The Lotus Crossing the Sea (2)
Kwak Sam sucked in a sharp breath and froze on the spot like a tree struck by lightning.
Amid the white sands of the fog-shrouded pier, a woman in dazzling off-white robes stood atop the dreamlike scene.
With a faint smile playing on her lips as she gazed up at the deck, her presence carried a strange magnetism that forcibly seized every eye.
“……!”
Kwak Sam’s shoulders jerked hard. Her elegant bearing was so overpowering it could rattle the iron will of even a hardened sailor who had weathered every storm the jianghu could throw at him.
Yet unlike the other crewmen left utterly spellbound, Kwak Sam was different. Having sharpened both cunning and inner energy across years of riding the wild waves, he bit down hard on his molars and forcibly gathered his scattered mind.
Come to your senses, Kwak Sam. It’s not as if you’ve only seen the women of the Sword Pavilion once or twice. Though… for some reason the atmosphere does feel a little different.
He scrubbed roughly at his face with callused palms, swiftly smoothing out his disordered expression and posture.
“Ahem!”
Clearing his throat loudly, Kwak Sam gripped the railing with all the dignity of a captain and looked down at the woman. Perhaps sensing the subtle change in his aura, she curled one corner of her mouth in a slanted, arrogant smile and spoke.
“Finally decided to crawl out. You must be the captain of this ship, yes?”
It was unmistakably condescending speech, the tone of one looking down on an inferior.
Yet before Kwak Sam could even register displeasure, he first felt a heavy pressure crushing his entire body beneath her gaze.
This was no mere coquettish trick of an absolute beauty relying on her looks to toy with men. It was the cool, domineering spirit only a true ruler—accustomed to subjugating others through raw power—could emit.
Realizing at once that she was no ordinary person, Kwak Sam swallowed his cough and answered in a deliberately respectful tone.
“Correct. I am Kwak Sam, captain of this vessel.”
He paused briefly to read her expression, then continued with care.
“If I may ask, are you a disciple of the Sword Pavilion? We left the goods at the appointed time. Were there any shortcomings on our part?”
There was a reason Kwak Sam had adopted such a humble attitude.
This transaction operated under a strict unspoken rule. The crew of the Blue Sea Lotus Ship were to unload their cargo, strike the gong, and depart at once. The Sword Pavilion would collect the goods only after the ship had left, paying the balance later.
Meeting a member of the Sword Pavilion face-to-face at the transaction site without exceptional cause was a breach of mutual taboo. Sweat beaded on Kwak Sam’s forehead as he anxiously wondered whether they had committed some error.
“My deepest apologies. The departure was delayed, so we unintentionally violated the regulations—”
-Swish.
The woman’s pale hand sliced through the air. With that single concise gesture, Kwak Sam’s mouth snapped shut as though a lock had been thrown across it.
She had raised her arm and cut him off before he could even finish speaking.
“Spare me the apologies. I didn’t come for the cargo.”
“…Huh? Then why—”
“I’ll ask only once, so answer clearly.”
She narrowed her ruby-red eyes and asked in a low voice that seemed to squeeze his windpipe.
“I want to reach the mainland right now. Can I board this ship? No long-winded explanations. Just two words: yes or no.”
The moment her question ended, the deck that had been holding its breath exploded into buzzing commotion like a hive that had been kicked.
“Th-the fairy is coming ashore with us? Is this a dream or reality!”
“What incredible luck! So that’s why she asked earlier if we were heading to land!”
From every corner of the deck, sobs of overwhelming emotion and cheers burst forth in a chaotic mix.
Captain Kwak Sam’s terrifying glare no longer existed in their minds. The only thing that mattered during the voyage back to the port of Ningbo was the fact that they would share the same air as that breathtaking woman.
“Hmm…”
Kwak Sam frowned in thought for a moment, then nodded in acceptance.
Well, it’s rare, but such things have happened before.
Though Botamun was a closed sect that had walled itself off from the secular world, it was not entirely without contact.
There were occasions when the Geom-hu herself would venture into the jianghu to seek disciples, or when members of the sect would leave the mountain on their master’s orders to enter the Central Plains.
On those occasions, the Blue Sea Lotus Ship served as their only bridge to the mainland.
But.
Kwak Sam stroked his rough beard and narrowed his eyes.
Something is different.
Over decades at sea he had seen the female swordsmen of the Sword Pavilion many times, including the Geom-hu herself. Every one of them had carried the aura of lofty cranes soaring above the clouds or pure fairies like orchids blooming with nothing but morning dew.
They possessed an unapproachable grace, yet beneath it all lay a transparent innocence untouched by worldly matters.
The woman before him, however, had a completely different texture.
Rather than aloof nobility, it was closer to arrogance—a bold confidence.
Far from shrinking from or avoiding the men’s pouring gazes, she accepted them as if accustomed, trampling those rude stares beneath her like a carpet spread at her feet.
Most alien of all was the look in her eyes.
Chilling.
A cold shiver ran down Kwak Sam’s spine. Unlike the other disciples whose eyes had seemed as pure and unstained as blank white paper, the depths of her crimson gaze coiled a blade-sharp killing intent the color of cold steel.
Even more astonishing was the aura wrapped around that killing intent. A bewitching, seductive charm that shook a man’s soul. An aura so thick in her gaze that it was hard to believe she was a disciple of the Buddhist sect Botamun.
“Ahem, hm!”
Kwak Sam coughed loudly, steadying his shaken composure.
He lifted his chin with a stern expression he had forced onto his face.
“As you said, this ship is indeed bound for the mainland. However, without thorough proof of identity, I cannot allow anyone aboard the Blue Sea Lotus. Do you happen to carry a token proving you are a disciple of the Sword Pavilion?”
“Ah, that.”
At his question the woman rummaged briefly inside her bundle, then pulled out a palm-sized object and tossed it toward him with a flick.
-Thud.
The weighty sensation that struck Kwak Sam’s palm as he caught it by reflex made his eyes widen. What he held was an antique bronze token, polished smooth and glossy by the passage of years.
The instant he flipped it over without much thought, Kwak Sam’s eyes bulged as if they would tear apart.
“Th-this is…!”
At the center of the bronze token his gaze locked onto was the vivid emblem of two lotus blossoms blooming as though they were embracing each other—the double-lotus pattern.
There were three kinds of tokens proving affiliation with the Sword Pavilion. The single lotus for ordinary disciples, the triple lotus symbolizing the sect leader Geom-hu, and the double-lotus token now radiating cold light in Kwak Sam’s palm.
The two lotus flowers engraved at its center were the unmistakable mark that its owner was the next sect leader and senior disciple of the Sword Pavilion—the Little Sword Empress.
“L-Little Sword Empress…?!”
Kwak Sam’s mouth fell open; he could not continue.
And for good reason. The Little Sword Empress of Botamun bore the heavy duty of acting in the Geom-hu’s stead should any problem arise or if the sect leader entered closed-door training. It was therefore an unwritten rule that she did not leave the main mountain except under truly exceptional circumstances.
In all the years he had held the ship’s helm, he had never once taken aboard anyone traveling under the Little Sword Empress’s protection.
I did hear that when my predecessor was much younger, he once carried the Little Sword Empress aboard… but only that single time.
The very person said to be even harder to meet than the Geom-hu herself was now standing before his eyes, demanding passage in a threatening tone.
“Hey, Captain.”
As though she had seen straight through his tangled thoughts, the woman’s clear yet slightly raspy voice struck his ear.
“So, will you take me or not? I’m in rather a hurry.”
She stood with legs planted apart, jerking her chin toward the ship in clear impatience.
Her manner was far too blunt for the noble Little Sword Empress, yet the token she had shown was genuine. There was no room for doubt about her identity.
“O-of course! Please come aboard at once! This humble one failed to recognize such an honored guest and has committed a grave offense. We will escort you to the mainland with every comfort!”
Kwak Sam urgently waved at the crew and roared.
“You worthless bastards, what are you standing around for?! Lower the ladder immediately! This is a most exalted guest among exalted guests!”
“Y-yes!”
As the sailors scrambled in panic, loosening ropes and clattering about to prepare the ladder, the woman gave a small snort of laughter at the chaotic sight. Then, before the ladder could even descend, she lightly kicked off the ground.
-Swish—
Her robes fluttered like scattering flower petals as she stepped on the air and flew up, gliding smoothly over the ship’s railing.
-Thud.
She landed without raising a single speck of dust. The way she moved across the deck was light as a feather, graceful as a butterfly.
“Set sail at once.”
Leaving those words behind, the woman walked past the sailors still standing with mouths agape and headed toward the bow.
Kwak Sam and the crew could only stare, entranced, at her retreating figure as her white robes fluttered in the sea wind and slowly disappeared from view.
---
-Whoosh.
After many twists and turns, the Blue Sea Lotus Ship finally left the Sajagu pier and now glided smoothly toward Ningbo with a favorable wind.
“…”
The deck, which would normally have rung with the sailors’ coarse curses and rough work chants, carried a completely different atmosphere today. In fact, it was eerily quiet.
Even while hauling ropes or scrubbing planks, the sailors’ eyes kept darting glances in one direction. Some were completely lost in a daze, staring openly.
The place their gazes converged was the railing at the very edge of the deck.
There sat a woman more elegant and beautiful than any single blossom, lost in deep contemplation.
Jet-black hair dancing in the sea breeze, skin so white it seemed translucent, and red eyes that appeared steeped in melancholy. The aura she radiated was filled with an unapproachable grace and mystery.
Overwhelmed by that aura, none of the rough sailors dared approach within three jang of her. They could only gaze at her from afar in a stupor.
“Haa…”
When she let out a small sigh and tilted her head, her hair—like molten midnight sky—rippled and scattered through the air. Through those strands flashed glimpses of a neck so slender it looked ready to snap and shoulders so pale they dazzled the eye.
-Rustle.
The elegant curve of her fingertips as she rested her chin in thought.
Every hot breath that slipped between her cherry-like red lips bound the sailors’ rough hearts tight.
“Sigh… she’s so insanely beautiful. I’ve never seen a beauty like her in my life.”
“They called her the Little Sword Empress? That means she’s second only to the sect leader in the Sword Pavilion…”
“Just once… I wish she would look this way…”
“I’m so glad I lived long enough to see this…!”
The sailors swallowed dryly and let out sighs of admiration.
From the moment she boarded until now, she had remained in that exact posture, silently gazing at the sea.
The sight of her with slightly furrowed brows, deeply lost in thought, evoked both pity and reverence at once.
“I wonder what kind of worries could trouble her so deeply?”
“It must be some noble concern beyond anything we commoners could imagine.”
“Right? Something like the dangerous state of the Central Plains or the peace of the martial world?”
“Of course. Since she has realized the principles of Buddhism, she may be contemplating the laws that govern the universe itself.”
The sailors exercised every ounce of imagination to guess at her troubles.
They firmly believed without the slightest doubt that the worried expression worn by the noble Little Sword Empress of the Sword Pavilion was undoubtedly a compassionate anguish aimed at the salvation of all living beings.
“Shh, be quiet. How could we dare disturb her?”
“Exactly. It would feel sinful to even meet her eyes, so let’s just watch from a distance.”
They worried that their very presence might interfere with her meditation, keeping their distance while even holding their breath.
-Slide.
It was then.
The woman who had been resting her chin slowly raised her head.
She fixed her red, transparent eyes directly on the spot where the sailors were huddled together, stealing glances.
“……!”
The instant their eyes met, the sailors froze as if struck by lightning.
Did staring offend her?
Should we apologize?
Just as they were panicking, ready to avert their eyes or drop to their knees, the woman languidly lifted her delicate hand.
-Twitch. Twitch.
She beckoned with one slender index finger in the air.
A supremely arrogant and seductive gesture, as though calling a pet dog.
“Uh…?”
The entire group froze as if doused with cold water. In the suffocating silence where everyone only exchanged glances and no one dared step forward, one person moved his feet in a daze, drawn like iron to a magnet.
It was So-chil, the youngest sailor who had only just joined the crew.
“D-did… did you call for me…?”
He forced his trembling legs to carry him toward her. One step. Then another. The closer he drew, the more violently his pupils shook.
Face to face at such close range, she was a beauty so perfect one could call her a fairy without exaggeration.
Delicately sculpted features, skin like flawless white jade without a single blemish, and the faint, mysterious scent of sandalwood drifting from her body.
“Huk…!”
The moment he stood before her, So-chil realized he had forgotten how to breathe.
“…Heh.”
The woman looked up at the rigidly approaching So-chil and formed a small smile on her lips.
“Ah…!!”
With that single small smile, So-chil’s reason flew away in an instant. His face flushed as red as a ripe persimmon about to burst. His soul had already fled his body and ascended to heaven.
The fairy, that noble person, had smiled only for him. Even if he died on the spot, he would have no regrets. The sight reflected in So-chil’s eyes was far too dazzling a blessing for someone like him to fully bear.
What could she possibly want to say? Maybe she’s thirsty and wants water?
So-chil waited with a burning throat for the words that would follow. At that moment, if she ordered him to leap into the dark blue sea—or even throw himself into the fires of hell—he felt he could do it with a smile.
The fleeting instant as her lips parted felt like an eternity. What golden, jade-like words would flow from those beautiful lips…?
At the peak of tension, a clear and beautiful voice like rolling jade beads flowed from between her cherry-red lips.
“Hey.”
“……Yes? Yes!”
“Where’s the most popular gisaeng house in Ningbo right now?”
The moment he heard those words, So-chil’s eyes lost focus and went completely blank.