The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 272

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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 272
“…I have nothing more to say.”
“Ui-gang!”
“Stand aside.”
Our gazes clashed without yielding, locked in silent confrontation.
Namgung Wan’s breathing grew increasingly ragged.
“You… truly….”
My father’s grip tightened around his sword hilt.
In that instant, a deafening shockwave erupted with such force that the surrounding smoke screen scattered like leaves.
As the shockwave subsided, Namgung Wan appeared, his blade intercepting Wi Ji-baek’s strike.
Wi Ji-baek cried out.
“Namgung Minor Family Head! What are you doing! Are you taking the side of that traitor? You, who lost your sister to the Demonic Cult?”
“Silence that mouth of yours! Was I not speaking!”
Namgung Wan, consumed by fury, swung his blade toward Wi Ji-baek.
With a metallic clash, Wi Ji-baek blocked the strike with a contemptuous expression, but his face shifted in an instant.
I could watch no longer.
My father and I bolted forward as one, the deafening roar of thunder-like explosions erupting in our wake.
We barely escaped the Tournament Arena as flames now surged from all directions. While smoke within the arena was beginning to settle, the exterior blazed with heat radiating from burning structures.
Alliance members rushed about carrying buckets of water in desperate attempts to contain the inferno.
“This accursed fire—I’ve had enough of it.”
The image of the mountain manor burning not long ago flashed unbidden through my mind.
‘I hope the ladies managed to escape safely.’
I could only trust that the guards I had assigned to protect them would do their duty.
But there was no time for such reflections.
“They haven’t gotten far yet!”
“Extinguish the flames first!”
“The Demonic Cult members are escaping! Everyone, pursue them!”
My father and I were not the only ones to emerge from the smoke screen.
As we fled, evading the frenzied pursuers closing in behind us.
[Miss Baek Li, this way!]
A delicate voice reached me through sound transmission.
I turned, searching the surroundings, and then heard it spoken aloud.
“Over here!”
It was Gongsun Wol.
“Baek Li Dae-hyup! This way!”
Behind Gongsun Wol stood Ak Jung-hae with members of his sect.
* * *
A forest shrouded in twilight even in broad daylight.
Beneath the dense canopy of deciduous trees, a man raced along the sloping path with desperate urgency.
And pursuing him was a figure clad in azure silk martial robes.
A moment later,
Boom!
A tremendous impact rippled outward, shaking the trees violently.
The fleeing man stumbled, catching sight of the tree blocking his path before spinning around in panic.
Yet in the direction he sought to escape, a woman descended lightly, cutting off his route.
In another direction the man desperately glanced toward, another figure stood blocking his way.
The man collapsed to his knees.
“Spare me, I beg you! I know nothing. Truly!”
A young man in azure martial robes spoke in an icy tone.
“You are the last one.”
“The last?”
“All five before you died from blood poisoning seizures.”
“That’s impossible… impossible! There should still be days left before the seizure activates…! Please, spare me!”
Four days had already passed since the Martial Arts Tournament ended in chaos.
Most of the Demonic Cult members who had betrayed or infiltrated that day had either died or been captured on the spot.
Yet none of them survived those four days, and after tracking down those who barely escaped, we finally caught them.
Seo Ha-ryeong nudged the blood-spewing man with her foot. From his mouth, which had been moving moments before, only a thin stream of bloody foam now trickled slowly.
“In the end, this one is dead too.”
Most of those captured were mere pawns, knowing nothing of consequence.
The traitors were no different. Those who claimed they had cooperated only because of the blood poison’s compulsion all died from its seizures. All attempts to save them proved futile.
“Still, at least this one knew something useful.”
Seo Ha-ryeong continued, watching the silent Namgung Ryu-cheong.
“So it was Baek Li-ui-ran acting alone. I wondered why she killed them so brutally when she was a fellow cult member. Absorption Demonic Art, then…”
Namgung Ryu-cheong rose to his feet and spoke.
“It’s a cheap price for the sins committed.”
“Well… that’s true enough.”
Wi Ji-baek’s crimes had also been laid bare beyond doubt.
The investigation of the manor revealed several corpses drained of their vital essence, withered and twisted beyond recognition.
The one who cooperated in this investigation was Wi Ji-baek’s first wife, the Wi Great Lady. She was also the sister of the Hyeonmu Unit Master.
With her cooperation and the condition that Jongjeonmun take responsibility and seal its gates for one hundred years, the Hyeonmu Unit Master was barely released. His children and grandchildren had already been sent to relatives in the Yunnan Region before the incident occurred.
Thus, even his first wife having turned her back on him, Wi Ji-baek fled with some of his allies.
At that moment, Seo Ha-ryeong lowered her voice and whispered.
“But tell me… is Jeok-ya really Yalyu?”
Under Namgung Ryu-cheong’s gaze, Seo Ha-ryeong hesitated before speaking.
“No, I mean I heard someone say that.”
“From whom?”
“Well, don’t I have ears to hear news? So is it true?”
“Yes.”
A sharp intake of breath escaped her.
Namgung Ryu-cheong lowered his gaze.
Jeok-ya’s identity was no longer a secret. Most of the high-ranking officials in the Murim Alliance had figured it out. It was because of the martial arts he displayed when escaping the Main Headquarters.
He no longer felt the need to hide, brazenly wielding the techniques of Cheonsan Yeom-je as he toyed with his pursuers and slipped away. Because of this, Namgung Ryu-cheong also faced reproach.
His father had discovered that he knew Yalyu’s identity yet concealed it.
“I wondered why you suddenly forfeited, but was it because your opponent was Yalyu? How could you know and not say anything!”
“I could not trust the Murim Alliance.”
“Is that so? Now the Murim Alliance says they cannot trust you! Are you not in collusion with them!”
“I pay no mind to what they say.”
“You think you’re so clever. At least to your father…!”
Namgung Wan, who had been shouting, suddenly grimaced and steadied his breathing. His face was etched with pain.
“Father, please calm yourself. It is not good for your wound.”
Blood seeped slightly through the bandages across his chest.
Namgung Wan, who had collided violently with Wi Ji-baek, had sustained injuries that would require weeks of recuperation.
The battle had been so fierce and intense that even Taego Jinperson and the Baek Li Family Head, who were present at the time, had to intervene to stop the two men from fighting.
Still, Wi Ji-baek was not unscathed. Though Namgung Wan’s injuries were more severe, the sight of him wounding Wi Ji-baek and even pressing him back momentarily left everyone present astounded.
“Call a physician….”
“There is no need. They will only say I must rest. Nonsense. How can I rest in a situation like this!”
Baek Li-yeon and Baek Li-ui-gang slipped away from the scene and vanished entirely. And a report came to Gongson Chong-sa that the Demonic Cult forces were rapidly approaching Muuhan.
Tension rose in an instant.
It seemed as though war would break out immediately, but suddenly the Demonic Cult forces halted their advance and deployed the Heavenly Net just outside Muuhan.
What they intended to capture with the Heavenly Net was obvious.
Baek Li-yeon.
If Baek Li-yeon had not absorbed the Cheonma Jibow, there would be no reason for the Demonic Cult to act in such a manner.
“We cannot allow the Demonic Cult to seize Baek Li-yeon. The current Cheon-ma is far weaker than the first Cheon-ma. This is because he did not inherit the power contained in the Cheonma Jibow. We cannot let them obtain it. We must find her first.”
“And then what?”
“….”
“After we find Baek Li-yeon first, what then?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong asked, suppressing his emotions as much as possible.
“What is it that you wish for, Father?”
“You are composed. That is unlike you.”
“You are being irrational, Father.”
Namgung Wan let out a hollow laugh as if at a loss for words.
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke while concealing his clenched fists.
“Even if it were truly the case that Yeon is the blood of Cheon-ma… she would have grown up knowing nothing of it.”
“….”
“Would you place blame upon Yeon, who grew up never once seeing her birth mother’s face?”
“You have grown much. You even know how to appeal to emotion now.”
“I merely spoke the truth. If you find it pitiful, that is because you yourself see it that way.”
Namgung Wan’s gaze was fixed meaninglessly upon the table.
“You are right. Yeon’s fault—Baek Li-yeon’s fault—is not her own.”
Just as Namgung Ryu-cheong was about to speak, a gloomy voice came first.
“Then you’re saying this is my fault?”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“What do you mean it isn’t? Ha ha.”
His laughter gradually faded as Namgung Wan spoke with a bitter edge.
“Are you suggesting I lack magnanimity, that I’m blinded by vengeance, that I cling to grievances I ought to forgive and harbor regrets?”
Crash! The table shook violently.
“Do I appear so foolish as not to understand that none of this is Yeon’s fault!”
“….”
Namgung Wan’s face bore the weight of exhaustion. Blood that had been seeping gradually now showed clearly through the bandages.
Namgung Ryu-cheong lowered his head.
“I shall summon the Physician.”
Namgung Wan spoke to Namgung Ryu-cheong as he turned to leave.
“And what do you intend to do?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong could not answer.
Namgung Wan had not spoken a single word about Baek Li-yeon until Namgung Ryu-cheong brought it up himself.
It was a consideration born from his heart as a father, aching for his son.
Namgung Wan spoke with quiet composure.
“I am most fortunate that my one and only son possesses reason.”

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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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