Chapter 4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 4
Act 2. Aseongyongma.
Six years later.
Spring.
Over the past six years, many changes had come to the Ghost-Guarding Temple.
Most of the Dogwi boys were nearing adulthood. The mating season, which arrived only once every ten years, had brought a new generation of young Dogwi into the world, filling the temple with fresh, vibrant life.
Amidst all this, Ise—exposed completely unprotected to the Dogwi Tribe's mating season, also known as their rut—had been left in a state of severe shock for a while, causing a minor commotion.
Long after the fact, he confessed that the experience had been even more traumatic than his very first encounter with a demon ghost.
Although the young Dogwi of Ise's age were too young to participate, the mating season served as their sexual awakening. Unbeknownst to them, a subtle layer of instinctual desire began to color the glances the boys cast toward Gong Ah.
Not that she noticed; Gong Ah was far too busy trailing right behind Ise.
"Gong Ah."
"Huh?"
"You're in the way."
"What? So cold! I'm just resting!"
"Proper rest is part of training. Besides, break time is almost over."
Gong Ah glared and took a step back.
"Look at you, talking back to your big sister just because you grew a little—"
Ise stood up abruptly. Training and break times had to be kept strictly to the second.
Forced to crane her neck just to meet his eyes, Gong Ah gritted her teeth.
Over the past six years, Ise had grown immensely.
Even accounting for the fact that humans aged twice as fast as Dogwi... he was tall and built enough to pass for a fully-grown man. And he hadn't even reached his twenties yet.
No. Wait.
...Considering the absurd amount of food he shoved down his throat, perhaps it was obvious he'd grow this much.
Sometimes she wondered if Ise was actually a starving ghost or a ravenous demon in disguise.
Gong Ah tilted her head thoughtfully.
"When you first got here, you were so gentle and sweet."
"Doesn't that just mean I've gotten comfortable with you?"
"Tch, you've just gotten slick."
Ise offered a light laugh in response to her grumbling.
Gong Ah swatted at his chest, telling him not to laugh so coaxingly.
"Hey! Ise!"
Three young Dogwi, who had been glancing at Ise and Gong Ah from the opposite side of the training grounds, sauntered over.
The boys still envied Ise for hogging Gong Ah's favor, but in truth, they had grown quite close to him.
It was all thanks to the countless spars they had exchanged during Mongryeon's classes.
As the saying goes, boys bond through fighting. The once-cocky young Dogwi had quieted down considerably after getting pummeled by Ise during several of those spars.
Afterward, following their Master's assignment to "play games suited for their age," Ise had joined in on their secret base games, drawing them even closer.
Crucially, six years was more than enough time for an affection born of rivalry to mature into genuine camaraderie.
Though their attitudes remained blunt, Ise could feel the warmth and friendship beneath their rough exteriors.
At the very front was Gong Il-chwi, a single-horned Dogwi with a horn only on his left side. He was the eldest among the youths. Perhaps because of his long-standing unrequited crush on Gong Ah, he possessed a fierce competitive drive against Ise.
Behind him was Gong Wol-jang, whose horn grew only on the right. He was Gong Il-chwi's twin, and whenever his older brother wasn't around, he acted quite friendly toward Ise.
At the very back was Goegeol, a young Dogwi with a half-stunted horn. He was a curious, eccentric kid who loved following the older boys around.
Gong Wol-jang gave a flick of his chin, prompting Goegeol to wave his hand dismissively at Gong Ah.
"Hey, Gong Ah. Off with you."
"What? Why?"
"Because this is men's business."
"Whatever. You guys are just trying to bother Ise again, aren't you?"
Seeing his chance, Ise interjected.
"Gong Ah, you're just as bothersome, so head inside."
"……"
Gong Ah sulked, her lips jutting out in a pout, and grumbled to herself as she turned around.
Gong Il-chwi stared lingeringly after Gong Ah with obvious reluctance before shaking his head and speaking up.
"Brother Goe Cheon came back from the village, and he said a low-grade demon ghost seems to have appeared nearby."
"What?"
Ise snapped his head up to stare at Gong Il-chwi.
The appearance of a demon ghost was one of Ise's absolute top interests.
"You're taking the Great Martial Dao entry exam this year, right? Why not take this chance to build some demon hunting experience?"
"Let's go hunt it together."
"Sounds fun, right?"
The three young Dogwi chimed in one after another.
Dogwi were forbidden from conducting Ghost Exorcism Work until they reached adulthood.
However, after nearly forty years of doing nothing but training, they were understandably itching for action.
Especially given how the Dogwi Tribe overflowed with curiosity over the smallest novelties, their restlessness made sense.
"What kind of demon ghost is it?"
"Don't know the details. Just heard it's a demon ghost that makes the sound of a crying baby. Could it be a Boy Ghost?"
A Boy Ghost.
A Grade 9 demon ghost, the absolute lowest of the low-grade demons.
It was virtually a creature that even ordinary mortals who couldn't handle Spiritual Energy could hunt with just a little physical training.
"Any other information?"
"Nope."
"Then no."
Of course, he hadn't intended to join them in the first place.
Although he keenly felt the need for actual combat experience by now, he worried about disobeying the adults and getting dragged into a dangerous, troublesome situation.
"Why, scared?"
"You could say that. Don't do anything reckless. It won't be long until you become adult ghosts anyway. You'll run into them until you're sick of it soon enough, so why force it?"
"Well, no matter how good you are at Unarmed Martial Arts and weapons, you're still just human, so it makes sense you're scared. But listen here, Ise. Even as kids, the Dogwi Tribe can hunt low-grade demons with their eyes closed."
"When you become adult ghosts, open your eyes and hunt all you want."
"You... coward. If you're so terrified, we'll go without you."
"If you act recklessly, I'm telling Master right away."
"Tch, cheap bastard!"
The three young Dogwi huffed and stalked off.
Strangely enough, though they were usually eager to pick fights with him, they always tried to drag him along whenever they were planning trouble.
*
"Eat slowly, child."
As on any other day, Ise devoured his food ravenously.
To him, mealtime was nothing more and nothing less than replenishing nutrients.
However, he stuffed himself to the absolute limit. As long as there was room left in his stomach, shoving in even a single extra grain was his dining principle.
Because he ate so heartily, the Dogwi adults praised him, saying it was a joy to watch. But to Ise, this too was a form of training rather than enjoyment.
"Why do you always eat so fast? You're going to get indigestion."
Ise swallowed his food, gulped down some water, and replied.
"Thank you. I've never had indigestion."
"I really can't stop that stubbornness of yours. The Dogwi Tribe is famous for being stubborn, but you're even worse."
"I'm sorry. Ah, where are the kids?"
Though unintended, at some point the young Dogwi had started clinging to him, and they usually ate together.
Not seeing them in their usual seats, he tilted his head in confusion.
"Gong Ah went to deliver lunch boxes to the guards. I'm not sure about the others. Did they go with her?"
"They're not the type to do errands without being asked."
Ise scraped up the last bits of mixed grains, tossed them into his mouth, and stood up.
"Where is Master?"
"Didn't you know? Today is the regular territory patrol day."
"……"
In an instant, an ominous feeling crept down his spine.
Regular territory patrol.
A routine ritual where most of the combat force guarding the Ghost-Guarding Temple mobilized to patrol the entirety of the vast Dogwi territory.
The patrol went quite far out and lasted all through the night until dawn.
Put differently... it was the perfect time for the young Dogwi to stir up trouble.
"Kitchen Maid, could you perhaps send a message to Master? I think the boys went out to cause trouble."
"What?"
After swiftly explaining what had happened earlier that day, Ise bolted out of the pantry.
This boded ill.
The young Dogwi causing trouble was a frequent occurrence, but at most, it involved startling the adults, breaking spiritual relics while playing with them, or getting hurt while sparring.
Which meant they had never caused serious trouble like this before.
Ghost Exorcism Work was dangerous.
Even veteran exorcists weighed their lives on a scale every time they stepped cautiously into a demon hunt.
If it were just a Boy Ghost, Ise could handle it alone. But was that the only demon ghost in the world that made the sound of a crying baby?
Even right now, he could recite over a dozen different types off the top of his head.
"Lord Goe Cheon!"
Sprinting like the wind to the Central Main Hall, Ise immediately confronted Goe Cheon, the root of the problem.
"After coming back from the village earlier, did you mention a Boy Ghost to the kids?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? A Boy Ghost?"
Just as he thought.
There was no way the adults would go out of their way to blab about something that would excite the young Dogwi.
In truth, while Goe Cheon had been passing along news of the demon sighting to his fellow guards at the Ghost-Guarding Temple, the young Dogwi must have eavesdropped and mistakenly concluded on their own that it was a Boy Ghost.
"Damn it, those little brats... I need to go find them right now."
The problem was that, because of the regular patrol, there were only three combat Dogwi left behind.
How could three people search this vast plateau?
"I will help as well."
Staring at him for a moment, Goe Cheon relented, realizing he had no other choice. He then handed over a ring of keys.
"Before you step outside the boundary, drop by Gwibo Hall and grab some night-glow flares. You learned how to use them, right? If you find the kids or the demon, signal immediately. Do not engage recklessly under any circumstances."
"Yes. May I also take some items to protect myself?"
Goe Cheon seemed to hesitate briefly, but soon granted permission.
There were quite precious items inside Gwibo Hall. However, given Ise's character as he had witnessed so far, he knew the boy wouldn't touch anything beyond what was strictly necessary.
"Alright. I'll report to the Leader later. But only touch things you know how to handle. There are many dangerous items in there."
"Understood."
Leaving Goe Cheon behind, Ise darted off like an arrow, heading straight for Gwibo Hall.
First, he stashed two signal flares into his robes.
Then, he hesitated in front of the Medicinal Pills stored inside a golden wooden box in the deepest part of the hall.
They were precious elixirs. Was it alright to take them on his own authority?
After a brief moment of pondering, Ise tucked the only two Medicinal Pills they had into his shirt.
Now it was time to grab martial artifacts.
What should I take...?
He didn't even know what the enemy was in the first place.
There was only one hint.
The sound of a baby crying.
Over a dozen types of demon ghosts came to mind.
He eliminated the lowest-grade demon ghosts from the candidates. They instinctively avoided Dogwi territory.
Nine types remained.
He eliminated those whose habitats were too far removed from this area.
Four types remained.
Among them, he ruled out high-grade demon ghosts. If it were a high-grade demon, no matter what measures he took, he couldn't handle it or survive it anyway.
In such an emergency, every Dogwi in the Ghost-Guarding Temple except Mongryeon would be wiped out, and Mongryeon would have set off to destroy the high-grade demon the second it appeared anyway.
In the end, two mid-grade demon ghosts remained.
They were staggering foes to face head-on, but Ise decisively tucked five treasures into his robes.
After making thorough preparations, he sprinted toward the Outer Boundary of the Ghost-Guarding Temple: the Red Swamp.
*
The three young Dogwi—Goegeol, Gong Il-chwi, and Gong Wol-jang—swiftly traversed the mountain path as the sunset waned.
Within the dimming darkness, their red eyes gleamed intensely.
Though they usually looked like innocent boys, they were still Dokkaebi demons after all.
Every time the three Dogwi passed by, grass bugs and wild birds sensed their ominous aura and scattered.
Gong Il-chwi curled the corner of his mouth into a smirk.
It was an exhilarating rush, almost like becoming the mountain lord, the apex predator ruling the peak.
His heart thrashed against his ribs.
Their first demon hunt.
The Dogwi weren't called "demons that hunt demons" for nothing.
At the thought of the hunt, his blue blood boiled, and his fighting spirit flared.
He intended to slay the low-grade demon that had dared step near Dogwi territory, swallow its Demon Core, and surpass Ise—his friend and rival.
Ise was a good guy, but the fact that he had lost a fight to a mere human still secretly wounded his pride.
"Brother, where is it?"
Even after wandering around for a long time, there was no sign of a Boy Ghost anywhere.
After scouring the vast mountain range, the excitement that had surged through their bodies was on the verge of cooling down.
The sun was setting, too. It was about time someone noticed they had gone missing.
"Looks like we only have an hour or two left. Let's look a little more before we head back."
"Ah—it's such a waste to just go back empty-handed."
The young Dogwi smacked their lips in disappointment.
How long had they wandered like that? Just as they were wondering if they should give up, they finally heard the sound they had been waiting for.
Waaah—! Waaah—!
A baby's cry that had no business echoing through the mountains at dusk.
"Get ready. Let's go."
Gong Il-chwi bared his teeth, tightening his grip on his Golden Shattering Club.
Then he kicked off toward the source of the sound.
Soon the Boy Ghost would be revealed, and its head would be smashed to pieces by his Golden Shattering Club.
Nothing personal. Don't hold a grudge.
Parting the foliage, an open space was revealed, showing a huddled demon ghost.
……?
The moment the demon ghost rose to its feet, the three young Dogwi instinctively felt that something was horribly wrong.
Sliiice—!
A grotesque slicing sound echoed.
Following immediately was a scream drenched in agonizing pain.