Chapter 37: The Burning White Tiger Palace Part 3

As thick smoke billowed out from the direction of the inner palace, murmurs began to spread among the attendees at the Heavenly Dragon Festival.

Rumors of a fire inside the Cheongdo Palace had surfaced and soldiers from the Red Palace started rushing in to extinguish it. A sense of unease began to rise among the crowds gathered at the festival grounds.

The warrior commander took the stage to inform the high officials that the fire in the inner palace would be handled by the soldiers of the Red Palace and advised them not to panic.

The Heavenly Dragon Festival which was held only once a year could not be stopped right away, nor was there any way to do so.

Evacuating the packed crowd and street vendors from the festival grounds in haste could lead to even bigger accidents.

Given that Cheongdo Palace was larger than an average village, it was better to address the fire with the quickly assembled soldiers.

“Ran-ah! A bead has fallen from the curtain! Please fetch some yellow jade from a street vendor near the imperial capital!”

“Ye-Yes!”

Seol Ran too was extremely busy at this time. She nodded her head at the request made by a senior maid of the Heavenly Dragon Hall and dashed through the crowd. Suddenly, she looked up towards the sky above the White Tiger Palace.

It was a distant view, but seeing the rising smoke and red flames stirred an uneasy feeling inside her.

Nevertheless, it was time for her to fulfill her duties as a maid of the Heavenly Dragon Hall.

“What brings you to such a shabby place, Vermilion Princes? I’m afraid I don’t look very tidy right now.”

“Not at all. I’ve come because there is something urgent I need to discuss.”

It was unthinkable that the Vice General, who was always accompanied by alcohol, would have abstained from drinking on a day of celebration like the Heavenly Dragon Festival.

Jeong Seo Tae who was sitting in the pavilion with several high officials from the main palace and enjoying rice wine had just gotten up when he heard the news of the fire in the inner palace.

Although he assumed that the warrior commander would have already taken action, he felt he could not just sit idly by.

It was at this moment when he was about to leave the pavilion after slightly sobering up from the buzz of alcohol, that the Vermilion Princess appeared with a dozen or so maids on her tail.

“I heard you fainted due to heatstroke. Are you feeling better now?”

“That’s why I’ve come. Time is of the essence, so I’ll keep this short.”

Considering the many ears around them, the Vermilion Princess spoke in a lowered voice.

“It seems someone has placed poison in the sachet attached to the hilt of my sword.”

“……”

The Vice General’s expression instantly turned grave at these words.

These were not just anyone’s words but those of a princess consort of the realm. The gravity of her statement did not need further explanation.

“… Is that true?”

“This incident has just happened, so we haven’t been able to conduct a thorough investigation at the main palace. However, the evidence all says that the White Princess of the White Tiger Palace may be involved.”

The Vice General looked around once more and then began to lower his voice as well.

It seemed there was a reason why the Vermilion Princess was insisting on such secrecy in their conversation.

“How could the White Princess be involved in such a matter?”

“It may appear that the White Princess planned all of this, but the situation doesn’t seem to be that simple. Therefore, could the Vice General please investigate this matter separately?”

“If you are telling me this, it seems other military officials have already started their investigations.”

Vice General Jeong Seo Tae was a trusted figure by the Vermilion Princess.

The previous Vice General In Chang Seok was the Vermilion Princess’s uncle, and after his death, Jeong Seo Tae who had been his trusted subordinate took over the position.

“If it truly was something done by the White Princess, she would simply be held accountable. However, if that is not the case, a more thorough investigation will be necessary. There’s no one else I could ask but you Vice General.”

“… Is this perhaps related to the recent fire at the White Tiger Palace?”

“……”

It was too perfect a coincidence.

The schemes involving the Vermilion Princess and the White Princess had just unraveled, and then the fire at the White Tiger Palace immediately followed.

It seemed as though someone was trying to cover up the incident and the Vice General also felt uneasy about it.

“I have confirmed that the ghost hands have been dispatched to the White Tiger Palace. I’m afraid the Vermilion Princess is not yet aware of this.”

The Vice General added with a somewhat anxious expression on his face.

“I was wondering why such a force as the ghost hands were deployed to the inner palace, but it fits the situation if they were sent to apprehend the White Princess.”

“The ghost hands have been sent to the White Tiger Palace? Are you certain of what you’re saying, Vice General?”

“… Why do you ask?”

Suddenly, the Vermilion Princess’s eyes trembled.

Her appearance looked profoundly anxious and this gave the Vice General an ominous feeling.

“…. I personally sent a trusted individual with the Vermilion Bird Tablet to the White Tiger Palace.”

“.……”

“Hopefully, the ghost hands will not do anything too much to him …”

The ghost hands were a special unit that operated under the direct orders of His Majesty Emperor Woon Sung.

They were granted privileges that exempted them from accountability in most matters, commensurate with the Emperor’s authority.

It was a top-secret unit that could even commit murder if its purpose was in line with the Emperor’s commands.

And so the mention of the ghost hands caused people within Cheongdo Palace to tremble with fear. Such was the reputation needed to operate as a unit under the Emperor’s direct command.

“…I cannot guarantee it. The current commander of the ghost hands Woon Baek entered the palace at the same time as I did, and he is someone who will not hesitate to use any means necessary to complete his mission.”

The Vermilion Princess shivered momentarily.

She was well aware of Seol Tae Pyeong’s swordsmanship but there was no guarantee he would be safe against the ghost hands of the main palace.

I might have done something foolish…

The Vermilion Princess’s voice trembled with anxiety.

She had never imagined that the ghost hands would actually appear on the scene.

And considering Seol Tae Pyeong’s temperament, it was impossible to predict what kind of friction might arise between him and those warriors.

“Vice General, please go and check on White Tiger Palace quickly …! The situation might get worse…!”

The man who had just shaken off his wooden sword muttered something to himself.

The commander of the ghost hands Woon Baek gripped his Great Star Sword tightly as he surveyed the positions of his unit members. The well-deployed formation was designed to pressure the man from all sides and leave him no chance for resistance.

And just like that, the three members on the vanguard rushed in to subdue the man.

“Haap!”

They were assassins clad in black cloth.

As they lunged forward with their daggers in reverse grip, the man took a large step backward and fled out of their striking range.

However, one of the members who was hiding on a tree in the garden landed behind him and swung his sword sharply. It completely caught the man’s back.

Yet the man reacted with ease.

He kicked off the ground, leaped high to avoid the sword blow, and then quickly wrapped his forearm around the warrior’s neck before tripping him and slamming him to the ground.

“Gruh!”

Then he struck the warrior’s solar plexus with the wooden sword he was holding, checked to ensure his foe was incapacitated, and quickly leaped back to avoid an archer’s arrow.

The sequence of movements was so fluid that to any onlooker, it might have seemed like a well-rehearsed play.

What the man decided next was unbelievable.

He kicked through the burning paper door and ran into the burning White Tiger Palace.

This…!

No matter how well a formation is laid out, it’s impossible to station people inside a burning building.

The man intuitively realized this obvious blind spot and quickly moved out of the ghost hand members’ line of sight.

It’s only natural to seek cover from the archers shooting from a distance.

Even so… it was unthinkable that he would run through a building enveloped in smoke. A single misstep could easily result in being trapped under collapsing debris and sustaining fatal injuries.

Snap!

“Gah!”

As he ran through the interior of the White Tiger Palace, the man eventually came around and subdued an archer on the outer wall.

Even if it was just one member, he still belonged to the ghost hands.

Subduing someone in a single attack is not an easy feat. The man was nimble yet powerful and capable of knocking someone out with just one hit.

We must not panic!

However, the commander of the ghost hands Woon Baek was also a veteran of many battles.

Running across the burning floor and using the walls of the building for cover to subdue enemies one by one… it was most effective to eliminate blind spots first.

“Archers, stay away from the building! Those capable of close combat, follow me inside! Draw him out to a position where we can get support fire!”

With his sword drawn, Woon Baek and the members of the ghost hands charged into the burning White Tiger Palace.

Seeing the man dart between buildings again, Woon Baek and his team plunged deeper into the White Tiger Palace.

The brave members of the ghost hands showed no fear as they stormed into the burning building.

This must be… a trap he’s prepared…!

In a battle against multiple opponents, the worst strategy is to take on them in a wide-open space all at once.

Therefore, it was probably his intention to deliberately lead the battle into a narrow building…. especially one where the view was obstructed by fire.

But that didn’t mean they could afford to create a situation where they just let him move from cover to cover and let him take out the archers first. That would play right into his hands.

It was far more logical for them to take control of the situation and ambush him.

Bang!

Woon Baek led six combat members as they sprinted across the floor of the White Tiger Palace.

Traces of the man were visible here and there in the corridors leading to the inner chambers. It looked like he was checking the number of members entering as they moved from room to room.

“He’s inside the inner chamber!”

One of the ghost hands shouted as he broke down the door and entered the inner chamber.

The room, engulfed in flames was the tea room of the White Tiger Palace. But amidst all the teaware and tea tables, the man was nowhere to be seen.

Bang!

Just then, the man burst through the adjacent paper door and attacked a member of the ghost hands.

He pinned him down and repeatedly struck his face with the handle of the wooden sword.

“Gurk, hah!”

“Argh!”

Then he grabbed another of the ghost hands members following behind, twisted his neck, and threw him onto a burning tea table.

Crash!

He then picked up another nearby tea table and threw it on top of the fallen member of the ghost hands.

“Argh! Ah! The fire, it’s on me!”

Startled, the remaining three quickly adjusted their grips on their swords and regained their composure.

The man who had subdued the two in an instant slowly straightened his back in the middle of the burning tea room.

Looking at the way he was breathing heavily, he seemed quite exhausted, but he showed no signs of collapsing.

“Four…teen…”

It was then that the man’s previously muttered words became clear.

He had been counting the remaining members of the ghost hands.

Woon Baek swallowed dryly.

This man wanted to take down all the ghost hands that had gathered around him.

Snap!

Before anyone could react, he leaped into the embrace of another member, struck him with the hilt he was holding, then grabbed him by the collar and threw him.

The ghost hand member impaled on the burning paper door screamed in pain as he rolled on the ground trying to extinguish the flames catching his clothes.

“Argh! Ahhh!”

Afterward, the man disappeared among the smoke, then emerged by breaking a wooden pillar and proceeded to strangle another member.

His movements as he appeared and disappeared inside the burning building seemed ghostly. As if he was dragging souls into the underworld.

“Ah! Aahhh! It’s hot! Hot! Damn!”

After strangling another one to unconsciousness, he threw him towards the courtyard.

When the dust settled, only Woon Baek remained of the ghost hands that had entered the White Tiger Palace.

“Twe… lve…”

The sight of the man exhaling heavily and adjusting his sword on the burning floor came into view.

Woon Baek frowned and quickly assessed the situation. To subdue this man, relying on sheer numbers would not be effective.

The man had fully mastered the art of confronting multiple enemies in a sensible manner.

Capturing such a person required a force simpler and more powerful than strategy and tactics.

Woon Baek pointed his Great Star sword at the man and declared,

“I am Woon Baek, the commander of the ghost hands.”

Revealing his identity and name was a challenge and an invitation to cross swords as a warrior to warrior.

The man whose face was covered with a black cloth trembled momentarily.

He had not expected someone known as the commander of the ghost hands to reveal his affiliation to an unknown warrior and propose a duel.

“I cannot reveal my identity.”

After saying that, the man also pulled out his wooden sword.

Although Woon Baek revealed his status, the man continued to use formal speech. This alone made it clear that he was not a high-ranking official of the main palace.

With that fact etched into his mind, Woon Baek charged at the man with his Great Star sword drawn.

Whaack!

It was impossible to swing the sword widely inside the burning building. The trajectory of the sword strikes was easy to predict, which meant.

For a man whose sword skills were already at their peak, such a confined and limited space was like fighting in his own home.

The man quickly lowered his posture and struck Woon Baek’s sword blade with his wooden sword.

Clack!

A wooden sword cannot block a real sword; attempting such would only result in the wooden blade being sliced apart.

And in a serious battle like this one, defending against each and every sword strike was a decidedly unfavorable condition.

Yet the man showed no sign of concern as he parried Woon Baek’s blade and swung his foot at Woon Baek’s solar plexus.

However, Woon Baek lifted his arm and grabbed the man’s leg.

This too was intentional by Woon Baek. He released his grip on his own sword and, using both hands, threw the man against the burning paper door.

Crash!

Boom!

“Ugh!”

The man groaned once and then tightened his grip on his wooden sword again.

Woon Baek who had declared himself as the commander of the ghost hands was no ordinary fighter. The man realized this quickly and knew that treating him as just another ghost hand member could lead to his own downfall.

Immediately, Woon Baek picked up his sword and charged at the man.

Clack!

The man struck again with his wooden sword and then realized that Woon Baek’s strength was also extraordinary.

Though he himself could fell a wild boar with his bare hands, he was convinced that Woon Baek’s strength was no less formidable.

Matching strength for strength would not yield a significant advantage.

Therefore, the battle had to be escalated into a realm of technique and quick thinking.

Woon Baek was thinking along similar lines.

He doesn’t even seem to be twenty yet… What monstrous strength…!

And… he’s quite skilled with a sword too… How could I have not known there was such a man in Cheongdo Palace?

Regardless, at this moment he was the enemy. There was no time for respect among warriors.

The man who was thrown into the tea room must now be finished off.

Woon Baek charged into the tea room and tried to strike down the man, but the latter swung his body back and kicked Woon Baek’s sword away with his foot.

Since he couldn’t directly receive the sharp sword, he repeatedly struck it from the side.

Such skill was extraordinary. The man’s skill had already surpassed that of any high-ranking warrior.

He was not an opponent to be taken lightly. With this in mind, Woon Baek quickly launched a series of sword attacks.

It seemed the man had no real sword to speak of. One might complain about the fairness of the match in a formal duel, but in a real fight, you cannot ask your opponent to stop just because you lack a sword.

So the only option was to keep attacking.

Woon Baek’s strikes were sharp yet the man did not allow a single hit.

He ran out of the tea room and moved to a bedroom next door.

This place was far more smoky than the tea room. The room was on fire, making it difficult to see properly.

But if he did nothing, the man would use the low visibility to his advantage and slowly overpower the members of the ghost hands. Now was the time to close in and capture him.

Woon Baek entered the bedroom and surveyed the surroundings.

The man emerged through the dense smoke while swinging his sword horizontally.

Good…! I can block it…!

Woon Baek gripped his sword’s handle tightly, ready to block the strike.

But he soon changed his mind.

No…! I won’t block!

A man of this caliber wouldn’t make such an easily blockable attack unless he intended it.

It was a feint, meant to provoke a defense. Instead, the right move was to press forward with his own attack.

If they were to strike each other, the one with the real sword would deliver a more fatal blow than the one with a wooden sword.

“Haap!”

But could it be that even this was within the man’s expectations?

When Woon Baek swung his sword, the man was no longer there. And all he sliced through was the empty smoke.

In this critical situation, even his bold judgment was in the palm of the man’s hand.

Crazy bastard…!

Woon Baek quickly withdrew and tried to locate the man.

In real combat, the one who could adapt on the fly had an overwhelming advantage.

While the accumulated knowledge is embodied in the body, the sense to seize victory in real combat must be innate to some extent.

And the man was extraordinarily gifted in that respect.

Swish!

He felt the man running towards him with a sword clutched from behind his back.

Woon Baek quickly twisted his sword and swung it backward but all he saw was flames.

…What?

Woon Baek could hardly believe what his eyes were seeing.

The wooden sword the man was wielding… was engulfed in flames.

Not just the blade, but the handle as well.

The man charged forward while holding the burning wooden sword with his teeth clenched.

Is… he crazy …!

The sword’s path was traced with flames.

It moved horizontally twice and vertically once. And its path was clearly marked with smoke and fire.

Whoosh!

Killing intent gleamed in the eyes of the man holding the sword with his teeth clenched.

Why bother holding and swinging a flaming sword?

It was to obscure Woon Baek’s vision.

When masters clash, even a brief opening can determine the outcome.

The stance of the opponent, the center of gravity, the direction of the next move—all these subtle pieces of information that are revealed in a flash must be gathered in order to execute the next move.

But the flames that followed the sword’s path flickered, blurring the vision and making it impossible to predict the man’s next move.

“Ugh!”

I need to create some distance first …!

Before he could even finish his thoughts, the hand of the man covered in burns was buried in Woon Baek’s arms.

After hitting his solar plexus, he grabbed Woon Baek by the collar and threw him to the ground just like he did with the other members of the ghost hands.

“Ugh!”

Clang! Bang!

When Woon Baek fell to the ground and dropped his sword, the man kicked it away and sent it flying.

Woon Baek felt intense pain coursing through his body and watched the man.

The tips of the man’s fingers were completely covered in burns.

They only exchanged four blows while the man was holding that burning wooden sword. But in that brief moment, the man’s hands were already badly blistered.

However, he intuitively knew that this brief difference could determine the winner of their battle.

Woon Baek’s physical strength was second to none.

The years he had spent honing his martial skills were also longer.

The position of Commander of the Ghost Hands is not open to everyone. The mediocre are weeded out within hours after decades of grueling training.

Yet sometimes, an innate sense can overturn even years of accumulated effort.

And it only took about fifteen exchanges in total.

From just that exchange of blows, the man had instinctively realized what he needed to do to defeat Woon Baek.

This instinct was not something that could be gained through effort.

It was something that could never be attained unless it was bestowed by the heavens.

“Huff… huff…”

The man, exhausted as he was, looked down at Woon Baek and clenched his fist tightly.

In the burning White Tiger Palace.

The man stood with his back against the backdrop of flames blazing red in the central chamber. And he looked down at Woon Baek. Like a beast lured in by blood.

Woon Baek tightly closed his eyes.

Soon after, he was knocked unconscious by a punch from the man.

It was a moment that rendered years of rigorous training meaningless.