The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 31
“Wait—surely the Clan Head of Geumho didn’t actually…?”
Biting the Elder Head himself!
What manner of madness was this?
Had such a thing occurred in the Hongsa Clan, the entire household would have been thrown into upheaval.
Yet Geumho permits even this?
‘How vast must the Geumho Clan’s influence be.’
For Hyeok Jae, who had only ever seen his Clan Head defer to the Council of Elders, it was astonishing.
Hui Taek spoke as though it were nothing.
“It was a brief spell of wandering in his childhood. He’s calmed somewhat now, but can such a nature ever truly change?”
In truth, Hui Taek scarcely minded the incident—the scar had earned him the right to speak harshly to Geum Do Gyeong whenever he pleased, almost a privilege. But Hyeok Jae would see it differently.
That was precisely the intent.
Hui Taek meant to unsettle him.
If Hyeok Jae withdrew his support, not even three Elder Heads would dare act rashly.
In that sense, the scar was a most excellent shock to the system.
Hui Taek continued.
“Leave Geumho Village within four days. If you do not, know that you do so at the risk of being devoured by the tiger.”
* * *
The next day, at the appointed hour, Geum Do Gyeong approached the entrance to Twelve Zodiac Village.
Arin, waiting at the gates, waved to him.
With Cho-ryeong’s leave coinciding perfectly, slipping away unnoticed had been simple enough.
“Let’s go.”
Geum Do Gyeong set a hat upon Arin’s head to obscure her face, then lifted her effortlessly into his arms.
As his hand touched the entrance, the thick roots blocking it withdrew naturally, and the way opened wide.
“Wow! How did you just do that?”
“I unraveled the Mystical Barrier that had sealed it.”
“That’s incredible!”
Blocked just moments before, yet now open without restraint!
Arin’s eyes sparkled as she watched the barrier dissolve.
The presence of the golden tiger bearing the earth’s power was wondrous.
“Feel this power well. One day you must be able to open it yourself.”
With those words, the two figures turned toward the golden-flooded entrance and vanished from sight.
* * *
Baek Moo Je lay vacant-eyed, counting clouds in the sky.
After days of quiet, the headaches had returned, and his nerves grew taut.
‘Should the Yeouiju suffer further damage, controlling the White Dragon’s power will become even more difficult. You must maintain your Transformation state as much as possible to preserve stability.’
He recalled his physician’s words, and his expression twisted.
“Quack. Nothing’s improved at all.”
Even in Transformation, the force roiling within him would not settle.
Rather, with each passing hour, the murderous impulse surging inside him grew harder to bear.
To have lost all control over power he’d wielded freely since childhood was infuriating beyond measure.
Since that moment of carelessness when he’d lost half the Yeouiju, his entire world had been shaken to its foundation.
His nerves grew more frayed by the day, until finally he’d begun wounding himself in an attempt to suppress the force.
His father, witnessing this, had sent him here to Twelve Zodiac Village with grave instructions.
‘The Divine Power of the Shrine Maiden will surely calm that troublesome strength of yours.’
His father’s choice had been sound.
Only in Twelve Zodiac Village, where the Shrine Maiden’s power radiated strongest, could he manage to keep his power in check with any ease.
Yet to Baek Moo Je, this place felt like a prison.
A body unable to move freely anywhere without another’s aid—it was unbearable.
“Dreadful.”
Then, unbidden, the memory of that strange day surfaced in his mind.
‘It started then, didn’t it.’
The moment the child’s hand touched him, the force churning in his body had stilled.
Bewildered by this, he’d sat beside the chattering child to observe.
The child’s presence did not unsettle him as others did.
Instead, he found himself drawn to hear more of the child’s voice, bright with what seemed like joy.
‘I should have asked for a name.’
But with the festival drawing crowds, finding the child again had proven impossible.
He’d left a Dragon Scale behind, hoping somehow to trace them.
Yet the Mystical Barrier woven through Geumho made it difficult to pinpoint the child’s location.
After that day, I never saw the child again.
His life grew more overcast by the hour, yet cursed if the sky wasn’t brilliantly clear.
He was kicking absently at the base of a chestnut tree when he saw it.
Someone was walking down toward the Shrine below the slope.
The moment Baek Moo Je spotted Arin nestled in Geum Do Gyeong’s arms, his expression brightened.
‘That’s her!’
That distinctive hair color alone was unmistakable.
He shifted into the form of a white lizard at once and bolted down toward the Shrine.
* * *
“It seems the Shrine Maiden has stepped away for a moment.”
Geum Do Gyeong set Arin down as he spoke.
Arin looked around the Shrine, taking it all in.
The old house, etched with the marks of countless years, emanated a profoundly sacred presence.
The sorcery that concealed Baek Moo Je’s true nature appeared to Arin’s eyes like a thick fog rolling in.
“It’s gotten cloudy. Why is there so much mist here?”
“Hmm? It’s perfectly clear though?”
“You can’t see this fog, Father?”
Geum Do Gyeong was gazing up at the sky with a puzzled expression when—
“Yes. So your eyes perceive this as well.”
Yeo Ryeong had just returned to the Shrine, and she smiled warmly.
“Shrine Maiden!”
Arin hurried over and bowed respectfully.
“Have you been well?”
“Indeed. Thanks to you, I’ve been enjoying a most peaceful day.”
– Squeak-squeak-squeak! (Hello there, little one!)
Geum Geum bounced up onto Arin’s palm and began fawning over her.
Geum Do Gyeong narrowed his eyes at this peculiar sight.
Every other time he came, Geum Geum did nothing but bare its teeth and squeak at him.
“You’ll be busy—leave the child with me.”
“When should I return for her?”
“At the Hour of the Rooster—
(between five and seven in the evening)
that would be ideal.”
“I understand.”
Geum Do Gyeong, who had matters to discuss with the Elder Head, took his leave of Arin.
“Be good while you’re here with the Shrine Maiden.”
“See you later, Father.”
Arin beamed and waved him off cheerfully.
Unable to tear his gaze from her receding figure, he kept glancing back—and Geum Geum squeaked at him for it.
– Squeak-squeak-squeak-squeak! (Stop bothering us and get going already!)
The look on its face left no doubt of the hostile intent, so Geum Do Gyeong widened his eyes in return.
– Squeak, squeak-squeak-squeak? Squeak! (Shrine Maiden, did you see? He’s glaring at me!)
“Stop playing with Geum Geum and be on your way.”
“We’re not playing.”
After Geum Do Gyeong withdrew in visible disgust, Yeo Ryeong led Arin deeper inside the Shrine.
Within stood statues of the Twelve Zodiac Spirits gathered together.
Among them was a statue of a girl who appeared to be a Shrine Maiden.
“Have you heard the legend of the Twelve Zodiac?”
“The story of a human girl who became friends with the Twelve Zodiac Spirits?”
“Yes. Through a contract with that girl, the Twelve Zodiac deities obtained human forms.”
Yeo Ryeong began from the very beginning of that ancient tale.
The story of when the Twelve Zodiac ruled this land and encountered a lonely girl with nowhere to belong.
Arin listened intently to the dark history of the First Shrine Maiden, whom she had thought knew only brightness and light.
“Through the contract, the girl could see the power of the Twelve Zodiac with her own eyes and feel it with her own body. Just as you can perceive that mist outside.”
“I’m the same as the Shrine Maiden?”
“Yes. This power was originally a right the Twelve Zodiac granted to that girl. For they all came to love her once they became human.”
It seemed impossible that she, Arin, could possess the same gifts as the First Shrine Maiden, who had been beloved by all.
“That can’t be right. I can’t even use Transformation—I’m half-blooded Twelve Zodiac…”
For Arin, caught in the belief that she was only half, it was difficult to accept.
Most of the Twelve Zodiac thought the same way, so it was only natural.
Yeo Ryeong lowered her voice, as if sharing something deeply confidential.
“What I’m about to tell you is a secret you mustn’t share with anyone else but me.”
Arin nodded in understanding, brought her index finger to her lips, and made a soft “shh” sound.
Yeo Ryeong found it endearing and continued with a smile threading through her voice.
“I can wield the power of the Twelve Zodiac Spirits without undergoing Transformation.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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