The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 88

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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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88
When Jo Yeong followed the path where the lightning had struck, sure enough, Mo Hyun’s corpse lay there.
The body, charred black by the lightning strike, looked to anyone’s eyes like the textbook definition of a Heavenly Punishment.
He clicked his tongue in pity, gathered Mo Hyun’s belongings along with the body, and immediately returned to the Vermilion Bird Family.
The corpse’s eyes were wide open as if unable to believe the sudden death, but he did not bother to close them.
Mo Hyun had been far too wicked a man to deserve even that small comfort.
***
“I knew it would happen.”
Those were Ju Jeokseo’s first words upon seeing Mo Hyun’s corpse. He nodded slowly.
“There was no way he would suddenly return the stolen soul out of the goodness of his heart, so when the soul came back, something must have happened to the thief.”
“This is…”
Siyeom picked up the lamp.
“Do you recognize it?”
“It’s a Spirit Treasure used by his family.”
To be more precise, it was a Spiritual Treasure used by the Branch Line.
The Black Tortoise Family had a large clan, so even with the same Hyun surname, there was a stark difference between the Direct Line and the Branch Line.
“It seems he intended to spark a conflict between Namto and Bukto.”
“Then Mo Hyun’s true target was to have something happen in Namto so that you and Doeui would die… or I would kill both of you.”
“Most likely, yes. That way, Black Tortoise could legally intervene in Namto.”
Siyeom pressed her throbbing forehead.
“Bukto is insane. It’s an absolute disaster. Once the current Xuanwu Star Lord steps down and a new one takes over, it will be complete chaos. They’re even resorting to methods they should never use.”
She rummaged through Mo Hyun’s corpse and pulled out the Gourd Bottle containing the Evil Spirit.
Fortunately, the Gourd Bottle had not been damaged by the lightning, so the Evil Spirit remained trapped inside, unable to escape.
“I don’t know what to do…”
“Are you not going back to Bukto?”
“I have to go back. I belong to the Direct Line of Black Tortoise. I cannot live in Namto.”
Siyeom spoke firmly.
“But I must prepare myself. Looking at Mo Hyun’s state, this was likely ordered by a family elder, or at best, the Xuanwu Star Lord himself. Since I am returning alive after ruining their plans…”
“Won’t you be killed as well?”
“I am of the Direct Line, so they cannot carelessly kill or harm me.”
Siyeom brushed off her knees. Then she turned her head to look at Doeui.
“But that child is different.”
Her voice grew heavy.
“The moment you return to Bukto, you will be devoured immediately.”
“I’m not going back.”
“Still, you can’t live here forever. You have Black Tortoise blood flowing through you too.”
A brief silence stretched in the taut, tense air.
Hwanya and Hwaryeong had gone to the Detached Villa to look after Baeksa.
Only Ju Jeokseo, Siyeom, and Doeui remained here.
Furthermore, Ju Jeokseo and Siyeom had pre-emptively sealed the room to prevent any sound from escaping.
Thus, no matter what they said inside, those outside would hear nothing.
Siyeom spoke.
“The Direct Line of the Four Divine Beasts cannot leave their territory for long. The longer you stay away, the more your mind will slowly begin to break down. In the end, you’ll want to return to Namto by any means necessary.”
“But!”
“There are no buts. The only reason you aren’t affected by the Restriction right now is simply because you are young.”
That was how they had managed to hide it.
But as Doeui grew, as his Supernatural Ability matured, and as the Black Tortoise Restriction tightened, they would no longer be able to keep him in Namto.
“How much time do I have left?”
“The most time I can buy you is two or three years at best.”
She looked down at Mo Hyun’s corpse.
“With this happening, it might be even less.”
Doeui’s gaze slowly shifted toward Ju Jeokseo.
“Divine Lord, may I remain here a little longer?”
“That depends on your own will. I will not force you out.”
Ju Jeokseo replied nonchalantly.
Doeui measured his own Supernatural Ability.
Right now, Doeui’s Supernatural Ability was strong enough to face even Siyeom in combat.
But he could not gauge what would happen if he clashed with the successor whom Siyeom guarded against so heavily.
Even Siyeom probably couldn’t guess.
If that was the case, it was better to return after becoming a bit stronger.
Siyeom asked.
“You aren’t coming back with me this time, are you?”
“Yes.”
Doeui answered.
“I’ve always thought that I would return when the time was right. But I don’t think that time is now.”
The boy’s voice was mature and remarkably calm.
It was the voice of someone who knew exactly what he had to do and how he should proceed from now on.
He spoke.
“For the time I have left, I want to stay in Namto and protect that young dragon.”
“Very well, the life of a guardian isn’t so bad either.”
Siyeom nodded casually. Her attitude suggested she had already known Doeui would answer that way.
The conversation between mother and son ended just like that.
Siyeom turned to Ju Jeokseo once more.
“What will you do about the Heavenly Punishment? Will you tell Baeksa?”
“I won’t tell her.”
“Why?”
“She may be brave, but she is still a child. If she learns that her own power killed someone, she might be deeply scarred. She might withdraw into herself.”
The child was too young for them to explain step-by-step what kind of power the Heavenly Punishment was, and that Mo Hyun was a man who deserved to die.
Moreover, it was a power she had unleashed entirely without her own knowledge.
If she found out that Mo Hyun had died because of that power, it might bring about a terrible psychological backlash.
“I will tell her when she’s a bit older. I’ll let her know what happened on this day.”
“True, hearing you say that, it does seem for the best…”
“What do you plan to say when you go back?”
“I’ll have to think about that from now on. Besides, they probably won’t have the peace of mind to focus on me anyway.”
“Why is that?”
“Shouldn’t the birth of a new dragon have been broadcast across the entire Haeseo Kingdom by now?”
At Siyeom’s words, Ju Jeokseo’s mouth parted in realization.
The moment Baeksa transformed into a dragon, a five-colored rainbow rose above the warehouse, and the image of a White Dragon manifested.
That massive shape of the White Dragon might have been witnessed not just by those in Namto, but even by people very far away.
Furthermore, since it signaled the birth of a new member of the Dragon Race, the Azure Dragon Clan or the Yellow Dragon Clan might have felt something as well.
“The child might be in danger.”
“What’s done is done, so what can we do? We can’t exactly hide her at this point either.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“We just have to do our absolute best to guard and protect her. I will raise her into a child who can easily defend herself.”
Once that was done…
Ju Jeokseo’s face darkened as he thought of Ju Myeongyeong.
Ju Myeongyeong was definitely alive somewhere.
Yet there was no way to find out where she was or how she was living.
He had intended to ask Siyeom, a member of the Black Tortoise Clan, for help, but given the chaotic situation in Bukto, things seemed too difficult on the Black Tortoise side as well.
“I’ll look into finding Ju Myeongyeong on my end too. I’ll try to contact the Azure Dragon Clan once more. But they’re likely in a frenzy right now as well, so there’s a high probability no meaningful answer will come back.”
“I appreciate the thought alone.”
“And your wound…”
Siyeom furrowed her brows.
The day she first arrived in Namto, Siyeom had noticed that Ju Jeokseo’s wound was far from ordinary.
That wound, inflicted by the Ghost Dragon, was deep, and above all, it carried a dense, heavy grudge.
It wasn’t something like a mere Contamination.
It was an unresolvable grudge.
“Can’t you ask Baeksa to fix it?”
“Baeksa is incredibly sensitive to the flow of energy. If it’s an energy she can absorb, she senses it and swallows it down without anyone having to tell her.”
Just like that time she had absorbed and devoured all of Hwanya’s Contamination.
“The fact that Baeksa hasn’t said a word means she didn’t sense anything, which in turn means it’s something she cannot fix.”
“The wound keeps tearing open. The Physician hasn’t said much else, has he?”
“He just says it shouldn’t be left like this.”
“I understand how you feel, but it would still be better to show it to Baeksa just once. Ask her when the child wakes up. For now, that seems to be the best way to treat this injury.”
She stretched her stiff body luxuriously. Before they knew it, the dawn had passed, and the sun was rising in the far distance.
The morning rooster prepared to crow. It was the hour when all ghosts and wraiths retreated into hiding.
It was also the time when the Black Tortoise Clan became their weakest. Siyeom smiled faintly as she watched the sunrise.
“I really don’t want to go back to Bukto… God knows what kind of mess is waiting for me.”
“If you say you want to live here, I can spare a room for you.”
“You must have let everything I just said to Doeui go completely in one ear and out the other.”

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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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