Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 1

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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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1.

I gazed at the building beyond the wide-open school gates.

〈Sunhwa High School〉

A runaway celestial maiden was at this school.
And now I had to find her within these halls.
I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart, recalling the background information I had received from Yerim, my guardian in the mortal realm.

Ryuji Ho. Eighteen years old. Second-year high school student. Average grades.
Parents passed away in childhood; living alone with an older sister.
Home: Galaxy Apartment 201-1104, Haeyeon-dong, Seongdeok-gu.

Not the youngest of the Baekho Clan, but information about Ryuji Ho, a second-year student at Sunhwa High School.

‘Once I arrive at school, I’m supposed to head straight to the principal’s office first.’

I looked down at my uniform. A red necktie and ivory vest. A red skirt that fell to my knees.
The school uniform still felt utterly foreign to me.
I smoothed out my skirt and adjusted my bag, then squeezed my eyes shut and took another deep breath.

‘Ryuji Ho. You can do this. Find her and get back quickly.’

I encouraged myself and stepped forward, blending into the stream of students.
Cherry blossoms bloomed throughout the school, announcing the arrival of spring. They wouldn’t be as beautiful as those on Kunlun Mountains, but once in full bloom, they would be quite a sight.
As I imagined the school adorned with cherry blossoms, I had already reached the main entrance.
I pulled out my indoor shoes from my bag and changed into them, then carefully scanned the bulletin board by the entrance.
Various information was posted, from the school’s history to its motto, principal, school song, and educational philosophy.
Trophies from countless competitions lined the walls, boasting the school’s long heritage.
But the information I needed wasn’t there. What I wanted was a school map.
Yerim hadn’t told me where the principal’s office was located.

“What are you looking for so intently?”
“Eek!”

Startled by the unfamiliar voice beside her, I let out a scream and collapsed to the ground.
My heart pounded wildly. I clutched my chest and took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing nerves.
What’s going on? What happened? The murmurs of students filled the air and eyes turned toward me, but soon someone’s voice brought order to the chaos.

“It’s nothing. I just got startled. Don’t worry about it.”

It was the same voice that had spoken to me. Now it addressed me again.

“Sorry. Did I scare you badly?”

Once I had calmed down somewhat, I carefully turned my head to see who the voice belonged to.
The young man, leaning forward with a worried expression and meeting my gaze, wore the same school uniform as I did.
As I looked at his face, I felt an odd sense of déjà vu. Though we’d never met before, it felt as though I’d seen him somewhere.

‘Who does he remind me of…?’

A familiar face that resembled someone, yet felt strangely unfamiliar.

“Jiho, are you okay?”

At his question, my entire body went rigid. I had never told him my name, yet he knew it.
I mustered what little courage I had and asked him, though my trembling was barely concealed.

“W-what? How do you know my name?”

The young man gestured toward my chest.

“Your name tag.”
“…Oh.”

Right, I had the name tag attached at the uniform shop myself.
Embarrassed after being so wary of him, my cheeks burned hot.
I stood up, avoiding the young man’s piercing gaze, and smoothed out my wrinkled skirt with quick pats.
Still cautious, I carefully asked him a question.

“But… who are you?”

The young man pointed to his own chest. My eyes followed the tip of his long finger.
I read aloud the black letters clearly printed on the white name tag.

“Cheonhaerang…?”
“Yeah. My name.”

I turned the young man’s name over in my mind.
Cheonhaerang. It was a name that evoked the sea.

“The person you came looking for… well, should I call you a person?”
“…What?”

I asked back, confused by his cryptic words. That was the moment.

“…!”

The air shifted in an instant. No sound reached my ears from the surroundings.
I hurriedly looked around. The others moved about casually. They conversed with one another.
Yet I couldn’t blend in with them. It felt as though only he and I were isolated from this place.
No, we were isolated. I discovered a barrier surrounding him and me.
The blood in my entire body ran cold. This was not something a human could do.

“…Who are you.”

A chilling voice resonated. Before I knew it, a gun was gripped in my hand.
A white gun with black stripes drawn as if bearing the emblem of the Baekho Clan. Its muzzle pointed at Cheonhaerang.
Cheonhaerang didn’t dodge the gun aimed at him. Rather, he gazed directly at me.
The sight of Cheonhaerang without a trace of fear sent a chill through me. My mind was in turmoil.
It was clear that Cheonhaerang was not human. Yet he lacked the distinctive yin energy one would expect from a ghost.

‘Come to think of it….’

“The person you came looking for… well, should I call you a person?”

His words from moments ago flashed through my mind.

‘What exactly is he? How does he know?’

Cheonhaerang knew why I had come to this school. His tone suggested he even knew who I was searching for.

“I don’t know either, Jiho?”

His familiar tone, as if he knew me well, was paired with an expression that seemed somehow disappointed.
If I had been an ordinary human, I would have easily let down my guard, wondering if he was someone I actually knew.
But I was the White Tiger.
The White Tiger Guardian Beast—one of the Four Guardian Deities who protected the Heavenly Realm and the Supreme Deity. I didn’t lower my guard; instead, I tensed even more.
Still aiming my gun at Cheonhaerang, I studied his face intently.
Distinct facial features. A pale complexion and a prominent nose. Lips as red as if stained with rouge.
A face as delicate as a celestial maiden’s. Suddenly, another face overlapped with his. My eyes widened.

“…What?”
“Do you remember now?”

It was difficult to make the connection, so I could only remember now.
It was the face from a photograph I had seen countless times. I even knew what she looked like as a child.
But it was hard to believe that the young man before me was the person in question. Because the one in the photograph was….

“…You’re saying you’re Yeonhwa?”
“Yes. It’s me, Yeonhwa.”

Satisfied with my response, Cheonhaerang nodded with a bright smile.
Unable to believe it, my eyes scanned Cheonhaerang from head to toe. No matter how I looked at him, the Cheonhaerang before me was male. Male.
But Yeonhwa was a celestial maiden. In other words, female.
Yet this man claims to be Yeonhwa.
If he weren’t Yeonhwa, then with longer hair, that face would be exactly the one in the photograph.
I was utterly confused.

“How is this even… possible?”
“Shall we discuss the details somewhere quieter?”

His tone was affectionate, but there was an odd sense of pressure. It was less an invitation and more a command.
I hesitated, unsure how to respond. In that instant, the surroundings turned pitch black.
I flinched involuntarily and stepped back. Every hair on my body stood on end. A thick, dark energy suddenly filled the air around me.
I realized it too late. This was….

‘A trap.’

When did it start?
No, before worrying about that, I needed to escape from this man first.
In situations like this, what’s the saying? Thirty-six stratagems—the best is to flee. A strategic retreat.
I watched the man carefully and began inching my feet backward. But my pathetic scheme was quickly exposed.

“Jiho, where are you going in such a hurry?”

The language of modern students—which I had thought would be difficult to adapt to—suddenly came to mind. I couldn’t find a better word to describe this moment than that one.

‘I’m screwed.’

Right, it was strange that I hadn’t been discovered until now. Since it had come to this, I had nothing left to lose. Trusting that at least I could buy myself some time to escape, I pulled the trigger.
Bang—!
A sharp, clear sound rang out, and a brilliant blue flame shot from the muzzle toward the man with incredible speed.
I couldn’t confirm whether the man had been hit. The moment I pulled the trigger, I was already spinning around and running.
I ran like a madwoman, drawing on strength I hadn’t used in a hundred years—strength from when my mother nursed me as an infant. My breath came in ragged gasps, but I had no intention of stopping.
I didn’t need to look back to know that something terrifying was pursuing me relentlessly.
Boom. Boom!

‘Damn it…!’

It was unavoidable. The curse had to escape my lips. To make matters worse, the ground itself was collapsing.
There was only one answer now. My beast form would have far better mobility than this human body.
Whoosh!
As I pushed off the ground and launched myself into the air, my form transformed into a White Tiger. A brilliant blue light shimmered across my sturdy paws.
Suspended in midair, I glanced down briefly. Whether fortunately or by the man’s design, the terrifying things that couldn’t escape the ground simply vanished from sight.
But the most terrifying of them all was right before my eyes.
The man met my gaze and spoke with a tone of feigned disappointment.

“Jiho, we agreed to have a conversation. We have so much to talk about.”

It was madness. I had nothing to discuss with this man.
I didn’t know his identity, but there was one thing I could be certain of: this man was neither Yeonhwa nor Cheonhaerang.
A low growl rumbled from my throat as I glared at the man, my voice carrying a threat. Of course, I already knew my intimidation wouldn’t work on him.
The man laughed as though amused by my futility.

“For someone so young, you’ve got quite the nerve. Ryuibum didn’t waste his time training you.”

Growl!
I let out another sound. I heard the name that came from the man’s lips and was greatly startled, but I tried not to show it.
The man had clearly said Ryuibum.
Who was Ryuibum? He was the patriarch of the Baekho Clan and my father.
This man knows my father.
How on earth? What exactly is this man?
I became utterly bewildered. That was the moment.

“Ah, how unfortunate. You found me already.”

A voice tinged with regret pierced my ears. Then I saw the man’s face, twisted in a sinister grin, fall downward.
I held my breath for an instant. A cruel sight. It felt like a fantasy.
The man didn’t spill a single drop of blood, as if proving he was not human.
The man’s face was different from before. This must be his true face.

“Then, see you again, Jiho.”

The man, leaving behind a leisurely farewell, soon vanished like smoke.
His head, his body—all of it.
In the space where he had disappeared, I found a young man whose face was identical to the one the man had mimicked.
Cheonhaerang. He was the true owner of this name.
And the true Yeonhwa.
The childhood face from my memories remained in the young man’s features.
Why had the celestial maiden become a young man, how did that man know Cheonhaerang was Yeonhwa, what was that man’s true identity?
Everything was shrouded in mystery.
But regardless, I now stood before the Daughter of the Patriarch as a member of the Baekho Clan.
Having transformed back into human form, I slowly knelt on one knee and bowed my head.

“The White Tiger Guardian of the West, I pay my respects to the Princess.”

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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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