The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 135
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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 135
Originally, the Jegal Family Head had seemed unpredictable, prone to veering off in unexpected directions. But now, there was something… calmer about him, if I had to describe it.
He was the same person, yet even his smile carried a composed quality.
I spoke.
“Let’s drop the tea talk and get to the point.”
“Fine.”
The Jegal Family Head set down his teacup and fixed his gaze upon me, as if inviting me to ask whatever I wished.
“Why did you collapse?”
“Hm?”
The Jegal Family Head’s eyes widened slightly. I pressed further.
“Why?”
“Ah, I thought you’d ask about the Geumahn or perhaps about your father’s situation.”
“I’ll ask about those too.”
“Haha.”
He laughed as if amused, then abruptly cut himself short.
‘It’s not that he’s become calmer… he’s become stranger, if anything.’
As my suspicion deepened, the Jegal Family Head continued.
“It is inevitable that all living beings eventually perish.”
His words came without warning.
“But what if there existed one who escaped that cycle of rebirth…?”
“What are you talking about?”
“To be precise, it’s not that they don’t die. They die and are reborn. Again and again.”
Even in this absurd world where one could split boulders and cleave mountains with a blade, such words defied all reason.
“How is that even possible?”
The Jegal Family Head stared at me in silence.
“Why?”
“You truly don’t understand?”
“What do you mean?”
“You would know, if you thought about it.”
I furrowed my brow.
“Stop speaking in riddles like this.”
In that instant, realization struck like lightning.
I covered my mouth involuntarily and looked at the Jegal Family Head. After all, I too was someone who had died and been reborn.
‘How could he…? No, what does this…?’
The Jegal Family Head smiled faintly and spoke.
“As I thought.”
I bit my lip slightly before speaking, as if spitting out the words.
“Were you testing me just now?”
“In a way, yes. But I was already certain.”
“…How?”
“I looked into you, didn’t I? The timing was probably… after you fell into demonic madness. Right?”
“….”
I was simply at a loss for words. Watching Jegal Family Head grin weakly, irritation welled up inside me.
“If you know so much, why are you asking?”
Not to tease me! Not to enjoy my shock…!
“Don’t be like that. My life is yours, isn’t it?”
“…What are you talking about?”
Suddenly, this bastard gave me chills.
“When did I ever take your life?”
Sigh, talking with him really scrambles my mind. Without thinking, I brushed the goosebumps from my arms and spoke.
“And do you think I’ve only saved one or two people? By your logic, all their lives belong to me too?”
“….”
Jegal Family Head, who had been silent for a moment, murmured expressionlessly.
“That’s true. Why are there so many?”
“….”
This time, the chills that ran through me felt different. The pale child with so little color to his skin looked somewhat frightening without any expression on his face.
‘Something really does seem off about him….’
I shook off the strange thought and spoke.
“Anyway. So I’m going to rep….”
In that instant, Jegal Family Head covered my mouth with his hand.
I blinked in surprise.
‘He’s gotten so much faster….’
Though I had been careless, this was the first time since my training under Cheonsan Yeom-je that I had no chance to react.
‘Is it because of the inner energy from Gong Cheong Seok-yu?’
Despite so little time having passed, I could feel that Jegal Family Head’s progress had been remarkably swift.
“Don’t speak of it plainly. What you’ve experienced defies heavenly law, so it would be dangerous if it were known.”
When I nodded in agreement, Jegal Family Head slowly withdrew his hand. He clenched and unclenched the hand that had covered my mouth several times, then rubbed it with his other hand. Since he had used inner energy, pain must have set in again.
Jegal Family Head rubbed it carelessly for a moment, then suddenly blurted out.
“So how many times is this?”
“What are you talking about…. Wait.”
I frowned deeply.
“How many times?”
“Two? Maybe three times by now?”
“This is the first time! Are you saying you could do this multiple times?”
Jegal Family Head spoke with perfect composure.
“I could, or I couldn’t.”
“What does that mean!”
I shot up without thinking.
He could come back again if he died? No, I thought talking with Jegal Family Head might reveal something, but…this….
‘This surpasses imagination!’
I clenched my teeth and tried to calm the storm raging in my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut before settling back into my seat.
“So this immortal being you speak of—the one who escaped that cycle of reincarnation—who exactly are you talking about?”
“You know, don’t you?”
Yes. The moment I heard such a being existed, one person had been circling through my thoughts. A figure whose existence was known but who had never appeared once in the narrative.
“Cheon-ma.”
“Exactly. The Sect Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.”
The Jegal Family Head continued with a bright smile, speaking as though singing.
“And the original owner of your golden eyes’ power.”
“….”
I was speechless. Amused by my reaction, the Jegal Family Head touched his lips as if suppressing laughter.
But I had no room to care about that. Cheon-ma was also a returnee? And had done it multiple times at that?
I had only wanted to save my father and avoid a bloody future as a bonus! This wasn’t a thorny path—it was a pit of fire.
‘And Cheon-ma’s power at that!’
Why in the world did Man Shin-ui possess Cheon-ma’s ability? Could abilities just be attached and detached like stickers?
If the Orthodox Martial Arts Sects learned that the power I possessed belonged to Cheon-ma… a chill ran down my spine, and I unconsciously wrapped my arms around myself.
“Man Shin-ui gave me this ability as he was dying. So why is Cheon-ma appearing here?”
“Hmm.”
The Jegal Family Head rested his chin on his hand and looked at me.
“Who do you think attacked the place where Man Shin-ui was? There wouldn’t have been an attack like that in your previous life, would there?”
“….”
“How do I know this fact? Obviously. If you had known there would be an attack on Palgwae Village, you wouldn’t have let those people die. You’re not that foolish.”
“…Foolish?”
“The Demonic Cult triggered a landslide to erase evidence. But even he couldn’t have predicted it. That you’d be swept up in that landslide, and instead of dying, you’d meet Man Shin-ui and return.”
The attack that hadn’t occurred in my previous life. I had been wondering if some action I’d taken had caused information about Man Shin-ui being in Palgwae Village to leak out, twisting the future and leading to the deaths of those villagers.
So Nok had played the greatest role in deceiving my father and me. But everyone in Palgwae Village had been complicit as well.
‘That doesn’t mean I wished for the people of Palgwae Village to die.’
That’s why I had been feeling guilt all this time. It was an emotion that wouldn’t help, so I tried not to think about it as much as possible.
But if the Jegal Family Head was right—if Cheon-ma had also returned alongside me and orchestrated this… suddenly I felt it wasn’t my fault, and relief washed over me.
And I found myself somewhat disgusted by the fact that such a thought had occurred to me.
“That’s right. It’s not your fault.”
I let out a hollow laugh.
“What… do you have some ability to read people’s minds?”
The Jegal Family Head tilted his head and blinked.
“Why would I need something like that?”
“….”
The Jegal Family Head discarded my now-cold tea water and poured fresh tea. The peach blossom fragrance that bloomed anew brought a sense of calm.
It was strange that something brought about by the Jegal Family Head would help me.
“But if it’s Cheon-ma’s power, why hasn’t anyone recognized it all this time?”
“Because it happened far too long ago.”
The Jegal Family Head began to speak slowly.
“Except for the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect’s founding era, Cheon-ma has never personally intervened. Well, actually, there was one time. But that was quite long ago. Besides, no one survives when Cheon-ma takes action, so no one has ever seen Cheon-ma.”
The Jegal Family Head’s leisurely voice was so serene it seemed utterly at odds with the gravity of his words.
“Then how do you know?”
“Because I’ve faced the first Cheon-ma myself.”
“What?”
“It’s commonly believed that Cheon-ma changes from generation to generation. But the truth is, Cheon-ma has been the same person from the moment the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect appeared until now.”
“….”
“An immortal monster of incomparable power. How can a mortal with finite years hope to oppose such a being?”
The Jegal Family Head exhaled a long sigh, then his expression became overtly weary.
“Long ago, one man reached a decision after much deliberation. If I cannot stop this creature in my lifetime, then I shall pass the burden to the next generation.”
“…You mean that’s still ongoing?”
“Meeting the first Cheon-ma—or more precisely, inheriting the memories of successive Jegal Family Heads.”
The Jegal Clan’s inner cultivation method. Unlike other families and sects that emphasized physical conditioning, it was renowned for enhancing mental acuity and cognitive prowess.
Why the Jegal Family Head’s baihui point was so exceptionally developed. The inexplicable, tremendous force I felt in my upper dantian when receiving Kong Cheong-seok-yu’s inner power. The reason the Demonic Cult had sought to annihilate the Jegal Clan for so long.
The scattered pieces of the puzzle aligned into one complete picture.
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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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