The Winds of Hangzhou
Seven days after that fateful and bizarre encounter with Baek Mo-ran.
I left behind the salty sea breeze of Ningbo and arrived in Hangzhou, praised as the greatest scenic wonder of the Central Plains.
Above is heaven, below are Suzhou and Hangzhou.
Or so the saying went.
Leaning casually against the railing of the Wind Lotus Pavilion—one of Hangzhou’s most splendid and beautiful establishments, famed for its peerless courtesans—I gazed at the scenery bathed in morning light and mulled over those words.
“Huu… this is nice.”
Beneath the languid blue light of dawn, the thick mist rising from West Lake’s surface melted into the morning sun, slowly revealing a landscape so perfect it might have been painted.
Green mountains folded like a screen surrounded the lake, while the Qiantang River flowed between them like liquid silk. Though winter was near, the river wind was refreshingly cool, and the pouring sunlight felt as warm as a cotton quilt.
—Kyarruru.
—Ahaha!
The languid laughter of courtesans—still carrying the haze of last night’s wine—drifted through the dewy morning like lotus blossoms waking the crisp air of Hangzhou.
“Mmm…!”
I moved my chopsticks, picked up a glistening piece of Longjing shrimp, and slipped it into my mouth.
—Crunch. Pop.
The dish was a Hangzhou specialty: freshwater shrimp stir-fried with tender leaves of Longjing tea. The moment I bit down, the plump shrimp meat burst, releasing a burst of sweet, savory juice.
The rich umami of the shrimp filled my mouth, followed by the tea leaves’ subtle, refreshing bitterness that neatly cut through the oiliness and left a fragrant hint of spring blooming across my tongue.
“Mm, mmm! This is incredible…!”
Martial artists often said it while draining their cups: after setting down their swords, their greatest wish was to build a picturesque villa in Hangzhou, seat a beauty on their knee, and spend their remaining years savoring every delicacy under heaven.
And they were right. This place was peaceful, blindingly beautiful, and more perfect for enjoying the refined pleasures of life than anywhere else.
“Mmm, delicious.”
I chewed the bursting shrimp with a satisfied smile.
This was the hero’s tomb, the tender trap that could make even the greatest heroes abandon their blades and sit down. So this was the taste of that sweet snare.
“Mmm…. Seol-hye-nim.”
At that moment, the rich scent of a woman washed over me as someone hugged me tightly from behind.
—Squish.
The full, heavy sensation transmitted perfectly through the thin silk of her nightgown.
“I woke up to find you’d left me all alone in that cold bed. I wondered where you’d gone, only to find you here enjoying delicious food by yourself?”
“You’re awake?”
I set my chopsticks down and turned at the sticky, languid voice that tickled my earlobe.
Her hair was still tousled from the night’s passion, and her slipping clothes revealed the dangerous line of her snowy shoulder and deep collarbone. The woman who had wrapped her soft arms around my neck was Seorok, the signature courtesan of the Wind Lotus Pavilion—her eyes misty and heavy-lidded with sleep in a way far more seductive than any applied makeup.
“If you were getting up, you could have at least let me know. Do you know how startled I was to open my eyes and find the spot beside me empty?”
She had already passed thirty, yet her skin was smooth without a single wrinkle around her eyes. A ripe, sensual allure that no young courtesan could hope to imitate flowed from her.
If Baek Mo-ran was a rose blooming with dazzling intensity, Seorok was a fine aged tea—deep, rich, and profoundly fragrant.
Seeing her pretend to be sulky as she looked into my eyes, I smiled and kissed her without hesitation.
—Chuu, chup…
She didn’t pull away. Instead she skillfully coiled her tongue around mine and responded with heat. Our tongues tangled, saliva mixed, and the sweet scent of plum blossoms tickled my nose.
—Chuuup, chuuup…
This morning kiss, moistening lips dried from the long night, melted into something far deeper and more lingering than the fierce passion of the night before.
“Haa…. Ha.”
When our lips parted, a thin silver strand of saliva stretched between us.
“Really, I can’t do anything with you.”
Seorok pushed lightly at my chest with a flushed face. Though her tone was scolding, her melted eyes dripped with honey-sweet affection.
Last night.
Her reaction when I first crossed the threshold had been little different from the one at Monghwagak. A woman—moreover an impossibly beautiful one—asking to spend the night with a courtesan? It would have been perfectly normal to be turned away at the door.
—Oh my, what a beautiful guest.
But the moment the signature courtesan Seorok saw my face, she gave a mysterious, intrigued smile and gladly offered her own room.
And as repayment for that wise choice, I engraved upon her body the ultimate pleasure that even a woman who had melted tens of thousands of men had never experienced once in her lifetime.
—Ahh, Seol-hye-niiim, this, whatever this is, it feels so good…!!!
Of course, I hadn’t simply indulged in carnal pleasure. At the height of every union I had operated the Cheonseokyanghwanheojeonggong, fully reaping the practical benefit of amplifying my inner energy.
Seorok was an ordinary courtesan, so she hadn’t accumulated inner power like I had. Yet because the technique resonated with and nourished the preheaven true qi that was the root of life, her face overflowed with vitality, looking at least ten years younger than the day before.
“Are you really leaving today…?”
Perhaps she instinctively sensed the change within herself. Seorok buried her face in my shoulder and whispered in a voice thick with regret and falling tears.
“Can’t you stay just one more night? Just one?”
She clung to my sleeve, pleading desperately.
“I’ll speak with the pavilion master. Even if I have to pay half the price—no, even if I cover it with my own money—I’ll serve you for free. So please…”
“Mmm.”
Her earnest voice tugged at my heart, but the road ahead was long.
“I’m sorry. There’s somewhere I must go urgently.”
I gently wiped her wet cheek with my thumb and comforted her.
“Instead, I promise. If I ever return to Hangzhou, I’ll come to see you first—before anyone else.”
“Aah…. How cruel…”
Seorok let out a small sigh, but soon wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled brightly.
“Truly, I never dreamed that I—Seorok, who has made countless men cry—would have my heart stolen by someone barely past twenty, and a young lady far more beautiful than myself at that.”
She took my hand in both of hers and reverently kissed the back of it.
“I will remember. I will count the days until you return, Seol-hye-nim.”
Leaving behind her sorrowful farewell, I tossed the last piece of Longjing shrimp into my mouth and leisurely stepped out of the Wind Lotus Pavilion.
—Step. Step.
Shall we check?
Walking through Hangzhou’s lively morning streets, I turned my awareness inward and examined my dantian.
—Woooong.
A heavy vibration rolled through me as I felt the inner energy pooled in my dantian slowly undulate.
Not bad at all.
Because Seorok was not a martial artist, I hadn’t been able to resonate with her energy directly. Therefore I couldn’t achieve the explosive increase I’d experienced with Yeon-jin or Baek Mo-ran.
Still, perhaps thanks to how satisfying and intense the night had been, the purity of the energy in my dantian had become clear as crystal, and its depth had already reached the very edge of the Peak realm.
I nodded in satisfaction at the full, brimming sensation that threatened to overflow with just a little more.
With this level of internal energy, I’ll hardly ever be overpowered by force in the murim.
I raised my head and looked toward the northern sky, thinking of my next destination.
“As expected, I should head to Anhui as planned.”
The moment I spoke my intended destination aloud, the conversation I’d shared with Baek Mo-ran just before leaving Ningbo seven days ago flashed through my mind.
“Serve me instead of Sado Yun. Hwajungsal, Baek Mo-ran.”
After a long silence, Baek Mo-ran nodded with eyes that did not tremble.
The emotions contained in her upright gaze were genuine loyalty, blind longing for her savior, and a burning possessive desire toward her new master—me.
Satisfied by what I saw in her eyes, I gave her several instructions.
“First. Turn the power I gave you into bone and flesh.”
The inner energy amplified through the Cheonseokyanghwanheojeonggong was similar in nature to the energy contained in spiritual medicine or inner cores. Digestion was more important than simply swallowing.
For the chaotic world to come, the more experts above the Peak realm, the better.
With Baek Mo-ran’s prodigious talent, the moment she fully absorbed that immense power she would be able to break through the wall of the Peak realm in one go.
“Second. As for Monghwagak. Continue operating it as before until the year is out, but stage it so that you appear to have fallen into qi deviation and gone on a rampage due to the side effects of the Tamhwagong. Then burn the place down.”
An order to fake her death and shake off Salmak’s pursuit.
With the knowledge of the Tamhwagong I had passed on to her, fabricating a plausible final act convincing enough to fool Salmak’s eyes would be as easy as eating cold porridge. This way, Baek Mo-ran could move freely without drawing their suspicion.
“And third. After faking your death, head for Shanhai Pass in Hebei.”
There stood an abandoned brothel that had once served as the foundation for the Cheonyeonyeoru I built in my previous life.
It might look like a crumbling ruin now, but its framework and location were worthy of being called the greatest fortress under heaven. With repairs, it could be put to good use.
Above all, I had no desire to establish a base anywhere except that place, which was soaked in memories and sweat from my days as Wi Yeon-seol.
“We will make that place our stronghold. Once the repairs are complete, devote yourself immediately to training.”
Facing Baek Mo-ran, who nodded with a face full of firm resolve, I added one final instruction.
“While training, continue to refine your artistic skills. Your talent as a performer is nearly equal to my own, so learn the ways of romance and temper your inner self.”
“I will obey your commands, Seol-hye-nim.”
At my words, Baek Mo-ran’s eyes sparkled like shooting stars.
She seemed to be carving every single one of my sentences into her bones and soul.
Excellent.
In the coming righteous-versus-evil war, within that whirlpool of chaos, Baek Mo-ran would surely become my sharpest blade and the brilliant flower that pierces the enemy’s heart.
“All right, let’s go.”
I tightened the strap of my bundle and steeled my resolve.
Even after returning to a man’s body, the tasks ahead were mountainous. I had to gather every last one of the scattered Twelve Yo-hwa, rebuild the ruined Cheonyeonyeoru, and make it even stronger than in my previous life.
And someday, I planned to take Yeon-jin and the other junior sisters out of that stifling Botamun as well.
They’re far too talented to be left rotting in that rigid, closed-off palace.
Of course, if Master Hyeon-wol found out she would clutch the back of her neck in shock, but what could I do? In the end, she would understand that I only wanted the best for her disciples.
I lifted my head and looked toward the road leading north, into Anhui Province.
“At last, we meet.”
A smile rose to my lips of its own accord. At the entrance to Anhui, one of the Twelve Yo-hwa I had searched for so desperately was waiting. The timing and location were perfect. Just imagining our reunion made my heart beat heavily.
“I need to hurry.”
Turning my back on the swaying willow branches and the lotus blossoms adorning the lake, the Little Sword Empress Seol-hye—no, I, Wi Yeon-seol—set off once more.
—Step. Step.
Riding the lingering elegance of West Lake that scattered beyond the waves, my journey through the murim continued without end.