The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 50

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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 50
“I prepared both prizes! But second place gets a smaller flower crown.”
It was her thoughtful way of making sure both first and second place felt good about their wins.
When A Rin rose onto her toes, Do Yeong bent down to help her.
Do Yeong, wearing the flower crown, struck a proud pose.
“My flower crown looks better, don’t you think?”
“Hehe.”
“I’m afraid I must disagree.”
“Just agree with me, will you!”
Do Yeong shot the words out aggressively and reached to link arms, but Mu Je dodged nimbly away.
Watching Do Yeong’s eyebrows twitch at this, Do Hun spoke up.
“Mu Je has an aversion to being touched.”
Do Yeong’s eyes widened in protest.
“What? That can’t be right. Yesterday that guy held our little one’s hand and went into the noodle restaurant together.”
It was at precisely that moment.
Do Gyeong, who had been listening to this entire exchange, spoke with a chilling tone.
“……Who exactly held whose hand?”
The air around them suddenly felt cold.
A Rin startled at the mention of Mu Je’s aversion and quickly apologized.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t know and just grabbed your hand without thinking!”
“No, you’re fine.”
“Pardon?”
“Eh?”
Mu Je realized too late what he’d just said and clamped his mouth shut.
But there was no way to take back words spoken in front of everyone.
Do Yeong planted both hands on his hips and smirked.
“What’s this now? Why is our little one the exception? Do you like our little one? Is that it? Answer me!”
The improving atmosphere turned tense again. As Mu Je floundered, Ga Ram stepped in.
“He likely just misspoke—surely he meant that friends are acceptable, yes?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“How wonderful that you two are getting along so well.”
“Right now only you’re pleased about this?”
Do Gyeong drew a firm line, and Ga Ram gave a good-natured laugh.
“They’re just children. There’s no harm in growing closer.”
“Ill beginnings should be nipped in the bud, shouldn’t they?”
“No need to be so harsh.”
Ga Ram looked amused whether Do Gyeong fumed or not.
“I should give a reward as well. As it happens, a famous Wandering Troupe has come to Geumho Village. Why don’t we all go together?”
Ga Ram handed A Rin a Performance Invitation Ticket he’d prepared in advance.
“Thank you so much, Ga Ram!”
“I ask only that you look after Mu Je for me.”
“Of course!”
A Rin answered brightly, and Ga Ram smiled warmly.
And so the match ended.
Do Hun and Do Yeong had training later and agreed to join us afterwards, so A Rin and Mu Je headed to the Performance Hall first.
“Have you ever seen a real lion? The program says there’s a lion in this performance.”
A Rin’s eyes sparkled as she checked the performance schedule in the guide she’d received earlier.
Mu Je gazed at her steadily as he replied.
“The palace does have lions. Though they can’t perform tricks like leaping through pillars of fire, of course.”
“Really? Then you have peacocks too?”
“Yes. Foreign gifts arrive quite often. We even have animals with long noses.”
“Wow.”
“If you’re curious, I’ll invite you to the palace sometime.”
“You promise?”
A Rin held out her pinky, and Mu Je hooked his finger around it as if he’d been waiting for exactly this.
“Hehe.”
A Rin was thrilled about seeing her first performance.
She was checking their seats and about to stroll through the street before the show started.
– Help me!
A faint voice reached A Rin’s ears.
“What did you say?”
“Pardon? I didn’t say anything.”
Mu Je looked puzzled, and A Rin tilted her head in confusion.
She could have sworn she’d heard someone calling her name.
Then, a moment later, a clear voice pierced through her mind again.
– Save me!
“Oh!”
This time she heard it distinctly.
“Didn’t someone just ask for help?”
Mu Je shook his head—he still heard nothing.
A Rin fell silent, realizing the voice came to her alone, and began to think.
‘It’s like the way Geum Geum speaks.’
Earlier, through a mystical spirit creature, she’d learned how to converse with creatures like Geum Geum.
She remembered how thrilled she’d been when she could first talk with Geum Geum.
Now and then there were animals—not among the Twelve Zodiac Animals, but born with powerful spiritual energy.
When they found the person who would become their master, she was told, they sent signals like this.
“Wait a moment.”
A Rin turned away from Mu Je and quietly felt toward the direction the voice had come from.
She sensed spiritual energy emanating from the waiting room behind the stage.
As A Rin moved toward it, Mu Je caught her hand.
“Let’s go together.”
“Yes, all right.”
It might be better to go with him than alone.
Besides, she’d promised Do Hun she wouldn’t wander into dangerous places by herself.
Inside were animals needed for the performance, caged behind iron bars.
Then the voice came again.
– Over here, over here!
A Rin hurried toward the sound.
There lay a red serpent, its skin badly scarred and wounded in places.
The creature looked weak and in pain, with scarcely any strength left.
“Was it you who called me?”
The serpent answered A Rin’s question.
– Yes, that’s right. I called you.
“Are you hurt? You don’t look well. Let me help you.”
As A Rin worked out how to open the cage, the serpent stopped her.
– No, I’m fine. I don’t have much time left anyway.
“But—”
– You have a good aura about you, child. Instead, I ask you to care for my little one. If this child falls into their hands too, it will become like me—a spectacle, condemned to captivity for life.
The serpent rolled a hidden egg out through the bars.
As A Rin took the egg, the serpent spoke.
– I’ve already lost three children. I don’t even know where they were sold or if they’re dead.
“Oh my.”
A Rin’s eyes grew moist at the serpent’s tragic fate.
She felt ashamed of her earlier visit, when she’d come only to watch the performance.
Then the serpent spoke again.
– If you came to watch the show, you should leave.
“What?”
– Before I die, I mean to have my revenge. Now that I’ve entrusted my child to you, I have nothing left to regret.
A gleam kindled in the serpent’s eyes—a murderous aura. Mu Je, sensing the killing intent, pulled A Rin away from it.
“The energy here is malevolent.”
“That killing intent isn’t directed at me. It seems the Wandering Troupe has been abusing the animals here.”
A Rin spoke softly, her brow furrowed with concern.
“I see.”
Mu Je relaxed and looked around carefully.
The condition of the animals was not good.
In particular, the air was thick with an ominous aura—breathing felt difficult merely from standing there.
Moreover, the red serpent before them was a mystical spirit creature descended from the Fire Snake lineage.
Watching such a creature reduced to a toy by the Wandering Troupe weighed on Mu Je’s heart as well.
Then, sensing footsteps, Mu Je guided A Rin toward the exit.
“We should leave. Someone is coming.”
Before she left, A Rin placed her hand on Gurengi’s body and spoke a Blessing.
“May you find peaceful rest.”
Faint golden light enveloped Gurengi’s form.
Sensing that aura, Gurengi caught hold of A Rin.
– So you’re a child of the Hong Sa Family.
“Huh?”
– Then take this before you go. I have no use for it anymore anyway.
In that moment, a crimson orb rolled from Gurengi’s mouth.
A Rin recognized it at once, her eyes narrowing.
It was identical to the Red Jade Pearl that Hong I Jin had shown her as a treasure when she lived with the Hong Sa Family.
‘So Gurengi wasn’t what I thought—it was a Fire Snake all along.’
Only now did A Rin truly grasp the creature’s nature, and she hesitated.
“This is… your Inner Core Pearl. Without it, you’ll die, won’t you?”
– I already told you I’d die soon anyway. So it’ll be more useful to you than to me. Child of the Hong Sa Family, I ask you—please look after my young one.
Gurengi, showing no further attachment, pushed A Rin away with its body.
A Rin couldn’t simply leave Gurengi behind like this.
But in the end, she followed Mu Je, who urged her on, and slipped out of the Waiting Room.
Even as they left, she couldn’t hide a certain unease.
“Everyone, stand clear!”
The Waiting Room erupted into commotion as the animals caged in iron pens suddenly poured out.
“Ah!”
A Rin blinked in shock, and Mu Je spoke in a flat tone.
“You seemed saddened, so I arranged this beforehand.”

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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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