The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 194

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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 194
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At that moment, Baek Li-ui-gang climbed to the guest room to check on Namgung Wan, then stepped out into the hall.
When Baek Li-ui-gang poured tea into two cups, a mysterious man entered the guest room.
“I heard you called for me.”
“Sit.”
The man who took his seat was Bu Dan-ju, the Vice-Leader of the White Tiger Unit.
As Bu Dan-ju approached and looked around the room, his expression grew puzzled.
“Where is the young master of Namgung?”
“He’s stepped away for a moment. I’m keeping watch in his stead.”
Bu Dan-ju looked slightly startled, then his face brightened as he took his seat.
“It seems the Namgung Minor Family Head has recovered considerably. That’s truly fortunate.”
Bu Dan-ju, holding his teacup, asked carefully.
“But what of the Minor Family Head’s arm…?”
“I’ve done all I could. The rest rests with heaven.”
Bu Dan-ju nodded with a grave expression.
He knew better than anyone the severity of Namgung Wan’s condition—he had ventured out to seek medicine despite knowing that revealing himself would invite immediate pursuit.
“A truly remarkable choice.”
He was also aware that the young lady of the Baek Li Family had surrendered her own Heavenly Life Golden Soul Pill.
Baek Li-ui-gang smiled bitterly for a moment before speaking.
“And how are you faring?”
“Quite well, thanks to the Leader.”
His condition was better than Namgung Wan’s, who had nearly lost his arm, but Bu Dan-ju’s injuries were still considerable.
“How are the others recovering?”
“They’re healing smoothly. However, Dae-geon, Il-sung, and Jun-an—those three still need to be careful with their movements.”
“Can they ride in a carriage?”
“Yes. That much is possible.”
Bu Dan-ju, who had been studying Baek Li-ui-gang, spoke.
“Surely you’re not planning to depart?”
Baek Li-ui-gang nodded.
Bu Dan-ju’s expression filled with unspoken words as he glanced toward the room where the Namgung Minor Family Head lay, then answered.
“We’re prepared to depart at a moment’s notice, even tomorrow.”
Baek Li-ui-gang spoke as if reading his thoughts.
“Wan should be waking soon, so I’m telling you this in advance.”
“Ah, he’ll be waking soon? That’s wonderful. Having shared life and death together, I’d hoped to see him awake before we parted.”
“I understand.”
“Then where do you intend to go?”
“To headquarters. According to what we learned from the Beggar Sect, the Alliance Leader has returned to Muuhan.”
The Demonic Cult that had attacked the Murim Alliance had withdrawn some time ago. The distance was simply too great, and with constant movement on their part, news took an eternity to arrive.
In fact, when Namgung Wan was being pursued by the Demonic Cult and Cheon Gwi-jo, the forces pursuing the Alliance Leader had already withdrawn.
Bu Dan-ju asked carefully.
“Is the Alliance Leader coming?”
“That’s right.”
Baek Li-ui-gang nodded with a hardened expression.
Baek Li-ui-gang shared the disappointment at the Alliance Leader’s actions—abandoning his members and fleeing. Bu Dan-ju, who had been present at that moment, must have felt even worse.
Bu Dan-ju opened his mouth with a grave expression.
“Leader, there is something I must tell you.”
Baek Li-ui-gang looked at Bu Dan-ju as if to say he was listening.
Bu Dan-ju took several sips of tea before he could bring himself to speak.
“Do you remember the children you rescued from Heukssi several years ago? The ones you encountered during a brief participation in a Martial Arts Alliance mission on your way back from visiting the Namgung Clan?”
“Of course I remember.”
“Did you not take some of those children to the Baek Li Estate?”
“I did.”
“By what criteria did you divide them?”
At Bu Dan-ju’s question, Baek Li-ui-gang’s eyes showed confusion.
“I brought the younger ones with me.”
“Why did you do that?”
“It would have been inconvenient for the Alliance to take young children, and I thought the younger they were, the better it would be for a family to accept them.”
Since families tend to be selective about accepting people, it was easier to receive them if they were younger.
“Are those children doing well without problems?”
“I’ve heard there are no major issues. Yeon would know more about those children.”
“I see. As I thought….”
Baek Li-ui-gang asked Bu Dan-ju, who trailed off.
“What is it? Has some problem arisen?”
“Several of them have disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“Yes. They said they had found their families and simply vanished. But isn’t that strange?”
The children brought to the Martial Arts Alliance were reunited with their parents or relatives if possible, and only those without families or places to return to were taken in by the Alliance. Most of them worked as servants and handmaids, doing menial tasks within the Alliance.
But now, suddenly they found their families and disappeared?
“According to what I heard, they disappeared suddenly without proper explanation and left their belongings behind. Those who were rescued from Heukssi with them filed missing person reports, but there was apparently no proper investigation.”
Even though they were doing menial work, they were still people working for the Martial Arts Alliance. If they had gone missing, the Alliance should have investigated.
However, the Alliance’s security personnel responded apathetically and told them not to bother them with such matters.
When they went to the authorities, they were turned away, told that since these people worked for the Alliance, the Alliance should handle it themselves.
“They said they were treated as ungrateful people who didn’t appreciate kindness, with the excuse that the person had found their family and left of their own accord. In the end, they came to us at the White Tiger Unit, grasping at straws.”
“Could it not be that they truly found their families?”
Bu Dan-ju shook his head with a troubled expression.
“That’s absolutely impossible, they say. When they were sold to Heukssi, they had already said multiple times that all their families were dead.”
“…So what then?”
“So I conducted a personal investigation. And the traces led inside the Alliance.”
“Led inside the Alliance?”
“Yes. So I was attempting a more thorough investigation when the Inspection Bureau suddenly intervened.”
The Inspection Bureau was the organization responsible for investigating and overseeing Alliance members. They had blocked the Vice-Leader’s inquiry.
The Vice-Leader’s hand, resting on the table, clenched into a tight fist.
“They said it wasn’t within my authority and told me to stop poking around.”
“Do you know who stopped you?”
“I couldn’t determine that. It was merely a warning from the Inspection Bureau.”
Yet the fact that the Inspection Bureau had moved at all suggested considerable influence within the Alliance.
“I intended to report this to the Alliance Leader when he returned for this meeting. However….”
“I didn’t attend.”
“Please don’t concern yourself. If the Alliance Leader couldn’t attend, there must have been a reason.”
“….”
“I considered sending a letter to the Alliance Leader, but I couldn’t trust the correspondence. So I decided to request the Namgung Minor Family Head’s assistance in the investigation on my own authority.”
“Wan?”
“Yes. I thought the Namgung Clan’s influence would allow for a proper investigation. Moreover….”
The Vice-Leader’s throat was parched, so he took a long drink of tea before continuing.
“This matter somehow feels connected to the Alliance Leader.”
“Is that so?”
“I have no concrete evidence. It’s merely a feeling.”
The Vice-Leader bit his lip hard.
The Namgung Clan, which had produced not only the previous Murim Alliance Leader but several Alliance Leaders throughout history, still wielded considerable influence. Moreover, the current Namgung Clan was in direct opposition to the present Alliance Leader.
If this truly involved the Alliance Leader, the Namgung Clan would certainly investigate thoroughly.
While Namgung Wan was a trustworthy person, their opposing relationship was the primary factor.
“Just as I was about to explain to the Namgung Minor Family Head, the Demonic Cult attacked. We fought together and then fled.”
The Vice-Leader exhaled heavily.
“I don’t know if those children are still alive.”
“….”
Baek Li-ui-gang furrowed his brow with a grave expression. Then he suddenly looked up toward the door.
The Vice-Leader asked.
“What is it?”
“What in the world is all this commotion?”
Baek Li-ui-gang rose from his seat.
* * *
I observed Yalyu and Namgung Ryu-cheong. A palpable tension hung between them, as though they might clash at any moment.
I asked again.
“What exactly is happening right now?”
Yalyu spoke in a composed tone.
“You came?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong cried out in exasperation.
“You came? You came?! How can you be so calm about this?”
“Why are both of you here together? And besides….”
I approached Cheon Gwi-jo slowly, stepping over the two figures at his feet.
He remained motionless despite the commotion. As I’d confirmed while approaching from a distance, all flow of vital energy had ceased.
A hollow breath escaped me.
“He’s dead.”
Cheon Gwi-jo was dead.
A futile end.
My first thought was….
Good.
And the emotion that followed was relief.
It felt as though someone had done what I couldn’t bring myself to do.
I looked at the two men.
“I ran into our family’s warriors on the way here.”
After leaving the dining hall to find the two of them, I’d encountered some Baek Li Estate warriors loitering about.
I’d nodded in greeting and was about to pass without a second thought when they suddenly looked startled upon seeing me.
Suspicious of their behavior, I asked what had happened, and they told me that Namgung Ryu-cheong had come looking to meet Cheon Gwi-jo, so they’d stepped aside.
The moment I heard that, I knew something had gone wrong.
“Ryu-cheong, you… helped Yalyu get up?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong bit his lip hard and glared at Yalyu. Then he pushed him down by the collar and looked at me.
“Yeah, that’s right. He said he wanted to meet someone and asked for my help… I got fooled. I should’ve been suspicious when he barely said a word….”
It wasn’t difficult to piece together what had happened from Namgung Ryu-cheong’s words.
Namgung Ryu-cheong seemed furious as he explained the situation, though there was something oddly deflated about him as well.
“If this bastard had tried to escape, I would’ve taken the fall for it.”
Yalyu spoke leisurely.
“You’re right. I should’ve run.”
“What…!”
“I never had any intention of doing so, though.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong started to shout something but looked at me instead.
I spoke calmly.
“Ryu-cheong, don’t fall for talk like that. If Yalyu had truly wanted to escape, he would’ve had plenty of time to slip away.”
“….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong, his brow furrowed, watched Yalyu quietly.
Yalyu smiled slightly at Namgung Ryu-cheong’s gaze. He seemed to find the entire situation amusing.
“Why are you angry? Cheon Gwi-jo was trash not worth living anyway. You should be thanking me for taking care of him instead.”
With a sharp sound, Namgung Ryu-cheong drew the sword from his waist.
“Come on.”

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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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