TLSSBTD CHAPTER 13

Episode 13

“There’s a light over there.”
“Ignore it.”

‘Ignore it?’

If that light was truly a manor house, perhaps she could beg for a room or at least a storeroom. That way, even if she couldn’t sleep on a blanket, she could at least avoid sleeping on bare ground.

Gahwa once again looked toward the light. She stretched her neck forward to peek and confirm whether it really was a manor, but then the dragon quietly called to her.

“It’s better if you stop paying attention.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because that’s a will-o’-the-wisp.”

The old monk answered on his behalf. At those words, Gahwa quickly clutched the dragon’s sleeve and hid behind him.

“This mountain is a place where goblins appear often. They’re a simple lot, sometimes playing tricks on travelers or challenging them to wrestling matches. But they’re mischievous more than dangerous, so if left alone, they won’t do much. If it frightens you, I can chase it away.”

The old monk swung his staff toward the will-o’-the-wisp, and the light scattered and vanished at once. Only then did Gahwa let out a breath of relief.

“You’re more timid than I thought.”

The dragon lifted the arm that Gahwa was clutching. Embarrassed, she hastily let go of his robe and stepped back.

“No, it’s just… it’s my first time seeing a yokai.”
“Excuses, nothing more.”

The dragon withdrew his arm and walked on ahead. He looked so arrogant that Gahwa glared heatedly at the back of his head—only to suddenly meet the monk’s eyes. Awkward, she quickly turned her head away.

“Wait, let’s rest a bit.”

After walking for a long while, Gahwa collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Her face showed how drained she was. It had been about two hours since she’d seen the will-o’-the-wisp.

The sky had already darkened, and it was now difficult to see ahead. Once the sun sets, the mountains are swiftly swallowed by darkness.

“It’s better if we keep walking a little more,” the monk urged.

But Gahwa shook her head firmly. Because of his constant urging, she hadn’t had a single chance to rest.

Even if she used to frequent the marketplace like her own front yard, she had spent most of her life confined within the palace. It was natural she wasn’t physically strong. And starting off with such a grueling mountain path had already drained her stamina.

“No, it’s not possible. Just… just one quarter-hour of rest.”

Gahwa lifted her finger, summoning her last reserves of strength. If she forced herself to keep walking, she felt she might faint on the spot.

Her vision blurred, her surroundings darkening. For the first time, she realized that there are things willpower alone cannot overcome. If she was to survive here, she’d have to build up her fragile strength first.

Looking at her thin wrist, she wished that by the time this harsh mountain journey ended, at least some stamina would have taken root in her body.

“Huff…”

She exhaled deeply. The dragon, seeing this, sat down on a large boulder nearby. Only then did the monk also sit down beside him.

Gahwa began to steady her breathing. After several rounds, her breath finally calmed, and her vision cleared again.

With some space to think, she looked around at the others. She herself was exhausted, yet the monk, already over sixty, looked perfectly fine.

Without a bead of sweat, he leisurely stroked his beard as though nothing had happened.

The dragon, meanwhile… wasn’t even worth mentioning. He simply rolled a leaf in his mouth, chewing lazily. Their eyes suddenly met.

“Tobacco is said to be addictive. I suppose that’s true?” Gahwa pointed to the leaf.

She’d once read about tobacco in a book. The dragon tilted his head languidly.

“So they say.”

But clearly, it didn’t affect him. Then why chew it at all? Her eyes asked silently. He shrugged faintly.

“A habit.”

If it had become a habit, he must’ve smoked it often. Depending on the herbs used, tobacco could help one sleep or lighten one’s mood.

She couldn’t tell his purpose for smoking it, but it must’ve soothed his moods across long years.

“That’s enough curiosity. For now, let’s rest here.”

The dragon turned his head to look at the monk. Startled, the monk quickly nodded.

“Ah, yes. As you wish.”

Unlike earlier, when he kept urging Gahwa along, he readily agreed this time. The dragon jerked his chin.

“Then you light the fire. And you—save your strength.”

At his command, the monk moved swiftly, snapping twigs and branches from the brush nearby.

Too busy catching her breath, Gahwa didn’t notice how naturally the monk obeyed the dragon’s words without complaint.

Meanwhile, the dragon’s eyes stayed fixed on the monk. When the monk crouched to light the fire, the back of his robe bulged strangely.

“!”

The dragon chuckled quietly at the sight.

Gahwa, unaware, still focused on her breathing while keeping her guard up.

Looking closely, it seemed a good place to spend the night. Brush surrounded them, shielding them from wind. The large trees concealed them well, and the ground was flat enough to lie down.

When the monk lit the fire, the warmth spread quickly, enclosing them in comfort.

“All done,” the monk said, puffing air to build the flames higher.

Gahwa stretched her hand out toward the fire, letting its warmth chase away the cold and fatigue. Her body eased, and with comfort came hunger.

She realized she hadn’t eaten since early that morning in the carriage—too busy walking all day.

Digging through her pack, she brought out rice balls she had prepared earlier.

“You must all be hungry. Here, take one.”

She handed each person one rice ball, then pulled out some jerky, splitting it into three small pieces and handing them out as well.

It was a simple meal, but after so long, it tasted like a delicacy.

While Gahwa ate every grain of rice, the monk did not eat, instead holding the food close to his chest.

Pausing with her jerky, Gahwa spoke with concern. He was the eldest of the three; surely the journey must be taxing.

“Are you… not hungry?”
“No, it’s just—it’s been so long since I’ve seen rice.”

At those words, the dragon’s eyebrows lifted. He put down his food and stared at the monk intently.

Startled, the monk broke into a cold sweat under the dragon’s gaze. A long, silent standoff followed.

Gahwa, confused and uneasy, darted her eyes back and forth.

And then, suddenly, the monk’s body stretched unnaturally, ballooning like a huge lump—or a small mountain.

“What in the world—!”

Terrified, Gahwa hid behind the dragon.

“As I thought.”

The dragon sneered, lips curling up.

“You got what you wanted, didn’t you? Then begone.”

At those words, the monk’s form shrank, curling into that of a cat. With the rice ball in its mouth, it darted into the brush.

Thump.

The sight was so unbelievable that Gahwa fell on her backside.

Too shocked even to scream, she pointed toward the thicket where the cat had disappeared.

“What… what was that?”
“A Nosŭngmyo,” the dragon replied calmly as he resumed eating.

“It’s a yokai that dons the skin of an old monk and pretends to be divine, demanding rice from people. Likely, with fewer travelers in these mountains, offerings of rice dwindled. Eventually, when people stopped coming, it had to search for rice itself.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“Not really, as long as you give it rice. The directions it gave were fairly accurate, too.”

Gahwa looked around anxiously. By his words, they seemed to have taken the right path, but in the darkness and forest, she couldn’t be certain. Exhausted, she had relied completely on the monk.

“Still, it’s best to check the compass.”
“!”

Snapping out of it, Gahwa pulled out her map and compass.

If they’d stayed on course, they should be near the top of the first ridge. Even accounting for her slowing pace, they should have passed halfway at least.

But the compass needle spun aimlessly, unable to find direction. She shook it, but it was useless.

“The needle’s broken,” she said, handing it over.

The dragon shook his head after one glance.

“The yokai energy here must be strong. Compasses won’t work. For now, repack your things and rest. We’ll set out at dawn.”
“But if we don’t know the direction—”
“It doesn’t matter. As long as we reach the riverbank, we’ll be fine.”

Gahwa recalled his words about being able to sense the shards’ power and nodded. That meant they could still reach their destination even without clear directions.

Still, they had come this way to seek a fragment.

“You said there was a shard here as well.”
“So I did. You’ll see when the time comes.”

Perhaps he meant it was somewhere along this ridge. Gahwa nodded and began repacking.

She stowed her things and pulled out what she needed for the night. The northern ridges grew colder as night fell.

She put on a quilted jacket and wrapped herself in a blanket, leaning back against a tree.

The dragon, finding the ground too cold, spread a blanket beneath him like a cushion. Yet he frowned, clearly displeased.

Before he could complain, Gahwa spoke first.

“If you wanted silk bedding, you should have hired porters.”

The dragon gave her a quiet glare, then after much shifting, leaned against a boulder.

“I’ll stand first watch. Rest. I’ll wake you after four hours.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll take the first shift.”
“Not with that face,” he said, pointing at her half-closed eyes.

She was desperately trying to stay awake. The long trek, the yokai incident, the broken compass—her body and mind were drained. And with matters resolved for now, her tension had finally unraveled.

If she let go of her tenuous grip on consciousness, she would collapse into sleep instantly. Lowering her head, she conceded.

“Then… I leave it to you.”

She closed her eyes. Fatigue washed over her, and drowsiness claimed her quickly.

Still, her nerves were taut, and she hovered between sleep and wakefulness. Just as her mind was about to sink into deep sleep—

“Waaaaahhh!”

A baby’s cry.

At first, she thought she was dreaming. After all, how could a baby cry here, in these haunted mountains?

“Waaaahhh!”

But the sound persisted. Gahwa opened her eyes, unable to sleep.

“Did you not hear a baby crying?”

The dragon calmly poked at the fire with a branch. Glancing toward the brush beyond, he shook his head.

“You’ve already experienced this. Don’t pay it any mind. Sleep.”
“But—”
“It’s fine. That is the cry of a Hogurokmo.”