Looking for the Runaway Heavenly Maiden - Chapter 91

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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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91.

This was the moment I had longed for, yet why did the Jade Emperor wear such an expression?
Jiho paused in thought before understanding dawned upon her.
The Jade Emperor was worried. It was the same concern that Yeonhwa had already harbored.
Whether Cheonhaerang could stand against Gihyeongrang.
Cheonhaerang and I were still young. We had not yet reached adulthood.
Compared to Yeonhwa and the Jade Emperor, our experience fell far short.
I too could not deny my own worry for Cheonhaerang. Yet worry alone would change nothing in the end.
We had to forge ahead, cutting through the destiny laid before us.
I could only trust in Cheonhaerang.
The Heavenly Talisman that had chosen him as well.
I spoke to Hand Ogeong. She was smiling.

“Jade Emperor, please do not worry so much.”
“….”
“We have managed so well until now, haven’t we?”

Hand Ogeong’s gaze turned briefly toward Jiho, then alternated between Cheonhaerang and Jiho.
He let out a helpless chuckle.

“You’re right. Now it’s your turn.”

The Sword of Spiritual Dao had chosen Cheonhaerang. Seowangmo had entrusted her bow to Jiho.
A new era was dawning.
So all that remained for the adults was faith.
Faith that evil would ultimately meet its ruin.
And that these children would bring about that destruction.

“By the way, what has become of the Princess? Is she well?”

Jiho asked with a worried expression.
Cheonhaerang, who had sheathed the Sword of Spiritual Dao, gazed at his sister cradled in Hand Ogeong’s arms.
He didn’t know what had happened before they arrived. When they got there, his sister was already in the Jade Emperor’s embrace.
Despite Gihyeongrang approaching within arm’s reach, the Jade Emperor remained motionless.
The Jade Emperor stared only at Gihyeongrang as though entranced by something.
If they had arrived even slightly later, the Jade Emperor might have been captured by Gihyeongrang along with his sister.
Thanks to Seon Igyeong, they hadn’t been late—a small mercy. Seon Igyeong had transported them to any space they desired.

“….”

Hand Ogeong gazed quietly at Yeonhwa without answering.
For the children’s sake, I should have assured them not to worry, but the words wouldn’t come.
It was all my fault.
I drew Yeonhwa closer into my embrace. The warmth she radiated soothed me.
Watching Hand Ogeong, Cheonhaerang and Jiho exchanged glances again. The Jade Emperor’s demeanor was starkly different from usual.
He seemed as though he might collapse at any moment. Thus, though they too were concerned for Yeonhwa, they couldn’t ask further.
They could only hope that Yeonhwa would awaken soon.
With Hand Ogeong’s silence, the conversation ended, and only the sound of wind scattered through the stillness.
It was Hand Ogeong who broke the silence first.

“But how did this happen? Why did we move here?”

It was the ruins of Gihyeongrang’s Residence. Since everything was already finished here, there was no need to return.
It was Cheonhaerang who answered Hand Ogeong’s question.

“Seon Igyeong guided us here.”
“Seon Igyeong?”

Hand Ogeong still couldn’t piece together the mystery. Why had Seon Igyeong guided him to this place?
Was there something more here?
It was in that moment of contemplation that a memory flickered through his mind.
A memory from long, long ago. It was only natural that he hadn’t recalled it until now.
At the time, he had dismissed it as a fleeting amusement—nothing more than a passing fancy that would soon fade.
Such was the nature of a powerful man’s affection, after all.
Before ascending to the Heavenly Realm, he had witnessed many such men.
And this one held the position of Heavenly Emperor.
A man of such stature loving a mere mortal woman? Who would have believed it would last forever?
Least of all the woman herself.
Once, long ago, that woman had spoken to him first.
She too had sensed that the Patriarch would depart.
So he had thought nothing of it.
Once the Patriarch returned to the Heavenly Realm, he would surely forget her soon enough. So carelessly had he assumed.
Never knowing that a child had been born.
Never knowing what the man maddened by love had bestowed upon the woman.
This place was the house where that man and that woman had dwelled together.
Upon that very ground, Gihyeongrang’s Residence had been erected like a phantom.
Had Gihyeongrang remembered this place?
Was that why he had destroyed it?
To sever it completely.
Then, had Seon Igyeong deemed this location safe?
But they could not remain in such ruins. A new dwelling would have to be built.
The moment Hand Ogeong finished his thoughts, a somewhat cynical voice pierced his ears.

“Isn’t it because Father’s power still lingers here? That’s why Seon Igyeong guided us—it would be safer than anywhere else.”
“What?”

Hand Ogeong looked at Cheonhaerang with eyes that demanded to know how he could possibly know such a thing.
Cheonhaerang smiled faintly and answered.

“Seon Igyeong showed me. That grand love of his.”

His words dripped with mockery.
It was the first time Cheonhaerang had spoken in such a manner, so both Hand Ogeong and Jiho were taken aback.
Hand Ogeong quickly composed himself, carefully lowered Yeonhwa to the ground, and rose to his feet.

“We need to make this space habitable first. Wait a moment.”

Hand Ogeong approached the ruins and extended his hand. Light erupted from his palm, swirling around the ruins like a vortex.
That was when it happened.

“What?”

Hand Ogeong found himself bewildered without meaning to. The light pouring from his hand faded, and instead, the ground began to glow.
The remnants of the manor vanished in an instant. In their place, a serene traditional tile house materialized.
Hand Ogeong recognized it immediately. It was that house where the Patriarch and a human woman had dwelled in those distant days.
He could not fathom why this house had preserved its form and appeared before him now.
He glanced up at the sky for a moment, then withdrew his gaze. Cradling Yeonhwa once more, he spoke.

“Let us go inside.”

Jiho stole a glance at Cheonhaerang’s expression, took his hand, and followed Hand Ogeong.

* * *

My vital energy seemed to be draining away. My vision grew increasingly blurred before my eyes.
Yet several formation arrays still remained to be dismantled.
They were formidable formations. As if demonstrating that I could not dismantle them.
Perhaps it had been a trap from the beginning.
A test of my loyalty.
Knowing that false loyalty would vanish.

“Yujeong, are you alright?”

It was Yerim’s voice that awakened my fading consciousness. Her voice was filled with concern.

“Is there anything I can do?”
“No, Yerim. There is nothing you can do except lean on me.”

It was a voice that should not have been heard now. Yerim’s body went rigid.
And I—

“Yujeong!”

Yerim could not catch me as I collapsed helplessly to the ground. It was because of the man whose arms now bound her body.
Thick, solid arms wrapped around her waist. The scent of a cool breeze pierced through her nostrils.

“Yerim.”

The man’s languid voice tickled her ears. In the same instant, the mask concealing her face was torn to shreds.
Yerim didn’t want to turn and look at the man. But he forced her to see him.
Both her hands were bound in a heartbeat, and her back struck the wall with brutal force.
A low gasp escaped her lips, but she quickly bit down on them. She refused to show weakness to this man—to Gihyeongrang.
Yerim’s eyes met Gihyeongrang’s. Defiance blazed in her gaze, and he smirked with amusement at the sight.

“You never disappoint me.”
“Let me go.”
“I suspected you might try to flee. But I never imagined you’d be so careless about it.”
“Release me!”
“Yerim. Now that I’ve come this far, do you really think I’d let you go?”

His breath grazed her lips. Yerim caught sight of his eyes—gleaming with golden light.
Eyes that Gihyeongrang could never possess.

“You….”

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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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