Chapter 63: Have You Upheld Your Convictions? Part 4

“Moon Demonic Spirit Yoran uses illusion arts. It lives in people’s hearts and manipulates them as if they were its own limbs. It even lives in people’s heads and acts as if it is that person.”

“Re-Really…? I always thought demonic spirits were just ugly monsters…”

“They’re called special demonic spirits, and among them, Yoran is the most troublesome to deal with.”

Seol Ran listened to Taoist An Cheon but she still harbored doubts.

An Cheon was a knowledgeable man yet often seemed unreliable, which made it hard to trust him.

Though it was amazing how he looked exactly the same as when they met at the Heavenly Dragon Festival years ago. Did he even age?

“How does Taoist An know that the Moon Demonic Spirit is targeting my Tae Pyeong…?”

“Listen carefully, Maid Seol. This Cheongdo Palace is not what we think it is.”

“…Huh?”

“Since the energy of the Heavenly Dragon weakened, the world’s flow has changed significantly.”

While stuffing his mouth with the food Seol Ran brought him, An Cheon spoke without even wiping the crumbs from his mouth.

“If the flow repeats several times, you can catch a sense of having lived this moment before that comes up from time to time. Usually, the closer you are to the power of the Heavenly Dragon and the sharper your sense of divine energy, the sooner you realize it. Of course, even then, it’s difficult for most people.”

“Wh-What do you mean, Taoist An? I don’t understand at all.”

Taoist An Cheon shook his head and his gray hair started fluttering. He then looked out at the sky beyond the lattice.

With his sharp jawline and sturdy build, he was certainly handsome. However, his clumsy behavior often made one question if he truly deserved the title of a Taoist priest.

“Though it’s only a suspicion, I can’t shake the feeling that some immense power is distorting the world’s flow and axis. That’s why I came to Cheongdo Palace, the source where the power of the Heavenly Dragon gathers, to verify the truth.”

“…So, you got caught sneaking in and ended up imprisoned in Great Prison Hall?”

“…A grand purpose and the ability to carry it out are entirely separate matters. I didn’t want to get caught in such an embarrassing way either.”

“No, we can talk about those vague and grandiose tales later… Anyway, you’re saying that this special demonic spirit or whatever it is, is targeting Tae Pyeong, right?”

Seol Ran was banging on the bars and making a fuss.

Her only sibling had a chronic habit of walking into life-threatening situations at every opportunity, which left her unable to sleep peacefully at night.

Since he became somewhat skilled in martial arts, her worries had lessened somewhat. After all, it was hard to imagine the incredibly strong Seol Tae Pyeong being ambushed and killed by anyone.

However, she had been losing sleep again recently after hearing the news that he had been kidnapped by the Black Moon Unit.

Her constant worry for Seol Tae Pyeong had started to affect her daily life, and she even considered asking the head of Great Prison Hall for permission to leave the palace to search for him.

In the midst of this, hearing such news from Taoist An made her thoughts even more complicated.

“I’m not sure if Seol Tae Pyeong himself is aware, but there is a powerful demonic energy surrounding him. The energy is so strong that it can sometimes be felt even outside the capital, and all the famous Taoist priests of Seon mountain are trying to identify its source.”

“R-Really …? B-But… neither the late White Immortal nor the Heavenly Princess seemed to notice anything…”

“It has been growing stronger in recent years, so they might have dismissed it back then. But… recently, it’s becoming even stronger.”

Taoist An shook his head and spoke with a serious expression on his face.

“It’s as if he has incurred the wrath of some great being.”

“A-A great being…?”

“Yes, a demonic spirit that feeds on human fear… and the king of demonic spirits who has led them since the beginning of time.”

The story’s scale suddenly grew so large that Seol Ran found it hard to keep up.

Still, she tried to listen as best as she could while focusing on An Cheon’s voice. She was always serious when it came to her brother Seol Tae Pyeong’s life.

“Right now, the name of that demonic spirit is still unknown, but if you train for a long time in Seon mountain, you can occasionally feel its presence beneath Cheongdo Palace. It is a faint and weak energy, so it would normally be difficult to detect.”

“R-Really …?”

“Perhaps the previous White Immortal of this palace knew about it and managed it by placing several talismans in the inner palace before I came to Cheongdo Palace.”

The late White Immortal Lee Cheol Woon had an unusual dedication to maintaining the protective charms in the four great palaces.

There was a high possibility that he too was aware of some huge demonic spirit sleeping beneath the ground of the Heavenly Dragon Hall to some extent.

“… Plague Demonic Spirit.”

Seol Ran responded quietly to Ahn Cheon’s words.

“……”

“Tae Pyeong once said something like that in his sleep.”

“…. If he mentioned it himself, it should hold significant meaning.”

Taoist An Cheon closed his eyes quietly.

The immense demonic energy of hatred rising from Cheongdo Palace often followed the movements of someone called the Inner Swords Commander.

A primordial demonic spirit that was unlike any other demonic spirits causing chaos in the world.

If there was someone bearing the brunt of such immense malice, what could be the reason?

It was likely because the Plague Demonic Spirit felt threatened by that person.

“…What exactly is Tae Pyeong fighting against?”

“……”

“I have been with Tae Pyeong almost every day since childhood, Taoist An. There were many trials in Tae Pyeong’s life, but he didn’t live in a way that would incur the enmity of something so vast and dreadful.”

Pitiful and miserable as it might be, he intended to live as a man.

That was what Commander Seol Tae Pyeong used to say.

“Perhaps there is something Maid Seol didn’t know.”

“…Could it be that something happened during the two years he was in the north killing demonic spirits? He said he killed many demonic spirits, so it’s possible he made some enemies…”

“The only way to know for sure is to ask Commander Seol himself. If Maid Seol doesn’t know, he might have hidden it to protect you from danger…”

“Tae Pyeong-ah…! If you’re struggling, you should tell your sister everything…! Really…!”

Seol Ran who was holding back her tears angrily pushed against the innocent bars.

White Taoist An Cheon sighed deeply at the sight, then quickly steered the conversation back on track.

“It seems likely that the demonic spirit causing this commotion is a special demonic spirit called the Moon Demonic Spirit.”

“Special demonic spirit… What do you mean by that …”

“There are three special demonic spirits known among the Taoist priests: the Sun Demonic Spirit, the Moon Demonic Spirit, and the White Demonic Spirit. And if…. the Moon Demonic Spirit has decided to kill Commander Seol, the situation becomes complicated.”

An Cheon explained it as clearly as possible so that Seol Ran would not be confused.

“The Moon Demonic Spirit possesses the person most precious to its target.”

“……”

“And perhaps the person Commander Seol holds dearest in Cheongdo Palace… is his only blood relative, Maid Seol.”

A shiver ran down Seol Ran’s spine.

Among the three special demonic spirits controlled by the Plague Demonic Spirit, the Moon Demonic Spirit was known to be the most dreadful.

If the Moon Demonic Spirit had decided to kill Seol Tae Pyeong, the first person it would try to possess would be Seol Ran.

“Taoist An.”

Seol Ran spoke in a much lower voice.

White Taoist An Cheon who had been listening seriously from beyond the bars nodded his head.

“Taoist An, I still have the Black Pearl of Jangrim you gave me during the Heavenly Dragon Festival.”

“You still have that…?”

“It was a treasure said to protect me from all forms of illusions, wasn’t it? As long as I have this with me, no matter how powerful the Moon Demonic Spirit is, it won’t be able to lay a finger on me, right?”

“That’s correct. If so, then that’s truly fortunate.”

Seol Ran spoke with a worried expression on her face.

“If I keep the Black Pearl of Jangrim safe with me, the Moon Demonic Spirit won’t be able to harm me… but then it will go after someone else?”

“Yes.”

“Then who will it target?”

“Most likely… it will go after the person Commander Seol holds most dear after you.”

…

Among the people in Cheongdo Palace, the one Seol Tae Pyeong cherished most was maid Seol Ran.

However, if the Moon Demonic Spirit couldn’t harm Seol Ran, who would it target next?

The time to subjugate the Moon Demonic Spirit has come.

Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun sat in the Heavenly Jade Pavilion and she was lost in thought.

Before killing the Plague Demonic Spirit, three special demonic spirits troubled her the most. It was the Sun Demonic Spirit, the Moon Demonic Spirit, and the White Demonic Spirit.

It would be best to deal with the Moon Demonic Spirit as quickly as possible.

As long as I keep an eye on White Princess’s condition carefully, nothing major will happen. I just need to keep an eye on the situation in the White Tiger Palace.

Each time the world rewound to the past, Moon Demonic Spirit Yoran targeted a different person in the palace.

Sometimes, it clung to the Vermilion Princess, and other times, it attached itself to the Black Princess. Regardless of whom it clung to, Seol Tae Pyeong always managed to detect something amiss and successfully eliminate the Moon Demonic Spirit.

However, it was different when it clung to White Princess Ha Wol.

If the Moon Demonic Spirit attached itself to Ha Wol who was most skilled in cunning and trickery, it would become a much more difficult opponent than the other two.

Yes… there are two objectives. Capture the Moon Demonic Spirit and get Cheong Jin Myeong on our side.

Ah Hyun who often smiled in front of Seol Tae Pyeong didn’t show even a hint of a smile when she was alone. She was just organizing her thoughts in the Heavenly Jade Pavilion.

I hope Tae Pyeong doesn’t have to face the Moon Demonic Spirit, but that won’t be easy…

As it was getting dark, the courtyard of the Heavenly Dragon Hall was filled with only the sound of the waterfall.

Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun had kept something from Seol Tae Pyeong.

In the dim courtyard, when she looked up at the sky, the dreadful image of the Moon Demonic Spirit occasionally surfaced.

The Plague Demonic Spirit was a great disaster that sought to devour even the Heavenly Dragon.

It seized the imperial capital, corrupted humans into demonic spirits with its blood, and absorbed power indiscriminately.

She challenged that monster repeatedly and turned back time again and again… in an attempt to kill the Plague Demonic Spirit. However, the demonic spirit adapted each time, as if it intended to seize the power of the Heavenly Dragon.

Dozens of repetitions left “a sense of having lived this moment before” even in that monster.

Just like how people with powerful energy started to notice the incongruity of the repeatedly influenced time by the Heavenly Dragon’s power….

The Plague Demonic Spirit realized that Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun had been sharpening her blade repeatedly to kill it.

And so, the demonic spirit also evolved again and again to exhaust Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun’s strength and kill her.

It sought to overturn the very flow of time, to twist the neck of the Heavenly Dragon, to devour the imperial capital…. and to break the stasis point of this eternally repeating time.

As a monster that had swallowed the entire imperial capital, it even sought to dominate the Heavenly Dragon’s power and overcome the reversal of time.

The result of these efforts was the three special demonic spirits.

The Sun Demonic Spirit, the Moon Demonic Spirit, and the White Demonic Spirit.

These three special demonic spirits were the powerful individuals that the Plague Demonic Spirit had encountered throughout its long life.

Among them, the ones successfully corrupted into demonic spirits were re-manifested by its power.

At first, they were just insignificant demonic spirits…. but as the time reversal caused by the Heavenly Dragon’s power repeated, these special demonic spirits also grew stronger. This was only normal.

In the repeating timelines, the individuals that Moon Demonic Spirt possessed also changed.

Heavenly Maiden Ah Hyun still vividly remembered the time when she subdued the current Moon Demonic Spirit.

The burning garden of the imperial palace.

The monstrous being twisting its body grotesquely as it stood on the bloody path after killing all the fleeing members of the Black Moon Unit.

Moon Demonic Spirit Yoran.

The special demonic spirit with a small body who practiced Taoist arts under the imperial garden with her head bowed and her robes disheveled.

Her skin was cracked in various places, her eyes were white and glaring, and the ends of her tattered robes were all burned.

However, just by seeing the blue-gray hair and the bluish sleeves, one could easily recognize who it was.

– Hui Yin, Hui Yin, kill me and save me. Tear my chest and drink my blood, just like Tae Pyeong did.

– Even if my guts spill and my limbs are severed, let me feel this pain. Rip my face, tear my flesh, so I can forget the sorrow of losing the one I love.

The one that bent over and spewed the demon’s blood with a grotesque rasping sound.

It was a girl who had almost killed the Moon Demonic Spirit along with Seol Tae Pyeong, but in the end, she lost him and was consumed by the Moon Demonic Spirit’s blood.

– To uphold my conviction, to not lose my mind, drink my blood, tear my body.

Just like An Cheon said. Jin Cheong Lang failed.

The next morning, Crown Prince Hyeon Won was checking his condition while he was mounted on a horse.

In front of him, the guards of the Red Palace were fully assembled.

“I am Jang Rae, the commander warrior of the Red Palace guards. Today, I will accompany His Highness the Crown Prince on his hunt. Seven officers from the Red Palace will also accompany us but they will keep their distance and minimize their presence so as not to get in Your Highness’s way.”

The daily routine of the crown prince was indeed filled with study and training.

He would wake up at dawn, review the classics he read the previous day in his study, and practice speaking a foreign language before having breakfast.

Afterward, he would study the classics and learn etiquette until early afternoon, then in the late afternoon, he would cultivate his knowledge of poetry and painting. Usually, he would read books late into the night, during which high officials who were seeking to gain his favor would visit to present gifts or dine with him,

Once a week, he received direct lessons in horsemanship and archery from a general-level official. At this time, Crown Prince Hyeon Won took his lessons in the grand garden behind Cheongdo Palace. This place was known as the Imperial Garden.

Though it was called a garden, its size was far beyond what one would typically consider a garden.

It was large enough to be called a plain that belonged to the imperial family rather than a garden, as it contained a small forest, hills, and even a large lake.

The Imperial Garden, which has been preserved without any artificial structures, was preserved as a private area used by the imperial family for outings, and since it was located next to Cheongdo Palace, security around its perimeter was tight.

“To think that even the Crown Prince’s horse-riding lessons require guards… the palace must be in quite a state of turmoil.”

Seeing Jang Rae bow down, Grand General Seong Sa Wook shook his head.

The highest position among the martial officers of Cheongdo Palace was that of the Grand General.

He was the only general-level officer who could keep the increasingly powerful vice general in check, and he was deeply trusted by the Emperor as he was in charge of teaching martial arts directly to the Crown Prince.

Jang Rae who was riding behind Crown Prince Hyeon Won tried to avoid creating any sense of unease, but it was hard not to, seeing the Grand General’s grave expression.

However, when Jang Rae saw the Crown Prince’s face, he quietly straightened his head and changed his mind.

“……”

Crown Prince Hyeon Won who was dressed in armor and holding his horse’s reins showed no sign of emotion.

Despite the rumors of suspicious groups appearing around the palace and the increased guards to ensure his safety, he was just staring blankly at the sky as if chasing birds.

Live or die, it made no difference to him.

Not assigning much value to life, he didn’t care about any potential dangers.

Although it was well known that he was like a puppet, could such a life truly be considered living?

Jang Rae let go of such complicated thoughts and checked the personnel to escort Crown Prince Hyeon Won to the Imperial Garden.

– Everyone, lower your posture and hide in the shadows of the bushes…!

The power that the Bitter Harmony Poison had given Black Moon leader Cheong Jin Myeong was the ability to hide in any shaded place.

With the help of Under Councilor Shim Sang Gon, the Black Moon Unit members concealed their identities and hid in various parts of the palace. They had to work as Cheongdo Palace people for several months just for this one day.

Now that they were all gathered in one place, there were just under twenty of them.

Cheong Jin Myeong steadied himself and swallowed dryly.

There was so much to be anxious about, but having come this far, he had to execute the plan. There was no turning back now.

Inner Swords Commander Seol Tae Pyeong and Under Councilor Shim Sang Gon.

He had been surviving as a double agent between the two of them, but in the end, he would have to take someone’s side.

– Azure Princess, Black Princess. Soon, something so big will happen that it will turn the palace inside out. I don’t know how my words will sound to you, but this must happen.’

– So… Can you trust me just this once?’

“Have you achieved your objective?”

Finally, the day of the operation arrived.

Seol Tae Pyeong sat atop Great Star Gate and he was quietly looking at Cheongdo Palace.

Whenever Seol Tae Pyeong risked his life for something, his master White Immortal Lee Cheol Woon, who was like a father to him, always asked this question. Reflecting on this to himself, time had flown by.

On his back hung his keepsake, the Jade Leaf Sword.

The sword the White Immortal had always carried in his youth was one that could cut through energy and flow.

Two hours later, a huge fire broke out in the garden where Crown Prince Hyeon Won was riding his horse.

A sharply honed dagger from Cheong Jin Myeong flew towards Crown Prince Hyeon Won.

– Pshuuk!

– Drip, drip, drip.

Seol Tae Pyeong who was coughing up blood right in front of her. Ha Wol’s fingertips trembled as she looked down at that scene.

When she realized what she had done, she tried to press down on Seol Tae Pyeong’s bleeding chest with her delicate hands, but it was already too late.

– W-what is this…

– What have I… what have I done…

She shook her head repeatedly and the tears were streaming down her face but the reality would not change.

While the Moon Demonic Spirit’s laughter spread through the White Tiger Palace, the White Princess was in deep shock and the tears flowed down her cheeks uncontrollably.

She had stabbed Seol Tae Pyeong, the person most precious to her, with her own hands. She couldn’t accept the reality at that moment.

Even as Seol Tae Pyeong lost consciousness from the stabbing, he didn’t harbor a single doubt about the White Princess.

She had answered his heavy trust with a dagger.

The weighty guilt pressed down on her as if it would crush her. An excruciating pain surged from her chest. As if she might cough up blood at any moment.

However, the gravely wounded Seol Tae Pyeong placed his hand over the White Princess Ha Wol’s white hand which was pressing down on his wound and spoke.

– It’s okay, White Princess.

– Tae Pyeong-ah… Tae Pyeong-ah…! What have I… What have I done…! I…

– It’s really okay. Please don’t blame yourself too much, White Princess.

Even as he coughed up blood, Seol Tae Pyeong never blamed the White Princess.

That gentle smile was imprinted in the White Princess’s mind like a spell. It was unable to be erased no matter how many times she tried to wash it away.

In the shock that felt like the whole world was collapsing, White Princess Ha Wol—

“White Princess?”

Headmaid Ye Rim called out to the White Princess who had been embroidering.

The White Princess who was sitting in the inner chamber of the White Tiger Palace was so startled that she pricked her finger with the needle.

“Ah!”

“White Princess…! Are you all right?”

“Ugh… I’m fine. It’s just… a headache…”

The White Princess shook her head as if she was waking up from a daydream and sighed.

When she suddenly looked out the window, she saw the sun high in the sky.

It felt like she had had a strange dream.

She couldn’t remember it well, but it seemed like something was stuck in her chest like a thorn. And it tormented her.

Feeling that something was amiss, the White Princess straightened her clothes and went outside to the courtyard.