CDBW 10

Chapter 10

After receiving the call, Yoonseol and Wenling hurried back to the Jeju Island branch.

Throughout the entire trip back, anxiety and worry repeatedly crossed Yoonseol’s face.

If reinforcements were coming, shouldn’t she be happy about it instead?

Wenling was curious about what was going on in Yoonseol’s mind, but her expression looked so serious that he couldn’t bring himself to ask.

A limousine he had never seen before was parked in front of the Jeju branch.

“Fuuuu…”

Yoonseol took several deep breaths.

Then, with stiff movements, she stepped inside the Jeju branch office.

“You little brat, you asked for support and then wandered off somewhere?”

The moment the door opened, a sharp scolding flew at her.

As soon as she heard it, Yoonseol took a step back with a frightened look on her face.

But then she saw a familiar face.

“Have you been well?”

It was Hyerim.

The moment Yoonseol saw her, her face lit up.

“Unni!”

Yoonseol raised her voice in delight.

The hairy giant standing beside Hyerim nodded at Yoonseol.

“Long time no see, son-in-law with gills.”

“Uncle Dungsoe! It’s been a while. Have you been doing well?”

The man called Dungsoe burst into hearty laughter.

“Of course I’ve been well. The old man sent me. Told me to help you.”

Just then, another scolding voice cut in.

“Hey, can’t you see me standing here?”

The moment she heard that voice, a shadow fell over Yoonseol’s face.

A girl with short hair and a dress was glaring at her with blazing eyes.

Yoonseol bowed her head timidly toward the girl.

“Y-you’ve arrived… Aunt.”

“Yeah, I arrived. Because of you, I couldn’t even finish my meal before rushing over. Do you know that?”

The girl spoke in a sharp, sarcastic voice.

Yoonseol trailed off weakly.

“With Unni Hyerim and Uncle Dungsoe here, that should’ve been enough… I didn’t think Aunt had to come as well…”

“Listen to how she talks. You should be welcoming an elder who came all this way barefoot if necessary, yet you’re complaining? You think I came because I wanted to?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Yoonseol repeated her apologies as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

Only then did Wenling understand why Yoonseol had been so anxious earlier.

After unleashing a round of scolding, the girl glanced at Wenling.

“So who’s this?”

Yoonseol quickly introduced him.

“He’s a curator from the Shanxi branch.”

As the girl’s gaze shifted to him, Wenling belatedly greeted her.

He had briefly spoken with Hyerim on the phone about this incident, but it was his first time meeting the other curators.

“My name is Heo Wenling. I work at the Shanxi branch, though I’m still lacking in many ways.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jung Dayoung from the Jeolla branch. Just call me Noona.”

Dayoung greeted him while casually sweeping her gaze up and down his body.

Wenling found her stare somewhat uncomfortable, but he didn’t show it.

“Hm hm. Not bad looking.”

Humming lightly, Dayoung walked closer and casually groped Wenling’s thigh.

“Eek!”

Startled by the sudden touch, Wenling instinctively recoiled.

“Oh my, those are some solid thighs.”

Dayoung smiled with satisfaction.

“When it comes to judging men, amateurs look at the face, intermediates look at the job. But do you know what a real expert like me looks at?”

Then she poked the inside of his thigh with her finger.

“The thigh. Right here. I check how firm the thigh is. A man can be useless in ninety-nine ways, but if he’s good at just one thing, he’s forgiven. And that important one thing? It’s decided right here in the thigh.”

The fact that their supposed reinforcement was a young girl was shocking enough, but hearing something like this on top of it nearly made Wenling lose his composure.

Still, he tried to remain calm.

“P-please don’t do this during work.”

“Oh, you don’t like this appearance?”

Dayoung lightly snapped her fingers.

In the blink of an eye, her height increased and she transformed into the appearance of an adult woman with neatly braided hair.

“How about now?”

As she said that, she slipped right into Wenling’s arms.

This time she began fondling his chest with both hands.

“Oh my, this chest is nice too. Very firm.”

“What are you doing?!”

Wenling’s face turned bright red as he quickly stepped back.

Dayoung chuckled as if she found his reaction amusing.

“I thought you were just a delicate scholar, but you’ve got twin rock valleys hidden in that chest of yours. Looks like you exercise regularly.”

As if that wasn’t enough, she even threw him a suggestive glance.

“So what do you say, traveler from afar? How about we spend a long night building the Great Wall together—from Mount Hua in the west all the way to Mount Tai in the east?”

“Aunt, you’re going to get sued for sexual harassment again.”

Unable to watch anymore, Yoonseol scolded her.

Dayoung pouted.

“An old lady can’t even joke around a little?”

She spun around on the spot.

In an instant, she reverted back to her young girl form.

Hyerim, standing behind her, gave Wenling a warning.

“Be careful. She may look like that, but she’s a monster who’s seduced countless men over more than a thousand years. Plenty of men fell for her words and lost everything—liver, guts, the works. Most of them probably didn’t even leave bodies behind.”

“If food is left uneaten, you get punished. The rarer it is, the more you should finish every last bite. Don’t you agree?”

Dayoung licked her lips while staring at Wenling.

Her appearance looked like an ordinary girl’s, but inside her mouth, beast-like teeth and tongue flickered.

“You’d better stay alert. I never give up on a man I’ve set my sights on.”

Hyerim quietly interjected.

“What are you talking about? You couldn’t control King Yeonsan in the end.”

Dayoung flared up.

“What nonsense! If it weren’t for Nok-su, I could’ve wrapped King Yeonsan around my finger!”

“Losers always have the most excuses.”

Hyerim dismissed Dayoung’s words with a single remark and turned her gaze back to Yoonseol.

Her eyes glimmered calmly.

“Now then, shall we hear what exactly happened last night?”

Yoonseol sat at the table and slowly explained everything that had happened so far.

Wenling’s arrival in Jeju, Zuhan’s sudden attack, and the clash with Baekryundang.

“What? You just let him go? Why are you so careless with cleanup? If you caught him, you should’ve taken responsibility and cut off his head!”

Dayoung exploded in anger when she heard that Yoonseol had merely threatened Zuhan and then let him leave.

Yoonseol immediately protested.

“Aunt! That’s a crime. That’s murder!”

Dayoung replied bluntly.

“You eat meat all the time, don’t you? You could’ve eaten him and destroyed the evidence.”

“That makes no sense! How could I possibly do that?!”

At Yoonseol’s rebuttal, Dayoung simply snorted.

“What nonsense. Didn’t you lose control from hunger last time and bite the Jeolla branch chief’s shoulder? Ever since you bit him, he’s been having nightmares.”

Yoonseol hurriedly made excuses.

“That was because I was on an extreme diet at the time! I don’t bite people when I’m in my right mind. That really was a mistake.”

“Well then, make another mistake this time. They say the first time is hard, but the second time is easy.”

Seeing the argument escalate, Hyerim stepped between them.

“That’s enough, both of you.”

She glared at Dayoung.

“Yoonseol is right. No matter what, killing someone isn’t the answer. Who knows what kind of trouble it might cause?”

Dungsoe, who had been sitting quietly blinking his eyes, nodded in agreement.

“The mountain spirit is right. Kill a person, go to hell. Old hag go to hell.”

Dayoung merely scoffed.

“I’ve already reserved a VIP seat there. Didn’t you know?”

It was an unbelievably carefree statement.

Could persuasion even work on a being like her?

Sighing, Hyerim turned to Yoonseol.

“But you didn’t handle things perfectly either. At the very least, you should have broken his legs so he couldn’t escape, then verified whether the information he gave was true.”

At Hyerim’s words, Yoonseol lowered her gaze weakly.

She looked as though she might cry.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think that far.”

“Still, that Zuhan fellow doesn’t sound ordinary. Don’t blame yourself too much. Honestly, confronting someone of that caliber head-on probably wouldn’t have ended well.”

Hyerim comforted her gently.

Watching this, Dayoung clicked her tongue.

“So what now? Should we contact the coast guard?”

The moment she said that, Yoonseol shouted instinctively.

“No! That would make things worse!”

The affairs of the Great Museum operated on the principle of secrecy.

Above all, what they were pursuing was a dangerous artifact capable of causing mass destruction.

If forces were deployed recklessly, it would only increase the damage.

“I share the same opinion. Our Shanxi branch also hopes this matter can be resolved quietly. Please take that into consideration.”

Wenling, who had been silent until now, spoke with a serious expression.

After hearing both of them, Hyerim frowned thoughtfully.

“Then what should we do?”

Suddenly, her gaze landed on a tree outside the window.

As if she had just thought of something, she abruptly stood up.

Opening the window, she asked Yoonseol,

“Which direction is the nearest forest from here?”

“There’s a forest toward Hallasan.”

“Really? That works perfectly.”

Hyerim immediately took a deep breath.

Sharp fangs suddenly protruded beneath her lips.

Then she leaned her head out the window and unleashed a thunderous roar.

“KRAAAAAAAAH!”

It was a beastly howl that no human could produce.

Her roar echoed across the wind, traveling far into the distance.

Soon the sky began to darken.

“W-what is that?”

Wenling gasped.

The darkness filling the sky was actually an enormous flock of birds.

They circled overhead several times before descending in front of Hyerim.

Most of them were crows and magpies.

“More gathered than I expected.”

Hyerim muttered as she looked at the birds.

The birds bowed their heads in perfect unison beneath her.

“Grrr…”

Hyerim let out another low growl.

It looked like a king issuing commands to his subjects.

Soon the birds took flight again, soaring high into the sky.

Watching them leave, Hyerim explained casually.

“I told the birds around here to find the Baekryundang bastards. Crows are smart, and magpies have good eyes, so they should find them soon.”

By then, she had already returned to the appearance of a normal human.

The fangs that had protruded during her roar were long gone.