I Will Become a Phoenix More Noble Than the Emperor - Chapter 80

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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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80.

“…You’re saying we should go look for Moonlight Grass?”

Even at the bewildered question, Seon-o’s eyes no longer wavered.

No matter how dangerous it was, no matter how far away it might be, this wasn’t a situation to weigh and consider such things. If it was something that had to be done anyway, now that they had some time was the right moment.

“We have to go.”

“But my lord, you’re supposed to go to Flower Cloud Island….”

“From now on, talk about Flower Cloud Island is forbidden.”

Seon-o, who had firmly cut off his words, crossed his arms and stared intently at Cheong-eum. His gaze was bored, as if telling him to make a decision quickly. Cheong-eum, who couldn’t quite make up his mind, asked one last question.

“…You’re not even going home?”

At those words, Seon-o closed his mouth for a moment.

Of course, Seon-o missed his family too. He wanted to check if Ji-woon was alright, and he wanted to rest while having a warm meal with Yoon-han and his parents.

However, once he settled down at home, he wouldn’t want to get up again. Through the trial of the ‘Rift Sound Stone’, Seon-o had faced the weakness within himself. He couldn’t undergo such a trial again.

Moreover….

Seon-o soon answered nonchalantly.

“If I stop by home, it’ll just create unnecessary rumors and become troublesome.”

For example, the young master of the Wi Family, or some man called Young Master Wi, or Wi Gong-un.

If rumors spread that the candidate who had left to find a way to enter Flower Cloud Island had already returned to Myeonggyeong, it would draw unwanted attention. Then people like Gong-un would try to interfere with him.

Since just thinking about it was bothersome, Seon-o decided to skip all of that.

“Let’s go right now.”

Cheong-eum was left speechless by the voice without hesitation.

To appear so suddenly and then want to leave just as abruptly….

“But I don’t know where Moonlight Grass is located.”

“I know.”

“….”

“I suppose you’ll have to just accept how I know that too?”

Cheong-eum, who had now run out of things to say, looked at Seon-o’s face, which had gone beyond shameless to completely indifferent. His eyes seemed like they would grab him by the collar again if he asked any more useless questions.

Every time he faced that brazen expression, he could feel some anxiety within him constantly lowering its head.

“….”

After struggling with conflict for a moment, Cheong-eum soon made up his mind. When he finally nodded his head hesitantly, a satisfied energy finally filled Seon-o’s eyes.

Seon-o lightly freed himself from Cheong-eum’s hand that was still holding his arm, then took off something he had been carrying on his back.

“Excuse me, but you’re a bit conspicuous.”

Cheong-eum’s bewildered gaze turned to the bamboo hat in Seon-o’s hand. Unbothered, Seon-o stood slightly on his tiptoes and placed the bamboo hat on Cheong-eum’s head.

As Seon-o’s face came suddenly close, Cheong-eum’s eyelashes trembled and vibrated. In contrast, eyes without any movement stared intently at his face.

“Ah, it’s not the hair that’s the problem. It was the face.”

“….”

“Ah, I’m not blaming you. Being handsome isn’t a crime either, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

At those indifferent words, Cheong-eum finally quickly lowered his head. At this moment, he couldn’t stop the thought that he was fortunate to be able to hide his face from filling his entire mind.

“Let’s go.”

After making Cheong-eum’s face flush with heat, Seon-o turned around indifferently. Cheong-eum’s hesitant steps helplessly followed after Seon-o.

* * *

They immediately stopped at a large inn outside Myeonggyeong. They needed to rent a ghost carriage here, and also send letters.

While Cheong-eum sent a letter containing false circumstances to the Great Temple, Seon-o also wrote a letter to send to Hwan beside him.

Since there were many watching eyes and he couldn’t use Yin Power to write characters like before, Seon-o had to personally write with brush writing, and he could feel Cheong-eum glancing at him with bewildered eyes at the handwriting that looked terrible even from a distance.

‘Yes, my handwriting is atrocious.’

Seon-o didn’t mind and finished the letter containing that there would be no news for a while but not to worry, and that since he had found what he was looking for with his help, he would definitely enter that land, pass through the gateway, and return.

“Are you sending it to your family?”

Cheong-eum, who had noticed it wasn’t but asked unconsciously anyway, immediately closed his mouth. It was because he realized as soon as he voiced the question that whoever Seon-o sent letters to was none of his business.

He thought a coldly drawn line of an answer would come back immediately, but Seon-o answered matter-of-factly.

“That’s not it, there’s someone who has the right to know that I’ll be disappearing for a while.”

At those words, Cheong-eum looked at Seon-o intently. If not family, then who? In his moment of curiosity, Cheong-eum thought of Hwan. Because of the man who helped Seon-o at Maehwagak, Seon-o had been caught up in rumors of being the actual owner of Yawolbang.

‘…Is that person still helping him?’

He felt like he knew the answer to that question without having to hear it. That letter was being sent to Sa Hwan, and so some bond had formed between the two of them.

Seeing Seon-o’s eyes soften gently as he held the letter, Cheong-eum’s heart sank low for no reason.

Hwan hadn’t simply helped Seon-o.

He intended to establish Seon-o as the Phoenix.

That fact was quite bewildering. Cheong-eum had assumed that Sa Hwan would maintain more objectivity than any other of the Seven Super Gods.

Then suddenly, a voice refuting him arose from within Cheong-eum.

‘No, it’s precisely because he’s objective that he’s helping. He recognized this woman’s worth long ago.’

While Cheong-eum stood frozen in shock at that unconscious thought, Seon-o paid for delivering the two letters and the cost of renting the Ghost Carriage, then returned.

“We’ll take the Ghost Carriage partway there. The carriage isn’t in very good condition—will that be alright?”

Only at that worried voice did Cheong-eum awaken from his reverie. A hollow sigh swirled in Cheong-eum’s throat at Seon-o’s gaze treating him like some delicate young master.

He answered calmly.

“It’s fine.”

Though he was born and raised in the temple due to his destiny to become High Priest, he too was a Superhuman and a Super-Deity. He hadn’t neglected training to protect and develop his Yin Power. No, rather, in seeking a way to achieve Dragon Transformation, he had wandered through more places than other Super-Deities, slaying more demons.

So he wasn’t as fragile as Seon-o worried. Instead of bothering to point that out, Cheong-eum simply followed Seon-o obediently and climbed aboard the carriage she had rented.

The Ghost Carriage, in poor condition as Seon-o had said, soon began rattling as it departed.

Cheong-eum thought Seon-o wouldn’t tell him anything until they reached their destination, but breaking his expectations, Seon-o immediately spoke up.

“You should drink this.”

Saying this, what Seon-o pulled from her bundle was a small wine bottle. When Cheong-eum looked at him with a face expecting explanation, Seon-o added:

“It’s Hunger-Eliminating Wine. It’ll take quite a while to get there.”

That precious alcohol had been obtained for Seon-o by Hwan. Cheong-eum also immediately guessed the source of that wine. Hunger-Eliminating Wine was so precious that ordinary people could never obtain it, and around Seon-o, only Sa Hwan could have gotten it for him.

Cheong-eum was about to refuse but soon changed his mind and accepted the wine bottle. He had decided to do anything for Dragon Transformation.

Seon-o and Cheong-eum shared the Hunger-Eliminating Wine. After that ritual-like act ended, silence flowed for a moment.

Seon-o spoke again.

“What happens after offering the moonlight grass?”

At that question, Cheong-eum’s gaze, which had been directed toward the floor, turned toward Seon-o. As expected, Seon-o knew about the Great Temple’s archive, the incense burner inside the archive, and what it was for.

But he wouldn’t share with him how he knew.

Resigned, Cheong-eum answered obediently.

“I gain an opportunity to offer prayers.”

Just an opportunity?

Seon-o’s eyebrows visibly furrowed.

In the original work, it mentioned that there was such an incense burner in the Great Temple and that the High Priest had such privileges. And that Cheong-eum had used that incense burner for some reason, went to find moonlight grass, fell into danger, and On Gang, who happened to be searching that place for his own reasons, helped him. But the story after that didn’t appear.

On Gang and Cheong-eum weren’t close enough to share what happened afterward, and On Gang didn’t know Cheong-eum’s secret.

‘Then the reason he went to find moonlight grass back then must have been for Dragon Transformation.’

At this point, a curious thought arose.

“Why didn’t you use the incense burner earlier? You could have asked to be told a method for Dragon Transformation.”

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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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