[BotB] Chapter 37

"Right. Did you see that mansion down there?" asked the first man. 

Sohwa tentatively lifted her head. Her beautiful appearance—with hair like ebony, moist doe-like eyes, red lips, and a long, elegant neck—might have made one think of a fairy from the moon. 

The hunter, his eyes wide, continued with exaggerated gestures like a storyteller. 

"That, that house might be inhabited by a nine-tailed fox. The courtyard was clean, and the kitchen was still warm. Even as a tiger hunter, I was too scared to ask 'Who's there?' and I ran away quickly!" 

"You should head down quickly too," he advised. 

Looking around, Sohwa saw about a dozen men, each with a long matchlock gun on his back and wearing rough fur clothing. They all had a stature like warriors, well over six feet tall, but with unkempt beards and rugged appearances, they were a stark contrast to the refined face of someone like Dohwi, who resembled a courtesan. 

These were the Chakhogun, the tiger hunters sent by the government. 

"Are you currently hunting tigers?" Sohwa inquired. 

"Yes," came the reply. 

The shock of Miho's death was still fresh, and Sohwa's heart was pounding as sweat trickled down her face. 

'It's them. They are the ones!' 

Flames sparked in her eyes as she tightly clutched the hem of her skirt. 

"There's a vicious tiger around here that's been attacking people. That's why we were sent by the authorities." 

"Are you from the village down the mountain?" one of the men asked Sohwa. 

She slowly nodded, and one of the men slapped his fist as if understanding. 

"That's why you were lost on these mountain paths! Come on, let's go down. You can guide us to the village." 

The men took the lead, and after a moment's hesitation, Sohwa began to walk with determined steps, on a path she had never taken before in her twenty years living in these mountains. 

"We should hurry before it gets dark. I don't want to stay in these mountains a moment longer." 

"Just follow me," she said. 

Although she didn't understand why these fearsome tiger hunters were retreating without a tiger, she was immensely relieved. 

'I must not let Dohwi come across them.' 

If he were shot by their guns, he might die. 

No matter how agile, it was impossible to dodge bullets from a dozen hunters. Even a deity couldn't manage that. 

"Hem, I've been around the country with my Chakhogun badge, but I've never seen a mountain like this," one of the hunters remarked. 

As the men continued to boast about their tiger hunting, the image started to form in Sohwa's mind. 

A great tiger, dodging and weaving, only to be surrounded and shot by a dozen skilled hunters. The tiger's blood would soak the earth, and its paws would scrape the ground before slowly stretching out. The hunters would laugh heartily, proud of the precious tiger skin they'd obtained... 

Soon, tears glistened in Sohwa's eyes. Whether from witnessing Miho's death or the vividness of her imagination, the scene before her was unbearably real. 'If Dohwi dies, I can't live either! I won't live!' The clenched fist trembled violently. Sohwa tried to feign courage, but being naturally faint-hearted, she eventually let out a small sob. Moreover, she could not be certain about what exactly was in the cave, as she hadn't dared to move since the first shocking glimpse of 'it'. 

She had never ventured alone into this place before. Now, at the edge of a cliff above the cave, she was leading the hunters. 

Before her, the image of a tiger bleeding to death kept flickering in her mind, and she couldn't even hear what the men behind her were saying. 

The hunters, who had been following Sohwa quietly, murmured among themselves. 

"I've never seen anything like it in my twenty years of hunting," one said. 

"Nor have I ever seen claw marks that high up," another added. 

As specialized tiger hunters, they were familiar with the signs left by tigers. In this Mount Ihwang, every tree that met their eyes bore deep claw marks at their very tops, as if a ghost had slashed them. 

These marks were from a tiger stretching on its hind legs and raking the trees with its front paws. 

"How enormous must it be to leave claw marks at the top of a tree?" one hunter wondered. 

"At least twelve feet long, I'd say," another estimated with a sigh. 

Tigers, particularly when in heat, mark their territory often, and the extent of the marks suggested a very sensitive and aggressive animal. Such a creature must not be disturbed. 

"They've been holding rites up at that hermitage; surely this is no ordinary tiger, but a guardian spirit," one hunter surmised. 

"Right. If we disturb it, a great calamity will befall us. I'll make sure to report this to the authorities," another agreed.