Living with the Dangerous Beast-Chapter 31: Whispers of the Tiger

The fact that she didn’t have a dang clue about what to do to earn a single coin made her even more obsessed with her thoughts about Dohwi.

‘Even that raccoon somehow knew where to get those coins....’

In autumn, Hoyoung’s job was to sweep up fallen leaves.

He had a weird magic trick that he used to turn those leaves into something else.

But for Sohwa, she barely had the skills to manage her own body, let alone learn such tricks.

Thanks to Dohwi bringing three meals a day and even snacks, she was now unsure of how to secure a single meal on her own.

Still, it was better to hide in a human village than wander across the mountains.

Just as she tried to quench her thirst at a nearby well while thinking about what she should do next, a loud voice called out to her.

“Get your warm coats here! It’s getting cold, so grab a cozy coat!”

Sohwa instinctively turned toward the loud voice.

“Miss! Pretty Miss! Come here and take a look at this!”

In the marketplace lined with shops, a middle-aged man was beckoning to her.

“This is a fur coat made with dog fur, and this is a coat made with soft rabbit fur!”

The man held up a number of different fur coats to get her attention.

But Sohwa’s face turned white as she looked at the fur he was showing.

“Pretty Miss, I have something that would suit you perfectly! This is the finest fur we have!”

Her legs stiffened, and she froze in place as the man, excited, continued to shout.

“This fur is top-quality, the kind that goes to noble families. I have just one last piece left for you! It would look beautiful on you, miss. Just try it on.”

The long black fur he held up was familiar to Sohwa.

With traces of front and hind legs, it was sable fur.

“It would look so lovely lined with a vest.”

Grinning, the man quickly rummaged through his shop.

To him, Sohwa, dressed in a silk jacket, looked like a daughter from a wealthy noble family.

“I have something that would suit you perfectly. This is the softest and warmest fur you could find out there!”

Next, the man confidently pulled out a sheet of red fox fur.

Seeing the fur, explicitly showing the shape of the head and tail of a red fox, made her gag in disgust.

“Ugh.” freeweɓnøvel.com

“Huh? What’s wrong? Just come here and give it a touch! You’ll be surprised with how soft and smooth it is! Miss! Miss!”

Covering her mouth, Sohwa stumbled backward and fled from the marketplace.

* * *

Barely making it to the well, Sohwa leaned against a willow tree, gasping for breath.

“Huff, huff, huff....”

The sight she had just seen was so horrific that she completely lost her appetite.

Based on the gruesome scene that she had just witnessed, it was evident that this village wasn’t the ideal place for her to settle down.

‘Let’s go to Mount Taeryong.’

Mount Taeryong was one of the most well-known mountains throughout the land, comprised of vast ranges and numerous peaks.

Surely, there would be a place for a small fox like her to stay in that vast mountain.

Although she’d heard rumors about a ferocious tiger ruling the mountain and acting like a god, she had no other choice.

‘Sigh... It’s tigers everywhere.’

She sighed in frustration.

Still, with so much fresh prey around, she thought that the tigers wouldn’t even bother to eat a small, weak fox like her.

Just as Sohwa was quietly waiting for her turn at the well, someone spoke to her.

“Miss, are you here for water?”

The well was crowded with people.

A young man turned to her and asked.

“...Yes.”

She replied politely, and the man drew a full bucket and handed her a scoop of water.

“Here, you drink first. You don’t look well.”

After thanking the man, who seemed to be a local, Sohwa carefully took the scoop and drank.

“You must be from out of town. Anyway, you shouldn’t go up that mountain for the next few days.”

The man pointed to Mount Yeehwang.

Sohwa, who had just run down from the mountain, tilted her head in confusion.

“Why? What’s happening?”

The man, looking around as if sharing a big secret, whispered.

“Do you know there’s a tiger living in that mountain?”

Sohwa, her eyes wide, shook her head, pretending to know nothing.

The man continued, as if frustrated.

“That mountain has always had strange rumors about an Imoogi or a 300-year-old serpent, and the terrain is so rough that even the locals avoid entering it. But recently, a gravekeeper claimed that he saw a tiger at the mountain.”

The elderly gravekeeper, who lived at the foot of the low mountain and kept a few deer and goats near his house, was an old man who had trouble moving around freely.

However, one day, the goats and deer started disappearing one by one, and eventually, none were left.

Angry about his loss, he searched the foothills and ended up finding only the bones of the precious animals he once owned.

While fleeing in terror, he encountered a tiger.