The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 222

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

Chapter 222
Placing the decoration in a vase would allow me to catch the fragrance of the peach blossoms whenever I wished. It was a gift that conveyed sincere care and thoughtfulness.
“Wow, it’s truly beautiful. Namgung Prince really put thought into this, didn’t he? What should we do? Should we find a vase that matches it?”
I carefully returned the decoration to its original place and closed the box.
“Send this back to the Namgung Clan.”
“Pardon?”
The young-faced Female Servant stared at me with wide, startled eyes, her expression clearly confused and bewildered.
After Geum-swe married and left my side, several new servants had come to serve me.
I tucked the box under my arm and spoke.
“No, I’ll tell the Steward about this myself.”
* * *
Early August.
Jin-jin successfully passed the Hunan Province preliminary rounds and earned qualification to advance directly to the main tournament.
While preliminary rounds could be held in Muuhan where the Murim Alliance Headquarters was located, advancing to the Murim Alliance through regional preliminaries like this offered several benefits.
Originally, these benefits were conveniences provided to the successors of influential regional clans and sects that had consistently supported the Murim Alliance, allowing them to begin comfortably from the main rounds.
In other words, if one had sufficient backing, one could easily be selected as a Hunan Province qualifier.
From the start, they could have people who would follow their orders participate in the preliminaries, manipulate the match brackets… anything was possible.
If Jin-jin was selected as a qualifier through fair competition and genuine skill, then the opposite position was occupied by the Byeok Young Master. The Byeok Family was also located in Hunan Province.
That evening, my father came to see me regarding the martial tournament.
I poured tea for my father and sat across from him.
“I heard Jin-jin will be going to Muuhan with the other Hunan Province qualifiers. Shouldn’t you start preparing as well? What are your plans?”
“Me? Of course I should go separately.”
“Is there any need to do so?”
“Well… the Byeok Young Master will be there too, and if I go with him, the atmosphere would be quite awkward.”
My father set down his teacup with a sharp clink and spoke with a resolute gaze.
“If the Byeok Young Master avoids you, that’s his choice. There’s no reason for you to avoid him.”
I widened my eyes and then smiled softly.
“You’re right, Father. There’s no reason for me to avoid him.”
I picked up my teacup and continued speaking.
“Still, I plan to go separately. I want to stop by Ak-yang to assess the situation, and it’s more convenient to do that alone. Besides, I wasn’t even selected as a Hunan Province qualifier.”
My father looked at me with slight puzzlement before speaking.
“Then when do you plan to depart? You need to manage your condition and acclimate, so choose a date with plenty of time to spare.”
“Yes. I’m thinking of departing around mid-month.”
“Once you arrive, many will likely take interest in you and request matches. Be careful not to injure yourself unnecessarily—try not to accept too many.”
“Ah, that would be tedious. Should I perhaps go a bit later?”
“No, arriving early to acclimate is important. Going later than that wouldn’t be good.”
“How different could it be from here?”
“Of course there shouldn’t be much difference, but for victory, you must prepare thoroughly.”
I paused for a moment.
For some reason, the conversation with my father felt like it was going in circles.
After a moment of deliberation, I ventured a guess and spoke.
“Father, I’m not planning to participate in the martial arts tournament.”
Father paused, his expression clouding with confusion.
“What do you mean? You won’t participate?”
“Yes. That’s why I didn’t attend the preliminaries either. If I were going to participate, I would naturally have competed in the preliminaries.”
“What?”
Father looked at me again with surprise written across his face.
“Yeon, didn’t you know? You don’t need to participate in the preliminaries.”
“What? No, why not?”
“Because you’re my daughter.”
It turned out that among the champion’s benefits, there was a privilege allowing the champion’s descendants or disciples to advance directly to the main tournament once per generation.
“Such a system existed? I had no idea at all.”
“You seem to know everything, yet you don’t know about this.”
I scratched my head and laughed.
In my previous life, I wasn’t even qualified to participate, so how would I have known about a benefit I would never use?
Moreover, the martial arts tournament information I possessed was tied to Namgung Ryu-cheong’s participation, and he had competed from the preliminaries onward.
‘That’s right—Namgung Ryu-cheong had to participate from the preliminaries because Namgung Wan didn’t win the championship.’
Father continued speaking.
“That’s why I thought you weren’t participating.”
“Mm….”
A communication problem due to lack of conversation with Father. It had been a long time since I experienced such a thing.
Father asked.
“Do you have a reason for not wanting to participate?”
“I simply don’t feel the need to participate.”
Considering what would unfold in the future, this martial arts tournament was far from being a place of enjoyment.
If I participated in the tournament, my movements would be restricted in many ways. I would have to focus on the martial competition as well.
So from the beginning, I had naturally decided not to participate.
And at my answer, Father’s face fell with deep disappointment.
Seeing that expression, I nearly blurted out that I would participate after all.
Fortunately, before I could say such a thing, a voice came from outside.
“The First Young Master has arrived.”
Baek Li-ui-muk had come?
I looked at Father in bewilderment. He still seemed to be reeling from the shock of my refusal to participate.
Soon after, Baek Li-ui-muk entered my residence.
Seeing me with Father, he smiled and spoke.
“You were here too?”
“Yes.”
Despite my brief, seemingly perfunctory response, Baek Li-ui-muk showed no displeasure and spoke.
“Your father, is something the matter?”
Ever since I rescued Baek Li-myeong from Baek Li-ui-ran’s grasp, the relationship between Baek Li-ui-muk and Father had improved considerably.
To be precise, things improved once my uncle gave up the position of Family Head, so there were no more occasions for him to find fault with me.
I deflected the conversation.
“Uncle, has something good happened? You look quite pleased.”
“Do I?”
Baek Li-ui-muk brushed his face with his hand. His complexion had indeed brightened considerably. Ever since Baek Li-ri ran away—we still hadn’t caught her—he had been consumed with worry, his face looking haggard every day.
My father, who had belatedly come to his senses, opened his mouth.
“What brings you here?”
“Ah, I came to tell you that if you need anything, you should speak up.”
“Need anything?”
“Yes. You’re going to Muuhan, aren’t you? I heard you’re not going with the Hunan Province contingent.”
“Ah, yes. That’s correct.”
I had already made it clear I had no intention of going with them, so it was possible my uncle knew about it, but why would he take an interest in such a matter?
My uncle spoke, apparently noticing the doubt in my expression.
“You’re going to Muuhan with me, so tell me if you need anything.”
“…Pardon?”
What nonsense was this?
* * *
Muuhan, Hubei Province.
Muuhan at the end of August was nothing short of a steaming cauldron. Despite the oppressive heat where sweat beaded on one’s skin even while standing still, crowds of people flooded the entrance to the city. It was because of the martial arts tournament.
The streets were so congested with those attending the tournament, those coming to watch, and those hoping to make a quick fortune from the occasion that one could barely walk without bumping shoulders on this broad avenue.
“Miss, please be careful.”
The Guard blocked someone who nearly collided with me. I had only four Guards around me, and the reason I ended up like this, having decided to travel with my uncle, was because the journey had been treacherous.
Specifically, when we passed north of Dongting Lake, just beyond Ak-yang, we were ambushed once. It was an attack by Black Gang thugs who held a grudge against my father.
Of course, I repelled the attack with ease. My uncle’s contribution was significant.
Though Baek Li-ui-muk lacked the skill compared to my father, he was still a former candidate for Family Head.
After that incident, we split our party—my uncle proceeded with the original plan while I took a slight detour.
Another Guard spoke to me.
“This must be your first time in Muuhan, Miss?”
“…Yes, it is.”
Actually, that wasn’t true. I had come here before in my previous life, following my father.
‘After that, I came many times while following Namgung Ryu-cheong around.’
So the streets themselves were quite familiar to me.
“Please be cautious. With so many people and everyone in high spirits, disputes can easily arise over trivial matters.”
Though the Murim Alliance was supposed to maintain order, with crowds this size, they couldn’t watch every corner.
“I understand.”
I adjusted the wide-brimmed hat with gauze attached to it.
Just then, one of the Guards spoke in a slightly tense voice.
“There are Hoeryeong Sect members over there. It looks like they’re participating in this tournament as well.”
The Hoeryeong Sect was an Orthodox Sect faction.
There was no rule stating that only Orthodox Sects could participate in the martial arts tournament.
In theory, the tournament was open to anyone of the right age, regardless of their background or martial prowess.
Yet no sane member of the Black Gangs would dare set foot in Muuhan, the sacred ground of the Orthodox Sect.
‘Though I wonder if they can truly call it sacred when the Demonic Cult has trampled all over it….’
Still, even without the Black Gangs, quite a few factions from the Orthodox and Demonic sides had shown up.
And the Hoeryeong Sect was a school rumored to have made recent contact with the Demonic Cult.
Yet they appeared here so boldly. It was remarkable audacity.
My Guard spoke with evident concern.
“We should enter the Murim Alliance Headquarters in the city right away.”
“No. I’d like to look around a bit more.”
“Pardon?”
“I want to see who’s come. It’s fine. My face is covered anyway. They won’t recognize me.”
The streets were filled with women like me, wearing wide-brimmed hats and gauze veils, wandering about to observe the festivities.
My Guards hurried anxiously in my wake as I moved forward.

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