Fox Sister

The groans of the Crippled Bandit Boss echoed in my ears.

It seemed he was still barely clinging to life.

Horyeon, seeing this, snapped his fingers and said,

“Looks like we’ve got a survivor.

Let’s hear their story… slowly.”

In an instant, the scenery before me shifted.

The forest vanished without a trace, revealing the expansive interior of a Cave.

It wasn’t an illusion—our location had genuinely changed.

I understood it was Magical Art, but how it worked was beyond me.

Even Master had never used sorcery at this level.

“Sis…”

The voice of Younger Sister brought me back to reality.

She looked just as bewildered as I felt.

Regaining my composure, I scanned the surroundings.

There was a strange sense of life here.

On one side, Treasures of gold and silver were piled up like a mountain,

and on the other, various tools lay scattered about.

Horyeon strode through the space, picked up a vial, then approached the fallen bandit leader.

He placed the bottle to the man’s lips.

“If you want to live, drink.”

Despite being unconscious, the bandit greedily gulped down the liquid Horyeon offered.

Moments later, he fell into a deep sleep, ceasing all movement.

Only then did Horyeon turn to me.

“Why is a Taoist Priest traveling with a blood-drinking Yokai? Quite perplexing indeed.”

Horyeon spoke to me as if muttering to himself, his gaze piercing through me as though reading my very soul.

A wave of unease washed over me, but I tried to appear calm.

“What’s wrong with a human and a Yokai traveling together?” I asked calmly.

“And what does it matter to you?”

Horyeon narrowed his eyes at my words.

“Hmph, quite bold,” he remarked with a sly tone.

“It does concern me, you know. As the master of this Mountain, I can’t just sit idly by while such things happen under my nose, now can I?”

Horyeon took a step closer to me.

“So, care to explain why you’re traveling with a monster? Or perhaps…”

His eyes drifted to the bracelet on my wrist.

“…we should talk about your tail instead?”

Unclasping his arms, Horyeon stepped even closer.

It felt like a colossal mountain looming over me, its oppressive weight making it hard to breathe.

Before I could respond, Younger Sister darted forward, placing herself between us.

Horyeon’s lips curled into an amused smirk upon seeing her.

“What is your heavenly mandate, Taoist?”

At his words, memories surfaced of Third Brother mocking me long ago: “You defy your destiny!” That day, when I tore apart a Talisman to summon Seolhwa to this world, he had laughed bitterly.

But even Master had never explained what this so-called “heavenly mandate” meant, leaving me only with questions.

“What exactly *is* a heavenly mandate?” I asked.

Horyeon widened his eyes in shock, repeating my question.

“A Taoist who doesn’t know about mandates?”

His reaction was akin to someone discovering I didn’t know how to breathe. His sharp gaze pierced me like needles.

“How could a Taoist not understand their own mandate? This is preposterous!”

Though his voice carried disbelief, there was also a playful undertone.

Regaining his composure, Horyeon grabbed my shoulder.

“Are you really a Taoist?”

His voice was low and steady, yet tinged with an unsettling anxiety. Struggling to meet his gaze, I nodded slowly.

“Master only taught me Magical Arts and swordsmanship. He never mentioned anything about mandates.”

Upon hearing this, Horyeon appeared thoroughly flustered, losing his usual poise.

“A Taoist isn’t something you simply learn from someone else!”

His trembling voice betrayed his shock. Was I misunderstanding something fundamental? Or was there more to the Way than I’d been taught?

As Horyeon reached for my wrist with shaking hands, Younger Sister swiftly intervened, swatting his hand away.

“Don’t touch my sister!”

With an icy glare, Horyeon replied, “You’re nothing but a child.”

In the blink of an eye, he seized her neck and lifted her off the ground. Her legs kicked helplessly in the air. I hastily threw a Talisman imbued with my magical power, but it disintegrated into dust before reaching him.

The sight of the talisman burning away made me realize the vast gap between our powers. It reminded me of the overwhelming strength of Hwi or Seolhwa.

“You remind me of someone unpleasant,” Horyeon growled. “And it seems you’ll have to pay for eating humans within my territory.”

His voice dripped with cold menace. The pressure on Younger Sister’s throat intensified, causing her face to contort in pain. Breathing became visibly difficult for her.

Without thinking, I reached for the blue vial hidden in my robes—a last resort created after Master’s passing. Perhaps this would work against him.

“Let go of my sister!”

Summoning all my courage, I shouted and charged toward Horyeon.

But before I could reach him, an astonishing scene unfolded. Younger Sister’s Tail flicked violently, unleashing an aura far beyond anything I’d ever witnessed.

“I didn’t expect to see you again, Horyeon,” she said in a voice unmistakably her own, yet oddly foreign.

With a swift kick, she sent Horyeon flying like a ragdoll. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Casually brushing her hair aside, she cracked her neck with a satisfying pop.

“Well, guess I woke up from my long slumber thanks to you. Not bad.”

Her casual demeanor left me utterly confused.

Emerging from the dust cloud, Horyeon wiped himself off and glared sharply.

“I thought you died buried in Yeowu-gol. Never imagined you’d possess some girl’s body, Ryeong.”

His voice carried both surprise and nostalgia, accompanied by a mischievous grin.

Seeing her now, I instinctively recognized her as the 10,000-year-old Fox Yokai Father had once contracted, as mentioned by Third Brother.

Ryeong smiled coldly.

“Long time no smell. Your fur hasn’t changed much.”

With a snap of her fingers, dark energy shot out from the ground like spider webs, enveloping Horyeon. Though he leaped back quickly, a trickle of blood escaped his leg.

“Still the same old tricks,” Horyeon muttered, shattering the dark energy with a single punch. The force of his blow shook the entire cave, sending boulders crashing down toward me.

I stumbled backward, tripping over a rock and falling. Just as I was about to be crushed, Younger Sister dashed forward and shielded me. With a dull thud, the boulder that had been heading for me was hurled aside.

From Ryeong’s mouth came Younger Sister’s voice.

“Is my little sister really so precious to you? Even though I’m not fully revived yet, you dare oppose me?”

Ryeong seemed flustered, patting down her borrowed body as if unsure of its limits. Her baffled expression was almost comical.

Horyeon chuckled.

“The great Ryeong letting herself be controlled by some random girl? What a sight!”

Ryeong’s aura flickered unstably, her face contorted in apparent struggle.

“This body comes at too high a cost…”

With a sigh, she closed her eyes and went still.

Panicking, I checked Younger Sister’s pulse. Thankfully, her breathing and heartbeat were steady, bringing me immense relief.

But then footsteps behind me put me on edge again. Just as I prepared to throw the blue vial, Horyeon spoke.

“That’s enough. I have no intention of fighting anymore.”

Looking somewhat deflated, Horyeon suddenly remembered something and rushed to where the bandit leader lay.

“Good thing he’s alive. I nearly wasted precious medicine on him.”

Despite the collapsing cave, the bandit leader seemed unharmed. Confirming this, Horyeon turned back to me. Though he’d claimed he wouldn’t fight, I still held Younger Sister protectively, wary of his earlier aggression.

“I get why you’re uneasy, but do you plan to stay here forever? There’s a bed deeper inside the cave. Come along.”

Though hesitant, I realized escaping with Younger Sister in her current state would be impossible. Plus, I wanted answers about mandates and Ryeong. So, carefully cradling Younger Sister, I followed Horyeon as he gently carried the bandit leader further into the cave.

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