Chapter 239: Chapter 239

The place Dan So-mi, Hong Jinrang, and Ju Jiyak headed to was not very far from Dongting Lake in Yueyang.

Since it was a place with few people, thick bushes grew wild, and because of that, it looked difficult to even set foot inside.

“Are there going to be snakes?”

Jiyak stared at the place with a pale face.

It really felt like a snake would pop out if one took a wrong step. Acting rashly could lead to a big accident.

Therefore, she did not want to go in.

It was the same for Hong Jinrang as well.

No matter how big his build was, he was still a young boy.

Entering a dangerous place where there might be snakes whose bite could kill was too much for ordinary courage.

Hong Jinrang and Ju Jiyak looked at each other and nodded.

It would be best to go back now.

It seemed they had made that decision.

At that moment.

“Ah! We can go this way.”

Dan So-mi, who seemed to be the most cowardly among the group, stepped inside, treading on the lowest bushes.

In her hand was a stick she had obtained from who knows where, and she moved forward, tapping and parting the bushes around her.

“Aren’t you… scared?”

“Huh? If you do this, the snakes run away…”

“But… still, there are some that don’t run away.”

“It’s fine. I’ve caught a lot of snakes.”

The place where Dan So-mi used to live was a slash-and-burn farming village. Since it was deep in the mountains, she saw not only wild beasts but also quite a few snakes.

At one time she was very scared, but back then, when a snake appeared, her parents would catch it to boil into soup or roast it to eat.

The taste of snake meat was much better than she had thought.

Because of that, Dan So-mi had also gone out snake hunting with the village children.

Once one got used to it, a single stick was enough even for venomous ones.

Isn’t that how snake hunting usually is anyway?

“And they’re delicious!”

“…Did you eat that?”

“…You eat them.”

Ju Jiyak and Hong Jinrang stared at Dan So-mi with disgusted expressions. From their perspective, eating a snake was something hard to even imagine.

Because there were plenty of other things to eat.

The two followed behind Dan So-mi, breaking out in cold sweat. They did not want to go, but since she was entering without hesitation, they could not leave her alone.

The bushes continued for a long time.

After making a path and walking for about fifteen minutes, the abandoned house that was their destination revealed itself.

That small house seemed to have been built a very long time ago, and perhaps because no one had maintained it, it would not have been strange if it collapsed right away.

“Are we… really going in?”

Ju Jiyak stared at the abandoned house, her face pale as she trembled. Was it just her imagination that she felt a chill the closer they approached?

If it were just a bit darker, it would not be strange to hear the wailing of ghosts.

At that moment.

“Shh!”

Suddenly covering Ju Jiyak’s mouth, Hong Jinrang hastily lowered his head.

Although Dan So-mi did not know the reason, she crouched down on the ground to copy him.

She did not seem to care at all about her clothes getting dirty.

As the children hid themselves in the bushes, soon, someone’s voice could be heard.

“If we just search like this, I feel like we’ll really all die.”

“Still, it’s a relief we found it! We have to make the first move before the other guys find out.”

They were two middle-aged men.

Carrying swords, they were unmistakably martial artists, but their level did not seem very high, as they did not even notice the presence of the hidden children.

They wore armor and carried a large basket full of something into the abandoned house.

Soon, a thumping sound was heard, and then the surroundings fell quiet.

Only then did Hong Jinrang sigh in relief and sit down.

“Phew… I don’t know who they are, but thank goodness. I don’t think they saw us.”

He spoke while glancing at Dan So-mi, but for some reason, So-mi had her cheeks puffed up with a dissatisfied expression.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“No… it’s not a ghost…”

“If it were a ghost, it would be a bigger problem! It’s a relief it’s a person.”

“Still…”

“Sigh…”

Dan So-mi muttered with a displeased look.

She had come all this way to see a ghost, but far from a ghost, it was just a person.

She did not know what they were doing, but seeing faces she had never seen before, they did not seem to be people living nearby.

“Shall we go back?”

The moment Hong Jinrang muttered, someone tightly grabbed his collar.

‘Huh?’

Hong Jinrang cast an ominous look behind him.

It was Ju Jiyak.

The eyes that had been lifeless just a moment ago were now filled with vitality, and she looked at Dan So-mi and Hong Jinrang with sparkling eyes.

This time, Dan So-mi and Hong Jinrang showed uneasy expressions.

“A premonition of an incident!”

“Ah…”

“Ugh…”

Dan So-mi scratched her cheek with a troubled expression.

Although the three children were very close, their personalities were all different.

Hong Jinrang’s eyes spun whenever martial arts were mentioned, Dan So-mi loved bizarre and mysterious things, and Ju Jiyak was the one who loved investigating things like the constables of the government office who dug into incidents and accidents.

Moreover, once Ju Jiyak got started, she could not be stopped.

“Are you really going?”

“Yes!”

The situation had completely changed from a moment ago.

A very anxious Dan So-mi tried tugging at Ju Jiyak’s sleeve, but Ju Jiyak, who was already blind to everything else, marched straight forward.

Her behavior was completely different from when she was talking about whether there were snakes or being scared just a moment ago.

Hong Jinrang tried his best to stop Ju Jiyak, but he became quiet with just a gesture of her slicing her neck with her hand.

Screeech-!

Ju Jiyak gently opened the door of the abandoned house.

A chill rushed over them at the sound that grated on their ears.

“There’s… no one?”

Peering inside, there was no sign of anyone.

How did this happen?

They had clearly confirmed that the men entered this place, so why were they not here?

Entering the abandoned house with a blank expression, Ju Jiyak’s face turned pale as if she had seen something she should not have.

“A ghost?”

Dan So-mi’s eyes flashed with excitement.

This, too, was completely different from her terrified state a moment ago.

Rather, Ju Jiyak trembled like crazy, and Hong Jinrang, who was beside her, looked at the two children with an absurd expression.

“Since there was a thumping sound, there must be a secret passage.”

“R-Right?”

“…Ugh.”

Instantly changing her expression, Ju Jiyak nodded. She looked all around the room, carefully examining each object.

Touching the utensils here and there, her eyes shined.

Her determination to find it by all means was visible.

At that moment, Dan So-mi stared quietly at the floor and reached out.

“Isn’t it this?”

“Huh?”

Ju Jiyak looked at Dan So-mi in surprise.

What So-mi was holding was a handle.

Ju Jiyak muttered with an astonished expression.

“To use such a high-level trick…!”

“No, it was visible from the beginning?”

“…Pfft.”

Dan So-mi smiled awkwardly.

If one had looked at the floor even once after opening the door and entering, it was easy to notice. However, Ju Jiyak, whose mind was captured by other things, seemed to have failed to see it.

Ju Jiyak’s shoulders slumped in disappointment, and So-mi comforted her.

“I-It’s okay! It’s fine since we found it.”

“Is… that so?”

“Yes!”

Soon, Ju Jiyak’s gaze turned toward Hong Jinrang. It was a look that seemed to remember him bursting out with a “Pfft!” laughing earlier.

Hong Jinrang, breaking out in cold sweat, stepped forward.

“I’ll open it!”

“Of course a man should do the heavy lifting. Who else were you going to make do it?”

Ju Jiyak used a small twig that had fallen on the floor to poke Hong Jinrang in the ribs.

Though it did not hurt, it was quite threatening.

Unintentionally trembling, he put strength into his grip.

Rumble-!

A part of the floor was lifted, revealing a secret passage.

Because it had not been long since the two men entered, there was a somewhat uneasy feeling, but because of Ju Jiyak whose eyes were sparkling, it did not seem possible to turn back now.

“Let’s go in!”

The inside was quite dark.

The inside going down was quite dark. Not a single thing could be seen in front of them, to the point that they had to grope around to find the path.

“It must be a place made by those two people from earlier. No doubt about it!”

Going down, Ju Jiyak was certain.

Although she did not know what on earth they were trying to do by making a secret passage inside an abandoned house, her strong will to uncover it was felt.

“But it looks like it was made a really long time ago…?”

“Huh?”

“Look at this. The traces of the walls being dug out, and the wood we are stepping on is also quite old.”

As their eyes gradually grew accustomed to the darkness, the scenery revealed itself one by one.

“Is… that so?”

“Yes! My grandfather and dad are really good at this kind of thing…”

Saying those words, Dan So-mi glanced at Ju Jiyak. Her face had crumpled.

Since the words she had deduced and spoken were completely refuted, it felt like tears might come out for no reason.

Dan So-mi stopped walking and hugged Ju Jiyak tightly.

“It’s okay! If you could just see well, you would have figured it all out, Jiyak.”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

Watching that scene from behind, Hong Jinrang looked at the two with an absurd gaze.

Certainly, if it were visible, something would have been different, but it was by no means an easy thing for a child who was not even ten years old to look at traces and grasp something.

‘See, I told you she’s a nine-tailed fox, that girl.’

Hong Jinrang shivered.

Since Ju Jiyak cried and laughed at every single action of Dan So-mi, he thought that she was probably doing that on purpose because she found it amusing.

He was almost certain of this.

That innocent expression and behavior all came from an intention more devious than a vixen.

With that thought, he let out a short groan.

At that moment, Dan So-mi glanced back and looked at Hong Jinrang.

Although it was not easy to see in the darkness, she seemed to be smiling brightly.

“What is it?”

“N-No, it’s nothing.”

Hong Jinrang turned his head unconsciously and stared at the wall.

‘Damn it…’

She was supposed to look like an evil spirit, but why did she not look that way? Feeling angry for no reason, he bumped his head against the wall.

Thud!

When an unusual sound suddenly echoed, the other two children were startled.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go…”

“O-Okay.”

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