Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 27

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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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27.

I glanced down at Cheonhaerang’s hand holding mine.
Honestly, I could have descended without any assistance at this level, but I didn’t want to let go of his hand.
Perhaps he was thinking the same thing.
Before long, we had descended beneath the ground, yet neither of us released our grip first.
As I emerged from the intensity of those heightened emotions, I felt a bit awkward.
With an embarrassed expression, I cleared my throat and glanced at Cheonhaerang.
Then our eyes met directly as he gazed at me.
I hurriedly turned my head away and spoke.

“…So, uh, what do we do about this?”

I was referring to the enormous branches covering the ground.
It was unclear whether Yueul was dead or simply vanished, but in any case, the branches remained in place.
We couldn’t allow humans to discover such a bizarre phenomenon.
Cheonhaerang lifted his gaze toward the sky. A small dark bird was flying across the brilliant blue expanse.
It was a small, black bird.
The bird flapped its tiny wings eagerly as it flew down, landing directly upon the branches.
I noticed the bird as well.

“Huh?”

It was the Three-Legged Crow.
As the Three-Legged Crow tapped the branch with its beak, the branches began to disappear.
An inexplicable sense of unease washed over me.

“Cheonhaerang, is this Three-Legged Crow perhaps….”
“Yeah. My sister sent it. To find me.”
“But is it okay for it to be here like this? Is everything alright?”
“It’s fine. She would have figured it out.”
“Who?”
“Who else? Obviously no one but me, little one.”

A strange voice cut through their conversation, piercing into the moment.
My grip tightened on Cheonhaerang’s hand. I turned my head toward the direction of the voice, my body tensing with caution.
The Unknown Man walking toward us with an easy gait seemed somehow familiar.
Even as he drew near, Cheonhaerang made no move to respond.
I found myself bewildered.
The Unknown Man who now stood before me smiled, his lips curving into a grin.

“It’s been a while, little one.”

What?
From the depths of my distant memories, I found his identity.
I had seen him long ago when I stayed at Cheongyeokgyeong in the Kunlun Mountains.
He would often play with us.
The caretaker of the Peach Blossom Garden of the Queen Mother of the West.

“Jade Emperor?”
“Yes, it’s me. Have you been well?”
“Jade Emperor, how did you…?”
“How do you think I came?”

As he spoke, the Unknown Man gestured toward Cheonhaerang.
I stared at Cheonhaerang with a dumbfounded expression.
Though I had said I would follow Cheonhaerang anywhere, the situation unfolding before me was difficult to comprehend.
It seemed I would have much to hear from Cheonhaerang.
Cheonhaerang smiled as if nothing was amiss and spoke.

“Didn’t you say you’d follow me wherever I go?”
“Well… yes, I did…?”
“We’re going to the Kunlun Mountains now, Jiho.”

With those words, light erupted from nowhere with a sharp burst.
The brilliant radiance engulfed me in an instant. I couldn’t open my eyes properly.
All I could do was grip Cheonhaerang’s hand tightly.

When I opened my eyes again, what lay before me was a palace suffused entirely in azure light.
It was Cheongyeokgyeong of the Kunlun Mountains.

* * *

In the place where the young ones and Yueul’s branches had vanished, only he remained with the spring breeze and a small, black Three-Legged Crow.

“Right. Cleaning up the mess falls to me, then.”

Hand Ogeong recalled the humans collapsed in the archery range.
Erasing their memories was a simple task for him.
But.

‘I was certain I would kill them.’

Perhaps there wasn’t yet sufficient reason to take lives to that extent.

Or perhaps there was a different reason now.
Either way, it didn’t seem to favor Cheonhaerang.

“Ow. That hurts, Your Highness.”

Despite his complaint, his voice was brimming with playfulness.
The small Three-Legged Crow pecked at his hand repeatedly as if angered.
In truth, he felt no pain whatsoever, nor did he mind. Besides, he could easily indulge this level of petulance.

-You deceive me again, Hand Ogeong.

Ah, so it wasn’t petulance after all.
A distinctly angry voice flowed from the Three-Legged Crow’s beak.
It seemed the conversation with the Queen Mother had already ended. A pity for the young ones.

“Deceive? Your Highness, if you keep saying such things, this humble one will truly be hurt.”

The moment his words ended, the Three-Legged Crow’s beak turned toward his hand again.
And.
Crunch—!
The Three-Legged Crow bit his finger with tremendous force.
It bit hard enough to draw blood in droplets, enough to cause pain, yet Hand Ogeong’s face remained composed.
He gazed quietly down at his finger being bitten.
The ring finger of his left hand.
An emotion difficult to discern flickered momentarily across his eyes.
Soon, the Three-Legged Crow released the bitten finger and, gazing steadily at the man looking down at it, opened its beak.

—The cleanup will be handled by that child. You come to the Kunlun Mountains.

With those words, the Three-Legged Crow vanished.
Hand Ogeong gazed at his own fingers again, then let out a soft chuckle.

“…Truly, what a merciful princess.”

As if nothing had happened, not a single mark remained on his fingers.

* * *

I rolled my eyes cautiously, trying to gauge the situation.
To explain how I’d ended up in such a predicament, I would have needed to rewind time itself.
It had happened before I could even properly collect my thoughts.
A celestial maiden, summoned by Seowangmo, the master of the Kunlun Mountains, had come to fetch me.
Of course, Cheonhaerang had tried to stop her.
But when the celestial maiden whispered something to him, he reluctantly released my hand.
I followed the maiden in a daze and finally found myself face to face with Seowangmo.
And from that moment until now, Seowangmo had said nothing.
The tea the maiden had set before me was gradually growing cold.
I rolled my eyes again, now staring intently at the teacup.
My reflection shimmered in the untouched tea.
My courage was far too weak to drink from this cup.
I found myself hoping that Cheonhaerang would burst through the door instead.

“You don’t resemble General Yueul very much.”

A voice both refined and weighty pierced through my ears.
At last, Seowangmo’s lips parted.
I nearly lifted my head without thinking.
I forced myself to remain composed, my mind racing quickly to choose my response.
But Seowangmo’s next words came faster than my answer.

“Instead, you resemble Lady Ha, which is why General Yueul dotes on you so.”

Lady Ha. She was my mother.
Father was renowned as a devoted husband.
I managed to settle on a safe response.

“…Your grace is boundless, Your Majesty.”

In Cheongyeokgyeong, she was simply called the Queen Mother, but in Baekokgyeong, she was Her Majesty the Empress.
So I called her that as well, though it seemed the title did not sit well with Seowangmo.

“That is a name long forgotten. Do not call me thus here.”

I had made a mistake. I wanted to bite my own tongue. I hastened to apologize.

“My apologies, Queen Mother.”

No words followed my apology. I only felt her gaze fixed upon me.
It was a suffocating pressure.
I felt beads of sweat forming along my spine.
I clenched my fists to hide my trembling fingers.

How much time passed in that silence?
Finally, the voice of Seowangmo, who had been waiting all along, reached my ears.

“Children grow in the blink of an eye, they say. You are no exception.”

It was spoken as though she remembered my childhood.
My composure shattered, and I finally lifted my head.
Her dark eyes were fixed upon me.
Her expressionless face revealed no emotion.
Yet her eyes betrayed feeling.
It was an emotion difficult for me to decipher.
If I had to name it, something like loneliness or regret.
But such emotions vanished in an instant, as though I had merely imagined them.
Her eyes reflected nothing more.

“You must be weary. Go and rest now.”

At that moment, someone appeared beside me. It was the celestial maiden who had guided me here.

“I shall attend you, Miss.”

It was an unmistakable expulsion order.
In a way, it was the very words I had been waiting for all along.
Jiho followed the celestial maiden, feeling an inexplicable and peculiar sensation wash over her.

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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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