The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 89

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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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“Don’t forget to show your wound to Baeksa. She’s a child you need to protect, but she’s no longer just a child—she’s a dragon now.”
Besides…
Siyeom held her tongue, but Ju Jeokseo knew exactly what she wanted to say.
Baeksa’s hair had turned black, but now it was slowly whitening once more.
As if returning to its original color, both her hair and the bead were regaining their pristine white glow.
Perhaps her strength was recovering as she rested, for her hair color had shifted significantly even while she slept.
If she truly reverted to a tiny, white girl like this.
‘The White Dragon of legend.’
The probability that Baeksa was that legendary being stood at roughly ninety percent.
It was something to rejoice over, but as the child’s guardian, it was also deeply unsettling news.
Every parent and guardian wished for their child to be special.
But to be this unique.
To become the one and only, completely peerless existence in the entire world…
Who could truly welcome such a circumstance?
A situation where one’s own child might be cast into constant danger.
Yet just because the child was special didn’t mean he could sit around grieving over it.
Congratulating the child, rejoicing alongside her, and protecting her to the absolute limit of his power was Ju Jeokseo’s true duty.
To do that, this wound had to heal first.
“Right, I’ll let her take a look,”
he replied with a broad grin.
Between the layers of wrapped bandages, blood and fluid were still oozing out little by little.
The Ghost Dragon Fragment had vanished long ago, but perhaps because the Ghost Dragon itself hadn’t truly disappeared, the wound simply would not close.
Because of this, the Physician was fraught with worry.
“……I leave Doeui in your hands as well. The Black Tortoise Family already noticed he’s staying here, so there’s no telling what kind of tricks they might pull next.”
“That’s entirely possible.”
he said.
“But Doeui is a resilient kid; he’ll surely manage fine on his own. And you seem to have forgotten for a moment, but this is a contaminated land. Weak beast-kin are eroded by the contamination at the border and die.”
And even for beast-kin with powerful supernatural abilities, they had no choice but to be affected by the power of the contamination.
The beast-kin of Namto possessed the Vermilion Bird’s protection and had adapted to it to some extent, making them more resilient against the contamination than others.
However, no matter how powerful a supernatural ability the beast-kin of other territories possessed, they wouldn’t last long against this blight.
That was precisely the reason why Siyeom was rushing back.
If Baeksa had been awake, she would have absorbed the contamination right away, but they couldn’t just rouse a sleeping child.
“We’ll see each other again soon.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Just look after him well until then.”
“I’d gladly watch over him until he’s fully grown. But you might not be able to hide his identity anymore.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“Seeing you and Doeui stuck together, Hwaryeong and Hwanya seem to have figured it out. The others probably noticed too.”
“They found out at the Black Tortoise house anyway. It doesn’t matter anymore. As long as he stays safe.”
Siyeom snapped back, tossing her head back. She turned to look at Ju Jeokseo one last time.
“I’m off. Take care.”
“Did you say goodbye to Doeui?”
“Earlier!”
With that, she vanished into the distance.
She had arrived with another, but she departed entirely alone.
Since she couldn’t exactly carry Mo Hyun’s corpse back with her, Siyeom only gathered a few of his personal belongings.
She also cut off Mo Hyun’s fingers. She needed to prove the fact that he was dead.
The remaining corpse was burned to nothingness by the soldiers of the Vermilion Bird Family.
An evil man who harbored wicked intentions and tried to harm a child, Mo Hyun became a single handful of ash, scattered somewhere across the wild mountain.
***
The child dreamed yet again.
In the dream, she was a very tiny white snake.
Yet she felt neither sad nor lonely.
For the tiny Baeksa possessed a home.
That home was a small, elegant lotus flower.
Inside it, Baeksa was happier than anyone else in the world.
One day, while the baby snake was spending a blissful day inside the lotus flower.
A deeply familiar, tender voice spoke to the baby snake.
“Rest a little longer, my baby. You must be utterly exhausted.”
Hearing her voice made her entire body feel wonderfully warm and heavy.
As the young snake blinked, a remarkably warm, delicate hand stroked her round head and murmured.
“You must rest well to greet tomorrow. Sleep tight, my sweet child.”
Soon after, a fond, gentle lullaby wrapped softly around the baby snake.
It was a truly happy and peaceful dream.
She thought she wouldn’t mind dreaming this exact dream for ten days, a month, or even a whole year.
***
The detached villa, Baeksa’s residence.
Hwaryeong looked down at Baeksa with a worried expression and spoke.
“Just when are you going to wake up?”
Today marked exactly one week since Baeksa had fallen asleep.
Save for tossing and turning every once in a while, the child did not move at all.
It was as though she were a snake hibernating for the winter, catching up on all the sleep she had missed.
This time, she had overexerted her supernatural ability and even sprouted horns, so they expected her to sleep for a long time, but still.
“Even so, I didn’t think you’d sleep for this long.”
Hwaryeong grumbled, lightly tickling the back of Baeksa’s hand.
Doeui narrowed his eyes.
“Hwaryeong, stop bothering the kid.”
“I’m not bothering her! I’m trying to give her a present…”
What Hwaryeong pulled from his pocket was a silk knot adorned with a jade bead.
Holding the knot, Hwaryeong pondered for a moment before carefully slipping the loop of the knot over Baeksa’s tiny horn.
“There!”
Once the cute ornament was attached to the horn, the already small horn was hidden by the decoration, making it even less visible.
Regardless, looking quite proud of himself for attaching the ornament, Hwaryeong tenderly stroked Baeksa’s hair.
“Wake up soon, my little sister. When you wake up, I’ll buy you so much more. I’ll even weave you a crown made of flowers…”
“It feels like it’s about time for her to wake up, but she just won’t…”
Doeui also muttered in a worried voice. He gently poked Baeksa’s soft palm.
At that, the child who had been sleeping soundly without a single movement smiled faintly and squeezed Doeui’s finger tight.
“Oh? Did she wake up?”
Hwaryeong hurriedly leaned in to check, but the child did not open her eyes.
Only the sound of the child’s quiet, peaceful breathing echoed softly in the silent room.
“No, I guess she just caught your hand. Baeksa, can’t you hold your brother’s hand too?”
As Hwaryeong gently brought his finger close to her other hand, Baeksa tightly grasped Hwaryeong’s finger even while deep in her slumber.
“Wow, she took it! She’s so cute…”
“Do you originally have to sleep this much to become a dragon?”
Doeui inquired, his voice laced with wonder.
Hwaryeong shrugged his shoulders.
“The rest of the Dragon Clan were all dragons from the moment they were born, so how would anyone know the process of a snake turning into a dragon?”
“That’s true.”
“Anyway, a dragon… that’s amazing. I knew from the very beginning that our Baeksa would be someone incredible.”
Deep affection practically dripped from Hwaryeong’s voice as he spoke.
The boy lay flat beside his little sister, kicking his legs back and forth as he gazed at the softly sleeping child.
The child had grown a bit since she first arrived, and she had filled out beautifully; it was to the point where one would never imagine she was the exact same scrawny baby snake from before.
“Will these horns grow to look even cooler?”
“They will. They say the horns of the Dragon Race are the most beautiful things in the world.”
“Then I’ll have to put an even prettier ornament on them then. I’m already looking forward to it…”
Hwaryeong said, gently poking the sleeping Baeksa’s cheek.
“I still feel like Baeksa is a gift to this land of Namto.”
The boy’s voice carried a hint of excitement.
“A gift sent by my aunt. How fortunate it is that Baeksa didn’t stay in the Imperial Palace and came to Namto instead?”
Hwaryeong’s eyes sparkled.
“I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to become an incredibly powerful Vermilion Bird and protect Baeksa.”
Leaping to his feet, the boy transformed into his beast form in an instant.
Poof!
With a puff of smoke, a tiny bird popped into view.
By now, Hwaryeong’s tail feathers had turned quite red.
He wasn’t as massive as Hwanya, nor could he whip up flames across his entire body, but this was still Hwaryeong’s own version of growth.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp!” (I’m going to get super strong so nobody can ever lay a finger on Baeksa.)
“It seems more realistic that Baeksa would be the one protecting you, though?”
“Chirp, chi-i-irp!” (We can just protect each other! They say siblings are supposed to cherish and protect each other fondly.)
Hwaryeong shot back without yielding a single inch. Doeui let out a soft chuckle.
“Alright. That is a wonderful idea, young master.”
“Chirp, chirp?” (Just how long are you going to keep calling me young master?)
Doeui froze at Hwaryeong’s question.
The boy’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.
“Chirp, chirp, peep peep peep.” (I know everything. I know you’re Master Siyeom’s son.)
“What? How did you…”
“Chirp, chirp?” (How could I not? You look exactly like her.)
Hwaryeong tilted his head.
Hwaryeong fluttered over and perched right on Doeui’s knee. Then, he proudly spread his wings.
“Chirp, chirp, peep! (I don’t know why you’re hiding it, but if you prefer that I pretend not to know, I’ll keep pretending.)
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Chirp, peep?” (But you’ll have to return to Bukto eventually, right?)

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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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