Ch.133133 – The Vortex Key 3

# 133 – The Spiral Key # 3

I explained to my companions about what happened at Buldansa and the need to find Ji Dong-seok, the man connected to Yang Ju-hui’s grandmother.

I thought about mentioning what happened with Kang Bada and Yu Da-hui afterward, but….

“……”

The image of Yu Da-hui dying after drinking poison flashed in my mind, and I couldn’t bring myself to speak of it.

Who would have thought she would take her own life?

Even though everything had been reset as if it never happened, my heart was still pounding like an elephant was trapped inside it.

Yu Da-hui. You’re quite the person to watch out for.

I felt annoyed that she made me witness such a shocking scene, but at the same time, I understood her feelings.

What Yu Da-hui had whispered in my ear…

If everyone knew about it… they might force Yu Da-hui to die. Even Yu Da-hui herself.

So I decided to bury that fact deep within me.

And I resolved never to let Kang Bada and Yu Da-hui meet.

“Then let’s go meet that Ji Dong-seok guy. If we meet him, we might find out where my sister went! Right? That con artist geomancer!”

Yang Ju-hui showed enthusiasm as she raised her fist high.

Thanks to her clear, ringing voice, I was able to escape from my thoughts.

“Ms. Hong Mi-ri, do you think we can meet this Ji Dong-seok person today?”

“Well, let me try contacting him.”

We decided to move locations.

The option of meeting Mr. Kang Bada in the Buldansa shrine beneath the school was no longer available.

Of course, I was planning to meet Mr. Kang Bada alone later.

I had things to tell him and something to receive from him.

“The Spiral Key.”

It was definitely the key to open the security box in the shop on the third floor of the corridor. The box that contained the gun had the same spiral pattern on it.

If I shot that gun at the corridor ghosts that could cause physical harm?

It would surely have a dramatic effect.

That must be why it was being sold at the shop.

So we ended our underground exploration and headed to the “Pacific Oriental Culture Research Institute” where Dr. Ji Dong-seok was supposed to be.

The institute was located in an old downtown shopping area near Gaeryong Station. Being close to a major station, it was crowded and bustling.

However, the buildings were very old and dilapidated, and most of the people walking around were elderly.

“Ki Therapy! World’s First Miracle Water that Cures Brain Cancer!”

“Efficacy Recognized by the World Health Science Organization UNU!”

“Pacific Oriental Culture Research Institute”

An old banner was fluttering on the second floor of a shopping building.

Just as I was thinking how impressive it sounded, Jeongseok spoke up.

“There’s no such thing as UNU. That’s all lies.”

I just hoped the person we were about to meet wasn’t a liar.

We walked through a corridor that smelled pungently of drying red peppers and entered the second-floor office. Inside, there was no air conditioning, just a fan running. The place was cluttered with golden liquor barrels containing various infused alcohols like ginseng wine and snake wine, along with laundry hanging around and dirty jajangmyeon bowls.

“Ms. Hong Mi-ri. It’s been a while.”

A man wearing a bucket hat like a fisherman stood up from his chair.

It was Dr. Ji Dong-seok, a man I was somewhat acquainted with.

“Oh, you kids are from that time at Gaeryong Mountain…”

We had a connection with Dr. Ji Dong-seok from the Gaeryong Mountain cabin.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this man had handled most of the aftermath when we called the police during the mixed martial arts fight with Gu Hye-na’s body.

The man nodded when he saw us.

“I thought you weren’t ordinary kids. Sit down.”

There wasn’t enough space on the sofa, so we sat on whatever boxes we could find nearby.

While everyone was feeling awkward, I took the initiative and asked Dr. Ji.

“Sir, please tell us if you know anything about Buldansa.”

“Buldansa…”

The man’s expression immediately became clouded.

After contemplating for a while, he spoke.

“If you’ve come knowing that much, I guess there’s no point in hiding anything. That place was built by someone who was like my master. It’s located underground in this city. It’s like a stake that suppresses the water veins.”

Stake-

Bong Ji-yeon reacted to that word.

“Like the stake on top of Gaeryong Mountain, right?”

“Yes. Of course, it wasn’t easy to suppress the energy of Gaeryong with simple methods, so we used somewhat extreme measures. We placed terrifying spirits there as guardians.”

Terrifying spirits… among us, only I remembered them.

“You mean the Onmyoji and Gandara ghosts?”

“I’m surprised you know even that.”

Dr. Ji seemed genuinely surprised by my comment.

The way he looked at me was unsettling, making me a bit nervous.

Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.

“They are ghosts that my master specially brought from Japan. The Cheon family spent an enormous amount of money. You can’t imagine how much money was spent. A truly astronomical amount…”

“I’m not interested in how much money was spent. Please tell us how to defeat them.”

Jeongseok cut off the man’s rambling.

He truly was a cold boy.

Actually, I was a bit curious about how much money was spent, but now I wouldn’t get to hear it.

“You can’t defeat them. That’s the kind of beings they are. That’s why they were placed to guard Buldansa.”

Ghosts that can’t be defeated?

Even the evil spirits on the second floor could be neutralized with items.

Would the beings on the third floor be immune even to those?

Come to think of it, that spider woman had ignored the barrier created by Yang Ju-hui’s magic wand and grabbed Jeongseok’s leg to drag him away.

“Unstoppable.”

Cannot be stopped…

Knowing the truth made me feel even more hopeless.

But.

But there must be a way to overcome them.

As evidence, didn’t Mr. Kang Bada mention the being on the fourth floor?

He said my mother was the only one who reached the fourth floor.

There must be a way, which is why it was possible.

“Is there really no way? We’re desperate! We might all die!”

I practically begged the man.

Dr. Ji Dong-seok seemed lost in thought for a while before taking out an electronic cigarette from his pocket.

“Time is certainly running out. For some reason, the sluice gates of Gaeryong are opening. If this continues, this city will be filled with dead spirits. If that happens, people will die too.”

We knew well why the doors were opening.

But no one revealed that fact.

While everyone was just looking at each other cautiously, the doctor added:

“It’s not like there’s absolutely no way to deal with those guardians. In fact, my master could control them. If someone with my master’s bloodline were to try, it might work somehow.”

“If that’s the case…!”

I happily looked at Yang Ju-hui.

Dr. Ji Dong-seok also looked at Yang Ju-hui and nodded as if confirming something.

# # #

“You want me to get inside that box?”

The box that Dr. Ji Dong-seok brought was square-shaped, just big enough for one person to curl up inside.

Yang Ju-hui was disgusted at the idea of having to go inside it.

“Inside that claustrophobic-looking thing?”

“This isn’t just any box. It’s made from trees cut from the forest where those Japanese ghosts resided. It will act as a barrier… a protective shield.”

Dr. Ji explained that if Yang Ju-hui entered the box, he would perform a ritual to transfer control of the Buldansa ghosts to her.

If that was really possible…

The time was already 10 PM.

He said the ritual would be performed during the hour of the ox, when yin energy is at its strongest.

Bong Ji-yeon quietly asked:

“What’s the hour of the ox?”

I don’t know either.

Jeongseok answered:

“It’s from 1 AM to 3 AM.”

I see.

Anyway, after preparing for the shamanic initiation ritual, we got ready to enter the third floor underground again.

I was worried about the gas leaking from underground, but Dr. Ji gave each of us a talisman. It was a yellow paper with bright red writing.

“You’ll be safe as long as you hold this. The gas isn’t really gas. It’s something more spiritual. You could think of it as ghost powder.”

Ghost powder?

That’s even scarier.

Finally, we arrived at the entrance to Buldansa on the third floor underground.

Dr. Ji Dong-seok was shocked when he saw it.

“…I can’t believe it’s opened this wide. No wonder there’s been such chaos.”

He said that normally, this third-floor door should have remained tightly closed.

For at least 50 years, that’s how it should have been.

Hoo-

Cold breath rose in the red temple on the third floor underground.

We slowly walked inside.

Passing through the huge torii gate gave me a strange feeling.

Unlike the Nightmare Corridor, crossing this pillar gate in reality didn’t trigger any quirks.

That’s fortunate, I guess.

“This is so creepy.”

Kwon Su-a, who was easily frightened, made a sad face.

It was natural to be scared and overwhelmed by the dark underground temple that seemed like something could jump out at any moment.

I was scared of this place too.

“Ah!”

Just then, Bong Ji-yeon tripped over something.

Thud-

It was too dark to see the straw rope on the ground.

The rope had bells attached to it, which sent chills down my spine as unpleasant memories surfaced.

I had no good memories associated with these bells.

“These bells don’t ring?”

Yu Da-hui picked up the straw rope with bells and shook it around.

Dr. Ji Dong-seok, who was walking ahead, said:

“They’re made not to ring. There’s no ball inside, see?”

“Oh, you’re right.”

After walking for a while, we finally arrived at a place that looked like a large shrine.

It was a shrine that resembled a container box, covered with red cloth and bound with several layers of iron chains.

Dr. Ji placed the square box in front of it and told Yang Ju-hui to get in.

“Get in.”

“……”

Yang Ju-hui looked at us.

Her face, illuminated by our phone lights, looked several times paler than usual.

She looked even more pitiful with a bridle in her mouth like a cow and her hands tied behind her back.

Shuffle-

Finally, Yang Ju-hui entered the box, and Dr. Ji called me and Jeongseok over.

“Now let’s nail it shut. So she can’t get out.”

“What?”

I hadn’t heard anything about nailing it shut.

While Jeongseok and I hesitated, Dr. Ji said:

“If by any chance Ju-hui comes out during the ritual, everyone here will die. Not just the people here, but their families and acquaintances too. That’s the kind of beings that reside in this Buldansa.”

Japanese ghosts were truly merciless.

Is it because they’re from the land of samurai that they just kill people they don’t like?

Domestic ghosts are better after all.

Look at the high school ghost Gu Hye-na. She was a bit scary at first, but once you got used to her, she had a cute charm. Like Jeomsun from literature class…

Bang bang bang-

The box was finally nailed shut.

Now Yang Ju-hui couldn’t get out even if she wanted to.

“While I chant the sutra, you all shake these bells. You must not stop shaking the bells until I say it’s over. Absolutely not. Understand?”

Swish-

The man gave each of us a bell that didn’t make sound.

Whoosh, whoosh-

After lighting the torches around us, the shamanic initiation ritual finally began.

“━━──.”

Dr. Ji Dong-seok began chanting something.

I couldn’t understand what he was saying, but Jeongseok, who couldn’t bear this scary atmosphere without pretending to know something, quietly explained:

“It’s ancient Japanese.”

I see.

Suddenly, I felt angry.

Why are there so many Japan-related things?

How pro-Japanese was the Cheon family?

“Japanese ghosts and Japanese shamans giving us trouble. I’m never going to use Japanese products again. I won’t even visit Japan.”

—Hey guys, wait, I can’t breathe. It’s suffocating…!

Just then, Yang Ju-hui spoke from inside the box.

Had she become short of breath in the confined box?

Should we stop this-

I was thinking that when the perceptive Kwon Su-a cried out in fear:

“…But… she had a bridle in her mouth, so how is she talking?”

Now that I think about it…!