Chapter 766: Three Souls (4)

The plan of the Nine Heavens Hyeonnyeo, the Chaenyeo, and the Sonyeo had originally been to entrust me to that person.

The moment I reached the Middle Heavens, I would meet the divine generals under that person’s command, then be guided to the Ziwei Palace where they resided and protected there until I ascended to the Upper Heavens.

They said the Ziwei Palace was located between the Middle Heavens and the Upper Heavens, making it an ideal place to hide me.

The problem, however, was that neither that person nor anyone serving under them could currently move an inch.

Every subordinate under that person was apparently busy dealing with the mess the Heavenly Emperor had abandoned, meaning they could not spare anyone to come for me. Even if they did dispatch divine generals, they would still need to keep constant watch over me until I reached the Ziwei Palace safely.

But they were currently so busy they could not take their eyes off their work for even a single moment.

In other words, the only solution was to reduce that person’s workload.

The lighter that burden became, the safer I would be in the Middle Heavens.

'Still... can Soto really handle something like this?'

Soto was an exceptionally intelligent spirit-creature and helpful in many ways, but this felt beyond the scope of what Soto could do.

If it were about managing people in the Lower Heavens, that would be one thing, but these were divine generals and immortals serving under the Ziwei North Pole Emperor of the Middle Heavens.

It was not that Soto would be unable to offer advice, but how useful that advice would actually prove remained questionable.

The Hyeonnyeo noticed my expression and spoke.

“You are making the face of someone wondering how mortals like you could possibly help with the work of Upper Heaven immortals, but do not worry. The work itself may involve Law Arts and Dao power, yet matters such as assigning personnel efficiently to improve overall productivity are no different between mortals and immortals.”

In other words, while the actual labor involved Dao power and Law Arts, the systems used to operate and organize that labor were fundamentally no different from those in the Lower Heavens.

I turned toward Soto.

“Soto, do you think you can do it?”

The moment my question ended, Soto stared fixedly at the screen as though time itself had frozen.

It looked like Soto was thinking something over. Then, after gathering composure again, Soto made a request to the Nine Heavens Hyeonnyeo.

“Could I perhaps see that one more time?”

Apparently Soto could not make a proper judgment after only a single viewing of the scene from before.

“Of course.”

The Hyeonnyeo nodded as though it were only natural.

With a wave of the Nine Heavens Hyeonnyeo’s hand, the scene began replaying again from the beginning.

As the previous scene unfolded once more, Soto carefully examined the screen and immediately began firing off questions.

“Could you stop it for a moment?”

“Very well. Was there something you were curious about?”

“Yes, Nine Heavens Hyeonnyeo. So that is the place said to govern the workings of heaven itself?”

“Correct. I see you already know of it. The Ziwei North Pole Emperor of the Middle Heavens originally handled such matters.”

Soto really had learned a lot from all that reading lately.

The sight reminded me of myself in my previous life.

'The little rascal is admirable.'

Had I not also spent endless hours reading research papers and studying breeding techniques shared by enthusiasts from other countries just so I could become Spicy Fabre?

Most people thought enthusiasts like us were merely wasting our lives on useless hobbies, but that was absolutely not true.

Take the discovery of a new species, for example.

Once a specimen entered the market through whatever import route, research immediately began into how to raise it properly.

The first things examined were the temperature and humidity of the location where the creature had been captured, the yearly climate, and its ecosystem.

If overseas information proved unreliable, then people began visiting the region directly.

They would investigate the actual capture site, determine what sort of environment the species lived in, study the annual temperatures, and conduct all kinds of environmental research.

After that came studies on how to breed the species successfully, and eventually those findings would even be organized into formal papers.

Korea had experienced something similar once.

Korea was a country where predators such as tigers, leopards, wolves, and foxes had gone extinct.

Without predators, creatures like water deer and wild boars reproduced like mad.

So they attempted to restore one of the apex predators—the fox—but apparently they failed repeatedly when it came to breeding.

The mother foxes kept biting their own cubs to death and things like that.

Then, like some kind of savior, a dog trader appeared.

The man had secretly been raising foxes himself and was successfully breeding them.

The research team that had kept failing to restore Korean foxes learned his breeding methods, and thanks to that, the restoration project finally succeeded.

It was a real example of enthusiast research becoming genuinely useful.

Was that kind of investigative spirit not the very foundation of what it meant to be an enthusiast?

'Maybe Soto and I really do have a lot in common.'

As I found myself thinking we were surprisingly similar in temperament, the questioning continued.

“Ah, but over there they were discussing things like fortune and misfortune, illness, disasters, and such. What is that about?”

“Ah, that was originally the Heavenly Emperor’s work. The responsibility for overseeing the lifespan, fortune, and misfortune of all living things—including humans—has now been transferred there.”

“And over there it looked like they were speaking with someone. What is that?”

“It seems they are handling reports delivered by the Hearth Gods. Humans do not truly understand this, but every household in the Lower Heavens possesses a Hearth God. Once every year, those gods record the conduct of the household and submit reports. Based on those reports, the Heavenly Emperor dispenses rewards and punishments, so those reports are extremely important.”

“Ahhh...”

Roughly listening to the explanation, the Jade Emperor truly handled an absurd amount of work.

And apparently that was only the beginning.

They said the Jade Emperor also oversaw the weather and the seasons.

Rain, harvests, storms, natural disasters—all of it was managed by the Jade Emperor.

'If the workload was this insane, maybe I can understand why he ended up getting distracted by his concubines...'

Maybe it was because I was in a similar situation now, but I felt like I could somewhat understand why that person had strayed from duty.

As I nodded to myself, Soto’s voice rang out again.

“Mm... Since I cannot see the entire internal structure, I cannot give a definite answer in the current state. Would it perhaps be possible to inspect it directly?”

Apparently simply watching through the screen was not enough.

At Soto’s question, the Nine Heavens Hyeonnyeo nodded.

“Why would it not be possible? I anticipated you would say that, which is why I prepared bodies in advance. Chaenyeo, take the children and visit the Ziwei Palace.”

“Understood.”

So even the reason they had summoned us in these bodies was because they had predicted this possibility from the beginning.

The Hyeonnyeo immediately instructed the Chaenyeo to take us to the Ziwei Palace.

—Fwaash.

The instant the words ended, the Chaenyeo swung the cloth wrapped around her waist like a whip and coiled it around mine.

The flowing silk softly wrapped itself around my waist.

“This is my divine treasure, the Chayeonjang. It will allow you to fly through the heavens. Simply relax and entrust your body to it.”

“Yes.”

The Chaenyeo gently wrapped an arm around my waist and rose into the sky.

“Then we’ll be going.”

“We’ll be going.”

“Very well. You’ve worked hard.”

The moment the farewells ended, the sky itself seemed to fold inward, and my body shot through space toward another location.

***

The Upper Heavens were an incredibly strange place.

Clouds spread in every direction like a vast ocean, while mountains and land occasionally emerged between them.

It felt as though small islands floated atop a sea of clouds.

Kunlun Mountain, where the Nine Heavens Palace—the home of the Hyeonnyeo and her sisters—stood, also rose from the center of that cloud-ocean, and every landscape now visible beneath us looked the same.

“Waaah, this is incredibly fascinating!”

“Gungbong, we’re not here to go sigh— no, I mean, we’re not sightseeing, but e-enjoy yourself.”

“Yes!”

I had almost scolded her before hurriedly changing my words.

Treating a wife harshly like that would probably count as a sin too.

'I should really treat the other wives better too... Huuurk!'

And while thinking I should start treating the other wives better as well, I suddenly realized that at some point I had already begun unconsciously accepting Gungbong as one of my wives.

Apparently after my wives began multiplying like inflation in a collapsing economy, my resistance to the concept had weakened far more than expected.

Right as I froze in horror at that realization, a voice quietly echoed inside my mind.

'So-ryong...'

It was Soto’s voice.

'Ah, right. What is it, Soto?'

It seemed Soto wanted to say something privately, so I answered silently within my thoughts as well.

Soto’s emotions carried a sense of apology.

'I’m sorry. Before we departed, I should have considered the possibility that Gungbong-nim might follow us.'

'N-no, it’s not your fault. The others simply never thought of it either.'

Soto was apologizing for not predicting something like this might happen beforehand.

But how could this possibly be Soto’s fault?

The ones who failed to account for variables were the Hyeonnyeo and Chaenyeo.

And also the celestial maiden Chae-a, the original owner of this body.

So I was about to tell Soto there was no need to apologize when Soto continued.

'And... I’m sorry things turned out like this between us.'

'Hm?'

'Well... you already have other wives, So-ryong-nim... and I’m only a burrowing spirit-creature... Unlike Yo-hwa-nim, I don’t even have a beautiful human body... I haven’t even reached the Primordial Infant Stage yet, so my body is still like this...'

The moment I heard Soto’s words, something I had completely overlooked finally occurred to me.

I had been so overwhelmed by suddenly becoming husband and wife with Gungbong that I had forgotten.

But Soto had suddenly become my partner too.

And Soto was female as well—no, a woman.

Since I had never said anything regarding our becoming husband and wife, she apparently thought it was because I disliked the idea of being with her.

'Ah, crap.'

Soto was intelligent enough that with only a little thought, she would normally realize I did not dislike the idea of becoming husband and wife with her.

But apparently when it came to herself, she had become blinded.

People did say that even monks could not shave their own heads.

Honestly, Soto had never openly shown romantic feelings toward me before, so if anything, I was the one who felt sorry.

If it were girls like the Ranghu twins, they had already liked me from the start, so even if something like this happened, at least they would not feel apologetic about it.

But Soto had never once openly expressed romantic feelings for me.

And I was already a man with many wives, so there were all kinds of reasons to feel apologetic.

I spoke seriously.

The order of things had become completely backwards, but I still needed to resolve this before resentment formed in her heart.

*I’m sorry, Soto. Things turned out this way, yet as the man, I should’ve spoken first. It’s not because I dislike you. Gungbong threw me into such chaos that I simply couldn’t think properly.

There’s still the issue of persuading the wives, but if they understand this sudden situation, then I’ll accept you as my wife too. And I’m sorry. Things turned out like this with a man you don’t even love.*

Silence lingered briefly after my words.

Then, after a pause, Soto’s voice quietly echoed again.

'Xiaotu...'

'Hm?'

Soto softly spoke her own name first.

I tilted my head in confusion, wondering why she suddenly brought up her name, when Soto continued.

'It means “little rabbit.” You said the horns on my back looked just like rabbit ears when you gave me my name, So-ryong-nim.'

Right.

Just as Soto said, that was exactly what I had told her when I gave her the name Xiaotu.

And when I asked whether she liked the name, she had answered that rather than liking or disliking it, she simply felt grateful.

Apparently Soto remembered everything as well, because her next words mirrored my thoughts exactly.

'And you asked if I liked it. I answered that rather than liking or disliking it, I was grateful.'

A brief lingering silence passed before Soto continued again.

*That was when it began. The moment I began treasuring you, So-ryong-nim.

You gave me a name. You gave me a family. You gave me happiness. So how could I possibly not come to love you?

I-I’ve been secretly in love with you all this time...*

At the confession that she had secretly loved me—well, treasured me, in the expression of this era—my heart began pounding wildly.

Soto still possessed the appearance of a spirit-creature, but what did that matter?

I was already someone who had paired with spiders and butterflies anyway.

Long ago, I had completely lost all racial prejudice.

'S-Soto...'

'So-ryong-nim...'

It was the moment we confirmed each other’s feelings.

Then Gungbong’s voice suddenly rang out beside us.

“Waaah! Did you see that bird over there? It has three legs!”

The moment her voice interrupted us, Soto cautiously spoke again.

'So-ryong-nim, please treat Gungbong-nim kindly too. She’s simple-minded, but her feelings for you are genuine.'

'Genuine?'

'Yes... She simply doesn’t even properly understand that what she feels is love... She’s like a child.'

'R-right... well...'

We continued flying toward the place where the North Star shone brilliantly.