The Beloved Baby Deer of the Hwangryong Family - Chapter 73

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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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Seo-yu had been curious about this for a long time.

 

‘Jeongdam Herb came from the Qilin Family, but did no one there see Jeongdam?’

 

Both Jeongdam Herb and Snow Scale Flower had met many people before Seo-yu.

 

Yet none of them had ever mentioned meeting spirits.

 

‘If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t know, but Master would have surely told me…’

 

There was only one thing Seo-yu could guess.

 

‘Could it be because I can communicate with nature?’

 

But that was also quite a mysterious thing.

 

Even if it was natural to Seo-yu, wasn’t it something other people couldn’t do?

 

Communication with nature.

 

When she was young, she had hidden it completely because people looked at her strangely, but now she realized it was a very special ability that only she possessed.

 

“Seollin? Dragon Spirit?”

 

But neither Seollin nor the Dragon Spirit gave any response.

 

Flutter flutter, flap flap.

 

In the quiet room, only the sound of small wingbeats echoed.

 

‘Did I ask the question strangely?’

 

As she pondered, Seollin hopped down onto Seo-yu’s shoulder.

 

[That’s because Seo-yu woke us up from our sleep.]

 

“Me? I’ve never done such a thing.”

 

When Seo-yu tilted her head again, this time the Dragon Spirit spoke.

 

[You wouldn’t remember. It would have been when you were very young.]

 

“When I was young…”

 

Could it have been when she was with the Great Antlered Deer Family?

 

She couldn’t remember at all and was lost in thought with a “Hmm,” when Seollin made a loud warning cry—Screech!

 

[Dragon Spirit!]

 

When the usually playful Seollin shouted, Seo-yu was startled, but the Dragon Spirit remained indifferent.

 

[This much is fine. As expected of a bird, your courage is the size of a bean.]

 

That reaction only fueled Seollin’s anger more.

 

[What? Did you just insult us flying creatures?]

 

[I’m glad you understood.]

 

[Gah!]

 

[Shall we have a go after such a long time?]

 

“Dragon Spirit, you shouldn’t tease Seollin. Seollin, don’t fight either! Hey, you can’t hit with your wings!”

 

Seo-yu was so busy frantically stopping the two spirits who were fluttering and fighting that she couldn’t think deeply about when that “when you were young” might have been.

 

* * *

 

The Qilin was the most benevolent and fair divine beast among the primordial Four Spirits, loving all things and harming nothing, which is why it had been called a symbol of mercy since ancient times.

 

The descendants of the Qilin also resembled that gentle nature, living through long years without ever causing a single disturbance.

 

Everyone considered the Western Lands the most peaceful territory in the Jusang Kingdom.

 

But at this very moment.

 

In the dark room barely illuminated by candlelight, there was not a trace of benevolence on the face of Qilin Family Head Gi Tae-ha as he looked down at the Snow Scale Flower.

 

No, it wasn’t just benevolence that was absent. His expression was terribly dry, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

 

Tae-ha quietly gazed only at the Snow Scale Flower that had completely lost its vitality.

 

‘Its condition hasn’t improved at all.’

 

The leaves that seemed ready to crumble from being so dried up were far from the transparency described in the literature, and the stem that was supposed to emit rainbow colors also hung limply without strength.

 

The Snow Scale Flower that the daughter of the Great Antlered Deer Family had found was already in poor condition from the moment it came into his hands.

 

No matter how precious a medicinal herb might be, if it wasn’t intact, it was nothing more than withered grass.

 

Tae-ha knew this fact better than anyone, but the Snow Scale Flower wasn’t a spiritual herb that could be obtained again just by discarding it.

 

Therefore, he had devoted all his efforts to reviving the Snow Scale Flower over the past few months, but it had been of no use.

 

‘…Is there only one method left now?’

 

He had been waiting for spring when life begins to stir, when yang energy is at its strongest, all for the sake of that method.

 

Tae-ha took a deep breath and carefully gathered his strength.

 

The ability possessed by the Primordial Qilin was Growth.

 

The power to nurture, cultivate, and make bloom.

 

This noble power that had been passed down since the beginning of time had made the Western Region more fertile than any other place.

 

Tae-ha carefully spread both hands over the flower pot containing the Snow Scale Flower.

 

Slowly, very slowly, a gentle golden light began to bloom from his fingertips.

 

Soon the golden energy that spread between his fingers slowly seeped into the soil of the flower pot.

 

Swoong!

 

When the light finally completely melted into the soil, vitality suddenly overflowed throughout the entire study.

 

The dried flowers decorating the corner of the desk regained their vigor, and new buds sprouted from the tree branch hanging on the wall.

 

It was truly a miracle.

 

Tae-ha didn’t stop there and continued to pour out his energy. He concentrated with such fierce intensity that beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

 

However, no matter how much power he poured out, only one thing, the Snow Scale Flower alone, showed no signs of coming back to life.

 

Faaaaa—

 

After a long, long silence, the golden light gradually faded away. Tae-ha leaned back deeply into his chair as if exhausted.

 

In the remaining space, only the still-withered Snow Scale Flower lay there forlornly.

 

‘It’s no use.’

 

Tae-ha squeezed his eyes shut. Though he had expected this, actually confirming it left him feeling empty.

 

The reason he had so desperately sought the Snow Scale Flower was all for his dying wife.

 

The incident that completely turned his peaceful life upside down had occurred exactly ten years ago.

 

‘F-Family Head! You must return home immediately!’

 

‘What’s the matter?’

 

‘Madam has collapsed!’

 

Tae-ha, who was staying at the palace at the emperor’s summons at the time, hurried home, but by then it was already an irreversible situation.

 

‘She suddenly began hemorrhaging and lost the child. Madam has been unconscious since fainting and still hasn’t regained consciousness. Her pulse is extremely weak, so you must go to the inner quarters immediately.’

 

Barely seven weeks.

 

After exactly seven days, the wife he faced had become no different from a living corpse.

 

Gi Tae-ha mobilized all his knowledge to care for his wife, but all he could do was keep her breathing.

 

It was truly a strange thing.

 

He who was called the greatest physician in Jusang Kingdom and the pinnacle of Medical Arts could not save the one closest to him.

 

‘We’re sorry, Family Head. It’s our fault for not properly caring for Madam.’

 

‘No. It was I who left her side. Don’t blame yourselves.’

 

Even though his wife fell bedridden overnight and he lost his child, Gi Tae-ha calmly comforted the Household Members.

 

It wasn’t him ‘pretending’ to be composed.

 

Though no one knew, Gi Tae-ha was born unable to feel emotions deeply.

 

It was because he was none other than a descendant of the Qilin.

 

The Qilin loved all things equally.

 

In other words, it meant there was nothing it loved specially.

 

Thus, to Gi Tae-ha, all things were no different from each other.

 

‘The living are what matter. I merely fulfill my role.’

 

So even facing that tragic situation, he did his part.

 

While devotedly caring for his wife who had fallen into a comatose state and quietly holding a funeral for the child who couldn’t be born, he perfectly completed all his duties as Family Head.

 

‘Our Family Head truly is amazing. No matter what trials come, he never wavers.’

 

‘He’s truly admirable.’

 

The Household Members also followed his example and faithfully fulfilled their respective duties, so the tragedy that befell the Qilin Family seemed to be quickly resolved.

 

Gi Tae-ha thought everything had been properly settled.

 

Until he discovered the unfinished Baby’s First Clothes his wife had been making in the bedroom drawer, he certainly thought so.

 

‘This is…’

 

His wife, who was exceptionally skilled at needlework, had been making the Baby’s First Clothes herself.

 

He could still clearly see her saying that vines symbolized longevity, beautifully embroidering vine patterns all over the Baby’s First Clothes, hoping the baby would live long and well.

 

Without realizing it, Gi Tae-ha was gently touching the vine patterns when he discovered an empty space on the chest area with no patterns at all.

 

When he asked why this place was left empty, his wife smiled shyly and answered like this.

 

‘I was going to embroider the name there. They say if you embroider a child’s name on Baby’s First Clothes, it wards off misfortune. You’ll give them a beautiful name when they’re born, won’t you?’

 

But the child had left this world without even receiving a name, and that space still remained emptily vacant.

 

At that moment, Gi Tae-ha felt something snap deep in his chest.

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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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