People who have reached a high position often have various epithets attached to them, and this was true for Yu Hwa as well.
The Fox of the Heavens.
The Witch of Fate.
The Master of Celestial Pavilion.
Though these titles carried various meanings, they all pointed back to Yu Hwa’s abilities. She possessed the Celestial Eye.
It was said that whoever could look up at the skies and understand its laws, look at the earth and comprehend its logic, or observe people to discern their truths would gain insight through the Celestial Eye.
With this Celestial Eye, Yu Hwa was able to discern countless things, which in turn allowed her to run the trade guild known as Celestial Pavilion.
Truly, she was a fox that encompassed the will of the heavens.
Yet lately, even with her Celestial Eye fixed unblinkingly on the fox bead, there was something she could not read: the gumiho, a fox spirit that had escaped from Baeyun Gorge.
While Yu Hwa contemplated whether the traces of the gumiho’s energy appearing in the fox bead might be a mistake, she couldn’t easily dismiss the phenomenon.
She intended to investigate the gumiho, but she was unable to see its presence, for the leaves of the World Tree obstructed the view of her Celestial Eye.
Was her mystical power truly weakening, making her see illusions? Or, if she was looking properly, why couldn’t she trust what she saw? She remained perplexed.
“Could it really be that the gumiho has appeared…?”
She needed to act quickly to catch it while it had only nine tails, otherwise the world would be thrown into chaos.
The trouble was that she couldn’t devise a way to find it. Yu Hwa heaved a worried sigh, but then a light emanated from the fox bead. Someone was trying to establish a connection.
“Esteemed Lady, it is Ho Yeon.”
The voice on the other end of the bead was that of Ho Yeon, the administrative officer of Celestial Pavilion. Yu Hwa cleared her throat and adjusted her voice, which retained the youthful tone of a young woman.
“What is the matter?”
“A customer has arrived.”
Yu Hwa’s eyebrows narrowed.
“I thought I had instructed you to politely turn away anyone I wouldn’t be meeting with for the time being.”
“I attempted to send them away, but there’s something they insist you need to hear… No, my apologies, it must have been a lapse in my judgment.”
On the other end, Ho Yeon shook his head. It was strange.
As someone who usually dismissed requests from unknown humans with ruthless precision, Ho Yeon had inexplicably passed the message along to Yu Hwa without even considering refusal. It was as though an enchantment had been cast upon him.
He would never know that Karimi’s skill, the “Master Negotiator,” had subtly taken root in his mind.
“I apologize, esteemed lady. I will withdraw.”
“Not so fast.”
As Ho Yeon was about to sever the connection, Yu Hwa stopped him.
There’s an old saying: There are two things people hate most—when someone stops explaining mid-sentence, and…
“Since you’ve started speaking, might as well finish. What is this message you were so intent on delivering?”
“It’s… really insignificant… but they said… they mentioned the gumiho has arrived…”
“The gumiho?”
Yu Hwa’s eyes opened wide in shock.
Her thoughts had already been occupied by the concept of the gumiho, yet here was an improbable coincidence—someone claiming the gumiho had come.
“But it wasn’t the gumiho. It only had three tails.”
Yu Hwa’s pupils quivered.
Already three tails?
“Where are they…?”
“Pardon?”
“Where are the two of them right now?”
The sound of Yu Hwa’s reprimand crackled through the other fox bead. This was an agitated Yu Hwa that Ho Yeon, who had served her for so long, had never seen. His voice sharpened as he responded.
“Ahh, I sent them away!”
“Bring them back immediately!”
*
“Pant, pant… I’m sorry. The revered elder wishes to see you.”
Ho Yeon guided Karimi’s group with a deflated voice.
Truthfully, Karimi had anticipated an immediate meeting and had been waiting outside the building, sparing Ho Yeon the need to search hard. Regardless, Ho Yeon’s darkened expression bore a significant psychological burden—not one of physical exhaustion but of internal disturbance.
Seeing Yu Hwa lose her normally composed demeanor caused Ho Yeon’s heart to race.
“If you follow this corridor, you’ll find her.”
Ho Yeon ceased guidance not at a door, but at a corridor.
Yu Hwa, the master of the Celestial Pavilion, was a figure shrouded in mystery. Some rumors described her as a deeply wrinkled grandmother, others as a fair maiden.
Even Ho Yeon, the administrative officer, had never seen her face clearly. Whenever necessary, Yu Hwa communicated through a bead, and during trips outside, she always wore a veil, one that never swayed regardless of the wind. Any glimpses of her face revealed only a haze clouding her countenance.
There was no way to see even when one wished to.
“Thank you for the guidance.”
“Haa… It’s no trouble. Enjoy your time.”
With a fatigued face, Ho Yeon muttered something about it being an unusual day today and stepped away.
Karimi took Lin’s hand and began walking down the corridor.
Walking down this corridor felt odd.
Though the building was vast, it felt as if they were walking down an infinite staircase. No matter how far they went, an end never appeared. Even after turning corners, looking back revealed only a straight corridor stretching endlessly.
A space beyond the world’s logic.
This was due to the sorcery wielded by Yu Hwa.
“Enough of this nonsense already!”
Lin’s growing irritation led her to shout at the top of her lungs.
“LIN HATES THIS PLACE!”
Her cry reverberated widely.
Pang!
A sound like shattered glass.
The sorcerous barrier surrounding the corridor split apart. The corridor’s endless form altered, then revealed a large sliding door.
“You did well.”
“Humph!”
Giving a pat on Lin’s defiant head, Karimi opened the door.
The rush of a refreshing breeze greeted them.
Before them stretched white clouds beneath a clear blue sky. Above the clouds lay another sky layered with even more clouds.
A heavens-above-the-clouds world.
“It’s the sky!”
“That’s right. It feels like the divine realm.”
Behind them stood nothing but the solitary door they had entered through, devoid of any walls.
This space too had been conjured by Yu Hwa’s sorcery.
“I have been waiting.”
A graceful, refined voice floated down from the sky.
The faint clouds above the blue sky began to part gently, revealing rays of white light falling through the gaps.
Like a fog machine on a stage, a gentle mist spread. Descending enveloped in soft light was a pure white fox.
Its wings, similar to a celestial maiden’s, fluttered subtly, while its exquisite silk robes flapped like waves in midair.
Yu Hwa landed gracefully, floating just above the ground before lightly alighting.
“Such a grand performance.”
This was Karimi’s somewhat irreverent evaluation of the awe-inspiring spectacle.
“Are you the guests Ho Yeon mentioned?”
“Who?”
That guide’s name was Ho Yeon?
So the tiger had a bit of a doglike scent after all.
“Yes.”
“Nice to meet you. I am the master of Celestial Pavilion… Yu Hwa.”
An atmosphere of sacredness surrounded her, where one might hesitate to address her lightly.
Her beauty seemed otherworldly, almost not of terrestrial origin.
To Karimi, it might as well have been a fox charm trick ready to tear open its prey’s belly and extract the liver, yet his expression remained nonchalant.
“This grandma has switched forms again.”
A woman who had supposedly lived for a thousand years, but couldn’t behave her age, was now pretending to be a young girl.
Just like Bertub, whose exterior looked like a young girl, but inside was a middle-aged man. To the red-pill-pounding Karimi, all he saw was a foolish old woman playing tricks.
“Old Fox!”
“Hal-mang…?”
Yu Hwa looked down calmly at Lin, who had bounded up before her.
Pink fur, three tails—externally looking like a sammiho, but Yu Hwa’s Celestial Eye could not be deceived. Inside this form, six powerful energies were swirling—there was no mistaking the gumiho.
And besides her, there was Karimi. The divine blessing of the World Tree flowed beside him, and who would have thought this “elf” would be the one receiving such favor?
Though the reason the World Tree had blessed him remained unclear, it did make things much clearer.
Evidently, her mystical powers were not weakening after all.
“Why have you come to seek me?”
“I apologize but, this illusionary transformation really can’t be endured any longer. Can you undo it?”
“Undo what…?”
Not many could see through Yu Hwa’s disguise.
She narrowed her Celestial Eye sharply and fixated it on Karimi, who shrugged his shoulders lightly.
Once the disguise was discovered, its effectiveness diminished significantly. With a sigh, Yu Hwa lifted the enchantment.
Fine skin crumpled into wrinkles, her back slightly bent, and the figure of the beautiful young woman disappeared, leaving only the appearance of an elderly woman.
“Is that better?”
“Ah, finally, I can breathe properly.”
“Hmm, I thought she was quite adorable.”
“Ugh…”
Seeing Karimi’s expression turn visibly sour, Yu Hwa deemed it appropriate to stop her jesting there.
“How did you discover my disguise?”
“Because I trade in slaves. I have a keen eye for people.”
Could her disguise truly be discerned merely by that?
This must be an extraordinary human.
Karimi’s caution level increased by two notches.
“Seeing as things stand, it seems you know more than I expected, which is why you’ve come to seek me.”
That much was evident by the fact that he had brought the gumiho.
“I’ll take responsibility for this young one and return her to Baeyun Gorge. I will also remind the fox spirit tribe there to fulfill their roles. Thank you for your work.”
Yu Hwa extended her hand toward Lin, who dropped to avoid it and clung tightly to Karimi.
“Hmm?”
Her hand passed through the air.
Lin glared at Yu Hwa while clutching tightly to Karimi’s leg.
“I apologize, but this child is my slave.”
“What?”
“LIN IS MY SLAVE!”
“Lin…?”
A definite bond tied the two together.
Surely they hadn’t gone so far as to name the gumiho and establish a master-slave relationship? Surely no one would do something so outrageous?
“I went through so much effort to bring her here, so you can’t possibly expect me to send her away. I can’t do that.”
“How dare you speak! She already has three tails. If she develops more, many people will be in great danger!”
“That, I don’t really understand, but I intend to raise Lin until she becomes a gumiho. And I’ve come here to seek your help, Lady Fox.”
His words rang with sincere resolve.
He truly intended to raise Lin until she became a gumiho.
At that moment, something began to show in Yu Hwa’s Celestial Eye.
A pitch-black light surrounding Karimi.
The heavenly mandate bestowed upon him.
Yu Hwa knew what this light signified.
“You are destined to die soon.”
Destined to bear the misfortunes of the gumiho and die.
