Chapter 748: The Meaning of Purple (3)

“So they told you to protect her even if it costs your life?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm...”

Ji-ryeon said she had spoken with Sonyeo, Hyeonnyeo, and Chaenyeo, and my head started to spin.

Something about this reeked of danger.

From the very fact that all three had appeared when only Nine Heavens Hyeonnyeo had been called, to the part where they told her to risk her life not for their disciple Ji-ryeon, but to protect Zihwa.

Hyeonnyeo, Chaenyeo, and Sonyeo cherished Ji-ryeon dearly.

Disciples as perfectly suited as her were rare.

Even if this was territory governed by Nine Heavens Hyeonnyeo, I’d heard that it was almost unheard of for an immortal of the Upper Heavens to directly descend and possess someone in the Lower Heavens.

The price to do so would be immense, and since their power was limited while inhabiting another’s body, even the slightest injury during descent would be a major loss.

And yet those three hadn’t hesitated to descend just to save me—Ji-ryeon’s husband.

If they were telling such a cherished disciple to stake her life, then this wasn’t something ordinary.

'This smells extremely dangerous...'

I turned my head and looked at Sua, who was standing beside me.

Just moments ago, she had been hunched over as if intimidated, but when our eyes met, she blinked with a clueless expression.

Her large eyes fluttered innocently, as if she didn’t even know what to say.

'Haah...'

We had already squeezed everything we could out of her. Even if we pressed further, nothing but dust would come out.

In the end, the only way to learn the full truth of this matter was to wait for Hyeonnyeo and the other two.

I gathered my wives, told them everything, and ordered heightened vigilance.

“Just in case, strengthen our defenses and be ready to respond immediately to anything that happens.”

Until the three contacted us again, we would raise White Night City’s alert level.

It didn’t seem like any immediate threat would come crashing down on us.

This was Nine Heavens Hyeonnyeo’s territory, after all.

Unless someone had a death wish and wanted to face her heavenly punishment, no one would dare attack me here.

But if Zihwa truly was their natural enemy, and if that was tied to the lifeline of the dragons, then there was still a chance they might do something insane.

If the fate of their entire race was at stake, would they just sit quietly and wait for death?

A beast driven to the edge of a cliff was always the most dangerous.

When fear overwhelms reason, nothing remains in one’s sight.

If they were desperate enough not even to fear Hyeonnyeo’s wrath, there was no telling what they might do.

“Yes. If the three of them said that, we can’t ignore it.”

“Shouldn’t we move White Night City into Dokmul-hyang?”

“It’s better if we don’t make any large movements. Let’s operate internally only.”

“Got it, junior brother.”

I shook my head.

Moving the entire White Night City into Dokmul-hyang would be the safest option, but it would also be far too conspicuous.

It would be like openly declaring that we knew something.

And that could instead become the trigger for something else.

So we decided to increase vigilance and always keep part of our forces awake.

Eyes that never slept would be placed throughout, ready to respond instantly to anything that happened.

'Please... let nothing happen...'

Just as I finished deciding what to do next, Ji-ryeon spoke again.

“But So-ryong. They told us not to let the dragons find out, but Sua has already seen her. Is that okay?”

“Hmm...”

Sua had already seen Jayo.

Even though my registration had cut off her connection to the Upper Heavens, it was still possible that something in the Upper Heavens might have seen Jayo through her eyes.

When all of us looked at her, she quickly flattened herself to the ground and spoke.

“I-I probably didn’t see anything through my eyes. Unless it’s someone like Nine Heavens Hyeonnyeo who governs this place, you need a medium to observe things in the Lower Heavens through someone.

There was a scale of that person embedded in me, b-but it burned away and disappeared before Miss Jayo appeared.”

“I see.”

That was somewhat reassuring.

And since her connection to the Upper Heavens had already been cut, there shouldn’t be any major danger through her.

For now, I decided to quickly finish clearing the Black Sea of the Sixth Heaven and then put her into Dokmul-hyang.

Even if the connection was severed, leaving even the slightest possibility behind was unsettling.

Inside Dokmul-hyang, even that “what if” could be completely blocked.

Besides, she was a spirit creature I had captured—I might as well store her properly.

A dragon wasn’t something you came across every day.

“Alright. Finish cleaning up the Black Sea and come back quickly. It’ll be troublesome if you start thinking otherwise. You’re mine, after all.”

“M-Mine...?”

Her face flushed red, but my wives covered their mouths and laughed.

“Pfft.”

“Heh.”

Once one person started laughing, the others followed.

Some tried to hold it in, only moving their lips silently, but they couldn’t stop the laughter leaking out.

They clearly found her misunderstanding amusing.

'That’s not what I meant', their gazes seemed to say, but Sua just blinked again, not understanding.

***

“Ji-ryeon, could you go with her?”

“I will, So-ryong.”

I sent Ji-ryeon along with Sua to help clear the Black Sea of the Sixth Heaven.

Even if someone did something reckless, no one would dare touch Ji-ryeon, who had Nine Heavens Hyeonnyeo backing her. Sending her along meant she could support Sua safely.

After sending the two of them off, two days passed without incident.

Reports came in from time to time that the Black Sea was being handled smoothly.

There were no major resistances or unexpected variables.

There was no word from Hyeonnyeo and the other two, and Jeokwol’s breakthrough still hadn’t happened.

White Night City bustled with crowds during the day, and the dawn remained quiet as ever.

For two days, the contrast between daytime noise and dawn’s stillness felt strangely vivid.

Days as calm as if not even a breeze stirred.

But that calm wasn’t entirely comforting.

There was a reason people spoke of the calm before the storm.

When something lurked beneath a tranquil surface, that surface only became quieter.

But on the third day—

The dawn of the third day was different.

I was asleep holding Hye-rin when, in the middle of the night, Hwa-eun’s urgent voice rang out.

“Sa—husband, please come to Dokmul-hyang quickly.”

“W-what happened?”

“Jayo... again...”

It sounded like something had happened to Jayo.

I jumped up immediately, and Gun Hye-rin, who had woken as well, asked,

“What is it, Master?”

She must have sensitive hearing, reacting the moment I moved.

“Something’s wrong with Jayo. I need to go.”

“I’m coming too.”

As I grabbed my clothes and spoke, Hye-rin dressed as well.

I nodded, took out my Primordial Infant, left it on the bed, and rushed into Dokmul-hyang.

—Chirr. Chirrr.

As soon as we entered, the sound of wind and insects filled the air.

The bugs I had stored before ascending must have multiplied—they were chirping everywhere.

We shot forward and headed straight for the house.

The bamboo houses I had brought from the Central Plains had been moved deeper into the mountains when White Night City was established.

I had considered tearing them down, but... they were memories.

Jayo was staying there.

After flying for a while, her cries began to echo through the night sky.

—Piyoyo. Piyo.

It sounded cute, but she was wailing.

There was something about her cry that squeezed at the heart, making my chest ache.

That sound spread through the night air, echoing faintly across the vast Dokmul-hyang.

When we landed at the entrance of the bamboo hut, I saw Hwa-eun holding Jayo in her human form, at a complete loss.

“J-Jayo... shh. It’s okay.”

Hwa-eun was patting her back, but Jayo kept crying.

Hwa-eun looked completely flustered.

She knew she had to comfort her, but didn’t know how.

Holding her and patting her back seemed to be the best she could do.

Jayo’s eyes were swollen from crying, and she was even hiccuping.

—Piyoyo. Hic! Piro. Hic!

Nearby, Yo-hwa sat in a hammock made of her silk, while Cho, Hyang, and Bini rubbed their sleepy eyes.

One look at the scene, and I roughly understood.

“Looks like she woke up suddenly and started crying?”

“Yes, husband. I even took her to Zihwa, but she wouldn’t stop. She just won’t stop this time.”

—Piyoyo. Piyo. Hic.

She looked at me and cried even louder.

I picked her up and gently patted her.

“I remember hearing that babies sometimes wake up and suddenly cry when their environment changes.”

“I-Is that so? I tried comforting her, but she kept crying, so I didn’t know what to do.”

In my previous life, I had been the kind of kid my relatives adored.

I used to stay over at my aunts’ or uncles’ houses for a few days, and I’d heard that sometimes, even if I played happily during the day, I would wake up at night crying for my mother.

Half-asleep and disoriented, not in my mother’s arms and in an unfamiliar place—it would make me cry.

Jayo was probably the same.

Her environment kept changing, and her mother wasn’t even here.

It must have frightened her.

Honestly, just not having her mother beside her must be incredibly hard.

Jayo was practically a newborn.

The fact that she had endured this well so far was already amazing.

“Alright, shh now. Daddy’s here.”

—Piyoyo. Hic.

But she kept looking at my face, crying, then looking again, and crying again.

This wasn’t going to stop easily.

I asked Hwa-eun,

“You said you already went to Zihwa?”

“Yes. She just cried more, so I brought her back.”

Even though they had already tried going to Zihwa, it seemed like the only option, so we headed to the shrine again.

But just as Hwa-eun said, she only cried more.

—Piyo. Hic. Piyo.

In the end, we had no choice but to bring her back out.

By the time we stepped outside, morning had already arrived.

As we were about to head back, the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings flew over.

—Bzzzz. “It’s So-ryong.”

—Bzzz. “So-ryong, what’s going on?”

“Ah, Jayo started crying, so I came to comfort her.”

—Bzzz. “I see.”

Still sniffling, we returned to the hut.

Then—

A buzzing sound came from outside.

“Did the wasp kings come to play? Let’s go take a look.”

—Piyo.

I stepped outside while calming Jayo.

Standing there was Ranghu—the golden-haired beauty.

She looked at me as if asking what was going on, then said confidently,

“So-ryong, I heard Jayo is crying.”

“Yeah...”

For some reason, my confidence always shrank when facing Ranghu.

As I hesitated, she spread her arms.

“Hand her over.”

“Jayo?”

Even she wouldn’t calm down in my arms—would giving her to Ranghu really help?

Wouldn’t she just cry louder?

As I hesitated, Ranghu reassured me.

“I’ve raised more children than anyone here. Give her to me.”

Thinking about it, Ranghu really had raised the most children among us.

Now the worker bees handled things, but in the beginning, she must have raised them herself.

Queen bees raised their young alone at first.

That made sense.

I nodded and handed Jayo over.

But as expected—

Her crying grew louder.

—Piyoyo!

Right as her voice rose—

Ranghu pulled out one breast and gently pressed Jayo to it.

“Shh. Here, have some.”

As she patted her and fed her, Jayo’s eyes widened at first.

Then her cheeks began to move.

Slowly, her eyes closed.

Just like that, she fell asleep.

“Th-that is...?”

“It’s honey. When I take human form, it comes out like this.”

Now I understood why Jayo had calmed down.

Sweet things soothed the body and mind.

But honey... from her chest?

I couldn’t hide my amazement.

Then Ranghu said,

“So-ryong, do you want to try some too?”

—Gulp.

I couldn’t refuse right away.

Something I loved... producing something I loved?

That was a hard offer to turn down.