The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 159

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 159
* * *
As I stepped outside the building, I spotted Namgung Ryu-cheong. He straightened from where he’d been leaning against a pillar with his eyes closed.
I glanced up at the dark sky and asked in confusion.
“Weren’t you going to sleep?”
“…Let’s go.”
Even the legendary Namgung Ryu-cheong bore the marks of exhaustion.
I walked through the silent corridors alongside Namgung Ryu-cheong. At this hour when everyone slept, the paths were desolate save for the occasional patrol of armed guards we encountered.
‘I’ll need to check on what I asked Ha-ryeong to do tomorrow….’
I stopped in my tracks and turned to face Namgung Ryu-cheong.
“Your Residence Quarter is faster if you go that way. I’ll head in this direction.”
Cutting across the Garden would get me there sooner. I gave a slight nod and spoke.
“You should get some rest too.”
I turned toward the circular archway to pass through it, but Namgung Ryu-cheong followed behind me.
At my questioning look, Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke.
“I’ll see you there first.”
“…This is our residence.”
“Residence?”
Just a single word, yet it carried a mocking tone.
I scratched my head sheepishly.
“It’ll take quite a detour.”
“It’s fine.”
Faced with his resolute expression, I had no choice but to turn around. As we entered the Garden, only the soft patter of footsteps echoed along the dark stone path. After walking in silence for some time, I spoke first.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Just… everything.”
“It was only natural.”
“…I suppose.”
I was grateful he didn’t press for more details.
‘He must have witnessed that commotion, so he likely has countless questions.’
Just as I thought that—
Namgung Ryu-cheong asked a question.
“I’m curious about something.”
“…What is it?”
“How did you do it?”
“Hmm?”
“Saving Baek Li-ui-gang from demonic cultivation. It’s something even your uncle couldn’t accomplish.”
“Well….”
What was I thinking?
‘He’s asking about martial arts, not family matters.’
Well, that was certainly typical of Namgung Ryu-cheong.
I extended my hand to him, and he immediately grasped it firmly. I felt the warmth of his palm.
I spoke in confusion.
“No, I wasn’t asking you to hold it like that.”
“Then?”
“Ah, never mind.”
Since he was already holding my hand, I simply pulled him along with me. I led him to a small pavilion within sight and sat down. The moment Namgung Ryu-cheong settled into his seat, he suddenly released my hand.
‘What was that?’
Where was that firm grip from moments ago?
Had it been daylight, I would have noticed—Namgung Ryu-cheong’s cheeks and ears had turned crimson.
Unaware of this, I extended my hand again and spoke.
“Inject your inner energy into me.”
“…Here?”
“Yes.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong parted his lips slightly, then exhaled a sigh. He looked as though he wanted to say something but was restraining himself.
Namgung Ryu-cheong gently grasped my wrist and began channeling his inner energy. Through golden eyes, I could see the pale golden aura slowly seeping into me.
The energy traveled up my arm, descending through my shoulder and into my body…
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s eyes widened as he stared at me.
“You…!”
I looked at Namgung Ryu-cheong with curiosity.
“Wow, your control over inner energy is impressive.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong clenched his teeth, his eyes full of things he clearly wanted to say. During energy circulation, it was best not to speak, as one’s inner energy could become unstable.
From the moment he had called me “you” just before, to the way he was now glaring at me with wide eyes—one wrong move could have made things dangerous for us both.
Soon after, Namgung Ryu-cheong withdrew his hand and spoke.
“Your dantian is…”
After that, his expression showed he didn’t know how to continue. He couldn’t very well say, “Your dantian is crippled, isn’t it?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s mouth moved silently before he finally asked again.
“I can’t feel any inner energy in your dantian. What on earth is going on?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong seemed genuinely bewildered—a sight rarely seen, which made me laugh.
“You’re laughing now?”
Avoiding his angry gaze, I turned my attention elsewhere and spotted something perfect. Concentrating my focus, a leaf that had been drifting on the wind suddenly changed direction and floated slowly toward me.
Namgung Ryu-cheong sprang to his feet.
“Grasping objects from thin air?”
“It’s not that impressive.”
“You call that not impressive?”
“Well… I can manipulate natural energy.”
“Natural energy?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s eyes gleamed as understanding dawned on him.
“So that’s why you can display martial techniques without inner energy.”
I nodded in agreement.
“That’s why it affects the external world so easily.”
Even so, I had to train tremendously.
During my secluded cultivation, it took a full year just to move a single leaf. It was also the most suitable training method for enhancing my control over natural energy.
I slowly transferred the leaf from my hand to Namgung Ryu-cheong’s hand.
Namgung Ryu-cheong gazed at it with wonder.
“Well, it’s not an achievement worth noticing yet.”
“Ah, so that’s what it was.”
“What?”
“When the Jegal Family Head threw that hidden blade at our first meeting.”
My eyes widened.
“The direction of the blade heading toward you suddenly changed, which I found strange.”
“You saw that?”
I had slightly altered the trajectory of the incoming blade to make it easier to catch with my hand. It was one of the exercises I frequently practiced with Jeggal Hwa-mu.
I would catch the incoming blade, strike it back, and use void absorption to pierce vital points—that was the nature of the training.
‘To perceive even that in an instant…’
As I clicked my tongue in amazement, I suddenly looked at Namgung Ryu-cheong with a strange thought.
‘Come to think of it, aren’t my eyes golden right now?’
But Namgung Ryu-cheong seemed completely indifferent to my eye color. Not just indifferent—he showed no interest whatsoever.
I redirected the conversation back to its starting point and continued my explanation.
“Because I utilize external energy, my chances of falling into demonic cultivation are low, and it was also easier to stabilize my brother’s inner power.”
“If you had told me this sooner, I would have…!”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s tone wasn’t angry so much as deeply aggrieved.
I blinked and, suspecting something, spoke.
“Were you… worried?”
“…”
Namgung Ryu-cheong glared at me as if about to say something, then abruptly turned his head away. His expression was utterly petulant.
“So that’s why you stood guard yourself? Haha.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong frowned and spoke.
“Don’t laugh.”
* * *
That man Namgung Ryu-cheong was insane.
The moment he learned of my abilities, his fatigue vanished entirely, and he tormented me relentlessly—try this, try that—testing the limits of what I could do.
It was fortunate that he stopped just before I screamed at him to quit it, you madman.
But it wasn’t a bad thing for me.
Had I simply returned, my mind would have been too cluttered, and despite my exhaustion, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep.
But by keeping up with Namgung Ryu-cheong, I was able to clear away all the complicated worries and unpleasant feelings from my mind.
It was nearly dawn when I stumbled back to the Residence Quarter, barely managed to wash, and collapsed into bed. When I opened my eyes again, a whole day had passed.
I wasn’t the only one who slept the entire day. Baek Li-myeong also remained asleep throughout the day, only opening his eyes briefly in the evening. But he fell back asleep immediately, as my uncle had deliberately asked Seok Tae-ui to prescribe him a potent painkiller.
It was likely an attempt to prevent Baek Li-myeong from fully understanding his own condition.
‘If he learns that he has lost all the inner power he accumulated over nearly twenty years, the shock would be immense.’
Three days had passed since Seok Tae-ui’s departure, and finally, word came from him.
Upon receiving his message, I immediately sought out Jang Seok-ryang. While my grandfather was away from the family, Jang Seok-ryang shared the burden of managing the Baek Family Residence with my uncle. The Jang Seok-ryang I found before me bore the unmistakable marks of three sleepless nights and days.
The beard he took such pride in had grown unkempt from days of neglect, and his hair, already streaked with grey, had turned nearly white.
‘It’s understandable, really.’
When Baek Li-myeong fell into demonic cultivation, my grandmother had personally sealed the information through her household staff, preventing word from spreading within the family.
Jang Seok-ryang learned of it only two days later—precisely when I had already rescued Baek Li-myeong from his descent into madness.
To offer some sympathy for poor Jang Seok-ryang, he had sensed that something had gone wrong. But my grandmother’s seal had kept him in the dark, and meanwhile, a crisis involving my uncle’s wife had erupted.
Though Baek Family Aunt’s condition was also connected to Baek Li-myeong, Jang Seok-ryang had assumed it was merely a health matter stemming from her advanced age, and he had been occupied with managing the fallout.
Only when he noticed Seok Tae-ui’s movements and the medicinal materials vanishing from the Medical Department did he belatedly realize that Baek Li-myeong too had fallen into crisis.
It was a catastrophe of considerable magnitude.
‘Truly, the timing could not have been worse—such a disaster striking precisely when Jang Seok-ryang bore the responsibility of acting head.’
Only by managing to contain the situation could he have any explanation to offer my grandfather upon his return.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————