Living with the Dangerous Beast-Chapter 33: The Misleading Path

“We’ve caught five red foxes, enough to make a fur coat.”

One of the men, who looked like a bandit, cut the snare and hoisted Miho’s body over his shoulder, glancing at Sohwa.

“What are you doing here, Miss? This fox is my catch.”

Sohwa quickly wiped her tears and stood up.

“...I heard the fox crying and tried to free it.”

“By the way, why are you wandering in a mountain like this without a guide?”

Another man, with narrowed eyes, asked Sohwa.

“Besides, this is no ordinary mountain. The terrain is treacherous, and the area is full of ominous energy, making it easy to get lost.”

Another man chimed in.

“That’s right. Did you see the large house down below?”

Sohwa raised her head timidly.

Her appearance, with her silky black hair, doe-like eyes glistening with moisture, cherry red lips, and elegant neckline, was so beautiful that she seemed like a goddess descended from the heavens.

The hunters, astonished by her beauty, gestured awkwardly as they spoke.

“T-The house is immaculate, and even the kitchen still has warmth. Even though I’m a tiger hunter, I was too scared to even call out if anyone was there and had to run away! It had such a haunting aura that it seemed like a house where a nine-tailed fox would live!”

“You should also head back down immediately.”

She turned to see about a dozen men, each carrying long matchlock guns and wearing rough clothing seemingly made with fur.

They were all as tall and imposing as Dohwi, but with rugged beards and rough appearances that contrasted sharply with Dohwi’s refined features.

Their eyes were filled with the murderous intent of a butcher.

The tiger hunters.

These were the hunters who specialized in tiger hunting, sent by the authorities.

“...Are you here to catch a tiger?”

“That’s right.”

Her heart pounded, and cold sweat dripped down her back before she could even process Miho’s death.

‘It’s them. These are the ones!’

A glimpse of fire flashed in Sohwa’s eyes as she clutched her skirt tightly.

“We heard rumors of a ferocious tiger on Mount Yeehwang attacking people, so the government sent us to take care of the monster.”

“Are you from the village below?”

Sohwa nodded slowly.

One of the men clapped his hands.

“So that’s why you were wandering these mountain paths! Now, let’s head down. It would be nice if you could lead us the way to the village.”

The men put her in the lead.

Hesitating briefly, Sohwa soon started walking with a determined look.

It was a path she’d never taken in over twenty years of living on Mount Yeehwang, at least not since ‘that day.’

“We need to get down before it gets dark. I don’t want to stay on this mountain any longer.”

“Just follow me.”

She didn’t know why these fearsome tiger hunters were heading down the mountain without catching the tiger, but it was a huge relief.

‘They must not meet Dohwi. If Dohwi gets shot by that huge gun, even he may not be able to survive.’

No matter how swift and ferocious he was, it was quite obvious that he couldn’t dodge bullets fired by more than a dozen hunters.

Not even the mountain god himself would be able to survive such an attack.

“Hmm, I’ve traveled all over the country as part of the tiger hunting corps, but I’ve never seen a mountain like this.”

“....”

The hunters’ chatter made Sohwa imagine the scene of a tiger hunt.

A giant tiger dodging around, surrounded by a dozen seasoned hunters and ended up getting shot.

The tiger’s blood soaked the ground, its claws scraping the earth as it slowly collapsed.

The golden eyes that once ruled the mountain now lost their light, and the hunters laughed over their precious loot―the skin of a tiger.

Tears welled up in Sohwa’s eyes just thinking about the depressing scene.

Witnessing Miho’s death made her vivid imagination even more unbearable.

‘If Dohwi dies, I can’t live either! There’s no meaning to living in a world without Dohwi!’

Her clenched fists trembled.

Though she tried her best to pretend brave, her timid nature caused her to sob quietly.

Moreover, she couldn’t be sure what exactly was in that cave.

The first time she saw ‘it,’ she was so shocked that she hadn’t gone near it again.

She was leading the hunters to a place she had never dared to go alone; the cliff above the cave.

As the image of a bleeding tiger flickered before her eyes, she couldn’t hear the hunters’ conversation.

The hunters, following quietly, murmured among themselves.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. Not in my twenty years as a tiger hunter.”

“Me neither. I’ve never seen claw marks that high up.”

As hunters specialized in tracking tigers, they recognized the markings very well.

Every tree they looked at on Mount Yeehwang had deep claw marks high up, as if slashed by a ghost.