I Will Become a Phoenix More Noble Than the Emperor - Chapter 99

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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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99.

“….”

The first thing Seon-o felt upon awakening was a subtle pain in his throat. It felt stiff and stuffy, as if something was forcibly lodged there. Like when he had caught a severe cold.

The next thing he felt was an unusually hollow chest. It was an emptiness he had never experienced since coming to this place.

Sensing something was wrong from that feeling, he tried to sit up, but felt something heavy near his legs. When he raised his upper body and looked down, he saw someone lying face down on his legs, asleep.

It seemed to be some man.

“?”

Seon-o paused for a moment and looked around.

It was inside his room. Since coming to this place, Seon-o had been constantly wandering around, so waking up in his room was a rare occurrence. This comfort had reached the point of making him rather uneasy.

Am I dreaming right now?

Frowning, Seon-o tried to retrace why he was here. Then, remembering his escape from Flower Cloud Island and falling from the Imperial Palace, Seon-o’s breath stopped.

“!”

‘That’s right! I passed the third trial! And I escaped Flower Cloud Island. Wait… but why did I faint? Ah, at the end, my neck was…’

Recalling the terrifying fact, Seon-o quickly felt around his neck. Seeing that his entire neck was wrapped in bandages, it seemed the attack he suffered while escaping Flower Cloud Island wasn’t an illusion after all.

His neck had been pierced. By that Peach Tree Monster’s branch.

‘Ah, that crazy Tree Monster bastard…’

Since that hadn’t happened in the original work, Seon-o hadn’t been able to prepare for it. Even if he had prepared, it was uncertain whether he could have avoided it.

“Hah…”

Seon-o was grimacing from the illusion of that moment’s pain being recreated when he saw Wi Gong-un groggily getting up after sensing his movement, and his breath stopped again.

…Wi Gong-un?

“…!”

Wi Gong-un also froze upon seeing the awakened Seon-o.

‘No… why is Wi Gong-un… in my room…?’

Before Seon-o’s lips could even move to say something, Wi Gong-un jumped up and grabbed both of Seon-o’s cheeks. His face came close, right up to his nose. Wi Gong-un examined Seon-o’s condition closely with eyes more serious than he had ever seen before.

“….”

Those eyes were so seriously those of a physician that Seon-o forgot to push him away and stared at him blankly.

Suddenly, the fact that the Wi Family was the most outstanding Medical Noble Family in Geumhwi Kingdom and Wi Gong-un was actually the Young Master of that place—a fact he had never truly recognized—seemed to pierce his lungs.

Wi Gong-un’s face as he examined Seon-o was haggard like never before. That face that had always looked like a noble young master to anyone had lost its usual radiance and was gaunt. It was the kind of face someone would have after staying up for days and nights, exhausting all their energy.

Despite that condition, after checking Seon-o’s eyes, complexion, and even the pulse in his wrist, Wi Gong-un finally let out a relieved sigh and released Seon-o’s cheeks.

He looked at Seon-o and asked.

“How is your throat? Your voice? Please try making a sound.”

It was indeed a serious question. Seon-o was momentarily bewildered by his words, but his heart soon sank as he grasped the meaning of that question.

“My throat…!”

When Seon-o cried out in alarm, Wi Gong-un’s eyes softened another layer. Seon-o also felt relieved by his own resonant voice and let out a overwhelming sigh.

“It’s fine. Thank goodness.”

Still anxious, Seon-o gently touched his neck. It stung slightly, but he didn’t feel any pain beyond that.

“I’ve treated all the pierced areas. The external wounds will take more time to recover and there will be some scarring, but there’s no danger to your life.”

At the words that everything had been treated, Seon-o felt clumsily relieved. A few scars didn’t matter at all. However, Wi Gong-un’s words didn’t stop there.

His eyes were strangely wavering.

“Fortunately, it missed the bones and arteries, so the wounds can recover completely, but…”

As his words trailed off, Seon-o’s heart tightened again. Something was definitely wrong after all. It couldn’t be fine after his neck was completely pierced through.

However, Wi Gong-un seemed reluctant to deliver this news and kept his lips tightly shut. When Seon-o stared at him urgently, he had no choice but to move his dry lips.

“…Your Yin Power has been damaged.”

…What?

From the moment he awakened and recognized the emptiness in his chest, the anxiety that had been circling above his heart finally crashed down like a stone, striking his heart as it fell.

It felt like all the Yin Power barely remaining at his fingertips was seeping away.

“You won’t… be able to use Yin Power.”

Wi Gong-un’s low voice scattered faintly. Seon-o stared at his face blankly, like someone who had heard words they couldn’t interpret.

No, he truly couldn’t interpret his words.

What exactly did it mean that her Yin Power was damaged, whether there being a method to recover meant it could be restored, and whether she could use Yin Power again after that.

All those countless questions were stuck in her throat, unable to come out. After staring intently at Wi Gong-un for a moment, Seon-o soon grabbed him by the collar.

Her hoarse voice flowed out sharply.

“Cut the bullshit.”

“….”

“What did you do to me. What else did you put in my throat.”

Even at those cold words, Wi Gong-un didn’t waver. He simply remained still with eyes that seemed to understand everything about Seon-o, as if the only thing he could do for her right now was to accept her outburst.

“Tell me that’s what you did.”

Even at Seon-o’s words that trembled slightly at the end, Wi Gong-un’s mouth didn’t open. At that moment, the door burst open and Seon-o’s family members rushed in. Seeing her family’s faces, Seon-o hurriedly let go of Wi Gong-un’s collar and pushed him away.

Fortunately, her family seemed not to have seen that scene.

“Seon-o!”

“Sister!”

Her parents and Yoon-han, who had rushed over after hearing that conversation sounds could be heard from Seon-o’s room, came running with deep emotion. As they ran toward Seon-o with faces already wet with tears, Wi Gong-un naturally stepped aside.

Just as Seon-o’s father was about to embrace her tightly, Wi Gong-un quietly murmured.

“You mustn’t overexert yourself yet. You need to rest and recover.”

At those words, the family members who were about to embrace Seon-o stopped their movements. Having left his quiet warning, Wi Gong-un glanced at Seon-o. His eyes briefly met with Seon-o’s, who was still in a daze.

Eyes that seemed to hold words he desperately wanted to say looked at Seon-o earnestly for a moment before turning away. Seon-o didn’t stop Wi Gong-un as he left the room.

Only then did the tearful reunion take place.

“Seon-o… *sob*, our daughter… thank you for waking up….”

“Is there anywhere uncomfortable? Anywhere that hurts? Hm?”

Seeing her crying family, Seon-o’s chest felt completely blocked.

She had penetrated the secret of Flower Cloud Island that had never even appeared in the original work and passed the third trial with it. After an arduous journey, she had returned alive to her family.

But what was this…?

It felt like a scream of “this can’t be happening” was painfully circling in her throat.

Her vision seemed to darken and her heart kept feeling like it was falling to the floor.

But Seon-o moved her dry lips to force a smile.

As if she was fine now.

* * *

At the news that Seon-o had awakened, Myeonggyeong became bustling once again.

Those who had bet money on Seon-o shed tears of joy at not losing their money and held banquets every night. Since this made five candidates pass the third trial for the first time, even those who hadn’t placed such bets were greatly pleased.

They all eagerly awaited the fourth trial that would soon open, filled with hope. Believing that perhaps this time, the most powerful Phoenix would be born to exterminate the demons and save them.

While that commotion went on outside for days, Seon-o locked her door tightly and didn’t meet with anyone.

The Imperial Palace, Great Temple, Yawol Sect, and even Gwak Gi-rim and Chae-gyo all hoped to meet with Seon-o, but she refused them all and holed up in her room to organize her thoughts.

She would go to the archive to rummage through books, and when dawn came while everyone was asleep, she would head alone to Ji-woon’s room.

Ji-woon was trapped in eternal sleep in the same state as before he left.

As the price for his Yin Power flowing backward.

“….”

And her own Yin Power had also been damaged.

The reason she hadn’t fallen into a coma like Ji-woon was… probably thanks to Wi Gong-un. She had never even thought about such a situation. Since she hadn’t prepared for it, the shock was doubled.

Seon-o, who had been silently looking at Ji-woon, slowly raised her hand.

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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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