[BotB] Chapter 23

However, the black eagle ultimately did not eat Dohwi and instead left him in a remote place thousands of miles from Kunlun Mountains. 

Abandoned alone in a place without his parents before he could even open his eyes, it was perhaps a blessing that it was far enough away that his brother could not follow him. 

Or perhaps, it was fate that he would meet Sohwa. 

Dohwi remembered the day he was picked up by her vividly. 

"What's this? It looks cute." 

She had said that without even smelling the strange animal she picked up. 

"This one's a wild cat. It's obvious." 

How dare she compare him to such a thing? He was outraged and decided he would definitely bite her to death once he saw her face. But even if he was a nearly immortal creature close to the divine, Dohwi was still in a newborn state, and it took him days to open his eyes. 

When he finally managed to lift his eyelids, it was broad daylight, the sun pouring down. Sohwa was holding him against her chest, turned away from the sun, tickling his neck as she laughed joyously. 

"Golden eyes, how cute." 

Her lips, redder than ripe raspberries, her face as white as silk, and her black hair tied with a ribbon were the first things that struck him. 

At first, he thought he was dealing with something unknown. 

She giggled to herself as she pursed and unpursed those small lips. 

"Why are you so small, why are your eyes golden, are you a wild cat? But why do you have so many black stripes? Can you see me?" She asked herself all sorts of questions and answered them, her curiosity seeming quite childlike. 

Then, he should have recognized her. 

That mischievous fox with a pure, girlish smile that could uplift and unsettle a golden beast's heart. 

"Why do you keep growing? Weren't you already fully grown?" 

What folly to talk to him this way when she should see that even his paw was bigger than her. 

Shapeshifting spirits often assume human forms through the power of their true essence. If their true form was robust and healthy, so was their human guise, and if they were frail and stunted, their human appearance would reflect that. 

What was this tiny creature that dared to belittle him? 

A nimble and cheeky creature that seemed to be a raccoon, eating nothing but berries like mulberries and raspberries. 

But upon transforming, it was a strangely shaped creature of indeterminate identity. 

Its silky body shimmered silver, and its tail and paws were black. Its ears were tipped with just a hint of black.

A sleek sheen flowed through its fur, suggesting the creature might be a white marten, but upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a fox. Its size was small enough to be mistaken, and it was prone to fits of skittishness. Easily startled, easily offended, and equally quick to laughter, Sohwa appeared quite foolish and seemingly dim-witted at first glance.

"It must be why it was taken in and raised," she thought. 

Would anyone else dare to keep a fearsome tiger, plotting when to devour its benefactor, as a cute companion? Such a thought seemed foolish. 

Fortunately for this fox, it had been ostracized from its pack, leaving no one to enlighten it about its precarious situation. 

Moreover, as is often the case with those cast out, Sohwa was particularly clumsy. For a fox, she was small, almost the size of a weasel, often stumbled, and her bite was hardly painful, suggesting her teeth had not fully developed. Naturally, her hunting skills were lackluster. 

Such a creature was bound to perish soon. 

Dohwi, on the other hand, had real intentions of devouring Sohwa. Initially, that was his plan, being a thankless and vicious tiger, eagerly awaiting the day his teeth would grow strong enough to feast on the fox. 

Nonetheless, he realized that this foolish fox would likely fall prey to another before he had the chance to grow. 

The fox's body seemingly exuded a honeyed scent, and its flesh was more tender than that of a young tiger, inciting salivation at mere sight. 

Dohwi, with an ego forged from his status as a mountain lord, found it unthinkable to let his marked prey slip away. Despite his struggling frame, he followed Sohwa relentlessly. 

As he grew heavier, the delicate fox attempted to distance herself, claiming he was too burdensome to accompany her. 

"Impossible. You're too heavy for me to carry along now." 

Despite his small size, the burden must have felt significant for her slight frame. 

Barely toddling, Dohwi persisted in staying by Sohwa's side, which meant he had to run to keep up. 

"How far do you plan to follow me with those fluffy paws? The path is treacherous," she chided.