Chapter 51

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Translator: uly

Chapter: 51

Chapter Title: Find Him!

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"Yeon-hwa, actually, our daddy is..."

I cautiously opened my mouth.

"Heavenly Demon."

The moment I confessed the truth.

"What?? The Heavenly Demon is a human's what???"

The bathroom door burst open, and Golden Immortal Lotus—veins bulging in his neck from utter shock—shouted at me.

'At this rate, everyone in the Heavenly Demon Cult will find out I'm the Heavenly Demon's daughter.'

"Shh, be quiet! What if someone hears? In the cult, the fact that I'm the Heavenly Demon's daughter is a secret!"

I pressed a finger to my lips to calm Golden Immortal Lotus, but then it suddenly hit me that I was in the middle of bathing.

"Aaack! Get out right now! You perverted old weed!"

I grabbed whatever was within reach in the bathroom and hurled it at Golden Immortal Lotus.

"No, this body...! I'm going! I'm leaving!"

Dodging everything I threw with nimble movements, Golden Immortal Lotus shut the bathroom door behind him and left.

"Golden Immortal Lotus, you! Just wait until I get out! You're not getting away with this!"

I wrapped a large cloth around my body and yelled toward the bathroom door.

"This body saw nothing!"

"Don't lie!"

"Even if you insist, do you really think this body, who's over a thousand years old, would be interested in the puny little body of a six-year-old brat? I'm not insane."

Golden Immortal Lotus vented his indignation as if he were the wronged one.

'Hold on... what's this?'

"Puny little? So you did see my puny little body, huh?"

"...This body is cold, so I'm heading inside first. Brr, it's freezing!"

Whether I'd hit the nail on the head or not, Golden Immortal Lotus kept complaining about the chill.

His footsteps rapidly faded away from the bathroom.

Before he could completely escape, I shouted toward the sound of his steps.

"You said spirits like you aren't affected by the cold!!"

But the footsteps that had left never returned.

"Fine, I admit it! That was a huge mistake on this body's part. I was so shocked that a human is the Heavenly Demon's daughter that I blurted it out without thinking..."

As soon as I finished bathing and returned to my room, Golden Immortal Lotus confessed to me.

I said nothing and simply held up a wooden sword in front of him.

It was the wooden sword I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠received from Gwang-yu during sword training practice.

"What, you planning to hit this noble body with that stick?"

Golden Immortal Lotus gulped dryly as he eyed the wooden sword.

"Why? Scared of the flower seed's power?"

"The flower seed's power is indeed impressive."

"That wasn't meant as a compliment!"

When I yelled at Golden Immortal Lotus, who was looking pleased, he wiped the smile from his face.

I deliberately lifted the wooden sword high for him to see and slammed it down onto my knee.

Kwajik!

With a loud crack, the wooden sword snapped in two instantly.

Watching this, Golden Immortal Lotus clutched his waist as if the sword were his own body.

"See that? I'm not the powerless six-year-old kid from before! Oh, and I almost forgot one thing. Someone said I was a 'puny little' six-year-old kid, right?"

My threat seemed to work, as Golden Immortal Lotus looked flustered.

"Six-year-olds are supposed to be puny and cute, aren't they?"

"Is that supposed to be comforting right now?"

"I'm sorry."

Of course, his apology came quickly too.

'Quick to apologize— I like that. This seems like enough remorse, so maybe I should forgive him?'

"But is it really that shocking that I'm the Heavenly Demon's daughter?"

I was genuinely curious.

'Don't Daddy and I look alike at all?'

"Of course it's shocking. You don't look anything like that guy."

It was just a thought in my head, but Golden Immortal Lotus's response came sharp as a knife.

"We do look alike if you look closely! Our hair color and eye color are different, but..."

'Now that I think about it, do Daddy and I have anything in common?'

"Well, our skin is white like his."

I covered my unusually pale face—which I got from Daddy—with my hand.

Golden Immortal Lotus stared at me in disbelief.

"That's the kind of thing you can inherit even without shared blood."

"I don't care, we look alike anyway! We must..."

It wasn't that I lacked confidence—my voice just got smaller!

Even though I'd psyched myself up, I felt down for no reason.

"...Hold on, human! You didn't lie to this body, did you?"

"What lie did I tell?"

For some reason, Golden Immortal Lotus glared at me with eyes full of betrayal.

"Back in the cave when we first met, you said you wanted to save your sick father! What illness does the Heavenly Demon have? He's overflowing with power—called the Absolute Sovereign! Explain yourself ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if you can, human!"

'What a fuss over nothing.'

But it was understandable how he'd misunderstand.

"He has an illness."

"What?"

Talking about Daddy's illness made me feel inexplicably down.

"Daddy really is sick. And it's only going to get worse from here."

I carefully explained to Golden Immortal Lotus everything I knew: the future I remembered, Daddy's current condition, and how I'd ended up coming to the Heavenly Demon Cult.

"...Ahem, so that's how it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was. This body misunderstood. Sorry."

After hearing the full story, Golden Immortal Lotus awkwardly cleared his throat, embarrassed at his outburst.

"No, it's partly my fault for not explaining sooner. More importantly, there's something I want to ask you about Daddy's illness."

"What is it? I'll tell you anything I know."

Perhaps because he knew Daddy's illness would lead to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my death, Golden Immortal Lotus was more proactive than before.

'Well, it'd be a waste for him if the human who gave him the flower seed just died.'

For some reason, it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"You said before that your power is based on healing. Could that healing power cure Daddy's mental frailty?"

Golden Immortal Lotus was a spirit, after all. He might know a way to treat Daddy's illness.

I asked with high hopes, but his expression soured.

"That's impossible. This body's healing is limited to physical ailments. Healing the mind is beyond even this body... I'm sorry I can't help."

'Even Golden Immortal Lotus, a spirit, can't heal it...'

Does the Heavenly Demon Cult really have a cure for mental frailty?

At this point, I was starting to doubt if the scroll from Ppippi was even telling the truth.

"But there is one human I know of who could do it. That person could even revive the dead and heal those with sick minds—a truly extraordinary ability."

'Someone who can heal what even a spirit can't?'

It was the moment a ray of hope pierced the darkness before my eyes.

"Who is it?"

"I mentioned him before. Dang Chodan."

'Dang Chodan...'

"You mean that divine doctor from the Tang Clan of Sichuan?"

"Yes, that divine doctor."

Golden Immortal Lotus nodded in agreement.

"But didn't he die long ago?"

"That's the official story, but..."

Golden Immortal Lotus seemed to know more about the divine doctor.

"Yeon-hwa, even if it's just a rumor, tell me anything you've heard."

Right now, I desperately needed even hearsay.

"When this body was in the immortal realm, I heard rumors about that divine doctor. He died young but ascended to a realm rivaling gods, becoming a spiritual being."

"Becoming a spiritual being means he turned into something like you?"

"No, spirits are innate. A spiritual being is different—it's a human who dies and then becomes a sacred existence."

'Why is this so complicated?'

Golden Immortal Lotus's explanation was hard to grasp, so I cut straight to the point.

"So I can't meet the divine doctor?"

"No, you can meet him. If you know where he's staying."

"Really?"

Just hearing I could meet him filled me with hope.

'Because I know the contents of the scroll from Ppippi.'

It definitely said the Heavenly Demon Cult had a cure for mental frailty.

If that's true, then Dang Chodan must be somewhere in the cult.

That was the moment I connected Dang Chodan with the scroll's contents.

"Peep! (Yup!)"

Ppippi's cry rang out, and the tightly shut window flew open.

"Ppippi?"

A strong gust of wind whipped into the room through the open window.

"Peep! P-Peek! (Don't call me! I'm still mad, okay? I'm just dropping this off!)"

Ppippi huffed and grumbled at my call, dropping the scroll clutched in its talons right in front of me.

"Ppippi, where did you—"

"Peek! (I'm out!)"

Ppippi tossed the scroll and vanished out the window without looking back.

"What kind of bird is that?"

Golden Immortal Lotus, seeing Ppippi for the first time, stared at the open window in bewilderment.

But I had no mind to answer.

All my attention was on the scroll Ppippi had left.

'If it's the scroll from Ppippi...'

I recalled our first meeting and placed my hand on the scroll.

At once, the scroll glowed with transparent light and unfurled wide open.