I Decided to Give the Contract to the Male Vassal - Chapter 21
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 21
Even though Chung-rin’s soul had departed, her body could not escape from those shackles.
The hand holding the chopsticks trembled. I didn’t want to show weakness in front of Yeonhopyeong, so I tried not to let it show.
Chung-rin’s fear was not my fear.
However, Chung-rin’s enemy is my enemy.
While keeping my mind cold, I accepted the anger that remained in my body.
Yeonhopyeong was frowning as he moved food to his mouth.
Since my appetite had completely disappeared, I only pretended to eat while quietly observing him.
Only silence flowed along with the sound of utensils clinking.
It seemed I wasn’t the only one uncomfortable with this situation. Yeonhopyeong’s expression wasn’t very good either.
It was probably because he rarely had occasion to sit in the same place and dine with me as if we were equals.
“You…”
Yeonhopyeong’s gaze pierced toward me. He moved his mouth as if he had something he wanted to say.
“…How did you do it that day?”
At that threatening voice, my hands trembled violently. Still, I didn’t let it show.
“That day?”
I asked back while putting down my chopsticks.
Since I had been training with mental cultivation techniques, my expression would have been calm.
That appearance seemed to frighten Yeonhopyeong instead.
“That dawn, you were out there with me. When I asked if you knew that Magyen bastard…”
Yeonhopyeong muttered as if talking to himself, then suddenly raised his head.
“You… said you lost your memory, right? Is that why? You’re not trembling in front of me?”
He stood up from his seat, then gestured toward the waiting maids and strode toward me.
“You all, get out.”
It meant he had something to say to me privately.
“Young Master. The family head ordered us to serve the young lady well.”
Okxiang answered while standing beside me. Sawol also stayed by my side with a frightened face.
“Th-that’s right. If something happens to the young lady, we’ll die.”
When the two of them defied his words, Yeonhopyeong’s expression became completely distorted.
“Are you defying me, the future family head?”
Yeonhopyeong’s eyes blazed. Whether it was the aftermath of the Fire Demon technique, flames seemed to flicker in his pupils.
If it had been Chung-rin, she absolutely couldn’t have endured it, but I faced him directly.
“Why? Are you going to kill the maids again if they don’t obey?”
I glared at him while containing my anger.
“You’ve been killing maids every time I didn’t obey until now, haven’t you? That’s why no maids volunteered to serve at my residence, right?”
“You… have your memories returned?”
A faint madness rose at the corners of Yeonhopyeong’s mouth. It felt as if he might rush over and strangle me at any moment.
Preparing for that moment, I focused strength in my eyes. If I could stop time again, I would have a chance of winning.
“I found out by hearing about it.”
When I answered as if it was nothing, Yeonhopyeong’s expression softened slightly. He seemed to be relieved.
“Why? Would it be bad if my memory returned?”
When I asked provocatively, Yeonhopyeong stood up and walked toward me with large strides.
I could see Sawol and Okxiang tensing beside me.
He grabbed my arm without caring about the maids’ gazes.
“Have your memories really returned?”
Deep killing intent seeped into Yeonhopyeong’s face.
“Whether my memory returns or not, what business is it of yours?”
After hearing my answer, he grinned and pulled me toward him.
“Right. It wouldn’t matter whether you lost your memory or not. You’ve been mine since you first came to this place.”
I could feel a subtle madness in Yeonhopyeong’s eyes as he looked at me. It was a gaze that looked at property rather than a person.
I didn’t avoid that gaze and met it directly.
“I’m not yours. Not before, and not in the future.”
Then Yeonhopyeong suddenly grabbed my throat.
“A wench who used to tremble in front of me.”
Yeonhopyeong bared his teeth and laughed as if he could snap my neck at any moment.
Then, Chung-rin’s memory unfolded before my eyes.
A day when the cloudy sky met the gray surface of Cheonshangho.
For some unknown reason, Chung-rin was walking barefoot.
She discovered Yeonhopyeong there.
He was receiving an iron box from a man in black robes.
The two seemed to be having some conversation, but it couldn’t be heard.
When Yeonhopyeong opened the iron box, a red crystal inside briefly caught the eye.
It was about the size of a man’s fist, with crystals divided into several branches forming layers like flower petals. Black threads seemed to be intertwined beneath the dark crimson crystal.
It was an extraordinary object.
Chung-rin was startled by its eeriness and stepped back.
“Chung-rin, why are you there…”
Yeonhopyeong discovered her and showed eyes filled with killing intent.
At that moment, Chung-rin’s memory cut off and I returned to reality.
“Young Master! Please stop.”
“If the young lady gets even a scratch, the family head will be furious.”
Okxiang and Sawol were crying out to Yeonhopyeong pleadingly.
Yeonhopyeong, who had been laughing, finally let go of my throat.
When I staggered, Okxiang and Sawol quickly supported me.
“Right. Once we hold the wedding ceremony, I’ll make you completely mine, so wait obediently.”
Yeonhopyeong left without looking back.
As I breathed heavily, Okxiang and Sawol carefully seated me in a chair.
‘As I thought, I was right.’
I trained in mental cultivation daily to escape from fear of Yeonhopyeong, and recalled when I first met him.
Each time, the dark red haze I felt around Yeonhopyeong bothered me.
The memory wasn’t clear enough to be certain, but now I understood.
That crimson crystal I saw in Chung-rin’s memory was the Heavenly Sect’s sacred object, the Blood Bright Flower.
I had seen records related to it at Sangteon-dang.
‘At that time, Wicheonso was searching for traces of the Blood Bright Flower by the lake.’
The Blood Bright Flower is known to be stored in Cheonmugung’s treasury, and is a sacred object that cannot be taken without the Sect Leader’s permission.
‘Yeonhopyeong got his hands on it.’
The Blood Bright Flower is a crystallization of internal energy created by making a blood core with the blood of the previous Sect Leader, the Heavenly Demon.
If absorbed, internal energy increases several times and martial arts achievement becomes rapid. However, to completely absorb it, one must accept it directly through qi and blood, requiring special mental cultivation techniques.
Otherwise, there was a method of using only a portion as medicine. The effect was weak and absorption slower, but it could be concealed without anyone knowing.
Yeonhopyeong probably chose the latter.
If the Blood Bright Flower were completely absorbed, its energy would completely assimilate with internal energy and disappear. Then it would become impossible to find the culprit who took the Blood Bright Flower forever.
I could understand why Wicheonso was urgently searching for the Blood Bright Flower.
‘I heard that originally the Blood Bright Flower leaves no traces…’
Looking back, I thought that the dawn Yeonhopyeong came to my residence, he might have been intoxicated not by alcohol but by the energy of the Blood Bright Flower.
When the Blood Bright Flower is made into medicine and absorbed, it can have effects similar to drinking alcohol.
That’s why dark red haze was rising around Yeonhopyeong. I also recalled the metallic smell that faintly emanated from there.
I couldn’t know how Yeonhopyeong got his hands on the Blood Bright Flower, but it was certain he had committed a taboo.
‘To absorb it all in medicinal form would require more time, so he must have hidden the Blood Bright Flower somewhere.’
Here I have two choices.
One is to bring in Wicheonso as planned.
And the other is for me to take that Blood Bright Flower.
Having lived as a martial arts cripple and having lost even Baekah, my longing for martial studies was even greater.
Since becoming Chung-rin, I had been gradually recovering my internal energy, but it would take a long time to gain the power for revenge.
If possible, I wanted to obtain the Blood Bright Flower myself.
‘There’s no law saying I must choose only one.’
I would obtain the Blood Bright Flower and also draw in Wicheonso.
However, since I had to consider various circumstances, I postponed making a definitive decision.
First, I had to find where the Blood Bright Flower was located.
‘Yeonhopyeong probably keeps the Blood Bright Flower close to him.’
No matter how much information I had about the former Sangteon-dang and could seek assistance from Chung-rin, finding the Blood Bright Flower that Yeonhopyeong had hidden seemed hopeless.
But there was something I learned from my contact with Yeonhopyeong just now.
I could see the flow of the Blood Bright Flower with my eyes.
‘Normally, this should be impossible to see…’
Chung-rin didn’t only have the ability to stop time.
She could see the aura of divine objects.
Unlike the time-stopping ability, this seemed to work without me having to control it separately.
‘Let me follow Yeonhopyeong first.’
Even if he didn’t keep the Blood Bright Flower at his residence, if I could visually confirm its aura, I should be able to find traces of the Blood Bright Flower near him.
As I hurriedly got up, Okxiang and Sawol widened their eyes in apparent confusion.
“Miss, where are you going?”
“Young Master Yeonhopyeong seems to have dropped this.”
I showed them what I had in my hand.
It was the pendant that had been hanging from Yeonhopyeong’s waist.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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