Chapter 77: The Pink Fox, the Calamity Fox, and the Gumiho
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 77: The Pink Fox, the Calamity Fox, and the Gumiho
After a proper rest, once I felt better, we set off for White Cloud Valley.
“Huuuurk…”
Upon arriving at the entrance to the valley by carriage, I clutched the wall and dry-heaved. Rin patted my back, her eyes filled with worry.
“Master, are you okay?”
“No…”
Saying I was fine would have been a lie.
Was riding in a carriage always this difficult? Of course, for a modern man used to cars, carriage travel was an ordeal, but who was I?
I was a slave trader who roamed from city to city, procuring slaves. The time for me to get sick from riding in a carriage had long since passed.
But this time was different. I could declare with absolute certainty, based on my countless experiences in carriages, that this was not normal.
It wasn’t the usual noble’s experience of being ambushed by monsters or attacked by bandits.
The perfectly fine road would suddenly jut upwards, sending the carriage flying. A sudden landslide nearly overturned us. And this didn’t happen just once, but often.
We were nearly sent straight to the underworld, carriage and all. We were well aware that this was the influence of the misfortune brought by the Gumiho.
“I’m sorry, Master…”
“It’s alright. We’re safe thanks to you, aren’t we?”
It was the truth.
Even if Rin was the cause of it all.
Despite the twists and turns, we had somehow made it back to White Cloud Valley.
The valley, perpetually shrouded in a gloomy mist, was always unsettling no matter how many times I came. The bizarre cries of yokai, not beasts, echoed endlessly through the gorge.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it has…”
Rin was visibly tense. Her tails stood up, stiff and straight. Whenever a yokai’s booming cry rang out, she would flinch, her body jolting.
She had spent her entire life in a life-or-death chase with these yokai. Trauma wasn’t something you could simply shake off just because you’d grown a few more tails.
Fucking cute.
It was a terrible thing to think, but that was my first impression.
As her tails grew, she had become a fox who feared nothing in the world. It had been a while since I’d seen her this vulnerable.
Slaves are always most lovable when they rely on their master. I much prefer it when they can’t do anything on their own and have to cry, ‘Master, help me!’ It was a bit of a shame, really.
“Let’s go inside.”
We began to make our way into the valley.
Walking through the misty gorge where will-o'-the-wisps drifted about, I was reminded of the time I came here with Seira. Back then, she had been terrified, insisting this wasn’t her job and trying to run away.
I remember how she’d tearfully followed me only after I threatened to run off and abandon a whole bunch of beastkin.
And now she’s living with me in the same house…
Enough reminiscing.
As I walked, sticking close to Rin, the entrance to the village came into view.
“It was really lucky that I met you that day, Rin. This place is so complicated. Don’t you think?”
The terrain was like a maze, and with the added fog, it was a structure no outsider could ever find. The moment you entered and got lost, you’d be surrounded by yokai, trembling in fear until you either starved to death or were eaten.
Furthermore, an outsider would have to disable a barrier just to enter the fox den. In that respect, it was truly fortunate that Rin had appeared before me that day.
“That wasn’t luck…”
“Pardon?”
“Uh, nothing. Just talking to myself. Let’s go.”
We entered the fox den. A young fox playing outside flinched and ran to get the adults.
One by one, the members of the Fox Clan began to emerge, watching Rin and me with wary eyes.
“Who are they?”
“I don’t know. They don’t look like beastkin.”
“That… that pink fur…! The Calamity Fox?!”
“The Calamity Fox? The Calamity Fox is back?”
A murmur went through the Fox Clan. Wasn’t this exactly how the Native Americans looked when they saw Columbus? They were wary of us, yet couldn’t suppress their curiosity and drew closer.
“She looks different from how I remember, but that’s definitely the Calamity Fox. No doubt about it.”
This was the Fox Clan that had tormented Rin for generations.
They must have breathed a sigh of relief when Rin disappeared from White Cloud Valley. The pink fox is finally gone, they must have thought. The yokai won’t threaten us anymore.
But they must have soon realized.
“Where have you been? Do you have any idea how much we’ve suffered because of you?”
They realized just how important a role Rin had played in White Cloud Valley.
“After you vanished without a word, the yokai became more ferocious, earthquakes started happening all the time, and a mysterious plague broke out. This is all because you were gone!”
“What is all this commotion?”
Pushing through the Fox Clan from left and right was an elderly, three-tailed fox leaning on a staff. The elder of the fox den. To put it simply, he was like the village chief.
Yuhwa was far older, of course, but because the level of their magic was on a completely different scale, the elder looked much more ancient.
“Elder, the Calamity Fox has returned.”
“The Calamity Fox?”
The fox elder’s eyes widened more than any of the others when he spotted Rin.
“You, your tails…”
“What about my tails?”
So he was a three-tailed fox, even if he was old. He had seen through Rin’s shapeshifting. Well, he was also the only member of the Fox Clan who knew she was a Gumiho.
There seemed to be no point in hiding it anymore, and we had to reveal it to proceed anyway. I nodded at Rin, and she released her shapeshifting. Her tails fanned out, five in total.
“The Calamity Fox has five tails!”
“She has more tails than the elder!”
“What? What’s going on? Why does the Calamity Fox have five tails? Don’t tell me… a Gumiho?!”
Like a rock thrown into a wind-rippled pond, the small disturbance grew uncontrollably.
CRASH!
A massive impact sounded from outside the fox den. It seemed the Ghost Bear had come close.
“…It seems it will be difficult to speak quietly here. I will guide you inside.”
Following the fox elder’s lead, we went deeper into the village. The Fox Clan followed, maintaining a certain distance.
Is this what animals in a zoo feel like? Their stares were not pleasant.
We entered the house where the elder lived. The foxes of White Cloud Valley weren’t the only ones looking around in wonder. Rin, too, was constantly turning her head, taking in the house.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s my first time inside… I’ve only ever seen it from the outside. So this is what it looks like…” Rin murmured, her eyes wide with wonder as she looked around. I was utterly shocked. My mind went blank.
No, these fucking bastards. She lived here for years and this is her first time inside a house?
I knew from the text that she had eaten nothing but potatoes for every meal and slept curled up in a corner of the village, but hearing Rin’s thoughts in real-time made my anger surge.
It’s a good thing I’m powerless right now. If I couldn’t control my momentary rage, I might have thrown this whole opportunity away, lucky chance be damned.
“Please, sit comfortably.”
The elder shamelessly told us to get comfortable, but there were no chairs, let alone a sofa. There was only a stiff mat woven from plant stems.
Of course, we couldn’t just stand, so we sat down on it. Rin, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, settled herself between my cross-legged legs.
The elder’s eyes went wide in disbelief.
“Who are you? And why is the Calamity Fox following you?”
“I am this child’s master. And please stop calling her the Calamity Fox. She has a name now, Rin.”
“I see. So you are the one who drew out the Gumiho.”
The old fool. I told him not to call her the Calamity Fox, and now he was calling her a Gumiho. He was determined not to call Rin by her name, even if it killed him.
“Anyone listening would think I kidnapped her. She came to me of her own free will.”
“Hand over the Gumiho to White Cloud Valley. The Gumiho must remain in White Cloud Valley.”
“Hmm. And why is that?”
“That… is a matter concerning our Fox Clan. I cannot speak of it to an outsider. Besides, you will be in danger if you stay with the Gumiho.”
He couldn’t be ignorant of his own position, yet he’d been clinging to his pathetic pride from the start. So this is how you want to play it?
Fine.
You people need to be taught a lesson.
It just so happened that the Fox Clan was gathered outside the house, peeking in. A perfect environment. You all listen up, too.
“Are you afraid you won’t be able to uphold the Mandate of Heaven if Rin is gone?”
“You—how do you know of that…!”
Now that’s the reaction I was looking for.
To clear up any confusion, let’s organize this. Rin has three nicknames.
First, the pink fox who brings misfortune.
Second, the Calamity Fox who brings disaster.
Third, the Gumiho who twists the Mandate of Heaven.
All these nicknames lead back to the Gumiho. It’s not as if having pink fur could cause supernatural phenomena. Pink is not at fault; it has committed no crime.
Just as not every black-haired Karami goes around sleeping with people, it was just a coincidence that this Gumiho happened to be pink.
The story went like this.
Once upon a time, in a savage age when the line between beast and beastkin did not exist.
All beings that ran upon the earth were faithful to their animal instincts. They had no language, no reason; only the sound of trampling feet and guttural cries filled the world.
But among them was a particularly special race: the Fox Clan. The foxes, who wielded the mystery of magic, were smarter and more cunning than any other race.
Convinced of their own superiority, the arrogant foxes reached for the heavens, seeking to control the world as they pleased. The existence of a Mandate of Heaven was, after all, a restriction on their actions.
But as the outcome shows, their rebellion ended in failure. The Gumiho, defeated in the war, lost its power and was sealed away, and the members of the Fox Clan who participated in the rebellion were confined to White Cloud Valley.
And so, a thousand years passed.
In the distant past, every member of the Fox Clan knew of the Gumiho’s existence in White Cloud Valley, but as time flowed and generations changed, the memory gradually faded.
When an oral tradition is passed down for a thousand years, things are bound to be omitted.
In that state, the seal gradually weakened, and the Gumiho awoke. But with no one left to recognize it, the Fox Clan called the Gumiho the Calamity Fox.
The current generation of the Fox Clan simply uses the derogatory term ‘Calamity Fox’ as they were taught by the previous generation, without even knowing what Rin’s existence truly signifies.
They’ve even forgotten the role they were given.
The new Mandate of Heaven bestowed upon the Fox Clan by the heavens in exchange for their survival after the failed rebellion was the role of guardians: to watch over the Gumiho and prevent it from leaving for the outside world. Yet they had failed to stop Rin’s escape.
The Mandate of Heaven is a command from the heavens, and a lifespan granted by the heavens. For those who defy it, there is only one fate.
“Oh, it seems my eyes have become Heavenly Eyes. I can see your Mandate of Heaven. Huh. It says you’re fated to die soon.”
Hey, everyone.
You’re all about to drop dead.