The Small Ball Shot by the Moonlight - 2
Baeksu-mun, the Central Plains' foremost group of beast enthusiasts and experts. When the mak incident erupted in Gansu, they raced all the way from Yunnan at the mere whisper of starving mak. They even sent a rescue request to Baeksu-mun from distant Gansu, so failing to consult them from neighboring Guangxi would be the real discourtesy. That's why I explained the anomaly in Sunghyeon-hyeon to them, only to hear, "Oh dear."
Even in their home base of Yunnan, the same thing had been happening—starting a few months ago, around the same time as in Sunghyeon-hyeon. What a mess. If mighty Baeksu-mun couldn't resolve it in Yunnan after several generous months, asking for help with Guangxi's issue would just be shouting into the void.
'If even Baeksu-mun doesn't know, we're out of options.' I stroked Jeonseo-eung, who was perched on my shoulder preening its feathers, and racked my brain.
If it was something humans did, the bureaucrats could handle it somehow. What humans wrought, humans could undo. But beasts? That called for fellow beasts—or beast experts. The former was impossible due to species differences, and the latter had just hit a wall.
Still, the anomaly in Guangxi might have occurred for a different reason from Yunnan's. This lowly one will head to where Your Excellency is, accompanied by a few elders.
At least their leader, Ji Wi Pyeong, and some elders were coming in person—a silver lining. But we both knew this was just a gesture of "We've done our best to honor the Left Vice Inspector General's request." After all, they couldn't solve it with their full resources in Yunnan. A leader's visit wouldn't magically fix it, and it didn't seem like a different cause from Yunnan's beast rampage either.
Honestly, if it was a different cause, that spelled trouble too. Yunnan and Guangxi bordered each other—if beasts went berserk for separate reasons in each, that was... ominous.
Kkieak. As I sighed and folded the letter, Kkieak waddled over with a tangerine impaled on its upper beak. Why did this winged creature insist on walking on two legs? Long legs make it comfier, maybe?
Ppik, ppi-iiik! But ridiculous as it looked, a poison bird was still a poison bird. At the sudden calamity's arrival, Jeonseo-eung freaked out and bolted from my shoulder. Amazing. Kkieak had no poison left, and Jeonseo-eung couldn't possibly know what a poison bird looked like. Anyone who'd seen one up close was probably long dead from toxins anyway.
Yet Jeonseo-eung fled on pure instinct, like a beast's survival drive kicking in.
"It's fine. It won't hurt you—relax and—"
Ppi-iiiiiik! Before I finished, Jeonseo-eung rocketed away at lightspeed. Poison birds ruled as terror symbols because of their venom, but now the bird itself seemed to embody fear. Dodging first even without poison? Fair enough. I'd run from a black mamba too, fangs or not.
Kkii-iiik... Anyway, with Jeonseo-eung fled, Kkieak let out a mournful cry. Borrowing the Baekryeon Cult Leader's words, it had forsaken its poisonous nature to live harmoniously with the world. Seeing beasts flee at its sight must sting.
"You've got plenty of other friends besides that one, so don't feel bad." I stroked it sympathetically. Kkieak had five beast pals: Kki-ing-i, Kki-ong-i, Samshik, Buong-i, Ppiae-i. Five spirit beasts beat one ordinary falcon any day.
Kkieak! Heartened by my dubious comfort, Kkieak flapped its wings and pointed somewhere insistently, like "Go that way."
"Here on an errand?"
Kkieak! It nodded proudly. I eyed the tangerine on its beak—ah, a reward for the job.
"Alright, lead on." I plucked the tangerine off and popped it into its beak. It chomped eagerly, Jeonseo-eung already forgotten.
Kkieak led toward the inn, where Ak I-yeon, Jo Wi-cheo, and even Ji-hyeon awaited.
"Sorry for the sudden visit, Your Excellency."
"No, I'm the one sorry for keeping you waiting." I waved off Ji-hyeon, who bowed deeply at my arrival. Sudden, sure—but if he came personally instead of sending a subordinate amid his workload, it must be crucial.
"So, what's this about?"
"I have urgent matters for Your Excellency's ears alone, so I took the liberty."
Ji-hyeon beckoned a nearby official in the inn's corner. The man hurried over and handed him a scroll. Ji-hyeon unrolled it across the table.
"We've interrogated the captured Vietnamese hunters before deportation, but got nothing useful until now. They were just hunting beasts—clueless about the anomalies."
I nodded; obvious. Hunters killed beasts, not studied ecosystems.
"But yesterday, we finally hit gold."
'Oh?' My eyes widened at the promising news. The beasts crossing the border came from Vietnam. Since the issue originated outside Daesong territory, locals might outshine Baeksu-mun at tracing roots.
"Lucky, but surprising. A mere hunter with solid intel?"
"Said he has ties to Vietnamese officials. Probably overheard border chatter."
Even better—official sources meant credibility.
"According to him, Vietnam's beasts rampaged en masse too. Docile ones suddenly went berserk from some point."
"Makes sense. Our chaos alone would be weirder."
Mountain and jungle paradises for beasts spanned Daesong and Vietnam. If only Daesong suffered, I'd suspect Vietnamese meddling.
"Vietnam runs periodic government-led mass hunts, and it coincided with the rampage."
"So they fled to our safer side?"
"For now, yes."
Government hunts, not civilian ones, showed how beast-plagued they were. Yet even they called it "berserk madness." What the hell?
"Anyway, with beasts fleeing east and north, Vietnam caught a breather and investigated—"
Ji-hyeon paused, frowning cautiously.
"Something suppressing the beasts vanished, they suspect."
"Suppressed... vanished?"
"Yes, Your Excellency."
I furrowed my brow at the oddity. Beasts going wild from home turf usually meant two things: impending natural disaster signaling evacuation, or a monstrous invader wrecking the ecosystem.
I'd vaguely guessed those when asking Baeksu-mun. But no disaster foreshadowed months ahead, and every predator fled the border too. What beast could scare them? Both hypotheses scrapped.
But "suppressor vanished"? Unthought-of.
Something unknown kept beasts in check; its absence scattered them. Then the calm era was abnormal, and this rampage was normalization. Problematic—we couldn't predict how long.
No telling how long to deploy troops for beast hunts and smuggler hunts.
"Headache."
"Indeed, Your Excellency."
Ji-hyeon's face darkened as I muttered.
"Oh, right. The suppressor's haunt is estimated near Yunnan, not Guangxi. Traces of a massive something, beast bones half-eaten—like a king's private domain."
"Whoa. Some huge mountain lord?"
San-gun sprang to mind—tiger, apex of East Asian ecosystems. Maybe a giant one ruled Yunnan as local boss—
"Oddly, spiderwebs everywhere too—tougher than normal."
?
"...Spiderwebs?"
Blood ran cold. Huge size, spiderwebs, Yunnan habitat. The trio screamed one thing.
"Ji-hyeon."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"That estimated lair—know the exact spot?"
"Of course."
He nodded, pulling a map and pointing.
"Here. Quite close to Yunnan."
"......"
I closed my eyes heavily at the spot. Familiar. No, I'd been there. Sneaked across the border with Baeksu-mun.
To find poison for Samshik's replacement.
'The human-faced spider's turf.'
Was that the beast suppressor? Did I deliver the inhibitor to Nang-jung Wang?
'Damn it.'
What now...?