The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 4

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

Chapter 4
Rather than let a child of the Twelve Zodiac Signs go without a Spirit Core, it seemed the intention was to give it to a child who needed it more.
The Geum Ho Clan bore the bloodline of the Tiger Divine Beast among the Twelve Zodiac Signs.
They had guarded the Divine Maiden for generations—one of the Twelve Zodiac Signs even the Baek Ryong Clan dared not cross.
If the son of such a distinguished house fell ill and required a Spirit Core, A Rin would have no choice but to be sold and have her Spirit Core stripped away.
A Rin stepped backward, her voice wavering.
“No, that’s not right. Father would never sell me.”
“This child still doesn’t grasp the situation. Do you need your Spirit Core torn from your Dantian before you come to your senses?”
……
“Well, anyway. It’s your choice. I’ve warned you, so there. Look for yourself.”
So So flicked her tongue and vanished below the stone wall.
A moment later, something flew over the wall and into the compound.
Thud.
“Soon enough, people from the Geum Ho Clan will come! And by then, it’ll be too late to run!”
Inside the Luck Pouch were a small amount of money and a key.
* * *
A carriage bearing the Divine Maiden Yeo Ryeong pulled into the entrance of Hong Sa Village.
Spring had arrived, and Hong Sa Village overflowed with peach blossoms—truly the finest season, with picturesque scenery at every turn.
Yeo Ryeong’s hair, streaked with the silver of long years, was gathered neatly into a single coil.
An unmistakable aura emanated from the elderly woman—one that brooked no disrespect.
On her lap sat Geum Geum, a golden rat, cracking open peanuts.
It was then that Geum Do Gyeong, the Patriarch of the Geum Ho Clan and her attendant, spoke.
“Perhaps now you might tell me the true reason for this visit.”
“Did I not say I came to see the spring beauty of Hong Sa Village?”
Even the gentleness in her voice could not dispel Geum Do Gyeong’s suspicions.
“You are not one to appreciate flowers, if I may say so. Do you not remember? When Do Hun offered you the first blooms he’d cultivated as a gift, you refused, saying they were unfit even for tea.”
“That boy’s gifts are as good as poison to me.”
“He wasn’t offering them to be eaten.”
Geum Do Gyeong’s brow furrowed with evident exasperation.
Regardless, Yeo Ryeong’s gaze had already drifted toward the grand manor of the Hong Sa Estate in the distance.
“The child is there, then.”
At her words, Geum Geum—who had been absorbed in eating peanuts—spoke up.
– Yes. There is a child upon whom Spirit Technique has no effect. Even Hong A Hyun, the heir of the Hong Sa Clan, failed to perceive it, yet she saw through it at once.
Geum Geum’s memory of what Hong A Hyun had done to her surfaced, and she scratched her ear with a foreleg.
The Golden Bell hanging from her ear chimed silently as it swayed.
Yeo Ryeong had hung it there after Geum Geum’s ear had been torn.
“Shall I punish him for you?”
– No need. That wretch will come to the Twelve Zodiac Divine Village when the time arrives anyway. Then I shall take my revenge myself, so please overlook it for now.
Geum Geum’s teeth ground together with a low growl, and Yeo Ryeong burst into laughter.
– Very well. I’ll turn a blind eye to three transgressions on your part.
– The Hong Patriarch will likely try to present a false daughter. Since I know where the true daughter is kept, I shall bring her myself.
“Yes. It seems only our Geum Geum truly worries about these old knees.”
“I also share your concern.”
At Geum Do Gyeong’s addition, Yeo Ryeong smiled warmly.
“Ah yes, of course. You’re here too.”
“Does that small creature please you so much? You carry it everywhere, and I swear it grows more presumptuous by the day.”
At his words, Geum Geum’s eyes narrowed and she stuck out her tongue mockingly.
The expression was clearly one of provocation, and Geum Do Gyeong’s brow drew inward.
“Look at that. Sometimes I wonder if it’s truly an Awakened Divine Beast of the Twelve Zodiac Signs and not simply human. The way it carries on, more like a person every day…”
“Do Gyeong. If Do Hun were unable to achieve Spirit Core Awakening, what would you do?”
The sudden question caught Geum Do Gyeong off guard, and he blinked.
After a moment, he answered.
“I cannot say, having never faced such a thing. But I imagine I would exhaust every avenue seeking a solution.”
“And if even then the door would not open—would you abandon Do Hun?”
“What manner of question is that? To sever a Heavenly Relationship over such a matter? No. We would try all we could, and should it fail, we would simply accept it and live as we must.”
“Yes. That is how it should be between parent and child.”
Yeo Ryeong’s expression grew shadowed as she thought of A Rin’s cruel circumstance.
A Divine Beast of the Twelve Zodiac Signs whose Spirit Core had not opened, whose awakening had failed.
Most parents would have traveled far and wide to find a way to open their child’s Spirit Core, and no one would have thought it strange.
But Hong Yi Jin had done no such thing.
Instead, she was desperate to hide A Rin.
When she learned that a six-year-old child had been locked away in the decrepit Annex Building, she was left speechless.
“Geum Do, do you still want a daughter?”
The moment Geum Do Gyeong heard the question, his expression hardened.
It had been three years since his wife’s death, living with his two sons.
He had never considered remarriage, so Yeo Ryeong’s question did not sit well with him.
Three black-hearted men living in the Geum Ho Clan, and now talk of acquiring a daughter?
“You’ve been asking strange questions all day. If Jin Gyeong heard such a thing, he’d leap from his grave.”
“Not only children born from one’s own womb become one’s children, do they?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Perhaps I might be able to fulfill an old wish of yours.”
Geum Do Gyeong let Yeo Ryeong’s cryptic words go in one ear and out the other.
There were often times when he could not fathom what she was thinking, so he simply thought, ‘Here she goes again.’
* * *
Inside the estate, where spring’s breath hung thick in the air, peach blossoms bloomed in full glory.
A Rin’s body felt heavy that day. A chill ran through her—she thought a cold was coming on.
“Achoo!”
A Rin sniffled and fidgeted with the Luck Pouch lying on the floor.
Two days had already passed since So So visited.
The Key that girl had given her could unlock the Annex Building’s sealed doors.
But A Rin could not bring herself to step foot outside the Annex Building.
The faces of the family who had loved her stayed with her, and she could not escape them.
‘Does your leg hurt, A Rin? Shall your brother carry you?’
‘Our little A Rin can’t sleep, I see. Come here. Your mother will sing you a lullaby.’
‘A Rin, if there is anything you wish for, tell me. Your father can give you anything.’
Because she had been loved far more than she had been neglected, her feet would not carry her forward.
Moreover, she had no idea what she would do or how she would live outside the estate.
She was only six years old, and there was nothing she could do.
Yet she did not want to die like this.
Every night, A Rin dreamed of being seized by a tiger.
The dream of being swallowed whole by an enormous tiger made her tremble every night.
As time drifted aimlessly on, the tightly shut door opened and So So appeared.
“Why haven’t you left yet?”
“Oh.”
Hostility rang in that blunt tone.
A Rin glanced down at the clothes she wore, then looked at So So once.
So So, dressed in clothes that looked warm and soft, seemed like someone from a different world than hers.
Wearing the ornaments that had once belonged to A Rin as if to flaunt them, So So’s eyes were cold and sharp.
A Rin fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke.
“I can’t leave.”
“I gave you the Key. Do you really want to be devoured? The Geum Ho Clan came this morning!”
At the mention of the Geum Ho Clan’s arrival, A Rin’s heart lurched.
“But Hong A Hyun said I mustn’t leave this place…….”
Grasping at straws, she spoke these words, and So So replied sharply.
“Do you still think your brother considers you family?”
The words, honed like a blade, cut into A Rin. She clenched her lips, as if protecting herself.
So So sensed A Rin’s turmoil and opened her mouth.
“Fine. I’ll show you for yourself.”
So So grabbed A Rin’s hand roughly and dragged her outside the Annex Building.
“W-wait, let go!”
A Rin startled and resisted, but her scrawny frame was no match for So So’s strength.
She was pulled helplessly toward the Training Ground where Hong A Hyun trained.

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