Chapter 34.3

Chapter 34.3

– ‘This is your sole means of escape.’

Thump.

– ‘You, foolish one, ensnared by the changgwi and led into Sangun-nim’s tomb! Darkness looms before you, and a ghost clings upon your back.’

I swallowed hard.

– ‘Do not answer. Do not unbar the door. Purify your body and endure until the full moon rises, and go to the shrine to perform the ritual.’

– ‘Then you shall live to see the sun rise. However...’

I turned the page.

– ‘The changgwi shall relentlessly pursue anyone it deems worthy prey. You, who has already been ensnared by the tiger, can never escape.’

– ‘The ghost shall linger at your doorstep, at your bedside as you sleep.’

– ‘So, you too must become a changgwi. To escape, you must find another to take your place and offer them to the tiger.’

......!

– ‘The sacrifice must have reasoning, warm blood, and a voice. Only then can the changgwi be deceived.’

– ‘Offer the sacrifice, and follow the moonlit path to a small pit of serpents.’

– ‘This is your sole means of escape. There is no other way.’

“......”

– That’s the end. Fascinating, isn’t it?

I closed the book, my hands frozen.

‘...So that’s what it was.’

In the exploration record, it was only described in a line or two: A sacrifice was chosen by drawing lots, and when the chosen one refused, they were tied to a post and dragged away.

But looking at it directly... the eerie, unsettling weight of the words pressed down on me.

Flip.

Just then, something tucked into the final page of the book slipped out.

“......”

It was a small paper card.

When I picked it up, I saw hurried handwriting scrawled on the back.

⧻⧻ Leaving tomorrow.

I flipped the card over.

───

Go Seonha

Department of History, Joo Kang University

───

Could this be someone who had read the book before me?

In the meantime, Section Chief Lee, who could read classical Chinese, seemed to be stumbling through the text on his own.

And then he froze in terror.

“犧牲物... T-This! Doesn’t this mean one person has to be sacrificed?”

“But I don’t want to die. I’ll look for another way.”

I resumed examining the book.

After a long silence.

“That, um... I’m sorry.”

“......”

“Talking about sacrificing the kids... what kind of person am I to even say such a thing... ha, hahaha...”

Section Chief Lee sat down, looking utterly defeated.

“On the first night, it was my father...”

He had passed away in his hospital bed from cancer, but I hadn’t been able to be there when he died because of work.

“Then my father, crying, called out, ‘Byeongjin-ah, let me see your face,’ asking me to open the door.”

“......”

“I held my head and resisted, and then the ghost started hurling all sorts of insults and jeers at me... all in my father’s voice.”

Section Chief Lee buried his face in his hands.

“Every single night, it’s someone else—a dead family member, friend, neighbor—coming to visit, calling out in their voices!”

His beloved uncle, his aunt, his cousin who died in an accident, his college friends, and even the neighbor’s child who was kidnapped and went missing...

“All of them, everyone I’ve known, anyone who’s died... it’s as if they’re all pulled out from the depths. I can barely hold on to my sanity... If hell exists, it’s right here.”

“......”

Hmm.

Come to think of it, the middle schoolers hadn’t even known there was a ghost knocking on the door.

And they’d been here for two days.

‘Has he practically been standing guard by the door?’

Whether it was intentional, accidental, or due to some ghostly influence, his actions had, in a way, shielded the kids’ mental state. It felt strangely poignant.

I looked at Section Chief Lee for a moment before nodding.

“If this place is hell, then all the more reason to escape it.”

“......”

“I’ll study this book more closely and...”

Knock, knock, knock.

“......!”

Both Section Chief Lee and I turned to face the door simultaneously.

“Was that just...”

Knock, knock, knock.

“......”

“......”

Excuse me.

The voice had returned.