The Promise of the Jade Pendant
The reason Buk Hyang-hwa had become close to Seo Ran was also due to their meeting through Song Jin, and even the awkward, laughable situation involving the engagement between Siho and Seo Ran.
However, no matter how you looked at it, one of the reasons she had started speaking to Seo Ran was because her childhood nickname had been Lan, the same as Seo Ran’s.
She remembered her childhood.
Even now, when she closed her eyes, the fragrance of the magnolia that had bloomed in her youth seemed to tickle her nose.
―Lan.
A woman’s voice calling her childhood name lovingly echoed.
―No, it’s time to set aside the nickname too, Hyang-hwa?
Buk Hyang-hwa clung to the frail woman lying on the bed.
―No! Just call me Lan. Hyang-hwa sounds weird.
―Hoo, it’s fine. It’s a pretty name.
―It doesn’t sound that way.
For a moment, Hyang-hwa clung to the frail woman as a middle-aged man with a stern face approached with a bowl of medicinal soup.
―I’ve brought the medicine, Yeon-ah.
―Thank you.
It was Buk Jung-ho, Hyang-hwa’s father.
Buk Jung-ho’s face was stiff yet somehow sad as he looked at the frail woman.
He fed the medicine to Yeon, Hyang-hwa’s mother.
After drinking it, Yeon coughed dryly.
The light in her eyes was fading day by day.
―Hyang-hwa, can you live well without Mom?
Hyang-hwa shook her head.
―Mom, where are you going?
She buried her head in Yeon’s chest and cried softly.
―No! Don’t go! I’ve been having strange dreams lately. Last night too, a rainbow-colored bird crushed me flat! I’m scared to sleep alone!
―…Our Hyang-hwa. Since we’ve set aside the nickname, you should know how to sleep alone too. If you’re too scared, come sleep with Dad.
But even so, Hyang-hwa stayed buried in her mother’s arms and cried.
She was young, but she understood enough.
She couldn’t grasp the concept of death, but she could sense that her mother Yeon was something she would never see again.
Looking at Hyang-hwa who wouldn’t leave her side, Yeon sighed briefly, then handed her the jade pendant from beside the bed.
―Here, Hyang-hwa. Mom will give you a gift. Take it.
―What is this?
―Mom made a promise with a friend long ago.
Yeon gently stroked Hyang-hwa’s head.
Hyang-hwa remembered the promise tied to the pendant.
―…So, if you meet that person’s child later, ask if they’re doing well.
―Yes! And I’ll definitely keep the promise! If it’s a girl, we’ll make her a sister, and if it’s a boy, we’ll do a grand wedding!
―You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. Just ask how they’re doing.
―No, I’ll definitely keep the promise! I will!
Hyang-hwa gripped Yeon’s hand tightly.
Yeon stroked her daughter’s head.
She slept while receiving her mother’s gentle touch and holding the jade pendant close, the fragrance of magnolia lingering in her small hand.
***
“…Mom…?”
Buk Hyang-hwa woke up, dreaming of her mother Yeon.
A strange floral scent drifted from somewhere, and a slender finger gently stroked her cheek.
“…Mom…?”
She grabbed the hand stroking her cheek and opened her hazy eyes clearly.
Then she jolted.
“Hah!”
The hand stroking her cheek wasn’t Yeon, the mother who had died long ago.
It was Kim Yeon, dressed in a soft pink palace dress.
Buk Hyang-hwa rose to a half-sitting position on the bed with a wary expression.
She quickly scanned her surroundings.
‘This isn’t a torture chamber or prison. The bed is clean, and there are no binding formations or golden restrictions. I’m not a prisoner… but a guest?’
‘My spiritual energy… none at all.’
Although she didn’t fully relax her tension, she lowered her guard a little and asked Kim Yeon.
“…What happened? I clearly gave the order to self-destruct the battleship…”
Kim Yeon smirked.
“What’s so hard about canceling a little toy battleship’s self-destruction order?”
Hyang-hwa’s eyes nearly rolled from her dismissal of her work, but she barely held back and rubbed her cheek.
“By the way, why do you touch other people’s faces so intensely?”
“I was extracting the consciousness thread that entered your head. It was easy because your head was small. After all, with such a tiny head, the spiritual artifacts must look like this too.”
Whoosh!
Hyang-hwa’s veins bulged on her forehead from another insult.
“…It must be nice to have a bigger head.”
And Kim Yeon’s forehead also bulged.
“Yeah, I’m a bit taller than you, shorty.”
“Your name is Kim Yeon, right? Can you at least change it for me? The name overlaps with someone I know is a great person, and it feels like an insult to that person.”
“Oh my, if your height is different, why suddenly appear as another person? I can call my master’s name even if I don’t like it either?”
“Hoo, I wonder what kind of person you learned from to sound like that.”
“People from the Goryeok Realm like you wouldn’t even know.”
“Why, are you embarrassed to speak?”
“Hmph, I really don’t know. Well, there’s the strange title of ‘Goe-gun,’ but his puppetry…”
“…”
And the next moment, Hyang-hwa’s mouth fell open.
Kim Yeon noticed the strange atmosphere and tilted her head curiously.
Hyang-hwa was dazed for a moment, then asked in a trembling voice.
“…Your master… is it Goe-gun Jo Yeon…?”
“…That’s right.”
“…The hunchback Dharma Refiner who travels around the Wondrous Castle?”
“What? How do you know? Weren’t you born in the Goryeok Realm?”
Hyang-hwa didn’t answer Kim Yeon’s question and instead stared blankly.
After being dazed for a while, Hyang-hwa’s momentum weakened compared to Kim Yeon’s.
“…H-how could the master’s disciple be such an unlucky human…?”
Kim Yeon felt truly displeased, but seeing Hyang-hwa unable to meet her eyes and look away, she chuckled.
“So you lost to that unlucky person and were captured?”
“…Ugh, I didn’t lose to you.”
“That’s a lie. That aside, how old are you? And you…”
Kim Yeon asked her age, and Hyang-hwa, checking her surroundings, answered.
“…311.”
“You’re younger than me.”
When Kim Yeon and the group had fallen into the Deungsunhyang, Kim Yeon was 26 years old and Hyang-hwa was 18.
Even though being an immortal made the age difference meaningless, Kim Yeon crossed her arms to assert dominance over Hyang-hwa.
“Call me Unni.”
Hyang-hwa hesitated, but the thought of Kim Yeon being Goe-gun’s disciple flashed in her mind.
“Un… Un…?”
“What?”
“Un…”
“Say it louder.”
“Un-Unnie like that!”
But Hyang-hwa couldn’t accept that Kim Yeon had dismissed her work, so her true feelings finally spilled out.
Veins bulged on Kim Yeon’s forehead as she gripped Hyang-hwa’s shoulder with her fingers.
After glaring at her for a moment, Kim Yeon sighed and stood up.
“…That’s enough. What was I doing with a kid like you.”
“Hmph, you look more like a kid yourself.”
“Yeah, it suits you. Good to know you’re happy with the compliment.”
She looked down at Hyang-hwa and said.
“…Well, I almost got lost in an argument with you… You’re a colleague of Seo Ran, the dragon, Siho the fox, and… Kim Young-hoon?”
Hyang-hwa’s blood pressure had been rising, but after calming her emotions, she nodded.
Although she had forgotten for a moment due to their good treatment, strictly speaking, she had been captured by Kim Yeon while fighting her.
‘What the hell is going on? At least the way she’s calling Seo Ran, Siho, and Dae-nim Kim Young-hoon with goodwill… Does that mean I’ve had connections with them since before?’
And Kim Yeon explained the approximate situation to Hyang-hwa.
“Un-hyun oppa… no, our Church Lord, the Wugeuk Ghost King, met Seo Ran and Siho during his time in the lower realm.”
“…Then what about Dae-nim Kim Young-hoon?”
“He was originally our… um… how to explain it? Yeah, he was roughly our colleague.”
“!”
Hyang-hwa’s eyes widened at the astonishing fact.
‘Dae-nim Kim Young-hoon… was from the cult of the spirits. As expected, because he was from the demonic cult, his titles are full of words like “God Demon”!’
She looked at Kim Yeon with tense eyes and asked.
“…What will you do with me?”
“You’re a colleague of a colleague, so I won’t be hostile. But your battleship caused damage to the main sect anyway. So, after consulting the Church Lord, I’ll decide.”
“The, the Church Lord…”
Hyang-hwa swallowed hard at the word “Church Lord.”
She had a rough idea of the Church Lord’s identity.
The one who held the actual power equivalent to one-third of Buk Hyang-hwa’s fleet and who had nearly bestowed the title “Conqueror King” upon her.
And one of the decisive reasons he had given her battleship the title “Undefeated Fleet.”
The monster who had fought Kim Young-hoon to a standstill and even made him send a distress signal in the end!
A being that moved across the battlefield in ten seconds, fought, and tore through her fleet’s maritime domain without a scratch.
‘He must be the Church Lord.’
She broke out in cold sweat.
“…Who is he?”
At that, Kim Yeon’s face flushed red.
“He… is great. A truly great person.”
From Kim Yeon’s reaction, Hyang-hwa understood one thing.
‘This woman is in love with the Church Lord.’
And through Kim Yeon’s reaction, Hyang-hwa formed a preconception about the Church Lord.
‘Looking at the kind of person he likes, the Church Lord must be incredibly twisted and bizarre. No, since it’s the spirits’ cult, maybe not even human!’
While Kim Yeon had been talking about Seo Eun-hyun, she suddenly noticed Hyang-hwa’s resolve and frowned unhappily.
“…It seems like you’re having impure thoughts. First, stand up, change your clothes, and get lessons in etiquette and language from the Wugeuk Sect. Get up quickly!”
“Eh? Wait! What are you doing! Kyaaaah!”
Kim Yeon dragged Hyang-hwa up with an irritated face, changed her clothes, and injected etiquette and language lessons from the Wugeuk Sect using the Gimyoseongsimjeon.
***
“No! I never thought the master would be worried. I’m sorry to you, master.”
The moment Kim Young-hoon woke up, Seo Ran heard the reason they had come here and let out a sigh.
Kim Young-hoon, now awake, explained the situation to Seo Ran with a calm expression and welcomed them.
He shared long-lost comrades with us, Jeon Myeong-hoon, and Oh Hyun-seok, venting his feelings, and expressed sorrow upon hearing news of Kang Min-hee or Oh Hye-seo.
“Ahahaha! By the way, oppa! Why do you look so powerless again? You should drink a shot of soju!”
Originally a brother-sister pair with Kim Young-hoon, Oh Hyun-seok happily approached the regressed Kim Young-hoon with laughter.
But Kim Young-hoon, despite the warmth from his most beloved younger brother, only smiled weakly with hollow eyes.
‘…Must not be because of me.’
I wondered if I had overdone it with the emotional scars, but since Kim Young-hoon gave no word, I kept my mouth shut.
And after a while, in the guest room where Seo Ran, Siho, Kim Young-hoon, Oh Hyun-seok, Jeon Myeong-hoon, and I had gathered and were laughing happily, two people approaching the guest room were caught in my consciousness field.
Thud, thud—
Was it because Kim Young-hoon and his companions had drunk the spirit wine of the Wugeuk Sect after a long reunion?
Or perhaps because I hadn’t shaken off the previous shadow.
My heart beat strangely.
And after a while.
The door to the guest room opened.
The two familiar faces appeared.
Kim Yeon.
And… Buk Hyang-hwa.
After a long time, Buk Hyang-hwa wore clothes similar to the ones she had been in during our last duel.
***
Kim Yeon thought as she changed Buk Hyang-hwa’s clothes.
‘As plain as possible!’
Hyang-hwa also remembered the moment Seo Eun-hyun first saw her and felt his resolve tremble.
That was why Kim Yeon had dressed her in the pure white nun’s robes of the Wugeuk Sect.
‘If her appearance doesn’t shine too much, Un-hyun oppa won’t pay much attention.’
Then Kim Yeon injected several pieces of information into Hyang-hwa using the Gimyoseongsimjeon and took her to Seo Eun-hyun.
After a while, Kim Yeon and Hyang-hwa arrived at a place where Seo Eun-hyun, the executives of the Wugeuk Sect, and the executives of the Conqueror Fleet were gathered.
Hyang-hwa walked tense, dragged by Kim Yeon.
And finally arriving at the guest room, she faced Seo Eun-hyun sitting there with her eyes wide.
“…Eh.”
Her eyes widened.
Hyang-hwa stared at Seo Eun-hyun, opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, and finally spoke.
Hand on her fluttering chest.
“…It’s you.”
The being she had searched for across the entire Sugye while creating the Buk Hyang-hwa fleet.
The jade pendant made by her mother Yeon, the one who had brought her.
And Seo Eun-hyun smiled faintly.
His resolve stirred, and his expression became as if remembering something.
Kim Yeon was the first to notice the strange atmosphere between them.
Kim Yeon looked at the back of Hyang-hwa’s head expressionlessly.
She had previously inserted a thread of the Gimyoseongsimjeon into Hyang-hwa that she hadn’t noticed, to control her like a puppet whenever they fought again.
Hyang-hwa stared blankly at Seo Eun-hyun for a moment, then took out the jade pendant from her bosom.
“…Last time… you gave this to me, right?”
Seo Eun-hyun looked at the jade pendant.
Hyang-hwa’s voice trembled as she tried to find words.
For some reason, the words wouldn’t come.
But she barely remembered Yeon’s words.
―Just ask how they are.
Hyang-hwa somehow asked Seo Eun-hyun.
“This pendant… so you… you’re not the owner of the pendant, but the one who received it, right?”
Seo Eun-hyun looked dazed for a moment, then nodded.
Hyang-hwa asked Seo Eun-hyun.
“The person who delivered the pendant to you… how is he doing?”
It seemed like an out-of-the-blue question, but for Hyang-hwa it was important.
She had sworn not to leave Cheon-saek Castle to ask that question to the person who had brought the pendant.
Yes, this was Yeon’s last wish.
And Seo Eun-hyun closed his eyes for a moment.
***
‘How are you…’
The Buk Hyang-hwa who had given me that pendant was from the 10th loop.
I recalled the moment of our last duel.
At the end, she had kissed me, and her pure soul had risen to the sky.
Yes, she clearly had no regrets and went to the underworld.
So, surely.
He must have been doing well.
I nodded and answered Hyang-hwa with eye contact.
“…The person who gave me the pendant rose to the sky without leaving any regrets.”
“I see… I’m glad.”
Somehow her question and my answer seemed different, but I remembered the 10th loop’s her and hardened my heart.
“So, young lady, you don’t need to worry.”
The one in front of me and the previous her were different people.
To be clear.
From now on, I could build a bond with my heart, and as colleagues, we could have good relations.
However, she was a stranger to the one I had loved and been loved by.
“Please sit, young lady. The Wugeuk Sect and the Conqueror Fleet can be good colleagues.”
Hyang-hwa, with a slightly dazed expression, sat down.
Somehow she had expected something else from me, but right now, as she had no relationship with me yet, she wasn’t the one I had given my heart to.
***
Hyang-hwa saw that Seo Ran and Siho were safe, learned about the Wugeuk Sect, and cleared up her misunderstandings.
But her expression remained dazed.
‘Ah… I see. That was the line I should have said.’
Clearly she was supposed to ask about their well-being according to her mother’s last wish, and if possible, make them sisters or do a wedding.
Of course, since the Church Lord had Kim Yeon by his side, she didn’t expect a wedding.
But why?
Hyang-hwa felt pain as if something had been flushed from her heart.
‘It was like this from the beginning.’
Even when that man had come to deliver the pendant.
A strange feeling had arisen.
She smiled bitterly and stepped out of the noisy guest room for a moment, finding an excuse.
Her chest hurt.
She found a reasonable reason for why.
‘…Now, what am I supposed to live for?’
One of her life’s purposes had been to follow her mother’s last wish.
She had received the pendant and asked for news according to her mother’s words.
Because she had achieved all her purposes, she wondered why it felt so empty.
Or perhaps because she could no longer remember her mother after achieving her purpose.
The sadness of being unable to remember her mother by following her words.
And the emotion that suddenly surged when she saw that man.
And various other emotions surged.
And Kim Yeon appeared beside her.
Hyang-hwa hid her depressed expression and asked.
“What?”
“…I followed to watch you.”
“Hah. How funny. How childish.”
But Kim Yeon didn’t take offense and said.
“If you want to cry, cry.”
“Eh?”
“As your senior and someone almost like a superior, I’ll accept a little. It’s normal to want to cry suddenly.”
“What does that mean…”
But Hyang-hwa realized she was crying without knowing it.
Kim Yeon’s earlier expression of glaring softened, and she approached Hyang-hwa, patting her back.
Finally, Hyang-hwa broke into tears in Kim Yeon’s arms.
She didn’t know why.
Because her life goal of remembering her mother had been resolved.
Or because of Seo Eun-hyun, who had made her heart race.
Or perhaps because it was Kim Yeon, who had the same name as her mother.
Yeah, maybe it was because Kim Yeon had a strange floral scent.
Like the magnolia fragrance from her own mother.
“…”
Kim Yeon reached out with her consciousness, blocked anyone from monitoring them in the consciousness field, and gently patted the suddenly emotional Hyang-hwa who had burst into tears.
Even now, Kim Yeon disliked Hyang-hwa.
And the fact that Kim Yeon disliked her was the same as disliking the crying Hyang-hwa in her arms now.
But Kim Yeon accepted Hyang-hwa’s sudden emotions for only one reason.
Because Seo Eun-hyun had done the same for her when she was in trouble.
Using the Gimyoseongsimjeon, Kim Yeon read Hyang-hwa’s emotions.
Emotions were multicolored, so she couldn’t read all of them, but her heart contained concern and sadness for her parents, and Hyang-hwa overlapped with her past self in the appearance.
After a while of venting her emotions to Kim Yeon.
Hyang-hwa wiped her tears and said.
“…For now, I’ll give you my thanks, Unni.”
Author’s note: Today’s part is a day of rest.