The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 101

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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 101
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Late evening. The center of the simply arranged table held the food I’d brought back. Glistening pork hind leg, steaming wisps rising from its surface, adorned the brown lotus leaf wrapping in appetizing splendor.
I widened my eyes as I looked at Baek Li-ui-gang.
“The Alliance Leader came?”
It was truly unexpected news.
Every time something like this happened, I felt anew that the future I knew was changing.
“Yes. I wish you could have met him too.”
“I suppose so.”
I gave the response, but having encountered him a few times in the past, I didn’t actually want to see him.
Wi Ji-baek. He was typically evaluated as embodying the rigid bearing of a martial artist, and the assessment matched his appearance. Before my regression, when I’d crossed paths with him a few times because of Father, his demeanor had been courteous, leaving me with the impression he was a decent person.
But… as the saying goes, one may know the depths of ten fathoms of water, yet never the depths of a person’s heart. Wi Ji-baek fit that saying perfectly.
In common knowledge, Wi Ji-baek had risen to the position of Murim Alliance Leader through skill alone, without any particular backing. And he spoke as though he held no attachment to that position.
He claimed he would gladly hand over the seat whenever a capable junior appeared, saying he looked forward to that day.
But why would someone truly uninterested in power ascend to the position of Murim Alliance Leader?
Wi Ji-baek was the very embodiment of tremendous ambition. If anyone threatened his power, he would mercilessly expel them and obstruct their path.
For instance… Namgung Ryu-cheong.
Whenever Namgung Ryu-cheong went through all manner of hardship to resolve a matter, Wi Ji-baek would suddenly appear and snatch all the credit for himself.
Wi Ji-baek, now approaching fifty, would be only sixty in ten years. As an absolute master whose aging was naturally slow, sixty was an age when inner strength would still be deepening with the passage of time in this world.
What threat could Namgung Ryu-cheong, a rising sun, pose to such a man? Yet Wi Ji-baek remained vigilant against him.
‘He was truly petty.’
But he was also difficult to dismiss. Having earned a place among the Top Eleven Masters of the World, his martial prowess alone was formidable.
The current Jianghu existed in a precarious balance. Among the Top Eleven Masters of the World, five were absolute masters of the Orthodox Martial Arts Sects. If even one were lost, the Orthodox side would be significantly disadvantaged in the struggle between righteous and demonic forces.
For reference, Cheonsan Yeom-je was treated as neutral. Neither Orthodox nor Demonic, in other words, neither righteous nor dark—viewed as an independent faction.
But if a serious problem arose within the Namgung Clan, Cheonsan Yeom-je could hardly turn a blind eye. So strictly speaking, he leaned toward the Orthodox side.
It was a balance maintained in such a manner.
‘Well, regardless, it was a matter of the future.’
Baek Li-ui-gang, having taken a bite of the pork, sighed softly.
“It’s delicious!”
“It’s from Hyang Ha-ru.”
“What? That’s right! How did you know, Father?”
“I’ve been there a few times with Namgung Wan.”
I stared at Baek Li-ui-gang in shock.
“But… why didn’t you tell me!”
“Hmm?”
Unable to dare express disappointment to Father, I simply pouted and turned to look at Yalyu.
“Yalyu, how is it? Does it taste good?”
Yalyu blinked and nodded. Then he murmured softly.
“…Thank you.”
I told him to eat plenty and stroked his head.
“You should eat some too.”
“I’m completely stuffed.”
The moment I saw the braised meat glistening with fat, my appetite stirred slightly—but my throat was already packed to the brim.
In fact, I’d nearly vomited during the carriage ride earlier.
“I ate two bowls back there. Ryu-cheong ate three. When we first entered the inn, he looked so bitter about it. Ha.”
Yalyu suddenly set down his chopsticks and spoke.
“The young master of Namgung?”
“Yeah. He said he wasn’t going at first, but somehow he ended up in the carriage anyway.”
I stroked Yalyu’s head again. His expression softened and he resumed eating.
Baek Li-ui-gang spoke with concern in his voice.
“You ate two bowls? I should ask Uiyak-dang for a digestive remedy.”
Medicine again!
I quickly changed the subject.
“But what brought the Alliance Leader here?”
“He was passing through and wanted to see the Namgung Family Head’s face.”
“I see.”
“And….”
Baek Li-ui-gang trailed off and glanced at Yalyu.
“Cheon Gwi-jo fled to Gwi-ju Fortress, apparently.”
Yalyu’s chopsticks stilled. That man was something else—he’d survived two encounters with Baek Li-ui-gang.
Baek Li-ui-gang continued.
“And the Alliance Leader said he wanted to see you once, Yalyu. It was fortunate you were away.”
Whew, that really was fortunate.
Judging from when Baek Li-ui-gang saw off the Murim Alliance Leader and when Yalyu returned, they’d missed each other with remarkable precision.
“Be careful.”
“Yes.”
Yalyu’s appetite seemed to vanish. When our eyes met as I watched him with sympathy, he smiled faintly as if to say it was fine, then resumed eating.
Then Baek Li-ui-gang spoke again.
“Ah, and Yeon, you should know this too.”
“Know what?”
“I met the young master of Byeok.”
At first, I didn’t immediately recall who that was.
“Could it be the Byeok Seong-yul you mentioned, Father? The young master of the Kirin Society?”
Clatter. The sound of chopsticks falling onto a plate.
When I and Baek Li-ui-gang turned around, Yalyu lowered his head.
“My apologies.”
Yalyu picked up his chopsticks again without any apparent concern.
‘That’s strange.’
Yalyu’s complexion and behavior seemed no different from usual. Yet something felt off—a sense of unease I couldn’t quite place.
Narrowing my eyes as I observed Yalyu, I decided to continue the conversation for now.
“Byeok Ki-hyeon, what face does he have to show up in this world?”
“He came to apologize, or so I hear.”
Wow, what shamelessness.
“Hmph! Did he apologize to my older brother Joong-hae?”
This time, Father stroked my head.
“We have received our apology, so those two must resolve their own karma between them. However, it seems he has made peace with the Ak Family. Byeok Ki-hyeon has reflected on his actions and agreed to serve as an ordinary member of the Alliance.”
“Well… if that’s the case…”
Impressive. I wouldn’t have forgiven him. And I feel sorry for the ordinary Alliance members. How could they trust someone like that with their backs?
I stared intently at Father before suddenly becoming curious.
“Father, what would you have done if you had experienced something like what happened to my older brother Joong-hae?”
Father pondered for a moment before answering.
“Perhaps… I would have forgiven him.”
I narrowed my eyes. I didn’t like that answer. But I decided to engrave it in my heart. I should follow Father’s example and forgive…
‘I don’t want to. No, wait. I should follow Father’s lead.’
I nodded my head, then shook it, causing a commotion all by myself before asking.
“Then, what if… I had experienced something like that?”
Crack. Suddenly, the chopsticks Father was holding snapped, crumbling to pieces.
I blinked in surprise, then broke into a bright smile.
“Hehe, you can’t forgive that, can you! Right!”
Father avoided my gaze.
“This braised pork is quite delicious.”
Ha, what a way to change the subject!
I decided not to press Father any further.
A moment later, Father spoke again.
“Though Byeok Ki-hyeon did commit such acts… not everyone in the Byeok Family is like that.”
I tilted my head in confusion.
“There are those with great spirit and generous hearts.”
“Hmm, really? Who?”
It was rare for Father to praise someone like this. If there was someone in the Byeok Family worthy of Father’s praise, there was no way I wouldn’t remember them.
As if reading my thoughts, Father spoke.
“Byeok Ki-hyeon. You probably haven’t heard of her.”
Byeok Ki-hyeon?
Just as Father said, I had never heard of her before.
“It’s been roughly 10 years… no, it’s already been over 12 years since she disappeared. Of course you wouldn’t know.”
A master from 10 years ago. That was a time when mountains and rivers could change. In the Jianghu where the strong were as numerous as stars, it was impossible to remember a name from 10 years past. Besides, she didn’t seem to appear in the novels either.
“Ah… then is she dead?”
When a renowned master suddenly disappeared, that was usually the outcome. Either no one could find them, or they died fighting in some place no one could recognize.
“I don’t know. Nothing is known about it.”
I picked up my teacup, my throat suddenly dry.
Father gazed into the distance as if recalling past events and continued speaking.
“Perhaps the Ak Family decided to overlook Byeok Ki-hyeon’s matter because of an old debt—when Byeok Seong-yul once saved the life of an Ak Family young master.”
“…Byeok Ki-hyeon is quite fortunate then.”
“That is how debts of gratitude work in the Jianghu. I myself have received aid from Byeok Seong-yul before, though not to the extent of owing my life.”
“Father, you have? Wow….”
“She was a remarkable woman.”
“Huh, she was a woman?”
“Yes.”
Without realizing it, I had naturally assumed she was a man.
‘Oh, how embarrassing.’
Father smiled gently and lifted his teacup.
“Now that I think about it, Byeok Seong-yul also had a mole near her eyes, just like Yalyu.”
“Is that so?”
Father nodded, his gaze turning toward Yalyu. The hand bringing the teacup to his lips froze. Yalyu had stopped using his chopsticks some time ago.
‘What is this? Why has the atmosphere become so strange?’
I looked between Father and Yalyu in turn and asked.
“Have you both already finished eating?”
I grew dejected seeing how much boiled beef remained.
‘They said it was delicious….’
It seemed neither of them had much appetite for it.

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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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