Chapter 71

"A tiger! It's a tiger! Help! A mad tiger has appeared!"

A massive white tiger, having descended from some unknown mountainside, was rampaging through the streets of Chang'an in broad daylight. Its body was as large as a house, and its eyes flashed with a terrifying light. It had already harmed several people, as evidenced by the red blood staining its muzzle and claws.

"This is insane!"

Wi Je-ho cursed as he drew his sword. Cheong-ra, quickly coming to his senses, also drew his sword and rushed at the tiger.

"Aaargh!"

An old man who had been fleeing but was too slow to escape in time screamed and fell backward. As the tiger roared loudly and charged, the old man thought he was going to die and squeezed his eyes shut. But soon, a shouting voice was heard.

"Old man, run away quickly!"

When the old man opened his eyes, someone was blocking the tiger in front of him. He crawled away on the ground, tears streaming down his face, and finally managed to run to safety. Only after seeing the old man escape to a safe distance did Cheong-ra withdraw his sword, which he had been barely holding back the tiger with, and step back. Though his wrists ached from the tremendous force, he had no time to worry about that.

Fortunately, as Wi Je-ho continued to attack, the tiger's attention shifted elsewhere. Wi Je-ho, now facing off against the tiger after Cheong-ra had barely escaped, said in disbelief,

"Why doesn't this beast flinch at all when attacked? It's not like a mere animal could have mastered the Diamond Body technique."

While Cheong-ra was protecting the old man, Wi Je-ho hadn't been idle either, slashing the tiger's flank repeatedly with his sword. However, unlike cutting through normal animal hide, the sword barely penetrated, and even though dark red blood was flowing, the tiger didn't seem to feel any pain.

It was more than just suspicious, but with the tiger glaring and growling fiercely, there was no time to ponder such things.

As Wi Je-ho and Cheong-ra faced off against the tiger, government troops belatedly arrived in a hurry. However, upon seeing the enormous tiger, they hesitated and then fled, even dropping their weapons. Cheong-ra inwardly clicked his tongue in disbelief. Moreover, the appearance of the troops only served to needlessly provoke the tiger.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Cheong-ra slashed at the tiger's head as it tried to chase after the fleeing troops. But like Wi Je-ho before, his sword didn't penetrate properly. Left with no choice, he infused his sword with sword energy and struck again, finally managing to cut into the tiger. The tiger, its face slashed diagonally, immediately retaliated by swinging its front paw.

"Ugh..."

Cheong-ra, who had narrowly avoided the sharp claws, finally couldn't hold back his nausea. Normally, animals have a basic odor. But the smell emanating from this tiger was beyond that, a truly terrible stench. It was like the smell of a corpse. Unable to hold his breath or cover his nose during the battle, it was torturous.

Though it looked fine on the outside, why was it giving off such a smell?

Amidst his doubts, he endured the stench and continued to attack in coordination with Wi Je-ho. The tiger persisted tenaciously, but finally succumbed to the combined attacks of other martial artists who had joined late. Even after confirming the tiger's death, people couldn't easily approach. The martial artists murmured among themselves.

"Why does it smell so terribly?"

"No matter how you look at it, isn't this a spirit beast? A white tiger of this size..."

Wi Je-ho, covering his nose with his sleeve, approached the dead tiger without showing any fear. Cheong-ra, also covering his mouth and nose, frowned as he stood there. As the martial artists said, this tiger looked like a spirit beast, but for some reason, it didn't feel like one. Even the bear that had attacked Dragon Spring, though its aura was no less terrifying than this tiger's, didn't have such a repulsive aspect.

This tiger, however, exuded a strange feeling in many ways. Though large in size, various parts of its body seemed oddly twisted, its eyes were red, and the blood that had flowed was black. Wi Je-ho carefully examined the dead tiger and then brought over a spear that the government troops had dropped.

The moment the spear tip pried open the tiger's mouth, Cheong-ra squeezed his eyes shut. The tiger's mouth was full of writhing maggots.

***

"Is it Beauty's hobby to go around throwing away his body?"

When Cheong-ra returned in tattered clothes after fighting the mad tiger on what was supposed to be a quick trip to send a letter to his sect, Dang Ran-yeong, who had been leisurely drinking tea in the backyard, frowned and scolded him. Today, he was wearing a luxurious red light armor, looking just like a man about to get married.

Cheong-ra froze on the spot. Though Dang Ran-yeong had said he would call him "Beauty," Cheong-ra thought he would only do so when they were alone. He didn't expect him to use it in front of Wi Je-ho like this. Wi Je-ho glanced at Cheong-ra once but said nothing, which made Cheong-ra even more uncomfortable.

"Saying I'm throwing away my body sounds too strange. And call me Young Master Baek."

Cheong-ra said urgently in a low voice, but seeing the pleased look on Dang Ran-yeong's face, it didn't seem like he would change the way he addressed him.

Regardless, Wi Je-ho let out a tired sigh and plopped down in front of Dang Ran-yeong. At his gesture, the quick-witted Yeo-jin brought out cold tea for two. Apparently thirsty from the earlier fight, Wi Je-ho gulped down the tea in one go. Dang Ran-yeong put down his teacup and asked,

"I heard a mad tiger appeared in the streets. I suppose you two dealt with it on your way back."

"Yes. If it weren't for me and Cheong-ra, several people would have died. But it wasn't just a mad tiger. It was like a spirit beast. The authorities took it away, so you should check it out later. It's suspicious."

"I've already sent someone, so they should confirm and return soon. Anyway, a spirit beast..."

Cheong-ra, who had been slowly sipping his cold tea to maintain his composure despite his thirst, shook his head and said,

"In my opinion, it wasn't a spirit beast. The feeling was completely different."

"But it didn't look like an ordinary tiger either. Then... could it be the work of those Blood Cult bastards?"

Wi Je-ho casually mentioned the Blood Cult. As expected, it was clear that Wi Je-ho also knew well about the Blood Cult. Dang Ran-yeong nodded lightly in agreement.

"That's highly likely."

"Tch. I went out for a meal and ended up ruining a good outfit."

Wi Je-ho, belatedly noticing his torn clothes, grumbled as he abruptly stood up and left for somewhere. Cheong-ra, feeling as if the tiger's stench was still lingering in his nostrils, put down his half-finished teacup and stood up as well.

"I should wash up and change clothes too."

Cheong-ra said with a sigh as he examined his clothes. The stench seemed to have permeated his clothes, and he didn't want to wear them anymore. For all he knew, there might be maggots stuck somewhere. He headed to his room, leaving behind Dang Ran-yeong, who showed an indifferent reaction.

One of the good points about the guest rooms on the fourth floor of The Pavilion of Golden Fragrance was that bathing was very convenient. Though he wasn't sure what kind of installation they had, if you pulled the rope in the bathroom and waited for a moment, hot water would fill the tub through the installed pipes after about 15 minutes.

Cheong-ra cut up the prepared citron and floated it in the water, filling the air with a fragrant scent. He always felt good when taking a hot bath, but today, the contents of the dead tiger's mouth kept flashing before his eyes. To erase the unpleasant and uneasy feeling, he scrubbed his body several times with a washcloth.

As Cheong-ra came out of the tub after meticulously washing himself clean, he frowned. He hadn't noticed earlier, but perhaps because the tension had eased, his leg, which had been almost healed, was aching. It seemed he had overexerted it while fighting the tiger today. As Cheong-ra came out wearing his undergarments and limping slightly, he paused.

"I thought so. A cracked leg doesn't heal that easily."

Dang Ran-yeong, who had been waiting with his arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe, was watching Cheong-ra's limping gait. Though inwardly pleased that the other, who was always attentive, had come to check on his injured leg, Cheong-ra replied calmly,

"It couldn't be helped. The opponent was a mad tiger."

While martial artists could easily hunt deer or wild boars, even they were reluctant to face bears or tigers. They were such formidable beasts that even a master could die in one blow if unlucky. Today's opponent was a beast treated like a king among beasts, and since swords couldn't even properly penetrate its hide, it was impossible not to overexert oneself.

As he dressed, Cheong-ra glanced at Dang Ran-yeong. He recalled making a somewhat shameful request to the other to act basely towards him back at the Hengshan Sect. However, for some reason, even after agreeing to the deal, Dang Ran-yeong hadn't done anything throughout their journey back here. As he had been inwardly disappointed by this, a strange sense of anticipation arose.

He wouldn't have come like this without any purpose...

"You've cleaned up quite well."

Dang Ran-yeong gestured with his chin, pointing at Cheong-ra's body. Cheong-ra looked down at himself and smiled with satisfaction. The bite marks Dang Ran-yeong had left last time had disappeared without a trace. There were still some ugly bruises on his leg, but the scratches and contusions he had received at the Hengshan Sect were almost completely healed.

"The Tang Clan's ointment is certainly effective."

Cheong-ra said, expressing his gratitude. The fragrant wound medicine Dang Ran-yeong had given him to apply to his wounds was truly excellent in its efficacy. He could see that Nam Gang-ryong's head wound, inflicted by Dang Ran-yeong's attack, was also healing quickly, presumably from using the stolen medicine well.

"So, why did you come here?"