The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 43

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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 43
Hwanya headed straight for the Underground Prison.
In the dark, decrepit dungeon, Song Hyun sat confined, his face worn by months of hardship.
Hwanya regarded him with an impassive gaze. He felt no particular sympathy.
He had heard everything about what had transpired before coming here.
‘Song Hyun tried to pass off some girl as Ju Myeongyeong’s daughter and smuggle her into the Vermilion Bird Family.’
It was hardly surprising. Namto was far from a peaceful land.
Ever since the Emperor withdrew his hand from Namto and the Vermilion Bird Family took it upon themselves to nurture the realm, ruling as kings, such schemes had never ceased.
But what made this matter grave was that they could not discover what ‘method’ Song Hyun had used to transform the girl’s face to match Ju Myeongyeong’s exactly.
Using a Supernatural Ability to change one’s face always leaves traces. To another user of such gifts, the deception becomes even more apparent.
‘Yet Father, Hwaryeong, and Doeui all failed to notice…….’
It meant Song Hyun had employed a different, more cunning trick. Hwanya shook his head and spoke.
“You might as well speak now. It’s not as though we have no idea who she is anyway.”
“Huehehehe…… Then wouldn’t it suffice for you simply to guess, Young Master?”
His throat, parched from having kept silent for so long, made a scratching sound as he spoke.
“Guessing and confirmation are not the same thing.”
Hwanya walked slowly forward and came to a halt before the iron bars.
Song Hyun remained on his knees, looking up at him.
Even so, for one who had once been a powerful figure in Namto and borne the name of the Song Clan, he cut a pathetically diminished figure.
“In any case, once we search thoroughly enough, we’ll learn who’s behind this. Why won’t you speak? The Song Clan is already finished. With it finished, do you really think you’re preserving some loyalty?”
Hwanya asked, genuinely puzzled.
“What do you gain from orchestrating such a scheme?”
“It is not because I desire to gain something that I keep my mouth shut—have you not considered that it is because I despise something that I remain silent?”
Song Hyun laughed, a ghastly sound.
“The eldest Young Master is still so green, I see……?”
Hwanya ignored Song Hyun’s words and spoke instead.
“I have no need for further talk.”
He closed his eyes slowly, then opened them.
“From this moment, I will tear through your mind and examine your memories. If it causes you pain, feel free to scream.”
Flame kindled in Hwanya’s palm.
This was Hwanya’s Supernatural Ability.
Known as the Memory Flame.
It was a tremendous fire that burned away even memories, rummaging through the mind and forcing forth everything that lay within.
The process was exceedingly agonizing; those subjected to this Ability would become empty-minded once all their memories had been extracted. Because of this, the method was rarely used except on the most heinous of criminals.
Ju Jeokseo himself disliked his son’s cruelty, so Hwanya had almost never needed to employ such measures.
But this time was different.
Hwanya thrust his hand through the bars and seized Song Hyun’s head.
Whoooosh!
A torrent of flame erupted, and Song Hyun’s eyes rolled back. In the next instant, his memories began to manifest within the blaze.
As Hwanya witnessed Ahee’s face for the first time through those memories, he furrowed his brow.
‘It’s creepy how much she resembles her.’
Even if Ju Myeongyeong had returned as a child, one could have believed this face.
Hwanya widened his eyes. Since this method could only be used once, he could afford no mistakes in observing.
As he reached further into the memories, retracing the path backward into the past, this time the figure of a brown-haired girl presumed to be Ahee appeared.
And then behind her…….
Whoooosh!
“Ugh!”
Hwanya withdrew from Song Hyun, searing pain shooting through him. His flame extinguished abruptly.
“Aaarrgh!”
With a scream, Song Hyun’s head went limp.
A guard rushed forward to examine Song Hyun’s condition, but he was already dead.
The guard spoke in a bewildered voice.
“Y-Young Master……!”
“…… I did not do this.”
Hwanya spoke calmly. He regarded Song Hyun’s twisted corpse.
‘A Secret Art was placed on his mind—one that kills upon being glimpsed.’
That explained Song Hyun’s confidence. He had believed that no matter how thoroughly Hwanya searched his mind, he would never uncover the mastermind’s identity.
“What shall we do, sir? He died under interrogation. We must report this.”
“I will make the report.”
Hwanya rose to his feet, brushing himself off as though it were a trivial matter.
Placing a Secret Art to prevent disclosure was hardly an uncommon thing.
Ju Jeokseo had likely anticipated such a situation to some degree. Still, Hwanya’s irritation stemmed from having failed to identify the mastermind.
‘It’s probably the Imperial Family.’
What mattered was whether Song Hyun had acted alone, or whether there were others in Namto who had conspired with him.
If the latter, they would need to be hunted down and uprooted entirely—but now, with the memories sealed beyond reach, it was impossible.
“Do not remove the body. Leave it in one place. Father will wish to see it later.”
“Yes, sir!”
Hwanya’s men dragged the corpse away and left it in a corner.
The cold, stiffening body slumped in the darkness of the dungeon.
***
“Song Hyun is dead?”
“Yes.”
Hwanya replied flatly.
“A Secret Art was placed on him—one triggered by attempts to glimpse his memories.”
“If someone placed a Secret Art of that caliber on Song Hyun…… “.
“It would be the Emperor of Hwangdo, or someone close to him.”
Ju Jeokseo nodded.
“The Emperor is clearly taking a keen interest in Namto.”
Hwanya murmured.
“Could it all trace back to Aunt Myeongyeong……?”
“Perhaps. If Baeksa is truly Myeongyeong’s daughter, then it means Myeongyeong met the Emperor seven years ago.”
The Emperor might be eyeing Namto precisely because of Myeongyeong.
Hwanya’s eyes narrowed.
“If the Emperor purchased Song Hyun’s cooperation in order to meddle in Namto’s affairs, it explains why he brought a girl with a face identical to Aunt Myeongyeong with such confidence.”
“And it also explains her possession of Ju Myeongyeong’s Keepsake.”
The keepsake. The girl who bore a matching face.
Song Hyun had seemed utterly certain that the girl would trigger a response from the Spiritual Treasure.
Which meant……
“Aunt Myeongyeong may still be alive.”
“Aunt may yet be living.”
Father and son arrived at the same conclusion simultaneously.
Baeksa had said she never heard her mother spoken of during her time in the Imperial Palace.
As though the very concept of a mother had never existed, no one had ever mentioned her.
Yet in the child’s face as she spoke, there lurked a hesitation—a resignation that her mother must surely be dead.
But……
‘If the Emperor aided Song Hyun, then his ability to remake Ahee’s face to match Myeongyeong’s would make sense.’
He still did not know by what means the face had been altered, but a Spiritual Treasure responds to the blood of its original master.
The reason the Spiritual Treasure responded to Baeksa was the same.
So if Myeongyeong’s blood—even a single drop—had been obtained,
and if it had been given to Ahee, then that inexplicable confidence could be explained.
“We must seek aid from the Black Tortoise Family.”
The Black Tortoise Family.
Heirs to the power of the Black Tortoise Divine Beast.
And once, long ago, allies to the Vermilion Bird Family.
For Ju Jeokseo, entirely severed from Hwangdo, to gain intelligence on matters within the imperial capital, he would need the Black Tortoise Family’s aid.
Yet Hwanya hesitated, his expression plainly reluctant. Something troubled him.
“But Father, the Black Tortoise Family…….”
“Do not worry. There should be no difficulties.”
Ju Jeokseo cut off his son with a wave of his hand.
“Have we pen and paper? I shall write a letter! Prepare a carrier pigeon!”
At Ju Jeokseo’s command, servants bustled about with urgency.
The carrier pigeon kept by the Ju household ruffled its wings.
***
“Flower rain…….”
“Yes! Correct, Miss! You’ve written it perfectly!”
“Really?”
“Yes, our young lady. At this pace, you’ll finish an entire book in no time!”
Sirang, who had been helping Baeksa with her writing lessons, broke into a bright smile.
Sirang had come to the Vermilion Bird Family as a child and learned her letters; she was skilled in reading and writing.
Baeksa gazed at her own brushwork with a gentle smile.
‘I want to practice more and write it even more beautifully.’
Unlike before, now she found herself wanting to try more and more things.
They accumulated one by one; she worried slightly that her desires might grow greedy, but still, it was not frightening as it had once been.
“Let me try a different character…….”
Baeksa was carefully reaching for the table to practice another stroke when——
“Baeksa!”
A familiar voice rang out from beyond the door.
Baeksa’s face lit up immediately as she recognized the voice’s owner.

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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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