1440 - Chapter 54

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 54
A faint giggle echoed from behind her just then, and Yeonsu’s lips—which had been moving as she called out to her mother—froze mid-motion.
“Did you hear that? Our mother. Wait, not our mother—our mother-in-law. Turns out she was actually a concubine in some rich family.”
“What? With a face that ugly, concubine? That makes no sense. Say something that makes sense.”
Like a funeral where the chief mourner has been forgotten, disrespectful chatter about the deceased was seeping out from some corner.
“Well, she’s disfigured, so that’s why. Though Mother does have pretty features, you know.”
“So which family’s concubine was she? Then what about Yeonsu—is she a bastard born of concubinage? Ugh…”
“Disgusting. What era are we in, talking about concubines? She was just a mistress, that’s all.”
“I wonder—was Yeonsu the only child born from Mother’s womb?”
“Was Yeonsu the only creature born from Kim Eunaae’s womb?”
“Was Yeonsu the only supernatural being born from the womb of Kim Eunaae of the Gwangsan Kim Clan?”
“Just Yeonsu?”
“Then today.”
“Yes, let’s devour her today.”
“If we consume that one, we’ll grow far stronger. She’s a Vessel of Ten Thousand Gods—we too could become divine.”
The gossip that had been nothing but backbiting had, without warning, become the speech of spirits.
At their words about targeting the body she’d been born with through such a strong Divine Lineage, Yeonsu felt her spine prickle once more.
This was a Mountain Ghost’s game, and a trial sent by the gods. They meant to test how well she could escape from this place, and how much spiritual merit and divine power she had accumulated through Prayer. That’s why they left their disciple alone like this, to endure on her own.
She’d heard it said in some religions: that the divine sends only trials a person can bear.
For a moment, a wave of resentment welled up in her chest. Then, just as quickly, she thought that undergoing a trial was only natural.
If a disciple would resent even one trial, then it was right that she be tested.
“I will not resent this trial, Master.”
But no path of escape came to mind.
Only she stood in this situation. No matter how many gods she’d received, she was nothing but Yeonsu—a mere human body with broken ankles and a whole frame trampled and aching as though pummeled. And that was all.
Just as when she was a child, lying alone and weeping in that dark cold as Divine Illness ravaged her, powerless as she was in those young days.
—Do not hurt.
Then, in a flash, his voice returned to her with startling clarity. That voice, which had grown hazier with the passage of years, rang in her mind today as vivid as the day she’d first heard it.
Those early days when her whole body ached as though trampled, when she lay alone in a cold place and wished for death. That sorrow—and the tender touch that had brushed it away from her.
And that voice.
That voice echoing in her mind sounded to Yeonsu like the voice of a god.
Not the harsh threats of lowborn spirits coveting her body, but the compassionate and merciful voice of some vast existence that embraced even one as worthless as her.
That voice she’d just heard must surely be an illusion born of her longing. Yet it was powerful enough to repel the Mountain Ghost’s influence, which had been steadily consuming her consciousness.
He had told her not to hurt.
So Yeonsu had built up her body even under Yang Mijoo’s abuse, and made a covenant with the gods to grow healthy and strong.
It was fortunate they heeded such an arrogant promise; had they not, she might have been struck down by Divine Punishment for such reckless presumption.
Because he had told her not to hurt, she trained without ceasing to grow stronger.
She didn’t want only herself to escape pain and end it there. She’d wanted him not to hurt either.
She wanted to grow strong enough to drag him out of that small box that endlessly bound and tormented him.
“Play with me, play with me, play! Come on, let’s play! Do I have to break both your legs before you’ll listen?!”
⋮
The moment that childish, wheedling voice turned into an old woman’s rasp, Yeonsu drew her sword. His eyes flashed suddenly with blue light, fierce and savage. Her gaze, sharp as a honed blade and crackling with that vital force, shone with crystalline blue even through the dark water.
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Whoosh!
Glug, glug-glug-glug,
The breath that had been held burst forth.
The drawn blade poured forth dark, warm light as it pierced straight through the Water-Killing Demon’s skull from crown to base.
“I… want… to… see… youuuuuuuuuuuuuu—”
The thing, oddly fragmented, began to smile grotesquely before slowly crumbling apart.
As the Water-Killing Demon’s body sank below, Yeonsu thrust the blade deeper, using the recoil to hoist herself upward. Wrenching the sword free from where it was wedged tight, she swung her arm wide and kicked both legs upward with force.
Her body, drawing near to the surface, began screaming for oxygen.
Her chest burned with pain. She’d already lost far too much air. Her vision blurred, so instead she closed her eyes. When she did, the man’s face appeared before her. The sword in her hand felt warm.
Splash!
Yeonsu burst from the water and gasped for breath in desperate, heaving gulps. Her chest ached dully, but she couldn’t stop drawing in air.
“Gasp! Hah—hack, hack, cough, cough…!”
“Young Master!”
“You crazy fool, Yeonsu!”
Sanghyung and Deokwoo, not knowing what to do, tried to wade into the water toward her. Yeonsu quickly raised a hand to stop them.
Even if she was the strongest, she’d only torn apart one of them. There were plenty more Water-Killing Demons writhing in the depths. If the two of them entered, they would only lose more of their souls.
Shaking off the heavy water, Yeonsu swam painfully toward the edge. As more than half her body rose above the surface, Deokwoo reached out. Taking her outstretched hand—the one still gripping the sword—Deokwoo pulled her toward him.
“Gasp, hah……”
“What is it? Why is your eye color—”
“Young master, are you all right? You suddenly seemed entranced and jumped in—I was startled…….”
Sanghyung gently pushed aside Deokwoo, who was examining Yeonsu’s face, and brought a towel to wipe down Yeonsu’s face and hair roughly.
Yeonsu let him do as he pleased, then pulled the Ritual Cord she’d been gripping in her other hand. The cord, which had sunk deep beneath the water, came free slowly, cutting through the current as if dragging something heavy along with it.
When she opened the lid of the Rice Bowl hanging from it, this time it was not water but a handful of hair inside. Hair the same length as that of Kim Taegon, who was now deceased.
The three of them collapsed in place simultaneously, as if all strength had drained from them. With this, the Soul-Guiding Ritual was complete. Kim Taegon’s spirit would have safely reached the place where his funeral was being held.
“What in the world happened in there?”
When Deokwoo asked, Yeonsu laughed. At that, the other two furrowed their brows as if asking why she could possibly laugh.
“Did the Revolving Lantern brush past me? I saw some old memories. The day I was entranced by the Mountain Ghost.”
“Ah, if that’s the case, I already heard about it from Deokwoo. You said you tore through the Mountain Ghost and came out.”
Sanghyung’s eyes turned to the sword still gripped tightly in Yeonsu’s hand.
Yeonsu smiled and caressed the blade. From the hilt to the tip of the sword’s edge, carefully and tenderly, just as he had done.
“A reminder not to forget what I started this for.”
***
Yeonsu entered a random Motel and washed away the filthy water that clung to her body. She didn’t want to return to the Separate Building where he was while carrying this foul and sinister presence.
Throughout her time at the Motel washing up, she thought of him.
If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have returned alive today. It was thanks to him infusing the sword with his power that she was able to annihilate that Water-Killing Demon in one breath.
Yeonsu marveled anew at the influence he had over her. Not only did he protect her life—he had claimed her heart entirely. What allowed her to escape that Water-Killing Demon wasn’t just the sword’s power, but also her will to protect him.
To think that the determination to protect someone could manifest as strength. She was astonished by her own heart—how deeply did she love that man?
What could a mere six-year-old have known, and yet she had loved that hand so?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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