The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 269

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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 269
My battered body felt as though it might take flight—so impossibly light. Every wound across my frame had healed as if washed clean. Save for the searing pain crackling near the crown of my head, I could declare myself fully restored.
Across from me, Taego Jinperson regarded me with an intensity that seemed to pierce straight through.
I should have felt the kind of suffocating pressure that renders even a single finger immobile, yet this moment was different.
His gaze carried surprisingly little weight.
“What in the world—what is the meaning of this!”
Gongson Chong-sa was the first to speak, his face nearly unraveling with bewilderment.
His words ignited a wave of murmurs that rippled through the crowd like a tide.
Gongson Chong-sa grasped at the question as though clinging to a lifeline.
“Taego Jinperson, h-how, how, how did this happen?”
“Even I do not know.”
“Then what in the world—!”
At that moment, Taego Jinperson’s gaze shifted from me toward a particular section of the spectator stands.
My eyes, and Grandfather’s as well, followed his to that same spot.
Soon after, a middle-aged man in silk martial robes strode forward with commanding presence, leading a contingent of followers. It was Wi Ji-baek.
The Wei Family warriors, some Alliance members, and the allied forces that had been expelled alongside them all accompanied him. That Guan Wenzhu with bandages wrapped around his arm—he was the one who had ambushed us when we fled the Wei Alliance Leader’s mountain manor.
He had been imprisoned in the Martial Arts Alliance Prison along with Namgung Wan and others for attempting to kill me and Namgung Ryu-cheong, but it appeared Wi Ji-baek had released him.
“The Wei Alliance Leader!”
“He’s perfectly fine? Then why has he hidden himself until now? What does his sudden appearance mean?”
“This is strange. The atmosphere feels decidedly ominous, does it not?”
Wi Ji-baek, having reached the foot of the awards platform, gazed at the wooden chest and spoke.
“So it has come to this after all.”
Gongson Chong-sa replied.
“Wei Family Head, what is the meaning of this?”
The unspoken words hung in the air: *without proper restraint.*
Wi Ji-baek, regarding Gongsun Bang, let out a derisive laugh.
“Do I appear to have arrived somewhere I should not?”
“Ahem.”
“Wei Family Head!”
Everyone cleared their throats with visible displeasure, and the Shaolin Monk stepped forward as their representative.
“Amitabha Buddha. Wei Family Head, we all recall our agreement on this matter. How do you explain yourself?”
At that moment, Taego Jinperson spoke.
“What does your statement ‘so it has come to this’ signify?”
Wi Ji-baek pointed toward me and said.
“Ask that woman there.”
All eyes converged upon me.
I tilted my head and replied.
“I have no idea.”
“!”
My brief answer sent a visible shockwave of astonishment through those assembled.
I didn’t pause, continuing my words without hesitation.
“And why should I listen to the words of a degenerate human?”
I displayed an ostentatiously indifferent attitude. The Jianghu valued hierarchy and proper order. The Wei Family Head’s eyes naturally flared with fury.
“You insolent worm!”
From the enraged Wi Ji-baek erupted an aura like a palm strike—a threat potent enough to crush through sheer momentum alone.
Boom!
The instant Baek Li Pae-hyuk stepped forward to shield me, his energy collided with Wi Ji-baek’s, and a violent gust swept across the surroundings.
“Agh!”
“Gasp!”
The crowd, already battered by sudden gusts before, flinched in terror and nearly prostrated themselves on the ground.
Yet few among them fled.
A collision between masters of the highest caliber.
Something one might witness once in a lifetime, if at all. It was entirely different from the Martial Arts Tournament.
A voice rang out above them.
“How dare you threaten my granddaughter before me?”
“The Baek Li Family Head….”
Wi Ji-baek’s teeth chattered slightly.
The Cheonma Jibow’s function still lingering in my mind allowed me to sense Wi Ji-baek’s shock. The Baek Li Family Head’s presence here had not been part of Wi Ji-baek’s plan.
In this tense atmosphere, everyone could only swallow their dry saliva.
“As it happens, I had questions for you as well.”
Baek Li Pae-hyuk smiled savagely.
“The family traitor, Baek Li-ui-ran. Where have you hidden that child?”
I glanced up at my grandfather in slight surprise.
“I came knowing full well that you were concealing her.”
“Concealing? She has merely been a guest of the Wei Family.”
So Baek Li-ui-ran had been hiding within the Wei Family. That explained why she couldn’t be found. And now I understood why my grandfather had come here.
Even under house arrest, confinement didn’t diminish Wi Ji-baek’s martial prowess. My father’s strength alone wouldn’t have allowed him to search the Wei Family Estate.
Yet Wi Ji-baek’s demeanor remained remarkably composed.
“I’ve heard a curious tale. I suspect the Baek Li Family Head would be quite astonished to hear it as well.”
I quickly interjected.
“Wei Family Head, are you feeling well? My aunt’s hobby happens to be poisoning.”
I continued, sensing the crowd’s startled gaze upon me.
“When I was five, I nearly died from poison my aunt administered, and my older brother nearly perished from her toxins as well.”
“…!”
Shock enveloped the assembly.
Some major sects likely already knew this information, but the majority did not.
Baek Li-ui-ran’s crimes were the family’s shame. Spreading rumors would only spit upon our own faces, and since the matter involved Baek Li-myeong’s and my own physical condition, we had kept it hidden.
I couldn’t discern what she was plotting… but if my aunt was involved, it certainly wouldn’t favor us.
There was a reason she’d chosen this moment with so many witnesses present.
‘Then the first strike must secure victory.’
Whatever my aunt did, I would make people suspect her.
Whispers rippled through the crowd.
“Good heavens! So that’s why she was suddenly cast out? I always thought something was off. I wondered what on earth she’d done to deserve it. Tsk, tsk.”
“Why would the Wei Alliance Leader even receive such a vile creature as a guest? What could he possibly be thinking?”
“Why didn’t such rumors circulate before? That Baek Li-ui-ran was entangled with the Demonic Cult, that the Baek Li Family was a puppet of the Demonic Cult. If I recall correctly, the Byeok Family was the first to spread that rumor….”
In an instant, suspicion clouded the gazes fixed upon Wi Ji-baek.
Wi Ji-baek showed no surprise—he clearly knew this already. But his eyes burned with the desire to kill me for revealing it here.
Then a thunderous voice cut through the air.
“Baek Li-yeon, enough!”
It was Grandfather.
Grandfather continued, his tone reproachful.
“How dare you broadcast family matters so recklessly!”
I bit my lip slightly, as if aggrieved, then bowed my head.
“My apologies.”
Grandfather’s manner was fierce, but I understood the truth—he wasn’t truly angry.
We had never coordinated our words, yet intelligent people need only exchange glances to comprehend each other’s intent.
Father had drawn near and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder as if to comfort me. He seemed to believe I had truly been scolded.
I could not explain now, so I merely kept my head lowered. In any case, with Father’s presence added to the scene, a perfect tableau had been created.
Grandfather spoke.
“Bring out Baek Li-ui-ran. She is a matter of my family. You have no place interfering, boy.”
Wi Ji-baek’s face flushed crimson at the blatant contempt.
Since ascending to the ranks of the world’s strongest and becoming the Murim Alliance Leader, when had he ever been so disrespected?
Even though I myself had reached the pinnacle of strength, I could perceive it now.
Wi Ji-baek could not match my grandfather.
A clear disparity was evident. And Wi Ji-baek, as a master of the highest realm, could not be ignorant of it.
Then it happened. Into the suffocating standoff between the two came another presence.
The aura was clear and light, yet its momentum yielded nothing. I felt an offensive capability that could sharpen into a blade at any moment.
“Both of you, cease.”
It was Taego Jinperson.
Taego Jinperson regarded Wi Ji-baek and spoke.
“Let me hear what brings you here.”
Grandfather’s eyes grew fierce.
Wi Ji-baek laughed openly.
“Hahahaha! I knew I could reason with Taego Jinperson.”
Taego Jinperson regarded Wi Ji-baek with an expressionless face.
“Wei Family Head, if you believe I am taking your side, you are mistaken.”
Wi Ji-baek clenched his teeth at the contemptuous gaze and spoke toward the back.
“How much longer do you intend to hide?”
….
He was addressing the direction where the Alliance members who had come with him were gathered.
“Come out this instant!”
A woman was practically hurled forward from between them, stumbling into view.
Though I hadn’t seen her in years, I recognized her face immediately.
It was Baek Li-ui-ran.
Just as Li-ri had said, she hadn’t changed in the slightest.
“Baek Li-ui-ran? It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it?”
Grandfather’s voice rumbled like distant thunder.
When he had sealed her dantian and cast her out, all the warmth of kinship that had remained seemed to have vanished entirely.
Beneath the oppressive aura radiating from Grandfather, my aunt’s lips trembled uncontrollably.
Unlike Grandfather, who had always shielded me from any threat, Wi Ji-baek offered her no such protection.
And Father’s grip on my shoulder was tightening by the moment. The pain was becoming noticeable, causing me to wince slightly.
‘What… why is he doing this?’
That was when my aunt’s eyes, searching desperately for somewhere to look, found Father. And me, standing beside him.
Her face twisted grotesquely, her gaze burning with pure hatred.
She suddenly pointed an accusatory finger in our direction.
“Baek Li-ui-gang! Does it feel good to deceive everyone while wearing the mask of virtue? Does it seem like the entire world bends to your will? But you cannot hide the sky with your palm!”
What is this madwoman saying to my father?
Before I could speak, my aunt shrieked.
“Your daughter—who is her mother?”
In that instant, I forgot what I was about to say.
Why was my mother suddenly being brought up?
I looked toward Father.
His grip on my shoulder was now so fierce it felt as though he might shatter bone, yet the pain barely registered against what was coming next.
My aunt screamed.
“Of course you cannot speak of it! Because she is the daughter of Cheon-ma!”
She pointed directly at me.
“This woman’s mother is the daughter of Cheon-ma! This woman is the granddaughter of Cheon-ma!”
She turned toward the crowd, her voice booming.
“The bloodline of Cheon-ma has become the champion of the Orthodox Martial Arts Tournament! How utterly shameful!”

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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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