Chapter Content
Jeok Yorap was a hunter and an herbalist.
In his youth, he was quite well-known as a hunter, but after turning fifty, he focused more on gathering herbs than hunting.
Perhaps because he felt his time was near, he was reluctant to take lives, and chasing after prey for days on end had become too strenuous.
Yet, that same Jeok Yorap was now running frantically through the rugged mountains.
As if being chased by something, he ran like a madman, ignoring the scratches and tears from the tree branches.
'No! I can't die like this!'
Though he had been out of breath for a long time, he didn't stop his legs, running and running.
The instinct to flee from fear and the legs that had climbed mountains for a long time had kept him running for over an hour, but he was now reaching his limit.
So he had to find it quickly.
A place where he could shake off the blood wolves that were targeting him.
But he couldn't find it.
Even though he knew this place like the back of his hand from his long years of hunting and gathering herbs, nothing came to mind.
"Please...!"
Jeok Yorap glanced back and to his sides while running like a madman.
The distance between him and the blood wolves targeting him had closed.
Blood wolves had a habit of just chasing when they targeted prey that put up a strong resistance, waiting for the prey to tire. Then, when they judged the prey was exhausted, they would attack without hesitation.
"I'm not tired yet! Uwaaaaaah!"
Jeok Yorap let out a monstrous scream.
It was to show that he was a prey that put up a strong resistance and was not yet tired.
But at that moment, his breathing hitched, his head spun, and his feet tangled, causing him to fall.
After rolling a few times, Jeok Yorap shot up and looked back.
And his eyes widened sharply.
The blood wolves were closing in.
They had judged that their prey was sufficiently exhausted.
"N-no!"
Jeok Yorap pulled out a short knife, but his arm trembled.
He was so exhausted he didn't even have the strength to swing the knife.
A dozen blood wolves rushed in from three directions to tear Jeok Yorap apart.
The moment the gaping maw of the first blood wolf to arrive filled Jeok Yorap's eyes.
From behind, something huge leaped over Jeok Yorap and pounced on the blood wolf.
Thwack!
A heavy impact sound erupted, and the blood wolf that was about to pounce on Jeok Yorap was sent flying.
The startled dozen or so blood wolves reflexively stopped and became wary.
They wrinkled their noses, bared their sharp fangs, and growled fiercely at the being that had suddenly intervened.
In front of the blood wolves stood a single being.
A yellow-brown coat with black stripes.
Jeok Yorap was on the verge of fainting at the majestic sight of the large beast before his eyes.
'M-mountain King...!'
Humans claimed to be the masters of this world, but not in the mountains.
The Mountain King!
The being that reigned as the king of all beasts, standing at the very top of the food chain.
The one and only being that even brave and fierce hunters acknowledged as the master of the mountain.
A tiger!
A tiger, also called a mountain lord, had appeared.
To snatch the prey, Jeok Yorap, from the blood wolves.
Just as Jeok Yorap was about to lose his mind, thinking he was doomed to die now that he was marked by the mountain lord, the blood wolf that had been sent flying staggered to its feet.
Half of its face was severely torn and bleeding profusely.
Even for a blood wolf, which boasted a much larger build than ordinary wolves, it had been reduced to that state in a single blow.
That's how overwhelming the power of the tiger, called the mountain lord, was.
But what was this! The blood wolves did not retreat.
Even the blood wolf that had been struck lowered its posture and prepared to attack.
At that sight, the tiger, the king of the mountains, showed its anger.
Grrrrrrr!
It let out a growl that rumbled from deep within its belly, asserting its presence as the absolute predator.
But the blood wolves, trusting in their numbers, did not back down.
They had no intention of giving up the human flesh they had been chasing for so long.
A truly rare event was about to unfold.
Predators usually keep their distance from each other.
This is because the thing a predator must be most wary of is getting injured.
A herbivore that eats grass can survive even with a missing leg as long as it isn't caught by a predator.
But predators are different.
For a predator that has to hunt for prey, even a slight injury to a paw can be fatal. Because if it can't hunt, it will starve to death.
That's why predators often back down after growling at each other.
It's because they both know they must not get hurt.
But now was different.
Perhaps because they didn't want to lose the human flesh they had gotten a taste of, neither side backed down and stood their ground tensely.
A suffocating tension hung in the air, as if a bloody fight would break out if either side so much as moved a forepaw.
Thud!
It happened completely out of the blue.
Something suddenly flew in and fell between the tiger and the blood wolves.
The startled beasts jumped back and became wary.
Jeok Yorap, who had been so scared he couldn't even breathe properly, was also startled and involuntarily turned his eyes to see a small child lying there!
The tiger and the blood wolves were so wary of the child that had suddenly fallen that they weren't even paying attention to Jeok Yorap.
Jeok Yorap's eyes widened.
'N-now's my chance!'
Jeok Yorap instinctively knew that a chance to live had come.
While the tiger and the blood wolves were distracted by the child, forgetting his existence, he turned around and started to crawl away.
'I can live! I can...!'
Sometimes in life, there are times when you don't understand yourself.
Like when you act tough for no reason and get beaten up, or drink a ton of alcohol you can't handle and suffer as if you're dying, or when you know better than anyone that you shouldn't even dare to look, yet you hold it in your heart and can't sleep for a year, twelve months, day and night.
But this case was on a completely different level, something that couldn't be understood, let alone accepted or imagined. In a word, it was something that should never have happened.
Jeok Yorap had stopped after crawling about five steps.
'Hah! This is really not right, it's not...!'
Jeok Yorap couldn't bring himself to run away, thinking he couldn't just abandon the child as prey in his place.
In a word, he had a completely absurd thought.
'I know! It's crazy! But that's what I have to do!'
A human being shouldn't just stand by and watch a child die.
Moreover, he couldn't let a child die just so he could live.
Jeok Yorap sighed and shook his head as if he couldn't understand himself for thinking this, but in the end, he turned back towards the child.
The tiger and the blood wolves were visible.
They still weren't paying any attention to him.
Nevertheless, the moment he saw them, a fear that could stop his heart washed over him.
'H-how am I supposed to save him!'
Jeok Yorap suppressed the fear that made his whole body tremble and racked his brain.
"...!"
A strange thought occurred to him.
It was too quiet.
He couldn't even hear the growling of the beasts.
Puzzled, Jeok Yorap looked closely at the beasts.
A strange sight was visible.
The blood wolves were lying flat on the ground.
They even had their heads turned away.
"They're tucking their tails like dogs!"
Jeok Yorap muttered to himself without realizing it.
It was that strange of a sight.
The blood wolves, which were about to attack even the tiger, were tucking their tails before an object of fear.
Jeok Yorap watched with surprised eyes, then slowly turned his gaze to check on the tiger.
"...My goodness!"
Truly, my goodness!
If he were to tell anyone about this later, they would probably punch him for lying.
Amazingly, even the tiger was lying flat on the ground.
"This is ridiculous...!"
Jeok Yorap let out an exclamation without realizing it and looked back at the child.
The child was lying there as if dead. No matter how he looked, he was just an ordinary child.
'Ah, that's not what's important right now!'
Jeok Yorap got up from his spot and slowly approached the child.
Until then, the beasts remained completely still.
Finally, Jeok Yorap reached the child, glanced around at the beasts, and then slowly picked the child up.
The beasts flinched, but that was all.
It was clear that they were trying their best not to even look at Jeok Yorap and the child.
'I can live!'
Jeok Yorap walked slowly, holding the child.
Why did each step feel so long?
He walked on, sweating profusely, his back soaked.
He overcame that terrifying moment and passed between the beasts.
Even so, the beasts remained still, lying flat on the ground.
Jeok Yorap, in order not to startle the beasts, did not hurry and continued to walk at the same pace.
He walked with all his senses focused on the back of his head, in case the beasts attacked from behind. His body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton, but he walked and walked with the single-minded thought that he could not stop.
How long had he walked like that?
Thinking he was far enough away, he cautiously looked back.
He could see the spot where the beasts had been in the distance.
But there was nothing there.
The fearsome beasts had vanished without a trace.
Jeok Yorap's legs gave out, and he momentarily staggered.
"Am I alive?"
Jeok Yorap looked down at the child in his arms.
He was sleeping as if dead, unaware of what had just happened.
"In any case, you saved me."
Jeok Yorap looked down with a strange expression, then quickened his pace and left the place.
***
Cho Myung opened his eyes.
A completely new environment filled Cho Myung's eyes.
It was a space large enough for five or six people to live in. And the four walls that blocked the wind were made of logs.
'It's warm!'
The leather blanket covering his body and the musty air that tickled his nose felt cozy and warm.
Cho Myung wanted to go back to sleep.
He closed his eyes. But a sudden wave of fear made him bolt upright.
He looked around with a startled face.
It was an unfamiliar place.
A sight he had never seen before.
It was completely different from the house Cho Myung remembered.
Moreover, he didn't even know why he was here now.
The memory of being captured by slave hunters, and...!
Cho Myung remembered the horrific sight of the basement that looked like hell and recoiled in terror, still sitting up. Then he trembled and buried his head between his knees.
Even so, the fear did not disappear, and he curled up his body as much as he could.
Despite doing so, his whole body trembled.
He had followed the old Taoist and suffered a terrible ordeal. When he came to his senses, he was in a place where there was nothing but sand in all directions. Not knowing what was going on, he walked and walked until his mind was completely dazed.
Then he met them and was locked in a cage.
And that basement!
The swords that had mercilessly cut his body!
Just thinking about it now felt like his breath would stop.
"S-spare me."
Cho Myung muttered, trembling like a chick caught in the rain.
But suddenly, a hand reached out and pulled Cho Myung's body.
"Ugh!"
Cho Myung screamed in terror.
Instantly, a strong force held Cho Myung's body firmly and hugged him tightly.
Then, a very gentle voice was heard in Cho Myung's ear.
"It's okay. It's okay. I don't know what's wrong, but you're safe here."
It wasn't a language Cho Myung knew, so he couldn't understand what was being said.
But it was a very kind voice, like a grandfather's.
Not only that, but the embrace that held him with strong force was also warm.
Cho Myung snuggled in closer, as if being held by his mother.
Then, as if to protect Cho Myung, he was held even tighter.
Cho Myung gradually felt a sense of relief and slowly lost consciousness.
The next time Cho Myung opened his eyes was two hours later.
It was still an unfamiliar place.
"Are you awake?"
Jeok Yorap's voice was heard.
Of course, Cho Myung didn't know Jeok Yorap and couldn't understand what he was saying.
As Cho Myung sat up from the wooden bed and looked around with a surprised face, Jeok Yorap approached with a leather pouch of water.
"Drink."
Jeok Yorap held out the water pouch.
Cho Myung took the water pouch and stared at Jeok Yorap.
Jeok Yorap's face, tanned to a jujube color, had traces of his long life as a hunter here and there, so while not exactly fierce, it showed a rather tough disposition.
Nevertheless, Cho Myung felt relieved.
He felt a warmth from Jeok Yorap who was handing him the water pouch.
"It's water. You can drink it."
Jeok Yorap made a drinking motion.
Cho Myung brought it to his mouth and took a few sips.
As the cool water entered his stomach, he felt his mind clearing.
Cho Myung handed the water pouch back.
"Thank you."
Cho Myung said it without realizing it.
At those words, Jeok Yorap showed a brief expression of surprise.
"You're Han Chinese."
Jeok Yorap spoke the language of the Han people.
At that, Cho Myung's eyes widened.
Surprise, relief, and even wariness were mixed in.
"I don't know how you ended up here, but it seems this is the first time you've heard Han language in a while?"
Cho Myung nodded.
He looked as if he had been frustrated by the language barrier and had gone through considerable hardship.
"I live here, but half the blood flowing in my body is from that land."
"...?"
"My late father was Han Chinese."
Understanding the words, Cho Myung looked at Jeok Yorap with a face full of curiosity.
But it was Jeok Yorap who was more curious and amazed.
"By any chance, are you carrying something dangerous?"
Cho Myung shook his head.
Jeok Yorap told him about the strange behavior of the blood wolves and the tiger.
"I was saved thanks to you. But are you saying you're not carrying anything that would make such beasts afraid?"
Cho Myung fumbled around his body and checked.
But nothing came out.
Jeok Yorap had already checked every nook and cranny while Cho Myung was asleep, so he just watched silently.
'He doesn't seem to know either, so what could have been the reason?'
While Jeok Yorap was thinking that, Cho Myung checked even his disheveled hair, and when nothing came out, he just stared with a blank face.
"Are you some kind of child who came down from heaven... Come to think of it, you flew in from somewhere!"
Jeok Yorap, who was about to make a joke, opened his eyes wide.
He had been so focused on the strange reaction of the beasts that he had only now remembered the fact that Cho Myung had flown in from somewhere.
(End of Chapter)