The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 1

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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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Chapter 1
There are ranks even among villains.
Some are destined to torment the protagonist until the very end and face their reckoning, while others merely grasp at the hero’s heels before vanishing into obscurity.
I was the latter—a mere footnote.
Pathetic and irritating, clinging to the protagonist’s ankles without posing any genuine threat.
Like refuse beside a jewel that only makes the gem shine brighter, I existed solely to elevate the hero—a supporting villain with no influence whatsoever.
I discovered far too late that I inhabited a world born from the pages of a novel.
A place filled with the sound of weeping.
“Is that Baek Li-ui-gang’s daughter?”
“Ah, the one they call trash?”
“That defective thing!”
The whispers that had dogged me relentlessly followed me even to my father’s funeral.
My vacant eyes, too numb to sob, could only shed tears.
“He gave Baek Li-ui-gang such headaches in life, yet here she weeps for him—how touching.”
“Indeed. I heard their relationship was quite strained.”
Their gossiping words reflected the truth—my father and I had always been distant.
If I were to judge our bond, it leaned decidedly toward the negative.
He viewed me with contempt, and I despised him in return.
Yet I wept for two days straight.
I could not articulate the precise reason for my tears.
Was it grief for the loss of my father, or a premonition of the miserable days that lay ahead?
Overwhelmed by sorrow I could not even name, I wept and wept until, on the third day, I collapsed.
And then I remembered.
My previous life.
My past existence could be summarized quite simply.
A mother who divorced when I was young, her face now forgotten.
A father who swung his fists whenever he drank.
Beneath him, I was beaten as always—my last memory was my head striking the corner of the table.
And then I recalled something else.
That this world was identical to the martial arts novel I had once read!
‘Inside a novel… Could this possibly be real?’
Yet the life I lived here was undeniably mine.
I remembered the entire past of this minor villain—details the novel had never explored.
Someone who cared for me died when I was very young. I became a vagrant, wandering the streets. Then a well-dressed man—my biological father—found me.
When you’re reduced to scavenging garbage on the streets, refusing to follow him was never an option.
He led me to an estate so vast my eyes widened in disbelief.
As I crossed through the imposing gates, guarded by intimidating men with swords at their hips, I thought to myself:
At last, my life would finally see the light of day.
‘But of all places, why had to it be inside that martial arts novel!’
My hands trembled as I reached for the teapot.
But the teapot was empty, and I set down the teacup weakly, only to let it slip from my grasp.
Crash.
The teacup shattered against the stone floor.
There was a reason for my excessive trembling. This novel—over the next ten years, it would be drenched in slaughter, with characters dying left and right!
And the first harbinger of that carnage was my father.
Baek Li-ui-gang—the fourth son of the Baek Li Family, one of the ten greatest martial clans and a paragon of the righteous path, the master of the protagonist Namgung Ryu-cheong, whose noble sacrifice would awaken the arrogant hero to become a guardian of justice!
That was how my father was described.
And I was his only daughter, Baek Li-yeon.
A foolish, greedy supporting villain who constantly hindered the protagonist and my father, only to be beheaded and die.
That was me.
‘Damn it.’
I cursed that villainous supporting character throughout my reading. I swore I would never live like that.
‘But I never wanted to become her!’
And my father had already passed away, right before the worst war would begin! On top of that, this novel wasn’t even finished!
‘…What do I do?’
Being near the protagonist was far too dangerous for a powerless villain like me. Whether he was righteous or wicked, one swing of his hand and I would die without even a sound.
The protagonist would probably try to protect me out of respect for his master’s daughter. But that would only leave me as a burden, a liability.
‘Disappear.’
If I lived quietly like a dead mouse, no one would even notice a minor villain like me existed.
So I fled.
But then…
‘Why is he here?!’
A pallid face, a mole that traced the corner of his eye. Even in this situation, an enchanting beauty that captivated the soul.
There was only one character who matched such a description.
Didn’t I say there were ranks even among villains?
If I was merely a supporting character, he was a leading one.
The primary villain—the mastermind of this novel: Yalyu!
As the leader of the Cheonsal-dan, which carried out the brutal murders of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, he would eventually rise to become one of the Eight Demon Generals and torment the protagonist relentlessly.
Drip. Drip.
Moonlight pouring through the broken window frame illuminated the source of the sound.
The dripping came from a severed head with no body.
A metallic stench assaulted my nostrils.
It was like a scene from a horror film.
I retreated backward in denial of reality.
The mastermind smiled coldly.
“How disappointing. So this is what Baek Li-ui-gang’s daughter has become.”
“Did you come to kill me? Why?”
“Curious?”
Of course!
After my father’s funeral ended, I severed all ties and went into hiding.
It had been far too long since I strayed from the central narrative where slaughter reigned supreme!
But it made no sense for the final villain to come just to kill a supporting character like me!
“Well….”
I was concentrating on the dark-cloaked figure’s slowly opening mouth.
Suddenly my vision spun, and the bloodstained wooden floor rushed toward me like a slow-motion film.
Thud.
A dull sound that echoed not through my ears but through my skull itself.
I never even saw when the blade was drawn.
Blood dripped crimson down the long sword, and a satisfied smile bloomed at the dark figure’s lips.
That was the end.
* * *
‘Damn it.’
To die with my neck severed. I’d wanted so desperately to avoid that!
‘Well, whether I die with my head in a dining table or my neck cut off, a dog’s death is a dog’s death either way.’
Still, dying by decapitation in this novel was relatively merciful compared to other fates… yet something felt wrong.
‘It hurts so much….’
I should have been dead, yet my entire body burned with searing pain. Would rolling through fire hurt this much?
As I writhed in agony, my hand dorsum itched unbearably.
Cold, itching, warm—amid these strange sensations, I exerted all my strength, and suddenly my eyes opened.
It took a while for my vision to return.
A dimly lit room. Timber beams on the ceiling, magnolia-shaped window frames.
Even the embroidered patterns of the deep indigo silk hanging from the bed felt strangely familiar and nostalgic.
‘Where is this….’
A human-shaped shadow moved with the flicker of candlelight.
Upon confirming the shadow’s owner, my eyes widened.
“Father?”
In that instant, something fell from Father’s eyes.
Seeing the tears that wet my hand dorsum, I understood the true nature of the sensation that had awakened me.
‘What is this, a lantern of karma?’
Father possessed remarkably refined features that earned the admiration of many women.
Yet true to his role as a mentor guiding the protagonist’s spiritual growth, his character was unyielding and righteous, contrary to his appearance.
With such a temperament, during all our time together, I had seen Father’s tears only once.
“Forgive me. I should have been at your side.”
Hearing Father speak words identical to my memory, I found myself laughing for reasons I couldn’t explain.
Whether it was a lantern of karma, a dream, hell, or anything else—what did it matter?
“Father… no, Dad. Please don’t cry.”
Father’s lips parted slightly and his eyes widened enormously. This was the first time I’d seen such a shocked expression.
Despite years spent together… a brief laugh passed, and then inexplicably, emotion surged within me.
As I grew older, my relationship with Father only deteriorated.
I couldn’t remember him looking surprised, smiling, or even what his face looked like at the end.
What does it matter what the protagonist sacrificed or how they died? They were truly a good person.
Though they were merely a character in a novel, clumsy as they were, they were always sincere with me.
I only realized it after they passed away. That among all people, only one person had ever genuinely cared for me—a wretched supporting villain in this cursed story. Only my father.
“I’m sorry for everything up until now.”
Father’s face still looked vacant, as though his spirit had departed.
Something felt incomplete.
Yes, if I’m going to do this, I should do it properly.
With a light heart—thinking I might as well play the dutiful daughter one last time—I spoke.
“I love you.”
Father’s eyes widened in shock.
Heh.
Seeing his startled expression, I felt oddly proud.
Good. It seems I’ve done everything I can in the end.
If I close my eyes peacefully now… In that moment, Father pulled me into an embrace so tight I could barely breathe.
The same crisp, refreshing scent of Father that I remembered.
Wait… This feels so real. No, hold on.
A sudden chill ran through me.
Is this a lantern of life? What kind of lantern of life is this?
Father’s voice trembled with surging emotion.
“All this time, I thought you resented me, but it wasn’t like that at all.”
“What?”
“Forgive me. Father didn’t understand your heart all this time. It’s all my fault for being inadequate. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“What?”
What on earth is happening?

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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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