Before I End Up as Rabbit Stew - Chapter 6

Yimae clung to the tree trunk like a cicada. She pressed her back flat, like water-soaked blotting paper, keeping her distance from Black Dragon. Black Dragon’s dark gaze followed her every move.

“I am…”

Think. Think. Think of a way out!

The entire surrounding landscape felt like it was spinning like a top. So, as she watched Black Dragon brandish his blade again, she blurted out whatever came to mind.

“I’m… a gardener dispatched here!”

A moment of silence fell. Yimae gave Black Dragon an awkward smile. As she thought about it, it seemed quite plausible. She took it a step further, pointing to a random spot in the muddy ground and adding,

“It’s understandable that you don’t remember me, but we’ve met before. I’m a top graduate of Oreum Conservatory.”

She thought it was a remarkably innovative improvisation. Yimae struck a pose with an air of importance. She nonchalantly leaned one arm against the tree trunk and stood with her legs crossed. She bared her teeth in a smile, trying to appear calm.

“The Celestial Emperor specifically instructed me to take care of Black Dragon Palace’s garden. He said the herb garden is a mess.”

Black Dragon approached Yimae, who was wriggling like a snake. Despite his slow pace, each step exuded the dignity of one of the Four Guardian Gods. The smile hanging on the corner of his supple lips was utterly carefree. Yimae, who had been laughing boisterously, felt her heart split in two again. What is it? This is unsettling.

“The, the Celestial Emperor told me to finish the work quickly and return.”

If she even took a deep breath, the shattered pieces of her heart would pop out like kernels of corn. Seeing his eyes hardening with a pallid gaze, Yimae truly wanted to cry. In her mind, she vividly imagined him baring his teeth and sucking her lifeblood.

“Where should I start? Here…? Or over there?”

“The Celestial Emperor’s command was for garden work?”

Black Dragon asked in a low voice. He was no longer smiling. Yimae felt goosebumps from her waist down. The faint shadow of the lantern rippled across Black Dragon’s face, which was devoid of any emotion.

“Of course, of course it’s garden work.”

“Not an order to kill me and return?”

Look at this guy, what’s wrong with him. Did he fight with the Celestial Emperor? Yimae’s social smile, which she had conjured to survive, vanished completely. A cricket chirped quietly somewhere. Black Dragon continued in a nonchalant tone.

“Not an order to kill me, on top of killing my mother?”

“Huh?????”

Yimae was so startled that she screamed. Even after screaming, she didn’t realize what she had done for a long time, and just stared at Black Dragon with her mouth wide open.

“Mo, mo, mother… Black Dragon killed, no… no… the Celestial Emperor killed…”

Her legs trembled and danced as much as the words that stammered out. She could no longer tolerate herself standing in this place. She wanted to break down the words she had just heard into syllables and make them disappear.

Do or die. Yimae started running right then and there. She ran wildly, as if to show how well a moon rabbit could run. She didn’t even have time to choose a proper direction. All that mattered was getting out of Black Dragon’s sight.

Mud splattered everywhere as her feet sank deep into the ground. There were even clumps that shot up into her face and eyes. But her mind was more of a quagmire than the dirty mud that grazed her fur.

Hearing such unbearable words made her brain feel like it was collapsing. What did the Celestial Emperor do? Who did he kill? Why didn’t White Tiger and Vermilion Bird talk about such a huge scandal? Did they not know about this either?

Yimae recalled the Celestial Emperor she had seen a few times during her time at Oreum Conservatory. Although he was somewhat overshadowed by the Four Guardian Gods, he was also an attractive man with a youthful appearance. He had ruled the Celestial Realm peacefully and justly, and was still doing so. His conduct was upright, and as the most powerful person in the Celestial Realm, he was quite authoritative, so no one would even dare to utter a curse word in his presence.

“Anyway, you shouldn’t judge people or animals by their appearance.”

Suddenly, a wide-open path appeared in front of Yimae, who had been running breathlessly. As soon as she stepped onto the clean and straight path, free of any stones, she stopped.

It was as if she had entered a completely different world with just one step. And a vast lotus swamp, too wide to capture in a single glance, unfolded before her eyes.

“Beautiful.”

It was a sincere sentiment that flowed out without her even trying to stop it. Even without deliberately using her mouth and nose to the fullest, a subtle lotus fragrance filled her body. With each breath, both of her lungs felt like they were submerged in lotus flowers.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Yimae looked down at her hands and feet. Her hands and feet were suddenly growing larger, like inflated air bladders. The shimmering white fur that had covered her entire body scattered and disappeared like powder. Long hair cascaded down beneath her lowered head.

“Huh!”

She strode towards the lotus swamp. She reflected her face in the shallow water.

“Human, I’m human.”

Dense chestnut hair constantly covered her face. Yimae nervously brushed away the hair and admired her newly acquired face. The finely textured, damp eyelashes, like newly emerged butterfly wings, and the small lips that smiled as if they were about to tear, were all real. Just like Chaesang, she had become human!

“I really became human.”

Yimae wiped away her brimming tears. She took a deep breath and sprang to her feet.

She had to go right away. There was no time to delay. She had to blend in with the humans of the Mortal Realm, who outnumbered the gods tenfold, and escape from the Celestial Realm forever. Which way was the entrance she had come through?

As she hurriedly turned around, Black Dragon was standing on the path.

“You scared me!”

She hadn’t heard any footsteps, so she didn’t know when he had gotten here. Did he not have feet? Was he like the saying, “A footless horse travels a thousand li”?

Yimae glanced under his long robe, but she could clearly see shoes covered in mud. And at that moment, shame and embarrassment washed over her like a burst dam. She had revealed her naked body to a man, without a single thread on.

Suddenly, her calves itched and her cheeks flushed. She wanted to scoop up the mud that was carelessly spread behind her and smear it on her body. When she was a moon rabbit, her dense fur covered her body completely, so she didn’t feel ashamed even when naked. She didn’t understand why the human body was so large, yet the fur only grew in patches.

“So, you’re calling yourself a woman, huh.”

Black Dragon didn’t seem to have any intention of stepping back for the sake of the woman’s dignity, like a polite gentleman. He walked towards her slowly, adjusting the sword in his hand lightly. The gleaming longsword stood upright, emitting a faint light. It was the very same sword that had been used to chop corn stalks.

“I’m not calling myself a woman, I am a woman!”

I’m also amazed that I’ve become so real! Yimae retorted in a defiant tone, but her body trembled as she looked at the blade.

The sword that Black Dragon was holding must be a treasured weapon passed down through his family for generations. White Tiger and Vermilion Bird also had them, symbols and weapons of their families. White Tiger’s Jeong Byeong was a fan, and Vermilion Bird’s Jeong Byeong was a bow. Yimae knew from the history of the Four Guardian Gods that Black Dragon’s family’s Jeong Byeong was a longsword. Seeing it in person, it certainly looked elegant and refined.

But no Guardian God would take out and wield a Jeong Byeong unless they were really facing an opponent they had to attack. It wasn’t a weapon to be taken out just to catch a moon rabbit. Yimae realized that Black Dragon was even more of a madman than the rumors said.

“A beast one moment, a woman the next. A yokai that freely changes its form.”

Black Dragon said quietly. Light trailed after the sword energy that was gracefully drawn in the air.

“I’m not a yokai! I’m…”

“I don’t care if you’re a yokai or whatever.”

The tip of the sword pointed straight at Yimae’s face. The alias of this sword, made of diamond, was Iyeongdo (Two Spirit Sword). As the name suggests, it was a sword that separated the soul into two. When a creature was cut by the blade, it would return to its original form.

Yimae realized that if she was cut by the sword, she would turn back into a rabbit. Of course, a rabbit neatly cut in half.

“I’ll know you once I cut you.”

Black Dragon seemed to be genuinely thinking of cutting Yimae.

No. She couldn’t lose this body that she had finally become human. Yimae clenched her teeth so hard that her newly emerged molars were crushed. Her legs trembled again on their own, but she had to run. She had no special skills or weapons to block the attack right now. So, the best tactic was to run away.

Yimae threw herself into the lotus swamp. Each lotus flower was larger than her entire body, so it was perfect for hiding in between them right away.

“Stop!”

Then Black Dragon shouted in an uncharacteristic loud voice. Yimae, who had hidden behind the nearest lotus flower, peeked out. She met eyes with Black Dragon, who couldn’t hide his urgent expression. The sword that hadn’t managed to cut her met the ground and bowed its head powerlessly.

What, now? He’s completely flustered?

“Come out right now, right now.”

His voice had changed. The smooth and calm tone that had been made only of low notes was nowhere to be found. Not only had it become high-pitched like a shrill sound, but the momentum that had been growling and binding her had also disappeared like sand mixed with water. The hand that was beckoning her like calling a puppy was even quite cute.

“Hmm.”

Yimae, who had been carefully scanning the lotus flowers, glared. Black Dragon was holding the Iyeongdo in one hand and looking at her in an awkward posture.

“Come on, be a good girl. Come here.”

Yimae raised one corner of her mouth crookedly, as if she was displeased. If he thought of her as just a puppy, she would just have to show him how difficult a beast she could be. She deliberately fluttered the lotus petals. Black Dragon’s face instantly burned as black as his hair. Yimae answered with a mischievous grin.

“What if I don’t want to?”

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