Chapter 36: The Burning White Tiger Palace Part 2

Creaaak!

Crashh!

The outer beam of the back kitchen was charred by fire and collapsed.

As it rolled across the floor of the backyard, the area shook violently and the White Princess’s head began to throb.

Her body which was already at its limit cried out in pain from even the smallest shock.

Yet it was clear that if she merely sat there, she would meet a grim end.

“Ho-How are you in the inner palace?”

“The Vermilion Princess gave me the Vermilion Bird tablet. It is only temporary, though.”

“The Vermilion Bird tablet to you…?”

The Vermilion Bird tablet was a token of identity given only to those whom the Vermilion Princess truly trusted.

Although the Vermilion Princess had many maids under her command, only her headmaid Hyeon Dang had ever received the Vermilion Bird tablet from her.

Generally, not just anyone could receive a princess consort’s tablet.

If the holder of the tablet committed any misconduct, it would also tarnish the authority of the princess consort who trusted them. Essentially, it meant the man had the complete trust of the Vermilion Princess.

Seol Tae Pyeong quickly helped the White Princess to her feet.

Once again, her body screamed in pain but the White Princess bit her lips and endured the pain.

“As soon as we exit the inner palace, there are quite a few places to hide. If all else fails, you could even hide in the inner chambers near the White Immortal Palace.”

“Wh-Why do you help me?”

Amid the blazing heat of the White Tiger Palace, the White Princess who was barely holding onto her consciousness asked this question.

“You… you’ve figured out everything I intended to do, haven’t you?”

“Are you talking about the incense sachet?”

“…….”

Seol Tae Pyeong led the White Princess forward as he spoke.

“There were too many suspicious aspects to believe that you led the effort yourself.”

“How do you know that?”

No one inside the inner palace had suspected the true nature of the White Princess.

That the people of the Inbong clan were blinded by ambition was merely gossip among the high officials of the main palace.

Except for the occasional sword battle with the Vermilion Princess, he was just a man holed up in the White Immortal Palace. How could he have possibly discerned the White Princess’s true intentions and temperament with just that much interaction?

Seol Tae Pyeong had only ever had a proper conversation with the White Princess twice. It was during the farce that unfolded in the tea room of the White Tiger Palace where he expressed his infatuation with the White Princess.

The man who had knelt and poured out his feelings seemed utterly frivolous.

But even in those moments, had he been observing the White Princess and trying to figure out her real thoughts?

“It’s unlikely that the White Princess would make a plan and let her true nature be so obviously exposed like that. From what I know, the White Princess tends to handle matters in a much more cautious and calculating way.”

“How strange. How can you be so sure after only seeing me a few times?”

Seol Tae Pyeong thought as he walked across the backyard.

It wasn’t really difficult to imagine a future in which White Princess Ha Wol would have fallen tragically in the Heavenly Dragon Love Story. It was all too clear that she was a character meant to end up that way.

However, he questioned the method.

How could the mistress of the White Tiger Palace fall so easily? A cunning person wouldn’t let their weakness be revealed so easily no matter how much they schemed.

Every story needs a certain degree of plausibility. Considering the narrative methods by which White Princess Ha Wol could be disastrously ruined, the possibilities that came to mind were few.

“Were you caught up in a power struggle within the Inbong clan?”

When Seol Tae Pyeong pinpointed the critical issue, the White Princess gasped.

She had thought him just a warrior who knew how to use a sword. Yet, with only a brief look at how events were unfolding, he pinpointed the crux of the matter accurately.

“You …”

“Then I have some good news for you. The Vermilion Princess who almost fell victim to these schemes is aware of the situation now. She is going to meet the vice general to discuss this.”

“…….”

“If you manage to escape and save your life, the situation might improve for you.”

The man she had thought came to take her life was instead delivering hopeful news.

The Vermilion Princess who was the main victim of these schemes was now fully aware of the situation. There was no better news for the White Princess.

“You must never be caught until you clearly understand the situation and take proper action.”

“…the ghost hands have come out to capture me themselves.”

“…ghost hands, you say?”

It was the name of the special unit directly under the Emperor.

Their movements were like predators hidden in the darkness of the night. They moved stealthily but they also had formidable strength.

Seol Tae Pyeong’s eyebrows furrowed when he heard that name. The ghost hands were indeed a troublesome enemy.

While the strength of each individual might not match up to him, the difficulty arose when they formed formations and strategically surrounded him.

Their quality was completely different from the guards led by Jang Rae. Not just anyone could rise to the position of a special unit directly under the Emperor.

“At this rate… I will be caught soon… They plan to drag me before the Emperor and clarify all charges before things get more complicated…”

“Whose idea was that?”

“…Consort Ha Chae Rim.”

She was said to be at the top among the daughters of the Inbong clan.

Seol Tae Pyeong was also familiar with that name. It was the name of Emperor Woon Sung’s fourth consort who resided in the main palace.

“Even if the Vermilion Princess disapproves of the situation, nothing can be said without evidence. It is a clear fact that the sachet came to the Vermilion Bird Palace as a gift from the White Tiger Palace.

“…….”

“If the fourth consort focuses on this point to push charges against me, I will have no argument in defense of my position.”

The White Princess smiled bitterly as she spoke.

“Will you still defend me in this situation?”

“I don’t think it’s that complicated. I simply want to ask you one thing.”

Seol Tae Pyeong spoke with a serious expression on his face.

What else mattered? Seol Tae Pyeong was interested in only one thing.

“Was this the doing of the White Princess?”

He was well aware of what kind of person White Princess Ha Wol was.

She was a materialist who would do anything for power. She was certainly not someone who could be called good.

If left alone, she would become a troublemaker in the court and create more chaos in the inner palace.

She was not a person so virtuous and noble that helping her seemed appropriate.

However, that was a story from the “Heavenly Dragon Love Story”.

Even if she was the same person, was the current White Princess guilty of these crimes?

Who has the right to judge someone based on a crime that has not yet occurred and punish them for possible future wrongdoings?

The future is just that—the future. Seol Tae Pyeong was focused on the White Princess of the present.

“…….”

“…. Was this your doing, White Princess?”

And so, Seol Tae Pyeong’s question was both natural and justified.

But faced with this natural and justified question, the White Princess found herself momentarily at a loss for words.

No one dared to ask her that question before.

In the midst of the schemes and power struggles within Cheongdo Palace, suspicions often became confirmations.

After all, those with firmly set minds seldom gave away tangible evidence.

“……”

The White Princess managed to take a step forward with difficulty and said in a faltering voice.

“I… did not do it…”

“Yes, isn’t that the most important thing?”

Seol Tae Pyeong was not one to complicate matters when it came to judging things.

She said she did not do it and Seol Tae Pyeong also knew that the White Princess had not done it.

What need was there for a reason more complex than that for moving?

The simplicity of Seol Tae Pyeong’s attitude was so refreshing that the White Princess couldn’t help but open her eyes wide in disbelief.

“You…. live so freely and according to your beliefs.”

She had thoroughly evaluated this man named Seol Tae Pyeong.

He had saved the Azure Princess, crossed swords with the Vermilion Princess, and blocked the road in front of the special unit for the Black Princess.

If he believed something was right, he would forge ahead without hesitation. No matter what the consequences were.

Even if his life was at stake, if he thought it was the right thing to do, he would do it.

White Immortal Lee Cheol Woon had brought Seol Tae Pyeong into the palace precisely because he had seen this trait in the young man.

It was easy to find someone skilled with a sword. However, Seol Tae Pyeong lived life in his own unique way.

Naïve.

That’s what the White Princess thought. Life should be lived more cunningly and more cowardly.

There were many times she had to live that way, even if she didn’t want to, especially since she was born a daughter of the Inbong clan.

Yet, the White Princess could not deny such a man.

The reason was… somewhat obvious.

Thud!

Flop!

“White Princess.”

“Cough, huff…”

After running all the way to the backyard, her legs completely gave out.

The White Princess propped herself up on the ground and gasped for breath repeatedly.

“White Princess. It might be better if I carried you on my back.”

“I envy you.”

“… Huh?”

The White Princess raised her head raised her head with difficulty to look at Seol Tae Pyeong’s face.

His genuinely concerned expression seemed to place him at odds with her.

“I said I envy you.”

“Suddenly saying that…”

Was it because her life was in danger?

Or was it because the end she had anticipated had finally arrived?

Overwhelmed with emotion, the White Princess made a decision she would never normally consider.

“Just leave me here and go. Tell the Vermilion Princess that I was indeed responsible.”

“Huh?”

“There’s no way the fourth consort would have started this without proper preparations. If it has come to this, siding with me would only poison you. It would be the same for the Vermilion Princess.”

The White Princess’s hands were trembling but she spoke with determination.

“If you cling to a discarded piece, you can’t win the big game. Keep that in mind.”

“……”

“I am, after all, the mistress of White Tiger Palace. If a princess consort of the Inbong clan was deposed for misconduct, even the powerful Inbong clan would not escape unscathed. For the Jeongseon clan, this is a great opportunity.”

The strategy devised by the fourth consort Ha Chae Rim to maintain her position paradoxically eroded the power of the inbong clan.

Nevertheless, the fourth consort desired to keep her position.

Everyone is the same in that respect. Their own lifespan mattered more than their family’s prestige.

If she could become an irreplaceable figure within the clan, she likely believed that it would be alright if the larger picture was slightly torn.

“I said I envy you. You are a man who upholds his beliefs to the end, even in the face of great trials.”

“…….”

“It’s a choice you can make because you are strong.”

Seol Tae Pyeong was at a loss for words.

Whether it was chasing away the illusion of the Azure Princess with a dagger to his own body, drawing his sword before the Vermilion Princess, or blocking the special unit for the Black Princess.

All these were things Seol Tae Pyeong could do because he possessed the strength worthy of a master swordsman.

“However, there are far more people in the world who are not so strong.”

“White Princess.”

“I am not as strong as you. Perhaps… I wanted to be someone like you.”

The White Princess blurted out her confession with a trembling voice.

The reason why most people cannot uphold their beliefs to the end is simpler than one might think. They are weak.

The weak must sometimes close their eyes to survive.

They turn a blind eye to injustice, reach out to cowardly tactics, and sometimes they must walk in the opposite direction of what their conscience dictates.

Born as the daughter of the Inbong clan, the White Princess has always lived as if being chased. Life was a constant struggle for her.

To survive, one must not discriminate in their methods. If you don’t suspect, you’ll be poisoned. If you can’t prove yourself, you’ll be discarded.

Talking about romance and upholding beliefs are privileges of the strong.

The only thing that someone struggling day by day can discuss is reality.

When such a girl who was not yet a full adult came of age, she was already soaked in the repulsive muck of the gutter.

Many people turn a blind eye to injustice and discuss reality. Just as everyone does.

Standing in front of Seol Tae Pyeong, she felt particularly ashamed of that fact. But envying him was… simply part of being human.

It was too innocent to be jealousy and too miserable to be a sense of inferiority. It was just that kind of emotion.

“Anyway, we can’t get rid of the ghost hands. So… at this point…”

“White Princess.”

However, Seol Tae Pyeong cut off the White Princess’s words.

“Don’t talk nonsense and get up quickly. I have a plan.”

For Seol Tae Pyeong, abandoning the White Princess was never even an option to consider.

Whatever the White Princess said, it wasn’t that important to Seol Tae Pyeong.

“Whatever happens, let’s survive first. Do you understand?”

That was the kind of man Seol Tae Pyeong was.

Ghost hands Commander Woon Baek.

Even his name was just an alias. His face was wrapped in black cloth and no one had ever seen what lay beneath.

His name wasn’t even listed in the palace’s registry of people.

He was known only as a direct military officer of the Emperor and someone who was commanding the ghost hands.

He had appeared at the White Tiger Palace with a few members of his team, not even ten minutes after a fire had started.

The speed of his response was almost unbelievable, to the extent that Ha Chae Rim who had been resting near the central gate of the White Tiger Palace was taken aback.

“I have heard about the situation. Fortunately, it seems the fourth consort hasn’t been seriously hurt.”

“But… our Ha Wol-ah…”

“The White Princess will be taken into custody by our team. Our ghost hands are already spread around the inner palace. There are guards from the Red Palace too, so she won’t be able to go far.”

His voice was deep. And judging by his sturdy physique, he seemed to be fairly old.

The warriors who followed him had their faces completely covered with cloth masks. It was important for the ghost hands not to reveal their identities, so no one could identify them.

Nearly thirty warriors had been deployed to the White Tiger Palace. This number included about a dozen brought by the fourth consort herself, plus a little over twenty more. It was as if almost all the available warriors had been mobilized.

The movements of the warriors spread throughout the White Tiger Palace were incredibly efficient.

There was no need to enter the burning White Tiger Palace. After all, the objective of White Princess Ha Wol was likely to escape beyond the palace walls.

If so, seizing all the central gates leading out of the White Tiger Palace would suffice. A lady of the court could not simply scale the palace walls.

Though the situation had escalated unexpectedly, Woon Baek spoke clearly.

“We don’t have much time. Soon, the soldiers from the main palace will come to suppress the fire here. Once more people arrive, it will become harder to locate the White Princess.”

“In that case…”

Before the fourth consort could respond, one of the warriors raised his voice.

“It seems like they found the White Princess on the other side of the central gate!”

“Things are resolving faster than expected. Let’s capture her and quickly head back to the main palace.”

“B-But…”

A relatively young warrior spoke with a trembling voice.

“There… there’s a strange warrior guarding the central gate… we missed the White Princess.”

“What?”

This group of warriors called the ghost hands shared a history with the empire of Cheongdo.

They might not have operated in the limelight, but they always prided themselves on being the hidden blades of the Emperor. And they all dutifully fulfilled their roles from the shadows.

Each individual’s strength was comparable to that of high-ranking military officers from the Red Palace; when a certain number assembled to form a battle formation, even general-level warriors found them difficult to withstand.

The only one who had never been subdued by more than ten of these ghost hands was Vice General Jeong Seo Tae who had earned his position as a general purely through martial strength.

When the ghost hands Commander Woon Baek reached the gate of the backyard, he found that already about a dozen members of his unit lay defeated.

In the Burning White Tiger Palace.

The deep night was turning a deeper shade of red. The cracking and groaning of the timbers added an even more menacing air to the scene.

The man blocking the central gate stood in front of this heat. His eyes were gleaming like those of a wild beast.

Woon Baek who landed in the backyard with twenty members of the ghost hands with agile movements had his eyes trembling at the sight.

—The man blocking the way wasn’t even holding a real sword.

He stood proudly in front of the central gate with a wooden sword typically used for practice by the warriors of the Red Palace. And he was even holding it in a reverse grip.

He was dressed in the common uniform of a military officer, but his face was wrapped in a black cloth mask.

He had stolen the mask from one of the defeated ghost hands to cover his own face.

The spreading flames were causing mirages around the area. Despite the intense heat making them sweat profusely, the ghost hands could hardly pay attention to it.

The killing intent emanating from the eyes of the man guarding the gate seemed to whisper.

—Touch me carelessly, and you die.

“Let’s distance ourselves and form a battle formation to assess his condition—”

Before Woon Baek could finish his sentence, his eyes met those of the man.

And then the man kicked the ground. Or rather, that was the only movement everyone could see.

His body had vanished like the wind. It was already out of sight, leaving only a cloud of dust rising in the air.

Swoosh!

“Argh!”

The man, who had swiftly moved through the ranks of the ghost hands, had already burrowed into the arms of the shaman at the very back.

He pressed down on the shaman’s solar plexus with his elbow, then grabbed one of his arms, wrapping it around and throwing him to the ground. The shaman gasped out a dry breath and lost consciousness.

The shaman was responsible for casting guiding spells which were essential for the ghost hands to form their battle formation. In a battle involving many against one, he was the annoying target that needed to be subdued first.

The man seemed aware of this fact.

…his movements are fast!

Woon Baek quickly drew his sword and shouted for his men to form the battle formation. It was clear that their opponent was a master of considerable skill.

Before he could even finish giving orders, the man swiftly swept his feet around the two archers next to the shaman and struck them in the back of the head with his wooden sword.

After the shaman, he targeted the archers who attacked from a distance.

The sequence of events was too natural. This man instinctively knew how to dismantle a group attacking in strategic formation.

Did he just subdue them with a single strike? Could he be a general from the main palace?

But if he were such a figure, he should be listed in the directory of high officials at the main palace…! And he seems too young and small in size to be of that age…!

Woon Baek quickly pulled out a few hidden weapons and threw them at the man. First of all, it was necessary to suppress that rapid movement.

The man quickly twisted his body to avoid the hidden weapons and then quickly put some distance between himself and Woon Baek.

Whoosh! Crack!

The man, with the burning White Tiger Palace behind him, dusted off the tip of his wooden sword and readied himself.

Woon Baek and twenty-one men had been deployed as reinforcements, but in just a moment, three had already been subdued.

And now eighteen remained.

Once the ghost hands properly adjusted their formation, the upper hand would be on their side. And the man was aware of that.

That’s why the man sought to resolve the conflict swiftly. Time was on the side of the ghost hands.

“Form the ‘Stable Death Formation’! Focus on blocking his movements!”

Commander Woon Baek of the ghost hands shouted before drawing a Great Star Sword that had been personally bestowed to him by the Emperor.

It was a treasured sword allowed only to first-rate military officers.

The ghost hands began to disperse throughout the courtyard and formed a siege.

In that brief moment, the man who had been looking down gripped his wooden sword tightly and suddenly lifted his head.

Woon Baek’s eyes met the man’s in an instant.

His gaze was gleaming… like a wild beast hunting for prey.

– Let’s survive.

Seol Tae Pyeong simply said those words.

As the White Princess leaned against the wall of the inner palace, groaning in pain as she moved forward, she remembered that man’s words.

Blood was streaming down her face and ruining her appearance but the White Princess kept moving towards the outside of the inner palace.

Let’s survive first and then we’ll think.

That was what the man named Seol Tae Pyeong consistently said to her.