The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 259

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

Chapter 259
* * *
Crackle, crackle.
Beneath the silent night sky, I had been staring at the flickering campfire for who knows how long when I sensed a presence approaching without sound. Since I already knew who it was, I didn’t turn around.
“…The night watch isn’t for a while yet.”
“I couldn’t sleep. Where did you go?”
“Checking the perimeter.”
I nodded and tossed another log into the fire. Sparks erupted upward before settling back down. I felt Namgung Ryu-cheong settle beside me.
Namgung Ryu-cheong and I were on our way back to Muuhan. Due to the tight schedule before the main tournament, we hadn’t stopped at any villages and were sleeping under the stars like this. But this would be our last night—just two more days of travel and we’d arrive.
Thanks to the Hyeonmu Unit Master’s cooperation, born from a sense of guilt, I learned that Wi Ji-baek still hadn’t properly grasped the truth about my disappearance or Namgung Ryu-cheong’s seclusion. Wi Ji-baek had more than enough on his plate to worry about. He had no time to spare thinking about us.
Moreover, with Father having arrived, there was no need for Namgung Ryu-cheong and me to remain any longer.
So we decided to return and participate in the Martial Arts Tournament as planned, leaving the rest to the two adults.
I sighed and gazed up at the sky. Beneath the dark canopy, the white Milky Way stretched across like a flowing river. In the quiet open field, Namgung Ryu-cheong’s soft voice spread through the air.
“Did you know?”
“Hm?”
“About Yalyu.”
“What? I’m not a deity. How would I know?”
“I suppose.”
After a brief silence, Namgung Ryu-cheong continued.
“I just had a feeling you might know.”
“…No.”
I answered quietly.
When Byeok Ki-hyeon left the mountain manor, she naturally intended to report what had happened to her immediately. But her maternal grandmother begged her to give her just one chance. This grandmother was the only one in the Byeok Family who had looked after and cherished Byeok Ki-hyeon.
Whether her heart weakened at the sight of her grandmother kneeling and pleading, or whether she was simply exhausted by everything, Byeok Ki-hyeon disappeared quietly after being promised that the mountain manor would be dismantled and the ladies would be released.
‘…As if she’d actually keep that promise.’
Of course, the Byeok Family and Wi Ji-baek had no intention of honoring their word. They pretended to keep their promise while secretly searching for her. And eventually, they found Byeok Ki-hyeon, who had been hiding.
The Byeok Family’s original goal was to kill her and erase her existence. But upon finding her, they discovered something remarkable—the existence of Yalyu. Learning of his existence, the Byeok Family changed their plans. They thought they could use him as leverage against Wi Ji-baek.
However, Yalyu, who suffered from extreme yang deficiency, had been sickly since childhood and lived dependent on medicine. He had even been diagnosed as unlikely to live long. When Byeok Ki-hyeon, who would have been a witness to Yalyu being Wi Ji-baek’s son, died, the Byeok Family decided to quietly dispose of Yalyu.
But Yalyu, sensing their intentions, fled…. Later, Wi Ji-baek came to learn of all these circumstances.
This explained why Namgung Ryu-cheong had been unable to find any information about Yalyu. Wi Ji-baek had erased it all.
‘Out of fear that his crimes would be exposed.’
It had been a mystery until now—how Yalyu had managed to erase all information about himself even from within the Murim Alliance. But now it all made sense.
And now I understood why Yalyu opposed the Murim Alliance, why he despised and sought to kill all those of the Orthodox Path. If he had lived an ordinary life, he wouldn’t have been able to seek revenge, nor would he have even been able to preserve his own life.
‘If I had been Yalyu, what choice could I have made?’
Could I have avoided walking the path of the Demonic Cult?
It was then that Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke.
“The Danmok Family, my maternal grandmother’s clan, was nearly annihilated in the war against the Demonic Cult.”
It was an unexpected topic. The Danmok Family—the maternal family of Uncle Namgung Wan, once prosperous enough to be called a great family, now barely maintaining its lineage.
“My aunt, who married into the Danmok Family, also fell to the Demonic Cult.”
This too was a well-known story. Uncle Namgung Wan’s elder sister and her family were suddenly murdered one day. Investigation revealed it was the work of the Demonic Cult.
Since Namgung Mu-cheol was the Murim Alliance Leader at that time, the events that unfolded after the culprit was identified were obvious. A struggle erupted to obtain the blood debt. It had come to the brink of a righteous confrontation between the two factions.
Namgung Ryu-cheong continued.
“When my father was young, my grandfather was occupied with his duties as Alliance Leader, so my father was raised by my aunt. To my father, my aunt was no different from his own mother.”
“Ah….”
Indeed, Uncle Namgung Wan would shudder at the mere mention of the Demonic Cult.
“My mother nearly perished alongside her back then.”
“So Bu-in as well?”
“Yes.”
I was hearing this story for the first time.
The past me had admired Namgung Ryu-cheong, so I had investigated everything about him. Yet this story was entirely new to me.
“My aunt held a full-moon celebration, and my mother attended.”
A full-moon celebration was a gathering to commemorate a child’s first month of life. It was an era when infant mortality was extraordinarily high. Once a month had passed, it meant the dangerous period had been overcome, and so a ceremonial celebration was held.
“But my mother suffered severe carriage sickness on her way to attend the full-moon celebration.”
“….”
“Thinking she wouldn’t arrive in time, my mother decided to send her gift ahead first.”
It was a difference of one day. That single day saved the life of Namgung Ryu-cheong’s mother.
“When my mother arrived, the banquet hall was filled with corpses.”
“….”
“The Dark Shadow Unit.”
“Assassins?”
I asked without thinking.
“Assassins of the Demonic Cult.”
“….”
“My father pursued them for a long time, but….”
Assassins by nature move in secrecy. But assassins of the Demonic Cult? There was no way they could be caught.
Namgung Ryu-cheong, who had been silent, spoke again.
“My mother was not originally prone to carriage sickness.”
“…Heaven aided her.”
“My mother didn’t know it herself, but at that time she was pregnant with me, and her morning sickness manifested as carriage sickness.”
And due to the shock of the full-moon celebration, I nearly miscarried. After that, passing through several more critical moments and barely being born, So Bu-in was unable to conceive again afterward.
The reason he was suddenly telling me this story….
‘Could he know about Yalyu?’
After pondering briefly, I denied it. That couldn’t be.
But… Namgung Ryu-cheong was also suspecting it. If Yalyu had known all of this truth, he might have joined the Demonic Cult. That’s why he was telling me. No matter what circumstances existed, he could never coexist with the Demonic Cult.
“….”
“….”
Only the crackling sound of the campfire burning could be heard. The starlight that had faintly illuminated the night disappeared beneath the clouds.
How long had we remained like that? Suddenly, I felt something heavy rest against my shoulder. I became rigid in an instant.
‘What?’
Turning my head slightly to look at Namgung Ryu-cheong’s face, it was so close that his breath nearly touched mine. I could count every single eyelash without missing a single one. Admiring his thick lashes, I belatedly came to my senses and called out to him.
“…Ryu-cheong?”
There was no response.
‘Could he be asleep?’
Then I heard a low voice.
“Sorry… you go first.”
“What?”
With a soft rustle, Namgung Ryu-cheong slumped from my shoulder toward my knees.
“Ryu-cheong?”
“….”
“What’s wrong with you? Why are you like this!”
Only then did I notice something amiss. Though he was breathing as calmly as he could manage, Namgung Ryu-cheong’s nape was drenched in cold sweat.
‘He was fine when I saw him earlier today.’
Beneath his fevered forehead, Namgung Ryu-cheong’s breath burned intensely hot.
* * *
Murim Alliance Headquarters.
The first day of the Martial Arts Tournament main competition had arrived.
“Roooaaarrr!”
As this was a festival held only once in several years, an enormous crowd had gathered. It was incomparable to the preliminary rounds that had stretched on for days. Nearly a thousand people packed the wooden platform densely.
Amid the heated atmosphere, certain figures stood out distinctly. People dressed in white martial robes. All of them wore grim expressions. The youngest-looking girl among those in white robes craned her neck, continuously scanning the area near the tournament arena entrance.
At that moment, a strikingly beautiful girl in a pale pink martial robe beside her eyes widened as she asked in a voice barely concealing her anxiety.
“Still no word?”
The warriors in white robes answered.
“…None, miss.”
“Damn it, I’m going mad. We can’t delay any longer.”
“Seo So-jeo should go ahead. The Crown Prince is doing his best to buy us time….”
Just then, the girl in white robes, who had been restlessly fidgeting, suddenly bolted away.
“Young lady!”
The girl called Seo So-jeo chased after her.
“What if you arrive now! We thought you were forfeiting!”
“Do you know how many times the Martial Arts Alliance Warriors have come looking for you?”
“Sorry, I’m sorry.”
I apologized to Jin-jin and Seo Ha-ryeong, then looked back at Namgung Ryu-cheong. On the surface, he appeared perfectly fine as he steadied his breathing.

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