Chapter 42: White Immortal Lee Cheol Woon Part 1

The countless lanterns filling the sky seemed to form a shape like the Milky Way.

White Immortal Lee Cheol Woon sat quietly at the foot of White Immortal Mountain as he gazed at the scenery. He took a puff from his pipe and exhaled towards the sky.

The thick smoke quickly dissipated and disappeared without a trace. It felt like the life of a man.

The night sky, which usually seemed so high, felt closer today.

The sight of those lanterns ascending towards the sky… It was as if he were seeing his younger self reaching out towards the heavens.

He lived a life of continuous climbing, believing that one day he would reach it.

Was this a version of his younger self who dreamed of a future where one day, he would understand the laws of the heavens, awaken to the truths of the human world, and achieve enlightenment?

The debates he had with his old friend the previous emperor over the will of the Emperor of Heaven were now but distant memories. Memories faded and covered in dust.

“Of course, it’s only natural that we cannot understand the will of the heavens…”

The deep wrinkles followed the corners of his mouth downward.

From his vantage point, he could see Cheongdo Palace and, within it, the Heavenly Dragon Hall. It was located in the middle of the inner palace where the yin energy was the strongest in the palace. Like a shrine dedicated to receiving the will of the heavenly dragon.

“Humans are pitiful creatures that cannot even fathom another human’s will.”

Suddenly…… demonic spirits appeared behind the White Immortal, twisting their bodies and making eerie sounds. Their numbers were far more than just a few dozen.

“I too am not free from the laws of such pitiful creatures.”

The White Immortal mused as he rose to his feet.

Fireworks celebrating the Heavenly Dragon Festival filled the night sky.

And underneath these lanterns, the White Immortal with hundreds of demonic spirits before him, dusted the end of his pipe with his hands behind his back.

Whoosh! Bang! Bang!

Whoooooosh!

The tumultuous Heavenly Dragon Festival was nearing its end.

On the grand stage, Ha Gang Seok the head of the Inbong clan, and White Princess Ha Wol the mistress of the White Tiger Palace, ascended to release sky lanterns into the night sky.

Following their lead, the countless citizens gathered at the Truth Insight Terrace also released their own lanterns into the sky.

Bang! Bang!

Whoooooosh!

Red lanterns rose against the black night sky and beautifully decorated it, while fireworks exploded behind them. All of this created a truly magnificent scene.

As I walked towards the main palace from behind the Truth Insight Terrace, I glanced up at the night sky.

I heard that the Heavenly Maiden couldn’t stand on the stage at the Truth Insight Terrace due to her poor health. Even though the emperor personally went to check on her condition, she couldn’t muster the strength to rise.

The people of the Inbong clan who managed the festival seemed to handle things well enough, so there wasn’t much cause for concern, though it seemed Ah Hyun’s condition was worse than expected.

I remembered that Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun appeared in the “Heavenly Dragon Love Story” but she didn’t play an important role up to the point I read.

There was an air of her eventually doing something remarkable, but I hadn’t confirmed what exactly she was meant to do.

She was the mistress of the Heavenly Dragon Hall.

Before Seol Ran took the position of the Heavenly Maiden, she was the one serving the will of the heavenly dragon.

It was the first time I learned that her health was so poor.

I expected her to at least appear on stage during the Heavenly Dragon Festival, but it seemed she was too ill to attend even this important event.

Lady Ah Hyun’s health seems to be important information, so why wasn’t this mentioned in the ‘Heavenly Dragon Love Story’?

The rumor that the Heavenly Dragon’s energy had weakened was now an open secret.

With demonic spirits even appearing in the imperial capital, something was certainly wrong.

At least… until the ‘Heavenly Dragon Love Story’ begins, nothing major will happen…

Anyway, when the main story of the “Heavenly Dragon Love Story” began, Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun still held her position and was alive and well.

Since nothing significant was likely to happen until then…… I didn’t have to worry too much.

For now, it was better to enjoy the lingering echoes of the festival coming to a close.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Bang!

So while watching the fireworks and sky lanterns decorating the night sky….I thought back on those turbulent times.

After going through such hardships, what I eventually thought of was family.

Ran-noonim must be having a hard time too…

Seol Ran had gone on an errand to the imperial capital and met An Cheon, who introduced himself as White Taoist priest.

That man, who wandered around famous mountains practicing Taoist magic, became a fugitive because he touched the secret techniques of the assassin group Black Moon Order.

And then after she hid the severely injured An Cheon in a nearby building, she deceived the pursuing Black Moon Order members by saying there was no man there and she even treated his wounds.

This was the point at which the relationship with An Cheon, who would later become a great ally to Heavenly Maiden Seol Ran, began to bloom.

While the main palace was in chaos due to the incident of the White Tiger Palace burning down, Seol Ran was having a thrilling adventure in the capital on the day of the festival.

After this entanglement with An Cheon, all of Seol Ran’s past stories which she had to experience before the main story of the “Heavenly Dragon Love Story” began, would be concluded.

Was this the start of the wild and turbulent story of Seol Ran, the devilish woman who captivated all the handsome men?

While thinking about that, it felt like I had a sister who led a truly difficult life.

…

This is not the time to be talking about others…

“Anyway… In the end, I never used the Cold Iron Heavy Sword…”

Thinking back, before the Heavenly Dragon Festival began, the White Immortal had casually mentioned this to me.

To keep the Cold Iron Heavy Sword close by, just in case.

I was a bit worried at the time, thinking something unexpected and significant might happen, but nothing did.

Even though the Heavenly Dragon’s energy had weakened recently, there was no way demonic spirits would appear beyond the White Immortal Mountain and make their way to the middle of the imperial palace.

However, it was a bit strange. The White Immortal often made frivolous comments, but when he spoke about something serious like this, there was usually a reason behind it. I didn’t think the situation would be resolved so easily.

As I organized my thoughts like that…. I trudged back to the main palace.

The bustling festival was winding down, and it was a heartwarming night.

Eventually, I reached the main palace, but I couldn’t meet the Emperor who had summoned me.

They said the Emperor had stopped by the Heavenly Dragon Hall before meeting me, so something must have happened there.

“Tae Pyeong-ah, congratulations. You survived splendidly once again.”

The next morning.

I was feeling utterly exhausted from my visit to the main palace the previous day. When I went to the porch of the White Immortal Palace, I found Wang Han had brought a lot of alcohol and poured it all over the floor.

Yeon Ri who had groggily rubbed her eyes and come out onto the porch as well looked pitiful when she saw Wang Han who had spilled a lot of alcohol on the floor.

“Hey… This brother Wang Han brought all this precious alcohol from the Truth Insight Terrace yesterday…! Look at this… Baekhyeongju made from rice of Odong Province, Gamro with fruits, and even Cheongju said to contain moonlight…!”

“Wh-What is all this, Han-ah…”

“This brother seems to be having a good streak; his pockets are full”

“…Did you go to the gambling den again?”

Wang Han who frequently lost money at the gambling den seemed unusually cheerful today.

After finishing washing her face in the spring water placed in the corner of the yard, Yeon Ri rolled up her sleeves and came back to the porch, huffing and puffing. Then she spoke to Wang Han with a look of disdain.

“If you don’t save up when you win, you’ll be starving when you lose again, won’t you?”

“Don’t worry, Yeon Ri. Converting winnings into goods is actually more profitable for me…! After all, if I keep a lot of money, I’ll just lose it all at the next gambling den…!”

“If you know that, why are you doing this…?!”

Yeon Ri shook her head in disbelief, then crossed her arms with a satisfied smile.

“Anyway! When I checked on the White Princess at the Red Palace yesterday, it looked like the original plan of the white tiger hunt was a success…! I can tell just by looking at her expression! The White Princess was so concerned about you, Tae Pyeong, that she was watching you closely…! Just seeing her flushed face was enough to be sure!”

“R-Really…?”

“Yes! Tae Pyeong-ah! Trust your noonim! I’ve thought about it many times before sleeping. No matter how I look at it, the White Princess’s condition was anything but ordinary. I don’t know how deep her feelings are yet, but she surely won’t harm you…!”

“What on earth do you think a woman’s intuition is?” Yeon Ri added with the most satisfied smile in the world.

“You can now be less worried about being caught in the White Princess’s scheme and getting killed…! The situation might change later, but for now, it should be fine…!”

“Is that so…!”

“Yes! You did well! You really did well, Tae Pyeong-ah…!”

“Okay… Tae Pyeong, you bastard. You must have been really scared…! It’s over now! You can stop worrying about being caught in the White Princess’s scheme and getting killed…!”

Wang Han too put his arm around my shoulder and danced joyfully.

“Yeah! We did it!”

“Yeah! When we put our minds to it, we can do anything! Damn it!”

“Yeah…! I see…! Wang Han! Yeon Ri! Thanks to you… I survived this life-threatening crisis…!”

As we looked up at the clear blue sky, we hugged each other with tears in our eyes and basked in this emotional moment.

I have survived the dangerous night of the Heavenly Dragon Festival, and I protected my life from this crisis!

We shed tears of joy as we chanted three cheers and even poured some congratulatory wine.

“──Yes… Tae Pyeong-ah…! Now… if we can somehow break through the other situation involving the Azure Princess, the Vermilion Princess, the Black Princess, and the White Princess…! We can save your life…!”

Wang Han added this with great emotion.

After that, the atmosphere turned cold again, as if doused with cold water.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

Since we were in a hurry to get over the immediate crisis we hadn’t thought about what would come next.

It was, of course, an obvious story.

In fact, nothing had changed.

No.

If anything… things have only gotten worse.

“Actually… there is a miraculous move that can resolve all situations.”

After lunch, the members of the White Immortal Palace gathered on the porch to once again think about a solution.

Yeon Ri was the sharpest when it came to women’s intuition and all, but objectively speaking the person who was most adept at schemes was Wang Han.

And it was Wang Han who gathered us, claiming to have thought of a miraculous move that could resolve all situations.

“It’s such a sure and clean method that the moment you use it, all of your worries can be eliminated at once.”

“Wh-What?! There was such a method?! Why haven’t you said anything about it until now, Han-ah?!”

Yeon Ri exclaimed in surprise, but Wang Han lowered his head and spoke with a serious expression on his face.

At the same time, his voice grew darker.

“Tae Pyeong-ah… But… effective tactics always come with great sacrifice. This will perfectly resolve the current situation, where you are on the brink of death due to the crown princess consorts’ feelings, but… you… you will have to lose too much…”

“What are you talking about, Han-ah?! Tae Pyeong-ah’s life is hanging by a thread right now; what could be more important than his life?!”

“Yes, Wang Han… Just tell us… What exactly is this plan, and what do I have to lose…?”

Wang Han looked back and forth between Yeon Ri and me, then finally sighed deeply. He then muttered that he hoped we would never have to use this strategy… in a serious voice.

Then Wang Han cleared his throat once.

“……”

In this situation, where everyone was agonizing and distressed—

The brilliant strategist Wang Han’s perfect move that could break through all these circumstances—!

“Probably… there will be another tea gathering next month. This time, you should use the excuse of checking talismans and go to the place where the crown princess consorts are gathered…”

“… G-Go to the tea gathering …?”

“… go there…and…?”

“…and all you have to do is shit your pants …”

“……”

“……”

Silence.

And more silence.

It felt like an eternity had passed in that long silence.

“What you lose… is your dignity as a human being… Tae Pyeong-ah…”

In the end, the core of the situation was to make the crown princess consorts utterly disgusted with me. But if I committed an actual crime, I would face punishment, so that was not an option.

Furthermore, as Yeon Ri said, if my intention to be hated was too obvious, it would be meaningless. The crown princess consorts were perceptive enough to see through such intentions, and any unnatural actions would likely yield no results.

The crown princess consorts had already figured out roughly what kind of person “Seol Tae Pyeong” was.

However, just like Wang Han said, even if they knew my intention, it would be such a disgraceful act that it would disgust them as human beings. It was a level of disgrace that would shatter all assumptions.

Was this really the only way to perfectly resolve the situation…?

“That’s… Han-ah… that’s… too harsh… Tae Pyeong-ah… Tae Pyeong-ah is a human being too…!!!”

“……”

“Tae Pyeong-ah has a heart too! And hearts… they break more easily than you think…!! You know well the misery of a broken heart!!”

“But… Tae Pyeong-ah… your life… your life is at stake…!!!”

“Ugh…”

I groaned in pain and pressed my clenched fist against my knee.

Even though I had to do anything to survive… that was… that was too harsh…

Yeon Ri who had always worried about me more seriously than anyone else stepped forward this time and grabbed my shoulder firmly.

“Tae Pyeong-ah… Han’s words have some truth, but… this… this should be our last resort…”

“Yeon Ri-ya…”

“Trust this noonim of yours. For now… we need to do something at the next gathering, that’s certain. Yes… at the next gathering… we must really do something…”

As she spoke, Yeon Ri fell into deep contemplation again. If there wasn’t another clever solution, we’d really have to resort to such an outrageous act.

Just as I was struggling with that rising sense of despair…

Creeeak

It was then.

We heard the sound of a door opening from the central gate of the White Immortal Palace.

It was the White Immortal who was casually entering the palace as usual. As soon as we heard his dragging footsteps approaching, we all hurriedly gathered our things and stood up from the porch.

After all, as members of the White Immortal Palace, assisting the White Immortal was our top priority.

We quickly tidied our appearances and headed towards the central gate.

“I guess the elder didn’t come to the palace last night? He must have come just now.”

“Mhmm, Elder White Immortal is a person who comes and goes so often. You never know when he’ll enter the palace… I haven’t even laid out the blankets in his room yet. I should ask if he’ll be heading straight to his room.”

“I’ll organize the alcohol on the floor and bring the documents to report to White Immortal. Tae Pyeong-ah, give the elder a heads-up.”

When it came to work, we were united.

As the one responsible for security, I headed out along with Yeon Ri who managed household chores, and Wang Han who handled all the paperwork for the White Immortal Palace. Each one of us prepared our tasks as we moved toward the central gate.

As usual, it was easy to imagine the White Immortal entering through the gate, grumbling in his sly voice and probably chewing on a piece of straw. That old man was always like that.

He likely spent the last Heavenly Dragon Festival night somewhere on the foot of the mountain while watching fireworks and lanterns.

While thinking about that…. we went to greet White Immortal as he entered through the central gate.

“……”

However, White Immortal Lee Cheol Woon, who entered the White Immortal Palace was covered in blood. His appearance was far more wretched than before.

We shuddered at the sight.

“What are you staring at?”

“Elder…”

“I’m hungry. Bring me some food.”

After saying that, the White Immortal limped into the inner chamber of the White Immortal Palace.

He looked as if he had spent the entire night fighting somewhere.

“Elder.”

I felt my expression harden.

As always, the White Immortal had no intention of explaining anything.

But no matter what, I couldn’t just ignore it at this point.

“Elder, what exactly happened last night…”

“Tae Pyeong-ah.”

But the White Immortal interrupted me.

“After my bath and meal, come to the inner chamber.”

To this White Immortal who said he had something to tell me … I couldn’t say anything more.

He seemed to be preparing for something to come.