Chapter 8 

Even though I looked at the humans with a sullen expression, their eyes sparkled like stars as they stared only at me.

Humans really are weak to anything small and cute.

Feeling overwhelmed by their intense gazes, I let out a faint groan—
And suddenly my body was lifted.

“Enough.”

“Ah…”

“He’s still a baby. If too many people crowd him and smother him with affection, he’ll get tired. Since today is a rest day… I’ll let it slide this once.”

With that, Sehwa scooped me up into her arms.

Saved.
I blew out a relieved puff from my nose.
Meanwhile, the humans who had been fawning over me stared longingly, as if their favorite toy had been taken away.

“Alright. It seems we’ve seen just about everything.”

“Kyahng?”

“Tired, aren’t you? Want to rest?”

Now that was the best thing I’d heard all day.
I flapped my tail approvingly, and Sehwa smiled faintly.

Since I was going to rest anyway, I planned to gather some qi.
The qi in the human world was murky compared to the mountains… but not unusable.

“Okay, rest here for a while. Alright?”

“Kyahng.”

Sehwa took me back to the workspace where she usually handled her duties.

This time, there was something new—a small, soft, fluffy cushion clearly prepared for me.

After placing me on it and patting my head, Sehwa went to sort through the letters on her desk.
I settled onto the cushion.

This is… much nicer than a nest made from dried grass.
Warm, soft, and perfectly cushy.
I purred in satisfaction and closed my eyes.

Let’s see…

Slowly, I began gathering qi.

It wasn’t as abundant as the forest’s qi, but it was still easy enough to pull the clean bits together.

For me, it was as natural as breathing.

But that didn’t mean I could greedily absorb everything in the surroundings.

If you hunted every creature on a mountain just because you were hungry, nothing would remain afterward.

Beasts like me instinctively understood that forcing nature’s qi out of balance would take ages to recover.

That’s why spirit beasts don’t recklessly absorb raw natural qi.
Instead, we restore ourselves using medicinal herbs full of concentrated qi or by consuming other spirit beasts’ inner cores.

This place’s qi is murky, but… sorting out the clean threads isn’t hard.

My inner core had lost a lot of qi, so I couldn’t absorb much.
But this was the path I’d walked for a thousand years—slowly, steadily rebuilding.

I continued breathing slowly, filtering clean qi from the wind drifting through the window.

***

I didn’t know how long I’d been doing it, but when I heard Sehwa approaching, I opened my eyes.

“Oh! Did I wake you?”

She must’ve thought I’d been asleep.
Well, I was lying still with my eyes closed.

I stretched my front paws long, yawning as my muscles loosened pleasantly.

By the way… what was she so focused on earlier?

Cheonwolru had lots of things worth looking at, but humans prevented me from properly exploring earlier.

Now I wanted to know what Sehwa had been reading.
So I waddled toward her and sat at her feet.

My legs were too short to climb onto the chair.
Hateful.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Kkeong.”

(Lift me.)

…If I transmitted that directly into her mind, she’d scream and faint.
That would be annoying.

So instead, I stood up on my hind legs and reached my front paws toward her.

She understood immediately and lifted me into her lap.

Yes. Much better than the fox.

Purring, I stretched out my neck and glanced over the desk.

Papers everywhere—mostly filled with writing.

After living a thousand years, you learn things.
I could read human letters well enough.

Budget reports, inventory lists… nothing interesting.

Letting out a small snort, I flopped down comfortably in her lap.

The disappointment passed quickly.

Then I heard a soft laugh from above, followed by a gentle hand stroking my back.

“Kyrrrrr…”

Oh, yes.
Just where it was itchy.

Skillfully, Sehwa scratched places I couldn’t reach—my chin and the back of my neck.
A deep rumbling purr escaped from me.

Having the fox gone didn’t feel bad at all.

***

The Next Day

We visited the elixir storage, and I ate the leftover elixirs I hadn’t finished before.

They were the ones with low QI content—but with nothing else to eat, I had no choice.

“…It must be really bitter, but you eat it so well. How strange.”

“Kyawng.”

Who eats elixirs for the taste? It’s for training. After a thousand years, even this becomes normal.)

I licked the crumbs from my whiskers.

After eating nearly all the stored elixirs, my inner core grew a little.

Barely noticeable… But growth was growth.

No room for complacency.

Even when I was strong, I’d been captured by the Blood Cult.
How could I relax now?

As I pondered this, I washed my face with my paws—
when suddenly, noise came from the entrance of Cheonwolru.

Curious, I ran to the window and jumped—

…and, once again, got stuck halfway with my hind legs kicking in the air.

“San-gun? What’s wrong?”

“Kkeong!”

(The fox is here.)

I wagged my tail urgently at Sehwa.
She looked confused but walked over—and spotted him.

“Oh…!”

A smile bloomed on her face—one I hadn’t seen these past few days.

Even though he just dumps work on her, she’s happy to see him?

Puzzled, I tapped her arm lightly.

“Oh, right. San-gun, should we go greet him?”

“Kyawng?”

(Why should I greet him?)

But it didn’t matter what I wanted.
Sehwa scooped me up and dashed off.

“Oh, San-gun. You’ve grown a bit.”

The moment the fox saw me, he grinned and patted my head.

This bastard.

“Kkeong!!”

(The elixirs?)

[That’s the first thing you ask?]

(Of course. Never forget—I was captured even when I was at full strength.)

I batted his hand away with my paw.
The fox only shrugged and pulled something from his clothing.

“Here, San-gun. I got this for you.”

“Kyawng?”

Sniff sniff… oh.

“Ginseng shaped like a human—‘Inhyeongsam.’ Should be tasty, right?”

(Tasty? More like priceless.)

He tossed it lightly—
and I caught it instantly.

It was a ginseng shaped like a person.

Ordinary ginseng was already useful.
But this—this was essentially a spirit beast that hadn’t fully awakened.

If it ever gained true consciousness, it would become a “child-ginseng spirit.”

This was even more precious than thousand-year polygonum.

Its juice filled my mouth—sweet, bitter, and overflowing with concentrated qi.

It’s been a while since I’ve had one of these.

Definitely several hundred years old.

I ate every last root.

A dense mass of qi surged into my body—far stronger than anything I’d consumed recently.

(…Oh. I need to sit down and circulate this properly.)

“Sehwa. Give San-gun to me.”

“Yes, Pavilion Master.”

Sehwa immediately handed me over.
The fox’s arms were thicker and harder than hers, but I didn’t have time to care.

Closing my eyes, I focused entirely on processing the immense qi I’d just absorbed.