The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 179

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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 179
I felt slightly taken aback by his reaction.
‘Did I misread the situation?’
No, that couldn’t be it.
Thinking about their relationship alone made my head throb.
I had once briefly imagined whether Baek Li-ui-gang and Namgung Wan might become as close as best friends. After all, I’d heard that the two of them had gotten along terribly at first.
But I’d abandoned that hope long ago. Now I didn’t even wish for their relationship to improve. I was content if they simply didn’t become enemies.
‘But that look in his eyes just now….’
He hadn’t shown such a gaze even when I mentioned Cheon Gwi-jo.
When I called out to him but said nothing more, Yalyu tilted his head slightly.
“Yeon?”
I hesitated for a moment before asking.
“Did something happen between you and Ryu-cheong?”
“Huh?”
Yalyu tilted his head and asked back.
“Something happen?”
“Did you two fight?”
“Ah….”
Yalyu touched the corner of his eye as if he’d made a mistake.
“You know. It’s not like our relationship has been good for just a day or two.”
“I know you two don’t get along. But it wasn’t this bad before, was it?”
As Yalyu looked at me, his expression gradually faded.
“Why, are you worried I might do something to Namgung Ryu-cheong?”
“What?”
“Isn’t that why you asked?”
Caught off guard by his sudden words, I could only blink without saying anything. It felt like he’d struck a nerve I hadn’t anticipated.
A faint smirk appeared at the corner of Yalyu’s mouth as he observed my reaction.
Yalyu lowered his gaze and spoke.
“I know. Everyone looks at me with suspicion.”
“….”
“It must be even harder for you to trust me. Given what I’ve done in the past. I understand.”
Without thinking, I stepped forward.
“What are you saying? No. It’s the opposite.”
“…The opposite?”
“Yes. I asked if you two fought because there’s no way you’d glare at Namgung Ryu-cheong like that without reason!”
To be honest, if asked whether I truly trusted Yalyu… the answer was no.
But what allows a child to grow up right? Isn’t it faith, hope, and love? So I tell him I believe in him.
I hoped that despite Yalyu’s unfortunate past, he could walk the righteous path.
And somehow, I felt it instinctively. That showing him I believed in him here would be important.
Yalyu’s pupils trembled faintly.
“You trust me…?”
“Yeah. I do. Otherwise, why would I be traveling with you?”
“Well, that’s because I keep following you, so you have no choice but to accept it….”
“If I said I’d follow you around, do you think I’d travel with just anyone?”
“….”
I narrowed my eyes and gazed at Yalyu.
“Don’t you trust my words? Why that expression?”
I put force into my eyes to appear as trustworthy as possible as I spoke.
“If Namgung Ryu-cheong bothers you, tell me.”
“…What would you do?”
“I’ll scold him for you.”
Yalyu’s expression became ambiguous—caught between laughing and not laughing.
“Why? I’m good at that sort of thing.”
Yalyu bit his lip firmly and turned his head away. He seemed to be hiding his expression from me, but I could tell from his shoulders trembling faintly that he was suppressing laughter.
He exhaled deeply and, lifting his head again, spoke seriously.
“Well, about that….”
“What is it? Just say it.”
“Can you make him disappear from in front of you forever?”
“Huh? That’s a bit….”
“You said you’re good at scolding people, didn’t you?”
“That depends on what wrong he committed. And forever is a bit… Let’s talk about it as we go up.”
I had originally come downstairs intending to inspect the inn, but after dealing with both Namgung Ryu-cheong and Yalyu, exhaustion suddenly crashed over me.
‘I’ve definitely accumulated fatigue. I should rest at least a little to avoid getting sick.’
As I was climbing the staircase with Yalyu, I encountered a young girl coming down from the opposite direction.
The girl, who appeared to be between thirteen and fifteen years old, spoke as if she had been looking for Yalyu.
“Here you are. The bathwater you requested is all prepared.”
I tilted my head and asked the girl.
“Are you an employee here?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think I saw you when we entered the inn earlier.”
“Ah, I was probably tidying up the rooms then.”
“What’s this about bathwater?”
The answer came from beside me.
“I ordered it.”
The Original Employee bowed with a courteous expression.
“Then I’ll be on the first floor, so if you need anything, please come down to the first floor.”
I watched the Original Employee pass us and descend the staircase, then spoke.
“Wait a moment.”
The Original Employee stopped and turned to face us.
“Is there something else you need?”
“Yeah, show me around the inn.”
“Pardon?”
“I was planning to explore anyway.”
The Original Employee spoke in bewilderment.
“But the bathwater will grow cold.”
“We can just heat it again, can’t we?”
“Ah….”
This place was nothing like those establishments where turning a faucet produced a steady stream of heated water from a boiler.
To bathe even once required stoking the furnace with firewood, heating water in a cauldron, then carefully mixing the scalding liquid with cold water before carrying it back to the chamber multiple times. It was an extraordinarily tedious and bothersome affair.
The Original Employee spoke in a flustered tone.
“Is there really anything worth seeing at an inn? They’re all the same. I’ll show you around after you’ve bathed.”
“Moving around makes me sweat. I don’t want to bathe and then exert myself.”
The Original Employee bit his lip, his expression tinged with slight grievance as though he wanted to say something, but ultimately he lowered his head in acceptance.
“Very well. Please follow me.”
Yalyu, who had been watching me intently, quietly followed in my wake.
It was indeed a thoroughly ordinary inn. The only distinguishing feature was that despite our having rented the entire establishment—which was quite spacious—it stood empty of other guests.
Passing through the vacant first floor, we made our way toward the inn’s kitchen. Even through the partially open door, the bustle within was palpable as preparations for the meal progressed in earnest.
The Chef and his assistant, along with the three employees we’d seen upon arrival, were all trimming ingredients together, while the Inn Owner stood in one corner cross-referencing provisions against his ledger.
Only the Chef and his assistant were unfamiliar faces. The Chef’s expression grew slightly irritated when I mentioned coming to observe the kitchen.
The Inn Owner, by contrast, who had learned upon my initial arrival that I was from the Baek Li Family, proved remarkably cordial.
“Touring the inn, are you? Look around freely. Ask if you’re curious about anything.”
I seized the opportunity to ask my question.
“Are these all the people who work at the inn?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“The inn is quite spacious—you manage it with only five people?”
“When things get a bit hectic, my wife comes out to help. Then it’s manageable. Besides, Yo-yo has proven surprisingly capable.”
“Surprisingly? Isn’t she one of the regular staff?”
It seemed the girl who had been guiding us was named Yo-yo.
Yo-yo spoke with a hint of embarrassment.
“It’s not such difficult work.”
“Yo-yo started today for the first time. She’s the nephew of the Original Employee.”
“His nephew? And she started working today?”
“Yes. The Original Employee sprained his leg last night and needs to rest for a while. In the meantime, his nephew agreed to work in his place.”
“Ah….”
“I was worried, but she’s been doing so well that I’m impressed. Still, just in case there are any mistakes, don’t be too concerned about it. You just make sure to treat the guests well.”
Yo-yo, receiving our attention, lowered her head bashfully, her cheeks flushed crimson.
“W-well then, I should get back to work.”
I caught Yo-yo’s arm as she turned to leave the kitchen.
“Wait a moment.”
The instant I spoke those words, Yo-yo suddenly swung her hand toward me with force.
It was a refined ambush devoid of even a hint of killing intent.
Normally, by the time one realized what was happening, it would already be too late.
But to me, Yo-yo’s every movement appeared to slow instantaneously. It was the power of my Golden Eyes.
I didn’t dodge Yo-yo’s attack; instead, I brought both my hands together.
Snap!
My hands met in a prayer-like position, and between my palms lay something sharp like an awl—I had no idea when I’d drawn it. Yo-yo’s expression had turned cold, as if she’d never been embarrassed at all.
“Yo-yo? Guest? What are you doing right now….”
Along with the Inn Owner’s dull voice, Yo-yo released the awl and withdrew her hand into her sleeve, stepping back.
‘A hidden projectile?’
I reflexively took an evasive stance. But instead of targeting me, Yo-yo threw what she’d pulled from her sleeve toward the floor.
Boom! With the sound of an explosion, gray smoke filled the Kitchen.
I closed my eyes and held my breath. With concentration, my Golden Eyes could perceive an opponent’s movements perfectly even with my eyes shut.
“What is this… *cough cough*!”
“*Whoosh*!”
I was about to pursue Yo-yo with my self-defense technique activated when I hesitated.
‘Damn it, there are other people here too.’
Though a window was open, we were still inside a Building. This was an ideal environment for such an attack to be fully effective.
Yalyu and I had trained in martial arts, so we’d be fine, but I couldn’t predict how this smoke would affect ordinary people.
My internal conflict was brief. I abandoned my pursuit stance and straightened my body. Then, concentrating, I drew upon the natural qi filling the Kitchen—the very essence of nature itself.
Just as I had moved leaves before Namgung Ryu-cheong, this time I guided the air within the Kitchen.
What had been barely a breeze flowing through the open window became, centered on me, a growing current that soon transformed into a gentle wind.
Like a typhoon, the murky smoke compressed into a spiral, growing denser as the smoke consolidated, while visibility in the surrounding areas gradually cleared. The frantic coughing sounds from behind gradually subsided.
The smoke spiraled and compressed repeatedly, growing smaller until, at some point, it became a sphere the size of an adult’s head resting above my palm.
The endlessly rotating sphere resembled a miniature planet. After observing it for a moment, I reduced its size as much as possible, then withdrew a handkerchief from my sleeve and placed it upon the sphere.
The instant the sphere left my hand, it lost its form and scattered like powder, dispersing silently. Only then could I exhale deeply.
My forehead, the nape of my neck, my lower back—cold sweat drenched every inch of me.
I gazed forward calmly.
Yo-yo stood rigid, her nape gripped by Yalyu, her wide eyes fixed upon the powder contained within my handkerchief.
“How… this is impossible….”

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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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