The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 213

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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 213
Of course, I encountered several Donghobang members on my way here. Enough time had passed since those who saw me fled in panic that word of my arrival should have spread far and wide—yet for some reason, these fools seemed to be slow with their information.
The men with sealed lips had gone deathly pale.
Thud. I leaped lightly from my horse.
“Keep talking. Why did you suddenly stop?”
In that instant, the Donghobang members spun around and fled. They scattered in opposite directions, spreading left and right as if executing a coordinated maneuver.
Spectators who had been watching were roughly shoved down by the fleeing Donghobang members.
“Kyaaah!”
“Oof!”
I didn’t chase them. Instead, I kicked at the scattered fragments of a broken stall scattered across the ground.
Whoosh!
To the onlookers, it would have appeared as though the Donghobang members simply collapsed to the ground on their own.
Though numerous in count, most of the Donghobang members were merely third-rate martial artists—little more than thugs.
I grabbed each fallen Donghobang member by the collar and hauled them upright. They were immobilized by pressure point strikes, unable to move. Blood streamed from their noses where their faces had struck the ground as they fell.
“P-please spare us.”
* * *
I led the captured Donghobang member toward Donghobang headquarters.
The Donghobang’s main base was so vast and magnificent that anyone seeing it would mistake it for the residence of a high-ranking official.
As if waiting for my arrival, the manor’s main gate stood wide open.
Surprisingly, there were few people inside. From what I could tell, only the upper echelon had gathered.
I abandoned the Donghobang member who had guided me and walked inside.
The center of the spacious open field was empty, and the Donghobang Master sat upon a raised dais in a high seat. Beside him stood what appeared to be the organization’s executives in a line.
The Donghobang Master, whose face gleamed with an oily sheen, had an oddly merchant-like appearance rather than that of a martial artist.
There was no change from when I last saw him. No—his internal energy had grown considerably since our last encounter.
‘I’ve heard Donghobang has plenty of money.’
Just how many elixirs had he consumed?
His cultivation was comparable to Cheon Gwi-jo, who had devoured countless children to build his demonic power.
In any case, the Donghobang Master’s internal energy was deep enough to be formidable. At that level, it would have been no difficult feat to dominate Ak-yang’s underworld as the foremost Black Gang.
The executives bore a similar air about them. Their well-fed existence was written plainly across their faces.
I stood before the Donghobang Master and tilted my head.
“Why didn’t you run this time? You’ve always been so quick to scurry away like a rat.”
Several executives bristled with indignation, yet amusingly, they made no move to attack.
This was already the third clash between me and Ak-yang’s Donghobang.
The first time I came, I killed Donghobang’s masters and severed the Vice-Master’s arm. But I couldn’t locate the Master, who had fled somewhere in the chaos, so I withdrew.
The next time I came with the Master’s location confirmed, he sacrificed his newly appointed Vice-Master and members to escape. And this was the third encounter.
The Donghobang Master opened his mouth.
“Miss Baek, have you come alone again this time?”
I didn’t answer.
The Donghobang Master continued.
“Because of you, our reputation is in tatters. What exactly is your reason for doing this to us?”
“A reason?”
I tilted my head and let out a hollow laugh.
“So you all gathered suddenly just to try negotiating with me?”
The Donghobang Master spoke with a calm expression.
“We have no personal grudge against the Baek Li Family. If there is resentment, I hope we can resolve it now.”
I spoke with lingering amusement on my face.
“Six years ago, when Cheon-ma came to Ak-yang.”
“….”
“I suspect you know quite well how those troops managed to arrive unnoticed?”
The Donghobang Master nodded.
“That was beyond our control. Do you think anyone could refuse before Cheon-ma?”
I acknowledged this with a nod and spoke.
“On the way here, I encountered your faction’s members.”
Everyone’s eyes filled with confusion at the sudden remark.
“They were using violence against commoners, saying things like, ‘Go beg the Baek Li Family to save you right now.'”
“….”
“I’ll return those words exactly as they were. Go beg Cheon-ma to save you right now.”
“….”
The executives’ faces twisted. Yet they still hadn’t made a move.
I let out a sigh and spoke.
“Still not ready?”
In that instant, two executives’ expressions noticeably hardened.
I placed my hand on my waist and surveyed the open field thoroughly.
“You dug a trap and waited, didn’t you? How much longer should I wait?”
The Donghobang Master forced a smile and spoke.
“A trap? That can’t possibly be the case.”
I tilted my head with a puzzled expression.
“Is that so? Then, Donghobang Master, why don’t you draw your sword? Or will you concede the first move to me?”
Since he denied it, I spoke politely.
The Donghobang Master’s expression gradually hardened. Soon he stood up abruptly and walked toward me with heavy, confident strides. He approached as if about to draw his sword immediately, yet he did not.
“….”
“….”
The Donghobang Master, who had been maintaining a composed expression, finally burst out shouting.
“Damn it, what is this! You said they’d arrive on time!”
An elderly executive spoke while sweating profusely.
“I, I don’t know.”
“Is that what you call an answer?”
As expected. Thanks to this, I grasped the situation roughly. They had probably hired skilled masters with money. But they had either fled or failed to show up.
I spoke with a scornful tone.
“Those Black Gangs bastards.”
That was the moment.
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Something flew toward me, slicing through the wind. I did not dodge. I didn’t need to see it—I already knew everything about it. Its appearance, the depth of inner force it carried, who had thrown it.
“Gasp!”
“Inhale!”
Startled gasps echoed in succession.
I turned slowly to look behind me.
The executives stared in shock, their eyes wide enough to pop from their sockets.
“Did… did you just catch it mid-air?”
“This changes everything!”
“No… this makes no sense…!”
Nothing silences a crowd quite like this.
They could certainly feel it too.
The moment my gaze fell upon them, their whispered murmurs sealed shut like clamshells.
From the half-drawn swords, it was clear this ambush was meant as a signal for them to attack together.
But they all remained frozen in their half-drawing stance, unable to draw further or sheathe their blades.
The hidden weapon that had hung in the air transformed into a streak of light and flew back.
A sharp, piercing whistle.
The executive who had been hiding, pretending he hadn’t thrown it, was sent flying backward as if struck by a palm strike, his body folding in half.
Had I infused inner force into the hidden weapon, it would have pierced through the executive’s body, but because I controlled it naturally like a puppet on strings, this is what happened instead.
“Cough!”
The executive flying through the air crashed into a pavilion pillar with a heavy thud.
He struck at roughly three meters high but did not fall to the ground.
Instead, blood trickled down the pillar. The hidden weapon had pinned him to it. I felt no sympathy. If I hadn’t blocked or dodged it, I would be the one heading to the afterlife instead.
“…”
“…”
Everyone’s gaze remained fixed on the man whose breath had not yet ceased, his body twitching. I spoke.
“I understand now. You attack together the moment someone draws their sword.”
Fear glinted in the eyes of those swallowing hard.
Click. Clang.
The half-drawn swords slid back into their sheaths.
The Donghobang Master’s eyes rolled back as he screamed.
“What are you doing! Attack now!”
I reached toward the man who had not yet sheathed his sword.
“Yelp!”
The sword the man was holding flew toward me. The man, who was slightly dragged along with it, panicked and released the blade, falling on his backside.
Grasping the sword that had flown to me, I immediately charged toward the Donghobang Master.
The Donghobang Master yelped and drew his sword.
We clashed—cutting, thrusting, and swinging. The Donghobang Master held his ground well. He had the bearing of a leader of the Black Sword Faction that dominated this region.
Clang!
Blade met blade. I felt the Donghobang Master’s suspicious gaze studying me intently.
His thoughts were laid bare before me, every intention transparent.
He must have concluded that I was worth engaging with, especially after witnessing my display of capturing objects from thin air.
As expected.
The Donghobang Master unleashed a power-laden attack, forcing me back, then barked orders at the subordinates standing at a distance.
“What are you doing standing there? Stop gawking and attack! I said attack! All of you, come at once!”
At the Donghobang Master’s command, several of his men flinched.
In that instant, I released my blade.
Whoosh!
With the hand that had released it, I drew my own sword from my waist, and in the same motion, sent it flying toward the subordinate who had flinched most noticeably.
The man cried out in terror and threw himself aside to dodge. But the blade pursued him as though alive, and the wrist of the subordinate holding his sword fell to the ground with a dull thud.
“….”
The subordinate whose wrist had been severed collapsed to the ground, clutching his arm and groaning.
Amusingly, the Donghobang Master attempted to flee in that moment. The blade that had severed the wrist flew straight toward him. He cried out and swatted the incoming sword away.
Clang!
A deafening metallic ring echoed through the air.
As the Donghobang Master turned his back to me while deflecting the incoming blade, naturally—
Slice.
I felt flesh part beneath my blade. The wound was not deep. Blood stained the Donghobang Master’s robes.
I exhaled a sigh without thinking and muttered under my breath.
“Sigh, all this trouble for someone so insignificant….”
The Donghobang Master’s face had gone ashen. He had felt the power in the blade he had just deflected was far greater than the one I had clashed with him directly.
“What in the world is this….”
I cut off the Donghobang Master’s words and asked.
“Master, where is Yalyu?”
“….”
“You know, don’t you?”
My blade grazed perilously close to the Donghobang Master’s throat.
The Donghobang Master let out a scream.
“I don’t know where he is now! The Sect Leader! Cheon-ma took him away!”
“…I see.”
Blood sprayed upward into the sky.

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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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