Are MZ Shamans In Trouble In Romance Novels? - Chapter 17

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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17.

The villagers holding straw in their hands gathered together to make ritual effigies. The ritual effigy was a straw doll modeled after human form, serving as a kind of substitute offering.

A decoy to fool the eyes of the Tiger and Changgui. That was the role assigned to the ritual effigies tonight. So that the intruders would take the straw dolls instead of people.

“Hey, Soeddongi. You’re going to break the kid’s neck completely.”

Calisia scolded Ian, who was helping the people make ritual effigies. It was because of the wretched state of the straw doll that had long since become rags.

“You’ve completely dismembered it. Completely dismembered it.”

Calisia said this was unusable and pushed aside the straw doll Ian had made. It was because he had applied so much force that the straw was all bent at every woven part.

“The neck isn’t broken.”

When the ritual effigy he had worked hard to make was discarded, Ian protested with a disgruntled face. Then he sneakily put the straw doll back in its place.

“Not broken? The head is already dangling this much.”

Calisia shook the ritual effigy’s head, telling him to have some conscience.

“Soeddong. You have no talent for making dolls. Just accept it and go over there to cut some meat.”

Calisia pointed to the raw meat at the village outskirts altar and urged Ian on.

“Cut it thin. We need to wrap it around the ritual effigies!”

The reason for wrapping fresh meat around the straw dolls was because of the tigers’ cunning. While they could blind their eyes with ritual effigies and talismans, they couldn’t fool their sense of smell.

They needed meat similar to human flesh and human blood.

“Alright, if everyone’s done, let’s all extend our hands!”

Calisia took out the needle she had brought in her bosom and grinned wickedly.

***

Village entrance—.

Spotted Man handed Calisia a clay jar filled with bloody water. He kept his gaze fixed on the ground while his hands trembled violently. This was because the water that had been clean was gradually turning bright red as time passed.

“Brother, you’ll be able to rest comfortably now.”

Calisia looked inside the clay jar and said it was ready, expressing words of gratitude for the hard work. The eyes of the small Jangseung were shining, filled with the life force of the living.

“Brother. Please dig some soil in front of that large Jangseung over there.”

“H-here, you mean?”

Jangseung spirits do not step foot in places that have been tainted by purification rituals. So there was a need to create a new body for them.

“That’s enough.”

Calisia set up the small Jangseung on the ground and covered it with soil to finish the work. Now when moonlight fell, the spirit would find a new body to inhabit.

***

Calisia, who had been drawing a large pattern on the dirt ground with a tree branch, finally straightened her back after a long while. She drew a circle with salt around the completed talisman.

It was a kind of air raid shelter that would protect herself and Ian from tigers and ghosts.

“That looks good enough too, Soeddong.”

She waved her hand at Ian, who was sparsely placing ritual effigies along the path.

“Will this really work?”

Ian looked back and forth between the small Jangseung and straw dolls, seeming quite doubtful.

“Even though they’re small, they’ll soon be objects inhabited by spirits. They’ll be better than the two of us, right? Oh, and just in case, I sent one ritual effigy to each house. So that if tigers or evil spirits attack the inside of the village, they’ll take the ritual effigies instead of people.”

Having finished her explanation, Calisia sat in the center of the path and handled an old drum. It was something she had barely managed to salvage from the house of a shaman who had lived in the village long ago.

When her abilities seemed a bit lacking, equipment bonuses were indeed the best.

“And Soeddong. Your role is strictly support. I’m telling you not to provoke the Tiger by going out first.”

Calisia, who had completely changed her expression, earnestly entreated Ian. The tigers of this mountain had eaten dozens of people and were no different from monsters.

In other words, they were not opponents to be taken lightly.

“I’m saying this out of excessive concern, but don’t trust that special ability too much either. It might not work properly here.”

Calisia looked up at Ian standing beside her. His appearance, standing upright while holding a long spear, looked quite reliable.

“Don’t worry. I’m not an idiot who relies only on special abilities and neglects swordsmanship.”

Ian, who cleanly refuted Calisia’s worry, lowered his eyes.

“That’s true. When I saw you at the training ground, your physique was just—”

Meeting that gaze, she made a whistling gesture with a mischievous face.

“Haa—”

Ian, who made an expression saying he wasn’t impressed, swept his hair back with one hand.

***

Night came to Tiger Disaster Village. The villagers locked their doors and held their breath, while Calisia and Ian prepared to face the tigers.

The two people who had positioned themselves inside the salt circle watched ahead, relying on moonlight. It was such a deep night that only each other’s breathing was audible.

“…They’re coming.”

Calisia, who had been sharpening her ki sensing, opened her eyes wide. It was because of the fishy smell of tigers felt from afar.

Thump—

Thump—

Thump—

Calisia, sitting on the ground, lifted a thick wooden drumstick and began striking the drum. Ian also firmly gathered his energy and gripped his spear properly.

“Taesang Nogun Seollyeong Hwangmyo Jingyeong Taesang Wongeuk Daedo Taesang….”

Calisia began loudly reciting scriptures. Yellow Temple True Scripture. It was a scripture that asked for help from all the spirits existing in heaven and earth.

—Grrrowl….

Shortly after, four house-sized tigers appeared at the village entrance. They had already devoured several ritual effigies at the village outskirts, their killing intent blazing fiercely.

—….

At the appearance of the uninvited guests, deep red divine energy swirled in the eyes of the small Jangseung. Having awakened from sleep, they breathed life into several ritual effigies to disrupt the tigers’ vision.

—Save, save me!

—You damn beasts!

—Huh, urk! Huh, ack!

One crawling face down, one charging with a plow, one running away while wetting themselves, one frozen stiff with fear. Each ritual effigy faithfully played their role, blocking the tigers’ entry.

—Kraaaah!

But that was only for a moment. The ritual effigies fell one by one to the tigers’ sharp claws and teeth. Blood splattered and chunks of flesh stuck all over the brightly shining moon.

—Krung….

The tigers, having devoured all the ritual effigies in sight, set foot inside the village.

Hissssss—!

At that moment, hot energy that shot up from the ground bound the mountain beasts’ feet. The startled tigers howled briefly and pulled their bodies backward.

‘It’s the Jangseung Spirit!’

A look of relief crossed Calisia’s face as she continuously beat the drum. The rising heat had already transformed into the forms of two men and women wearing large swords.

—Those without permission shall not dare pass through us.

The Jangseung Spirit’s magnificent voice struck down toward the tigers.

—Krwoooooh!

The tigers, who had hesitated for a moment, soon howled toward the sky with their yellow eyes gleaming. Then the tigers’ faces split grotesquely, and gray smoke began rising through the gaps.

‘It’s Changgui.’

Watching the smoke that smoothly disappeared toward the inside of the village, Calisia gripped her wooden drumstick firmly.

The Jangseung Spirit would stop the tigers, but the evil spirits they commanded were entirely her responsibility.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“The Supreme One says, the Supreme Lord commands, born of yellow heaven, nurtured by yellow earth….”

Calisia gripped the wooden drumstick so tightly her hands ached as she recited the Taeul Protection Scripture. A sacred text that protected herself and her surroundings from evil spirits. Normally she would have recited the Demon Expulsion Sutra to drive away ghosts, but today’s purpose was purely defensive.

With the tiger host so close, the Demon Expulsion Sutra alone would be insufficient to banish the Changgui. So she had to use the Protection Scripture to close people’s ears, preventing them from hearing the evil spirits’ whispers.

***

Boom boom boom!

Sensing the Changgui’s energy intensifying, Calisia struck the drum with all her might. Each time she swung her arms, her brow furrowed in pain.

Her palms, scraped by the wooden drumstick, had long since torn and become bloodied, and her overexerted arms gradually weakened and slowed.

“Ugh, urgh.”

Gritting her teeth, Calisia raised her arms even higher. If she could just hold out a little longer, the Changgui would bring the ritual effigy. Then the tigers would no longer be able to hold onto this night.

The problem was time. Calisia forced her trembling body to endure each agonizing minute and second.

‘What the hell is wrong with this body…! At this rate it’s practically made of paper instead of arms? This girl has a broken heart and no stamina either. This is driving me crazy, seriously!’

Calisia swallowed her curses as she lifted her arms that felt ready to fall off at any moment.

Thoom-

Thoom-

The drumbeats that had been gradually slowing became faint enough to barely be heard. Calisia’s arms, which had endured to the very end, finally dropped.

“Relax.”

As she struggled to somehow move her arms, a familiar voice brushed past her ear. Feeling the cold breath on the nape of her neck, Calisia turned her head back.

Ian, who had somehow embraced her body, glared at the tigers with flashing golden eyes.

“Look ahead.”

A large shadow covered her small hands that were a mess of wounds. Soon thick and slender fingers intertwined with each other.

“You do what you need to do. I’ll help you.”

In place of the exhausted Calisia, Ian raised their arms. The tightly clasped hands rose up toward the sky.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Soon the drumbeats that had lost their strength once again echoed throughout Tiger Disaster Village.

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