The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 141

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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 141
A new presence stirred in the direction from which Baek Li-ri had emerged. The three of us turned toward it as though we’d coordinated beforehand.
A girl dressed as a servant appeared moments later—Baek Li-ri’s attendant. The Female Servant, her face drained of color, spotted me and asked urgently.
“Have you seen the young miss?”
“She went that way.”
The Female Servant bowed hastily and rushed off in the direction I’d indicated.
“Well, at least I don’t have to chase after her anymore.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
* * *
I’d intended to show them more, but I couldn’t wander about wearing Namgung Ryu-cheong’s clothes, so I headed straight to my Residence Quarter.
“This is my Residence Quarter. Father stays here with me.”
“Here?”
“Yes.”
Seo Ha-ryeong, having passed through the Inner Gate, surveyed the Inner Courtyard.
“…It’s quite modest.”
As we crossed the Inner Courtyard, Geum-swe appeared.
“Young Miss, you’ve returned! When the Fourth Young Master comes back—”
Geum-swe, approaching quickly, stopped short upon seeing my companions.
“Y-Young Master?”
“Do you know me?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke coldly.
Typically, servants called the young masters of their employers “Young Master.” Namgung Ryu-cheong was wary of strangers who seemed to recognize him.
“I… I…”
Geum-swe shrank back, startled.
I stepped forward before her, blocking his gaze.
“Of course she knows you. She nearly got hurt by you once.”
“What?”
“That time when you two were sparring and a wooden sword broke and flew at her.”
“…?”
“Huh, what?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression showed he had no recollection whatsoever. Instead, Seo Ha-ryeong seemed to remember, pointing and exclaiming in recognition.
I explained to Namgung Ryu-cheong that she had originally worked for his family, and that So Bu-in, concerned about the inconvenience of travel, had sent her along—only then did his sharp gaze soften. He’d looked ready to draw his blade on someone for merely pretending to know him.
His temperament truly hadn’t improved.
‘His personality is still as vile as ever.’
Seo Ha-ryeong greeted Geum-swe warmly. As I listened to their exchange of recent news, I gazed toward the Pavilion where my Hall was located.
‘What…?’
I had to make an effort not to furrow my brow.
“You’ve come to see the Residence Quarter? Oh dear, what do I do! I’ve been so scattered today, I can’t remember if I tidied the Hall or not. I think So Nok said she was going out earlier…”
Geum-swe spoke as though embarrassed and hurried ahead. When she opened the door to the Hall, she cried out.
“Oh my goodness!”
Everyone’s pace quickened.
Upon entering the chamber through the inner gate, I found two people inside. A girl standing rigidly in the center of the room, and a young man sipping tea with an air of composure. The girl must have heard us enter, yet her gaze never wavered from him for a moment.
Geum-swe cried out, her voice sharp with indignation.
“Jegal Family Head! How can you enter the Young Miss’s residence without so much as a word! This isn’t the first or second time!”
Jeggal Hwa-mu waved his fan with a honeyed tone.
“She wasn’t alone anyway.”
“What does that have to do with anything!”
So Nok, who stood guard before Jeggal Hwa-mu, nodded in agreement. Jeggal Hwa-mu’s gaze shifted toward those behind me.
“So this is Namgung Ryu-cheong, and this is Seo Ha-ryeong?”
Both of them furrowed their brows, startled by his casual use of their names.
I sighed and spoke.
“No payment means no fortune-telling. Take your theatrics elsewhere.”
Jeggal Hwa-mu stared at me intently. His blue-grey eyes were unreadable. He opened his mouth.
“Why are you wearing Namgung Ryu-cheong’s outer robe?”
Before I could answer, Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke first.
“Are you truly the Jegal Family Head?”
As I nodded, Jeggal Hwa-mu’s voice passed before me.
“Can’t you tell from my hair? Have you been training indoors so much that your information is slow?”
At his sudden provocative tone, I spun around to face Jeggal Hwa-mu in surprise.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Jeggal Hwa-mu merely smiled without responding, his lips curling upward.
‘Something seems… twisted about his mood.’
I couldn’t fathom why he was acting this way the moment we met. Namgung Ryu-cheong, ignoring Jeggal Hwa-mu, spoke directly to me.
“Why is the Jegal Family Head in your chamber?”
Before I could answer, Jeggal Hwa-mu interjected again.
“If you knew who I was, shouldn’t you offer proper greetings first?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong stepped forward.
“A scoundrel who enters a lady’s chamber without permission claims to be the Jegal Family Head? That’s laughable.”
“Oh, you don’t believe me?”
“A thief’s tongue is glib. Leave at once before I call someone.”
Jeggal Hwa-mu covered his mouth with his fan and chuckled softly.
“Hmm. He’s less impressive than I thought.”
I quickly intervened.
“Both of you, stop. This is my chamber.”
Why must they quarrel the moment they meet?
In that instant, my eyes met Jeggal Hwa-mu’s. And a foreboding feeling washed over me.
“You wouldn’t dare—”
Before I could finish, Jeggal Hwa-mu’s fan snapped open and something flew toward me. In an instinctive motion, I pulled my hand up to absorb the incoming projectile. The sensation against my palm was sharp like a needle. A hidden blade. Simultaneously, I saw Seo Ha-ryeong dodge an identical blade, while Namgung Ryu-cheong deflected his with his sword scabbard.
And—
And…
Rip.
‘That… that’s an ominous sound.’
The hidden weapon that Namgung Ryu-cheong had deflected tore through the painting hanging on the wall before embedding itself. My mouth fell open.
“What in the world are you doing…!”
The moment Namgung Ryu-cheong shouted, another attack came flying. He drew a sharp breath to evade, then spoke.
“Jegal Family Head, have you lost your mind?”
As if answering his words, something sharp flew past again, tearing at Namgung Ryu-cheong’s sleeve. After dodging Jeggal Hwa-mu’s attacks several times, Namgung Ryu-cheong finally drew his sword as if he had no other choice.
The heavy, ink-dark blade came into view, and the moment he swung it—
Clang. A teacup caught in the sword wind fell and shattered.
My mind, which had been captivated by their duel, suddenly snapped back to reality.
“What are you two doing in someone else’s chamber!”
A faint laugh echoed, and Jeggal Hwa-mu spoke.
“Ah, I’ll tell you.”
The hidden weapon and sword crossed each other.
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke with his teeth clenched.
“Get outside.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong shoved Jeggal Hwa-mu’s hidden weapon away and kicked the door open, leaving. The door frame rattled from the force.
Be gentle about it! I grabbed the back of my neck and shouted toward Jeggal Hwa-mu.
“Get out! Leave right now!”
Jeggal Hwa-mu slowly left the chamber.
I looked around the chamber in dismay. The painting was torn in half and hanging loosely, the teacup and teapot were broken and scattered, and a chair lay overturned. In that brief moment, it had been transformed as if hit by a bomb.
“Miss!”
Geum-swe came running. She and So Nok had wisely left the chamber early when they sensed the ominous atmosphere between Namgung Ryu-cheong and Jeggal Hwa-mu.
“Suddenly the Young Master and the Jegal Family Head were fighting in the Inner Courtyard…! Ahhh!”
Geum-swe let out a cry as if she might faint at the sight of the chamber.
“What happened! Your chamber!”
“…I don’t know either.”
I headed toward the Inner Courtyard, leaving the ruined chamber behind. The fight was already well underway there. Both of them were moving about like fish in water.
‘These madmen…’
Servants had gathered to watch the commotion. Most of the hands were elsewhere preparing for the mountain excursion, so there were relatively few.
“Isn’t that the Jegal Clan Head? When did he arrive?”
“But who’s fighting the Jegal Family Head?”
“Didn’t you hear? It’s the Namgung Prince! He arrived today!”
“But why are they fighting?”
“Who knows!”
I walked over and stood beside Seo Ha-ryeong.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Since we were in such a confined space, the hidden weapons could have caught her, or she could have been caught up in the chaos.
“Huh? Yes. What?”
Seo Ha-ryeong seemed too absorbed in watching their fight to answer properly.
“Oh, wow! Hah!”
Exclamations burst forth intermittently as I maintained my focus. I said nothing more and turned my gaze toward Namgung Ryu-cheong and Jeggal Hwa-mu. In terms of inner strength, they were roughly comparable.
‘So Namgung Ryu-cheong did absorb the Kongcheong Stone Jade after all.’
Otherwise, there was no way he could match Jeggal Hwa-mu. Though Jeggal Hwa-mu had grown stronger by absorbing the Kongcheong Stone Jade, he hadn’t managed to cure his severed meridians.
But no matter how much stronger he became, as long as he carried that affliction, Jeggal Hwa-mu couldn’t sustain a prolonged battle.
That was when Seo Ha-ryeong turned to look at me.
“Who do you think will win?”
“Jeggal Hwa-mu.”
“Really?”
Seo Ha-ryeong blinked in surprise, then asked as if a realization had struck her.
“How old is the Jegal Family Head anyway—or should I say his age? This is confusing. Anyway, how many years is he? Quite a bit, right?”
“No, he’s the same age as Ryu-cheong.”
“What? But you think the Jegal Family Head will win?”
I nodded.
“Ryu-cheong has never lost when fighting someone his own age. Really?”
Well, that’s because he isn’t actually his peer.
‘You’re being deceived, Ha-ryeong.’
His body might be the same age, but his spirit could hardly be called that. Especially when it came to martial arts.
This would be Namgung Ryu-cheong’s first time witnessing the martial techniques of the Jegal Family Head.
But Jeggal Hwa-mu had already seen the Namgung Clan’s techniques countless times and even had memories of facing them directly.
Standing at a distance, Jeggal Hwa-mu spoke with ease.
“I hear the Soaring Void Boundless Sword Technique improves with each passing day.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong didn’t respond and simply swung his sword.
That was when Seo Ha-ryeong cried out.
“Ryu-cheong! Don’t lose! Yeon placed a bet on the Jegal Family Head!”
I stared at Seo Ha-ryeong with wide eyes.
‘Hey!’
Then Jeggal Hwa-mu tilted his head and smiled brightly at me.
“Thank you. I’ll have to live up to your expectations.”
In that instant, the incoming sword severed strands of Jeggal Hwa-mu’s white hair.

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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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