The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 256

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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 256
Namgung Wan seemed to have emerged from the cave upon sensing the commotion outside.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
I answered while catching my breath.
“You held up well.”
When I glanced around, fortunately no one appeared to have sustained serious injuries.
The Guard hurried toward my side.
“Miss, are you unharmed?”
I nodded, assuring him I was fine.
Upon seeing this, Namgung Wan slowly walked past me toward the attacker.
“What brings you to this mountain valley, Hyeonmu Unit Master?”
Hyeonmu Unit Master? I looked up in surprise.
‘I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before…’
Since our encounter had been merely a fleeting brush, I hadn’t recognized him.
The attacker slowly lowered his mask. Having already been identified, there seemed little point in continuing to conceal himself.
A handsome middle-aged man spoke.
“I never expected to encounter the Namgung Minor Family Head in this place.”
The Hyeonmu Unit.
One of the elite units of the Murim Alliance.
If the White Tiger Unit served as a separate force, the Hyeonmu Unit was the Alliance Leader’s direct guard unit. And the current Hyeonmu Unit Master was the first wife’s younger brother—in other words, the Alliance Leader’s brother-in-law.
However, he had not risen to the position of Hyeonmu Unit Master merely on the strength of being the Alliance Leader’s brother-in-law.
His martial prowess was widely recognized as exceptional. Though not quite equal to my father, he was called a great hero and was said to have performed numerous righteous deeds with excellent character.
Originally, he hailed from Jongjeonmun, a minor sect in the central region of Hubei Province. Though Jongjeonmun had a long history, it was not widely known, primarily because the sect’s martial standards were not particularly high.
However, in this generation, an exceptional talent had emerged who advanced the sect’s martial arts by a significant degree and was gradually making the name known. That talent was none other than the Hyeonmu Unit Master before me.
And a certain suspicion occurred to me.
Could Jongjeonmun’s advancement in martial arts be connected to Wi Ji-baek?
In other words… what if Wi Ji-baek had discovered martial techniques at this Saek-ma’s mountain manor and passed them to the Hyeonmu Unit Master?
The Hyeonmu Unit Master would have incurred an enormous debt of gratitude to Wi Ji-baek.
And the Hyeonmu Unit Master’s master would also become an accomplice.
‘Moreover… did the Hyeonmu Unit also know of Wi Ji-baek’s actions?’
Namgung Wan’s voice rang out filled with fury.
“Did you know as well? That Wi Ji-baek has been abducting women at will? There were dozens of women that Wi Ji-baek had brought to that mountain manor!”
I felt a stir of unease ripple through the Hyeonmu Unit members who had been attacking us moments before.
The Hyeonmu Unit had not known.
I felt somewhat relieved.
Namgung Wan, having also sensed the situation, spoke sharply to the Hyeonmu Unit Master.
“All of you, come to your senses! Since when has the Hyeonmu Unit condoned such wickedness! Are you not ashamed?”
The Hyeonmu Unit Master closed his eyes tightly. His expression bore the weight of guilt. Yet the Hyeonmu Unit members behind him could not be seen.
I too stepped forward, tearing away the mask that had clung damply to my face.
I heard the members of the Hyeonmu Unit drawing sharp breaths.
“Hyeonmu Unit Master, this matter can no longer be concealed.”
The Hyeonmu Unit Master had likely already guessed my identity when our blades clashed. Revealing my face was meant to shock the Hyeonmu Unit members.
Though they were not the members of the White Tiger Unit where my father served, surely they had shared years of hardship and triumph as elite members of the Murim Alliance?
As expected, I heard startled murmurs.
“B-Baek Li?”
“Then the people we were trying to kill were truly….”
They regarded Namgung Wan and me with bewilderment.
“You cannot hide the sky with your palm. Are you truly going to kill all these innocent women who were dragged here and suffered through agonizing years?”
“….”
“Hyeonmu Unit Master, come to your senses even now!”
That was when the presences that had been observing from a distance suddenly revealed themselves.
“What’s there to deliberate about? You’re simply too compassionate for your own good.”
“Hyeonmu Unit Master, have you already forgotten the favor you received from the Wi Alliance Leader?”
“It was wise of us to wait here just in case, wasn’t it?”
All five who appeared were masters at least at the peak level. They did not even bother to conceal their faces.
They were middle-aged and elderly—sect leaders and family heads allied with Wi Ji-baek.
Though not among the three great sects or major factions, they were organizations with considerable renown among the mid-tier sects. Moreover, they held quite high positions within the Murim Alliance.
Namgung Wan did not seem particularly surprised, as if he had already sensed their presence. Yet the atmosphere grew heavier.
“To think the Murim Alliance has rotted to this degree.”
The Hyeonmu Unit Master opened his eyes with resolve and spoke.
“Namgung Minor Family Head, you are not in your right mind. To think of framing someone, no matter how displeased you are with the Alliance Leader.”
Namgung Wan’s face twisted.
“Hyeonmu Unit Master! Do you truly intend to come forward like this?”
“We merely eliminated one of the Demonic Cult’s hideouts. Rather, I demand an explanation from the Minor Family Head. Why did you emerge from a Demonic Cult hideout?”
Absurd reasoning.
But if they slaughtered everyone and then proclaimed “those were members of the Demonic Cult,” how could anyone prove their innocence?
The dead had no voice.
And.
Boom!
The five masters who had just appeared all rushed at Namgung Wan at once. The Hyeonmu Unit Master joined them as well. Their intent to kill Namgung Wan first and foremost was unmistakable.
We clashed with the Hyeonmu Unit members.
The sound of blades striking from all directions grew so intense that the sound of flowing water could no longer be heard.
Clang! Clang! Boom! Rumble!
The Hyeonmu Unit member who crossed blades with me spoke.
“Miss, surrender. I do not wish to harm you.”
“Yet you fired arrows at my head.”
“….”
Clang!
I never expected persuasion through words could work in such circumstances.
With so many people entangled together, I couldn’t recklessly swing my blade.
Rumble! Crack-boom!
Over there, an enormous battle was unfolding. In an instant, as if a tempest had swept through, dozens of trees around the area toppled.
It was in the midst of the frenzied fighting.
A scream pierced the air, followed by an urgent cry.
“Do Mun-ju!”
The fighting momentarily subsided, and all eyes converged on a single point.
One of those who had been fighting Namgung Wan staggered backward, drenched in blood.
“Ugh… ugh…”
Do Mun-ju, still spilling blood, collapsed to the ground with an expression of disbelief.
Someone beside him rushed over and checked Do Mun-ju’s pulse. Then, with a pale face, they shook their head.
Namgung Wan flicked the blood from his blade and spoke.
“When was the last time you all drew your swords and fought properly? Your blades have all grown rusty.”
Someone sighed as they spoke.
“Is… is that really true? Reaching the Heavenly Realm at that age…?”
“It’s impossible. At his age…?”
Everyone regarded Namgung Wan with exhausted expressions.
Namgung Wan spoke with arrogant disdain.
“Well then, shall we continue?”
“…”
Unlike his overbearing demeanor, his true condition was different.
He had sustained considerable internal injuries.
It was the result of forcibly drawing out his power.
To appear overwhelmingly dominant.
And whether Namgung Wan’s stratagem had worked, everyone seemed intimidated and hesitant, unwilling to rush forward.
‘When they confidently launched their combined assault, it was a different story… Wait.’
There had definitely been six of them when even the Hyeonmu Unit Master joined in, so why were there only five now?
‘Where’s the sixth one?’
Had they already fled?
That was when it happened.
“!”
A sinister sensation made me turn my head, evading something that flew toward me.
But it whirled around and pursued me relentlessly, wrapping around my neck.
Then a voice came.
“It would be wise not to move.”
A sharp sensation accompanied by something trickling down the back of my neck. The feeling was deeply unpleasant.
A sinister voice came from behind me.
“A cord made from Heavenly Silkworm thread. It won’t break, and when infused with inner energy, it becomes sharper than any blade. If I so much as twitch a finger, your neck will be severed.”
It was the person who had suggested waiting when they first appeared.
With such a cowardly tone and cautious demeanor, I never imagined they would lurk in the shadows like this, waiting for their opportunity.
Namgung Wan’s uncle cried out, his voice trembling with fury.
“Pung Family Head!”
The Pung Family was renowned for their hidden blade techniques. Yet, as was often the case with such arts, they faced considerable ridicule.
For ordinary people, spears offered far greater utility with their extended reach, but the Martial World operated by different principles. The sword was revered as the cure-all of weapons—the supreme instrument among all arms.
In a Martial World dominated by such prejudice, hidden blade techniques were naturally dismissed as inferior martial arts practiced only by assassins.
“I hear the Namgung Minor Family Head holds Baek Li quite dear?”
“….”
“Shall we continue?”
Pung Family Head echoed Namgung Wan’s uncle’s words with a mocking tone.
“….”
Namgung Wan’s uncle clenched his teeth, unable to utter a single word.

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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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