Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 69

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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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69.

Cutting through the wind, Cheonhaerang found himself lost in thought.
Was this right?
What kind of boyfriend rides on the back of his girlfriend anyway?
Even if she was Baekho….

“Grrrowl! (Hold on tight!)”

At Jiho’s cry, my hands, which had nowhere else to go, finally gripped her back. Baekho’s back was incredibly solid.

Keke keke. Fresh meat, fresh meat!
There’s a young one too, a young one!
Catch those brats! Let’s have ourselves a feast!

I was running to evade the demons swarming toward us, but I couldn’t avoid them all.
I balanced myself with one hand while slashing through the demons.
Something was wrong. Despite running continuously, the hallway showed no sign of ending.
The stairs were still far away. It was as if we were circling in place.

“Something feels off, Jiho.”
“Growl. Grrrowl. (You’re right. The hallway won’t end.)”

Normally, we would have already descended the stairs by now. The building wasn’t large enough for us to keep running without reaching the end.
Jiho came to a halt. A shimmering blue light rippled from her plump feet, spreading across the floor and ensnaring the demons.
Jingle.
The soft sound of bells rang out.
A spirit appeared before them and then vanished, and the spirit’s shell enveloped them.
It was a shell that even Gihyeongrang couldn’t penetrate, so mere demons stood no chance.
The floor that had been sticky and slimy with demons was clean only within the shell.
Watching the demons clinging to the shell, I descended to the ground. Jiho’s form, which had been Baekho, returned to normal.

“Jiho, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

I gripped her shoulders and asked with a worried expression. Jiho smiled as if to say she was fine.

“I’m fine. The real problem is getting out of here.”

Cheonhaerang followed my gaze, surveying our surroundings. Humans sprawled across the floor everywhere. Malevolent energy coiling around the building.
Demons without end.
And here—no door in sight.
Not even a window was visible. It was as if to prove this was no longer the Funeral Hall where we had been.
I had to find a door. Only then could I purify this building.
But how?
Had they even created a door in the first place?
The demons continued to grow stronger, feeding on the lingering thoughts of the living and the dead.
Such was the nature of spaces where the deceased dwelled.

“Let’s move around within this space for now.”

I nodded and followed Cheonhaerang. The turtle shell surrounding us was covered in demons clinging to it. They were desperately trying to crack it, but the shell remained unmarred.
Honestly, it was repulsive. No matter how many times I saw such grotesque things, I never grew accustomed to them. My expression naturally twisted in disgust.
Deliberately ignoring the demons cackling as they clung to the shell, I spoke to Cheonhaerang.
Ignoring the goblins clinging to his ears and giggling, Jiho spoke to Haerang.

“It’s probably some deformed thing, right? Or maybe it’s a heavenly stem.”

He didn’t want to worry her.
Haerang didn’t want to worry Jiho.

“We can get out of here, right?”
“We can get out of here, right?”

The floor was slick with the malevolent energy the demons were emitting. Fortunately, we were unaffected inside the shell.
The floor was slick with the yin energy that the demons exhaled. Fortunately, there was no effect inside the turtle shell.

“I’ll be able to get through this. So let’s not worry too much, okay?”

I alternated my gaze between myself and Cheonhaerang inside the shell. The clean floor without any malevolent energy.
The shell protected us from the demons’ influence. Then… could I expand this shell more widely?
I tapped the inside of the shell experimentally. It was solid.
Then my eyes met with a demon’s. It looked at me and twisted its mouth into a grotesque grin.
I frowned and turned away from the creature. I called out to Cheonhaerang.
Jiho frowned and turned away from Yoggui. He called for Haerang.

“Cheonhaerang.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you expand this turtle shell wider than this?”
“I haven’t tried yet… Why?”
“Demons inside the turtle shell aren’t affected by anything, right? So couldn’t we make this hallway or this building unaffected too?”

Now that she mentioned it, that was true. I had only thought of the turtle shell as a simple barrier.
Cheonhaerang looked down at his feet. Unlike the muddy floor everywhere else, it was clean.
Inside the turtle shell, there was no malevolent energy from the demons.
If he expanded the turtle shell wide enough to fill this entire hallway, he might be able to eliminate the demons.
Cheonhaerang lifted his head. He met the demon’s gaze directly beyond the turtle shell.
Toward the demon grinning wickedly, Cheonhaerang raised the corners of his mouth.
Jingle.
The sound of bells echoed through the hallway. Above Cheonhaerang’s head, the Eight Trigrams Bell materialized.
The demons’ movements stopped.
Soon, the form of a spirit demon rose like smoke above the Eight Trigrams Bell.
Jingle.
With the bell’s sound ringing again, light spread from the ground.

Screeeech!
Crack!

The demons’ screams filled the hallway. The demons burned away in the light and vanished.
The turtle shell expanded to fill the space where the demons had disappeared. As the turtle shell grew, the pitch-black malevolent energy covering the floor and walls dissipated.
Finally, the turtle shell filled the entire hallway. Inside it, there were no more demons or malevolent energy.
With the malevolent energy gone, the hallway returned to its original state. I could see the windows again, and the stairs were visible.
I hurried toward the window. I looked beyond the glass.
Outside, malevolent energy still churned. Standing in the middle of the vast parking lot outside the building was someone.
An unfamiliar man. Our eyes met. He raised one corner of his mouth.
That was the moment.

“Jiho!”

My consciousness faded in an instant, and I couldn’t hold onto it.

* * *

Good evening, viewers. We bring you an urgent breaking news report. This afternoon, a major sinkhole caused the collapse of a funeral hall building in Seoul. Hundreds of mourners evacuated from the scene before the collapse, but it has been confirmed that some bereaved family members and mourners were unable to evacuate in time. We now connect you to the scene.

Upon seeing the collapsed building in the video, Yeonhwa shot to her feet. That was definitely the building.
The Funeral Hall where Imdonggu’s funeral was being held.
Today, the students from 2nd Year Class 4, where Imdonggu belonged, had attended his funeral.
Cheonhaerang and Jiho were there right now.
The ground could collapse suddenly, but this incident was certainly not that. It had to be the work of Gihyeongrang or the Heavenly Realm.
Yeonhwa tried to rush out. But a voice stopped her.

“Oh dear. That won’t do, Princess. You must play with me, after all.”

It was a familiar voice. She had never forgotten this voice.
Yeonhwa slowly lifted her head. Someone was already sitting on the sofa.
Though she knew she should attack first, she could not. For a moment, her fingertips trembled.
She had never forgotten that face either.
Even if that woman had forgotten her.

“Hello, Princess. Shall we have some fun together?”

Crash!
Yeonhwa’s chain and the woman’s crescent blade clashed.
Watching the crescent blade, Yeonhwa found it difficult to suppress the turmoil in her heart.
That crescent blade—the woman had chosen it because her weapon was a crescent blade.
Saying she wanted to learn the same techniques.
Jeong of the Heavenly Realm.
Once, her oldest friend.

* * *

“Was there a need for you to go personally?”

Yueul asked Gihyeongrang. Black smoke undulated in Gihyeongrang’s hand as he slowly surveyed the school.
They were the souls of humans he had personally descended to collect.
He favored humans drowning in sorrow. Souls bearing resentment were easily corrupted.
He had also brought a good heart. The heart, brimming with vitality, overflowed with yang energy.

“Isn’t it quite amusing to watch them act so boldly despite their weakness?”

Gihyeongrang answered with a voice tinged with laughter and scattered the souls.
The souls spreading widely were forming a formation—a formation designed to break Hand Ogeong’s array.

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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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