Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 42

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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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42.

“Seoniyeong is with Gihyeongrang? Why?”

Cheonhaerang had no choice but to question it.
Why did Seoniyeong belong to Gihyeongrang? Had Gihyeongrang stolen it from him?
But no matter how much he was the head of the Heavenly Realm, it was the Patriarch’s treasure. How could Gihyeongrang possibly steal such a divine artifact?
Cheonhaerang’s mind was in turmoil. And that confusion was cut short by his sister’s next words.

“Gihyeongrang also carries Father’s blood.”
“What do you mean…”

Yeonhwa exhaled a shallow sigh. Then, gazing into the distance for a moment, she turned back to meet Cheonhaerang’s eyes and spoke.
Her rigid expression only reinforced that her words were absolute truth.

“He’s your half-brother.”

In the past, when the peninsula was divided into three kingdoms before unifying into the Divine Kingdom, fierce battles raged.
From the blood-soaked earth, human malice was born.
It was evil.
What was called a malevolent spirit only deepened the chaos of this land.
Envy, jealousy, greed, hatred, rage, murderous intent—all manner of vile emotions consumed humanity.
The Patriarch, who watched over Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, could no longer overlook this.
He descended personally to the Human Realm and sealed away the malevolent spirits. He created barriers and commanded his first bloodline to guard them.
And he remained in the Human Realm for a time. It was to observe all of humanity.
There was likely no love in this.
He wished to see the land unified into the Divine Kingdom and at peace, then finally return to the Heavenly Realm.
But then he met a human woman. And he fell in love.
It was truly foolish. The Celestial Emperor, who should oversee Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, falling in love with a mere mortal woman. And while concealing his identity, no less.
Though it was but a fleeting moment, it was a desperate love.
Unable to remain in the Human Realm any longer, he gave his lover a gift and departed.
His treasure—the Seoniyeong.
When she passed from this world and the child was left alone, he told her to give the mirror to the child and have them seek their father.
Then the mirror would bring the child to their father.
She passed away, and the child came to possess the Seoniyeong. And the child sought out their father.
The child’s father was the Patriarch of Heaven.
The child was Gihyeongrang.

“….”

Cheonhaerang’s pupils trembled violently as he gazed upon Yeonhwa.
All at once, the pieces seemed to fall into place.
How could she have been so audacious before the next Patriarch?

“Your Highness, you must remember this. Had you not been the bloodline of His Majesty, had even the slightest impurity mixed within you.”

“Your Highness would be nothing. For nothing you have accomplished came from your own hand.”

Why had she despised me so deeply?
Why had she sought to end my life?

“Your Highness, shall I tell you something? Trust is not given so easily.”

The anguish from that moment came rushing back.

*Gag!*

In an instant, as nausea surged upward, Cheonhaerang clamped his hand over his mouth.

“Cheonhaerang! Are you alright?”

My sister’s voice sounded distant and far away. I could barely keep my thoughts together.

“Cheonhaerang!”

No. This cannot happen. My sister will grieve again if this continues.
As my thoughts grew hazy, I finally closed my eyes.

* * *

My hands trembled. Cheonhaerang’s complexion had turned so pallid that it seemed his breath might cease at any moment. He exhaled only in shallow, ragged gasps.
I sifted through buried memories, and the image of that child drifted through my mind.
Long ago, there was a child who played with me in this very place, and sometimes he would lie with his eyes closed just like this.
It was a seizure that occasionally occurred. When it did, the child would be carried away on the Jade Emperor’s back.
But then at some point it stopped happening, so I thought he had fully recovered.
When we met again, I believed he was fine, that he had grown healthy.
But was that not the case?
Or was it something I simply didn’t know?
What on earth could have happened?
I grasped Cheonhaerang’s hand, trembling violently. The hand that was always warm was impossibly cold.

“What exactly….”

I barely managed to squeeze out my voice, my throat constricted.

“What exactly happened?”

I looked at Hand Ogeong standing beside me. I knew nothing else, but this one thing I could discern with absolute certainty.
Cheonhaerang’s condition was not simply due to training with the Jade Emperor.
Hand Ogeong met the girl’s gaze directly, then released a deep sigh and ran his hand through his hair.
I didn’t cause this situation, yet the burden of explanation falls entirely on me.
Truthfully, even if I were to explain everything to Ryujiho, I still hadn’t formed a clear judgment on whether I should.
Few people knew of this matter to begin with. It was something kept quiet even within Baekokgyeong.
The previous generation might not know, but even the current Four Celestial Guardians didn’t know the full details—that Gihyeongrang was the Patriarch’s son.
It was he who had been tasked with protecting the Patriarch in the Human Realm back then.
Because of this incident, his relationship with Cheonuyhua became irreparably fractured.
The deep rift had become impossible to mend, and it had remained that way until now.
In the end, it was nothing but reaping what he had sown. It was all his own fault.
So I had no choice but to gladly follow the Princess’s command.

“Jade Emperor.”

I called to him urgently. Seeing the girl’s eyes about to spill with tears at any moment, he found himself with no choice but to tell her everything.
Hand Ogeong condensed the long story as briefly as possible.
The girl’s face was painted with confusion as she learned the entire truth.
I turned over Hand Ogeong’s words in my mind. It was difficult to believe.

“So you’re saying that during that war, the reason Cheonhaerang came to Cheongyeokgyeong was because he nearly died at Gihyeongrang’s hands, and that Gihyeongrang is actually Cheonhaerang’s half-brother?”

Hand Ogeong nodded silently.

“But wait—Gihyeongrang is a half-god?”
“Yes.”

The sudden flood of information made my head spin.
Even with confirmation from the Jade Emperor himself, it was difficult to believe.
And malevolent spirits at that. Barrier formations.
All the mysteries that had remained unsolved until now suddenly became clear. That’s why Yeonhwa had been at that school.
Because a malevolent spirit slumbered beneath that land, and the school itself was part of the barrier.
I could only sigh.
Now I understood why Cheonhaerang, who had remained in the Human Realm to capture Gihyeongrang, attended Seonhwa High School.
He knew Gihyeongrang would appear at that school.
Because the half-god Gihyeongrang would desire the malevolent spirit sleeping beneath that land to become a complete deity.
Even if that deity were an evil god.

“So the reason Cheonhaerang ended up like this is….”
“Because he learned the entire truth. That Gihyeongrang is his half-brother, and that his brother tried to kill him.”
“….”

I had nothing more to say. I turned my gaze toward Cheonhaerang.
A face sleeping peacefully, as if never to awaken.
Even if he did wake, what comfort could I possibly offer him?
Perhaps this was better for him. Never to wake again….

‘No. No, I….’

I shook my head. I never wanted to see Cheonhaerang like this.

“Jiho.”

I only want to see Cheonhaerang calling my name with that bright smile of his.
As he always has, and always will.
My deliberation was not brief. I knew it was reckless, absurd even.
Yet I spoke anyway.

“…Could I perhaps kill Gihyeongrang in his stead?”

Throughout her entire life, I had never experienced what it meant to harbor murderous intent.
But now I understood what it was.
I wanted to kill Gihyeongrang immediately.
Gihyeongrang had betrayed Cheonhaerang. Even before knowing he was his half-brother, he had followed Cheonhaerang like a mentor and elder brother.
And now Gihyeongrang was trying to kill Cheonhaerang.
How dare a half-divine being attempt such a thing.

“Unfortunately, without the Shadowblade, killing Gihyeongrang is impossible.”

Hand Ogeong spoke matter-of-factly, as though stating the obvious.
He observed Jiho’s eyes, which remained unbroken even by his rejection.
Though I could not kill Gihyeongrang, I could accept that determination.

“But there is a way you can help.”
“What is it?”
“You become the bait.”

To lure the Heavenly Realm and Gihyeongrang.

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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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