The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 79

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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 79
When Baeksa arrived in Namto,
the region had become nothing short of chaos.
The Ghost Dragon spirit was thrashing about, its fragments convulsing—and under that influence, the Beast-kin had begun to lose their minds.
The commotion was so severe that the moment she stepped through the entrance, pandemonium erupted, and Baeksa woke without anyone needing to rouse her.
Seeing the spectacle that lay before her, she found herself at a loss for words.
“How could this happen… There are still two days left.”
The child murmured to herself.
She had thought they’d arrived in time.
In ordinary circumstances, the journey by carriage would have taken ten days, but Ju Jeokseo had pushed hard and covered it in merely five days.
Yet a problem had already emerged?
The moment the carriage pulled up to the estate, Hwanya came rushing out breathlessly to greet Ju Jeokseo.
“Father!”
“What in the world is going on here?”
Ju Jeokseo asked urgently, stepping into the estate with Baeksa still cradled in his arms.
“I shall explain what has happened, sir.”
Hwanya gave Ju Jeokseo a brief account of events up to that point.
Someone had sabotaged Siyeom’s Incantation Spell, causing the Ghost Dragon spirits to rampage far sooner than anticipated.
And there was even talk that the Black Tortoise Clan might be behind it.
“Where are Siyeom and Doeui?”
“They’ve gone out to try to stop this however they can. Father, what did Jangwangshin say?”
Baeksa, who had been gauging the situation, answered instead.
“He, he said I could eat them.”
“…What?”
“He said if I absorb them, there’s no problem I cannot solve.”
“Is that truly so? Father, surely you misunderstood him? What sort of divine being offers such an answer?”
“I wish I had misunderstood.”
Ju Jeokseo shook his head. But the more Baeksa listened to the two of them converse, the more confused she became.
‘But I’m fine with it—why are they so troubled?’
After all, if she didn’t absorb, she would grow hungry. That hunger was not something food could satisfy.
Baeksa bounded down from Ju Jeokseo’s embrace. Hwaryeong, transformed into his Beast-kin form, clung tightly to the girl’s shoulder.
“Chirp-chirp, peep-peep!” (So where should I go now?)
“That is…”
Just as Hwanya was about to respond, the door swung open with a bang.
Siyeom and Doeui entered, their faces etched with exhaustion.
Relief washed over both their faces when they spotted Ju Jeokseo. Siyeom turned to him urgently.
“Did you find a method? You must have, Divine Lord?”
“For now, yes.”
He nodded, his expression troubled.
“How is the situation outside?”
“Not good. Though I’ve managed to prevent Possession for now.”
She released a heavy sigh.
“Possession doesn’t happen just anytime. The harmony of heaven and earth must align. I’ve twisted that harmony slightly, so we should be safe for at least half a day. The problem is tomorrow…”
She spoke with a worried expression.
“Since I’ve forcibly held it back, their fury has likely reached its peak. The longer we delay, the more serious this becomes.”
She chewed anxiously at an unlit pipe, gnashing her teeth.
“So—what’s the method?”
At that question, Ju Jeokseo’s expression grew even more troubled. Baeksa, who had been watching carefully, answered in his stead.
“He said I should eat them.”
“…Hmm?”
“He said absorbing them would be good for my body…”
When she finished speaking, the adults looked somewhat stunned. Baeksa understood their sentiment well enough.
Absorb Ghost Dragon Fragments—which drove people to madness and death—and it would be good for her body?
‘To anyone’s eye, that doesn’t sound good for the body at all.’
Yet Jangwangshin would never have lied to her.
At that thought,
“Peep-peep-peep!” (Could that old tortoise have been lying?)
Hwaryeong suddenly cried out and spread his wings. Siyeom’s eyes narrowed.
“An old tortoise? That one is a guardian spirit who has dwelt in the earth of Namto since ancient times.”
“R-right, he didn’t seem to be lying.”
Baeksa nodded quickly.
“But how do I absorb them? I can’t exactly catch something thrashing about like that.”
“You can’t catch it?”
“If we could have caught it, we’d have sealed it long ago!”
“Originally, we could have bound it with the Binding Rope.”
“It broke the Binding Rope and escaped, absorbed Contamination, and has grown stronger by harming other Beast-kin. Each fragment of the spirit is more troublesome than the Ghost Dragon you faced before.”
Siyeom narrowed her eyes.
“If they learn that the young serpent can absorb them, they’ll thrash even harder to resist being absorbed, even unto death.”
“Then…”
Just as Ju Jeokseo and Siyeom were exchanging troubled looks, Baeksa’s eyes lit up and she squeezed Ju Jeokseo’s hand tightly.
“They won’t know…!”
“Hmm?”
“Because I failed last time—so they probably won’t know.”
The child looked back on her previous memories.
‘It said it wanted to become one with me.’
It had wanted to trap her inside itself.
If it had known her true Ability, and if she had been a threat to them, it would not have done so.
That meant either they didn’t know about Baeksa’s Ability, or they didn’t consider her particularly threatening.
“Because you failed once…”
“Yes.”
“But what makes you certain you’ll succeed this time? Why would Jangwangshin suggest such a method…”
“I don’t know either. He just told me not to be afraid.”
Baeksa added,
“Perhaps he meant it’s truly easy to resolve…?”
If she consumed them, it would be good for her body.
It sounded like something said when presenting good medicine.
So unlike before, she felt neither fear nor dread. Moreover, the hunger that had subsided somewhat after meeting Jangwangshin flared anew at the sight of the chaotic streets—and even more intensely than before.
Thinking that this hunger would fade once she absorbed those fragments, she found herself oddly eager to finish quickly.
“Well, there is one method…”
“What is it?”
“Those spirits are searching for bodies suitable for Possession right now. They’re looking for strong flesh to enter directly.”
Siyeom struck her palm with her fan.
“Once they find a suitable body, they’ll do whatever they can to claim it. You could absorb them in that moment.”
“Where would we find a suitable body? Once found, they’ll be in a frenzy trying to possess it—can that even be stopped?”
“The most suitable body right now is this child.”
Siyeom pointed her fan at Baeksa.
“Both Jangwangshin and the Ghost Dragon called this girl a young dragon, didn’t they? There’s nothing more suitable for a dragon spirit to possess than a dragon’s flesh. Especially since the Ghost Dragon harbors such deep hatred for its own kind.”
She continued swiftly.
“If the Ghost Dragon doesn’t yet know of this girl’s Ability, the mere sight of her will drive them to madness wanting to seize this body. That’s when you strike.”
***
The method Siyeom proposed was this:
‘We’ll play a game, Yeona.’
She held the young serpent gently as she spoke.
‘If you cover your eyes and walk around that street once, the spirits will naturally follow you. Then I’ll seal both the spirits and you in one place.’
It was a dangerous method.
No parent raising a child would ever allow it.
Not unless the child’s Ability were Absorption.
Jangwangshin had said that consuming the dragon’s spirits would be good for Baeksa’s body. In that sense, this amounted to preparing a meal for the child.
Ju Jeokseo seemed deeply uncomfortable with it, but he yielded when told there was no other way.
Moreover, since arriving here and confirming the Ghost Dragon’s traces, Baeksa’s hunger had been intensifying by the moment—there was no time to delay further.
‘Let’s do it tomorrow morning. I need time to prepare. Doeui will escort Yeona while you walk the street.’
She released a sigh.
‘In the meantime, you find Mo Hyun. If that one flees, we’re in trouble.’
Siyeom left with those words, saying she had preparations to make through the night.
Ju Jeokseo led soldiers down to the Village and had those afflicted by the Ghost Dragon isolated first.
There were increasing numbers whose minds were not whole—harming other Beast-kin or attempting to harm themselves.
Isolation by force was better. Otherwise, they would regret it when they came to their senses later.
“Divine Lord, I, how do I…”
Ju Jeokseo spoke to a trembling Bird Beast-kin.
“What was done in a state of unsoundness shall not be judged as guilt. Do not be troubled.”
The Beast-kin of Namto believed this to be Heavenly Punishment sent by the Emperor.
That the dragon had finally come to erase Namto from this land of Haeseo Kingdom.
Amid wavering faith, the flame of the Vermilion Bird had grown as faint as a candle before a lamp.
If time delayed any further, the strength of all Namto would weaken.
So tomorrow morning was the critical moment.

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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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