The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 73
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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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Chapter 73
Ga Hyeon entered the library and examined the books.
They were books related to the bloodlines of beastkin.
‘Could direct bloodline traits manifest late?’
Beastkin society had a particularly strong tendency to value bloodlines, due to the power of spirit cores passed down through blood.
Among them, the blood of direct descendants who inherited the blood of the Four Divine Beasts was stronger than anything else, except for the imperial family.
And as strong as that blood was, its characteristics were also very distinct.
For this reason, members of the direct bloodline who were not chosen as the next family head would partially seal the direct bloodline power dwelling in their spirit cores when marrying.
This was to prevent the direct bloodline from passing to other families.
The fact that the three brothers Gaya, Ga Hyeon, and Gayul all perfectly resembled their father Saeon’s characteristics was also the same principle.
But Soya had shown no characteristics of the Vermillion Bird until now.
If she were truly a direct descendant of the Vermillion Bird Family, those characteristics should have appeared during her first beast transformation.
‘Perhaps bird beastkin show different patterns.’
Ga Hyeon thought there might be information he had missed and thoroughly searched through related books.
However, the library in the western lands was relatively lacking in records about bird creatures.
Nevertheless, he didn’t give up and continued flipping through books for a long time.
‘But what if the direct bloodline power didn’t manifest late… but was actually manifested from the beginning, only suppressed by some other mystical power?’
At this sudden thought, Ga Hyeon frowned.
‘But… could such a thing be possible? The Vermillion Bird Family is one of the four great families that inherited the blood of ancient divine beasts. For a power to surpass that…’
Unless it was the power of an ancient divine beast, no ordinary beastkin could suppress direct bloodline power.
Ga Hyeon was lost in thought with a somewhat serious expression.
“Oh? Hyeoni Elder Brother, you were here!”
“Ah, Soya.”
Startled by Soya’s voice, he quickly looked up and hastily put the book he was holding back on the shelf, smiling as if nothing had happened.
“Did you come to look for books?”
“Yes. I’m going to investigate the plague with Father in five days! So I wanted to look up related books in advance.”
“Together with Father? I see, our Soya. You must be very excited. Medical books are over here.”
Ga Hyeon responded in his usual gentle tone and helped Soya find books related to the plague.
Ga Hyeon glanced at Soya while searching through the bookshelf.
‘Is that red feather really Soya’s feather?’
He tried to reassure himself that maybe Gayul had seen wrong, that he had mistaken it for another bird’s feather.
But Ga Hyeon also secretly believed it was Soya’s feather.
Above all, the feather that glowed red like burning flames was too extraordinary to dismiss as an ordinary bird’s feather.
It matched the description of Vermillion Bird feathers he had seen in books as a child.
But if it really was Soya’s feather…
‘Does Soya not know yet?’
Soya seemed no different from usual.
Right. She must not know yet.
If she had really discovered that feather, shouldn’t she show some kind of reaction?
Whether joy, sadness, or anger…
[You know, hyung. What if Cotton Ball, just what if…]
He remembered Gayul’s voice, who had been worriedly muttering uncharacteristically since earlier.
[What if Cotton Ball is really the daughter of the Vermillion Bird Family, and she leaves us?]
Of course, Ga Hyeon had told him not to talk nonsense, that Soya would never leave them, but he couldn’t help feeling anxious himself.
‘If Soya really is the true daughter of the Vermillion Bird Family, and if she finds out…’
Ga Hyeon bit the soft flesh inside his mouth and suppressed his rising anxiety.
* * *
Five days had passed, and the day dawned for Soya to depart with Saeon to investigate the plague.
Soya woke up early in the morning, rolled up her hair in a bun, and dressed neatly in clothes suitable for activity.
With the White Tiger sword at her waist and the tiger mask she had won at the Mountain Lord Festival three years ago, she looked exactly like a young lady of the White Tiger Family.
“Wow, you look so cool, our Young Lady!”
“Our Young Lady has grown up so much that she’s leaving to help the Family Head, it’s truly amazing.”
Yeonjeong and Sanho kept exclaiming in admiration as they looked at Soya.
“Hehe.”
Though she had turned twelve, Soya still felt shy at Yeonjeong and Sanho’s praise.
“Our Young Lady, you’ll do well even without me, won’t you?”
“Yes, don’t worry, Yeonjeong. I’m good at waking up by myself in the morning now, and I eat my meals and medicine well too.”
Yeonjeong was a little disappointed that she couldn’t accompany them on this journey.
Instead, Sanho and Seolyeo were planned to accompany Soya as her guards.
When they came outside, Saeon and Ga Hyeon were exchanging greetings.
“Father! Elder Brother!”
Soya ran toward them with quick steps.
“Where’s Yul Elder Brother?”
“I’m, I’m coming too, Cotton Ball!”
Gayul, who had overslept, came running out in a hurry and clung to Soya.
Seeing this, Saeon looked down at Gayul with a suspicious expression and asked.
“Baby tiger, be honest. You’re not following to help Father, but because you don’t want to be separated from Cotton Ball, right?”
“I, I’m Cotton Ball’s elder brother, so I can’t help it! I have to protect Cotton Ball!”
Gayul replied with a face that seemed to say ‘why are you asking such an obvious thing?’
No wonder Gayul, who had never followed him before, suddenly came and begged to go along too.
Saeon was both exasperated and amused by the siblings’ affection.
It was also cute how the childlike Gayul tried to act like an elder brother when he was next to Soya.
They exchanged light greetings with Ga Hyeon and then headed to the main gate.
Beastkin don’t use transportation unless in special circumstances.
Especially when traveling long distances, riding palanquins or carriages was very inefficient.
It was much faster to transform into beast form and run directly.
In Saeon’s case, he was faster than any means of transportation even without transforming.
Pop!
Seolyeo transformed into a large wolf and lowered her body in front of Soya.
When Soya climbed onto Seolyeo’s back, Chirpy also perched on Soya’s head.
“Then let’s depart.”
At Saeon’s signal, everyone transformed with pop! pop! sounds and shot out like arrows.
“Please, Seolyeo.”
When Soya petted Seolyeo’s head and asked, Seolyeo also got excited and growled playfully as she kicked off the ground and leaped.
Each time Seolyeo’s four paws struck the ground, the surrounding scenery whizzed by.
Feeling the cool early spring breeze brush against her skin, Soya smiled brightly.
This was the first time she had ventured so far from the White Tiger Palace.
At most, she had only climbed Horim Mountain behind the north gate.
Their destination was a village in the outer territory where the Central Region ruled by the Emperor met the Western Region under the White Tiger Family’s control.
The closer they got to the Central Region, the more diverse animals they could see that weren’t found at the White Tiger Palace.
“Oh? That one over there, Sanho! It just came out from underground!”
“Oh, that’s a mole.”
“…!”
Soya’s heart pounded as she saw in real life the animals she had only seen in books.
‘I really made the right choice following Father.’
With each step Seolyeo took, Soya felt as if her world, riding on top, was expanding one step at a time as well.
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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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