Soul Control
Thud!
Bone flung Heukgu to the floor, then primly turned his head and fixed Yeop Pung with a look.
"This Noble Doggy will keep it simple. Just tell that guy to explain it himself."
Hmm?
The two old men turned their eyes back to Yeop Pung.
Yeop Pung was smiling, easy and unbothered.
"This whole business started with this field rat here… Hmm? Bone, where did you throw Heukgu?"
Heukgu was black, and in a night that dark you could search the courtyard all you liked and still miss him unless you looked hard. A ragged wheezing drifted up from the ground. Drenched in Bone's drool, Heukgu barely managed to lift his head and glare at the dog behind him.
"B-Big Doggy… I-I'm not done with you…"
According to Yeop Pung's brisk little summary, Heukgu was a field rat he had happened to rescue on a previous trip to the back mountain. Unusual in origin, adorable in appearance, the creature had sworn to repay that kindness with its own body and become his spirit beast. As a bonus, the field rat had even thrown in a hundred-year-old herb garden.
Well. Wasn't that a perfectly airtight explanation?
Beside him, Bone's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
This little bastard… If you're going to lie, at least put some work into it!
Who takes a stroll up the back mountain and just happens to pick up a mystical beast that has already reached the Spirit Realm? And gets a herb garden as a parting gift on top of that? Since when had Cheonun's back mountain been so generous?
But the two old men across from them listened to Yeop Pung's account, glanced at each other, and smiled.
Lee Sujol spoke first.
"Heh heh. What a coincidence this world holds. Yeop Pung, your luck is truly extraordinary."
Yeop Pung scratched his head.
"I think so too."
Beside them, Bone was fairly certain his jaw was about to hit the floor.
These two… Don't tell me they actually believe that.
Maeng Chang-haeng came over, scooped Bone up in his arms, and let out a booming laugh.
"Haha! Bone, you had a rough time of it, heading out so late and dragging yourself back. Come on — I caught a nice fat, oversized rabbit today. Let's go roast it."
Who said I wanted rabbit!
Bone windmilled his front paws in protest.
"There's more — there's more! Spirit medicines… And that rat, that rat…"
"Let's go, Bone!"
Maeng Chang-haeng grabbed him by the scruff and hauled him off, still talking.
"I told you to keep your words concise. If you can't explain a thing properly, you're just wasting your breath. Yeop Pung! I'll call you when the rabbit's done roasting — hang tight!"
"Understood!"
Yeop Pung smiled. Across from him, Lee Sujol watched him with quiet, unreadable eyes.
Yeop Pung bent down, caught Heukgu by the tail, and offered Lee Sujol a light bow. Then he and Heukgu strolled back to the room as if they hadn't a care in the world.
From now on, I won't even need to invent stories. Both of them are sharp enough to see through it anyway.
The door clicked shut.
The moment Yeop Pung set Heukgu down on the bed, the field rat sat up with his spine ramrod straight, as if he already knew it was time to get to the point.
"Talk," Yeop Pung said, sitting across from him. "What happened in the months after I left."
"So much happened!"
Heukgu waved his tiny paws.
"I memorized every last divine art Master taught me, and I did a full sweep of the place with Brother Ho's pack. And the pretty young lady kept bringing osmanthus cakes — but there's been no news of that female rat you promised me…"
"If you keep wasting my time, I'll throw you to that dog for dinner."
"Nooo!!"
Heukgu immediately curled into a ball and stared up at Yeop Pung with terrified eyes.
"A-actually, Master, I don't really know what happened that night either…"
Yeop Pung's eyes narrowed.
"Just tell me what you know."
"Yes, sir!"
Heukgu clutched his head with both little paws, as if he had genuinely misplaced the memory, and thought as hard as he could.
"That night, Mount Tianyun suddenly went wild. Especially on the Cheonun Sect side — a lot of terrifying people came flying in, and one of them was insanely strong. Like he could split a mountain peak in two with a single sword…"
I knew it.
Yeop Pung's heart dropped.
It hadn't even been three months since I left… October 10th. The Tianyun Blood Night. The very day that invincible Emperor Shinmu split Mount Tianyun in two with a single sword.
"And then?" Yeop Pung pressed, his voice tight. "You were staying pretty far from Cheonun Sect. Don't tell me you got caught up in it."
"No!"
A sudden sadness crossed Heukgu's face.
"The… the pretty young lady…"
"What happened to Yun Hwan?"
"She was hurt really badly. She fled to our burrow alone…"
"Yun Hwan was hurt? So what happened after that?"
Yeop Pung's heart lurched again.
"And when she was almost dying, a black shadow appeared."
"A black shadow? What black shadow?"
"I don't know…"
Heukgu shrugged.
"I don't remember anything after that. When I opened my eyes, Master was there. Master… is it really a hundred years later now?"
Yeop Pung didn't answer.
All he wanted to know was what had happened to Yeom Woon-hwan on the Tianyun Blood Night a hundred years ago.
Who was the black shadow that had appeared so suddenly? Was the black energy inside Heukgu's body connected to that shadow?
Everything closed in on him like one vast riddle. Fortunately, he still had the key to unlock it. He already had a plan.
"Next time I travel, I'm going to October 10th. I have to find out exactly what happened."
"No."
Geumban appeared at once, cutting him off.
"You can't go."
"What?" Yeop Pung's eyes went wide. "Why not?"
"Ugh… Thanks for actually explaining this time, but I have no idea what that means."
"I didn't think you would. Anyway — just know you can't go to that day right now."
With that, Geumban fell silent.
Yeop Pung's brow knotted tight.
This is infuriating.
He already knew there was a high chance Yeom Woon-hwan was no longer alive in the present. If she had died a peaceful death, he might have been able to let it go. But to know she had clearly been in danger on October 10th, and to be able to do nothing about it — that was what tore at him.
Was Yun Hwan alive, or was she dead? Had that black shadow appeared to save her?
He wanted those answers so badly it hurt. He wanted to know whether any trace of Yeom Woon-hwan still remained in this age. But none of it would come until Geumban was strengthened again.
"Master…"
Watching Yeop Pung's expression keep shifting, Heukgu spoke up uneasily.
"Have I completed my mission now…? Please don't make me learn any more of you humans' divine arts…"
Yeop Pung let out a long breath and shoved the anxiety down for the moment. He looked at Heukgu again.
"You — don't you feel anything strange about your body?"
He had a rough picture of what had happened a hundred years ago. Now it was time to find out what Heukgu could actually do.
"Ah, that! Master, I've gotten stronger!"
Heukgu perked up at once and swung his tiny fists at Yeop Pung.
"I can see that much. You still got flattened by that dog in a heartbeat, though."
Heukgu wilted on the spot.
"That perverted mutt. Just you wait. Someday I'll piss right on his head."
"That's the spirit."
Yeop Pung meant it. He was genuinely looking forward to that day.
"Besides getting stronger — do you feel anything else?"
"There is! There is!"
Heukgu had been turning this over ever since Bone had him in his jaws. He opened his eyes wide and looked up at Yeop Pung.
"Master, I realized I've gained an incredible ability."
"What is it?"
Yeop Pung was interested now.
"I can control other people's souls!"
Heukgu blinked, all innocence.
What?
Even Yeop Pung, who was not easily rattled, felt a jolt go through him. Come to think of it, the first time he had looked into Heukgu's small black eyes, he had felt something like a soul trembling in their depths.
Don't tell me… he actually gained an ability like that?
"When you say control — you mean you can completely dominate another person's soul?"
"Of course!"
Heukgu wagged his tail, swelling with pride.
"Master, I'll show you right now."
"Good."
Yeop Pung nodded, then immediately drew up the golden Profound Qi inside him and wrapped it around his entire body.
Radiant gold surged through his meridians and sheathed him from head to toe — a living armor against whatever was coming.
He knew the golden Profound Qi could block Heukgu's soul-control. Other people would not be so lucky. If this was real, every ounce of hardship would have been worth it.
A black light erupted from Heukgu's body — the same mysterious dark energy Yeop Pung had sensed once before.
"Here it comes."
Yeop Pung drew a deep breath, steadied his mind, and prepared himself to take the full weight of Heukgu's power.
But a full minute passed, and nothing happened. Yeop Pung blinked.
"Heukgu? Your ability?"
"I'm showing it, Master. Can't you see?"
Heukgu had his teeth clenched, his whole face screwed up with effort.
See what?
Yeop Pung felt not the faintest tug on his soul.
"Here, Master — look here!"
Heukgu kept jabbing his nose downward. Yeop Pung followed the line of that tiny snout and studied the bedspread with care.
An ant was nodding at him. Over and over. It kept knocking its two little antennae together, straining with everything it had to ingratiate itself.
I actually got my hopes up.
Yeop Pung nearly flipped the entire bed.
"This is what you meant by controlling other people's souls?"
He ground his teeth, a glint of killing intent in his eyes.
"You seem to have a very profound misunderstanding of the words 'other people.' I told you to study. In the end you can't even tell a person from an ant?"
A burst of lightning exploded inside Yeop Pung's little room, bright enough to pierce the sky.
"Hmm? What's going on?"
Out in the courtyard, Old Man Maeng and Bone had the rabbit nearly finished and were about to call Yeop Pung over. Then a rolling KWA-KWA-KWANG of an explosion tore through the night.
The old man and the dog looked at each other.
"He goes that hard even on his own spirit beast?"
"Quit yapping and just sprinkle the seasoning."
Yeop Pung was furious. He was furious that Heukgu had explained himself so badly, wound his expectations tight, and then dropped them on the floor. What made him even angrier was that Heukgu — who had slept for a hundred years — had become ridiculously, absurdly strong.
Heukgu had taken a thorough beating from Yeop Pung's Thunder Roaring Palm, and aside from whimpering and puffing out white smoke, he was perfectly fine. The little wretch could even drop to his knees and fawn.
"Master, please don't be mad!"
"Write out the Thousand Character Classic a hundred times tonight."
Yeop Pung's voice was ice.
"You're kidding, right?"
"Do I look like I'm kidding?"
Heukgu started ramming his head into the wall. Every time his skull struck, another hole opened in the plaster.