The Night of the Snake Ghosts

"Alright everyone, now that Shaman Kang Suho has arrived, let's all have a drink! A toast to Team Leader Nam, who generously permitted this legal drinking under the pretext of adapting to local conditions!"

Squad Member Lee Jun looked like the most excited one by far.

He gripped an Angkor beer bottle in each hand, circling the table and cheerfully filling every glass.

Thirty or so burly special forces operatives clinked their drinks with raucous energy, snacking on chicken and lok lak—a Cambodian stir-fried beef dish.

I claimed a corner table and took a swallow of my lukewarm beer.

"Ahh, in a hot, humid country like this, beer really is better than water," Team Leader Nam Gyuho joked from across the table, his face already flushed red.

Beside him, Daoist Kim had leaned his worn bamboo staff against the table and was vigorously tearing into a chicken leg, traditional hat still firmly on his head.

Diagonally across from me sat Samada Miku, wearing an Adidas tracksuit jacket and a tiny skirt, legs elegantly crossed.

She had returned ahead of us after she and the guardian spirit elder finished purging the villa's curse.

"Mr. Kang Suho. Would you like more appetizers? If the food doesn't suit you, I can prepare some instant noodles."

"No need. I'll eat any meat just fine."

Detective Nam ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kept sending me reverent glances he couldn't quite hide.

Ever since I'd swept away that vicious killing aura with a single gesture back at the hospital, he had begun treating me with something close to religious worship.

But there was one person who found Nam Gyuho's blatant groveling irritating.

"Heh heh. Team Leader Nam. I understand showing respect to someone who's earned special-class certification despite his youth, but if the team leader prostrates himself too obviously, won't it harm the special forces' dignity?"

Daoist Kim tossed the chicken bone onto his plate with a clack and stroked his beard.

His snake-like narrowed eyes slid up and down my frame.

"Kang, was it? I hear you're skilled with talismans, yet your spiritual depth doesn't look particularly impressive to me. You didn't pull some trick to deceive the National Safety Association's grading device, did you?"

Open provocation and contempt.

As the sole first-class shaman in the special forces, Daoist Kim clearly didn't like that a green kid like me had dropped in from nowhere and immediately received special-class treatment.

I gave a small smirk and swirled my beer glass.

"Daoist Kim. Isn't trickery also a form of skill? By the way, you seem remarkably relaxed. Not a single defensive talisman in sight, and you've completely neglected any preparations against shamanic attacks. Wasn't that supposed to be your job?"

The restaurant's atmosphere instantly froze at my reply.

Lee Jun cleared his throat in panic while Detective Nam rolled his eyes, completely at a loss.

"Y-you... what an insolent whelp! Do you even understand what a defensive talisman is? With my foresight, nothing will happen today!"

Daoist Kim jabbed a finger at me and raised his voice.

At that moment, Miku, who had stayed silent, rested her chin on her hand and quietly cut in.

"Daoist Kim, you've had too much to drink and your words are too sharp. Please understand, Suho. He's just very tired today."

Of course, the elder's gaze soon shifted to me and transformed into an exaggerated prostration.

"Hmph. What would a little girl know? How dare someone who only commands Japanese minor gods with shikigami techniques presume to speak of the profound depths of authentic Daoist tradition!"

Daoist Kim ignored even Miku's words. He stood up, fuming.

"Tsk. The beer has lost all its flavor. I'll go use the restroom."

"Be careful not to piss yourself, Daoist Kim."

"What the hell should I be careful of?! Gah!!"

He slammed his bamboo staff against the floor and stormed out into the hallway.

Team Leader Nam turned to me with an awkward expression, attempting to smooth things over.

"Ah... Mr. Kang. Daoist Kim is from the old generation, so his pride is rather strong. He doesn't mean any ill will, so if you could be magnanimous..."

"I don't care. More importantly, Team Leader Nam."

I set my beer glass down and stared out at the Cambodian night streets beyond the window.

"Haven't you noticed anything strange?"

Team Leader Nam's eyes widened.

I rested my chin on the windowsill, the corner of my mouth lifting indifferently.

"Fifty meters around the hotel—not a single ant is moving. This is the heart of Phnom Penh."

"W-what do you..."

"A barrier has been erected. And it carries the stench of some truly disgusting shamanic technique."

The instant the words left my mouth, the fluorescent lights on the restaurant ceiling began flickering madly.

Crackle! Snap!

"W-what the hell? Power outage?"

Startled by my warning, Nam Gyuho shot to his feet.

"All units, weapons ready! A shamanic barrier has been deployed!"

The special forces members moved with trained precision, drawing pistols and flipping tables to create cover.

But nothing was visible to them yet.

Only my spiritual eyes could clearly see the hundreds of black snake-shaped spirits slithering toward the hotel.

These crazy bastards. Launching a shamanic terror attack on a hotel where foreign special police were staying, right in the capital of Cambodia.

'No. I'm in a foul mood anyway. Time to stretch my legs.'

If it was the Miao clan's poison arts, the odds were high it belonged to the Chinese Triad. They must have seen our team—dispatched to rescue Woo Minjung—as a thorn in their side and decided to strike first.

"Team Leader Nam, keep all personnel inside the restaurant. Gather every squad member from their rooms as well. And do not draw your firearms. They won't work against shamanic entities anyway."

I rose slowly from my chair.

"M-Mr. Kang! Where are you going?!"

"The restroom. It would be inconvenient if Daoist Kim dies while taking a piss."

Hands in my pockets, I strolled leisurely down the darkened hallway.

'Yes, Master.'

White spider silk shot from my direction and layered itself thickly across the window like a shutter. It looked exactly like a web-shooter.

"Whoa!!"

The special forces members burst into cheers.

I smirked.

'Yes, Master.'

"Oh my god..."

"Spider silk is shooting from his hand?"

"Shaman Kang, can you do web-swinging too?"

I waved them off with a light laugh. Looked like I'd been misunderstood in an unexpected way.

Miku quietly stood to follow me, but I stopped her with a gesture.

"Miku, stay back. Summon the White Wolf and protect the squad members."

"Tch— Mr. Perfect."

Miku pouted, but her eyes widened at the sight of the spirit-infused spider silk sealing the window.

I sealed the remaining entrances with more webs on my way out.

The moment I stepped into the hallway, the air felt completely different. The technique was nearly complete.

A rotten-blood stench that stung the lungs. The turbid malevolent energy unique to Miao poison arts carpeted the hallway floor.

Shaaaaaaaah—!

Dozens of translucent black snakes coiled in the darkness, then reared their heads toward me.

Beasts baring venomous fangs, lunging to bite my ankles.

"What a disgusting carpet."

I didn't dodge.

The instant the snakes touched me—

Hssssssss!

"Kieeeeeeek!"

Like water hitting a scorching frying pan, the snake ghosts screamed and evaporated into white smoke the moment they made contact with my body.

"You all... die the moment you touch me."

These minor spirits were nothing more than moths to a flame.

I casually stepped on the burning remains of the snakes and headed for the restroom at the end of the corridor.

"U-uaaaaagh! Begone! You filthy demons!"

From inside the restroom came Daoist Kim's desperate screams.

Bang!

When I roughly flung the door open, the scene inside was a disaster.

The floor, walls, and even the ceiling were crawling with black snake ghosts.

The mirror above the sink was shattered, and the stall door had been ripped off.

And in the center of it all.

Daoist Kim sat on the floor in a ridiculous state—hat knocked off, hair disheveled, pants zipper not even pulled up.

He was desperately swinging his old bamboo staff to fend off the approaching spirits, but his energy seemed depleted; the faint glow at the tip of the staff was flickering out.

"K-Kang...!"

Tears welled in Daoist Kim's eyes the moment he saw me.

The arrogant dignity of the old man who had lectured me in the restaurant was gone. He looked like a pitiful puppy surrounded by a pack of venomous snakes.

"See? I told you that you might die while taking a piss."

I smirked, leaning against the restroom entrance with one leg crossed.

"S-save... save me! I was blind in my old age! Please, drive these monsters away!"

Pride forgotten, the old man whose life hung in the balance begged me desperately.

Yellow urine trickled between his legs, wetting the tiled floor.

He had actually pissed himself.

"Save you? The man who was lecturing me about the profound depths of authentic Daoist tradition is now pissing himself surrounded by a bunch of Miao minor spirits. I don't think it's my place to interfere."

At my sarcasm, Daoist Kim's face twisted with shame, but he couldn't even retort with the snake ghosts lunging for his throat.

"Kuaaaagh! I'm going to get bitten! Please... Mr. Kang!"

"Tsk. Can't be helped."

When I pulled out a thick bundle of Bibu-cham from my pocket, Daoist Kim's eyes bulged.

"No... that's the Mudang faction's Bibu-cham? Not one, but... dozens? No, hundreds?"

His astonished eyes looked ready to tear apart.

Being from the Daoist tradition, he seemed to recognize Mudang techniques.

I hurled the bundle into the air.

"Go. Annihilate every last snake ghost."

The yellow talismans floating in the air began to streak through the space like living blades.

Shweeeeeeeeeeeek!!

Golden afterimages followed their paths as they targeted the spirits.

Every snake ghost struck by a talisman spewed black smoke and vanished instantly.

Watching this, Daoist Kim's mouth fell open and his breathing grew ragged.

"Impossible..."

The Bibu-cham moved with zero deviation, butchering only the snake ghosts ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with surgical accuracy.

The head of a snake that had reached right in front of Daoist Kim's nose was sliced cleanly off and dropped to the floor with a wet plop.

"H-huk..."

In just five seconds.

Daoist Kim stared at the spectacle, completely stupefied.

The snake ghosts that had filled the restroom were now nothing but black dust, and the countless Bibu-cham flew out into the night sky.

'Yes, Master.'

"Manifest."

The moment the colossal spider appeared, Daoist Kim—who had been trying to stand on wobbling legs—screamed and fell back on his ass.

"Ch-Ch-Ch-Cheonryeongjijuuuuuu?!"

His pointing finger spun in circles in the air.

The whites of his eyes showed prominently and foam gathered at the corners of his mouth.

'Yes, Master.'

"Daoist Kim. Just follow Mongsil."

"Hic... hic... hic."

He nodded rapidly while hiccupping.

The yellow stain on his pants grew noticeably darker.

"Impossible... impossible... impossible..."

Daoist Kim muttered in a trembling voice.

When Mongsil's fluffy giant arm gave his shoulder a couple of pats, the old man shuddered violently.

"I was wrong! I was wrong!"

"Daoist Kim. Follow the spider, please."

"Yes!! Yes!! Understood!! Yes!!!!"

In the end, he followed Mongsil toward the restaurant as if in a trance.

'Don't worry. I've figured out how to use it.'

I summoned Yuri—the semi-transparent blue dagger stored in my dantian that devoured half my spiritual energy every time it appeared.