The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 90

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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 90
Doeui, who had been staring blankly at Hwaryeong, nodded his head.
Looking down at the tiny bird, a question sprouted in his mind: ‘But why is he discussing such a serious matter looking like that?’
Yet Hwaryeong had always been that kind of boy. Trying to understand him through the lens of ordinary common sense only left a person feeling weary.
Whether Doeui was bewildered or not, Hwaryeong tapped his wing against the boy’s knee.
“Peep, chirp-chirp, peep!” (‘So while you’re staying here, make sure to protect my little sister well. Consider yourself her bodyguard until then.’)
“I already intended to do so, Young Master. I must earn my keep for the shelter, food, and clothes you provide.”
“Chirp!” (‘Earn your keep!’)
Hwaryeong squawked loudly.
“Peep, chirp!” (‘When did my father ever ask you to pay for your lodging? Are you stupid?’)
The little bird thumped his wing against his own chest.
“Chirp!” (‘You’re part of our family too, so I’m asking you to protect my little sister. It’s because you’re someone I can actually trust!’)
“…….”
Doeui quietly gazed at Hwaryeong.
The boy had always been adept at concealing his true emotions.
Separated from his parents since infancy and forced to hide his identity in a completely foreign land, he had naturally developed such a survival skill over time.
And Doeui thought it was truly a blessing that he possessed this particular ability.
If he hadn’t, he might have shown Hwaryeong an embarrassing sight just now…….
“Chirp!” (‘Promise me! Promise that you’ll help me protect Baeksa.’)
Hwaryeong cried out in a high-pitched, clear voice.
“Peep, peep.” (‘Baeksa is a very special child, so we absolutely must protect her. You’ll have to return someday too, but until then, please take good care of her.’)
To think he could convey so much meaning through a single, short chirp.
Doeui marveled at Hwaryeong’s incredible communication skills.
In truth, Doeui had only shifted the subject out of a sudden wave of embarrassment. Because Hwaryeong’s pure intention—suggesting they protect Baeksa together because they were friends—felt twice as clean and beautiful as his own thoughts.
Yet, Doeui’s resolve was ultimately no different from Hwaryeong’s.
“Yeah.”
Doeui gently prodded Hwaryeong’s wing with his finger.
“Until I return, I will do exactly that. And even after I go back…… I will protect you all.”
“Chirp!” (‘Hey! By then, I won’t need any protecting!’)
“Right now, that’s the only thing I want.”
Doeui’s gaze shifted from Hwaryeong’s wing to the face of the soundly sleeping Baeksa.
Unaware of the world, her pure face looked utterly free of worry, resembling a fairy that had just descended from the heavens.
But Doeui knew. He knew just how hard that little girl worked.
And he knew just how many worries she carried on her small shoulders as if they were her own.
If only he could alleviate even a small portion of that weight someday.
If only he could help her carry everything she held so tightly in her short arms.
‘That would be nice.’
If that happened, he would have nothing left to wish for.
Until now, Doeui hadn’t really possessed a goal of his own.
Surviving was his mother’s goal, not his.
All Doeui wanted was to live day by day, drifting wherever destiny dragged him.
Even if that meant being devoured by another successor, he hadn’t cared.
But now, it mattered.
Staring vacantly at Hwaryeong and Baeksa, Doeui murmured softly.
“Hwaryeong, you know, I’m going to survive.”
The boy’s green eyes caught the moonlight, gleaming like polished emeralds.
“No matter what it takes, I will survive…….”
***
The thread lines of crimson that had manifested across the Namto Beast-folk had vanished entirely.
The Plague Deity and the Ghost Dragon Fragment were completely gone.
They no longer dreamt of dragons, nor did they utter maddened rants.
They no longer suffered from terrible phantom pains, nor did they weep because of them.
And the Namto Beast-folk soon learned that all of this was thanks to the baby snake lady, Baeksa.
There was simply no way for them not to know.
At the exact moment their bodies, and the bodies of their families, were being healed.
Hadn’t the majestic form of a White Dragon revealed itself in the sky, blooming like a celestial lotus?
At the sudden appearance of the legendary White Dragon, the Namto Beast-folk had temporarily forgotten their own agony, watching the spectacle with their mouths agape.
And when their pain dissolved shortly after, they naturally realized that they were no longer suffering because of that very White Dragon.
Consequently, among the Namto Beast-folk, Baeksa transformed overnight into their greatest savior.
Even before this, she had been a painful sore spot for the people of Namto, solely because she was the daughter of the vanished White Vermilion Bird, Ju Myeongyeong.
Yet, when it was revealed that she was actually a dragon rather than a snake, and that this dragon had delivered them from torment and misery, the Namto Beast-folk were overwhelmed with emotion.
“To think such a young lady…….”
“Saved us all entirely on her own using her supernatural ability! This is truly nothing short of the return of the legendary White Dragon!”
The Namto Beast-folk, whom Ju Jeokseo had nurtured and cared for so diligently over the years, possessed a deep sense of decency and honor.
They were not the type of people to demand rewards just because a seven-year-old child had saved them, nor were they the type to merely celebrate blindly while ignoring the toll it took on the girl.
Instead, they worried.
When rumors spread that Baeksa had fallen into a deep slumber after the incident, they felt as though it was entirely their fault.
Thus, the Beast-kin whose families had recovered and whose own agonies had eased began visiting the Vermilion Bird Family Estate entirely of their own accord.
“Um, Divine Lord! This is rice that I harvested from my own fields…… It isn’t much, but I brought it because I truly wished to repay her kindness.”
“These are highly precious medicinal herbs. If you brew them for her, she will surely regain her strength and wake up in no time.”
“This is plain cotton cloth. It is modest, but if you could use it to fashion a pair of sleepwear for the young lady, I would desire nothing more.”
For a long while, the Vermilion Bird Family Estate was crowded with a sea of such people.
Of course, after the news of Baeksa’s condition spread, the noble families of Namto also dispatched countless gifts, praying for the child’s swift recovery.
Yet, could those commercial offerings ever match the heartfelt gifts from the common folk piling up in the front yard of the estate?
Every single item was precious. Things so valuable to the givers that they wouldn’t trade them for a thousand pieces of gold began stacking up one by one in the front yard of the Vermilion Bird Family Estate.
No one looked at those offerings and called them shabby, nor did anyone claim they were insufficient to present to the Divine Lord.
Everything was more than enough.
Neither the soldiers nor the servant girls treated those sincere emotions lightly or carelessly.
Since their master, the Vermilion Bird Divine Lord Ju Jeokseo, cherished and looked after them without disdain, the subordinates naturally learned from him how to value and respect others.
Ju Jeokseo, quietly observing the mounting pile of gifts, issued an order.
“Place those items separately in another warehouse. I will show them to Baeksa when she wakes up.”
“Only those specific gifts, sir?”
“Yes. The child needs to know just how vast and deep the affection for her truly is. Every single one of these things will become the foundation that helps her grow.”
He commanded that not a single grain of rice or a solitary trinket left by the other Beast-kin be taken lightly, ordering everything to be stored safely in the warehouse.
Seeing their tokens of gratitude accepted so readily, the Beast-kin who had arrived with heavy hands departed with lighter steps and joyful hearts, their burdens halved.
Such peaceful days continued one after the other.
And like that, ten days slipped by.
***
“Mmm…….”
Baeksa slowly opened her eyes.
Perhaps because she had slept for so long, her vision was quite blurry at first.
After rubbing her eyes a few times with the back of her hand, her surroundings became bright and clear once more.
The child cautiously sat up in her bed.
“How long did I sleep……?”
Though she didn’t know the exact time, it felt like she had slept for an immensely long period. Her body felt incredibly refreshed.
It was light, as if she had shaken off all her accumulated fatigue in one single night.
Before calling for Sirang, the child sat quietly for a moment to fully wake herself up, only for her eyes to widen in surprise as she spotted something nearby.
“Ah, my bead!”
Baeksa smiled radiantly, cradling the bead in both of her hands.
The child’s small Cintamani was emitting a much whiter glow than it had before she fell asleep.
Its initial appearance—pitch-black, tiny, and completely unremarkable—had vanished without a trace.
Now boasting a magnificent color and size, the Cintamani bounced proudly inside Baeksa’s palms, as if boasting of its growth.

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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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