The Beloved Baby Deer of the Hwangryong Family - Chapter 131

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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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The next dawn, a Golden Dragon landed in the front courtyard of the Family Head Hall. It was Hwang Hyeon-rang who had come to pick up Seo-yu.

“Father!”

Seo-yu, who had been anxiously craning her neck to look up at the sky for some unknown reason, ran straight to Hwang Hyeon-rang.

Hwang Hyeon-rang skillfully scooped up Seo-yu in one arm.

“Our Seo-yu, did you do well? Did you eat your meals properly?”

“Yes! Delicious food! Everyone was really kind to me. They let me read books to my heart’s content, and I went to see the Heavenly Medicine Forest every day.”

“Is that so? I should thank them. Dad is happy to see our Seo-yu looking so joyful.”

Gi Tae-ha watched the father and daughter conversing affectionately from a distance.

Seo-yu, chattering excitedly, looked very comfortable. Just seeing that, he could tell what a good father the Golden Dragon Family Head was to the child.

‘Their expressions are quite similar.’

Though she was his bloodline, Seo-yu’s smiling face seemed to resemble Hwang Hyeon-rang.

Such a thought suddenly occurred to him.

Perhaps Seo-yu had grown up so brightly because she had lived with the Golden Dragon Family.

There was no one so warm in his family. The only person who showed emotions was his uncle Tae-heum. That was the nature of the Qilin race.

However, despite being a Qilin, Seo-yu was honest in everything and faithful to her emotions. She laughed well, knew how to shed tears when she needed to cry, and gave love generously without holding back.

‘Perhaps that’s why she possesses such exceptionally abundant power.’

Being a Qilin himself, Gi Tae-ha could feel how much the Life Force dwelling in this land cherished Seo-yu.

That was probably because Seo-yu embraced this land with the same heart.

Unlike themselves, who always treated everything with the same consistent attitude and emotions.

“We should get going soon. Seo-yu, let’s greet the Qilin Family Head before we leave.”

“Yes!”

Hwang Hyeon-rang and Seo-yu approached Gi Tae-ha. Gi Tae-ha offered only one word to Hwang Hyeon-rang.

“Thank you.”

For saving his daughter, for giving the child a new life, for staying by her side so that Seo-yu could smile so brightly…

There were so many reasons to be grateful to Hwang Hyeon-rang that even a whole day wouldn’t be enough. So Gi Tae-ha compressed all those words into a single phrase.

“I don’t think I’ve done anything particularly deserving of thanks.”

Hwang Hyeon-rang chuckled briefly, then added with a serious expression.

“Don’t we all want the same thing?”

“Indeed.”

Seo-yu’s happiness.

The two fathers understood each other’s intentions without needing to speak.

Seo-yu, who had been quietly listening to the adults’ conversation beside them, fumbled in her belongings and pulled out something to offer.

“Family Head, it’s not really a gift… but I wanted to express my gratitude.”

What she shyly offered was a letter. Gi Tae-ha looked down at the neatly folded paper and asked.

“May I read it now?”

“Um… Yes! It’s fine!”

Gi Tae-ha unfolded the paper. It was a letter describing how much joy she had experienced while spending time with the Qilin Family, and how grateful she was for their kind treatment.

Gi Tae-ha, who had been carefully reading through the text, paused. His gaze was fixed on the last line.

【From Seo-yu .】

Seo-yu, noticing where his gaze was directed, smiled brightly.

“That’s my name. It was chosen hoping I would become an auspicious and joyful person.”

“…It suits you well.”

“It’s all thanks to the Family Head choosing such a good meaning. I’m truly grateful!”

Gi Tae-ha couldn’t take his eyes off the name Seo-yu had written. Hwang Hyeon-rang silently patted Gi Tae-ha’s shoulder. Seo-yu bowed her head politely in greeting.

“Then I’ll come visit again when I get the chance, Family Head!”

“Anytime.”

His mouth opened before he could even think. Gi Tae-ha hurriedly completed his sentence.

“You can come whenever you want. The same goes for Heavenly Medicine Forest.”

“Really? Thank you! Father, did you hear that?”

“Yes. Thanks to our Seo-yu, I’ll get to hear about Heavenly Medicine Forest too.”

Soon the father and daughter, after exchanging final greetings with Gi Tae-ha, walked away chatting quietly together.

Gi Tae-ha stood there blankly watching until Golden Dragon became a small star in the western sky, then gathered the letter and headed to the Medical Hall.

Passing through the Medical Hall side door, which only Qilin direct lineage could use, he finally entered the room where his wife slept.

And he opened the drawer beside his wife’s bed that he hadn’t touched for a long time, taking out a small set of clothes from inside.

Quietly drawing back the curtain and pulling a chair close to the bed, Gi Tae-ha showed the letter he had carefully carried without creasing to his sleeping wife.

He spread out the letter very neatly, though his deeply sleeping wife couldn’t possibly see it.

“This is the name you and I chose for our child. Auspicious Seo, joyful Yu. Seo-yu.”

“…”

“It fills my heart, though I don’t know if it will please yours.”

Gi Tae-ha, who had spoken quietly as if reciting, shook his head.

“No, you would like it. You are such a tender person.”

She was someone who had personally embroidered vines on baby’s first clothes, praying for the health of a child not yet born.

If she knew about this, she would probably find Seo-yu very endearing. She would be so delighted she wouldn’t know what to do with herself. She was one of the rare pure-hearted people in the clan.

His wife was still sleeping, just as she had ten years ago. Her face remained as beautiful and kind as ever, making the passed years seem meaningless.

Gi Tae-ha carefully brushed away his wife’s fallen hair and opened his mouth.

“…Don’t let go of life.”

These were words he had wanted to say for a long time. Words he couldn’t bring himself to say because he had no face to show his wife.

“I still can’t let go of you.”

The idea that Qilin treats all things fairly is a lie. Otherwise, someone’s absence couldn’t have carved such a large hole in his heart.

A sense of loss.

Gi Tae-ha now knew what that emotion was called.

“You and I…”

He even knew that it was another name for love.

“We have to watch our child live a long life.”

His slow hands caressed the baby’s first clothes. He took out thread and an embroidery needle from inside the drawer.

He intended to fill the empty space with Seo-yu’s name. So that whenever his sleeping wife awakened, she could see that name.

To fulfill the promise he couldn’t keep ten years ago, even if it was now.

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Seo-yu watched the Qilin Family growing more distant and felt a sharp pang in her heart.

She couldn’t understand why the sight of the Qilin Family Head looking up at them from afar seemed so sad.

Finally, the Qilin Family Head’s figure completely disappeared, becoming a mere dot.

“Ah…”

At the sigh that unconsciously escaped through her teeth, Hyeon-rang glanced at her and said.

“Our daughter seems sorry to leave.”

“No! I want to go home quickly. It’s just… I guess I grew quite attached. They were really good to me.”

“There will be opportunities to come again. We might visit often. Why, didn’t the Qilin Family Head say earlier that you’re welcome to visit anytime.”

“But the Western Region is so far away.”

“This dad can take you there.”

At his nonchalant reply as if it were no problem, Seo-yu briefly opened her mouth, then closed it again. Then she hugged Hyeon-rang’s back tightly and buried her face in his mane.

“Father, Father.”

“Yes, my daughter.”

“Mother told me something. She said lying is bad. Is that true?”

Though it was a sudden question, Hyeon-rang thought very seriously before answering.

“Of course. Lies can hurt other people, and they can make situations that could be easily resolved more complicated.”

“I thought so too.”

“That’s right.”

“Then, Father. You must answer my question honestly too.”

“What’s this about? This dad is always honest.”

Though his tone was somewhat puzzled, Hyeon-rang readily nodded.

Whooo—

After taking a deep breath, Seo-yu asked seriously.

“By any chance, doesn’t your body hurt when you use Beast Transformation?”

“…!”

Hyeon-rang’s eyes widened instantly. His vertically long pupils narrowed as surprise appeared.

“How did you, Seo-yu, know that…”

Except for Bi-yeon, Hyeon-ya, and his aide Hwan-wol, no one knew about this.

He had naturally kept it secret from the children. Even from Li-han, the Young Family Head.

But Seo-yu knew this fact?

“Actually, every time I rode on Father’s back, I heard strange sounds from your heart. Sounds I never heard from Young Master Li-han or other family members.”

“Just from that, you connected this father’s illness to Beast Transformation?”

Hyeon-rang asked back as if he couldn’t believe it.

Seo-yu felt very sorry. She had just received a teaching about not lying, and now she immediately had to lie.

But she had no choice. She couldn’t reveal the fact about the curse.

‘What if the curse refuses to leave Father after I tell him? I can’t let Father continue suffering.’

Until they found Yeong-gwi who cast the curse, it had to remain a secret. Instead, Seo-yu offered the excuse she had diligently prepared.

“It was a really unique sound. So distinctive that I couldn’t possibly mistake it.”

This was true. It was a completely different sound from normal heartbeats, unlike anything she had ever heard before.

“So I remembered it, and while reading medical books at the Qilin Family, I came across a case of a patient suffering from a similar illness to Father’s.”

“What? Seo-yu, is that really true?”

“Yes! They said it could be cured with medicinal herbs called Dragon Pearl Grass and Thousand Year Spirit Herb. And I have Dragon Pearl Grass!”

Dragon Pearl Grass, the medicinal herb that bore fruit resembling a dragon’s orb, was none other than Dragon Spirit Herb.

From the ancestral records left by the Qilin Family’s ancestors, Seo-yu had been able to obtain clues not only about Snow Scale Flower but also about Dragon Spirit Herb.

“Dragon Pearl Grass is the finest minister herb among all medicinal herbs that exist in this world, possessing the power to bring out the maximum effect of whatever herb it is used with.”

At first she was skeptical, but the moment she saw that passage, she was convinced ‘This must be Dragon Spirit Herb!’ Because it was none other than Dragon Spirit Herb that had revived the Jeongdam Herb.

‘Dragon Spirit, this Dragon Pearl Grass is referring to you, isn’t it?’

— That’s right, Seo-yu! When Dragon Spirit was part of the Four Spirits, he always faced the Four Evils at the front, so when leaving his will behind, he said he wanted to try playing a supporting role for us instead.

— Hmm, that was this one’s deep intention. When used together with Thousand Year Spirit Herb, even the most vicious curse will be repelled in one strike.

At first, she had worried about how to bring up the topic of Thousand Year Spirit Herb and Yeong-gwi.

Because she didn’t even know properly whether either of them truly existed or where they might be located.

But Seo-yu already possessed Dragon Spirit Herb. Since she had obtained half of what was needed, she could speak a bit more comfortably about it.

“Then what about Thousand Year Spirit Herb? Do you happen to know where that can be obtained?”

“I don’t know the exact location, but I read that it’s said to be in the Northern Lands.”

Finally able to speak about Thousand Year Spirit Herb, Seo-yu swallowed nervously. It was finally time to bring up this matter.

“Father, so about that… would it be possible for me to travel to the north?”

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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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