Chapter 4 :

Chapter 4

 

Act Two: Crying-Infant Dragon Steed (1)

 

Six years later.

 

Spring.

 

Many things changed at Spirit-Guarding Temple over the six cycles of the seasons.

 

Most of the young Spirit Kin approached adulthood, while the breeding season that arrived once every ten years brought the birth of another generation of young Spirit Kin, who overflowed with vitality and celebrated the joy of new life.

 

A minor commotion occurred when Yise was exposed without warning to the Spirit-Kin Race’s breeding season—which was also known as their mating season—and remained shocked for quite some time.

 

When he later shared his thoughts, he said it had been even more shocking than his first encounter with a demon.

 

Although the Spirit Kin boys around Yise’s age were not permitted to participate, the breeding ceremony awakened their awareness of the opposite sex.

 

Without consciously realizing it, their gazes toward Gonga began to contain a subtle, instinctive desire.

 

Gonga herself, however, was too busy following Yise everywhere he went.

 

“Gonga.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You’re distracting me.”

 

“What? That’s so mean! You’re resting right now!”

 

“Resting properly is also part of training. Besides, my break is almost over.”

 

Gonga glared at him and took a step away.

 

“You’ve gotten a little bigger, and now you dare act disrespectfully toward your big sister—”

 

Yise abruptly rose to his feet.

 

Training time and rest time had to be observed with absolute precision.

 

Gonga clenched her teeth when she found herself having to look up at him.

 

Yise had grown tremendously over the past six years.

 

Humans might mature twice as quickly as Spirit Kin, but even accounting for that, he was tall enough to be mistaken for a grown man.

 

He was still an adolescent who had not yet reached twenty.

 

No.

 

Perhaps not.

 

Considering how much he devoured, maybe it was only natural for him to have grown this much.

 

Sometimes Gonga wondered whether Yise might actually be a Ravenous Ghost or a Hungry Ghost.

 

She tilted her head at the thought.

 

“You were kind and gentle when you first arrived.”

 

“Perhaps that simply means I’ve grown that much more comfortable around you.”

 

“Hmph. You’ve become so sly.”

 

Yise responded to Gonga’s complaint with a faint smile.

 

Gonga told him not to smile so seductively and repeatedly struck him in the chest.

 

“Hey! Yise!”

 

Three Spirit Kin boys who had been glancing at Yise and Gonga from the opposite side of the training ground swaggered toward them.

 

The boys were still jealous that Yise monopolized Gonga’s affection, but they had actually become fairly close to him.

 

That was because they had sparred with him countless times during Mong Ryeon’s lessons.

 

Just as people said children became friends through fighting, the once-arrogant Spirit Kin boys had calmed down considerably after Yise beat them black and blue several times during their sparring sessions.

 

Later, their teacher assigned them the task of playing age-appropriate games, so Yise joined them at their secret base and grew even closer to them.

 

Most importantly, six years was enough time to turn resentment into affection.

 

Their attitudes remained surly, but Yise could sense the friendship and goodwill behind them.

 

The one-horned Spirit Kin at the front, whose horn grew only from the left side of his head, was Gong Ilchwi.

 

He was the oldest of the boys.

 

Perhaps because he had harbored an unrequited love for Gonga for so long, he displayed a particularly strong competitive spirit toward Yise.

 

Behind him was Gong Woljang, whose single horn grew only from the right side of his head.

 

He was Gong Ilchwi’s twin, and whenever his older twin was absent, he behaved rather amicably toward Yise.

 

The boy at the rear, whose horns had only partially grown, was Gwaegeol.

 

He was an eccentric and inquisitive boy who enjoyed following his older companions around.

 

When Gong Woljang signaled with his eyes, Gwaegeol waved Gonga away.

 

“Hey, Gonga. Go somewhere else.”

 

“What? Why?”

 

“We need to discuss something between men.”

 

“What are you talking about? You’re planning to bother Yise again, aren’t you?”

 

Yise seized the opportunity to interject.

 

“Gonga, you’re bothering me too, so you should head inside.”

 

“......”

 

Gonga pouted deeply and walked away while grumbling.

 

Gong Ilchwi stared after her with obvious reluctance before shaking his head and speaking.

 

“Goecheon returned from the village and said a low-ranking demon seems to have appeared nearby.”

 

“What?”

 

Yise sharply raised his head and looked at Gong Ilchwi.

 

The appearance of a demon was among the matters that interested Yise most.

 

“You’re taking the Grand Martial Path’s entrance examination this year, aren’t you? Why not use this opportunity to gain some demon-hunting experience?”

 

“Let’s hunt it together.”

 

“It’ll be fun, won’t it?”

 

The three Spirit Kin boys each contributed a sentence as though singing a round.

 

Spirit Kin were forbidden from hunting demons before reaching adulthood.

 

However, after spending nearly forty years doing nothing but training, it was only natural that they would grow restless.

 

Their behavior was understandable, especially since the Spirit-Kin Race displayed intense curiosity toward even the smallest source of amusement.

 

“What kind of demon is it?”

 

“We don’t know the details. They said it cries like a small child. Couldn’t it be a Child Ghost?”

 

A Child Ghost.

 

It was a Risk Level Nine demon, placing it at the very bottom even among low-ranking demons.

 

With a little training, even ordinary people incapable of manipulating spiritual energy could hunt one.

 

“Do you have any other information?”

 

“No.”

 

“Then we can’t go.”

 

Of course, Yise had never intended to join them.

 

He keenly felt the need to acquire practical experience, but he did not want to disobey the adults and expose himself to unnecessary danger.

 

“Why? Are you scared?”

 

“You could say that. Don’t do anything dangerous. You don’t have much longer before you become adult Spirit Kin. You’ll soon encounter more demons than you could ever want, so why take the risk now?”

 

“I suppose that no matter how skilled you are at striking techniques and weapon arts, you’re still human. It’s understandable that you’d be afraid. But listen, Yise. The Spirit-Kin Race can hunt low-ranking demons with their eyes closed from childhood.”

 

“Once you become adults, open your eyes and hunt as many as you like.”

 

“You... coward! If you’re that frightened, the three of us will go without you.”

 

“If you behave recklessly, I’ll report you to my teacher immediately.”

 

“Y-You treacherous bastard!”

 

The three boys stormed away.

 

Strangely, they normally acted as though they couldn’t stand him, yet they always tried to include him whenever they were about to cause trouble.

 

***

 

“Eat slowly.”

 

As on any other day, Yise voraciously devoured his food.

 

To him, mealtime was nothing more and nothing less than an opportunity to replenish his nutrition.

 

However, he always ate as much as possible.

 

As long as any space remained in his stomach, his rule was to consume even one more grain.

 

Because he ate so well, the adult Spirit Kin praised him as a pleasure to feed.

 

However, Yise regarded eating as another form of training rather than something he enjoyed.

 

“Why do you always eat so quickly? I keep telling you that you’ll give yourself indigestion.”

 

Yise swallowed his food, gulped down some water, and answered.

 

“Thank you for your concern. But I’ve never suffered from indigestion.”

 

“Your stubbornness is truly incorrigible. The Spirit-Kin Race is famous for being stubborn, yet you’re even worse.”

 

“I’m sorry. By the way, where are the others?”

 

At some point, without his intending it, the Spirit Kin boys had begun clinging to him and eating their meals alongside him.

 

When he did not see them in their usual seats, he tilted his head.

 

“Gonga went to deliver packed meals to the sentries. I don’t know about the others. Perhaps they went with her?”

 

“They aren’t the sort to perform an errand they weren’t assigned.”

 

Yise scraped up the last remaining grains, poured them into his mouth, and rose.

 

“Where is my teacher?”

 

“Didn’t you know? Today is the scheduled territorial patrol.”

 

“.......”

 

An ominous premonition instantly ran down his spine.

 

The scheduled territorial patrol.

 

It was a regular ceremony during which most of Spirit-Guarding Temple’s fighting force accompanied the patrol throughout the vast territory of the Spirit Kin.

 

The patrol traveled far from the temple and continued until dawn.

 

In other words...

 

It was the perfect opportunity for the boys to cause trouble.

 

“Kitchen Matron, could you send a message to my teacher? I think the boys may have gone out to cause trouble.”

 

“What?”

 

Yise quickly explained what had happened earlier that day before rushing out of the kitchen.

 

He had a bad feeling.

 

The boys had caused trouble before, but their mischief had been limited to startling the adults, breaking spirit artifacts while playing with them, or injuring one another during sparring.

 

They had never attempted anything as serious as this.

 

Demon hunting was dangerous.

 

Even experienced demon hunters risked their lives with every hunt, advancing one careful step at a time.

 

Yise could handle a Child Ghost by himself, but was it the only demon in the world that cried like a baby?

 

If asked to name them, he could immediately recite more than a dozen such demons.

 

“Lord Goecheon!”

 

Yise practically flew toward the Central Main Hall and immediately questioned Goecheon, the unwitting source of the problem.

 

“After returning from the village today, did you tell the boys about a Child Ghost?”

 

“What nonsense are you talking about? What Child Ghost?”

 

Just as Yise had expected.

 

The adults would never deliberately tell the boys something that would excite them.

 

What had actually happened was that Goecheon, who had been assigned to patrol Spirit-Guarding Temple, obtained information about a demon sighting in the village.

 

The boys must have secretly overheard him reporting it to his companions and then incorrectly concluded on their own that the creature was a Child Ghost.

 

“Damn those brats... We need to find them immediately.”

 

The problem was that, because this was the scheduled patrol day, only three combat-capable Spirit Kin remained at the temple.

 

How could three people search this vast plateau?

 

“I’ll help.”

 

After staring at him briefly, Goecheon reluctantly agreed and handed him a ring of keys.

 

“Before crossing the boundary, stop at the Spirit Treasure Hall and collect some signal flares. You learned how to use them, didn’t you? If you find the boys or the demon, fire a signal. Do not attempt to fight it recklessly.”

 

“Yes. May I also take a few items to protect myself?”

 

Goecheon appeared to consider the request before granting permission.

 

The Spirit Treasure Hall contained several extremely valuable objects.

 

However, judging from the character Yise had displayed thus far, he would not touch anything except what he needed.

 

“Very well. I’ll report it to the Chief later. But only touch things you know how to use. There are many dangerous objects inside.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Leaving Goecheon, who shot away like an arrow, Yise immediately headed toward the Spirit Treasure Hall.

 

The first things he placed inside his clothing were two signal flares.

 

He then proceeded to the deepest part of the Spirit Treasure Hall and hesitated before a medicinal pellet contained within a golden wooden box.

 

It was said to be an exceedingly precious elixir.

 

Could he truly take it without permission?

 

After deliberating, Yise placed both of the only two elixir pills inside his clothing.

 

Now it was time to select his equipment.

 

“What should I take...?”

 

He did not even know what the enemy was.

 

There was only one clue.

 

The crying of a child.

 

More than a dozen species of demon came to mind.

 

He eliminated the weakest demons from the list of candidates.

 

Those creatures instinctively avoided the territory of the Spirit Kin.

 

Nine species remained.

 

He eliminated the demons whose known habitats were too far removed from this region.

 

Four species remained.

 

He then eliminated the high-ranking demons.

 

If it truly were a high-ranking demon, nothing he did would allow him to confront it or even survive.

 

In an emergency of that magnitude, every Spirit Kin in Spirit-Guarding Temple except Mong Ryeon would be massacred.

 

More importantly, Mong Ryeon would have gone out to obliterate it the moment a high-ranking demon appeared.

 

Ultimately, two mid-ranking demons remained.

 

Either one would be a terrifying enemy to confront directly, but Yise decisively placed five spirit treasures inside his clothing.

 

Once fully prepared, he ran toward the Red Swamp at the outer boundary of Spirit-Guarding Temple.

 

***

 

The three Spirit Kin boys—Gwaegeol, Gong Ilchwi, and Gong Woljang—swiftly traversed the mountain path beneath the setting sun.

 

Their red eyes shone fiercely within the dimming surroundings.

 

They normally appeared innocent and carefree, but they were still Dokkaebi demons.

 

Whenever the three Spirit Kin passed, insects and birds sensed their ominous energy and fluttered away.

 

Gong Ilchwi raised the corners of his mouth.

 

He felt almost like the Mountain Lord, the predator who ruled over the mountains.

 

His heart pounded as well.

 

Their first demon hunt.

 

There was a reason Spirit Kin were called demons who hunted other demons.

 

At the thought of the hunt, his blue blood boiled and his fighting spirit blazed.

 

He would slay the insolent low-ranking demon that had dared approach the territory of the Spirit Kin, devour its demon core, and surpass Yise, his friend and rival.

 

Yise was a good person, but the knowledge that he had lost in battle to a mere human had left an unseen wound upon Gong Ilchwi’s pride.

 

“Brother, where is it?”

 

However, even after searching for a long time, they found no trace of the Child Ghost.

 

After wandering throughout the vast mountain range, the excitement that had kept their bodies restless was on the verge of cooling.

 

The sun was also setting.

 

By now, someone would probably have noticed their disappearance.

 

“It seems we only have one or two double-hours left. Let’s search a little longer and then return.”

 

“Ah, it would be disappointing to go back without finding anything.”

 

The Spirit Kin boys smacked their lips in frustration.

 

They continued wandering for some time.

 

Just as they were beginning to consider giving up, they finally heard the sound they had been seeking.

 

“Waaah! Waaah!”

 

It was the cry of a baby—a sound that should never have been heard in the mountains at sunset.

 

“Get ready. Let’s go.”

 

Gong Ilchwi bared his teeth and tightened his grip on his iron-studded club.

 

Then he kicked off the ground and rushed toward the source of the sound.

 

The Child Ghost would soon reveal itself, and its head would be smashed apart by his club.

 

“I bear you no malice. Do not resent me.”

 

He pushed through the undergrowth, revealing a wide-open space and a crouching demon.

 

“.....?”

 

The moment the demon rose, the three Spirit Kin boys instinctively realized that something was wrong.

 

Slice!

 

A grotesque sound of severing flesh rang out.

 

It was immediately followed by a scream of agony.