The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 184

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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 184
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At that moment, in the inn where the Baek Li Family was staying.
Namgung Ryu-cheong had suggested I rest, but I continued examining the other rooms. However, nothing unusual occurred. The burning sensation in my head had nearly faded.
‘I wish I could uncover something more.’
Then I suddenly felt a hand pressing against my shoulder. It was Namgung Ryu-cheong.
“Are you really all right?”
“Hm?”
“Stop worrying your lips.”
“What?”
Only then did I realize I had been gnawing at my lips continuously.
Namgung Ryu-cheong regarded me with suspicion.
“You… did you discover something?”
“….”
“You did. Tell me.”
Had Namgung Ryu-cheong always been this perceptive?
Namgung Ryu-cheong narrowed his eyes as he looked at me.
“Don’t bear this alone. Tell me.”
Yet his tone seemed less like interrogation and more like genuine concern for me.
Just then, Mak-gae muttered, breaking the tension.
“The Great Hero is running late. Miss Seo, have you heard anything?”
“Yes, he is taking longer than expected.”
Even if Ak-yang was vast, with the emergency signal sent, my father would return swiftly if he decided to come.
As if summoned by the very mention, a beggar burst noisily into the inn.
Mak-gae’s expression stiffened slightly, then quickly returned to normal.
“What brings you here? Has something happened?”
The beggar, breathing heavily, stopped short upon seeing me and Namgung Ryu-cheong.
“This is Young Master Namgung, and this is Miss Seo of the Baek Li Family.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong stepped forward.
“If this concerns my father, I have the right to hear it as well.”
The beggar scratched his head, and Mak-gae nodded slightly, indicating it was acceptable.
“Members of the Demonic Cult have appeared on Western Market Street.”
Mak-gae started in shock, as if he had never anticipated such a thing.
“They revealed themselves? Why? What could possibly be the reason!”
“They fought with a martial artist dressed as a commoner. The commoner lost and was captured by them.”
“Who was captured…?”
“Unknown. The witness said it didn’t appear to be someone from the Namgung Clan. Perhaps a member of the Baek Ho Dan?”
“Showing themselves in broad daylight? Have they finally lost their minds? No, wait—this is Ak-yang. Still, even so! They must know the Baek Li Family is here. What could possibly be so urgent?”
Mak-gae muttered gravely to himself before asking.
“So you pursued them, didn’t you? Where did they go? We might finally locate their base.”
“That’s….”
The Beggar suddenly averted his gaze, his words faltering.
Mak-gae, who had been blinking, wore an expression of disbelief.
The Beggar spoke.
“We lost them.”
“What! There are only a handful of hidden operatives in Ak-yang, and you’re telling me you lost them!”
The Beggar deliberately avoided meeting his eyes.
“Good grief, what in the world did you useless fools do?”
“Could it be that the Demonic Cult member who appeared fought barehanded?”
“Yes, that’s right. How did you know?”
I bit my lip.
“It was Cheon Gwi-jo.”
“Cheon Gwi-jo?”
“Yes. If your opponent is Cheon Gwi-jo, then losing them is only natural.”
“Wait, hold on. Why would Cheon Gwi-jo appear here?”
Mak-gae’s eyes widened, and the Beggar, who had just been scolded by him, looked at me with a startled expression.
We knew from our spy’s intelligence that Cheon Gwi-jo had joined them, but this would be the first they were hearing of it.
There were no traces of combat with Cheon Gwi-jo among the bodies they had recovered. It seemed he had been targeting only Namgung Wan.
In the memory that appeared like a phantom, Cheon Gwi-jo had been wearing a human skin mask. Unless one examined his martial techniques in detail, it would be difficult to recognize his identity from a distance.
The Beggar spoke as if it were absurd.
“Come now, aren’t you mistaken? Cheon Gwi-jo was certainly a vicious demon, but with the Demonic Cult….”
At that moment, Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke with a rather irritated tone.
“Are you suggesting that Yeon is lying in this situation?”
“That… surely that can’t be.”
“If you already know that, why engage in such wasteful debate? Do you have time to spare?”
“….”
Ah, it had been a while. That temperament of his.
I found it convenient that I didn’t need to persuade him myself.
Having thus silenced the Beggar, Namgung Ryu-cheong looked at Mak-gae with eyes that warned he would not tolerate any more nonsense.
Mak-gae nodded vigorously and muttered.
“…Right. If it’s Cheon Gwi-jo… he’s certainly capable of shaking us off.”
Cheon Gwi-jo’s evasion of the Murim Alliance’s pursuit during the Kirin Society attack incident was quite famous.
At the time, at the Murim Alliance’s request, not only the Beggar Sect but also the righteous sects in the vicinity, the Sacheon Dang Family whose bloodline had suffered losses, and the Shandong Ak Family all sent people to pursue Cheon Gwi-jo.
Yet even with injuries inflicted by Namgung Wan, Cheon Gwi-jo evaded the pursuit. It was an incident that had truly wounded the pride of the Orthodox Martial Arts Sects.
‘But it’s strange that Cheon Gwi-jo would reveal himself so openly, no matter how confident he is.’
“So where did Cheon Gwi-jo appear?”
“Uh, uh? S, shall we go?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong gestured for him to lead the way.
The Beggar looked at Mak-gae in confusion.
I also stopped Namgung Ryu-cheong.
“Wait a moment.”
“Don’t follow me. You need to guard this place.”
With that, he glanced in the direction where the spy was located.
“No, wait. Does Father know about this situation right now?”
The Beggar nodded.
“When I came here, our sect leader also headed that way, so word must have reached him.”
“Then Baek Li-ui-gang must have gone there as well.”
“Likely so.”
“No wonder he’s been delayed.”
Muttering thus, I gazed upward. The sunset had already descended upon the sky, now dyed in crimson hues.
The light streaming directly into my eyes was blinding. In my mind, I recalled the opposite—a gray day when rain fell softly and steadily.
Hadn’t war with the Demonic Cult been triggered from the moment of Father’s death, with people dying on all sides?
Uncle Namgung Wan couldn’t escape this either.
Uncle Namgung Wan didn’t pass away like Father did. His right arm was simply severed, leaving him unable to ever wield a sword again.
In the novel, this was also the reason Namgung Ryu-cheong faced absurd obstruction and persecution from the Murim Alliance Leader, who should have been his ally. It was as if his protector, who could have checked the Alliance Leader in terms of seniority, had been stripped of power.
The Namgung Family Head was present, but he couldn’t involve himself in every trivial matter. And Namgung Ryu-cheong wasn’t the type to consult him about such things anyway.
‘But this time, an injury to the right arm again.’
It hadn’t been severed. But judging by the depth the blade had penetrated, it was certainly not an injury that could be easily dismissed.
‘It’s too much to write off as mere coincidence.’
I looked at Mak-gae.
“You’ve discovered the Demonic Cult’s hideout, haven’t you?”
Mak-gae, Namgung Ryu-cheong, and the Beggar all startled and looked at me.
Mak-gae sighed and shook his head.
“If only it were that simple. Sigh.”
“There was a Demonic Cult spy infiltrating the inn.”
“….”
I asked again.
“You’ve discovered the hideout, haven’t you?”
Mak-gae, who had been blinking, licked his dry lips.
After a moment of apparent deliberation, Mak-gae gestured toward the Beggar. The Beggar withdrew, cautiously surveying the surroundings.
Namgung Ryu-cheong emanated a sharp aura, as if he would draw his sword at the slightest misstep. The pressure was almost palpable.
“You knew and yet remained silent all this time?”
Mak-gae swallowed hard and hastily waved his hands.
“No, no. Wait. Calm down. I was planning to tell Baek Li-ui-gang when he arrived! And I haven’t found it perfectly either.”
“Please explain in more detail.”
Mak-gae shook his head and began his explanation.
“For now, I’ve narrowed it down to four places where those Demonic Cult bastards could be. I wish we could have found out more today, but of all people, it had to be Cheon Gwi-jo.”
Mak-gae sighed and continued.
“In any case, two of those four places are likely decoys. And if we touch one, word immediately reaches the other. If we touch a fake location, those hiding in the real hideout will flee at once. That’s why we haven’t been able to learn more. After all, the Demonic Cult isn’t even the priority, is it? What matters now is the survivors centered around Namgung Minor Family Head.”
And though Mak-gae didn’t say it, the most important fact was that the Beggar Sect had no desire to engage the Demonic Cult in direct combat.
While the Beggar Sect’s numbers were said to rival any faction, most of them were genuinely third-rate.
Though I had gathered information about the Demonic Cult, having the Beggar Sect engage in direct combat felt burdensome.
Yet they couldn’t simply remain idle either.
The recent attack by the Murim Alliance had claimed many Beggar Sect members, and they were part of the Alliance after all.
So their plan was to collect information and pass it to us, making us their fighting dogs while they stayed safe.
Mak-gae clicked his tongue as he spoke.
“How on earth did you figure it out?”
“You said you came to help my father.”
Mak-gae’s face showed genuine bewilderment.
“Just from that?”
“If I couldn’t narrow down the Demonic Cult’s hideout while collecting the bodies, I’d have to surrender the title of the Jianghu’s premier intelligence faction.”
“Hmm….”
Mak-gae pondered before speaking again.
“I see. So there’s a spy who infiltrated the inn? And you actually caught them?”
“They were disguised as an Original Employee.”
“As an Original Employee? When exactly…? And you discovered the spy yourself?”
I nodded.
“Good. Excellent work. We should be able to extract considerable information. Before that, could I see them for a moment?”
“That won’t be possible.”
Mak-gae’s brow furrowed.
“What are you saying now?”
“We’ll accidentally let that spy escape.”
“…What?”
Both Mak-gae and Namgung Ryu-cheong looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.

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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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