Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 34

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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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34.

I was truly startled. Had the person beside me not been Seowangmo, I might have cried out.
Seowangmo herself pushing food toward me to eat—such a thing.
If I told my youngest brother about this, he would surely laugh and ask if I had been dreaming.

“Ah, th-thank you.”

So without realizing it, my words stumbled. I wanted to bite my tongue.
Fortunately, Seowangmo seemed largely indifferent.
I observed Seowangmo eating with an utterly refined composure.
Her position certainly made her somewhat intimidating. But looking at her now, she didn’t seem quite so frightening.
Recalling my childhood, she seemed rather kind. She never scolded us when Cheonhaerang and I would tear through Cheongyeokgyeong playing recklessly.

‘…Or perhaps the Jade Emperor received the scolding instead.’

So it seemed I had been thoroughly scolded by the Jade Emperor instead….
Since it was from childhood, my memories were somewhat hazy.
In any case, my tension seemed to ease a little. I reached my chopsticks toward the plate Seowangmo had pushed toward me. It was lotus root braised in a sweet glaze.
The thoroughly braised lotus root was tender as it melted in my mouth. My attention shifted back to this morning’s meal.

How much had I eaten? Before long, the bowl was clean.
I set down my utensils, feeling pleasantly full. Then I glanced at Seowangmo.

“…!”

I flinched in an instant. Our eyes had met. I couldn’t tell when she had started watching me.
I smiled awkwardly and spoke.

“Thank you for the meal, Queen Mother.”
“How was it? Did it taste good?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Good. The head cook will be very pleased.”

As Seowangmo spoke, the corners of her lips curved upward ever so slightly.
Jiho failed to notice this, but the celestial maiden serving dessert did not.
The celestial maiden caught sight of Seowangmo’s expression and flinched.

‘Did Seowangmo just smile? That Seowangmo?

It was something that could turn Cheongyeokgyeong upside down. The celestial maiden composed her features quickly, thinking she absolutely had to tell the others about this when she returned.
The dishes on the table were cleared away, and dessert was placed in their stead.
It was warm plum tea to soothe the stomach and colorful dasik in various hues.

“If it’s not enough, I’ll bring more. Eat plenty.”
“Ah, thank you.”

Watching Jiho cautiously place a confection into her mouth, Seowangmo’s face seemed quite pleased.

* * *

It was such a barren wasteland that one would wonder if such a place even existed in the Kunlun Mountains.
But it had an end. At that end stood only a sheer cliff face.
It was the wasteland where Cheonhaerang had been dragged since morning without even seeing Jiho’s face.
Cheonhaerang drew in a deep breath and exhaled heavily. He poured more strength into the hand gripping the hilt and raised his arm.
The golden dragon head adorning the hilt ring gleamed as it caught the light beneath Cheonhaerang’s hand.
Simultaneously, white light radiated outward from Cheonhaerang’s feet in all directions. The light that spread in an instant tried to ensnare someone but missed.
Whoosh—Cheonhaerang spun around rapidly.
Clang!
The sharp blade burst through the empty air.
Hand Ogeong stared at Cheonhaerang with an expressionless face, his hand trembling slightly as he held his sword against his opponent’s blade.
Honestly, at this level, he didn’t even need to draw out his staff.
Of course, it was praiseworthy that a prince raised so delicately in Baekokgyeong could even block his sword.
But that alone was nowhere near enough.
To be frank, at this rate, he couldn’t kill Gihyeongrang, let alone wield the Spirit Path Sword.
Divine Object—Heavenly Seal Mark.
The Thread异 Mirror and the Eight Pearl Bells, and the Spirit Path Sword.
When all three of these come together, the Spirit Path Sword gains the power to cut through all things in existence.
In ages past, the Patriarch sealed the evil of the Human Realm with this Spirit Path Sword.
Only the Spirit Path Sword can kill Gihyeongrang.
Boom!

“Ugh….”

It happened in an instant. Cheonhaerang’s back slammed against the ground, and Hand Ogeong’s grip closed around his throat.
Cheonhaerang’s sword lay shattered, embedded in the earth.
Hand Ogeong looked down at Cheonhaerang’s strained face, his voice cutting through the air with chilling precision.

“Cheonhaerang. Can you manipulate the Five Elements?”

Cheonhaerang answered with a grin, his lips curling wickedly.
And then.
Splash—!

“….”

Water cascaded from empty air, drenching Hand Ogeong completely.
He suppressed the fury that surged within him, twisting one corner of his mouth upward as he spoke.

“Your parlor tricks are quite impressive.”
“I learned from the best.”

Simultaneously, the ground trembled with a deep rumble.
Boom. Crack. The earth around them collapsed downward.
Soon, all the ground save the spot where Cheonhaerang stood had crumbled away, leaving not even a finger’s breadth between them and the Bottomless Abyss.
Cheonhaerang continued smiling as he spoke.

“If I push further, the Queen Mother will be displeased. Should I continue?”
“Perhaps she would be delighted instead.”

Crack. Boom.
With a thunderous roar, the ground returned to its original state.
Hand Ogeong finally released his grip on Cheonhaerang’s throat and rose to his feet. He dusted off his hands and looked down at Cheonhaerang, who was coughing as he pushed himself up.
Vivid red handprints marked the young man’s pale neck.
His expression remained cold. He had not yet fully grasped Cheonhaerang’s true capabilities.
Honestly, if this boy harbored such reckless notions of capturing Gihyeongrang with mere parlor tricks, it was utterly absurd.

“For now, play with this.”

Long fingers snapped together with a sharp click. Before Cheonhaerang appeared Hand Ogeong’s clone.
The clone grinned brightly and lunged toward Cheonhaerang.
Clang—!
Blades clashed once more.

* * *

“Haah, haah.”

Cheonhaerang exhaled roughly, his breathing ragged.
My grip on the sword had grown so weak that I could barely hold the hilt with trembling hands. I might drop the blade at any moment.
Yet in stark contrast, Hand Ogeong’s clone before me appeared perfectly composed, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
A flicker of flame danced briefly across the blade’s edge before extinguishing. The light spreading beneath my feet stuttered and ceased.
It was a complete defeat.
I knew it, but it felt utterly hopeless.
Hand Ogeong, who had been watching me, withdrew his clone. Then, with heavy footsteps, he approached me.
I stood barely upright, my sword planted in the ground for support. Hand Ogeong spoke to me.

“It seems our Prince’s head is filled with nothing but flowers.”

His words were blunt, tinged with mockery.

“Setting aside your swordsmanship, you can’t even properly control the Five Elements. How did you ever think you could capture Gihyeongrang?”
“…I know. It was reckless and foolish.”

I barely managed to speak, admitting my own immaturity.
Hand Ogeong stared at me silently for a moment. Only the eerie whistle of wind echoed around us.
Finally, Hand Ogeong spoke.

“Is Ryujiho worth throwing away your entire life for?”

The next Patriarch. The Prince of Baekokgyeong.
This was the life given to me, Cheonhaerang.
Choosing Ryujiho meant abandoning that life entirely.
And that choice had been sealed from the moment I met Ryujiho in Cheongyeokgyeong.
The position of Patriarch had never suited me anyway.
Anyone could see that my older sister, Princess Yeonhwa, was far more fitting for the role of next Patriarch.
If I didn’t do this, my Patriarch would never acknowledge her.

“Yes, I do. Unlike someone else, I’m someone who loves with my whole heart.”
“Heh.”

Hand Ogeong let out a hollow laugh. The “someone else” I had just jabbed at was painfully obvious.
So the little brat had grown sharp enough to turn my own mockery back on me.

‘No. Was it like this before too?’

Anyway.

“Yes, I understand. For now, your grasp of the Five Elements’ power passes.”
“…What?”

Cheonhaerang stared at Hand Ogeong with a bewildered expression, the words making no sense.
Hand Ogeong continued speaking as if it were nothing.

“The problem is maximizing the Five Elements’ power. You still haven’t fully drawn out the strength within you.”

Then Hand Ogeong tossed something to Cheonhaerang, who caught it reflexively.
It was a peach from the Peach Orchard.
Toward Cheonhaerang, who stared blankly at me and blinked, I grinned widely.

“So for now, it’s ascetic training.”

Rumble. Crash!
Though I had steeled myself for this.
Cheonhaerang thought the thunder echoing from somewhere sounded like his future.

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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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