The Beloved Baby Deer of the Hwangryong Family - Chapter 150
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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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“Ouch, I’m bleeding.”
Li-han, who had been unable to take a step due to an inexplicable sense of unease, came to his senses at those words.
In any case, he couldn’t suspect his injured younger brother without any reason.
“Let’s go quickly. We need to show this to the physician. But where did the Young Family Head go? Don’t tell me he left you here injured and went off alone?”
Li-han furrowed his brow. He looked ready to go confront him immediately.
“He said many guests had come and he needed to go urgently. I understand.”
Seo-yu, no, Su-jeong stopped Li-han from doing so.
Su-jeong inwardly rejoiced.
‘Elder Brother Su-gyu was right. Even if he’s a Golden Dragon, he can’t recognize sorcery!’
The black fragment that she hadn’t even wanted to hold, let alone eat, was said to be a relic containing the power of Yeong-gwi.
‘If you cut it in half and feed it to Nok Seo-yu, then eat the other half yourself, your two bodies will switch.’
‘Is such a thing really possible?’
‘Yes. They say the shadow will mimic the appearance. It’s the only way for you not to return to Thunder Prison.’
At first, she didn’t completely believe Su-gyu’s words.
However, there was no other way, and if there was even the slightest possibility of getting revenge on Nok Seo-yu, Su-jeong was prepared to do anything, so she followed along.
But those words really came true.
Before Su-jeong’s eyes, Seo-yu had transformed into her appearance!
‘It, it really changed?’
Not long after, Su-gyu came out to the pavilion to handle the situation, and as planned, they locked away Nok Seo-yu who had become Su-jeong in the storage shed.
Now all that remained was for Nok Seo-yu to enter Thunder Prison in her place, and everything would be finished.
There was only one remaining worry, but…
‘But Elder Brother, what if we get caught?’
‘That won’t happen. They said Yeong-gwi’s sorcery can only be recognized by other Yeong-gwi.’
Even that would be fine since Su-gyu had guaranteed it.
‘Where on earth did Elder Brother get something like this?’
It was completely incomprehensible, but it didn’t matter anyway.
‘Yeong-gwi can’t leave the Northern Region anyway. I just need to avoid going north.’
Now Su-jeong could live as Seo-yu forever.
‘So Nok Seo-yu, you shouldn’t have thought to defy me.’
For a moment, a bitter smile crossed her lips, but then a proper, refined curve appeared as if nothing had happened.
* * *
Seo-yu couldn’t believe this situation and looked into the clay pot several times.
However, what she saw was unmistakably Su-jeong.
The Su-jeong in the water would be surprised when Seo-yu was surprised, and when she swallowed dry saliva, their Adam’s apples moved simultaneously.
[So didn’t I tell you? She looks absolutely terrible.]
Dragon Spirit said with a sighing voice, as if she found the disguise utterly distasteful.
Meanwhile, Seollin stood restlessly near the broken clay pot pieces, worrying about Seo-yu.
[Seo-yu, you’ll get hurt like that. Step back from there first. If you cut your foot, it’ll be hard to move.]
“Mm, Seollin. Thank you.”
Seo-yu carefully stepped back, avoiding the pot fragments, trying to organize her confused thoughts.
‘What on earth happened? Miss Su-jeong definitely appeared disguised as a maid and…’
As she traced her memories, that terrible moment flashed through her mind.
The cold black fragment that had been forcibly shoved into her mouth. And Su-jeong’s shadow that had moved on its own and attacked her.
‘That’s right, the shadow attacked me!’
The moment the shadow swallowed her, her consciousness had cut off. And when she opened her eyes, she had transformed into Su-jeong instead of herself.
‘This must definitely be sorcery, right?’
Otherwise, such an absurd thing as switching bodies with another person couldn’t possibly happen.
‘If it’s sorcery that manipulates shadows…’
Suddenly, one thought came to mind. Seo-yu urgently asked the two spirits.
“Could I have fallen victim to Yeong-gwi’s sorcery?”
It was at the very moment she asked the question.
Whiing—
A thin ringing sound brushed past Seo-yu’s ear.
At the same time, a strange sensation she had felt before came over her, as if an invisible barrier was being lifted.
‘The prohibition must have been lifted!’
Now Seo-yu knew what it was.
It was a sensation she could only feel when she directly reached the heavenly secrets that the spirits couldn’t reveal.
Sure enough, Dragon Spirit opened her mouth as if she had been waiting.
[That’s right. It’s Yeong-gwi’s power. An ability called Mimicry.]
“Imitating others?”
[Yes. Originally, don’t shadows follow their owner’s form? Yeong-gwi can mimic others’ appearances through shadows.]
That’s why her appearance changed when the shadows switched.
‘So that’s what she meant by telling me to spend time in prison in her place.’
Seo-yu finally realized what Su-jeong had been thinking when she approached.
What she still couldn’t understand was how Su-jeong possessed Yeong-gwi’s ability.
Moreover.
“About the fragment I swallowed. It didn’t feel unfamiliar.”
She had felt a familiar aura from the black fragment that Su-jeong had tried to force her to eat. It was definitely an aura she had encountered before.
“…The shadow that attacked the Qilin Family Mother.”
Seo-yu, who had been calmly reflecting on her memories with a settled heart, suddenly raised her head.
“It felt exactly the same as that shadow!”
Someone who wasn’t Yeong-gwi but wielded Yeong-gwi’s power.
Seo-yu knew the name of that evil being.
“You said the Evil Beast Taotie stole Yeong-gwi’s special abilities. Could he have shared his power with Miss Su-jeong?”
Once she realized it, the pieces that had never quite fit together clicked into place perfectly, as if finding their rightful positions.
[The Spirit Turtle’s power is dissolved within its shell. The black fragment you swallowed seems to be a shell fragment.]
“Ah…! That seems right.”
If it was indeed the Spirit Turtle’s shell, it explained why she had felt a sense of familiarity despite her fear.
Seo-yu had already encountered that Spirit Turtle before. Though it had been a shadow rather than the actual entity.
‘Young Master Su-gyu must have known everything too.’
Su-jeong, who had been imprisoned, couldn’t have devised such a plan alone, and it was Su-gyu who had lured Seo-yu to remain alone in the pavilion.
Perhaps even the Great Antler Deer Family Head’s death had been planned.
No, she was certain of it. Otherwise, Su-jeong wouldn’t have been able to emerge from prison so brazenly like this.
‘Even so, to harm one’s own parents.’
Seo-yu’s face turned pale. The extreme malice was even frightening.
But she couldn’t just remain paralyzed with fear.
“If this is the Spirit Turtle’s sorcery, must I live forever with Miss Su-jeong’s appearance?”
[No. If it’s sorcery using the shell, it can’t last forever. The sorcery will break when the power contained within is exhausted. However…]
Seollin trailed off. Dragon Spirit continued the thought.
[Not immediately though. There’s no telling how long it might take.]
“N-no telling how long it might take?”
[It could be days, or it could be years. The power contained in each shell varies greatly.]
Seo-yu’s vision went dark. In that time, Su-jeong could commit all sorts of misdeeds and more.
‘That can’t happen. I don’t even know why Miss Su-jeong approached our family.’
Right now, she was attending the funeral with the family members. If Su-jeong returned home pretending to be her, it would become uncontrollable.
“Isn’t there a way? I must protect my family.”
Whatever the reason, Su-jeong couldn’t possibly have good intentions.
Seo-yu couldn’t stand by and watch Su-jeong harm her precious family.
[There are two ways to break the Spirit Turtle’s sorcery. One, as you already know, is having another Spirit Turtle dispel the sorcery.]
“But there are no other Spirit Turtles.”
Seo-yu clenched her mouth shut in frustration. If that were possible, she would have lifted Father’s curse first.
This time Seollin stepped forward.
[There’s another way, Seo-yu.]
“What is it?”
[Mimicry is about imitating others, right? What Seo-yu is mimicking now wasn’t by your own will.]
“That’s right.”
Seo-yu had been forced to become Su-jeong; she had no desire whatsoever to become Su-jeong.
[So Seo-yu just needs to reclaim her true self on her own.]
“My true self?”
[Yes. The lost appearance of Seo-yu.]
Just then, voices chattering outside the storage shed could be heard. The servants were having a conversation.
“The Family Head was truly unfortunate. Who could have known he would pass away so futilely?”
“Life is originally fleeting. It’s inappropriate to say this, but honestly, he never did anything to deserve blessings, did he?”
“That’s true. Is it about time for the funeral procession to begin?”
“Not yet. We’ll move the coffin after the sun sets. Still, I should go start preparing.”
“Let’s do that.”
Soon, silence fell.
As the servants moved away from the Storage Shed, no more signs of people could be felt in the surroundings. Everyone seemed to have left to help with the work.
‘Once the funeral procession ends, the guests will return home too. I need to regain my appearance before then.’
Seo-yu looked at the tightly closed door of the Storage Shed. Though she had untied the rope binding her hands and feet, the door was still locked from the outside.
But now Seo-yu had something to rely on.
‘I can do this.’
Though she was trapped in the Storage Shed just like when she was young, Seo-yu was no longer a powerless child who could only cry in silence.
Taking a deep breath, Seo-yu communed with the Blue Thorn Vine again.
‘Blue Thorn Vine, could you help me just one more time? I want to open that door. Can you push the door latch without making noise?’
Then the vine grew rapidly once more and burrowed through the Door Gap.
Swoosh, clunk!
Soon it applied force to push out the door latch, and the locked Door Handle came loose helplessly.
Creak—
Light poured in through the gap of the opened door.
“Thank you! I’ll come see you again before I leave!”
Seo-yu stepped outside without hesitation.
Under the pouring dazzling sunlight, Seo-yu ran frantically while Shadow Stepping.
* * *
“Oh my, oh my!”
Though she stood in the middle of the Funeral Hall where wailing never ceased, Su-jeong’s heart was more elated than ever.
Even the acrid incense smell that stung her nose felt sweet. It was the scent of victory.
‘This was it. What I wanted so desperately.’
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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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