Just as I was about to go to the door, Stein suddenly pulled me back and asked, "Do you even have a needle and thread? And you're just going to open the door?"
I hadn't thought about that—I just wanted to know who was knocking outside and why they needed to borrow a needle and thread.
"Do you?" I asked instead.
Stein turned around, rummaged through his rucksack, and pulled out a needle and thread before handing them to me. "People like me always carry this stuff. Don't even ask!"
I rolled my eyes. There was no need for a grown man to sound so proud about carrying a needle and thread.
Grabbing the needle and thread, I stepped toward the door and opened it.
Outside stood a middle-aged man dressed in old-fashioned clothes, his face twisted with anxiety.
"Hello, do you have a needle and thread?" he asked as soon as he saw me.
I studied him, still unsure whether he was a man or a ghost, but I handed him the needle and thread anyway. "Here. But Uncle, why are you coming to the temple in the middle of the night to borrow this?"
His clothes were old but not torn—they didn't need sewing or mending. So why did he need a needle and thread?
"For sewing, obviously. What else?" the middle-aged man replied, then lifted his shirt with one hand.
When I saw his stomach, I sucked in a sharp breath.
A huge hole gaped open in his abdomen, his intestines clearly visible inside. The man was holding the needle, meticulously stitching his torn stomach back together.
A ghost… It's a fucking ghost!
By the time I'd processed what to do, he had already finished sewing. He snapped the thread off with his teeth, then handed the needle back to me with a grin.
"Thanks!" the middle-aged man said.
Then he picked up a bowl of noodles from the floor and devoured them ravenously.
"Finally, I can eat. Met a good man, hehehe, met a good man." He chuckled between mouthfuls.
But the weirdest part was that as he ate, the noodles spilled out from his stomach—the hole he'd just sewn wasn't fully closed, leaving a gap where the noodles squeezed through.
By the time he finished the bowl, an equal amount had spilled onto the floor.
"Why? Why won't you let me eat a full meal? Why?!" Enraged, he slammed the bowl down and stormed off. Then he plunged his hand into his stomach and yanked—his intestines spilled out in one disgusting, tangled mess.
I almost threw up, but I covered my mouth tightly and managed to tough it out.
The middle-aged man glanced at me, his anger suddenly turning to joy. He narrowed his eyes and smiled at me. "Young man, you're a good person. Why not be good to the end? Let me eat you..."
With that, the middle-aged man lunged at me, his face twisting fiercely.
"Eat your arse and get out!" I reacted instantly, slamming the door shut with a bang.
Maybe he was afraid to enter the Fox Fairy Temple, because after I closed the door, there was no more movement outside.
When I had opened the door earlier, Stein had been standing behind me, watching carefully. Now he told me it was a hungry ghost—a spirit that could never get full except during the Ghost Festival. No matter how much it sewed up its stomach, there would always be a slit, and it would never be satisfied.
A hungry ghost? Just thinking about that gaping stomach made my skin crawl. It had yanked out its own intestines and then wanted to eat me? After I'd lent it a needle and thread, no less!
"There's a ghost outside. Wake Stella up," I said.
But when we turned toward the Fox Fairy shrine, Stella wasn't there.
Where is she? My chest tightened. Stein and I searched every corner of the temple, but the place was too big. We turned the place upside down and still found no trace of her. She must have slipped out while we were asleep—no wonder she hadn't woken up despite all our noise earlier.
Where the hell did she go? Why would she leave without a word?
I tried calling her, but there was no signal here. A dozen attempts later, I still couldn't get through.
"We have to find her. If anything happens to her, I can't explain it to her sister or Master Raul." A knot of worry twisted in my gut. We weren't familiar with this place, and who knew what dangers lurked outside? Normally, it might not be a problem, but if ghosts from Dead Man's Gully were crawling up here, then nowhere was safe.
Once we left the Fox Fairy Temple, anything could happen.
Stein disagreed. "Stella's a Celestial Master. She doesn't need our protection. And if she ran into something stronger than her, we wouldn't stand a chance either. We're better off waiting here. The moment we step outside, we're in danger too."
He wasn't wrong, but I couldn't just sit here and do nothing!
"We'll wait one hour. If Stella isn't back by then, I'm going after her," I said.
Stein had no choice but to wait with me. But an hour later, Stella still hadn't returned. Even the hungry ghost from earlier had gone quiet.
"No more waiting. Let's go find her." I lifted my Copper Coin Sword and prepared to leave.
"Hold on. Even if we're going out, we shouldn't be the ones taking point." Stein's eyes shifted to the snoring little fox.
The little fox was sleeping soundly, mouth slightly open with drool dripping - clearly lost in some pleasant dream.
"Hey, wake up, little fox." We both shook her awake, then exchanged mischievous grins as we looked at her.
The little fox startled awake, immediately clutching her chest protectively. "What do you want? We fox demons sell our skills, not our bodies! That's my final line!"
"You're overthinking it. Get moving!" I gave the little fox's rear a kick, sending her tumbling against the door.
"Ouch! Ouch! Humph! If you've got something to say, why kick my bum?" she protested in her childish voice.
"Would you have woken up otherwise? Remember, you're a fox, not a pig. How can you sleep heavier than one? Now open that door and get out there."
"Out? But there are ghosts out there! It's safer hiding here in the Fox Fairy's temple. Why would we leave?" The little fox glanced skeptically toward the doorway, trying to peer outside, though the darkness revealed nothing.
"Stella's missing. We're going to find her. You're a fox demon - you shouldn't be afraid of ghosts. You're taking point."
The little fox raised her pinky finger in protest. "While I'm not afraid of ghosts, I can't actually deal with them. My cultivation isn't strong enough. So while I don't fear them, they don't fear me either. I won't be able to protect you when trouble comes."
What the hell? I'd assumed the little fox could handle a ghost or two.
"Never mind that. Just lead the way. If there's danger, I've got this." I tightened my grip on the Copper Coin Sword.
The little fox nodded understandingly, then cracked open the door like a thief. After scanning the area, she gave us a few quiet "whoo-whoo" signals indicating it was safe.
"No need for all this. We're searching for someone, not committing burglary." Seeing her antics, Stein and I covered our faces to stifle laughter.
"Old habits," the little fox explained. "From when I used to steal chickens and eggs from the villagers downhill."
Whatever. Since it seemed safe, Stein and I quickly stepped out after her.
The night was dark and eerily quiet. No sign of the earlier hungry ghost remained. When I looked toward Deadman's Gulch, I noticed all the will-o'-the-wisps had vanished.
Where did all the will-o'-the-wisps go? Why would they disappear?
At that moment, the little fox sniffed the air, then whispered: "Master... I think I smell strong yin energy."