The Soul-Harvesting Puppeteer - Chapter 27

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

Episode 27
Chapter 3
Wat Umong was famous as a cave temple.
That said, it wasn’t like the winding, deep caverns of Gangwon Province in Korea with Buddha statues enshrined in their depths—from the entrance, one might question whether this was a cave at all.
Like all Thai temples, Wat Umong had Nagas guarding both sides of its stone stairway.
Nagas.
These supernatural beings, known as dragons or water spirits, were carved with one, three, five, seven, or nine heads, and the pair of Nagas flanking Wat Umong’s staircase bore five heads each.
Han Eol descended the stone steps dressed in the robes of a freshly shaved monk in crimson, then turned his feet toward the rightmost of the three caves.
That is to say, Han Eol had not actually become a monk—he had merely received one set of robes through the courtesy of Nathiko, the abbot.
Han Eol’s head was already shaved close, so there was little fuss in the preparation.
As the sound of chanting sutras echoed across the temple grounds, Han Eol first approached the brick mouth of the cave and removed his shoes.
Then he stepped inside barefoot and sat quietly before the golden Buddha statue.
Unlike the Buddha statues of Korean temples, those in Thai temples had a striking quality—eyes half-open, looking down upon the faithful.
But the oldest Buddha statue within Wat Umong’s cave was modest in size, its eyes indistinct, lacking the distinctive atmosphere of a Thai Buddha.
Han Eol found he preferred it precisely for this reason.
As he rested his hands upon his knees and gazed quietly at the statue, his mind cleared like still water.
In truth, Han Eol was no monk, nor did he believe in the Buddha.
To be precise, Han Eol practiced Shamanism.
Yet he found the time spent sitting cross-legged before the Buddha statue, mind emptied of all thought, was not an unpleasant use of his hours.
Over the past fortnight, Han Eol had settled quite naturally into life at Wat Umong.
More specifically, meditation before the Buddha statue held meaning, as did tracing the faint murals that remained on the cave walls, and there was a peculiar charm in watching the chickens that wandered freely about the temple courtyard.
The chickens of Thailand had sharper color contrasts than those of Korea, lending them an air of mystery.
When the monks of Wat Umong occasionally scattered grain from plastic basins across the courtyard, the chickens would stride over and peck at the feed.
Han Eol watched these scenes from a distance.
By late September, his life took a turn.
It was because Nathiko, the abbot, had invited Han Eol to participate in a Dharma Assembly.
“A Dharma Assembly?”
At Han Eol’s question, Nathiko explained in fluent Korean.
According to her account, Wat Phra That, the principal temple of Midland in Chiang Mai, held a month-long Dharma Assembly from the end of September through the end of October each year to aid in the self-development of Chiang Mai’s Ability Users.
Notably, this assembly was not limited solely to Ability Users affiliated with temples such as Wat Phra That or Wat Umong.
“It is an assembly opened with a welcoming heart to visitors from other cities as well.”
This was Nathiko’s explanation.
However, Wat Phra That’s Dharma Assembly was not conducted with the scientific precision and systematic rigor of the Sacred Group’s training. They pursued a more religious and diffuse enlightenment.
“Our way may prove helpful to you, or it may be entirely useless—there is no way to know until you try. Would you still like to attempt it?”
Nathiko asked gently.
At that moment, Han Eol sensed a white flame within the other’s soul grow faintly brighter.
‘Is it a method of refining one’s mental manifestation through giving to others and accumulating merit?’
In any case, participating in the assembly seemed unlikely to harm Han Eol and might well benefit him. He pressed his palms together in gratitude.
“Thank you for this opportunity. I would like to participate in the Dharma Assembly.”
“Very well. I will add your name to the participant list.”
Nathiko picked up a pen on the spot and wrote Han Eol’s name down.
The following dawn.
Han Eol left Wat Umong and relocated to Wat Phra That on Doi Suthep.
Thirty-four young monks from Wat Umong moved along with him.
Doi Suthep, which stood in the hinterland behind Chiang Mai—also known as Suthep Mountain—rose to such an elevation that the city itself could be seen at a glance below.
At the heart of this place stood a golden stupa, and the assembly participants, each holding a single flower, walked three times around it while reciting sutras.
Han Eol focused more on examining the souls of the participants than on the sutras.
‘Hmm.’
The level of most participants was not as high as he had expected.
Most were monks, and while their souls were clear, it was difficult to find anyone who had materialized a concrete mental manifestation within their soul.
‘There is little to learn here.’
Han Eol merely confirmed that a handful of talented individuals were faintly condensing something within their souls, then set aside his hopes.
Chapter 4
Among the hundreds of participants, the vast majority were monks from Chiang Mai.
Outsiders like Han Eol numbered only nine in total.
Of these, six were Caucasian.
One appeared to be Black.
The remaining two were East Asian.
Among the non-Thai East Asians, the one besides Han Eol was a Chinese woman named Yang Bing.
‘What?’
Han Eol’s eyes widened the moment he saw Yang Bing.
His surprise stemmed from the fact that they had met before.
A silver ring piercing her lower lip.
Tattoos etched across her collarbone and arms.
Han Eol had crossed paths with this delinquent schoolgirl at a club in Gangnam just last month.
But the reason Han Eol remembered her so distinctly had nothing to do with her appearance—it was because of her Soul. Remarkably, Yang Bing’s Soul bore a striking resemblance not to that of a human, but to that of a Demon.
‘So it turns out this schoolgirl isn’t Korean but Chinese. Still, the form of her Soul hasn’t changed. Even now it resembles a Demon’s.’
Han Eol pressed his lower lip between his teeth.
In fact, Yang Bing’s appearance now bore no resemblance to how she’d looked last month.
She had removed the ring from her lower lip, changed her hair color from its gaudy patchwork to black, and erased the tattoos from her collarbone and arms.
The transformation was so dramatic that had Han Eol lacked the ability to see through to someone’s Soul, he would never have guessed that this girl was the same delinquent he’d encountered at a Seoul club a month prior.
‘Can you even remove tattoos like that?’
Han Eol tilted his head in puzzlement.
Meanwhile, Yang Bing raised one eyebrow at Han Eol.
‘What are you staring at, you crew-cut bastard?’
That was what Yang Bing’s expression was saying.
‘Tch. That obnoxious personality of hers hasn’t changed one bit.’
Han Eol shook his head and moved away from Yang Bing.
The senior monk at Wat Phra That began his teaching in Thai.
Han Eol had inserted a Wireless Earphone into his right ear, and through it the monk’s words were translated into Korean and relayed to him.
But it did little good. Even hearing the explanation translated into Korean, Han Eol understood almost nothing of the monk’s teaching.
‘Hmm. Is what I’m listening to even Korean?’
Han Eol even found himself wondering that.
『Setting One’s Mind Aright』
This was today’s teaching—the topic of the Dharma Teaching.
In truth, calling it a Dharma Teaching was somewhat misleading, for the senior monk’s instruction concerned not Buddhist scriptures but content meant to aid Ability User training, which had little to do with Buddhism proper.
His teaching even mingled Buddhism, Daoism, and knowledge gleaned from the Highland in such a haphazard fashion that it felt like a jumbled stew.
‘Still, I should extract whatever I can.’
With that single resolve, Han Eol turned his attention to the monk’s words.
“To set your minds aright, you must first find the axis within the ocean of your own heart.”
The monk began with these words.
But what exactly was this axis?
The Earth rotates around its rotational axis when it turns.
A bicycle wheel spins around its axis of rotation.
According to the monk’s explanation, an axis is the center of all moving things—a point that remains unmoved even as the object itself moves.
Therefore, the monk’s logic held, if a person wished to cultivate an unshakeable mind, an unmoved heart, they must first find their own unmoved axis.
“This is precisely the first stage of today’s teaching.”
The monk concluded the first period’s Dharma Teaching with these words.
Chapter 5
Then came the second period.
Another senior monk entered and began his teaching.
His lecture flowed naturally from the first period.
According to the second period’s monk, once you had found the axis within the ocean of your heart, the next task was to build a solid foundation upon that axis.
“By building a Fortress upon the foundation, you can repel external calamities.”
The monk added these words, and according to his teaching, laying the foundation constituted the second stage, while building the Fortress was the third stage.
Han Eol found himself utterly bewildered by all this.
While Han Eol’s eyes remained vacant, the second period drew to a close.
“We monks who serve the Buddha will have Buddha statues surrounding our Fortress. If you are diligently cultivating your Cultivation Method, I believe you will one day achieve such fruition.”
The monk mentioned the Cultivation Method.
It seemed the Cultivation Method the monk spoke of was a secret art transmitted only to the Ability Users of Wat Phra That.
Naturally, there was no reason such knowledge would be shared with outsiders like Han Eol.
‘Hell. So today’s teaching is only useful for the Chiang Mai monks who’ve already mastered the Cultivation Method.’
Han Eol wiped his face with his palm, his mood turning sour.
After a brief rest period, a third monk entered for the third period.
This time the lecturer was a nun.
Her teaching also continued from the prior Dharma Teachings.
The core of her message was that once you had successfully found the axis in the ocean of your heart, built a foundation, and erected a Fortress upon it, the next step was to establish an Altar within that Fortress.
“Establishing the Altar is truly arduous labor, but by setting it straight, your mind will not waver even in any turbulence, and you will be able to govern a sea raging with storms.”
The nun offered several examples to clarify what had been, until then, rather abstract talk.
“The method of establishing the Altar differs according to each seeker. Some seekers merely establish a single-tiered Altar within their Fortress, while others build three tiers, and still others raise five. Of course, building three or five tiers instead of a single tier requires more time, so perseverance will be necessary for the seeker.”
The nun paused there, took a sip of tea, and resumed her teaching.
“Moreover, the Cultivation Methods you’ve practiced and the insights you’ve gained will influence the form of your foundation. Some of you will construct foundations shaped like lotus flowers, while others may build theirs in the likeness of sacred animals such as elephants.”
‘What on earth is she talking about?’
To Han Eol’s ears, every word the nun spoke sounded like grasping at clouds.
In any case, the Dharma Teaching had come to an end.
‘Sigh.’
Han Eol exhaled deeply.
He had understood nothing of today’s teaching, and there was one particular source of his frustration.
‘All three revered masters who taught us today aren’t Ability Users. If they had been, I could have seen their Mental Images and Souls with my own eyes and at least confirmed how one is supposed to find the axis and build the foundation in the sea of the mind…….’
Han Eol felt he’d simply wasted time.
It was precisely then.
Whoosh!
A brilliant radiance suddenly burst forth from Yang Bing, who was sitting two rows ahead of Han Eol.
‘What—?’
Han Eol’s eyes went wide.
Yet the other participants besides Han Eol seemed unable to see the brilliant streams of light pouring from Yang Bing’s upper body.
Even the nun from Wat Phra That failed to perceive the change in Yang Bing.
‘What the hell? Why is that delinquent acting up all of a sudden?’
Han Eol stared intently at Yang Bing’s Soul.
In truth, ever since Han Eol first met Yang Bing in Seoul, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her.
Captivated?
That wasn’t it.
The reason Han Eol had taken an interest in Yang Bing was that her Soul resided within a Fortress, unlike the Souls of others.
‘Like a Demon, in other words.’
Until now, all the Highland Demons Han Eol had encountered had constructed sturdy Fortresses around their Souls and equipped those Fortresses with attack techniques suited to their individual characteristics.
In contrast, Midland Ability Users were unable to construct Fortresses around their Souls. Naturally, they also lacked attack techniques connected to their Souls.
Instead, some Ability Users, including Han Eol, pursued a different form of growth by manifesting unique Mental Images within their Souls.
But Yang Bing was following the path of a Highland Demon, not that of a human Ability User.
And now, in this moment, the space around her Fortress appeared to be filling with rippling water.
Splash, splash, splash.
Fierce currents swirl directly beneath Yang Bing’s Fortress.
Waves surge up and strike the fortress walls.
Farther away from the walls, the waves rise even higher.
‘What is that?’
Han Eol blinked in astonishment.
The Puppet Master Who Harvests Souls
Author |
Juno
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
Published by |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
Address |
7th Floor, Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsaro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260703071
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter (X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books.

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