The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 240

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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 240
“Huh… Really? How is she unharmed?”
Grandfather had sealed my internal energy himself, so there was no way he could have made a mistake.
Baek Li-ri, who had stopped walking, pointed to a building.
“That building over there.”
Qinghu Inn.
It was a three-story inn with an unremarkable name.
“She went in there.”
It appeared to be an inn where Jianghu people typically gathered. Just then, a group of people with swords at their waists came rushing out of the inn. With the Martial Arts Tournament underway, it was no surprise to see the inn filled with such figures.
Finding anything unusual among the people staying inside the building would be difficult…
I pulled out a badge from my pocket and handed it to Baek Li-ri.
“What, what is this?”
I spoke calmly.
“Take this and wait at the main gate of the Murim Alliance Headquarters. If I don’t return after an hour passes… go find Namgung Ryu-cheong.”
The fact that Namgung Ryu-cheong was the one who came to mind at a time like this felt indescribably strange.
Baek Li-ri took a step back and spoke.
“Hey, Sister, why are you suddenly like this?”
“Just go. I’m doing this just in case.”
Baek Li-ri’s eyes, which had been gleaming with confidence just moments before when she said she wouldn’t let me go alone, trembled as if shaken by an earthquake.
“Hey, Sister, if it’s dangerous, wouldn’t it be better to just tell Father and go together…?”
So she said she wouldn’t go to meet Father even if it killed her, but she was worried about me after all.
“Don’t worry. It should be fine.”
With that, I turned away without looking back and headed straight for the inn.
* * *
I opened the inn door and stepped inside.
Just as it appeared from outside, the interior was an utterly ordinary inn. Based on the interior decorations and neat, well-organized appearance, it seemed to be a mid-tier inn among those in Muuhan.
Since inns typically operated their first floor as a dining area, it was quite empty now that lunch hour had passed. Only a few scattered people sat conversing.
Then a young man who appeared to be an employee quickly descended the inn’s staircase and approached me.
“Welcome. Have you come for a meal? If it’s for lodging, I apologize, but all our rooms are full.”
I examined the employee and removed my wide-brimmed hat. I heard him gasp sharply as I spoke.
“I’ve come looking for someone.”
“S-someone? May I ask their name? If you tell me…”
I pointed to the people drinking in the corner of the first floor.
“I think those people over there would know.”
“Pardon?”
I left the bewildered employee behind and crossed the inn.
From the moment I pointed, these men had worn confused expressions, but the instant I approached, their faces went completely blank as if by magic.
A middle-aged man rose smoothly and spoke. The others rose together, following his lead.
“How did you find out?”
I marveled anew.
I had anticipated that the Demonic Cult wouldn’t remain idle now that the Cheonma Jibow had appeared. But seeing it with my own eyes was entirely different.
‘They had established themselves right under the nose of the Murim Alliance Headquarters.’
Where had they been hiding? Should I have searched through every corner of Muuhan more thoroughly? Something told me these people were merely the tip of the iceberg.
As I laughed helplessly, the middle-aged man spoke with a cold expression.
“How bold of you to appear alone despite knowing our identity. If you truly understood our relationship, you wouldn’t be so reckless.”
A group of them encircled me in a wide formation.
“That’s precisely what I wanted to say to you.”
“Don’t assume we’ll show mercy simply because of your name.”
The moment the middle-aged man drew his sword, a murky aura began to thicken around him. From having experienced it several times before, I could instinctively recognize the depth of his accumulated power.
I gripped my own sword.
Just as combat seemed imminent.
“Stop.”
A voice came from behind.
I thought I had nearly forgotten it, but the moment I heard that voice, my entire body went rigid with dread.
Those who had been about to rush at me suddenly shifted into a respectful posture.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Do you all have a death wish? Who ordered this?”
At that soft rebuke, spoken without any rise in volume, the middle-aged man and those surrounding me collapsed to their knees.
“We apologize.”
The more I heard that voice, the more strength drained from my sword hand, yet I forced myself to maintain my grip and turned around.
Eyes with a faint crimson gleam gazed upon me. The corners of those eyes curved in a subtle smile. A voice, artificially tender, tickled my ears.
“It’s been a while.”
Despite my hands being clenched tight, my eyes lost all focus, wavering uncertainly.
* * *
It was a neat and spacious chamber. There was no sense of habitation, as though it wasn’t meant to be a permanent residence. It seemed the room had been deliberately rented for this purpose.
The unfamiliar young man across from me picked up a teapot.
The liquid poured with a soft trickle.
“You took longer than expected. I thought you’d come find me right away.”
“There’s no need to rush when you’re not running away.”
The teapot was set down with a sharp sound.
The noise grated against my nerves.
“Lies. You were captured by Namgung Ryu-cheong that day.”
To think he had witnessed that even while competing in the preliminary rounds.
The young man’s eyes gleamed with a desolate light.
Beneath those eyes with their faint crimson tint, I sensed a profound killing intent. It wasn’t born from a desire to kill Namgung Ryu-cheong or from hatred toward him. It was the killing intent of one who had slaughtered countless foes, waded through seas of blood, and survived.
I drew a short breath and spoke.
“The Dark Night of the Chudo Sect.”
“Just call me Yalyu.”
“What’s with that face?”
Yalyu was wearing a face I had never seen before. It was an exquisite human skin mask. The distorted meridians were actually easier to detect through reverse-sensing techniques.
Yalyu gazed at me quietly before removing the face mask. Jet-black hair tumbled across his pristine white forehead.
I nearly ceased breathing altogether.
Beneath his shadowed eyes, a beauty mark gleamed with striking clarity. There was something melancholic about his appearance, yet an allure I could not tear my gaze from. It was identical to the visage that haunted my dreams dozens of times over.
Yalyu’s lips moved.
“Does this form feel familiar? I thought you would despise it.”
The words carried a weight of hidden meaning.
Without thinking, my voice emerged cold and sharp.
“What do you mean?”
Yalyu tilted his head to the side.
“Well, I did slit your throat.”
His voice was low and gentle, utterly at odds with the brutality of his words.
I bit my lip.
‘Could he have recovered his memories? Or did he hear about it?’
I was not surprised. From the moment I learned that Yalyu had vanished alongside Cheon-ma, I had suspected something like this might unfold.
Yalyu tossed the face mask onto the table and spoke.
“I’m curious. Why did you let me live?”
“”
“How could you simply abandon the one who killed you?”
I felt his gaze settle upon my neck.
“Did you pity me?”
“”
“Or was it confidence that you could reform an evil person?”
My nape tingled with an unbearable sensation. Scratching it with my hands seemed as though it might provide relief, but I gripped my teacup tightly instead, restraining myself. This was not a discomfort that scratching could soothe.
I bit my lip hard, then fixed Yalyu with a piercing stare and spoke.
“Since you ask, I have a question for you as well.”
I did not wait for Yalyu to respond before asking directly.
“Why did you kill me?”
“”
This time, it was Yalyu who fell silent.
I voiced words I had buried for so long.
“After my father passed, I wanted to live, so I departed to a place with no connection to my past and lived quietly. I had never even met you. I had committed no crime worthy of death. So why did you kill me?”
Yalyu answered.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Right. I can’t remember.”
My tension shattered at his response, leaving me utterly dumbfounded.
“How convenient. You remember killing me, but not why.”
Yalyu asked.
“Are you angry?”
“How could I be? Why would I be angry?”
“You’re angry.”
Yalyu continued, speaking with his characteristic self-assured tone.
“I’ve had a dream since long ago.”
“….”
“A dream of cutting a woman’s neck.”
I realized that woman was me.
“At first, I didn’t know who it was, but later I found out. It was you.”
“Since when?”
“Probably since the first time I met you.”
I had no idea. I never knew Yalyu had been having such dreams.
I’d heard from Jeggal Hwa-mu that some people recalled memories this way. But he said most people simply forgot them like ordinary dreams.
“And sometimes when you slept, you begged to be spared.”
“….”
I didn’t know, but Yalyu had watched over my sleeping form for quite some time. He kept me from moving when my palm was injured.
And back then, I occasionally suffered nightmares. I’d heard I had troublesome sleep habits, but I never knew I spoke of things from my dreams.
Yalyu continued.
“As I grew older, it came back to me occasionally. But I didn’t know if it was Cheon-ma. I knew for certain the day I saw Cheon-ma.”
The moment Yalyu mentioned Cheon-ma, my mind snapped back into focus.
This wasn’t what mattered right now.
“So why are you with those Demonic Cult bastards now? Are you really with Cheon-ma and….”
It was a foolish question.
Yalyu, who had disappeared with Cheon-ma, was now with Demonic Cult members who obeyed him?
He didn’t have blood poison in his body, nor was he being detained. He’d even participated in the preliminary rounds of the Murim Alliance Martial Arts Tournament. And his inner energy had grown to a degree that would be impossible through normal means.
The Extreme Yang Constitution naturally allowed for rapid accumulation of inner energy. But Yalyu’s growth was difficult to explain by that alone.
Star Devouring Demonic Art.
I could tell that Yalyu had touched the Star Devouring Demonic Art again. In the end, it had come to this.

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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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