Plin Ch 1.8

“Is this all?”

Hugo searched for ‘fox beast-person traits’ but was overwhelmed by the seemingly vast but shallow list of information on Forest Wiki and closed the window.

There was almost no useful information he could gather from this document that pretended to be neutral but was biased.

He held his head and sighed deeply.

No matter how much he thought about it, it was suspicious that an extremely rare white fox had appeared in front of him and brazenly hung around, claiming to be a peddler while selling something like Viagra.

A honey trap. His half-brother, Ethan, bet his life on such a shoddy tactic. His methods had become more thorough day by day. Since he wouldn’t be caught if he openly seduced him, there was a high possibility that he had planned something different this time. How long was he going to boost his low self-esteem by making fun of his younger brother? It was a pathetic life.

Anyway, that fox also picked the wrong opponent. There’s a reason why they say, ‘Don’t owe a dragon anything.’ It was their nature to collect their due, including interest, and to destroy the other party to the end if they had the justification.

Hugo leaned back deeply in his chair, closed his eyes, and turned up the volume of the music. A pop song with a catchy rhythm filled the office. He was listening to the music, tapping his feet, when the beeping sound of the intercom made him open his eyes.

“Yeah.”

—Master, your brother is requesting a call.

Thibeau’s voice was slightly subdued. It was different from his usual playful self. It was because only a few hours had passed since he had endured Hugo’s wrath for losing the fox.

“Why not on his cell phone.”

—He did, but you were unavailable, so he said he’d go through the secretariat. Shall I connect you?

“Yeah.”

—And if I may be so bold, the weather service sent an official letter saying that if you keep causing thunder and lightning, it will put them in a difficult position.

Hugo tilted his head to the side and frowned. Born between a dragon father and a dragon mother, he was both a dragon and a dragonewt.

Asian dragons, a species of mythical creature, possessed transcendental abilities. Among them, the abilities Hugo wielded were weather phenomena such as lightning, rain, and snow, which were the most common abilities given to dragons.

The Chinese character for thunder, 震 (zhèn), shows how commonly dragons used to control the weather in the past. ‘震’ is a character that combines the fifth dragon of the twelve zodiacs (辰) with rain (雨) on top, symbolizing the thunderbolt that comes with a dragon’s wrath (震怒).

“Do I have to care about that?”

—You don’t have to be mindful of it. I just thought you should know.

“Ah, fuck-.”

Hugo gnashed his teeth, realizing he had been tricked. There was a big difference between him ‘knowing’ and ‘not knowing’. This was because if he knowingly caused harm to others, it would directly relate to the consequences faced by dragons.

Karma dictates that the consequences of one’s actions in this life are typically repaid in the next life through reincarnation. However, mythical creatures with extraordinary abilities do not reincarnate. Therefore, they bear the karmic consequences, the full weight of their actions, in their present life.

This manifests as ‘karmic pain,’ a severe physical ailment that all mythical creatures suffer when they clear their karma. This was the true nature of the chronic illness that Hugo had kept secret under the guise of mysticism.

Dragons align their mindset to avoid the activation of the three poisons (三毒) that are the source of karma: greed (貪), anger (瞋), and ignorance (癡). They strive to maintain a mental state free of greed, anger, and delusion. As a result, the lives of dragons resembled those of monks.

Unfortunately, Hugo was different from ordinary dragons. Biologically, dragons and dragonewts belong to the same order (目) but are different species (異種) belonging to different families (科), so their genes were very different, and so were their innate temperaments. He was on a different starting line from pureblood dragons with excellent dragon nature.

As a hybrid, Hugo was not exempt from the destiny of karma management and received a strict upbringing. However, humans are shaped by the combination of their nature and nurture, and there were limits that education alone could not overcome.

‘Sometimes I want to kill people who annoy me. As easily as swatting a fly.’

Those were the words of ten-year-old Hugo.

Due to his sensitive temperament, the child found many things bothersome and often got angry without a good reason. Because of this, he was often sick to the point of death from a young age. His childhood was stained with karmic pain, and there were gaps in his memory, as if they were painted with black ink.

—Even your mother said not to make lightning just any old time, didn’t she, Master?

“Stop calling me master all the time.”

—I understand, my master.

An extremely even-tempered personality that doesn’t get hurt no matter how much abuse he receives. Thanks to this personality, Thibeau was selected as Hugo’s aide from a young age. For Hugo, who was congenitally lacking in compassion and empathy, there was no better match. Although there was the disadvantage that he knew that karmic pain suppressed Hugo’s actions, so he freely provoked him.

“Hey!”

—What’s with calling your older brother ‘hey’?

Thibeau immediately forwarded the call, and an unpleasant voice flowed out.

“…Ethan.”

—Did you receive my gift?

“What gift?”

Hugo straightened his back, which had been leaning deeply.

—Isn’t it perfectly pure and white?

“…..”

—Haha, my little brother. You seem surprised.

There had been over ten spies, informants, and thieves disguised as ‘white foxes’ who had appeared before Hugo. Even when he was certain that Ethan had sent them, he had never admitted it. What was his intention this time?

“There wasn’t a single white fox among the trash you’ve thrown at me so far.”

—Are you still suspecting me? I’m tired of this. You’d know if it’s a white fox or not. You’re a white fox expert. Most people can’t tell the difference.

“There are too many white fox swindlers.”

—Don’t get worked up. I hope you can be happy now, too.

After offering his fake consolation, Ethan added one last remark.

—Be careful. Don’t go around alone.

“Ha, acting all tough. I’m so scared.”

—I’m just saying this for your own good.

Ethan openly revealed his malice. Hidden behind his skillfully crafted hatred was an unattainable aspiration.

It was also an existential doubt about himself, born an illegitimate son, compared to his younger brother, Hugo, who was born as the legitimate heir. The half-brothers grew up belittling each other through checks and competition. It was a daily life not of dragon’s offspring, but of cuckoo’s offspring.

***

From the time Plin could remember, his home had always been in the slums, and his current residence was also a dilapidated place. In winter, drafts were severe, and frost formed under the windows that didn’t close properly. He had to wipe the dew from the window frames every morning and evening and apply candle wax to prevent mold from growing due to the moisture. At night, the bright neon signs of the bars shone noisily through the windows, so he had to draw the curtains. It was a laborious space, and the commotion was an everyday scene.

It might be a place that others wouldn’t want to set foot in, but for Plin, this place under the roof was home. A place that protected him from the rain and snow, where there was simple food. A place where he could end a tiring day, collapse, and sleep, even if it was just with a worn-out blanket to warmly cover his chest.

Plin had an unusually tough morning. He couldn’t believe he had only spent half a day, not even a full day.

He pretended to be unconscious in front of the yellow-eyed man and ran away from the man with the scar on his cheek. What would happen to his Fox Love Juice business now?

As soon as he got home, he took off the small underwear that had been pressing on his nerves all day and lay down on the bed. The pungent smell of laundry soap spread and seemed to embrace him.

Every part of his weary body ached with fatigue. He liked that exhausted feeling. Anyway, he had survived today. Tomorrow… he didn’t know how he would live.

Plin carefully lowered his hand. He touched himself carefully and thoroughly, checking to see if he had any bruises he was worried about. His hands were cold, so he flinched and closed his eyes, imagining.

Will there ever be a person who will touch my body so preciously? Will that person’s hands be warm? He hoped they would be warm hands…

“Ah…”

Plin pulled the blanket over his head. He stroked himself clumsily, as if he had just discovered his s*xuality for the first time. His temples throbbed with pain. Tomorrow will surely have its own worries. But if he worried about tomorrow’s worries today, he couldn’t be happy for even a single moment. Plin had learned from a very young age how to live each uncertain day less painfully.

Somehow, he would survive.