I Knew It.

When morning came, the woodcutter greeted the group with a bright smile.

“Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes, thanks to you. It seems you slept well too, Deok-yeong.”

At Jeon Pyeong’s words, the woodcutter gave an embarrassed smile.

“We talked it over yesterday, and it turns out I was simply mistaken.”

“You really are something, husband.”

The woman gave the woodcutter a light jab in the side.

“Sorry.”

The woodcutter naturally patted her shoulder.

It was nothing like yesterday, when he had been too afraid to even go near her.

To anyone watching, they looked like a pleasant couple.

“This is embarrassing. Rather than stand here, why not have a meal before you go?”

At those words, the group’s gazes went past the woodcutter.

The children were smiling.

When the group looked their way, the girl tilted her head.

Her expression was innocent, as if last night had been a lie.

The group exchanged glances.

Jeon Pyeong gave a signal, suggesting they withdraw for now.

“No need. We have a schedule to keep and must be on our way.”

“I see.”

The woodcutter and the woman both showed disappointment.

Leaving the couple seeing them off behind them, the group walked away from the hut.

“This leaves a bad taste.”

“What bad taste. He said himself it was just a misunderstanding.”

Bong Seok answered Jeon Gwang, who was walking in front, but his own face did not look entirely convinced.

If not for what had happened last night, everyone would have simply let it go.

But the scene they had witnessed the night before lingered in their minds.

It was also odd how someone so terrified could change his attitude overnight.

Just then, Seo Jong-dae, walking ahead, spoke.

“So. How is it?”

“It is as we thought.”

“You are sure?”

“Yes.”

Gyo-ha, who had been quiet, answered.

At the sudden exchange, the group turned their eyes toward them.

Yet the two went on talking as if they did not notice the others.

“They do not seem to be doing anything bad.”

“Hard to say.”

At Gyo-ha’s words, Seo Jong-dae let out a sigh.

For a brief moment, his gaze turned toward the felled trees.

They were the trees the woodcutter had cut.

As if he had noticed something, Seo Jong-dae clicked his tongue.

“What are you talking about right now?”

In the end, Jeon Gwang could not bear the frustration and spoke up.

“Those children are not human.”

“What nonsense is that…”

Jeon Gwang gave a short laugh, and the others laughed along with him.

They thought Gyo-ha was joking.

But there was no change in the expressions of Gyo-ha and Seo Jong-dae.

“…Are you two serious?”

At Jeon Pyeong’s question, Seo Jong-dae shrugged.

The others’ faces changed as well.

“It is strange, but saying they are not human is…”

Jeon Gwang spoke as if he could not believe it.

“Honestly. If they are not human, what are they, then? Are you saying they are yokai?”

Even Bong Seok mocked the two. But Jeon Hong was lost in thought.

At his serious expression, the group’s attention turned to him.

Receiving their gaze, Jeon Hong spoke.

“…Come to think of it, did any of you see the children eat anything yesterday?”

At his question, the group looked at one another.

No one had.

Even the woodcutter and the woman had shared fruit with the group.

“In a harmonious family like that, you would normally feed the children first.”

Jeon Pyeong spoke in a serious tone.

“That is only because of us, is it not?”

Bong Seok answered curtly, though for some reason his voice held a faint edge of fear.

“They might have fed them after we left.”

At that, everyone turned to look at one place.

By now they knew very well how sharp Gyo-ha’s sense of smell was.

Under their gazes, Gyo-ha scratched the bridge of his nose.

“It did not seem like they had eaten anything.”

“Mm.”

The group came to a halt.

“Hold on. You are really going to believe that?”

Bong Seok beat his chest in frustration.

Regardless of him, everyone was staring back the way they had come.

“Even if they are yokai or whatever, they are living well among themselves.”

“That is the point. We do not know that.”

It was Seo Jong-dae.

“They are living things. They must be eating something.”

It clearly would not be normal food. The Mount Hua disciples’ eyes changed, as if the thought had not occurred to them before.

“Let us go.”

“Go where?”

The group asked back, but Gyo-ha had already started walking.

He was headed toward the hut.

The others hurried to follow behind him.

Naturally, Bong Seok had no choice but to go with them.

“What yokai, in this day and age. No, more than that, since when did he start talking down to me?”

At his words, Jeon Gwang shot him a look that said he was ridiculous.

It bothered him too, but it was not something Bong Seok had any right to say.

When the group returned, the woodcutter, who had just been about to go out, widened his eyes.

“What brings you back? Did you forget something?”

Gyo-ha did not answer and instead looked at the child beside the woodcutter.

Just like yesterday, a child was gripping his hand tightly.

Gyo-ha trudged over to the child and sniffed him.

“As I thought.”

Doubt became certainty.

“You are not human, are you?”

“Great Hero, what in the world are you…”

The woodcutter’s eyes flew wide, but the child only tilted his head, as if he did not understand what Gyo-ha had said.

“Young Master Gyo. Let us at least talk…”

Jeon Gwang moved to calm Gyo-ha down, but he was a step too late.

Without warning, Gyo-ha swung his fist.

Puk!

The child’s face burst apart.

“Young Master Gyo!”

Jeon Pyeong swiftly drew his sword and pointed it at Gyo-ha. His juniors did the same.

The woodcutter beside them collapsed to the ground, unable to believe the sight before his eyes.

Red liquid soaked the ground.

“Young Master. You have crossed the line just now.”

Jeon Pyeong, who had been speaking casually until now, spoke in a stern voice.

But Gyo-ha only looked down at the dead child.

“I knew it.”

Knew what, exactly?

Jeon Pyeong frowned. He was far too calm for someone who had just killed a child.

Just then, Jeon Hong, who was aiming his sword as well, spoke carefully.

“Senior Brother. That is not blood.”

“What…”

At Jeon Hong’s words, all eyes turned.

The child lay fallen, headless. The horrific sight made their brows knit, but they did not look away.

And the group, too, came to realize it.

The shattered head was not like that of an ordinary human.

What should have been there was missing.

There was only red flesh. No internal organs could be seen.

That was not the only strange thing.

“…A sweet scent?”

A sweet fragrance rose from the broken flesh and scattered blood.

Like fruit pulp.

Gyo-ha flicked the red liquid from his hand.

“What in the world…”

The tip of Jeon Pyeong’s sword trembled, showing how shaken he was.

Just then, the woman came out with the children at the sound of the commotion.

Seeing the gruesome scene, she drew in breath to scream.

That is, she would have, if Seo Jong-dae had not struck her pressure point.

Seo Jong-dae caught her as she collapsed and laid her to the side.

At that sight, Jeon Hong quickly sealed the woodcutter’s pressure point as well.

“Try saying something before you move, will you?”

Seo Jong-dae spoke in an irritated tone.

“Ah, right. Sorry.”

Gyo-ha scratched the back of his head. Their nonchalant attitude left the others dumbfounded.

But they had no choice but to pull themselves together.

The remaining children were looking at them with indifferent eyes.

Their faces held not a shred of emotion.

They did not look alive, but like dolls.

Anyone would have found them strange.

Yet it was not only their appearance that was strange.

“Why.”

“Are you.”

“Bothering us?”

The children spoke one after another, and even the newborn’s voice was the same.

“Good heavens.”

Pale-faced, Bong Seok stumbled back. The Mount Hua disciples adjusted their grips on their swords.

“Our family.”

“Is simply.”

“Living here. That is all.”

Gyo-ha scratched the back of his head. A reason?

Was it his master’s order? No.

He had felt revulsion from the moment he saw the children. Even he did not know why.

It was instinctive disgust.

“How many parents have you gone through?”

It was Seo Jong-dae. He spoke with a face that clearly showed his annoyance.

The children turned their eyes toward him.

“What.”

“Do you mean?”

They asked back.

‘Again.’

The stinging, cloying reek made Gyo-ha frown.

“Exactly what I said. How many times have you made these people into your mother and father?”

At the sudden question, the group also looked at Seo Jong-dae.

“Outside, the cut trees are all different. You could say they regrew later, but the cuts themselves are not the same. Different people cut them. Yet the only woodcutter in these parts is this man.”

The group’s eyes went wide. Seo Jong-dae was not done.

“The clothes inside the house. They looked a little big for this man to wear. They belong to someone else, do they not?”

“…”

“…”

The children stared at Seo Jong-dae in silence.

A brief standoff. It felt as if a cold wind swept through the area.

Soon, one of the children spoke.

“They are the first.”

Seo Jong-dae let out a short laugh. The child’s answer was proof enough to doubt them.

“For certain.”

“Our mother.”

“Had a husband…”

The children began to speak on in indifferent voices.

But Gyo-ha raised his hand to stop them.

“Hold on. This is confusing. How about only one of you speaks?”

The group looked at Gyo-ha.

They had thought the same thing, but had not been able to say it.

Soon, one child stepped forward.

It was the girl who had come to them at night.

“Our mother had a husband. But that man tormented her. She wanted to escape from him. We only granted that wish.”

With one person speaking, the sense of strangeness lessened a little.

But what she said was far from ordinary.

“Then what about this man?”

Jeon Gwang asked.

“Father also wanted a peaceful family. Father and Mother both became happy thanks to us.”

The girl finished speaking.

No one opened their mouth. That was how shocking it was.

The one who broke the silence was Gyo-ha.

“So.”

He spoke while looking at the girl.

His fists were clenched.

“Where is that so-called husband now?”

“…”

The girl did not answer.

Seo Jong-dae also lifted his fan.

“I doubt you found this man in one try.”

Seo Jong-dae’s words were the final push.

The children, who had been still until now, charged at the group.

Their speed was nothing like that of ordinary children.

“Watch out…!”

But no one present here was ordinary.

Before the children could reach them, the swords of the Mount Hua swordsmen moved.

The children fell one after another.

It was not only their heads.

Even with their bodies split open, there were no organs.

There was only red meat and flesh.

A sweet smell filled the air in all directions.

“Heeek.”

Bong Seok stumbled backward. Jeon Pyeong glanced at him, then sheathed his sword.

There was also a headless corpse at Gyo-ha’s feet.

It was the girl’s body.

“What will we do now?”

Jeon Pyeong turned to Gyo-ha and asked.

His eyes still held confusion. His thoughts would not move easily in a situation he had never experienced before.

It was the same for his juniors.

If they had not drawn their swords ahead of time, they might have been the ones to suffer.

Gyo-ha scratched the back of his head.

Even he did not have a clear solution.

“For now, shall we go back to the hut?”

Gyo-ha jerked his chin toward the collapsed woodcutter and woman.

They could not just leave them like this.

“W, wait. You’re going back there? How do you know what might be inside?”

Bong Seok practically jumped. His face was still deathly pale.

But unfortunately for him, no one paid him any mind.

The group picked up the woodcutter and the woman and headed back to the hut.

Left alone, Bong Seok stared at the children’s corpses, squeezed his eyes shut, then ran after them toward the hut.