The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 273

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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 273
* * *
Thud!
A heavy sound shattered my reverie.
The person who leaped down from the tree was Jang Cheol.
Jang Cheol spoke.
“The Murim Alliance’s reinforcements are coming. It looks like they’ll arrive in about thirty minutes.”
Seo Ha-ryeong grumbled.
“Slowpokes. Do they even intend to catch us, or what?”
“The Alliance’s main forces are tied down by the Demonic Cult’s net of heaven and earth. There’s nothing we can do about their sluggishness.”
“We should hurry over there ourselves.”
“And do what? You already know we’re marked as persons of interest.”
“So what, are you scared? Worried about bringing trouble to the family? Then go. I never asked for your help.”
“That’s not it…”
Jang Cheol, who had been trailing off, opened his mouth again.
“But there’s one thing I’m curious about. I heard a story before—that Baek Li-yeon can detect people who have blood poison in their bodies, right?”
Seo Ha-ryeong’s eyes widened.
“What are you saying? Are you implying that Yeon deliberately didn’t tell us? Are you saying Yeon is a traitor too?!”
The empty scabbard at Seo Ha-ryeong’s waist rattled.
Jang Cheol flinched and stepped back.
“No, I’m not suspecting anyone! I’m just saying there must be some reason why we couldn’t detect it this time!”
“How would we know that? When the host dies, the blood poison dies with them. As long as the host lives, there’s no way to extract the blood poison…”
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke quietly.
“It’s different.”
“What?”
“This blood poison is different.”
“How?”
“The vital energy is different.”
Seo Ha-ryeong cried out in exasperation.
“What do you mean the vital energy is different?!”
Namgung Ryu-cheong raised his eyebrows and spoke.
“When the blood poison activates, it’s simply different from before. Can’t you tell?”
“…Geniuses, the lot of you.”
The moment Seo Ha-ryeong opened her mouth.
Namgung Ryu-cheong raised his hand, signaling silence.
Everyone suppressed their presence and concealed themselves. Shortly after, about ten sword-bearing figures approached quietly.
“The loud noise came from this direction, didn’t it?”
“Sigh, we haven’t even investigated what’s happening and you’re already opening your mouth?”
“What does it matter? Baek Li-yeon and Baek Li-ui-gang are in a different direction anyway.”
“Be grateful for that. I heard our side suffered tremendous losses.”
Seo Ha-ryeong and Jang Cheol’s eyes widened. Demonic Cult Members. Without realizing it, they had approached the Demonic Cult’s vast network of surveillance.
Seo Ha-ryeong cursed inwardly, wondering when that spy had dragged them this far.
Jang Cheol’s bones hadn’t fully healed yet to wield a sword properly. Only she and Namgung Ryu-cheong possessed true combat strength. At least, judging by their auras, they didn’t seem to be masters—a small mercy.
Their opponents numbered ten. If these men were part of the Demonic Cult’s network, dozens of experts would come rushing at a single signal.
“And don’t be relieved too soon. We don’t know when they’ll arrive. In the end, we succeeded in separating the two of them.”
Seo Ha-ryeong, who had been listening with bated breath, froze.
“If the goal was simply to kill them, we would have succeeded long ago without needing to tear them apart. Why the order to capture them alive…?”
That was the moment.
Crack!
Crack, crack, crack, crack!
A flash of light struck down all ten people in an instant. Most lost consciousness without even a groan.
“Say that again. Are you telling me Yeon is alone right now?”
* * *
That day when I met Namgung Ryu-cheong at the Tianshan Yanzhao Temple and refused him, I walked by the pond with my father.
Then, feeling it was an opportunity to ask about my mother, I posed the question. And my father spoke of my mother for the first time.
“One cannot forge a bond where none exists, no matter how forcefully one tries.”
My father’s expression as he gazed at the moon reflected in the pond was one of resigned bitterness. I wondered if he might say more, but that was all.
‘I was certain it was an opportunity.’
Or perhaps, because it was an opportunity, I was able to hear even that much. It had been his subtle way of expressing his feelings about my bond with Namgung Ryu-cheong.
After that, I never asked my father again. I had come to understand that he would never speak of it.
And now I understood everything. The reason my father had never opened his lips.
Consciousness returned slowly.
The pain that had felt like my entire body was being pounded before I lost consciousness had nearly vanished.
Whoooosh—
The first thing I felt was the sound of torrential rain pouring down as if to drown out every sound in the world.
Next, I met the eyes gazing down at me.
Beneath slightly upturned eyes, a distinct mole was visible, and I felt the cool breeze against the bare skin of my shoulder.
“…!”
My Golden Silk Technique extended instinctively, as I had trained countless times.
Snap!
Yalyu’s neck was caught in my grip, yet he simply stared at me blankly. There was no sign of him drawing upon his protective energy.
Seeing him completely defenseless, I squinted one eye and calmed myself.
I first realized that my garment was torn on one side—the place where I had been wounded by Taego Jinperson’s blade.
Bandages slipped down from the arm that had been gripping his neck. It seemed he had been unwrapping them.
I released my hand from Yalyu’s neck.
“Sorry.”
Yalyu’s lips curved upward.
“It’s fine.”
I lowered my arm and examined the wound.
“It’s almost completely healed.”
“….”
The wound was quite deep, yet the healing speed was incomprehensibly fast by any rational standard.
“I was planning to take you elsewhere if you hadn’t woken up by today.”
“Where… am I?”
It was a spacious cave, and from beyond the vegetation-obscured entrance, the sound of heavy rain could be heard.
“You don’t remember? You collapsed right after we arrived here.”
I straightened my garments while furrowing my brow.
“How many days have passed?”
“You’ve been unconscious for four days now, and it’s morning.”
Escaping the Murim Alliance amidst the chaos proved less difficult than expected. Though some tried to stop us, there were equally those willing to aid our flight.
“It’s a secret passage used by the Murim Alliance’s scouts. It leads out through the Dry Well located to the southeast beyond the Main Headquarters.”
“If your father learns of this, you too will face severe reproach.”
“Since the young lady helped the temple, I’m merely returning that kindness.”
Gongsun Wol revealed the secret passage, allowing us to slip away unnoticed by prying eyes.
“Hey, take off your clothes.”
“Young Master?”
“You too. And everyone here—forget what you’ve seen.”
Ak Jung-hae distributed his subordinates’ garments to them. He then deliberately misdirected the others about which direction we had gone.
Seo Ha-ryeong, whom we encountered by chance, noticed my sword had shattered and threw me hers.
That fool only threw the blade itself, so now I had no scabbard. Fortunately, Seo Ha-ryeong’s sword fit into mine, though it sat loosely and rattled.
I gazed down at the scabbard and asked.
“What of my father?”
In that brief moment before the answer came, my heart felt constricted with tension.
“There’s been no word that Baek Li Dae-hyup has been captured.”
I exhaled in relief.
The true threat lay not in escaping the Murim Alliance, but in the Demonic Cult’s forces.
They had deployed the Heaven-Severing Net toward my father and me as though they had been waiting for us to emerge from the Murim Alliance. Without Yalyu’s intervention, escaping that net would have been impossible.
Thanks to him, I witnessed the full, unrestrained power of the seasonal energy that Yalyu had unleashed upon the Martial Arts Arena.
My memories ended with barely escaping the Heaven-Severing Net and fleeing for a considerable distance.
I rose to my feet. Leaves that had accumulated beneath me clung to my garments before falling away.
Yalyu regarded me with an unwavering gaze.
I returned his gaze steadily before speaking.
“We should move to another location.”
Above all, putting distance between ourselves and any potential pursuers was paramount.
* * *
After riding through the morning, we discovered a small village with only two or three modest inns.
Yalyu and I entered the village in disguise.
The village carried a somewhat unsettled atmosphere, and there were considerable numbers of armed individuals about.
As we stepped into the inn, Jeom So-i approached us.
“My apologies. All the guest rooms are fully occupied.”
“Not a single room available?”
“I’m afraid not. My apologies.”
“…Then at least a meal is possible?”
“Of course.”
“Something nourishing for the body.”
It was the first thing Yalyu had spoken since following behind us, his lips sealed the entire way.
Jeom So-i, having received a silver token from Yalyu, nodded his head repeatedly with a bright expression.
I made my way toward a secluded corner.
Yalyu, who had followed, took a seat across from me.
“What exactly are you thinking?”
“I’ve actually seen your biological mother before.”
My eyes widened.
“Your eyes resemble hers.”
Beneath the table, my hand gripped the hem of my robe tightly where it rested upon my leg.
Those eyes that had felt so familiar in my dreams.
Through them, I could now recognize that the mysterious woman who had rescued me from prison was indeed my biological mother.
And the peculiar demeanor of the Demon Cult Third Prince, who had been killed by Namgung Wan—he too had sensed something about my mother the moment he laid eyes on me.
I spoke through transmission of voice.
[You recognized me because our eyes are alike?]
[Yes. I recognized you by your eyes. But there were also rumors.]
[What rumors?]
[That she bore a child outside.]
[…]
My expression twisted in displeasure.
[Your mother went on a mission once…and didn’t return even after the mission period had elapsed.]
There was apparently some minor commotion over that incident.
[In the end, she did return, but after that she broke off her engagement. Unsavory rumors circulated about it. But all those who spread such talk were executed.]

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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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