As True as a Dream

“[What is this madman saying, you bastard!]” 

The moment he plunged his bayonet into Song Yue’s master’s chest.

 

For some reason, the policeman’s body stiffened.

 

The knife fell to the ground.

 “[Have you forgotten or don’t you know? Have you just arrived in Jingshen City? Hasn’t anyone taught you what will happen if you make a scene here?]” 

There. The owner of Song Yue’s voice was slightly amused.

 

Using the light from the garden lantern to look at the scene, Hae-Joo squinted her eyes.

 

A red rash appeared all over the policeman’s body, as if he was about to break out, and he began to collapse.

 

The faces of the nearby employees also became pensive and took a step back.

 

Scared by the sudden change in his body, he stretched out his hand toward his colleagues.

 

However, his colleagues quickly struck him down with their bayonets, and he staggered back.

 “[What is this…! What happened…! Ugh, I…! Oh, help me…! Help me…!]” “Oh no! What’s going on? Are you okay, Mr. Policeman?” 

We were all stunned by the incomprehensible situation.

 

A white bag of unknown origin was placed over the policeman’s head.

 “It might be an epidemic, let’s take him to the hospital outside, police, please help!” 

A middle-aged man who had appeared out of nowhere shouted urgently as he held the pulsating policeman with the sack.

 “My God, Mr. Policeman, have you eaten the wrong food, or is it poison? Have you been bitten by a mad dog? It could be measles or chickenpox! Oh my God, what is it, let’s get you to a hospital!” 

Red in the face, the man stormed out, surrounded by the screaming nun.

 

The assaulted employee followed and was quickly helped to his feet.

Everyone in the garden scattered and disappeared.

 

Then a heavy silence fell over the garden, dwarfing the previous devastation.

 

Hae-Joo looked in the direction of the middle gate in horror, then turned away.

 

The side of the Song Yue Pavilion owner’s hair stood out grotesquely in the red light.

 “….What was that…?” 

Hae-Joo muttered indifferently.

 

As if in response, Song Yue’s owner turned to where she was standing.

 

The corners of the man’s mouth were slightly upturned as they had been the whole time.

 

As if he was smiling or not.

 

A terrible premonition that her nightmare would never end burrowed into her marrow.

 

Then, not far away, she heard a clattering sound.

 

She turned to see her

“taxi passenger”

collapse to the ground.

 

The man’s face was white and his lips were trembling.

 “… I, curse…” 

She felt the blood drain from her veins as she listened to his mumbled words.

 

A curse.

 

All of it. But there was no sign of Song Yue’s owner.

 

‘No way! No way! There can’t be a curse!’

 

Hae-Joo looked around the garden again.

 

***

“You’ve gone too far.” 

There was the sound of footsteps on the tiled floor.

 

It was Hongo, carrying a white sack over the head of a Japanese soldier.

 “What can I do about my bad mood?” 

Yi Ho, lying on the roof of the banquet hall, said gruffly.

 “He’s dead.” “Oh.” “The hospital pronounced him dead of unknown causes, but I think the police will take a look.” “Oh.” 

The muscles in Hongo’s face twitched in frustration at Yi Ho’s lack of sincerity.

 

After arriving at the scene, he first identified the two people who were the main actors in the

“accident”

and the deceased, and then reported to Yi Ho.

 

Then he left the room to clean up the mess.

 

Since then he’d been away to clean up the place.

 

Tomorrow, the tales of the

“Curse of Song Yue”

will spread throughout Jingsheng.

 

Hongo was depressed at the thought of Song Yue’s dull scene again.

 

He is a crow.

 

Crows have an obsessive love for shiny things like jewelry and gold.

 

He also loves money, which makes it easier to get those shiny things.

 

However, this

“accident”

will definitely reduce Song Yue’s income for a while.

 

Hongo swallowed a sigh and raised an eyebrow at the small bowl of porridge next to Yi Ho.

 “Was it the mudskipper you used?” “Yes.” “How much do you have left?” 

Yi Ho held the bowl in his hand as if weighing it.

 “A few?” “….Is that all you have left?” “Yes. It was the only thing I could use.” 

Hongo pouted his upper lip at Yi Ho’s regretful tone.

 

‘Song Yue’s curse.’

 

That was definitely a story.

 

The things that had happened to the objects that the sinister fox had collected as a hobby were called

“curses”

in the world.

 

The objects are the

“precious objects”

mentioned in various legends, tales, and myths.

 

The

“sadhu-chung”

in the porridge bowl was one of them.

 

The sadhu worm is a snake-headed poisonous worm described in the Uyadam.

 

When it enters the body, it causes a rash on the skin, followed by death due to excruciating pain and difficulty breathing.

 

These weren’t the only

“precious items”

in Yi Ho’s chamber.

 

A gem said to ward off ghosts.

 

A haunted ghost tree.

 

A feathered crane that can detect people with bad hearts.

 

The Mokmyeonji mushroom that drives people mad.

 

A bone worm that twists a person’s limbs and causes death.

 

Gogogong, a poisonous centipede.

 

Insect Cannibal, a disease-carrying insect…

 

There are some advantages, but there are also more disadvantages.

 

Hongo’s shoulders trembled with fear as he continued to think.

 

On the one hand, it’s an unavoidable hobby.

 

There must be a reason why this fox is collecting such rare, scary, and even hideous objects.

 

Hongo Wu surreptitiously turned his eyes and saw Yi Ho’s shadow.

 

His five tails fluttered lazily in the moonlight.

 “Even if you stare at me like that, there’s no way those tails will become nine, Mister Hongo.” 

Yi Ho’s mocking voice snapped Hongo back to reality.

 “If you are born a halfling, you will always be a halfling.” 

Hongo’s lips curled at Yi Ho’s next words.

 

That’s why he collects them.

 

The Halfling.

 

In this land, surrounded by the sea on three sides, there were not only humans for a long time, but also

“spirits”

.

 

The Red Crow himself was an example of one, and a particularly beautiful fox youkai called Gumiho was so famous that people talked about it all over the land.

 

They live for a very long time and are usually heartless and selfish in nature, so they rarely have

“offspring”

.

 

They rarely had children, especially by humans.

 

Humans were too weak, too inferior, and their lives were as short as a firefly’s.

 

The youkai despised children born to such weak beings as incomplete and shameful.

 

But more than four hundred years ago, in a corner of the land, a miracle happened.

 

A fox youkai named Kumihou, known for her beauty and strength, gave birth to a human child.

 

The woman who gave birth to the child was killed by the Yuro family, who believed that she carried the seed of a monster.

 

However, the people of the Yuro clan could not kill the child.

 

They were afraid to kill the child for fear of offending its father, the court official Gumiho.

 

Nor could they raise the ominous child as a human being.

 

The child was thrown into a corner of the family’s house to die on its own and grew to be as small as a dog.

 

And the more he grew, the more he was ostracized and persecuted because of his striking appearance, his phenomenal physical abilities, and the fox shadows that appeared under his feet on full moon nights.

 

One day, fleeing from the abuse, he hid in the mountains, where he encountered a variety of demons.

 

But he did not get along with them either.

 

The child’s existence was despised by the demons, who saw him as an enemy.

 

There was no place for the child to live fully.

 

The child had to do whatever it took to survive.

 

That was why the half-fox, half-youkai had collected

“precious items”

.

 

Not enough to be a youkai, too much to be a human.

 

Both worlds were enemies to him, and the Ear Water became a means of self-defense to protect his body.

 

Perhaps it was inevitable that his personality would become so devious and cunning.

 “Become… Mister Hongo.” “What?” 

Hongo Wu, who had been mesmerized, raised an eyebrow.

 “The two men and women who had an accident today, we’ve agreed to compensate them for the damages, so write up an invoice and send it over.” “Ah, yes, I see.” 

Hongo immediately thought of the two men and women who had caused all the commotion in Song Yue Pavillion today.

 

Despite the

“Curse of Song Yue”,

they were still alive.

 “You better keep an eye on that girl, Hae-Joo.” “Then I’ll leave.”Visit my Ko-fi for discounted advance chapters!!