The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 155

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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 155
I led Seo Ha-ryeong to a small storage room tucked away in the corner of the Training Ground.
Seo Ha-ryeong glanced around the storage room in bewilderment, utterly lost as to why she was here.
Seo Ha-ryeong was my childhood friend who harbored a one-sided crush on Namgung Ryu-cheong.
‘Though perhaps not anymore….’
Currently, there was no trace of romantic affection flowing between Seo Ha-ryeong and Namgung Ryu-cheong.
But who truly knows the human heart? If she harbored secret feelings and discovered that marriage negotiations were underway between us….
I recalled how Seo Ha-ryeong used to regard me with such a chilling gaze whenever she was with Namgung Ryu-cheong in the past. The memory pierced my chest like an awl.
‘I don’t want that.’
I got straight to the point.
“Ha-ryeong, is there someone you like?”
“Huh? Where did that come from all of a sudden?”
“I mean Ryu-cheong. You two are always together. Could it be…?”
Seo Ha-ryeong’s expression twisted.
“Are you seriously asking me right now if I like Ryu-cheong?”
Her sharp cry made my eardrums ache.
I flinched in surprise, blinking with my hands clasped together.
“Do you know how many times I’ve had to deal with this misunderstanding?! And now you too?! Why would I like that bastard—that guy?! Just because someone has a decent face doesn’t mean I have to like them! I don’t!”
It wasn’t embarrassment or shyness—it was genuine irritation and exasperation. Clearly, she had endured this misconception far too many times.
As Seo Ha-ryeong flailed about, a bottle lying on the ground was kicked and shattered against the wall. I had never seen her this angry before.
I apologized profusely, waving my hands in surrender.
“I hope you won’t have to deal with that misunderstanding anymore. It really bothers you! Besides, that bastard Ryu-cheong and you…!”
Seo Ha-ryeong suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
I blinked and stared at her.
That bastard Ryu-cheong and you…?
My apology was swallowed whole by suspicion in an instant.
“Ha-ryeong, why did you stop talking?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s hot in here. Let’s go out.”
“Tell me. What’s between that bastard Ryu-cheong and me?”
Seo Ha-ryeong’s eyes fluttered rapidly as she searched desperately for somewhere to look.
“I… I don’t know anything about it.”
“You… you do know, don’t you?”
Seo Ha-ryeong clamped her mouth shut.
“How could you not tell me anything!”
“I’m sorry. But Mother always says you absolutely cannot carelessly gossip about other people’s marriage prospects… Oops!”
Seo Ha-ryeong covered her own mouth, but I had already heard everything I needed to.
I let out a hollow laugh, utterly dumbfounded.
“Honestly, I think you’re wasting yourself. Of course, I believe your own feelings matter most.”
“Should I be thanking you?”
“Ha ha, ha ha ha. Are you mad? I mean, his personality is a bit problematic, but his face isn’t bad, right?”
“Who was it that was shouting just moments ago, insisting that anyone with a decent face must be liked unconditionally?”
As I fixed her with a cold stare, Seo Ha-ryeong fidgeted and spoke.
“Well, and if things work out between you two, I can see you often, right?”
“What?”
“No, I mean, if you marry Ryu-cheong, you’ll be living at the Namgung Clan, won’t you? Then since it’s nearby… we can meet often, can’t we? Hehe…”
“…”
“Hmm. So I think it’s actually good…”
“Is that supposed to be an explanation!”
Seo Ha-ryeong shrank her shoulders and covered her ears.
“Come on, don’t be mad.”
She giggled cutely and prattled on, but her words fell on deaf ears as I trembled with a sense of betrayal.
How could this be! I have no one on my side in this world!
“And how did you find out about this? Did the Baek Family Patriarch tell you? Is it confirmed? Ah! So that’s why you asked me if I liked Ryu-cheong?”
Seo Ha-ryeong narrowed her eyes and laughed wickedly, covering her mouth with her hand.
“Hohoho, this girl has no such feelings whatsoever, so you needn’t concern yourself with me.”
“It’s not confirmed!”
“Eeeee~ I seeee~.”
I pressed my forehead with my hand and asked.
“So you don’t know anything else?”
Seo Ha-ryeong shook her head.
“Actually, I didn’t know anything until before we departed… Mother called me and said she had something to tell me, and she advised me to be careful, so that’s how I found out.”
“…”
Perhaps her mother had simply advised the oblivious Seo Ha-ryeong to conduct herself properly.
Just then, Seo Ha-ryeong suddenly gripped her sword hilt and jerked her head up.
“Who’s there!”
The moment I focused at her words, I sensed a faint presence from outside the storage room.
As I spun around, my eyes widened in disbelief at what I perceived with my golden eyes.
Creak. The storage room door opened.
“What, Yalyu?”
Seo Ha-ryeong spoke in a sharp voice.
“I told Yeon not to follow. Why are you here?”
Yalyu ignored Seo Ha-ryeong and stared at me intently with his dark eyes.
Seo Ha-ryeong looked momentarily flustered, glancing between me and Yalyu. Just as she pressed her lips firmly together and was about to speak again—
Another figure shot like an arrow from beside Yalyu and burst into the storage room.
I caught the figure that rushed into my arms.
“What, what is this?”
Seo Ha-ryeong spoke in bewilderment. I felt the same.
‘Just because we’ve talked a bit more lately doesn’t mean things should be like this, does it?’
Without revealing my thoughts, I asked gently.
“What’s the matter?”
Li-ri slowly lifted her head from my embrace. Her flushed face heaved with ragged breaths before she suddenly burst into tears.
I looked at Yalyu in alarm.
“I don’t know either. I found her and brought her here.”
I glanced around the surroundings.
Li-ri never walked alone within the residence and always had an attendant accompanying her. Yet today, no such person was present.
Li-ri’s face became streaked with tears in an instant as she gripped my arm tightly.
“My brother… my brother has fallen into demonic cultivation.”
* * *
The sequence of events unfolded as follows.
Baek Li-myeong had recently been progressing through marriage negotiations with Jung So-yeo.
However, dissatisfied with the engagement, Baek Li-myeong had been contemplating how to avoid it, and decided he would use the excuse that he needed to focus on his training.
Grandfather had warned him to consume the Frost Spirit Elixir at the prescribed intervals, but had Baek Li-myeong ever taken a single spiritual medicine as instructed?
He had persuaded Uncle and entered the Training Hall this morning with him, carrying the Frost Spirit Elixir.
Given that Baek Li-myeong was overflowing with confidence and Uncle was with him, what could possibly go wrong?
‘No, why Baek Li-myeong? …Why?’
Li-ri continued speaking, tears streaming down her face.
“Father tried to calm my brother, but—sob—he failed, and Father nearly fell into demonic cultivation too, and Mother…”
“Why did Aunt…?”
“Mother was shocked when she heard about my brother, so shocked she collapsed, and there was blood…”
Without thinking, I covered my mouth.
Aunt was now approaching her sixth month of pregnancy.
Li-ri’s voice grew thin and trembling.
“I don’t… I don’t know. They said not to tell anyone outside, but I… I… don’t know what to do…”
My mind reeled so badly I felt dizzy.
Why Baek Li-myeong, of all people?
“What do I do, Sister? What do I do? My brother… is he dying? Is my brother going to die? Waahhh.”
“…”
Those who fall into demonic cultivation die nine times out of ten. Even if they survive, they become crippled invalids for life.
I was fortunate to end up merely as a cripple with a sealed dantian. The inner energy I possessed was minimal—or rather, nonexistent—so the damage was less severe. The more inner energy one harbors, the more devastating the demonic cultivation backlash becomes.
It was the difference between being slashed by a needle and being hacked by an axe.
After pouring out her worries about my brother, Father, and Mother for some time, Li-ri suddenly lost all strength and collapsed to the ground.
I caught her in alarm. The floor of this storage room was littered with rusted weapons.
I lifted the nearly hysterical Li-ri to her feet and spoke.
“Let’s go.”
Li-ri asked through her tears.
“W-where?”
“To see Brother Baek Li-myeong. Where is he?”
“S-Sister…”
Then Seo Ha-ryeong grabbed my shoulder.
“Yeon! What do you think you’re going to do!”
Seo Ha-ryeong, who had been in the Storage Room with me, ended up hearing the entire conversation from beside me. She held her breath throughout the grave discussion, making not a sound.
“Surely not… No, it can’t be? Your uncle failed too! It’s dangerous!”
“There’s no time to argue.”
I withdrew my hand from Seo Ha-ryeong’s grasp and walked forward.
That was when Yalyu quietly stepped into my path.
As I tried to slip past him, Yalyu moved again to block my way.
“Yalyu, what are you doing?”
“I just need to ask one thing.”
“What do you want to know?”
“When you fell into demonic obsession, did Baek Li-myeong help you?”
….
I lowered my gaze, observing the scattered straw scattered across the floor.
Silence permeated the Storage Room.
Only the occasional sound of Li-ri’s sniffling could be heard.

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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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