I Thought the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family Was Hated - Chapter 61

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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‘…How could those who bind and threaten villagers be called righteous?’
I glanced up at Dang Mu-seon, unsettled by the word.
His expression was even more rigid than mine.
Whether he could see the distant figures clearly like ants, or had deduced their identity beforehand, his face betrayed recognition.
“Those people?”
I asked the Young Boy cautiously, and he nodded in response.
“Yes. They were definitely good people. They protected us, but… suddenly today….”
“What?”
So they were people we knew?
With Dang Mu-seon leading, we approached the Village slowly.
The voices grew clearer.
“We truly know nothing about this. We would never steal an elixir!”
An Old Restaurant Owner crawled forward on his knees, his voice desperate.
The old man clutched at a young man’s trouser leg, pleading urgently.
“This is unjust! You know us well!”
“Grandfather….”
The Young Boy murmured in a trembling voice.
Filled with indignation, the boy began to tremble violently.
“Those people came from a Martial Arts Dojo near the Village. An elixir was stolen, and they say the thief hid here…!”
Tears like chicken droppings fell from the boy’s eyes as he clenched his fists.
“We really don’t know anything. But they say if we don’t produce the thief, we’re thieves too…! Sob!”
My brow furrowed at the Young Boy’s words.
‘This is strange. If that’s the case, shouldn’t they search for him themselves?’
They must know who stole it, so why are they acting like this?
“Did you really hide him?”
When I asked the Young Boy, he waved his hands frantically in alarm.
“No! I really don’t know anything!”
Seeing the boy’s wronged expression, my lingering suspicion vanished completely.
‘In any case, it’s clear the villagers are innocent.’
“Well then. Shall we begin, one by one?”
The voice of the man in martial robes rang out solemnly.
I couldn’t see clearly from here what he meant to begin.
“Tsk!”
But Dang Mu-seon could see it clearly.
He kicked off the ground and rushed forward.
A gust of wind obscured my vision, and in moments, Dang Mu-seon reached them.
“Hurry! We need to get to Grandfather!”
I urged Dang Dam to hasten, and we descended into the Village quickly.
“Ugh!”
I saw Dang Mu-seon seizing the hand of one of the martial artists.
The hazy village scene came into sharp focus before my eyes.
Every villager bound before us bore bruises darkening their faces.
Children trembled and wept, clinging to one another for comfort.
“It would be wise to lower your killing intent. My granddaughter has arrived.”
Dang Mu-seon spoke in a low voice to the martial artist whose hand he held.
The startled man’s eyes swept over us with piercing intensity.
Upon seeing the green robes worn by Dang Mu-seon and Dang Dam, they gasped in shock.
“Could it be… the Dang Family?!”
The man hastily lowered his hand. The martial artists surrounding him immediately sheathed their blades and clasped their fists in salute.
“We greet the final masters of the Murim.”
Their voices were incomparably more respectful than moments before.
They even addressed us by the Dang Family’s renowned title from the Cheonma War, expressing their reverence.
The one who appeared to be their leader spoke with utmost deference.
“We are the Jeom Mun Sect, maintaining a modest martial arts dojo in Yunnan. Do you see this? This mark.”
He pointed to the large mole on his forehead.
Looking closer, I noticed all the martial artists bore identical large moles on their foreheads.
…Could it be they mark themselves upon initiation?
Surely the largest mole doesn’t determine who the leader is.
While my attention lingered on the marks, the leader cautiously asked Dang Mu-seon.
“…But what brings a great master to such a place?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
Dang Mu-seon answered curtly, turning his gaze toward the villagers.
“But this—I need to know what this is.”
He gestured toward the terrified villagers with emphasis.
“What in the world are you doing?”
“Well, that is…”
They exchanged glances, hesitating in their response.
Yet strangely, their expressions seemed…
‘…confident, even.’
“These humble soldiers merely do what is necessary. We refine our martial prowess and pursue righteous conduct!”
True to my ominous premonition, they proclaimed boldly.
“Righteous conduct? This?”
Dang Mu-seon gestured with his chin toward the old man bleeding profusely.
They nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“Yes, surely criminals must face punishment for their misdeeds, must they not?”
Punishment for misdeeds?
Did they truly believe the villagers had stolen the elixir?
‘But no matter what, this is far too cruel!’
I hoped Dang Mu-seon would say something immediately, but he merely stroked his chin in silence.
“From what I gather, it seems you’ve had a treasure stolen.”
Dang Mu-seon opened his mouth slowly.
“Ah. You already knew.”
They affirmed calmly and continued speaking.
“We fed and sheltered a young boy who came seeking alms, yet he repays our kindness with betrayal.”
They clicked their tongues and cast a disdainful glance at the villagers.
Their eyes were already brimming with hatred and contempt.
“We clearly saw that boy slip into this place, yet these ungrateful wretches are hiding him away.”
“Therefore, they must be punished for their wickedness!”
They clenched their fists and raised their voices.
“Did you search this place yourselves?”
Dang Mu-seon questioned them thoughtfully.
“We searched everywhere. Even the storage jars and the well!”
“Truly, what shameless people! After all the kindness we showed them!”
“I see….”
As the young martial artists beside him chimed in, Dang Mu-seon nodded as if convinced.
The villagers listening to their conversation grew even paler.
“It’s over. We’re….”
Over? Not a chance!
“Are you certain the villagers hid him? You said you couldn’t find him!”
I burst out, and all eyes turned toward me.
I knew I shouldn’t have interjected, but I couldn’t help my anger.
These were the people who had been protecting the village.
How could they change so drastically overnight?
Is it all about power and influence?!
“Oh, young lady.”
They laughed mockingly, as if I’d said something absurd.
“If we knew his face, we would have found him long ago. If only that fellow hadn’t wrapped his face in cloth—whether from burns or whatever—we’d have caught him!”
Hearing the man cry out his grievance, I found myself at a loss for words.
‘What? So they don’t even know who he is.’
Their true intentions became crystal clear to me.
So they had their precious treasure stolen, and they roughly know it’s somewhere around here.
But since they can’t find it, they’re using the pretext of punishing wickedness to….
“Kill everyone.”
Dang Mu-seon’s voice rang out, low and chilling.
His expression had turned sinister.
It wasn’t just me who was angry.
“Who gave you that right?”
At Dang Mu-seon’s follow-up question, they clamped their mouths shut.
They exchanged glances and sighed heavily before speaking.
“Ah. We understand what you mean.”
“We may be humble, but we are still members of the Maeng, sir.”
“Now you understand? Summary judgment.”
They offered their explanation as though there had been some simple misunderstanding.
Yet they seemed oblivious to how Dang Mu-seon’s hands clenched with barely restrained fury.
‘What kind of cowardly excuse is that?’
They weren’t fabricating their words entirely.
In the Maeng, killing in the name of justice was actually praised—after all, they were eliminating the wicked.
‘But this is an abuse of that principle.’
Had they been doing this all along?
“Cowards! Do you actually believe this is righteous? You’re just framing innocent people and murdering them!”
As I glared at them and shouted, their expressions turned vicious.
“You’d do well to watch your tongue, young lady. Looking at you both….”
They exchanged glances between us, sneering at our simple traveling clothes from the long journey.
“Ha! Surely you’re not claiming to be that so-called mad king or the monstrous household head?”
I was at a loss for words.
They would fight us just for stopping a village massacre?
“Hahaha!”
Laughter burst from me unbidden.
My anger had cooled to something glacial.
I found them so pathetic it wasn’t even worth my rage.
“You’re so incompetent you let a child steal your treasures, and you think you can defeat our grandfather?”
I spoke brightly toward the Jeom Mun Sect members who had turned to look at me.
“Good luck with that, you big-spotted fools!”
“What? Big-spotted?!”
Had I struck a nerve?
The man with a crooked hair sprouting from his spot flushed crimson, raising his hand high.
“Ugh!”
My pride stung, and I reflexively squeezed my eyes shut.
In that fleeting instant, the air grew sharp and suffocating.
“You wretches….”
Black energy flowed like mist across Dang Mu-seon’s shoulders.
“How dare you lay hands on her!”
Killing intent blanketed the village.
It was instantaneous.
Dang Mu-seon’s movement.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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