The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 275

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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 275
Tap, tap-tap, tap.
The sound of rain drumming against the shuttered window.
The clamorous noise outside felt distant, as though muffled behind a veil.
Yalyu’s hand covered the back of mine.
Even when we trained together under the same sun, Yalyu never seemed to burn. It was no different now. His pale cheek rested against the back of my hand.
‘Where did it all go wrong?’
Was it from the moment I extended my hand to him?
It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel a sense of superiority watching him gaze at me with blind devotion, following me around like a shadow.
How could I not cherish someone who loved only me?
“…Yes. That’s right. I remember that promise too.”
I drew a shallow breath and spoke.
Perhaps it was for the best. This was a conversation I would have had to broach eventually.
“More than ten years ago, when you weren’t even a disciple of Tianshan Flame Emperor yet.”
“…”
“When we didn’t know our future would become like this.”
“…”
“Things are different now than they were then.”
That old promise had already lost all meaning.
“I’ve already failed to protect you.”
Yalyu lifted his head from where it rested against me. His expression grew blank as he murmured.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“You said everything you did was for me, didn’t you?”
Yalyu nodded. Then he spoke again, as if to emphasize the point.
“I meant it.”
“That’s exactly the problem. Everything you’ve done becomes my responsibility.”
“…”
“Ignorance cannot be an excuse. Not if you’re going to stay by my side.”
When I promised to protect Yalyu, I was implicitly accepting responsibility for all his actions. If we were to be together, I had to take responsibility for everything he did. But the child I had promised to protect and care for no longer existed.
“And I’m not going to—”
“And now I won’t…”
I inhaled softly and finished.
“…take responsibility for what you’ve done.”
And Yalyu, being perceptive, would understand the rejection embedded in my words.
His blood-red eyes wavered like reeds in the wind. My chest felt tight and constricted with pain. This situation—having to give such an answer.
“The things you did claiming it was for me—they weren’t for me. They were for you.”
Yalyu gripped my hand tighter.
“Why are you saying this all of a sudden?”
I lowered my gaze. My eyes fixed on the hand gripping mine.
“It’s not sudden. I should have said this long ago…”
“So you’re angry? I’m sorry. Is it because I acted on my own without telling you? Because I didn’t inform you of my plans beforehand?”
Yalyu paused for a moment, his expression darkening before he continued.
“Even if I had told you about your mother beforehand, about Cheonma Jibow, the outcome wouldn’t have changed. Even if you hadn’t won the tournament, Cheonma Jibow would have….”
I cut off Yalyu’s words and spoke.
“There’s no need to explain. That’s not why.”
“But this is about the Martial Arts Tournament, isn’t it? If it’s not that, then why suddenly…!”
I exhaled softly.
It was rare for Yalyu to show his emotions to me like this.
“Or is it because I killed you? Are you still bothered by that?”
I frowned slightly and looked at Yalyu.
“‘Still’? That’s not something you should be saying.”
….
How could I forget the moment when Yalyu’s blade came for my throat?
“But that’s not the reason either.”
All memories fade with time. Just as I no longer had nightmares of my throat being cut, just as I could now hold Yalyu’s hand like this.
The expression on Yalyu’s face when I asked if he liked me—as if he didn’t understand, as if asking what I meant.
But his actions spoke for him. When intentions were unclear, one could always find the answer by observing a person’s deeds.
The gaze of Namgung Ryu-cheong that followed me wherever I went.
Yalyu was the same.
Those pitch-black eyes that had followed me since childhood. It was truly time to bury this now.
“Don’t be bound by a childhood promise. You should live your own life now too.”
I pulled my hand away from Yalyu’s grasp.
Just as I thought it would slip free easily unlike how tightly he’d been holding it, Yalyu grabbed my hand again.
“I refuse.”
I sighed.
“Think about what I said carefully.”
“I refuse.”
“Yalyu… why are you like this?”
Yalyu suddenly bowed his head deeply.
….
Something was wrong. Though his skin was so pale I hadn’t noticed, Yalyu’s complexion had turned deathly white.
The flow of inner energy that I thought had been agitated by emotion began moving strangely. As if it were flowing backward, threatening to rupture his body….
Cough.
Yalyu suddenly twisted his head and coughed up blood.
My eyes widened.
Yalyu spoke with difficulty.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you… it’s not….”
The strength gradually drained from Yalyu’s hand, which had been gripping my arm as if it might shatter.
“Yalyu…! No, don’t say anything!”
* * *
Murim Alliance Headquarters.
People lined up in long queues before the barracks stretched out at the entrance of the headquarters.
Beside them, groups of similarly dressed individuals with comparable martial auras repeatedly entered and exited through the headquarters entrance.
Though the Martial Arts Tournament had concluded and the crowds should have thinned, the scene remained unchanged from when preparations were underway.
Yet there were differences from that time. The atmosphere of the streets had grown heavy, and the expressions on people’s faces lacked their former ease.
Someone emerging from within the headquarters cupped their fists in salute to the group of people.
“Ah, guests from the Wol-seong Sect. Thank you for coming. Please follow me inside.”
Inside the headquarters, buildings charred pitch-black with only their skeletal frames remaining still emitted an acrid stench. There had been no attempt at cleanup.
From one side, a Martial Arts Alliance Warrior shouted urgently.
“You must not draw your blades recklessly within the Alliance!”
Burnt buildings, Orthodox Path sects that had come to offer support, and vagrants who threw themselves into any profitable fight regardless of allegiance.
“This place is in complete chaos.”
“How much do they truly expect to accomplish with such a rabble…?”
“We might at least slow them down. I hear the Demonic Cult is also gathering Black Gangs with money, so we should….”
Since the attack on the Murim Alliance ten years prior, rumors had spread of an imminent confrontation between the Orthodox and Demonic forces. Yet the Demonic Cult had simply retreated into seclusion once more.
After that, there had been several small-scale localized skirmishes. But these were not direct clashes with the Demonic Cult’s main forces—rather, they were conflicts with Black Gangs supported by the Demonic Cult or heterodox sects seeking to expand their influence opportunistically.
And this time was a true confrontation between Orthodox and Demonic forces.
Gongson Chong-sa, the commander of the headquarters, spoke in the conference room.
“It appears Baek Li-yeon has escaped the Demonic Cult’s Heavenly Net.”
“Phew. That is fortunate indeed.”
“To escape the Heavenly Net through her own strength alone. How on earth…?”
Listening to the mixture of relief and bewilderment in the conference room, Gongsun Bang recalled his encounter with Jeggal Hwa-mu.
After the Cheonma Jibow had been stolen and the resulting chaos barely contained, Taego Jinperson’s first destination was the Jegal Family Hall.
And that place presented a scene far more horrific than the chaos at the Tournament Arena.
A force comparable to those who had attacked the Tournament Arena had assaulted the Jegal Family Hall. There were even traces of a failed attempt to burn the hall to the ground.
“What in the world…?”
Thud!
The sole surviving Black-Robed Attendant collapsed heavily to the floor.
Jeggal Hwa-mu wore only an inner robe with a thin outer garment hastily draped over it.
“Family Head Jeggal, what is the meaning of all this!”
Jeggal Hwa-mu, regarding both him and Taego Jinperson, smiled as he spoke.
“It appears my continued existence is most disagreeable to someone.”
“Surely it was those Demonic Cult dogs?”
“Presumably.”
Jeggal Hwa-mu carelessly tossed his blade onto the stone platform. Both the sword and the thin fabric of his garment were soaked with blood.
“Otherwise, who would bother trying to kill someone like me? I haven’t much time left anyway.”
Gongsun Bang felt somewhat relieved.
It had been the Jegal Family Head himself who first proposed using the Cheonma Jibow. And the Jegal Family Head had deep connections with Baek Li-yeon and Yeon.
Naturally, suspicion of betrayal was unavoidable.
But witnessing how the Demonic Cult was attempting to kill him under cover of the chaos, he could dispel the suspicion that he had made a pact with them.
Of course, an explanation was necessary.
Taego Jinperson spoke.
“You knew, didn’t you? That the Cheonma Jibow would come to this.”
“Yes. If you had given it to me beforehand as I suggested, wouldn’t all this commotion have been avoided?”
….
“Are you saying this situation is Taego Jinperson’s fault? If you had properly informed us…!”
Jeggal Hwa-mu spoke languidly.
“I’m too tired to persuade anyone.”
Gongsun Bang was momentarily at a loss for words. Soon after, he spoke as if finding it absurd.
“This is infuriating. Do you feel no remorse toward Baek Li for concealing the truth?”
Jeggal Hwa-mu burst into laughter as if he’d heard something amusing.
“Hahaha!”
His laughter while drenched in blood resembled that of a madman.
Jeggal Hwa-mu spoke with lingering amusement in his voice.
“Well, who would think the Chong-sa was taking Yeon’s side? When was Taego Jinperson ever merely watching as he attacked Yeon?”
….
“Enough with the deflections. Let’s get to the point.”
The Old Servant of the Jegal Family Head brought a chair from somewhere.
The Jegal Family Head collapsed into it heavily. His shadowed eyes bore the deep pallor of illness. At least his sickness was genuine.
“The martial techniques and will of the Cheon-ma contained within the Cheonma Jibow are important, but possessing it would only be a burden. After all, there was scarcely any benefit we could gain from it. Of course, perhaps Taego Jinperson was different? Regardless, haven’t we attempted various methods to destroy the Cheonma Jibow all this time? We failed, but.”
Gongsun Bang trembled momentarily.
“Surely you don’t mean… you created an opportunity for the Cheon-ma’s blood descendant to absorb and eliminate the Cheonma Jibow?”

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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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