The Beloved Baby Deer of the Hwangryong Family - Chapter 158

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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 territory instantly transformed into a scene of chaos.

Black mist seeping through the cracked ground covered all directions, and the bizarre howls of demon beasts filled the air.

It was practically no different from the middle of a battlefield.

“Bi-yeon, we need to evacuate the people!”

When Hwang Hyeon-rang immediately shouted, Bi-yeon nodded without delay. For two people with extensive experience fighting demon beasts, long explanations were a luxury.

“Leave it to me! Li-han, can I trust you with Seo-yu?”

“Yes, Mother. I will protect Seo-yu!”

Li-han also moved without panic, finding his duty as he had been educated as the Young Family Head. He immediately blocked Seo-yu’s front and kept watch of the surroundings.

“Kraaaak!”

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Hwang Hyeon-rang, transformed into a Golden Dragon, blocked the demon beasts’ path.

Even without swinging his claws, just standing there firmly with his golden scales gleaming changed the weight of the air itself.

As an overwhelming pressure that seemed crushing spread in all directions, the demon beasts that had been charging forward boldly froze in fear.

Hwang Hyeon-rang dominated the entire area with his massive presence alone, binding the demon beasts so they could no longer rampage.

While keeping the demon beasts’ feet tied, Bi-yeon soared high into the sky.

“A rift has occurred, so everyone evacuate!”

One beat of her blue wings changed the air currents and swept away the black mist, and the Azure Dragon’s thunderous voice echoed through the sky, making people quickly follow Bi-yeon’s words.

Seo-yu held her breath at the coordinated movement unfolding before her eyes.

Just moments ago, her body had been frozen with fear, but seeing her parents’ strong figures responding calmly, her terror gradually subsided.

‘They’re both really amazing!’

Seo-yu looked at the two dragons with eyes full of respect, then bit her lip.

‘I wish I could be helpful too…’

Unlike the other family members, she didn’t possess any force that would be helpful in such situations.

It was also difficult to exert tremendous power like when she had saved the Qilin Family Head. That had been close to a miracle.

‘Isn’t there anything I can do?’

At that moment, Gi Tae-ha suddenly knelt on one knee, lowering his posture. Li-han asked with a puzzled expression.

“Family Head, what are you trying to do?”

“I’m trying to prevent the poison from spreading further.”

“Are you saying you’ll perform purification?”

Surprise mixed into Li-han’s voice. Seo-yu also looked at Gi Tae-ha with wide eyes.

‘Purification! Could the Family Head also tend to contaminated land like Jeongdam Herb?’

Feeling the children’s gazes, Gi Tae-ha gave a bitter smile mixed with self-mockery.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have that level of power right now.”

After the bitter murmur came a longing reminiscence.

“But our Ancestor possessed all the power to protect this land. Purification was just one part of it.”

Seo-yu looked back and forth between the ground and Gi Tae-ha with curiosity and muttered.

“I thought only Jeongdam Herb had the power to purify.”

“Jeongdam Herb itself is a medicinal herb blessed by the Primordial Qilin. It’s natural since it shares a portion of his abilities.”

“If not purification, then what are you planning to do?”

At Li-han’s question, Gi Tae-ha quietly lowered his eyes. The children’s gazes followed him.

Soon, a gentle green light began to flow from Gi Tae-ha’s hands.

“Wow!”

Seo-yu let out an exclamation.

As the sacred light seeped into the ground, the darkly dying soil began to regain its vitality.

“Family Head, the land has come back to life!”

“I’ve added strength to the land’s inherent life force to prevent the poison from seeping into the deep underground veins. This only works when the poison hasn’t completely spread like now.”

“Still, the soil isn’t suffering anymore. Family Head, you’re truly amazing!”

A faint smile appeared on Gi Tae-ha’s face at her unguarded admiration.

It was a moment later when the hesitating Gi Tae-ha slowly opened his mouth.

“Seo-yu, could you perhaps help me?”

* * *

In the long shadow cast beneath the tree, Yi-eon quietly watched the writhing earth.

Ferocious demon beasts continuously crawling up through the cracked ground and black mist encroaching on the entire area.

That scene seemed to perfectly replicate the northern landscape branded like a mark in Yi-eon’s memory.

‘It’s the same as back then.’

Yi-eon’s heart pounded madly. His breathing became labored and his fingertips began to tremble.

As a child, Yi-eon had experienced witnessing a rift opening.

That day, young Yi-eon, who hadn’t even properly awakened to sorcery yet, had nearly lost his life to a demon beast.

Thus, the bloody memories of that day still followed him like a nightmare, and Yi-eon didn’t want to go anywhere near places touched by demon beast aura.

In fact, even at this very moment, his instincts were screaming at him to flee this place.

But Yi-eon ultimately couldn’t take a step away.

Because he couldn’t leave Seo-yu, who was standing there on the land being tainted by poison.

Yi-eon’s gaze turned toward Su-jeong, who had transformed into a demon beast.

‘She should have spat out the shell by now, so why is she still holding onto it?’

Yi-eon furrowed his brow.

When he had sent his aura toward the shell fragment embedded in Su-jeong’s body, he had definitely confirmed that a reaction occurred.

Normally, she should have been unable to withstand that rejection reaction and vomited up the shell, breaking the sorcery.

But instead, Su-jeong had swallowed the shell’s aura even deeper and transformed into a grotesque demon beast.

On top of that, a rift had suddenly appeared in the peaceful land, making it impossible to understand what was happening.

‘What on earth is going on…?’

Yi-eon, who had hidden his body in the shadows and pushed his aura into Su-jeong once more, hesitated.

It was because he felt something different from before.

‘Is there another power added to the shell?’

Moreover, that power was connected outside of Su-jeong’s body.

That was quite strange. The shell contained divine power in itself, so normally there should be no leakage of power to the outside.

‘Where is it connected to?’

Just watching Su-jeong as a demon beast was difficult enough, but to release the mimicry cast on Seo-yu, he had to extract the shell.

And to remove that shell, he first needed to eliminate that unknown aura that was preventing its expulsion.

‘…I have to.’

Yi-eon suppressed his trembling heart for Seo-yu’s sake and stealthily moved, following the mysterious aura that extended thinly to the outside.

The stream of that power was surprisingly connected deep into the crevice of the rift from which the demon beasts were pouring out.

The problem was inside. The interior of the rift was complete darkness where not a single point of light entered.

‘I can’t enter in this state.’

Shadows only exist under light.

After hesitating for a moment, Yi-eon finally drew up the power of Beast Transformation.

The black shadow rippled strangely and changed form, soon taking the shape of a small, agile squirrel.

Braving his fear, Yi-eon stood at the edge of the rift and looked down.

An abyss as deep and dark as a cliff gaped open so vastly that its end was unknowable.

Yi-eon soon carefully descended along the rough surface of the cracked ground.

And finally, he couldn’t help but be shocked at the scene revealed in the darkness.

‘What is that!’

The aura flowing from the shell embedded in Su-jeong’s body wasn’t simply leaking outside.

It was expanding the rift. It was clear evidence that someone had artificially created the rift using the shell as a medium.

That wasn’t the end. Yi-eon felt a chillingly familiar sensation in the murky aura that stung his nose. It was an aura he had seen long ago, or sometime before.

[Run away.]

At the voice that suddenly came to mind, Yi-eon instinctively realized the owner of the shell that Su-jeong had swallowed.

That Yeong-gwi he had encountered in the Golden Dragon Family Head’s Shadow World—this was definitely that Yeong-gwi’s shell.

‘Then the person who cursed the Golden Dragon Family Head is….’

The blazing red hair of the one who had handed the lacquered box to Nok Su-gyu flashed through Yi-eon’s mind.

‘It was the Phoenix Emperor!’

Rumble—!

The moment realization came, a tremendous roar echoed from above.

Reflexively raising his head, Yi-eon saw the roots of an old tree that had been enduring the rift while deeply embedded in the ground lose their strength and get miserably dragged upward.

* * *

Seo-yu was a little flustered by Gi Tae-ha’s sudden request. But she soon nodded.

“I want to help. But is there anything I can do to be of help?”

“Of course. It’s something only you can do.”

Gi Tae-ha smiled gently toward Seo-yu, who asked back with a worried face.

Though she wore Su-jeong’s shell, his eyes looking at Seo-yu’s clear soul shining through contained indescribable trust.

“If it’s something only I can do….”

It was the moment Seo-yu was about to say something more.

Li-han’s eyes, which had been carefully observing the surrounding situation, sank sharply.

A demon beast that had just burst out of the rift was fiercely charging, targeting Hwang Hyeon-rang’s blind spot.

“Father!”

Li-han’s sharp cry cut through the battlefield.

Seo-yu immediately realized where Li-han’s gaze was directed.

While Hwang Hyeon-rang was momentarily unable to look back as he suppressed the pack of demon beasts, a hideous demon beast with its maw wide open was targeting his nape.

“Young Master Li-han, hurry! It’s fine here, so please go help Father!”

Seo-yu quickly tugged at Li-han’s sleeve and shouted.

Li-han bit his lips and hesitated.

Both Mother’s orders and his own resolve prioritized protecting Seo-yu.

However, as the rift widened, the number of demon beasts pouring out had already grown far too much for Hwang Hyeon-rang to handle alone.

“…I’ll be right back. Never leave the Family Head’s side!”

Li-han shouted resolutely and drew his sword from his waist.

Cool sword qi sliced through the air, and Li-han kicked off the ground with lightning-fast movements and soared up.

Leaping behind Hwang Hyeon-rang in an instant, his sword came down heavily upon the demon beast’s head.

Meanwhile, the poison seeping from the center of the rift became even thicker and more intense.

Black smoke gradually stained the surroundings with darkness, yet strangely, only the area around Gi Tae-ha remained clear and refreshing.

‘It’s as if I’m in a completely different place.’

Seo-yu didn’t know, but it was thanks to Gi Tae-ha setting up an invisible barrier to protect her.

Gi Tae-ha put more strength into the hand pressed against the ground. Sweat dripped down from the tip of his chin, but his gaze was directed only toward Seo-yu.

“Seo-yu, do you remember when we practiced earth communion together in the Heavenly Medicine Forest?”

At his quiet voice, Seo-yu slowly nodded her head.

The moment when she felt the forest’s breath and countless lives underground chirped like songs while speaking to her was still vivid in her memory.

“Right now, this land is suffering. Communion is about looking into and comforting the sorrow of the wounded earth.”

Gi Tae-ha looked at Seo-yu with an indescribable expression.

“This land will surely open its heart to you.”

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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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