Book 21 Chapter 6

The Girl from Paradise

-Dark gastric juice

'It's dirty… I hate it… I hate it. Don't come, don't come. I'm sinking… I'm sinking.

Throbbing dark stomach. Yerin was drowning in a dark stomach fluid made by dissolving thousands and tens of thousands of hideous worms in filth. The poisonous worms in the sticky stomach fluid clung to her consciousness, gnawing away at the square shell of consciousness. The sour poison slowly seeped into her consciousness.

Every time the flicker of consciousness touched the poison, Yerin's mind spasmed and burned black. The groans of the black uncle, the bloody screams, the twitching tentacles of madness, the tearing away… One day, the uncle… must…….

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Yerin's soul twisted and writhed violently. Fear, loathing, hatred, and frenzied murder tear at her soul, clawing and tearing at her body with no place to go. Until it is tattered and unrecognizable, its soul rages with madness.

And then, finally, the comfortable despair, the intoxicating comfort that comes once again.

But even this comfortable state of despair would not last long, for if anything else came to mind, her consciousness would be forced to repeat the horrific self-mutilation all over again.

She had already repeated the cycle of seizures and despair hundreds and thousands of times in that intangible, closed space. A never-ending nightmare spiral that locked in ever deeper and deeper, creating an eternity of hell without end.

She was being reduced to a mere speck in the muck.

'Yeah, yeah, that didn't happen, nothing happened, you just… fell asleep, yeah, yeah, yeah, like that…….'

Something inside Yerin's still-fluttering heart was tied up tight with darkness and despair. She would never let it out again. Now she would hear nothing. You will see nothing. Now, I will cast something, a reminder, into the depths of the abyss.

* * *

In the immediate aftermath of Xu Tian's triggering and horrific atrocities, Na Baiqian was forced to make a serious decision. Where to protect his daughter, who was in a critical condition. The chase, intelligence gathering, and other tasks would take at least ten days. He couldn't afford to send his wounded daughter back alone now, nor could he hastily relocate her from the outbuilding at Tianxiang Lu.

In addition to its reputation as the first Sichuan branch, it was also the best location for defense and information exchange. There was a Sichuan branch in a comparable location, but it was less than ideal for lodging and was currently reeling from the murder of Namgung Hyun. Even with the turmoil of internal enemies, this was still the most favorable base for the time being, with the Western Heaven out of the way.

The room in which Na Yerin was staying, in particular, was the most comfortable and secure, with a quiet outbuilding, a rare third floor, and an unobstructed view out the window. But he couldn't leave her in the room where the tragedy had occurred, so he decided to move her to an adjoining room.

An ancillary room above a three-story room. It's a small attic room that regulates the temperature so that the third floor rooms don't get too hot in the sun or too cold in the winter, and also serves as storage. The rooms are small and there is no hallway, so the only way to open the door is up the stairs, but it's perfect for defense.

Nabaxian made his decision, and the room was transformed into a small guest room in a matter of moments. Nabaxian gritted his teeth as he carried his daughter, who had been reduced to a paper doll, and her little bird. He vowed to never let anyone hurt her again, ever again.

How much time has passed.

Yerin was lying dead on a small bed.

The room was small, but cozy. Fresh sunlight peeked through the layers of brown drapes at the window, but she made no response. Her pale skin, slender arms, and scarred lips didn't move.

Chirp, chirp.

A small bird began to chirp faintly, almost inaudibly, in its cage on the table. Its feathers were ruffled, its movements unsteady, and its first cry in days.

He tilts his head in a lonely circle, runs his beak all over his body, and dabs at the food in the feeder a couple of times. I wonder if his strength is returning.

Tweet!

The chirping became more pronounced. Yerin's fingertips seemed to twitch slightly, but her eyes remained closed. Only when the bird had fully recovered its strength did it let out a merry chirp.

Chirp! Chirp!

The sound of birds, clean and clear. Ye Lin's complexion was turning redder and redder at the sound. The bird sang incessantly, as if it was desperately searching for someone.

Chirp, chirp, chirp!

Tweet!

Yerin finally opened her eyes slowly, as if possessed by something. Eyes cloudy and turbid, as if smeared with black ink. Her shaky gaze wandered into the void, then fixed on the table. Suddenly, her slender body began to tremble like an aspen tree.

Little bird.

The little bird that was there, that day.

On that day, a little bird watched him from there.

On that day, there, my uncle… found himself…….

Bam!

Yerin scrambled to her feet and stumbled, falling to the floor. After a moment's pause, she forced her weak legs to move and crawled to the table.

Holding onto the table, she stood up and opened the cage with trembling hands. The bird blinked its round eyes and sat still on its perch. Yerin held her breath and reached out with a terrified look on her face.

Warm feathers. Hold your breath and grab the bird's neck between your thumb and forefinger.

The trembling fingers slowly gained strength. The tiny wings flapped a little in her tiny hands.

Just a little more, just a little more.

Yerin's eyes widened as she felt the movement intensify and she began to flex her fingers.

Puddle, puddle, chirp, cook!

"…Ah!"

Yerin jerked her hand back in surprise as the bird pecked at the back of her hand with its beak. Blood trickled down the back of her hand from a small cut in the flesh.

The wind had brought her back to her senses for a moment, and Yerin drew in a sharp breath in surprise.

"Ha, ha, ha……."

Yerin couldn't believe what she had done.

'I…….'

With a pop, a tear rolled down the back of my hand as I looked down.

Unbearable self-loathing. I stood there frozen for a moment, then reached for the cage once more. I wrapped my hands around it, unable to keep this bird here any longer.

She staggered to the window with the bird. The sunlight streaming through the drapes made her hesitate for a moment. The light that nourishes all things was to her a symbol of openness, an object of fear.

After a moment, Yerin gritted her teeth and grabbed the doorknob.

Yay!

She squeezed her eyes shut against the sunlight. Sunlight so intense she hadn't seen it in a long time. The burning pain was overwhelming, and the bird circled Yerin's finger, straining its talons.

When she was able to open her eyes enough to see, Yerin gently shook her finger, but the bird clung to her finger, fluttering as if afraid of falling.

"…go."

The bird flaps its wings, though the words are labored through cracked lips.

"Go! Go!"

Yerin cried out, waving her hands wildly as if squeezing out the last of her energy. The bird flapped its wings precariously, threatening to fall over the window sill, before finally catching its balance. The bird flew away from the window and began to fly. Yerin looked up at the sky in disbelief.

A cloudless sky. It was miserably, fleetingly blue.

Charlatan.

She wondered if the heavens were laughing, the sound so transparent that it made her heart sink, the sound of a pure spring overflowing. Yerin's soul, dissolving in the mire, shuddered in agony.

Click, click, click!

A soft trickle like a stream reached out to her. With tear-stained eyes, she looked toward the source of the sound, where the hem of a beautiful dress, black as night, but lustrous, swayed dreamily.

Chirp!

A shattering light, a blinding burst of light. A wave of silver beckoned to her.

Like the wind, like a bird.

Yerin swayed as if drawn by the light, and before she knew it, she was on top of the window. The bells rang out in rhyme. Her mind grew hazy.

Sky, wind, sunshine, birds, bell sounds…….

A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth.

Clink, clink, clink!

One last staggering step.

The moment her slender body floated through the air like a feather, the chains of the earth pulled her down with a frenzied force.

Yerin was going downhill fast.

Yunbi was finishing up her dance and catching her breath when she spotted the girl perched precariously on the window sill. She had simply ignored the warning not to go to the sponsor and was practicing as usual.

On the way in behind the outbuildings, I met the same high inspirations and unattended people from earlier, but when I asked them to dance at the patronage, they thought for a moment, sighed, said good night, and disappeared.

At first, a sentry stood guard beyond the bushes, but he soon retreated as I began to practice my dance. From the shape of it, it looked like there was a third floor room up there, or perhaps a "guest room" above. The building was built for guests in the first place, so even the third floor was quite high. Not to mention the guest rooms.

It would make more sense, then, for the High One to be watching the passageways for patronage than to be on the lookout for an eleven-year-old dancer who nodded. At least that's what the guard seemed to think.

Soon enough, Yunbi was able to focus on dancing to her heart's content in her cozy, secluded backyard. I was tempted to climb up and see what all the fuss was about, but first I had to finish my practice for the day.

As I was practicing, I saw a bird fly by from the side of the room, and then someone started looking down at Yeonbi through the window.

And after a while.

"It's dangerous!"

Yunbi clucked her tongue as she flew to embrace a girl audience member who had jumped on stage in a fit of enthusiasm.

If he hadn't jumped, he would have been a good audience member.

A fiery stimulus.

Her scattered consciousness began to gather around the stimulus, and as she regained a bit of her composure, she had a question.

"…This is, like, paradise?

My whole body was screaming in pain. I wonder if this is hell after all.

"Are you awake?"

I heard a soft voice and felt a warm hand on my forehead.

She opened her eyes. Clear, deep dark brown eyes peered into hers. It was an elegant robed girl, smiling brightly.

"…Hello, this is……."

"Now that you're a little more awake, well, you guessed it, this is paradise."

"……!"

The words were spoken in an uncharacteristically serious tone. She narrowed her eyes.

"Foot! Just kidding, just kidding. Now, you're going to be sore here and there, but you might want to drink some."

The punchline of the joke, namely, Yeonbi, held a small flask to the girl's mouth and poured some water into it. The bottle was borrowed from a sentry who rushed to the scene.

The running sentry's eyes widened as he watched Yunbi leap to pick up the girl, carry her into the shade, and set the girl's left leg.

Even if the guard himself had caught the girl falling from the booth, at that height, both were likely to be injured to some degree, especially the recipient below, who was more likely to be fatally injured. But the young dancer was unharmed, except for a slightly twisted left ankle.

He scooped up a younger man his own age in his arms and carried him to the shade without a trace of staggering, and quickly tended to him.

"Hey, mister, are you going to go get someone now, and if you do, could you stay over there and come over quietly when I call you, because I don't think it's a good idea to be startled right after you've set a bone. Oh, and give him some water."

The guard was speechless at Yanbi's words. He was deeply disturbed by the idea of entrusting an escort to a girl who looked so out of place, but in this situation, she was his most reliable ally. If she was going to hurt me, she would have done it already. Besides, no matter how you look at it, it was the most logical thing to do.

Fortunately, the guard wasn't an irredeemable fool, so he meekly handed over the flask and walked away.

A few moments later, Yunbi cleared her throat, telling a joke to the awakened girl.

"Yeonbi."

"……?"

"Yeonbi, that's my name, lady."

"……."

The girl didn't have a good answer.

"Hmmm. Are you in a position where you can't give me your name?"

Yunbi asked sincerely, and so did he, a girl with a story around every corner. I wondered if she was the forbidden jade leaf of the royal family, but she looked too rough for that.

The slender figure, corpse-like complexion, pouty lips, and wide-open eyes give the impression of a malnourished girl with a long story to tell. But the milky, fine clothes, subtle dignity, and demeanor of the guards suggest otherwise. So why did she jump from that place in the middle of nowhere?

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if there was something else going on that I couldn't name. But the girl shook her head softly. Her lips twitched in thought, as if the words just didn't come easily.

"…a,…lean."

The girl struggled to get the words out, her face pale. It was as if she had been pinned down by scissors and had barely managed to move her fingertips.

What she didn't realize was that this was the first time the girl had said her name to anyone in a year.

"Nice to meet you, Rin!"

The fuel tilted its head slightly to the side and said hello. A cool breeze blew in, rustling the leaves.

"So, let's hear it from the other side. Why Rin jumped out of nowhere."