“There’s never been a time it didn’t bloom, not even once. This is strange. I should go check tomorrow.”
“Excellent!”
“What?”
When Dojin suddenly clenched his fist as if he’d struck gold, Iri looked at him in confusion.
“An outdoor date again tomorrow, and an outdoor date over the weekend too. I’ll scout out the best restaurants and attractions. Just leave it to me. Hehe!”
“…….”
Just how serious would an incident have to be for Dojin to actually take it seriously?
Iri let out a hollow laugh.
The next morning, Iri received a call from Princess Bari.
— I’m really sorry. The flower bloomed. I should’ve waited one more day.
“…The flower bloomed?”
— Yes. I checked as soon as I woke up, and it bloomed beautifully. With the abnormal climate lately, the blooming times of soul flowers in the Middle Realm have been all over the place. I’m sorry for worrying you unnecessarily.
“Mm… No, it’s fine. If anything feels off again, tell me right away.”
— Yes, Immortal. I’ll send the Gido Ceremony gift by mail.
“I told you, you don’t need to.”
— I really want to give it to you.
Even though Iri tried to refuse, Princess Bari insisted so strongly that he eventually agreed to receive it by mail and ended the call.
Dojin returned after lighting the ‘Paulownia Brazier’ and spotted Iri lost in thought.
“Why? If the flower bloomed, that’s a good thing, right?”
“It is, but…”
“If something feels off, let’s go check it out, Master. While we’re at it, we can hit some good restaurants too…. There’s a theme park nearby based on ‘Samguk Yusa’, and it looked really educational. Wouldn’t it be a good chance to brush up on history…?”
Not wanting his carefully planned date course to go to waste, Dojin began scheming. Iri, who should’ve refused outright, instead nodded—apparently the blooming of the Taegohwa truly bothered him.
“Alright. We’ll stop by Busan tomorrow and check it out on the way back. It’s close anyway.”
“Yes!”
Dojin grinned ear to ear. Carrying an armful of medicinal ingredients Iri had prepared, he tossed them into the ‘Paulownia Brazier’. Even though he’d have to stir nonstop for an hour, his face was practically glowing.
Meanwhile, Iri forgot about his work entirely, lost in thought.
The disappearance of the newly received ‘Taejong Rain’.
The unusually late-blooming Taegohwa.
He had a strong intuition that the two incidents were connected.
***
Saturday afternoon, Iri and Dojin first headed to Ahopsan Forest in Gijang-gun, Busan, where the Juktonghwain lived in colonies. Since it was a famous tourist spot and the weather was perfect, the place was crowded. The moment they parked the Dragon Horse and got out, they had to activate stealth arts.
“Immortal Iri!”
“It’s Immortal Iri!”
“It’s Buri-buri Kim Dojin!”
The little ones who’d been munching on snack crumbs dropped by human children spotted Iri and Dojin and came charging over.
“They even know my name now?”
“You’re famous now.”
Not long ago, it had been ‘That burly new employee!’—and now even the little ones were shouting his full name. Normally Dojin would scare them off, but today he lifted his chin proudly.
“Yeah. I’m Kim Dojin.”
After doting on the little ones to their hearts’ content, they headed toward the Gugapjuk colony. Smaller than ordinary bamboo and oddly shaped, the patch of Gugapjuk covered only about two pyeong.
“Dojin.”
“Yes.”
Dojin took out a small bottle from the ‘Mouth Door’. It was filled with white rice grains. He took out two—handed one to Iri and swallowed the other himself. Their bodies shrank rapidly until they were only about a handspan tall.
Kking! …Kkiwoong?
Kkiwoong, who’d been hiding in Dojin’s pocket, fluttered down to the ground. When he noticed Dojin was now about the same size as himself, he tilted his head in confusion.
“Kkiwoong’s taller than me now.”
Kkiwoong!
When Iri shrank to a similar size, Kkiwoong squealed with delight and threw himself into Iri’s arms.
“What do you think you’re doing, hugging my master? Get lost, fucker.”
Even at this size, Dojin was freakishly strong. He grabbed Kkiwoong by the scruff and flung him aside. Kkiwoong tumbled, sprang back up, and began hopping around. He seemed thrilled that the two of them were small like him.
“Hey, don’t jump. You’re shaking the ground.”
Kkiuung.
“Master, want me to carry you?”
“No… I’m fine.”
The two entered the Gugapjuk colony. After passing through the barrier set by the nearby Mountain Divine Spirit, three Juktonghwain who’d been waiting anxiously fluttered over.
The Juktonghwain, in human form, wore clothes made of pink petals. The colorful wings on their backs resembled butterfly wings.
All three had feminine forms. To an untrained eye, they could easily be mistaken for fairies.
“Immortal, you’ve come?”
“Yeah. Hello. You three live in a single bamboo tube, right?”
“That’s right. Please come this way quickly!”
The Juktonghwain guided the two—no, the three, including Kkiwoong—to the site of the disappearance.
On a flat rock that would’ve looked like a mere pebble at normal size sat an empty bamboo tube.
“We placed the bamboo tube that received the ‘Taejong Rain’ on that rock, but when we woke up, the rainwater was gone!”
“Since someone broke through the Mountain Divine Spirit’s barrier, it must’ve been a Wia, but all the ones living nearby said they know nothing about it!”
“Someone must’ve stolen the rainwater and lied about it. How awful!”
After finishing their explanation, the three Juktonghwain fluttered down into a bamboo tube beneath the rock and immersed themselves. They always soaked halfway in rainwater so their bodies wouldn’t dry out. Dojin whispered to Iri.
“That bamboo tube they’re soaking in now—that’s the original one, right? It should have rain from Lunar May 10th last year, but why is it so clear? What if they just lied about losing it because they got greedy for rainwater and wanted a new one?”
“Juktonghwain are yokai who purify water pollution. Even sewers become clean in just a few days when they live there.”
Iri whispered back. Fortunately, the Juktonghwain couldn’t hear them.
“To think we have to live in this water for another whole year… it’s so exhausting.”
“As you can see, the newly made bamboo tube is bigger and more comfortable than this one.”
“If someone had just asked us for the ‘Taejong Rain’, we would’ve shared some, but to steal it like this… how nasty.”
They looked sad, disappointed, and angry all at once.
“We might not find the culprit right away, but I’ll make sure you can move immediately. Don’t be too upset.”
Iri comforted them and took a curio out of his briefcase. Shaped like a golden gourd, it was an item called ‘Geumbak’.
When Iri opened the lid, Dojin climbed into the empty bamboo tube on the rock. He focused his energy on his fingertips and drew together the moisture absorbed into the tube’s base and walls. At last, a single droplet formed.
Dojin carefully moved the droplet through the air. Smaller than a bead of dew, it trembled precariously.
“…….”
So tense he could barely breathe, cold sweat formed on Dojin’s temples—something rare for him. The droplet wobbled through the air and slipped neatly into the narrow mouth of the gourd Iri was holding.
The Juktonghwain gasped in amazement. Kkiwoong hopped excitedly, making the ground tremble slightly. Dojin leapt out of the bamboo tube.
“Holy shit, did you see that?! I did it! At this point, I’m basically complete—as a Jangsa and as a Taoist. Damn. Only twenty years old. This is insane. All thanks to having an incredible master, right?”
Moments ago he’d been drenched in cold sweat—now Dojin was brimming with confidence as he leaned into Iri.
“Yeah… good job.”
After a perfunctory praise, Iri closed the gourd’s lid, turned it once clockwise and once counterclockwise, then opened it again and poured it into the empty bamboo tube. Clear, pristine water spilled out.
‘Taejong Rain’ from Lunar May 10th.
“Woooow. Taoist arts really are amazing.”
“How’s this? Is this enough?”
“Yes. We only need it up to our waists.”
The Juktonghwain immediately fluttered over and moved into the new bamboo tube. Their faces flushed as they soaked in the fresh rainwater—like people relaxing in a sauna after hard labor.
“We might not catch the culprit. I’ll contact you if we do.”
“Understood. We’ll trust the Podo Office. Oh, and if you need our old bamboo tube, please take it.”
“Are you sure? Don’t you already have somewhere you trade it?”
“We give one tube a year to the Cheolmasan Mountain Divine Spirit in exchange for guarding our Gugapjuk colony, but since it failed to protect us this year, it said it wouldn’t take it.”
“I see. Then I’ll accept it gratefully.”
Rainwater purified for an entire year by Juktonghwain was precious—there was no reason to refuse. At Iri’s signal, Dojin took out the ‘Golden Glass Bottle’ from the briefcase and poured in the water.
The ‘Golden Glass Bottle’ was paired with a ‘Silver Glass Bottle’ that stored light and darkness, and it was used to preserve snow and rain. Even if left rolling around in a bag without special treatment, its contents never degraded—a truly wondrous curio.
After saying goodbye to the Juktonghwain, the two left the Gugapjuk colony, swallowed the pills once more, and returned to their normal size.
Kkiwoong…
Kkiwoong clung to Iri’s sleeve, clearly reluctant.
“Now let’s go to Mulburisan.”
“Right now? Come on, let’s walk around a bit first. The trails here are incredible. They’ve got 300-year-old Geumgang pines and a 600-year-old hanok. Let’s take a look. Please? Please?”
“…Alright.”
Giving in to his disciple’s cuteness, Iri toured the carefully maintained Ahopsan Forest tourist area. Plump chickens so full they wouldn’t come even when fed, bamboo towering straight into the sky, and hinoki cypress groves that left his chest feeling refreshingly clear.
Only after Dojin was thoroughly satisfied did they finally head on toward Mulburisan.
