An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 243

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 242
Part 5. It Was a Fox, Not a Tiger (3)
Step.
I took a step forward into the darkness.
I remembered being in the car just moments ago, speaking with Kim Jae-sik.
Yet finding myself in this pitch-black place made no sense whatsoever.
‘A dream.’
A revelation descending after so long.
I kept my expression rigid as I surveyed my surroundings.
Nothing was visible, and with no wind stirring, the air hung lukewarm and stagnant.
Like someone lost, I couldn’t move decisively—only shuffling uncertainly through the void.
Whoosh.
A spark ignited in the distant darkness.
The crimson flame flickered as if beckoning me closer, its light dancing with invitation.
Step, step.
I fixed my gaze on the flame and moved toward it.
With each step I took, the fire drew two steps closer, until I suddenly stood before it.
‘A book…?’
Within the flames lay an ancient tome.
The cover bore no inscription, yet I recognized it immediately.
The White Fox Scripture.
A text so potent with spiritual power that Jeon Woo-chi became a Taoist master merely by grasping its fundamentals.
What could it mean that this book was burning?
“…Is this my objective?”
Was burning the White Fox Scripture what I must do?
“Please guide me. What must I do?”
How could I locate the book, and how could I exorcise the Jangsan Tiger?
The moment I contemplated these questions deeply—
Whoosh.
Two luminous orbs rose into the sky.
One was the sun, the other a full moon.
The symbol of yang and the symbol of yin.
My brow furrowed as I grasped the intent, and the moon and sun drew steadily toward each other.
They merged into one, forming a golden annular eclipse.
My brow furrowed deeper as I beheld the enormous golden ring suspended in the heavens.
Roaring flames erupted!
Beneath it, a figure engulfed entirely in fire thrashed and flailed like a dancer possessed.
It was grotesque and horrifying, yet I recognized what burned within the inferno.
The Jangsan Tiger.
Its entire body covered in white fur, it writhed in flames like a mask dancer, consumed by the blaze.
“Is this my future?”
What I must do.
What I must witness.
Are you showing me this?
It was as Kang Hyung-seok swallowed hard, watching the Jangsan Tiger burn alive.
Tap-tap.
A sound that felt strangely distant pulled his consciousness back to reality.
“Hey there.”
Tap-tap-tap.
The sound of knuckles rapping against the driver’s window, accompanied by a familiar voice.
Kang Hyung-seok forced his eyes open and saw Hong Kyung-soo standing outside the car.
The sun had already dipped past noon, leaning toward the western horizon.
“…What is it?”
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, well.”
Kang Hyung-seok rubbed his face and opened the car door, while Hong Kyung-soo clicked his tongue at the sight of him.
“You should sleep somewhere more comfortable. Health is something you take care of while you still have it.”
Kang Hyung-seok looked up at Hong Kyung-soo without speaking.
He couldn’t fully understand the revelation, nor could he tell whether this man’s words were concern or a curse.
“Have you eaten?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Get up.”
Hong Kyung-soo grabbed his arm roughly and pulled him out of the car. Kang Hyung-seok furrowed his brow.
“What are you doing?”
“You need to eat. The Village Community Center is preparing meals, so let’s grab a bite together.”
Click.
Hong Kyung-soo lit a cigarette and began walking ahead, then turned his head toward Kang Hyung-seok, who wasn’t following.
“What are you doing? Come eat.”
Kang Hyung-seok shook his head and stretched his stiff neck.
“I’m still half-asleep.”
“Oh, you’re breaking my heart.”
“You go ahead.”
“Do you know where it is? Just follow me.”
Hong Kyung-soo walked away, trailing cigarette smoke like a shadow.
As Hong Kyung-soo receded into the distance, the smoke drifted on the wind and assailed Kang Hyung-seok.
‘What is this really about?’
I don’t want to show that I’m wary of Hong Kyung-soo.
But it’s difficult to completely ignore someone who keeps inserting himself into my life whenever I let my guard down.
And the revelation I saw in that dream also felt like it had some kind of intention behind it.
‘The sun and the moon.’
Positive and negative energy.
If Kang Hyung-seok embodied positive energy, then Hong Kyung-soo, who wielded spirit rice and curses, represented negative energy.
Was this a revelation from the Guardian Spirit—that I should synchronize with Hong Kyung-soo this time?
‘Why…?’
Perhaps it meant that the Jangsan Tiger was such an evil entity that I could only capture it by extending my hand even to someone like him.
“Is the rice getting cold?”
Hong Kyung-soo, far ahead, raised his voice in a dialect that jumbled together the tongues of the Eight Provinces of Joseon.
Kang Hyung-seok cleared his throat to mask his expression, then turned his steps toward Hong Kyung-soo.
***
The Village Community Center had prepared a more generous spread than expected.
White rice cooked in a pressure cooker, kimchi, dried side dishes, braised pork ribs, and pan-fried vegetables.
Clatter, clatter.
Even as there was no empty space left, more dishes kept piling on, and it was when Kang Hyung-seok thanked them with an awkward expression.
“Eat plenty, friend.”
Hong Kyung-soo scooped up a large spoonful of rice and spoke, and Kang Hyung-seok lifted his spoon as well.
With everyone else gone, only the two of them remained to eat in the spacious Village Community Center.
The food was abundant and delicious, yet sharing a meal with Hong Kyung-soo made it difficult for the food to pass down my throat.
“Why are you eating so little? Did you overeat?”
“I don’t have much of an appetite.”
“Force yourself to eat anyway. You’ll need the strength.”
Hong Kyung-soo, as if practicing what he preached, roughly shoved rice into his mouth.
It was while Kang Hyung-seok continued eating in this uncomfortable silence.
“How much have you found out?”
Hong Kyung-soo picked up some radish kimchi and spoke.
“What…?”
“Did you forget? We agreed to share anything we discovered.”
Hong Kyung-soo spoke as if it were nothing, and Kang Hyung-seok pressed his lips together tightly before opening them.
“I haven’t discovered much.”
“Still, tell me what you have. It’ll help us both.”
“Before that, I’d like to ask you one thing.”
Hong Kyung-soo raised his eyebrows and cast a questioning gaze, while Kang Hyung-seok set down his chopsticks.
“What do you believe it to be, Shaman Hong Kyung-soo?”
“The Jangsan Tiger.”
“I’m asking seriously.”
Crunch.
Hong Kyung-soo chewed and swallowed the kimchi in his mouth, then rinsed his mouth with water.
“Seems you’ve discovered something.”
“It’s not certain, so I wanted to hear what you think, Shaman Hong Kyung-soo.”
What if—what if it were truly connected to Hong Kyung-soo?
What if the Jangsan Tiger that had harmed people and tried to devour me was something Hong Kyung-soo controlled?
‘Is joining hands with this man really the right choice?’
Kang Hyung-seok’s eyes drifted toward the bag beside him, but the Shaman’s Bell remained silent.
A soft rustle.
Hong Kyung-soo wiped his mouth with a tissue, his brow furrowing as he looked at Kang Hyung-seok.
“It’s a fox. That thing.”
“…A fox?”
“I investigated separately. The scent was overwhelming.”
Hong Kyung-soo rubbed his nose and shook his head.
“Potent. Not some hundred-year-old fox.”
“….”
“Your expression tells me you’ve reached the same conclusion.”
Kang Hyung-seok nodded heavily.
“The White Fox seems to be correct.”
He cast an inquisitive look, hoping for an explanation of how Hong Kyung-soo had discovered this. Hong Kyung-soo pushed his rice bowl aside and poured water onto a tissue.
Then he placed a cigarette beside it and answered.
“Did you think I’d sit idle? I went exploring separately. When I climbed the Mountain, the fox scent was unmistakable.”
“…I also climbed the Mountain.”
“It seems we visited different mountains.”
Hong Kyung-soo pointed with his chin toward the Mountain visible through the window and continued.
“If we had gone to the same one, we’d have crossed paths. The scent was so potent that following it alone would have made it obvious.”
Hong Kyung-soo pulled out his phone and showed Kang Hyung-seok a photograph.
A Cave.
Different from the one Kang Hyung-seok had discovered.
And even just looking at it, the Cave emanated a cursed, damp, and oppressive aura.
“That appears to be its lair. To capture it, we should move today or tomorrow at the latest.”
Today was already Saturday.
If we couldn’t resolve this by Sunday night, returning to work on Monday would become difficult.
“May I ask why?”
“It’s a day without ghosts.”
A day when spirits don’t exist.
A favorable day for moving.
And also a day when we wouldn’t be hindered by the Malevolent Spirit while capturing the Jangsan Tiger.
“But I don’t know what that is. Have you figured it out?”
Kang Hyung-seok stared silently into Hong Kyung-soo’s eyes.
The Shaman’s Bell still doesn’t ring.
Can I really trust this?
Is it safe to share information with this man?
The Shaman’s Bell remains silent.
The revelation of the Guardian Spirit.
The moon and sun merged into one.
“You’ve got a lot on your mind.”
Hong Kyung-soo leaned back, as if he had all the time in the world to wait for an answer.
His gaze drifted toward the silent window, and as the awkward air grew increasingly uncomfortable, Kang Hyung-seok finally spoke.
“I don’t know its name, but I have a sense of what it is.”
Hong Kyung-soo turned his gaze toward Kang Hyung-seok without a word.
Meeting that gaze, Kang Hyung-seok opened his mouth.
“I’ll tell you what I know. In exchange, I ask only one thing of you.”
“Say it.”
“I hope there won’t be any dangerous situations.”
Like back at Anmok Reservoir.
Then, Hong Kyung-soo had remained outside Anmok Reservoir while I alone had waded into waters teeming with Malevolent Spirits.
I wouldn’t let such a situation arise again—we would move together from beginning to end.
As I conveyed this intention clearly through my eyes, Hong Kyung-soo’s lips twisted upward in a smile.
“When have I ever put my companion in danger?”
“Will you promise?”
“Should I write up a contract for you?”
“You’re a Shaman—you know the gravity of karmic debt. The spirits are listening.”
Not to me, but to my Guardian Spirit.
That was the meaning I had woven into my words, and it seemed to reach Hong Kyung-soo clearly.
I could see his expression visibly harden.
“Is that enough?”
“Yes.”
“A promise like that—I’d make it a thousand times, ten thousand times over.”
“…I understand.”
“So? What is it?”
Kang Hyung-seok shifted his gaze to the table.
Rice still remained in the bowl, and the side dishes had been generously abundant.
Yet the meal felt truly finished, so Kang Hyung-seok answered with the expression of someone about to rise from his seat.
“It seems to be the master of the White Fox Scripture.”
“Jeon Woo-chi’s White Fox Scripture?”
“Yes.”
“Damn it. I had a feeling it wasn’t just some ordinary creature.”
Kang Hyung-seok lifted his water glass and spoke.
“We’ll need a lot of alcohol.”
“I’ll prepare that.”
Hong Kyung-soo nodded, agreeing to go along with Kang Hyung-seok’s intention.
“There were two mountains. For now, let’s split up and position ourselves separately on each mountain, then regroup depending on how things develop.”
“You’re planning to drive the fox out?”
“Yes.”
“Tch! There’s a lot to prepare.”
Hong Kyung-soo pulled out his phone and retrieved a pen from its storage, beginning to jot down notes.
Watching him, I decided it was time to leave and rose from my seat.
Tap.
I stepped outside the Village Community Center, where the air had grown noticeably cool.
Looking up at the sky, the sun hung heavily toward the west.
And in the east, a pristine moon had risen into view.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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