Back to School (3)
Back to School (3)
It was broad daylight and yet, the locals did not dare to go anywhere near the swamps. There was a belief among the villagers that the swamp was cursed by a demoness who loved to lure nearby travelers sing her enchanted voice. People said that her voice was hypnotic, putting anyone who heard it under a charm. Whether it was during night or day, no man would be spared from her enchantment. Yes, she only preyed on men but if she happened to come across a pregnant woman, she would kill her and take the baby away.
Once the spirit lured a man, she would proceed to seduce him with her looks. The demoness would implant his seed into her before killing him off. It was said that she had a lair of unhatched eggs which were hidden in the lake. She protected her eggs, waiting for them to hatch one day and once they do, the entire village would be destroyed.
The sudden dropping of bags startled the boatman and he yelped in fright. Junho frowned at the guy's reaction.
"Take me to the swamps," he ordered.
The boatman was hesitant. "Sir," he began. "You should not go there."
"Why not?"
"That place is cursed!" the boatman claimed. "The demoness…she will seduce and kill you! She took the lives of many men of this village and I must stop you from going there!"
"I'll take the risk!" Junho snapped. "I need to go there. Now."
The boatman gulped. He did not want to go there but his boss would fire him if he refused the passenger. Resorting to his fate, he began to row the boat, heading for the cursed swamps
They rode in silence, wading through the river. The sun was beginning to dim as they floated through a forest. The trees were very tall and loomed over them. The leaves and branches blocked the sunlight, engulfing them into a mystical darkness. The place was very quiet. In fact, it was too quiet.
There was not a single sound, not even of insects. The absence of wildlife only made the atmosphere more eerie. The boatman was scared and he was afraid that his bladder would burst. The air was getting heavier and thicker, almost suffocating him. He did not want to hear the monstrous melody because he knew that he would fall for her charms.
Very few men of the village had managed to resist her and lived to tell the tale. According to them, the demoness was not able to charm them because they truly loved their wives or someone else. They had managed to stay faithful to their spouses and the woman's voice had no effect on them.
"Why are you so scared?" Junho asked curiously.
"T-the d-demoness!" the boatman squeaked. "She's lurking somewhere."
They were close to the swamps. The water was becoming denser and a chilly fog set in. Junho shivered and pulled his jacket closer to cover himself. A gentle breeze brushed his skin while the trees and branches arching over them prevented any light from coming through. The path ahead was also becoming darker and it was almost impossible to see anything.
"S-sir, I don't wanna go any further!" the boatman protested but Junho did not care.
"Just do as you're told!"
The boatman winced and kept of rowing the boat towards the swamps. The trees there were larger and the blue water was slowly turning green due to the moss and seaweed. The boatman struggled to wade forward because the oar kept on getting stuck with the seaweeds. Junho's gaze was fixed ahead and he was simply waiting.
They ventured deeper into the dark swamps, unsure of their destination. A cold wind was beginning to forma round them, forcing the boat to slightly sway backwards. It was as if the wind was trying to stop them from going ahead, warning them of the dangers which lurked in front of them. Junho kept his eyes forward on the road.
"Are you sure you want to keep going?" the boatman's voice came from behind him.
"I am."
The boatman drew a sharp breath. People just never listened to him.
"Tell me more about this demoness," Junho said.
"They say that she lures men to their deaths," the boatman narrated. "Her voice is enough to charm anyone and she has the face of an angel is the soul of a devil. Whoever falls under her charm, will surely meet a terrible fate."
The air swirled around them like white mist, slowly surrounding the swamp. Junho did not pay attention to the cold breeze but glanced at the boatman from the corner of his eye.
"What else do you know?" he asked quietly.
"She can change her form," the boatman whispered. "They say that she can take the form of anyone and lure travelers."
Junho sighed. The boat floated deeper into the forest, the fog thickening with every second. His eyes were fixated ahead, looking nowhere in particular. His hand was in his pocket and his senses were on high alert. He could feel that something was coming nearer. Narrowing his eyes, he gripped the insides of his pocket.
He glanced behind him. The boatman was gone.
"As expected," he sighed. He raised his voice and added, "You still love to play tricks, Shen."
Suddenly, the water beneath the boat began to bubble , rattling it. Junho held on to the handle, trying not to fall off as a figure emerged from the water. The boatman's face was now completely green and his eyes were red. His long hair was a tangled mess while his nails were long and dirty. He looked at Junho with contempt and wanted nothing more than to kill that man.
"I see you're still trapped in this river," Junho noted.
"Thanks to you!" Shen sneered. Years ago, Junho had trapped him in that river for his crimes. Shen was a water spirit who used to be a resident of the village when he was alive. Due to his amorous looks, he was frequently mistaken as a woman and he used it to his advantage to seduce men and rob them. One day, while he tried to kill one of his lovers, the man ended up killing Shen in self defense. Terrified of what happened, he dumped Shen's body in the river.
Since then, Shen had been haunting the place, posing as a woman's ghost to lure the men. His spirit was vengeful and wanted nothing more than to kill as many men as possible. Finally, Junho managed to trick him and trapped him in the river.
"So, you're not the escaped ghost either," Junho sighed.
"No," Shen smirked. "But if you let me go, I can tell you."
Junho stared at him for a while before throwing a handful of salt at the spirit. Shen hissed in pain and glared at the man. Since he was trapped, he could not harm Junho. He had hoped that he could trick Junho into releasing him but the man was too smart for such silly tricks.
"Which ghost had escaped?" Junho demanded, throwing more salt at him. "Tell me!"
Shen only screamed in agony. The salt was like poison to ghosts. It burnt their skins, and, in many cases, it could also make them immobile for days.
"I don't know!" Shen admitted. "All I know is that whoever has escaped is being protected by another powerful spirit. That's why you can't trace it. The big boss is keeping him safe."
Junho raised his eyebrows. A powerful spirit?
"Go on," he ordered.
"The line between the living and dead is thinning," Shen stated. "Someone is trying to bring in an army of the dead to this world so that they can take over the bodies of human beings and get another chance to live. In order to do this, this spirit is targeting all those who might pose a problem to him."
"What do you mean?"
"There's a rumor that this spirit is targeting two different bloodlines," Shen said reluctantly. "Because those bloodlines have a strange ability."
Bloodlines? Junho frowned. "What abilities?" he asked out loud.
"I've heard that one bloodline has the ability to communicate with spirits," Shen replied. "Their powers have passed on to their descendants for ages. But the other bloodline is the problem. No one knows who they are. Their ability is very faint and hard to trace. It's hard to tell if their bloodline even exists or not!"
"Where is that spirit?" Junho asked.
Shen's lips curved into a malicious smile. "You can't find him," he said cryptically. "He'll find you."
Before Junho could ask anymore questions, Shen disappeared back into the water. The spirit would not say anything more. Junho already figured out that one of the bloodlines was Gayoon's family but where was the other bloodline? And what did this spirit want? Who was he?
If the spirit knew about Gayoon and Jina's abilities, then no doubt it was using the other escaped ghost to get to them. Both of them were in danger.
"I have to protect them," Junho vowed. But how was he going to find the escaped ghost?