Episode 102

Yu Jinsan had never encountered such a terrifying woman in his life. And this person…

Red eyes, devoid of pupils, were glaring directly at them.

It was evident that her form was human. One peculiar detail was that she had a strange tree branch wrapped around her waist like a whip.

Behind him, Yu Seol gripped his collar and groaned.

“Gr-Grandpa…”

“There’s no need to be scared. Ghosts don’t exist in this world.”

Yu Jinsan took the lead and approached the woman.

At that moment, the tip of his Dragon Flower Spear, which he was holding, emitted a strange wailing sound.

Whoong!

What on earth was happening?

A spiritual beast weapon that only reacted to spiritual entities or beasts was making this sound?

As they got closer, an unknown anxiety rose in Yu Jinsan’s heart. This was because no qi could be detected from the woman who was sitting on the branch.

All Yu Jinsan could feel was an intense coldness.

“Who are you!? Why are you staring at us?!”

“…”

At that moment, the neck of the woman, wearing tattered clothes, turned to the side.

The sight of her smiling and frowning with her neck bent horizontally was even more unsettling.

After a while, as the distance closed to about a dozen meters, she, who had been glaring at them, suddenly flew into the fog.

Tak!

Her movement was so swift that he couldn’t even pinpoint her location. Behind him, Yu Seol’s index finger pointed to the fog.

“It was over there and then disappeared.”

Yu Jinsan looked around and saw no one.

“You see that? It ran away when it saw Grandpa.”

“Grandpa, I’m scared…”

When Yu Jinsan was with his granddaughter, he would sometimes share scary stories. In response to the child’s reaction, who was scared yet eager to hear more, he made light of things by adding legends.

He regretted those stories now but couldn’t take them back.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be able to get out as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.”

With that one word, Yu Seol’s expression turned even darker, signifying they had to stay here until morning.

“What if a ghost catches me?”

“How can they catch Seol when Grandpa is here?”

“Sniff.”

After hugging his granddaughter once, he moved to a suitable place.

“Grandpa will be watching, so you can take a nap. When you wake up, we can leave.”

“…Uh.”

Yu Seol closed her eyes tightly and buried her face in his chest. Yu Jinsan patted the child’s head and looked around.

Contrary to what he had said, he couldn’t let his guard down even for a moment here.

‘Did he say it was called the White Bone Witch?’

The old man who had warned them not to enter this place seemed like a warrior.

What on earth made a warrior like him tremble in fear?

Although full of doubts, he couldn’t appear scared in front of this unknown being.

‘Just try coming closer again. I will put an end to it.’

He was a warrior who had achieved the state of being able to control sleep, but his granddaughter in his arms was fast asleep.

As the night deepened and dawn approached, the fog grew thicker.

Yu Jinsan sat quietly, looking around, remaining alert.

When the gloom reached its peak…

“…?”

Yu Jinsan’s eyes opened wide.

Red eyes flickered in front of a tree about 25 feet away. It was clearly the White Bone Witch.

Yu Seol opened her eyes just in time due to this unknown fear, but he couldn’t tell his trembling granddaughter to fight.

“Wait here. Grandpa will take care of it.”

“Be careful…”

Yu Jinsan stood up, grabbed his spear, and ran towards her.

As the distance closed, the White Bone Witch’s face became more distorted, and she glared at him as if she wanted to kill him.

“You really cannot get out now!”

Despite his warning, she did not retreat.

Instead, she advanced towards Yu Jinsan, clearly ready to fight.

There was no talking to this opponent.

For the sake of safety, he couldn’t afford to hold back his first strike.

‘Don’t blame me for this!’

The tip of his spear, charged with red qi, shot towards the White Bone Witch’s chest.

Swish!!

It was an attack made with the intention of killing her in one blow. However, the opponent was much stronger than expected.

In a split second, Yu Jinsan saw the White Bone Witch’s left hand emit a milky white halo of light.

And it struck the blade of his spear.

Kaaang!!

As they clashed, Yu Jinsan instinctively ducked.

Something cold brushed past above his head.

Pang!

For a moment, he was relieved that he had dodged it. He quickly pulled out his spear and raised it diagonally.

The speed was so incredible that it was difficult to see clearly with the naked eye.

Feeling his heart pounding, he immediately infused qi into the handle of the spear he was clutching. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to defend against subsequent attacks.

A chilling light flashed, and razor-sharp nails struck the spear shaft right before his eyes.

Kwaang!!!

Biting his lip, he gulped back the groan.

“Ugh!”

Yu Jinsan’s feet continued to slip back, digging into the ground.

He was only able to stop after being dragged for a considerable distance.

‘This is a disaster.’

This ghost was at a level he couldn’t handle. The opponent continued to attack without regard for his feelings.

Strange nails that looked like they had blades embedded in them, and then the gloomy qi that lingered there, descended mercilessly from above.

Balancing on his left foot, Yu Jinsan gritted his teeth and raised the Dragon Spear.

Chang!

“Kuak!”

He felt a breaking pain in both arms. Not only that, but his feet had sunk an inch into the ground.

Yu Jinsan felt overwhelmed by this enormous strength. Before he could recover, a milky white glow approached him in a curved line.

Kwang!!

Although he managed to block it, the situation was grim. The immense force made him drop his spear.

And with that, his front was completely exposed—a perfect opening.

The opponent wouldn’t miss this chance.

Yu Jinsan had no way to block the approaching grasp.

It was a crisis of a lifetime since Yu Jinsan couldn’t block it, but he didn’t think he would die. This was because he sensed something, like lightning, approaching from somewhere.

This fist, in the shape of wind, blew through the air and approached at the speed of light. It was Shaolin’s martial art, the Hundred Steps Divine Fist.

Swish!!

In the blink of an eye, this blow struck the White Bone Witch on the side.

Kuak!!

As she was about to attack Yu Jinsan, she stumbled to the side as if she would fall.

“Grandpa!!”

His granddaughter, holding the Dragon Flower Spear diagonally, ran to him. Was she taken aback by the sudden force? The White Bone Witch glared at Yu Seol for a moment and then moved back.

It was very strange to see it hiding in the fog like some footless ghost.

“Don’t let your guard down! She hasn’t fled yet!”

Yu Jinsan instinctively felt that the opponent was still around.

Yu Seol seemed to be aware of this too.

“…”

Although Yu Seol was afraid of ghosts, she picked up her spear to protect her grandfather.

A nervous look was clear on Yu Jinsan’s face as he looked around.

After a while, Yu Jinsan’s expression suddenly darkened.

‘When did the fog become this thick?’

The visibility had decreased. It was clearly not a normal fog.

It was a fog so bizarre that even his own eye with qi couldn’t see much.

What trick was this?

“This is bad. I cannot see what is ahead…”

“I can see well, so stay behind me.”

Fortunately, Yu Seol could see. Was it because the vision was dark now? Yu Jinsan was too anxious.

As he looked around, he could see red eyes passing through the fog. At that moment, a loud noise erupted from behind.

Kwang!!

Without needing to check, he knew that Yu Seol and the White Bone Witch had clashed.

And that was just the beginning.

Like thunderclouds charged with lightning, flashes erupted continuously within the fog.

Kwang! Bang! Kwakwang!!

The fight between the two must have truly begun. There was nothing Yu Jinsan could do to help, except root for his granddaughter.

A strong wind was blowing all around, and the sound of trees splitting continued. The fight gradually became more intense, and soon, someone screamed.

“Kiiiek!!”

It was a strange, crow-like shriek, definitely not Yu Seol’s voice.

Yu Jinsan raised his hand and cheered.

“You are doing good!”

But his joy didn’t last long. In a split second, something wrapped around his waist.

“…?”

Wheik!

He felt his body floating and being dragged somewhere. He couldn’t tell what had wrapped around his stomach, but he couldn’t shake it off.

As time passed, he became more and more out of breath.

“…Euk.“

No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t escape.

As he was taken away by the White Bone Witch, his eyes turned red with worry for his granddaughter, who was left alone.

‘My child…’

“Grandpa!!”

Yu Seol’s scream echoed throughout the Ghost Forest.

Her joy at defeating the White Bone Witch was short-lived. Who could have thought that the wounded White Bone Witch would kidnap her grandfather and run away?

The child felt despair as she was left alone, which soon turned to fear.

“Huh…”

When was the last time she had been left alone like this?

Yu Seol, who was standing still and crying, wiped her tears and looked around. Although the fog was thick, it couldn’t block her vision.

The first thing she found was the Dragon Spear her grandpa had left.

“Grandpa…”

Holding the two spears, Yu Seol continued to look around.

How could she find her grandpa in a forest where she didn’t even know the right direction?

She was on the verge of tears, facing the helpless situation, but then she remembered the advice her grandpa always gave her.

[No matter what problem you face, you can find a solution if you come to your senses.]

‘I need to find a way.’

After calming herself, she leaped onto a tree, heightened her senses, and surveyed her surroundings.

Thanks to the supervision she developed, she could see much more clearly, and her keen eyes noticed something unusual.

“Bead?”

An odd purple glow that was different from the other colors around.

Yu Seol quickly approached, picked it up, and then rolled up her sleeves.

‘Friendship bracelet?’

It was identical to the one on her wrist.

This jade bead bracelet was a parting gift from Uncle Dong-gu and the head of the family.

Yu Seol’s expression brightened slightly as she looked around. As expected, there was another bead not too far away.

“Grandpa!”

She followed the trail left by the beads.

But there were only so many beads on the bracelet.

The bead that initially pointed in the direction of Yu Jinsan soon led to something else.

A seashell painted in artificial colors.

“…?”

The first gift she ever gave her grandpa.

He had even removed it from his necklace.

All this was because of the White Bone Witch, whether she was a ghost or a human.

Suddenly, her hand holding the spear began to tremble.

“Shh…”

The fear in her mind dissipated.

Now, it is replaced by anger.

An anger so intense that it felt like her blood was boiling, surged from deep within her heart.

Yu Seol bit her lip in fury.

“… How dare you take my grandpa! You are so dead now.”

Clutching the Twin Dragon spears, Yu Seol looked for more traces as she moved.

After covering a certain distance, finding the direction wasn’t difficult. This was because the two weapons responded.