Chapter 53
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: City of Mist
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The Fixer's beloved mount, Bboongbboong, couldn't go to the shrine.
The village housing the Lunar Blossom Sect's shrine was protected by a powerful barrier. Any weak anomaly would be obliterated before it could even cross it.
Besides, ordinary vehicles couldn't even find the village in the first place. So the Fixer and the Taoist had to follow the designated route.
"So we have to take an intercity bus, right?"
"That's correct. That's why I rarely go back home. I hate taking the bus."
The Fixer arrived at the Seoul Express Bus Terminal with the Taoist.
It was crowded from the morning, and among the people were a few sorcerers hiding their identities.
They disguised themselves as ordinary folk, but they couldn't fool the Fixer's eyes.
"Please stay vigilant until we're on the bus. Because it's such a hard place to access, there are always those who try to sneak on board in disguise."
"Just like you said, Taoist, I can already spot some outsiders."
From the morning, sorcerers wandered the area, searching for shamans heading to the Lunar Blossom Sect's home base.
The sect called them outsiders.
On the way to the terminal, Moon Seon-woo the Taoist had explained to the Fixer that these outsiders were trying to tail shamans into the shrine village.
Their motives varied.
It could be for personal gain, or they might want the Lunar Blossom Sect to fall.
Either way, since many approached with impure intentions, they had to board the bus without falling for the outsiders' tricks.
"You remember the destination, right?"
"Yes. And I know I can't forget it."
The two entered the terminal and headed straight for the ticket counter.
To get there, they had to use window number 4 without fail.
Using any other window or the kiosk meant they couldn't buy tickets to that place. No other outlets sold routes to it.
"Welcome. Where are you headed?"
"Has the mist cleared today?"
The female ticket agent kept her smile as she quickly checked the Fixer's face, then glanced at the people who had tailed them.
"The mist is still thick, sir. How many tickets?"
"Two. For me and this person."
"Got it. Have a safe trip."
The ticket agent handed over two pieces of paper with a different design from regular tickets, still smiling.
"Here you go. Don't lose them until you arrive. Got it?"
"I'll keep that in mind."
This was the pass to enter the City of Mist, Mujin City.
It was more like a city than a village, the birthplace of countless shamans.
It wasn't on any maps and was essentially extraterritorial.
They absolutely couldn't lose the ticket even after boarding the bus.
They had to hold onto it until reaching Mujin City.
If they lost it, they'd wander lost in the mist.
"The bus arrives at 8:13. Ten minutes left."
"Let's head to the boarding bay early."
The Fixer moved to bay 4 ahead of time with the Taoist.
Meanwhile, the number of people tailing them increased.
As the crowd thickened, the outsiders disguised themselves as passersby and closed in on the Fixer, soon right on his heels.
Did they think they hadn't been noticed?
"Oops, sorry..."
A man bumped into the Fixer as if passing by.
The Fixer grabbed his wrist tight, preventing escape.
In the man's hand was, predictably, the Mujin City ticket plucked from the Fixer's inner pocket.
"Th-this..."
The caught man tried to wriggle free, but before he could, the Fixer's gaze shattered his will.
"Ah..."
Overwhelming intimidation.
In that instant, the man who tried to steal the ticket faced a vast darkness.
He couldn't twitch a finger. Cold sweat poured out, his mind filled only with the urge to flee from the monster before him.
He felt like a frog before a snake.
The outsider, who had planned to snatch the ticket and run at the sight of his natural predator, collapsed foaming at the mouth without resistance.
The Fixer left the trembling man and continued following Moon Seon-woo.
"Another one tailing us?"
"Yeah. Too many flies around."
As the Fixer and Moon Seon-woo neared bay 4, more people bound for Mujin City swarmed intensely.
Some hid in the crowd and fired killing intent; others drew small knives to stab the Fixer.
The attacks on the Fixer and the Taoist grew, all subtle to avoid detection by bystanders.
In the silent struggle, the Fixer subdued and dropped each approaching foe with a mere glance. Soon, bay 4 became a rest area for unconscious outsiders trying to board the Mujin bus.
Knocked out by the Fixer's gaze, terminal staff disguised as anomalies casually dragged them away.
"Where do they take them?"
"Probably confiscate their belongings and kick them out. They won't get back in for a while. But Fixer, what did you do...?"
"Subdued them with my gaze."
"Pardon...?"
The Fixer wished the dragged-off ones well.
Just then, the Mujin-bound bus pulled into bay 4.
The bus was shrouded in mist.
It appeared swirling mist defying physics.
Name: Mujin Bus
Threat Level: Incident-Class
Classification: Possession-Type, Object-Type, Boarding Anomaly
Habitat: The only transport for those heading to Mujin City
Exorcism Method: Destroy physically or close the express bus terminal's gates
For some reason, bystanders couldn't properly perceive the mist-shrouded bus.
The mist was an illusion to impair the senses of non-sorcerers.
A similar phenomenon had occurred at Ssangmun Women's University during the emerging academic festival, used to evacuate students.
Mist that blinds the eyes of heaven—heavenly obscurity.
The Mujin bus was veiled in heavenly obscurity.
"So the Mujin bus is an anomaly."
"It's artificially created, so as long as you have a ticket, it's not aggressive."
The Fixer boarded the Mujin bus, feeling like mounting Bboongbboong.
The driver's seat was empty, as expected. As the Taoist and Fixer boarded, the doors closed, and the bus departed for Mujin City.
The Fixer silently checked the window.
The bus swiftly left Seoul Express Bus Terminal, sped along the highway, and soon thickening mist obscured all outside views.
The bus headed into the hidden city of mist.
Gradually, it veered from reality. After passing three nameless tunnels, empty seats filled with passengers.
'Anomalies and sorcerers mixed together...'
As the Taoist had warned, passengers increased with each tunnel.
Whenever the bus interior plunged into darkness, boarders from somewhere filled seats.
Each flicker of the interior lights added anomalies one by one.
Over half the passengers weren't of this world; they were lost wanderers.
The anomalies prowling the bus were ticketless stowaways. Those who boarded without a Mujin ticket or had theirs stolen ended up like that.
Name: Mist Wanderer
Threat Level: Alert-Class
Classification: Thoughtform-Type, Wandering Spirit, Cursed Ghost
Habitat: Spirits of outsiders who failed to reach Mujin City
Exorcism Method: Exorcise or give them a ticket.
The mist wanderers' levels fluctuated between alert-class and incident-class.
Their threat depended on the grudge and power they held before death.
"Um... do you... have any... spare... bus tickets...?"
One wanderer approached the Fixer and thrust her face close.
Her eye sockets were hollow, writhing with maggots—a horrific sight. But to the Fixer, she just looked like a woman with poor complexion.
"No spare tickets. You can't walk around during operation."
"Ah... okay..."
The wanderer backed away in confusion at the Fixer's casual refusal and etiquette reminder, then sat in an empty seat.
She instinctively knew crossing that line meant no more wandering, so she hung her head and quieted.
"Taoist, is it okay to let these spirits roam? They might turn into evil ghosts."
"We exorcise them periodically before that. And the lighter offenders get rescued from the mist before dying, so no need to worry, Fixer."
In short, those who became wanderers were terrorists or killers in Mujin City.
The Lunar Blossom Sect's policy: let the innocents wander the mist for four days, then release. Punish the wicked harshly as examples.
The Fixer erased any pity and glared at the wanderers. They all meekly returned to their seats under his gaze.
Effect of intimidation buildup.
"Looks like we've arrived. The bus has stopped."
The Mujin bus came to a full stop, passengers began alighting, and wanderers vanished back into the mist.
"This is Mujin City."
"Yes. Welcome to Mujin City, Fixer."
Stepping off, a dim city unfolded before them, twilight blurring night and dawn.
People in hanbok walked about; children—or childlike spirits—played everywhere.
Mist shrouded the sky; far off, a tall mountain with a grand shrine midway up appeared in the small city.
The Fixer felt it resembled a rural, sparsely populated town.
"It wasn't always this big. It was a tiny village that grew through various incidents."
During wartime chaos.
Refugees and mixed-in sorcerers expanded it.
It had been truly minuscule before.
"More people than I expected."
"Most have never left Mujin City."
Walking streets evoking the 1980s vibe, the Fixer felt an odd nostalgia.
At 23, he'd never known it, yet it stirred unfamiliar past sentiments.
Isolated by barriers, time seemed frozen too.
Red mailboxes rare nowadays lined the roads, public phone booths too.
Turning toward a savory smell revealed a mill pressing sesame oil, next to a tofu shop and rice store.
The Fixer realized this was a stylized past preserved.
The streets recreated 1980s scenery from media almost perfectly.
"What a strange place."
"Means the elders are old."
Mujin City's managers were aged, so the city stagnated in the past.
The nostalgia wasn't bad, but its people might wait forever for a 21st century that never comes.
"Still, their strict retro policy leaves little room for media-type anomalies to infiltrate."
"That's a merit in its way."
"Exactly. With voice phishing anomalies nowadays, some say shunning new things is safer."
Mujin City's folk lived contentedly like this.
Recently, they sent out more local-born children, so no worry about a stalled future.
"Oh my, Mujin's pride! Daughter of the Lunar Blossom! Seon-woo's back!"
"Well now, said you wouldn't return till married. Who's that hunk? So handsome~!"
"Our Seon-woo's of marriageable age. Hehe. Homesick now it's time? Right?"
Heading to the shrine mountain, perm-headed ajummas burst from a salon, blocking the Fixer and Moon Seon-woo.
"Long time no see, but it's not like that. He's not my partner, so don't say such things."
"Eh? Even this handsome guy's not good enough?"
"Seon-woo's picky with men. Ignored Ho-jung who followed her everywhere."
"Still, this guy's way handsomer than Ho-jung. Looks are best. Right?"
"No, it's not..."
Moon Seon-woo rarely blushed, waving her hands.
The Fixer already had the White-Faced Bride as his partner—a calamity-class anomaly glued to his side. No room there.
Never imagining otherwise, she was flustered.
"Mothers, greetings later. We must hurry to the shrine, so..."
"Aw, our Seon-woo's shy. Still no guts with guys."
"Hehe. Alright, have fun~ Take care of our Seon-woo, hunk!"
The Fixer awkwardly bowed to the ajummas and hurried after Moon Seon-woo, who walked ahead.
"You're quite famous in Mujin City, Taoist. Everyone greets you."
"Not really."
"A child prodigy?"
"No. Just neighbors—next door, back yard, that sort."
From her words, the Fixer thought Mujin City wasn't so scary.
He'd expected hostility from the oracle, but contrary to fears, all were kind and peaceful.
"An oracle doesn't have to ruin daily life. Mujin's endured countless disasters steadfastly. They believe it'll pass uneventfully again."
"That's why the calm atmosphere."
"Yes. From the road to the shrine, more will wary of you, Fixer. Not all citizens are Lunar Blossom Sect."
Citizens living solely in Mujin ignored the oracle.
Seeing no threat to their lives, protected by the sect, they feared no oracle.
Those fearing it were the sect members facing the frontlines.
"Follow this path up to the shrine. Stick close so you don't get lost in the woods."
Soon, they reached the mountain path entrance to the shrine.
Lush trees, warning signs barring non-sect entry, and ritual ropes.
Even Mujin citizens stayed away. The mountains held sealed sect captures, plus defenses against approaching outsiders.
The Fixer followed Moon Seon-woo up the untamed path.