TGHD Ch30

Yeohwi gently stroked the bracelet, his touch soft and careful, as if handling a precious gift. He turned his gaze toward the moaning sound coming from behind him.

“Ugh…”

It was Ryubeom lying on the ground, groaning in pain. Sweat beads formed on his face, indicating that the pain was gradually intensifying. Guil spoke with a sympathetic tone.

“The Tiger Clan really told just him to close the demonic path…”

“Do you really think they entrusted him to actually fix it?” Yeohwi replied indifferently. The concerned tone he had once used in front of Ryubeom was gone, replaced by a voice full of mockery.

Since coming to Hyojomeon, Yeohwi had discussed the demonic path with Ryubeom several times. Although Ryubeom hadn’t explained the background in detail, Yeohwi could roughly infer the situation from Ryubeom’s expressions and the events at Yeonggokbong.

Telling a single beast to resolve the strange occurrences happening across the country was essentially a death sentence. If interpreted more charitably, it meant the clan expected him to keep a low profile while pretending to address the issue because the atmosphere within the clan was not favorable. But considering Ryubeom’s wish was tied to it, it was more likely the former.

Ryubeom believed that if the demonic path were truly a serious and dangerous issue, the Tiger Clan would have intervened directly. Yeohwi had almost laughed at this. Ryubeom’s faith in and pride for the Tiger Clan were so great and naive that it was laughable.

The demonic path wasn’t opened due to their fault, so why would the Tiger Clan step up to take responsibility? From the moment they claimed to solve it, they would be accountable, and the eyes of other beast clans would be on them. Any failure or weakness shown would only tarnish their reputation.

Moreover, most powerful clans weren’t adversely affected by such problems and had their territories to protect. For the Tiger Clan, it was the vicinity of Gwanaksan and Yeonggokbong. They needed to focus their energy on managing their territory, so there was no reason to waste their spiritual power on problems in other lands.

However, as the demonic path was left unattended for a long time, incidents involving human casualties began to increase. This led to a subtle sense of urgency among the prominent beast clans. Even if no one was willing to take full responsibility, they needed to show that they were at least paying some attention.

Thus, the Tiger Clan pushed Ryubeom forward.

It wasn’t that they expected much from him. If they were serious about resolving the issue, the elders would have taken action, or at least assigned the task to other cousins. The intent was merely to show that they were concerned.

As a direct descendant who was also expendable, and considering they sent him out alone, they might even plan to portray him as having ‘sacrificed’ himself in case things went wrong.

“Still, you closed the first demonic path, didn’t you? That’s really impressive…” Guil said with admiration.

Yeohwi only shrugged.

Rustle.

At that moment, a very faint noise was heard from behind. It was so small it could be mistaken for the sound of the wind, but Yeohwi’s eyes immediately turned in that direction. He soon smiled gently.

“Garim, you’re there, aren’t you?”

At Yeohwi’s calm call, the bushes in the distance quivered. Though there was no sound as if holding their breath, Yeohwi had already seen the movement.

“You can come out now. Your knees must hurt from kneeling for so long.”

As Yeohwi softly called again, Garim cautiously stood up. Though his voice was gentle, she couldn’t bring herself to approach him.

A few dozen minutes earlier, when the commotion was at its peak, Garim had been warned by Ryubeom not to approach the house. Even without spiritual vision, she could tell something was wrong with the house. It was dark around the house as if it were the middle of the night, even though it was daytime.

But she was too worried and cautiously entered the house. She was concerned about whether Kwon Namil was truly dead, curious about the truth, and most of all, worried about Ryubeom. So, holding tightly onto the yellow norigae (a traditional Korean ornament) that Ryubeom had given her as a precaution, she snuck in. It was an item imbued with a spell to hide her presence.

She suspected Ryubeom was no ordinary beast but was still concerned about him. For some reason, she felt drawn to Ryubeom. Despite his calm and serene demeanor and slightly difficult atmosphere, he seemed burdened and as if he were being chased.

So, she came in worriedly and finally saw it. The sight of Ryubeom, shrouded in golden spiritual energy, leaping into the sky.

‘Ah, he’s a tiger…’

At that moment, it felt like she was dreaming. Her heart raced, and she could only stare blankly at the sky. After the commotion ended, she was worried about how to face Ryubeom. It struck her how rare and significant it was to encounter a member of the Tiger Clan.

However, after the commotion ended and Ryubeom collapsed, the fox beast who had been with him changed his attitude. In an instant, his face became expressionless, and with a mere gesture, he sent Kwon Namil flying. Despite his previously gentle and amiable appearance in front of Ryubeom, the crimson eyes that looked down at Kwon Namil were cold and terrifying, more so than any demon.

Moreover, a large fox appeared, and another beast emerged from behind the house, introduced as “Guil.”

‘Clan leader, what are you doing…’

Even the mention of the term “clan leader” was shocking. She had missed her chance to escape due to the shock of the subsequent conversation. Talks of destroying the Tiger Clan and using Ryubeom made her hold her breath repeatedly.

But Yeohwi noticed her after all. Though he wore the same smiling face as when she first saw him, Garim couldn’t meet his eyes. She stood frozen, her face tense with fear as Yeohwi approached her.

A fear as if death was approaching overwhelmed her.

“Garim, you came in because you were worried about the person lying over there, right?”

“Y-yes? Ah, yes, that’s right!”

But Yeohwi’s question was so kind that Garim quickly answered, sensing the need to be tactful. She nodded vigorously, and Yeohwi smiled as if pleased.

“I-I didn’t see anything! I just came in to pick up Kwon Namil, and I won’t tell anyone about what happened here. No, I won’t even remember…!”

“Haha, you don’t have to be so tense.”

Yeohwi smiled, his eyes narrowing.

“Because you won’t remember anyway.”

As soon as he finished speaking, red light flowed from Yeohwi’s hand. Before Garim could react, it seeped into her head, and gradually, her eyes became unfocused.

Soon, Garim, moving like a puppet, dragged the unconscious Kwon Namil outside, holding onto one of his arms. Kwon Namil’s body was further battered from being dragged, but neither Yeohwi nor Garim seemed to care. Yeohwi waved goodbye to her with a smile. She walked away without looking back at him, or rather, without acknowledging his existence at all. Her memory of seeing Yeohwi in Hyojomeon had become blurry. Anyone who came into contact with Garim’s father would be affected by the same spell.

Guil, witnessing the scene, shivered, but Yeohwi simply turned back to look at Ryubeom. While erasing Garim’s memory, he had glimpsed her thoughts and emotions.

The strong emotion she felt when she saw Cheon Ryubeom leap into the sky was particularly striking, and even to Yeohwi, the moment had felt remarkable.

At first, he thought Ryubeom’s bravado stemmed from ignorance about the demonic path—fitting the saying, “ignorance is bliss.” He found Ryubeom’s trust in the Tiger Clan laughable, and when he claimed he wanted to understand the demon, Yeohwi thought he lacked a sense of reality due to his upbringing.

Yeohwi had long known that Ryubeom was an outsider within the clan, but he assumed the upbringing and education he received there would have left an indelible mark. The Tiger Clan taught that tigers were the strongest beings, ruling over all life. Such indoctrination could warp one’s mind.

Seeing that Ryubeom seemed to take pride in being a tiger, Yeohwi watched him like an arrogant young cub. He thought that if things got too dangerous, he could forcibly pull him out, as Ryubeom was part of their “plan.”

Unexpectedly, Cheon Ryubeom “saw the way.”

Yeohwi recalled seeing Ryubeom’s eyes flash silver when he was trapped by the demon’s grudge. With this in mind, Yeohwi slowly walked towards Cheon Ryubeom. At the time, he had marveled at Ryubeom’s abilities, and yet…

He also thought that Ryubeom’s energy was somehow twisted. It wasn’t just his spiritual power; other forces were mixed in, making the creation of spells chaotic and unstable.

This was why Ryubeom resorted to recklessly expending his power and undertaking dangerous physical endeavors. The external injuries he sustained while ascending to the sky were severe, but the internal injuries were likely even worse.

A creature that seemed to distance itself from everyone yet was unnecessarily soft-hearted. Like someone who hadn’t experienced kindness for a long time, he was uncomfortable with it, distancing himself deliberately while ultimately failing to turn away. A foolish and reckless tiger that, even after distancing itself, worried it might have caused harm.

‘Who even knows that he’s struggling like this?’

‘I do…’

But that made it somewhat interesting.

Silently smiling, Yeohwi drew a simple spell above Cheon Ryubeom. This was a reward for his commendable actions in protecting his weak self.

A red light spread through the air, slowly healing Cheon Ryubeom’s wounds.