Chapter 49
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Curing Poison (4)
"What do you want me to catch?"
"Rats."
"Rats? You want me to catch rats?!"
"As many as you can, please."
"You little—!"
"Talk later! Hurry up... Aren't you curious? Just how clever that thing really is."
"What?!"
"Hurry and catch some rats."
The Fox shooed Vanguard and Hanbi away.
"Why aren't you sending her?"
Vanguard nodded toward Jaja.
"Come on, Vanguard, you're so stingy. How's a girl supposed to catch rats? Sure, she can kill a man, but that's what makes women women—they can't catch rats! It's just a few rats, and you're making such a fuss."
"Why aren't you moving?"
"I've got to observe it. You think I'm just playing around?"
"Hah!"
Vanguard clicked his tongue and headed into the mountains.
Hanbi shook his head too. But as the Fox said, he started off to catch rats. After all, hadn't the Fox spotted the golden-eyed black hawk? If not for him, they still wouldn't know they had a tail following them. No room for argument there.
"If you try anything with Jaja, forget about it. You'll get stabbed."
Hanbi grinned.
The Fox wasn't the type to try anything.
He paid Jaja no attention at all. Just as he'd said, he only stared at the golden-eyed black hawk. His eyes sparkled like a child's... It was clear he was genuinely fascinated.
"What a weirdo."
Jaja muttered.
New guys in One-Four-Six always saw her as a woman first.
At first, they were too intimidated by her martial arts to say anything. But once they got a little comfortable, they'd inevitably make a move.
She understood it, to some extent.
She was the only woman in the group. Plus, One-Four-Six had been forced into abstinence for years in the Nineteen Hells. And on top of that, she had a beauty that stood out even in a crowd.
Even decent men had tried their luck before.
So these One-Four-Six bulls in heat snorting around? She got it.
But that didn't mean she'd tolerate it. She had no intention of entertaining any advances. Anyone who even hinted at it got punished thoroughly.
That was why Hanbi grinned as he headed into the mountains.
He figured the Fox had left her behind because he was interested, and the Fox had stayed because he thought the same.
Jaja thought so too.
'You're in for a beating today.'
Once she and the Fox were alone, she smirked inwardly.
But the Fox made no moves. He didn't even look at her.
He clearly wasn't trying anything.
'What kind of guy is this? Did he really keep me back because I'm a woman who can't catch rats?'
"What if we hide in a cave?"
The Fox spoke up.
She knew what he meant. He understood. He was asking for info on the golden-eyed black hawk.
"It can last ten days without eating. If we hide longer than that, maybe, but a day or two? It won't even blink."
"So it just watches without looking away? Heh heh! That thing's life is pretty sad. How does a so-called spirit beast end up trained to do nothing but this?"
The Fox sat down comfortably, propped his chin on his hand, and stared at the golden-eyed black hawk.
Vanguard and Hanbi returned before long.
Each had caught over a dozen rats. All alive, tails tied just as the Fox had instructed.
"This enough? What now?"
"What do you mean? Just teasing it a bit."
The Fox tied twenty rats to trees.
Ten with tails bound to one tree, ten to another.
Squeak! Squeak squeak! Squeak!
The rats panicked, trying to flee from each other.
They'd sensed the golden-eyed black hawk too. They knew it was a top predator that saw them as prey. So they thrashed even harder, oblivious to their tethered tails.
Thin, piercing cries echoed through the mountains. Nothing but the rats' squeals filled the air.
The Fox taunted the golden-eyed black hawk.
"Hey, hungry, huh? Bet you wanna eat right now? Heh! Alright, let's see. How smart is that brain of yours? We'll take a break."
The Fox led the group back about twenty paces to a rock beside the path.
A spot the golden-eyed black hawk could see even with its eyes closed.
Screeech! Whoosh! Squeak!
The golden-eyed black hawk snatched a rat in an instant.
The rat's tail was tied to the tree. But the hawk's snatch was so forceful the tail ripped right off.
The golden-eyed black hawk glanced at Vanguard's group after grabbing the rat.
It looked at them, tore off a chunk of flesh with its beak, looked again... tore another piece... It devoured the rat in seconds.
"We caught rats just to watch this?"
Hanbi grumbled.
"Man, you're so impatient."
The Fox wove two large baskets from kudzu vines. He went over and covered the rats with them, blocking the golden-eyed black hawk.
"Let's rest for a day."
"Rest?"
"Loosen your belts and relax. Even those Zhuge Clan guys will trust that dumb bird and take it easy."
The Fox called the spirit beast of the world, the golden-eyed black hawk, a "dumb bird."
The golden-eyed black hawk looked perched motionless on a branch.
It wasn't. It moved constantly. At least every half hour, it soared high into the sky and returned.
Up there, its vision spanned ten li.
It could spot prey anywhere within that range and strike in an instant.
The golden-eyed black hawk surveyed the world from on high.
That's why its constant motion seemed like stillness—it was natural.
"Same spot."
"I see it too. Not moving...? Bunch of clowns. What's over there?"
"What's there?"
"Oh, nothing. There's... Ah! A small stream for drinking."
A woodcutter dragged in by the warriors trembled as he answered.
"A stream... So the area's plentiful? Lots of grass, trees?"
"No. There's water, but the slopes are so steep... It's barren. No trees, no rabbits or anything... We never go there unless we're lost."
"Barren... But it's not moving?"
Zhuge Myeong chuckled.
When diligent ones stopped moving, it was one of two things. They'd arranged a meetup, or something like injury kept them from moving.
Zhuge Myeong said,
"Don't drop your guard. It could move anytime."
The Fox said,
"Let's split up here."
"What?"
"Vanguard, head up the mountain soon. Cross this ridge, and you'll hit fields. Past those is Upper Village. Go straight there. I'll be waiting."
"Keep talking."
"Jaja, you head this way and hide in the cave."
The Fox pointed.
"But why you talking down to me?"
"Shut it. That cave's got a passage through. Like this."
The Fox drew in the dirt.
The cave curved like a bent finger. Enter, turn the bend.
"This end opens up. Pop out quick, but careful coming out. That thing might see."
The Fox pointed at the golden-eyed black hawk.
Vanguard asked,
"When'd you scout this cave?"
"Vanguard, you think I've just been sitting around? Exit the cave, skirt the mountain quietly. I'll be at the base."
"You'll be in Upper Village and here?"
Jaja frowned.
"I'll handle that... Hanbi, go down the mountain. Slowly. Yeah, it'll spot you, but that's the point. The Zhuge Clan will follow... That's the point too. Once down, you'll hit Middle Village. Stop there. I'll get you out."
The three stared blankly at the Fox.
"What? Do it my way!"
"Hmm... Fine, but this feels like goblin tricks... Like we're caught in your prank again."
"Don't wanna? Fine."
"Hah! You've got guts. Alright, let's do it!"
Vanguard scowled, eyes gleaming with anticipation.
The Fox's antics looked like pranks... But none were. He'd drawn their paths in detail. Incredibly precise.
He'd scouted everything.
Trustworthy enough.
"You still haven't said why you're talking down to me. We'll settle it later."
Jaja glared.
"Heh heh! Over that? You talk down to me too. This guy's rude to everyone but Vanguard."
Hanbi smirked.
The Fox flung open the kudzu baskets and snapped the lines holding the rats.
Squeak squeak! Squeak squeak squeak!
Rats scattered everywhere.
In an instant, the golden-eyed black hawk shot into the sky.
From high up, it watched the fleeing prey. Then, like lightning, it dove.
"Now!"
The Fox yelled.
Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh!
Vanguard dashed full speed toward the peak.
A treacherous slope needing hands to climb. Sword needed to hack through saplings.
Yet he surged up it at full power.
"Huff huff! Give me an easy path, punk."
Vanguard scowled.
Glanced up briefly.
No golden-eyed black hawk. Dense saplings must've hidden him.
Plus, it was far off in the sky.
Chasing Hanbi down the mountain.
Ignoring the rest.
The Fox had given Vanguard the roughest path—but the safest.
Jaja bolted east into the cave the Fox mentioned. She'd doubted it existed, but it did. A tiny one needing her to crouch, but real. And curved like a bent finger... The Fox had been inside already.
When?
No time to wonder. She whipped around the bend and out the other side.
Skyward glance upon exit.
'Golden-eyed black hawk!'
Nowhere in sight. It was up there somewhere, but not from here.
A cleverly blind spot.
'That Fox of Bireung Mountain...'
Suddenly, Jaja found the Fox of Bireung Mountain kinda cute.
Short for a man, slight build, smooth skin, refined features... No manly toughness... But cute.
And he hadn't slipped up with her.
Clear chance, yet not a hint of teasing.
He saw her as a friend.
'What a clown.'
Jaja smirked.
The Fox took off after the golden-eyed black hawk.
Experience told him... It marked its prey. Etched it perfectly in its mind.
Could chase anytime.
Only way to shake it: kill it.
Swoosh!
He unleashed his movement technique to the max.
Hanbi ahead. Hawk chasing. Zhuge Clan warriors blanketing the area.
Who was faster?
The Fox grinned.