Entomologist in Sichuan Tang Clan Chapter 313

313
At first, I just dismissed it as something trivial or a coincidence.

But if a coincidence or something insignificant happens repeatedly, it is not a coincidence at all.

Two fallen roof tiles.

A door that has fallen over.

Suddenly, a half-broken window burst open.

Finally, looking at the two broken tiles that had fallen from the roof in quick succession, I couldn’t help but wonder if there were any ghosts.

“Hey, is there a ghost or something!?”

And he hugged Hyang-i tightly.

It was because all the hair on my spine stood on end.

Humans feel fear of the unknown, so isn’t the object that maximizes that fear the most the ghost?

‘Dog, dog, I’m scared!’

-Tsurut? 『Ghost?』

-What?

-What?

I was momentarily gripped by fear, but the children looked at me with bright eyes at the word ghost.

Following the scent, he grabbed the children and pulled them all into his arms.

-Okay.

-Kukukuu!

He grabbed Dong-i’s hind legs and put them in his arms, then grabbed Hong-dan’s tail and pulled hard.

Hongdan, who was holding onto Dongi and the reed leaves that were being pulled upside down, was pulled into his arms along with the reed leaves.

-Squeak.

-Kyuut!

After covering the guys’ mouths so they couldn’t scream.

He immediately dug up the reed leaves and hid inside.

At first, the children struggled in my arms.

He seemed flustered because he was suddenly dragged in without any explanation.

Dong-i’s front paw pushed my chin as if trying to escape, and Seol-i and Bing-i’s tails flapped inside my arms.

But when we were all covered with reed leaves, the children’s reactions changed.

Suddenly, a situation where I didn’t understand English became fun.

-Tsuru. “It’s fun.”

-Bye!

One by one, the children’s heads were placed next to me as I looked outside through the gap between the reed leaves.

Since children originally like to wear things like this, it seemed like they thought this current situation was some kind of prank.

When I was little, I also liked to cover myself with a blanket or put a cloth over my desk and hide underneath.

Then came the curious cries of the guys who had their heads down.

-Tsurut. “But what’s a ghost, Dad? And what are we doing?”

-What?

-Kkuku?

I don’t know what a ghost is, but the act of covering myself with the blanket and looking outside felt like I was playing a ghost, so it was a playful cry.

-Tap tap tap.

He explained in a cautious voice, looking at the flames of the campfire flickering between the reed leaves.

“What is a ghost? It is the spirit of a dead person…”

-Tsurut? 『Soul?』

“The soul is born when a person dies… Miss. What should I call this?”

However, the concepts of the soul and death were difficult to explain to children, and as I was struggling to figure out how to explain them easily, Hyang-i immediately asked Hwa-eun a question through the group chat.

『-Tsururut? (Mom, what is a ghost?)

‘Oh, Hyang-i, you haven’t slept yet? And suddenly a ghost?’

Because it’s the children’s behavior to ask their mothers when their fathers don’t know.

Then, Hwa-eun answered right away even though it was late at night.

In response to Hwa-eun’s question, Hyang-i roughly explained the whole story in her own way.

『-Tsurut. (Yeah, Dad says there’s a ghost here right now, but Dad can’t answer.)』

Then, a feeling of amusement mixed with a little laughter came over me.

Maybe it was a ghost, he thought I was playing a prank with Hyang-i.

Then a gentle voice is heard.

Hwa-eun explained to Hyang-i about ghosts with great affection, saying that she had enough qualities to be a good mother.

『’Ah, what is a ghost? It is made up of two parts: the speaking and thinking Hyang-i and the body Hyang-i. When you die, the body disappears, but the thinking and speaking Hyang-i remains. That is called a ghost.’

Hwa-eun explained it step by step, but Hyang-i tilted her head.

The boy, who didn’t understand anything, answered while scratching his head with his antennae.

『-Tsururut. Oh, I see. But Mom, we’re hiding right now.)』

I felt like he was trying to change the conversation because he didn’t understand, but Hyang-i’s words made him react slightly surprised.

“You hid?”

-Tsutsuru. (Yeah, we’re hiding in the grass right now.)

‘Little Dragon, what does the fragrance mean?’

Hwa-eun asks for an explanation of what happened when Hyang-i says she is hiding in the grass.

He probably thought I was joking, but he seemed to find it strange when I told him I was hiding.

“‘Here’s what happened… That’s why I’m hiding for a moment.'”

He immediately explained the whole story.

Suddenly, in the evening, roof tiles fell, doors flipped over, and half-broken windows opened with a bang.

But after hearing my explanation, Hwa-eun asked a question that she didn’t understand.

“‘But why did you hide?’

‘Why? You’re a ghost, aren’t you?’

‘yes?'”

I knew from the beginning that our Hwa-eun lacks empathy, but I never thought it would be this low.

Of course, I answered that it was because of ghosts, but the question continued.

“‘No, so if you’re a ghost, why are you hiding?’

‘No, of course.’

‘of course?’

‘Of course it’s because it’s scary.’

-Wow!

Suddenly, another tile fell down along with the raindrops pouring down through the hole in the ceiling.

Shards of broken roof tiles flying everywhere.

“Eek!”

I screamed without realizing it, but in that moment, Hwa-eun’s bewildered feelings were conveyed to my mind.

“‘Little Dragon, I don’t understand.’

“Why? The tiles fell again in front of me now! It’s clear that a ghost is trying to harm me!”

I was already feeling upset at Hwa-eun’s reaction, but then Hwa-eun’s next words made me feel like a hammer was hitting me in the head.

“‘No, I don’t understand why Little Dragon is afraid of ghosts.’

‘I have some fears too. I’m not always manly, cool, and dashing.’

‘No, that’s not what I meant. Little Dragon has always had ghosts with him, right? It hasn’t been that long since we started doing it together, though…’

‘What is that?’

When I tilted my head at Hwa-eun’s explanation that sounded like I was possessed by a ghost, Hwa-eun continued speaking as if she really couldn’t understand.

“‘You’re a ghost, aren’t you? You take care of me every day and see me once every two weeks, so why are you afraid of other ghosts?'”

Now that I think about it, that really was true.

Although it is true that the soul of Cheongyu Sojeo was sucked into the body of the King of Geumgwansa, Cheongyu Sojeo is clearly a ghost too.

I saw it every day and now I understand what people mean when they ask why I’m scared.

‘No, really? Why were you scared? Because we’re not ghosts?’

You raise a viper at home but are afraid of wild vipers?

That was nonsense.

It definitely feels like Hwa-eun’s words are right.

And when I thought about it that way, my anxious mind quickly calmed down.

***

-Whew.

The sound of steady rain becomes white noise.

It is called white noise because it has a frequency similar to white light.

White noise is said to help you focus better while studying, and it can also help you calm your mind and body and get a good night’s sleep.

We were falling asleep, immersed in the white noise created by the raindrops.

A sharp sound came to my ear.

-Wow!

We all looked in the direction of the sound, annoyed by the sharp sound that cut through the sound of the rain.

“Again?”

-Tsrrrr.

-Quit!

The rain still showed no signs of stopping, and today, following yesterday, we were forced to stay in an abandoned building. Continuing from yesterday, we weren’t the only ones forced to stay in an abandoned building.

Today, too, things like roof tiles and doors kept rattling and falling, disturbing our sleep.

Now, it’s more of a nuisance than a scary thing.

“Is the light off?”

I opened my eyes and looked towards the campfire, and the dying flames flickered like fireflies.

I just wanted to sleep, but I decided to turn up the lights.

Since it was a ghost, the lights were turned up and it was quiet for a while.

First, I grabbed a handful of the reeds lying underneath and threw them into the fire, but the fire must have died down a lot because it didn’t come up quickly.

It seemed like I would have to lie down and blow air with my mouth to light the fire.

“Oh, there’s a lot of smoke and it’s annoying.”

I was struck by the thought of being swept away by the ash and smoke, but a white lump stood out clearly in the darkness.

-Rustle.

As I reached out and held it in my hand, I realized what it was.

“Isn’t this oil blotting paper?”

The oil paper I brought to wrap the jerky in on the first day I arrived.

That was it.

Regular paper burns well, but oiled paper?

Even if it’s a dying fire like a firefly, wouldn’t it soon flare up again?

-Whew.

He unfolded the crumpled paper, tore off one side, and threw it into the fire.

Then a flame burst out in flames.

As I expected, the oiled paper burned quickly and shared its sparks with the reeds.

Just when you think the fire is starting to rise, you think you should add a few more pieces of firewood and put the remaining oil paper away.

As I was about to fold the paper, something strange caught my eye.

“Why is it so torn?”

What I found odd was the torn cross-section of the paper.

It was the part that the rat tore yesterday.

That part was obviously weird.

I clearly thought that a rat had torn the wax paper and stolen all the jerky inside, but at the time I didn’t check the paper because I just lost the jerky, but this was definitely not a rat.

That would be the case, since if it was a rat, it would have gnawed through the wax paper and made a hole, but the paper I was examining was cut as if with a knife.

‘Oh, really?’

A fleeting thought at the sight of what was clearly not a rat’s mark.

I thought that the one who stole the jerky was a rat and the one who was causing a commotion now was a ghost, but it occurred to me that maybe the two were one and the same.

That would be the case, because to get something like this, a person would have to cut it with a knife or something…

I looked at Hongdan, who was sleeping by the flames of the blazing campfire.

To be exact, I’m talking about Hongdan’s tail.

For the paper to have this shape, it would have been possible to do it with tails like the red dot.

‘If I think about my luck these days, it’s not so absurd, is it?’

Moreover, when I think about my recent luck of encountering poisonous or spiritual creatures, I think it’s not so absurd.

It occurred to me that there might be a spirit or poison living alone in this closed duct and that it might be angry at our intrusion.

I quickly shouted loudly to make anyone who might be peeking back away.

“Hey! If you’re a ghost, don’t be so rude! Where are you going in this rain!”

When you shout so loudly, a red light appears on the wall.

The red moon that had been hiding its body appeared.

-Cheese.

It seemed like a question of why he was yelling so loudly in the middle of the night, so I quickly approached him and asked in a quiet voice.

[Sister, I feel like there’s some kind of poison or spirit in here. Could you sprinkle some butterfly powder in here? Quietly.]

Without answering, my sister flapped her antennae, and dust fell from her wings and scattered in all directions.

A powder that scatters, loses its red color, and blends in with its surroundings.

The dust flew up and was pushed into the holes in the ceiling and into the beams.

If you do this, I don’t know who he is, but if he comes in, he’ll be caught without a fight.

Before returning to bed, I quickly pushed aside the luggage blocking the corner, then went back to bed and quickly extinguished the remaining lit log.

I don’t know what it is, but it appears only in the dark, so it’s made to make the lights go out quickly.

And with my eyes closed in the darkness, I concentrated on feeling for any sign of movement.

-Whew.

-Pong pong.

The rain continued to fall, and water droplets were dripping from the hole.

Soon I felt the surroundings growing dark as if the horns of the firewood had gone out.

When you try to concentrate as much as possible to find the presence.

-Shoot. Shoot.

-Pong pong. Pop. Pong.

Between the sound of the rain and the sound of water drops falling, something else was heard.

-Tok. Tok-dok. Todo-dok.

‘This is it!’

As the rain poured down on the roof, the sound of something thin treading on the roof tiles could be heard.

The sound soon grew closer, heading towards the hole in the ceiling, and the regular sound of water droplets falling became slightly irregular.

I feel like there’s something near the hole in the ceiling.

-Thud. Thud.

I quickly pulled up the Myoaam Night Watch and looked at the ceiling, but since Myoaam Night Watch was basically brighter when there was moonlight or starlight at night, I couldn’t see anything clearly.

That was when.

Suddenly, I saw something popping its head out of the ceiling.

Two eyes shining in the darkness.

That moment.

It seemed that the butterfly powder from Jeokwol’s older sister was close to the ceiling, so for a moment the boy stumbled slightly and lost his balance, falling while hugging the tiles.

-Wow!

‘Did you catch it!?’

I quickly got up and ran towards the sound, but I heard a sharp scream.

-Tch!

As I stepped back at my sister’s shout, a blow flew towards me.

-Crunch!

The strong scent of flowers wafts from the slightly open collar.

The moment I smelled the scent of the flowers, my head suddenly felt dizzy.

“Is it poison!?”

He was surprised and pulled up his poison dart to block the incoming poison.

Fortunately, it wasn’t extremely poisonous or lethal, but the poison I was poisoned with was a rather unusual poison.

It was a strange poison that confused the nervous system, causing the senses to diminish and the left hand to move when the right hand was moved.

As I tried to pull myself together, the thing in front of my eyes quickly disappeared into the hole in the corner that I had opened earlier.

“Did you miss it?”

I feel like I missed something.

As I sat down to try to drive away the poisonous energy, I heard my older sister Jeokwol crying.

-Cheeee.

The butterfly powder that had landed in front of me began to return to my sister’s body, flashing red. Strangely enough, the red powder followed the traces it left behind as it passed, leaving footprints in the direction of the hole.

It seemed like a new chase was about to begin.