The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 231
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Part 2, Chapter 23
Meanwhile, Seolyeo had come down south, following the scent of the man who had come looking for him.
Upon reaching the vicinity of the Village of Sorcerers, he discovered the White Tiger Family members and hastily hid himself.
He wanted to immediately check if Soya was alright, but he was afraid of being caught by them.
Unable to understand what was happening with the situation, Seolyeo carefully crouched down and placed his palm on the dirt ground.
Then, from the point where his palm touched the earth, black water rippled and bloomed forth.
Soon it became a small water puddle.
Gentle ripples formed over the water puddle that had been reflecting Seolyeo’s face, then it showed a different scene.
It was a scene inside the village, where Saeon was giving some kind of orders to the White Tiger Family’s attendants.
At the sight of Saeon for the first time in three years, Seolyeo unconsciously flinched and trembled, but this wasn’t the scene he wanted.
Along with the ripples, the water puddle soon showed another scene.
It showed Su Ri, transformed into a large wolf, prowling around the sorcerers tied up in the clearing, threatening them.
This also wasn’t the scene Seolyeo wanted.
The water puddle continued showing various scenes for a while, until it finally showed what Seolyeo had been hoping for.
A girl with flowing white hair—no, a youthful woman who felt a bit too mature to be called a girl—was pacing around the courtyard.
Even from just her back view, Seolyeo could tell who it was.
‘Soya…’
Though there was no way his muttering could reach her, Seolyeo couldn’t bring himself to call out her name aloud and held his breath tightly.
Last time, he had immediately withdrawn his water power to block the evil, so he had only caught a fleeting glimpse.
Therefore, this was the first time in three years he was seeing her in such detail.
Even after confirming that Soya was safe, Seolyeo couldn’t take his eyes off her reflection in the water and continued staring.
Then suddenly, the moment Soya turned to look in this direction.
Seolyeo quickly severed the connection to the water puddle.
Thump, thump, thump…
Even though he knew she couldn’t see his real body since he had been secretly watching her through the water puddle, his heart kept beating violently.
“Wh-what should I do. Soya is… Soya has become even prettier.”
Seolyeo muttered with his face burning bright red.
Soya had always been pretty, but now she was even prettier.
She had grown taller, and her arms and legs had become long and slender.
Her round shoulders and graceful waistline…
Squeeze.
He tried closing his eyes tightly and shaking his head, but the afterimage of Soya he had just seen wouldn’t disappear at all.
“Why is this beating so much…”
Seolyeo muttered while looking down at his chest area.
The sound of his own heartbeat, which had been beating like crazy since earlier, was driving him insane.
He tried tapping his chest area, telling it to please stop, but just as Seolyeo was troubled by his heart that wouldn’t stop at all.
—You, you’ve been doing well without being swallowed by evil!
At the suddenly heard voice, Seolyeo startled and looked up.
—It’s me, me!
When he turned toward where the sound came from, he saw a small snake poking its head out from the water puddle he had just created.
“You’re…”
It was Heuksa.
Heuksa splashed and jumped out of the water puddle, then examined Seolyeo’s body here and there.
—Let me see. Oh my, that cunning thing has become considerably stronger in three years. At this level, it must have already seized control several times.
“How did you know?”
—Here.
Heuksa said while tapping Seolyeo’s chest with his tail.
—Your skin is being covered with black scales.
“Scales?”
At those words, Seolyeo hastily tore open his front garment.
Looking at his chest through the opened collar, he saw that black scales had formed where there had been black scars until recently.
Seolyeo startled and trembled with his fingertips.
“It wasn’t there until recently…”
—This is proof that evil is taking hold in your flesh. Have you had any negative thoughts recently?
“No, I…”
Seolyeo, who was about to deny it, suddenly recalled his uncontrolled emotions when the sorcerer had come recently.
“…”
Seolyeo clenched his fists tightly and hung his head.
—You need to be careful because such emotions become food for evil. You can’t be swallowed by evil yet.
Heuksa was right.
Seolyeo must not be swallowed by evil, not yet.
“…”
So Seolyeo was just biting his lower lip tightly.
“…Seolyeo!”
At the voice heard from behind, Seolyeo’s face instantly stiffened.
Seolyeo very carefully turned around.
There was Soya, standing there panting, having scattered red feathers on the ground as if she had just flown from far away.
Seolyeo’s eyes trembled upon discovering her.
* * *
Black hair, ash-colored eyes. It was definitely Seolyeo.
“Seolyeo…!”
Rather than wondering why Seolyeo, who had suddenly disappeared one day, was here, or what exactly he was doing in this place, the cry calling out to him came first.
At her call, Seolyeo, who had stiffened, hesitantly turned around.
Then upon discovering Soya, he startled and trembled…
“Seolyeo, where are you going!”
He began running away, avoiding Soya.
“Seolyeo! It’s me, Soya!”
Soya shouted while chasing after the fleeing Seolyeo.
However, whether Seolyeo couldn’t hear Soya’s voice following him, he ran away at wind-like speed.
Soya couldn’t understand.
It was definitely Seolyeo.
That black hair and those ash-colored eyes were all Seolyeo’s.
‘But why is Seolyeo running away when he sees me?’
Soya bit her lower lip tightly and increased her speed in the chase after Seolyeo.
Earlier, when Soya had felt someone’s gaze and turned around, all that was in front of her was just one small water puddle.
‘What? Did I sense it wrong?’
Just as she was about to shake her head, thinking she must have become sensitive due to the day’s events.
‘Huh?’
Soya blinked and tilted her head.
She had spotted Heuksa’s tail slithering into the water puddle.
Heuksa’s tail disappeared in an instant. As if it had moved to another space through the water puddle.
‘Did I just see that wrong?’
She quickly crouched down and touched the puddle with her hand, but it was just an ordinary water puddle.
‘…?’
Soya looked puzzled as she stared intently at her own face reflected in the puddle.
‘…No, someone was definitely watching me just now.’
Soya thought with a hardened expression.
True to her bloodline as one of the Four Great Families, her intuition was exceptionally sharp.
She immediately summoned the chain that had been bound to Heuksa.
The very restraining chain that Cheongya had used to bind Heuksa stretched toward the foothills behind the village.
Soya had followed the chain and discovered Seolyeo conversing with Heuksa there.
When she first spotted Seolyeo, she was so shocked that she thought she was seeing things.
Though he wasn’t the young boy from her memories but a fully grown man, Soya recognized him as Seolyeo at once.
But the moment Seolyeo’s eyes met hers, he immediately ran away!
She had no idea Seolyeo could be this fast.
When they played hide and seek at the White Tiger Palace, he would always get caught by her before running very far.
The thought suddenly occurred to her that perhaps Seolyeo had been going easy on her all this time.
Soya drew the bow from her back and aimed it at Seolyeo.
Whoosh—!
The arrow flew ahead of Seolyeo and stuck into the ground, then plant stems grew and bound his feet tightly.
Panicked, Seolyeo tried to break free from the plant stems by putting strength into his legs.
But the more force he applied, the more stubbornly the plant stems constricted around him.
“Got you…!”
Meanwhile, Soya caught up to Seolyeo, breathing heavily.
“Seol Yoya, it really is you! Why do you keep running away!”
Soya stepped closer to Seolyeo, who could no longer escape, and confronted him.
Just as Seolyeo flinched and seemed at a loss for what to do.
“Grrrowl…!”
Thorny Rabbit Demons burst out from the thicket and shot thorns at Soya.
“No, don’t…!”
Seolyeo, who had barely managed to break free from the plant stems, quickly twisted his body and pulled her into his arms.
“Ugh…”
The sharp thorns embedded into Seolyeo’s back. The startled thorny rabbits hopped about frantically.
“Seol Yoya!”
Soya screamed and caught Seolyeo’s staggering body.
“Seol Yoya, are you okay? You…!”
Just as Soya was about to examine Seolyeo’s injured body.
Smack!
Seolyeo knocked away Soya’s hand and stepped backward.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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