Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Heavenly Net (2)

“What is the Heavenly Net?”

“I cannot explain in detail. In fact, I mentioned the name Heavenly Net because it is you; originally even the name is confidential. If I say it, I get scolded by scary people.”

“No, I’m not some scammer—you’re telling me to become a disciple without even revealing your identity?”

“I heard you are a clever child. I believe you can fully guess from what you have seen and heard so far.”

Suddenly, among the web novels I saw in my previous life, the genre of ghost stories came to mind.

It is a genre where the protagonist struggles to survive in a world where urban legends, ghosts, yokai, aliens, occult, mysteries, and strange phenomena exist, and when I first saw it I had this question.

-Things that would cause a huge uproar if even one existed are scattered everywhere, so why is the world fine?

As if answering the question, secret organizations that oppose those things appeared regularly in ghost story works.

‘Foundation, research institute, association, corporation—names are different but the actions are the same.’

To protect humanity they kill, isolate, or seal monsters.

To prevent chaos they control and monitor information about monsters including themselves.

There was such a secret organization in this world as well, and the name seems to be the Heavenly Net.

“There are several existences similar to the thing that attacked our village in the world, and even though such things exist there is no great chaos because the Heavenly Net deals with them.”

“Keep speaking.”

“People who believe in ghosts and yokai only suspect, they do not confirm. But if those things reveal themselves in the world, suspicion becomes confirmation and this will lead to great chaos, so the Heavenly Net is hiding their information.”

“Say more!”

“To deal with strange forces and turbulent spirits that do not know when or where they will appear in this vast Central Plains and erase the traces, they would have the power and personnel to exert influence across the entire Central Plains.”

“A bit more!”

“Strange forces and turbulent spirits of a level that can be isolated and controlled like that crow will be captured and their power used, and further used to make tools like the ones you showed earlier.”

“Oh! More!”

“The reason the existence of the Heavenly Net is confidential is because the Heavenly Net itself proves the existence of strange forces and turbulent spirits, and all members of the Heavenly Net will go around disguising their identities. Daoist, you are probably not a real Daoist either.”

Daoist Mu Gyeong’s face flushed greatly.

“They say a genius sees one and realizes ten—that saying is true! I only mentioned the name and you realized that far!”

I could not bring myself to say that I had seen a similar setting in a novel.

“You must enter the Heavenly Net! By the way, this is also beneficial to you! Spiritual power cannot properly display its strength without training! At best it is only to the extent of seeing things that hide their forms! That is why you were bewitched by the spell!”

I have something called spiritual power, and if I enter the Heavenly Net I can train it.

At the same time I can also beat up strange force and turbulent spirit things, so it is killing two birds with one stone.

Alone I would waste my life wandering this vast land looking for those things.

‘But is that possible with my personality?’

Where people gather there are bound to be trash, and arms bend inward is the principle of the world.

If I enter the Heavenly Net and discover trash, my fist will go out first without me knowing, and I don’t know what treatment I will receive afterward.

“I will think about becoming a disciple. I do not want to easily decide on something that changes my life.”

“...Do you still want to become a martial artist?”

“Did you hear even that from the villagers? Or did that crow tell you that too?”

“I heard from the people. This one’s ability has limitations.”

No, but I haven’t even confirmed the goal of a life of beating up strange forces and turbulent spirits.

When I thought I could beat up things like the kidnapper ghost from last time, I unknowingly got excited and raised internal energy, then belatedly calmed it.

“This one is called the Three-legged Crow, and it can read the flow of qi that people unconsciously emit and roughly figure out that person’s life. It also looks at the flow of natural earth qi and sees the near future of about a day, but because it is prediction there are many times it is wrong.”

“What is the limitation?”

“It cannot read children’s lives. It must be at least the age of capping for the life to soak into the energy.”

Life soaks into the energy?

As expected, the abilities of strange forces and turbulent spirits are hard to understand with common sense.

“What led you here was my scheme. Those with spiritual power often reveal extraordinary appearances from a young age. Accordingly I had the Three-legged Crow put on an act. If there is spiritual power it will be visible, if extraordinary it will understand the hidden meaning, and if interested in strange forces and turbulent spirits it will seek me out. But it was more extraordinary than thought, so I am truly glad!”

Anyway, everything was an act.

The eye contact on the first day and the mention of Heaven-grade were all mere coincidence.

“...But why is that one acting like that?”

In my entire life, this is the first time I knew that a crow could be shocked in that way.

Moreover, trembling like a poplar tree makes it look like a broken electronic product.

“You, why are you like that?”

『A-ah, ah, it’s nothing!』

“What are you saying while trembling as if you met a tiger in the mountains.”

『I-it’s because it’s cold!』

“Inside the room?”

『P-put more firewood! A-it’s still c-cold!』

It also feels like it is subtly trying not to make eye contact with me.

“You’ll think about it? Then to help with the decision I will show you more amazing things!”

Daoist Mu Gyeong took out various items from the bundle and introduced them as if boasting.

“This is a brush whose ink never dries! You can use it endlessly! If you close the lid there is no worry of it staining anywhere!”

“...Amazing.”

“And this stone, if you press the button on top, from that moment it displays the time that has flowed in day units! See, can you see? The characters for one day are floating up?”

“Yes, very amazing.”

“Finally, a continuously usable fire-seizing tool! If you pour water like this it goes out, but if you close the lid and open it—ta-da! It turns on again?”

Martial arts-style ballpoint pen, stopwatch, lighter.

Even if science does not develop, what people think is all the same.

“Ugh, these are items other children would have liked, but as expected you are extraordinary. Won’t you come again the day after tomorrow? At that time I will show you even cooler and better things.”

“Not tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow I have important things to do.”

While seeing me off, Daoist Mu Gyeong looked at me with warm eyes.

“Spiritual power is martial strength bestowed upon special ones chosen by heaven. This is the power to use in setting the world right, and the price of the duty to lead ordinary people. In that regard, I will tell you that the Heavenly Net is the most outstanding choice.”

On the way back, I mulled over the last words.

‘Sounds like something a person with chosen-people consciousness stuck in their bones would say.’

Well, if one sees what others cannot see, displays extraordinary abilities, and is born with the power to resist spells, anyone would develop a chosen-people ideology, so it is understandable.

‘By the way, what is the purpose of coming to our village?’

Since the purpose the crow yokai spoke of was an act, what the real purpose is has fallen into a maze.

‘But Heaven-grade will exist. When it was mentioned on the first day it was not an act.’

Contextually, it seems to think that what killed the Child-Luring Ghost is Heaven-grade.

According to the Three-legged Crow’s expression, Heaven-grade seems to be a very powerful and rare strange force and turbulent spirit.

‘Just as the Child-Luring Ghost did not think of its own death, the Daoist and Three-legged Crow will not suspect even a bit that I killed it.’

While circulating qi I recall the faces of the Daoist and Three-legged Crow.

The face of the crow still shocked is clear in my mind.

What crow makes a face like that...

‘...Wait, it sees energy?’

No wonder it suddenly trembled.

It seems to have seen the internal energy I unconsciously raised, but I don’t know why it didn’t tell the Daoist.

‘Could it be because it is afraid of dying to me?’

I thought of meeting again the day after tomorrow and probing, but I could not.

“That Daoist bastard! Where on earth did he go!”

“He only gave a lot of fear, and hasn’t come for seven days and nights?”

Daoist Mu Gyeong disappeared.

* * *

“That guy! He was a scammer after all! He only scared us with disaster or whatever and just ran away!”

“He only begged for food, he didn’t ask for money, did he?”

“Hey! Does rice come out if you dig the ground!? Does it!?”

“We farm. It does come out, right?”

At the sudden disappearance of the Daoist, some people who had been anxious became angry.

But most people guessed that Daoist Mu Gyeong had finished his work and left lightly.

“Would a Daoist with divine ability be fake?”

“He didn’t demand wealth. Meals and lodging are things that should naturally be provided.”

“He finished his work without us knowing and left to help other people.”

The Daoist headed somewhere for his purpose and disappeared as is.

Since he had tried hard to make me join the Heavenly Net, there is no way he left after finishing the work.

‘Until talking with me, the Daoist was wandering the village, right?’

He probably asked people something.

When I tracked the Daoist’s movements, I could quickly catch the tail.

“The Daoist asked me. About village legends or folktales, or strange incidents. I was about to say there was nothing special, but I remembered something from my childhood and told him.”

Grandpa Yun of the neighborhood said he told about a mountain he often went hunting in when he was young.

“Originally it was an ordinary mountain, but from some day the beasts increased. It wasn’t just that the numbers increased—the beasts of that mountain had glossy fur and the meat strangely did not spoil easily. So everyone called it Hundred Beasts Mountain, but around the time I passed the age of capping it became an ordinary mountain again.”

It was a mountain I had also heard about a few times while doing labor exchange at Grandpa Yun’s house.

“After hearing that story, he looked satisfied, right?”

That very day I sought Hundred Beasts Mountain.

After crossing four mountains, the mountain Grandpa spoke of revealed itself, but it was an ordinary mountain that could be seen anywhere.

‘What is that?’

While searching by jumping between trees, something was visible among the fallen leaves piled in a small clearing on the mountainside.

Approaching and clearing the fallen leaves, the white bones hidden underneath revealed themselves.

‘Someone who got lost long ago?’

Yellowed bones.

Clothes that had completely rotted leaving only traces like spiderwebs.

Shoes that had already rotted and disappeared.

It looked as if it had been left undiscovered here for at least several decades.

Clearing the other fallen leaves above, I discovered Daoist Mu Gyeong’s belongings.

I found the brush shown before, one book, the stone that measures time, the fire-seizing tool, and the remaining burned talisman and broken Heaven and Earth Throwing Sword lying unrusted.

“...”

Before checking the book, I checked the stone that measures time.

In the middle of the crystal-like transparent stone, black characters were floating.

[Thirteen thousand six hundred ninety-nine days]

Those white bones were Daoist Mu Gyeong.

Seven days had passed since leaving the village, yet the number written is 13,699 days.

While feeling anger and surprise at the same time, the text of the book that unfolded in the wind was reflexively read.

[Met a Heaven-grade.]

An unknown chill crawls up my legs.

[I will die.]

Hundred Beasts Mountain no longer feels ordinary.