The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 291

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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 291
Jeggal Hwa-mu resumed his explanation after a brief pause.
“But as you said, the technique of defying fate carried side effects. The heavens sensed the disturbance and began watching us. When causality warps, an equal force emerges to restore the natural order.”
“So that’s what Cheon-ma meant by a destined adversary?”
Jeggal Hwa-mu nodded and spoke.
“Moreover, the plan to pass down memories, will, and martial prowess was sound, but look at me now—a fool drowning in karma I cannot bear.”
His tone dripped with self-mockery and derision.
Jeggal Hwa-mu merely endured by accepting the power of the Heavenly Demon Grand Vault; his illness was never cured.
Even if he were bound to the Heavenly Demon Grand Vault for life, its power was not meant to be sustained indefinitely. The burden on his body was too great.
By nature, it granted realms I could never achieve on my own—a gift that could only ravage the flesh.
“From the moment I first met you, I waited for the day I could tell you all of this.”
“So now that you’ve said everything, does your heart feel lighter?”
Despite my somewhat sharp tone, Jeggal Hwa-mu merely smiled as if pleased.
It was the most childlike expression I had ever seen from him—and strangely, it looked relieved.
“Have you said all you wished to say?”
Jeggal Hwa-mu regarded me with an enigmatic expression for a moment, then slowly extended his hand.
His long, slender fingers—unlike his seemingly intact face—were skeletal and withered, bearing the unmistakable marks of his prolonged illness.
Those sickly fingertips touched my forehead.
“I was destined to die, you know. Before you came.”
His words carried an ominous weight that unsettled me.
I furrowed my brow slightly.
“What are you trying to say?”
“When all coincidences converge toward one point, you will surely survive.”
What was this sudden nonsense?
Jeggal Hwa-mu continued, ignoring my confusion.
“Do not worry. Your beloved father is coming.”
“Father?”
I tried to lean back and ask what he meant, but suddenly my body refused to obey my will.
‘What is this…!’
His hand covered my wide-open eyes. The fine hairs on my nape stood on end, and a terrible premonition seized me.
I had experienced something like this long ago.
I forced my strength to rise.
“And I, too, shall live on.”
The moment I barely broke free from the restraint, his words came not as sound but directly into my mind—a sensation like feeling his very will.
Forever within you, together.
My vision went black.
* * *
The Left Envoy did not pursue Baek Li-yeon as she entered the Heavenly Demon Grand Vault. From the start, his sole objective was clear.
Yet despite my expectations, it was strange that he paid no attention whatsoever to Baek Li-yeon heading toward the Heavenly Demon Grand Vault.
‘Was he not after the Cheonma Jibo… nor guarding the Heavenly Demon Grand Vault… What in the world is happening?’
Boom—crash!
Unlike sword energy that reinforced the blade’s aura, sword force was a form of enhancement that solidified entirely through inner power.
Naturally, sword force was far superior to sword energy—far more powerful, and far more draining on one’s reserves.
The Left Envoy’s wildly swinging hand was blocked by sword force manifested in a vivid, pale jade luminescence.
Clang—!
Despite the collision between sword force and bare flesh, pain shot through my wrist, up my elbow, across my shoulder, and into my neck as if everything might tear apart.
‘At this rate of consumption, I can probably hold out for about two hours.’
Had Baek Li-yeon been inside for roughly fifteen minutes?
The fact that he was missing one arm made him manageable at least. Even if both limbs moved freely, he couldn’t channel or unleash force through the wound where bone was exposed. Blocking the blade was the best he could manage.
I exchanged strikes in a frenzy of motion.
The Left Envoy, who had initially inflicted wounds on my sword force, had apparently found a method—his attacks no longer left new marks.
How was this possible?
Just as the Left Envoy had grasped how to counter sword force after only a few exchanges, I too had discerned several peculiarities about him.
“Left Envoy.”
“….”
The Left Envoy did not speak.
Even without intent to answer, it was normal for someone to at least move their eyes.
But his eyes, bloodshot to the whites, remained completely motionless.
‘He’s not even breathing.’
His movements were rigid and mechanical. Only perfectly linear, straightforward motions.
While I maintained distance using the sword’s reach advantage over his arm, the Left Envoy suddenly unleashed tremendous force.
I sliced through the wave and hurriedly retreated.
The floor where the palm strike landed caved inward.
‘If it had even grazed me….’
A chilling attack.
I weighed the circumstances and reached a conclusion. All that remained was to verify it.
I feigned retreat, seized an opening, and struck precisely at his neck.
The Left Envoy had met my attacks with composure even when I targeted his heart or head—vital points any human must protect.
But the moment I aimed for his throat, he reacted with acute sensitivity.
‘Confirmed.’
Of course, verifying that weakness came with a price.
A kick flew toward my ribs as I entered the Left Envoy’s attack range—a strike carrying the same force that had shattered the gorge’s cliff face.
I barely blocked it with my arm before it struck my torso directly, but I couldn’t absorb all the impact.
I was sent flying nearly thirty feet.
Flying toward the Heavenly Demon Grand Vault, I grabbed a vine. Part of it snapped under the strain, but I spun my body and landed on the ground. Bent over, I coughed.
“Cough!”
Bright red blood scattered across the gorge floor.
‘A corpse puppet.’
It was certain now.
The faint thread-like line at his neck.
The Left Envoy’s lightning-fast movements had kept it hidden until now, but the moment he attacked my neck, it became faintly visible.
‘Could a jiangshi truly be this powerful?’
Yet if he were a jiangshi, everything about this situation made sense—how the Left Envoy, whose neck had been severed in that battle with my grandfather, could move like this.
I had never witnessed nor heard of such a thing, but the world held countless realms of power I had yet to discover.
Namgung Ryu-cheong was rigid in his principles, but he possessed a flexibility unmatched by anyone when it came to accepting knowledge and martial arts beyond his understanding.
Namgung Ryu-cheong had braced himself for the Left Envoy’s imminent assault, then stopped. Strangely, the Left Envoy stood motionless, rigid as stone.
Namgung Ryu-cheong let out a soft chuckle, wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
He had said he would wait, but from the start, waiting had never been his intention. Following in her footsteps was what he had always done.
And if he were to abandon her over some mere trial, he would have given up long ago.
He had found another person like himself.
Namgung Ryu-cheong opened his mouth.
“I knew you wouldn’t give up there.”
Behind the Left Envoy, a young man in black robes with crimson eyes walked through the mist, now nearly dissipated.
The Left Envoy seemed to deliberate over whom to attack first.
Yalyu asked.
“Where is Yeon?”
“In the Heavenly Demon Grand Vault.”
“You sent her alone?”
“As you can see.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong tilted his head, gesturing toward the Left Envoy.
“Fool.”
From Yalyu, muttering in irritation, flowed a searing heat and a demonic energy dark as pitch, splitting the air.
* * *
Memories surging through the Hundred Convergence Point. The martial arts the Jegal Clan had accumulated over time. Knowledge.
It resembled the sensation when I had accepted the Cheonma Jibow, yet also felt akin to when I first obtained Man Shin-ui’s golden eyes.
Strangely, it also resembled that moment when I had fallen into demonic delusion, as though swept up in a waterfall of flame.
Was this what the Myriad Returning to One truly was?
In the end, everything converged into one.
I thought with resentment.
‘Did it have to be this way?’
No answer came back.
Yet I felt a resonance like laughter, and a sense of satisfaction. And also a feeling of slight apology.
Kuaaang—!
Thud-thud.
The tremendous noise and the sensation of impact against my face jolted me awake in an instant.
I found myself sprawled face-down on the stone floor, unsure when I had collapsed. A rough sensation scraped across my cheek.
A cat with golden eyes was licking my face. It was Gyeol-i.
And Gyeol-i’s emotions and thoughts flowed into me—a sense of sharing, as it were.
I bolted upright.
“Hwa-mu—!”
There was no one.
Only the torches mounted on the walls burned in the corridor. The desolate stone statues that had occupied their posts from the beginning stared down at me.
I bit my lips hard.
From the moment I first encountered Jeggal Hwa-mu in this place, yes—perhaps I had anticipated it. That he was preparing for an ending.
But I never imagined it would end like this.
I reached out and grasped the folded letter that lay abandoned on the floor. It was rigid and cold.
Boom-boom-boom—!
The sounds that had diminished as they filtered inward grew louder again, revealing the chaos unfolding outside.
As dust fell like rain, I pulled Gyeol-i into my embrace. Unlike the letter, her warmth was soft and yielding, and I could hear the steady rhythm of her heartbeat.
I suppressed the surge of emotion rising within me.

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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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