Book 1 Chapter 9

An unfortunate white tiger

That incident became the turning point that changed my destiny completely.

That event taught me a new destiny.

You might curse me for acting purely out of interest, but

I did it because it seemed fun.

Bilyeon, on a certain day at the age of 20…

"Grrr…"

That beast was a giant, great tiger (大虎). It was a king of beasts, a tiger that seemed to be four times the size of Bilyeon. Its eyes shone like the sun, and its fur was an silvery white with a bluish tint. Judging by its size and gaze, it was clearly the leader of this mountain's tigers. There probably wouldn't be any beast reckless enough to attack such a creature with its size and intimidating presence in this mountain. It seemed to have been wandering around looking for its lunch. And now, before the king of beasts stood Bilyeon, the successor of the Flying Thunder Gate (飛雷門), who served an evil incarnate as his master, standing nonchalantly.

The silvery white great tiger glared at him, its eyes shining like the sun, with a fierce intensity as if it were about to pounce on Bilyeon at any moment. It seemed to be searching for prey at the moment. It was a preliminary step to properly cook its meal. However, Bilyeon's eyes, standing before the house-sized tiger, were simply calm. No, rather, a faint, thoughtful smile was faintly visible on his lips. Why was he smiling? Of course, it was clear he wasn't rejoicing at the thought of a post-meal stroll with the white tiger inside its belly. The reason was soon revealed.

"Yahoo! What a windfall! I don't remember dreaming of pigs last night? This is a watermelon that rolled in with the vine. And it's a pure white watermelon. Or should I say, a silvery white watermelon? I hit the jackpot today, I'm so lucky."

The tiger, called the king of beasts, its magnificent black stripes, seemed to Bilyeon to be nothing more than stripes drawn on a white watermelon. The king of beasts, the tiger, was also seen by Bilyeon as just a cute kitten. However, he wasn't without gratitude towards this tiger. It was a rare opportunity that had returned after a whole year since his last big score. It was a golden opportunity to make a lot of money easily.

It was last year, or perhaps the year before. While searching the entire mountain like picking lice for hunting, he had met that beast. A giant bear that resembled an old tree! After easily taking it down (though he didn't actually hit it with his bare hands), he had carefully removed its gall bladder, what people called bear gall (熊膽) and were so desperate for, and sold it for quite a high price.

Bear gall (熊膽) was known as a panacea, as if it were the inner elixir of some mythical creature. Even if it wasn't a panacea, it was a precious medicinal herb with very potent effects, so there was no problem with the negotiation. Furthermore, he had used his business acumen to peel off the beast's hide and sell it to someone of high status in a martial arts sect. He had received a considerable sum for that as well, making it a satisfactory transaction in every way.

Bear hide was not a very popular item in the market. Because of that, he hadn't expected a high price. However, he had learned that the vice-leader of the martial arts sect called the Giant Bear Gang (巨熊幇) was desperately looking for a bear's hide as a birthday gift for the leader. He was in a predicament because he couldn't find a top-quality bear hide suitable to gift to the leader. Just then, he heard that Bilyeon had a bear hide. He exclaimed that he had never seen a top-quality bear hide like the one Bilyeon had, one without a single scratch, and was overjoyed. He then readily paid a large sum of silver for the hide and took it. It was an unexpected windfall.

And then, he had neatly sliced off the bear's paws, the right and left paws, both upper and lower, and sold them to the largest and most famous restaurant in the village. The meat was of very high quality, so it sold for a high price. He sold everything that could be sold in this manner, and for the rest, he took it home and made bear soup. It tasted quite good.

The money he earned was substantial, so Bilyeon deposited two-thirds of it in the largest and highest-interest money lender (錢莊) in the village. Of course, how much he earned from that bear and how much he deposited was Bilyeon's secret. He hadn't told his master, either. No, he absolutely had to keep it from his master. It was a horrifying thought, but if he were to find out, it was as clear as day that he would lose almost all the money he earned, with only scraps left.

When Bilyeon brought the bear's body home – or rather, its flesh, to put it more gently – it was already cut into dozens of pieces, so his master never suspected that the meat he ate then was bear soup. He had cleverly made it taste somewhat like wild boar meat using seasonings and lied to his master that he had cooked a dish with wild boar meat mixed with two other types of meat. Of course, his master was easily fooled. Happily, a large sum of money was saved.

A year after that, heaven granted him another opportunity to hit it big. Heaven had not abandoned this protagonist of unfortunate fate. Wasn't that money pile now lingering before Bilyeon's eyes?

The white tiger would have no idea that it looked like a wanted criminal shouting, "Please, arrest me!" How could it fathom that it, which had always reigned as a figure of fear among people, was seen as nothing more than a bundle of money!

Unaware of what wicked and horrific crimes Bilyeon was planning, the king of beasts, the tiger, continued its search, contemplating how to prepare its lunch. The white tiger, diligently pondering whether to tear it apart or bite it to death, suddenly moved its massive body like lightning, deciding to pounce on the frail human before it and bite it to death in a single blow. The intended target was the human's neck.

As its attack had never missed before, the white tiger had no thought of its own mistake. The white tiger opened its maw wide, baring its sharp fangs, and roared with a sound that shook the mountain, "Kuhung!" Yet, even in this moment of crisis, Bilyeon was happily contemplating how to make the most of this money pile.

Having made up his mind, Bilyeon's gaze shifted to the white tiger, which was compressing the distance of five paces and charging at him. His left hand naturally dangled. A Flying Thunder Sword (飛雷刀) slid down his left arm and settled in his left hand. As Bilyeon lightly gripped the hilt of the Flying Thunder Sword, the Thunder Blade (雷刃) revealed its hidden form from within. The Thunder Blade, appearing in an elegant semicircular arc, exuded a bluish sharp energy.

In an instant, a fantastical flash of light shot from Bilyeon's left hand like a bolt of lightning and flew into the white tiger's maw. The fantastical lightning seemed to be swallowed by the tiger's mouth. To an onlooker, it would have looked as if the white tiger were swallowing lightning. At that moment, the white tiger, which had been leaping over the sky to pounce on Bilyeon, trembled violently and fell to the ground helplessly, losing its balance. The king of beasts could not withstand the immense power raging and swirling violently within its own belly.

It was the absurd end of the silvery white tiger (銀白虎), the king of beasts, the king of predators, the ruler of the forest. After reigning as the king of kings in this mountain for a long time, it had paid the price for attacking an opponent it had considered lunch without knowing how dangerous, merciless, and ridiculously strong this human was.

With a single flick of his left index finger, the Flying Thunder Sword that had left Bilyeon's hand returned to it as if by magic. The Flying Thunder Sword was clean, without a single drop of the silvery white tiger's blood on it. It was a miraculous event. This way, he could obtain a tiger hide without a single scratch.

Bilyeon's flying sword, which he always carried, moved freely between the body and the hide of the silvery white tiger (銀白虎) as if swimming. In an instant, the silvery white tiger's hide was stripped off, leaving its owner's body forever. Judging by Bilyeon's highly practiced and skilled technique, one could infer that he had been doing this for quite some time. Now, all that remained was the shiny, naked body of the tiger, a rather unappealing sight.

As the proverb goes, the tiger left its hide when it died. Moreover, that hide was even more valuable because it held a very high price. This hide would now be sold for a considerable sum. A tiger hide of this size would be rare, so it would surely sell for a high price. Furthermore, silvery white tiger fur with a bluish tint was a rare and precious commodity.

Thinking this, Bilyeon's mood greatly improved. He decided to destroy the evidence and cut the tiger's belly in half. A large amount of blood flowed out from the tiger's belly. This was an understandable outcome, given that the Flying Thunder Sword had been inside and stirred things up. The meticulous Bilyeon collected all the blood in a hide bag without wasting a single drop. This tiger blood from such a large spiritual beast, the white tiger, would surely sell for a high price, so Bilyeon had no intention of letting such a valuable thing go to waste on the bare ground.

After cutting open the belly and rummaging through the internal organs, he was relieved to find that the tiger's liver was intact. Bilyeon breathed a sigh of relief. The tiger's liver was also a valuable item that traded for a high price. As the proverb goes, eating boiled tiger liver makes one brave. While there were rumors of potential side effects like liver swelling, regardless of their truth, its status as a high-priced commodity remained unchanged.

He thoroughly removed the organs of the tiger, the king of the forest, pierced its body from anus to mouth with a wooden skewer, and hung it over a bonfire. He then seasoned it with salt and various spices and condiments, slowly turning the skewer as he waited for the meat to cook. As the meat began to cook and turn golden brown under the heat, the aroma was incredible. Bilyeon, who was extremely hungry from the unexpected morning exercise, completely devoured the savory, golden-brown roasted whole tiger, which emitted a delicious aroma. The king of beasts, its meat was also of exceptional quality.

After the meal, only the white skeleton, presumed to be that of the former king of the forest, remained at the scene. Not a shred of flesh clung to these bones. At that moment, Bilyeon intended to leave the remaining skeleton without performing any funeral rites. However, as he started to walk away, Bilyeon hesitated for a moment, then returned to the dining site and began to collect the bones of the tiger that had once been a white tiger. Carefully gathering the white tiger's bones, Bilyeon bowed his head in reverence, offering a moment of silence to the beautiful spirit of sacrifice of the silvery white tiger that had sacrificed itself for him, and then, with a cheerful heart, he slung the tiger's hide over his shoulder and descended to the village.

In his collection bag were twenty tiger claws, removed before cooking, and the bones gathered after cooking, all packed tightly. The bones were as numerous as the tiger's large size. He intended to make tiger claw necklaces with the claws and sell them at the ten thousand goods store (萬貨店). He expected to receive a considerable sum for them. He had never seen a tiger claw necklace made from such large and sharp claws. The rarer the item, the greater its value.

And these uncontrollable white bones would also be traded at high prices to apothecaries. Tiger bones (虎骨) had been used as major medicinal ingredients since ancient times and their efficacy was widely recognized. Truly, from its hide to its bones, there was nothing about a tiger that was wasted. It seemed it was indeed a spiritual beast.

The money collected in this manner would be used to execute his grand and ambitious plan. Perhaps it was the effect of having consumed the white tiger, but Bilyeon's steps as he descended to the village were as swift and light as a flying tiger.