Kang Rokgi is the Culprit

The streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, were sinking into darkness.

Even after sunset, the midday heat clung stubbornly to the asphalt like a sticky film.

Above that scorching warmth—hot enough to burn through the soles of sneakers—the mingled scents of spices from street vendors preparing for the evening rush and clouds of exhaust fumes rose into the air.

A chaotic street where blaring horns assaulted the ears.

I slipped a cheap local cigarette I’d bought at a convenience store between my lips.

In Korea, smoking while walking would be unthinkable, but here in Cambodia, everyone from tuk-tuk drivers to uniformed schoolkids casually lit up right on the street.

I decided to walk back to my lodging at a leisurely pace.

An hour and a half on foot.

Click. Hiss—

The lighter flame flared, turning the tip of the cigarette a glowing red.

I drew the harsh smoke deep into my lungs, then exhaled it in a long plume into the air.

This disordered, sticky atmosphere was exactly what I needed to calmly cool the whirlwind inside my head.

I began pulling out the fragments I had extracted from Nurse Liu Xiaoyan and fitting them together, one by one.

My father had become a half-human half-shikigami in Cambodia and died shortly afterward.

And the two people who came to see him were Chairman Kang Rokgi and Chief of Staff Park Taejun.

Those two facts became the first knot that finally unraveled the tangled thread I had been struggling with.

At first I had assumed it was Park Taejun’s solo coup.

I thought he had dragged the Triads and Zhang Chen into turning our entire family into half-human half-shikigami, ultimately transforming even Kang Rokgi—the owner of Samjung Group—into a shikigami so he could swallow the company whole.

“No. It doesn’t add up.”

I muttered to myself as I walked through the exhaust fumes belched out by passing tuk-tuks.

“If Park Taejun planned to turn Kang Rokgi into a shikigami, why bother summoning my father to Cambodia first? My father was an illegitimate child completely cut out of Samjung’s succession line.”

Master. From Park Taejun’s perspective, is it not possible he used your father as a test subject for the half-human half-shikigami procedure?

Mongsil, hiding in my hair, sent the telepathic message.

“Test subject? The Miao shamans of the Triads already perfected the spell. Using Samjung blood as a guinea pig would carry far too much risk.”

I took another deep drag on the cigarette and kept walking.

“The reason my father died wasn’t Park Taejun’s coup. This… was Kang Rokgi’s will.”

Among murder motives, the most common is simple: lust.

Kang Rokgi is a sex-obsessed monster who turns his daughters-in-law into personal fuck toys.

A degenerate who summons five famous celebrities to his villa for drug-fueled orgies.

Even though his face appeared clearly in the leaked sex video, he buried the scandal by claiming it was AI-generated.

“A dog that can’t stop eating shit. Fuck.”

But something felt off.

If this was a lust-driven murder targeting Woo Minjung, there would have been no need to drag her all the way to Cambodia and turn her into a half-human half-shikigami.

Staging an accident back in Korea would have been enough.

“Hmm.”

Let’s rebuild the hypothesis from the beginning.

We now had proof that my father had been made a half-human half-shikigami.

And somewhere near Kang Rokgi was a monstrous sorcerer capable of casting a disaster-grade curse.

To unleash a disaster-grade curse, the caster had to be at least Spirit Class.

“If a sorcerer of that caliber is protecting him… turning Chairman Kang Rokgi into a half-human half-shikigami would be impossible. Park Taejun cannot touch him. That much is certain.”

Or perhaps Park Taejun had simply misjudged the protector’s power.

“No. Park ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Taejun is an exceptionally capable chief of staff. He wouldn’t make that kind of error.”

……Half-human half-shikigami.

There were far easier spells to dominate a living person.

Gu poison existed. So ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠did techniques to turn people into living corpses—jiangshi.

Why use the notoriously difficult half-human half-shikigami ritual?

What if turning the target into a shikigami wasn’t the final goal?

“What if the half-human half-shikigami state is only the beginning of the spell…?”

I remembered Miku sucking my cock like a mindless doll.

She had been moving on pure instinct while under the curse.

“Soul Transfer Technique. The real objective was the soul transfer.”

The words that left my mouth made Mongsil flinch inside my hair.

Soul Transfer—a forbidden spell that transfers one’s soul into another body to achieve immortality.

The ritual required a close blood relative as a sacrifice to have any real chance of success.

And there existed a variant that operated specifically from a half-human half-shikigami state.

“It was Ihon-hwansin-sul—Soul Transfer Body Swap.”

Exactly! Ihon-hwansin-sul! Now the reason they needed the half-human half-shikigami technique makes sense!

“That old bastard Kang Rokgi is over ninety this year. No matter how many elixirs and transfusions of young blood he takes, his lifespan has a clear limit. The old man I saw at the funeral parlor had the vengeful spirits of the dead clinging to him like barnacles. Proof that he’s forcibly extending his life.”

I flicked the spent cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it beneath my shoe.

Every puzzle piece was now clicking perfectly into place.

Kang Rokgi needed a young body.

His legitimate sons already held key positions in the group; if any of them vanished, the world’s eyes would turn toward Samjung.

But my father? A completely discarded illegitimate child. The perfect sacrifice who could die unnoticed in Cambodia.

“Kang Rokgi turned my father into a half-human half-shikigami to loosen the soul bond, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠then attempted the soul transfer. It failed, and my father died.”

That was why the old man had come to Cambodia himself—to inspect the condition of his new vessel.

And once my father was dead, the next target naturally became me—someone who shared the same blood.

That greedy gaze at the funeral home, scanning me from head to toe while licking his lips.

It wasn’t the look of a grandfather regarding his grandson. It was the look of a predator choosing fresh meat from a display case.

“Fucking old monster…”

Then why did he kidnap Woo Minjung and Kang Minah? Those females share no blood with Kang Rokgi.

Mongsil’s sharp question. I, too, had momentarily stalled on that exact point.

“Woo Minjung matches Kang Rokgi’s tastes. After stealing my body and regaining his youth, he probably planned to use her as a toy. He turned her into a half-human half-shikigami in advance to train her as an obedient puppet.”

I pulled out a fresh cigarette and lit it.

“The real problem is Kang Minah. She was cursed with ‘lust killer’—the technique that seduces me so she can drain my vital essence. If Kang Rokgi wants my body, why ruin it by having her suck out my life force?”

I stared blankly at the lighter’s flame.

Beyond it, Park Taejun’s sharp eyes floated into view.

“Desire was clashing with desire.”

When I muttered the words, Mongsil sounded puzzled.

Clashing?

“Kang Rokgi wants my body. But Park Taejun doesn’t. Park Taejun wants to devour Samjung Group itself.”

I quickened my steps, slicing through the humid Cambodian air.

“If Kang Rokgi takes my body and becomes young again, Park Taejun would be stuck as that old man’s secretary for the rest of his life. He had to stop it. So on the surface he pretended to assist with the soul transfer while secretly bringing in Zhang Chen and the Triads.”

Park Taejun had tried to do something to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me before Kang Rokgi could claim my body.

The tool for that had been Kang Minah.

By having her drain my vital essence and turn me into a shikigami, he could introduce a fatal variable into Kang Rokgi’s ritual.

If successful, control of Samjung’s succession would fall into Park Taejun’s hands.

“And the Triads. They planned to dip their spoon into this muddy fight. If Samjung fell to Park Taejun, they would control a Korean megacorporation from the shadows.”

Kang Rokgi’s soul transfer.

Park Taejun’s betrayal and takeover.

The Triads’ cartel expansion.

These three colossal desires had tangled together and dragged our family into hell in Cambodia.

Hehehe… This Mongsil is so impressed by Master’s insight that I’m practically slapping my knee in admiration! How can you see through the ugly hearts of humans so clearly?

“It’s merely the theory of innate human evil being proven. Faced with desire, humans become far more vicious beasts than any ghost.”

I smiled bitterly and exhaled a long stream of smoke.

The entire picture had become crystal clear.

There was no longer any reason to stay on the defensive. If they had set the board, I would simply flip the whole table over.

It was then.

As I entered the city center, a massive electronic billboard on the outer wall of a huge complex shopping mall caught my eye.

Flashy CG effects danced across the screen while subtitles in Khmer and English flickered brightly.

A smiling photograph of Chairman Kang Rokgi appeared on the rapidly changing display.

“What the hell? Why is Kang Rokgi—”

I lifted my smartphone, turned on the translation app, and pointed the camera at the screen.

“…Shaman Survival?”

I frowned at the translated text.

The embedded Nflix logo suggested this was a massive variety program being broadcast worldwide.

An announcement scrolled by stating that the Cambodia preliminaries would begin next week.

Master, Yeouiju? That is an absurd reward. It is the concentrated spiritual mass an Imugi embraces to become a dragon… If that is genuine, every renowned Spirit Class shaman on the planet will lose their minds and come running!

Mongsil excitedly stomped her bell-adorned front legs inside my hair.

“Has that old bastard Kang Rokgi gone insane? Why is he suddenly gathering shamans from every corner of the globe?”

I stared at the flashy footage on the billboard, lost in thought.

Kang Rokgi was a ruthless businessman. Offering an executive seat, ten billion won, and even the ridiculous treasure known as Yeouiju meant he intended to reap a far greater profit.

The blood, flesh, and spiritual energy of the shamans.

A horrifying hypothesis flashed through my mind.

If Kang Rokgi planned to perform the soul transfer into my body, he would need far stronger sacrifices and spiritual power than when he failed with my father.

“This survival show… isn’t mere entertainment. It’s a meticulously prepared ritual to switch into my body. He’s gathering the world’s strongest shamans to grind them into fuel.”

The unknown sorcerer supporting Kang Rokgi from the shadows.

It was highly likely that bastard had proposed this horrific event while evading Park Taejun’s eyes.

“This just got interesting.”

I smirked and opened the Korean Nflix site on my phone.

As expected, they were running a massive recruitment campaign under the title Shaman Survival: God’s Representatives.

Master. You are not seriously planning to walk straight into that trap, are you?

At Mongsil’s cautious question, I pressed the “Apply” button without hesitation.

“Kang Rokgi doesn’t know I’m a shaman. The moment the prey he thought he could devour turns out to be a powerful sorcerer, the hidden puppet master behind him will have no choice but to reveal himself. I want to meet the real sorcerer—the one who’s been acting as Samjung Group’s shadow ruler while pretending to be its number one executive.”

Kyah… Master, you truly are the greatest! The opponent cannot touch you, yet you can beat them one-sidedly?

“Exactly. And… I don’t mind letting the soul transfer hit me at the very end.”

Hehehe. How wicked, Master. You will pretend to be overtaken, then annihilate him the moment he enters your body.

“And stealing the Yeouiju before I run off doesn’t sound bad either.”

I stood in the middle of the Cambodian night streets and smiled coldly.

I filled in the fields and pressed send.

Kang Rokgi’s soul transfer.

Park Taejun’s betrayal.

The Triads’ ambition.

If all these bastards had built their board with me at its center, it was now my turn to rewrite the rules.

“Just wait, you sons of bitches.”

I blew the last of the cigarette smoke toward the night sky and turned my steps toward the hotel.

The lodging was a hotel near the Korean embassy.

It was already past ten at night, yet the restaurant on the first floor was boiling with the heat of the special forces operatives.

Loud chatter. The clink of glasses.

What was going on?

Were they throwing a drinking party under the excuse of local adaptation?

It was then that I felt it.

Suspicious traces of sorcery surrounding the hotel.

A highly organized, sticky, viscous evil presence.

Our special forces members were happily drinking, completely unaware.

Mongsil. Check the surroundings, will you? Something feels off.

Understood.

Mongsil hopped away and quickly vanished from sight.

My instincts had never been wrong.

Something was encircling the hotel.