The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 72

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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 72
Doeui faltered at Siyeom’s words.
Then he called out to her slowly.
“Mother.”
“What is it?”
“Then can you divine the future of the young serpent as well?”
Siyeom’s gaze grew curious. Doeui deliberately ignored that look and answered steadily.
“Strange as it is, the destiny of that child doesn’t extend far enough for me to see.”
Doeui had tried several times.
The intention was never ill-meaning.
He simply hoped that good things would always come to the young serpent.
If he could see misfortune ahead, he meant to avert it himself.
Yet even when he could divine the immediate future, it grew obscured the moment it stretched further away.
This was his first encounter with an existence that remained “unseen.”
As if reading Doeui’s heart, Siyeom’s voice reached him.
“If you can see even imperfectly, your ability has already surpassed mine, child.”
She smiled strangely as she answered.
“To me, that young serpent’s destiny reveals not a single grain.”
“But why…?”
“There are such beings in this world. They are born carrying destinies so immense that one cannot divine or glimpse them carelessly.”
She turned her gaze back to where the carriage had departed.
The white-shining paths that had gleamed moments before were now fading, growing pale, and dissolving away.
“How does that young serpent appear to your eyes?”
Her eyes flashed a piercing blue. She murmured slowly.
“To me, she appears as a being immensely great and heavy.”
A presence so vast that even this Namto cannot contain it.
Siyeom, still murmuring, turned her body sharply and began to walk.
“Come. We have our own work to do.”
She glanced back at her son.
“If you wish to be of help to your young serpent, it would be better to move alongside your mother than to stand idly in place.”
Her words sounded almost like a warning.
Doeui slowly lifted his feet.
***
“Hmm, that’s strange.”
Je-ui cocked her head.
The girl squinted, her younger sister cradled in her arms.
Then her father approached and asked gently.
“What troubles you?”
“Father, Je-ryu seems a bit odd today.”
“Je-ryu?”
“Yes. She’s not crying at all. Usually she’s such a terrible crier—she cries hundreds of times a day…”
The girl looked down at her younger sister with searching eyes.
Je-ryu, whether she understood her sister’s concern or not, sat with wide eyes while sucking on her own hand.
‘Something feels off.’
Even that struck Je-ui as slightly strange.
Je-ryu usually made adorable sounds when she sucked her thumb.
She would make those sweet little noises as if trying to say something, but now even that was absent.
It was only a small difference, yet Je-ui instinctively sensed that something was wrong with her younger sister.
Yet her father merely glanced at Je-ryu once, then smiled without further comment and lifted the child into his arms.
“Je-ryu seems to be in a good mood today. Look how she doesn’t cry.”
“But…”
“She’s not crying because she’s in good spirits. Why do you worry? Stop fretting and go play—her father will watch the child.”
Je-ui gazed at the baby with an uneasy expression.
The baby continued to blink her eyes while sucking her thumb, and somehow Je-ui found herself thinking she looked less like a living child and more like a doll.
‘Why do I feel this way?’
Except for not crying, she was exactly the same as yesterday.
The girl stared at Je-ryu with a confused expression before leaving the room.
Outside, things were a little noisy. Je-ui stretched her neck and asked the servant girl.
“Why is it so loud? Who came?”
“Oh! The Vermilion Bird Family’s Hwanya has arrived. He’s meeting with the Family Head right now.”
“Do you know what he came for?”
“No, I’m not entirely sure…”
“That’s fine, thank you.”
The servant girl followed Je-ui naturally.
“Shall I bring some refreshments to your room?”
“Yes, please.”
Je-ui, answering as usual, lifted her head to gaze at the sky.
The sky was particularly blue today.
Yet even that…
‘…felt strange.’
Something felt off.
Like wearing clothes that don’t fit, forced onto oneself.
***
The Reception Room of the Ha Clan Estate.
Hwanya and the Ha Clan Head sat facing each other in an awkward silence.
It was Hwanya who broke the quiet first.
“Head of the Ha Clan.”
“Young Family Head, how come you are here? Had you summoned me, I would have come to pay respects.”
“I came to share news with you. Please, make yourself comfortable.”
The Ha Clan Head nodded and settled into her seat. The Reception Room of the Ha Clan Estate was not spacious, but it was quite orderly.
For a reception hall of the Ha Clan, which could be called the foremost noble house in all of Namto, it held a humble quality.
Yet even that suited the Ha Clan Head’s character well. In fact, the image of her welcoming guests in a lavish reception room would have felt far stranger.
Hwanya settled into his seat and observed the Ha Clan Head.
She waited calmly, curious about why he had come.
Not long after, a servant girl brought fragrant tea, and a cup was placed before each of them.
Hwanya simply gazed at the steam rising from his cup until the servant girl left, then he opened his mouth.
“I have words to share. A message from the Family Head.”
“Yes, please speak.”
Hwanya opened his mouth slowly.
“Your daughter is in danger.”
Startled by the sudden declaration, she widened her eyes.
“I…?”
“Not long ago, you are aware that a Ghost Dragon caused a disturbance in Namto’s sky, are you not?”
“Yes, yes… Did it not fail in an attempt to kidnap Baeksa? But what does that have to do with my child…?”
“Several fragments fell from that Ghost Dragon, and those fragments have now gone missing.”
“Fragments, you say?”
“Yes. And according to one well-versed in such matters, if one of these fragments enters another’s body, the spirit of the Ghost Dragon may possess that person.”
“You mean to say…?”
Baeksa reported seeing a Ghost Dragon Fragment within your daughter.”
Hwanya set a talisman on the table.
It was one that Siyeom had inscribed before he came here.
‘I’ve embedded a fragment of the Ghost Dragon’s remaining spirit into it, so if you draw near where another fragment lies, the talisman should react. It won’t be perfectly accurate, but…’
That talisman was now glowing faintly green beneath Hwanya’s hand.
It meant a Ghost Dragon Fragment was somewhere nearby.
“Then… how can we… No, why would a Ghost Dragon Fragment even…?”
She fumbled over her words.
“I have never heard of fragments falling from a Ghost Dragon!”
The Ha Clan Head seemed overcome with shock, her words trailing away.
It was understandable.
It was astounding enough that a legendary Ghost Dragon had appeared, but now to hear that the spirit of that Ghost Dragon has entered her own daughter…
She was not fool enough not to understand that it would surely bring no good influence.
She looked to Hwanya in distress, and he continued calmly.
“This is news to us as well. However, since the Family Head has gone to meet with Jangwangshin to resolve this matter, it should not be difficult to settle.”
Hwanya placed the talisman back into his robe as he spoke.
“The reason I tell you this is that a parent must know what situation their child has entered.”
“I…”
For the coming week, watch over your daughter carefully, and should any problems arise, come to the Vermilion Bird Family Estate without delay.”
He said.
A shaman of the Black Tortoise Family is staying at the estate. They will help suppress the Ghost Dragon’s spirit, at least temporarily.”
“Ah, I…”
“And the shaman asked me to relay this as well.”
The boy lifted his head to look at the Ha Clan Head.
‘Once you’ve located the fragment, those around it must never become agitated. The spirit grows more violent when it recognizes itself. Moreover, this Namto overflows with Contamination, so when that foul energy mingles with it, worse things will happen.’
“No matter what occurs, the parents must not panic.”
Siyeom’s words flowed through Hwanya’s mouth in a different direction.
“If the parents panic, the child will panic as well. And should that happen, the spirit within will sense that unstable energy. So please, do not lose your composure and wait for the Family Head.”
Hwanya said.
“The Family Head will surely resolve this matter.”
After a moment of silence, she slowly nodded.
“…Yes.”
And she bowed in courtesy.
“I shall do so. Thank you for telling me beforehand, Young Family Head.”

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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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