Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 63

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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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63.

“What is it?”

I kept my voice as low as possible while asking. But there was no answer in return.
Cheonhaerang, who had carefully poked his head out, was staring beyond the fence with a hardened expression.
I tilted my head in confusion and carefully raised my eyes to look beyond the fence. There was something on the playground.
A pitch-black mass wavered before rapidly heading somewhere—into the New Building where the study hall was located.
Watching it, I felt my breath catch in my throat. I had never sensed such malevolent energy from Gihyeongrang or from the Heavenly Realm.
It was on a different level. More viscous and chilling than either of them.
As if it were befitting of something called an Evil Spirit.
Could it be? The thought flashed through my mind. That was when I saw the bird melting into the darkness.
A three-legged divine bird with pitch-black feathers—a Samjokho.
I turned to look beside me. My eyes met Cheonhaerang’s.
Cheonhaerang spoke, his eyes wavering.

“It seems… an Evil Spirit is using its power.”

* * *

The Samjokho floating in mid-air watched the mass. The mass followed a male student passing through the hallway toward the restroom.
The Samjokho also headed toward the restroom, following the mass.
The mass seeped into the restroom ceiling. The male student who had finished his business washed his hands at the sink.
Drip. Drip. Water fell from the restroom ceiling. The droplets soaked the student’s uniform.

“What?”

The male student looked up at the ceiling. It was strange. Water seemed to be leaking from the ceiling, yet there wasn’t a single water droplet on it.
The student tilted his head and lowered his gaze. And when he caught a glimpse of the mirror.

“Ahhh!”

The male student screamed and collapsed. What he saw in the mirror was unmistakably a woman laughing with her mouth grotesquely split wide open.
The student couldn’t bring himself to turn around. But an icy cold hand touched his shoulder.
That was when the Samjokho lunged at that hand.

“P-please! Save me! Save me!”

The male student seized the moment when the creature’s grip faltered and scrambled frantically out of the restroom. “G-ghost! It’s a ghost!” His screams echoed through the hallway.
The woman stared at what was biting her hand. A pitch-black body. Three legs. A three-legged crow.
The Patriarch’s messenger.

How pathetic.

With her words, wind surged forth. The three-legged crow flew straight into the wall.
Crash! With a deafening boom, the creature slammed against the wall.
The woman walked toward the three-legged crow. Standing before the unconscious creature, she raised her hand.
Nails that could not be called human—long and grotesque—were about to pierce it.
Ha. The woman let out a hollow laugh. The three-legged crow vanished.
The woman stabbed her nails at the spot where it had disappeared. Crash. With another thunderous sound, the wall shattered.
Soon after, the woman, now a pitch-black mass once more, seeped into the floor and disappeared.

* * *

My heart felt as though it would burst. Watching the spectacle the three-legged crow revealed, Cheonhaerang and I couldn’t breathe properly.
When our eyes met the woman’s, I thought we’d been discovered, and my anxiety was unbearable.
The woman was not the Evil Spirit itself, but merely a fragment of its consciousness.
I understood the Evil Spirit’s seal hadn’t been broken, so how was this possible? Was it exerting power even while sealed?
It was hard to believe. But first, I had to tell the Jade Emperor and Yeonhwa about what we’d witnessed.
The Jade Emperor would be home.
It was I who broke the silence between us first.

“…Let’s just go home for now.”

Cheonhaerang nodded in agreement. Just as we were about to stand—

“Yeah, you two head home first.”

I nearly screamed. My heart sank.
I tried not to show it, but my trembling legs wouldn’t obey. I collapsed where I stood, desperately trying to calm my racing heart as I lifted my head.
Before my eyes stood the Jade Emperor and Yeonhwa.

“Wh-why are you here…?”

At my question, Hand Ogeong smiled with playful mischief. Then he flicked my forehead.

“Ouch!”
“What do you mean why? I came to see why those truant bastards were spying on the school.”
“Jiho, are you alright?”

Cheonhaerang asked urgently, gently brushing his hand across my forehead.
Hand Ogeong watched his behavior with an expression of disbelief. It was good that they got along well, but seeing this… it was utterly shameless.

“Then let’s all go home.”
“Wait, just a moment—!”

There was no chance to stop him. With a snap of Hand Ogeong’s fingers, Cheonhaerang and Jiho vanished.
As the two disappeared, Hand Ogeong’s expression hardened as if he had never smiled, gazing out at the Playground.
I knew his power had grown stronger, but I hadn’t expected it to reach this level. To be able to control a clone like that.
Even if all the Heavenly Talismans gathered and the Sword of Spiritual Dao regained its original power, could it truly kill the Evil Spirit?
And with Cheonhaerang wielding it?
Hand Ogeong could guarantee nothing. It felt as though everything was spiraling toward the worst possible outcome.
He turned to look at Yeonhwa.

“If things continue like this, I cannot guarantee what will happen when the Evil Spirit’s seal breaks, Your Highness.”

His words carried profound implications. And Yeonhwa understood them fully.
The catastrophe the Evil Spirit would bring, and Cheonhaerang’s ability to face it.

“Can Cheonhaerang even properly wield the Sword of Spiritual Dao?”

Why did Eul’s words from before keep crossing my mind now?
In truth, I couldn’t know whether Cheonhaerang could face this Evil Spirit.
The Evil Spirit was regaining its power faster than anticipated.
Perhaps the Evil Spirit would break its own seal and escape.

“…Let’s set up a formation first.”

With a voice that had grown dark and heavy, Yeonhwa commanded. She had brought fresh flowers from her mother’s garden.
She handed the flowers to Hand Ogeong. Though she had failed, she believed he would not.
Holding the flowers in his hand, Hand Ogeong headed toward the playground. Standing in the center of the field, he let the flowers fall to the ground.
As the slowly descending flowers touched the earth, the petals burst forth like a bud opening, scattering in all directions.
From the petals scattered across the ground came a sharp *whoosh*—crimson chains began to extend and intertwine.
From a single petal remaining in his hand, a chain also extended, weaving together with all the others.
Hand Ogeong closed his eyes quietly and grasped the chains.
*Clang!* A sharp sound rang out from the chains as crimson light rippled across them. That was the moment.

So it’s you again, Jade Emperor!

A sinister voice echoed through the air. Pitch-black smoke erupted from the ground. The smoke quickly took on the form of something—or someone.
An Evil Spirit.
*Whoosh*—Hand Ogeong’s grip tightened on the chains as his eyes opened. He faced the Evil Spirit.

How dare you interfere with me?

*Whistle*—The Evil Spirit’s hair, extending in all directions, transformed into sharp spines and flew toward Hand Ogeong. But they never reached him.
*Poof*—The spines all turned to ash and scattered. The Evil Spirit watched this with a face twisted in fury.
The Evil Spirit’s assault was far from over. The shadows on the ground surged upward and writhed.
Dozens of shadows all flew toward Hand Ogeong.
But the shadows too could not touch Hand Ogeong.
A golden staff appeared out of nowhere and swept away all the shadows in a single motion. Then it flew toward something in the distance.
*Whoosh*—The staff came flying too fast; the Evil Spirit could not dodge in time.

Gahhh!

The staff struck the Evil Spirit’s chest. Though it was merely a projection, the Evil Spirit felt the impact.
Especially since the formation was being completed at that very moment.
Hand Ogeong smirked at the Evil Spirit, raising one corner of his mouth.

“I told you before. No matter how much creatures like you struggle, you cannot stop me. Well then, is that truly the case?”

*Whoosh*—Hand Ogeong pulled the chains taut. The crimson chains wrapped around the Evil Spirit.

Ahhhhh!

The Evil Spirit shrieked in agony, thrashing violently. Hand Ogeong observed with an indifferent gaze.
Then the chains shattered, scattering into the void.
The Evil Spirit wrapped in the chains dissipated like smoke. The chains that had covered the ground glowed crimson before vanishing entirely.
The formation was complete.

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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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