The Temple (1)
It was the first month of the lunar year, the night of the brightest full moon.
Though night had fallen, the full moon hanging high in the heavens made it easy to discern one's surroundings.
Whoosh—
A sudden night breeze swept through, momentarily flattening the lush green undergrowth. Through the parting grass, a light brown weasel darted with swift, silent grace.
A black rabbit, busy digging a burrow in the earth, perked up its ears and scanned its surroundings. It stood on its hind legs for a moment, staring blankly into the empty air, before returning to its task.
As its forepaws scooped out more dirt,
Swoosh!
A fierce, blade-like wind struck the rabbit with pinpoint accuracy. A long, diagonal slash opened across its neck, spraying blood. It collapsed to the ground without a sound.
Soon after, the light brown weasel emerged from the brush, its expression thoroughly displeased.
Sigh...
The weasel grumbled in frustration as it took the rabbit in its jaws. It had hunted the creature on the off chance its unusual coloring meant something, but the carcass held not a single trace of demon qi.
They really cleaned out the island this time.
The demon beasts in the vicinity had been completely wiped out. Gwiungok was slightly better off, but the beasts there were ghost-beasts, utterly unfit for consumption.
Leaving aside their atrocious taste, consuming them meant their ghost qi would relentlessly attempt to seize control of one's mind.
Thus, they had to be purified before they could be eaten. However, purification required expending one's own demon qi, a process that was far from easy.
Ugh... Should I head over there this time?
The weasel tore off and swallowed only the choice cuts of the dead rabbit, lost in thought for a long moment.
No matter how much it pondered, it seemed there were no other options left. It was in a position where it had to secure sustenance, even if it meant enduring such a tedious process.
Ultimately, the weasel abandoned the rest of the rabbit carcass and bounded off toward Gwiungok.
As it ran, a thought crossed its mind.
I wonder if that fellow died too.
The Jimjo chick it had encountered before. It was the most peculiar creature the weasel had ever laid eyes on.
Its method of manipulating demon qi was bizarre, and despite not having even awakened its spiritual nature, it had exhibited the eccentric behavior of digging up ginseng. The weasel had thought that with proper rearing, the chick could have become quite useful.
But.
Once the harvesters swept through the island, very few demon beasts survived. The lords of each territory had likely all been slaughtered, their beast cores ripped from their chests.
That little one seemed so promising, too.
There was not a shred of hope that the young thing was still alive.
Whether its core had been harvested,
or it had been swept away and killed in the storm of power,
or even if, by some miracle of miracles, it had survived that nightmarish disaster, it would have surely starved to death in the aftermath.
The reason the weasel knew this was simple.
Excluding the island's true master, it was the longest-living demon beast on Gwisu Island.
Yet, the reason it possessed no territory of its own was its inability to overcome the limitations of its species.
Compared to spiritual beasts like the Jimjo—renowned as one of the deadliest venomous creatures—or the Human-Faced Spider, which bore a human face on an arachnid body, or the Black-Scaled Blood Python and the Gathering Wind Beast, its bloodline was pitifully meager.
No, even calling it a "bloodline" was laughable, as that was a term reserved for true spiritual beasts.
To overcome this, it had to break through the first stage of cultivation, the Qi Condensation stage, and reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
But proper cultivation resources were scarce, and with the harvesters sweeping the island clean of newly grown resources at regular intervals, proper cultivation was practically impossible.
For these reasons, despite being the oldest resident, the weasel remained stuck at its bottleneck, unable to progress.
Lost in these thoughts as it ran, it finally arrived at its destination.
A building of age beyond reckoning.
The lacquer had peeled away, exposing the bare wood of the supporting pillars, and the once-colorful eaves were choked with cobwebs.
It was a temple.
Whoosh—
As the wind blew, piles of fallen leaves swirled into the air, painting a desolate picture.
Yet, strangely, the ghost qi could not encroach upon this place.
It was not because of any active array or spell. Rather, some incomprehensible, mysterious power simply warded off the erosion of the ghost qi.
This place remains unchanged.
Stepping lightly, the weasel entered the Main Buddha Hall at the very center of the temple. It intended to make this place its nest and hunt ghost-beasts from here.
However,
on the dust-laden floor, two sets of footprints were clearly stamped.
* * *
Hot spring water possessed the ability to purify ghost qi.
This was no mere speculation.
There was clear evidence.
Jim-il's ink-colored feathers had restored almost entirely to their original hue.
In contrast, the hot spring had turned so turbid that it was no longer usable. Though water continued to bubble up from below, the concentration of spiritual qi had grown far too diluted.
Even so, Jim-il's condition had vastly improved. He did not seem entirely in his right mind, however; otherwise, he wouldn't be glaring at Dang Sobaek with such fierce eyes.
When Dang Sobaek stared blankly back at him in sheer disbelief, Jim-il snorted and whipped his head away.
"Hmph."
Jim-il looked as though he had suffered quite a bit since leaving the nest, but his prickly, arrogant temperament remained entirely unchanged.
Perhaps because Sobaek had grown accustomed to the life of a beast, or perhaps because the ecology of the Jianghu was not much different,
Dang Sobaek preferred to assert his authority through power rather than resolve things through dialogue. It was, after all, the simplest and most efficient method.
Yet,
"Peep."
Jim-il was the first to back down.
Though his expression was as reluctant as ever, he stepped forward and rubbed his head against Sobaek's wing.
Having lived as a Jimjo for nearly three years now,
Sobaek knew this gesture meant Jim-il was acknowledging him.
Of course, it did not signify absolute submission. Still, it was more than satisfactory.
Jim-il was proud and fiercely independent.
Had he not lived as if he were king from the moment he hatched? This was the closest thing to the highest praise such a creature could offer.
"Cheep!"
But instead of Sobaek, it was Jim-i who spread her wings wide, wearing a triumphant expression. Sobaek found it hard to comprehend.
Excluding the monkey demon, Jim-i was technically the lowest in the pack's hierarchy. Sobaek was certain of this, having personally sparred with Jim-il.
Jim-il outclassed her in almost every aspect.
Unlike beasts, humans did not determine hierarchy solely through martial prowess. Even the Demonic Cult, which worshiped strength, was bound by other factors.
Civil officials like strategists held sway, and bloodlines and generational seniority created a complex web of authority.
But no such nuances existed in the animal kingdom. Moreover, Jim-il was the firstborn who had cracked his shell before any of them.
This meant Jim-i had no advantage whatsoever.
The only thing she had going for her...
was that she had stayed by Dang Sobaek's side the longest.
Is she playing the fox borrowing the tiger's terror?
Dang Sobaek assumed as much, but the reality was quite different.
It was the exact opposite.
Jim-i believed she was the one taking care of Dang Sobaek. Back when they lived in the nest, she had been the one catching fish for him every single time.
Though Sobaek was unaware,
Jim-i was fully aware that she had been born before Sobaek, and she was constantly striving to fulfill her duties as his older sister.
Naturally, she believed herself to be higher in the pecking order. Consequently, she viewed Jim-il, who had just bowed to Sobaek, as beneath her as well.
In any case, Sobaek considered it a relief that he didn't have to go through the trouble of re-establishing the hierarchy.
Setting those matters aside, Dang Sobaek called Jim-i and the monkey demon over to give them a stern warning.
Though Jim-i covered her ears with her wings to show her blatant reluctance to listen,
"Cheep..."
Sobaek was not one to be deterred by such antics. After lecturing them for nearly an hour, he suddenly grew curious about why they had been so late in the first place.
Where on earth have you two been?
Since he did not know the Yo-language, he could not ask precisely, but he conveyed the general sentiment of his question.
Naturally, they did not understand.
Silence fell.
The monkey demon's brow furrowed, wrinkles creasing its forehead. It seemed to ponder deeply for a long moment before finally speaking.
"We went to a temple. It is near Gwiungok."
It finally delivered the answer Sobaek sought.
Beside it, Jim-i nodded vigorously. She fluttered her wings and pointed in a certain direction, urging him to go with them.
In contrast, Dang Sobaek's expression grew increasingly grave.
...A temple?
It felt like a sudden blow to the back of his head.
No humans would be living there now.
Most likely, it was built long ago.
Sobaek reasoned it was a structure built by a human who had drifted onto the island in the distant past. If not, perhaps humans had once inhabited this island.
Regardless, the presence of human traces was highly encouraging. It meant there was a chance he might obtain new information.
If only there were a way to escape this island.
The possibility was not entirely zero.
No matter how powerful a demon beast might be, a mere creature could not have cast a massive spell encompassing the entire island.
The culprits were almost certainly the harvesters.
But what if?
What if the barrier had existed from the very beginning, and the harvesters were merely utilizing it?
Then, Sobaek's train of thought shifted.
Until now, he had assumed the barrier trapping them on the island was designed to prevent those inside from leaving.
But what if it was the opposite?
What if its original purpose was to prevent outsiders from intruding?
The harvesters might have simply deciphered the spell and exploited it...
It was merely a hypothesis, but not an impossible one. If so, the temple Jim-i had visited might hold clues regarding this.
Of course, this was a leap in logic.
Perhaps it was nothing more than the desperate hope of a man pushed to the edge of a cliff.
Even so.
Well, I will know once I go.
He needed to confirm it.
There was no reason to delay.
Normally, Dang Sobaek would have scouted the temple's vicinity alone first. However, since Jim-i and the monkey demon had returned safely, there seemed to be no need for such caution.
As Dang Sobaek fluttered his wings and prepared to take flight, the monkey demon watched his movements warily and spoke.
"...I must remain here."
Sobaek understood.
The monkey demon was, after all, the leader of its pack. It had a duty to protect those who followed it.
Having once led the Tang Clan himself, Sobaek nodded readily in agreement.
However...
Strange. It seems somewhat frightened.
The monkey demon's arms were trembling slightly. This implied there was something at the temple.
"Cheep?"
Jim-i tilted her head, staring intently at the monkey demon before gently stroking its back with her wing.
"...Will you return? If you require alcohol, I shall prepare some."
Dang Sobaek simply nodded and handed over a single feather heavily infused with his demon qi.
"?"
Jimjo feathers possessed a distinct scent that deterred most ordinary beasts from approaching.
Thus, merely carrying it would undoubtedly serve as a ward.
While ghost-beasts would still attack recklessly, it would prevent encounters with most common threats.
Before they knew it, the night was receding, and dawn was breaking through the darkness.
The monkey demon's reaction weighed slightly on Sobaek's mind, but for all intents and purposes, there was no demon beast on this island stronger than him now.
In fact, demon beasts themselves were rare now, having been virtually wiped out. There was little cause for concern.
As Dang Sobaek took to the air, Jim-il and Jim-i followed close behind.
Looking back as if reluctant to leave, Jim-i called out a farewell.
"Cheep! Cheeeep!"
Her demeanor was remarkably solemn.
Sobaek chuckled softly despite himself.
We will be back soon anyway.
Yet she behaved as though they were embarking on a grand journey to some far-off land. It was a truly childlike innocence.
Once they began flying in earnest, the surrounding landscape blurred past.
Jim-i took the lead, guiding the way.
Flying in a straight line, their destination gradually came into view in less than a few hours.
Atop a misty cliff that seemed to touch the clouds,
It truly is...
a temple.
As they drew nearer,
"Ha! So you little runts survived."
A voice Sobaek had heard once before echoed from atop the roof.