Living with the Dangerous Beast-Chapter 98: The Gumiho Named Noksu

The small silver fox bowing before him resembled a snowball pressed flat against the ground.

“At first, I thought you might be a white weasel.”

“I am a red fox, Master.”

“Ah, now that I see, it is clear as day.”

She hadn’t even bowed when they first met, yet now that she knew he was a gumiho, she was throwing herself at his feet.

Such a sudden change in attitude.

Her behavior, so deeply rooted in the principles of power dynamics, was undeniably that of a fox.

“Even if I was once a Fox Patriarch, there’s no need to bow so deeply.”

“Pardon?!”

“That was long ago. These days, I’m merely a wanderer following the whims of the wind. Please, do rise.”

“I cannot possibly, master!”

The Fox Patriarch was a title granted only to those who reached enlightenment and became grand fox spirits.

The revelation of his grand identity sent a shiver through Sohwa’s trembling paws.

“How could a lowly creature like me dare to raise my head before such a wondrous figure like you?”

“I will be staying in this mountain range for a while....”

The man said calmly.

“But it would trouble me if the mountain’s guardian spoke to me in such a flattering way.”

“Well... if you insist, I shall obey your orders.”

Rising quickly, Sohwa looked up at him with admiration.

The masked man knelt to one knee, lowering himself to meet her eye level.

“Did you bring my fan?”

“I’ll deliver it next time. It’s being kept safe in a precious place, so don’t worry. But tell me, are you truly a gumiho? Do you really have nine tails, just like the painting?”

“Are you that curious?”

Sohwa nodded quickly, her eagerness unmistakable.

“Do you truly wish to see my tails?”

“That’s right.”

“If I show you my tails, what will you give me in return?”

“I’ll give you this.” freeweɓnøvel.com

Sohwa immediately extended a handkerchief to the man.

Unwrapping it revealed several green jujubes the size of bird eggs rolling around.

“These rare fruits grow on divine trees in heaven, absorbing the essence of both sky and earth. Eat one of these after boiling it down, then it’ll clear your vision, sharpen your mind, mend broken bones, et cetera. It can even make the paralyzed rise again.”

“....”

“It’s literally an elixir of immortality that everyone covets, and I’m here offering these to you as a special gift. A token of my respect and awe towards you.”

The silver fox’s clear eyes gleamed like polished gemstones.

Her face was so charming and innocent that it was hard to believe she could be a con artist spouting nothing but lies.

The man in the Bangsangsi mask couldn’t help but chuckle in disbelief.

“With a gift this precious, how could I refuse to show you?”

As he stood, a quiet breeze stirred the air.

A rainbow halo appeared behind him as the bright sunlight framed his figure.

Sohwa gasped, covering her mouth as the breathtaking scene unfolded.

Moments later, nine tails began to flutter in the heart of the mystical mountain.

They weren’t the plump, fluffy tails one might expect from a fox. Instead, they resembled sinuous, slithering serpent tongues.

They coiled around the man like a swarm of eels closing in on their prey.

Their mystical aura was palpable, spreading an ominous darkness around him.

Sohwa shifted into her human form and stared at the man’s tails, entranced.

‘I want them. I want those nine tails for myself!’

She reached out, but the tails slipped through her grasp, disappearing just as quickly as the dark aura dissipated.

The man silently watched as Sohwa’s hands groped at the empty air.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“Ah... Ahem.”

The haze lifted from her dull eyes, and vitality returned to them.

Embarrassed, Sohwa quickly tucked her hands behind her back.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“I recently passed one hundred years.”

“Goodness!”

Sohwa exclaimed, leaping back.

How could a fox younger than herself have already become a gumiho?

“How could someone so young like you have reached such a high status... You must have trained a LOT!”

“I was fortunate.”

The man’s humble response left Sohwa marveling.

Yet, deep down, she sighed.

‘What was I even doing when I turned a hundred?’

While some foxes attained enlightenment and grew nine tails, she was ridiculed with names like ‘white rice cakes.’

“Sigh.”

She felt ashamed of her past, neglecting self-discipline in favor of trysts with Dohwi.

“Tell me, could you turn my tails into nine like yours? If you can, I’ll revere you as my teacher.”

“It’s not entirely impossible.”

Sohwa’s heart raced at his straightforward reply.

Through the eyeholes of the Bangsangsi mask, his sharp gaze gleamed.

“May I ask for your name, Madam?”

“I am Sohwa. What is your name, teacher?”

“Though humble, I go by Noksu.”

“Noksu?”

“Yes. As in ‘Chungsan Noksu(靑山綠水)’—clear waters flowing through green mountains.”

‘Clear waters in green mountains?’

The name seemed at odds with his seductive voice and beguiling tails.

Yet as the thought crossed her mind, Sohwa locked eyes with him through the mask.

His brown irises, fringed with long lashes, shone with intelligence.

The glimpse of his skin revealed a flawless complexion.