The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 21

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

Episode 21
Baeksa carefully caressed the black bead.
However, she could not feel even a trace of mystical energy from it.
It felt exactly like a mere decorative bead. The child offered a faint smile.
‘Of course.’
There was no way a bead like this could be a Cintamani.
Besides, only the Dragon Clan could possess a Cintamani, so how could someone like her ever have one?
Still, Baeksa liked this bead. For some reason, it felt familiar, as if it were a precious friend of her own.
“Family Head, look at this. The lotus gave me a bead.”
At those words, Ju Jeokseo, who had been standing in a daze the entire time, snapped back to his senses.
“Let me see. What a small, pretty bead. It looks just like a pearl.”
Then, as if he had never been flustered in the first place, he complimented Baeksa’s bead.
“You can carry this bead around in the pouch Sirang made for you.”
“Hehe…”
Baeksa smiled brightly and preciously caressed the bead.
The tiny bead rolled around inside her small hand.
Ju Jeokseo quietly watched the sight before slowly speaking.
“Child.”
“Yes, Family Head?”
“Does your body feel strained after using your supernatural ability? Do you hurt anywhere?”
Baeksa shook her head.
“I am really okay.”
Then she answered carefully.
“In fact, I feel quite good. Until now, I felt a bit stifled because I couldn’t use my ability…”
“Stifled?”
“Yes. My, my ability is one where I periodically have to consume things…”
Baeksa answered hesitantly.
“If left alone, I might end up consuming something precious. Like your flame, Family Head.”
That was the most terrifying thing Baeksa could imagine right now.
The child gazed at the single White Lotus that had bloomed beautifully.
As that lotus bloomed, the stifling feeling she had felt before definitely seemed to ease up a bit.
“Now that I’ve used my ability like this, it actually feels a bit more stable.”
Upon hearing Baeksa’s words, Ju Jeokseo closed and opened his eyes slowly, seemingly lost in deep thought.
Right then, Hwaryeong cut in.
“Wow! Then if the little snake is here, can she purify all the contaminated ponds? She could even purify well water too!”
“Quiet, Hwaryeong.”
Ju Jeokseo grabbed his son’s head and pushed him far back.
Then, bending his knees to match his eyes with Baeksa’s, he spoke.
“Child, if you feel a bit more comfortable after using your ability, you may continue to use it little by little from now on.”
“Really…?”
“Yes, your ability is highly precious, so it will be of great help to this Namto. However, because it is so rare and valuable, someone might target you, so only use your ability when I am around.”
“Um, then should I only make scales when you’re around too, Family Head?”
“If you can make those on your own, it’s fine to do so. Our Baeksa is very clever and bright.”
Ju Jeokseo grinned and ruffled Baeksa’s hair.
Reflexively catching the ends of her hair, Baeksa smiled softly.
‘He called it rare and valuable.’
Of course, the Emperor had also said that Baeksa’s ability was important.
Yet even while working her to the bone until her body turned black and she died, he had never once told her she was rare or precious.
Because of that, she had assumed it was simply her calling to be used like that until her utility ran out.
To be told to be careful because it was a precious ability—it was the first time anyone had ever spoken such warm words to her.
Baeksa blinked, softly bringing her hands together over her chest.
‘Every time the Family Head, Hwaryeong, or Doeui speaks, it feels so warm right here.’
Could this also be one of the supernatural abilities of the Vermilion Bird Family?
Thump, thump. Feeling the steady rhythm of her heart, Baeksa slowly raised her head to look at Ju Jeokseo.
Then, gathering her courage, she spoke.
“Family Head, um, I am still lacking in many ways, but I will work hard so I can definitely be of help to you…”
So that one day, she could surely repay this kindness.
In a way that would truly benefit the Family Head.
“So, I will do my best. If you could just wait a little while…!”
“What were you listening to just now? I told you there’s no need to overexert yourself. Your ability is certainly helpful, but even so, I have no intention of pushing you past your limits.”
Ju Jeokseo tapped Baeksa’s forehead very gently.
“If you want to be of help to me, eat a lot and grow up quickly. To think you’re still this tiny. From today onward, you must eat five meals a day.”
“Fi-five meals!”
“Family Head, her stomach will burst at that rate. How much food could possibly fit into such a tiny belly anyway?”
He completely ignored Doeui’s remark.
“Child, if you ever feel hungry, tell Sirang to bring you whatever you want immediately.”
“Hehe.”
“Now, go back inside and rest. You must be tired after using your ability earlier.”
“What about you, Family Head?”
“I will look at this pond a little longer before heading back.”
At Ju Jeokseo’s nod, Sirang, who had been waiting in the distance, came trotting over.
Then, gently taking hold of Baeksa’s hand, she helped the child to her feet.
“Come along, let us head back, young lady. I shall read you an entertaining book.”
“Yes, I’d like that.”
At the mention of a book, Baeksa’s eyes instantly sparkled. Without a moment’s hesitation, the child lightly grasped Sirang’s hand.
***
After Sirang led Baeksa away, Ju Jeokseo remained in front of the pond alongside Hwaryeong and Doeui.
“Family Head, is this really purified?”
Doeui knelt down, scooping up the pond water with both hands as he asked.
Clear pond water sloshed inside the cradle of the boy’s hands. The previous murky color was nowhere to be seen, replaced by pristine clarity.
“Yes, it has become perfectly clean. It’s as if the contamination never even existed.”
But how could such a thing be possible?
He surveyed their surroundings.
Although the territories where the Beast-kin lived were located in areas with relatively less contamination, the entirety of Namto was still a corrupted land.
Therefore, just as he had told Baeksa earlier, unless one could purify the entire land, purifying just a portion of a pond was impossible.
A pond ultimately exists within the ground; its water seeps into the earth, and conversely, water from the earth seeps back into it.
Without purifying the whole land, a single pond cannot be cleansed. At least, that had been the case until now.
Yet.
Ju Jeokseo tapped the lotus Baeksa had bloomed with the tip of his finger.
As he did, the lotus swayed, sending a gentle ripple out across the pond in all directions.
Sensing that mysterious current, Hwaryeong’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.
“Ah, I get it! This flower right here is blocking the contamination!”
“You noticed?”
“Of course! It didn’t just purify the water. By taking root here, it’s actively keeping the rest of the contamination from breaking in!”
Those who possessed supernatural abilities could faintly perceive the power of contamination as well.
Hwaryeong was no exception. Since he was also a gifted individual with a powerful ability, he could discern the fluctuations of the corruption.
“But for something like this to happen…”
“Hwaryeong, Doeui.”
The lotus that had bloomed by driving away the corruption.
Staring intently at that lotus, Ju Jeokseo spoke in a grave voice.
“Word of this must not leak out for the time being. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Father!”
“Yes, Family Head.”
After answering vigorously, Hwaryeong and Doeui left the area.
Even after all the children had gone, Ju Jeokseo remained alone, quietly gazing into the pond.
His red hair reflected in the transparent water. For a brief moment, the words his Father had spoken during his lifetime faintly echoed in his ears.
‘Jeokseo, this Namto is already beyond saving.’
‘Father.’
‘Yet even if every last Beast-kin abandons this Namto and flees, you alone must protect this place.’
The voice of the frail former Family Head.
‘The South is where the Flame of the Vermilion Bird first began. We cannot abandon it.’
That voice drifted around Ju Jeokseo’s ears like a dream.
The transparent pond water rippled, blurring the man’s face before it cleared once more.
Ju Jeokseo stood there silently for another ten minutes before finally leaving the spot.
In the space where everyone had departed, only a single white, pristine lotus remained blooming in modest elegance.
***
That evening.
“I have a favor to ask of you.”
A guest had arrived at Baeksa’s Residence.

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