The Beast Valley
Grandfather was bringing the main force up behind us, so for the moment the one in charge here was me.
At the man’s question I stepped forward and cupped my fists in salute.
“Forgive the intrusion, Great Hero. We are people of the Sichuan Tang Family.”
“The Sichuan Tang Family? What brings the Tang Family this deep into the jungles of Yunnan?”
Even as he asked, his gaze flicked back and forth between me and Yo-hwa, who still held me by the throat. Clearly he decided a proper conversation was impossible like this, so my elder sister stepped in for me.
“I am Dang Hwa-eun, direct blood of the Sichuan Tang Family. My father is the Family Head. We had no intention of trespassing on the Beast Palace’s land. We were simply hunting poisonous creatures in the jungles of Yunnan.”
She apologized first and explained our situation, but the moment she came forward, the ones standing at my left and right became Yo-hwa and Hwa-eun.
Faced with two identical versions of my elder sister, the man’s eyes flew wide open.
“T-twins? People of the Central Plains usually consider twins an ill omen, so how…?”
Is this making it worse…?
He recovered quickly enough, though, and answered.
“Ah, my apologies, young lady. I am Heukrang—Black Wolf—of the Southern Savage Beast Palace. I understand your reasons. However, the land ahead belongs to the Beast Palace. You should turn back.”
“You mean this path leads into Beast Palace territory?”
“It does. What lies ahead is Beast Valley itself.”
In the tongue of the Central Plains, “valley” could mean any number of things, but it usually referred to a narrow gorge, a ravine, or a tight pass. At his answer I looked back toward the hill behind us.
If, as he said, Beast Valley was a gorge or ravine, we were already in a very dangerous position. The Beast Palace sat directly on the army ants’ line of march. Worse, if the place was long and narrow… that was extremely bad. And if the rear was sealed by mountains as well, the situation was downright critical.
“Hwa-eun…”
I looked at her with an expression that clearly asked whether we should warn them. She nodded at once, so I spoke to the man who seemed to be in charge.
“Great Hero Heukrang, before we withdraw I must warn you of a great calamity rolling up from behind us.”
“A calamity? A warning?”
The words made him tilt his head and stare at me. I pointed toward the hill behind us. This was something better seen than explained.
“Climb the hill and look for yourself.”
At my words he jerked his chin at his men. Two warriors sprinted up the slope on his order, peered down the far side, and froze in disbelief.
“This is—?!”
“L-Lord! Y-you need to come see this yourself!”
At their shocked cries the man shot me one more glance and then bolted after them. Hwa-eun and I followed. The moment we reached the crest, his voice of utter disbelief rang out.
Beneath the red sunset, ants gleaming a brilliant scarlet were slowly forming a living ball under a massive tree.
“W-what in the world is that?!”
He stared at the bizarre sight, unable to believe his eyes.
—Piiiii!
He recovered, pulled out a whistle, and blew. From deep inside Beast Valley, men carrying lanterns and a host of beasts came pouring out in a rush.
There were so many animals I leaned over and whispered a question to Hwa-eun. She told me the Beast Palace was the finest pet-breeding organization in all the martial world, both inside and outside the Central Plains.
So we’re the same kind of people?
The creatures they raised were different, but it was a gathering of people who shared a similar passion.
According to Hwa-eun, the people of the Southern Savage Beast Palace belonged to the Outer Martial World and were not especially friendly toward Central Plains folk. Yet they guided us into the Southern Savage Beast Palace itself with relative courtesy—along with a request that we explain in detail just what was going on with the ants outside.
“So this is the Beast Palace’s Beast Valley?”
“It has been a hundred years since anyone from the Tang Family last visited.”
As we entered Beast Valley under the setting sun, the first thing that caught the eye was an enormous circular clearing. A single sharp rock jutted high in the center of a vast open space carpeted with quiet grass. The clearing was the size of several soccer fields stitched together. Glittering eyes of beasts winked here and there among the grass; the wolf-like creatures Heukrang had led out earlier were clearly scattered throughout.
The sky was still dim. After crossing that great circular field we came to another clearing, smaller yet still large, already brightly lit with lanterns. Natural-looking buildings that seemed to be the Beast Palace itself and ordinary dwellings stood in rows. It looked like two circles joined end to end. Around the outer edge of the circular clearing, jagged rocks rose like a folding screen, screening the interior of the valley.
“The place we just passed is the grassland where we free-range the fierce beasts raised by our Beast Palace. This is where the people live. Beast Valley is shaped like a gourd bottle.”
“Don’t tell me the rear is also sealed by rock like this?”
“It is. The back is a sheer rock mountain—a natural fortress.”
In short, Heukrang’s explanation was that Beast Valley formed a gourd shape, completely ringed by sheer cliffs. Block the entrance and it became an impregnable stronghold.
That was true when facing people. Against a tide of army ants, it simply meant they would be rats in a jar.
I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Better explain quickly and get out.
The feeling was ugly, but we only needed to deliver the warning and leave. If these people evacuated promptly, nothing terrible should happen. Thinking that, I followed Heukrang into the largest building.
What met my eyes was a round table. In the great chair at its center, draped with a tiger skin, sat a man whose massive frame looked as if he spent his days in a weight room. He leaned back deeply into the seat. On either side of him two black panthers bared their fangs at us.
—Grrrr.
Around him several men and women, each with a different animal at their side, occupied the remaining chairs.
“Welcome. I am Maeng Ho, Palace Lord of the Beast Palace. These are our elders.”
“It is an honor to meet you, Palace Lord, and the elders of the Beast Palace. I am Wi So-ryong of the Sichuan Tang Family.”
“A pleasure to meet you as well. I am Dang Hwa-eun of the Sichuan Tang Family.”
The Palace Lord’s gaze flicked to Yo-hwa, who had stubbornly followed us all the way inside and now stood behind us. When we answered that she could not speak, he simply nodded.
“Cannot speak? Understood. In any case, welcome. Forgive us for being unable to entertain guests properly because of those things outside.”
“Please do not concern yourself.”
We returned the fist salute and sat. What was set on our table was not tea but several army ants that had already been caught. A few crushed specimens lay on a tray. The Palace Lord of the Beast Palace studied them and asked,
“Just what are these, and how did they come to pour into this place?”
I nodded and explained everything that had happened.
“We came to Yunnan to capture poisonous creatures.”
“Mm… I am well aware that the Tang Family sometimes comes to Yunnan for that purpose. And then?”
“At first we went to a place named Poisonous Insect Valley, yet there was not a single poisonous creature inside. Not only poisonous creatures—there was not a single living beast or insect. At first we thought some enormous poisonous creature might be responsible, so while investigating the emptied land we discovered these fellows. We followed them and ended up here.”
“What in the world are they? They are clearly devil ants, yet I have never seen any so large.”
The Palace Lord of the Beast Palace lifted a scarlet ant’s leg, his expression one of pure incomprehension.
“They are a kind of devil ant even our Tang Family has never seen before. We have named them Army Devil Ants for the way they march like an army.”
“Army Devil Ants…”
He rolled the name around on his tongue, then immediately sought my opinion.
“Even if you have never seen them before, the Sichuan Tang Family knows far more about poison and poisonous creatures than we do. So then—what should we do?”
What else is there to do but run?
Individually an ant might be a trivial creature, but the true terror of ants lay in the colony. Without fear of death, drawn by pheromones, they advanced without pause and hunted down everything that appeared before them. When facing such a colony, there was only one choice.
Evacuation.
“You must evacuate everyone as quickly as possible before daybreak. The devil ants halt like that when the sun sets, but once dawn comes they will pour straight into Beast Valley.”
In my previous life, the indigenous peoples who lived in army-ant regions would simply leave their villages for a while whenever a column marched through. If even ordinary small ants forced people to clear out, these giant Army Devil Ants left no other option.
“Evacuate, you say?”
The Palace Lord raised an eyebrow at the word. The other elders immediately shouted that the idea was absurd.
“Evacuate and abandon the home we have held for three hundred years?”
“Flee because of devil ants?!”
“Their jaws are sharp, true, but even a bandit with a club could kill them easily enough. Evacuation is going too far—”
Anyone who had watched the ants hunt would never have spoken that way. The elders of the Beast Palace were fearless. I hurried to explain further; I had the distinct feeling they were about to feed the ants a banquet. If the ants ate well, their numbers would only grow.
“The devil ants touch nothing except food, so buildings and other property will be unharmed. On the way here I heard from Great Hero Heukrang that once the entrance is sealed, no one can leave. I strongly urge you to evacuate the people before the entrance is blocked.”
Apparently one of the elders was the warlike sort. A woman snorted and spoke toward me.
“Hmph! Palace Lord, their numbers may be great, but give me five hundred Flying Wolves and I will sweep them all away. They have quantity and nothing else.”
Dark brows, sun-browned skin. She looked far too young to be called an elder. From the name Flying Wolves, she meant wolves. A pack of dogs that tucked their tails when frightened versus army ants that had lost all fear—the outcome was obvious.
I answered her with a regretful voice.
“If by five hundred Flying Wolves you mean five hundred wolves, every last one of those wolves will become food for the devil ants in an instant.”
The woman elder’s eyes blazed as if she could not believe her ears.
“Are you daring to look down on the Flying Wolves of the Southern Savage Beast Palace?! Palace Lord, grant me leave to show this Central Plains upstart the Thousand Wolves Annihilation of the Southern Savage Beast Palace!”
Her fury was joined by Hwa-eun’s urgent cry inside my head.
So-ryong, that remark was rude!
I glanced around. The Palace Lord’s expression was none too pleasant either. I rose at once, cupped my fists to the room, and explained.
“I meant no disrespect whatsoever. I have only heard that the Southern Savage Beast Palace cherishes its beasts deeply. Would it not be truly sorrowful if the creatures you raised with such care were injured or killed? Those devil ants know no fear and advance without stopping; once they bite, they never let go. Even if you win, you will inevitably suffer heavy losses.”
The woman snorted again.
“Hmph! I hear Central Plains people are so cruel they even eat the dogs they raise. And yet you pretend to care about the children we raise.”
Hey now—she and I are the same kind of person, just with different species!
If she had insulted me for anything else I might have let it slide. But to doubt and attack my feelings toward my pets? That I could not endure. It was my very identity.
So I looked straight at the elder and answered in a firm voice.
“Those words are deeply offensive to me. This Wi So-ryong will prove that not a single word I just spoke was a lie.”
“Prove?”
“Hmph? Prove?”
The Palace Lord tilted his head while the woman snorted once more. I rolled up both sleeves and called out,
“Come out, everyone.”
—Tsururu.
—Kkuk?
At my call, Cho, Hyang, Bin-i, Seol, and Bing-i—who had been clinging to my body and to the hem of Hwa-eun’s skirt—crawled up onto my shoulders, and Yo-hwa revealed the body she had been concealing.
—Kish!
The people of the Beast Palace stared in stunned disbelief.
“Th-this is… a centipede?!”
“A stone lizard!”
“A-a spider larger than a person?!”
I had Cho coil once around my body and climb onto my head, then spoke again.
“These children are also the ones I raise. Of course I know exactly how much it hurts when a child you raise falls ill or is injured.”
The woman who had been snorting and dismissing me now asked in a dazed voice,
“Th-those things…?”
Having shown just how serious Wi So-ryong was about his pets, I smiled and answered.
“‘Things’? These children are my companion venomous creatures. Each of them has a name, so please do not treat them like objects.”
The corners of the Beast Palace Lord’s mouth lifted; he nodded with clear satisfaction. The gazes of the other elders turned thoroughly friendly.
After all, people who raised pets all shared the same heart.