Thought It Was 'The End', Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 247
Her vision turned red.
âNo, Ara-nim!â (Lady Ara)
âAra-ya!â
From far away, she heard Sa Yihyeonâs voice calling her name. But it was already too late. Ara squeezed her eyes shut.
âBungee jumping in my life, of all things.â
Even as she threw herself toward the cliff filled with jagged rocks, she wondered if this was really the right choice.
But this was the only way.
Unless she showed them her death with their own eyes, Ara would never be able to escape this fortress.
Ara did not miss the moment when Jae Nabi staggered in the wind. She grabbed Jae Nabi and pushed her back inside the fortress wall, then at the same time pretended to lose her footing and fell.
Riding the wind rising from below, Noyi appeared, transformed into a massive roc, and struck her with his beak. They had taken great care to make this scene unmistakable.
The flames raised by Noyi wrapped around her entire body, and Ara reached out her hand. Jae Nabi was crying. Sa Yihyeon, who had been far away, had somehow rushed close and tried to grab her hand.
But Araâs body, engulfed in flames, was carried farther away as Noyi beat his wings.
They wouldnât be able to catch Noyi. Because this was just an illusion.
It was a one-time opportunity Noyi had obtained through a deal with the fox of the Thousand Mountains. The fox had said that the will of heaven had changed and, on a whim, decided to help Noyi and Ara. Without the fox, there would have been no way for Ara to avoid the countless eyes watching her.
âNo, Araâ ARA!â
In the end, Sa Yihyeonâs hand never reached her. Just as Ara let out a breath of relief, she was startled.
Sa Yihyeon was crying. No, this couldnât be happening. His desperate and grief-stricken cry felt like it was tearing her heart apart. This really wasnât something a person should do. This was exactly why she had tried not to grow attached.
But Ara had no choice but to run.
Jae Nabi would take everything Ara had.
Jae Nabi was beautiful and lovable, but Ara felt like she would love her and resent her at the same time.
Everything that had been predetermined in the novel had unfolded exactly as written. Araâs nineteen years had flowed according to the story. This was undoubtedly the world of the novel.
Jae Nabi had appeared, and she possessed the power of purification. Sa Yihyeon had found her and brought her back.
So in the near future, someone would surely wish for Ara to dieâŚ
Someone Ara loved dearly.
That was too frightening.
Before that could happen, she wanted to choose her own death and step down from this stage.
â Since Iâm helping you anyway, Iâll send you to Luoyang.
The fox said. Ara squeezed her eyes shut.
* * *
That was already three years ago.
Ara was twenty-two this year.
The fox of the Thousand Mountains had dropped Ara in Luoyang.
âThat crazy fox bastard.â
For Ara, who had never once left the Thousand Mountains since birth, Luoyang felt like a completely different world. The moment she opened her mouth, people noticed her unusual accent and treated her as an outsider. The language worked, but it also didnât. People looked slightly different, and above all, the clothing was completely different. The food and even the weather were different.
She decided not to sell the remaining spiritual medicines until she found a reliable buyer, and first, Ara looked for a job.
Fortunately, she had brought some money in advance. If she hadnât had a single coin, she would have ended up a beggar.
âI ran away to survive, becoming a beggar would be a bit muchâŚâ
Despite everything, Ara had grown up as the cherished daughter of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect and had received a high-level education.
She could read and write, and thanks to her past life, she was also good at arithmetic. In the main headquarters, her skills had been dismissed as only second-rate warrior levelâthough that was only how Ara saw it, everyone had simply found her modest abilities cute and preciousâbut the fact that she could handle internal energy alone made her far superior to ordinary people.
She had more than enough qualifications, but the problem was her face.
With the pale skin typical of the Western Regions, lightly colored eyes, and a slender figure like a willow branch, Ara was an exceptional beauty. Because she was used to the inhuman level of beauty of people like Sa Yihyeon and Jae Nabi, she hadnât realized it herself, but while she might not be a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms, she was still remarkably beautiful.
Most people who wanted to hire a young and beautiful woman tended to have improper intentions.
The first place that hired Ara was the inn where she was staying. But, as expected, she couldnât even last four days before getting involved in trouble. Ara couldnât just take it quietly, so she only defended herself, but the inn, which had turned into chaos, threw her out.
The second place that hired her was the most famous restaurant in Luoyang. They probably wanted to attract customers by putting the pretty Ara on display, but just like at the inn, a disturbance broke out, and she was kicked out again.
In the end, with Noyiâs help, Ara used a disguise technique and became a maid of the Murim Alliance.
