The White Tiger
To be honest, I hadn't expected it to work this well.
The White Tiger lay flat on the ground, exactly like a puppy prostrating itself before its master, not even daring to lift its head.
But the real surprise didn't end there.
At that moment, I couldn't help but gasp in sheer shock.
By whatever mystical power it possessed, the White Tiger had begun to speak directly inside my head.
Though its manner of speech was incredibly peculiar.
Or rather, it was more accurate to say that the beast simply wasn't fluent in human language.
Regardless, the White Tiger was attempting to communicate with me using human words.
"An intruder? What do you mean by that?"
A slight tremor slipped into my voice despite myself, but I quickly composed my tone, speaking with as much dignity as I could muster.
"My sister and I are direct descendants of the Sect Leader of the Sun and Moon Sect. We are the rightful masters of this land."
Hearing its words, I finally understood.
The "intruder" it referred to was the other tiger it had just mauled to death.
It was a fitting statement for the guardian deity of the western mountain range.
Only then did I check on Baek So-cheong. Though she had fainted from the sheer pressure of the White Tiger's presence, her breathing was steady, and she showed no signs of external or internal injuries.
"Very well, I understand. My sister, my family, and I only came here to hunt a few beasts. Do not be too angered by this."
"Yes, it is as you say."
It was a relief that the White Tiger had no intention of attacking me or the Sect Leader's family.
But what on earth did it mean by calling me its "master"?
"Am I truly your master?"
In the legends of the Sun and Moon Sect, the White Tiger was said to protect the sect, but there was never any mention of it serving the Sect Leader's family as its master.
If so, the reason the White Tiger reacted to me and acknowledged me as its master...
...must have something to do with the Dark Demonic Inward Heart Method I was cultivating.
Earlier, swept up in the vast, grand energy of the mountains, I had circulated the Dark Demonic Inward Heart Method. If the White Tiger had reacted to my demonic art, been drawn here, and then pounced upon discovering the intruder tiger...
Then the White Tiger viewing me as its master was by no means a bad thing.
"Very well. You may leave now."
Leaving behind those ominous words, the White Tiger vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving nothing but the whistling of the wind.
I immediately rushed over to Baek So-cheong.
"Sister! Are you alright?"
"Ugh..."
Baek So-cheong soon regained consciousness and looked around.
She seemed just as bewildered by what had transpired as I was.
"The tiger... What happened to it?"
"Do you not remember?"
"A tiger appeared... and I was standing in front of you, Young Sect Leader..."
"..."
Just as I was about to explain what had happened, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed from a distance.
The Sect Leader, his personal guards, a cart carrying a wild boar, and Jang Yeon-hui arrived one after another.
"Young Sect Leader! The Sect Leader has slain a massive wild boar!"
Jang Yeon-hui chuckled heartily, pointing proudly at the carcass of the giant boar pierced by arrows.
However, he quickly realized the atmosphere was highly unusual and rushed forward in alarm.
What met the eyes of the newcomers was Baek So-cheong lying on the ground, with the Young Sect Leader tending to her.
And a short distance away lay the lifeless body of a massive tiger.
"A-A tiger!"
"Young Sect Leader...! Incredible!"
Jang Yeon-hui's jaw dropped in shock as his gaze darted back and forth between the massive tiger and the wild boar in the cart.
It was as if he were trying to measure which of the two was larger.
I stared at him blankly for a brief moment.
Then, shifting my gaze past Jang Yeon-hui to the Sect Leader, I spoke.
"It was nothing. I shall present this beast's pelt to you as a gift, Father."
Once everyone confirmed that Baek So-cheong was unharmed, they all began to marvel at the fact that I had slain a tiger.
But there was one exception: the Sect Leader.
With his usual calm, all-penetrating gaze, he quietly observed the scene.
He asked me nothing and said not a word, yet his eyes made me feel as though he already knew everything.
For a while after our return to the headquarters, the entire sect was abuzz over the tiger I had hunted.
The wild boar caught by the Sect Leader became the main course of a grand feast, while the tiger was skinned and its pelt presented to him.
Jang Yeon-hui, who had organized the hunt and was notorious for his obsession with the sport, made an enormous fuss, praising the day's spectacular harvest.
He claimed that a father and son hunting a wild boar and a tiger in a single afternoon was an unprecedented feat in the entire Jianghu.
In truth, I wasn't the one who had killed the tiger, but since So-cheong couldn't remember anything after it appeared...
...it naturally had to be concluded that I was the one who had slain it.
I mean, it's not like I could just tell everyone that the legendary White Tiger mauled it to death.
Though I still didn't quite understand why the White Tiger wished to remain hidden from human eyes.
At any rate, it was a relief that Baek So-cheong recovered immediately without any lingering side effects, returning to her daily life with only a blank spot in her memory of that day.
But a far more important matter unfolded the very next day.
"Father, did you summon me?"
Upon entering the Sect Leader's Palace, I saw the magnificent tiger pelt from yesterday beautifully draped over his table.
The Sect Leader sat in his grand armchair, staring intently at the pelt before lifting his head.
Then, in his usual frigid voice, he spoke to me.
"You showed excellent restraint this time. Knowing your temperament... it must not have been easy."
To an outsider, his words would have made little sense.
But I merely let out a quiet sigh and gave a small nod.
For I knew exactly what he meant.
Furthermore, I had already anticipated that he would know about it, and that this was the very reason he had summoned me today.
"Since you did not act, Father, how could I dare to take matters into my own hands? Moreover..."
I paused for a moment, organizing my thoughts before finishing the sentence.
"...it was none other than my maternal grandfather who orchestrated this."
Without a single change in his expression, the Sect Leader merely raised his right hand and stroked his chin.
It was clear that his thoughts aligned perfectly with mine.
This incident—specifically, the Young Sect Leader being ambushed by a tiger during the hunt—was no mere accident.
The suspicion had begun with the word "intruder" used by the White Tiger.
It meant the tiger that had attacked me was not native to these woods, but had been brought in from the outside.
While the hunting grounds were part of a massive mountain range, making the natural migration of wild beasts possible...
...for a tiger to appear at the exact moment I was separated from the Sect Leader's party was far too convenient to be a coincidence.
Thus, I had tested the high-quality bow that Jang Yeon-hui had gifted me.
Sure enough, the bow was heavily coated with a scent designed to lure massive predators.
The fact that Jang Yeon-hui had attempted to assassinate me by staging an accident with an imported tiger was hardly surprising.
As I had just told the Sect Leader, as long as he chose not to act, it would be unwise for me to seek vengeance on my own.
The Sect Leader nodded, as if he had read my mind completely.
Then, slowly, with a trace of emotion in his voice this time, he asked.
"Are you curious as to why I remained idle, knowing your grandfather tried to kill you?"
"I do not presume to know all, Father... I merely surmise that you have a grander scheme in mind for the sake of the sect."
"You are half correct."
The Sect Leader continued.
"We could punish your grandfather—my father-in-law—for this deed. However, doing so would mean losing a powerful card: the Cheongun Merchant Group. The greatest wealth in the southwestern region of the Jianghu is not something to be discarded lightly."
"Yes, Father. Your words are entirely correct."
"If so, what must we do?"
"Since we now hold a weakness over my grandfather, we must exploit it."
"Indeed."
The Sect Leader nodded in satisfaction.
"To wage war against the Murim Alliance, we need men, and we need influence. All of that stems from wealth. And that wealth lies within the Cheongun Merchant Group. Therefore, we shall present the Leader of the Cheongun Merchant Group with a demand he cannot refuse, at a time he cannot say no."
The Sect Leader's words meant that the time had not yet come to present our bill to Jang Yeon-hui.
Given his meticulous nature, speaking of this so openly indicated that the bill was already being prepared step by step.
"The Leader of the Cheongun Merchant Group departs the headquarters tomorrow. He claims there is a merchant assembly in Sichuan, and he has requested that you accompany him."
I knew Jang Yeon-hui wouldn't have traveled all this way to the headquarters for a simple visit. As expected, he had an ulterior motive.
Though I still didn't know what this merchant assembly was about.
And there was no way the Sect Leader was telling me this without a reason.
"Young Sect Leader, your thirteenth birthday is fast approaching."
"Yes, Father."
"We shall convene the Sacred Demon Assembly as soon as you return alive. Your departure is tomorrow at the Hour of the Dragon. Go with So-cheong. You may choose the rest of your companions."
"I shall obey your command, Father."
The Sacred Demon Assembly was the occasion where the Young Sect Leader's worthiness was officially recognized by Myeongjon.
Until now, the Sect Leader had always issued trials to test my worthiness as the Young Sect Leader before the assembly.
And this time, he would hold the assembly the moment I returned alive.
The Sect Leader's message was crystal clear.
Accompany the Leader of the Cheongun Merchant Group, who wishes to destroy you.
Uncover his schemes, corner him, and secure the evidence needed to extort a massive price from him.
And return alive.
This was the trial the Sect Leader had set before me.
"However, may I ask one question?"
"Speak."
"If... Mother is involved in this matter..."
The Sect Leader had been referring to Jang Yeon-hui as the "Merchant Group Leader" rather than his "father-in-law" for some time now.
His stance was already perfectly clear.
But what about Jang Su-ryeon, Jang Yeon-hui's daughter?
If my stepmother, Jang Su-ryeon, was complicit in her father's plot to eliminate me, the Young Sect Leader, what was I to do?
It was a highly sensitive question, but the Sect Leader answered without a moment's hesitation.
"A foolish question. You already know the answer to that."
"Yes, Father..."
I gave a brief reply and left the Sect Leader's Palace.
His final words echoed continuously in my mind.
You already know the answer.
The Sect Leader had explained that his reason for not acting despite knowing Jang Yeon-hui's plot was "to obtain something far greater."
To be precise, he had called it "half the reason."
Then what was the other half?
Though he hadn't spoken it aloud, I knew the answer.
He had implicitly conveyed it to me multiple times before.
If I couldn't even survive an assassination attempt by a mere merchant leader who wasn't even a martial artist, then I had no right to be the Young Sect Leader.
And the cold truth hidden beneath was that if it was necessary for the Sun and Moon Sect's victory against the Murim Alliance, he would discard even me—his eldest son and the Young Sect Leader—without a second thought.
So what would his own wife matter to him?
For my part, I could only hope it wouldn't come to that.
Before she was my stepmother, Jang Su-ryeon was the mother of my beloved younger siblings.
"Yeongho Bin."
"Yes, my Lord."
Upon arriving at the Red Moon Palace, I gave my orders to Yeongho Bin, who was waiting for me.
"We depart tomorrow at the Hour of the Dragon to accompany the Cheongun Merchant Group. Make the preparations. And summon my sister and Namgung Eon."
"Yes, my Lord."
I sat alone in the quiet room.
Drawing the Heavenly Slayer Demonic Saber, I gently ran my fingertips along its razor-sharp blade.
It had been two years since I reincarnated as the Young Sect Leader, Baek Yeon.
Yet, the trials set by the Sect Leader showed no signs of ending.
No, perhaps my true ordeal to prove my worth as the Young Sect Leader was only just beginning.