I felt that I had become somewhat accustomed to the Goryeo language after about a year and a half. Around that time, I began to seriously take on the role of protecting the Jeong family, and I could understand most vocabulary unless it was very difficult. I could have substantial conversations not only with Lee Joo-hee but also with other people around me.
By then, I could almost be considered to have mastered the Goryeo language. Around that time, Jeong Cheol-wook started giving me various tasks.
One day, I had to escort an uncle of the Jeong family outside the capital. He was also a noble, and he looked at me, a young man from the Central Plains, with a disapproving eye. However, when two large tigers suddenly leaped out of the mountain path, he was terrified.
Roar!!
"Ah!"
"Tigers!"
The noble, along with the four bodyguards who came with him, were so frightened that their legs trembled. They were also skilled in martial arts, but mastering martial arts doesn't make you a superhuman in a short time. A tiger as large as a zhang (about 3.3 meters) would be a formidable opponent even for a first-class martial artist. With two of them, it was a significant threat.
However, as soon as I saw the tigers, I glared at them and suppressed them. My imposing aura spread out.
Roar
Roar...
The tigers hesitated and then fled into the mountains. I thought they were a male and female pair. Despite sensing my aura, they must have been extremely hungry to have come out.
The uncle of the Jeong family was amazed when I drove the tigers away with just a look.
"R-remarkable!"
Up to that point, I could understand. But what he said next left me speechless.
"Come, go and catch those tigers!"
"..."
"What? Go!"
What is he talking about? Why do I have to catch the tigers?
I asked in Goryeo language, feeling utterly bewildered.
"Why catch the tigers? Weren't you in a hurry to go to Suwon?"
"Just the bandits can handle it without you. Go and catch the tigers quickly."
"Why catch the tigers? Didn't we already drive them away?"
"We need their skins!"
"..."
Now I see. He had completely forgotten about the danger he was in and wanted the valuable tiger skins. Tiger skins were very expensive. However, asking a bodyguard to catch tigers out of the blue was problematic in terms of ethics and everything else. Most importantly, I was not a direct servant or a slave to this uncle.
When I couldn't hide my displeasure and emitted a killing aura, the leader of the bodyguards, who was standing next to me, seemed to realize something. He quickly pulled me aside and spoke.
"Warrior Baek-ung, I understand you're angry, but can you please do me a favor? With your martial arts, it shouldn't be difficult."
"Why should I listen to such nonsense? My current master is Jeong Cheol-wook, not him."
"That's true, but he is also a royal uncle. As a relative of the royal family, his influence is significant. Disregarding his orders could harm your future."
I frowned.
"Let's put that aside. The tigers were so hungry that they came out even after sensing my aura. Is it really necessary to hunt them down? And even if I do, fighting two cornered tigers won't be easy. It would be a difficult task even with a hundred soldiers."
He almost cried and knelt down, begging.
"Ugh... I have no choice. Please understand my position. If the tigers are hungry, they might attack and harm people later. This can be considered a good deed."
"Hmm."
It felt like a troublesome task had suddenly fallen on me. I had no choice but to say, almost spitting out the words,
"I have no choice. I'll try, but don't expect much. Whether I bring back the tiger skins or not, if you relate it to Jeong Cheol-wook's honor, you'll have to be prepared for the consequences."
The leader of the bodyguards' face brightened.
"Of course!"
From his perspective, the worst thing would be if I refused the order outright. Whether I succeeded or failed in hunting the tigers, it would be better if I at least followed the order.
I headed towards the wild mountains, following the tigers' tracks. However, finding the tigers' tracks in the wild mountains was not easy, and I stopped when I reached a dense thicket.
Without specialized hunting and tracking skills, I would have to rely on my senses to search the entire mountain area to find the tigers. It was such a tedious task that I sighed.
"Ah..."
I felt sympathy for the tigers. Having lived in the wild for a long time, I knew that wild animals struggle for survival every day. This was no exception for tigers. The hardship of fighting hunger and fear alone in the wilderness, where no one could help, was something that city dwellers couldn't understand. That's why I felt sorry for the tigers, who had appeared despite sensing my powerful aura.
Perhaps it would have been better to let the uncle become tiger food.
I even thought that.
This thought made me question why I was standing here. Was it really necessary to search the mountains indefinitely to kill hungry tigers and skin them? However, as the leader of the bodyguards said, hungry tigers could indeed pose a threat to people. I had no choice but to enter the thicket.
After wandering through the thicket for about two hours, using my senses to detect the area, I saw a large animal moving.
Swish
"......!!"
But it wasn't. As soon as I saw its form, I shouted in surprise.
"Yuk (??)?!"
It was exactly as described in books. It looked like an ox but lived on high hills. It had a snake's tail and wings, with feathers under its armpits. Its sound was like that of a liu-niu (留牛). It was called Yuk (??), and it would die in winter and come back to life in summer. Eating it would cure boils.
It was the exact monster from the Shan Hai Jing (Classic of Mountains and Seas) that I had seen. The illustration in the Shan Hai Jing was so similar that there was no mistaking it.
Roar
The creature, which looked like an ox with a snake's tail and wings, let out a long cry when it saw me. However, it didn't seem to have any intention of attacking. It raised its front paws, clung to a tree, and started peeling and eating the bark. It seemed to have come to this place to peacefully eat bark.
I never thought I would see a monster from the Shan Hai Jing in reality. The Shan Hai Jing was a fictional book that played with imagination. However, seeing the monster Yuk in person made me feel like I was losing my mind. Why would I see such a creature in the uninhabited wild mountains of Goryeo?
'Maybe the tigers couldn't hunt because of this Yuk?'
Yuk didn't seem to be a carnivore, but it was very large. It was a monster-sized creature, nearly a zhang tall. When it stood upright, it could look down on the mountain. It was natural for tigers to be wary and unable to hunt properly with such a monster around. I was dumbfounded, staring at Yuk, when a voice came from behind.
"Sir, you seem to know the Shan Hai Jing."
It was a human voice. When I turned around, I saw a monk wearing a kasaya standing there. I looked at him, and indeed, he was a highly skilled martial artist. He was not someone who would fear tigers. I said to him,
"I am Baek-ung, a bodyguard of the Jeong family. I came here to hunt the hungry tigers to prevent them from harming people."
"Hmm, I see. I am Jiyul of the Tiantai Sect (天台宗)."
"Do you know about this Yuk?"
"Of course. I came here because of this creature."
Swish
Jiyul threw the prayer beads he was holding at Yuk. As soon as Yuk, which was peeling bark, was hit by the bright aura emanating from the prayer beads, it writhed in pain. Soon, its massive body shrank, and it disappeared, leaving behind a small jade.
I was amazed by the strange event that unfolded before my eyes. This was not something that could be done with martial arts.
"Is this sorcery?"
Jiyul, picking up the jade, said,
"In Daoism, it's called sorcery, but in Buddhism, it's called Dharma power. I heard that the balance of heaven and earth has been distorted, causing monsters from the Shan Hai Jing to appear everywhere. I am here to deal with them on the orders of the Tiantai Sect."
Jiyul seemed to be skilled in both martial arts and sorcery. He showed me the jade and said,
"Look. This black jade is emitting a strong evil aura. This is clear evidence that someone has artificially summoned monsters from the Shan Hai Jing to various places in Goryeo."
"What? Who would do such a thing?"
"I don't know yet. However, during my journey from my temple, I have already dispelled seven monsters. A great turmoil is likely to occur in Goryeo soon."
"Hmm..."
I sighed. Although Yuk was not a carnivorous monster, the monsters from the Shan Hai Jing were all capable of easily crushing