TGHD Ch 40

The next day.

Cheon Ryubeom woke from his sleep. His eyes felt swollen and heavy, so he pressed on them with his hands to see properly. Wooden building, wooden ceiling, yellow flooring… Ryubeom took a moment to recognize that he was in a hermitage.

Last night, Ryubeom’s father led him to a room and helped him sleep after he had cried himself to exhaustion. Even as he blinked in a drowsy state, Ryubeom held tightly to his father’s hem, making his father smile and pat the blanket.

‘He’s grown in size, but he’s still a child.’

His father stayed by his side until he fell asleep completely…but now, his father was not in the room. Bang! He jumped up, threw the door open, and stepped out. Without even fixing his attire, he stood on the veranda, looking around frantically.

Where is his father? Could yesterday’s events have been just a dream?

The memory of dawn was vivid, but perhaps because they had been apart for so long, or due to the trauma of losing everything unexpectedly in an accident. Ryubeom, tormented by irrational anxiety, searched for his father. Calling out with a pale face, he ran around the yard.

“Father!”

“…Child? Why are you…?”

Lee Han, who had just come out of the kitchen, responded with surprise. He looked at the pale-faced Ryubeom with concern, and Ryubeom immediately ran to him and hugged him tightly. His emotions were so transparent that Lee Han softened his gaze and patted the child’s back.

And from the yard, Baekyeong, who had been observing the scene, reacted with a ‘Oh my.’ and stepped back awkwardly under Lee Han’s calm gaze.

Only after being held in his father’s arms for a long time did Ryubeom shyly pull away. He felt embarrassed by his childish behavior so early in the morning.

His father, sitting Ryubeom down on the veranda, smiled and offered a basket he had just taken from the kitchen.

“You loved yakbap so much when you were a child. Your mother did too…”

Ryubeom nodded absentmindedly. He remembered not knowing what it tasted like at first but eating it with his mother, wanting to share the moment with her. Eventually, he became addicted to it and only sought it out for a while.

Happy to recall the old memories, Ryubeom reached out for the yakbap.

“By the way, child, why do you call me ‘Father’ now, instead of ‘Dad’?”

“…Oh. That’s because I’ve grown up now…”

He mumbled an odd excuse. He had been strictly educated on manners by his family, so he had gotten used to formal titles. Though it was also because he was now an adult, Ryubeom felt slightly embarrassed. Except for not calling him ‘Dad,’ wasn’t everything else the same as when he was a child?

Resolving to behave more maturely, he straightened his posture, and his father spoke in a hurt tone.

“Is it because you dislike me that you distance yourself…”

“What, what? No, why would…”

“It’s my fault, so I should reflect…”

“Dad!”

Cheon Ryubeom shouted. Seeing his father’s dejected face, he couldn’t help but yell. And he sighed, realizing his father’s reaction was a joke.

‘Why are there so many people who tease me around here?’

Cheon Ryubeom, who had the best reactions to teasing, felt unjustly treated, not knowing the truth. His father laughed satisfactorily and patted Ryubeom’s head.

His father mentioned that he would be going to the storage room briefly. He explained in detail that he needed to check the seals on the amulets, which seemed like an effort to ease Ryubeom’s anxiety.

Though surprised, Ryubeom nodded, realizing he would have followed his father to the storage room if he hadn’t been informed in advance. To be honest, he still wanted to follow him, even knowing the truth…

Just before his father left, Ryubeom grabbed his hem and asked,

“What are those silver silhouettes in front…?”

They had been visible when he rushed out of the room. At that time, he was too focused on finding his father to pay attention, but looking back, they seemed to have followed him around the yard. They were human silhouettes, but somewhat smaller in size.

“Oh, you can see them now. They are… well, they’re my family.”

“Huh…?”

“Communication is almost impossible, but they are all here.”

In the past, Cheon Eunhwa barely saved the souls who were about to be annihilated by a tiger. They could have crossed over to the afterlife but chose to stay by Lee Han’s side. Although they couldn’t communicate verbally, they always lingered around the youngest.

And now, they circled around the youngest son in front of them, curiously. In the past, they couldn’t approach because the child was very afraid of ghosts and they worried that their resentment might affect the fragile child. At that time, Ryubeom couldn’t even see them.

But now that Ryubeom could handle spiritual powers, he could vaguely see them. It was awkward for Ryubeom to accept their constant patting on his head.

They patted his head so much that his hair stood up with static electricity, making it look like a chick in the morning sunlight.

Ryubeom couldn’t push them away, so he quietly accepted their touches. When his father left for the storage room, Ryubeom expected them to follow, but they stayed by his side, making him awkwardly eat more yakbap.

Then Ryubeom remembered another presence staying in the hermitage.

“Grandmother.”

Ryubeom, carrying the basket, found his grandmother sitting on a chair in the front yard of the hermitage. She was busy looking up at the large pine tree in the yard and touching the wildflowers around her. When Ryubeom approached and suggested eating yakbap together, she looked at him blankly, then smiled.

“You’re the kind child I met last time! You came again, you came again. Did you come to take me to the waterfall?”

“It’s not spring yet. I’ll come back to find you when it’s spring.”

He smoothly answered, placing yakbap in her hand. She ate while continuously talking about how beautiful the waterfall was, and Ryubeom listened, nodding.

Baekyeong, who spotted the scene from behind, spoke up.

“She still remembers you.”

“Grandmother’s memory isn’t very good…”

Ryubeom knew her memory was fleeting. From the first time they met and even now, she was looking for a waterfall that disappeared over a hundred years ago. Even though she seemed to talk normally with Baekyeong after returning to the hermitage, he thought her current memory was intact despite her unstable mind.

“She has trouble remembering recent events.”

Baekyeong’s casual remark made Ryubeom feel even more sorrowful. The frailty of her energy and the sense that she would soon disappear weighed heavily on him. It’s difficult for ordinary humans to live a hundred years…

Ryubeom treated his grandmother even more graciously. He tidied her collar and spread a blanket over her knees. Baekyeong, quietly watching, scratched his head.

“But there’s something you might not know.”

“Did I make a mistake…”

“That grandmother is a guardian deity.”

“What?”

“She’s the tiger god, one of the twelve zodiac gods. You greeted her in front of the statue, remember?”

Baekyeong’s tone was so calm, as if he was stating something mundane, like pointing out green weeds or a tall pine tree, or that the ground underfoot was dirt.

So Ryubeom, despite hearing him, blinked blankly for a moment before belatedly realizing and stumbling backward, falling on his bottom.

Ryubeom, in utter shock, stammered out a question.

“Really, really?”

“Why? Surprised because it’s not what you imagined? Cheon Eunhwa disappeared, and Lee Han is in that state. How could the guardian deity have stayed hidden until now?”

Baekyeong shrugged. He added that it was the guardian deity who brought Lee Han to the hermitage the night of the accident.

His father had said, “The gods have watched over you,” but Ryubeom thought it was just a figure of speech. In deep shock, Ryubeom retraced his memories and finally pieced together the missing parts of his hypothesis.

Why his attacks hadn’t worked when he first clashed with the guardian deity.

Even the energy Ryubeom had explosively released had slid off the guardian deity’s body. He thought it was because the roots of their energy were the same, but it was actually due to the deity’s protection. This was why the elders hadn’t found and eliminated the guardian deity yet.

“Those elders harmed the two and searched for the guardian deity for a while but found no trace, so they must have thought it disappeared together. They probably assumed that the accident site of the Sagwido family in Yuseom Mountain was haunted by evil spirits.”

Baekyeong muttered with a sneer. The information Ryubeom had gathered about the spirits of Yuseom Mountain was very scant. Just that the area around the accident site was chilly and strange footsteps could be heard. The village had been deserted since the Sagwido accident, making it a perfect environment for ghosts.

But the elders realized something during the massive landslide that occurred mid-year. The guardian deity that escaped from the Sagwido enterprise was still alive.

“The guardian deity’s anger grew stronger, and Lee Han’s memorial rites had their limits, so the energy exploded, causing the landslide.”

“……”

“After the landslide, the elders persistently searched. That made the guardian deity even angrier, causing another landslide. The old woman’s blessing can block most attacks, but now they’ve prepared a very deadly trap, realizing they can’t easily eliminate the guardian deity. Those scum…”

Baekyeong clicked his tongue and frowned fiercely. Ryubeom, stunned by the shocking story, sighed and cautiously asked. They moved to the side of the hermitage, away from the grandmother, lowering his voice to a whisper.

“Then why is the deity in this state…”

Baekyeong chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. He gestured that it didn’t matter since she couldn’t understand the conversation anyway.

“The reason is probably because the Cheon family’s energy is contaminated. That’s why the energy is so faint, and the deity can’t use her divine powers properly.”

“Ah…”

A deity is a being based on faith. The stronger the faith towards the deity, the more powerful it becomes. However, the more negative the feelings towards the deity, the more it is affected. The twelve zodiac gods are guardians of this land, and the exploitation by the tigers has damaged the essence of protection, causing the deity to wither.

But Ryubeom was puzzled. If the deity’s power had weakened, how could the main house be overflowing with such strong energy?

Baekyeong shrugged.

“Honestly, I don’t know the exact reason. It seems she originally stayed with the Cheon family, but after leaving, she wandered the streets and met me. At first, I thought I had met a beggar.”

“A beggar!”

Ryubeom was shocked. His eyes questioned if it was blasphemy, but Baekyeong shamelessly replied that if Ryubeom had seen her back then, he would have reacted the same way.

* * *

“I felt drawn to her and cared for her for a few days, then found out she was a deity.”

“You’re reacting very calmly about it.”

“It’s been decades, what’s there to be surprised about now? Even Cheon Eunhwa didn’t recognize her, so how could I without any spiritual power?”

Cheon Eunhwa hadn’t properly faced her because the grandmother spent most of the day asleep, and even after greeting her, he didn’t recognize her. Instead, it was Lee Han who found it strange.

Both didn’t recognize her, and since the grandmother didn’t come forward to explain, Baekyeong remained silent. In truth, there was also some distrust towards the Cheon family heir. Even though they had left the family, they could return anytime.

It took years for them to realize, but with the grandmother in poor health, they couldn’t hope for support. Cheon Eunhwa, instead of expressing regret, felt guilty and apologized to the grandmother, resting his head on her knee.

“So, I was most surprised when the old lady brought Lee Han’s soul here and gave blessings to the guardian spirits.”

One night, the grandmother suddenly woke up and said, “Some child is calling me…” trying to leave the hermitage, and Baekyeong, thinking she was looking for the waterfall again, blocked her way. But they crossed space and reached the accident site that night, finding Lee Han collapsed and carried him back.

“Maybe she answered a desperate prayer or something. Since then, she’s become even weaker, turning into an old lady barely holding on…”

Once again, Ryubeom was shocked by such sacrilege. Whenever he felt moved by the deity’s care, Baekyeong’s shocking remarks broke his sentiment. He looked at him pleadingly to speak respectfully, but Baekyeong just shrugged.

There’s a barrier around the hermitage too, preventing others from approaching unless they follow a specific route. Sometimes humans that the grandmother brought from outside stayed briefly and then left, forgetting the visit soon after.

Ryubeom realized why the hermitage remained unknown and felt a bit dazed. He naturally believed in the tiger deity’s existence, but meeting her was surprising. Or maybe it felt unreal to meet her in this state.

Then he noticed an odd part in the earlier story.

“But I heard my father kept releasing guardian spirits after recovering. How did the elders not notice? Did the deity…?”

During a search of the underground warehouse, Guil mentioned a commotion three years ago. Guil had been very uncertain but eventually found broken jar fragments there. Ryubeom also heard from his father that he had been continuously releasing guardian spirits.

Probably more spirits were released in places Guil hadn’t identified. But for the elders not to notice until this year’s landslide… Was it the deity’s doing somehow?

“Well…”

But Baekyeong didn’t answer right away. He looked Ryubeom up and down with a very peculiar expression, then asked an unexpected question.

“Do you still carry the wooden token?”

“What? If you mean the family token, it’s in my pocket…”

“No, not that. The wooden token proving you resolved the Sagwido issue.”

“Oh, that… I carry it with me… How do you know about that?”

Why, a sound caught his attention that made him look at Baekyeong with curiosity. The noise came from where his grandmother was.

“Oh my!”

There was a clatter as the chair overturned. Baekyeong ran towards the sound almost instantly. He moved so quickly that Ryubeom’s clothes fluttered.

Ryubeom followed him anxiously, hearing Baekyeong’s greeting.

“Ah, our precious informer has arrived. It’s been a long time since we met here.”

Informer? There’s really someone who acts as an informer? Feeling puzzled, Ryubeom stepped out in front of the hermitage and froze upon seeing the figure. Dressed neatly in a white suit, with carefully slicked-back blond hair, and…

Golden eyes that shone with a subtle yet cold light under the sunlight.

“You look very comfortable. Someone else had a hard time erasing the traces in the barrier.”

Cheon Hoyeon was there.

While Ryubeom stood frozen, Lee Han came out of the storage room. Seeing Cheon Hoyeon visiting the hermitage, he briefly bowed his head in greeting.

“It’s been a while.”

Cheon Hoyeon nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

This sight further confused Ryubeom. No one but him seemed surprised. The reason the grandmother’s chair had toppled was because she had rushed to greet Cheon Hoyeon, who had come after a long time. Ryubeom couldn’t close his gaping mouth.

Seeing his reaction, Baekyeong shook his head.

“You had no idea, did you? Well, it shows just how meticulous they were.”

Despite Baekyeong’s admiring gaze, Cheon Hoyeon didn’t react much, merely informing Baekyeong briefly about the current situation. She had erased all traces left near Kyung Jaehwan’s mansion but advised against intrusions for a few days just in case.

“I’m still investigating the place where the guardian spirits are, and I will contact you once I have more concrete information. And…”

Ending the conversation with Baekyeong, Cheon Hoyeon turned to Ryubeom.

“Cheon Ryubeom, you haven’t met with the elders, have you?”

“What? Ah, no, I haven’t.”

Ryubeom found himself standing straighter as he responded. His habit of dealing with Cheon Hoyeon in the family showed. Cheon Hoyeon seemed slightly displeased with his stammering but didn’t comment, leading the way to the back of the hermitage.

“Come along, we need to talk.”

She acted as if she had been expecting this day to come. Still feeling confused, Ryubeom watched her walk away and felt a pat on his shoulder.

“Go on.”

It was his father. Ryubeom noticed no suspicion in his eyes. Instead of worrying about the potential danger of being alone with Cheon Hoyeon, he seemed more concerned that the child who had just learned the truth might feel hurt.

As he headed to the backyard, Ryubeom was troubled by various questions. Is Cheon Hoyeon unrelated to the other elders and the corruption within the foundation? He knew she became an elder only about a decade ago…

His doubts were dispelled by the fact that not only Baekyeong and his father but also his grandmother, the tiger deity, welcomed her. However, his confusion didn’t completely vanish.

Cheon Hoyeon spoke as soon as Ryubeom arrived in front of her.

“Why did you go to Kyung Jaehwan’s house? What did you talk about with him?”

“…I didn’t know it was Kyung Jaehwan’s house when I entered. I was following the traces of the guardian spirits. When I asked if anything unusual had happened recently, he said the elders had already inspected it.”

Although the conversation didn’t align with his questions, this time Ryubeom answered without stammering. When Cheon Hoyeon asked about the search, he explained from the beginning. He omitted the part about the help from the fox clan, saying he found out the foundation was involved by visiting collapsed buildings himself, which made her curious but she eventually nodded.

Cheon Hoyeon murmured softly, seemingly more concerned about another matter for now.

“It was wise not to reveal anything special, but the fact that your investigation led you to Kyung Jaehwan’s mansion might not sit well with the elders. They didn’t want you to investigate this matter from the start.”

“…Are you worried they’ll figure out that the entity that unlocked Sagwido is linked to my parents?”

“Right. They only backed off because they thought you wouldn’t hear about it, since they cut out the tongue when they created the guardian deity. And they assumed you would fail. Even they couldn’t handle it, so they planned to overturn Yuseom Mountain if you did.

Since the first landslide this year, the elders have been searching Yuseom Mountain but couldn’t fully probe it, worried about attracting too much attention. Hearing that, Ryubeom vaguely recalled when Cheon Hoyeon had told him to go to Jeju Island first.

He wanted to ask something, but he was too confused to know where to start. The mere fact of talking with Cheon Hoyeon here was so bewildering and surprising that he only answered her questions diligently.

“How did you find out that the Sagwi was a guardian deity? It’s hard to deduce just from the Cheon foundation’s involvement.”

“Ah, well, I overheard a phone call…”

He explained that Kyung Jaehwan’s chief secretary had betrayed him, and following up on a mention of ‘elders taking care of him,’ he found out. The exposé materials he found in the secretary’s car supported his suspicion, but more precisely…

“I saw Changgui attacking Oh Seok-tae while he was trying to escape. It ambushed him on a mountain road, causing his car to fall off a cliff…”

For the first time, Ryubeom’s steady voice trembled slightly. The scene replayed in his mind, making his fingertips shake. Even knowing the full story now, recalling it was horrifying.

Cheon Hoyeon’s expression changed. Her golden eyes, fixed on Ryubeom, darkened.

“…Seeing that scene brought back erased memories.”

Ryubeom felt confused. Hearing about Oh Seok-tae’s accident and immediately linking it to his memories puzzled him, then he suddenly remembered Cheon Hoyeon persistently asking why he feared Changgui.

‘There’s no fear without a reason.’

He also remembered when Cheon Hoyeon had blocked the elders from claiming the credit for solving the last Sagwi incident, allowing Ryubeom to complete the search.

And a few months ago, after solving the mermaid case, he recalled Cheon Hoyeon warning about the dangers of memorial rites.

‘There’s nothing more terrible than a tiger becoming evil…’

Past memories he hadn’t considered began resurfacing, making Cheon Hoyeon seem unfamiliar. One memory led to another, and soon, even trivial memories like her offering the family treasure and tidying his clothes came back…

“When… and how…”

In the end, Ryubeom blurted out incoherent questions. He wanted to organize his confusion and ask properly, but no matter how much time he took, he couldn’t. He could only mutter fragments of words. Cheon Hoyeon wasn’t mentioned in his father’s stories either…

Cheon Hoyeon met Ryubeom’s gaze calmly.

“How, you ask…”

Though their eyes met, Ryubeom felt as if she were looking at something else. Emotions he had never seen but which she had long harbored flickered in her golden eyes. A distant longing and a fragmentary guilt.

“That child was my sibling.”

Her murmuring, as if her throat had been cut by hundreds of shards, echoed sadly.

“No, among our clan, it may sound insufficient given how they kill each other…”

Cheon Hoyeon’s eyes dropped to the ground as she sneered, as if finding it absurd to mention such a reason first, yet it being her primary reason.

* * *

“…I was shocked when that child, Eunhwa, left the family. The elders clicked their tongues, saying she had run away because she couldn’t bear the weight of the Cheon family, but the youngest I knew wasn’t like that.”

Ryubeom listened blankly to the story told in a low, subdued voice. He was astonished by the expression on Cheon Hoyeon’s face, which he had never seen before, and the portrayal of his mother was different from what he had heard at dawn.

When his mother left the family, Cheon Hoyeon was preparing to become an elder. It was a time when her pride in the family was at its peak, and there was no mistrust or doubt in the power of the Cheon family.

“Maybe because of my state, Eunhwa didn’t say anything even when we met at Yeonggokbong. She just said she needed to take Yeongyahwa for her sick child… I thought I was doing my part by turning a blind eye to it.”

Ryubeom recalled his first memory of his mother returning from a long journey to find herbs for his ailment. So she had been to Yeonggokbong then…

After that encounter, they occasionally exchanged letters.

Though the letters came roughly once a year, Cheon Hoyeon was satisfied with that. It was shocking that the youngest had met a human unexpectedly outside and had a child, but she thought it was just a simple deviation.

Cheon Eunhwa had been extraordinary since birth and had grown rapidly, passing the successor test in no time. She had studied within the family for decades, so it made sense that she would become curious about human society when discussions about establishing the Cheon foundation began. She thought Eunhwa would return after a century, as humans don’t live long.

“I thought she was living peacefully. The letters mentioned how much you had grown, how cute you were, and that your birth flower was the golden flower. She used to dry and send it, saying it was a very beautiful flower resembling you…”

Cheon Hoyeon didn’t ask for detailed circumstances. She simply sent money in envelopes occasionally, thinking she was being considerate by not prying into the youngest’s situation.

She could have asked why they were constantly moving or why they wandered like they were being chased, but she didn’t, using her busy schedule for the elder exams as an excuse.

Cheon Hoyeon’s letters contained her studies of the family’s history and rules, and her affection for it… or rather, looking back, it was a fanatical praise.

It wasn’t until the accident occurred that Cheon Hoyeon realized she had been silencing the youngest. When they first met at Yeonggokbong, why had Cheon Eunhwa hesitated to say something to her, who was preparing for the elder exams? And why did her letters only talk about the child?

If something happens… take care of my child.

After the Cheon foundation was finally established, years delayed, why had Cheon Eunhwa’s letter contained that plea?

Cheon Eunhwa died in the first year Cheon Hoyeon became an elder. As soon as she heard the news, Cheon Hoyeon used her position to verify the truth at the Cheon foundation. She took Ryubeom to the family and had many thoughts. If Cheon Eunhwa erased the child’s memories, it meant he had seen the elders, so she had to prevent those memories from resurfacing. At that time, the elders were indeed watching Ryubeom.

The child had to grow up inadequately. If he used ‘divine power’ within the family, the elders might discover he was of the bloodline of the massacred divine family. Cheon Ryubeom had to appear to the elders as an unremarkable child, not worth their attention.

Cheon Hoyeon didn’t need to do anything else. Other family members also harassed Cheon Eunhwa’s child out of fear, so she just had to stand by. Although it was very difficult, she even considered raising the child outside, but that was impossible. A young Suin unable to control its energy was like a delicious meal for evil spirits.

There were two choices: Stay with the people who killed his parents in a safe place or be left outside to be eaten by evil spirits.

In the end, all Cheon Hoyeon could do was prevent the elders from excluding Ryubeom from education due to his poor test scores. She argued that even a half-blood of the Cheon family should learn to handle spiritual power and not embarrass the family outside. Despite repeatedly failing the regular exams, she kept Ryubeom’s name on the next exam list.

Some days, she would look at Ryubeom asleep in the attic, refill his medicine, and leave as if running away. She had given him a distant attic room to avoid the bullying at the main house, but all these choices made her feel guilty.

“For the first few years, I watched Cheon Ryubeom from afar. I stayed vigilant, ensuring the elders wouldn’t do anything suspicious. Only when they deemed Ryubeom powerless and lost interest did I leave.

Following the traces of Cheon Eunhwa, I ended up at the hermitage. After learning more of the truth, I waited until Ryubeom came of age.

The head of the family set a condition for Ryubeom: ‘Prove your abilities, and I will help you.’ In the Suin society, proving one’s abilities implies observing until coming of age, using this as a pretext to send him away from the main house. Ryubeom’s dreams could never come true with the elders around.

They planned to expel Ryubeom after ensuring he learned the minimal amount of magic. If not for the incident at the Korean restaurant, things might have gone as I intended.

“I never intended for you to handle Sagwido. That foolish idea came from elders unaware of Yuseom Mountain’s connection to the guardian spirits.”

“…Did you hope I wouldn’t learn the truth?”

“Yes. Seeing what happened to others who did…”

“…”

“Your father agreed too, thinking it best for you to live in ignorance. With the elders uninterested and time having passed, we thought your determination had waned.”

Cheon Hoyeon seemed to search her memories, her gaze distant.

“But you chose Sagwido. Despite warnings of danger, you insisted on going.”

Ryubeom blinked slowly, then suddenly, a flash of realization made him pull out the wooden token from his pocket. When setting out to investigate Sagwido, he received two things from the family: a map and a wooden token. Cheon Hoyeon gave it to him to verify he had properly dealt with the spirit by capturing its energy.

After resolving Hyojomyeon, Cheon Hoyeon checked the token, so he thought it was only for that purpose. Seeing the wooden token in his hand, Cheon Hoyeon nodded slowly.

“It contains a one-time spell to prevent your immediate death.”

Sagwido was extremely dangerous, so she set up an insurance policy. Cheon Hoyeon looked at the token, wondering if it was fortunate that it hadn’t been activated yet. Maybe if it had, Ryubeom would have realized the horror of Sagwido and backed out. She had somewhat hoped for that.

But now, it seemed Cheon Ryubeom wouldn’t have backed down even after such an event. The upright gaze meeting hers, the eyes so much like Cheon Eunhwa’s, told her so.

“You came all this way…”

Cheon Hoyeon murmured softly, and Ryubeom gazed at her. Her stories were astonishing and heart-wrenching.

He thought he was alone in the family, feeling lonely without anyone’s attention, yet someone had been watching over him from afar. It felt like hearing an unreal story. Having never felt Cheon Hoyeon’s secret care, it all seemed so unfamiliar.

However, there was no hint of her boasting about past actions now, only deep guilt.

Recalling the recent conversation with Baekyeong, Ryubeom sighed.

“The recent quiet release of guardian spirits, did you do that secretly?”

“…Yes. I can identify who received the guardian spirits and approach them.”

In the past, Cheon Eunhwa had to stealthily and hurriedly release the guardian spirits, causing houses to collapse. The guardian spirits were household gods, and their departure caused the house to fall.

But Cheon Hoyeon, with her access to information, could locate the hidden places and choose the right time to quietly release the spirits.

“But wouldn’t humans notice the disappearance of guardian spirits and report it to the elders?”

“…That’s because I caused discord.”

Cheon Hoyeon answered simply. Humans who lost guardian spirits due to Cheon Eunhwa were given new ones by the elders. Early recipients of guardian spirits were influential figures in human society, so their accidents had to be managed. The Red Dan family collapsed quickly as they became evil gods, leaving no room for intervention.

More recent recipients of guardian spirits didn’t have as much power or deep connections with the elders. So before they could contact the elders, Cheon Hoyeon reached out first, sowing discord. She claimed the elders initially embedded weak gods to exploit benefits and would demand higher prices for new guardian spirits.

“The Cheon Foundation is already well-established. I thought internal division would be more effective than external attacks in bringing it down.”

“Once you’ve received a guardian spirit, you can’t easily step away from the Cheon Foundation. While there are considerable advantages to being associated with the foundation, those who lose their guardian spirits naturally harbor resentment. Knowing there are others who have been blessed again causes conflicts arising from comparison.

‘This event is unusually grand…’

Suddenly, Ryubeom recalled hearing remarks at the foundation’s event. Perhaps the elders sensed the unrest and enlarged the event to strengthen solidarity.

“Now that you’ve come this far, we need to devise a new plan.”

Cheon Hoyeon’s low voice made Ryubeom look at her curiously. Her eyes, previously clouded by memories, slowly cleared and grew sharp.

“First, I plan to release the guardian spirit trapped in Kyung Jaehwan’s mansion once I locate it. The Red Dan guardian spirit is particularly fixated there. To prevent further landslides, it must be freed quickly. And if that man wins the presidential election, it will be irreversible.”

Unlike other guardian spirits, the Red Dan spirit broke its seal and emerged, harboring deep resentment. It was on the verge of becoming an evil spirit. Its primary desire was to free the guardian spirit trapped in Kyung Jaehwan’s mansion.

Kyung Jaehwan had risen to presidential candidacy with the Cheon family’s support. While previous presidents were favorable towards the Cheon family, Kyung Jaehwan fanatically worshipped it. If he won the election, his loyalty would intensify, leading to elder tyranny. Businesses would be manipulated for exploitation, and voices exposing this would be silenced, much like Oh Seok-tae, or countless incidents before him.

Foreseeing a terrible future, Ryubeom nodded.

“Yes, I will assist my father in memorializing the guardian spirits.”

Despite their resentment mirroring his own, Ryubeom was determined to memorialize them. Beyond fear of opening the ghost gate, he wanted to end their suffering, having been forcibly created, exploited, and unable to voice their pain.

Cheon Hoyeon’s eyes narrowed, confirming Ryubeom’s resolve. She scrutinized him as if expecting, yet finding it novel, before nodding slightly.

“Yes. And as you may have guessed… the family head is unaware of this situation. The elders control the foundation and business dealings with humans. He’s solely focused on pursuing the fox clan head.”

“Oh…”

“Perhaps he’s vaguely aware that the elders are using the family’s energy for something, but as long as the family’s reputation isn’t tarnished, he doesn’t care…”

A faint sneer laced Cheon Hoyeon’s voice. Ryubeom also knew the elders managed the foundation’s major projects. Given his situation since entering the family after ‘that day,’ he was certain the family head was ignorant of the truth. Ryubeom spoke cautiously.

“If the family head cherished my mother, maybe if he knew the truth…”

“No.”

But Cheon Hoyeon coldly crushed Ryubeom’s hopes.

“I just told you. He doesn’t care as long as the family’s reputation remains intact.”

“…What?”

“Has the distribution of guardian spirits harmed the family’s reputation? No, it’s bolstered its standing in human society. The Cheon Foundation’s power now surpasses the legendary tiger’s. What truly contradicts the family head’s standards… is Eunhwa.”

Cheon Eunhwa’s plan to expose the elders’ crimes and topple the family’s prestige by releasing all the guardian spirits contradicted the family head’s standards. Even the family head’s silencing of her name was telling. He was outraged by her fleeing the family and meeting humans without permission, deeming it unbefitting of the Cheon family’s stature.

He cherished Cheon Eunhwa solely because she possessed the greatest power. Cheon Hoyeon sneered, suggesting that he might even rebuke her, arguing problems should be resolved internally. The deep disillusionment felt similar to the hopes Ryubeom held.

“Even if he’s angered by Eunhwa’s death, it’s fundamentally about the elders deceiving him. Any punishment would be light, perhaps just a few years of self-reflection.”

“…”

“And with preparations for war against the fox clan head, how could he deal with the elders now?”

Ryubeom felt a sickening decay in his gut. If the family head wouldn’t properly punish the elders, how could he hold them accountable for his mother’s death? While aware of Cheon Hoyeon’s support, he doubted releasing guardian spirits to incite internal division would suffice, given the elders continuously created new ones.

Stopping Kyung Jaehwan wouldn’t end the issues. What could he possibly do? An uncontrollable anger welled up inside. Joy at his father’s survival at dawn turned to fury as the truth sank in by morning.

Seeing Ryubeom staring at the ground, Cheon Hoyeon asked a question.

“Cheon Ryubeom. Are you angry? Do you feel rage?”

“…Yes. But what can I possibly do…”

Ryubeom answered in a trembling voice, not knowing how to handle the torrent of emotions inside him, feeling only swept away by the anguish.

“I will say that you have closed all the Sagwido.”

“…What?”

“If we leave the guardian spirits undisturbed in the hermitage for a while, the elders will think you have eliminated them without knowing anything.”

She declared that they would create a believable ruckus on Yuseom Mountain to make it seem like the evil spirits had disappeared. After all, Cheon Hoyeon had always been the one to verify the resolution of Sagwido incidents.

“Then you will qualify to take the Honorable Test for entering Daehogwan.”

When Cheon Ryubeom closes all the Sagwido nationwide, he gains two rewards: finding his father and qualifying for Daehogwan. Since finding his father would be a convoluted process and could not be deeply investigated, Cheon Hoyeon decided to handle it.

What she truly wanted to talk about was the ‘test.’

“You need to pass that test and become the successor of the Cheon family.”

“What, what do you mean…”

“As a successor, more scrutiny will be directed at you. The elders won’t want Eunhwa’s child to become the family head, so they will oppose you at every turn, but I will handle that. You need to lay low.”

“…”

“Until the moment you become the family head.”

Her golden eyes looked directly at Ryubeom.

“The head of the tiger clan doesn’t ascend merely by voting. Successfully completing the Honorable Test grants you divine power. Only after this succession process do you become the true family head.”

The succession within the tiger clan is unique, distinguished from other families by a solid mythological foundation. Cheon Eunhwa used the divine power to save Lee Han, which was the same power that bound even dying beings to this land. As a successor, she used that power remarkably; as a true family head, Ryubeom would have even greater strength.

“The head of a mythologically-based family wields god-like power. Family members cannot instinctively defy the head’s will. This means you will have the power to subjugate the family members.”

“…”

“At that time, with your current rage, punish the elders.”

Ryubeom could only listen in shock to Cheon Hoyeon’s words. Though she seemed calm, her tone carried undeniable anger.

“Wait until you can do everything you wish.”

Her eyes held intense emotions as she envisioned that moment. Was it an expectation steeped in anger or a deep sense of powerlessness she had felt one day?

The profound emotion, tinged with a touch of fear, directed at Ryubeom. It felt like a declaration of a future plan, or perhaps…

“Create a moment where your will is not trampled.”

It was almost like a desperate plea.

“Ensure you are not crushed and disappear.”

* * *

A few hours later.

Ryubeom was quietly sitting on the veranda of the hermitage. Since finishing his conversation with Cheon Hoyeon and after she left the hermitage, he had stayed in that spot. He looked either seriously contemplative or half-dazed.

“What’s wrong with him…?”

Baekyeong waved a hand in front of his face, and only when Lee Han approached and placed a hand on his shoulder did Ryubeom flinch and respond. Baekyeong seemed bewildered, wondering if he was invisible, but Ryubeom couldn’t help it. Learning the truth from Cheon Hoyeon was shocking enough, but the subsequent revelations were even more staggering.

Becoming the head of the Cheon family.

It was something he had never considered or dared to dream of. Since entering the family, he had had only one dream, and he never thought he was skilled enough to participate in the competition for successor, even if he solved all the Sagwido incidents.

So much had happened, and Cheon Hoyeon had given him direction amidst his confusion, promising full support if he decided to pursue it.

Of course, walking that path was a significant burden and not an easy task. Returning to the family meant facing those who had killed his parents.

But those enemies could not be confronted with anger alone.

Merely knowing the Cheon Foundation’s corruption wasn’t enough. Cheon Hoyeon remarked that Oh Seok-tae’s attempt to expose corruption would have been buried anyway. While it might impact Kyung Jaehwan’s presidential campaign, the blessing of guardian spirits meant the power dynamics wouldn’t shift, and the foundation wouldn’t collapse.

The foundation could defend itself, claiming no undue pressure in securing sponsorships, and those benefitting from the guardian spirits would support this narrative. This might cause suspicion and tarnish their honor, but only briefly.

‘The most terrifying power in the world is the power to conceal the truth.’

Even if the truth exists, making sure no one sees it, letting time pass until it’s buried and forgotten. Cheon Hoyeon said that upon learning about this, some might even seek out the elders to receive guardian spirits.

Pondering her words, Ryubeom fell into deep thought, his amber eyes reflecting the scenery of the hermitage.

“Why are you putting so much food in? You’ll use everything up!”

“You have to feed the child well. Look how thin he is…”

“Good grief, you make it sound like a skeleton walking around.”

Baekyeong and his father were noisily conversing in front of the kitchen, preparing dinner. His father was generously using ingredients while Baekyeong complained about creating a nine-dish feast.

Baekyeong had lived alone for a long time. Tigers he met would initially show interest in him as a white tiger, but upon learning he had no spiritual power, they would treat him as a mutant and distance themselves. Even as a tiger Suin, he couldn’t use spiritual power, which was peculiar to the conservative Cheon family’s influence.

His father, living with Baekyeong, had long abandoned his identity, living as if he were dead. The incident where tigers destroyed the shrine was completely covered up and never became controversial, merely circulating as a frightening tale among those who knew.

“…”

Cheon Ryubeom had been proud of his family. Historically, the Cheon family had a mythology that justified such pride. The stories of how tigers became mountain lords and why humans worshipped them were tied to the Cheon family. For a long time, the Cheon family had rightfully been called the leaders of the Suin, but…

‘Stagnation leads to decay.’

His mother’s voice echoed in his mind. Ryubeom quietly looked at his hands. Anger pointed a clear direction, but worry about his capability still held him back. At that moment, a soft call echoed in his mind.

‘Why are you hesitating?’

“You’re doing well.”

Though the voice came out of nowhere, it tingled in his ears as if spoken right beside him. Whenever he fell into deep thought and his expression darkened, the voice would nudge his nose, snapping him out of his reverie. Always telling him how amazing he was, gently praising his efforts…

Yeohwi.

Just thinking about Yeohwi made Cheon Ryubeom feel anchored. He had been adrift in a storm of confusion, but thoughts of Yeohwi provided a brief respite, letting him rest and regroup.

He had promised to return to Yeohwi, to tell him everything.

He didn’t want to show Yeohwi his confusion, his lack of confidence. Though the future seemed uncertain, having a goal clarified Ryubeom’s thoughts. It was a remarkable feeling.

Soon, Ryubeom stood up and moved.

“Grandmother, if you sleep here, you’ll catch a cold.”

After hours of contemplation, he noticed his grandmother asleep, curled up on a chair by the tree. He remembered Baekyeong’s advice to not over-coddle her, as it might make her uncomfortable.

His grandmother was deeply asleep. Ryubeom draped a blanket over her shoulders and squatted in front, gazing up at her. Despite knowing she was a deity, he felt no divine aura from her. Watching her made him fear she might stop breathing.

It seemed as if she would never open her eyes again.

What had happened to her? He understood that guarding the guardian spirits had drained her energy. The corrupt desires humans had towards tigers also shook the deity. These reasons solidified Ryubeom’s resolve.

But for her memory to become so unstable, there must be a stronger cause…

“Child…”

His grandmother opened her eyes then. Watching her blurry, unfocused gaze, Ryubeom worried.

“It’s cold out, let’s go inside. The room is very warm.”

“I don’t like the heat…”

Sleepily, she muttered and shook off Ryubeom’s hand. Though she was small and frail enough to be lifted with one hand, Ryubeom couldn’t bring himself to do so. Reflecting on her habits, he remembered she usually stayed outside.

After some thought, Ryubeom sighed and pulled something from his pocket.

“Then please wear this from now on. It will keep you warm.”

It looked like an ordinary jade ring but was a family treasure. It contained a spell to summon strong storms, and wearing it calmed the surrounding air, preventing chills and thus colds.

His grandmother blinked slowly at the offered ring and then smiled faintly. Her wrinkled hand reached out, patting Ryubeom’s head. Her cloudy eyes held a distant light.

“Oh my, you’ve finally succeeded in making such things. To embed spells in such small objects.”

“Ah, yes. The family head created it.”

“I see. And you shared them with humans as well? They must have been grateful.”

“…Excuse me? I heard they were shared with other Suin families…”

Ryubeom answered in confusion. Spells were initially only embedded in talismans, but the tiger head had researched embedding them in various forms, usable with spiritual power alone. Though such items had been made before, the head further refined their practicality.

He had heard these could be adapted for humans without spiritual power, but only a few received them. Spells were considered a mysterious power for strong Suins, not something to share with humans.

Feeling a strange sense of unease, Ryubeom fell silent, then his grandmother clapped.

“Oh right, how is the baby?”

“Ah, I am fine.”

“My heart ached seeing you cry with a high fever last time…”

“…Excuse me? I don’t remember being that sick…”

“Oh dear, talking about the baby again. It’s been quiet lately.”

As Ryubeom answered in confusion, Baekyeong approached, shaking his head. It seemed this had happened before; he told Ryubeom not to worry and helped him to his feet.

Feeling embarrassed for answering the question about the ‘baby,’ Ryubeom rubbed his neck and cautiously asked Baekyeong.

“Did Grandmother have a baby?”

“Well, she might be talking about someone else’s baby rather than her own.”

“That makes sense…”

“She always says there’s a baby beyond the waterfall or something. She calls everything a baby, which can be confusing.”

Baekyeong shrugged but then warned Ryubeom with a serious tone.

“But it’s best to be careful at times like this. When her mind falters, looking directly into her eyes might make you see strange things.”

“Strange things?”

“You get swept into her memories. I can’t see properly and get repelled because I lack spiritual power, but if you’re not careful, it might break your mind. Mortal beings who peek into a deity’s memory might die.”

The heavy warning, unlike Baekyeong’s usual demeanor, left Ryubeom nodding in dazed acknowledgment.