The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 34

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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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Chapter 34
Do Gyeong stared at him in disbelief as Mujer nestled his head into Arin’s embrace and transmitted his words silently.
– I made a wager with the Priestess. I’ll stay by this child’s side until the promised week has passed.
Without my permission!
Do Gyeong felt a dull ache at the back of his skull as he shot a glare at Yeoryeong.
She must have orchestrated this entire affair.
Yeoryeong paid no heed to Do Gyeong’s sharp gaze.
“Then I entrust Mujer to your care, Arin.”
“Yes, Priestess! Leave it to me!”
The more cheerfully Arin answered, the more Do Gyeong’s spirits sank.
What was she thinking, cradling that creature in her arms like an animal?
And a white dragon at that, playing the lizard.
‘I’ll have no choice but to take him with me.’
Seeing Arin’s delighted face, Do Gyeong couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
‘Fine. What harm could one week do?’
Once the week was over, he’d send the creature back without hesitation.
“One week. Not a day longer.”
With that resolve, Do Gyeong issued his ultimatum firmly.
“Hehe, thank you! Father!”
The moment Do Gyeong consented, Arin rubbed the lizard against her cheek in delight.
Mujer’s eyes went wide as saucers, and Do Gyeong cried out in alarm.
“Don’t!”
In a panic, Do Gyeong snatched Mujer away from her.
“Ugh.”
A sharp, electric pain shot through Do Gyeong’s hand, and he dropped Mujer at once.
– Don’t touch me.
Mujer landed on the floor and murmured calmly.
– As you know, I struggle to control my strength, and I may inadvertently cause great offense to the Master.
Do Gyeong’s eyes narrowed at the polite words paired with such disrespectful behavior.
‘He’s doing this on purpose.’
Reacting so violently to a mere touch, yet turning docile as a lamb around Arin.
It rankled him.
He was about to demand an explanation when Mujer spoke again.
– I assure you, no harm will come to your daughter.
He seemed oblivious to the fact that his very existence posed a threat.
How could he understand the heart of a father forced to keep a white dragon of hidden identity at his precious daughter’s side?
– Yes. As it should be. I may also strike you by accident, after all.
Mujer let out a quiet laugh at the emphasis Do Gyeong placed on the word “accident.”
In truth, he was powerless—unable even to touch a single hair on Arin’s head.
For the moment her hand brushed against him, the raging fire within him would subside.
Mujer turned away from Do Gyeong and approached Arin, raising both front paws.
Arin scooped him into her arms once more.
The moment her touch found him, Mujer’s eyes grew drowsy and content, and Do Gyeong felt a strange heaviness settle over him.
“Let’s go.”
His hollow words prompted Arin to take Do Gyeong’s hand.
“Priestess, I’ll come visit again soon!”
“Do. You must practice the Cultivation Method I taught you every single day without fail.”
“I will!”
And so Arin departed.
Yeoryeong turned to Geumgeum and spoke.
“Visit them often and keep watch over the two of them.”
– Chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp. (Don’t worry. I do hope their compatibility proves favorable!)
Geumgeum whistled as the three figures receded into the distance.
– Chirp-chirp, chirp! (But what a waste—that stern one and Arin? What could they possibly talk about?)
“Surprisingly, he speaks quite a bit to people he takes a liking to. He said more than three words just now.”
– Chirp? Chirp-chirp-chirp! (Really? The sun would have to rise in the west!)
Geumgeum gazed up at the sky and shook his head vigorously.
Fortunately, the sun was indeed sinking toward the western horizon.
* * *
Upon arriving at Maehwadang, Arin’s first task was to prepare a resting place for Mujer at the head of her bed.
When Arin laid out the soft cushion, Mujer positioned himself on it as if he’d known exactly where it was meant to go, then settled down.
The moment he lay there as comfortably as if in his own home, Do Gyeong’s nerves, which had been growing tense from a distance, became almost unbearably acute.
“Even so, sleeping together like this isn’t quite right.”
“Why not?”
“Lizards are sensitive to heat. The cool air outside would suit him better than a warm place.”
At this transparent excuse, Mujer extended his claws and clung to the cushion with a soft scratch.
“Really?”
“If you wish, I could build a separate house for him outside.”
“Hmm.”
Arin was just beginning to deliberate.
— Squeak, squeak.
For the first time, Mujer produced a sound, drawing Arin’s attention back to him.
He pressed his advantage, licking her fingertips and wheedling with all the charm he could muster.
As if pleading not to be cast out into the night.
Receiving the full force of those pitiful eyes, Arin spoke.
“I’d rather keep him here. What if he got attacked by predators if I raised him outside?”
She drew him close, cradling him protectively against her chest.
“He’s so adorable—everyone would definitely be after him.”
As if.
Here she was, forced to watch this decidedly unadoable creature prance about with endearments.
Do Gyeong found himself trapped in this strange impasse, capable of nothing but exhaling heavy sighs.
He couldn’t reveal the truth, so the burden of swallowing his frustration fell to him alone.
The child was being stubborn for perhaps the first time—not truly stubborn, but earnest—and he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.
“But only on the cushion.”
If Mujer so much as aimed for Arin’s bedding, Do Gyeong would not hold back.
It was a warning directed at Mujer, who was already wearing the smile of a victor.
Unaware of any of this, Arin simply beamed.
“Come here, Seol. This is your place from now on!”
Mujer ignored Do Gyeong’s warning entirely and climbed back onto the cushion.
Watching him contentedly munch on fruit, Do Gyeong’s expression turned as cold as frost.
“Sleep well, then!”
Still anxious about leaving the two of them alone together, Do Gyeong quietly called Arin over and whispered in her ear.
“Did you try what I taught you?”
“His tail?”
When Arin lowered her voice in response, Do Gyeong nodded.
Arin then answered with innocent candor.
“Yes. He really liked it, just like you said. You were right!”
“…He liked it?”
But that’s the white dragon’s Reverse Scale.
Unable to believe his ears, Do Gyeong asked again, and Arin nodded vigorously.
“He ate well too. Other people said he won’t eat what they give him, but he eats for me—isn’t that strange? Seol must really like me.”
The more Arin chattered, the deeper the worry lines etched themselves across Do Gyeong’s face.
He’d specifically instructed her to keep that area off-limits.
‘He didn’t react to his Reverse Scale being touched? He liked it? That dragon…?’
His plan had somehow veered drastically off course.
Do Gyeong spoke to himself with a bewildered expression.
“…Did I misjudge this entire situation?”
That shouldn’t be possible.
So he truly didn’t react with anger when his Reverse Scale was touched?
Why on earth?
“Pardon?”
“No, never mind. It’s good that he liked it…”
Do Gyeong fumbled through his words, trying to collect his scattered thoughts.
Everything had unfolded in the opposite way from what he’d anticipated.
With that, Do Gyeong departed.
Arin settled herself cross-legged and closed her eyes.
What she’d heard from the Priestess today had been nothing short of astonishing and wondrous.
She, whom she’d thought useless, apparently possessed a special power within her.
She longed to cultivate it quickly, to wield her strength as freely as the Priestess did.
‘First, I must learn to sense how the Qi flows within my own body,’ she recalled the Priestess saying.
The moment Arin focused on the Qi within her body, following Yeoryeong’s instruction.
A golden wave flowed outward from Arin’s surroundings.
Like a multitude of stars descending to earth, it enveloped everything around her.
Feeling this, Arin opened her eyes and gasped.
“Wow.”
When Arin touched the Qi flowing from her own body, it was absorbed smoothly into her palm.
Meanwhile, Mujer, who had noticed that Arin’s Qi had changed subtly, watched the sight unfold in silence.
It wasn’t directly visible to the eye, but he could sense that Arin was wielding a Spirit Core.
‘What exactly is she?’
She was clearly one of the Twelve Earthly Branches, possessing a Spirit Core.
Yet her Qi felt subtly different from the other Twelve Earthly Branches.
And besides…….

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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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