Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Heavenly Net (1)

The old man who introduced himself as Daoist Mu Gyeong stayed in the village from that day on.

Every day he wandered the village as if examining something, and he accurately guessed what the people he met needed, astonishing everyone.

“The money you lost rolled under the floor. Look carefully.”

“If you are going hunting, it is better to climb the southern mountain. A large wild boar fell from a cliff and is limping, so you can catch it easily.”

“It is scheduled to rain today, so it is better to postpone the work.”

That person is a real Daoist.

He is definitely a real Daoist who can read the heavenly secrets and see physiognomy to know a person’s past and future.

Such words circulated, and even the schoolmaster said this.

“In my entire life I have not believed in strange forces and turbulent spirits. I regarded strange forces and turbulent spirits as superstitions created by humans overlaying illusions on things that do not exist in order to overcome fear, and as fantasies created by longing for specialness. But now I have the thought that that Daoist might be real.”

But I know Daoist Mu Gyeong’s true nature.

『The money Shin Mu Gyeong lost was paid by his eldest son Shin Hogun two days ago to purchase candy, so it cannot be recovered.』

He is not reading the heavenly secrets but reciting the crow’s words.

Matching information that even the person involved does not know, and even things happening elsewhere—I don’t know what he doesn’t know.

‘They don’t look like they get along that well.’

Just looking at the way the Daoist handles the crow yokai, one can tell it is one-sided.

“Hmm, the heavenly secrets are not clearly visible.”

『Stop! Stop shaking! My head is spinning! I’ll tell you right away! Why is your personality so impatient!』

“It is starting to become visible little by little again. So...”

Is it a bad yokai that torments people and got captured and used by the Daoist.

Or is the Daoist deceiving and capturing a good yokai to exploit it.

I cannot know.

“Daoist Grandpa! Play with us!”

“This old man has bad knees so I cannot run and play. Instead I will give you candy, so all of you share and eat it.”

“Wow! Thank you!”

The most suspicious point is that I do not know what the purpose is.

“Daoist sir, so why did you come to our village? And what is this talk of misfortune settling?”

On the first day, the crow yokai stared at me.

At the same time it mentioned that there was a Heaven-grade strange force and turbulent spirit here.

Naturally the purpose would be to find the Heaven-grade strange force and turbulent spirit, and I thought the target was me.

“Hoho, I cannot speak carelessly yet. Carelessly revealing the heavenly secrets brings great disaster—that is the rule set by heaven.”

My strength is clearly that of a strange force and turbulent spirit that no human could possess, no matter who looks.

I planned to say when he came that I am not a monster and that I want to use this strength to defeat other strange forces and turbulent spirits, but for some reason he does not come looking for me, and after that day the crow yokai does not even make eye contact with me.

“No, this is frustrating! It’s our village’s matter—what’s the harm in telling us a little!?”

And today, beside the Daoist conversing with the adults, the crow yokai once again sent its gaze toward me.

As if the previous stare was not an illusion and it is watching me, a clear gaze is directed at me.

『We...』

Then it turned its gaze again and began speaking.

『I came here to find the Heaven-grade strange force and turbulent spirit. The extinction of the Child-Luring Ghost has been observed, so proof of existence has been established, but the exact location has not yet been found...』

“Ahem!”

『Ugh! Don’t shake! I’m dizzy! Answering questions is this seat’s natural duty!』

On the swaying staff, the crow yokai sent a short gaze and spoke clearly.

『I say it again! This seat’s natural duty is to answer questions! So why are you tormenting me like this!』

As if telling me to come find it and ask what I am curious about.

What on earth is the scheme?

Is it asking me to save it?

Or is it colluding with the Daoist and throwing a message for me to come first?

“Hello? Daoist.”

I don’t know well, but one does not obtain a tiger cub without entering the tiger’s den.

“I am Lee Shin.”

And I have the confidence to enter the tiger’s den bare-handed and still survive.

* * *

“Yes, you are a polite child. What brings you here?”

“You may have already heard, but our village had a ghost kidnap children not long ago. I was also one of the children kidnapped at that time.”

I entered the room where Daoist Mu Gyeong was staying and sat politely.

In keeping etiquette, I did not even glance at the crow yokai and acted as if I were an ordinary person.

“That incident still comes to mind, so I cannot easily fall asleep at night.”

“If one is bewitched by a ghost, one’s energy naturally declines. It will recover naturally, so there is no need to worry.”

That way, even if the crow yokai moves its mouth, he will not stop it.

If answering questions is truly the crow yokai’s natural duty, when I casually ask about the old man’s identity and purpose, won’t it blabber?

“Wait a moment. I will make a cup of tea. It will revive the declined energy and give strength.”

“Thank you.”

With the hot water, the tea leaves stood upright immediately.

A strong peach fragrance filled the room.

“Is it peach tea?”

“...It is tea made by drying the leaves, flowers, and fruits of a spiritually efficacious peach tree together and mixing them well. H-how is the taste?”

“The fragrance is strong, as if peaches are ripening right before my eyes. The taste also feels like drinking peaches.”

It is extremely delicious, so I want to keep drinking.

In a remote village like this there is no way there is proper tea, so this is the first time I have drunk tea, and if it is tea like this I want to keep drinking it from now on.

‘But why is he suddenly stuttering?’

I raised the gaze that had been toward the teacup.

The two eyes of Daoist Mu Gyeong in front of me were wide open incomparably larger than before in a look of shock, and he was so excited that the fine blood vessels had burst.

“Peach, peach fragrance and peach taste...”

“Is there some problem?”

“No, no. There are many who cannot distinguish peach fragrance, so it is amazing that a young one like you distinguishes it. Anyway, it is fortunate that it suits your taste.”

Suspicious?

I did not particularly feel any abnormality in my body, but with an uneasy feeling I put down the teacup.

‘Let’s stop drinking.’

Without lowering my guard, I continued the conversation.

“By the way, are there more existences like the ghost that kidnapped us in this world? I am worried that another ghost might come looking sometimes.”

The old man did not answer.

Instead the crow yokai opened its mouth.

『The strange forces and turbulent spirits identified so far number 11,726 individuals. Of these, Human-grade individuals with low danger make up half, and Earth-grade individuals with high danger make up the majority of the remaining half.』

11,726 individuals?

There are that many?

『And Heaven-grade existences that are non-interfering, inviolable, incomprehensible, untouchable, irresistible, and irreversible occupy an extremely small number. The specific number is confidential so this seat cannot mention it, and even the total number of strange forces and turbulent spirits is expected to have at least twice, and as many as ten times or more, undiscovered existences.』

There are even many that have not been discovered yet.

My teeth chattered at that number, and curiosity about the old man’s identity and affiliation also grew.

“There are many ghosts. There are many yokai too. There are even strange phenomena that are neither ghosts nor yokai, and bizarre things happen as well.”

“They really existed. Ha, it’s scary. Is there no one who catches those things? Can you, Daoist?”

“I can. Of course I can. No matter what strange force and turbulent spirit comes, I can defeat them all.”

The yokai crow continued.

『Daoist Mu Gyeong’s status is merely that of Ritual Rank. Among the five ranks of Benevolence, Righteousness, Ritual, Wisdom, and Trust, it is the third rank, allowing access to second-grade information and the ability to take out up to four tools below special grade. With the permission of the upper three agencies, the export of one captured or cooperated strange force and turbulent spirit is possible, and he has the authority to arbitrarily recruit new officials.』

I obtained the information I wanted.

The old man was truly affiliated with a massive group, and it was an organization more systematic and massive than imagined.

『However, at that level, even just a mid-tier Earth-grade makes the probability of succeeding in a mission alone and returning alive low. This mission is also for the purpose of obtaining information, so there is a flaw in the statement that any strange force and turbulent spirit that comes can be defeated.』

As if managing all the strange forces and turbulent spirits of this world.

And the fact that a group that truly tracks and manages those things exists nearly made me fail to manage my expression.

“Yes! I will show you something good. It’s a secret from others?”

Then Daoist Mu Gyeong unpacked his bundle.

There were several items, and among them he first showed a talisman.

“This is called the Evil-Destroying Talisman. If you chant the spell like this and throw it into the air...”

The yellowish-brown talisman spat out bright red flames along with a brilliant light.

The flame fell like mud in the middle of the room and flickered like a snake’s tongue, but Daoist Mu Gyeong was not surprised and put his hand into the flame.

“It spits out flames that destroy strange forces and turbulent spirits. Ordinary miscellaneous ghosts and weak yokai can be burned away in one go with this. It only harms strange forces and turbulent spirits, so there is no need to worry.”

『The Evil-Destroying Talisman is an attack method that only works on Human-grade strange forces and turbulent spirits. Even just Earth-grade, it cannot inflict a single scratch, so your boast is close to empty show.』

When he fluttered the first talisman, the flame was sucked back in.

What he introduced next was a short dagger.

It was small in size and seemed perfect for throwing.

“This is the Heaven and Earth Throwing Sword. If you stare at the desired target and throw it, you will definitely hit.”

『The tracking function is excellent, but the speed depends on the thrower’s physical ability and the sharpness of the blade is ordinary. There are no other special functions, and if you snatch it before being stabbed the ownership is transferred and the existing effect is canceled, so it is inadequate even for self-defense.』

Without needing long words, the old man threw the dagger.

He threw it toward me, but it bent 180 degrees backward and stuck into the door threshold.

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

『This is truly the worst result created by desk administration. Not listening to the opinions of practitioners and wasting budget on useless items for hundreds of years—the pitifulness reaches the heavens.』

Next was a small wooden box.

When the lid was opened, a strong peach fragrance wafted out.

“Finally, this is Spirit Mountain Tea. It is made by well-drying the leaves, flowers, and fruits of peach trees harvested from Spirit Mountain and then mixing them well in a specific ratio, and the fragrance and taste change according to the spiritual power a person possesses.”

It is exactly the tea I drank.

“Spiritual power refers to the power possessed by the soul. A human with strong spiritual power can see ghosts and gains resistance to spells. If that strength exceeds the ordinary, they can foresee the future in dreams, move objects without touching them, and look a thousand li away while seated, among other divine abilities.”

The current words could only be heard as meaning he had tested me.

“To one without spiritual power it is merely a tea with no fragrance and only bitterness, and one with even a little spiritual power produces a fragrance and taste close to grain tea, while if ordinary it produces pine needle fragrance and taste.”

The old man sipped the completely cooled tea.

“To one with outstanding spiritual power it produces a fragrance and taste of the finest under heaven, and I hear it is similar to that of Longjing tea.”

“Then what is peach?”

The old man and the crow yokai answered at the same time.

“Supreme talent.”

『It is the fragrance and taste felt by one who has exceeded the limit of spiritual power that can be measured by Spirit Mountain Tea. According to one theory, the stronger the fragrance and taste, the stronger the spiritual power, but there are extremely few records of those who have reached that far, so comparison is impossible.』

Attack.

Flee.

Feign ignorance.

While I was pondering, the old man revealed his yellow teeth and smiled.

“Child.”

It was full of joy like a child receiving a gift.

“Won’t you become my disciple and enter our Heavenly Net?”