Seo-ran's Family (6)
The second-generation Chu Long tribe members immediately followed Seo Ran the moment they emerged from their eggs, treating him as their parents.
Of course, this was because he had mastered the Taiji True Thunder Body.
Even now, he was still called indifferently as either a man or a woman.
At this point, Seo Ran had long given up on unifying the titles.
‘I guess it’s just his natural inclination…’
He sighed softly and began caring for the Chu Long tribe.
Among them, the eldest.
Seo Hye, the eldest daughter, crawled over and asked Seo Ran.
“Seo Ran. Why is the Yuri Samok Mountain where we live made entirely of glass?”“What is that thing floating in the sky?”“Why do we spit flames between our scales?”“Why are Seo Ran and I different?”“Seo Ran, how many teeth do you have? Open your mouth.”“
Seo Hye was the most curious among the Chu Long tribe.
At the same time, she was the smartest, and when Seo Ran suggested unifying the titles, she had answered smartly with just “Seo Ran.”
Seo Ran stroked her fondly with loving eyes and answered each question one by one.
Even when the Chu Long tribe erupted in their fierce tantrums, Seo Hye alone expressed them in the most composed manner, using the most stable method.
“Krruk… krrurruk… krruk…”
‘As expected, Seo Hye is the most composed.’
Seo Ran smiled as he watched Seo Hye crunch a stick and spit out flames to set something alight while gnashing her teeth.
Seo Hye was an innocent child who unleashed her tantrums without harming anyone else, simply in her own way.
Seo Ran looked at her with a faint smile.
Time passed, and centuries flowed by once more.
* * *
55 years had passed since Seo Ran had bestowed his love upon the second-generation Chu Long tribe.
It was exactly 100 years since Seo Eun-hyun had become a Saint.
All the Chu Long tribe members had mated with their soulmates, given birth to hundreds of eggs, and then passed away.
Seo Ran stared at the second-generation Chu Long tribe who had died, his expression somewhat gloomy.
But it was not as gloomy as when his first child, the first-generation Chu Long tribe, had passed away.
“It’s okay, Seo Ran. I’m here.”“
Seo Hye, the eldest of the second-generation Chu Long tribe, patted his shoulder.
Seo Hye was the eldest even among the Chu Long tribe.
Without using any secret arts, she had simply created and mastered a pure Chu Long-appropriate aquatic technique on her own, reaching the Core Formation stage.
In just 55 years!
At the same time, she had developed a method to partially petrify her body without reaching the Nascent Soul stage, successfully turning her upper body into that of a human woman and her lower body into that of a regular snake, forming a petrification.
She hugged Seo Ran with her arms, and Seo Ran wiped away his tears.
“…Thank you, Seo Hye.”“
Was it because she was a genius?
Seo Hye had not mated with any other Chu Long tribe members nor given birth to eggs.
Instead, she had pursued other values and sought immortality.
She had created her own aquatic technique and applied the Yang-sheng cultivation method to it, significantly extending her lifespan.
Now, at the Core Formation stage, her lifespan was 120 years.
“What is it, Seo Ran? It’s nothing.”“
Seo Hye hugged Seo Ran gently and comforted him.
Then Siho entered and their eyes met.
Siho, who had continued to support Seo Ran and cultivate his own aquatic technique, flinched slightly upon meeting Seo Hye’s gaze.
‘…Somehow, she’s like a snake child.’
The Chu Long tribe were warm-blooded animals.
Originally, they released heat inside their bodies, so they emitted even more heat than ordinary warm-blooded animals.
However, whenever Siho met Seo Hye’s eyes, he felt the same cold, sharp aura he had sensed from cold-blooded creatures.
Although she appeared to be comforting Seo Ran, Siho thought her true nature was mysterious and comforted Seo Ran together with Seo Hye.
Time flowed again.
500 years had passed.
During this time, the Chu Long tribe had gone through countless generations and their numbers had grown significantly.
Now, the Chu Long tribe had left Yuri Samok Mountain, where they had lived, and begun to settle in the Pyeong-won Continent.
As the great ancestor of these Chu Long tribe members, Seo Ran taught them the Chu Long aquatic technique and the way of life of the Chu Long tribe.
Meanwhile, ‘Seo Hye,’ who was still receiving the longest lifespan among the Chu Long tribe, taught the secret art that allowed the upper body to be petrified even if one reached only the Foundation Establishment stage.
This secret art would soon be recorded in the bloodline of the Chu Long tribe for just a few more generations, at which point it would become a hereditary mark, enabling them to use petrification techniques relying on the bloodline, just like the Choryong tribe’s unique arts.
“Seo Ran~ I brought some wine. Let’s drink together~”“
Seo Hye, who had become the host of ‘Banryong-gok,’ approached the group of Chu Long tribe members gathered there and raised a wine bottle.
By now, Seo Hye had reached the early stage of the Cheonin realm.
“It’s fine. I am….”“
And just as Seo Hye was about to offer the wine bottle to Seo Ran,
Smack!
Siho had appeared beside Seo Ran and snatched the bottle from Seo Hye, opened the lid, and drained it in one gulp.
“Humph, it’s not a particularly good wine. Why on earth were you trying to feed that bad wine to Gaga?”“…Why do I need to get permission from someone like you to drink it? And what do you mean bad wine? I tasted it, you know? Hahaha… Be honest with yourself.”“
After speaking, Seo Hye shot Siho a glare, turned around, and left the Banryong-gok host’s seat as if nothing had happened.
Seo Ran gave a wry smile and stroked Siho’s shoulder.
“Why are you so cold to Seo Hye?”“Because Gaga doesn’t know. She openly ignores me lately. And the wine she was trying to feed me just now. Do you know what it is?”“…I do too. It’s Human Wine.”“
Human Wine was wine fermented with Human Clan members.
It had quite a following among beast tribes or clans that hated humans or other intelligent beings, and it was available in every world with human and other intelligent species.
No, actually, even in a world consisting only of humans, Human Wine was distributed by the Demon Dao monks.
Seo Ran sighed softly.
He had also seen humans being eaten by beasts when he was young, having witnessed the operations of human ranches by Seo Hyul, so he felt no strong aversion to beasts that ate humans.
After all, in this era, humans were eating each other!
Seo Eun-hyun did not directly punish such things.
But Seo Ran knew.
‘Beasts that prey on their own kind or Demon Dao monks who commit excessively cruel acts cannot be forgiven.’
For example, a Human Clan monk who made and ate Human Blood Pills, or a beast monk who excessively slaughtered a human village simply for food and survival, would be forgiven by Seo Eun-hyun only if he summoned enough Soul Poems from the Void Space and fed them to the wrongdoers as meals.
‘And… even if he was not forgiven, for some reason, he gradually fell into madness due to a bad environment around him, or gradually fell into the abyss.’
There was no direct evidence, but Seo Ran believed that Seo Eun-hyun was excessively punishing those who did evil behind the scenes.
Siho glared at the direction Seo Hye had left and said.
“I don’t particularly like that kid, but Gaga still cherishes her. Stop having that kind of hobby of brewing and drinking Human Wine! The Saint would be angry.”“…You drank Human Wine too?”“Me? If I didn’t drink it right in front of my eyes, that kid’s personality would… Sigh, never mind.”“
Siho shook his head repeatedly and glared at the direction Seo Hye had gone.
“…Anyway, that kid will be ruined if she continues like this. Try to talk some sense into Gaga.”“…I’ll talk to you about it later.”“
Seo Ran sighed faintly and said so.
However, to Siho, Seo Ran’s expression seemed to give no hint of warning to Seo Hye.
‘Why doesn’t Gaga think of stopping this kid from brewing and drinking Human Wine despite being his child?’
She looked at Seo Ran with some concern.
Time continued to flow.
1000 years since Seo Eun-hyun had become a Saint had passed.
* * *
Kurrurung!
Seo Ran looked at a woman who had undergone a thousand calamities before him.
After enduring a thousand calamities, her clothes had burned away, leaving her as a pure white naked figure, and she walked slowly toward Seo Ran, stroking his cheek.
“Seo Ran, congratulations. I have finally reached the Four Pillars stage! I’m finally free from my chronic lifespan problem!”“…Yes, congratulations, Seo Hye.”“
“Hoo… not an interesting reaction.”“
Sarak!
The woman, Seo Hye of the Chu Long tribe, snapped her fingers.
A dense blood qi condensed in the void and formed her clothes.
She wore clothes made of blood-like mist, and on her face, she wore a black fog-like mask.
At some point, she had begun wearing the mask everywhere.
Seo Ran looked at such Seo Hye with a puzzled expression.
Seo Hye looked at him and asked.
“By the way, Seo Ran. I reached the Four Pillars stage ‘from the lower world,’ but don’t you have any gifts?”“I asked the Saint in advance so that you could accumulate the Five Blessings.”“
“Hoo… not something that boring.”“
Seo Hye immediately knocked Seo Ran over.
Sarak…
She, wearing a black fog-like mask that did not properly reveal her face, began groping Seo Ran’s body.
Thanks to the Taiji True Thunder Body, Seo Ran could change gender at will, and currently, he was in a male body.
“Seo Ran. I don’t feel like mating with you?”“
Seo Ran said while looking at her.
“You were raised with the heart of a child, Seo Hye. Some beast tribes do mate with their parents, but… our Choryong tribe does not do that. Nor do your Chu Long tribe.”“
“Hehe, what interesting things you say. After all, you’re not really my parents, right?”“
“You are more than real parents. So don’t do this. Moreover… your Chu Long tribe is…”“You know that we die if we give birth to eggs~ Of course there’s a solution. Since no blood was connected, it’s fine, right? Hoo… Mating with me, Seo Ran. It would be better for me to be the ‘double love’ partner than some beast who mates with real blood-connected parents and children.”“
“Seo Hye!”
Seo Ran pushed her away upon hearing her words and roared in anger.
“Don’t insult Siho!”“
“Kukuk… Did I say something wrong? Even foxes are dogs. I’m more interested in the Human Clan, so I don’t know the details, but maybe foxes have similar habits to dogs?”“
“Be reasonable. Just because you reached the Four Pillars stage and became a genius does not mean you have the right to say such things to me! Siho is a parent-like figure who raised you together with me. Act like it, Seo Hye!”“
“Uuu, so old-fashioned. I heard you were originally a man, but it seems you’ve been brainwashed by that fox. How does it feel, Seo Ran? Being pinned down by a dressed-up male fox spirit under the technique of gender transformation and growling? Is that really your true preference?”“
Seo Ran’s face flushed red at her words.
But soon, his face turned cold again.
“Go away, Seo Hye. I will not mate with you even if you provoke me like this.”“
“Tsk, not fun. Okay~ Do your best. Growling for a thousand years under a dressed-up male fox spirit, Seo Ran.”“
She spoke in an irritated tone and flew away to somewhere.
And Siho flew to the side of such Seo Ran.
He showed his fangs and glared in the direction Seo Hye had gone.
“…Seo Ran. Kill it for me. I’ll bring back the corpse.”“
His eyes burned with killing intent.
“How dare she insult you. Insulting me is tolerable. But… she insulted you too, Seo Ran! I can’t tolerate it. Her evil deeds have gone too far. Did you see that blood qi? She’s been drinking human blood again to create it. If the Saint does not punish her, I will. Seo Ran, I will punish her…”
Crack!
But Seo Ran grabbed Siho’s wrist and shook his head.
“…Leave it, Siho.”“
“…What?”“
“The Saint will handle it herself. And… that kid is, in the end… my child.”“
In Seo Ran’s eyes, Siho sighed deeply and softened.
“…If Gaga says so…”
Seo Ran patted Siho’s back and comforted him.
‘Seo Hye…’
At the same time, he looked in the direction Seo Hye had flown.
‘Oh Hye-seo…’
Oh Hye-seo.
Seo Ran recalled what Seo Eun-hyun had said to him on the very day Seo Hye was born.
“Seo Ran. That child is Oh Hye-seo. Her split soul has infiltrated Samokdo.”“
“Eh? What does that mean…”
“In short… that child is the split soul of Oh Hye-seo who drove away the soul of the child who was originally meant to become ‘Seo Hye’ and took her place.”“
Seo Eun-hyun’s words were as follows.
“I and Seo Hyul are currently in a great war. I asked Seo Hyul about Oh Hye-seo’s whereabouts, but… to prepare for every contingency, he said he had arranged for Oh Hye-seo to escape to a place unknown even to himself if he were grabbed by the throat.”“
“Therefore, I do not know where Oh Hye-seo’s true body is either. Seo Hyul also made it so that even with Oh Hye-seo’s power and the flaw in Takhonmancheon, he could not locate her himself.”“
Seo Ran was shocked.
The child he had cherished his whole life was actually a monster that had stolen the bodies of his own child-like children and taken their place!
“Whether Oh Hye-seo, following Seo Hyul’s intentions, would snatch you, Seo Ran, the true body of Seo Hyul from my hands or not, is the great war between me and Seo Hyul.”“
But that war had been half-destroyed from the beginning. Oh Hye-seo was no match for me now. As soon as Oh Hye-seo’s split soul entered, I distorted the world, severed her connection to her true body, and erased her memories.”“
In other words, what you call ‘Seo Hye’ is a Chu Long tribe member who possesses the essence of Oh Hye-seo but is not Oh Hye-seo herself. What to do. I will leave the choice to you. Will you raise ‘Seo Hye’ or extract the split soul and exterminate it?”“
At those words, Seo Ran pondered for a long time.
“…I will raise her.”“
A monster that stole the bodies of children who were like his grandchildren.
It was hateful.
But at the same time…
Seo Ran overlaid Seo Hye’s situation with his own.
The true body of Takhonmancheon, Seo Ran, had grown by eating Yu-o’s love and become Seo Ran, not Seo Hyul.
Then, if Oh Hye-seo’s split body, Seo Hye, were raised with love… could she become ‘Seo Hye,’ not Oh Hye-seo’s split body?
Seo Ran thought so.
Because…
Denying the existence of Seo Hye was, in a way, denying himself.
Seo Eun-hyun said.
“I will help you. If she commits evil deeds, I will move the entire world to change her. This may be… my last chance regarding Oh Hye-seo.”“
Seo Eun-hyun supported Seo Ran’s decision, as if it were his own last chance to give to Oh Hye-seo.
However, he also asked to keep it secret, as others might misunderstand her true identity if they learned it.
That was how it had continued to this day.
Seo Ran hugged Siho and thought.
It was time to make a decision.
Before she grew even stronger, he needed to decide her fate.
‘…Is she Oh Hye-seo or Seo Hye right now?’
At the same time, Seo Ran repeated to himself.
‘Am I Seo Ran or Seo Hyul?’