Exorcism Specialist Company: Ghost Soul Trading - Chapter 56

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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 56

Ye-rim and I steadied ourselves, our backs pressed together as we scanned the surroundings with vigilant eyes.
There was no way to predict when or from which direction a ghost might emerge.
Since I was gradually mastering the Spirit’s Knot, I heightened my senses to their absolute limit.
That was when it happened.
Shiiiiiiiii—
I felt a sharp blade of wind slice past the nape of my neck once more.
In less than half a second, a blue dot appeared on the Ghost Radar.
It marked the exact position where Ye-rim and I were standing.
‘Where is it?!’
I furrowed my brow and looked upward.
If the blue dot appeared at this exact location, it meant the ghost was either on the ground or suspended in the air above us.

Whoooooosh—

That was the moment.
The ghost that had been clinging to the red steel framework beneath the Seongsan Bridge came plummeting down toward Ye-rim and me at terrifying speed.
Hanging upside down before falling, its pallid face descended first, rushing downward with brutal velocity.
“Manager!”
I shoved Ye-rim hard to the side and threw myself out of the way.
Thud—
The ghost that fell from above crashed into the ground with a dull impact.
It sounded like a water balloon bursting against concrete.
Click—
Ye-rim immediately trained her gun on the ghost.
She pulled the trigger, and bullets tore through the air.
Bang bang bang bang bang—
The rounds embedded themselves into the ghost’s body.
Thwack thwack thwack—
With each impact, black smoke wisped from the wounded areas.
But the ghost did not dissipate.
Grrrrrrr—
Instead, as if enraged, it turned its head toward Ye-rim while pressing itself flat against the ground.
Simultaneously, its pale face began to transform.
Its eyes burned a vivid crimson, weeping dark red tears of blood, while its face darkened to a sickly black.
Witnessing this metamorphosis, I judged the ghost to be at least Grade 3 or higher.
It had withstood Ye-rim’s purified bullets without being destroyed.
That was when it happened.
Shhhhhhhhh—
A blade-sharp wind grazed the nape of my neck.
Even as I stared directly at the spirit, I felt the icy touch of that frigid breeze—
I realized once again that I could sense this particular sensation whenever a spirit unleashed its murderous intent.

Kiiiiiieeeeee—

The spirit shrieked with a piercing wail and hurled itself toward Yoon Ye-rim.
In that instant, I shot forward like a bullet and slammed into the ground.
Then I drove my blade downward into the spirit’s back as it lunged toward Yoon Ye-rim.
Whoooooosh—

Kyaaaaaaaaa—

The spirit’s face contorted in agony as its mouth gaped open.
Crrrrrack—
Its jaw stretched so wide that its lower mandible descended all the way to its abdomen.
I gritted my teeth while still gripping the handle of the Ghost-Slaying Blade.
Grooooooan—
With the long blade of the Ghost-Slaying Blade piercing through the spirit’s body and embedded in the ground, the creature could neither advance nor escape.
“Got it.”
Yoon Ye-rim lifted her chin and approached the thrashing spirit.
The spirit convulsed wildly, like a fish caught in a net.
“It hasn’t dissipated even after all this. This spirit must have considerable rank.”
I asked.
Yoon Ye-rim nodded.
“Most spirits left at accident sites from traffic deaths are Grade 1 or Grade 2. This one looks to be around Grade 4, maybe even Grade 5 if we’re lucky.”
“Grade 4 Vengeful Blade Spirit. Grade 5 Silent Spirit Ghost.”
“Yes. You can feel the rage, and the intense will to kill the living.”
“Was its resentment that powerful?”
“I can’t say for certain. But one thing is clear—”
Yoon Ye-rim turned her head and swept her gaze across the surroundings before continuing.
“—spirits of Grade 3 and higher seek to control other spirits or dominate the area. When you recall the Grade 3 and Grade 4 spirits you’ve encountered, they appeared almost like boss monsters that had to be hunted. And once they reach Grade 5, they begin directly absorbing other spirits. From that perspective, this spirit appears to be around Grade 4 Vengeful Blade Spirit. But if it’s been causing accidents here like a Murderous Spirit, creating deaths and casualties, there should be other spirits present. Yet there aren’t any, which suggests this spirit may have absorbed the others and grown stronger alone, causing the rest to vanish. If that’s the case, we should classify this as a Grade 5 Silent Spirit Ghost.”
I hummed thoughtfully.
Yoon Ye-rim stared directly at the spirit’s face as she spoke.
Yerim stared directly at the ghost’s face and spoke.

Kyaaaaaaa!

The ghost’s mouth gaped wide as it stared at Ye-rim.
The moment it broke free, it looked ready to swallow her head in a single bite.
“By the way, is that ‘ghost rank’ really important when exorcising? I was looking through the result reports from other requests, and they all had ranks listed. Sometimes I even see ranks that were modified at Manager Cha’s level.”
“Ah, right. The evaluation score applied to your personnel review changes depending on the rank of the ghost you caught. So it’s important to confirm what rank the ghost you caught was.”
“Really? I had no idea something like that existed.”
“Come on. Of course such a system exists. There are ranks and promotion structures, so naturally there’s a personnel review system too. And think about it—from the company’s perspective, an employee who’s dealt with a rank 3 Malevolent Spirit is more useful than one who’s only ever been sent to sites where rank 1 Wandering Spirits appear, right?”
“I suppose that makes sense, but I didn’t know the ranks had that kind of significance.”
“You wouldn’t necessarily know. You’ll understand once you write a result report yourself later.”
“But how can you know the rank accurately? I’ve been thinking about the ranks whenever I look at ghosts using the Ghost Record, but my own deductions could be wrong. We might have written down ‘rank 3 Malevolent Spirit,’ but it could have actually been rank 2.”
“That’s something you’ll learn through experience. When you write the result report, you put down what rank you think the ghost was, and then Manager Cha, the Settlement Team, or the Incineration Team will verify it, make corrections, or give final approval.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Yes. That’s why the higher-ups were so pleased when Tae-woo’s smart glasses started recording video. Now they can directly confirm what rank ghosts the field staff encounter and what kinds of ghosts they face.”
“Hmm.”
Tae-woo nodded, finally understanding.
Then he recalled having caught the Blade Ghost and Silent Spirit Ghost.
“So then, when I caught the Blade Ghost and Silent Spirit Ghost back then—”
“—your score must be climbing incredibly fast.”
Ye-rim answered quietly while keeping her eyes on the ghost, then raised her submachine gun and aimed it at the creature’s head.
And immediately pulled the trigger in rapid succession.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-bang—

Dozens of refined spirit bullets pierced through the ghost’s brow and exited from the back of its skull.
Each time, thin wisps of black smoke curled up from the bullet holes.
Click—
Once the ammunition was spent, the submachine gun’s bolt locked back with a metallic snap.
The ghost’s head was now riddled with holes like a honeycomb.
Sssssssssss—
The punctured areas blackened and burned, the damage spreading wider as black smoke billowed forth.
Hisssssss—
Soon the ghost’s entire body turned black, dissolving into smoke that scattered into the air.
“That should do it.”
Ye-rim murmured, lowering her gun.
I watched as the black smoke clinging faintly to my Burning Spirit Blade seeped into it, then I sheathed the weapon.
“Let’s head back.”
She turned toward the road and spoke.
I followed her, gathering the equipment into the box we’d brought from the car.
“This is Yoon Ye-rim. Please confirm Case 87528 After.”
Meanwhile, Ye-rim was calling the Settlement Team to request verification.
I had come to recognize how naturally this all flowed—
But today’s work hadn’t stretched into the late hours, so I’d need to report for a normal shift tomorrow.

* * *

The next day.
Guihon Trading Company 4th Floor, Training Team Office.
The moment I arrived at work in the morning, a full Training Team meeting was convened.
Unaware of the scheduled meeting, I found myself hurrying to the Seminar Room on the 4th Floor with nothing but a notebook in hand.
“Tae-woo. Over here.”
Yoon Ye-rim, already seated, pointed to the empty chair beside her and waved.
I approached and sat down, asking, “What’s this sudden meeting about? I had no idea.”
“What’s this sudden meeting about? I had no idea.”
“There’s a company-wide announcement. Manager Cha mentioned it this morning—I only just found out myself.”
Yoon Ye-rim replied.
Just then, Ji-seok also came and sat beside me, letting out a groan of frustration.
“Ugh. What’s with this meeting? I’ve got so much work to do.”
The smell of alcohol wafted from his breath.
“Chief, did you drink yesterday?”
“Ah, Manager Cha suggested we grab a drink. Man, I’m dying here, seriously.”
Ji-seok gulped down the bottled water he’d brought and took a deep breath.
“Oh? So Manager Cha drinks quite a bit?”
I glanced at Yoon Ye-rim and asked.
“Yes. He’s a serious drinker. In all my years, I’ve never met anyone who drinks more than Manager Cha. Do you drink, Tae-woo? Come to think of it, we haven’t had a company dinner since you joined us.”
“Ah, I don’t drink. When I drink alcohol, I see ghosts way too much.”
I waved my hand dismissively.
I had painful memories from university because of this very reason.
During my teens, there were no formal drinking occasions, I didn’t have many friends, and no elders in my family encouraged drinking, so I never drank at all.
But once I entered my twenties, I found myself at drinking gatherings more often, yet whenever I drank, the ghosts would torment me relentlessly, making it impossible to keep my composure.
The ghosts I could already see fairly often became even more visible, and they seemed intent on harassing me throughout the night, constantly startling me.
The worst part was bedtime.
When I lay down on my bed drunk, trying to sleep, a ghost would appear from the ceiling, staring directly at me.
If I tried to ignore it and fall asleep, it would tickle my face with its hair, and when I opened my eyes again, the ghost would be hovering inches from my face.
After being startled like that several times, I’d be unable to sleep all night, left to suffer through a brutal hangover the next day.
I’d once pondered why the ghosts became so aggressive in these situations.
I eventually concluded that while I could pretend not to see ghosts when sober, I simply couldn’t act convincingly enough to ignore them while drunk—hence the problem.
Since I couldn’t improve my acting skills, I decided it was better to simply avoid drinking altogether.
“Did anything come up during the drinking session yesterday? What’s this sudden meeting about?”
Yoon Ye-rim asked, looking at Ji-seok.
“I’m not entirely sure, but you know those smart glasses Kim Chief uses? I think Manager Cha was planning to discuss distributing them to our Training Team staff.”
“Really? Ah, that’s what the Executive Director mentioned before.”
Yoon Ye-rim nodded in understanding.
Then Ji-seok added, “But honestly, I’m not sure if it’ll go smoothly. The staff aren’t too keen on having their exorcism footage recorded.”
“But then again, who knows if it’ll go as planned. The staff aren’t too keen on being caught on camera at the Battle Site anyway.”
It was only natural—if the grade of ghost you captured was reflected in your performance evaluation, the staff would naturally be reluctant.
Managers at the department head level and above needed clear reports on what rank of ghosts their subordinates had exorcised to make proper judgments, but the lower-ranking employees naturally wanted to inflate the rank of the spirits they’d captured.
So even if the department heads, Settlement Team, or Incineration Team verified the ranks, there were cases where they’d deliberately bump up the classification in their reports—but if every exorcism process was recorded on video, such “tricks” would no longer work.
Perhaps that was why.
I noticed other employees seated elsewhere casting disapproving glances in Tae-woo’s direction.
‘Ugh. This is awkward.’
Tae-woo shifted uncomfortably in his seat, thinking to himself.

Guihon Trading – Chapter 56

Author
Cha Woo-Renz
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yoon Tae-ri
Cover
Lee Chi

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260318158.0056

ⓒ2026, Cha Woo-Renz

※ This e-book is protected under the copyright laws of the Republic of Korea.
No part or all of this work may be reproduced or modified in any form without permission from the author and publisher.

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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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