The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 82

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

Episode 82
Do Yeong seized the moment when So So’s attention wavered and disappeared with Mu Je.
So So watched their retreating figures in a daze, her hands clenching into fists.
Two years without contact, and now—
the moment she tried to mend things, Arin kept getting in the way. She couldn’t fathom it.
“Still thick as thieves, the two of them, I see. Does he really mean that much to you?”
At Cheong Yu Hee’s pointed question, So So forced her expression into composure.
“The harder the problem, the sweeter the solution when you find it.”
“Your unrequited love is truly remarkable. It would’ve been better if the Clan Head had understood your heart from the start.”
“I was only a child then.”
Yu Hee watched So So’s dejected face for a moment before speaking.
“What’s strange is that she’s still alive despite the Yeouiju being incomplete. Everyone said she should’ve died before even reaching her Adult Form.”
“That’s what they said.”
“The Clan Head must regret it too, by now. At least he had plenty of time to sire an heir.”
Just as Yu Hee said, most people had believed Mu Je would die before reaching adulthood.
But confounding their expectations, Mu Je survived even after attaining his Adult Form—and So So was certain it was because of Arin’s power.
She remembered witnessing Arin’s strength ten years ago at the White Dragon Palace.
Mu Je had even stayed in Geumho House before arriving at Twelve Zodiac Village.
“What’s done is done. I’d just be grateful if he didn’t reject me outright.”
So So spoke words she didn’t believe, and Yu Hee burst into laughter.
“Will that really do? You’re not the type to settle for so little. This is disappointing even for me.”
…….
“The So So I like is the one who goes after what she wants. Like when you came to find me ten years ago.”
Meeting Yu Hee at the Yeonha Festival that day had been fortune.
‘Please teach me how to become stronger.’
‘Great power comes with a price. Are you prepared for that?’
Yu Hee’s proposal had been dangerous yet alluring to So So, who had sought her out so brazenly.
‘Yes. I’ll do anything. I’d rather sell my soul than keep living in this fear.’
‘You needn’t go so far as to sell your soul. But I will need your Spiritual Core.’
The method Yu Hee revealed was taboo among the Twelve Zodiac Animals.
Extracting an Artificial Spiritual Core from So So’s own Spiritual Core and reimplanting it.
It had transcended the limits of her existing Spiritual Core.
And it was the catalyst that made her the So So she was today.
There was the inconvenience of needing periodic Stabilizer injections, but the power she gained more than compensated—So So had no reason to refuse.
Without the method Yu Hee taught her, she’d never have regained Hong I Jin’s favor, never have come to this place.
After that, she and Yu Hee shared all their secrets.
In truth, even if they hadn’t, from the moment So So obtained that power, she had no choice but to depend on Yu Hee.
She was the only connection through which So So could receive her Stabilizer.
So So drew her forearm across her face and murmured quietly.
“But he has no interest in me whatsoever.”
“Then make him seek you out first.”
“How?”
“Heh heh, wait a moment. I have a clever scheme in mind, but it still needs verification. Once I’ve confirmed it, I’ll share it with you.”
At Yu Hee’s mysterious smile, So So’s eyes flickered.
* * *
Arin’s duties as Acting Priestess were primarily to suppress the rampaging demons.
For the past several years, strange demons had begun appearing throughout Yeonha Kingdom.
Unlike ordinary demons, they possessed peculiar cores.
Cores infused with strange Zodiac Animal Power.
Yeo Ryeong had attributed it to the work of the Black Horse Clan, and the Zodiac families acknowledged the gravity of the situation.
A Priestess’s power was paramount in locating where the demons manifested.
Originally, Yeo Ryeong would have had to handle it all alone.
But fortunately, since Arin began helping, the analysis was picking up pace.
Arin set out toward Twelve Zodiac Village, carrying the cores they’d collected so far.
Even though the Silver Silk Veil concealed not only her face but her entire upper body, her gait remained steady and unfaltering.
Woo Hyun observed Arin with fascination.
Assigned as her escort for the past several days, he was accompanying her through her Acting Priestess duties.
In doing so, he’d naturally come to see new facets of Arin.
With merely that single cloth wrapped around her, her silhouette, her presence, even her voice transformed so thoroughly that one would mistake her for someone else entirely if they didn’t know who she was.
Woo Hyun, stealing glances at Arin, finally spoke.
“Aren’t you uncomfortable wearing that scrap of fabric?”
Arin looked up and held Woo Hyun’s gaze, then raised her arm to block his path ahead.
“Watch out. There’s a frog.”
“Ah.”
Woo Hyun stopped mid-stride. He’d nearly trampled the frog underfoot.
“So you can see everything?”
“I can. How else would I get around?”
As Arin broke into what might have been a smile, Woo Hyun’s eyes narrowed.
He couldn’t read her expression properly—only her faint silhouette was visible through the veil.
“So you looking like a completely different person is because of that scrap too?”
“No. That’s Hwa-sa helping me.”
At the mention of Hwa-sa, the fire snake hidden in Arin’s sleeve poked its head out.
A red serpent with black markings, slender as thread.
Woo Hyun hadn’t noticed it at all, and his eyes narrowed further.
“You keep something like that?”
“Like that? That’s rude to Hwa-sa.”
Hwa-sa hissed in displeasure, baring its fangs.
As it flicked its tongue and made soft hissing sounds, Arin gently stroked it to calm it down.
Something about that unsettling gaze made Woo Hyun instinctively step back and create distance.
“Don’t tell me you named it Hwa-sa just because its scales are so colorful?”
“How did you know?”
“Really?”
“Well, I did base it on the character for fire and the character for snake. But the meaning fits too.”
At such an honest naming, Woo Hyun could only let his lips twitch.
Hwa-sa itself seemed pleased with its name, licking Arin’s hand affectionately.
It was just as dense as its owner—something he found decidedly untrustworthy.
When they reached the Temple Shrine, Arin removed the Silver Silk Veil.
Woo Hyun watched in breathless silence.
As her clear vermillion hair—the shade of trumpet vine blossoms—came into view, the space around her seemed to brighten.
At the same time, her gleaming golden eyes were so full of vitality that
Woo Hyun, finding the brightness almost blinding, narrowed his eyes.
“Did you use Divine Power?”
“No?”
Arin tilted her head in bewilderment.
She hadn’t used Divine Power at all, so Woo Hyun couldn’t fathom where the light was coming from.
He frowned and took a step back from her.
The only time he could stand beside her was when she wore the Silver Silk Veil.
It was because the world still didn’t know Arin was the Priestess.
Ordinarily, his task was to follow like a shadow, maintaining a proper distance.
Though here at least, he needn’t worry about strangers’ eyes.
Yet something made him reluctant to draw near, and he found himself stealing glances at her instead.
Then their eyes met unexpectedly.
“What? Do I have something on my face?”
When she looked up with such innocent eyes, Woo Hyun felt his breath catch.
“……Hide that ugly face of yours.”
He turned away hastily and spoke in a gruff tone.
His whole body felt oddly ticklish, and he rubbed the back of his neck.
Just then, Yeo Ryeong came to greet them.
“You’ve arrived.”
“We’re doing well. Woo Hyun came with us.”
Yeo Ryeong watched Woo Hyun—who was standing at a distance from Arin, eyes cast downward—with a knowing gaze.
The way he muttered at the ground was exactly like the thoughtless boy from ten years ago.
Seeing him still shy and awkward, a smile played at the corners of Yeo Ryeong’s mouth.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen you two standing side by side like this.”

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