[Storybook] Tale of Samsin

Chapter 10: The Cleansing Even as the traveler wrestled with indecision, children were collapsing one by one. The traveler finally resolved to confront Goddess Samsin. However, Seunghee, sensing the peril, urged caution. "Gather some pork and a singer and begin a cleanse. Then you will be able to face Samsin, no, the corrupted tree." "Cleansing?" the traveler asked. "It's a ritual to release resentment. We'll lessen the resentment and weaken the power of Samsin, or rather, that tree." Seunghee explained. As Seunghee proposed the cleansing, Dolswe's eyes lit up with an idea. He brought forth Old Lady Birigongdeok, a respected mudang they had encountered in Donghae Province. "Thirty-three Heavens in the Celestial Palace, Twenty-eight Constellations in the Netherworld Palace! All the deities, riding in Golden Ox, come down to mortal land! Guided by Mount Taebaek, Mount Ahshi emerging as Bonghwang, now, come forth. Untangle those knots! Come forth!" At that moment, the sky darkened, and the voice of the Goddess Samsin echoed through the air. "You... trying to untangle my resentment...? You, who planted this curse upon me...?" "Good lord... The curse upon her is... much heavier than I thought. The cleansing ritual only peeled away one layer," Seunghee murmured. Even the greatest mudang could not fully dispel the layers of accumulated resentment. In the end, the traveler had no choice but to face the Goddess Samsin in battle.