The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 61

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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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Episode 61
“When will the Hyun Clan arrive?”
“I’ve sent a letter, so they’ll move soon. But with the Emperor in such a frenzy, it will be difficult for them to come to Namto immediately.”
“Still, someone from the Hyun Clan must arrive quickly. The Ghost Dragon is ultimately just one of ten thousand wraiths. If it’s the Black Tortoise Family’s Ability, they’ll know how to treat wounds inflicted by the Ghost Dragon.”
Son Uiwon spoke with deliberate gravity.
Ju Jeokseo nodded in agreement.
He too wanted nothing more than to summon a member of the Hyun Clan to Namto as swiftly as possible.
Not merely to reveal his own wounds, but because if it was the Hyun Clan, they seemed likely to offer some sort of answer about Baeksa’s Supernatural Ability.
Yet Namto was, in the end, a banished realm. Crossing the boundary of that Contamination brought with it countless dangers.
Even Hwanya, who had been born and raised his entire life in this place, had nearly lost his life to the Contamination through a single mistake of his own.
Under such circumstances, there was no way they could come to Namto easily.
‘And on top of that, the Emperor rages like this.’
Coming to Namto itself could be seen as plotting treason against the Emperor.
So while he understood Son Uiwon’s concern, he could not press the Black Tortoise Family too hard.
“There’s also the matter of Ju Myeongyeong, so we must make haste. I’ll leave a letter, so don’t worry too much.”
“How could I not worry?”
He spoke sadly, his aged face creased with sorrow.
“Your Majesty is the king of Namto, and at the same time the father of all Namto Beast-kin… if anything were to befall you, then this Namto would…”
“That won’t happen.”
Ju Jeokseo cut him off firmly.
“Nothing will happen to me, and even if it did, there is Hwanya and Hwaryeong. So long as the protection of the Divine Vermilion Bird remains, you will never be abandoned in this land.”
With each word he spoke, the wounded places throbbed and stabbed with pain.
Yet Ju Jeokseo broke into a cold sweat while never letting the pain show. He gestured to Son Uiwon.
“Once you’re finished, you may leave.”
“Yes. I will prepare medicine to aid your recovery—you must drink every last drop.”
“You still think I’m a ten-year-old boy.”
“Everyone looks that way to these old eyes.”
Son Uiwon straightened his bent back and rose slowly, turning to face Ju Jeokseo.
“I shall withdraw now. Please take good care of your wounds.”
***
Back at her Residence, Baeksa placed her Bead upon her palm.
The Bead was still black, but now it gleamed with a lustrous shine.
“Does it grow bigger the more I absorb?”
Since the Bead could not speak, no answer came back.
Yet conversing with the Bead this way was Baeksa’s one and only hobby.
The girl held the Bead tightly in her grip and murmured.
“I wonder… does Mother really live somewhere in the Imperial Palace?”
If so, why had the Beast-kin of the Imperial Palace never spoken to her about Mother?
Neither Father nor the palace attendants had ever mentioned her even once.
So Baeksa had always believed her mother was dead.
But if that weren’t the case—if she were actually alive.
‘Then…’
As Baeksa’s eyelids fluttered, a transparent white bird blazing with light suddenly burst forth from within the child’s body.
It was what had protected Baeksa from the Ghost Dragon’s attack, and it was a part of Mother.
Baeksa gazed at the bird quietly and pondered.
“Why is Your Majesty searching for Mother’s Soul Fragment? Is Mother in great danger?”
If so, should she have let the Ghost Dragon take this Soul Fragment?
And as she thought that far, another question bloomed in her mind.
The Emperor loved Mother so much that he came all the way to this distant Namto to retrieve her soul.
‘Then why did he…’
The girl’s father was the Emperor, and her mother was the White Vermilion Bird of Namto.
So why had he hated her so bitterly, so fiercely?
Wasn’t it because he loved her that he had fathered her in the first place?
Then, no matter how much his daughter was born as a serpent…
‘There was no need to hate her so much.’
The girl, who had been gazing at the transparently gleaming bird, carefully crawled beneath the blankets.
When she sat still, sadness crept in. She didn’t want to think of Father.
***
The story that the Ghost Dragon had tried to abduct Baeksa spread quickly among the Namto Beast-kin.
Half were astonished by the appearance of the legendary Ghost Dragon; the other half burned with anger at why they were now trying to reclaim the bloodline they had once abandoned.
The Namto Beast-kin generally harbored deep resentment toward the Emperor and the Imperial Court, and thus did not regard the Princess Baeksa kindly.
But when it became known that the Princess was in fact Ju Myeongyeong’s bloodline, and that the Emperor had tried to abduct her, the Namto Beast-kin were seized with fury.
“He stole Ju Myeongyeong away from us, and now he tries to take her daughter too!”
“Didn’t he abandon her in the first place? He abandoned her, so why does he now come to abduct her? The man is utterly mad!”
“Is the child an object? Does he think he can abandon her on a whim and then come back to claim her again?”
And the Namto Beast-kin who had cherished Ju Myeongyeong dearly spoke as one—Baeksa must not be taken from them a second time.
“If Miss Baeksa is the daughter of Ju Myeongyeong, surely she cannot be taken twice?”
“She cannot be taken twice by that mad Emperor!”
After Baeksa’s identity as Ju Myeongyeong’s daughter was revealed, the way the Namto Beast-kin looked upon her shifted somewhat.
A hapless princess abandoned in Namto; a sapling of misfortune that might one day bring great calamity to Namto.
Though they had once viewed her only in that light, when they learned she was the daughter of the White Vermilion Bird whom the Namto Beast-kin loved and held dear, they rejoiced as if they had found their own lost child.
And so in this matter of the Ghost Dragon’s abduction, they were united in their fury.
And the members of the Vermilion Bird Family shared that fury equally.
“The Ghost Dragon! The Emperor must surely be completely mad!”
As Yo Nyeong cried out in high excitement, Baeksa startled and gripped Hwaryeong’s hand tightly.
Then Ju Jeokseo frowned and spoke softly in warning.
“Yo Nyeong, you’re frightening the child.”
“Oh, oh no… Miss Baeksa, I’m truly sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you… But look! Take a look at this.”
Yo Nyeong smiled brightly and approached Baeksa, holding out a small doll.
It was a small bird doll, carefully stitched together by someone’s hand.
“It’s cute, isn’t it? I bought it at the marketplace on the way here.”
At Yo Nyeong’s warm voice, Baeksa crept forward cautiously and accepted the doll.
The moment the soft bird doll touched her hands, a smile bloomed across Baeksa’s face.
‘It’s pure white.’
The doll, made of pure white cloth, was stuffed full of cotton inside, making it fluffy and soft.
As Baeksa’s guard lowered somewhat, Yo Nyeong smiled and introduced herself.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Baeksa. My name is Yo Nyeong. I’m a scholar who conducts research related to Contamination.”
“A scholar? That means you learn things?”
“Yes! And I teach others as well. You’re quite precocious for one so young.”
She smiled warmly as she spoke.
“Since you came to these Southern Lands, I have been studying your Supernatural Ability.”
“My Ability?”
“Yes, because your Ability is very special. An Ability to absorb Contamination—surely you must be the only Beast-kin in the world with such a power.”
Yo Nyeong’s voice was very kind and slow enough for the child to understand. It was quite different from how she had cursed the Emperor just moments before.
“He-hehe, thank you…”
“Don’t mention it! It’s my work, after all.”
Yo Nyeong and Baeksa chatted together, and in the process, Baeksa’s tension eased a little as she stepped closer to Yo Nyeong.
“So, what have you discovered?”
Ju Jeokseo asked impatiently. Then Yo Nyeong’s eyes gleamed as she answered.
“Hmm, ahem—do you know where Contamination originates from?”
“It arises from negative, malevolent emotions. It is born from malice of the heart.”
“Exactly so. And because of this, Contamination is naturally purified. But at some point, it stopped being purified naturally.”

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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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