Chapter 109: Lotus (17)

Chapter 109: Lotus (17)/translatingnovice

Like any other day in the desert, the sky is clear that day.

"Seo Eun-hyun, stop wandering around."

I realize I have been aimlessly pacing in front of Cheon-saek City upon hearing Kim Young-hoon's reprimand.

"Sorry. I'm just... quite nervous."

"What's there to be nervous about? You're ridiculous, really. Tsk tsk..."

I sigh deeply.

'Is this the right thing to do?'

Is it right to offer my affections to someone?

I've told you before, haven't I? There's no waste in the world, just things that haven't found their fate or connection.

That means, if the right fate touches it, anything can become a beautiful craft. Right?

I recalled her words.

'Being with you is so comforting.'

Its so peaceful and happy that sometimes it feels like a dream.

I, who has always been abandoned by fate, realized through her words that the proper fate I had never reached was indeed with her.

'Even if swept away by time, even if the connection eventually fades...'

If the connection, the feelings, reach each other, can't they create something beautiful?

'Even if I have to return again someday, and everything disappears...'

Her presence heals all the pain and wounds I have ever experienced.

People live with wounds.

For over 700 years, I have only lost connections.

I will continue to lose them again.

But...

People of Byeokra like glass. It's easily made from desert sand, and though its true value is not seen in the dark, it reveals itself in the light.

I am nothing more than dust, a grain of sand.

But she is unequivocally my light.

Therefore, in this life, even if only for a moment, I am determined to shine with her.

'Even if you're not the same person in the next life.'

My feelings have grown too large. I will burn brightly in this life.

I steel my resolve and lift my head.

"You've made up your mind, I see."

Kim Young-hoon smiles at me knowingly.

"Yes."

Whoosh!

Cheongmun Ryeong and Buk Joong-ho approach, each on their flying artifacts, landing in front of me at the gates of Cheon-saek City.

"Daoist Seo, finally we'll see you and Cultivator Buk live happily ever after. I thought I'd go mad with frustration, but is today the day it finally happens?"

"I've been holding back from grabbing you by the collar and forcing an engagement with my daughter, but it seems there's finally some progress."

Buk Joong-ho chuckles.

"Just do the wedding now. Oh, right. I'll prepare everything for the ceremony."

"...There's no need for that..."

"Don't you dare argue with your future father-in-law!"

He spoke sternly.

"Cultivator Cheongmun Ryeong, if Daoist Seo confesses to my daughter, take them to Yeon's tomb. Let them make their eternal vow in front of her grave. I'll prepare everything for the wedding there."

"Ah, but..."

"Go on, hurry."

I try to protest, but Cheongmun Ryeong and Kim Young-hoon hold me back while Buk Joong-ho excitedly flies off to his wife's tomb.

"Ha ha, you poor thing. Just get married already."

"Is a wedding something to decide so hastily?"

As I look bewildered, Cheongmun Ryeong and Kim Young-hoon laugh heartily.

"Daoist Seo, we've seen you and Cultivator Buk together for 10 years, and it was obvious you like each other. Isn't it rather late to officially become a couple?"

"But..."

"What 'but'? Everyone in Cheon-saek City already thinks you two are a married couple, so it's better to make it official now."

After enduring their unsolicited advice, Im finally released.

While they were holding me,

Whoosh!

A bee puppet flew out of Buk Hyang-hwa's workshop, carrying a formation disc and a small wooden box, and flew off into the distance.

'What's that?'

As I wonder,

Thud, thud.

Buk Hyang-hwa slowly approaches from afar.

"Ahem, then I shall leave now."

"Ill be going too. Daoist Seo, do your best."

Kim Young-hoon and Cheongmun Ryeong vacate the place for Buk Hyang-hwa and me, and she comes up to me.

"Daoist Seo, may I ask what you wanted to say?"

"That is..."

I hesitate.

She smiles warmly.

"A gift..."

Suddenly, I feel a bit embarrassed about the gift I have prepared.

"Actually, I have also prepared a gift for Miss Hyang-hwa."

"Oh, what is it?"

I take out a Wood attribute spirit stone.

Its my first magic artifact, created from the brief teachings I had received from Buk Hyang-hwa.

"Is this... a starfish?"

She asks teasingly looking at the form of my magic artifact, and I playfully respond while infusing spiritual power into the artifact.

"Have you ever seen a starfish like this?"

Im not skilled enough to make a magic artifact that looks exactly like a flower in an instant.

However, I can engrave circuits in the artifact and infuse it with the desired spell.

And in such cases, I am confident.

Whooosh!

Wood spiritual energy shines brightly.

The spiritual energy of the Thousand Lustrous Forest Sea glows brilliantly.

At the same time, as the spiritual energy gathers, it transforms into the shape of a flower.

Its a white magnolia.

"Since you gave me a quince flower yesterday, I will give you a white magnolia."

"Wow..."

The white magnolia, created with numerous spells.

Buk Hyang-hwa looks at the white magnolia for a moment, then chuckles.

"You... didn't make a magic artifact."

"Why can't you just compliment me?"

"You always give me advice when you see me using flying sword artifacts. Every time you say, 'That's not how you handle a flying sword.'"

"That's... haah."

While Im flustered, Buk Hyang-hwa takes the magic artifact I made and carefully puts it in her bosom.

"Anyway, thank you. The circuits of the magic artifact are well made and concise."

"Thank you for the compliment... But don't you, Miss Hyang-hwa, prefer to make complex circuits?"

Wasn't saying it was well-made and concise a bit of an insult?

"Oh, that's just my style."

She says, looking over Cheon-saek City from the city wall.

"My maternal grandfather, Gongmyo Cheon-saek, fathered many illegitimate children, including my mother. Among them, those with the potential for cultivation were given the Gongmyo surname, but those without talent, like my mother, were not even given a surname and were cast out from the family like an unwanted child."

Her story continues.

"When he made magic artifacts, he used to make the circuits concise. It made them more versatile and much easier for the user. The complexity of the circuits I made so far might have been a kind of rebellion against my grandfather."

Suddenly, she strokes the bee puppet and says,,

"But, you know what? Eun-hyun Orabeoni. After hearing from you, I successfully repaired the central circuit of this bee puppet. I thought the central circuit would be very complex, but it turned out to be surprisingly concise. The simplicity of those circuits cause changes, spreading into countless circuits and operating this puppet."

Somehow, its operating principle seems similar to human emotions.

I, too, had witnessed in Three Flowers Gather at the Summit how seven emotions can create so many changes.

"Thanks to Orabeoni, I have grown, and I've been able to free myself from my strange rebellion against my grandfather."

She looks at me and smiles brightly.

"Thank you, Eun-hyun Orabeoni."

"...Me too."

I smile back at her smile and confess.

"I receive so much comfort from Miss Hyang-hwa. Thanks to you, the many wounds I have acquired in life seem to heal, and the pains of life seem to be forgotten every time I meet you."

Before I knew it, I had taken Buk Hyang-hwa's hand.

In this moment,

Everything is going well.

The day to obtain the Longevity Fruit is near.

Theres a high possibility of reaching the new realm.

This connection can be finally realized.

In this moment, I am deeply grateful.

She closes her eyes.

"I can't explain it, but to me, you are..."

I slowly, slowly move my face closer to hers.

"..."

"..."

"...Orabeoni?"

With her eyes closed, she asks in a trembling voice.

I hold her hand with furrowed brows.

"...Miss Hyang-hwa."

"Yes, Orabeoni!"

With a face full of expectation, she calls out to me with her eyes closed.

But I, tense all over, lift my face away from hers and ask,

"...Isnt there a smell of blood coming from somewhere?"

Translator Notes: Fk

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