The Blue Dragon Clan’s Very Suspicious Little Chick - Chapter 23

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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 23

When Aran decided to head to the Training Ground to find Hui, Suryeon insisted on coming along to show her the way.
But on the path there, they encountered two sparrows.
“Chirp-chirp!”
(Elder, we’ve come to pay our respects!)
They were birds that had sought Aran out—an inconvenient complication.
Remembering how Suryeon had shrieked in fear during the festival and chased them away with a fan, Aran had no wish to start a conversation with these birds and invite trouble with her family.
“Chirp.”
(Don’t come looking for me like this. It makes my family uncomfortable.)
“Chirp!”
(But we learned you were so close by—how could we not visit?)
“Chirp-squawk.”
(Enough. Don’t come again.)
Just as Aran managed to shoo the sparrows away, Suryeon suddenly blurted out something unexpected.
“Well, what’s wrong with just being a bird? Among all the birds out there, there’s none as cute as our Aran.”
“Chirp?”
(Why are you spouting nonsense in front of this magnificent Phoenix?)
Of course, Aran was too occupied to fret over idle chatter—she simply quickened her wingbeats.
When Aran finally spotted Hui, she fluttered toward him eagerly and called out.
“Chirp-squawk?”
(Brother, when you have time later, could you write a reply on my behalf to Hyeonmu Palace?)
Hui’s nod of agreement was entirely natural.
After Aran received his promise and flew off for her Flight Training, Suryeon murmured to herself.
“Right, being a bird is fine. She can spend her whole life being loved for her cuteness alone. There’s no need to study or anything.”
Hearing this, Hui assumed Suryeon was being foolish because she didn’t want to practice Archery.
“Suryeon, this is the first tournament where you’ll represent the clan’s name—is that really the attitude you’re bringing to it?”
“What?”
Suryeon looked up at her brother with bewildered eyes.
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
She couldn’t help but add one more thing.
“Don’t be filling Aran’s head with talk about her getting a human body soon. Don’t you see how much pressure that puts on her?”
“No, I just…….”
Since he truly had been encouraging her until just before her birthday, Hui had no excuse to offer.
“I’ve been regretting it, truly…….”
Brothers and fathers alike, she thought.
Suryeon made up her mind to be firmly on Aran’s side no matter what.
Even if she remained a bird and not a Beast-form Humanoid, Aran was already complete as she was.

***

Meanwhile, as Aran flew westward across the palace grounds, she encountered a river.
“Chirp-squawk.”
(So this is the Banwol River.)
Beyond this river lay the world outside the palace walls.
Since the Main Palace where Aran stayed was nestled at the eastern edge, she had crossed the entire breadth of the Azure Dragon Clan’s territory on her own wings.
Of course, before that she’d had to endure quite a bit of back-and-forth to shake off Suryeon, who lately seemed to cling to her like a leech for reasons Aran couldn’t fathom.
A gentle breeze stirred—still touched with the coolness of spring.
Aran perched on a great cherry tree by the water’s edge and savored the season.
The small Black Obsidian Necklace hanging from her neck caught the clear sunlight and gleamed brilliantly.
She pressed on, following the river northward as if continuing her practice.
If she kept training like this, one day she would surely reach all the way to Hyeonmu Palace.
“Chirp?”
(I wonder what that Tae-oh is doing now. I hope he’s not being mistreated and crying.)
She had been flying for some time when Aran suddenly felt the sky darken above her.
She tilted her head upward.
“Chirp?”
(What is this?)
The blue sky had darkened in an instant, as if a sudden downpour were about to break.
Humid, cold wind swept through.
Aran felt her feathers bristle and drew herself up tighter.
“Squawk.”
(How strange—now that my knees are mended, I’ve lost even this small comfort. An old woman’s body that can’t sense rain coming.)
Having lamented like an elderly person trapped in a chick’s form, another worry crept in.
If she came out here alone in this body and got hurt, it would be terrible for Sorim, who bore responsibility for her.
“Chirp… chirp.”
(All right… for an old woman and a child both, safety comes first, safety comes second.)
Aran, caught between elder and infant, found a towering camphor tree and wedged herself between its branches.
Everyone already knew she’d come west to escape Archery practice, so the Azure Dragon Clan would surely find her somewhere in this palace.
Until the rain stopped, her only strategy was to hide beneath the branches and keep her wings dry.
But the weather grew worse.
Rustle-rustle-rustle!
The sound of leaves thrashing against one another in the wind was deafening.
Aran shrank her dampening wings and gripped the branch hard with both feet.
“Screech…!”
(I’d rather die than become a hundred-year-old Phoenix tumbling out of a tree…!)
In that moment, beneath the shadowed canopy, the Black Obsidian Necklace gleamed with an eerie light.
“Chirp?”
(Hmm?)
From the river came the sound of water rushing down in torrents.
Aran turned her gaze to the river and spotted a small island rising near the bank—one she’d never seen before.
“Peep…?”
(An island…?)
No, it wasn’t an island.
That dark blue shape was the shell of an enormous turtle.
And if her eyes weren’t deceiving her, a figure in a Dark Silk Robe sat upright upon it.
A child, most likely.
A child who had just emerged from the water without even a speck of moisture clinging to him.
Nearly as impossible as Aran herself, hiding beneath a tree to escape the torrential rain.
And now the fierce downpour that had been hammering down had somehow stopped.
The next moment, the boy riding the island-like turtle leaped to the riverbank in a single bound.
It was only when his gaze found the exact branch where she was hiding that Aran understood.
Skin as pale as snow, one eye blue as jade, hair dark as pitch.
He’d grown far more than she’d expected, but it was unmistakably Tae-oh.
“Chirp…”
(No one ever mentioned he was this beautiful.)
Either way, this was a serious problem.
Aran shook out her wet wings, fluttered away the excess water, and practically plummeted from the tree toward Tae-oh.
“Chirp?!”
(You—you can’t possibly be Tae-oh?!)

***

“Hello, Aran.”
Tae-oh carefully caught the rushing Aran in both hands and met her gaze before greeting her.
Aran started at the shock of him calling her name so abruptly.
A boy with a Spirit Being’s obvious nature, arriving on an enormous turtle and bearing one eye of jade green—there was no question he was Hyeonmu Tae-oh.
Anyone looking at him would know it at once.
But was her own nature equally transparent? She was neither a great Phoenix yet nor anything of the sort.
Then Tae-oh, as if offering an answer, fingered her necklace and continued.
“I’m Tae-oh.”
Aran stared up at him blankly.
So it wasn’t simply that he’d recognized her by the necklace—not at all.
“Chirp??”
(This… this is more than just a gift, isn’t it? You found me with this?)
Tae-oh nodded frankly and grew flushed with shy embarrassment across both cheeks.
Aran felt utterly at a loss.
She’d thought it was a simple gift and worn it out of thoughtfulness—but he’d been using it to track her all along? What exactly did he put in this thing?
Well, I suppose there’s not much to worry about if a child tries to track me.
While Aran remained bewildered, Tae-oh gently stroked her damp wings with his small hand.
“I’m sorry. Did I bring the blizzard with me?”
Aran shook her head in response.
“Chirp.”
(No, you brought the rain.)
“Rain?”
Tae-oh tilted his head as if hearing something strange, then straightened it as understanding dawned on him.
“I see. It’s warm here, after all.”
With that, Aran’s wits returned to her.
“Chirp? Chirp? Chirp-chirp??”
(Wait, you understand me? You have Sign Language Ability too? How did you even get here? Did you get permission from someone?)
Tae-oh watched Aran fidget nervously, yet his expression brightened with amusement.
With only that enchanting, beautiful face, he was already no ordinary creature.
But less than a year old, and he’d already commanded a Spirit Being to escape his Spiritual Territory on his own?
Aran had lived a hundred years in her past life and had never encountered such a monster.
“I told you. They make my life miserable at Hyeonmu Palace. Last time, Father said I made a mistake and locked me away for a whole week.”
The truth was, he’d only been confined as punishment for studying, with even more attendants than usual serving him healthy meals and waiting on him hand and foot.
But humans can only ever imagine as much as they know.
“Chirp?”
(They locked you up? A small thing like you? For a whole week?)
Aran forgot entirely what she’d meant to press him on and simply fell into indignation.
“Chirp?”
(Where? Where did they lock you up?)
As Tae-oh’s eyes grew downcast with distress, thick black lashes spread like a fan above his luminous gaze.
“Um, in the Library.”
The Azure Dragon Clan’s Suspicious Young Phoenix — Chapter 23
E-book Publication Date | August 5, 2026

Author | Ravioli
Publisher | Odd Eye
Submissions/Inquiries | [email protected]

UCI | G720:N+A101-20260722065.0023
List Price | 100 KRW

© Ravioli 2026

This e-book is protected by copyright law.
This e-book is published under contract with the author, and reproduction, copying, distribution, and sharing are prohibited without written consent from both parties.

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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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