. The revelation ends Saeng Gang's hope of speaking with Royal Concubine Han or helping her pass peacefully into the afterlife.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Truth Bearer · Saeng Gang — Grieving Daughter · Concubine Han — Destroyed Spirit

Prince Inha develops symptoms resembling poison or the curse after his elevation. His illness gives the Queen Dowager grounds to accuse King Ju Sang of attacking another heir.

Involved: Prince Inha — Afflicted Heir · Queen Dowager — Accuser · King — Suspected Monarch · Prince Ik Sang — Father and Political Rival

Prince Inha improves after being removed from the spiritually affected palace grounds. His recovery supports King Ju Sang's claim that a palace spirit, rather than ordinary poison administered by him, caused the illness.

Involved: Prince Inha — Recovered Heir · King — Vindicated Accused · Queen Dowager — Discredited Accuser · Prince Ik Sang — Father

The Queen Dowager publicly accuses King Ju Sang of poisoning the princes who stood ahead of him in the succession. The King counters the immediate charge using Prince Inha's recovery and orders the Queen Dowager to leave the palace.

Involved: Queen Dowager — Accuser · King — Accused Monarch · Prince Ik Sang — Succession Rival · Queen — Royal Witness · Prince Inha — Evidence Subject

King Ju Sang admits that the Crown Prince murdered his brothers to secure the throne. The King poisoned him after discovering those crimes, and the dying prince vowed to destroy the royal bloodline.

Involved: King — Confessing Father · Saeng Gang — Truth Seeker · Gu Cheon — Investigator · Crown Prince — Condemned Son

The Crown Prince consumes the spirits of the massacred villagers and becomes a far more powerful ak-gwi. Their resentment spreads violent possession throughout the Royal Palace and makes the final confrontation unavoidable.

Involved: King — Source of the Resentment · Gu Cheon — Opposing Spirit Slayer · Saeng Gang — Spirit Mediator · Crown Prince — Ak-Gwi and Consumer of Resentment

Saeng Gang incapacitates Gu Cheon so he cannot sacrifice himself again and enters the final ritual without him. She attempts to trap the Crown Prince's soul while connected to the living world by a tether.

Involved: Saeng Gang — Protective Betrayer · Gu Cheon — Poisoned Partner · Crown Prince — Intended Ritual Target

Park Su cuts the tether connecting Saeng Gang to the living world just as she nearly traps the Crown Prince. The ak-gwi attacks her and begins draining her life force, leaving her unable to return without help.

Involved: Shaman Park Su — Saboteur · Saeng Gang — Trapped Spirit Walker · Gu Cheon — Absent Rescuer · Crown Prince — Attacking Ak-Gwi

Ik Sang kills Park Su after the shaman becomes a liability capable of exposing their conspiracy. The murder silences Ik Sang's principal supernatural operative but creates evidence connecting him to the wider succession plot.

Involved: Prince Ik Sang — Killer · Shaman Park Su — Murdered Operative

Gu Cheon realizes that saving Saeng Gang requires an irreversible supernatural bargain. He surrenders his soul in exchange for a bone sword powerful enough to destroy the Crown Prince.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Sacrificing Spirit Slayer · Saeng Gang — Rescue Target · Crown Prince — Intended Target

King Ju Sang performs an appeasement rite and acknowledges responsibility for ordering the villagers' deaths. As the victims release their resentment, the Crown Prince loses the power he gained by consuming them.

Involved: King — Repentant Monarch · Gu Cheon — Final Combatant · Saeng Gang — Endangered Ritual Participant · Crown Prince — Weakened Ak-Gwi

Using the bone sword, Gu Cheon destroys the weakened Crown Prince and ends the attack on the royal family. Gu Cheon begins transforming into an ak-gwi and uses his remaining Yang energy to send Saeng Gang back to the living world.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Victorious Spirit Slayer · Saeng Gang — Rescued Partner · King — Supporting Penitent · Crown Prince — Destroyed Ak-Gwi

Evidence connects Ik Sang to Park Su's murder and the concealed shaman conspiracy. Ik Sang comes under investigation, although his final legal or political punishment is not shown.

Involved: Prince Ik Sang — Implicated Suspect · Shaman Park Su — Murdered Operative

Gu Cheon unexpectedly awakens and reunites with Saeng Gang after the three-day separation. King Ju Sang grants his promised freedom, and Gu Cheon, Saeng Gang, and Ggeomeoksali leave the palace together while an unseen connection suggests that Gu Cheon remains tied to the Realm of Gwi.

Involved: Gu Cheon — Returned Survivor · Saeng Gang — Reunited Partner · King — Granting Authority · Ggeomeoksali — Departing Companion

Three days pass while Gu Cheon remains unresponsive after sending Saeng Gang back to the living world. Saeng Gang waits without knowing whether his sacrifice has permanently trapped or transformed him.

Royal Concubine Han enters King Ju Sang's household and gives birth to Saeng Gang. Saeng Gang's royal parentage is concealed, leaving her without the public status of a princess.

Saeng Gang is raised without public recognition as King Ju Sang's daughter. Her concealed identity protects her from some succession dangers but also leaves her vulnerable to being used as a court lady and supernatural intermediary.

Royal Concubine Han becomes separated from the royal household while attempting to protect Saeng Gang from the conspiracy. Saeng Gang is left with incomplete knowledge of her mother, her birth, and the crimes surrounding King Ju Sang's accession.