The Wia immigration office is located at the easternmost edge of the Republic of Korea. If you go just a little farther east from Dokdo, there’s an island shrouded in fog—and that entire island is the immigration office.
There is a ship that departs from the mainland to the immigration office, but they didn’t take it. The Dragon Horse ridden by an Immortal has splendid wings, after all. Normally they’re kept stored away, but today Iri allowed them to be deployed. A car unfurled jet-black wings wide, flew over the sea, and landed on the island.
The immigration office parking lot was enormous, but it was packed with so many parked modes of transportation—from brooms to cars—that there was nowhere to park. The stables, however, still had space.
“No helping it. Go wait in the stable.”
[(▀0▀)]
“Take off your sunglasses.”
[✪0✪]
Naturally, the Dragon Horse liked that much better.
After leaving the Dragon Horse—now transformed into a foal—in the stable, they entered the circular dome-shaped building. Inside, Wia of every conceivable kind were swarming about: yokai, Yeongmul, monsters, divine spirits, and miscellaneous ghosts. Ninety percent of them were Wia entering Korea.
“Hey! I’ve already been waiting six hours! Just when exactly am I supposed to get on a ship?”
“Hah. I’ve been waiting twelve hours now. Did you think entering Korea was easy?”
“Someone who arrived after me boarded immediately earlier—how does that make sense?”
“They paid that much more virtue.”
“So Wia without virtue should just shut up and wait, huh.”
“Everyone, please refrain from causing a disturbance. If you do, your waiting time will be reset.”
The Wia standing in line grumbled nonstop, but at the shout of a soul working as immigration staff, they quickly fell silent. Tents were scattered here and there as well. The phenomenon of metropolitan concentration was severe not only in the human world, but in the Wia world too.
In contrast, the departure area from Korea was practically empty, so Dojin and James headed straight for the ticket booth.
The clerk at the booth was a soul wearing white mourning robes. The clerk, who had been idly looking around, checked Dojin’s face and exclaimed in admiration.
“Oh my. You’re really intense-eyed and handsome!”
“Pardon? Do you know me?”
“Aren’t you an employee of Iri’s Curio Rental Shop? Immortal Iri said that an intense-eyed, handsome employee would be coming, so he pre-booked three round-trip tickets to Yuldo Island.”
“As expected, even Master can tell I’m exceptionally good-looking. Ah—but there are only two of us.”
“That can’t be right. Immortal Iri isn’t someone who’d make a mistake like that.”
Kkiwoong?
At that moment, Kkiwoong poked his head out from Dojin’s sleeve. Dojin let out an “Ah,” finally understanding. Even this tiny little guy needed a ticket.
The clerk tapped away on a tablet PC.
“According to Immortal Iri, one divine spirit, one miscellaneous ghost, and one Jangsa… Ah, wait. Jangsa?”
The clerk tilted their head, then stood up and approached a senior soul. They thought they were whispering, but Dojin heard everything.
“Senior, they say this person is a Jangsa. Is there really such a category as Jangsa?”
“Jangsa? Oh! My goodness. This is my first time seeing one. Where, where?”
The senior came over to gawk at Dojin. Apparently having no sense of propriety, their bloodshot eyes sparkled brightly.
“Are you really a Jangsa? How old are you? I’ve never seen such a large, fully grown Jangsa before.”
“Yes. Honored, aren’t you? Want an autograph? Photos are a bit much, though.”
When Dojin doubled down, the souls squealed with delight and burst into laughter.
After captivating their attention, he received three tickets and headed toward the harbor with James. They were told the ship would arrive in about twenty minutes. Including Dojin’s group, there were only three groups waiting for the ship bound for Yuldo Island.
One group seemed to be dokkaebi living together as a village, while another wore white veils that draped all the way to their feet.
James, looking somewhat intimidated, hunched his shoulders and kept glancing around.
“As expected of Korea—the capital of Wia. I haven’t lived very long, but I’ve never seen this many Wia gathered together….”
Dojin almost said it was his first time too, but stopped himself.
So many Wia were gathered in one place, yet no major fights were breaking out—it was peaceful. Podo Office personnel were stationed around the area, but even Wia with predator–prey relationships, like frogs and snakes, were quietly just waiting in line. It was astonishing. From a distance, one guy who had set up a tent craned his long neck toward Dojin’s group.
“The one next to that vampire looks just like a human—what is he?”
“Wait. Those intense eyes—could it be?”
“Could it be what?”
“I heard the new employee at Iri’s Curio Rental Shop looks exactly like that.”
“Ah, intense eyes. Now that you mention it, he really does have intense eyes.”
“That guy is a rental shop employee. I heard him talking with the staff earlier.”
“What’s a rental shop employee doing here? Did Immortal Iri come too, by any chance?”
The gossiping Wia scanned their surroundings. Then a five-legged horse standing with its back turned let out a neigh.
“Immortal Iri? Hey—did you just say Immortal Iri? Has Immortal Iri arrived?”
“What? Immortal Iri?”
“Hey, did you hear? They say Immortal Iri’s over there!”
“Immortal Iri—where is the Immortal?!”
The previously orderly entry line fell apart.
With a loud crash and a wave of chaos, the guards protecting the immigration office rushed in. Only after the guards repeatedly shouted that Immortal Iri had not arrived did things finally calm down.
It’d have been a disaster if Master had come with us. There might’ve even been casualties.
It wasn’t just Immortal Iri’s fame that caused the uproar. Many of those present were likely trying to enter Korea specifically to visit the rental shop. Every single one of them was a potential customer.
Soon, it was time, and the ship bound for Yuldo Island landed at the harbor.
This was the sea, but… ‘landed’ was the only word that fit.
Because the ship descended from the sky, not the water.
“Hello. The skyship bound for Yuldo Island has just arrived. Please line up by group, and group leaders, take out your tickets.”
A soul employee who disembarked from the ship greeted the customers with a professional smile. After the two groups ahead of Dojin boarded, it was his turn. The soul checked the ticket details and the faces of the three.
[(Round Trip) Yuldo Island
1 Divine Spirit, 1 Jangsa, 1 Miscellaneous Ghost. Total: 3 persons.
Purpose – Official Business
Return deadline: By May 10, 23:59]
“Hello. You’re the three headed to Yuldo Island, correct? One divine spirit, one Jangsa, and one miscellaneous ghost?”
“That’s right.”
“If you exceed the return deadline, you’ll become illegal residents, so please be careful.”
“Yes.”
As the employee stamped the tickets, they looked up at Dojin.
“This is my first time seeing a Jangsa in my life.”
“Want an autograph?”
“Pardon? Ah—n-no, I’m fine.”
“You’ll regret it. I’m a body destined to become King, you know?”
“Ah, haha…. The ship departs in thirty minutes, so please go inside and wait.”
Even with a troublesome customer, the employee didn’t lose their politeness and gestured them inside. Dojin and James went in. James wanted to head to the cabin, but since Dojin stayed on the deck, he had no choice but to huddle beside him. Truly an un-independent vampire.
Once the guidance was finished, the employee judged that there were no more Yuldo Island passengers and began restoring the barrier. Their eyes briefly met Dojin’s, and the employee immediately put on a bright business smile. Dojin, uninterested, looked away. The employee let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Just like the rumors—those eyes are really intense.
Incredibly handsome, but the pressure he gave off was no joke. Maybe it was because of the preconceived notion attached to the word ‘Jangsa’.
But is something happening in Yuldo Island? Earlier, another King candidate visited too.
The employee tilted their head. There were three candidates for King of the True Mortal Realm in total—yet two of them had gathered in one place. Curiosity bubbled up. To be honest, it wasn’t hard to guess why.
It must be because of ‘that tournament’, right?
If that was the case, they wanted to follow along immediately and watch—but unauthorized absence wasn’t an option. Hoping fervently that the people of Yuldo Island would spread the rumors far and wide, the employee went back to work.
***
An announcement played that it would take approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach Yuldo Island, and that consuming food and drink onboard was prohibited. After the guidance finished in Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese, the ship gently lifted into the air.
Yuldo Island…….
Immortal Iri had told Dojin to observe how the king of Yuldo Island governed his country.
The king of Yuldo Island was someone Dojin knew very well. He had no personal connection to him, but any Korean would recognize the name.
Hong Gil-dong.
‘Just like how most information about Jeon Woochi has been distorted, you could say that everything about Hong Gil-dong is wrong too—except for one thing.’
‘One thing?’
‘That he left home because of the sorrow of not being able to call his father “Father.” Aside from that, it’s all wrong.’
After leaving home, Hong Gil-dong became a disciple of Immortal Dowoo, and in the shortest time on record, he performed the Gido Ceremony and became a Taoist. After becoming independent from Immortal Dowoo, Hong Gil-dong wandered through various trials, until he discovered an uninhabited island in the East Sea, as large as Gangwon Province. He settled there and founded a nation. That nation was Yuldo Island.
Bestowing upon himself the title of ‘Great King’, he used overwhelming Taoist arts to lift Yuldo Island and the surrounding seas wholesale and fix them in the sky.
‘They say he could become an Immortal if he wanted to. But because he’s expending all his virtue ruling Yuldo Island, he remains a Taoist—for now.’
