When the Black Moon Rises - Chapter 158
Chapter 158
“My dear, what are you talking about?”
His daughter's voice replied, “Honey, it’s true! I saw the Fifth Consort choosing women’s bodies, as if she were picking out food—”
“Shh. Shh.” Her husband looked around and whispered, “Don’t say such things. What if someone hears you slandering the Mystic Ruler’s consorts?”
“Honey, it’s not slander! Please believe me!”
“Switching bodies? That’s impossible.”
“It’s true! Do you know what kind of medicine the Fifth Consort has been giving me? It was a contraceptive! She said childbirth would ruin my body, so she secretly gave it to me… she must have chosen me as her next body…”
“My dear! Don’t ever say such things again! You haven't told anyone else, have you?”
“N-…No…”
“Good. You seem tired. Go to bed early tonight. I’ll tell them not to disturb you. You’ll need your rest if you’re going to the Mystic Ruler’s residence again tomorrow.”
“H-Honey… please don’t make me go there… I don’t want to go…”
“It’s the Mystic Ruler’s order for you to keep the Fifth Consort company. Are you saying you’ll disobey?”
“But honey, I’m scared… I’m so scared of going there…”
“......”
“Please don’t make me go… I’m really scared…”
“You don’t want to go that badly?”
Her husband looked at her and sighed. “Alright. I’ll talk to the Mystic Ruler.”
“!”
“I can’t force you if you’re that afraid.”
“Honey, thank you! Thank you so much!”
She hugged her husband tightly.
He gently patted her back as she wept.
“Let go of me. I can’t go if you’re holding me like this. Are you telling me not to go?”
He chuckled as she quickly released him.
She smiled back, and the tension between them seemed to dissipate.
As their laughter faded, darkness enveloped Elder Simjung once more.
He looked around. He heard a faint sound from the distance.
“Hurry! Leave now!”
It was his son-in-law’s voice, but it was filled with a different kind of urgency than before.
“D-Darling!”
“Didn’t you hear me?! I said leave now! Run!”
The darkness momentarily receded, revealing his son-in-law’s face, flushed and contorted with rage.
“Go!!” he roared.
And as the darkness lifted, a different scene unfolded.
“Gasp… gasp…”
His daughter was running somewhere, her footsteps crunching on the dry grass.
She was surrounded by darkness, tall trees casting long shadows.
“What should I do?”
Her voice was filled with fear and desperation.
“Where should I go?”
She ducked into the shadows of a tree, trying to hide.
She covered her mouth with her hands, her breathing shallow, as if afraid of being heard.
After a while, the sound of approaching hooves grew louder.
Torches, cutting through the darkness, cast flickering red light on the trees.
“She can’t have gone far. Find her!”
It was the Fifth Consort’s voice.
Her husband's voice followed anxiously, “Fifth Consort, she didn't run away! There’s no need to chase after her!”
“I’ll decide that.”
“I’ll report to you when she returns! So please, just go back.”
“Get lost!”
“......”
The Fifth Consort, her face impassive, ordered again, “Search everywhere!” Her husband dismounted and knelt before her, bowing his head to the ground. “Fifth Consort, please… let her go.”
“What did you say?”
“She’s timid and wouldn’t dare tell anyone. I’m sure she won’t breathe a word about the Ju Clan’s secrets.” His voice was desperate. “And even if she did say something about switching bodies, who would believe such an absurd story? They would think she’s crazy.”
“......”
“Fifth Consort, please… I beg you. Let her go. She’s carrying a child. She won’t say anything, for the sake of her child.”
“......”
“Fifth Consort… please… I’ll give you anything, I’ll do anything you ask, just let her go. Please… I beg you…”
The Fifth Consort, looking down at him, his forehead pressed against the dirt, chuckled. “Sa Jangyang!”
“Yes, my lady!” One of the Mystic Ruler’s warriors, who had been searching the forest with his sword drawn, rushed towards her.
His daughter, crouched low in the bushes, watched silently.
The Fifth Consort’s red lips curled into a cruel smile. “Here. This is your new body.”
“Fifth Consort!” Her husband’s cry was cut short.
At the Fifth Consort’s words, the warrior’s eyes widened with delight, and he instantly struck her husband’s neck, knocking him unconscious.
“You’ll switch bodies with me when we return to the residence, so take him back carefully, without injuring him.”
“Thank you, my lady! Thank you!”
His daughter’s body trembled. And then, darkness enveloped Elder Simjung once more.
The scene changed again.
“Munju… I’m so glad I met you…”
“My lady…”
His daughter and Jae Munju were near the Baek Clan territory.
They looked exhausted from their journey, their bodies so thin that they could barely stand.
His daughter had no one to rely on but Jae Munju, who had saved her and helped her escape the Ju Clan.
She seemed unable to sleep, constantly worried about pursuers.
But she was exhausted, so she would doze off briefly at night whenever they stopped, as they drew closer to the Baek Clan territory.
They had taken a detour to avoid their pursuers, delaying their journey, but the gates of Jaehyun Province were within sight.
Perhaps because Elder Jaehyun was his sworn brother, and he had sent a secret message in advance, she felt relieved, knowing they would be able to enter the Baek Clan territory tomorrow.
So she slept more soundly tonight.
But then, as if someone had woken her, she suddenly opened her eyes in the middle of the night.
“Munju?”
The surroundings were pitch black, as they hadn’t lit a fire, afraid of being discovered.
His daughter, her throat dry with fear, carefully sat up.
Where was Jae Munju, who was supposed to be keeping watch?
Afraid of being alone, she went to look for her.
Then she heard faint voices.
She moved silently.
She had only informed Elder Jaehyun of their location, but the pursuers might have caught up to her.
“…Can you… do it…?”
As she drew closer, she recognized the voice. It was Elder Jaehyun.
“If I do… if I do this…”
She also heard Jae Munju’s voice.
“…will the Ju Clan stop looking for me? Will they not take me back, even if the pursuers find me?”
“Yes.”
“And you’ll secure a position for me as a servant in Baekseok Residence, Elder?”
“I’ll forget all about this if you ask me again. So, can you do it?”
“Of course! The Ju Clan is everything! How can I refuse when they’ve forgiven me for escaping their territory?”
“But you mustn’t kill her. They only want her incapacitated, not dead. You must only destroy her Core and make her lose consciousness. Understand?”
“But she’ll die anyway if her Core is destroyed.”
“She’ll live, at least for a while. So, Elder Simjung will have no choice but to resign from his position to take care of his daughter, who will be practically dead.”
“!!!!”
His daughter’s footsteps stopped.
Her face paled, her breath catching in her throat.
Elder Jaehyun continued, “So you must keep Baek Hyoseong alive. Understand? Only destroy her Core.”
“Yes, leave it to me! She trusts me completely, so it’ll be easy.”
Baek Hyoseong’s hands trembled.
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
But it was real.
Elder Jaehyun, whom she had asked for help, was planning to kill her to take her father’s position, and judging from his mention of the Ju Clan, the pursuers were close behind.
Even Jae Munju, whom she had trusted, was readily agreeing to destroy her Core.
“......”
She knew she couldn’t escape.
She was exhausted, and both voices belonged to people she had trusted deeply.
And who knew what other betrayals awaited her?
She might not survive if her Core was destroyed, but what about the child in her womb?
“Fifth Consort… please… I’ll give you anything, I’ll do anything you ask, just let her go. Please… I beg you…”
“Here. This is your new body.”
Tears, which she had held back even when her husband died, welled up in her eyes.
She bit her lip hard, suppressing her emotions.
She had to find a way to save her child.
She quietly returned to her spot.
She remembered her husband’s face, urging her to run, and then her parents’ faces, smiling kindly at her, overlapped and blurred in her vision.
“Father… Mother…”
Tears streamed down her face.
They had been so against her going to the Ju Clan… and now she was about to die…
“If I’m reborn…”
She bowed deeply towards Yeonggong Province, her forehead touching the ground, her face wet with tears.
If she could wish for anything…
“I won’t cause you such grief again. So please… be my parents again in my next life…”
It was a shameless request, but she wanted to see them again.
She burst into tears.
“Please… be well…”
With those words, she shattered her own Core.
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