Chapter 1
Everything was easy for me.
I was the strongest in a world where your existence was proven only through strength.
I was born as a great fox yokai, and those who dared to challenge me in the heavens were no match for me.
Our fox yokai clan dealt with tigers, dragons, and filthy creatures, and whenever they returned after a fight, I inevitably went to seek vengeance against those creatures.
It must have been around five hundred years of such repetition.
No one dared to touch the fox yokai, and naturally, I became the king.
Of course, there were those who secretly tried to restrain me.
They couldn’t confront me openly, so they schemed from behind.
And that was my mistake.
Falling in love with a human woman.
Back when the human realm and the yokai realm were not divided as they are now.
There was an incident where a martial artist named Dalma challenged me.
Naturally, he had to leave with a limp.
After a few days, he returned to me with his friend and disciple.
His name was… Jangsam…
Anyway, he was a similar type of person.
Talking about something like Taichi, the harmony of Yin and Yang.
Of course, both of them peacefully departed to the afterlife thanks to my consideration.
Even in death, their friendship would last forever.
The problem was Jangsa’s younger sister.
I thought of myself as a rather composed yokai, but seeing those teardrops, how painfully my heart ached.
I fell for her without reason or reservation.
Ah, so this is love, I thought.
Knowing the danger, I still kept her by my side. Her adaptability was astonishing.
My most cherished subordinate, Jangho, was a great yokai in his own right even back then.
I can still vividly recall how she fearlessly grabbed and tugged at that fellow’s tail.
Of course, the conflicts between loyalty and personal interests within Jangho.
That’s how she died.
Ah, of course, not by Jangho’s hands but by other great yokai.
The ones who usually tried to restrain me seemed to seize the opportunity and took her away to kill her.
Haha, foolish creatures.
If it were me, I would have used her as a hostage.
I tracked down and mercilessly killed every great yokai involved in that incident, as well as any yokai associated with them, driven by my vengeful anger at the time.
At that moment, I encountered the being who is now right behind the door, Tathagata (如來).
He came unexpectedly, just as his name suggests, and made me an intriguing offer when I was bleeding endlessly and had no hope.
Considering my character at the time, I should have torn him apart without hesitation, but I didn’t.
No, I couldn’t.
Because he exuded a presence that was incomparable to those creatures, let alone heavenly beings.
At the very least, he seemed to be at the level of a superior being.
So, I granted him a special audience.
– Accumulating virtue and becoming human, how does that sound?
– Human?
– I am the one who assists in ensuring that all things in the world do not lose their way in the chains of destiny. Your current state is so pitiful; I couldn’t just watch.
I thought, “What nonsense is this?” But at the same time, it intrigued me.
I was born as a yokai, ruled as a king, and even experienced love. Dealing with weaklings and their constant bickering had grown tiresome.
Unlike humans, I had no concept of lifespan, and the thought of continuing this for eternity was daunting.
Perhaps it would be better to be born as a human, live a normal life, and then die.
For someone like me, who had never experienced normalcy, it was quite an exciting prospect.
– But virtue?
Tathagata, always enigmatic, responded with a smile.
Yes, from that point on, my journey of hardship began.
In the name of accumulating virtue, I used my royal authority to separate the human realm and the yokai realm.
The rebellions from those who needed to consume human souls to grow stronger were quite a nuisance, but what could they do?
I even dealt with those who forcibly crossed over to the human realm and caused chaos.
I returned Dalma and Jangsam, who had died peacefully, to their hometown.
Being called a benefactor and receiving hospitality in terms of alcohol and music was truly satisfying.
What I didn’t like was handling the requests from the heavenly gods.
I was burdened with various tasks and errands.
Especially the ones who had a history of crossing paths with me took advantage of me.
This period of accumulating virtue was approximately seven hundred years, and I had to admit that Tathagata had a point.
If I had accumulated virtue for a shorter time, I would have wiped them all out without hesitation.
However, seven hundred years was a significant amount of time, even for someone like me.
So, after enduring for hundreds of years, I finally stood here in front of this door.
I never explicitly mentioned that I would be reborn as a human.
Right now, those who are bowing their heads are unable to do anything, but if I were reborn as a human, there would be many who would come to kill me.
Yes, it was wise to say that I would ascend to the heavenly realm and become a yokai immortal.
“I’m leaving now. I hope you will continue with the same determination and support spreading my deeds to future generations.”
Jangho nodded vigorously, his face covered in tears.
Although I left some sarcastic remarks for Jangho, who seemed to be on the path of suffering, I pulled the handle.
Despite the resentful stares from the yokai who witnessed Jangho’s sobbing and the few who looked at me with satisfaction, I couldn’t help it.
This was the destiny I had pioneered.
As I took a step forward, the door closed as if severing all connections with everything.
Thunk!
The sound of the door closing was merciless.
Behind the door, Tathagata, wearing a benevolent smile, was waiting for me.
“You’ve come.”
“Yes.”
He didn’t answer my question.
Instead, he smiled as usual.
I felt that further conversation was meaningless.
I closed my eyes.
Tathagata’s large palm spread out in front of my face.
A tremendous flow that had begun from my feet traveled up my body and converged in Tathagata’s palm.
Soon, the flow gathered in my mouth and formed a small bead.
Ha, this was quite a waste…
It was a conglomerate of yokai power that I had accumulated for over a thousand years.
It was often called 1″Naedan” or “Fox Bead.”
Radiating a blue light intense enough to make the surroundings chill,
The bead emanated an even more vigorous light but concealed it completely within tathagata’s palm.
“It truly is enormous.”
I must admit, I am quite remarkable.
Now, it’s time to bid farewell to everything.
2″Namu Amida Butsu…”
With those unwanted words, my earthly existence gradually waned.
Like sinking into a vast and deep ocean, my entire body grew heavier, and my breath slowed.
How far… will I sink?
Soon, my breathing stopped completely.
As my breath ceased entirely and time passed, the area around my diaphragm began to feel constricted, signaling that death was approaching.
Facing death with a body devoid of yokai powers was overwhelming.
And I was afraid.
All sorts of thoughts raced through my mind.
Could it be that Tathagata had played a trick on me?
Why did I trust him without any suspicion?
A small spark of doubt grew into a firm conviction. He was trying to kill me.
Those who held grudges against me had devised this scheme!
Damn, falling for such a trick.
That bastard!
I need to tear him apart immediately!
First, I’ll rip Tathagata to shreds and then crush those arrogant heavenly gods who were planning to use me as bait.
And all those pitiful yokai who resented and despised me from behind…
I concentrated all my strength into my immobile body.
Cold sweat poured profusely, and thick veins bulged in my neck.
My tightly shut eyes felt like they were about to burst from the pressure.
And then, my heart pounded like crazy…
Wait, did I even have a heart?
A pulse was felt around my diaphragm.
Yokai don’t possess something like a heart.
Right now.
It was the moment when my destiny, which had ruled the yokai realm for a thousand years, was about to change.
A cool breeze swept through my entire body, causing my hair to flutter.
My strength drained away, and my eyes naturally opened.
I furrowed my brow at the blinding light that seemed uncontrollable.
But soon, my vision returned rapidly.
Perhaps I was reborn. After all, humans have hearts.
Just then, someone opened the door and entered.
“Master, please regain your strength…”
Fortunately, it was a seemingly powerless human woman.
There should be no humans in the yokai realm.
Or so I thought.
“Is this the human realm?”
“Master!”
With a joyful expression and even tears, the woman exclaimed, “It’s truly a miracle!”
“What on earth has happened… Argh!”
A sudden, excruciating headache hit me, making me feel like my head would split open.
I attempted to support my body with one arm, grabbing onto the bed, but my powerless body couldn’t respond.
Unable to endure the pain, I tightly closed my eyes, and something began to unfold in my mind.
It was the story of a human life.
Born as the eldest son of a massive market merchant district called ‘Cheonhajang,’ he fell ill suddenly at a young age and was under medical care…
But now, he had just passed away.
The age was approximately… 15?
Even though it was a relatively short time compared to my previous existence, the memories of those fifteen years flooded my mind, accompanied by unbearable pain.
As I lived through the boy’s experiences and memories, the pain gradually faded away.
“Sigh…”
I managed to get up from the bed, despite my heavy body, and approached a small mirror in one corner of the room.
Right.
These memories were those of the boy who used to inhabit this body.
So, Tathagata, you just shoved my soul into this shell, didn’t you?
Well, at least the appearance was familiar.
From the slightly slanted eyes, sharp jawline, and the muscles that seemed a bit stiff, but even the robust physique.
It wasn’t a perfect match, but it resembled my previous form.
Ha, even though it’s a bit embarrassing to admit it in my own voice, among the fox yokai, I was the most outstanding Nine-Tails.
First, the external appearance was a pass.
And I still stood there with a surprised expression on my face.
“Nanny”
My inner thoughts unintentionally slipped through my lips.
She was the woman who had taken care of the previous owner of this body since childhood, Im Yun.
She gazed at me with trembling eyes for a moment, then seemed to remember something and shouted towards the door.
“Master, Young master has awakened… No, I should inform him in person! Please wait for a moment, Young Master!”
With a sense of urgency, she quickly turned and left the room.
Huh, her name is even the same.
Tathagata, this rascal, was it all just about giving me this body?
However, the shell felt strangely familiar.
Long, slender eyes, a sharp jawline, and although it was a bit stiff due to pain, even the sturdy physique.
It couldn’t be said to be exactly the same, but it bore a striking resemblance to my previous self.
Hah, this Tathagata fellow has quite a devious side.
More importantly, the fact that I had truly become human was the most significant.
After a thousand years of accumulating virtue, the time had finally come for me to experience sorrow and amazement through the boy’s memories.
Emotions surged like crashing waves, and my nose felt tingly.
I had waited for this moment with the remnants of my life’s virtue.
But there was still one thing that troubled me.
This appearance, which anyone would fall for, was a bit…
After all this time, Tathagata had become quite mischievous.
But what was more important was that I had truly become human.
And not just any human—a young man named Eunho, according to the boy’s memories.
With my last bit of virtue, I had been given a small gift.
A flood of emotions and remnants of my memories from the past thousand years overwhelmed me, leaving me teary-eyed.
It was overwhelming to see the faces of the heavenly gods who had tormented me all those years.
Yeo Dongbin, known as the best martial artist in heaven, the mother of all gods, the offspring of Jung Shinbyungja…
I had vowed to tear them into several pieces if I couldn’t become human in a hundred or a thousand tries.
But what did it matter?
I had become human, and to top it off, I was living through the memories of Eunho.
It was a fortune.
This appearance… anyone would surely fall for it.
A ‘slightly exceptional’ human man, living a simple and comfortable life before dying.
“Haha!”
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter on that day.
(TL/C: 1One of the concepts that appears in the martial arts world. It mainly refers to a type of crystal made by accumulating energy in the bodies that have lived for hundreds to thousands of years and have become spirits.
2-Namu Amida Butsu-that means “I entrust myself to the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life.”)
