Book 22 Chapter 19

A white meteor fell into the liquor storage.

—Good liquor sometimes becomes a good weapon.

Thump, thump, thump!

Yeonbi was walking alone through the night streets of Ganghorando. The path she had to take now was one she had to walk by herself. It was not a path one could walk with another. Even if that person were Na Yerin, this path had to be walked alone.

Donwang had kept his promise. Without a word about where they would be staying, the messenger found them precisely. Opening the letter, Yeonbi cheered inwardly. It informed her that her proposal had been accepted and that, due to the extensive preparations required, the costly tournament would only begin in three weeks.

'Thirty thousand nyang secured with this!'

Then, it was worth a shot. That was why Yeonbi was heading somewhere alone like this, silently searching for her weapon.

To defeat the greatest enemy on earth, the first thing needed was 'premium liquor.'

Since she had already learned the location from the inn where she was staying, it was easy to find. Yeonbi stopped in front of a very ornate three-story building and looked up at the signboard.

'Hwanwol Jurru.'

This was the establishment that sold 'Dew of the Moon [眞月露],' said to be the most fragrant and expensive liquor in Ganghorando. When one cup of this liquor was traded for the same weight in gold, it was easy to see how expensive and valuable it was.

"I wish to meet the owner."

Overwhelmed by Yeonbi's mystical beauty, the clerk readily gave her the owner's location. He was currently in the liquor storage in the backyard, going to retrieve some liquor. Yeonbi asked for the location of the backyard and moved her steps there. According to the clerk, since the liquor was so rare, the owner personally went to fetch it when a special order for premium liquor came in. He did not trust anyone else. After all, it was liquor more precious than gold, so it was understandable.

Screeeech!

The moment Yeonbi opened the door to the backyard and stepped into the garden,

CRASH!

A tremendous roar, as if shaking the earth, echoed from behind the backyard, and stone dust and dirt rained down on Yeonbi's head. Yeonbi quickly unfurled her black umbrella to protect her hair. Then, she turned her gaze towards the source of the roar. There, she saw a middle-aged man, pale-faced, sitting on his behind, and two escorts standing behind him with stunned expressions. The owner's gaze was fixed on the old liquor storage, which exuded a sense of age and experience. Through the scent of liquor emanating from it, Yeonbi knew by smell that this was the 'Moon's Spring,' where Hwanwol Jurru's pride, the finest liquor 'Dew of the Moon,' was stored. But now, a large hole had been punched through the roof of the Moon's Spring.

Clang, clang, clang! Clang!

And from inside the storage, the sound of breaking jars continued to be heard.

* * *

About an hour ago.

Ju Wolsan, the owner of Hwanwol Jurru, headed to the liquor storage in the backyard with two escorts after receiving an order for two bottles of 'Dew of the Moon.' Only the two escorts he trusted most could participate in this crucial process.

The old liquor storage, called the 'Moon's Spring,' was a place that shared the history of Hwanwol Jurru. Unlike Hwanwol Jurru, which had been expanded through several renovations and additions, it remained in its original form in the backyard. It was no exaggeration to say that it held the history of Hwanwol Jurru.

The customer was Jang Wooyang, the head of the Jungyang Courier Agency, who was gaining fame in the martial arts world. Currently, he was not staying at their establishment. He was staying at a famous inn located near Hwanwol Jurru. Although 'Hwanwol Jurru' was second to none in Ganghorando when it came to liquor, it was somewhat inferior to 'Sillagak' in terms of accommodation quality. Therefore, Ju Wolsan was agonizing over whether he needed to undergo extensive renovations and repairs this spring to make up for that lag. Regardless, even a competitor was a customer, and as long as sales increased, there was no reason to refuse the sale.

The 'Moon's Spring' adamantly refused access to others, binding itself with chains. The owner carefully took out a key from his pocket and opened the storage door. While the two strong men, who seemed to be escorts, guarded the opened storage door, the owner entered alone. They were not the owner's escorts but guards protecting the storage door.

A moment later, the owner emerged, carefully carrying an object wrapped in silk. This object, wrapped in the silk cloth, was the finest liquor, 'Dew of the Moon,' which was more expensive than gold by weight.

He saw it as he re-attached the chains to the entrance of the 'Moon's Spring.' A white star was falling, drawing a long tail.

"A meteor?"

The roar occurred in the very next moment.

BOOM!

The roof of the warehouse, where the peerless liquor was stored, was smashed to pieces by the falling white star. A scent of liquor, far deeper and richer than before, flowed out through the hole that had been punched into the sky. And for a long time, the sound of things shattering, then breaking, and then the sounds of gulping and slurping echoed from inside the warehouse.

The owner, frozen in shock, forgetting his duties, let out a roar.

"How dare you!!"

His face was as red as if he had swallowed coal, a perfectly understandable reaction. And the owner was determined to mete out a punishment commensurate with the crime, no matter who the perpetrator was. He couldn't let such a rude and disrespectful thief get away with it.

"Come out, you thief!"

Once again, the owner shouted with a dignity befitting his position, filled with righteous anger.

CRUNCH!

As if in response, the closed storage door was broken open. And from the dust, along with the strong scent of liquor, a colossal shadow slowly emerged. The owner's face, which had been red like heated coal moments before, now turned paler than a blank sheet of paper. What appeared was not a 'thief.'

Growl, growl, growl!

With two golden suns glinting, it walked through the mist-like dust – a white tiger as massive as a mountain, with fur as white as snow. And in its mouth, it held two bottles of the finest 'Dew of the Moon,' wrapped in the finest silk, enough to sever a tree as thick as a man's embrace in one blow. The sight, seemingly incongruous and absurd, was utterly overwhelming. It was at this moment that Yeonbi, approaching the owner, witnessed the white tiger.

"Ah!"

"……!!"

The golden eyes of Yeonbi and the white tiger met at a single point. The world froze with a shower of sparks. She even felt an illusion of a whistling wind blowing past her ears. Silence descended upon the night backyard, and time seemed to have stopped.

Unexpected situations can disorient people. Disorientation scatters the mind. A scattered mind leads to physical sluggishness. However, consistent and repetitive training allows the body to move before the mind in unexpected situations. The body moves before the mind is scattered.

"……."

"……."

It seems that when people experience something too absurd, they lose their words. Perhaps it is because the situation that occurred transcends human language and expressive power. Thus, Ju Wolsan remained silent, having lost his words. So, it was Yeonbi who spoke to him first.

"Looking at the situation, it seems there's no liquor left in that storage, is there?"

The word 'desperate (悽慘)' was enough to describe the situation inside the liquor storage.

"Ah… I suppose so. Still, I hope there are about three or four intact ones…"

The owner's voice, despairing because of the incident, was tinged with moisture.

"Are there any others you've been saving besides the ones you're holding and the one in its mouth?"

If he said no, she would have turned and left without a second thought.

"Y-yes. I have… I have just one bottle of 'Dew of the Moon' left in my room for special guests. It's the finest of the finest."

As if satisfied with the owner's answer, Yeonbi nodded.

"That's good. Then, shall we make a deal?"

Yeonbi said to the owner with a smile.

"W-what kind of deal are you talking about, young lady?"

The owner's teeth, still not free from fear, chattered noisily with every word he spoke.

"It's simple. What I need now is the last remaining 'Dew of the Moon' that you've been saving. If I do something for your establishment, you give me the liquor I want."

"And what exactly can you do for me?"

In this situation, the owner felt that the seemingly frail young woman could do almost nothing. In the owner's opinion, women were good at singing, dancing, and pouring liquor. Of course, Yeonbi's singing and dancing skills were extraordinary. But she had a few more talents besides those.

"Tiger extermination!"

"Yes?"

"I'll get rid of that white tiger. It's not a bad deal, is it? If that white tiger starts eating your customers in a drunken rage, it won't have a very good impact on your establishment's reputation, will it?"

Only then did the owner, who had only considered the possibility of being eaten, realize other possibilities, and his face turned pale.

"Hic!"

That was all he could say. If such a thing happened, all he could do was close his establishment. And he would have to leave this place where he had been doing business for decades. Such a misfortune must not happen.

"Th-that… not guests, not guests!"

As the spirit of a merchant, which had been frozen for a moment, reawakened, the owner exclaimed urgently. In any business, the customer was king. To think one could survive by ignoring customers was delusion.

"What do you think? It's not a bad deal, is it?"

Yeonbi's smile had a strange, oppressive power.

"O-okay. If you can do that! I accept this deal!"

With no other choice, the owner finally agreed to the deal.

"Good. You've made a wise decision. Well, I believe in always writing contracts when doing business, but given the circumstances, it can't be helped. We'll have to be satisfied with a verbal agreement. If the contract is not fulfilled, you'll have to blame me, not that white tiger."

"Th-that will never happen. A verbal agreement is still an agreement. I'm not foolish enough to throw away decades of trust for something like this. Please, just succeed."

The white tiger glared at the owner, who was plotting its demise, so the owner had to grit his teeth. His legs felt weak, and he felt like he would collapse if he let his guard down for even a moment. Still, he had to protect his family business. He had to protect his customers.

"Good. I am satisfied."

Yeonbi nodded and turned towards the white tiger, which was still emanating the scent of liquor. Then she said.

"Hello?"

Yeonbi greeted it with a bright smile, tilting her head up. At that moment, a strange sound of 'Gurk' echoed from behind her. It was the sound of the innkeeper, who had been frozen stiff, thawing out. Was this the time for idle introductions?! But something even more surprising happened next.

Grrr!

The mountain-like white tiger nodded its massive head as if responding to Yeonbi's greeting. Its two enormous fangs swayed up and down.

"Hmm… To avoid any misunderstandings, let me ask something. You know, sometimes people make mistakes, right? I don't want to be on the receiving end of that. It's so embarrassing! If that happens, I thought about what to do to avoid such a pathetic situation. And I concluded that it would be much more rational to ask directly than to vaguely speculate alone. There's even a saying, 'Better to ask once than to ponder a hundred times.' So, I'm asking. It's a simple question, so you can answer honestly."

Somehow, Yeonbi was unusually talkative for her. The owner couldn't understand why. He wondered if she had gone mad from extreme fear, but her unwavering eyes suggested otherwise. And the white tiger was listening attentively to Yeonbi's words.

"Haven't we met before?"

Grrr! Grrr!

The white tiger rumbled twice and nodded its head. It seemed to mean yes. Yeonbi looked up at the night sky for a moment and let out a deep sigh.

"Haa, it wasn't a mistake after all. What a shame. I wish it were just a simple mistake, or a misunderstanding, or a dream that felt too real. After all, not many tigers have such shiny golden eyes, do they?"

Grrr!

As the white tiger nodded again, Yeonbi smiled faintly.

"So, you agree. I knew it. Me too. Of course, I had a sliver of hope. There's always that one in a million, or one in ten million chance, isn't there? I held onto the fact that even if it approaches zero infinitely, it's not zero. It's truly a regrettable thing. Even if the sky were to split and the sea were to flood and this land were to sink into the ocean tomorrow, it wouldn't be this sad."

Grrr! Grrr! Grrrrrr!

The white tiger replied again. Yeonbi continued her monologue.

"Hmm, I just found out recently that it's a good thing to meet after a long time. It happened not too long ago. But fate is strange, and it seems not all encounters are good. Hmm, unfortunately, there are indeed bad connections in this world. It would be nice if there were only good connections. But then, the word 'good connection' would lose its meaning, wouldn't it? Ah, perhaps we can only know what a good connection is if there are bad connections… It's a bitter thought. Still, complaining and grumbling with just my mouth won't change anything, will it? I've experimented a few times, and it's all been useless. There's no such thing as getting something for free. Right? It's cruel for a lazy person like me. My grand dream is just to play and eat, but the world is interfering with that dream. Is it called equivalent exchange? It seems I also have to make an effort to get the results I want, this world."

And then Yeonbi quietly folded the umbrella she had fully opened. It was an umbrella she had opened to block the falling dust and dirt from the shock of the warehouse collapsing. Hiding the bubbling rage, Yeonbi lowered her head, tilted the black umbrella sideways, and brought it up to her eye level.

CRACKLE!

Yeonbi's slender hands gripped the umbrella handle with all her might, as if to crush it. Then she laughed.

"Ho ho ho! Why didn't you just stay hidden in the mountains…?"

It was a chilling laugh, as if coming from the depths of the earth. Or perhaps it was closer to a hollow, incredulous laugh. And that laugh held a power that made the mountain-like white tiger flinch.

Indeed, the primal instincts that lived according to nature's laws in the wild immediately alerted the body to danger.

Yeonbi kicked off the ground and leaped.

"You drunkard, you white cat!"

Yeonbi's quietly suppressed anger exploded in an instant. It was like magma boiling from the depths of the earth, erupting and shattering the mountain.

Even now, two hundred years later, Baekmuhu, the empress of Amisan, still reigns supreme. She is not only strong but also has an excellent sense of smell, especially for liquor. This is undoubtedly due to an old man who once subdued her in an instant when she was hunting for prey and treated her almost like a pet. Over the years, she had occasionally been the old man's drinking companion. Since the old man considered liquor more precious than gold, he didn't share much, but she had become a connoisseur with excellent discernment. Her drinking experience spanned nearly two hundred years. Ordinary liquors could no longer satisfy her keen and delicate palate.

So, how does Baekmuhu drink? Does she drink from a plate? Absolutely not. This noble empress of the mountains would not engage in such vulgar behavior as a cat. She doesn't gulp it down from a bowl either. And she certainly doesn't drink straight from the bottle. Such vulgar actions are not tolerated by her pride.

Surprisingly, she uses a cup. Of course, it's larger than what humans use. But it looks similar. She places it on her right forepaw and drinks skillfully. Just like a human. But there was a problem. She always lacked liquor. The old man, who cherished liquor like gold, wouldn't share much. There was no way this large female could be satisfied with less than three cups of liquor. So, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She had to find her own liquor. A thirsty person digs their own well. This is what is called 'self-reliance' (although the meaning seems slightly different). The rest goes without saying. It would only become tedious. And so, Baekmuhu emerged from the liquor storage, and Yeonbi, clutching her black umbrella, was rushing towards the white tiger.

As Yeonbi ran towards the white tiger, holding the umbrella with both hands, she appeared very slow. Each step Yeonbi took felt as heavy as a thousand pounds to the observer. It would have been difficult to move that slowly even if she had tried. But when Yeonbi was halfway to her target, she suddenly vanished like smoke.

Yeonbi's vanished form reappeared near the white tiger's tail.

WHOOSH! SWISH!

The black umbrella swung, drawing a black arc. The white tiger, recognizing the danger with its wild instincts, leaped forward to evade the blow. It was a ruthless strike, and even the empress of the mountains, Baekmuhu, would not have emerged unscathed.

"Where do you think you're going!"

However, while it was commendable that she noticed this unpredictable attack and began to evade, it was too late. It was impossible to avoid it completely.

THWACK!

"Kyaaak! Howl~!"

A strange shriek echoed through the night sky of Ganghorando. It sounded disturbingly like a human's. Yeonbi seriously doubted if she had heard correctly, but it was indeed the truth. After living for two or three hundred years, does one not only understand human language but also become able to speak it? Yeonbi burst into incredulous laughter. One day, she might suddenly place her fearsome forepaw on her shoulder and say.

—Hey, fire!

And in that mouth that had probably eaten dozens of people, she might puff on a pipe… Puff! Puff!

'Enough, there's no way! I'm just being overly sensitive.'

Yeonbi shook her head vigorously to shake off the delusion.

Grrr! Grrr! Grrrrrr! SSSSS!

Baekmuhu, who had been ignominiously struck on the behind with the black umbrella, protested fiercely. Her elegant and plump hindquarters could have been sliced off. The struck area still stung.

Grrrrrrrrrrr!

As if vowing revenge, Baekmuhu raised her forepaw and licked her claws.

"Ho? Still not giving up?"

Yeonbi said, pointing the tip of her black umbrella forward.

"Wouldn't it be better to put down the liquor you're holding so politely? I have something to ask."

But Baekmuhu, growling and crouched low, had no intention of stopping. She was crouching low not to retreat, but to leap forward. Baekmuhu's white fur, which had been lying flat, suddenly stood on end like needles. The moment Yeonbi thought Baekmuhu's erect white fur shone under the night sky, Baekmuhu became a white lightning bolt and flew towards Yeonbi. Her speed could only be described as 'swift.'

SWISH!

A white beam emanating from the tips of her claws instantly sliced Yeonbi's body.

"Oh dear!"

Yeonbi quickly leaned back, evading the blow. This surprise attack was so fast and powerful that it was beyond Yeonbi's expectations, causing her to react a moment too late. Her body, which bent backward like a supple willow branch, smoothly twisted, and as she brought her upper body upright, she launched herself forward.

The white tiger, with its white fur shining, landed where Yeonbi had been standing moments before.

Screech.

The next moment, the ancient trees to the left and right of the tiger's back fell, half-severed. The cut surfaces were as smooth as a mirror.

To cleave those ancient trees with its claws, not shatter them violently…

"Tch, sword energy? For a beast…"

The sharp blade of energy that emerged, taking form, came from the tips of its claws, but it undeniably possessed a chilling sharpness befitting the name 'sword energy.'

A beast using sword energy was unprecedented in the history of martial arts. Even in the old tales his mother told him at bedtime, there was no mention of beasts being able to wield energy. But thanks to one damned old man, the common sense of the world had been pitifully overturned.

"I should have guessed from the color of its eyes…"

Yeonbi gazed at Baekmuhu's golden eyes. She knew that this color was not its natural golden hue. It was artificial.

Making the black eyes of the tiger shine a brilliant gold was far more difficult than injuring or killing this house-sized white tiger. But there was exactly one human who could achieve that impossible feat. The work of that damned human, whose humanity was still questionable.

Yeonbi took a breath and spat out in a low voice.

"Damn Master!"

Her voice contained a mixture of many emotions.

To think that this tiger could wield energy so freely was her oversight.

"What on earth did you teach that tiger?"

Yeonbi couldn't help but protest, whether her master was present or not.

So, it was all her damned master's fault.