The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 315

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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 9
* * *
I raced down the mountain path.
Just as I thought we were safe enough, a low voice reached me from behind, accompanied by a stifled cough.
“…I’m awake. Put me down.”
“Just stay put. You’re not well.”
“Put me down!”
I pouted and set Namgung Ryu-cheong on his feet.
“Such a spoiled child.”
“Spoiled?”
“No, I mean—a healthy person can certainly carry someone who’s ill.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s gaze, fixed upon the tree he leaned against, was utterly piercing. He had such a peculiar way of asserting his pride at the strangest moments.
To placate him, I shifted the direction of our conversation.
“Do you remember? When we were young, you carried me around all the time.”
“I remember.”
I smiled brightly and spoke.
“Consider this repayment for those days.”
“Repayment for those days….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s frown deepened. I tilted my head, wondering why.
“You’re saying you’re repaying me for when you threatened to lie flat on the ground and scream if I didn’t carry you?”
“…Did I really do that?”
“You did.”
I widened my eyes as if hearing this for the first time.
“That can’t be right. You were the one who offered to carry me.”
“What…! No, that’s not—!”
In truth, I remembered perfectly.
I grinned and spoke.
“Well then, if you won’t carry me, I’ll lie down and scream.”
“Please, act your age….”
Alas, unlike when we were children, such threats no longer worked on him. It was truly a shame—that flustered, bewildered expression had been so endearing.
Now his stubbornness had only grown, and he refused to budge no matter what, leaving me no choice but to support him as we walked.
“So what exactly is the situation? Why am I here?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s eyes narrowed as if trying to recall something.
“Your father and the Muyang Escort Agency members are all safe. The remnants of the Demonic Cult have all fled. However, we let Hyeol Seong-gun escape.”
We had even set up an encirclement beforehand, yet somehow he managed to slip away. He was truly formidable.
Upon hearing of his escape, Uncle Namgung Wan remarked, “A cunning man always has an escape route prepared, no matter where he goes.”
Father and Uncle Namgung Wan were able to arrive in time thanks to intelligence about the mountain stronghold that had reached the Beggar Sect.
While the Murim Alliance was monitoring the stronghold’s movements, Father and Uncle Namgung Wan happened to be passing nearby….
Ah, never mind. I had no desire to understand the complicated details. It was simply good fortune.
I summarized the situation briefly and continued speaking.
“After that, I planned to stay at a nearby farmhouse to recover and then set out again….”
“And then?”
“I ran away.”
“What?”
“The physician said your wounds weren’t serious, that your body had already begun detoxifying itself… so I slipped away.”
“No, wait… what is that?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong, who had been about to touch his head, caught sight of the pouch at my waist.
“Oh, it’s nothing special.”
I tried to shift it out of his view, but Namgung Ryu-cheong’s hand reached out faster than I could move.
What Namgung Ryu-cheong withdrew was a cup no larger than a finger. A golden dragon was carved upon it, cradling a white jade ruyi scepter in its mouth.
“When did you ever have something like this… wait, don’t tell me?”
“That’s right. Cheon-ma’s treasure.”
“Why in the world do you have this?”
“It was just lying around, so I picked it up.”
“You picked it up?”
“Yes.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression suggested he wanted to immediately drag me before the authorities, calling it theft.
I was about to recite the twelve reasons why I had no choice but to pick it up and the twenty-four reasons why I had every right to claim ownership of it….
But Namgung Ryu-cheong handed the cup back to me and spoke without expression.
“I didn’t see anything.”
“….”
Soon after, bright, clear laughter echoed through the forest, and the sound of startled birds fluttering away filled the air.
After laughing for a long while, I lifted my face from where it had been buried against his neck. Feeling the warmth of his gaze, I opened my mouth.
“You know, there’s actually a bigger problem than this.”
“Please, what problem now?”
I blinked and smiled sheepishly.
“I have no idea where we are.”
“….”
“I just escaped any which way, so haha. I think we’ve gotten ourselves lost.”
* * *
It took us four days and nights of wandering through the forest before we finally found our way out.
Though I continuously used my natural energy to accelerate the healing of his wounds, I worried whether they might have reopened, whether I had caused him unnecessary suffering. Yet Namgung Ryu-cheong was truly a man of iron will and constitution. Within mere days of regaining consciousness, new flesh had covered his wounds and they healed with remarkable speed.
We hitched rides on passing carts, rested in villages, purchased a carriage for travel, boarded and disembarked from ships—this cycle repeated for several days.
Beneath the brilliant sun, I felt the humid air carrying the scent of salt. At last, we had arrived at our destination: Cheonju, the harbor city.
Upon arrival, the first place we headed was where stolen goods could be sold. And….
“That’s all it’s worth?”
When I heard the price, my eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
Wow, at this price, the remnants of the Demonic Cult would be desperate enough to assault the Muyang Escort Agency!
Paradoxically, the very assault they had suffered was what elevated the treasure’s value.
While we traveled slowly, word spread throughout the world that the Muyang Escort Agency had been attacked by the Demonic Cult twice, and that they had lost some of Cheon-ma’s treasures in the process.
By all rights, the mission should have been deemed a failure, yet the Muyang Escort Agency’s reputation only soared higher. Word spread that they had protected a treasure coveted by none other than Chong Gun-sa, the supreme commander of the Demonic Cult, and escaped his traps unscathed.
Well, it wasn’t entirely a lie.
Moreover, as rumors circulated that the treasure Chong Gun-sa had sought was a rare artifact, whispers began suggesting that perhaps the treasure concealed secrets of Cheon-ma itself—and so it transcended mere collectible value.
The client, despite losing part of the treasure, beamed with satisfaction, and since the Muyang Escort Agency obtained what they desired, all was well.
And finally, people now scoured the land with fervent eyes, desperate to find the portions of treasure the Muyang Escort Agency had lost.
“As for us….”
As I trailed off vaguely, the Fence Master nodded in understanding and spoke with enthusiasm.
“Fear not. I know nothing! In this line of work, discretion is everything. Otherwise, who would entrust me with their stolen goods?”
After some brief negotiation, I received a price I deemed fair—part in silver coins, part in silver notes.
The moment the Fence Master stepped away to issue the notes, I cried out.
“We’re rich! I never imagined we’d have this much. We could cover all our travel expenses and still have plenty left over. Should we invest the rest somewhere? Keep it as an emergency fund!”
Let me think—what goods would appreciate in value after this? Rice would have a bumper crop this year…
As I pondered such matters, I belatedly noticed Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression had grown sullen. Could he still be bothered by the fact that we’d dealt in stolen goods?
Then Namgung Ryu-cheong suddenly spoke.
“How about we save the money going forward?”
“Why save when we have this much?”
Unable to hide my bewilderment, I looked at him, and I noticed the tips of his ears had flushed crimson.
“Ah.”
I understood immediately.
He wanted to book a single room.
There was no other reason for him to suddenly say such a thing.
Relief washed over me as various memories surfaced.
From the moment I had insisted on sharing a room with him and he had resisted, to when he suddenly and arbitrarily agreed to let the Muyang Escort Agency join us.
He had pretended it was fine, acted as though it didn’t matter, but it couldn’t possibly have been truly fine.
I had harbored a nagging doubt—that deep down, Namgung Ryu-cheong didn’t want this, and was simply yielding to my insistence out of necessity.
‘But that wasn’t it at all!’
Namgung Ryu-cheong had wanted it too!
I suppressed the smile threatening to spread across my face and spoke as though I understood.
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
At my agreement, Namgung Ryu-cheong visibly relaxed.
I could have let it pass, but as the memory of the slight hurt I’d endured surfaced, I found myself reluctant to simply move on.
I fingered the heavy pouch of silver coins, as weighty as a brick, and spoke.
“Still, this seems more than enough. Is there really a need to be so frugal….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong cut me off abruptly.
“No. We don’t know what might happen.”
I tilted my head in confusion.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
With his lips pressed firmly together, Namgung Ryu-cheong turned his gaze toward empty space and spoke softly.
“So it would be best if we book only one room from now on.”
“….”
Ah, I could no longer bear to tease him. Was embarrassment truly contagious? Even as joy surged through me, an inexplicable sense of shame crept in, my cheeks burning with heat.
At that moment, Namgung Ryu-cheong’s hand moved like lightning, deftly plucking the money pouch from my grasp. He added quietly, almost sheepishly.
“…The silver coins are heavy.”
The Fence Master, who had just returned, spoke with renewed vigor.
“You two haven’t secured lodgings yet? Oh? Are you both feeling warm? Your faces are quite flushed. Shall I bring some cold water? No need? Well then, allow me to recommend an excellent inn! You want a view of the sea? You only need to rent one guest room? Of course! I know the perfect place for a honeymoon. What? It’s not a honeymoon? Ah… ahem, no need to worry!”

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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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