The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 228

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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 228
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After Taego Jinperson departed, Jeggal Hwa-mu’s condition deteriorated rapidly, making it impossible to converse for long.
By the time I finished helping Jeggal Hwa-mu circulate his energy and stepped outside, the dinner hour had long since passed.
‘Ah, I’m starving….’
Yi Gwak, the Murim Alliance Warrior who had brought me here, was waiting.
Thanks to him, I was able to head straight to my quarters without getting lost.
When I arrived at my lodgings, I was quite astonished.
‘What? Why is the accommodation so luxurious?’
Before my regression, there was a time when I stayed at the Murim Alliance without my father’s or Namgung Ryu-cheong’s backing, alone. The treatment I received then was utterly contemptible.
At the Murim Alliance Headquarters, they had assigned me a single guest room in the Guest Hall located at the outermost edge. It was such a poor place that low-ranking warriors or disciples of minor sects would simply use external inns if they had the money.
But this current lodging was practically a manor house. Though modest, it came with a garden featuring a small pond and even a pavilion.
Yi Gwak spoke to me.
“You may stay here. There are servants and attendants assigned to you, so please rest comfortably.”
“Yes. Thank you for the guidance.”
“If you wish to meet the person you saw today again, you need only find me….”
It was before Yi Gwak could finish speaking.
“Baek Li-yeon!”
A familiar yet long-absent voice called from behind.
“Uncle?”
It was Uncle Namgung Wan. Beside him stood my eldest uncle, Baek Li-ui-muk.
As I scurried over, my eldest uncle spoke in a reproachful tone.
“Where exactly have you been all day? Once you arrived in Muuhan, you should have come to pay your respects to your elders first! Not only are you failing to set a proper example for the others at the Murim Alliance Headquarters, but you’re behaving recklessly? This isn’t even your home, yet you’re acting as you please.”
“…?”
I wore a bewildered expression.
What was he talking about?
My eldest uncle and I maintained a relationship of appropriate distance and mutual respect. Yet suddenly, this absurd scolding?
No, calling it scolding was being generous. This was simply a reprimand.
I quickly grasped the situation.
‘He’s showing off in front of Uncle Namgung Wan, isn’t he?’
Ha, this was infuriating.
I was caught between wondering whether I should let it slide for my eldest uncle’s dignity or whether I should respond seriously.
I should have added one more consideration to that dilemma.
The fact that Uncle Namgung Wan was Namgung Ryu-cheong’s biological father.
Uncle Namgung Wan spoke toward my eldest uncle.
“What exactly are you saying to Yeon?”
“Pardon?”
“How dare you speak to Yeon that way?”
Uncle Namgung Wan’s voice carried an ominous undertone.
My eldest uncle seemed somewhat taken aback but maintained his smile as he spoke.
“Haha, didn’t the Namgung Minor Family Head also wait nearly two hours? I was simply worried as Yeon disappeared without word, and as her uncle, I felt compelled to—”
Namgung Wan cut off the Family Head’s words.
“Worried? Were you truly worried?”
The Family Head’s expression suggested he didn’t know what to say in response to this sudden turn of events.
Namgung Wan continued with a savage smile.
“If you were genuinely concerned for Yeon, you would have asked the reason first. How is it the behavior of a caring adult to wait without properly understanding the situation, then immediately lose your temper?”
The Family Head’s face flushed crimson.
Namgung Wan spoke with unmistakable mockery.
“It seems nothing has changed. You remain as you always were.”
“What exactly are you talking about?”
“What am I saying? Have you already forgotten? Though I suppose you easily forget the wrongs you’ve committed.”
Namgung Wan’s voice dripped with ice.
“I remember it clearly. What happened when you visited the Baek Li Estate about ten years ago.”
The Family Head’s chest heaved heavily.
“Yeon had picked a flower to give to her father, and your so-called cousins snatched it from her hands and trampled it before her eyes. And your Cousin Brother watched it all happen, yet pretended not to see and mocked her instead. I wondered who they learned such behavior from. Now I see—like father, like son!”
Baek Li-myeong had been beaten for that incident, and the Twin Cousins had been driven away—how could anyone forget?
Yet it was surprising that Namgung Wan still remembered that day so clearly.
The Family Head’s eyes widened as he spoke.
“That was so long ago—”
The Family Head stopped mid-sentence, his lips trembling.
Servants had quietly appeared and were watching like spectators.
Yi Gwak, a Martial Arts Alliance Warrior, was also present—he had lost the chance to withdraw when this situation suddenly erupted during our farewell.
I grabbed Namgung Wan’s arm, signaling him to stop.
“Uncle—”
But Namgung Wan shook me off firmly.
I stared at him with wide eyes.
“Don’t try to stop me! This time I won’t overlook it. I’ll make sure he understands that insulting you is the same as insulting me!”
Namgung Wan’s voice rang out sharply.
* * *
After the situation finally calmed, the Family Head left the residence with a flushed face, brushing off his sleeves.
I hurried after him to see him off, then brought Namgung Wan, who had been standing in the garden, back inside.
We entered a reasonably prominent hall. Namgung Wan’s anger still hadn’t subsided, and he burst out in frustration.
“You and your father are exactly alike! Why do you associate with such a man? Haha. Did you come with him because no one else was available? You should have come with your father instead!”
“….”
“Ho Ga Ho-wi—that man has been putting on such airs at the Murim Alliance these past few days! It’s infuriating.”
In short, Namgung Wan was displeased that the Family Head had come instead of my father, and when he saw the Family Head acting superior, combined with how he spoke to me, he simply lost his composure.
“An Elder? Ha! That’s merely compensation for all the insults your father has endured. Why would you—!”
“Father’s health isn’t good.”
“….”
“It would be difficult for him to come.”
The atmosphere in the hall sank in an instant.
Namgung Wan asked in a troubled voice.
“Haven’t you found a solution yet?”
I smiled.
“I’ll find one soon.”
“…Yes.”
Namgung Wan sighed. Then, as if finding it strange, he looked at me and spoke.
“I was certain you’d scold me the moment you arrived, but you haven’t said a word.”
“Pardon? About what?”
“Aren’t you going to say I was too harsh on your uncle?”
“Well…”
To be honest, I did think it was a bit excessive…
I tilted my head slightly.
“But he stepped forward for my sake, didn’t he?”
“That’s true.”
“And he did well.”
“What?”
“He should keep doing that from now on.”
Namgung Wan looked at me as if questioning my words, but I simply smiled brightly.
Soon after, a servant entered with tea. I sent the servant out and picked up the teapot.
As Namgung Wan watched me fill the teacup, he spoke with a tone of admiration.
“You’ve truly grown up now. I almost didn’t recognize you from a distance at first.”
“I know. It’s been such a long time.”
“You’ve grown so well. You resemble Ui-gang greatly. Truly. When I first saw you, you were only up to my waist. When did this little child grow so tall?”
Namgung Wan gazed at me with a nostalgic expression, then suddenly turned serious. It was an extreme shift in emotion.
“You haven’t eaten?”
Gurgle, gurgle.
Once my stomach started making noise, it continued shamelessly without pause.
“You haven’t eaten all day? Now that you’re healthy, you’re living recklessly. Have you already forgotten those days when you’d collapse and take medicine every single day?”
“Ah, I was just too busy today… it ended up like this.”
“It ended up like this? Will you tell your father the same thing?”
“Um… well… goodness, why is dinner taking so long?”
“Don’t change the subject!”
“Uncle, by the way, what brings you to the Murim Alliance?”
Namgung Wan looked at me with an expression of resignation.
Namgung Wan had come along with Namgung Ryu-cheong, who was attending the martial tournament.
“The Demonic Cult might target Ryu-cheong, after all.”
It was only natural that Namgung Ryu-cheong would participate in this martial tournament.
The route from Yangzhou to Muuhan was predictable. With the path so clearly exposed, the danger of ambush was far greater.
After all, wasn’t I myself ambushed? Though it wasn’t the Demonic Cult…
Looking back, the Namgung Clan had already been attacked by the Demonic Cult twice.
Once, Namgung Wan’s sister died, and the next time, he nearly lost his arm. Their vigilance was understandably heightened.
‘And he would certainly know about the Cheonma Jibow.’
Using the Cheonma Jibow as bait to draw the Demonic Cult from their headquarters.
To ordinary martial artists, it was merely a festival of the Orthodox Path, but the upper echelons of the Murim Alliance were surely contemplating war.
It was likely the true reason Namgung Wan had come to the Murim Alliance.
Before long, the awaited meal arrived. I ate while Namgung Wan, who had already dined, sipped wine across from me as we exchanged updates.
It was just as I was finishing my meal.
Namgung Wan asked in a cautious tone.
“By the way, I heard you returned the birthday gift Ryu-cheong sent you.”
….
“Did the two of you have a quarrel?”
…As expected. I knew this topic would come up eventually.

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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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