The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 73

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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 73
Having suffered such humiliation in front of the Priestess, all his effort until now seemed to have come to nothing.
Back in Hong Sa Chon, everyone had praised Ah Hyeon as remarkable, and he’d been brimming with confidence then.
But facing Do Hun, who was his same age, Ah Hyeon felt the bitter sting of truth—he was nothing but a frog in a well.
The gulf between their strength was staggering.
The moment the performance ended, Ah Hyeon descended from the stage.
So So, who had been waiting below, thrust a bouquet toward him.
“You were so amazing today, brother!”
Lee Jin and Yeon had left the moment the performance concluded.
So So had stayed behind as his representative, having noticed throughout the performance that his expression had been far from pleased.
But Ah Hyeon, already wounded in spirit, responded curtly.
And because he blamed So So for this humiliation, he found the sight of her unbearable.
“Amazing? It was a complete disaster.”
“But the Fire Snake you summoned was so much bigger than what you’d been practicing! You were incredible!”
“What good does that do? The Gold Tiger Clan’s Tiger shredded my Fire Snake.”
Ah Hyeon’s face darkened, and So So’s eyes began to water helplessly.
With such a proud nature, he would not recover easily from this public shame.
“That Tiger was ugly, anyway. In my eyes, your Fire Snake was the most beautiful!”
So So tried her hardest to comfort him, but Ah Hyeon’s expression remained grim.
“Enough. It’s over now. I need to go rest.”
He was about to return to the Lodging.
So So clutched at his arm and asked.
“What about the Banquet? Aren’t you coming with me?”
Ah Hyeon glanced at her arm holding his, then replied without warmth.
“No. I’m not going.”
So So, who had been counting the moments until the banquet following the performance, was caught off guard.
Unaware of her disappointment, Ah Hyeon held the bouquet carelessly and quickened his pace.
Since Lee Jin and Yeon had also declined to attend the banquet, So So felt a surge of urgency.
“Please, just come with me to the banquet. They say there are lots of fun things there.”
“I’m tired, I said.”
“Brother, I haven’t been out in so long—I really don’t want to go back like this!”
As So So tugged at his arm pleading, Ah Hyeon let out a heavy sigh.
Lately, her whining had grated on his nerves.
Part of him wanted to snap at her, but there were too many eyes watching.
Besides, he knew she had spent so much time confined to her room.
“Fine. Just one hour, then.”
As if granting her a favor, he relented, and So So’s face brightened.
“Yes! You’re the best, brother!”
Having gotten the answer she wanted, So So’s face blossomed into a radiant smile.
When they arrived at the Banquet Hall together, So So immediately searched for Mu Je.
‘Where is he?’
She was eager to properly introduce herself this time.
‘Ah, there he is—’
As she rounded the corner and spotted him, the smile vanished from her lips.
Arin was beside Mu Je, and they were standing in an intimately familiar manner.
* * *
After the performance ended, Do Gyeong had excused himself, saying he had something to attend to.
So Arin went to the Banquet Hall with her older brothers.
The Banquet Hall was filled with a mix of local dignitaries and members of the Twelve Zodiac Families.
As a result, the spread of dishes was remarkably diverse.
Do Young’s eyes gleamed at the sight of such abundance.
“Hehehehe. I’ll have to taste everything!”
Do Young, his hands clutching plates, bustled about with flared nostrils.
Do Hun seated Arin and said to her.
“Is there anything you’d like to eat? I’ll bring it for you.”
“I’ll go with you!”
“Just stay here. You’ll get knocked over in the crowd.”
The Banquet Hall was packed with people.
Someone as small as Arin would easily be jostled about if she ventured out.
“Alright! Come back soon, brother! I like everything!”
When Arin nodded obediently, Do Hun tousled her hair and vanished.
As Arin waited for her brothers to return, Mu Je appeared.
“Here you are.”
“Oh? I thought you’d gone back to the Lodging.”
She spoke knowing he disliked crowded places.
He placed a drink made from plum juice in front of her.
“Don’t seem happy to see me?”
When he deliberately pouted, Arin waved her hand dismissively.
“No, no! It’s not that—I just thought you’d find this place uncomfortable.”
Arin spoke quietly and drank some of the beverage.
Then she glanced nervously around the room.
Do Gyeong’s words from before they arrived came back to her.
“Arin. There may be a commotion during the banquet, so don’t stray from inside the Banquet Hall.”
“A commotion? Something dangerous?”
“The Black Horse Clan and I are planning a treasure hunt.”
When the Black Horse Clan was mentioned, Arin could infer it had something to do with Woo Hyun.
She already knew through Divine Power that he was staying here.
She just hadn’t asked about it.
“Is Woo Hyun the treasure?”
“To them, yes. But don’t worry. I’ll protect that boy no matter what it takes.”
“I’m afraid you might get hurt.”
“Ha ha ha, what a sweet thing to say. Not a single hair on my head will be harmed, so don’t fret.”
Do Gyeong had disappeared after reassuring her, suppressing his presence so thoroughly that even Arin couldn’t sense where he was.
Still, knowing that something dangerous was going to happen,
she worried that the filthy energy might affect Mu Je.
“Don’t worry.”
“Hmm?”
“The safest place is by your side.”
“Tell me if things get hard.”
Arin laughed with relief, her face brightening.
“By the way, you looked really amazing today. I never knew your true form was that incredible.”
During this performance, Mu Je had manifested as his true White Dragon form rather than the small lizard shape.
The stage was small, so he’d deliberately taken a reduced form, yet even that radiated tremendous Spiritual Pressure.
“Maintaining Beast Transformation for long periods is easier in my true form.”
Normally, it would have been too taxing on his body to manifest as his true White Dragon self.
But thanks to having spent time with Arin, Mu Je had grown bolder.
Surely the Black Horse Clan members watching saw that his power remained intact and were shaken.
Then Arin asked casually.
“You didn’t push yourself too hard, did you?”
Mu Je looked into her eyes for a moment before speaking.
“A little bit, I think.”
He pouted dramatically and extended his palm beneath the round table where it was visible.
When Arin noticed and gently took his hand, Mu Je’s lips curved softly.
“Thank you.”
After telling Arin his condition, Mu Je could now ask her to hold his hand whenever he needed to.
No longer needing to pretend to be his avatar form, Mu Je felt lighter.
They were chatting away when Do Hun and Do Young arrived.
“Oh, you’re here?”
Do Young took a seat as if he’d expected Mu Je to come.
He’d already been warned by Do Gyeong to gather around Arin.
Do Hun observed the situation outside.
“It’s quiet.”
In the silence that felt like the calm before a storm, Do Hun’s gaze sharpened.
Inside the Banquet Hall, people who knew nothing of the coming commotion were laughing and chattering.
They didn’t know that the clans gathering to test Woo Hyun had set up vast barriers around the Banquet Hall and the Twelve Zodiac Lodging.
The operation was that covert.
Especially in the Banquet Hall itself, where Do Gyeong had personally installed a Qi Formation that made it the safest place.
They were to wait quietly and move about the Banquet Hall until Do Gyeong gave the signal that all was safe.
Suddenly, thunder roared like a gunshot outside the Banquet Hall, and rain poured down.
“Oh, it’s raining.”
Arin was gazing absently out the window when
she sensed it—a peculiar infusion of Zodiac Animal Power in the rainwater. She spun around.
“Mu Je?”
In that very instant, Mu Je beside her suddenly staggered.
Arin caught him in alarm, and his body trembled in shallow waves.
“Hgh.”
He clutched at his chest, a ragged gasp tearing from his throat.
When their eyes met, Arin’s widened in shock.
“Oh.”
His eyes were burning crimson, and the aura of his Spirit Core was far from ordinary.

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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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