Baek Dong-pal wanted to make a request to the Blood Lion, but he found himself unable to do it because he didn’t know where to do it. Mao Liang and Baek Dong-pal met up, however, having seemed to know each other. In the process, Baek Dong-pal must have secretly told Mao Liang about the request. Baek opens up about his request, something that only the Blood Lion can solve.
‘Is this because it’s such a difficult request?’
Baek Dong-pal greeted him warmly at the rally that arrived with curiosity. In the past, when he met a Blood Lion, he would easily scurry away, but these days, there were more and more friendly faces. That he could recognize. “Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you for a while now.”
“I heard from Mao Liang, do you have anything to ask for?”
“Mao Liang? Ah! You are talking about Shinto. It was the first time I heard that his name was Mao Liang.”
A name like Mao Liang was not even a secret. “I don’t know what kind of request it is, but please don’t make use of your hair.”
“Yes? What are you talking about all of a sudden…?” He felt confused.
“Ah, anyway, is your request difficult?”
“Of course. That’s why I sought out the Blood Lions, and I find that the request fee is a whopping 3,000 nyang. So, minus my commission and Mao Liang’s introduction fee…”
“Wait just a moment!”
“What, why?”
“If I let you finish your words, you’d be telling me a lie. So I’m giving you one more chance. Please tell me the request fee.” Do Pyeong-su’s eyes, looking at him, made it impossible to tell a lie twice.
“…It’s five thousand nyang.”
“Then your commission and Mao Liang’s son also get an introduction fee?”
“Since Mu Yeong-gwi sent the old man all the way here, of course I should give it to him.”
“Then, if you take out a thousand nyang of this and that, four thousand nyang will be my share.”
Upon hearing this, Baek Dong-pal wept. “No, why are you so suddenly greedy for money? You weren’t interested in things like money, did you?”
“As I lived my life, I realized that without money going on with my days would be inconvenient.”
‘Damn it! I woke up to lust. To anger!’
“All right.” Baek Dong-pal cut the ticket on the spot and presented it to Do Pyeong-su. “Are you going to give them all in advance?”
“I know it’ll be successful, so do I really need to see you twice?”
“I’m fine and I’m not bothered by this at all.”
Only after the money was exchanged did they talk about the request. “You can take someone from Shanxi to Namkunshan in Gansu.”
“Are you going to take the little kid along with you? That last time… No, this is quite similar to the quest Minachal and Cheoneumgui did, right?”
“Yes, that is right.”
“Did you say that the shaman where they plan on visiting?”
“I heard that.”
“The reason for this is?”
“They didn’t tell me, so I don’t know. The client did not give reasons and instead raised the amount. If you’re an old man, don’t you stop knowing it, or don’t know it?”
“You don’t need to kill anyone, do you?”
“Yes? Do you think Muyeonggwido would be reluctant to kill?”
“To make a payment, then no.”
Baek Dong-pal took this as a joke. “If you take a child to Namgonsan, Gansuseong, it is at the choice of the elderly to make a mountain of corpses from them, or to just let them wander around.”
“Does the client know who we are?”
“How dare I reveal the identities of the Blood Wind Lions? I am not a man who knows how to waste his life.”
“You have a bit of an eye. If I had said it carelessly, my tongue would have been pulled out. Have you ever heard of that type of punishment before?”
Baek Dong-pal, who usually had a hyperactive imagination. shook his body and made an oath that he would never speak out five times. ‘Did you say that Geum Hong just ran in a straight line? I can do the same.’
It wasn’t difficult to make the quest a success. It was just annoying having to go a long way with a child.
“Where is the boy in Shanxi?”
After hearing the detailed location from Baek Dong-pal, Do Pyeong-su set off for Shanxi.
* * *
He didn’t know it would be so useful for them to wander around the middle of the garden to find their master Hwa Jeok-san. As he searched for Hwa Jeok-san, he heard other miscellaneous news as well. Among the dogs, there were often beasts that could only be found in folk tales or myths.
Most of them were absurd things like nine-tailed foxes and bihos, but sometimes even stellar creatures like blood men caught on in rumors. It was useless at the time, but it was also valuable information that could not be bought even with thousands of gold now when one needed to obtain an elixir.
In particular, the inner end and gallbladder of hyeolwoong had tremendous firepower, so if an ordinary person just took it, their intestines would melt, and they would remain as a wrinkled corpse. Seok-san now needed an elixir with such strong fire.
This was because Jeon Yeong Hong went to look for ice crystals. In order to neutralize the ice crystal, which had the strongest yin in the world, an elixir of a polar yang keeper such as ginseng or hyeolho was essential. Spiritual creatures did not leave the place once they had settled, except under special circumstances. That was why they were looking around in this particular location.
“Selling at cheap prices over here! Buy today and get one for every one!”
“It is not a medicine that comes every day! Grab this one! At night, it lights up every time…!”
The market place was so noisy and the streets were full of people. Seo Seok-san bumped into people and headed to the Hunter Street. The reason it was named Hunter Street was because there were many shops where hunters could sell off the animals they hunt. The closer he got, the more blood and the smell of beasts vibrated. More and more people were dressed in tiger skins, and soon there came a place where only hunters were gathered around.
Seo Seok-san entered the largest restaurant in the middle of Hunter Street. He saw three or three hunters equipped with hunting tools gathering and chatting. He, who looked around, went to a place where five middle-aged people gathered and took his seat.
The five hunters who were chatting turned their gazes to Seo Seok-san. “Who are you?”
Seok-san’s outfit was far different from that of a hunter’s. “Rumors have been circulating for ten years that hyeolwoong have appeared in the nearby Cheon Seoksan Mountain.”
The hunters had a smirk on their lips. “You seem to be a Moorim, but don’t even think about going to Saji for nothing. There are not one or two Muslims who have died doing that.”
In fact, the inner end and gallbladder of hyeolwoong were not very good elixir to promote martial arts. However, if one could take it with an elixir that matched their compatibility, it would soon transform into a treasure under the heavens at once. “I will worry about my own death, so you only need to find the hyeolwoong. If you catch a hyeolwoong, I will give you everything except the inner altar and gallbladder.”
While those two were of the greatest value, the hides and meats were also mouth-watering to hunters. “If it doesn’t matter if you meet a hyeolwoong and face death, it also doesn’t matter how many times it will anger me, right?”
King Sebang, one of the hunters present, couldn’t resist. He slowly moved towards Seo Seok-san.
“Ah, I feel quite thirsty after saying all those words.”
At this, the glass remained floating, and the kettle then floated into the air and filled the cup with tea. Seo Seok-san, who grabbed the cup and shook his head, then said, “If you don’t like it, I can go find another hunter.”
The five hunters looked at Seok-san with sullen expressions and then turned their gazes to each other’s faces. Anyone who could lift a cup and kettle without touching it seemed unlikely that he could be quite scary. If they were to get into a fight with Seo Seok-san, there was little to no chance that they can get him injured.
“Come on, let’s go!”
The five hunters eventually became the guides of Seoksan Mountain. The topography of Cheon Seoksan was steep, and its peaks were always so high that it was always covered with clouds. Although many hunters and herbalists came and went, most did not go over the halfway point.
This was because Cheon Seoksan was a dangerous place even for experienced people as they get closer to the top of the mountain. The skill of mountain climbing of seasoned hunters was quite good, but from the standpoint of Seo Seok-san, it was quite frustrating.
After two breaks in the middle, they had barely crossed the ridge. As they passed a place called Virgin Rock, the nervous expression on the faces of the hunters grew stronger. “From now on, you have to be careful. It is a place inhabited not only by blood men but also by all kinds of wild beasts.”
There were certainly signs of things like tigers, leopards, and wolves nearby. “Don’t worry, let’s go quickly. Whatever beast you encounter, I will protect you. You focus only on finding traces of the hyeolwoong.”
Even if Seo Seok-san said so, the hunters were not the type of people that easily believed in others. They were still cautious, but there was nothing Seo Seok-san could do. Seoksan Mountain could recognize the presence of beasts that were nearby, but it was because hunters were also experts in discovering traces of the hyeolwoong.
“It is said that hyeolwoong lives near the top of Cheon Seoksan. Because of their wide range of activity, they can sometimes be found at the bottom of the hill, but usually, you can only meet them when you are close to the summit.”
Ooh! The hunters’ bodies suddenly stiffened at the sound of a tiger’s roar from somewhere. Such a roar was not easily and commonly heard.
Except for fighting, most tigers were usually silent movers. “Does this sound like a fight?”
Because the area of activity of the tiger was wide, he sometimes encountered other tigers or wild beasts. However, it was not so easy to meet a beast comparable to a tiger. The roar of the tiger disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
“Is it strange? No matter what kind of beast the opponent is, the fight can’t end so quickly, right?”
Only one thing was engraved on their heads: hyeolwoong.
“Let’s go to where we heard the roar.”
One of the hunters took the lead, and the rest followed. After moving about two hundred sheets of rugged, roadless mountain, hunters began to search for traces. “Is this tiger poop?”
It was quite moist and smelled badly. Seok-san raised the sensation of attention to the highest level. There was no tiger within a radius of three hundred, so he could have hung one of the balls. However, Seo Seok-san’s prediction came true, much to his disappointment.
‘This is invalid. A dead tiger is not a tiger.’
While Seo Seok-san swore inwardly, the hunters looked at the tiger. “What is this? I think he died in one shot?”
“Yeah. Half of his face was blown away, and there are no other wounds.”
The only beast that can kill a tiger like that was indeed a hyeolwoong.
“It’s not far away. Let’s catch it quickly.” At Seo Seok-san’s words, the hunters began to look at him as if he was truly crazy.
Seo Seok-san felt frustrated, but he was not sure of the situation yet, so he had no choice but to endure. “These footprints are fresh.”
Seok-san raised his attention again and looked around. As it was a place where the forest was thick and food was abundant, the presence and breathing of numerous animals were felt.
‘There are some big guys present in these areas.’
It was not known for sure if there were hyeolwoong hiding among the dogs, and if so, what kind they were.
“This is it.” The hunters walked towards the top of the mountain. Seo Seok-san followed closely behind them. If a person heavier than a tiger was detected, it would automatically be a hyeolwoong. And in just half an hour, he detected such a sign.