Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
⟨Chapter 74⟩
⟨Wish Prayer Song⟩
Every wide open door came out at the scene of a sunlight filled yard. Even inside, it felt like you were inside. As he sat on the wooden floor, where several layers of today’s dirt gathered, and with a book at the side, he felt like a scholar preparing for a civil exam. It wasn’t so bad, right?
But it was only okay for five minutes.
He certainly was a farmhand.
Yu Dan pushed the book far away and laid down.
He came out to play, because he was bored, but here he was even more bored. Everyone was busy with several guests, who came looking for cool drinks. The second floor’s study was swarming with yokai. Soon the hottest day of the year, dàshǔ, would come, and the yokai with cold physiques were coming to Cheon-ho to seek advice on summer survival. The very Cheon-ho who not a long time ago suffered from heat and went on a journey to the gates to afterlife.
Should he go and expose him?
That felt fun, but he feared the aftermath.
Yu Dan turned over, yawning. Laying on a wooden floor, he slowly felt sleepy. There was no fan here, so could it be so cool? He couldn’t believe that outside was so sweltering, even concrete was melting.
He was about to fall asleep, but there was movement outside. Yu Dan quickly sat up and opened the book again. Whispering, the twins entered.
“Oh, you’re still studying.”
“How is it? Is it good here?”
“Ye. Good for studying.”
“I’m glad.”
Chaeu smiled slightly, while he put down a tray. Beads of water slipped down the bowl with a cold fruit punch[1].
“Alright. But do You still have a lot left to study?”
“Why?”
“We have to go out for a bit. Cheonho-nim borrowed a book from a library, and the return is due today, so we have to go.”
“Of course, it’s a yokai library. But it’s pretty far from here. Still, we have always walked all the way before.”
“Riding the bus was really fun last time.”
Chaeseul finished saying and laughed ‘ehehe’. Ah, that what it was about, huh? Yu Dan rummaged through his pockets and took out the bus card.
“Here.”
The twins’ faces became helpless.
“That’s not it…”
“You aren’t asking for a card?”
“Not that and…”
“Ah, I got it. You want to go together?”
“That’s right!”
The two’s faces lit up.
“Then you should have just told me!”
“We were scared that you would refuse. So how about it? Will you go with us?”
“It’s too hot right now. And I studied so diligently, that my head hurts. I’ll rest my eyes for a moment, and then we can go.”
“Okay!”
“Good!”
The twins happily left.
He drank the cold punch in one gulp, and laid down again. It was really excellently cool. He swiftly fell asleep.
Was that what they call ‘game of immortals[2]’?
But it wasn’t long, when someone urgently shook him awake.
“Hey! Everyone is running away, what are you doing!? Those bastards are coming! If you look at them wrong, it’s going to be tragic!”
Yu Dan jumped to his feet.
He saw an unfamiliar red clay wall. He looked around confused.
Where was he?
Bundles of things and the like were hung on the walls. It was a tavern. The men from some period of Joseon were hurriedly packing and running away.
“What? What’s going on?”
A roaring voice was heard outside. The people tried to get out. It was a scene of chaos.
“Why is there no alcohol and meat!?”
“Did we said we’re hungry or did we not?!”
Two ruffians, wearing black wolf heads and fur clothes, swung enormous iron clubs and destroyed the tavern. One was a girl, and the other was a boy. But somehow those voices…
He rubbed his eyes, and looked again, only to be shocked to the point of fright. Those ruffians were Chaeseol and Chaeu.
“No, those guys…”
“Shh. Be careful what You say. They’re yokai. Heuk Nachal and Heuk Yacha. Those bastards are very notorious around here.”
The owner trembled, as he whispered.
He had no idea what was this situation. No, hold on. Could it perhaps be the kids’ past? Does that mean they looked like this in the past? He couldn’t believe it, even though he saw it with his own eyes.
“Don’t you know what will happen if you disobey us?”
“Didn’t you hear rumors? Hm?”
The twins were rogue and violent. And they were extremely strong. The grown men held their breaths and prostated in front of the two children, who threatened with violence, ready to hit and break anything.
“Next time, be quick!”
“Yes. Yes. This lowly servant was very wrong.”
Only after the owner genuinely begged on his hands and feet, did the twins turn around, and spitting, they left.
Somehow, Yu Dan also moved with the children. It felt like he was a soul hovering in the air.
“That was really fun.”
“Yeah. All the stress was released.”
Someone appeared in front of the twins, who were walking, giggling among themselves. It was a handsome scholar wearing gat and white dopo[3].
“What are you?”
The twins glared right at him and swung their iron clubs. Ferocious wind blew each time they swung the enormous iron heads. But the scholar didn’t even blink.
“Your hearts are full of rage, huh? What’s going to happen if you accumulate such evil deeds?”
“Noisy! It’s only our own business!”
The twins lunged at the person, who revealed himself.
But unexpectedly, they were no match for him. No matter how one looked, it was a scholar, who seemed to do nothing but read, but he possessed monstrous strength.
He easily plucked the twins’ iron clubs away from them and threw them far away. When he pressed down Chaeseol with his right arm, and Chaeu with his left arm, he let out a loud shout. The great roar shook the heavens and earth. And the scholar at some point changed into an enormous white tiger.
“Mo-mountain god…”
The twins’ voices trembled.
The white tiger hard kicked the dense tree with his hind leg. Something fell of the tree.
Human corpses. They were gruesome — with their stomachs cut open, and insides completely taken out. Moreover, they exuded a very wicked energy. Even Yu Dan, who was watching it, felt his stomach turn upside down.
“How can you commit such hideous crimes! Are you not afraid of Heavens?!”
Under the white tiger rebuke, the twins looked at each other with flustered faces.
“We didn’t do it!”
“That wasn’t us!”
But the mountain god didn’t believe them.
“If not a wicked yokai, then who did this!? You dammed things! I’ll take your lives here today!”
The white tiger roared again and pounced.
The twins swiftly jumped and turned into enormous wolves. The tiger and two wolves engaged in a fierce battle. The trees were broken, and the ground was upturned deep.
Yu Dan watched with a bated breath.
Then, Chaeu, who flung his body to bite the tiger’s neck, was caught by a hair’s breadth. The white tiger bit deep into his windpipe.
“No!”
Chaeseol screamed. In the midst of her momentary panic, the tiger swung is front paw towards her. Chaeseol’s waist was ripped deep, she bled and collapsed.
“Noona!”
The tiger stomped on the crawling Chaeu. The sound of bones crushing rang out.
“We didn’t do this!”
Chaeseol screamed with all her might, dragging Chaeu. In that instant, pitch black fog rose up, and the two black wolves suddenly disappeared into the ground.
“Earth movement?”
The white tiger mumbled.
“It can’t be helped. You won’t survive either way.”
The mountain god gradually disappeared in the distance. Yu Dan was fleeing together with the twins at some point. Far. Even further. To a solitude place.
Only deep, deep within the mountains did the twins dare to come out of the ground. Chaeu’s neck was in tatters and the bones in his whole body were broken. Chaeseol’s wounds were so serious, internal organs were almost showing.
“We’ve made a mistake. Even with sorcery, this body…”
“We will die now.”
The two bloodied wolves squeezed their bodies close and hugged each other. The gasping breaths gradually subsided.
Then, some hunters appeared on the mountain road.
They were surprised to see two wolves laying in the forest. They turned over their eyelids, touched their noses, and they made space on the cart carrying game and loaded the wolves on it.
The cart rolled on the moonlight filled road. Yu Dan followed.
After walking for a while following the twisting and winding mountain road, they came across a quiet village, deep in the mountain. The hunters laid down the two wolves on the straw mat.
“Amazing bastards.”
“Never in my life I saw such big wolves.”
The hunting dogs came running and barking, but seeing the twins, they duck their tails and backed away. They forcibly dragged the bravest of the bastards, but it whimpered and curled up.
“A moment ago, dholes tried to enter the village, but they suddenly run away.”
“They don’t seem like any ordinary mountain animals. Are they perhaps mountain spirits?”
“If they’re mountain spirits, shouldn’t they be treated?”
The village folks whispered.
Soon, they brought clean clothes and water, and tended to the wounds. They stitched the cuts and applied medicine.
The night continued to turn into a day.
After several days had passed, the twins barely came to their senses. Seeing the village folks treating them, they were surprised.
“Why are they doing this for us?”
“Seems like they’re fools. We’re already finished.”
The twins closed their eyes again.
Their wounds were too serious. The injuries barely healed, but the twins couldn’t move. It seemed like they didn’t have a will to stand up.
The people put the two wolves on a cart again. They thought they were going to take them into the mountain and leave them there, but that wasn’t it. They were brought under a large tree in the center of the village and carefully placed on the bundle of straws, covered with white cloth.
“What are they doing?”
“I don’t know. Why are they like this, it’s annoying.”
The twins tightly closed their eyes. But at the sound of pungak[4], they opened their eyes in surprise. The village folks set a table and were holding ancestral rites.
“We sing wishing for blessings. We pray to Heavens for everyone to live long and well.”
“We brought Them to You to see. If They’re truly mountain spirits-nim, please let them quickly stand up.”
The hunters spoke bluntly, while passing by. The twins mumbled.
“Fools. We aren’t mountain spirits.”
“And there are no Heavens.”
Full moon buoyantly rose into the sky. The leading musician struck the gong, and the wishing ritual began.
Embers lit up between the people, who clasped their hands and prayed. The village’s young men twirled torches on long poles. The dazzling scene unfolded in all four directions. It was a spectacle.
“Wow…”
The twins were dazzled. Their eyes were filled with swirling around flames. Without even knowing it, the two wolves stood up.
“They stood up!”
“The mountain spirits-nim stood up!”
The village folk cheered. The children jumped around in joy. The two wolves standing tall in the lights of the torches looked truly majestic. The women gathered and bowed their heads, praying devoutly. The twins looked at each other, at a loss.
“What do we do, noona?”
“I don’t know. Shouldn’t we play the role of mountain spirits for a while?”
“Until we get all better?”
“Yeah. We can take revenge later.”
“I hate to have a debt of gratitude towards humans.”
“So we have to pay back even more.”
Prosperity came starting from that day.
The twins got better each passing day. Because of the sight of two enormous wolves strolling around day and night, neither tigers nor bears dared to enter the village. The wild animals stopped hunting chickens or stealing grains. The village folks were happy, saying they can now sleep soundly. They cooked rice cakes and meat, and frequently offered them at their feet.
“Fools. You don’t have enough to eat yourself.”
“Noona, should we go hunt, while checking if we’ve recovered?”
The day they caught and brought a boar became a feast day. The twins filled their stomachs with meat, and laid down happily. Taking this opportunity, a village kid approached and touched their ears, and stroked their fur. They showed their teeth and growled, but the child didn’t bother with them, and touched them like it was kneading a rice cake. It couldn’t be helped, so they surrendered. The children, who observed from a distance, plucked courage and gathered around them.
“Your face is really funny.”
“Noona is the same.”
The two looked at each other and burst out laughing.
Days passed, months passed, and the season changed. They should leave, right? They should leave tomorrow. They should leave when a month passes. The twins always said that, but they couldn’t easily leave. Their lives in the village were fulfilling and comfortable. The broken bones healed well. Even their fur became shiner.
Then one day.
They overheard hunters whisper, while passing by.
“A giant tiger, as big as a house, and white at that, was killed and thrown out…”
“It’s extremely strange that the skin was left, but the organs were sucked out.”
The twins flinched, and ran out of the village to that road.
The rumors were true. The white tiger, who attacked the two, was left just an empty shell tumbling around. It was exactly like the corpses he showed them. And it was exactly the same wicked energy.
“The mountain god was hit.”
“Who the hell did that?”
The two chased after that wicked energy, searching every corner.
The sun set at some point. When they came to the place where a big village was visible, the smell became stronger. The twins crossed the hillside road and stopped in surprise. They heard a terribly painful moan from somewhere.
“There!”
They hurriedly ran forward.
A human hand was sticking out on the secluded forest path. They pushed the grass back and looked down, but it was already an empty shell.
On the other side, a carriage collapsed. The twins were about to approach to get the carriage out of the way, but they hesitated. They quickly hid and watched across.
The monster was covered by people.
It was the first time they saw such a grotesque thing. Woman with disheveled hair, and a body of a snake with white belly. On its back were gaping wounds left by the white tiger. There were serious enough that the bones were showing, but it moved extremely nimbly and quietly like they didn’t hurt at all.
There were no screams. For some reason, when people’s eyes met the gaze of the monster, they would freeze stiff, without making a peep. Then, the thing would cut open their stomach with sharp nails and slurp up their insides.
The palanquin procession was annihilated in an instant. Only empty human skins were left on the ground.
The monster straightened its body and heaved its chest. The tautly stretched belly skin rippled, as the wound on its back closed a little. The same thing repeated several times.
The twins trembled in fear.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know, I’m seeing it for the first time.”
*~*~*
[1] punch — 화채 hwachae.
[2] game of immortals — referring to the saying ‘You won’t even know that the axe has rotted when immortals play’. It refers to a folktale which goes like this: a woodcutter embarked to work, when they saw two elders play go. The woodcutter was so immersed in the elders’ game that they lost sense of time and when they came back to their senses, their axe was rotten. It turned out that the two elders were immortals of Big Dipper and Milk Dipper, who watch over lifetimes. They granted the woodcutter a longer lifespan, because they enjoyed their game so much.
[3] gat and dopo — ‘gat 갓’ is a traditional wide brim hat, ‘dopo 도포’ is an outer garnet of hanbok.
[4] pungak — 풍악, traditional percussion instrument.
Translator’s note: This story of a certain day is two chapters long.
Also, I didn’t make a note, but let me break down the title a bit more: 비나리 (binary) — Wish Prayer Song — was a ritual performed often at the beginning of new year, washing away sins and misfortune, and wishing for good luck and blessings for everyone.
Patron thank you note:
Thank you patron, Nobody, please accept this Erica abietina’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Al, please accept this Erica afra’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Dust, please accept this Erica albens’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Maru, please accept this Erica arborea’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, kamisonk, please accept this Erica articularis’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Kasimir Ilmonen, please accept this Erica alopecurus’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Tara Hess, please accept this Erica andevalensis’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Ice, please accept this Erica australis’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Hematite, please accept this Erica baccans’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Deflubs, please accept this Erica bakeri’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, TheFloorGuy, please accept this Erica bauera’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Akemidy, please accept this Erica blandfordia’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, vicky moch, please accept this Erica blenna’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Thank you patron, Diana-Maria, please accept this Erica bolusiae’s flower as a token of my sincere gratitude.
Links to support this translation and access to 8 advanced chapter (Patreon & Kofi)
> Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LibraryKeyTranslations
> Kofi-Euro: https://ko-fi.com/wanthetranslator
> Kofi-USD: https://ko-fi.com/wanthetranslatorusd
Did you see a mistake? 🐞
Leave a Reply