Chapter 5 

I hadn’t jumped onto Sehwa’s lap without thinking.

She’s the highest-ranked person in Cheonwolru besides the fox.
And when he leaves, she runs everything here.
She also belongs to Haomun—the information sect—and passes all intel gathered in Cheonwolru straight to the fox.

But most importantly:

She didn’t have “that smell.”

The fox once told me that, according to human knowledge, the “Blood Cult” didn’t exist.

Nonsense.

They must have been growing their power in secret.

And there was one way to identify them instantly:

their smell.
Even when faint, I could never forget that scent.

That rotten-blood smell that reminded me of hell.

Sehwa didn’t have it—meaning she was safe to be around.

*

[So, the elixirs?]

[Hold on, Mountain Lord.]

“Sehwa. Where did you put the elixirs we’ve gathered?”

“Shall I bring them now?”

“Yes, please.”

“As you wish. But…”

I felt her eyes on me.
I tilted my head innocently and let out a soft cry.

“Kyawng?”

[Mountain Lord, what are you going to do?]

[I’ll follow her. I’m curious about this human.]

She’s not that interesting. You only noticed her because she’s filling in while I’m gone.]

[Sure. From anyone else’s perspective, you never say a second sentence unless someone’s worth noticing.]

“…Take him with you. No, I’ll go with you both.”

Sehwa’s eyes widened in surprise.
Her scent changed just slightly—humans’ body odor really did shift with their emotions.
She smelled… nervous. Why?

“…Understood, Pavilion Master.”

“The tiger likes you, so carry him. He’ll be more comfortable with you.”

She nodded carefully and adjusted her hold on me.
Much more comfortable.

As Sehwa and the fox walked down the hallway, everyone who passed stared wide-eyed at us—then quickly bowed and stepped aside.

So both Sehwa and the fox really did hold high status here.

***

The Elixir Room

Elixirs, huh…

I preferred raw herbs, but this was the human world.
Humans couldn’t handle the raw spiritual energy in wild herbs, so they processed them into milder elixirs.

I didn’t have much choice.
With this tiny body, I couldn’t freely gather qi in the mountains.
As the fox said, hiding in the human world while regaining strength was the best option.

[Is Sehwa a martial artist too?]

[Somewhat. But not strong. Haomun isn’t the type of sect that raises powerful fighters.

[Ah. That explains the faint qi I sensed.

While we exchanged thoughts, we arrived at a small door.

Sehwa carefully unlocked it.

“Please enter.”

“Hm. You’ve gathered quite a bit this time.”

“After receiving your message, Pavilion Master, I tried to collect as much as possible.”

The fox picked up a small wooden box.

“Oh? You even found Thousand-Year Polygonum?”

It’s incredibly rare for any herb to survive a thousand years.
Polygonum was a common herb, so Thousand-Year Polygonum was easier to find compared to other thousand-year herbs—but still remarkable.

Sehwa bowed slightly.

“It was a fortunate opportunity.”

The fox inspected it, then offered it to me.

“Here.”

“Kyaung!”

I didn’t hesitate.
I immediately snapped it up and swallowed it.

Sehwa gasped, horrified.
I ignored her—my mouth was already filled with its bitter taste.

Now this is real qi.

I felt the concentrated energy travel down my throat and settle into my inner core.
My tail twitched happily.

“Can you eat more?”

“Kyao!”

[Stop talking and give me the rest.]

“You greedy thing. Here.”

[You little—]

I glared but still snatched the next elixir.
This one had less energy but was purer and smoother.

“P-Pavilion Master…”

“I’ll explain later. Right now, let him eat. If your arms get tired, put him down—he cares more about eating right now.”

Of course I do. And unlike you, she’s holding me with normal human arms. She’ll get tired.]

[Mountain Lord should be heavier than this!]

In response, I bit the fox’s hand.

He let out a small yelp—he must have surrounded himself with a light layer of qi.

[MOUNTAIN LORD!!]

Be grateful I didn’t bite your throat. If I were in my original body, I would’ve flattened you just by sitting on you.

[…Then I’d be dead. Were you that big?

[I meant flatten you to kill you, not play with you.]

[…]

He was definitely enjoying my weakened state.

I sniffed around, opened the next box myself, and ate all the elixirs that smelled “okay.”

Cheonwolru’s elixirs were surprisingly decent.

By the time I finished, I had eaten about two-thirds of the entire stock.

I let out a small herbal-scented burp and licked my paws clean.

Only then did I notice Sehwa frozen in shock.

… Wow. If I poke her lightly right now, she’ll jump like a frightened rabbit.

What exactly surprised her this much?

“Pavilion Master… forgive me for asking, but…”

“Go ahead.”

“I thought eating too many elixirs at once was harmful… but…”

“Oh, that. Don’t worry about it.”

The fox waved a hand dismissively.

“Animals don’t overeat to the point of harming themselves. I’ll take responsibility.”

“I… see.”

“And don’t worry about this little one. He’s not fragile enough to need your concern.”

True.
My body could easily handle a few extra herbs.

“Besides, look. Does he look unwell to you?”

I was lying on my back, relaxed, blowing out lazy puffs of air.
Sehwa stayed silent.

“Still… he ate far more than I expected.”

[This is nowhere near enough.]

“We’ll need to gather more. Sehwa.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll prepare the funds. But I’ll be busy for a while, so…”

His gaze turned to me.

What?

“Sehwa. Take care of him while I’m gone.”

“…Pardon?”

“His name will be… Sangun. Grow strong like a king of the mountains.”

[Oh please.]

“Or, if you prefer, give him a name you like. It won’t be long—just take care of him for a bit.”

“P-Pavilion Master… What should I feed him?”

“Give him the elixirs here. If you want, give him raw meat too. He’ll eat if he feels like it.”

[I won’t. Give me elixirs.]

[Mountain Lord. Acting like a normal tiger cub will draw less attention.

[The moment a tiger cub entered the human world, wasn’t subtlety already impossible?]

[…Still better than being exposed as a spirit, isn’t it?]

…Fair.

I snorted and flicked my tail.
The fox sighed deeply.

“I’ll explain the details later. For now, take care of him, Sehwa. I trust you more than anyone.”

“I will not disappoint you, Pavilion Master.”

Her eyes sparkled with determination as she bowed.

Hey! You’re just leaving without teaching me shapeshifting?

In your current state? Even if I taught you, you’d manage… what? Fifteen minutes?]

He snorted mockingly.

[So for now, eat your medicine and rebuild your qi.]

As he smugly scratched my chin with one finger—

I filled my jaws with qi and bit his forearm.

How dare you treat me like a puppy?