The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 127

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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 127
* * *
It wasn’t four days. I had actually gone nearly four days without eating!
No wonder my stomach was raging like a wild beast.
Yet even as I ate, my mind wandered elsewhere. I was too preoccupied organizing the thoughts and sensations I’d experienced before falling asleep.
‘If I use this method, perhaps….’
Normally, if I showed such inattention during a meal, Father would have said something. But he simply remained silent, quietly placing side dishes atop my rice.
I glanced at the morsel on my spoon and asked.
“Father, aren’t you eating?”
It was honestly a belated question. But Father answered without concern.
“I’ve already eaten.”
“I’m full now too.”
At that, Father set down his chopsticks. Soon the Female Servant arrived and hurriedly cleared the table. As I waited for her to leave, hoping to speak with Father, he spoke first.
“Let’s step into the Garden for a moment.”
“Yes!”
I followed Father out of the Building. Outside, the crimson light of sunset bathed the Garden.
Father walked forward without hesitation, as though he had a destination in mind. Expecting a post-meal stroll, I followed him with curiosity.
Father stopped in what appeared to be a wide open field. He then placed his hand upon a large decorative stone positioned at the edge of a flower bed.
‘What is he doing?’
He seemed to be examining something.
“This should suffice.”
“Father?”
“Stand here.”
Father pointed to a spot a few paces from the stone.
“Here?”
Father approached and gently pushed my back, positioning me half a step forward. After studying me for a moment, he suddenly drew his sword.
My eyes widened in shock. Father handed the blade directly to me.
“Father?”
“Take it.”
I accepted it, but the moment my hand grasped the hilt, I was genuinely startled. It was incredibly heavy. Far heavier than I’d imagined!
‘How am I supposed to lift this?’
I looked at Father with a bewildered expression, but he simply gazed at me as though urging me to lift it.
‘Something feels different about him today. He seems unusually stern. Is he angry?’
Then Father spoke with urgency.
“What are you doing? Hurry.”
“Ah, yes!”
I channeled my natural qi into the meridians of my arms, reinforcing my strength, and the blade became somewhat manageable.
“Execute the first form of the Mubaek Divine Art.”
“Father?”
“Think of the blade’s tip as an extension of my hand. Breathe and swing.”
“H-here? With this?”
“Yes.”
Father adjusted my wrist holding the blade, lifting my fingers slightly with his own before continuing.
“Neither more nor less. Simply swing it as you normally would.”
I gazed down at the sword’s edge, blazing crimson in the sunset’s ruddy glow.
A dozen objections rose to my throat, but I swallowed them back.
‘Surely Father wouldn’t ask me to do something that would harm me.’
Then again, Father had wielded this blade like a mere toothpick, flicking it about effortlessly….
‘Can I actually swing this properly?’
Since it was just a single downward stroke, I thought it might be manageable if I drew upon my natural energy carefully.
I lifted the sword with trembling hands. Father stepped closer and adjusted my stance slightly.
I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing. Gritting my teeth, I counted—and on three, I swung. The surrounding energy seemed to rush toward me, or rather toward the blade itself.
But I couldn’t withstand the speed and weight of the swing, and the sword plunged straight into the ground.
‘Something felt… different somehow.’
The sensation when swinging was slightly different from before. It felt far sharper….
‘Is this the difference between a real blade and a wooden practice sword?’
I tilted my head, pondering.
Then Father took the sword from my hands. He held it up, supporting the blade with his palm as if showing it to me. I felt the sword’s tip scrape against the rock, but fortunately it remained intact.
I followed Father’s gesture toward the rock and gasped. Where the blade’s edge had grazed it, a straight groove had been carved—and it was quite deep. About the depth of my index fingernail.
‘But it felt like just a light scratch!’
It had carved that deeply?
I looked at Father in dismay.
“W-what do we do about this?”
What kind of damage had I just done to someone else’s garden rock!
‘How could I possibly hide this?’
It wouldn’t work, would it? I’d have to tell them. Would it be expensive? Seok Tae-ui seemed quite wealthy…. Father, sheathing the sword, smiled for the first time today.
“You’ve achieved the Second Stage of the Mubaek Divine Art. Congratulations.”
“…What?”
Father, beaming with a radiant smile, reached over and ruffled my hair. As I was doubting my own ears, applause erupted from somewhere.
I turned toward the sound. Seok Ga-yak stood there, clapping enthusiastically, and beside the boy was Seok Tae-ui as well.
I stared, mouth agape, utterly flabbergasted.
Seok Ga-yak tilted his head curiously.
“I’m not sure what happened, but isn’t this a good thing?”
* * *
In one corner of the garden stood a round stone table with matching stools. I collapsed onto one of them, staring at Seok Ga-yak in utter disbelief.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“Yeon.”
A reproachful voice descended upon me from above.
‘Oh, right. Father is here too.’
I laughed awkwardly toward Father and chose my next words more carefully.
“Are you out of your mind? How did you even walk out on that leg?”
Father’s sigh drifted down over my head. Meanwhile, Seok Tae-ui, seated beside Seok Ga-yak, stroked his beard and nodded as though my words pleased him greatly.
Seok Ga-yak pouted and grumbled.
“Listen. I waited because you woke up. But you showed no sign of coming to see me, and instead you ate and went to the garden. What am I supposed to do if the person I want to see won’t come? If you only visit me a month later like some letter, what then?”
This brat… has quite the grudge, doesn’t he?
“Still, you shouldn’t have done that. What if your wound reopened?”
“If it reopens, it reopens. So what.”
“What did you just say? You nearly became a cripple!”
“Ah, enough. Stop nagging.”
Seok Ga-yak waved his hand dismissively as though annoyed. I stared at him with an exasperated expression. I’d worked so hard to heal him, and this was his response?
I’d thought Seok Ga-yak hid his wound because he didn’t want to burden me. But the truth was….
‘He simply didn’t think much about it at all, did he?’
He seemed utterly indifferent to his own injury.
“Seok Tae-ui alone is nagging enough. Actually, now that I think about it, hearing nagging from you is absurd.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said you’d transmit your qi through….”
I clamped my hand over Seok Ga-yak’s mouth in a flash. Then I glared at him.
Whether he found the situation amusing or not, Seok Ga-yak simply grinned, his breath tickling the back of my hand. I laughed nervously and turned to look at Father.
“Father, could I speak with Ga-yak alone for a moment?”
“….”
“Would that be alright?”
“…Master, now that I think of it, there was something I meant to tell you. Shall we have some tea together?”
Only at Seok Tae-ui’s urging did Father rise. His reluctance was plainly evident in his movements.
As I watched Father disappear from view, Seok Ga-yak leaned toward me.
“See? Your father glared at me as he left.”
“…Father could probably hear us from this distance.”
Seok Ga-yak’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Hmm, I must have been mistaken. He’s truly a good father.”
“And Father isn’t the type to glare at children.”
“…You and your father really do get along well.”
“Of course we do.”
I suppressed the satisfied expression trying to surface. A fleeting memory of the worst period before my regression brushed past me.
Seok Ga-yak rested his chin on his hand and gazed at me intently before speaking.
“You really do seem to be the most entertaining thing.”
“Am I your jester? If you want to see something entertaining, go to the Back Alley and watch the street performers.”
“Ha, that expression is cute. You’re like a child.”
Seok Ga-yak reached out and pinched my cheek. I stood there bewildered for a moment before belatedly swatting his hand away.
Seok Ga-yak touched his struck hand and laughed.
“But I’m really glad.”
“Glad about what?”
“When I heard you’d been swept away in a landslide, I was genuinely worried. Truth be told, I thought I’d never see you again. Thank goodness you’re safe.”
I felt an odd tickle of discomfort and hunched my shoulders. From Father to Namgung Wan, Shim Bu-gwan, Baek Li Pae-hyuk, Eon-du—everyone who’d claimed to worry about me during this time were people I’d known before the regression. Those of upright character I could trust. Yet their concern wasn’t solely mine; it bridged through Father, connecting us through him.
Yalyu was less a connection than a karmic debt, and So Nok was no different. Perhaps that’s why hearing it from Seok Ga-yak felt distinctly different than hearing it from anyone else.
It felt like proof that I truly was living a different life now, and that I was living it well.
I smiled softly.
“…Thank you.”
“…”
Seok Ga-yak suddenly fell silent, staring at me blankly. I tilted my head, wondering what was wrong.
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Bland, isn’t it.”
I picked up the now-lukewarm tea.
As dusk settled, a gentle breeze finally began to blow. In the distance, I could see Female Servant bustling about the Garden and Buildings, lighting the stone lanterns.

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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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