I Thought the Youngest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Family Was Hated - Chapter 69

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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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“Gasp!”
I clapped my hand over my mouth in shock.
A youthful hand dangled limply from the beam above.
Before I could even react, Baek-i moved first.
“Pft.”
With a long flick of her tongue, she struck the hand away.
Then, with a soft rustle, something perched on the beam tumbled down.
“What?”
And it was falling straight toward me!
“Ahhhhh!”
Without thinking, I didn’t dodge—I reached out instead.
If it was a person, they’d be badly hurt falling from that height.
“Ow….”
But I hadn’t anticipated that I’d be the one getting hurt.
When I came to my senses, I was pinned beneath the figure, sprawled across straw.
“Ugh, so heavy…!”
It seemed to be a person, but since I was suffocating, I tried to push them off.
“Huh?”
Their body was burning hot.
Could it be a fever?
I carefully tilted my head to examine their face.
The person who had fallen on me was a boy about my age.
A boy with a ghastly pale face, gasping for breath.
At least, it definitely wasn’t just a fever.
“Ugh… huff!”
I finally wriggled free from beneath him and smoothed back my disheveled hair.
Looking at the boy properly, something felt deeply wrong.
First, I’d never seen his face before.
He wasn’t dressed in the garb of the Dang Household servants.
Moreover, his arms and legs were wrapped thickly in bandages.
Having appeared like a bolt from the blue, he was utterly suspicious.
“Hm?”
The knot on the bandage around his right wrist had come loose.
Through the gap, I could see black marks.
“Could it be….”
I carefully peeled back the bandage.
Since the inside of his sleeve was completely wrapped, I couldn’t see everything, but the shape of the marks became clearer.
Multiple black lines crossing diagonally like blade scars running along his arm.
‘A brand.’
Not one given by a government office—but a tattoo the Martial Arts Alliance inscribed on vicious criminals.
At this age, I knew of exactly one person known to bear such a tattoo.
‘That’s….’
“Miss. I heard a loud noise. Are you alright?”
Dang Dam’s voice reached me once more.
“I’m coming in!”
Judging by how loudly he’d heard it, he was about to open the door.
I frantically buried the Young Boy beneath straw and cried out.
“No, no! I’m fine!”
“Forgive my rudeness, Miss!”
It seemed he couldn’t find peace of mind from words alone.
Dang Dam opened the door without hesitation.
“….”
He gazed silently at the warehouse reduced to chaos.
His eyes finally settled on me, covered in dust from the straw scattered everywhere.
“Hehe. I fell….”
As I laughed sheepishly and scratched my cheek, Dang Dam released a breath of relief.
“I’m grateful you weren’t seriously injured. I apologize for opening the door without permission, Miss.”
“Mm. It’s fine. You may go.”
Dang Dam bowed his head, closed the door, and left.
“Phew.”
At least I hadn’t been discovered.
I blew away the dried medicinal herbs falling onto my head and plunged my hand into the pile of straw.
“Found you!”
The warmth radiating from his body made it easy to locate him.
I frantically dug through the straw pile and pulled the Young Boy back out.
“….”
Then, holding my breath, I looked down at his face.
I could see thick eyebrows and a nose bridge that stood sharply even in youth.
The distinct ridge of his lips and the upturned corners of his eyes resembled exactly the person I remembered.
I would need to see his eyes to be certain, but based on my assessment, this Young Boy was Jin Hwa.
‘But why is he here?’
And why was he in such pain!
“You’re destined to become entangled with him no matter what.”
Suddenly, Song Hak’s words flashed through my mind.
Was this what he meant?
That a sick person would suddenly fall from the ceiling like this?!
“Ugh!”
A sharp groan from Jin Hwa reached my ears as panic seized me.
He was drenched in cold sweat, tearing at the straw desperately.
He was in considerable pain.
‘…Yes. Once he awakens, I can ask him why he resorted to such sorcery.’
I had to treat Jin Hwa immediately, if only to satisfy my curiosity.
“First… I apologize for this.”
I carefully peeled back Jin Hwa’s collar. Cold sweat streamed down his gaunt chest.
Beads of perspiration flowed and dripped onto the bandages wrapped around his abdomen.
I could see blood caked heavily on the gauze.
“….”
My expression grew grave.
Could this blood truly be Jin Hwa’s?
Even knowing that formidable martial artist was Jin Hwa, I couldn’t entirely dismiss the possibility that this blood belonged to someone else.
Still, I steeled myself and carefully untied the poorly knotted bandage.
“Haa, ugh….”
The Young Boy’s body flinched—the bandage alone caused him pain.
The conclusion was clear: this was Jin Hwa’s blood.
A deep laceration carved into his abdomen.
Who had struck him? Yellowing bruises surrounded the wound.
“Good heavens….”
The wound was on the verge of festering.
It was an old injury, and without proper disinfection, I marveled that he’d endured this long.
Was it thanks to his exceptional physique?
“Ah, this is troublesome….”
I bit my lip in frustration.
I knew how to treat such a wound, but I lacked the proper tools.
Not even basic trauma salve—I’m unworthy of the title physician, Dang Hee-yeon.
I couldn’t very well take a boy with criminal tattoos covering his entire arm to the Medicinal Properties Hall….
“Ah, that’s right!”
A brilliant idea suddenly struck me.
At Jeungsan Peak, in Dang Mu-seon’s Residence, trauma salves and all manner of medical instruments lay scattered about.
Grandfather was away at the moment, so I could borrow them briefly and return them without a trace!
Having decided, I covered the Young Boy’s face with straw once more.
It bothered me to place the filthy bandage back over the wound, but I had no choice.
“Stay like this for a moment. I’m sorry…!”
Did he hear my voice? Jin Hwa’s fingertips twitched slightly.
That gesture only strengthened my resolve.
“I’ll be back!”
I sprang up, opened the Warehouse door, and hurried out.
Dang Dam stood outside with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Dang Dam! Dang Dam!”
I deliberately feigned urgency, tapping his arm as I spoke.
“Could you fetch something for me from the Quarters?”
“What are you saying?”
Dang Dam, seemingly flustered by my expression as though I might burst into tears, released his clasped hands and listened intently.
“Well, I… um…”
I hesitated, having not thought through what I should actually ask him to bring.
Even rolling my eyes around, nothing suitable came to mind.
‘Oh, forget it!’
“D-Dang-gwa!”
“Dang-gwa?”
“Yes! Those red dang-gwa candies I love!”
I trembled my hands while deploying my acting skills.
“I-I haven’t eaten anything sweet in so long that my hands are shaking… What should I do?”
Dang Dam’s expression grew serious at my plea.
Fortunately, the lie seemed to work.
“Leave it to me.”
He nodded and hurried away quickly.
‘Come to think of it, those dang-gwa candies were all gone.’
This would take quite a while to procure.
For something I’d blurted out on impulse, it was actually a rather clever request.
“…Well then, shall we go now?”
I turned and looked up at the stairs leading to Jeungsan Peak.
I gathered my skirts and began climbing the stairs.
“Huff… huff! Phew!”
Though my Quarters were situated in such a high place, I still managed to arrive as quickly as possible.
Since I’d begun coming and going, the traps had disappeared, and the path had become familiar to me.
“Grandfather—? Are you here?”
I peeked my head cautiously into the house.
Only profound silence filled the interior.
“…If you’re not here, shall I come in?”
I walked in on tiptoes, treading lightly.
The medicinal materials and tools I needed were likely in the Underground Chamber.
I surveyed my surroundings and entered the Underground Chamber.
“It’s still eerie.”
The torture rack and the black viscous liquid clinging to the table emanated an ominous atmosphere.
I hurried to search the shelves, avoiding the scattered bottles on the floor.
I gathered trauma salve, bandages, thread, and needle, cradling them in my arms before ascending from the Underground Chamber.
Creak.
“…”
At the sound of the floorboards creaking from afar, I suddenly lifted my head.
There was no one. Had I misheard?
“Ah. Surely not.”
Dang Mu-seon said he’d return late at night.
I shook off the needless worry and descended the mountain.
“Almost there!”
Dang Dam still hadn’t appeared.
It was going smoothly.
As I rushed toward the Warehouse and reached for the closed door, a shadow fell across my head.
“Trauma salve, honey, oil, needles, thread.”
Goosebumps erupted across my skin in an instant.
Dang Mu-seon’s flat, emotionless voice resonated in my ears.
My head creaked around like a rusted wheel, and I saw Dang Mu-seon’s smiling face.
‘Eek—!’
My tongue went dry at a smile more affectionate than ever before.
“Did you get a nasty cut from a blade?”
“I, I….”
I stammered, unable to find any excuse for his gentle question.
Then Dang Mu-seon’s face twisted instantly.
“I clearly told you not to play with blades!”
His menacing expression was absolutely monstrous.
“Ahhhhh! No! I’m not hurt!”
I shook my head frantically and cried out, and Dang Mu-seon’s terrible anger subsided abruptly.
“You’re not?”
At his question, I nodded vigorously this time.
Then Dang Mu-seon narrowed his eyes.
“Then who’s injured?”

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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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