Exorcism Specialist Company: Ghost Soul Trading - Chapter 72

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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 72

Kihihihihihihit!! Get me off this mountain, you wretches—!!

The ghost came rushing forward violently, and about five meters ahead, it swung its gelatinous arms in a wide arc.
Then something remarkable happened.
Crack-crack-crack-crack! Boom—
Every tree touched by those arms snapped and toppled.
Cha Manager threw his body aside to evade the falling trees, but Bang Ji-seok didn’t have time to escape.
“Ugh!”
I immediately threw myself at Bang Ji-seok, embraced him, and rolled to the side.
Boom—
A tree crashed down where Bang Ji-seok had been standing.
Thud—
In the chaos, I rolled while holding Bang Ji-seok and destroyed the tent that had been set up.
And then something astonishing occurred.
The tent itself dissolved into black smoke and vanished.
All the tents here were nothing but illusions.
“These bastards—!”
Bang Ji-seok muttered in a voice filled with rage.
“Get your head in the game!”
At that moment, Cha Manager shouted and pulled the trigger toward the ghost.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—
Bullets flew relentlessly, but by sheer coincidence, the ghost evaded every single one through teleportation.
Then it swung its whip-like, tentacle-like arms in a massive arc once more, attacking Cha Manager.

Boom—

It was a heavy blow that made the ground itself tremble.
But Cha Manager, as if he had anticipated it, threw his body forward to evade the attack and closed in on the ghost.
His movements were incredibly swift.
It was remarkable that he could move so quickly while wielding a rifle that weighed at least three kilograms.
Just as I moved with superhuman agility under the will of the Guichaldo, Cha Manager likewise appeared to be guided by the will of his rifle, executing movements that transcended human limitation.

Boom— Boom— Boom—

The ghost’s assault continued relentlessly.
But Cha Manager evaded every strike, kicked off the tree, and launched himself skyward.
Mid-air, he executed a full 360-degree rotation, vaulting over the ghost’s head.
The moment the gun barrel passed over the ghost’s crown, he pulled the trigger.
Thwack—
The bullet pierced straight through the ghost’s skull and exited beneath its jaw.
Black smoke erupted from the wound with a violent whoosh.
Thud—
Landing directly before the ghost, Cha Manager flashed a cold smile and swiftly swapped magazines.
Click—
He shoved the barrel into the ghost’s mouth—now gaping with a hole through its jaw—and spoke.
“Leave this world.”
The instant those words left his lips, he squeezed the trigger.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—

Dozens of rounds tore through the ghost’s skull and erupted from the back of its head.
With each impact, the ghost’s body convulsed violently.
Gaaahhhhh—
The ghost, its entire back skull blown away, tilted its head backward and stood motionless for several seconds before collapsing.
Shhhhzzzzzzz—
Before it even hit the ground, the ghost dissolved and vanished.
Shhhoooooo—
As the tentacled ghost dissipated, the nearby tents, campfire, and camping cookware all transformed into black smoke and disappeared.
Darkness engulfed the entire area.
“Are you both alright?”
Cha Manager asked while reloading his magazine.
Tae-woo helped Ji-seok to his feet before answering.
“Yes, we’re fine.”
Ji-seok brushed the dirt from his clothes and nodded in agreement.
That was when it happened.
A sharp, distinctly feminine voice cut through the darkness.

“Leave. Go. Turn back now. Leave. Get out of this mountain.”

The voice echoing through the darkness was mysterious and reverberating, yet I could hear it clearly enough to understand what was being said.
Cha Manager turned his head toward Tae-woo upon hearing that sound.
His eyes were asking what the radar was picking up.
When Tae-woo shook his head, Cha Manager raised one corner of his mouth and called out loudly.
“Who’s there? Is it Jang Min-hee?”
After his loud question, silence followed.
Ji-seok stared into the darkness with a worried expression.
This wasn’t his style—treating the dead this way.
“Whether you’re Jang Min-hee or not, this is the world of the living. Stay right there. I’ll erase you immediately.”
Cha Manager shouted boldly.

“This is my land. You’ll regret it.”

From the direction the voice came, a chilling wind cut through the air.
Cha Manager snorted derisively, lowered his gun, and turned around.
Ji-seok watched this scene unfold and asked.
“What’s happening now?”
Cha Manager answered his question.
“It created a hallucination to kill us. Either the Jangdogwi I just killed, or another ghost.”
“Then….”
“It knows we came to kill it.”
“Who?”
“The owner of that voice we just heard.”
He answered quietly, then immediately gestured for them to gather.
Ji-seok and Tae-woo stepped forward toward him.
“From what I can see, this entire Mureungsan seems to be dominated by a single ghost. If the owner of that voice is Jang Min-hee in the process of self-destruction, she’d be at least a Grade 4 Jangdogwi or higher. If not, it means there’s a separate Grade 3 Sakyeong that likes to establish its own territory.”
Cha Manager touched his chin and continued.
“But I think it’s more likely to be Jang Min-hee in the process of self-destruction. We can confirm that part slowly. The immediate problem is that by setting traps like this and sending high-grade ghosts at us, it suggests the ghost occupying this mountain is in close proximity to other ghosts. Bang Manager. You said there’s an Unclaimed Persons Cemetery on this mountain, right?”
“Yes.”
“What are the coordinates?”
“Ah. One moment.”
Ji-seok hurriedly picked up his phone and checked something.
“I’ll input it into the terminal. Kim Chief. Come over here.”
As Ji-seok spoke while holding his phone, Tae-woo approached with the GPS terminal.
He entered the coordinates displayed on the phone into Tae-woo’s GPS terminal.

Beep— beep—

A soft beep sounded, and a green location marker appeared on the terminal.
It was the location of the Unclaimed Persons Cemetery.
“Right now, it’s on the opposite side of the mountain, going around the side along this ridge.”
Bang Ji-seok pointed toward the darkened mountainside as he spoke.
Cha Manager turned his head in the direction Bang Ji-seok indicated.
“Let’s head there first and verify. Then we’ll be able to figure out where to go next.”
At his words, both Bang Ji-seok and I nodded.
“Let’s go.”
Cha Manager took the lead again and began moving toward the ridge.
I hurriedly gathered the LP player and my belongings, following behind him.
At that moment, Bang Ji-seok approached from the side and whispered.
“Kim Chief. Among all the fields we’ve visited so far, have we ever encountered an Unclaimed Persons Cemetery?”
“No, sir. We haven’t.”
“That place is hell for us exorcists.”
“Why is that?”
“Because having no relatives means those people lived extremely lonely lives, so there tend to be many vengeful spirits filled with resentment and grudges. Some graves don’t even have tombstones.”
“Ah, yes. That makes sense.”
“What do you think happens when such spirits gather together?”
“That’s… actually strange, isn’t it?”
I spoke up while listening to Bang Ji-seok’s explanation.
Cha Manager, walking ahead, continued forward while turning his attention to what I was about to say.
“Strange? What is?”
“If people buried in the Unclaimed Persons Cemetery are resentful and sorrowful, most of those spirits would probably want to be remembered. And if there’s no tombstone, there might be souls who can’t even find their own resting place after death.”
“Hmm. True. That would be the case.”
“If Jang Min-hee is in a state of self-destruction, I think she’d want a place like that. A place where no one would find her body. A place where even she herself could forget where her corpse is.”
“…”
“Then wouldn’t Jang Min-hee’s body be somewhere in the Unclaimed Persons Cemetery?”
“Oho?”
Bang Ji-seok tilted his head slightly, looking at me with interest.
Cha Manager, walking ahead, didn’t turn his head, but a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth.
I had precisely grasped the reason he’d suggested going to the Unclaimed Persons Cemetery first.
His reasoning was this:
Jang Min-hee probably hadn’t known until the moment of her death that an Unclaimed Persons Cemetery existed on this mountain.
But after death, her spirit would certainly have been drawn to the yin energy, and she would have learned the location of the Unclaimed Persons Cemetery.
And it was certain that she would have encountered many spirits there.
In such circumstances, Jang Min-hee would have entered a state of self-destruction, and there was a high probability that she had drawn her own corpse to the Unclaimed Persons Cemetery.
If the spirit of Jang Min-hee was “commanding” other spirits, she would certainly be in the Unclaimed Persons Cemetery, where many spirits would likely congregate—this inference also stemmed from such reasoning.
Cha Manager didn’t bother explaining this entire thought process and simply indicated the destination, yet I had discerned Cha Manager’s own thinking from just Bang Ji-seok’s brief explanation.
I couldn’t help but judge that his insight into understanding such situations was considerable, in addition to his combat prowess and abilities as a medium.
The only issue was that he lacked experience to immediately translate judgment into action, but if he accumulated more experience, it seemed he could very well handle situations like this alone.
“Stop the idle chatter. If they’re trying to stop us, we don’t know where they’ll attack from next. Keep your wits about you.”
Cha Manager pointed ahead, concealing his satisfied expression as he spoke.
“Ahem.”
Bang Ji-seok cleared his throat, and together with Kim Tae-woo, they continued pushing deeper into the mountain.

* * *

Midnight.
As the hour approached twelve, the three of them relentlessly carved their way through the seemingly endless forest, the mountain terrain growing no less monotonous.
Along the way, they encountered countless spirits.
Ghosts that suddenly plummeted from tree branches, spirits hanging upside down from limbs.
Or grotesque apparitions crawling upward in handstands from cliff-like ravines below.
Though they faced spirits of every conceivable form, all of them dissipated with ease.
Each time Kim Tae-woo glimpsed these horrors, he felt overwhelming terror, yet the presence of Cha Manager and Bang Ji-seok gave him courage to press on.
More than anything, independent of his own fear, the Ghost Slayer Blade danced with exuberant fervor, carving through spirits so efficiently that dozens had already been vanquished by his hand alone.
As they continued hacking through the mountain path, the three of them discovered what appeared to be an ancient trail.
Only hours after entering Mureungsan, they had finally found a proper hiking trail.
Yet this trail too had been abandoned for so long that only the faint impression of a path remained, with weeds rising up to their knees.
They relied on their flashlights to follow the trail upward.
And then—they discovered the entrance to the Unclaimed Persons Cemetery.

[Muyeong Mountain Cemetery]

Beneath the heavily corroded signpost, withered brown vines crawled upward like blood vessels.
All three of their flashlights converged on the sign.
“How long has this place been abandoned?”
Bang Ji-seok spoke softly.
“How many places like this exist across the world? It’s impossible to even fathom how long it’s been neglected.”
Cha Manager spoke matter-of-factly, then passed the signpost and entered beyond.
He added with a hint of lamentation.
“In the world of the living, only living life matters. There is no one to remember the dead spirits who have no one to care for them.”
It was a remark with considerable weight.
Bang Ji-seok and Kim Tae-woo quietly followed him, continuing up the trail.
Moments later, rusted locks, iron bars, and metal gates blocked their path.
The entrance to the Unclaimed Persons Cemetery had been sealed off.
“Cover your eyes.”
Cha Manager spoke tersely, then immediately aimed his gun at the lock.

Thud—
Crack—

With a brilliant burst of sparks, the lock shattered and clattered to the ground.

Screeeech—

As the door swung open, a violent gust of wind came rushing through.
“The ‘Door’ has opened.”
Cha Manager spoke quietly.

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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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