Chapter 5: . The Bird That Drinks Poison (5)

The mother bird no longer brought them prey, nor did she put them through hunting drills. She merely left the chicks to fend for themselves.

If there was any mercy in it at all, it was that she did not drive them from the cave.

The chicks huddled in the nest and went hungry for several days without moving.

Dang Sobaek thought he understood the mother’s intent. From here on, they were meant to survive on their own.

The first to move was Jim-Sam. He returned from outside the cave with a large rat in his beak.

It carried no poison, nor could any trace of yao qi be felt from it. Still, it was more than enough to fill his stomach by himself.

Jim-Il hovered around Jim-Sam, trying to snatch the prey away, but—

“CHEEEAAK!!!”

He was viciously punished by Jim-Sam’s beak and driven off.

In truth, Jim-Sam simply had no interest in hierarchy.

Among the chicks, he was the largest in build, and his skill at hunting was outstanding. He would probably be the first to become independent as well.

Jim-I, by contrast, rummaged through the cave and brought back insects. The amount was nowhere near enough to fill the belly. It was only just enough to stave off hunger.

Had they been insects that carried yao qi like before, that would have been one thing, but every last one of them was an ordinary specimen.

‘This will not do.’

If he wanted to eat his fill, he would have to go outside. The problem was that this was the wild. Had he not already seen chicks die from no more than a slight wound?

That was why he hesitated, yet in the end, Dang Sobaek still went to the mouth of the cave.

‘It would be better to move before my strength ebbs further.’

At that, Jim-I timidly approached Dang Sobaek. She was afraid to go alone, so she meant to accompany him.

Dang Sobaek looked at Jim-I for a moment. She immediately took several steps back, wearing an awkward expression.

“Come with me.”

That was what Dang Sobaek said. Naturally, what came out of his beak was still nothing more than a chirp, yet Jim-I seemed to understand well enough.

Because the cave lay upon a cliff near the peak of the mountain, it was not easy to take that first step.

‘It is high.’

After voicing that quiet impression, Dang Sobaek drew in a deep breath. Then he spread his wings and descended.

The wind rushed past him. Dang Sobaek did not resist it, but entrusted himself to its flow. Adjusting the angle of his wings, he moved forward.

To roam the blue heavens brought with it an overwhelming sense of freedom. Several flying creatures nearby started in alarm and hastily widened their distance.

Jim-I drew up beside him. Being careful not to stray beyond the Jim Bird’s territory, they flew toward the place where they had hunted the demon spider before.

This island was rich in qi.

That meant it was not necessary for every hunt to be about filling the belly.

Ordinary beasts were enough to sustain life, and whatever was lacking could be supplemented by poisonous herbs or spirit herbs.

Normal birds swallowed small stones to aid their digestion, since they had no teeth. But the Jim Bird had no need of that. It could simply corrode what it consumed by making use of the poison within its body.

After flying for some time, Dang Sobaek spotted a red pine rising straight toward the sky.

‘Hm.’

He could sense the presence of beasts in the area around it. As he and Jim-I circled overhead and looked below, the creatures fled into the undergrowth. He did not bother to pursue them.

“Cheep?”

Jim-I tilted her head. But Dang Sobaek’s gaze remained fixed on something else entirely.

Among the leaves was a spirit herb bearing red fruit. Red Pine Ginseng.

Its effects were to increase one’s inner power and, at the same time, widen the meridians, thereby lowering the difficulty of guiding true qi.

The fact that it had already borne fruit meant that it had to be at least fifty years old.

Naturally, the older it became, the more potent its effects would be. But there was a drawback as well. A spirit herb beyond one’s capacity would shatter the balance of the body.

Because of that, it was better to share it with Jim-I than to consume it alone.

Dang Sobaek slowly descended toward the spot where the Red Pine Ginseng grew. The cicadas clinging to the tree and the insects hiding in the brush fled in alarm.

Dang Sobaek carefully dug at the earth with his beak.

It was not easy.

Grains of soil slipped in through his tightly shut beak. Jim-I, who had been watching in confusion, came closer and began to imitate Dang Sobaek’s actions.

She did not know why he was doing such a thing, but at the very least, she seemed to understand that he was trying to do something.

They dug for longer than the span of a meal. His neck began to grow stiff.

Using not only his beak but his feet as well, they fought a bitter struggle with the earth.

At last, the shape of the Red Pine Ginseng was revealed.

It was no longer whole.

It's fine roots had been torn away by their beaks, and its main body was covered in wounds as well.

It was regrettable, but he was satisfied with this much.

In any case, it would have been impossible to absorb all of the spirit herb’s qi intact.

Dang Sobaek pinned the Red Pine Ginseng down with his foot and split it cleanly in half with his beak.

After that, he handed the half with the leaves to Jim-I. She wore an expression of utter bewilderment.

“Cheep?”

It seemed she was asking whether it was truly all right to eat it.

Ever since he had been born as a Jim Bird, this was the first time he had ever touched vegetation. Until now, he had lived on meat alone. Jim-I was the same. Naturally, she would be bewildered when he suddenly handed her a clump of greenery.

He hesitated for a brief moment, but—

‘It should be fine.’

Dang Sobaek nodded. Birds ate grains and fruit as well, after all.

“Eat.”

As Dang Sobaek put that meaning into his words and was about to swallow the Red Pine Ginseng—

SKREEEECH—!!!

A light-brown weasel sprang out and shrieked.

Cold sweat broke out across Dang Sobaek’s brow.

Had it been an ordinary beast, there would have been nothing to mind.

The Jim Bird was a predator, not prey.

「Put that down where it is and leave.」

The problem was that the weasel’s words reached Dang Sobaek with perfect clarity.

It was neither the tongue of the Central Plains, nor the speech of Cheonchuk, nor the cry of a beast. And yet, there was not the slightest difficulty in understanding it.

It was a form of communication he had never experienced before. If he had to compare it to something, it resembled Voice Transmission. The difference was that it did not enter through the ears, but rang directly inside the mind.

Dang Sobaek sank into thought. The mother bird could handle qi and had awakened spiritual sentience. The other chicks could communicate to some extent as well.

But why was it that only the weasel’s speech reached him with such clarity, almost as if it were human language?

Dang Sobaek quickly judged his chances of victory.

‘Can I win?’

The pressure he felt from it was far below that of the mother bird.

Even so, it was certain that the creature was stronger than the demon spider they had hunted before.

His entire body sounded a blaring warning.

It was the instinct of a martial artist.

This was a dangerous foe.

Worse still, the weasel had not fully revealed itself. It was merely controlling its qi with great care and concealing it thoroughly.

‘Was this not within the Jim Bird’s territory?’

Facing it with only the two of them would be difficult.

「I shall say it once more. Put down the ginseng.」

When Dang Sobaek did not answer, the weasel spoke again.

「Have you still not awakened the Yao Tongue?」

Dang Sobaek did not know exactly what the Yao Tongue was, but he remained silent and focused on understanding the principle behind it.

「How strange. To think creatures that have not even awakened spiritual sentience would be digging up ginseng.」

Dang Sobaek was capable of contemplating the essence of things even without direct contact. Thus, he could read the flow of qi as well.

Within the weasel’s Lower Dantian, there was an Inner Core. Dang Sobaek calmly observed its flow.

‘Its Baihui Acupoint has been opened.’

Moreover, a portion of its Upper Dantian had been activated as well.

He felt as though he now understood.

The key, most likely, lay in opening the Baihui Acupoint, partially activating the function of the Upper Dantian, thereby obtaining spiritual sentience and awakening Heart-Speech.

Had he still been human, such a thing would have been impossible.

In humans, unlike beasts, the structure of the Upper Dantian was far more complex, and spiritual sentience was already active from birth.

Dang Sobaek carefully separated the energy stored within his Poison Sac, extracted only the pure true qi, and lightly tapped at his Baihui Acupoint with it.

‘Kuh.’

A terrible pain spread through him. His feathers trembled violently. A moment later, he coughed up a surge of blood.

The weasel looked at Dang Sobaek in surprise and said,

「You are a peculiar one. It seems you have already obtained spiritual sentience, and yet you have not awakened the Yao Tongue. And to handle yao qi in such a manner... this is the first I have seen of it.」

Straightening his wavering body, Dang Sobaek gathered his qi back under control. It seemed the time was not yet right.

Jim-I came close and stroked his back with her wing. She was full of worry. Then she glared at the weasel.

Apparently, she thought the weasel was the reason Dang Sobaek had ended up like this.

The weasel cast Jim-I a sidelong glance and burst into loud laughter. The sound was so forceful it made one’s head throb.

「Heh. Krahahaha!! That Jim Bird is raising some amusing little creatures. Very well. This once, I shall pretend I saw nothing. And you.」

“Cheep?”

「Do not play the fool. Even if you cannot speak the Yao Tongue, it is obvious enough that you understood me.」

“......”

At that moment,

SKREEEEE—!!!

A cry rang out from the sky. It was the mother bird.

It lasted only an instant, but the weasel’s face grew urgent. Then it looked at Dang Sobaek and said,

「Come and find me next time. I shall tell you things of use.」

Instead of answering, Dang Sobaek merely gave a light nod. Of course, he had no intention whatsoever of seeking it out.

With those words, the weasel spun once in place, and its form vanished without a trace. It felt as though he had just watched some illusion.

· · ·

Dang Sobaek returned to the cave and consumed the Red Pine Ginseng.

It had a sharp fragrance, and beneath that, a faint sweetness. The qi held within the Red Pine Ginseng spread throughout his body.

Dang Sobaek did not forcibly control the energy that came surging in like the returning tide. Instead, he guided the true qi according to the formula of the Myriad Poisons Ghost Art and allowed it to seep naturally into his Poison Sac.

Though he had gone hungry for so long, fullness welled up inside him. And this from no more than half a root.

‘As expected, it is not the filling of the belly that matters.’

Just as he had thought, what was necessary for growth was ‘qi’ and ‘poison.’

Feeling satisfied, Dang Sobaek turned his thoughts to the weasel.

‘It was certainly no ordinary creature.’

It used ‘language’ much like a ‘human,’ and it employed a stealth art as well, vanishing the instant the mother bird appeared.

The reason it had not killed Dang Sobaek and Jim-I and taken the Red Pine Ginseng by force was surely because it feared the trouble that might follow.

It was a black-hearted creature.

‘Come and find it? What nonsense.’

Dang Sobaek was not so simple as to believe such words at face value.

He had met countless creatures of that sort in the martial world. The kind that dangled plausible offerings before you while plotting something else entirely behind the scenes.

If he were to seek out the weasel alone, what guarantee was there that he would not simply become prey? If it hid itself in earnest, even the mother bird would likely fail to find it.

As he felt the qi mingling together with the poison within him, Dang Sobaek looked toward the mother bird.

‘In terms of raw strength, the mother bird holds the advantage. But that creature possesses various arts and techniques of its own.’

Therefore—

‘First, I grow stronger.’

After that, it would be acceptable to seek it out and ask what he needed to know.

It was certain that there were more than one or two demon beasts on this island like the weasel and the Jim Bird.

This time, he had been rash. His eyes had been too fixed upon the Red Pine Ginseng, and he had allowed himself to stand upon the ground.

In the end, the Jim Bird was still a creature of the sky.

In the air, it was one thing. Upon the ground, it could just as easily become the hunted.

Remembering the two chicks that had already died, Dang Sobaek drew his tension taut once more.

‘This is the wild.’

That was the conclusion to which he came. In the meantime, the qi of the Red Pine Ginseng had been completely absorbed.

The energy filling his Poison Sac had now risen beyond two-tenths. He found himself wondering what sort of change would occur once it was filled completely.

As he savored that energy, Jim-I came toddling closer to Dang Sobaek.

‘Hah...’

Her form had changed so clearly that it could be felt at a glance. Her legs had grown somewhat shorter, and her wings had become far sleeker.

Before, her appearance had been closer to that of a crane. Now, she resembled a falcon.

“Cheep!! Cheep-cheep!!!”

Jim-I rubbed her cheek against Dang Sobaek to show her affection.

It was her way of thanking him.

For sharing the Red Pine Ginseng.

“Get off.”

Dang Sobaek put that meaning into his words and pushed Jim-I away with his wing. He despised nothing so much as annoyance. But she would not budge in the slightest.

‘Damn it...’

Even when she was pushed away, she would cling to him again a moment later.

What else was there to be done?

‘It would be better to keep taking her with me from now on...’

For that much, he would simply have to endure.

Thinking that from tomorrow onward, he would have to learn more about this island in detail, Dang Sobaek let out a quiet sigh.

· · ·

The weasel that Dang Sobaek had encountered hid itself between the cracks of the rocks and hunted a passing field mouse.

SQUEAK— SQUEEAK!!

The field mouse writhed in pain and struggled desperately to break free, but—

CRUNCH—!!

The moment the weasel put strength into its fangs, the mouse went limp.

Tearing into the field mouse and swallowing it down, the weasel smacked its lips as though dissatisfied.

‘Something like this is no longer enough to satisfy my hunger.’

If it wanted to grow beyond where it stood now, it would have to consume prey worthy of the task.

‘Come to think of it.’

The Jim Bird chicks it had encountered yesterday came to mind. They were curious little things. It had never before seen Jim Birds digging up ginseng.

Those Red Pine Ginsengs had originally been what the weasel coveted.

It simply had not been able to approach them until now, because the demon spider had been guarding the place.

Had it encountered the spider demon beast within the brush, it would have been confident of ending its life in an instant, but—

‘If it is guarding its own territory, that is another matter.’

To throw oneself into a place where the spider had already spread its webs was little different from suicide.

It was simply a matter of poor compatibility between species.

Yet once the ruler of that territory, the Jim Bird, had hunted the demon spider, the opportunity to claim the Red Pine Ginseng at last appeared.

And to think it would be snatched away by Jim Bird chicks of all things.

Because it feared the trouble that might come later, it had only meant to threaten them lightly and take the Red Pine Ginseng.

But—

‘This is not bad either.’

Partway through, its thoughts had changed.

It had set its eyes on a greater design.

Especially that one with the deep blue feathers. That one seemed already to have awakened spiritual sentience, and it had also looked as though it harbored an interest in the Yao Tongue.

‘Come and find me.’

The weasel was more than willing to offer it guidance.

It looked like a creature brimming with curiosity.

And so, one day, it would surely come seeking him out.

Most likely.