The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 311

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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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Side Story: Chapter 5
“Well… I already have a perfectly good name, so there’s no need to change it.”
“That’s not it, Baek Li-yeon. It’s not that you don’t need to call me by another name. You simply don’t want to.”
I laughed awkwardly and tried to deny it.
“That can’t be…”
“Don’t say no now that we’ve come this far.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong turned my own words back on me.
“…”
I had nothing to say. I fumbled for words and silently cursed myself.
‘How did he figure it out?’
His intuition was truly uncanny.
He was right. I hadn’t been calling Namgung Ryu-cheong by his alias—it was true.
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke.
“When we decided on the alias, I told you that Cheong was my pet name.”
“…”
I knew that all too well. And therein lay the problem—knowing it far too well.
Calling him Cheong stirred up memories of my darkest shame.
When we first chose the alias, I hadn’t thought much of it. Even when Namgung Ryu-cheong explained with a slightly embarrassed expression that Cheong was his pet name, looking at me with hopeful eyes, I’d found it endearing.
I’d even thought it was cute.
The problem began the moment I started calling him that.
As soon as I said Cheong, memories of my unrequited love for Namgung Ryu-cheong came flooding back. Memories of calling out Cheong-ah, Cheong-ah without permission, chasing after him like a fool.
I regretted not insisting we use a completely different name. But now it felt too awkward to ask for a change.
If I asked to change it, I’d have to explain why, and that would mean confessing my humiliating past with my own lips!
Namgung Ryu-cheong pressed me.
“Tell me. Why are you avoiding it?”
“…”
The situation had completely reversed—now Namgung Ryu-cheong was staring at me while I avoided his gaze.
Namgung Ryu-cheong smiled with self-deprecating irony and tilted his head slightly.
“Fine. I know too. That you had feelings for that person…”
The next instant, Namgung Ryu-cheong shoved me hard.
At the same time, the energy barrier shattered with a crack, and a sharp sound pierced through as the surrounding noise and sensations flooded back all at once.
The faint scent of blood hung in the air.
Damn. I’d been far too careless.
Normally, when the energy barrier was deployed, sound from outside and inside was blocked, and external sensations were almost completely cut off. Therefore, the barrier should only be used in safe situations.
If that weren’t possible, guards should be posted outside the barrier in a location where they could monitor the surroundings. Neither condition had been met just now.
I rose and drew my blade just as a second arrow flew toward me.
Clang!
As I deflected the arrow, a sharp sonic boom erupted from the impact. Simultaneously, Namgung Ryu-cheong stamped out the flickering fire on the ground.
The surroundings were instantly swallowed by darkness.
The third arrow never came.
I hurriedly examined Namgung Ryu-cheong. His right chest, just below the collarbone, was riddled with pitch-black arrows.
Before I could ask, Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke first.
“I’m fine.”
My heart plummeted and shattered against the ground.
If the arrows had come from a direction within my line of sight, I could have detected them. But of all places…!
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke in a voice that sounded tender.
“Yeon, I’m really fine.”
“But….”
That was when a shout erupted from the campsite. Without exchanging words, Namgung Ryu-cheong and I bolted from our position.
The campsite we arrived at was already engulfed in chaos. A single cargo carriage blazed furiously, illuminating the entire campsite, while the hired hands and members of the Muyang Escort Agency seemed consumed with extinguishing the flames.
“Water, bring water! Hurry and put out the fire!”
At that moment, a Muyang Escort Agency member fighting the blaze collapsed with a sickening sound. The arrow that struck him was identical to the one that hit Namgung Wan—completely forged iron from tip to fletching.
“We’re under attack! Find the attackers!”
Hak Jin-pyeong, who had been commanding the Muyang Escort Agency members, spotted us and cried out with relief.
“Master Namgung! Master Baek! Thank heavens! You’re both safe…!”
In that instant, I pushed off the ground and launched myself forward.
Clang!
Even striking with a staff produced an impact as if I’d clashed blades.
An iron arrow streaked past Hak Jin-pyeong and pierced through another cargo carriage. The fletching of the arrow, embedded halfway through the carriage, quivered.
Hak Jin-pyeong appeared momentarily stunned.
“Abandon the cargo! We must escape this place immediately!”
The enemy was positioned on a rocky outcrop roughly ten miles away on the mountain ridge. It was a vantage point that overlooked the entire caravan route. At this rate, we would merely be targets for their arrows.
Hak Jin-pyeong, having regained his composure, spoke.
“But that carriage contains treasures of the Cheon-ma!”
Are you serious? Is that really the priority right now?
“Are the Cheon-ma’s treasures worth more than your lives?”
“Losing them would be worse than death!”
I contorted my face in frustration.
I was on the verge of abandoning everything and fleeing with just Namgung Ryu-cheong when a troubling thought struck me.
They were setting the carriage ablaze—did they not care if the Cheon-ma’s treasures burned to ash?
‘Could it be that the Demonic Cult members weren’t after the Cheon-ma’s treasures at all?’
Observing my hesitation, Hak Jin-pyeong continued.
“I don’t expect you to approve of my judgment. If my decision displeases you, please leave first. Master Namgung appears to be wounded, and since the enemies haven’t shown themselves yet, with your combined strength, you should be able to escape.”
“….”
I looked at Namgung Ryu-cheong, then at the carriage.
Without opening our mouths, our hearts understood each other.
“Everyone, stand back!”
I shouted at those gathered around the carriage. Then I threw myself directly into the flames.
Ignoring their gasps of horror, I centered myself and forcefully expelled all the vital energy within a certain radius.
In that instant, the inferno suddenly subsided. Everyone wore expressions of bewilderment.
“What in the—!”
Fire cannot burn without oxygen. I had created a brief vacuum around myself.
But to those unfamiliar with such techniques, it would appear as though I had performed some form of sorcery.
Crash!
Among the bewildered crowd, the half-burned carriage collapsed. Treasures spilling from boxes that tumbled to the ground gleamed crimson in the torchlight.
* * *
The wheels of the carriage rattled along the rough path through darkness, emitting a sound as though they might shatter at any moment.
I drew the short blade that Namgung Wan had given me and looked toward Namgung Ryu-cheong. He nodded reassuringly.
I placed a strip of cloth torn from my garment between Namgung Ryu-cheong’s teeth and spoke.
“Just hold on a moment.”
I widened the wound to make the arrow easier to extract, then drew in a sharp breath.
With a single forceful motion, I pulled the arrow free, my expression hardening. The blood that flowed was dark crimson.
“It’s poisoned.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong showed no surprise. He had already known.
I wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with the edge of my garment, then immediately focused my concentration.
Soon, a liquid nearly black in hue began to float in the air, droplet by droplet.
“What in the world—!”
I heard Hak Jin-pyeong, who was also in the carriage, mutter in astonishment.
As I continued to extract the poison, I confirmed that bright crimson blood was flowing, then pressed the wound with soft cloth.
“I’ve stopped the immediate danger. But… you understand, don’t you?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong spat out the cloth he had been biting and nodded.
I had not completely removed the poison.
To fully eliminate it, Namgung Ryu-cheong would need to either perform breathing meditation in a safe place and expel it himself, or I would need to spend considerable time and focus.
Until then, he could not move vigorously. The carriage shaking so violently was already a problem in itself.
That was when it happened. As though reading my thoughts, the carriage suddenly came to a halt.
I braced myself against the wall to keep from being thrown forward, then immediately kicked the door open.
I heard the startled whinnying of horses and the sound of rapid breathing. The carriage was surrounded on all sides.
I drew my blade and faced them.
I had expected this situation, knowing they would not let us escape. But I could not help but be shocked at the figure who appeared among the surrounding Demonic Cult members.
A palanquin that seemed to dissolve into the darkness appeared as the crowd of roughly two hundred heavily armored riders parted.
The window of the palanquin slid open, revealing an elderly man with sparse white hair.
The old man was missing one leg below the thigh, and his face, skeletal and gaunt, covered in age spots, possessed an unnaturally crimson complexion.
I spoke coldly.
“Hyeol Seong-gun.”
I heard gasps of terror from the Muyang Escort Agency members behind us.
“H-Hyeol Seong-gun? The Demonic Cult’s Chong Gun-sa?”
“This can’t be real!”
After the Cult Leader Cheon-ma died, the remnants of the Demonic Cult split into three factions. And the leader of one of those factions was Hyeol Seong-gun, the Demonic Cult’s Chong Gun-sa.
I had heard that since his escape from Heavenly Demon Headquarters, not even a shadow of him had been found…
‘Of all places, to appear here.’

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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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