The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 193

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

Chapter 193
Namgung Ryu-cheong regarded Yalyu with a stern expression as he approached. He had reluctantly agreed to help out of obligation, but this situation—where he’d been forced to lie—left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke coldly.
“This is the last time. Don’t ask me to tell lies like this again. Understood?”
Yalyu didn’t respond, immediately grasping the handle of the storage room door.
Just before opening it, Yalyu suddenly asked.
“Can you deploy a qi veil?”
“What, a qi veil?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression showed a hint of wounded pride.
“No.”
To be precise, it wasn’t that he couldn’t deploy a qi veil—rather, his skill level wasn’t something he could confidently acknowledge as adequate.
Deploying a qi veil was far more cumbersome than using sound transmission, making it unnecessary. With so many other cultivation methods demanding his attention, qi veil training had fallen by the wayside.
Namgung Ryu-cheong wasn’t alone in this; most sword cultivators found themselves in similar circumstances.
“Yeon can deploy one.”
“Ha, she’s always been naturally gifted with such techniques anyway. What about you?”
Yalyu answered in an indifferent tone.
“I can’t, so I’m asking.”
…
Yalyu spoke.
“Then step aside for a moment.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong, who had been glaring at Yalyu, spun around sharply and walked away. His manner made it clear he wanted to minimize every second spent in the other’s presence.
Yalyu watched Namgung Ryu-cheong’s robes flutter as he departed, and once he judged the distance sufficient, he opened the door.
Creak.
Light streamed through the door Yalyu opened, illuminating the dim interior of the storage room despite the midday hour.
The spacious storage room appeared to have been cleared of all goods, with nothing remaining except Cheon Gwi-jo, who sat on the floor.
Unlike when last seen, he had become an old man with hair white as snow. Such transformation didn’t typically occur from losing one’s inner strength. It was likely because the power he’d gained through demonic cultivation had been of that nature—easily obtained strength carried proportionally severe consequences.
The shadow cast on the floor moved in tandem with Yalyu’s movements, then the door closed and darkness swallowed everything.
In the darkened storage room, a hoarse, fractured voice emerged.
“Heh heh, I knew you’d come.”
…
“You’re later than I expected.”
Yalyu approached Cheon Gwi-jo, who sat in a cross-legged position, without responding.
Cheon Gwi-jo continued speaking as if unbothered.
“I’m curious how you’ve managed to survive. If Baek Li-ui-gang hadn’t turned a blind eye, there’s no way you could be living like this. And yet you tried to drag me to the Murim Alliance. If I opened my mouth, there’d be no end to the trouble you’d face. Pretending to be righteous after all that…”
Cheon Gwi-jo coughed as if breathless. After pausing briefly, he continued.
“But you couldn’t bear it, could you?”
Cheon Gwi-jo smiled at Yalyu with an unpleasant expression.
“Hovering beside Baek Li-ui-gang’s daughter, always watching your step. You wouldn’t want that precious little girl to discover that you learned the Absorption Demonic Technique. That’s why you came—to silence my mouth, isn’t it?”
“…Yeon already knows.”
“What?”
“I showed you the Absorption Demonic Art the first time we met.”
Yalyu recalled that memory and smiled. When I was sweeping up the powder from the flowerpot I had destroyed….
Cheon Gwi-jo narrowed his eyes, observing Yalyu.
“…So a parent and child conspired to deceive the Murim Alliance? What exactly are you? Are you not Namgung Wan? Ah, but now that you’ve become a cripple with one arm, it hardly matters anymore, does it?”
Yalyu scoffed.
Cheon Gwi-jo’s expression hardened.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because your foolish delusion is amusing.”
“What?”
“….”
Yalyu closed his mouth again. Cheon Gwi-jo, who had been glaring at him, opened his mouth once more.
“Hand over the key to this cell and deliver a letter I have written.”
Yalyu tilted his head.
“In exchange, I will keep secret the children you killed and your knowledge of the Absorption Demonic Art.”
A clanking sound rang out as Cheon Gwi-jo shifted his position.
“What difference does it make if that woman knows? Once it becomes known that you learned the Absorption Demonic Art and murdered innocent children, you cannot continue living like this. You came here because of this very matter, did you not?”
“…Ha.”
Yalyu turned his head and exhaled a sigh before moving closer to Cheon Gwi-jo.
With a clanking sound, he retrieved a scrap of cloth from beneath the mat that Cheon Gwi-jo was sitting on.
Yalyu spoke.
“How can I trust you?”
Cheon Gwi-jo clicked his tongue.
“Yalyu, why would I spread such a precious secret? The longer I hold it in my hands, the more valuable it becomes. Of course, if you do not heed my words, the moment you leave this storage room, your secret will be revealed to the world.”
His tone was as if he were instructing and admonishing a child still ignorant of the ways of the world.
“It seems Cheonsan Yeom-je never taught you such things? A disciple of Cheonsan Yeom-je, no less. Ha, what a ridiculous claim! Your true master is me.”
Yalyu received the scrap of cloth from Cheon Gwi-jo. Holding it delicately between his index and thumb as if touching something filthy, the cloth bore small characters written upon it.
“You want me to deliver this?”
“Yes. Find a man named Dong-jak in Seo Ho District.”
“Understood.”
With that response, something was suddenly scattered across Cheon Gwi-jo’s face.
“…!”
True to one who had survived long in the Jianghu, Cheon Gwi-jo immediately held his breath and attempted to escape.
Clank.
But he could not move. Yalyu was calmly stepping on his shackles.
Clank, clank!
Cheon Gwi-jo thrashed, pulling at the chains, but Yalyu’s foot remained unmoved. Soon, Cheon Gwi-jo could no longer resist and drew in a breath. Something of unknown nature was absorbed.
“Gasp! Hack! Cough! Cough, cough!”
Cheon Gwi-jo, breathing heavily, began to cough.
“What have you—cough, cough!—done…!”
Yalyu looked down at Cheon Gwi-jo, who staggered and barely managed to stand upright, his face utterly expressionless. His eyes, tinged faintly red, were devoid of all emotion.
Cheon Gwi-jo gasped for breath, pointing at Yalyu with a trembling finger.
“You, you… how dare you, gack, gack.”
Cheon Gwi-jo’s movements, which had been thrashing desperately to escape by any means of reducing his breathing, gradually grew sluggish.
At some point, blood trickled from his nose and lips. Soon after, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the floor.
Even the intermittent tremors ceased completely. The scrap of cloth in Yalyu’s hand suddenly burst into brilliant flame.
As if it weren’t hot at all, Yalyu simply swung his hand through the empty air. It was as though he were wielding flames themselves.
Then suddenly, flames erupted in the empty space around Yalyu and Cheon Gwi-jo. Fires burning in empty air—anyone witnessing it would doubt their own eyes.
And the strange flames, having appeared so suddenly, extinguished just as abruptly. There was no more fuel left to consume.
Yalyu released the breath he had been holding.
“…Exhale.”
The storage room, which had been briefly illuminated, sank back into darkness.
Yalyu gazed quietly at Cheon Gwi-jo’s corpse sprawled across the floor.
A foul-smelling dark space and a corpse.
Memories of the past naturally surfaced.
Yalyu had killed more than five children with his own hands.
“Why bring it up now?”
And he felt no guilt or remorse whatsoever about it.
It was then. Suddenly, a young man’s voice echoed in his mind. It felt like recalling something from the past.
“A born evil! I should kill him now and cut off the root.”
“Gasp, So Ga-ju! That cannot be!”
A breeze brushed past, and a stinging sensation spread from below his ear to his neck. A bright blue blade barely missed his throat.
“Why keep such trash alive?”
And the man shouted again.
I had heard that man’s voice before. Yalyu pondered for a moment, then was able to recall the owner of that voice.
Namgung Minor Family Head. It was Namgung Wan’s voice.
“…?”
Had such a thing happened?
It was completely different from my memory.
Certainly, when I was first discovered after being captured by Cheon Gwi-jo, the person who spoke to me was….
“So you are a survivor….”
Baek Li-ui-gang.
Namgung Minor Family Head said nothing at all.
Then what kind of memory was that?
Bang bang!
Yalyu turned toward the door, slightly startled. He hadn’t noticed someone approaching until now.
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s voice came from beyond the door.
“How much longer do you need? Wrap it up and come out.”
“….”
Bang bang.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“….”
Knock, knock, knock.
The tentative tapping grew increasingly urgent with each passing moment.
“Yalyu!”
The door burst open and Namgung Ryu-cheong rushed inside.
“….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s eyes widened as he saw Yalyu staring back at him.
“What? You’re fine, so why aren’t you answering?”
“….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong glared at Yalyu with displeasure.
“If you’re done, come out. The Baek Li Estate warriors might grow suspicious….”
As Namgung Ryu-cheong continued speaking, he finally noticed Cheon Gwi-jo.
Just as Yalyu felt no discomfort in the darkness, neither did Namgung Ryu-cheong. His vision wasn’t as bright as daylight, but it was far from hindered.
Even the faintest light allowed him to discern the situation.
Namgung Ryu-cheong stared for a long while, as if trying to comprehend what lay before him. After a prolonged silence, he spoke with disbelief.
“…What?”
“….”
“Don’t tell me… Cheon Gwi-jo is dead?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah?”
At Yalyu’s response, Namgung Ryu-cheong’s head snapped sharply toward him.
“Yeah? Yeah? Cheon Gwi-jo just died and that’s all you have to say—just ‘yeah’?”
“I simply stated that the dead are dead.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong clenched his teeth and demanded.
“Explain yourself! Explain!”
“We were just talking and he died.”
“Ha! A perfectly healthy, living person, talking with you, and just… suddenly died?”
“Yeah.”
“….”
“….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong, who had been opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, strode forward with heavy steps.
“You insane bastard, is that what you call an explanation? Why did you let him live…!”
Namgung Ryu-cheong approached and seized Yalyu by the collar.
“At least show some sincerity in your excuse….”
As Namgung Ryu-cheong shouted, he sensed a rapid approach and fell silent.
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s wavering gaze swept across the open storage room door and the approaching presence. Upon seeing who it was, he felt an involuntary wave of relief.
Baek Li-yeon stood before the storage room entrance and asked.
“What in the world is happening here?”

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