The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 252

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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 252
Namgung Ryu-cheong blinked rapidly in disbelief, his voice dropping to an urgent whisper.
“Why are you here…! How did you get here?”
I lowered my mask and replied.
“That’s what I should be asking. You said you were going to focus on training…?”
Could it be? Was the trace I’d found earlier from Namgung Ryu-cheong?
‘Wait. Then those people are…?’
The people sprawled across the floor were Namgung Clan Warriors. Fortunately, thanks to Namgung Ryu-cheong’s timely intervention, none of them had suffered serious injuries.
I exhaled in relief, pressing a hand to my chest.
‘That was almost a complete disaster. If someone had actually died…’
But I had my grievances too. When someone suddenly attacked me in the darkness, how was I supposed to distinguish between someone I knew and a stranger before reacting?
If I had encountered Namgung Ryu-cheong from the beginning, I would have recognized him. He was the kind of person who stood out even from a distance.
Namgung Ryu-cheong sheathed his sword and opened his mouth.
“My father has been investigating the Wi Alliance Leader.”
“Uncle Wan? You mean he’s here too?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong nodded and appeared to deliberate for a moment.
“It seems you came for similar reasons, so there’s no point in hiding things now that we’re here.”
He sighed and continued his explanation.
“My father discovered that the Wi Alliance Leader claims to be in closed-door training, yet periodically abandons the Main Headquarters and departs somewhere.”
Brief periods of closed-door training were something past Alliance Leaders had done as well. While the position of Alliance Leader came with tremendous responsibilities, martial prowess was equally vital.
“Following him led us to discover this mountain manor.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s group arrived at the mountain manor a day after me, he said. The traces I had initially discovered belonged to the Namgung Clan.
‘Then where did the people who were chasing Namgung Ryu-cheong go?’
Namgung Ryu-cheong said he hadn’t seen anyone else entering.
Namgung Ryu-cheong, who seemed to be thinking for a moment, asked.
“So you only took half a day? To get through the formation?”
“Well, it seems it took about that long.”
One of Namgung Ryu-cheong’s subordinates interjected from behind.
“Wow… it took us a full day and a half. That’s impressive.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong fell silent briefly, then nodded.
“Impressive indeed. If it’s you… it would be possible.”
“Hmm?”
It was clearly praise, yet there was a hint of envy in Namgung Ryu-cheong’s voice.
‘Could it be… he’s envious of me?’
Namgung Ryu-cheong?
‘The genius among geniuses, a prodigy descended from heaven, someone who appears once in a hundred years?’
Something… thrilling stirred within me.
I, who had been told that merely existing beside Namgung Ryu-cheong was presumptuous, was now the object of his envy through my abilities.
At Namgung Ryu-cheong’s gesture, the Namgung Clan Warrior who had interjected withdrew.
“So where is Uncle right now?”
Namgung Wan was currently gathering the women who had been held captive in this place.
The women here had been terrified when they first saw the Namgung Clan members, but later they cooperated quite enthusiastically, or so I heard.
With their cooperation, we were able to capture the warriors guarding this place and avoid the mechanical traps, or so it was said.
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke with a cold expression.
“Altogether, there are about eighty of them.”
“….”
“With our current numbers, it’s impossible to escort eighty women down this mountain.”
The path was treacherous even for myself, who had trained in martial arts, the Guard, and Gongsun Wol’s three subordinates to traverse.
Taking eighty women down that path was simply not feasible.
We could manage it by making multiple trips, but there was no way to know how much time that would consume.
‘Besides, there’s the Martial Arts Tournament as well.’
If I had no intention of forfeiting my entry into the Martial Arts Tournament, I needed to return to Muuhan as quickly as possible.
The same applied to me.
“Fortunately, the women mentioned there’s another escape route.”
“It’s here?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong shook his head.
“It’s where my father is.”
“Then why did you come here?”
“We couldn’t figure out how to open the door to the escape route.”
“You couldn’t open it?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong nodded.
“But I heard there’s a secret space in Wi Ji-baek’s Residence Quarter.”
I thought there might be another passage here, so I came to investigate.
Namgung Ryu-cheong observed the underground passage revealed as the wall slid away.
“…I was wondering how to find the secret space.”
I had simply opened it outright.
“How did you…never mind.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong appeared to have given up trying to understand.
The blade trap in the ceiling seemed designed to only avoid the area above the sleeping quarters, likely prepared in case someone attempted an ambush while sleeping. And if someone miraculously survived that trap, the design allowed them to escape through the opening that followed.
Then I sensed a cautious presence approaching the chamber.
A woman entered the chamber alongside the warrior who had participated in the earlier conversation.
The beautiful woman, dressed in vibrant silk garments, was startled upon witnessing the scene in the chamber.
“W-what, what, what is happening here?”
I asked Namgung Ryu-cheong.
“Who is that person?”
“The woman who guided us here.”
She was one of Wi Ji-baek’s victims.
Namgung Ryu-cheong continued his explanation.
“She was the one who told us about the secret space here. But when we arrived, something felt strange, so I had her hide outside for a moment.”
The warrior was heard explaining the situation to the startled woman.
The woman who had been nodding paused, her eyes widening as she looked at me—as though she had something urgent to tell me.
After a moment, she asked carefully.
“If you are Miss Baek Li… could your name be Baek Li-yeon?”
Her tone carried both warmth and desperate longing.
I tilted my head, studying her with curiosity.
Then it struck me—there was someone here who knew me.
“Could you be… Cho-ran?”
The woman’s eyes widened further as she shook her head.
“She was my sister, kidnapped here with me. I am Ok-a.”
Ok-a was the name of the other woman who had disappeared with her.
The woman burst into tears.
“Cho-ran is dead… She tried to escape and was killed by a wild beast… I even saw her body myself.”
“…”
It was a warning—this is what happens if you try to leave.
“Since that day, I have waited for the moment I could kill that demon. That day has finally come.”
I tried to comfort her gently.
“But first, we need to escape safely from here. Only then can we seek revenge.”
I then briefly explained the situation to those who were curious.
Soon after, Ok-a wiped her tears and spoke.
“I’m sorry. I startled you, didn’t I? I just… remembered the past…”
“It’s alright. These things happen.”
I patted her shoulder and asked.
“Do you know anything more about this secret chamber?”
“I… I only know that a secret chamber exists here. I’m sorry.”
Noticing my expression had darkened, Ok-a grabbed my sleeve in panic.
“But Wi Ji-baek said someone escaped from here! He cursed that woman every time! It’s true!”
“Someone escaped?”
“Yes, yes. Long ago. It was from when Wi Ji-baek first began using this place again.”
“…Using this place again?”
The answer came from Namgung Ryu-cheong.
“This place was originally the secret hideout of Mu Young Shin-tu.”
Ok-a nodded in agreement.
“That’s right! This was originally his hideout, but Wi Ji-baek discovered it by chance.”
I blinked. The name was completely unexpected.
“Mu Young Shin-tu… Could it be that lustful scoundrel?”
As his alias suggested, Mu Young Shin-tu was a formidable thief. It was said he could infiltrate anywhere and steal anything if he set his mind to it.
However, Mu Young Shin-tu was merely the alias he claimed for himself. Most people called him by another name—the Lustful Scoundrel—because his victims were typically women.
He was skilled, but he was a base kidnapper. To some, he was nothing short of a demon. Countless families had been ruined because of him.
He had no qualms about kidnapping women renowned for their beauty, regardless of whether they were married with children.
After committing his crimes, he would deliberately reveal his involvement, as though taunting his victims.
As his notoriety grew, many attempted to capture him, yet it proved impossible.
His heinous deeds made him a public enemy of the Martial World, with an astronomical bounty on his head. Even the precious daughter of the Man-geum Trading Company’s master—one of the top ten trading establishments—was kidnapped.
The master of Man-geum Trading Company offered a bounty equal to his company’s name in gold for his daughter’s safe return. Yet in the end, he never recovered her.
That villain continued his atrocities until one day he vanished without a trace.
Naturally, his name gradually faded from the Jianghu’s memory. By the time I was born, he was no longer mentioned at all.
“But…”
I gazed at Namgung Ryu-cheong with a bewildered expression.
“You killed that lecher’s disciple, didn’t you?”

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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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