TGHD Ch20

It looked as if Ryubeom was grabbing the neck of a Changgui, but the darkness in his hand eventually changed form. In the misshapen face, he could faintly see feathers.

A bird beast.

The pitch-black shape appeared burnt, but Ryubeom sensed something different. If it had been burned, the feathers wouldn’t be intact. So, this was a bird with black feathers… a crow?

[Aaaaargh!]

As soon as he vaguely identified the form, a sudden scream echoed. Sharp pain surged through his hand, making Ryubeom groan and momentarily loosen his grip, at which point it vanished like smoke. He checked his hand while tracking the direction the smoke flowed.

There was a wound on the back of his hand, as if clawed by a bird’s sharp talons. A wound inflicted by a ghost was unlike a regular wound. It rapidly turned black, festering as if decaying.

“Sir! Are you okay?”

Yeowhi approached just in time. Given the speed he arrived, it was evident he had descended through the gorge. Ryubeom nodded roughly, but Yeowhi grabbed his hand.

“Your hand is injured.”

“It’s nothing.”

“If you’re injured by strong ghost energy, you might have to amputate it.”

Though Yeowhi was genuinely worried, Ryubeom’s mind was elsewhere. He wanted to follow the direction where the smoke disappeared. As he tried to move, Yeowhi held his hand again, then firmly gripped it and walked ahead. Yeowhi flinched but soon followed silently.

The smoke had disappeared below a hill. When Ryubeom reached the edge and looked down, he saw a two-story house not far away. The area looked desolate, as if abandoned long ago.

There.

He was certain as soon as he saw it. It was not just an abandoned house but a haunted one. Normally, an old abandoned house would be overgrown with weeds and show signs of animals passing through—birds, stray dogs, cats, and so on. Being near the mountains, it should have been frequented by wildlife. Yet, there were no animal traces, and the grass was blackened and dead.

Focusing his spiritual energy, he saw the house was covered in a thick, dark aura, making it difficult to discern its shape.

“That’s definitely the ghost’s base. And that ghost seems to be a crow beast.”

“Hmmm, crows are spiritual creatures, so a vengeful one could become a powerful evil spirit. But can we enter now? The energy is overwhelming…”

“I never expected to capture it right away. I just wanted to confirm something.”

“Besides the base’s location?”

Ryubeom nodded.

“I wondered if the ghost was many acting as one or one acting as many. I figured it out earlier. It mimicked dozens of Changgui, but each had a different aura… I think other ghosts are gathering around the main body.”

It was awkward when it first tried to mimic other ghosts, so it was caught. Moreover, Ryubeom had seen its ‘main body’—the strongest ghost among them, the crow beast. He hadn’t clearly seen its form yet.

“I wanted to know why it’s grown stronger recently, but I still don’t know. I thought it might have started around the time of the fire at the villa, but it doesn’t seem related…”

Earlier today, they questioned the real estate agent about the fire but found no clues linking it to the recent surge in ghostly power.

Until a few months ago, the spirits seemed like pranksters. Even at the Garam household, where people weren’t afraid of ghosts, they caused a ruckus. Despite the chaos, there were no fatalities in the past decade, but the energy they faced earlier was intense.

It was strong enough to kill someone, and the grudge was powerful enough to rot a tiger beast’s arm.

“Could it be due to the intertwining of various energies? Maybe the main spirit’s grudge has become diluted.”

“That’s possible, but what I find most curious is the ‘main body’ itself.”

“…Is there an issue with the main body?”

“Is it really a child at the center? If so, the ghostly energy should be strongest near the villa where the child died. But it’s stronger here.”

With this peculiar thought, Ryubeom moved. The energy around the house was too intense to enter immediately, but he intended to at least approach the front door.

This house was grander and more luxurious than any they’d seen in Hyojomyeon. Who could have owned such a place in this village? Perhaps a wealthy figure like Mr. Kwon, who was said to have been influential in the area…

While pondering, he reached the front door. As he was about to touch the door with tension, a sudden tremor ran through the air. The energy exploded, not in resistance to him, but…

“…The sound of a bell?”

Faint singing and praying came from the right side, as if a large group was approaching. Ryubeom’s attention shifted to that direction. But before he could examine it closely, the darkness surrounding the house began to whirl.

With a roar, the darkness rose like a vortex. In the chaos of dozens of spirits, Ryubeom heard a voice from ‘it.’

[Kill them first…]

Then, with a screech, it flew toward the source of the bell sound. The violent rush of vengeful spirits pushed Ryubeom back. Unfortunately, he was too close to the door.

“Careful.”

Yeowhi gently caught Ryubeom, preventing him from falling. For a moment, Ryubeom, shocked, felt a disconnect from all the spiritual energy. Despite the powerful spirits passing by, it was calm in Yeowhi’s embrace.

But Ryubeom quickly regained his composure. Now wasn’t the time to savor the moment in Yeowhi’s arms.

“An adult!”

“…What?”

“I heard its voice just now! It wasn’t a child’s, but an adult woman’s voice!”

It was brief but clear. Not the bright voice of a child, but the calm voice of an adult, mixed with sorrow and anger.

He recalled what the real estate agent had said earlier that morning.

‘There was a beastman among the servants working at Mr. Kwon’s house. It was a bird beast… I think that lady’s daughter entered the villa and had an accident.’

There are words to describe a child who has lost their parents, but it is said that the pain of a parent who has lost a child is so great that no word can dare describe it. Ryubeom sighed as he looked at the house in front of him.

Although the group of ghosts had left, a thick darkness still clung to the area around the house. This indicated the depth of the resentment lingering in this place…

“We need to head in the direction they moved.”

There were still unresolved questions. He also needed to find out what the sudden bell sound was. As Ryubeom was about to dash off, his phone rang just as he took a step. It was a call from Garam.

“Sir! Did you feel the commotion just now?! Something pitch-black flew across the night sky…!”

Her voice was somewhat hoarse as if she had just woken up, but the shock she had felt was clear. She mentioned that there had been a huge tremor, as if there had been an earthquake throughout Hyojomyeon, waking up all the residents and causing them to murmur in concern.

Ryubeom, though flustered, answered that he had seen it. He had a question for Garam anyway.

But before he could ask about the ‘house,’ Garam blurted out excitedly.

“They’ve brought several shamans from the neighboring town to perform an exorcism!”

Ryubeom’s eyes widened. The bell, the singing, and the praying he had heard earlier were all sounds made by the shamans and the people following them? He quickly asked with a serious face.

“Where are they now?”

***

The location Garam provided was near the local administrative office. By the time Ryubeom and Yeowhi arrived, many people had already gathered, engaging in various discussions.

“How can you show up in the middle of the night making such a racket?!”

“What do you expect us to do when you’re handling this so passively? Should we just stand by and let our town be labeled as haunted?!”

“We’re pooling our money to solve this problem, so what’s the issue? Shouldn’t you be grateful instead?”

The people standing against the residents of Hyojomyeon were from the neighboring town, Dongjang-eup. They claimed they had come to deal with the strange phenomena that had spread from part of Hyojomyeon to the entire area, intending to address it before it affected Dongjang-eup as well. They confidently asserted that they had brought highly reputable shamans and that once the issue was resolved, only a small fee for their gratitude would be required.

The residents of Hyojomyeon exchanged peculiar glances with one another. Though it was baffling to be asked to pay for the trouble after they had suddenly shown up to perform an exorcism, it wasn’t entirely a bad proposition. It might be wise to accept the offer to collaborate with Dongjang-eup since it was challenging for Hyojomyeon residents alone to afford reputable shamans.

As the atmosphere began to settle, the shamans stepped forward.

“Tonight was to assess the strength of the spirits. We will begin the full exorcism tomorrow at midnight…”

“Your cooperation is crucial. Since all of Hyojomyeon is tainted by evil spirits, we will need to pray together tomorrow to restore the land’s energy…”

Cheon Ryubeom stood at a distance, watching the situation with a blank expression. It felt oddly surreal, and he merely blinked as the shamans finished speaking and started handing out talismans to the residents. A man, presumably the shaman’s apprentice, was going around greeting everyone.

To Ryubeom’s surprise, the man approached him last, bowed, and greeted him.

“Sir, are you a beastman?”

“…Yes?”

“Your transformation is so perfect that I cannot tell your species, but I sensed an extraordinary aura from afar. If you have also come to Hyojomyeon to expel evil, we would be honored and reassured to have your assistance.”

Ryubeom, bewildered, accepted the talisman handed to him. The man bowed deeply again and returned to his original place. A shaman, who seemed to be his master, gave Ryubeom a slight nod of acknowledgment.

Yeowhi, looking at the talisman in Ryubeom’s hand, smiled with satisfaction.

“He has a keen eye, asking for your help, sir.”

“…Can they really perform the exorcism?”

“Hmm, they might not be able to do it alone, but with your help, it becomes a possibility.”