Chapter 10: The Yin Ghost’s Assault
When Seocheon-gi and Dogeom killed three men and struck the white shadow, they only felt emptiness. At once, the shadow flickered into being. The white shadow seemed utterly unharmed. It tore through the three men and lunged at Seogeum-ui. Seogeum-ui’s face turned pale with shock, but having survived in the martial world for so long, he fiercely suppressed his fear and at once summoned the rigid, stereotypical heart of a black tiger.
The moment the pink fist touched the white shadow, the shadow burrowed into the ground. Then, with a swish, it sprang up before Seogeum-ui. He saw a face devoid of eyes, nose, or mouth rushing at him. Just as he tried to react, a mass of blood burst from that blank face and gnawed at his own. Seogeum-ui fainted before he could even scream. Hamun-hwi, on the other side, was also shocked by the sight. In fact, he screamed and fainted too.
At that moment, the remaining few turned and ran over. Maenggye-gyeong had originally been beside Seogeum-ui. Even before this, he had exchanged palm strikes, but the white shadow had melted into the ground and hidden away. Now he tried to brush past toward Seocheon-gi’s group, but though he put strength into his legs, he could not move. He looked back and saw his clothing hem caught by a child. Turning to look, the child lifted a face without eyes and smiled at him. Maenggye-gyeong’s body went limp. He simply fainted.
After slipping past the three men with Seocheon-gi, the white shadow lunged at Mujin again. Mujin rolled aside like a lazy donkey tumbling away. The moment he got up, he found himself facing a person with a white face, raised eyebrows, and blood flowing from the mouth. Mujin’s eyes went wide.
At this time, Seok Heon was standing leisurely in a corner. Using the incantation of the Divine Observation Method to suppress his thoughts by the clear breeze and bright moon, he settled his mind. Thus, after the yin wind passed, Seok Heon only felt dizzy and remained conscious. He saw Seocheon-gi running around in place, casting techniques at the air. Seok Heon realized they had fallen into an illusion technique. He considered using a mantra to dispel disaster and invoke fortune to clear their minds, but on second thought, since the Yin Ghost was merely trying to frighten them unconscious with illusion, it seemed more convenient to wait until they had all fainted before acting. If the Yin Ghost had intended to kill, he would have been on guard the entire time.
Seok Heon withdrew slightly into the corner, appearing to leisurely guard the hall while secretly observing in all directions. Unexpectedly, in the corridor near the backyard, a woman wearing a yellow skirt with bright red lapels stood there. Her feet hovered half a chih above the ground, and she cast no shadow.
“Hehe, so this is the true form of the Yin Ghost. No, perhaps because I have not yet opened my eyes, I can only see it in a transformed shadow.” Seok Heon thought to take out the Celestial Eye Light-Opening Talisman from his inner pocket with his other hand and activate it. Light flashed, and when he looked over, he only saw a transparent, human-shaped shadow. He could barely tell it had a woman’s face, but the features were unclear. He could discern that the shadow’s strength was certainly not great.
At this time, Seocheon-gi and the Dogeom twin killers were still fighting the air. Seocheon-gi seemed to be searching for something as he fought, wondering why the itinerant Daoist he had invited, Goin-seok, had disappeared. Seok Heon thought it would be better to knock out the Dogeom twins. This way, he could still count it as winning the bet.
Thus, he stimulated the Spirit-Lightness Talisman Scroll and carefully brushed past behind the twin killers. Because Seok Heon’s soul could not activate two talisman scrolls simultaneously, he first activated the Azure Wood Manifestation Talisman. The power of the five elements rippled through the space, and azure wood condensed behind Geomchong’s head like the mouth of a bowl. Following Seok Heon’s finger, it struck the back of Geomchong’s head hard. Geomchong’s body went stiff, and he collapsed.
Kalbong was startled to see Geomchong fall. There was no time to spare. He wanted to leap toward Hamun-hwi, pick him up, and rush out of the house first. Seocheon-gi saw the situation and turned to flee. But the moment he turned, he saw a giant blood sphere. A ball of blood larger than his own head blocked his path, and he seemed able to feel the airflow swirling around it. Its inherent cunning was crude compared to the hardened brutality of killing countless men with blades, so his vision merely went dark and he fainted.
At this point, Seok Heon activated a second Azure Wood Manifestation Talisman, smoothly knocked out Kalbong, and prepared for Seocheon-gi to awaken from the illusion as well. In any case, since this fellow knew he practiced Daoist arts, he turned back to find that Seocheon-gi had already fainted.
At that moment, the transparent shadow flew over. Seok Heon judged the opponent’s strength to be weak, but he took out a self-made Air-Sucking Thunder Talisman from his inner pocket and held it in his hand, preparing for any eventuality. The transparent shadow stopped a few paces from Seok Heon. Its side faced him, and it placed both hands over a suspicious area in front of its body.
“This Dao master, there is no need for that. This humble woman will not lose her life. I cannot see other people entering the house.”
“Yes. Even outside Bingdo, rumors circulate that the ghost here does not harm people’s lives. They merely faint from fright. That is why I did not raise a hand against you earlier. I do not know why you keep yearning for this place. But since you are no longer a stranger either.” Seok Heon stepped back.
“Dao master, I wonder if you could withdraw this penetrative spell. This humble woman is a proper lady, so I am not accustomed to standing naked before others.” Seok Heon was dumbfounded. This was the Celestial Eye Light-Opening Technique, meant for seeing ghosts, not for peeping. However, if the other party wished to talk, there was no harm in canceling the spell. It was not as if he only had this one talisman; if there were truly some conspiracy afoot, he could simply use it again. Besides, if he used his sensory-response talisman, he would sense the Yin Ghost approaching and need not fear a sneak attack.
After Seok Heon dispelled the Celestial Eye Light-Opening Technique, the female ghost he saw resumed her previous appearance: a goose-yellow skirt with bright red lapels. Geomchong lay right in front of him, so while conversing unhurriedly with the female ghost, Seok Heon used his past experience in point-sealing techniques learned under Seocheon-gi to strike Geomchong’s sleeping acupoint. With an expert of this caliber, it was difficult to predict when he might awaken; sealing his acupoints would reduce the trouble. Seok Heon had better methods, such as the Spirit-Calming Talisman or the Mind-Calming Talisman, but point-sealing was more economical. He formed a gourd-shaped gesture and struck the sleeping acupoints of Kalbong, Hamun-hwi, Mokjin, Seogeum-ui, and Maenggye-gyeong. As for Seocheon-gi, since he could awaken at any time, he let him be.
When he turned back, the female ghost had turned around. Her face was neat and beautiful. She walked over gracefully and bowed.
“I do not know how to address this Dao master, but it would be better to follow this humble woman to Pyeongcheong and take a seat.” Seok Heon smiled and spoke.
“I am from Bingdo, of the Seok family, and since I do not know how to address you, young lady, let us speak here. My companions are all present.”
“This humble woman is Lady Bang. Master Seok, please have a seat. This humble woman will go brew a pot of tea.” Having spoken, she bowed and went outside again.
Seok Heon thought blankly. Was she being so polite because she had not seen or interacted with people for too long?
He righted an overturned chair on the floor and sat down as he pleased. Inwardly, he secretly pondered what to ask and how to handle matters in the end.
At this time, Seok Heon’s sharp senses detected two small heads furtively peeking inside from the doorway leading from the backyard into the corridor. Seeing Seok Heon look their way, they immediately shrank back. After a moment, seeing no reaction from him, they poked their heads out again. Only then did Seok Heon see clearly. They were two adorable children, like carved jade, perhaps three or four years old. A boy and a girl with pale faces. Seok Heon knew they were ghosts, but seeing no malice in the two children, he smiled at them kindly.
The two children were startled by the smile and shrank back again. After waiting a moment, the boy took the girl’s hand and quietly floated over, stopping before Seok Heon.
“Uncle Daoist, hello. I am Bang Deok-rin. By nominal age, I am four years old. Somehow, every year Mother says I am four years old.” The boy looked at Seok Heon and spoke.
“I am Bang Ham-ryeong. I am his younger sister, but I am also four years old.” The girl opened her round eyes wide and butted in.
Seok Heon thought that though he had been uncle-aged in his previous life, he was not yet twenty now, and spoke kindly.
“Deok-rin, Ham-ryeong, what brings you here?” Ham-ryeong answered first.
“We are hungry, Uncle Daoist.” As she finished speaking, she looked at the unconscious men with the eyes of one looking at food, then gazed at Seok Heon pitifully.
Seok Heon could not smell blood on the two children. They did not seem to drink blood; rather, they absorbed yang energy. However, he did not answer, because at that moment the ghost flew back after setting down a tea tray.
“Deok-rin, Ham-ryeong, how can you disturb a guest? Come here at once.” The female ghost placed a tray on another fallen chair beside Seok Heon, lifted a cup of tea, and offered it to him. In truth, it would not have been appropriate to take it, and her hand did not touch the cup. The two children pouted and ran to their mother’s side.
The female ghost appeared harmless, but Seok Heon could not relax his guard. He stimulated the Object-Grasping Technique talisman in his sleeve and tapped the teacup. Because he maintained a clear-mind state that calmed his heart, he did not fall into the low-level illusion. The teacup was made of a lotus leaf, shaped from a large lotus leaf, looking as thin as dew within the cup, but Seok Heon dared not drink.
Lady Bang, seeing the situation, lowered her head slightly.
“Dao master, please do not blame me. After I became like this, I can no longer hold anything. I have no choice but to project these with the spells I have realized. My cultivation is also lacking, so I have no choice but to project such light objects. I have been too negligent with my guest.” Her tone was bashful.
Seok Heon set down the teacup and changed the subject.
“I wonder what Deok-rin and Ham-ryeong want to eat, coming in here.” Lady Bang started to speak, then stopped. Only after the two children behind her tugged at her clothes did she speak.
“Dao master, from what I have seen, these two children are truly so hungry they do not know what to do. However, they have not harmed human lives. They need only absorb a little yang energy. It causes no damage to the human body, though one would be listless in spirit for several days.” Seok Heon thought for a moment, then without turning his head, pointed toward the Dogeom twin killers lying behind him to the left.
“These two are heinous criminals who once committed murder. It would be a good deed for you to draw some yang energy from them. You should all go together.” Overjoyed at this, Lady Bang took the two children, spun around, bowed low, and rushed toward the twin killers.