Regret, Ruin, Awakening (2)
"What a foolish god."
My honest impression drew a pleased smile from the guide, who shrugged his shoulders.
"And one who likes humans, too."
...Yeah, that was hard to deny. After all, in the play, Jeoseokcheon had dragged his battered body into battle against monsters time and again, all to protect the people.
The story itself was simple. Long ago, a massive evil dragon, jealous of humans, seized a lake and hot springs, spewing poison to create a swamp. Livestock died from the toxic fog, water sources dried up, and the people could no longer survive. They prayed desperately to Jeoseokcheon to save them.
Jeoseokcheon, ignoring the pleas of greater powers, answered the prayers of this humble village and descended from the heavens. But in his haste to slay the dragon, rescue the people, and enjoy a naked soak in the hot springs with the village women, he tumbled from the sky and ended up temporarily lame.
Anyway, Jeoseokcheon drove off all the monsters threatening the village and ultimately defeated even the mighty evil dragon.
Jeoseokcheon, the protagonist of the tale, had a quirky personality, but overall, it was a solid heroic myth—full of lessons and entertainment.
"So, what do you think? Not a bad play for a complimentary guide, right?"
Amid the thunderous applause from the audience below the stage, the guide beamed at us, asking for our thoughts on the performance.
Soso, who had been standing on tiptoes with sparkling eyes, utterly absorbed until now, nodded with a moved expression.
She'd done the same when she called me a "hero" before. Seems she loves stories of knights-errant and heroes like this.
"Yes! It was truly moving! Falling again and again, yet rising for the people—Jeoseokcheon embodied the spirit of chiljeonpalgi, the seven falls and eight rises. Especially the battle with the evil dragon... Ah."
Caught showing her childlike side, perhaps? Soso blushed, embarrassed, cleared her throat, and reverted to her usual composed demeanor.
"Ahem... Yes, it was a splendid play."
Outwardly a strong, cool martial artist wielding the Emperor's Sword, but secretly a pretty cross-dressing girl who adores Kamen Rider-style tokusatsu. What can I say? She wears the most heartwarming smile when beholding cute creatures.
Just seeing this side of her makes coming to the festival worthwhile.
As I snuck glances at Soso's profile—her face slightly flushed as she returned to watching the play—plip, plip-plip-plip. Dark clouds suddenly gathered in the clear blue sky, and raindrops began to fall.
"Rain during the festival honoring Jeoseokcheon's feats... Looks like Sucheon is jealous."
The guide's out-of-left-field comment made Soso and me tilt our heads.
"...Sucheon?"
"The god of water, sky, and justice. He lost to Jeoseokcheon and never became leader of the Twelve Devas."
We gazed up at the darkening clouds and the pattering rain.
"Even so, raining on a festival? What a petty god."
"Heh heh~ The Twelve Devas aren't perfect, after all. They have emotions, likes and dislikes, strengths and flaws."
The guide murmured softly, eyes on the actor mimicking a limp on stage—Jeoseokcheon in performance.
"...That's why they sometimes tumble from the heavens."
The rain grew heavier, forcing us to abandon the festival and head back to the inn.
Random thought, but I've heard it said: Pretty people look pretty even in rain or snow.
Spot on. Waiting for the bathwater in our room, I stared blankly at Soso across from me on the first floor of the inn.
Her damp hair glistened beautifully, and her wet clothes clung to her body, outlining her curves.
...Not that I'm trying to look—my eyes just naturally drift there.
I couldn't help it. I stood, tipped the errand boy, grabbed a fluffy blanket, and draped it over Soso's shoulders.
"Nangong-hyung, you'll catch a cold. Warm yourself with this."
"Ah... Thank you. But what about you, Sima-gongja?"
"I'm naturally sturdy. Don't worry about me."
Martial artists rarely catch colds anyway, and with the reliable Immovable Heart Method as my bedrock inner cultivation, I figured I could tough it out. I grinned.
"...You can't do that."
Suddenly, Soso stood and approached me. She wrapped the blanket gently around my head.
Pat-pat~ Rub-rub~ Through the fabric, I felt the delicate, lovely touch of her slender fingers massaging my scalp.
"You mustn't neglect your health just because it's a hassle."
Her soft voice carried a faint dampness from the blanket, mingled with Soso's sweet fragrance. A pleasant sensation enveloped my head.
But alas, good things don't last. Realizing she'd been too casual, Soso blushed and quickly pulled her hands away.
"S-Sorry for acting on my own."
Sorry as I felt for her, seeing her usual stoic face flushed with embarrassment made me want to tease.
"If you're sorry, then stand still for a bit."
I stood, stepped back to where she'd retreated, and placed the blanket over her damp hair as she tilted her head in confusion.
Soso's turn was over. Now mine.
Gently, carefully, cherishingly, I patted her rain-soaked silver-gray hair.
"I've always wondered. Why do you style your hair so prettily?"
"W-Well... My mother complimented it when I was young... B-But people are staring. Please let go, Sima-gongja."
I wanted to tease more, but the bathwater was probably ready. I released her obediently.
With all that yin energy in her body, staying wet too long could make her sick.
"There. We're even now."
Soso looked up at the mischievous yet kind man before her, feeling her heart race—whether from embarrassment or something else.
A strange fellow, blending the sly charm of a playboy toying with women and the bold heroism of a gentleman risking life for others.
The Song Dynasty, once dominant in the Central Plains, faced not just crisis but total collapse.
The emperor had been captured by the Jurchen barbarians of Jin.
"Woo-hoo~ We nabbed the Song emperor!!"
Relations with Goryeo, ruled by the dragon-blooded Wang clan descended from the Western Sea Dragon King, soured too.
"Song, you didn't help when Liao invaded, skimped on tribute, and gouged us tenfold on gifts. Allies, my ass?"
Northern nomadic horsemen also began encroaching in bands.
"Hey, newbie—eyes on. Time to pillage."
In this dire state, the new emperor and empress failing to produce an heir was minor nationally—but devastating for her.
The empress prayed fervently to the heavens daily, mourning three years as if in bereavement, begging for a worthy successor to navigate the chaos.
"Wants a cute baby and to end the turmoil~ Greedy human."
Moved by her devotion, Bomcheon descended to grant her wish.
Hearing she sought a child to end the chaos, Bomcheon made a shocking proposal: impregnate her with a god's offspring.
Unable to decide alone, the empress informed the emperor, who met Bomcheon.
What deal they struck remains unknown. But the emperor accepted, and Bomcheon summoned heaven's mightiest war gods to earth: thunder god Jeoseokcheon, sun god Ilcheon, fire god Hwacheon.
"Kids, I promised to grant her wish. Do me a solid—knock her up for the empress's sake."
Despite the summons from heaven's top elder, the request was absurd. Jeoseokcheon balked.
"Me? A guardian deity, not some street thug? Sleeping with a married woman? And personally... non-virgins aren't my thing."
Loving harems but cherishing pure love, he loathed touching another's wife and favored virgins—so he returned heavenward without consideration.
"Honored Bomcheon, I am the sun illuminating all. I cannot shine solely on one nation or person. 'Tis unjust."
Ilcheon politely refused and ascended.
With two gone in a flash, Bomcheon asked tremblingly of the last: "Hwacheon... you'll make a baby, right?"
Hwacheon nodded enthusiastically.
"Sure, why not? Let's make one."
‧ ‧ ‧
This is the founding myth of the Hwa (Fire) Wang Dynasty, the Deng Kingdom—which burned Jin, Mongolia, and even Song, ending the chaos and claiming the Central Plains.
The key point: Every year, the Hwa Wang clan burns books of Hanja characters in a brazier, divining fortune from the leaping and surviving characters to form prophecies.
...And on the day a tiny, cute, pretty girl was born in the Nangong Family Manor.
The characters that leaped from the flames: Nam (南), Gung (宮), Yeo (女), A (兒), Wi (爲), Wang (王).
Nangong Yeo-a Wi Wang
(Nangong Yeo-a Wi Wang)
The Nangong clan's daughter shall become king.
A terrifying prophecy for both the Hwa clan and the Nangong.
Soso awoke from her light doze in the bath and rose from the tub. Water droplets from her collarbone trailed down her modestly swelling young breasts to her slender waist.
No matter the angle, she looked nothing like Young Master Soso.
Just a pitiful girl forced to live as a boy due to that ominous prophecy, reflected in the bathwater.