Chapter 71: A Mistake or Misfortune? (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 71: A Mistake or Misfortune? (2)
“Guhk.”
A searing pain erupted from his abdomen, seizing his entire body and overwhelming his mind. Karami staggered, his body finally pitching forward.
Rin stared blankly at Karami, who had crumpled to the cold ground.
“Master…?”
He didn't respond.
Is he teasing me?
He would surely get up and play some silly prank.
She found herself clinging to that hope.
But Karami didn't move. The faint tremors in his prone form were slowly ceasing.
Amidst the stench of blood and char that filled the forest, a subtly different scent of blood tickled her nose. The smell of Karami’s blood, so vivid it sent a shiver down her spine.
“Master!”
Only then did Rin realize something was terribly wrong. She leaped to his side and turned him over.
A massive wolf’s claw was embedded in Karami’s abdomen. It was enormous, at least ten centimeters long.
Worse, the claw twitched as if it were alive. And it wasn't just the claw; the corpses of the Blood Wolfmen were squirming from all directions, crawling toward them.
The claw burrowed deeper. Deciding she couldn't leave it in, Rin yanked the claw out with all her might.
“Ugh!”
The claw came free with a sickening squelch. As the claw that had been plugging the wound was removed, blood gushed out.
“Uh… uh…”
Rin’s hands hovered uselessly in the air. She had learned magic to kill demonic beasts and bewitch her foes, but never magic to heal the wounded.
Karami let out a series of dry coughs. The air was hot and dry from her fox fire burning the forest. And then there were the corpses of the Blood Wolfmen, still slithering toward them like worms.
Unsure of what to do, Rin scooped Karami into her arms and ran.
Toward the city. Toward home.
She moved at a terrifying speed, incomparable to the slow pace she kept when Karami was with her. With a sonic boom, she shot through the forest in an instant.
The distant city walls were suddenly right before her with a single step. She vaulted over the ramparts in a single bound.
The city was a dense maze of buildings, but Rin’s eyes were fixed on only one place.
Seira’s house.
A normal person would have sought a hospital or a cathedral, but Rin knew nothing of such places. To Rin, Seira was the only person she could turn to for help in Karami’s absence.
Rin burst into the house and raced up the stairs to the second floor, where Seira stayed. She pounded on the door, hard enough to break it down.
“Seira! Seira! Master is hurt! Hurry, come out!”
After a moment of creaking from within, the door slowly began to open.
It wasn't as if Seira could heal Karami, but the details didn't matter to Rin. Just seeing a familiar face was enough to bring her a sliver of relief.
“Seira, Master… Master…”
As Rin tried to show her Karami’s condition, she noticed something was wrong with Seira. She was covered in wolf fur, and her eyes, as they fell upon Rin, were chillingly cold.
Tonight was a full moon—a night when the wild instincts of the wolf beastkin were amplified. The night was still far from over.
Add to that the fact they had just come from near the Forest of the Crimson Night, with Karami bleeding profusely. It was the perfect catalyst to awaken Seira’s feral nature.
“Seira…?”
Seira advanced, her expression frigid. Sensing the dangerous atmosphere, Rin slowly backed away.
Crack.
Seira’s hands thickened, her nails elongating into bestial claws. Finally, Seira swung her vicious arm in a downward arc.
Whoosh.
The claws sliced through the air just above Rin’s ducked head. The powerful swing shattered the hallway wall.
“Seira! Snap out of it!”
But Seira continued her assault as if she couldn't hear. The house was thrown into chaos in an instant.
“S-Sorry, Seira!”
Realizing words were useless, Rin controlled her strength as much as possible and delivered a pushing kick to Seira’s abdomen.
KWAANG!
Seira crashed through the wall of the house. While Seira was still stunned, Rin quickly fled the house.
Rin glanced down at Karami. His face was deathly pale, completely drained of blood.
Rin’s heart hammered against her ribs.
Where could she go? Who could she ask for help?
Rin didn't know. She didn't know how to live in this world. She had never learned.
She couldn't think of anyone to ask for help. People only shied away from the blood-soaked girl; no one offered a helping hand.
Because she was the pink fox. A monster who brought misfortune.
“Master, Master.”
Rin trembled, shaking Karami’s body endlessly. The master who would always hold her and stroke her hair at times like this was growing cold.
But the blood flowing from him was terrifyingly hot, as if it were the physical manifestation of her own misfortune.
Rin sank to the ground, staring into space, clutching her master.
“Did I not warn you? That it was his fate to be cloaked in misfortune and die.”
The voice was beautiful and familiar, yet subtly different. Rin flinched and looked up. Before her stood a young woman, her face concealed by a veil hanging from a wide-brimmed bamboo hat.
Her presence was so faint that others didn't seem to notice her, but Rin’s eyes were fixed on her. Rin’s eyes saw right through her disguise, recognizing her as Yuhwa.
“Gwanny… Master. My master…”
Yuhwa moved past Rin, who was too paralyzed by fear to even cry, and examined Karami. He was so close to death it was a wonder he was still breathing.
‘Should I call this good luck or bad?’
Yuhwa had only come out for a stroll to get some fresh air. She’d heard a commotion and came to investigate, only to run right into these two.
Any later, and it would have been too late to do anything. His life force was faint, but it seemed it wasn't his time to die just yet.
*
After administering first aid on the spot, Yuhwa brought them to a guest room in the Celestial Pavilion.
She laid Karami on the bed and applied her fox fire to the wound. This was not the same fire Rin used for attacks, but a healing flame.
Karami was not in good shape. Though she had treated him, a scar remained, and he had lost a great deal of blood. Most importantly, his body was so weak that it would take time for him to regain consciousness.
Yuhwa opened the door and stepped into the hallway. Rin was crouched there, still covered in blood. She was waiting outside, afraid her bad luck might cause more trouble.
“The treatment is finished. His life is not in danger. He hasn't regained consciousness yet, but he will wake up.”
“……”
“It seems something happened. How did he end up like that? Did you stab him or something?”
“Master told me to turn back… but I didn’t listen… I brought this misfortune… It’s because of me…”
“Hmm.”
Rin’s self-reproach was so intense that Yuhwa couldn't get the full story, but she could guess the gist of it.
Rin had been growing arrogant ever since she started learning magic; she must have become drunk on her own power and endangered Karami.
From a certain point of view, it was a complicated affair. It could have happened because Rin ignored Karami, or it could have been caused by the pink fox’s misfortune.
‘What should I do?’
Consoling her by saying it wasn't her fault would be the wrong move. What was the right thing to say? What answer would truly help Rin?
As Yuhwa pondered this, her pupils widened slightly, and she let out a dry laugh internally. To think the day would come when she’d be worried about a gumiho.
Life was truly full of surprises.
Still, she decided what she would say.
“Yes, from what I hear, it is indeed your fault. Your master was hurt because of you.”
Yuhwa had decided to be blunt. But she had no intention of condemning her for something so uncertain.
“But it wasn't because of misfortune. It was because of your reckless actions.”
Luck and misfortune are not things that can be controlled by mortal hands. They are supernatural phenomena. Even Yuhwa, with her Heavenly Eye, could not predict everything with perfect accuracy.
Yet, some prepare for it, and others take the proper steps to deal with the aftermath.
“What did you do? Did you cultivate your strength to overcome any bad luck? Or did you accumulate knowledge to make up for your lack of power?”
“……”
“You did nothing. Just because you learned a few tricks, you acted as if you were a god. You were lazy, arrogant, and not even humble. That is why the person by your side was hurt.”
Rin couldn't offer a single rebuttal. Every word was painfully true.
She buried her face in her knees, staring blankly at the floor.
“Do not blame your mistakes on misfortune. Do not treat it as an escape route.”
The merciless tirade left no room for escape. If Karami had been there, he would have covered Rin’s ears, telling her the old woman was spouting nonsense. But he wasn't there.
Rin had to take in Yuhwa’s venomous words unfiltered.
“Look. Your master is so pathetically weak. Unlike us, who can easily recover from such wounds, he has to hover on the brink of life and death.”
Rin glanced toward the room where Karami lay. She couldn't even look at her precious master’s face, afraid her misfortune would spread to him.
“And yet that foolish boy insists on staying by your side, running himself ragged and even standing up to me, despite having no power of his own. But how long are you going to sit there wallowing? Until your master picks you up and coddles you again?”
Yuhwa considered her words. She could blame today’s events on misfortune. That would be the easy way out.
But if she did, Rin would continue to use misfortune as an excuse to avoid reality. She might even lose her will to better herself.
That would have been better for Yuhwa’s own purposes, but… she chose to do something she normally wouldn't.
Yuhwa took a deep breath and continued in a much lighter tone.
“...Well, in other words, it also means that things can change if you work hard.”
Her tone had suddenly softened.
Rin’s ears twitched.
“Do you want to go back to White Cloud Valley?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Rin shook her head.
“Then do you want to be with your master?”
“...I want to be with him.”
“Do you want to protect your master?”
“I want to protect him.”
The Mandate of Heaven—the will of the gods.
To resist that mandate with the power of a mere mortal, one must pour every ounce of effort into the struggle.
Ordinary effort is not enough. One needs genius-level talent and must strive with a diligence that would make the heavens themselves tremble.
A gumiho may be trailed by misfortune, but it also holds the potential to defy the Mandate of Heaven.
“Then stop sitting around and get up. I will raise you into a proper gumiho.”
The heavens raged.
They threatened to strip her of her title as their messenger if she did anything foolish.
If that happened, she would lose her power and become nothing more than an ordinary old fox.
But Yuhwa turned a deaf ear.
It was something she should not do as the Celestial Fox. Something she wouldn't have done even if she weren't the Celestial Fox.
But the impression the pair had left on her swayed her heart.
This was a deviation, an act performed not as the Celestial Fox, but in the name of duty—the duty of an elder who had seen more than her share of years.
“Follow me if you wish, or stay here. The decision is yours alone. I will say no more.”
As if her business was done, Yuhwa turned to return to the celestial realm, her silk robes fluttering.
Rin stared silently into the empty space where she had been.
But a clear resolve now burned in her mismatched eyes.
Her eyes flashing, Rin rose to her feet. She cast one last glance toward Karami’s room, then walked down the hall in the direction Yuhwa had disappeared.