Chapter 86
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 86
Startled, So-ya swung the White Tiger Sword wildly as she charged toward the ghost clad in white.
—Ack! Gwah! A-Baby, wait! Stop this, ugh...!
The ghost sputtered something, but the words didn't reach the ears of the panicked So-ya.
—I’m not a ghost, ugh, I’m really not, keugh...
Only after the tattered ghost collapsed onto the ground did So-ya stop her assault, huffing and puffing for breath.
—Oh dear, what a mess. The White Tiger Mountain Lord has been beaten to a pulp.
A woman dressed in red muttered in a subtle voice, her tone hovering somewhere between pity and amusement.
So-ya suddenly felt that the woman’s voice was somewhat familiar.
[You are...?]
—We meet again, Little Bird. I didn't mean to scare you. My apologies.
The woman gave So-ya a beaming smile as she offered her greetings.
[Wh-who are you?]
So-ya asked, her posture still wary, unable to let go of the White Tiger Sword.
—Goodness, she doesn't remember us at all.
The man who had been sprawled on the ground muttered as he pushed himself up.
When So-ya flinched and recoiled, the woman scolded the man.
—Stay still, you old tiger. Can’t you see you’re frightening the Little Bird?
‘Old tiger...?’
The expression sounded vaguely familiar, making So-ya blink in confusion.
—Who are you calling old? For your information, I’m five hundred years younger than you, hag.
—It is four hundred and ninety-seven years, not five hundred.
—Same difference.
—How is that the same? You’ve clearly grown senile with age, tiger.
—Look here, Vermilion Bird Hag. I’ll say it again: I am four hundred and ninety-seven years younger than—
The man and woman began to bicker back and forth once more.
Seeing this, So-ya felt her tension ease slightly and cautiously spoke up.
[Um... excuse me, ghosts?]
—Ah, Little Bird.
—Oh, Little Bird!
Realizing So-ya’s presence belatedly, the pair stopped their squabble and turned toward her with sheepish expressions.
[Did... did you two come to find me?]
—Ah, well... we are...
The man in white scratched his head before finally introducing them.
—We aren't ghosts. I am the White Tiger Mountain Lord, and this old hag here is the Vermilion Bird Celestial Maiden.
[...?]
—The divine beasts, White Tiger and Vermilion Bird, whom you awakened.
[...!]
So-ya’s eyes widened.
[But you were both so big back then?]
Floating in the air at a size no larger than a palm, they looked nothing like the White Tiger and Vermilion Bird So-ya had seen before.
For starters, they were far too small.
—What you saw that day was our true forms.
The White Tiger Mountain Lord explained as he drifted in front of So-ya.
He told her that since their souls had departed for the Heavenly Realm long ago, it was difficult for them to maintain their true forms on the Earthly Realm for long.
[I’m sorry. Since you were just floating in midair, I thought you were ghosts.]
—It stung a bit, but it’s fine, Little Bird. In fact, seeing how spirited you are puts my mind at ease. Hahaha!
The White Tiger Mountain Lord let out a boisterous laugh, despite the large bump swelling on his head.
[Um, but if you keep visiting me like this, won't people be frightened?]
—Hoho, don't worry too much, Little Bird. You are the only one who can see our forms and hear our voices.
—That’s right. Because you alone are connected to us through your Spirit Core.
[My Spirit Core?]
So-ya quietly raised her hand and placed it over her chest.
She could feel her Spirit Core thumping steadily.
—We are always within you, so if you are ever curious about anything, feel free to call on us.
That had happened half a month ago.
Since that day, So-ya had often conversed with them like this.
‘The problem is that no matter how the conversation starts, it always ends in a fight between the two of them.’
Letting the bickering of the White Tiger Mountain Lord and the Vermilion Bird Celestial Maiden drift past her ears, she flopped down onto the grass.
Immediately, the birds So-ya had treated moments ago settled on the folds of her skirt and began to sing, while small wild animals scurried around her, nibbling on the grass.
[Borrowing power from beings who possess great strength—that is your true supernatural ability.]
Three years ago, Yi-rim had told her about those "beings who possess great strength." So-ya now knew exactly who they were.
The Southern Divine Beast, Vermilion Bird Celestial Maiden.
The Western Divine Beast, White Tiger Mountain Lord.
The Dragon God of Cheonghae in the East.
The King Yeom of Hyeon-to in the North.
The four divine beasts who were said to have protected this land since ancient times.
The White Tiger Mountain Lord lent her the strong and rigid power of steel, while the Vermilion Bird Celestial Maiden lent her the precise and gentle power of flame.
Thanks to them, So-ya could now manifest the Purification Flame even without a medium, allowing her to heal sick people and animals.
And though she hadn't used it once since the Mountain Lord Festival three years ago, she now possessed the strength to protect those dear to her.
‘I want to show His Majesty, too.’
Yi-rim, who had explained her ability to her, had become the perfect Emperor of the Taehwa Empire over the past three years.
And during those three years, while growing up as the young lady of the White Tiger Palace, So-ya had learned another new fact.
As a direct descendant of the White Tiger Clan, she was expected to represent her family as a candidate for the Bride of the Yellow Dragon.
‘That feels... a bit strange.’
To become a bride candidate for someone she had shared a bond with in her childhood.
Of course, her father had told her not to worry about such things and to keep a light heart.
As So-ya dwelled on the matter of the Yellow Dragon’s bride, a sudden question occurred to her.
"But about that oracle. The one that says the Bride of the Yellow Dragon will awaken the divine beasts. It seems a bit strange."
At the sound of So-ya’s voice, the Vermilion Bird Celestial Maiden and the White Tiger Mountain Lord stopped their bickering.
"I’m not the Bride of the Yellow Dragon yet, am I?"
—Well, that’s because you already possess the Yellow Dragon's Orb.
"I do?"
So-ya’s eyes rounded at the White Tiger Mountain Lord’s words.
The Yellow Dragon's Orb.
Wasn't that the miraculous, legendary jewel that the Yellow Dragon was said to bestow upon his consort?
—White Tiger Mountain Lord.
The Vermilion Bird Celestial Maiden called out his name in a firm, solemn voice, all traces of playfulness gone.
—...
The White Tiger Mountain Lord instantly clamped his mouth shut.
So-ya was curious about what it meant for her to have the orb, but they offered no further explanation.
*
The Imperial Palace of the Taehwa Empire.
The fourteen-year-old Young Emperor was in the middle of reading a report sent from the White Tiger Palace in the West.
"It is reported that Sa-eon, the head of the Baek Clan, has completely dealt with the plague."
"I see."
As he listened quietly to the report, a faint smile touched Tae Yi-rim’s lips.
It was a smile of tender affection, as if he were reminiscing about someone he missed dearly.
Everyone present widened their eyes in shock to see the Emperor—the man who had inhumanly slaughtered his own kin with an expressionless face—wearing such a soft smile.
However, the moment they blinked, wondering if they had misseen, the smile on the Emperor’s face vanished without a trace.
Yi-rim slowly rose from his seat and headed toward his bedchamber.
The attending palace servants closed the doors behind him as they left, leaving him alone in the room.
His gaze turned toward a large painting hanging on one wall of the spacious chamber.
It was the Divine Painting of the Five Directions, depicting the Blue Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise in the four cardinal directions, with a golden-scaled Yellow Dragon at its center.
"Vermilion Bird, White Tiger. Next is... the one who brings forth life in the East, the Blue Dragon."
As he slowly scanned the painting, his eyes suddenly fixed on the golden dragon depicted in the center.
The Yellow Dragon, ruler of the center, was a symbol of authority and harmony.
The Yellow Dragon’s power was Earth—something substantial yet scattered.
This entire world, upon which all beastkin set foot, was his domain.
He possessed power great enough to destroy and recreate a world, but such immense power always came with an equal price.
Suddenly, a searing pain flared.
Tae Yi-rim flicked his gaze downward.
A black scale that had fallen to the floor caught his eye.
He stared at the black scale with cold, turquoise eyes.
The price for the great power that had overturned the world was festering in pitch-black rot.