The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 167

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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 167
The most common targets were spies.
Spies of the Demonic Cult who bore Blood Poison in their bodies could never betray their masters, for their very lives were held hostage.
And even if they were captured, it posed no problem. They would die so quickly before any information could be extracted.
“It was my oversight. Had I known about the Blood Poison, I would have finished the matter swiftly.”
From the moment Jeggal Hwa-mu took her captive, the supply of antidote would have been cut off.
“…No. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have even known she died from Blood Poison.”
Without performing an autopsy, there was no way to discern whether death had resulted from Blood Poison.
The Demonic Cult suddenly appearing here of all places.
I pushed myself up from the table.
“I need to visit my aunt.”
* * *
My aunt was confined in the Northern Pavilion.
This place, left to gather dust with no one to maintain it, was where those of the Baek Li Castle who committed crimes were imprisoned.
Compared to the prison where Gwak Eomeom and my aunt’s other servants were held, it was nothing short of paradise.
But my aunt, who had never endured hardship and lived luxuriously all her life, would find it unbearable.
Beyond the high stone walls, even the pavilion’s roof was not visible. Two warriors guarded the sole entrance.
They were familiar faces I had seen frequently coming and going as a Baek Geom Disciple.
They startled upon seeing me, then grew even more alarmed at the sight of the white-haired young man behind me.
“Young Lady, Jegal Family Head.”
The warrior who offered his respects spoke cautiously.
“Have you received permission from the Family Head to enter?”
“…No.”
The Baek Geom Disciple lowered his head with an awkward expression.
“My apologies. The Family Head instructed that no one be allowed inside.”
I lowered my gaze.
‘What should I do?’
Given the sensitive nature of the matter, both had been carefully selected and possessed considerable skill as Baek Geom Disciples.
Whoosh.
Jeggal Hwa-mu’s fan fluttered gently as he opened it.
“What to do? They say we can’t. Should we go back and see the Family Head again?”
“….”
“Hmm? Yeon, why aren’t you answering?”
“….”
The Baek Geom Disciples exchanged glances and began nervously trying to appease me.
“Young Lady, we are truly sorry. We do not mean to disrespect you. We must obey the Family Head’s orders, so please forgive us for this disloyalty… Uh… What?”
“Hmm?”
The Baek Geom Disciple suddenly staggered, and the one trying to support him staggered as well.
In that instant, a hand shot out like lightning and struck the vital points of both men.
Thump, thump.
The two Baek Geom Disciples with wide-open eyes couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed.
I caught one who was falling headfirst and lowered him gently to avoid injury, then flicked my hand sharply.
A fierce wind rushed forth at my command, born from the natural energy that obeyed my will.
Jeggal Hwa-mu’s white hair spread like wings before settling slowly.
I drew in the breath I’d been holding.
“Phew. You should’ve warned me first! I almost inhaled it too!”
“I trusted you.”
Jeggal Hwa-mu’s curved grayish-blue eyes sparkled with amusement.
I steadied my breathing and looked down at the collapsed Baek Geom Disciples.
“…It won’t harm their bodies, right?”
“Of course not. They’re probably having pleasant dreams.”
The way he said it made it sound like some kind of drug.
Jeggal Hwa-mu approached the door with its peeling paint. He stood before the creaking open doorway, looking back at me as if asking why I wasn’t coming.
I took a step forward and spoke.
“Ah, it just felt strangely familiar.”
“Familiar?”
“Yes. When I went after Baek Li-myeong before, there were people blocking my path like this too. Back then, Ryucheon and Yalyu helped me in this exact way.”
The fact that someone always appeared to help whenever my path was blocked stirred something inexplicable within me.
Jeggal Hwa-mu spoke lightly.
“Everyone likes you.”
“….”
‘I’m not talking to him about this.’
As I crossed the threshold, my vision suddenly twisted. I wouldn’t have noticed if not for my golden eyes.
“Be careful. Let’s hold hands from here on.”
A careful hand reached out and grasped mine. Jeggal Hwa-mu spoke lightly.
“It’s because of the formation array. It’s designed to make you lose your way and wander endlessly.”
This was why, despite the high walls and skilled defenders, only two people could stand guard here.
“I can break through a formation array of this level with my golden eyes.”
“Right. That’s true. I might be the one who gets lost.”
“….”
A lie. The Jegal Family Head getting lost in such a crude low-level formation array.
But seeing the chill traveling through our joined hands and his pallid complexion, I said nothing and turned my body forward.
* * *
I unbolted the latch and opened the door with a bone-chilling creak.
An empty space devoid of any furniture.
Dust accumulated thickly on the cracked stone floor, and fallen leaves of unknown origin were piled in the corners.
‘Nothing’s changed.’
I had been confined here once, long ago.
The Twin Cousins had thrown me in here to torment me.
Back then, I couldn’t escape the formation array and trembled inside the pavilion all through the night.
Two days later, when Father finally found me.
I had caught a severe cold, and when I regained consciousness after my illness, it was recorded that I had wandered about in a daze and entered that place alone.
Father asked me if those words were the truth, but….
I affirmed it by keeping my mouth shut.
I knew there was no point in telling the truth. They would have already bribed all the servants and attendants anyway.
It would only result in Father raising his voice and arguing with me again, and everyone would cast their gaze upon me as though I were the problem.
When my aunt and the Twin Cousins caused trouble, Baek Family Grandmother handled the aftermath.
That was the extent of their family affection.
Crunch.
As I stepped inside, I trod upon fragments of broken porcelain. Beside them, uneaten food was rotting away.
And in one corner, my aunt sat crouched with her legs drawn up, wrapped in a filthy blanket.
She hadn’t even noticed my arrival.
“Aunt.”
My aunt’s head snapped up abruptly.
Her hair was in disarray, her complexion gaunt and hollow.
I smiled brightly.
“It’s been a while.”
“….”
“This squalor suits you perfectly, Aunt.”
My aunt, who had been regarding me with disbelief, spoke in a hoarse voice.
“Did you dare come here to mock me?”
Her eyes blazed with such fury that she looked ready to tear me to pieces—and my mood became exceedingly pleasant.
“I have good news. You’ll be able to leave soon.”
“…What?”
I spoke as hope kindled in her eyes.
“Though your dantian will be shattered and the meridians in your limbs severed, it’s better than remaining locked away here, isn’t it?”
“What are you saying?”
“Gwak Eomeom has confessed everything. A sentence will be handed down soon.”
“No. No! That can’t be… that can’t possibly be… Mother wouldn’t… Mother wouldn’t stand idle!”
“If you don’t wish to believe it, then don’t. In any case, since I won’t be able to see you much longer, I came here hoping we could have one final candid conversation.”
“Ha! Candid? Do you think I’d believe your words? Someone might be eavesdropping….”
I swept my hand, unfurling a barrier fan.
“…!”
“How is it? Does this convince you?”
I tapped the opposite palm with the fan and walked forward slowly.
“Your inner energy is sealed right now, so you wouldn’t be able to sense it. That’s why I made it visible on purpose. Though even if your inner energy were intact, you wouldn’t have been able to unfurl a barrier fan anyway, so you wouldn’t have recognized it.”
“You….”
“How did you reach that age without… never mind. It’s pointless. Everyone in the world knows you have no talent, Aunt.”
Before I knew it, I was right before her face.
My aunt’s visage twisted like that of a malevolent spirit, and she lunged at me.
“Ugh!”
Instead, my aunt stumbled backward and fell.
She writhed on the floor like a worm, tears streaming down her face.
“Oh, my mistake. You rushed at me so suddenly I couldn’t help myself.”
I waved the fan languidly.
It was the fan Jeggal Hwa-mu had lent me.
‘They called it a treasure, and it truly is… quite remarkable.’
The moment I infused it with inner energy, needles flew forth without a sound.
“It would be wise not to move.”
“You’re insane… you’ve lost your mind! If I get out of here, I won’t let you off easy!”
I unfurled the fan and fluttered it about.
Hmm, I suppose this makes me somewhat similar to Jeggal Hwa-mu?
“Come now, it was just an accident. Don’t make such a fuss over a single needle.”
My aunt, who had been examining her wound with a grimace, suddenly went pale with fear. Her fingertips trembled uncontrollably as she froze in place.
“What… what have you done to me?”
“Well, I’m not entirely sure myself…? This is the Jegal Family Head’s possession, after all. Since you insisted on speaking with me alone, he was so concerned he asked me to bring it along.”
“What?”
“Though I assure you it’s not a lethal poison.”
I laughed softly at her wide-eyed expression.
Just then, I felt the barrier suddenly tremble and turned around in surprise.
‘Gyeol-i? How did she get in?’
While the barrier prevents our conversation from leaking out, I rarely maintain it unless necessary.
Sustaining it is exhausting, and besides, it makes it difficult to sense movements outside the barrier.
Gyeol-i calmly took a seat in one corner.
‘Perhaps she was worried something might happen?’
And here she’d even given me the fan…
My aunt, recovering from the shock, cried out again.
“The Jegal Family Head’s possession? Ha! From the Jegal Family Head to the Namgung Minor Family Head—I’ve known it all along. You’re the kind who would sell out your own clan!”
“If one can receive help, one takes it. By the way, the Buddhist Monk who gave you the medicine was also captured by Hwa-mu.”
I met my aunt’s gaze directly.
“And he finally arrived today—I brought him to the family residence.”
I had only just learned that the monk was dead, but my aunt, cut off from the outside world, would know nothing of it.
I studied every shift in my aunt’s expression, missing nothing.

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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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