TBML 42

Yiyeon knew his attempt at suicide had failed, but he used that to his advantage and deliberately bit down on the man’s grubby fingers. The blood of that bastard spread through his mouth, but it was already filled with the metallic taste of blood from the violence he had endured earlier.

His white, even teeth sank into Byeon’s finger, but they only gouged a small piece of flesh; he couldn’t tear it off like a wild beast. The Byeon scoundrel only frowned and groaned in pain, which only served to further inflame his anger, but Yiyeon wanted to do it anyway.

And as expected, with rage boiling to the top of his head, Byeon forgot Young Master Seo’s warning not to hit his face and swung his raised hand. This time, it wasn’t the crisp “slap” he’d heard at home. A dull, heavy thud – a “crack” – echoed through the mountains.

He couldn’t even count how many blows he took. The moment he was struck, he would briefly lose consciousness, only to come to his senses with the next blow, then pass out again at the fist hurled after that, and the cycle repeated as he was beaten and woke up again.

In the end, he couldn’t even tell what was wrong with him; unable to open his eyes fully, he had to watch the demon beating him through a slit.

Battered and bruised, Yiyeon no longer had the strength to run, scream, cry, or even breathe, let alone look at the world and feel pain.

‘I wish they’d all just die.’

It was the first time he’d ever had such a thought. No matter how harsh life had been, he had never dared to entertain the idea that this world, everything in it, should be destroyed overnight. His life had been arduous, but he had still found joy and happiness in his own way, and there were things he cherished.

Yiyeon loved the moment he took his first step on a mountain blanketed in fresh snow, and he was happy when he first learned to fire a matchlock and received the meager praise that he was good at it.

He was delighted when he held the coins he received for his first tiger hunt, and he cherished the moment when, during a midsummer hike, a swallowtail butterfly happened to fly by and land on the top of his head.

More importantly, even amidst the pain, the moment he looked down at the valley from atop Hyunhak’s back had been one of those happy times. Yet now, Yiyeon was saying that none of it mattered anymore, and that he wished this world would just die and disappear.

Yiyeon exhaled with difficulty. The sound of hurried footsteps grew louder, one by one, and then he heard the voices of the other men, including Seo Doryeong. Through stolen content the slits of his barely open eyes, he could not take in all four of the burly men.

Unlike his older brother, Young Master Seo was a good-for-nothing who had no particular talents and spend his days sneaking in late at night to indulge in debauchery, leaving him with no real physical strength. He arrived last of the group. He panted heavily as if he might suffocate and grumbled in irritation.

Yiyeon, beaten to a pulp by Byeon, was barely breathing, motionless with only a faint glimmer in his half-closed eyes. Perhaps thinking he had completely lost consciousness, the young man (who was nothing special aside from being the son of the county magistrate) was the one who flew into the biggest rage.

“Damn it! I told you not to touch his face!”

“He was trying to bite his tongue, so I had no choice, Young Master.”

Upon hearing Byeon’s words, Young Master Seo frowned and placed his hand on Yiyeon’s neck. Blood pooled where he lay, but his chest rose and fell steadily, and upon confirming that he was still warm, Young Master Seo let out a sigh.

He looked like he would surely die if left like this; his condition was pitiful. Yet, Young Master Seo sat down between Yiyeon’s legs and urgently began to unbutton his jacket.

Who was it who said it would kill the mood?

His lower body was so prominently erect it was visible even through the hem of his robe, and his hands were in such a hurry to undo the jacket, which had been torn to shreds.

“First, I need to do it right now.”

“Right here?”

“Seeing that bastard Yiyeon lying here like this, I feel like my cock’s going to get ripped right out.”

Perhaps even the shameless Byeon hadn’t expected this; [Read on]he asked again if he’d really just said he was going to rape Yiyeon right here in the mountains in the dead of winter. At that, the Seo bastard rubbed between his own legs and replied cheekily.

For Young Master Seo, today was the day he’d been eagerly awaiting all this time, so with things constantly going awry, he couldn’t help but get restless. If he hadn’t known just how soft and firm those buttocks were, which he’d briefly felt through his clothes, he might not have cared, but now that he’d had a taste, he was hooked. As if he were disgusted by Young Master Seo’s outrageous behavior, Byeon shook his head.

“You told me not to touch his face. You have terrible taste, Young Master.”

Under the shadow of a pine tree weighed down by heavy snow, Yiyeon lay on a snow blanket that had been spread out for several days, resting his head on a bright red pillow. Under the dim sky, the sash of his clothes was loosened.

It was a distant, immeasurable distance from the night spent lying on a soft new blanket in a cozy room with the one to whom one has given their heart, whispering affection. Just like the position where Yiyeon was lying right now and the stars in the high, high night sky that he was looking up at.

Every time blood drained from the back of his head, where he had been struck by a rock, Yiyeon felt as though his soul was draining out with it.

It felt as though a hole had been punched through his chest, exposing it to the cold wind; the wind blew through freely, leaving him hollow. As his hand traced his frozen chest, he no longer felt nausea rising or goosebumps forming.

Even as his legs were lifted and his pants were pulled down onto the snow, exposing his bare buttocks, Yiyeon felt no cold, only warmth where he lay. Through the slits of his barely open, blurry eyes, he stared up at the sky, and the stars studded across the black sky began to fall one by one toward him.

They weren’t as dazzling as shooting stars, nor did they have long tails, but the fluttering stars turned into cold crystals that touched Yiyeon’s blood-stained eyelids, melted, and vanished. Like the final flowers offered to Yiyeon, whose body was turning red and withering, white snowflakes of varying sizes fluttered down.

Seo Doryeong hurriedly untied the knot at his waist and pulled down his pants. The men chuckled as they watched Seo Doryeong shiver once in the cold air. As if his manhood wouldn’t shrink from the cold, Seo Doryeong was panting like an animal even though he hadn’t done anything yet.

A snowflake, buffeted by the wind and drifting aimlessly, landed on Yiyeon’s half-open eyes. Even though his eyes were barely open, how did it land there? As the cold snowflake settled on his dried-up pupils, Yiyeon turned his head away at the stinging sensation.

In his ears, still numb from the violence, he heard Seo’s breathing and the crunching sound of a stranger’s footsteps on the snow that had fallen some time ago and frozen. And the cry of a crow, drawn out very long.

Yiyeon turned his head and gazed into the pitch-black forest. He thought the crow’s cry was strange. And the moment the cry ceased, a pair of vivid, bright amber eyes – clear enough to be unauthorized copy seen even through his blurred vision – slid into view.

Slowly emerging from the darkness was a black tiger with a ferocious face, his skin creased with wrinkles matching the patterns on his fur. As the black tiger approached, staring at him, Yiyeon asked with his eyes, “Have you come to lend a hand in killing me too?” The tiger wasn’t about to let this chance for revenge slip away.

Yiyeon lowered his body on the ground. He watched the black tiger approach and struggled to raise his right arm. It felt as though his entire body had shifted out of alignment; even that simple movement was difficult, and a groan of pain escaped his lips, which were parted to exhale a breath full of wheezing and metallic sounds.

Yiyeon wrapped his right arm tightly around Seo’s neck as Seo buried his face against Yiyeon’s flat chest. Then he summoned every ounce of strength he could muster – the last bit he could squeeze out – and clung to Seo.

“What’s this? You little rascal, Yiyeon, have you finally decided to do this properly?”

Seo Doryeong laughed, but Yiyeon didn’t even hear him; he pulled him closer with his right arm. He was determined to never let go and become a hongsali¹ ghost together with him.  

Unaware of Yiyeon’s intentions, Seo Doryeong, exhilarated by the sight of him clinging to him despite his battered body, grew even more excited and moved his hands more swiftly. When the dagger in Yiyeon’s pocket got tangled in his rolled-down pants and stopped sliding further, Young Master Seo exerted all his meager strength. 

The old pants ripped easily with a loud tear, and though traces of hardship remained, his fair, well-toned legs were fully exposed. Just as the scoundrel Seo was about to grope those legs and fondle his buttocks, all the mountain birds flew up in a start, and a man’s blood-curdling scream, enough to make one’s hair stand on end, echoed through the mountains.

“Aaaaaaargh!!”

“Ti-Tiger! It’s a tiger!”

The black tiger leaped high into the sky and attacked the Byeon scoundrel who had been snickering as he watched Seo Doryeong and Yiyeon clash. The black tiger, having become a tiger among tigers, was able to easily bite a burly man in a single gulp.

He sank his fangs into the center of his torso and shook his head ferociously. He tore his body apart with the force of the blow. Byeon, who had been so terrifying moments before, was now reduced to a bite of an apple and flung onto the frozen snow.

Upon seeing Byeon – who had dared not even put up a proper fight, reduced to a single bite for the Mountain Lord, nothing more than meat [visit our site]– the men turned ashen, as if all the blood had drained from their bodies.

At the cry of “It’s a tiger!” Seo hurriedly grabbed the item he had pulled out and tried to get to his feet, but Yiyeon did not release the grip of his right arm, which held him tightly.

“Let go!! You bastard!!”

Young Master Seo struggled desperately to shake off Yiyeon and stand up, but Yiyeon tightened his grip even further with a strength so immense it was as if it came from nowhere.

While the two struggled, the black tiger leaped once more and sank his teeth into a fleeing man’s head. The man screamed inside the tiger’s mouth, but he became a cold corpse before his cries could reach the tiger’s stomach.

Blood splattered across the snow. The forest was silent; not even the sound of falling snow could be heard. One man scrambled on all fours and fled toward the village, but the black tiger did not pursue him. Instead, he ambled slowly toward Seo, who was still struggling with Yiyeon.

Despite his efforts, Yiyeon could not hold on any longer and was forced to release Young Master Seo. After freeing himself from Yiyeon’s right arm, Young Master Seo turned around only to find the black tiger’s massive jaws right before his eyes, causing him to collapse to the ground. Steam rose from the spot where he landed on his buttocks, staining the snow yellow.

“Ti… ti, ti, ger…!”

Yiyeon looked at Young Master Seo’s back, soaked with urine from sheer terror. He could not bear to watch him being hacked to pieces, so he slowly buried his face in his blood-stained snow.