Chapter 11
“Judging by that expression, it looks like your mind’s completely blown.”
Dayoung chuckled, clearly amused by Wenling’s stunned face.
“To tell you the truth, in all eight provinces of Joseon, there aren’t even ten beasts—myself included—who could defy that one’s words. She might be working as a curator now, but back in the day she was called the Mountain Lord.”
Hyelim replied casually, as if it were nothing.
“That’s all ancient history. I gave up the title of mountain god long ago. Honestly, I only inherited it by accident after the entire Mountain Lord clan was wiped out.”
As she spoke, Hyelim gave Wenling a subtle look.
It seemed to mean: Just nod along and don’t ask any more questions.
Dayoung added jokingly,
“Honestly, it’s pretty funny. We spent our whole lives pretending to be humans just to get by, and now we’re making a living thanks to the things those humans left behind.”
Hyelim lightly scolded her.
“You’re going to get struck by lightning saying things like that. Do you know how bad the job market is these days? We should be grateful we’re treated well like this.”
Wenling didn’t dare interrupt their conversation.
In truth, hiring non-human beings as curators wasn’t that unusual. Because they had lived for centuries, their knowledge was immense, and their firsthand memories of historical eras had often helped researchers greatly.
Still, whenever he stayed around them like this, he often felt how fundamentally different their values and ways of thinking were from his own.
How did they view human culture and history?
To be honest, he couldn’t even begin to guess.
Just as he was lost in these thoughts, a crow suddenly flew in.
“Caw! Caaaw!”
The crow landed on the window frame and began cawing loudly.
“Could it be?”
Yoonseol shouted in surprise before she could stop herself, clearly delighted.
After listening to what the crow conveyed, Hyelim nodded.
“Good news. They’ve found someone suspicious. Apparently they’re not far from here.”
Everyone’s faces lit up.
Dayoung stretched and muttered briefly,
“Then shall we go stir things up?”
The location the crow mentioned was unexpectedly close.
It was an empty lot about thirty minutes by car from Wimi Port.
Because it was so remote, even tourists rarely visited—making it the perfect place to hide in a way.
Having abandoned their boat, the group was using two large vans as their base.
The curators hid nearby and waited.
Soon, a crow fluttered down again.
“For some reason, it looks like there’s infighting right now. I heard the sounds of them arguing.”
Hearing this, Wenling asked tensely,
“Then should we charge in right away?”
Dayoung shook her head.
“What if they run off again? Just wait a bit. Situations like this require an adult to step in.”
For some reason, Dayoung began walking toward the Baekryundang group.
Then, without warning, she started crying loudly.
“Waaaaaah! Moooom!”
Her wailing echoed loudly through the area.
Sniffling dramatically, she walked toward Baekryundang’s van.
All eyes immediately turned to her.
“Mom! Where are you! Moooom!”
She kept up the fake crying.
Sure enough, the Baekryundang remnants only looked confused rather than wary.
After all, few things broke down people’s guard better than this appearance.
“Be careful!”
At that moment, a sharp voice rang out.
A gaunt old woman in blue clothes shouted toward Dayoung, her face pale.
“That thing isn’t human!”
The moment her words fell, every member of Baekryundang recoiled with startled cries.
That old woman must have been the Miao shaman Yoonseol had mentioned earlier.
“You lightning-struck hag!”
Dayoung swallowed a curse and shouted toward the bushes.
“Hey, we’ve been spotted! Just come out and stomp them!”
The moment she finished speaking, Hyelim burst out from hiding.
She sneered at Dayoung.
“Didn’t you say an adult had to step in?”
“How was I supposed to know we’d get caught instantly?”
Dayoung retorted sulkily.
Baekryundang looked startled by Hyelim’s sudden appearance.
Hyelim roared loudly as a declaration of battle.
“ROOOOAAARRR!”
Her thunderous cry shook the surroundings.
It was the roar of the Mountain Lord—so overwhelming it could make one collapse just hearing it.
Smiling at Baekryundang, she made an offer.
“If you surrender nicely, we’ll end it with just one leg. How about it?”
But Baekryndang didn’t respond.
Instead, they hurriedly scrambled into their vans and sped away down the road.
“Oh my, they ran away.”
Hyelim frowned slightly.
Watching the van disappear, Yoonseol quickly said,
“I’ll go get the car!”
“If we use a car, we’ll be too slow.”
Hyelim glanced at Wenling.
“Have you ever ridden a tiger before?”
A tiger?
Wenling, not understanding what she meant, shook his head.
“Pardon? No, I haven’t.”
Hyelim grinned.
Sharp fangs gleamed between her lips.
“Then take this chance to experience it.”
Her body suddenly began to swell.
At the same time, black stripes appeared across her skin. Her eyes sharpened like those of a predator.
“ROOOOAAARR!”
Dropping onto all fours, she let out a tremendous roar.
In an instant, she transformed into a house-sized tiger.
“Get on. Let’s go.”
Growling, Hyelim urged Wenling.
So this was the true form of the being called the Mountain Lord.
He had heard about it before, but seeing it in person was still hard to believe.
“The mighty Mountain Lord becoming a mount… The world must’ve flipped over at least fifteen times.”
Dayoung muttered something that sounded like half complaint, half admiration.
Hyelim growled low at the remark.
“Shut up. Want another beating like last time?”
Dayoung responded with mock sarcasm.
“No, I’m just feeling sorry for your situation as a fellow beast of Joseon.”
With that, she hopped onto Hyelim’s head.
Dungsoe blinked a few times, then climbed up behind her.
Hyelim quickly called out to Yoonseol.
“We don’t have time. Hurry up and get on. Yoonseol, you too.”
“Yes, unni!”
Yoonseol climbed onto her back and pressed herself close, clearly used to it.
Then she scolded Wenling.
“What are you waiting for? Get on.”
“I-I’m getting on!”
Awkwardly, Wenling climbed onto Hyelim’s back.
Her fur was softer than he expected.
As soon as everyone was aboard, Hyelim leapt forward powerfully.
“Alright, here we go! Hold tight!”
She sprinted down the road with incredible speed.
But Dayoung crouched low on her head and complained.
“Why are you so slow these days?”
“There’s a new fried chicken place nearby… I’ve been eating there every day.”
Hyelim muttered something that sounded half like a joke, half like an excuse.
Dayoung glanced toward the road where Baekryundang had fled and warned,
“If you don’t want to die early like your brother, take care of your health. At our age, we could go anytime.”
“I’m still in my prime!”
With that, Hyelim accelerated even faster.
At full speed, she moved like a blazing sports car.
Wenling clung tightly to her back so he wouldn’t fall.
“There they are!”
After only a few minutes, Baekryundang’s van came into view in the distance.
Wenling quickly took out his brush and wrote characters in the air.
“『Stop!』”
The characters flashed red and struck the van.
But the vehicle only slowed briefly before continuing forward.
Dayoung clicked her tongue.
“It’s useless! They’re too far!”
Then she called out behind her.
“Dungsoe!”
“You called, you old hag?”
Dungsoe answered eagerly.
Dayoung crooked her finger at him and grinned.
“Let’s have some fun for the first time in a while.”
Dungsoe shouted dramatically.
“Very well!”
His body suddenly stiffened and stretched.
At the same time, his whiskers twisted together into long strings.
Soon, he transformed into an old gayageum (Korean zither).
Placing the instrument on her lap, Dayoung spoke in a playful voice.
“I’ve had many names in my life. Suwori of Pyongyang, Maewori of Jeonju, Eonnyeoni of Sangju, Wollye of Cheongju… I’ve wandered all eight provinces of Joseon living as a gisaeng under countless names.”
Her fingernails grew sharp and pointed.
Lightly plucking the strings, she continued,
“A true gisaeng follows the creed Maechang bulmaeum—selling songs but never selling the body. That’s why they took such pride in music and scholarship. And among them… I was the best.”
She glared at Baekryundang’s van.
Then she shouted sharply like a signal.
“Let’s play!”
— TWANG!
A clear sound rang from the gayageum, vibrating through the air.
Dayoung’s fingers moved rapidly as dazzling music filled the surroundings.
A wild wind rose with the melody.
The wind swept up gravel and dust, surging toward the van.
“Kahahahaha! It’s a goblin’s revelry!”
Dayoung burst into loud laughter.
Even as she laughed, her fingers never stopped moving.
Despite riding on Hyelim’s back, her performance remained perfectly steady.
“Drive them to the side!”
Hyelim shouted.
Still playing, Dayoung frowned.
“You think it’s that easy?!”
At that moment, a thought flashed through Yoonseol’s mind.
She took a deep breath and urgently shouted to everyone nearby.
“Everyone cover your ears!”
Realizing what she meant, Hyelim’s eyes widened.
“You… you’re not about to do that on my back—!”
But before she could finish, Yoonseol let out a piercing blast of sound.
“Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!”
