The Legend of the Fox Yokai of Jirisan

Lee Ha-neul, the nationally certified Martial Artist.
From a young age, she was a prodigy who carried the expectations of those around her.
At the mere age of fifteen, she understood ki (energy).
From seventeen, she mastered ryeok (force).
Upon becoming an adult, she naturally attained bakryeok (overpowering force).
Lee Ha-neul became the youngest nationally certified Martial Artist at the young age of twenty-one and gradually grew into a yokai extermination expert upholding this nation by vanquishing evil spirits.
No.
She was supposed to become one.
For some reason,
Despite turning twenty-four this year, she had failed to make a name for herself,
Simply growing into an ordinary Martial Artist.

…
…
…

After being appointed the youngest nationally certified Martial Artist, her confidence had soared, fearing nothing in this world.
Yokai?
Come to me, I shall vanquish your yolyeok with this bakryeok imbued with the earth’s energy.

A few months later,
Finally, the national call to exterminate a yokai arrived.
A dreadful report that a yokai had appeared at a temple midway up Mangdaeamsan and was threatening the monks.
She was indignant.
‘That filthy yokai brat, how dare it threaten the monks, ignorant of the heavens’ heights.’
With the single-minded resolve to save the monks, she immediately headed for Mangdaeamsan.

Subsequently,
The first yokai she ever encountered was not
An old man with countless fangs protruding, nor
A bakemono wearing human skin.

[Wah, wah, wah, wah!]
A baby.
No, not a baby.
A fetus.
A fetus trapped within a cramped bamboo tube, its pitiful body stuffed inside.

Yeonmaeseol (Spirit Trapping Spell).
An exceedingly wicked folk sorcery from centuries ago that has become obsolete.
The belly of an innocent mother is sliced open to remove the fetus.
Sorcery is used to sustain the fetus’ life.
Then, the crying fetus is trapped within an extremely narrow bamboo tube.
Tormented by hunger, thirst, and agony, the fetus eventually dies thrashing horrifically inside the tube.
A fetus that dies while its body is contorted within the bamboo tube
Is what is called a yeonmae (trapped spirit).

The sorcerer who created the yeonmae would travel from village to village, showing people the fetus inside, weakening their mental fortitude to extort money and valuables.
This was the Yeonmaeseol (Spirit Trapping Spell), and
What Ha-neul now faced was
A jukteagwi (bamboo fetus ghost), a fetus subjected to the spell, carrying resentment that transformed it into an evil spirit.

Just as the nation had informed her, the jukteagwi was indeed threatening the monks.
Confined within that extremely narrow bamboo for who knows how long, it was
Gradually tearing off and devouring the monks’ flesh, bit by bit.

Yet for some reason, the monks’ expressions seemed endlessly kindhearted.

“Ooh… ooohhhh!”
Ha-neul, vomited out everything inside her at this grotesque sight.
It was a moment when her pride as a nationally certified Martial Artist shattered.

Overwhelmed by the revulsion rising within, she channeled bakryeok into her hands, ready to vanquish the jukteagwi at any moment.
But then,
A monk stopped her, saying:
“Please wait a little while longer, Martial Artist. The child seems to be happy, does it not…?”

“Re…Reverend? What, what is that…”
Unable to comprehend the monk’s words at all, an agitated Ha-neul continued:
“That child is an evil spirit!”
“Not an evil spirit, but a yuonggwi (resentful spirit).”
“But it’s tearing off your flesh and devouring it!”
“Just a little… A little more is enough.”
“But then the Reverend will die! No, you’re already in dire straits!”

Just as she said, the monk who had his flesh torn off by the child was bleeding profusely all over his body, appearing so precarious that without immediate treatment, he would surely die from blood loss.

Regardless, as if his body meant nothing, the monk paid no heed and continued:
“I ask you. Does this child have a mind?”
“…Pardon?”
“Does it have a mind?”
“No, it doesn’t! How could an evil yokai possess a mind!”
“You are mistaken. This child does have a mind.”

The monk went on to say:
“If it can see, hear, feel, and know, how can you say it lacks a mind?”

“…”
As the monk said,
The expression on the face of the fetus inside the bamboo tube, which had been tearing off the monk’s flesh for quite some time,
Appeared extremely joyful.

After some minutes passed,
The child stopped crying.
The monk passed away.
Ha-neul could do nothing.

Creak, creak, creak.
Approaching the monk to finish the task, Ha-neul gulped and peered inside the bamboo tube.
However,
The tube was empty.

[Gurhgurhgurh, gurhgurhgurhgurhgurh!]
Only the child’s delighted cries echoed in her ears.

The one who vanquished the jukteagwi was not her,
But the monk.

After her first encounter with a yokai, she suffered from severe trauma.
Even when called upon by the nation to face other yokai, the thought of ‘what if this yokai also has a mind?’ prevented her from using her bakryeok.
The only times she unhesitatingly used bakryeok were clearly when facing exceedingly wicked evil spirits.

The nation was cold-hearted.
Having failed to prove her usefulness, they regarded Ha-neul as merely a consumable resource, her skill as a top-class Martial Artist notwithstanding.

In that sense,
She was the perfect choice to be dispatched for this ‘Blue-Furred Fox Yokai of Jirisan’ case.
According to reports, the blue-furred fox of Jirisan
Was an exceedingly wicked evil spirit.

Upon arriving at Jirisan, Ha-neul first stopped by the Yokai Extermination Office to assess the situation.
The Jirisan Yokai Extermination Office was in a state of panic.
According to the troops who had lost their commander,
All combat personnel were out of contact, the remaining staff said.
In the worst case… including the Director, everyone could already be dead at the hands of that demonic fox.

‘…The situation is far graver than I thought.’
Ha-neul could not fathom why the nation had dispatched her for such a grave incident.
Of course, as Martial Artists were different existences from ordinary people, even a novice who had just attained bakryeok could easily subdue a Grade 4 yokai without exerting much effort.
Moreover, Ha-neul was a woman of exceptional talent among the legendary Martial Artists, so exterminating a Grade 4 fox yokai would be child’s play for her.

The problem was,
‘The problem is that I’m a half-baked Martial Artist.’

Three years had passed since her encounter with the jukteagwi, yet she still could not forget the dying monk’s words.

[Do yokai have minds?]

For the past three years, she had wandered far and wide, encountering various yokai to ascertain if the monk’s words were true.
However, she had yet to reach a conclusion.
Some yokai were evil spirits that lived for the fun of devouring humans.
Others were animal-like yokai that killed humans for no reason.
In three years of facing diverse yokai, none had given her the conviction that they ‘had a mind’.

‘This time will probably be no different.’
According to reports, the blue-furred fox yokai that appeared in Jirisan was a Grade 4 evil spirit.
Judging from the loss of contact with the combat personnel, it was undoubtedly an exceedingly wicked evil spirit.
Evil spirits lack minds.
Or even if they did have minds, those minds would be so wicked that she could not bring herself to show mercy.

Ha-neul thought it was rather fortunate.
If the opponent was an evil spirit, she could use her bakryeok without hesitation.

After gathering information from the office researchers, Ha-neul strode toward the location where contact with the combat personnel was lost.
Upon arriving at that location, she could not help but let out a sigh of disgust.

‘…How dreadful.’
The earth was soaked in blood.
Human flesh was scattered everywhere, and the shredded remains of their protective suits were carelessly tossed about.
A horrific sight that would leave an ordinary person traumatized for life, but to Ha-neul, whose first yokai encounter was the jukteagwi fetus, this was merely enough to make her grimace.

‘But where are the bodies…?’
Surely it didn’t devour them all?
The bodies of all these people, completely?
No.
No, looking closely, there was a trail of blood leading in a certain direction.

‘I’m grateful it left a trail, but there’s also a possibility of a trap.’
The fox yokai.
A rare yokai she had never encountered, but according to legend, fox yokai were exceptionally cunning, requiring constant vigilance.

Whether to follow the trail of blood or not.
Her deliberation was not long.
Indeed, no matter how half-baked, she was still a Martial Artist.

Just as she was about to follow the trail of blood,
“Kkeung kkeung, kkeung kkeung kkeung.”
The sound of whimpering came from somewhere.
An enemy?
Ha-neul channeled bakryeok into her hands, entering a combat stance as she surveyed the direction of the sound.
What eventually revealed itself was
Not an enemy,
But an adorably cute white fox.

“Kkeung kkeung, kkeung kkeung… kkeung?”
Upon seeing Ha-neul, the white fox seemed so startled that it let out a kkeung sound while trembling uncontrollably.

‘Cute, so cute…!’
Her heart wanted to immediately embrace that white fox, but given the gravity of the situation, Ha-neul barely restrained her desire.

However,
Wait a moment.
That white fox.
…Has three tails, doesn’t it?

‘Fox yokai are exceptionally cunning, mocking the human heart…’
‘Highly intelligent and sly, letting one’s guard down for even a moment…’
‘Using fox sorcery to transform and disguise…’

Various legends related to fox yokai began surfacing in her mind.
I see.
That white fox must be the demonic fox of Jirisan.
Although it was said to be blue-furred, it likely used transformation to change its appearance.

Her realization prompted Ha-neul to act swiftly.
Having seen her fair share of horrors over the past three years, Ha-neul was not swayed by its display of cuteness.
Channeling bakryeok into her hands, she declared:

“Fox without a mind. No, fox with a wicked mind.”
“Kkeung, kkeung…?”
“Atone with your death to the humans you’ve killed.”