The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 63

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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 63
“Uncle, how does one receive Divine Beast Protection?”
“As I mentioned before, the shrine maidens make an offering to the Divine Beast, and then they make their request.”
“A request?”
“Yes, they beseech it, saying something like: ‘We wish for this, and we humbly pray that you will grant it.'”
Ju Jeokseo poked Baeksa’s cheek playfully.
“Remember when I taught you about the Rain Prayer Ritual?”
“Yes, you said that when there’s no rain, we pray to the Divine Beast to bring it down.”
“It’s much the same thing. Except instead of rain, we’re asking for something else.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“Of course, each Divine Beast oversees a different domain, so performing the Rain Prayer Ritual to the Vermilion Bird would be useless.”
“Then what happens if there’s a water shortage?”
“Fortunately, the lands of Namto have never suffered a severe drought so far.”
Baeksa nodded in understanding.
“But what if the Divine Beast doesn’t grant me protection?”
“Then it simply won’t. There’s nothing to worry about. Didn’t I tell you before that it’s all the Divine Beast’s will?”
He seated Baeksa before him and began playing with her white hair.
Though the ends had darkened somewhat, most of her hair still shimmered white.
He frowned slightly.
“Are you in any pain? I heard you’ve been absorbing a lot of Contamination lately.”
At Ju Jeokseo’s words, Baeksa caught her breath.
“One of the ponds in the Rear Garden has become completely carpeted with white lotus flowers because of it, and the servant girls are calling it the Sobaekryeonji.”
“I, that’s…”
“I’m not blaming you. I’m just worried it might be taking a toll on your body.”
His voice was remarkably gentle and warm as he spoke.
Baeksa smiled brightly and nodded.
“No, it doesn’t hurt. The reason I’m absorbing more than before is… I keep getting hungry.”
“Hungry?”
“If I don’t absorb anything, I feel a hunger. I think it’s because of the Bead.”
The moment Baeksa finished speaking, a Bead appeared floating in the air.
It was as if it had been listening carefully to every word, understanding and manifesting itself.
“When I absorb something, I feel the Bead’s joy.”
“I wonder if this Bead is tormenting my niece. I’ll have to ask Jangwangshin about it when I meet him.”
“It’s not tormenting me! I can feel that the Bead cares about me.”
“You can feel that?”
Baeksa nodded eagerly.
“If I just hold the Bead quietly, I can feel it. Like with a person, its heart slowly reaches me…”
“Is that so?”
Ju Jeokseo gazed at the Bead with a teasing expression.
“Well then, I ask one thing of you—don’t torment my niece too much.”
At that, the Bead immediately vanished into Baeksa’s embrace.
Baeksa burst into laughter at the sight.
“Uncle, did you see? The Bead ran away because you kept teasing it!”
“It certainly seems to understand what we’re saying.”
He playfully braided Baeksa’s hair as he spoke.
“You know what? Thanks to you, Jeokryusan is now completely free of Contamination.”
“Are the lotus flowers still blooming?”
“Yes, they haven’t withered yet. Moreover, the Beast-kin nearby say that the flowers are also absorbing the surrounding Contamination.”
“Hehe…”
“When I think about it, it does seem like the legend of the White Lotus and your Ability are connected. The servant girls are already calling the lotus pond you created the Sobaekryeonji.”
“I wish I could meet Jangwangshin. I have so many things I want to ask him.”
“What do you want to ask him?”
At Ju Jeokseo’s question, Baeksa recalled what had happened inside the Ghost Dragon.
And she spoke carefully.
“Inside the Ghost Dragon… the spirits of dragons called me a young dragon. I wonder if they were mistaken, or…”
As she got this far, Baeksa suddenly felt her question was foolish.
In the Imperial Court where only dragon Beast-kin were born, she alone had been born as something else and abandoned.
She had no magnificent horns, no dragon whiskers.
‘So why do I keep wanting to ask about this?’
But Baeksa felt a little embarrassed bringing up such a thing, so she changed the subject.
“Um, and I also wanted to ask how to free the spirits trapped inside the Ghost Dragon. They say Jangwangshin has lived for a very, very long time, so maybe he might know a way.”
“It will be difficult to free the spirits of the Ghost Dragon. The problem is that they don’t exist as separate individual spirits.”
Ju Jeokseo shook his head.
“The resentment of dragons and their spirits merged together to create the Ghost Dragon.”
‘But still.’
I definitely saw different memories.
The voices of the dragons speaking to me were also all different.
‘I have to ask Jangwangshin about this too!’
Jangwangshin was a great old turtle god who had lived an extremely, extremely long time, so perhaps he could answer these questions.
Baeksa wanted to meet Jangwangshin as soon as possible.
When she met that great turtle who had lived so long, she felt like her doubts might be at least partially resolved.
“Oh, and in a few days you’ll be meeting some friends.”
“Friends?”
“Yes, you need to meet friends. You can’t spend all your time in the estate playing only with those two, can you?”
Ju Jeokseo pointed toward Doeui and Hwaryeong, the “two” in question.
“If you’re still afraid of meeting other Beast-kin, we can postpone it.”
“No, I’m happy about it. I’m not afraid of meeting other Beast-kin anymore.”
“I thought so—our Yeon is brave, so she’ll play well with her friends.”
Ju Jeokseo, who had been wrestling with Baeksa’s hair, soon brightened up.
“There! All done! Look in the mirror.”
Ju Jeokseo held up a mirror before Baeksa’s eyes.
Yeon gazed at her reflection in the mirror.
In the mirror was a girl with her hair loosely tied in two bunches.
It was far from being tidily done, but Baeksa felt her heart tickle with warmth.
She could feel that her uncle had made an effort for her sake.
But it was still difficult to truthfully say it was well done.
The child was not good at lying.
“Isn’t it better than how Sirang does it?”
“Hehe…”
“Why are you just laughing?”
“…”
Yeon, who had been smiling faintly, shook her head.
Before Ju Jeokseo could wear a look of disappointment, she suddenly threw her arms around him.
In return, the arms that wrapped around her were very firm and warm.
***
Days later.
And not long after, a welcome guest arrived at the Vermilion Bird Family Estate.
“Yeon, greet them.”
Ju Jeokseo said, gently placing a hand on Baeksa’s shoulder.
“These are your friends.”
Baeksa’s eyes widened as she looked around the table.
Children her own age sat around the table, their eyes wide as they gazed at Baeksa.
Ju Jeokseo had arranged this meeting for Baeksa, who had never properly met children her own age before.
Though she had heard a few days ago that she would meet friends, she felt a bit nervous meeting them in person.
But she couldn’t just sit nervously.
“Um, hello…!”
Baeksa greeted them while gripping her skirt tightly.
Though her nervousness showed clearly, her voice was quite spirited.
Ju Jeokseo smiled proudly.
“They’re all children your age. They’ll play for a day and then leave. You might receive the same education together later, so it’s good to become friends beforehand.”
He seated Baeksa at the table and looked around.
“I’ll be going now. Spend a good time with your friends.”
As Ju Jeokseo left, the children’s eyes sparkled as they gazed at Baeksa.
“Are you really a Snake Beastman?”
“Hey! Why are you asking that?”
“No, it’s cool! This is my first time seeing a Snake Beastman!”
“Can you really make lotus flowers bloom? Could you show us?”
The children chattered at Baeksa all at once.
Overwhelmed by the sudden rush of attention, Baeksa gripped her teacup tightly.
It wasn’t that the attention was unwelcome.
It was simply that she had never experienced anything like this before and didn’t know what to do.
A girl who had been watching Baeksa carefully quieted the other children.
“You lot, be quiet.”
And she spoke to Baeksa.
“Baeksa, we’re late with our introductions. I’m Ha Je-ui, third daughter of the Ha Clan.”
The girl, who had a composed appearance, turned her head sharply toward the other children.
“Shouldn’t you introduce yourselves first?”
“Oh! My name is Sa Gyeon.”
“I’m O Yeon, second daughter of the Han Clan.”
As the children finished their introductions with bright eyes, color returned to Baeksa’s face.
‘I was wondering how to address them.’
As if the girl named Je-ui had read her mind, she had solved Baeksa’s concern.

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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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