Goblin Library - Chapter 93

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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 93.

As I glared at Lee Gang-hyuk with eyes blazing with fury, he sensed my gaze and quickly bowed his head.
Though he was someone who crippled people without so much as a blink, the Dung Carrier Goblin possessed something that terrified even him.
“If it weren’t for the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s whereabouts… I wouldn’t have let that bastard off easy today.”
“Evading a goblin’s wrath… That man is quite fortunate.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s murmur, the corners of the Dung Carrier Goblin’s mouth lifted.
“Fortune has nothing to do with it. A goblin’s resentment runs deep and lingers long. Just because he’s an important character in the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s novel doesn’t mean I can simply let it slide.”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s murmur, Yu Tae-poong spoke hastily.
“If you interfere, the Company President will be displeased.”
“Of course, I won’t interfere in a way that disrupts the story’s flow. I’m not afraid of incurring the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s anger, but as a writer myself, I dislike causing adverse effects on another writer’s work.”
“Then what do you intend to do?”
“I’ll give him a case of dongti.”
“Dongti…?”
Seeing Yu Tae-poong’s confused expression, the Dung Carrier Goblin grew even more exasperated.
“You don’t know what dongti is?”
“Dongti… Is it some kind of cold-related illness?”
He had associated the character “dong” with winter. The Dung Carrier Goblin sighed.
“People long ago truly feared dongti… It’s clear that as science advanced, many of the legends concerning us Spirit Servants have faded away.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin shook his head slightly and continued.
“Dongti is….”
After a brief pause, the Dung Carrier Goblin elaborated.
“Simply put, it refers to the misfortunes that arise when one angers mountain spirits or goblins like myself.”
“Misfortunes, you say….”
“Japanese Spirit Servants, regardless of debts owed, mostly live harboring only resentment. That’s why they readily harm and commit wicked acts against the living before them.”
Then the Dung Carrier Goblin poured baijiu into a glass and spoke.
“But the Spirit Servants of Joseon have clear debts of gratitude and obligation. Even as Spirit Servants, if they receive kindness or aid, they repay it, and if angered, they surely take revenge.”
“I know that well. I’m… living proof of it myself.”
After all, because my ancestor incurred the wrath of the Bamboo Sword Goblin, I ended up working here at the Goblin Library.
“That revenge is what we call dongti.”
“And what happens when dongti strikes?”
“When dongti strikes, typically misfortune or something equivalent befalls the person.”
“So it doesn’t involve killing them.”
“What do you take us for? We Spirit Servants of Joseon do not harm people unless we are so consumed by genuine, profound hatred that we’re willing to die taking them with us.”
“I see.”
Yu Tae-poong nodded, poured himself baijiu, and asked.
“So what will you do?”
“I’ll do it in a way befitting me while ensuring no harm comes to the Bamboo Sword Goblin’s novel.”
“What is it?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s question, the Dung Carrier Goblin chuckled and replied.
“A clogged toilet.”
Caught completely off guard by this answer, Yu Tae-poong hesitated before looking at the Dung Carrier Goblin and speaking.
“A… clogged toilet?”
“What, does it sound too crude?”
“Well… it’s just… how do I put it….”
Yu Tae-poong paused for a moment, then laughed.
“I’m at a loss for words.”
Truly, there were no words. The Goblin’s idea of a curse was clogging a toilet? It seemed far too trivial.
Watching Yu Tae-poong’s bewildered expression, the Dung Carrier Goblin snickered.
“You really think it’s nothing serious.”
“A clogged toilet is annoying, sure… but you just unclog it, right?”
“True. These days, homes are built so well that toilets rarely clog, and even when they do, it’s only once in a blue moon.”
“Exactly.”
Yu Tae-poong had experienced a clogged toilet before, but it was genuinely rare. During his time living alone, it had happened maybe once.
“But what if it clogged every single morning?”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong’s eyes narrowed. He’d never considered such a scenario, but… it truly sounded infuriating.
Even when a toilet clogged rarely, unclogging it was annoying. But every single day? Every morning when starting the day?
It would drive anyone absolutely mad.
“What if he called someone to fix the plumbing?”
If the toilet clogged that frequently, he would surely attempt repairs.
“Would that help? The pipes aren’t the problem—he’s been cursed by a Goblin. Repairs won’t work. From now on, whether Lee Gang-hyuk goes to a hotel or any other house, his toilet will clog every single morning.”
“That’s… horrifying.”
A life where the toilet clogs every morning… He would truly experience the worst mood imaginable every single dawn.
As Yu Tae-poong imagined a clogged toilet, he quickly shook his head. This wasn’t exactly an appropriate topic to contemplate while eating.
“Ugh! Let’s talk about something else.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin nodded with a smile.
*Scrape.*
While they conversed, Lee Gang-hyuk wiped his mouth and stood up. He glanced at Yu Tae-poong and the Dung Carrier Goblin once before leaving the restaurant.
Watching Lee Gang-hyuk depart, Yu Tae-poong spoke.
“I’m worried the owner might scold us for coming to eat and running into Lee Gang-hyuk.”
“We didn’t come here specifically to see Lee Gang-hyuk. We came to eat and happened to encounter him—he won’t hold that against us.”
“You think so?”
“How many protagonists from novels written by the Goblins currently in Korea do you think there are?”
“I’m not sure….”
“Right, I don’t know exactly either. But it should be at least a thousand, no?”
“A thousand?”
“If you think about the number of books in the library… a thousand isn’t even that many.”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong recalled the bookshelves lined throughout the Goblin Library and nodded.
“That’s certainly true.”
“So if we consider the protagonist of a thousand stories and the related people connected to them, over 100,000 people are wandering around Korea. Out of 50 million, 100,000 isn’t a huge probability, but encounters do happen. What’s done by chance can’t be helped.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin continued, glancing at the table where Lee Gang-hyuk had been sitting.
“And we didn’t approach him first—Lee Gang-hyuk called us over. So we’re not at fault.”
Yu Tae-poong considered it and found the Dung Carrier Goblin’s words made sense. They’d met by chance, and Lee Gang-hyuk had called them over, which was why the Dung Carrier Goblin had gotten angry.
‘The boss wouldn’t blame me for a situation like this either.’
As I muttered this to myself, the restaurant owner emerged with sweet and sour pork.
“Here’s your sweet and sour pork.”
“Thank you.”
Yu Tae-poong laughed as he cleared space to set down the dish.
“Wow, they really gave us a lot of sweet and sour pork.”
I’d ordered the medium size, but the portion was genuinely enormous. I was starting to wonder if I should have ordered the small instead.
On top of that, there was a generous heap of shredded cabbage on one side of the pork, making it look even more abundant.
“Enjoy your meal. And the bill has already been paid by the owner here.”
“The owner? You mean Lee Gang-hyuk?”
“Yes.”
With that, the restaurant owner moved to an empty table and sat down, drinking water.
“Phew!”
Watching the owner gulp down water and exhale deeply as if carrying some burden, Yu Tae-poong whispered.
“That ordinary restaurant owner must have seen some rough things… his heart probably races every time Lee Gang-hyuk shows up.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, the Dung Carrier Goblin looked at him.
“You don’t need to whisper.”
“What if he hears us?”
“I’ve already taken care of it.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin tapped the cloth tucked into his waistband and spoke.
“Our conversation will sound like nothing but a buzzing noise to him.”
“Ah… I see.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s response, the Dung Carrier Goblin placed his book on the table and continued.
“Just as you said, after witnessing someone’s ankle being broken like that and personally cleaning up a blood-soaked shop… his heart must still be pounding.”
“Exactly. And looking at it now, he’s too afraid of retaliation to even report it.”
If he’d reported it, Lee Gang-hyuk would have been arrested by now, but seeing him walking around unscathed made it clear the owner hadn’t reported anything.
“That would be it.”
Yu Tae-poong shook his head.
“If I think about it, I wouldn’t have reported it either.”
“Really?”
“After all, it’s a neighborhood business, and Lee Gang-hyuk isn’t some drifter. So the Chinese restaurant owner here knows him, and the employees working here know him too… how could you report it? Plus, from the ankle incident, he didn’t seem like an ordinary gang member—he looked like a gang boss.”
Yu Tae-poong sighed and shook his head.
“If you report him, Lee Gang-hyuk will get arrested, but his subordinates will retaliate… it’s terrifying.”
If you witnessed a stranger committing such an act, you might report it. But usually, the probability of turning a blind eye is high. Out of fear that you might end up in danger.
But if the person who committed such an act knows you? Then it would be even harder to report.
Yu Tae-poong shook his head and poured sorghum liquor for the Dung Carrier Goblin.
“If it weren’t for the Company President, I’d give him a proper thrashing right now… but I guess I have no choice but to hold back.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin laughed at Yu Tae-poong’s jest and replied.
“That’s right, hold back. If you use your strength, Lee Gang-hyuk is dead.”
“Exactly. I’m restraining my power, but I’m actually quite strong.”
“Huh?”
The Dung Carrier Goblin looked at him with a puzzled expression.
“You don’t believe what I’m saying?”
Yu Tae-poong smiled and made a fist, whereupon the Dung Carrier Goblin spoke.
“No, I believe you.”
“Right?”
When Yu Tae-poong relaxed his fist, the Dung Carrier Goblin laughed and said.
“But it seems like you don’t believe it.”
“What?”
“You’re strong.”
Yu Tae-poong looked at the Dung Carrier Goblin with a bewildered expression.
“Skill and actual combat are different things, but you’re strong. Even if you fought those Bodyguards A and B two-on-one, you’d win.”
“Me?”
Yu Tae-poong tilted his head and spoke.
“I’m embarrassed to say this myself, but I’m actually not good at fighting.”
Though he’d fought as a child, he hadn’t been in a single fight since middle school.
He wasn’t particularly athletic either—just average—so he had no confidence he could defeat a bodyguard who’d trained professionally to protect someone. How could he possibly win?
Yet the Dung Carrier Goblin insisted he would.
As Yu Tae-poong expressed his confusion, the Dung Carrier Goblin laughed and said.
“I don’t know about fighting, but Cha Dol has been consistently training in martial arts.”
“But… how does that help in a fight?”
Martial arts training was just moving the body like calisthenics and regulating breathing—nothing more.
“That’s fighting. If you ever end up in a fight and aren’t sure what to do, just move through the sequence.”
“Through the sequence?”
“If your opponent is skilled at fighting, you’ll win easily. If your opponent doesn’t know how to fight… you’ll take some hits, but just move through the sequence in order, continuously without pause. Move a little faster, and you’ll win.”
The Dung Carrier Goblin dipped sweet and sour pork into sauce and continued.
“But if it seems too scary or difficult, call me.”
“When would I ever get into a fight?”
“You never know what the world will bring. Call me for sure. If you don’t have time to pull out your phone, just call my name three times. Dung Carrier Goblin, Dung Carrier Goblin, Dung Carrier Goblin.”
At the Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Yu Tae-poong tilted his head, then suddenly looked at him.
“Didn’t you say before that you shouldn’t call Kim So-hee’s name three times?”
At the mention of Kim So-hee’s name, the Dung Carrier Goblin flinched—as if he’d heard a word he shouldn’t have.

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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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