Chapter 23
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 23
Ise and Seol Ryeong headed for the bamboo forest the broker had pointed out. It was a narrow mountain path on the edge of a hill that stretched from Namsan Valley toward Gwangjin Valley.
The air had just begun to carry a faint trace of demonic energy when Hong Sa-deuk, the Outer Gate affiliate, stopped in his tracks.
"My part ends here. If you need anything else during your mission, please don't hesitate to visit the outpost. I'll be on standby."
"Please conduct another round of interviews with those who encountered the demon ghost in Namsan Valley. We might have missed some information."
"Yes, I will do so."
"Thank you."
Hong Sa-deuk bowed politely and disappeared. The two turned their attention back to the path ahead.
There was no mistaking the demonic energy in this forest. Despite the clear, dry weather, a damp fog rose like a quiet sigh from the still woods.
Ise looked around at the trees. This bamboo forest was distinctly different from those he remembered from his childhood.
As they pushed deeper through the bamboo, the grating demonic energy grew thicker. And just as the man had claimed, there was no sound of a woman crying, yet a frigid chill still sent shivers down their spines.
"The chill is getting stronger. I think we're close. Be careful, Ise."
"Yeah. The demonic energy is concentrated right in the center. Let me stop and get a read on the situation."
"You can sense demonic energy that precisely?"
"I can. It's just my constitution."
"Can you gauge the amount of demonic energy, too?"
"It's faint. It matches the levels of a Grade 9 demon ghost, so the report's measuring device seems to have been accurate."
"Wow… A walking 'demonic energy meter' was right here all along…"
What a bizarre constitution, she thought, swallowing the rest of her words as she marveled in silence.
Taking up a position at a safe distance, Ise asked Seol Ryeong, "How do we hunt an evil spirit?"
"First, we perform an exorcism ritual to bind it and keep it from scattering, then we slice it with a specialized martial artifact. Here, take this Silver Iron Blade. When exorcising an evil spirit, you have to use an artifact with at least seventy percent silver content."
Ise gripped the short, silver-iron blade.
"If the evil spirit goes wild while I'm performing the ritual, cover me. They usually try to run, but if it's an earthbound spirit, it will attack."
"Got it. Let's move in when you're ready."
Seol Ryeong took a few deep breaths and swallowed hard. Their prey was merely a Grade 9 demon ghost, yet this was her first real combat hunt.
The Sixth Rule of Ghost Exorcism: No matter how weak the demon ghost, hunt it with everything you have.
Whenever an enemy's demonic energy felt trivial, Ise reminded himself of the Ten Commandments of Ghost Exorcism and the dismal one-year survival rate for new disciples of the Great Martial Dao.
The icy wind grew harsher as they drew closer to the source of the demonic energy. The direction of the wind was strange, swirling inward in a spiral within the forest.
Soon, Ise's eyes widened.
Bizarrely, what he had taken for wind possessed a form. No, to be precise, it possessed a color. Before he knew it, a pitch-black wind was hovering around him, sweeping past his sides.
"It's coming. Start."
At Ise's command, Seol Ryeong immediately slammed a pole-shaped martial artifact into the ground and began chanting a mantra.
Fwoooosh! An auspicious aura pushed back the malevolent energy, causing the wind to slowly retreat. But the black wind, which seemed to recoil for only a moment, suddenly surged toward him like a storm.
It was unmistakably the form of an evil spirit—a monster that was practically formless. It wasn't much different from the witnesses' descriptions.
However—
Something's wrong.
While most of the demonic energy in the bamboo forest was concentrated within the black fog, a faint thread stretched out from it, leading toward the heart of the forest. A thin, yet dense line of demonic energy.
Ise leaped up, dodging the fog as it rushed him. He immediately slashed with his Silver Iron Blade.
He felt no impact whatsoever. It was like swinging a sword through thin air. Contrary to what she’d said, the silver-iron had no effect on this evil spirit.
Rapidly putting distance between them, he glanced at Seol Ryeong, but she was completely absorbed in her chant. This time, he infused his hand with spiritual energy and struck at the fog, but again his hand passed through empty space. Nothing met his touch.
The dispersed fog instantly gathered again, drifting in midair.
"It has been a while since a human with such strong vitality has appeared."
A voice, startlingly human, emanated from the formless monster.
"A low-grade demon ghost can talk?" Ise asked in surprise.
Just then, Seol Ryeong's sharp voice cut through from behind him. "Ise! The binding spell isn't working!"
At that moment, the black wind transformed into the shape of a tiger.
"Surrender your body!" it roared right in his face.
But Ise bypassed the fog entirely, thrusting his Silver Iron Blade toward the source of the demonic thread—a bamboo tube sitting in the exact center of the forest.
"What?!" a panicked groan sounded from behind him.
Just as I thought. The fog was a trick. The real body is here.
Just as the Silver Iron Blade was about to shatter the bamboo tube, a desperate cry burst out.
"Wait! I was wrong! Please don't break it!"
It was the voice of a young girl.
Instead of smashing the bamboo tube with the edge of his blade, Ise struck it with the spine. Thwack! The bamboo tube tumbled away.
Moments later, a tiny woman—no bigger than two finger joints—crawled out from inside. She knelt demurely, clasping her hands as if begging for mercy.
Having approached without him noticing, Seol Ryeong rubbed her eyes and let out a sigh of disbelief.
"…What on earth is going on?"
"It wasn't an evil spirit. The fog was just an illusion created by this demon ghost. This seems to be the real monster. Since it can talk, let's capture it alive and hand it over to the Main Mountain."
"Capable of speech? What do you mean…?" Seol Ryeong's eyes widened as she got a good look at the demon ghost's true form.
It possessed a mysterious beauty, almost like a heavenly maiden. Delicate features were set neatly on its tiny face, and translucent silk sparkled as it wrapped around its small form.
Ise picked up the demon ghost with two fingers. The creature wriggled and giggled sheepishly.
"Hehe… I got a little carried away, didn't I? If you forgive me just this once, I swear I'll live as quietly as if I were dead…"
It was a sight that might have looked endearing, but Ise ignored it completely.
Seol Ryeong’s eyes were wide as she spoke. "Unbelievable. A Qi Refining Stage creature—and a low-grade demon ghost at that—can actually speak?"
"Is this your first time seeing one, too?"
"Of course! I heard a demon ghost has to reach at least the Foundation Establishment Stage to be able to speak…"
This was, at the very least, a discovery bordering on a fated opportunity. The high-ranking cultivators of the Great Martial Dao would be desperate to inspect, analyze, and dissect it. The mission reward was sure to increase.
"You, what are you?"
"I am a spirit creature from Adept Mountain, the guardian spirit of the bamboo forest, Bamboo Tube Beauty." Dangling in midair, the demon ghost held both sides of her skirt and bowed shyly like a young girl.
Seeing the seemingly harmless sight, Seol Ryeong couldn't help but chuckle. Then, suddenly startled, she asked, "A spirit creature? Not a demon ghost?"
"Yeees…"
"W-Wait! It says it's a spirit creature! Don't hold it like you're pinching a bug!"
The Great Martial Dao was a sect that revered and protected spirit creatures. If this was truly a spirit creature, they couldn't treat it carelessly. Seol Ryeong hurriedly cupped her hands to catch Bamboo Tube Beauty, examining her from head to toe.
"It really is. It's faint, but I can feel spiritual energy. So it is possible to gain language at the Qi Refining Stage… But for most of its power to have turned into demonic energy means—"
Corruption.
It meant this was a spirit creature in the process of corrupting—one that had lost its Dao principle and fallen, yet still retained a faint spark of its spiritual nature. Seol Ryeong couldn't help but sigh in sympathy.
Whether he cared about the backstory or not, Ise simply asked a question to satisfy his own curiosity, his voice indifferent.
"Where is this Adept Mountain?"
"Uh, it is a mountain near the southern coast…"
The southern coast meant Gamori, a region at least a thousand miles away. How had a spirit creature from the Southern Sea ended up all the way here, corrupting and tormenting mortals?
"The Southern Sea is a thousand miles from here. What brought you all this way?"
"Well, there are… circumstances…"
"And if you came all this way, why didn't you stay quiet? Your spiritual power looks severely depleted, so why run around tormenting innocent people? Didn't the senior bamboo spirit creatures teach you to be careful of corruption?"
"That also has… circumstances…"
"What's with all these circumstances? You sure have a lot of excuses for a demon ghost."
"Ise, she was originally a spirit creature. Shouldn't we show her a bit of respect…?"
He knew he was supposed to show respect, but he couldn't bring himself to feel any for such a foolish creature. Ise shook his head and dropped his interrogation. Though many questions remained, the top priority was completing the mission.
Ise asked Bamboo Tube Beauty, "We're taking you to the Great Martial Dao now. Can you travel? I'd prefer to take you alive if possible."
"Umm… My body cannot leave this place. If I travel even ten miles, I will fall sick and fade away."
Ise and Seol Ryeong exchanged a look.
"So what do we do?" Seol Ryeong asked. "Wait for her to fully corrupt into a demon ghost and then exorcise her?"