The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 175

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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 175
He wasn’t merely dressed as a beggar—he was a genuine one. At his waist hung the emblem of the Beggar Sect, the organization that united beggars from across the land.
The Beggar Sect was an organization of beggars whose numbers were impossible to count, and when it came to information gathering, none could rival them.
Someone spoke up.
“Aren’t you Sam-gae?”
Sam-gae was a disciple of Bun-ta-ju, the leader of the Beggar Sect in Ak-yang.
Sam-gae’s gaze swept across the Blue Hall, lingering briefly on me before moving away. It seemed natural enough—a momentary pause upon noticing a young girl whose age didn’t quite fit the gathering.
“What brings you here?”
“Bun-ta-ju has sent me with urgent news.”
Sam-gae swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he spoke.
“…The Mudang Sect has been attacked.”
“What, what did you say?”
Just moments ago, we had been discussing how the remaining survivors of the Murim Alliance would be heading toward the Mudang Sect.
“They were attacked by the Demonic Cult and the Blood Immortal Woman.”
“Gasp. The Blood Immortal Woman…!”
The Blood Immortal Woman was one of the Top Eleven Masters of the World, and her very name marked her as a demon and a notorious villain. She particularly enjoyed slaughtering Daoist priests, which naturally made her relationship with the Mudang Sect catastrophic.
“The Mudang Sect sent considerable forces down the mountain to support the Murim Alliance, so perhaps, perhaps….”
“Are you saying the Mudang Sect was defeated?”
“It appears to have been a diversion from the start.”
“But they’re one of the Nine Great Sects, are they not? The Mudang Sect couldn’t possibly have fallen. I’m not convinced.”
“However….”
And then, the very concern that had plagued me since hearing of the Mudang Sect’s attack came to pass.
“Given how matters have unfolded, we must reconsider sending reinforcements to the Murim Alliance.”
“My lord…!”
“What befell the Murim Alliance is lamentable, but our sect lacks the resources to divide our forces.”
“We as well….”
As if waiting for someone to speak first, voices of agreement rose from multiple directions.
I surveyed those raising their voices, then fixed my gaze on Sam-gae, the Beggar Sect disciple.
With so many gathered here, I deliberately amplified the golden eye’s power that I had been suppressing.
‘What on earth is that?’
Soon, the detail that had bothered me from the moment I first saw Sam-gae became clear.
A second force writhing within Sam-gae’s body. As if it were parasitic….
‘…!’
[Grandfather, he’s a spy for the Demonic Cult.]
Grandfather’s gaze turned toward me.
[I’m certain. He has blood poison in his body.]
In the span of a single blink, Grandfather was already before Sam-gae.
“Gack!”
Seized by the jaw, Sam-gae dangled helplessly, thrashing as he clawed at Grandfather’s arm.
“W-wait! Baek Li Family Head!”
“What in blazes is this!”
Several men shot to their feet, hands drifting toward their sword hilts. Father stepped forward to block them. As Grandfather channeled his inner energy, the crimson aura that had taken root within Sam-gae convulsed violently, as if seized by a fit.
“Ah, no, no… ahhh, kraaaagh!”
Unlike the thrashing when his jaw was seized, he now twisted his entire body in agony, the pain in his jaw forgotten entirely. Soon he made a gurgling sound and vomited up a handful of blood.
The moment Sam-gae crumpled to the floor, everyone gasped in shock. Several men leaped from their seats and stumbled backward.
Something writhed within the mass of blood Sam-gae had expelled—a form that instinctively inspired revulsion in all who beheld it.
I rushed forward and pierced several of Sam-gae’s blood meridians. I was stemming the internal hemorrhaging. Grandfather’s inner force had violently torn the blood parasite free, causing severe damage to the organs.
“As expected of the Baek Li Family Head, one of the Top Eleven Masters of the World. Ordinarily, one of them would have died for certain, yet you managed to save both the blood parasite and its host while separating them.”
“A… a blood parasite?”
“How abominable! How could this… a disciple of the Beggar Sect’s Bun-ta-ju be a Demonic Cult spy! What has the Beggar Sect been doing!”
“To let a Demonic Cult spy slip all the way in!”
Jeggal Hwa-mu, who had approached without anyone noticing, casually picked up the writhing creature.
“He’ll live for now, but not for long. Half a day to a day at most? Let’s extract whatever information we can in the meantime.”
By now, several men looked as though they might retch at any moment.
I had only heard tales of blood parasites before—this was my first time seeing one alive.
Perhaps sensing my gaze, Jeggal Hwa-mu asked me.
“Want to take a closer look?”
“Yes. No, I mean yes.”
Grandfather let out a derisive laugh.
“Still a child. Take him away.”
The warriors who had appeared lifted Sam-gae, who twitched intermittently, to his feet.
Jeggal Hwa-mu spoke lightly.
“Handle him carefully. I’ll take charge of the interrogation.”
* * *
This Sam-gae, a spy for the Demonic Cult, had come to gather intelligence on the scale of our reinforcements. Had I not been present in that room, no one would have discovered Sam-gae’s true identity.
Sam-gae possessed considerable talent as a disciple of Bun-ta-ju of the Beggar Sect and had been raised within the sect since childhood. That such a person could be a spy was beyond anyone’s imagination.
Moreover, Sam-gae knew he must not draw my attention. However, he had not anticipated that I would be present at the meeting.
I had hoped the spy was lying, but unfortunately, the news that the Mudang Sect had come under attack was true. The one silver lining was that those who had been clamoring to withdraw support from the Murim Alliance fell silent after Sam-gae’s exposure.
‘With a Demonic Cult spy embedded even within the Beggar Sect, they must have weighed which faction would best preserve their lives.’
Of course, the scale of support inevitably shrank compared to the initial estimates. Even the Baek Li Family needed to preserve its forces in preparation for a Demonic Cult ambush.
Once the interrogation concluded, Jeggal Hwa-mu emerged from the building, his face etched with exhaustion.
“I have good news and bad news.”
“The good news first.”
Jeggal Hwa-mu looked toward Namgung Ryu-cheong.
“It appears the Namgung Minor Family Head is still alive.”
“Truly?”
Jeggal Hwa-mu nodded.
“While investigating the scale of reinforcements, there was an order to inquire whether any news had come regarding the Namgung Minor Family Head.”
Had Uncle Namgung Wan passed away, the spy would not have been ordered to inquire about his whereabouts.
“It seems he withdrew and went into hiding, away from the main Murim Alliance forces.”
“Below then… this direction?”
“Yes. Toward Hunan Province.”
And Hunan Province was where the Baek Li Family resided.
“There are roughly three directions we suspect the Namgung Minor Family Head might have chosen.”
Three directions—the search area had shrunk considerably. Moreover, if it fell within the Baek Li Family’s sphere of influence, finding him shouldn’t be difficult. Yet Jeggal Hwa-mu’s expression remained grim.
“Actually, this complicates matters.”
“How so?”
“Because the Baek Li Master won’t have time to search personally. He’s the commander of the White Tiger Unit, after all. Rather than focusing on locating the Namgung Minor Family Head, he needs to provide support toward the main headquarters where the Murim Alliance’s Alliance Master is stationed.”
“But you said Hunan Province? Then it’s within our family’s sphere of influence, so even without Father present—”
I stopped mid-sentence, my eyes narrowing.
“Don’t tell me Ak-yang is one of those three directions you mentioned?”
Ak-yang was a region north of the Baek Li Family, home to the vast Dongting Lake. The greatest force there was an organization of bandits called Donghobang.
‘…The Baek Li Family’s influence doesn’t reach there.’
In other words, it was heterodox territory.
And Uncle Namgung Wan had accumulated considerable enmity over the years, much like Father.
Ordinarily, the prestige of the Namgung Clan kept anyone from daring to touch him. But Ak-yang was different.
There, an Orthodox sect member they disliked could simply be disposed of and dumped into Dongting Lake—evidence erased without a trace.
Moreover, Uncle Namgung Wan had been hunted relentlessly by the Demonic Cult for days. His injuries and exhaustion must be severe. What perfect prey he would make.
“…This is bad news, then.”
“No.”
There’s worse news than this?
“The one who attacked the Namgung Minor Family Head is Cheon Gwi-jo. You mentioned before that you had a grudge with him, remember? So he’s apparently pursuing quite… persistently.”
* * *
The moment I heard the names Cheon Gwi-jo and Ak-yang, chills ran down my spine.
‘Is this fate?’
Could I not escape the plot?
‘That’s why the novel said Cheon Gwi-jo attacked Namgung Ryu-cheong, didn’t it?’
And the place where Cheon Gwi-jo attacked Namgung Ryu-cheong and his companions was… Ak-yang.
‘Of course, that was supposed to happen much later…’
The moment I heard the names Cheon Gwi-jo and Ak-yang, I was certain Uncle Namgung Wan was there.
But I couldn’t explain to Jeggal Hwa-mu, Father, or Namgung Ryu-cheong why I thought Uncle Namgung Wan might be in Ak-yang.
I could only call it intuition, yet Father and Namgung Ryu-cheong accepted my opinion to concentrate the search on Ak-yang. And the moment Yalyu heard Cheon Gwi-jo’s name, he volunteered to join us.
Yalyu’s abilities were trustworthy, so having him with us was fortunate, but I worried about his past enmity with Cheon Gwi-jo.
“Will you be alright?”
“With what?”
“You might encounter Cheon Gwi-jo.”
Yalyu asked back with apparent confusion.
His expression suggested it had nothing to do with him.
“And?”
“….”
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Did you think I was going because I harbored a desire for revenge against Cheon Gwi-jo?”
“Well… yes… isn’t that so?”
Of course that’s what one would naturally assume.
Yalyu, who had been gazing at me intently, lifted the corners of his mouth into a smile.
“I’m going because you’re going.”

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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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