Fox Sister

As a cold aura wrapped around my entire body, it shook me out of my light sleep.

This wasn’t just some fleeting feeling – the chill running up my spine was far too distinct to dismiss.

Though the room remained cloaked in darkness,

the frosty stillness hanging in the air carried an unnatural, otherworldly presence unlike anything usual.

From beneath the covers, I slowly rose.

The moment I stepped outside after opening the door, an eerie sensation made every hair on my body stand on end.

The village, shrouded in darkness, exuded an atmosphere completely different from its daytime persona.

An oppressive silence reigned, not just quiet but eerily dead,

with the icy night breeze brushing against my nose,

and a strangely heavy, damp energy seemed to weigh down the entire village.

Not a single sound could be heard –

no barking dogs, no chirping insects.

In this bizarre silence where sound itself seemed erased from the world,

I held my breath and cautiously scanned my surroundings.

The darkened village loomed like a massive mouth waiting to swallow me whole.

“Hnnng…”

A yawn came from behind.

Rubbing her eyes drowsily, my younger sister emerged from the room.

Though still sleepy with sluggish movements,

the moment she looked outside, her demeanor instantly changed.

All traces of sleep vanished, replaced by sharp vigilance.

Her pale blue eyes, slightly widened, glared piercingly through the darkness.

“…Sister… This isn’t normal.”

Her voice was low, lacking its usual playful tone,

instead carrying a razor-sharp intuition.

I nodded in agreement.

The frigid air felt like it was seeping into my very bones as it swirled around us.

Together with my sister, we carefully treaded through the darkness,

while the village remained deathly silent as if holding its breath.

The cold grew stronger,

and in the silence, the only sounds were our footsteps,

which seemed to fade into the darkness as if being swallowed whole.

“Master Taoist.”

Our steps halted.

Turning slowly at the familiar voice from behind,

under the faint moonlight, a familiar face came into view.

It was the girl who had been cruelly murdered by the serpent during the day.

But the girl standing before us now was clearly not human.

Pale, lifeless skin, dull, vacant eyes,

and an awkwardly twisted neck created a disturbing sight.

Despite the chilling presence emanating from her,

there was no trace of the malevolent or resentful energy typical of evil spirits.

“Please… stop Father…”

Her pleading voice echoed through the air.

“What has happened to your father?”

I asked cautiously.

The girl’s gaze wavered for a moment before suddenly dropping her head,

her neck bent in an unnatural manner that was unsettling just to look at.

“What is your father trying to do?

Tell me so I can help you.”

I questioned again carefully.

After hesitating briefly, she finally parted her tightly closed lips.

“…Father… harbors resentment…”

Before she could finish her sentence, a chilling presence was felt from behind,

and a low growling sound came from my sister.

Her usual cute and lazy appearance gone, her eyes now filled with sharp vigilance.

Following her gaze, a dark figure was slowly revealing itself from the shadows.

The tall figure draped in black robes resembled more of a shadow than a human.

His long black cloak rippled under the moonlight,

and an intense, damp energy weighed heavily on the surrounding air.

Seeing his form reminded me of an ominous encounter from the past, making my chest feel heavy.

But I soon realized who he was.

A Hell Messenger.

And not an ordinary one.

His overwhelming presence and authority clearly marked him as someone of high rank.

With emotionless eyes, the messenger stared at us before speaking in a deep, majestic voice.

“Do not speak further. A dead soul intervening in the affairs of the living accumulates sin.”

At the messenger’s cold warning, the girl closed her mouth and bowed her head.

But knowing this wasn’t an ordinary matter, I asked the messenger.

“Esteemed Messenger, what brings you to the mortal realm in the middle of the night?

The appearance of a wandering spirit is certainly not a trivial matter.”

Upon seeing me, the messenger’s eyes widened slightly as if recalling something,

before responding in a grave, emotionless tone.

“Song…”

Hearing my name from the messenger’s lips,

my sister’s expression hardened beside me.

The atmosphere in the room became tense.

She suddenly turned and glared fiercely at the messenger.

“Are you here to take my sister?!”

Her voice was filled with anger and hostility.

All traces of her usual self gone,

a fierce and sharp demonic energy radiated from her like a wild beast’s growl.

Her eyes burned brightly, and her exposed fangs were aimed directly at the messenger.

The messenger remained unfazed by my sister’s rage.

With a cold gaze, he looked at her and said in a low, emotionless voice.

“Do not shout, demon. My purpose is not your sister.”

The messenger’s cold words fell like a stone, heavy and final.

“Your time has come and passed… yet fate has changed, preventing me from taking you.”

Hearing these unexpected words from the messenger,

I froze in shock.

I recalled Master’s prediction about my destined death at twenty.

“To defy heaven’s will… truly, there are too many who disturb the order of the world.”

The messenger muttered softly, exhaling a deep sigh.

It was the sigh of someone who has silently fulfilled their duty for countless years.

After a brief silence,

he turned his gaze back to the girl.

“You’ve spoken enough. Come along.

I shall try to reason with your father.”

The messenger extended a gentle hand toward the girl.

After hesitating, she carefully took his hand.

They slowly turned around.

“Sister.”

My sister’s soft voice came from behind.

Turning back, I saw her still staring at the direction where the messenger had disappeared.

Though her anger had subsided, her vigilance remained unshaken.

“Come along.”

Muttering softly, I immediately headed in the direction the messenger had gone.

I could feel my sister silently following behind.

The night air was cold, but what I felt on my skin was more than just the chill.

A damp, heavy energy pressed down on the entire village, and an oppressive weight squeezed my heart.

Even if the girl’s father had become a vengeful spirit,

the current situation had clearly surpassed the bounds of the ordinary.

Not even a royal fox could emit such an intense aura.

A warning bell rang ominously in my mind.

Rather, it would be more plausible to say this was the condensed hatred of hundreds of vengeful spirits,

or perhaps a yokai that had existed for thousands of years.

I gripped my sister’s hand even tighter.

The faint warmth transmitted through her cold fingertips provided some comfort.

How long had we walked through the darkness when two shadows became faintly visible in the distance?

There were the messenger and the girl’s father.

Under the moonlight, his skin appeared deathly pale,

with bloodshot eyes continuously streaming red tears.

His distorted face,

his emaciated lips incessantly muttering something.

“…So grievous… So grievous…”

A strange voice that sounded both like a low moan and a desperate cry.

That voice spread through the night air, covering the entire village.

“…”

My sister quietly gripped my hand even tighter.

Her firmly closed lips, her sharply gleaming eyes.

I had never seen this side of my sister, not even in front of the serpent,

reinforcing how serious the current situation was.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to suppress my fear and clenched my fists tightly.

“Messenger sir.”

My voice cut through the silent night air.

“What exactly is that vengeful spirit?”

The gazes of the messenger, the old man, and my sister all turned toward me simultaneously.

In the silence, a heavy tension hung tautly in the air.

With a serious expression, the messenger seemed to ponder for a moment before opening his mouth.

“While it goes against the rules of the underworld to interfere in mortal affairs…

given the current state of things, I shall explain.”

The messenger’s voice was deeply grave.

“Something… unsettling has escaped and is causing chaos in the mortal realm.

This old man appears to have been affected by it.

Though his sins aren’t yet deep, I attempted to persuade him forcefully to return to the underworld, but…”

Right then,

The old man looked straight at me with pain-filled eyes and spoke.

“Taoist sir… It grieves me greatly…”

Though his voice was hoarse and trembling,

the anguish contained within pierced my heart like a blade.

The messenger quickly interrupted the old man.

“That’s enough! You must not speak freely about mortal affairs!”

But ignoring the messenger’s warning,

the old man glared at him with a grotesque expression that was either a twisted smile or a grimace of anger.

“Even if I burn eternally in hellfire,

how could I ever return to the underworld willingly!

I was… murdered!

Not by illness, but cruelly killed by the people of this village!”

The old man’s cries grew increasingly intense.

His bloodshot eyes flashed with madness,

and his emaciated hands flailed wildly in the air.

“All of them… They all deceived me!

They disguised poisoning me as illness,

and my daughter… my only daughter was sacrificed to that accursed mountain god!

Out of fear for some mountain deity… my daughter…!”

The old man’s face distorted as he transformed into a monstrous visage.

A swirling aura of resentment and fury pressed down on the surrounding air,

emitting a ferocious presence that seemed ready to unleash destruction at any moment.

At the shocking truth revealed by the old man’s outburst, I caught my breath.

Rage boiled up within my chest.

My sister gripped my hand.

She looked at me with eyes filled with a mixture of disgust and concern.

“…Sister.”

My sister whispered softly.

“If you wish, I’ll tear apart all the villagers in this town for you.”

My sister’s voice was sharp and cold like a blade.

It carried a fierce killing intent.

It was certain that the deed would be done if I simply nodded.

I thought about it.

Do these people truly deserve to live?

But shaking my head, I met my sister’s gaze.

“Don’t.”

Though they may be evil, I have neither the reason nor the qualification to judge them.

Most importantly, I didn’t want my sister’s hands stained with more blood.

I gently stroked her cheek.

To me, Ryeonga isn’t just a fox demon who eats people,

but my precious only family and younger sister.

My sister seemed to understand my feelings, relaxing her expression and nodding.

“Alright, Sister.”

Turning my gaze back to the old man,

I saw nothing but resentment, hatred, despair, and anger swirling in his eyes.

I could already sense that deep within his heart, revenge had been firmly decided,

and reasoning with him through words was impossible.

Looking directly at the old man, I spoke in the most respectful and sincere tone possible.

“I fully understand your grievance. Your daughter’s death…

is truly regrettable and sorrowful.”

Pausing briefly, I continued carefully.

“But… please wait until dawn.

Shouldn’t we at least properly gather your daughter’s remains?”

At my words, the old man blinked slowly.

The fiery gaze of anger and hatred seemed to waver slightly.

He tightly shut his lips and fell silent,

remaining motionless as if deep in thought.

I held my breath and waited for his response.

In the silence where time seemed to stand still, the old man finally,

very slowly, gave a small but definite nod.

Back in the room, I began packing my belongings.

The suppressed anger cooled, leaving a heavy stone-like weight in my chest.

The hands gathering my things in the predawn darkness felt unbearably heavy.

My sister silently stood by my side.

Only the sound of labored breathing and packing filled the quiet room.

Before leaving the house, I stared intently at the woman’s firmly closed door,

then knocked.

When the woman emerged, I looked at her and spoke.

“Did you know they poisoned the old man?”

As soon as I finished speaking, the woman’s face immediately paled.

Her eyes widened drastically, and her trembling lips quivered.

Unable to offer any excuses or denials, she could only stare at me.

There was no need to hear more.

I turned away from the woman with a cold gaze.

“This is your last chance, given out of consideration for your past kindness.”

I left a chilly warning.

“Take the old man’s daughter’s body, leave the village, find a sunny spot to bury her, and then leave this place forever without returning.”

In the heavy silence, we departed from the village.

We trudged along the path shrouded in the early morning mist,

never looking back. No regrets, no expectations remained.

Just a cold sense of betrayal weighed heavily in my chest.

“So helping humans is meaningless, isn’t it, Sister?”

It was my sister who broke the silence.

She looked coldly toward the village with a cynical smirk.

Silently, I took her hand.

My hand was visibly trembling.

I couldn’t tell if it was from anger, disappointment, or sadness.

Intense emotions swirled violently within me.

But my sister’s warm hand

seeped into my cold, dry chest, providing some comfort.

“Still…”

I muttered softly.

Struggling to suppress my trembling voice, I continued.

“Still… I… believe in the goodness of humanity.”

Perhaps it’s a futile hope.

Perhaps it’s foolish attachment.

But I don’t want to abandon my belief in the faint traces of goodness remaining in human hearts,

the last shred of faith.

In the cold morning air, holding my sister’s hand, we walked on silently.

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