The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 212

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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 212
Seok Ga-yak asked me.
“Are you going to find her?”
I remained silent for a moment before answering quietly.
“No.”
There had been no word from Yalyu whatsoever.
Nearly three years had passed, and by now even the Baek Li Family and the Namgung Clan had abandoned their search. I could not cling to one person indefinitely.
And if Yalyu were alive, he would surely know that I was searching for him in this manner. Enough time had elapsed that he could have made contact.
The absence of any news from him meant either he had no intention of revealing himself, he was imprisoned somewhere, or… he was dead.
Seok Ga-yak tilted his head and asked.
“Then why are you leaving? At such a dangerous time?”
I offered the answer I had prepared beforehand.
“Think of it as going to cultivate my martial arts.”
“Cultivation?”
Seok Ga-yak’s expression grew even more puzzled.
“You can cultivate at home, can’t you? The world is already in chaos as it is…. I know you’re skilled, but… isn’t this far too dangerous?”
Hearing the worry in Seok Ga-yak’s voice, I nodded slowly.
“It is dangerous. But there are things I can only obtain out there.”
…
Seok Ga-yak’s brows furrowed slightly. His expression showed incomprehension.
But I could not explain further.
How could I tell him that I was leaving to gain strength because I knew the future? I could not even tell Father or Grandfather. That is why I had slipped away like this in the dead of night.
And besides…
I spoke bitterly.
“Being within the family doesn’t guarantee safety anyway.”
“But your grandfather, the Baek Li Family Head, is there.”
“Grandfather has much to protect. Cheon-ma is someone with nothing to protect.”
At the mention of Cheon-ma, Seok Ga-yak’s expression hardened.
This was a battle whose defeat was already decided.
Could I evade Cheon-ma forever by barricading myself within the Baek Li Estate?
Even if Grandfather were strong, the passage of time could not be escaped.
And if I merely shut myself away at home… what of Father?
I still had no clue how to detoxify Father’s poison.
Then Seok Ga-yak spoke.
“What if there were a way to escape from Cheon-ma and live the rest of your life in safety?”
I turned to Seok Ga-yak in surprise.
“What?”
“If you follow me, I will ensure you live peacefully for the rest of your life without ever needing to draw a blade again.”
Seok Ga-yak had stopped walking and was now gazing at me intently.
Seok Ga-yak was not one to speak frivolously. I could instinctively sense that this offer was not mere empty words.
“How?”
“Because I’m going to have a foster father.”
“…A foster father?”
“….”
Seok Ga-yak simply smiled without answering further.
Through our interactions, I had come to realize that Seok Ga-yak was far more than just the son of an ordinary physician’s household. And this proposal he had made was surely connected to some secret he had been concealing.
To escape Cheon-ma entirely? Regardless of whether it was even possible, it was an undeniably tempting offer.
I turned my head slightly to the side.
A river came into view at the edge of my vision, flowing beneath the deep night sky. Beneath that starlit darkness, the river seemed even darker still—an unfathomable abyss whose depths could not be measured.
“I appreciate the offer, but I must decline.”
A soft chuckle escaped, and Seok Ga-yak spoke.
“I thought you would say that.”
“Thank you.”
“Will you tell me the reason if I ask?”
I gazed toward where the Baek Li Estate lay.
“What meaning would there be in my survival alone?”
Seok Ga-yak had said there was a way for me to escape, but he had never said everyone could escape.
Had this been my previous life, I would have followed Seok Ga-yak without hesitation.
“Besides, there is no such thing as a free gift in this world.”
Seok Ga-yak gazed at me and smiled faintly.
“True. You would likely find it difficult to wield a sword again. Though as a hobby, it would be acceptable.”
I furrowed my brow. That was something I could never accept.
“You should have mentioned that from the start.”
“Then your answer would have been far too easy.”
I shot Seok Ga-yak a sidelong glance. He laughed calmly.
“And because I would regret it.”
“….”
Seok Ga-yak leaned toward me. As I instinctively stepped back, he whispered into my ear, his voice low.
“Actually, my family name is Jin.”
My eyes widened as I stared at Seok Ga-yak.
Jin? The current imperial family bore the surname Jin.
And a foster father appearing suddenly, combined with the name Jin Ga-yak….
Good heavens.
I covered my mouth.
“Then, take care of yourself.”
Seok Ga-yak stepped back as if urging me to go. Pushed forward by his gesture, I began to move.
As I walked, a hollow laugh escaped me unbidden.
Yes, it made perfect sense that I had never heard the name Seok Ga-yak before. Jin Ga-yak was his true name.
‘Does Cheon-ma know about this?’
Somehow, I doubted it.
But why would Seok Ga-yak suddenly reveal this fact now? In a situation like this?
I bit my lip, wrestling with the question, before the answer finally came to me.
I would never see Seok Ga-yak again after leaving the Seok Tae-ui household.
I turned to look back. Seok Ga-yak’s eyes met mine, and he smiled softly while waving his hand toward me.
I returned his farewell gesture.
Parting is always bittersweet. Yet if we remained beneath the same sky, perhaps one day we would meet again.
The boat standing alone by the river rather than at the dock was so inconspicuous that one would not notice it was there without careful scrutiny.
As I approached, the canvas canopy of the boat was drawn back, and So Nok emerged from within. Her expression as she bowed to me was quite flustered.
When So Nok turned her body to the side, Jin-jin greeted me from behind her. I was not surprised, as I had already known from a distance that Jin-jin was aboard the boat.
The snot-nosed child Jin-jin had once been now stood at eye level with me. Growing like a bamboo shoot, sprouting taller each day, he had already caught up to my height.
For the record, it was not that I was small—rather, Jin-jin’s growth had been unusually rapid.
And it was not merely his height. The charming, adorable child had become the youngest disciple of Baek Geom Danju, bearing himself with unwavering composure and a solid martial spirit.
I asked Jin-jin a question.
“How are you here?”
Only So Nok knew that I was leaving the residence.
Jin-jin spoke respectfully.
“The Family Head instructed me to serve the young lady well.”
I muttered, uncertain what expression to wear.
“Grandfather…?”
“Yes.”
So Nok bowed her head apologetically.
Though I had said I was preparing in secret, it seemed I could not escape Grandfather’s watchful eye.
“But then, why didn’t he say anything…?”
My mind grew tangled, and I pressed my forehead with my hand.
I had assumed that if Grandfather knew I was leaving, he would naturally forbid it. That was why I had slipped away like this… yet…
Then Jin-jin handed me a letter.
“And the Family Head instructed me to deliver this.”
I extended the hand that had been pressed to my forehead and received the letter, unfolding it.
Grandfather’s bold, sweeping handwriting came into view.
[Wherever you go, do not forget that you are of the Baek Li Family.]
Grandfather’s voice automatically echoed in my mind.
And slightly below, as if added as an afterthought, there was another line. The ink on those words alone had not yet fully dried, as if written only recently.
[Your grandfather is here, so do not worry.]
* * *
The next morning, when the Baek Li Family discovered Baek Li-yeon’s empty sleeping quarters, the entire estate was thrown into turmoil. However, once the Family Head spoke, all fell silent as if nothing had happened.
Baek Li-yeon’s name was heard again two years later in Ak-yang.
* * *
Early March.
The cold retreated and warm spring breezes seemed to sweep in, but a sudden downpour made the day turn cold again.
Splish, splash.
Among the hunched figures walking with arms crossed, a woman on horseback passed through.
Those who caught sight of her gasped and whispered, pointing their fingers.
Rough-looking men with swords at their sides hastily vacated the area.
The woman on horseback wore an ivory martial robe with a sword in a white scabbard at her waist, but the peculiar thing was the cloth wrapped around her eyes.
“How does she even fight like that?”
“Hush, keep your voice down. She must be someone from the Jianghu. I heard they can tell what’s around them just by releasing their qi.”
“Ah.”
In truth, the brightness no longer bothered me, nor was it difficult to adjust to. Yet I continued to wear the cloth as I traveled—it had simply become a habit.
I walked through the inn district, surveying my surroundings.
When a traveler like myself passed through, the touts usually swarmed, but they only watched me with curious eyes—none of them approached to solicit business.
Among the merchants who had spread out their stalls, whispers continued to drift through the air.
“Is that rumor really true? She doesn’t even look twenty yet. And she’s alone, isn’t she?”
“Last year when she raided Donghobang and severed the Vice-Master’s arm, she was alone too. She was seventeen then, so she must be eighteen now.”
The merchants who were constantly extorted by the Heukdo Faction under the guise of protection fees took a keen interest in the power structure of this underworld.
One wrong allegiance could make business unbearably difficult.
“Good heavens. Such a thing happened? What became of the Vice-Master who lost his arm?”
“The arm that held his sword was severed—what do you think happened? He was naturally cast out. And when they appointed a new Vice-Master… this time the Namgung Prince came and made the new Vice-Master one-armed as well.”
Without thinking, my grip on the reins tightened slightly.
“What could he be here for this time?”
“What else? Donghobang, of course. This time they’re really going to finish Donghobang off…”
“Lower your voice. If those bastards hear you, they’ll smash your shop to pieces without hesitation.”
As if the words themselves were cursed, a scream suddenly erupted and someone came crashing through an inn window, tumbling across the merchant stalls.
“Ow!”
The stall owners and merchants who had just been whispering scattered in alarm.
A girl then burst out from the inn and threw herself over the middle-aged man who lay sprawled on the ground among the broken stalls.
“Father, Father!”
Rough-looking men followed in her wake, spewing vulgar curses.
“What did you say, you bastard? Say it again. What’s Donghobang got to do with some girl from the Baek Li Family? The Master ran away? How dare you speak such nonsense—you want to give up your business?”
“We were lenient because your daughter’s got a pretty face, and now you’ve forgotten your place.”
The man clenched his fist and approached with a swagger.
“Go right now to the Baek Li Estate and beg for your life…”
In that moment, our eyes met.
“…”
“…”

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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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