What A Pity
{Which role is it again today?}
Miho, who found no joy in watching because Yoomyeong was only appearing as an extra, had stopped following him to the shooting for a while.
And the spirit fox was accompanying him today after several days.
Im playing a soldier participating in the Battle of Hwangsanbeol, Yoomyeong explained.
{Oh, a battle scene. At least Ill have sothing to eat today.}
It was a battle scene involving over a hundred extras.
Miho eagerly anticipated the dramatic and flavorful scene, comnting on how the energetic remnants of the scene would be rich and unique.
Yoomyeong smiled faintly and entered the set, leaving Miho behind.
The location was a mountain in Mungyeong, carefully chosen for its similarity to Hwangsans terrain.
On a giant crane, the cara and cinematographer adjusted their positions, while the lighting was strategically placed to complent the flickering bonfires and torches.
Its dark so watch your step, everyone!
It was a big battle scene shot at night.
It was easy to see why.
The darkness would help in post-production VFX (*Visual effects), especially in making a hundred extras look like thousands. Brighter scenes would reveal the effects more easily.
Moreover, the budget was likely tight since the Battle of Hwangsanbeol wasnt directly related to the the of the movie, hence the choice of a night shoot.
Regardless, there was still a sense of urgency to it.
Depending on the flickering bonfires, Yoomyeong donned protective gear woven with planks around his chest and abdon, covering his lower face with a dirty cloth under his helt.
This was prepared by the costu team to prevent his face from being captured on the Steadicam.
Actors! Well start with the overhead shot, so Ill start with the movent chart we discussed earlier. Lets rehearse, the assistant director announced with a clear voice.
After several rehearsals and adjustnts, the filming finally began.
Miho circled the set, planning to absorb the energy remnants while following the action.
But then
Start the main take!
After the soldiers started running, the spirit fox reached their previous spot and was baffled at the lack of residual energy, which was surprisingly scant considering the intensity of the scene.
{Why why is this happening?}
The situation was the sa even as the spirit fox followed the soldiers paths.
Considering the intense scene of many humans increasing their montum in battle especially in pursuit of a retreating enemy, the lack of residual energy was incomprehensibly low.
The spirit fox followed the soldiers, puzzled. In the midst of the crowd, the spirit fox spotted a familiar figure.
Familiar?
The figure was definitely familiar.
{Huh?}
Had Yoomyeongs energy grown since a few days ago?
Miho lifted his little front paw and rubbed his eyes.
Originally, the spirit fox visually perceived the energy emanating from humans, so he wouldnt notice a slight increase in Yoomyeongs energy.
Yet, for him to feel that he had grown indicated a significant change.
In just a few days, Yoomyeongs presence had increased, and the recent scene had an unusually low amount of residual energy.
Putting these two events together
Chill
{No could it be?}
The spirit fox realized a shocking possibility; Yoomyeong was absorbing the energy.
*
{Its impossible!}
Miho could only stare in disbelief.
Absorbing energy wasnt a human capability. Despite his disbelief, the spirit fox soared into the sky for a clearer view.
Hovering above the forest with a panoramic view, Miho maximized his vision to observe the ground below.
And then,
Swoosh
Miho sensed a faint energy converging towards a point.
Residual energy was usually hard to detect, but the spirit foxs heightened senses made it clear.
And that point was there was no doubt about it.
{What the hell? Whats going on?}
Why was a human absorbing acting energy?
Was it because of our contract?
No, that cant be it.
There were no known side effects like this in the contracts between humans and beings from the celestial realm.
Could Yoomyeong be not entirely human? Was he perhaps half-human and half-spirit?
No, that would an their contract would never have been valid.
So were there humans with the ability to absorb energy?
In fact, there were.
Individuals like hermits or enlightened ones, who aid for enlightennt, practice spiritual fasting (a step in becoming an immortal by not eating grains and only consuming food like pine needles, dates, and chestnuts) and tamorphosis and Circulation to absorb natural energy, aspiring to ascend to immortality.
Yet, this had nothing to do with Shin Yoomyeong. More importantly, wasnt he absorbing the energy of acting? This wasnt a type of energy that a human without special abilities could absorb.
As every hypothesis was dismissed, the spirit fox felt increasingly frustrated.
This is dangerous.
If Yoomyeong can absorb enough acting energy to raise his innate presence above 50, their contract would beco aningless.
Since a humans total presence couldnt exceed 100, the phenonon of , which only occurred when the presence Miho granted was greater than Yoomyeongs own presence would beco impossible.
I need to quickly find the cause.
Hovering in the air, the spirit fox trembled slightly before darting off towards the west.
His destination was Shenxianju, the abode of immortals in Hangzhou, China.
*
Miho entered the entrance to the Shenxianju.
Chanting a spell, the mist shrouding the famous mountain dispersed, revealing a landscape unseen by human eyes.
This place was the Half-Celestial Realm.
It was inhabited by immortals who, for various reasons, chose not to stay in the Celestial Realm and instead repeated their ascetic practices to ascend directly to heaven.
The immortal the spirit fox sought to et was
Growl
A giant tiger blocked his path. The massive tiger that was as big as a small hill bared its yellow fangs at the uninvited guest.
However, as the small fox emitted a silvery glow and transford into its human form, the tiger stepped back and bowed its head.
{Its been a while, Suho (Guardian Tiger). Have you been taking good care of Mother?}
Grr Rub
The tiger gently rubbed its head against the spirit foxs shoulder.
{Youre still a cute one. Where is Mother?}
Growl
{Sam-eundam? I see She must be bathing. Go and tell her Ive arrived, though she probably already knows.}
With a swift motion, the great tiger vanished, heading towards his mothers residence.
*
{My dear Hye-ho (the spirit foxs true na). Its been a long ti, my child.}
A voice as clear and fresh as blooming rapeseed flowers tickled Mihos ears.
The figure that appeared was a seductive woman, resembling the spirit fox with thin and shimring silver hair and gracefully curved eyebrows over captivating eyes.
The woman nad Hwaho (Flower Fox) was once a re spirit, but she beca known for her unparalleled beauty that even enchanted the Celestial Emperor.
She had since ascended to the status of an immortal. Hye-ho, the child of Hwaho and the Celestial Emperor, was a fox born with the grace of the Celestial Emperor.
{Have you been well?}
{Im always here, continuously cultivating. Its a peaceful and beautiful life, though a little boring.}
Hwaho covered her mouth and laughed.
Each of her movents was enchanting enough to make anyone fall in love with her, but Hye-ho remained calm and simply sipped his tea.
{I ca to ask you sothing.}
{I guess theres a lot of interesting stuff happening lately. Your na has been buzzing excitedly in the talkative Celestial Realm, hasnt it?}
{Its related to that. Are there cases where humans directly absorb acting energy?}
{A human absorbing residual energy left after acting, as you do?}
{That seems to be the case.}
Hwaho fell into thought. Such an idea was absurd. But knowing her son wouldnt speak without reason, she combed through her long-lived mories but couldnt recall any such instance.
{Its common for humans to beco sages by absorbing the energy of nature. Unlike us spirits, humans dont need to gather much energy to ascend. Or, they might learn sorcery to absorb anothers energy, risking the collapse of their soul.}
{Im aware of that.}
{But acting energy Its impossible to absorb specific energy without a spiritual profession.}
Hye-ho sighed deeply.
If even his mother didnt know, then this might be an exception with no answer.
{If theyre a human youve contracted with, then that ans their energy must be connected to you. Show .}
At Hwahos request, Hye-ho extended his hand.
She grasped it and closed her eyes, her long lashes settling softly.
Haaa
Sighs escaped her lips as she delved into whatever she saw.
After a mont, she released his hand and opened her eyes again.
A single tear welled up at the corner of her long, elegant eyes.
{Why are you crying?}
She gazed at him quietly before speaking.
{What a pity, both for that boy and my son.}
*
{Youve figured out the cause.}
Hwaho nodded in response.
{The answer lies in that boys original life.}
{His original life? Why?}
{Those fools in the Celestial Realm botched their job, and thats how he ca into the world. With such a frail life force, he was almost crushed by the worlds energy.}
Her beautiful lips spit out harsh words, revealing her disdain for the Celestial Realm.
{I knew that.}
{And he has a twin sibling. When they were young, his siblings identical and strong energy must have protected him. Even their grandfathers given nas, Yoomyeong, aning having fa and having life, are ironically wise. Humans sotis can be surprisingly insightful.}
{Im aware of that, too. But whats your point?}
Hye-ho was growing impatient, so he urged his mother to continue.
{Once he beca an adult, the protective energy weakened. He should have rightly died. But then, he started acting. He struggled to escape the overwhelming energy exerted by actors, which is stronger than ordinary peoples energy.}
{Yes.}
{Thats when sothing miraculous happened. A tiny, feeble energy, in an attempt to overco the overwhelming force, started to absorb traces of other energies into his body.}
Hye-hos eyes widened in disbelief.
It was sothing that couldnt be happening and shouldnt be happening.
{I find that hard to believe But if thats the case, then why did that ability only manifest now?}
{His energy was extrely weak and the situation was special, so you probably didnt notice it. And in this reincarnated life, the need wasnt as dire, so he was only absorbing a little at a ti. But it now seems to have significantly manifested again as hes making efforts similar to those in his original life.}
Hye-ho recalled Yoomyeongs resolve to project his presence just like in his original life.
{Is sothing like that really possible?}
Hwaho sighed and looked at her son with pity.
{Human will is truly remarkable. Hye-ho, can you imagine how difficult it is? Its like an ant being stepped on by a human. But instead of running away, it gathered all its strength to withstand it.}
{But why would he do that?}
{Youre right. I asked that ant, Why didnt you run away? Do you know what it said?}
{}
{It said, Because I love acting.}
Miho knew.
He had seen flashbacks of Yoomyeongs life.
He thought it was foolish and naive, but he had never guessed how much pain and suffering Yoomyeong endured every day for 15 years.
{Its understandable that you didnt know. Even I havent seen such a case. A human, who should have just withered and died, lacking even the minimum life force, survived among the most energetic humans without running away Its either remarkable or foolish.}
Then, she revealed another shocking fact.
{But the interesting thing is}
{?}
{His foolish stubbornness saved him. You know he was ill in his original life, right?}
{Yes, he had liver cancer}
{Thats not it. The liver, an organ supposed to be filled with life force, had empty spaces due to lack of energy. The little energy he absorbed while acting patched it up haphazardly. It seems like a misdiagnosis based on its abnormal form. I bet they said it didnt look like typical cancer.}
The spirit fox staggered slightly, shocked.
{Does that an he wasnt ant to die back them?}
{If he continued to endure the pain and act, he would have survived as long as he acted. He has a truly incredible will and a pitiable child.}
Silence followed for a mont.
Miho voiced his last lingering question.
{Even so, why did you say I was pitiful too?}
{My child. Youre cold and distant on the outside, but you have the kindest soul.}
Hwaho silently approached and embraced him.
{Ah, what are you suddenly?}
{A mother often knows her child better than they think. I think I know the path youre headed on.}
{What do you an?}
{Ill pray that it doesnt end too sadly for all of us.}
She then gently pushed him away.
{Go back quickly.}
{?}
{The scoundrels in the Celestial Realm must be plotting sothing since the situation has grown too large to hide. At least the decision should be made by you or that boy, not them.}
Prompted by Hwahos words, Hye-ho quickly stood up.
{Ill see you again.}
He transford into light and shot off towards the east, hoping that nothing would happen before he arrived.
[TL/N: Hi! Upon further inspection, I decided to use he for Miho as default despite his/her gender in the novels cover.
This is because Ive uncovered details and certain parts in the story that would be understood and translated better if Miho was referred to as a he. Mihos androgynous anyways, so it probably wouldnt matter much, but I just wanted to let you guys know so youd be inford moving forward. Thank you so much for reading this note!]
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