Snowlight Chapter 6

Yu Won bit his lip hard. Tears welled up in his eyes.

 

He had never been greedy. He had simply wanted to live without being pointed at. How hard he had tried not to look inadequate, not to seem like a monster. Was that even a grand ambition for a mere lowly creature?

 

“Boss, what should we do about that?”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“That woman… no, that guy.”

 

The young subordinate gestured toward Yu Won, who looked as if he had lost his mind.

 

“He may look like that, but if he’s riding in a flower-decorated palanquin, he’s undoubtedly the child of a noble family. Why don’t we take him hostage and try to bargain? Besides, didn’t you say he’s from Okyang? If he’s from a noble family in Okyang, we could probably squeeze a pretty penny out of them…”

 

“You fool! Is that the best you can come up with? Can’t you tell just by the fact that a noble family went out of their way to dress up lowly scum as a woman and send him here? That bastard is surely just a fake bride. What’s the point of bargaining with him?”

 

“I-I suppose you’re right.”

 

“I thought it was just an unlucky day because of the crows cawing, but damn it all!”

 

The boss spat phlegm onto the ground and approached Yu Won, who was still clinging to the corpse. Now that things had come to this, he intended to kill every last one of them. They were useless even if he spared them, he felt he’d only be satisfied if he killed them to vent his anger.

 

The Nati turned its head at the sound of a whistle. The boss spoke.

 

“Here’s your reward. Devour that one first.”

 

Thud, thud. Facing the approaching monster, Yu Won clenched his trembling jaw and swallowed a groan. If only he had a blade in his hand, he could have fought back somehow. But all he could grasp were cold snow and fallen leaves.

 

“If you’d been a woman, I’d have let you have your fill of a husband. But you’re just a pathetic scrawny man.”

 

The leader, who had been watching from a distance, grinned. The other men chuckled along with him. They were already excited at the thought of watching their helpless prey struggle for its life.

 

Just then, there was a sharp whistling sound, as if something were slicing through the air. A shadow fell over the bandits’ heads, and a massive hawk swooped down, clawing one of them.

 

“Aaaargh!”

 

The man, his eye gouged by the talon, covered his face and howled in pain. Another bird dove down, flapping its wings, and the bandits tumbled about like branches snapped by a gust of wind. The leader swung his long spear, driving the hawk away. The hawk did not head for the treetops or the high cliffs, but instead landed on a man’s arm.

 

“I thought it was flying so far just to catch a weasel, but it’s found something even better.”

 

The man scratched the hawk’s chin as it chirped, “Peep, peep,” as if in reply, and smiled.

 

“Yes, yes, what a good boy.”

 

In contrast to his gentle manner of speaking, his voice was deep and icy, as if echoing through a dark cave.

 

“You! You there! Where did you come from?”

 

One of the bandits shouted, thrusting a torch toward the man. Crunch, crunch. The sound of footsteps in the snow was leisurely. Soon, a young man stepped out into the bright moonlight.

 

The leader narrowed his eyes and glared at the intruder. A straw hat, arm warmers, and a coat woven from wool. Was he a hunter setting out on a hunt? If it were a patrol of government soldiers, that would be a problem, but a hunter roaming the northern mountains in winter was nothing more than another target.

 

It seemed he had heard the commotion while passing by and was sticking his nose into things for no good reason. 

 

“What a lucky coincidence. I can vent my frustration and make up for my meager earnings at the same time.” 

 

The leader grinned maliciously and craned his neck from side to side.

 

“I wondered what kind of stray bird had flown in here, but if you’re a hunter, you should be quietly hunting rabbits.”

 

“Well, I suppose I came here because there’s prey here that’s better than rabbits.”

 

“Did you hear that guy? He must be a coward who’s lost his nerve in this blizzard. Hahaha!”

 

At the defiant provocation, the henchmen joined in with sniggers. But he was just a hunter. No matter how skilled he was at training birds, how great could his tricks really be? Besides, there were twenty of them here, and he was alone over there. The leader, gripping his axe more firmly, stamped his foot. At the command to attack, the bandits, weapons in hand, charged toward the man all at once.

 

The man sighed as if annoyed, and just as he flung the hawk sitting on his arm into the air, a blizzard struck. Caught off guard by the sudden gust of wind, everyone frantically shielded their eyes with their arms. The man swiftly cut through the crowd and raised his sword, still in its sheath. After knocking several men aside with the flat of his blade in a single motion, he leaped downward.

 

As more than five or six bandits charged at him with spears, the man swung his sword. His movements were as graceful as a dance, yet wherever the blade struck, blood spattered and screams filled the air. It was a gruesome sight.

 

Men who had grabbed their guns in a desperate attempt to stop him fired wildly. Each time, snow swirled like a swarm of butterflies, obscuring the men’s movements. Half of them fell, and the other half fled, leaving only the leader standing alone.

 

The man looked around and shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Didn’t I tell you? I came here to hunt prey even better than a rabbit.”

 

“You… insolent… brat.”

 

At the man’s words, the boss ground his teeth. It made no sense that even twenty men charging at this single man couldn’t harm him.

 

He put a whistle to his lips and blew it mercilessly.

 

“Hurry up and kill him! I said kill him!”

 

The sound of the whistle, blown frantically in his haste, seemed to tear the air. The Nati, who had been shaking its head violently, slammed its head into a tree. The beast, staggering back and forth to the relentless blast of the whistle, lunged at the boss.

 

“Aaah! Stop! Stop it!”

 

Despite the pleading voice, the Nati opened its mouth wide. Yu Won closed his eyes tightly. The sound of flesh tearing and bones crushing echoed vividly. The head that had rolled off the decapitated corpse came to a stop right in front of Yu Won. At the gruesome sight, Yu Won covered his mouth with his hands but couldn’t help but retch.

 

Gulp, gulp. The Nati, having vomited fur from its mouth, smacked its lips. Blood caked around its mouth dripped down in drops. Its eyes darted back and forth, busy searching for new prey. Just then, his twitching nose turned toward Yu Won.

 

Whoosh! As the man put his fingers to his mouth and whistled, the hawk swooped in from somewhere and clawed at the Nati. The man whistled again as the Nati was furiously shaking its head to chase the hawk away. It was as if he were trying to provoke the beast. Soon, the Nati turned to face the man and let out a mighty roar.

 

That’s ridiculous. Yu Won groaned inwardly. It was a monster that had overwhelmed ten armed men. Even the bandit leader who had brought the Nati here himself had been killed. At this rate, that man might die too.

 

“Run away!”

 

Yu Won clenched his fist tightly and shouted at the man, but it was already too late. The Nati let out a howl and charged at the man.

 

The man swung his sword-wielding arm back wide and leaped with all his might. A mist-like white light surrounded the sharp blade. He effortlessly trampled the charging Nati underfoot while simultaneously plunging the sword precisely into the back of its neck.

 

The fallen Nati convulsed, spewing blood-tinged foam, and finally, the monster’s movements ceased. As the man pulled the sword free, hot blood splattered onto his face. Wiping the blood away with his sleeve as if it didn’t matter, the man casually glanced back at the dead leader.

 

“What a pathetic creature.”

 

Yu Won sat there in a daze, swallowing hard. Even after seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t believe it. It was a terrifying beast capable of crushing a dozen men like insects. Yet the man had not only easily taken on ten of those men but had also killed the beast in a single blow. A small demon beast might be another story, but a demon beast with a frame far larger than a bear or a tiger was often hunted by a group of professional hunters. Even then, he’d heard they mostly relied on setting traps or luring them into ambushes.

 

The blizzard subsided. The pure white moonlight settled down, as if bathing the cold night. The man picked up the straw hat that had fallen to the ground and slowly turned around. Relying on the bright moonlight, Yu Won was finally able to look directly at the man’s face.

 

He was a man like a winter mountain.

 

He wondered if he was a mountain spirit rather than a living person. His face, caked in blood, was spine-chilling. If it weren’t for the white breath steaming from the corners of his mouth, he might have mistaken him for a messenger from the underworld.

 

His ghostly eyes were eerily pitch-black, and his face, as white and beautiful as a magnolia blossom, was so expressionless it sent a shiver down his spine. Yet, he was such a strikingly handsome man that he couldn’t bring himself to look away.

 

Yet, he felt a strange sense of déjà vu. He felt like he had seen that man somewhere before. As Yu Won searched his foggy mind, his mouth fell open slightly.

 

It was the man who had been watching him at the lodge. There was no doubt about it. His features and the look in his eyes were exactly the same.

 

Could he have followed him all the way here? Or was he just passing by by chance?

 

The man, who had been staring intently at Yu Won, slowly approached him. Seeing his unwavering stride, Yu Won covered his body with a tense expression. However, the man’s interest was not in Yu Won, but in the provincial governor lying behind him.

 

Just as his white hand, gripping a sword, was about to reach the governor, Yu Won sprang up in a panic and blocked him with his entire body.

 

“Ah, no….”

 

He couldn’t even manage to utter a single word of protest, his lips merely trembling. It wasn’t because his mouth had frozen from the blizzard and the cold. Even though he was merely facing the man alone, the sheer intimidation made his body shake uncontrollably.

 

He was terrified. Overcome by fear, his knees and arms trembled uncontrollably.

 

“…Move aside. If you don’t, I’ll cut you down too.”

 

There was not a trace of emotion in the eyes gazing down at him. Yu Won trembled violently but did not back down. He bit his lower lip hard and looked straight up at the man. A blizzard raged around them. The man extended his sword-wielding hand.

 

“I said move aside.”

 

With a soft swish, the tip of the sword touched his cheek. Blood trickled down from the shallow cut made by the cold blade. This was no mere threat; he was genuinely intent on killing Yu Won. What did it matter if he died in this situation? Even if he returned empty-handed, he would either die or survive a miserable existence.

 

The man, his brow furrowed, said,

 

“It seems you’re in cahoots with these men.”

 

In cahoots? It was a statement he couldn’t fathom. How could he be called an accomplice to them, even after witnessing with his own eyes what they had done to him? Yu Won, his lips cold and stiff, managed to reply with difficulty.

 

“T-this man was… my groom.”

 

“Groom?”

 

“Even though things have turned out this way, I cannot just leave the dead here, can I? Please let me at least give him a proper burial.”

 

His eyes, stinging and red, glared at the man. At the word “groom,” the man stared at Yu Won with a strange look for a moment. He seemed both surprised and flustered.

 

But even that reaction didn’t last long. Sheathing his sword, the man kicked Yu Won with his foot. As Yu Won stumbled backward, the man rummaged through the identity tags strapped to the provincial governor’s belt. He flipped over the tag in his hand to check the characters and burst out laughing.

 

“Ah, I see. So you were the noble lady destined to marry the esteemed Tae Baek Hoon, the Provincial Governor of the Northeast Province.”