If This Is Not a Dream

The rumor that Shim Ji An had submitted a resignation document and was shutting himself inside his house spread throughout the entire capital.

His oldest brother, Shim Ji Hyeok, had stormed into Ji An’s room, fuming and arguing that they shouldn’t indulge the third brother so much. However, the moment his eyes met Ji An’s face—whose eyes were swollen like a goldfish from crying—he bellowed, “No, what on earth has that bastard Chil Seong been doing to leave the child in this state without even calling a physician! A beating is the only remedy for a servant who does not serve his master with devotion! Someone there!” and rushed out to seize the innocent Chil Seong instead.

Ji An’s favorite falcon, Do Ha, brought back a letter from his master. The master seemed taken custody by surprise after reading Ji An’s tear-stained letter, sending a reply that essentially told him to do as he pleased:

Since Cheong Hyeon happens to have business at the palace, cast aside your anxieties and take good care of your body. Once your health is recovered, come visit the Eastern Island.

Ji An looked down at the letter and tilted his head. Why is Senior Martial Brother Cheong Hyeon coming to the capital? Among those who commanded mana—in fact, in every aspect—Cheong Hyeon was lauded as a peerless scholar of the nation, but he possessed one major flaw. He could not speak.

It was a disability he had been born with from his mother’s womb, and Ji An’s master speculated that Cheong Hyeon’s disability was likely due to his excessively immense mana.

‘Senior Martial Brother Cheong Hyeon…’

According to his memory, he was killed by Hae Won.

Before ascending the throne, Hae Won had to secure the position of Crown Prince first. He had two older brothers, and unfortunately, both brothers possessed formidable legitimacy. The oldest brother, who was currently the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace, was a legitimate son, unlike Hae Won, who was born of a low-born concubine. The second brother, Cheong Hyeon, was also born of the Queen. Even though Cheong Hyeon was born with immense mana, because he had a disability, the King no longer sought to have any more children with the Queen. A child with a disability was considered proof of the parents’ lack of virtue. However, disability or not, the two were opponents Hae Won could not dare to compare against in terms of legitimacy.

Cheong Hyeon was eliminated first among the two. Ji An still remembered the time he went to confront him. Hae Won had dragged in the mages of the Western Island, and the master of the Western Island brought along every single one of his disciples to face Cheong Hyeon. And the only mage from the Eastern Island present was himself.

Cheong Hyeon knew Hae Won would come. He was a man who usually communicated via mana and thus felt no discomfort whatsoever from lacking a voice, but on that particular day, he remained completely silent. He simply closed his eyes quietly.

While the mages of the Western Island were warily reading the room, Hae Won stepped forward in front of Cheong Hyeon with a spear, as if anticipating something. The spear drew a half-circle arc in the air, and Cheong Hyeon’s head fell. Right before his head dropped, Cheong Hyeon opened his eyes and made direct eye contact with Ji An.

At that time, Ji An thought Cheong Hyeon had smiled gently at him…

He was probably already half out of his mind back then to think such a thing. There was no way he would smile. Cheong Hyeon must have cursed Ji An.

Ji An wiped his tear-drenched eyes at length with his palm.

The illusion is stretching out too long. Ji An now began to think that this illusion might last even longer. If it was a dream, he needed to wake up. If it was a pre-death illusion, he should be dead by now. He was supposed to become a vengeful spirit, staring at that bastard’s face and pouring curses upon him, yet he had returned to his happiest moment.

He had seen it once in his master’s library in the past. A curse that turns back time.

Ji An had been mad back then. Could he have performed such a grand spell to reverse time? He couldn’t even remember the full trajectory of the spell to execute it. But since he wasn’t in his right mind back then, could he have somehow recalled it?

‘I kept thinking about it constantly. That I could never return to that summer night at twenty-one. Did that desperate desire trigger the spell like a wish?’

Such occurrences did happen occasionally when browsing through spellbooks, but if it were a common event, it wouldn’t have been recorded in the sacred scriptures of the magic arts.

If time really had been turned back. If all of this is reality.

Ji An leaped up from his seat.

He remembered exactly because of whom the people here had died. Cheong Hyeon, who was currently staying in the palace, also ended up dying because of him.

He would be careful about everything now—no, he would be careful about Hae Won—but fate is not something that changes easily just because Ji An tries to avoid it.

Once your health is recovered, come visit the Eastern Island.

“I am recovered, Master,” Ji An muttered and began to pull his belongings out of the chest sitting in the corner of his room.

He steeled his resolve never to return to the capital until five years later, the time when he had died and Hae Won had ascended the throne.

Two years passed.

Ji An still could not tell whether his life was a dream, an illusion, or reality. Just as a butterfly dreams, he too might be dreaming an eternal dream while dying. However, just as the ancient sage asked, ‘Then am I a butterfly or a human?’ Ji An also had to decide whether this was an illusion or life if this dream was to continue.

Ji An hoped this was life. A life where his entire family was happy and safe, and where he could grow old together surrounded by them. Therefore, suppressing his yearning to see his family, he stayed by his master’s side for a long time, immersing himself entirely in refining his spells.

On a late summer afternoon during a drizzling rain, Do Ha, whom he had left to play, flew back inside in a sudden fright. The sharp screech unique to falcons echoed in Ji An’s ears. Do Ha sat on Ji An’s shoulder in a state of absolute terror, screeching repeatedly. The bird looked like a little child who had been flicked on the forehead by an older kid outside the village and came running straight back to mother to complain.

However, Ji An knew there was only one person in the world capable of terrifying Do Ha to this extent.

[It has been a long time, An.]

Ji An lifted his head and looked up at Cheong Hyeon, who was descending from the sky. Wrapping around his body and elegantly lowering him to the ground was the Azure Dragon. The man, who was the first to receive the choice of the Azure Dragon in the three-thousand-year history of the magic arts, was softly stroking the Azure Dragon’s head.

No, is that divine beast an entity that can be handled like a puppy?

Ji An was briefly curious but soon lost interest. As long as the Azure Dragon liked it and his senior martial brother was pleased, that was enough.

“Senior Martial Brother Cheong Hyeon, look at my age, how can you still call me An. I have a perfectly good courtesy name, Lee Seo.”

[You could also call me Brother Seok Gyeong.]

“To a Grand Prince who capped a long time ago? I wish to live, Senior Brother…”

Though he spoke playfully, Ji An knew that even if he were to call him Seok Gyeong, Cheong Hyeon was a person who would brush it off with a single bitter smile.

Ji An had come to the Eastern Island around the age of ten and encountered Cheong Hyeon. From then on, Cheong Hyeon had looked after Ji An with infinite tenderness, as if he were his own younger brother. Perhaps that was why Ji An had chosen to study under his current master, who was a mage of the Eastern Island.

[Grand Prince, my foot. You remember it well when even I have nearly forgotten it.]

“Senior Brother, must you always descend so slowly?”

Flapping the sleeves of his pristine white robe as he came down through the rain, the beautiful man looked like nothing less than a heavenly deity. Both in the sense of being beautiful, and in the sense of being a bit corny. At Ji An’s remark asking if he couldn’t just come down quickly, Cheong Hyeon smiled and stroked the Azure Dragon, which was nuzzling its head against the back of his neck.

The true form of the Azure Dragon was certainly not that size, but whether it wanted to act cute or simply accompany him every single moment, it shrunk its size to that of a python or an earthworm and constantly clung tightly to Cheong Hyeon.

[Cheong Ah worries that I might get hurt if I descend quickly. If you are bored, you may go inside first.]

“As your junior martial brother, how could I possibly do that. Welcome, Senior Brother.”

Ji An crossed the backs of his hands over his chest and bowed at the waist.

Soon after landing on the ground, Cheong Hyeon stroked the Azure Dragon twice, and the dragon transformed into a slender snake, wrapping itself tightly around Cheong Hyeon’s wrist like a bracelet. Cheong Hyeon placed only his right hand over his chest in front of Ji An and bowed his head, accepting his junior’s greeting. The two began to walk.

[Have you been well? Is Master free from any trouble?]

“It seems even trouble doesn’t wish to stay by Master’s side.”

[Did you not return to the capital only to come back immediately and stay by Master’s side for two years.]

“Indeed. Where else would you find a disciple like me? I work well, I serve with loyalty. Furthermore,”

Just then, a thunderous shout echoed across the entire island.

“Where are you slacking off again, you arrogant disciple!”

It was their master’s voice. Ji An shuddered.

“I should have gone to the Southern Island.”

Cheong Hyeon burst into laughter at Ji An’s words.

[Your talent does belong to fire, after all.]

Among mages, there are four islands referred to as the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Islands. The general populace calls them the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise Islands. The islands where the Guardian Beasts resided possessed vastly different atmospheres depending on the beast. The most livable place was the Azure Dragon Island, where spring remained all year round, but no mage ever chose their sect based on how comfortable it was to live there.

Ji An was born with a natural talent for fire. In the first place, the reason Ji An ended up wandering among mages to study at the age of six was because he caused fires every other day after his mana awakened. So naturally, everyone assumed Ji An would become a disciple of the Vermilion Bird Sect.

However, Ji An chose the Azure Dragon Sect instead of the Vermilion Bird Sect. Naturally, Ji An’s choice brought pride to the disciples of the Azure Dragon Sect and humiliation to the disciples of the Vermilion Bird Sect. But Ji An simply shook his head side to side, saying:

“Ah, thinking about it again, I still don’t think the Vermilion Bird Sect is an option. They aren’t a band of bandits, yet they’re all either profiteers or swindlers.”

It was because he had been harassed quite a bit. Cheong Hyeon smiled and asked.

[What is the difference between the two?]

“The profiteers at least have the purpose of gaining a profit. The swindler bastards are just purely malicious.”

At that moment, Hae Won’s face flashed through Ji An’s mind. That bastard was a profiteer, and looking at it that way, a swindler was practically cute in comparison. Pondering which side was better, Ji An shuddered.

“Ah, anyway, they are the exact same kind of bastards. Terrible, foolish pigs. I hope they either burn to death in a fire forever or get roasted and eaten.”

[Right, make sure to say such words only on the Eastern Island. Live quietly when you go elsewhere. If you ever happen to say such things,]

“I’ll say I’m a disciple of the Vermilion Bird Sect, not the Azure Dragon Sect.”

Cheong Hyeon let out a silent sigh and shook his head side to side. It was just as Ji An let out a snort and watched the butterflies mingling in swarms in the distance. Cheong Hyeon’s gaze briefly flicked toward the back of Ji An’s neck. He quietly stared at Ji An’s collar, then naturally averted his gaze when Ji An turned his head toward him.

“By the way, what brings you here?” Ji An asked.

Cheong Hyeon looked down at Ji An for a moment, choosing his words. He could hear the sound of their master running from afar, but he didn’t particularly turn his gaze toward him. Because he wanted to check Ji An’s face thoroughly.

[Your older brother, Ji Un, has engaged to Hae Won. The Minister is looking for you, so I promised I would bring you back.]

Ji An’s eyes widened.