TFN C89

Chapter 89

“What a lawless thing this is,” his mother muttered, dispersing the bad energy that rose just from thinking about it.

“Oh my, did something happen?”

Sensing the sudden surge of heavy energy, his sister hurriedly opened the shrine door and peeked in.

“It’s nothing,” his mother said calmly.

“Really? Then please take a short break—have something to drink.”

She stepped inside, carrying cups filled just enough for everyone.

Wonhyo caught the faint scent of grape from his glass and wrinkled his nose. It was his favorite soda—the one his mother had banned him from drinking lately because of how much he’d been consuming under stress. His sister must have secretly saved some for him.

He gulped it down quickly before his mother could notice, the fizz burning pleasantly in his throat.

“You haven’t looked at the spirit yet, have you?” his sister asked.

“Not yet,” his mother replied. “We were just talking about what Wonhyo discovered.”

Wonhyo quickly summarized what he’d told them earlier.

“Could it have been an awakened skill?” his sister asked. “Something specializing in curses?”

“It’s not registered in the Bureau’s system,” Cheongmun replied.

“Oh really? Then it means whoever did this isn’t a divine disciple, yet they can wield such techniques… Should I contact some of the elders, see if anyone knows something?”

Her mother waved a hand in permission.

“People are dying, so it’s worth checking. Make a few calls later.”

“I’ll do it this evening.”

Neither his mother nor sister ran an official information network. What she meant was calling fellow shamans—veterans who had been practicing for fifty or sixty years in their respective regions, spending their days in prayer and ritual.

Most were always busy, but when something this grave happened, their ears always perked up.

“Well, since Hyoryeong’s here, I suppose it’s time to bring them out,” his mother said.

Wonhyo looked at Cheongmun.

“You can take the dolls out and place them on the table.”

“Directly, like this?”

Cheongmun glanced at the clean wooden table—bare except for the cups they had just used—and hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was right to set down cursed objects there. But soon, he took the dolls from his inventory and laid them out one by one.

Wonhyo’s eyes went to the last doll—the pig—after the dog and cat were placed. The first two only had one golden cord tied around their necks, but the pig had one at its neck and one around each leg.

“Just stick a skewer in it, and it’d look ready for roasting,” his mother remarked dryly.

When she picked up her rattle and fan, Wonhyo reached toward the pig doll. He wanted to untie just one cord first to test the reaction.

As his fingers brushed the one around its front leg, he noticed the talisman beneath it—crumpled and wrinkled. Maybe he had tied it too hastily earlier. But the moment he reached out to straighten it, the red ink on the paper turned pitch-black.

『You have touched strong “malicious energy.” (…in progress… 99.9%)』

Pain shot through his fingertips before he could even scream. He jerked his arm back, eyes wide, as the corruption level that had been hovering in the 60s surged straight to maximum.

The world spun; his vision flashed white. His body went limp and collapsed.

“Wonhyo!”

“Mr. Yoon!”

『Exposed to strong “malicious energy.” Penalty state activated. (Remaining time: 23:59:58)』

It was like plunging headfirst into a deep, icy pool. His skin stung, then burned with electric pain.

He kicked and thrashed, desperate to break free from the heavy sensation dragging him downward. This wasn’t water, but a psychic mire—he didn’t know when or how he’d resurface.

Instead of looking into the dark depths below, Wonhyo looked up. The light above shimmered like the rippling surface of water under sunlight.

He kicked hard, ignoring the weight pulling him down like a drowning ghost, and broke through.

“Pwah—!”

A ragged breath escaped him.

Everything was still dark, but he recognized the fabric that clung to him—it was his own clothing. He clawed upward, pushing through his shirt and coat until light poured in around him.

Blinking rapidly, he looked up to find several pairs of worried eyes staring down.

“Baa—!”

…What?

Wonhyo froze. That bleating sound had come from his own mouth.

He hadn’t meant to make it, but the high-pitched cry wobbled up and down uncontrollably.

When he lifted his limbs to check, he realized his hands and feet weren’t there—at least, not the way they used to be. But one thing was clear: whatever he’d become, it was a lamb.

“Oh my, how adorable!”

He flailed his front legs in protest. Put me down!

His sister only laughed, scooping him into her arms.

“Sorry, but you’re too cute! You look just like a cartoon lamb!”

“Suffolk breed,” Cheongmun observed calmly.

“Baa?”

Suffolk? The name jogged his memory. Right—the black-faced, white-fleeced sheep from England.

“Baa-aa…”

Still, this was so not the time for trivia.

Wonhyo strained his neck, glaring at the pig doll—the one that had cursed him. From this tiny body, the table now towered high above his head.

His mother and sister were both staring at the doll as well, eyes on the talisman that had turned completely black.

“At least it didn’t escape outside,” his mother murmured.

“It probably tried to possess whoever got closest,” his sister said. “But didn’t you say items inside an inventory are sealed safely?”

“Baa…” They used to be.

Wonhyo nodded, then glanced toward Cheongmun—because it wasn’t his own inventory that had held the doll.

“I did transport them in mine,” Cheongmun said. “But when it came to cursed items, there were no issues last time.”

“Baa?” So maybe this time it used a different method?

Wonhyo bleated softly, then sighed.

“Come here for a moment,” Cheongmun said.

His sister giggled as the little lamb wiggled its legs in protest, but she gently set him down.

Still shaky, Wonhyo tottered across the floor. Cheongmun pulled out a small communication artifact—a debuff nullification cookie, a larger piece than before.

Wonhyo instinctively began licking up every crumb with his tiny tongue, chewing furiously.

“Ah—ah! It’s working!”

The cool mint taste flooded his throat, and suddenly, his human voice burst out again.

Relieved, he turned toward his mother and sister.

They’d heard about this item before—from that first encounter when he’d called Cheongmun while in tiger form—but seeing him speak in an animal body was another matter entirely.

“He really talks after eating that cookie?”

Cheongmun shrugged. “He already could speak before transformation. But yes—it’s an impressive device. Non-tradeable, right?”

“That’s right.”

Cheongmun lifted him onto his lap, so he could see the table better.

“Can you still feel the energy?”

“Mm… no, as long as I don’t touch it.”

The attack had only triggered when he physically made contact with the talisman.

“I’ve never tried putting a spirit vessel into an inventory before,” Wonhyo admitted. “I didn’t think it’d retaliate the instant it came out.”

“Normally, living beings can’t be stored—and most people wouldn’t even think of putting a haunted object in there,” Cheongmun said.

“Well, I wasn’t trying to either,” Wonhyo grumbled.

He’d only done it out of necessity. Regular people wouldn’t even recognize a haunted object, much less store one.

“Still, it broke through my suppression charm too easily,” he muttered.

Just like with the vengeful spirit case—despite all his precautions, the curse-maker’s methods slipped past his defenses. It wasn’t just incompatibility; something within their power overlapped with his.

No matter how sacred the energy he borrowed, it wasn’t his own—it was loaned, and that came with limits.

“Let me take a look,” his mother said.

“You, Mother?”

“If it can overpower the generals I serve, then let it try.”

With a confident grin, she reached out and picked up the pig doll barehanded.

Unfolding the blackened talisman and untying the cord around its front leg, she inspected it calmly.

As the trapped miasma burst outward, Wonhyo winced at the surge.

Cheongmun snapped his fingers, summoning a cube barrier to contain it.

His sister’s eyes widened at the shimmering construct but quickly composed themselves, watching silently.

“Let’s see…”

The air thickened with heavy, damp energy, but his mother’s hand didn’t even tremble as she stroked the doll. The spirit within pressed and thrashed, but she stood unyielding.

Of course she did. The generals she served—divine warrior spirits of the heavens—would never yield to such filth.

Her presence cut through the miasma like a blade, slicing cleanly and methodically, layer by layer.

Out of the corner of his eye, Wonhyo caught the faint shimmer of a celestial woman’s figure—his sister’s patron deity, the Celestial Lady—watching with amused curiosity.

“This twisted thing… looks just like an umbilical cord,” his mother said at last. “A curse, without a doubt.”

The mention of an umbilical cord made Wonhyo’s tail flick involuntarily. He’d seen something similar back in the detention center. She was right—its form, its texture, everything about it felt like that.

📝 Notes

• 귀기 (Gwigi) – literally “ghost energy” or “malicious aura.” A spiritual contamination that accumulates when exposed to evil spirits or curses. 
• 인벤토리 (Inventory) – a concept borrowed from RPGs/games; in this world, some awakened individuals can store physical items in an internal or dimensional space. 
• 부적 (Bujeok) – traditional Korean talisman paper inscribed in red ink to invoke, repel, or seal spiritual energy. 
• 금줄 (Geumjul) – sacred rope made of twisted straw and paper charms used to ward off evil or mark holy ground. 
• 넋당석 (Neokdangseok) – a “spirit vessel,” an object or charm meant to hold a wandering soul temporarily. 
• 선녀님 (Seonnyeo-nim) – a “Celestial Lady” or heavenly maiden, a benevolent female spirit often associated with shamans. 
• 장군님 (Janggunnim) – literally “General,” referring to powerful warrior deities that serve as protectors or enforcers in Korean shamanism. 
• 탯줄 저주 (Taetjul Curse) – “Umbilical curse”; a symbolic binding spell resembling an umbilical cord, representing an unbroken link between victim and curse source.