Book 22 Chapter 20

The Recollections of Baekmuhu

-Animal Experiments in Hell

Though it may be hard to believe now, this pure white tiger, now known as Baekmuhu and reigning over Amisan, was once a very weak cub. She too had a time when she was a delicate young girl. Her body was not large, nor was she particularly strong. And most importantly, she was female. The world of tigers was a world of males. Within it, the female Baekmuhu could only be scorned. In a world of the strong preying on the weak, a weak female was merely a plaything or a servant, providing entertainment and food for the idle males.

It was the job of this pitiful female white tiger to procure dinner for the males. The lazy males wouldn't budge from their cave. They believed that because they were strong, everything was permissible and forgivable. In such a world, she, a female, could only be looked down upon. At that time, she could have been called Baekmyo instead of Baekmuhu.

One day, on that day as well, this weak and frail—though this is a relative perspective—female white tiger set out to hunt for food to fill the bellies of the lazy males. Fortunately, she found prey not long after. It was an old man with snow-white hair and a white beard. However, the quality and color of his fur were far superior to hers. Her dazzlingly white fur was one of her few sources of pride. The old man held a liquor bottle in his right hand. Though he looked a bit tough with age, his flesh surprisingly appeared substantial. Meat pickled in liquor would surely be tender. Even if only scraps were left for her.

The misfortune was that the old man with white hair and a white beard was, by human standards, a human who significantly deviated from the norm. Furthermore, as if that wasn't enough, the old man was very bored at that moment, having nothing to do. However, no matter how bored he was, he was not so benevolent as to let a beast that charged at him with predatory intent go unpunished.

With his fiendish personality, the old man had no intention of letting a beast that charged at him to be his dinner go. Resentment and enmity would always be multiplied a hundredfold. That was the old man's creed. It didn't matter if it was male or female. An enemy to be eliminated! That was sufficient definition for the opponent. That day, this female white tiger was utterly thrashed.

"You picked the wrong opponent!"

The old man uttered a single sentence in an emotionless voice and then raised his hand.

"Fur as white as snow. It would sell for a very high price…"

The old man stopped his raised hand abruptly. Then, he carefully examined the white tiger from head to toe, stroked its fur, touched it, pulled it, and held it up to the sunlight. A faint hint of admiration appeared in the old man's eyes. What in the world did this eccentric old man want? The question was soon answered. The old man suddenly asked,

"Oh, such white fur. What's your secret to maintaining it?"

Hmm, I thought there was no fur that surpassed my 'Baek-ah's'… The old man's voice carried a hint of admiration and slight jealousy.

She felt a little proud. She too took pride in her white fur. Of course, it was thanks to thorough management with a special secret method. As a naturally grown animal fully exposed to wind and rain, even more meticulous care was needed. This old man was the first male to acknowledge her strenuous efforts. Unlike the barbaric and vulgar males who would leave it even if splashed with the prey's red blood, letting the rain wash away the stains. However, she couldn't continue to be pleased. She immediately felt dejected as she thought that the old man would surely skin her beautiful fur and turn it into leather. Then the old man spoke again,

"I could skin it, but that would be too much of a waste. Alright. Your action of attacking an elder is egregious, but I will specially bestow my benevolence upon you. If you tell me the secret to managing that fur, I will spare your life!"

The old man was saying that this was the only way to survive from the brink of death. There was no need to understand human words for something like that. She quickly nodded her head. After all, one needs to be alive to have fur. There was no joy in leaving behind one's skin after death. What tiger, not a pervert, would be overjoyed to have its skin displayed for humans to feast their eyes on? It was truly a regrettable tragedy for her secret, special white fur bleaching management technique to fall into the hands of another, but if it meant saving her life, it was not a losing deal.

"Oh, you agree? How clever for a beast."

The old man nodded his head with satisfaction.

"Hmm, what to do? It seems to be damaged to the bone. The internal organs are also a mess… Oh dear, this is troublesome. I did try to be gentle… Hehe, how did it get this way?"

The culprit was right in front of him, but with her wild instincts, she dared not answer the question.

"You know how to handle yourself."

The old man seemed to like her even more.

"Hmm, let's see… For a beast, should I place it here in the center of the palm…?"

The old man moved his palm around, pressing various spots on her abdomen. He seemed to be looking for a specific location.

"The probability is fifty-fifty… but it's better to try than not. If you die, I won't be able to find out the beauty management secret… That would be troublesome."

The old man's hand, placed on what seemed to be the center of her body, began to glow with auspicious golden light. She didn't know it then, but that was the 'Un-gong-yo-sang-beop' (운공요상법), using one's internal energy to heal the opponent's wounds. However, it was probably the first time in martial arts history that it was performed on a beast like her. And that gamble succeeded. Thus, she managed to return from the brink of death. Then, the old man who saved her life said this:

"Huh? It works?"

He seemed to have been surprised himself. However, for her, who had barely returned from the threshold of death, there was a side effect.

"Hmm, I didn't expect the color of the pupils to turn golden too…"

This was also unexpected for the old man. It was a result of injecting a considerable amount of internal energy to heal the wound. Injecting one's lifeblood, internal energy, into a fierce beast that attacked him. And all to find out a beauty management method. It should be called a peculiar act, not just an eccentric one. But the old man's peculiar acts didn't end there.

The old man, who was deeply bored and listless, came up with a revolutionary and groundbreaking idea. Upon proving that the energy accumulated by humans could also affect beasts, the old man had the following thought:

"Huh? It works? How strange. Hmm, then perhaps tigers can also accumulate energy?"

Up until then, no one knew where a tiger's danjeon (단전), the center of internal energy, was located.

"But if you think about it, humans and tigers are both animals, aren't they?"

The difference, the old man thought, was simply whether one could perceive energy or not. After all, energy is the vital force filling nature. It's just that humans can artificially accumulate and control it. Moreover, in the old man's eyes, she seemed remarkably intelligent for a beast, so he thought he could teach her. He was exceptionally bored. From that day on, the old man began his experiment.

The animal experiment on a giant white tiger commenced. Naturally, the test subject was this pitiful and pathetic (?) female white tiger. She already had the powerful energy given by the old man during the Un-gong-yo-sang flowing meticulously through her limbs.

All the old man had to do was to help her circulate it through her energy meridians so she could perceive that energy. He couldn't teach her with words, but he could make her feel it through actions. However, the problem was that the locations of a tiger's blood meridians and a human's blood meridians were quite different. The old man decided to poke around.

To ascertain the effect of each acupoint, he would poke them with a needle or use his finger to press them as if performing acupoint massage, examining the hypothetical energy meridians. He truly had nothing to do and was incredibly bored, which made such tasks possible. Sometimes, he would accidentally poke the wrong acupoint, causing her limbs to twist. It was only pitiful for the white tiger, who couldn't resist at all. But the old man did not give up. He believed that failure was the mother of success. The white tiger wanted to scream "Just give up already!" but to the master's ears, it only sounded like a noisy roar. Thus, the experiment continued without pause, even amidst endless failures.

And finally, after long trial and error, this speechless beast finally began to feel the presence of energy circulating within her body and to gather it in one place. She succeeded in accumulating energy in an arbitrary danjeon located somewhere within her body. It was precisely on the ten-thousandth attempt.

For the old man, who was incredibly bored, the ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine failures were not failures, but merely steps towards the ten-thousandth success. And it was an excellent way to pass the time. One might wonder if he really attempted it ten thousand times, but that was the undeniable truth.

"Oh, only succeeding on the ten-thousandth attempt is a bit disappointing!"

When the experiment finally succeeded, the words from the old man's mouth were not exclamations of joy, but regret that his further amusement had run out. Hearing this, she was terrified and felt grateful that the experiment had ended after ten thousand attempts. Otherwise, the experiment would have continued for twenty thousand or thirty thousand attempts.

When one reaches a certain level of attainment, some are satisfied, while others dream of higher places.

"Geng Shang Yi Ceng Lou!" (更上一層樓 - To climb another floor higher!)

To ascend further, one needed to build the tower another floor higher. And the old man, unfortunately for her, was the latter. After being disappointed (?) by the successful solidification of her energy, the old man, who had been dejected, bored, and listless for several days, had a brilliant idea flash through his mind like a shooting star.

'To gather energy in the danjeon but not use it, how truly wasteful!'

Once one possesses any ability, it only has meaning if it is used. If one gathers it but doesn't use it, it's as good as not having it. Just as one must know how to spend money, not just save it, infinite possibilities are meaningless if they are not realized. Thus, the old man's contemplation began on how to utilize the energy accumulated in her danjeon. However, the old man preferred to try various things and go through the process of failure—amusement—step by step—slowly and surely from the white tiger's perspective—rather than just thinking with his head.

"Hmm, naturally, if it's a tiger, it would be 'Hojo' (호조)? There are even martial arts techniques based on it."

No matter how he thought about it, there was nothing beyond that. It was impossible for a tiger to fight with a sword or spear. Moreover, tigers possessed naturally endowed weapons. Those were their sharp teeth and claws. The primary goal was to form sword energy (검기) on their claws.

"Good! I have a new goal. Good! Excellent!"

Most importantly, it was the fact that he had found a means to pass the time again. Burning with more progressive academic fervor, the old man embarked on a new experiment. The ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine failures that awaited him were merely a welcome hassle to the bored old man. And the result was exactly what Yeonbi was seeing now.

Once the foundation was laid, the internal energy began to accumulate and strengthen rapidly. Furthermore, since she could use Hojo by manipulating her energy, her speed also greatly increased. So, out of curiosity, he began teaching her qinggong (경공) as well. After that, the wind began to chase after her. Originally faster than words, she became even faster, and from then on, people who witnessed her from afar began to call her the White Lightning Flash. And then, she defeated all the males and became the ruler of Amisan. From then on, the males had to bring her their evening meals. And since then, she has reigned as the empress of Amisan's beasts.

"Just because you can use sword energy now, don't get cocky. You might get into big trouble."

Yeonbi said in a quiet voice, holding the black umbrella like a sword.

"I'll face you a little more seriously now."

The game was over. Yeonbi's eyes said so.

Grrrrr!

Baekmuhu growled low and menacingly. She crouched down again. She possessed the natural swiftness and brute strength bestowed by nature. With the ability to wield energy, defeat was impossible for her.

Khaaaaaa!

The white aura emanating from Baekmuhu's entire body intensified. Unleashing the power she had accumulated, Baekmuhu charged.

Four streams of sword energy sprouted from Hojo, flying to rip Yeonbi's body apart. Yeonbi hastily raised her umbrella, receiving that fearsome blow head-on.

Bang!

An immense force collided, raising a cloud of dust. Baekmuhu harbored no doubt that her strike had been successful. But that was a mistaken belief. Baekmuhu's claws were now blocked by Yeonbi's black umbrella. Her shining claws failed to pierce Yeonbi's defense.

"This Hyeoncheon Eunrin (현천은린) is a specially made item, so it's much tougher than you think."

Yeonbi laughed. Seeing that, Baekmuhu's tail stiffened.

"Well then, it's time to pay the price for your failure, isn't it?"

Before Baekmuhu could even regroup, Yeonbi was already in the preparatory stance for her next move.

Sam Bok Gu Ta San (三伏狗打傘) Full Power Activation!

Ultimate Annihilation Technique

Ba-ko-pae-go-mak-pae-go-dop (覇拷稗苦膜敗叩).

"Bash!"

The Hyeoncheon Eunrin turned into a black lightning flash and surged towards Baekmuhu's entire body. It was a terrifying speed, a terrifying pace.

Baa-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba! Tush! Tush! Baa-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba! Paa-paa-paa-paa! Teu-hat! Tat-tat-tat! Puck-puck-puck!

This technique was a ruthless and merciless ultimate annihilation technique that meant to strike powerfully, beat painfully, and kick and pound endlessly. There was no escaping this deadly onslaught, which rained down incessantly like a shower.

Paak! Pack!

This was the first time Baekmuhu had seen stars so close.

She saw a beautiful riverbank blooming with yellow flowers. Someone was beckoning to her from the other side. The years she had passed began to flash by her side like a phantom horse (주마등).