Poison City

“The Lady in White? You’re telling me you saw the Lady in White?” Gloria narrowed her eyes at Gyuu Park: “That’s - how are you still here?”

“From what my parents told me, more like the Witch in White.” Gyuu Park shook his head: “But yeah, I’d prefer ‘Lady’ as well. But that’s less about how much respect I have for her, and more about ‘I don’t believe in witches’.”

“Really, you, the watcher and clergyman for this very Fragrant Chrysanthemum Temple, and the dedicated investigator of the paranormal, don’t believe in witches?” Gloria snickered.

“There’s no evidence that they even exist.” Gyuu Park shrugged: “Female watchers, female taoists, even female voodooists. But witches that could cast spells on anyone just by the look of their eyes? I am not convinced.”

“Okay, so what happened after you saw her?” Gloria shook her head, not going to dive into what the differences were.

“Actually - I don’t remember much of the details. Everything’s kinda - foggy.” Gyuu Park took a sip of the last can of beer in his hand, then scratched his jaw: “I just remember seeing some kind of well - a small well in the middle of the ruins. I took only one good look at it. There’s something special about it, and I am pretty sure it has some really interesting knowledge inside.”

“She invited you into the depths of the ruins?”

“She BROUGHT me in there. To be honest, I don’t really remember how I even went there. The fog just swirled around me, and when it dissipated, I was there.” Gyuu Park responded with a confused frown on his face: “But I wasn’t able to control anything or even just simply walk around. I was led through the ruins, with her holding my hand. She said something to me, but I just can’t for the life of me remember what it was. I saw some stone pillars, the well, and some kind of altar made of lava stones.”

“That’s - that’s a bit - ” Gloria struggled to find the right word to describe it: “How can I say it - strange, you’re sure you were not just dreaming?”

“Good question. I’ve spent weeks and even months considering the probability of this.” Gyuu Park nodded and took another sip of his beer, seeming savoring the last bit of the gift brought over by Gloria: “Do you happen to, you know, have any more drinks with you?”

“No. And you need to cool it with the drinking.” Gloria shook her head then slightly hardened her tone: “And how did you know you weren’t dreaming?”

“Because before that, I did not know shit about running a temple, or how to read the old texts and scriptures, not to mention the ability to decode and write special talismans.” Gyuu Park shrugged: “If you remember what I told you about my past, I kinda became the protege of talisman making after missing for three days, which was why they awarded me this temple.”

“Assigned, they assigned you this temple.” Gloria couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“Nobody’s run this temple for years. You know that part, and being here doesn’t help me at all.” Gyuu Park shrugged: “But yeah, I didn’t learn that from any of my family or from my school time. I am pretty sure she taught me all of that, and I just don’t remember how.”

“Okay. I see what you meant.” Gloria nodded: “You think she actually has some kind of in depth knowledge about the paranormal and mysticism. If I could not find anything about the incidents or the 15 year cycles through normal means, I could in theory resort to turning to the Lady in White for help.”

“Yeah, but I’d still suggest you check the archives first. The other kids that abandoned me in the fog were found the next day along a road leading up to the ruins, and they were sick for almost half a month right after.” Gyuu Park finished up the can of beer in his hand: “But that’s all I can help you with this. Maybe I can give you some help deciphering old texts if you ever get to bring some back. And if there’s any incidents, I’d be happy to help you investigate them.”

“What made you so proactive all of a sudden?” Gloria tilted her head and smiled. “You want to stash some favors first?”

“That. And I think you are onto something. Not to mention, I am indeed a little worried.” Gyuu Park threw the empty can back into the plastic bag with which it came in.

Just when Gloria was about to say something, her phone rang. It was not anyone calling her, but an alarm she set for herself.

“God dammit.” Gloria sighed and stood up: “I need to go to the railway station. I have a babysitting job in less than an hour.”

“Well, then you’d better get to it.” Gyuu Park stood up as well, and extended one hand at Gloria: “Good chat my friend. Thank you for the gift, and let me know what else you need.”

“Take care.” Gloria smiled and shook her hand: “And remember, moderation.”

“Oh, before I forgot.” Gyuu Park ran to the back of the temple, then came back with a small black cloth pouch.

“Talismans?” Gloria opened up the pouch and saw two pieces of folded completely black paper with some strange symbols written with golden ink on them. “What kind?”

“It’s still experimental, but it should be able to mask you in the eyes of the spirits, even some malicious ones, if you find yourself in a pickle.” Gyuu Park nodded: “It needs a little bit of Qi and your blood to activate. And it will make you feel gross and uncomfortable. But it works, at least from my own experience.”

“Alright, I’ll take your word for it.” Gloria put the pouch in her jacket. “And I’ll come back to haunt the shit out of you if they don’t work.”

“Good, then you can tell me more about the other side.” Gyuu Park chuckled as he accompanied Gloria to the door: “See you around.”