Chapter 74
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Chapter 74
Sayeon's party rode hard and finally arrived at the village where the mysterious plague was spreading.
"Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Lord of the Western Lands. I am Nok Seo, the village chief."
A deer-like beastkin with long horns greeted Sayeon's group.
Jeok Soya concealed her curiosity and stole a glance at the chief's horns.
She had heard that some beastkin living close to nature retained animal features even in their humanoid form, but this was her first time witnessing it firsthand.
"Where are the afflicted?"
"This way, if you please."
The chief led them to a large building in the center of the village.
The moment Jeok Soya stepped inside, she flinched in shock.
Countless people lay on the floor crying out in agony, their beds insufficient for their numbers.
Some of them had skin discolored to a deep black.
Upon seeing this, Jeok Soya unconsciously grasped her father's sleeve.
"The outbreak began suddenly not long ago, and we cannot fathom its cause. We reported it as a plague, but investigation confirmed it is not contagious."
"...."
Sayeon's eyes deepened as he gazed down at the patients.
The moment I saw their condition, I understood why the Emperor had sent me here.
'This is demonic poison.'
I too had suffered from demonic poison ten years ago in the Northern Lands.
'The Four Calamities, Gunggi.'
I recalled that sinister calamity beast who had spread demonic poison across the chaotic battlefield and corrupted the spiritual cores of the beastkin.
'Is this its doing?'
More precisely, it would be the work of the poison insects that Gunggi, one of the Four Calamities, commanded.
Gunggi's poison insects burrow into people's skin, spreading toxins within their bodies and corrupting their spiritual cores.
Many of those who had fought alongside me on that battlefield back then had died with the poison spreading through them like that, turning them black.
Even I, who managed to cut away the poisoned flesh the moment the insects burrowed in to prevent the demonic poison from spreading, could not endure the yin energy for two weeks and spent nights awake with open eyes.
It was a poison so vicious.
'The problem is... why are these symptoms appearing here, so far removed from the battlefield.'
My brow furrowed.
Gunggi's poison insects were weak to light and heat.
In the Northern Lands, shrouded in black mist and cold, they might survive, but on ordinary land, they die quickly from even the smallest light and heat.
"Are there other villages nearby where the plague is spreading?"
Sayeon unfolded a map and asked.
"Besides our village, there is Windflower Village above us and Blue Moss Village below us...."
"...They all border a mountain."
He narrowed his brow and murmured as his eyes swept across the points the chief indicated.
All three villages shared one mountain between them.
The people here all lived ordinary lives, farming the land.
In spring, they would climb the mountain to gather wild vegetables to conserve their food stores....
With shepherd's purse and ramps beginning to bloom, they would inevitably have ascended the mountain.
'First, I should investigate this Mountain.'
As I reached that conclusion, I suddenly noticed a small hand clutching tightly at my robe.
Jeok Soya's face was clouded with gloom.
Jeok Soya had followed me with nothing but excitement at the vague notion of accompanying her father, and now she felt terribly sorry and ashamed for not thinking deeply about the suffering people around her.
'If only I could use the power of purification, I could help the sick.'
Jeok Soya recalled the power she had wielded three years ago when she healed Sayeon's spirit core.
Still, Jeok Soya had not found the owner of that voice, and without a medium, she could not wield that power.
'I've come all this way, yet I can't be of any help.'
It was as Jeok Soya stood there, lost in her troubled thoughts and staring only at her feet.
Thump.
A thick palm descended gently upon the crown of Jeok Soya's head.
Jeok Soya lifted her gaze to look up at Sayeon.
Sayeon lowered himself to meet the child's eyes, her face brimming with distress.
"Your thoughts are written all over your face, little cotton ball."
"I didn't know people suffered like this. I'm so sorry for being excited about coming with you, Father."
"That's understandable. I didn't explain how terrifying this illness was, after all."
"But Father, I could...."
"That won't do."
Sayeon cut off what Jeok Soya was about to say with a decisive tone.
"But if I use the power of purification...!"
"Treating them that way would only be a temporary measure. Do you intend to wound your own body every time someone else's spirit core becomes corrupted?"
"That's...."
Jeok Soya's voice grew small, as if she hadn't considered that far ahead.
"I'm very proud of your heart, little cotton ball, for wanting to help these people. But that method alone cannot save everyone."
Sayeon spoke with unwavering resolve.
"This isn't a naturally occurring illness—someone with malicious intent deliberately spread it. We came here to find the source."
"...."
"So first, let's find the cause, and then we can reconsider the method you're thinking of later."
"Yes."
Persuaded by Sayeon's words, Jeok Soya nodded her head.
Of course, Sayeon also knew.
If this truly was Gunggi's demonic poison, there was no clear way to cure a corrupted spirit core.
But on the other hand, if this was truly the work of the Northern Lands, he could not expose Jeok Soya's power to them.
"I'll find the cause of people's suffering together with the adults, so if you're still worried, little cotton ball, why don't you help people in another way?"
"Another way?"
At those words, Jeok Soya looked around to find something she could help with.
'What can I do....'
Then her eyes fell upon the young Suri left behind because their parents were ill.
'I think I found it!'
Strength returned to Jeok Soya's fists, which had hung limp just moments before.
* * *
While Sayeon led his attendants to investigate the mountain.
Jeok Soya remained in the village with Baek Gayul and Seol Yo, comforting and playing with the young beastkin children.
"This is a game called handkerchief pass."
The young beastkin, initially wary, gradually showed interest in the games Jeok Soya taught them, and soon became absorbed in play.
Before long, the bright laughter of children rang out, and as their expressions brightened, Jeok Soya's mood lifted in turn.
'When I first came to Baek Ho Palace, my older brother Gayul played with me like this too.'
Jeok Soya recalled Baek Gayul, who had played ball games and tag with her whenever she felt melancholy.
I didn't understand it then, but perhaps my older brother Gayul was with me with this same heart.
It was when Jeok Soya turned to look at Baek Gayul with a soft smile.
Flinch!
Baek Gayul startled visibly, then quickly turned his head away and pretended to look elsewhere.
'Huh? Why is my older brother acting like that?'
Baek Gayul's behavior was strange.
It was certain. He was pretending it was nothing while constantly stealing glances at her.
'It seems like he's been like that since Baek Ho Palace.'
Now that I thought about it, it wasn't just Baek Gayul who was acting odd.
'My older brother Gahyun was strange too. Ever since that day we met in the library, he's been watching my every move.'
Baek Gahyun thought he was hiding it well without being obvious, but his awkward behavior was all too apparent to Jeok Soya's keen eye.
"My older brothers seem a bit strange."
Jeok Soya murmured with a deliberately serious expression.
For days now, the two of them wore serious expressions, and whenever she approached, they'd startle and pretend nothing was wrong.
Or they'd steal glances while acting casual, as if they were watching her...
"Those tigers were always strange anyway, weren't they?"
Seol Yo tilted his head, thinking of Baek Gahyun and Baek Gayul.
Seol Yo had never seen children quite so strange before.
Most children screamed and threw stones when they saw him.
But Baek Gayul, who got excited the moment he saw him, saying it was the first time he'd seen a demonic beast, and eagerly pestered him for a duel—and Baek Gahyun, who subtly pressured him not to bother Jeok Soya too much.
Both were equally peculiar.
'The tigers of Baek Ho Palace are all strange. But the strangest of them all is that man who picked me up here.'
Seol Yo's thoughts gradually extended to Sayeon.
"Did my older brothers create a secret between just the two of them, leaving me out?"
Jeok Soya murmured in a hurt voice.
"Then should I tell you a different secret those tigers don't know?"
Seol Yo, who had been watching her for a moment, asked as if to comfort her, and Jeok Soya immediately showed interest.
"A different secret? What is it?"
"Over there—that man has a strange smell."
Seol Yo pointed to a Physician tending to the patients.
"A strange smell?"
"Yes! The smell of the Northern Lands!"
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