The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 75

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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 75
***
“I’m so hungry…….”
Baeksa curled her small body into itself.
She could have sworn her uncle and her brother had been following her, but at some point they’d vanished from sight.
Where was this place?
How was she supposed to find Jangwangshin?
What if she got lost here and couldn’t find her way back?
A tangle of questions swirled through her mind when—
A fairly large pond appeared before her eyes.
The dark water churned like the sea, and though it was contaminated, it held an auspicious power.
The child understood instinctively.
‘This must be where Jangwangshin lives.’
The girl suppressed her hunger and approached carefully, kneeling with deliberate care.
And as she had bowed to the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast, she now bowed slowly and respectfully to Jangwangshin.
Then.

An unfamiliar voice reached her ears.
The little serpent’s eyes flew wide open as she gazed ahead.
And there, standing on the surface of the pond, was a very old man.
She looked all around, but aside from the old man, she could see no one else.
The girl forgot her hunger for a moment and spoke.
“Are you Jangwangshin……?”

The old man strode toward Baeksa and placed his hand gently atop the child’s head.
“Oh!”

Baeksa stared up at Jangwangshin, her eyes wide and round.
He seemed less like a god and more like an elder she might encounter in a village.
He felt so familiar, so close, that the child temporarily forgot her hunger altogether.
Yet this was not the time to let her mind wander.
“I came because there’s something I wanted to ask you!”

In that moment, thousands of questions flashed through her mind at once.
Whether she was truly a dragon, and if so, why she wore the form of a serpent.
What this Abnormal Ability was, and what would become of her when her body turned black.
But there was one question that mattered most.
Baeksa spoke in a clear, steady voice.
“The Ghost Dragon is tormenting the Beast-kin of Namto. How can I destroy its Soul Fragments?”
Jangwangshin regarded the little serpent thoughtfully and spoke.

“Yes, I have.”

“……C-consume them?”

Jangwangshin spoke with utter conviction.

“But Jangwangshin, the more I consume, the darker my body becomes.”
Baeksa’s voice grew troubled.
“When my body turns black……I can no longer absorb any more Contamination. And if that happens…….”
If that happened, it would be like her belly bursting.
She had experienced such a thing before.
The mere memory of it filled her with loneliness and sorrow.
At this, Jangwangshin shook his head.

He gestured toward the darkened pond.

Jangwangshin continued.

you will become a dragon.
Baeksa could not believe what she had just heard.
If she absorbed everything, could she truly become a dragon?

The old man spoke.

And in an instant, the old man vanished.
Baeksa remained on her knees at the water’s edge, turning her head to search for the old man with her eyes.
But Jangwangshin was nowhere to be seen.
The child carefully brought her face close to the dark pond water to see her reflection.
In the dark water, her hair and face appeared utterly black.
‘He said not to be afraid.’
But how could she not be afraid?
The child had once been abandoned because her body turned black. The memory was still vivid.
She had been discarded because she could no longer absorb any Contamination or malevolent energy.
Baeksa lifted her head to gaze at the Bead. And she asked softly.
“If you hadn’t been there, my body couldn’t have endured it, could it?”
As the child carefully brought her hand to the pond’s surface, the Bead responded to her gesture, rising gently to float above the water.
Baeksa gazed carefully at the pond.
This seemed to be the place where Jangwangshin had made his dwelling.
She could feel the strength of Jangwangshin, which she had sensed moments before, emanating powerfully from every part of the pond.
Yet the darkened, contaminated water seemed at odds with a name like Baekryeonji.
In that moment, Baeksa wondered if perhaps this was why Jangwangshin had wished to meet her.
The intense hunger and longing that had drawn her here all the way might have been the will of that Divine Turtle.
Even if it were not, Baeksa wanted to make a White Lotus bloom in this place.
It seemed like a fitting way to repay the kindness Jangwangshin had shown her.
The girl activated her Abnormal Ability, and in an instant, the dark energy was sucked through the Bead and absorbed.
That devouring power—consuming everything—was now consuming all the dark energy from the pond.
Perhaps because she had absorbed such a vast amount of Contamination at once, Baeksa’s hair began turning black, very slowly.
Yet as she absorbed more and more Contamination, Baeksa felt her body growing lighter.
Not only that—an indescribable satisfaction and fullness filled the small serpent’s form.
It felt as though she had come all this way for precisely this.
Splash.
The girl dipped her fingertips into the pond water and stirred, and as the dark energy dispersed, a clear, transparent surface appeared.
And not long after.
Shhhhh.
All the Contamination lifted from the vast pond, and there, a single small white lotus bloomed.
It was small and unassuming, yet floating on the transparent, pristine water, it looked like a precious jewel.
The girl, who had absorbed all the pond’s Contamination, slowly opened her eyes.
Her head felt clearer now, fresher than before. It was as though she had finally found her place.
Baeksa rose slowly to her feet and gazed at the pond she had purified.
Then she bowed deeply, her head low.
“Thank you, Jangwangshin, for showing me the answer.”
No reply came, but the girl could feel Jangwangshin’s profound joy.
Through the Bead, the Divine Being’s happiness was being conveyed to the little serpent.
‘Can I absorb the Ghost Dragon’s Fragments the same way?’
When she was inside the Ghost Dragon’s belly, she could not absorb them, but now that she was outside, perhaps she could.
In any case, she needed to attempt what Jangwangshin had shown her.
As the girl made her final bow and turned to leave.
Once more, Jangwangshin’s voice reached her from above.

“Jangwangshin……!”

His voice resonated powerfully.

With those words, Jangwangshin’s voice faded.
At the same moment, the forest split open, and a path back appeared.
***
When Baeksa returned, Ju Jeokseo could not help but start.
Of course he was startled. How could he not be, seeing the child’s hair grown even darker?
Yet he made a conscious effort not to show it. He knew how much the child cared about the color of her hair.
Regardless, the little serpent appeared delighted and joyful.
“Uncle!”
Spotting Ju Jeokseo from a distance, Baeksa broke into a radiant smile and came running, throwing herself into his arms.

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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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