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Lise blushed from being so close.

She felt the warmth enveloping her body and shivered slightly. As she sensed Jinseong’s hand drawing her closer, she leaned in, letting the tension slip from her body.

Lise’s body snugly fit against Jinseong’s shoulder, taking a position reminiscent of someone dozing off in a subway, leaning onto the person next to them. In that state, she subtly moved her eyes to look up at Jinseong, who was gazing down at her.

In that moment, Jinseong whispered softly to Lise.

“Come closer.”

Someone had arrived.

Lise felt a tinge of confusion amidst the warmth filling her face, and when she sensed an otherworldly presence approaching the tent, contrasted with the divine power saturating the area, her expression stiffened.

Jinseong, noticing Lise’s realization, cracked a smile and flicked his hand to draw the light escaping from the Moai back inside. He then hovered a half-split clay mass in the air and covered it with the Moai keychain, sealing both the liberated Moai and the mana back into the dim, messy clay.

However, the mana flickered with a faint glow, trying to escape as it crawled out from the cracks of the clay. Jinseong, as if not wanting to avert his gaze from the emerging mana, ignited the Samādhi True Fire at his fingertips and blew gently, as if dispersing dandelion seeds, pushing the spark into a sphere and igniting the mana.

The flames of the Samādhi True Fire, which burned immaterial things, began to sway with the mana as its fuel, enough to illuminate the tent with its dance, casting a warm, flickering light.

* * *

“Ah, how nice…”

The female warrior who had drawn the short straw and was assigned patrol sighed as she glanced at the tent.

“Some people are getting all lovey-dovey over there while I….”

Inside the tent, illuminated by a soft glow, shadows danced. The silhouettes of what appeared to be a man and a woman leaned into each other, their bodies entwining.

They exchanged glances, as if to embrace and kiss the woman leaning into the man. Moreover, with the sharp perception of the warrior, she could sense that the two were indeed intertwining in such a tight space, practically sharing their warmth.

Standing right in front of the gold thread, the warrior gazed at the tent enviously, finding it pathetic that while someone might nurture a romantic relationship, she was left to roam through a terrifying and bizarre forest alone, where rumors of ghostly apparitions ran rampant.

“A cursed Ksitigarbha, really…”

The warrior sighed, recalling her older sister who had left for patrol the previous night and came back speaking about having slashed a Ksitigarbha.

“The ghost stories about the Ksitigarbha are chilling…”

As she shifted her gaze towards the forest, countless trees materialized, each bearing the visage of the Ksitigarbha. The faces wore expressions of kindness, seemingly adorned with masks, grinning as if they wished for her to step into the woods. However, perhaps it was just her delusion, but due to the densely packed trees, it felt dark even in daylight, their smiles shifting ominously amidst the shadows.

Faces as numerous as the trees.

Kindly smiling faces.

Faces grinning in colors matching the darkness.

Faces that barely remained as edges and dots against the surface of the trees.

Seeing the reflections of their forms illuminated by faint light in the thick dark made it seem as though only their faces floated in the void, amplifying their eeriness.

She did not want to enter that forest.

Absolutely not!

But…

“Why must I patrol even during the day? If we’ve summoned an expert to solve our problems, we should just let them handle it quietly.”

She gazed towards the simple shrine and the tent, contrasting the warm image of the next Shinto Priest and Shamaness sharing tender moments.

“How nice it would be if I had a partner, too.”

No, I wouldn’t even wish for a partner; just rolling around like that in the lodging would be fantastic.

No, I don’t even want to rest. Training would be fine.

If only I didn’t have to patrol this forest…

With a dejected heart, she lingered before the gold thread.

But it was just for a moment.

Ultimately, she resolved to face her fate. Moving her feet away from the gold thread with effort, she stepped into the forest, one step at a time.

“I’m the sinner for drawing the winning lottery ticket in a game of chance. My luck is the real sin…”

How could she possibly draw the winning ticket on her first attempt among dozens of draws?

How could she be the first to step up and draw the first winning ticket?

She moaned about her luck, each step into the forest bringing to mind her sister’s tale of the Ksitigarbha, reigniting the eerie fear and chill she felt when she had once glimpsed her sister’s “mugshot.”

Yet each time that thought emerged, she chanted in her mind that this was something that had to be done, or else her master would scream about not cultivating the essence of the Shiheng Style, throwing a fit.

Better to brave the present fright than face the terror of what could be a truly horrific pain and fatigue.

So she kept up her self-hypnosis and proceeded through the forest.

However, unlike her usual patrol, today she took every shortcut possible, focusing on checking only the crucial parts and hurrying along to exit the woods as rapidly as possible.

As a result, she finished her patrol much faster than usual and found herself lingering near the gold thread, absentmindedly peering at the now darkened tent where no shadows could be seen. When she felt she’d lingered long enough to match her usual time, she headed back to the training grounds.

“I’ve completed my patrol. Aside from the countless Ksitigarbha faces on every tree, there’s nothing irregular happening.”

“Really? What about the people from the shrine?”

“They seem to be resting in the tent right now.”

“Both of them?”

“Yes. They are both inside the tent.”

“Oh, I see. Well, they’re supposedly getting married soon, so that… yeah, got it.”

She briefly reported back to her master about what she’d seen, and her master chuckled at the news that they were both in the tent and sent her on her way. Then, putting aside the thoughts of regularly sending patrols to uncover any oddities to ensure the two could spend quality time together unbothered, he outright canceled all patrols.

Of course, he couldn’t directly say that he was doing it out of ‘kindness’ toward the two…

“Currently, a next Shinto Priest and Shamaness from the shrine have taken up residence in this forest. They’re concentrating intensely to resolve the ongoing issue, which we believe may be disturbed or interfered with during our patrol. Therefore, we will completely cancel our planned patrols and instead switch to training!”

“Woohoo!”

The master glossed over the reasoning for canceling the patrols.

“And the reason we’re canceling isn’t just for their sake! You all are scaring yourselves needlessly! While ghosts are indeed bizarre and terrifying, you’re all blowing it out of proportion! Even if you encounter something utterly grotesque, just keep your wits about you, wield your swords, and face it! But here you are, already showing signs of fear!”

“We’re sorry!”

“I understand, of course! You’re all keen on training, but lacking in practical experience! And fighting very real spirits, as opposed to something intangible, could make you nervous!”

“Isn’t that right?!”

“Absolutely!”

“Ha! It’s a relief to hear that nobody answered ‘yes’ to my last question! But why can’t you put your wise understanding into action? If you’re scared, it’s not the Shiheng Style’s training that’s at fault but perhaps the comfort of your own physiques!”

“That’s true!”

“Exactly! When you feel comfortable, your mind wanders, and every odd thought seeps into your body like poison! So from now on, instead of patrolling, you’ll undergo hellish training! Are you ready for that?”

“Yes!”

The master had taken the path of exhausting them to the point they could think of nothing else in order to maintain their morale.

But the warriors were positively inclined, even to the prospect of hellish training.

Entering a forest rumored to harbor evil spirits or something ghost-like that needed the Shinto priest’s action was far less appealing than just dealing with a bit tougher training.

And the same sentiment was echoed by the female warrior who had just returned from patrol.

“Yes, this is much better.”

She sighed in relief, finding being slightly more physically challenged through training much more preferable than gambling with her fate in the draw.

* * *

“He’s gone.”

“Yeah…”

For some reason, the warrior who had been staring daggers at the tent left.

As the warrior departed, the two who had been glued together to trick the patrol naturally came apart.

Lise, nearly nestled in Jinseong’s embrace, slightly lowered her reddened face as she rose, and to cool the heat rising in her cheeks, she fanned herself with her pale hands.

Despite her effort, the warmth didn’t easily subside. She thought the tent felt too hot and breathed heavily, glancing at Jinseong from the corner of her eye.

Jinseong ceased to emit mana for a moment, gazing at the now crumpled spherical form of the clay. He then picked up a few scattered feathers from the ground and placed them on his palm, blowing softly onto them. The feathers fluttered around, dispersing everywhere.

As they landed, the resulting pattern appeared somewhat like a lock.

“There shouldn’t be anyone else now.”

Jinseong murmured as he unzipped the tent, stepping outside.

Huff…!

Once outside the tent, the scent of the mountains enveloped him.

The aroma of the trees.

The smell emanating from the damp ground.

The distinct odors of beasts in various locations.

The scents of insects’ and animal wastes carried by the wind.

And…

The musty aroma coming from the talismans and gold threads.

Jinseong retrieved a camping metal cup from his supplies, placing it on his hand while summoning cold air and the flames of Samādhi True Fire to condense water droplets inside, murmuring,

“Robigus, Robigus! Oh, great god of mold!”

 

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