I Became a Fallen Noble of Goguryeo

Chapter 5: The Village Woman

When about fifteen days had passed since Munso and I had not climbed the mountain due to the wild boar commotion.

A piece of good news arrived in the village.

“It’s not a tiger, it’s a wolf!”

“Really? Did you see it yourself?”

“Yes, really—I saw it clearly with my own two eyes! In our Bear Village there are wolves! The tigers are up in the neighboring Tiger Village!”

“Where did the wolves come from?”

“Since a tiger appeared in Tiger Village, wolves startled by it must have come over to our mountain, no?”

“Then that wild boar that attacked old Munso recently—did it come down frightened by those wolves?”

“Exactly.”

So it was an ecological ripple effect: the tiger drove away the wolves, and the wolves drove away the wild boar.

“The people in Tiger Village must be in an uproar. Was it a small tiger, or a big one?”

“A big tiger! They said it was a big tiger!”

“A great Mountain Lord, then! Mountain Lord, thank you for coming over to the neighboring mountain!”

“Ahh, this is exactly why our village is Bear Village and the next one is Tiger Village! We found it well!”

At this news, our village rejoiced, chanting “anything but me!”

But at the same time…

“A tiger! A tiger in our village!”

“I told you ages ago we should change the village name to something like Serpent Village!”

By contrast, the mountain dwellers in Tiger Village sounded the alarm. A tiger is terrifying, yes, but there were beings even scarier.

“Let’s kill the tiger!”

“Let’s kill the Mountain Lord!”

They were the nobles.

Pyeongyang nobles wishing to claim the “Tiger Slayer” achievement gathered in groups with their private soldiers and marched to the neighboring Tiger Village.

They boasted about catching the tiger while grabbing each other by the collar as they chatted.

If grabbing the collar counts as chatting, that’s mild body language by Goguryeo standards. In Goguryeo you practically need to draw a sword to call it “fighting.”

However, that nobles’ tiger‑hunting rivalry came to an abrupt, anticlimactic end with the appearance of a remarkable individual.

“…The Grand King himself is coming!”

The current Grand King, King Pyeongwon Go Yangseong, personally declared that he would eliminate the tiger near Pyongyang. (Because P’yŏngwŏn is his posthumous name, he is now simply called Grand King.)

At this, the people of Tiger Village were stunned.

“The Grand King is coming…? Is this a dream?”

“I don’t think it’s a dream…”

“Then… we’re doomed.”

Nobles alone were already enough to cause chaos, but with the Grand King coming, it went completely haywire.

“The Grand King has arrived!”

Soon, countless soldiers poured into Tiger Village.

About five hundred soldiers from the Pyongyang garrison were mobilized to hunt a single tiger, with twenty nobles participating.

All twenty were distinguished nobles, befitting a royal personal operation; surprisingly, several leading nobles from the Gŭngnae‑sŏng faction—with almost no ties to the central court for nearly twenty years—were also involved.

Although passively, it meant King Pyeongwon’s policy of recruiting Gŭngnae‑sŏng faction nobles was beginning in earnest.

Upon hearing this news, my mother went to see if any of those Gŭngnae‑sŏng nobles recognized her, but she did not come away with any results.

In truth, dozens or hundreds of people went to try to curry favor, so she wasn’t granted an audience at all.

It was a bit disappointing.

If it had worked, my rise might have become much easier… but it was what it was.

And it wasn’t only the Grand King and nobles who took part in this hunt.

Mountain miners and hunters from Tiger Village were all conscripted into the tiger expedition squads (also serving as meat‑shields) the moment they were spotted.

“Really, glad it wasn’t our village.”

So what did our village’s mountain miners do?

Hunting wolves that had fled our mountain, terrified by the tiger?

If you thought that, you don’t yet understand Goguryeo.

Think about it.

If a supply officer is hauling goods with his supply team, and soldiers kick around a ball right in front of them, what do you think they’ll say?

“Hey, stop playing ball and come help haul this!” A militaristic nation like Goguryeo can be understood in such military terms.

Our village folk only knew our own mountain, utterly ignorant of the neighboring one, but such matters were irrelevant to the high-ranking nobles.

Mountains are just mountains to them, after all.

People from the capital region believe Ulsan residents surely know good restaurants in Busan, even though they themselves don’t know restaurants in Incheon—but that’s a different story.

Knowing this well, the mountain folks in our village fled en masse the moment they heard the Grand King was coming.

If enemies had invaded, they’d have fought to protect their hometown, but in times like this, fleeing is the right move.

What about the wolves?

If the tiger is taken by the Grand King, the wolves will return to the neighboring mountain on their own.

Those poor wolves—suddenly driven out by the tiger, forced away from their home—must have felt so sorrowful.

I too, as someone who lost my homeland (the Republic of Korea) and now lived in Goguryeo, understood that feeling well.

Thus, the tiger was slain by the Grand King, the snack for the Grand King and nobles was handled by the Tiger Village folks, and then the wolves would return… so all we had to do was sit tight and do nothing.

Isn’t that what Laozi meant by rule by inaction?

So I spent the tiger‑hunting period watching over my small, adorable Grand King mushrooms… not quite in peace.

“Isn’t the mountain empty?”

Normally each mountain‑miner had his own designated area.

But now that they had all fled…

It wasn’t owner‑less, but it was definitely an empty mountain.

And it was now August.

“Just the time when wild ginseng bears fruit.”

Mountain‑miners didn’t harvest ginseng that had fruit.

They were afraid of depleting the ginseng in the mountain, and they believed that fruit‑bearing ginseng diverted nutrients away from the root, making it unhealthy.

So those precious wild ginseng plants were hidden, untouched by the mountain‑miners.

“Let’s take them all.”

When I thought that, the rational 21st‑century Korean in me cried out that sneaking up to the mountain with a shuriken to steal seeds was wrong.

“That’s theft, you brat! What about the wolves? What if you step in a trap?”

At that moment, the 6th‑century Goguryeo DNA inside me whispered:

“Is it the loser’s fault for being robbed? And wolves? Traps? Are you scared, maybe?”

It seemed the old pride of a Goguryeo man—who risked his life in Buyeo to steal horses—still breathed within.

“Now or never, let’s go at once.”

In the end, DNA won.

If materialists who think mind belongs to body had seen it, they would nod and say “exactly.”

“Ahh, here it is hidden. Well hidden.”

Not long after ascending the mountain, I located the wild ginseng that a miner had marked.

Upon it, plump red seeds—the ‘ginseng berries’—were beautifully ripened.

“I’ll take them carefully!”

I discreetly pocketed the wild ginseng seeds, commonly called ‘sansam‑ddal.’

They called it that because it resembled a strawberry.

Of course, there were no strawberries like the 21st-century kind, but there were things like wild strawberries and mock strawberries in this era.

After that, I found two more wild ginseng plants.

“Since the places where ginseng grows are mostly the same, and the mountain miners hide them in the usual spots.”

Mountain miners of this era weren’t fools. In some ways, they were better than 21st-century army officers.

Officers would set their passwords to 1q2w3e4r… and hope not to get caught, but mountain miners knew full well their ginseng could be stolen at any time.

However, since the village was small, if word got out that someone dug up ginseng, they could guess whose it was and knock the thief’s teeth out in return.

What if someone ate it in secret?

Wild ginseng in this era was one of the few herbs, alongside opium and cocaine, that had immediate noticeable effects when ingested. So it was almost possible to detect if someone had eaten it.

That’s why I didn’t dare to dig up any ginseng roots.

All I needed were the seeds—the ginseng berries. After diligently collecting them, I ended up with about a handful.

“About 400 seeds, maybe?”

It wasn’t much.

In the 21st century, you could buy ginseng seeds by the kilogram, but here I was counting them one by one…

“Well, still, this isn’t bad.”

Before I knew it, the sun was already setting.

That’s when I realized something.

“I’ve stayed too long.”

One more seed, just one more… and it ended up like this.

No matter how strong my body was—like a middle school wrestling team member—I was still only fourteen.

If I got surrounded by wolves at night, I’d be saying hello to the King of the Underworld in no time.

And there was an even worse scenario.

Hadn’t I already died once and traveled 1,500 years back?

If I went 1,500 more years back, I’d be in the Bronze Age.

Unless I was going to be some kind of Wind Spirit of the Bronze Age, it was about time to descend the mountain.

At that moment.

“Oohhhheuuung…”

Somewhere, I heard the cry of a tiger.

What the hell?

Did those incompetent Tiger Village folks mess up catching the tiger?

“Oohhhheuuung…!”

As I was hesitating, the cry rang out again.

That’s when I realized something was off.

“What kind of tiger cries like that?”

It wasn’t the cry of a tiger—it was someone imitating a tiger.

“Oohh… hic… grrr…”

After hearing that, I was certain.

This wasn’t a tiger.

I headed in the direction the sound came from.

And there I saw—

“…You, what are you?”

A girl with her face covered in tears.

Before I could even grasp what was going on, the girl looked at me and hiccupped.

“A-are you human? Hic… a-a fox spirit?”

“There are no fox spirits living in this mountain.”

“Then you’re human?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and looked at her.

She looked to be a couple years younger than me.

In this era, the best way to identify someone’s status was by their clothing. Clothes varied based on class and occupation.

“Greenish-blue… is that ramie cloth?”

A fine fabric also known as sepo. Not as good as silk, but much more expensive than the hemp I wore.

Judging by her age and clothes… she wasn’t someone who should be climbing a mountain.

“What are you? A noble?”

“I’m not a noble…”

After thinking for a moment, she answered.

“I-I work in the palace.”

“The palace? You’re a court lady?”

No wonder she was wearing expensive fabric like ramie.

I had to help her no matter what.

A court lady would have connections inside the palace.

That could very well help my future plans.

And even if not—

“…Hic! P-please save me.”

Leaving a child in a place crawling with wild beasts weighed heavily on my conscience.

“Alright, alright. Calm down. Why are you here? And what was that tiger sound about?”

“I came because I felt so stifled… I wanted to look around. Then I heard wolves, and I heard that wolves are scared of tigers, so I tried to imitate one…”

“You’re nuts…”

Do wolves look that dumb? Thinking they’d run from a fake tiger roar? It was a miracle she wasn’t eaten.

I asked,

“What’s your name?”

“B-Boknyeo… Boknyeo.”

“Okay. Boknyeo. You’re going down now, right? Come with me.”

“Um, the thing is…”

Boknyeo looked up at me.

“I sprained my ankle while running…”

What next…

“Get on.”

“Okay.”

If this were Joseon instead of Goguryeo, she’d be going, “How can I ride on a strange man’s back?” but this was Goguryeo, where men and women bathed together.

There were no such troublesome formalities.

“Hold on tight. I might fall.”

“How could you fall while I’m on your back…?”

“I meant I might trip. You think carrying a person around is easy?”

Luckily, I’d gotten used to climbing mountains with a load on my back, or else even moving would have been hard.

“I think there are wolves nearby. I heard a howl earlier.”

“A howl? You sure you weren’t mistaken?”

“I’m sure. It went ‘Awooo…’ That’s why I did the tiger roar…”

The moment I heard that, my heart dropped.

“Shit.”

Wild animals never cry out for no reason.

If a wild animal cried whenever it felt like it, it would either scare away its prey or become prey itself.

And the fact that we heard the wolf's howl meant… the wolves had finished preparing for the hunt.

“Let’s get down fast.”

Not long after we sprinted down the mountain path—

“Growl!”

A wolf finally leaped out.

It blocked the middle of the path I had come up and began circling around me.

“Is it trying to stall for time?”

Right then, the weight on my back lightened. Boknyeo had quickly slipped down on her own.

I had been worried she might cling harder, thinking I was going to abandon her—thankfully, she didn’t.

“Phew.”

I instantly grabbed a shuriken and hurled it with all my might.

Whoosh—Yelp!

The flying shuriken struck the wolf’s foreleg.

It screamed and flipped over but didn’t die.

“Here, take this!”

Meanwhile, Boknyeo limped over and handed me a wooden stick.

It was quite sharp, likely from being broken.

Of course, it couldn’t be called a proper wooden spear. A proper one needed its tip sharpened by fire. A stick like this wouldn’t pierce properly.

Still, in a situation like this, I was grateful. I held the stick and faced off with the wolf.

“Grrrr…”

But it didn’t come at me again. If it were a wild boar, maybe—but wolves were rational and good at sizing up odds.

It stared me down for a moment, then turned and ran away.

But we couldn’t relax.

Wolves were pack animals.

It would likely return with reinforcements.

And that wasn’t our only problem.

“Ugh.”

Blood dripped from Boknyeo’s wrist. It was a fresh wound.

“What’s this?”

“Just now… from breaking the wooden stick.”

So that’s where she got the sharp stick from—probably got scraped by splinters while breaking the tough wood. But that wasn’t important right now.

“Boknyeo, did you come up using this path?”

“No, not this one.”

Then it was clear.

“That wolf wasn’t after Boknyeo—it was after me.”

It had blocked the path I had used to climb, right on the mark. It might have been watching me since I entered the mountain.

It had likely tracked my movements all day and waited until dusk, gathering its companions.

“This is why I hate clever animals.”

Going back the same way I came had a 100% chance of more wolves waiting in ambush.

So there was only one option.

I had to find a new path I didn’t know.

“Boknyeo, do you remember which direction you came from?”

“Y-yes, exactly.”

Boknyeo said,

“If we walk straight from here, then turn at the tree with two persimmons hanging… I fell while trying to pick one…”

So she hadn’t just wandered up aimlessly.

“Alright, we’re going that way.”

I ran in the direction Boknyeo pointed.

For now, I had no choice but to trust Boknyeo‑gation.

“Left of the rock!”

“That rock beside it!”

“Jump over it!”

Boknyeo guided while I ran.

Ruff—Ruff ruff—!

The sound of wolves chasing grew louder behind us. They were coming from the direction I had climbed. Definitely lying in ambush.

Boknyeo said from behind me,

“…Are you going to leave me and r-run ahead alone?”

“What nonsense? Don’t cry—keep your eyes ahead. Is that the tree?”

“Y-yes… Ahh! A wolf is right behind us!”

Then Boknyeo shouted at the wolf behind us,

“Get lost! Go away! Roaaaar!”

Another tiger roar imitation.

Like that would work…

“They stopped!”

Huh?

The wolves actually froze mid‑run.

Was Boknyeo secretly a martial arts master?

Was that her ultimate tiger‑wolf roar?

Of course not.

“We must’ve entered the neighboring mountain.”

The wolves had stopped because we’d entered the territory of Tiger Village’s tiger.

Tigers and wolves had a strict hierarchy, and wolves dared not enter a tiger’s territory.

Boknyeo’s tiger roar might not have scared them, but it probably reminded them that they’d entered tiger turf.

“In the end… it helped?”

Grrrr…

The wolves licked their lips in frustration but didn’t dare follow us into tiger territory. I carefully backed away to avoid provoking them.

“Am I going to run into the tiger while dodging wolves?”

Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

“Lights!”

From below the mountain, I saw a cluster of bright lights.

In the 21st century, cities were lit even at night, but in this era, night was pitch black except for the village fire that locals desperately protected.

So who was burning expensive oil and lighting the night like that?

It wasn’t hard to guess.

“A hunting party sent to catch the tiger.”

I didn’t know why they were burning oil to move around at night, but it seemed thanks to them, I had managed to descend without meeting the tiger.

“Whew…”

In any case…

We survived.