TGHD Ch19

However, since he had not yet entered the Grand Tiger Hall, Ryubeom still thought his knowledge was lacking. The curious gaze from Yeowhi made him uncomfortable.

“Most people get scared and stop when researching ghosts, but you’ve done great.”

“…It’s not that great. I’m just scared of Changgui.”

He once hoped that by studying Changgui in detail, he might no longer fear it. However, the result was that he just developed a more specific fear.

Maybe it was because it was the first evil spirit that tormented him and the one his mother got rid of for him. Did he still harbor a childish hope that she would take care of it for him…?

Ryubeom added a self-deprecating remark and let out a bitter smile.

“It’s ridiculous, right? Being a tiger and being afraid of Changgui…”

But once he said it, he felt very embarrassed. Yeowhi probably didn’t mean anything bad by his admiration, and yet Ryubeom had acted self-deprecating in front of him. Just as he was about to say that it was nothing to worry about, Yeowhi tilted his head.

“Even the triplets are foxes, but they’re afraid of ghosts.”

“…They’re still young, so it’s okay.”

“You’re still like a child to me, too.”

Yeowhi’s kind whisper softly echoed in his ears, as if reassuring him that it was okay to show his childish side. Ryubeom blinked slowly and responded with a slightly strange look.

“Relative standards don’t matter. Objectively, I’m still an adult.”

“…You know, sometimes you’re really cold.”

Despite Yeowhi’s faint sigh or bitter laugh, Ryubeom turned his head without much reaction. Being treated like a child at his age felt strange, yet somehow, it also felt slightly odd. Yeowhi sometimes hit unexpected nerves.

To shake off the feeling, Ryubeom responded more stiffly than usual. As he pretended to inspect the villa’s surroundings, he suddenly turned his head sharply. Garam, who had approached nearby, was startled by Ryubeom’s suddenly sharp gaze.

Cheon Ryubeom usually had a serene demeanor that kept others at a distance, but when his eyes gleamed, he exuded a deadly aura.

“Wh-what…?”

“…I thought I sensed something.”

In reality, the bushes had rustled just as Ryubeom turned his head. But now, even with heightened alertness, there was nothing to sense.

“A wild animal, maybe…?”

Ryubeom neither confirmed nor denied Garam’s awkward suggestion. Given how deep they were in the mountains, it was plausible for animals to be around. And he had seen a fox at the house that morning. However, given the location, he didn’t let his guard down completely.

Ryubeom continued to silently survey the area, causing Garam to chuckle awkwardly and glance around nervously.

“We came all this way and found nothing…”

“…You seem rather relieved about that.”

Indeed, as they approached the villa, Garam had been holding a wooden club he’d somehow found. But his reaction seemed more exasperated than frightened.

“Well, I shouldn’t say this, but… it’s true. Those things are such a nuisance when they show up! Whenever they visit the house, it’s a total mess.”

“Ah…”

“They even knocked over the dolls I had on display. Really nasty things…”

Ryubeom nodded vaguely at Garam’s lament. It made practical sense that the residents of Hyojomyeon mostly used plastic or silicone dishes to avoid damage.

However, upon reflection, this information was useful. Long-term residents perceived these entities as multiple and seemed to interact with them in a mischievous manner. Otherwise, spirits that thrive on fear wouldn’t bother visiting Garam’s home, where they weren’t feared.

Gathering this information, Ryubeom pulled a small orb from his pocket. There were no signs of spirits here now, but just in case.

He murmured a spell, and a faint golden spiritual energy flowed from his lips. Ryubeom confirmed the soft glow within the transparent orb before dropping it to the ground.

***

That night.

Cheon Ryubeom returned to the villa in the mountains. Sneaking out quietly past midnight, he glanced back to find Yeowhi had followed him. Startled that he hadn’t noticed Yeowhi’s presence, Ryubeom saw Yeowhi’s eyes droop sadly.

“Why do you keep trying to leave me behind?”

“It’s not that I’m trying to leave you…”

“Leaving me alone in that dark place is abandoning me.”

His delicate tone made Ryubeom feel like a terrible person. He only planned to go alone to avoid the stronger spiritual energy at night, fearing it might be dangerous. In the end, Ryubeom, looking flustered, had no choice but to invite Yeowhi to join him.

Guessing Ryubeom’s destination, Yeowhi smiled and asked,

“You’re going to the villa, right? I saw you drop an orb there earlier. What did you do?”

“Ah, that was bait.”

“Bait?”

“Since it mimicked a famous ghost to grow stronger, I thought it might react to the energy of a tiger. The spiritual energy of a tiger is a tempting meal.”

Ghosts feared tigers but also coveted their strong energy. Ryubeom deliberately infused five orbs with his energy and scattered them on the ground. Even if there were no signs of spirits earlier, he expected them to appear at night.

And as he had anticipated, the orbs near the villa were all shattered.

“It seems they absorbed the energy and left…”

Yeowhi looked around worriedly and asked,

“Won’t this make the spirits stronger?”

“I only put a small amount of energy in. We just need to track it before it fully absorbs the energy.”

Ryubeom chanted a tracking spell as if breathing into his hands, and strings of text swirled around them before floating up. When he touched the ground, a faint golden light spread from under his hand and radiated in all directions.

A few hours earlier, Ryubeom had not only infused the orbs with the energy of a tiger but also inscribed a tracking spell on them. He wanted to tag whatever took his energy, and the spell worked successfully. Thin golden threads in the air indicated where “it” had moved.

“We need to find their base.”

Since they had found no traces at the villa, it meant the spirits had another place where they actually resided. Fortunately, the five golden threads in the air all pointed in the same direction. Yeowhi nodded with a look of interest.

The two of them followed the golden threads.

In the dark, moonless night, the mountain was eerily desolate. But Ryubeom’s pace quickened as he pushed through the underbrush. The tracking spell wouldn’t last long, so he needed to identify the base before it faded.

Soon, Yeowhi sighed at the problem they encountered.

“The path is cut off.”

Spirits didn’t need to follow human paths. They could climb trees, scale rocks, cross streams… even drop straight down into a gorge.

Below, thick darkness made it hard to discern the terrain. However, faintly tangled golden threads indicated that the spirits had passed through. Ryubeom bit his lip as he looked back.

“…We have to follow them before the threads disappear.”

The golden threads behind them were already fading. If they missed this chance, would there be another? The spirits likely sensed something amiss after absorbing his energy.

To pursue them, they had to push through the darkness.

“Yeowhi, there’s a path down on the other side.”

“Should we hurry and go around?”

“No, I’m going to jump down from here.”

“What?”

“Come carefully. I’ll go ahead.”

“Wait, hold on…!”

Before Yeowhi could say anything more, Ryubeom leapt off the cliff. In an instant, his amber eyes glinted with a faint golden hue. In truth, Ryubeom was more accustomed to physical action than spells.

He slid down the steep cliff, accelerating and leaping off the opposite side to descend further. His swift movements through the narrow gorge showed no hesitation. Moving through the darkness as if swimming through water, the sound of rushing air echoed fiercely in his ears.

Thud. Finally landing on the ground, Cheon Ryubeom quickly surveyed the area. The golden threads were now intermittently broken, but he could still follow them if he hurried.

Just as Ryubeom was about to sprint, something grabbed his ankle.

“…!”

A cold, sticky sensation. That one feeling instantly filled Ryubeom with dread. An entity emerging from the darkness, gripping his ankle and pursuing him.

“Hee-hee-hee…”

“Tiger, tiger. Where are you going?”

Changgui.

Seeing the distorted head emerging from the darkness made Ryubeom’s breath catch. One, two, no, five, ten, twenty… Changgui poured out as if flooding from the gorge, overwhelming Ryubeom. The golden hue in his eyes dimmed with despair.

Not now.

“…Sir!”

He heard Yeowhi’s shout from the other side. It seemed Yeowhi was descending quickly, but Ryubeom’s gaze was fixed on the darkness ahead, unable to turn away, staring blankly at the Changgui. Resentment toward him drew closer.

Ryubeom flinched as a skeletal black hand brushed against his face.

“…?”

But when it touched him, confusion surfaced on Ryubeom’s face. When one fears something intensely, they paradoxically become very familiar with it.

This wasn’t a Changgui.

The gestures of Changgui, filled with hatred and resentment as they clung to a tiger, weren’t like this. They didn’t just attack blindly, nor did they brush past weakly. The golden hue returned to Ryubeom’s eyes.

The darkness in front of him was a mimicry of Changgui.

Suddenly, Ryubeom realized that the presence he sensed in the mountains that morning was this entity. It had intentionally mimicked Changgui, knowing Ryubeom feared them, and there was only one reason for that.

The tracking had correctly led to their base.

While the entity intended to hold him back here to hide their base, Ryubeom saw an opportunity instead.

Without hesitation, Cheon Ryubeom reached into the darkness.