The Beloved Baby Deer of the Hwangryong Family - Chapter 123
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I’ve heard this before.
That the Snow Scale Flower possesses the strongest life force of any medicinal herb in this world.
The transparent, sparkling flowers circulate blood throughout the body and restore vitality, the stem is a special remedy that soothes fever and pain, and the root regenerates new flesh and strengthens organs.
So Seo-yu brewed herbal decoction by boiling the roots of the Snow Scale Flower for her parents.
Once before entering the Medical Academy, and now once more upon returning home for vacation.
She had used up all the roots she had collected in advance to brew the herbal decoction with utmost care.
Indeed, after drinking the herbal decoction, Bi-yeon became healthy enough to fly freely, something Hwang Hyeon-ya had previously restricted. It was effective.
‘But why is Father in pain?’
Come to think of it, even on the day he took me to the Medical Academy…
Seo-yu suddenly recalled a memory and pressed her ear against Hwang Hyeon-rang’s back.
Wheeze, thump.
Wheeze wheeze, thump thump.
The strange noise that could still be heard and the irregularly beating pulse were far from those of a normal person.
It was truly strange.
‘The roots of the Snow Scale Flower are supposed to heal even damaged organs…’
Just as she was lost in thought, the Dragon Spirit appeared with a pop! and said:
[It must mean it’s not a physical problem.]
‘You mean he’s not physically ill?’
Seo-yu blinked several times.
If his heart was pounding like this and she had clearly seen him in pain, yet there was nothing wrong with his body, then what exactly was the problem?
‘Then? Then what’s wrong with our Father?’
[I suspect he might be cursed.]
“What?”
A curse!
When Seo-yu was startled by the completely unexpected words, Hwang Hyeon-rang glanced back.
“Hm? Seo-yu, what’s wrong? Did Dad fly too fast?”
“Oh, no! I was talking in my sleep!”
Seo-yu hurriedly shook her head and hugged Hwang Hyeon-rang again.
Thump, wheeze—
As the still unnatural heartbeat could be heard, the two spirits conversed.
[What? Dragon Spirit, did you sense something?]
[I’m not certain. However, this man showed strange reactions when transforming last time too. I thought he was physically unwell, but if he’s the same even after eating your root, that must be the only explanation.]
Seollin also seemed somewhat flustered, as if this was completely unexpected. Seo-yu swallowed dryly.
‘A, a curse means very bad sorcery, right? But I heard that disappeared long ago…’
The spirits living in the Northern Lands cast sorcery using divine power, and among those who inherited that power, some occasionally went down the wrong path.
Therefore, she had read in books that Jusang Kingdom strictly prohibited casting sorcery on people by law and eradicated it through punishment.
[Hmm. Let me take a look.]
The Dragon Spirit flapped its small wings once, turned its body, and before she could stop it, charged toward Hwang Hyeon-rang.
‘Ah, Dragon Spirit?!’
Seo-yu was startled, but by the time the two dragons would have collided, the Dragon Spirit had transformed into a golden beam of light. Soon, a gentle golden glow enveloped Hwang Hyeon-rang’s body.
At the same time, Hyeon-rang tilted his head curiously.
“Hmm?”
“Why, why are you like that, Father? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?”
“No. I just felt something strange for a moment. It’s fine. Dad must have been mistaken.”
[That boy. He’s sensitive to energy, just like my descendant should be.]
For a moment, a somehow pleased voice could be heard.
[This is…]
The Dragon Spirit, who had been muttering in a completely different, serious voice from before, emerged from the body and returned to dragon form.
The Dragon Spirit’s expression was rigidly hardened.
‘Dragon Spirit, sir. How is it? Is our father alright?’
When asked with an anxious heart, the Dragon Spirit let out a hollow laugh and clicked his tongue.
[I don’t know whether to call this vicious or foolish! To think he’s been flying around just fine in this condition.]
[Dragon Spirit! So what exactly is it?]
Seollin urged with an exasperated expression. Seo-yu also just stared at the Dragon Spirit with her lips pressed tightly together.
The Dragon Spirit, who let out a deep sigh, pointed at Hyeon-rang with his chin.
[This man is under a curse. A curse from Yeong-gwi, no less.]
* * *
The Golden Dragon Family at the eastern end and the Qilin Family located at the western end were very far apart, but for a Winged Dragon cutting through the sky with large wings, it wasn’t such a great distance.
“We’ve arrived.”
Finally reaching the Qilin Family.
Hyeon-rang lowered his body and flew not to the main gate but to the mansion’s back garden, landing lightly. This was something he had decided after consulting with Gi Tae-ha beforehand to avoid watching eyes.
As he released his Beast Transformation and carefully helped Seo-yu down from his back, Seo-yu quietly embraced Hyeon-rang’s neck.
“Father, thank you for bringing me here. Really.”
“Whose daughter could be this pretty, kind, and well-mannered?”
Hyeon-rang chuckled and tried to pat Seo-yu’s head. But then he heard Seo-yu quietly murmuring.
“It must have always been very difficult for you to bring me around.”
A faint trace of tears was buried in the child’s words. Hyeon-rang, who was about to ask in surprise why she was saying that, soon realized what had happened.
‘She must have worried a lot after seeing me like that before we departed.’
Since she was already such a caring child, she must have been very concerned. The problem was that he couldn’t endure the pain from the strain on his body due to repeatedly using Beast Transformation.
He hadn’t wanted to make her worry.
“Our Seo-yu is so light, how could it be difficult? Dad doesn’t find this difficult at all.”
When he met her eyes and smiled warmly, Seo-yu wiped the corner of her eyes and looked at Hyeon-rang with very determined eyes.
“I’m going to learn a lot here. So that Father won’t have any painful places at all.”
“Yes, then Dad will trust only in Seo-yu.”
That appearance was so reliable that it truly seemed like she could cure all illnesses. Even this pain that seemed to eat away at his life every time he used Beast Transformation.
Of course, how could Seo-yu cure a disease whose name he didn’t even know, but Hyeon-rang hoped that Seo-yu would become such a great physician.
Not for his sake, but for Seo-yu’s dream.
“Someone came out to greet you over there. Dad will go before it gets brighter. Our Seo-yu, take good care of yourself, and if anything happens, make sure to tell Dad. Got it?”
“Yes. Please be careful, Father.”
Just as he was about to endure the familiar pain and transform into beast form again, Seo-yu firmly grasped Hyeon-rang’s hand.
“Father!”
“Hm?”
Then she closed her eyes tightly and murmured.
“Please don’t get hurt. I’ll definitely protect you.”
Hyeon-rang felt a warm energy somehow settle in his chest. It was a strange feeling where his heart, which had been beating noisily for some time now, quieted down for just a moment.
Soon, a household member from the Qilin Family approached Seo-yu. The household member politely greeted Hyeon-rang and then spoke to Seo-yu.
“You’ve arrived. I shall escort you.”
Seo-yu, who had been watching Hyeon-rang with worried eyes until the very end, turned around.
Hyeon-rang stood silently and took in the scenery before his eyes.
The pavilions with their overall curved lines, as if representing the Qilin Family Head’s gentle nature, and the fresh green light filling the garden suited Seo-yu very well.
Standing among them, Seo-yu naturally blended into the scenery as if she were a child who had grown up here from the beginning.
‘Having lost such a beautiful daughter, the Qilin Family Head’s heart must be aching too.’
Hyeon-rang hoped this tragedy could move in a direction that would bring happiness to everyone, and turned his gaze away from Seo-yu, who was no longer visible.
Under the black sky, the majestic form of the Golden Dragon slowly spreading its wings shone magnificently.
In the unusually light breeze today, the pain of death that had always weighed him down felt fainter than usual.
‘Is Seo-yu really protecting me?’
Swallowing his jest, Hyeon-rang had a flight that wasn’t painful for the first time in a very long while.
* * *
According to the Dragon Spirit, there were two ways to break a curse.
One was for the sorcerer who cast the curse to lift it again, and the other was to nullify the curse itself with an even stronger power.
So Seo-yu first tried to find out where Father had been cursed. She also needed to reveal the existence of the curse while she was at it.
But the Dragon Spirit stopped her.
[Stop. When a curse is spoken aloud, its power becomes even stronger. When you try to eliminate it, it struggles desperately to hide itself, so you shouldn’t mention it carelessly.]
Seo-yu realized anew just how terrifying curses were. And she thought.
‘Why on earth did Yeong-gwi create such sorcery?’
That’s what she wondered.
But if she didn’t ask anything at all, she wouldn’t even be able to get clues to uncover the curse, so Seo-yu asked Hyeon-rang indirect questions.
‘Father, have you ever met Yeong-gwi by any chance?’
‘Hm? No, I haven’t. The Yeong-gwi Family didn’t even exist in our generation.’
That also yielded no results.
‘The Dragon Spirit said Father was under Yeong-gwi’s curse. But Father has never even met Yeong-gwi.’
Hyeon-rang, who said this, showed no signs of being flustered or hiding something. He was simply puzzled.
‘If I knew who cast it, I thought I might be able to find a way to break the curse…’
It would have been nice if she had power strong enough to break the curse, but there was no way Seo-yu possessed such power.
Knowing that Father was suffering from a curse but being unable to do anything about it made Seo-yu dejected.
Just then, someone walked toward Seo-yu from the end of the corridor with steady steps. The person who approached with elegant strides was Gi Tae-ha.
Seo-yu quickly composed her expression and bowed politely in greeting.
“Hello, Family Head. Thank you so much for inviting me like this.”
However, instead of answering, Gi Tae-ha simply gazed at her quietly.
‘Perhaps he didn’t hear me?’
As she wondered in confusion whether she should greet him again, fortunately Gi Tae-ha slowly opened his mouth.
“You came well. Thank you for… coming.”
“Not at all. I’m the one who should be grateful. You can’t imagine how surprised I was to hear that you’d let me enter the Heavenly Medicine Forest!”
Seo-yu smiled brightly. Then she asked in a very careful voice.
“Um, Family Head. Is the Family Matriarch alright?”
This was the story she had been most curious about. She had asked Hwang Hyeon-ya as well, but since he wasn’t an insider, she had only received the answer that he didn’t know that much, so she had been waiting even more eagerly for news.
“My wife’s body has gotten better. Her complexion is no longer pale, she’s breathing properly, and her pulse is beating normally too.”
“Wow! That’s such a relief!”
Seo-yu was greatly delighted.
Qilin Grandfather had said that the Family Matriarch was barely clinging to life and was no different from a dead person.
Hearing those words had pained her heart greatly, but it seemed the Snow Scale Flower had definitely taken effect.
‘Tae-eon must be so happy too!’
It was right after that when quiet words followed.
“However, she still hasn’t been able to open her eyes.”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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