The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 219

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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 219
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A gentle night breeze brushed across my forehead.
I walked along the pond’s edge, guided by moonlight.
The inn where I currently stayed was the same one I had visited when searching for Namgung Wan years ago.
Back then, the inn had collapsed so thoroughly that its original form was unrecognizable. Some of the nearby buildings had also crumbled, and even those that appeared intact from the outside had already suffered severe damage.
I purchased the land from the Inn Owner and bought about five adjacent buildings—the collapsed inn and the structures before, behind, and beside it.
I had a massive pit dug deep enough to bury thirty people without a trace, then transformed it into a pond. Centered around the pond, I constructed new buildings.
Some became an inn, others a tea house.
I passed through a concealed pathway hidden by trees on one side of the pond and entered a small pavilion-like structure within the compound walls.
Inside the dimly lit building where even moonlight couldn’t penetrate, a faint fragrance drifted. I grasped a bronze candlestick and ignited it using the Sammaejinhwa technique.
As light filled the space, ancestral tablets came into view.
This was a family shrine—dedicated to Cheonsan Yeom-je, whose body we never found.
Mak-gae’s tablet rested here as well.
Mak-gae was later discovered dead. It appeared to be an inside job, though the details remained unknown to me—such matters were internal to the Beggar Sect.
However, the last carrier pigeon Mak-gae sent contained a warning to my father about the Murim Alliance’s movements.
Though the timing was somewhat delayed, it was clear he had intended to aid my father.
Since I had established this shrine, and Mak-gae had no descendants and would receive no tablet from the Beggar Sect, I placed his tablet here alongside the others. Dae-gae accepted this gracefully and frequently visited the shrine, acting as though he were its caretaker. From that point forward, he became remarkably cooperative with us.
After surveying the shrine—not a speck of dust to be found—I lit incense and placed it in the holder.
“I should have come sooner, but matters kept me occupied.”
With my mind in such turmoil, it had taken ten days after arriving in Ak-yang before I could finally visit the shrine.
“The inn had hardly any guests during that time, you see.”
Thanks to rumors that the Baek Li Family stood behind us, the black gangs of Ak-yang avoided this inn.
“But once I defeated the Donghobang Master, guests began arriving as if they’d been waiting for the moment.”
Nearby orthodox sects and families visited to offer congratulations, or simply unable to resist their curiosity about whether I had truly faced the Donghobang Master.
Merchants and money changers seeking to establish trade with the Baek Li Family began frequenting the place as well.
With guests suddenly flooding an inn that had previously seen only flies, there were many preparations I hadn’t adequately made, and some of the black gangs who resented this development caused minor disturbances.
For several days, I rushed about attending to various matters.
After a moment of silence, I spoke again.
“Yalyu was taken by Cheon-ma.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong and Yalyu, who had separated from us within the formation, eventually found the exit and escaped, though not without some wandering.
But their misfortune was truly extraordinary—the moment they emerged, they were greeted by the vast expanse of Dongting Lake.
Yet returning into the formation was impossible.
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s group attempted to board a boat and escape Ak-yang. However, the Donghobang members who had transported the Demonic Cult Members to attack us still remained on Dongting Lake.
They seized Namgung Ryu-cheong and Yalyu—
And that was when Cheon-ma encountered them.
From that point on, even the Donghobang Master knew nothing. Cheon-ma had slaughtered every Donghobang member aboard his vessel.
I gazed quietly at the incense burning softly.
The relationship between Cheonsan Yeom-je and Yalyu was… how should I put it? It couldn’t be described as a typical master-disciple bond.
Yalyu showed no sign of respecting Cheonsan Yeom-je as a teacher. I had been startled more than once hearing him refer to him as “old woman” or “old man.”
Cheonsan Yeom-je didn’t particularly mind that Yalyu thought him disrespectful. Yet Cheonsan Yeom-je had come to rescue Yalyu. And he had rescued me as well.
“I will certainly come find you.”
The moment those words left my lips, I caught myself biting down as I sensed a presence drawing near.
It was already too late to leave the Family Shrine—the presence had reached the threshold of the door. I found myself caught between admiration and exasperation.
The hinges creaked with a desolate sound. I turned slowly to face whoever had arrived. Unsurprisingly, it was Namgung Ryu-cheong.
Namgung Ryu-cheong had remained, helping with matters at the Tea House and Inn, as though his claim to his father that there was no urgency had been truthful.
“You haven’t slept?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong let out a hollow laugh.
I responded with composure.
“Well then, I’ve finished all my business here, so I should be going.”
“No, there’s no need for that. I came looking for you, after all.”
“….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke with a mocking edge.
“It’s been terribly difficult to see your face.”
I exhaled silently, keeping my expression neutral. So the demeanor he’d shown before my grandfather and father had merely been an act. Well, I suppose his skills in navigating such situations had improved somewhat, though perhaps not as much as I’d expected.
I answered as though dismissing his strange remark.
“What are you talking about? We’ve eaten together every day.”
It was true that we’d shared meals regularly—though always with my father present.
Namgung Ryu-cheong, finding my response unworthy of reply, turned his gaze from me and spoke of something else.
“I heard you asked Donghobang Master about Yalyu.”
“That’s right.”
“Donghobang Master was driven out midway, so he wouldn’t know exactly what happened. Why didn’t you ask me instead?”
The corners of Namgung Ryu-cheong’s mouth lifted in a sardonic smile.
“Or was questioning me something you wished to avoid?”
“….”
I furrowed my brow.
“I did ask you about the situation at that time. But you offered no proper explanation—only an apology.”
What more could I have done upon receiving a letter containing nothing but an apology, devoid of any real explanation?
Besides, Namgung Ryu-cheong himself had nearly died in that ordeal.
“That’s true. I did.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong gazed at the ancestral tablet in silence for a long moment before speaking.
“Cheon-ma appeared and slaughtered everyone—the members of Donghobang and the guards of the Namgung Clan alike.”
That Donghobang Master. I’d seen his true nature from the moment he abandoned his men and fled. He was cut from the same cloth as Wi Ji-baek—a man of expedience and cowardice.
Even had Cheon-ma massacred the Donghobang members, he would have felt no compunction, only hastened his escape.
“And Cheon-ma… asked Yalyu about various matters, but it didn’t seem like they were meeting for the first time. They appeared to know each other quite well.”
“What?”
I cried out in shock.
What was he saying? That Cheon-ma and Yalyu seemed to know each other?
‘That can’t be.’
I knew Yalyu’s history in this life. He had certainly never met Cheon-ma before—so how could this be?
I asked in disbelief.
“Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Cheon-ma might have just pretended to know something… you know.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong gazed at me intently.
“That didn’t seem to be the case. It was like when he had a separate conversation with you.”
At my silence, Namgung Ryu-cheong continued.
“I couldn’t hear exactly what the two of them discussed. At the time, even Donghobang Master was poisoned by their toxin and was too preoccupied with detoxifying it with his inner energy.”
“….”
“And Cheon-ma told Yalyu something.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong paused for a moment before continuing.
“To kill me.”
“What?”
“In exchange, he would spare Yalyu’s life.”
“….”
“If I were gone, he said Yalyu could obtain what he desired.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong stared at me with piercing intensity.
“What do you think that could be?”
“… I have no idea.”
What could it be? I couldn’t fathom it at all.
What could Yalyu gain if Namgung Ryu-cheong were dead? What was it that Yalyu desired?
I shook my head and asked.
“So? What did Yalyu say? Surely… surely….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong lowered his eyes for a moment before continuing his account.
Cheon-ma had urged Yalyu to kill Namgung Ryu-cheong, and Yalyu had apparently responded thus.
“After saying that, aren’t you going to go around claiming that I killed the Namgung Prince?”
“Ha, would you believe my word? You’d think I was sowing discord.”
“… That’s a fair point.”
Having answered thus, Yalyu approached Namgung Ryu-cheong and….
“But I don’t feel like doing as you suggest.”
With those words, he pushed Namgung Ryu-cheong off the boat.
“Your proposal can’t possibly benefit me.”
I stood there with my mouth slightly agape, dazed.
My mind was in such turmoil that I couldn’t comprehend how to process what I’d just heard.
But Namgung Ryu-cheong showed no intention of waiting, and continued immediately.
“Why didn’t I mention this in a letter? At first, I didn’t know how to organize this story, and as time passed, I thought I needed to tell you face to face.”
Yet I couldn’t meet you. That was what I sensed from his words.
As if cold water had been splashed upon me, my senses gradually returned.
I exhaled deeply. Only now that I’d regained awareness did I realize how tightly my right hand had been gripping my left elbow—my arm ached from the pressure.
“The distance is considerable, so it would be difficult to meet.”
“You came all the way near Hui-ju and then just turned back.”
Hui-ju was where the Namgung Clan was located.
Namgung Ryu-cheong let out a soft chuckle.
“Father was quite disappointed, wasn’t he?”
“Things were rather busy at the time.”
“Yes, let’s say that’s true. But what about Ak-yang?”
“Ak-yang?”
“Yes. When you first attacked Donghobang, I happened to be nearby. I heard about it and rushed over in a panic—to help you. But when I arrived, you were already gone.”
“That was… I didn’t know you were coming. It was just an unfortunate coincidence.”
“Yeon, I’m not a fool.”
The cold edge that had persisted in his tone until now softened like a gentle breeze, as if he were trying to soothe me.
“Why do you keep avoiding me? Or is this also my misunderstanding?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong laughed in a self-deprecating manner.
But that laughter faded quickly.
“Or have I done something wrong to you?”
….
“If so, I’m sorry.”
….
“Tell me the reason. I’ll fix it.”

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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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