Sandstorm (Sapung), Tiger Mom (Hohuanmama) – (4)

In the old days, long long ago, back when tigers smoked tobacco.

There was a tiger yokai that painted merciless violence onto the canvas of human flesh.

The black tiger that raised sandstorms.

That yokai was none other than Sapunghukho (Sandstorm Black Tiger).

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The average lifespan during the Joseon Dynasty cannot be precisely determined now, but it is generally presumed to not have been very high.

There were various reasons for this, but the biggest factors were the infectious disease called “Mama” (referring to smallpox) and “Hohwan” (tiger attacks).

No wonder they were collectively referred to as “Hohwanmama” (Tiger Attack Smallpox).

Ah, of course, damage from yokai is excluded.

For the people of old, yokai attacks were not calamities but an unavoidable providence of sorts.

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Unlike the modern era where hiking became a hobby, mountain climbing in the Joseon era could mean risking one’s life.

The reason was undoubtedly the yokai and tigers lurking in the mountains.

At first glance, yokai might seem more dangerous than tigers, but unexpectedly, tigers posed a far greater threat.

Yokai had somewhat defined active ranges.

“They say a neckless ghost appears at the village entrance down there.”

“They say a faceless yokai craving human facial features appears on the Paldang Ridge.”

“They say a yokai hides in the furnace to cook humans alive.”

The ‘neckless ghost of the village entrance’ did not appear at the upper village entrance.

The faceless yokai of Paldang Ridge did not show up on Asan Ridge.

The furnace yokai did not appear on the wooden floor.

Thanks to circulating rumors, ancestral wisdom, and occasional heroics from exorcist families, people could somewhat avoid yokai – of course, this was before the advent of the Taejangshingi.

They didn’t confront yokai, but simply avoided their active ranges.

However, with tigers roaming the mountain valleys, confrontation was impossible and even detecting their presence beforehand was unachievable.

A tiger’s active range was the ‘mountain’ itself.

A whopping 70% of the Korean peninsula was mountainous.

Tigers had a wider active range than humans.

For this reason, while people greatly feared ‘Hohwan’ (tiger attacks), they could not truly avoid it.

Sometimes, even if one didn’t want to go mountain climbing, they had to risk their lives doing so.

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For scholars, the national examination was an endeavor worthy of risking their lives.

Scholars who had studied their entire lives to pass the literary examination were willing to go mountain climbing despite fearing ‘Hohwan’ (tiger attacks).

To reach Hanyang (old name for Seoul), one had to cross four mountains.

Kim Yong-hwan, who had already crossed three mountains for the preliminary, licentiate, and doctoral examinations, heaved a sigh of relief.

Since he hadn’t encountered even a common wild animal, let alone tiger attacks, while crossing those three mountains, he would surely be able to safely cross the remaining one as well.

This was undoubtedly heaven’s blessing for him to pass the examination.

Kim Yong-hwan crossed the final mountain, sweating profusely.

However, he noticed something strange.

The mountain soil should have been so firm that his straw sandals wore down completely, his feet covered in huge blisters – that would have been normal.

Yet for some reason, the soil of this final mountain was so soft that his sandals sank right in.

Sabak.

Sabak, sabak, sabak.

An sound unbelievable for treading on firm mountain soil.

Kim Yong-hwan knelt down and touched the ground.

Ah.

He realized – this was the soft soil called ‘sea sand’!

Although Kim Yong-hwan was a country bumpkin who had never left his mountain valley, he had studied for ten years day and night to pass the literary examination.

He had read about sea sand in books.

…But why was this sea sand, found only near beaches, scattered all over the mountain?

Regardless of the reason, the unfamiliar sensation of sea sand was so soft that Kim Yong-hwan soon forgot his purpose and sat down using his bag as a seat, playing with the sand.

Swoosh.

Swoosh, swoosh.

Kim Yong-hwan used his finger as a brush, writing Chinese characters in the sand.

Like a snotty-nosed village brat, he poked the sand with his fingers too.

He couldn’t gauge the depth.

Kim Yong-hwan grew bolder.

Curious about how deep this sand went, he rolled up his sleeves and plunged his arm into the sand.

The sand was so deep that his arm sank all the way to the shoulder.

Instantly, Kim Yong-hwan broke out in a cold sweat.

He feared his entire body might become buried in the sand.

Kim Yong-hwan hastily withdrew his arm, then:

“Ah… ahhhh…”

“Ahhhhh, ahhhhhhhh…”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

He began screaming at the top of his lungs.

His right arm that had been in the sand was withered and twisted, like a corpse left for a hundred years.

Kim Yong-hwan kept screaming.

A human’s screams summon the calamity called ‘Hohwan’ (tiger attack).

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Before the Taejangshingi’s existence, a yokai’s principles and purpose were solely to kill humans.

Which yokai could devour more humans?

Which yokai could torment humans more viciously?

As if in competition, yokai wholeheartedly devoted themselves to hunting humans.

Many yokai perished at the hands of exorcists in this process, but some were so innately powerful that no mere exorcist could stop them.

The black tiger was one such yokai.

…

…

…

After the Taejangshingi appeared in this world, the principles governing yokai completely changed.

Whereas previous yokai killed humans meaninglessly without thought, reason, or purpose, those who received the truth from the Taejangshingi gained clear intent.

First, yokai not qualified for ascension began to ponder, unlike before, having gained ‘intelligence’:

What was the purpose of their existence?

Why did they kill humans?

For yokai qualified for ascension, they sacrificed humans for the lofty goal of ascension.

Meaningless killing had become meaningful killing.

It might seem like wordplay, but this marked an immense difference.

For example, let’s say there was a yokai that killed every human it saw before acknowledging the Taejangshingi.

This yokai was then qualified for ascension by the Taejangshingi and given the condition: ‘You must offer the upper right teeth of one thousand human males aged 16 or older as sacrifices.’

If that yokai encountered a family – a husband, wife, and two beloved daughters – fortunately or not, it would only kill the husband while sparing the wife and daughters, as they did not meet the sacrificial criteria.

The previous yokai would have massacred the entire family.

Whether positive or negative, the appearance of the Taejangshingi lent clear purpose to yokai actions.

However, the black tiger that raised sandstorms, Sapunghukho, remained largely unchanged from before.

No, she committed even more meaningless killings than previously.

She was one of the few yokai qualified for ascension.

All unqualified yokai feared her.

All unqualified yokai looked up to her.

Reputed as an evil and powerful yokai, all others believed she would be the first to achieve ascension.

Yet despite being qualified, she continued ‘meaningless’ rather than ‘meaningful’ killing.

Her ascension condition was:

‘Offer the bellies of one thousand human sacrifices aged 16 or older.’

During the calamitous period spanning nearly a century when yokai operated for the goal of ascension, she failed to meet this condition.

Not even once.

Acting with the specific ‘purpose’ of ascension in mind when killing was highly unpleasant to her.

She believed killing was most delightful when meaningless, cruel, and purposeless.

A calamity was an unintended misfortune.

If it had purpose, it could no longer be called a calamity.

The number of sacrifices she offered: 0.

Being useless from the goblins’ and Duergsini’s perspective, she naturally evaded their clutches.

Having neither accepted the Taejangshingi’s truth nor been brainwashed, she also realized ascension was false.

By turning into a sandstorm, she could conceal her yoki and evade pursuing Martial Force artists and ritualists.

She didn’t know or care how the world was progressing – who achieved ascension, who failed, who was killed by Martial Force artists.

Her sole interest was killing, just killing.

One day, Duergsini herself came before her and spoke:

‘There is a role you must fulfill,’ before vanishing from this world along with Sapunghukho.

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[So then.]

[It seems my role is to slit open your belly.]

[Since this is clearly an act with purpose,]

[I shall strongly refuse to play that part.]