The move to Heavenly Gate Mountain was merely a pretext.
In truth, it was all for Sohwa's sake. She had always preferred the exquisite dishes of humans to the simple fare a fox might scavenge in the wild. But now that the villagers had fled, obtaining human food had become nearly impossible.
Fortunately, Heavenly Gate Mountain was home to *yokai* who maintained cordial relations with humans. With their help, one could procure almost anything.
_What can I give my picky fox this evening to make her eat well?_
At that moment, Sohwa spoke up casually from her perch around his neck.
"Just don't kill Master Daebom, Dohvi."
"I won't."
"Really, truly—there's no need."
"I'm not going to," he answered, far too easily and without hesitation.
Doubt flickered through her, but she couldn't find more convincing words to press the matter.
Instead, Sohwa began grooming her front paws, casting meaningful glances at Dohvi as she did.
"When will you finally show me your true form? Master Daebom only glimpsed the marks of your claws and immediately fell flat on his face."
Sohwa was burning with curiosity. What had become of that tiny black kitten she had once picked up from the roadside—now grown into a great and terrible tiger?
Every time Dohvi left the house at dawn, she waited by the gate, hoping to catch a glimpse of him in his true form. But somehow, she never could.
"I want to see a majestic tiger too, you know."
Silence.
_Could it be..._ Now Sohwa was certain that Dohvi was deliberately hiding his true appearance. His reaction made it obvious.
"Do you think I'll faint the moment I see you?"
More silence.
"When things get difficult, you just go quiet, don't you? Hm?"
Without waiting for an answer, she began nibbling at his hand. Still, he said nothing.
---
Dohvi was lost in thought.
He had wanted to wait until Sohwa went into heat—to spend the night together properly and become her true companion. Only then would he reveal his real form to her.
But no matter how long he waited, the heat never came.
_How much longer must I endure this?_ He was terrified that one day she would slip out of the house and leave him behind.
What troubled Dohvi most was that Sohwa had been persistently asking to see his true form lately. She even stood by the gate at dawn, watching for him...
Once, she had dreamed of a tiger—and the nightmare had frightened her so badly that she lay drenched in cold sweat for an entire day afterward.
_What if this cowardly little fox sees me in reality and changes her mind? What if she runs away?_
Dohvi didn't want to destroy his current happiness. All he dreamed of was for Sohwa to enter her mating season soon, so that her long-held wish for a family of her own could finally come true.
---
"A-a-a-a-ah!"
A shrill scream echoed across the mountainside as Dohvi, eyes narrowed in irritation, planted his foot squarely on Daebom's back.
_Noisy. Far too noisy._
The fox was in his fragile human form, and it seemed his spine might snap from the slightest additional pressure.
When Dohvi pressed down gently, Daebom flinched and shook his head frantically.
"Please! Have mercy!"
"Shut up. Who said anything about killing you?"
"Ohhh... my lord, I beg you! Have mercy! I'm only trying to understand the Tao so I can become a gumiho, like my aunt who was a great shaman!"
Dohvi studied the trembling back beneath his foot and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm on the path to enlightenment! I'm going to become a Buddhist! That charming lady is of absolutely no interest to me..."
The cunning fox had clearly sensed immediately how much Dohvi valued Sohwa.
_Or perhaps it's simply my scent, which permeates every inch of my fox._
"I swear! I know you're already bound together... I would never dare—"
"If you knew, you should have left this mountain sooner."
"Have mercy!"
"What kind of idiot would tolerate another male lurking around his female when mating season is about to begin?"
"My lord, forgive me... forgive me! I have an important task I must complete..."
"*Task?*"
"Yes! The Abbot of the Heavenly Gate ordered me to look after the temple here in the Ikhwan Mountains while his disciple, the monastery's administrator, prepares for winter hibernation..."
The name of the Abbot of Heavenly Gate was familiar to Dohvi. More than familiar—he owed the old monk a favor.
A cruel smile played across Dohvi's lips.
"Have mercy! I promise I won't approach your lady again... I'll just complete my task and then leave for another mountain..." Daebom begged, tears streaming down his face.
Dohvi eased the pressure of his foot slightly.
This fox was clearly no fool. He had hidden, he had groveled, and he had even managed to shift instantly into human form the moment their eyes met.
_Smart move._
When beastmen encountered Dohvi, they usually transformed into their animal forms—it was the best chance for escape. Something about his hunting instinct seemed to trigger the response in them.
Only a complete idiot would dare look at Sohwa in his presence. And this fox who had supposedly dedicated himself to Buddhism was clearly no match for him.
"Can you smell when a female is in heat?"
Dohvi had gone to see his teacher about his problems with Sohwa, but had returned empty-handed.
Perhaps, he thought, it would be better to ask another fox directly. So here he was.
"We've been living together for over twenty years, but something changed this year. I can't figure out what's wrong with her."
Sohwa should have been in heat by now, but nothing was happening. Certainly, they still spent every night together—but that wasn't enough for Dohvi.
"W-well, I'm a fox, not a tiger..." Daebom stammered. "I can't sense tigresses in heat very accurately..."
"My female is a fox."
Daebom went pale.
"Pardon?"
_I've never heard of tigers and foxes being able to..._ But then again, beastmen of various species often spent the mating season together in human form. There was nothing particularly unusual about that.
In this strange world, such things happened. That wasn't what surprised him.
What *astonished* him was that Sohwa—who had looked as though she could face any beast as an equal—turned out to be just like him. A red fox.
"I never would have guessed... It's not for nothing they say you can't trust foxes..." Daebom muttered, but his words were immediately cut off as Dohvi pressed his foot down again.
"Answer the question."
"F-foxes are very sensitive creatures! They don't always go into heat—it depends heavily on environmental conditions. Sometimes the mating season ends before they even notice it's begun."
Dohvi nodded slowly. He already knew that a fox's mating season was brief.
"But your lady... she had no scent at all. Only yours. Not a single drop of her own."
_What's going on?_
Dohvi thought hard, brow furrowed. Then he lifted his foot from Daebom's back.
The fox, finally able to breathe, let out a shaky sigh of relief—then reached into his pocket.
"Here... perhaps this will be useful to you."
He held out a small glass bottle. Dohvi didn't take it. He stared at the fox with suspicion.
"It's catnip. It works like a mild hallucinogen for foxes."
"Are you suggesting I drug my female?"
"Oh, no! Of course not!" Daebom waved his hands frantically. "It's just an herb! It lifts the spirits a little, that's all. Just open the bottle and the scent will do the work. Foxes love it—it improves their mood, their appetite... even increases their... well, you know... *desire*."
_So it's not harmful to her health._
"I carry it with me because catnip works quickly on dull, thin foxes who have trouble with their appetites. It's also excellent for boosting stamina..."
"Does she need to eat it?"
"No, just open the lid."
Intrigued despite himself, Dohvi reached out and took the bottle. He uncorked it and sniffed cautiously.
"Any fox will immediately... mmm... *cough!*"
Daebom's eyes rolled back. Without warning, he lunged toward Dohvi's hand, rubbing his face against it as if his life depended on it.
"Ah! Good... Catnip is **good**...!"
He was no longer in control. His eyes had gone glassy, his body trembling. Against his will, Daebom transformed back into a fox.
"Kya-ya-ya-ya... There's nothing better than catnip...!"
Like a serpent, the fox latched onto Dohvi's wrist and began rubbing his entire body against it in ecstasy. Dohvi felt equal parts pity and bewilderment. Finally, he grabbed the fox by the scruff of the neck and lifted him into the air.
_He did say he would become a nine-tailed fox by devoting himself to Buddhism... Apparently, he forgot._
_Well. That's convenient._
Dohvi tucked the addled fox under his arm and headed toward the temple.
---
A monk was inside when he arrived, praying for the repose of the hunters who had recently died tragic deaths on Mount Ikhwan.
The monk glanced up at Dohvi with undisguised displeasure. This tiger was the very embodiment of cruelty and ruthlessness. Even if lightning had struck him down, it wouldn't have been punishment enough. Usually arrogant and oblivious to others, he had clearly come with some selfish motive.
"What brings you here this time?" the monk grumbled. "It seems you've already taken everything you wanted. I have nothing left to steal."
Dohvi threw the red fox directly onto the temple floor.
"Here. Shut your mouth."
**Kya!**
The fox tumbled head over heels across the wooden boards and immediately began rubbing himself against the floor, repeating in a daze:
"Catnip... it's heaven... Catnip is the best thing that ever happened to me...!"
"Do whatever you want with him," Dohvi said flatly. "Boil him or fry him—your choice."
The monk observed the fox's shameless behavior with undisguised amazement, then turned back.
"What in the world is—"
But Dohvi had already vanished without a trace.
---