The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 326

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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 20
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“You seem anxious.”
“So do you, Father-in-law.”
“Does it show?”
“I merely guessed.”
“….”
“There’s no way you could remain composed in a situation like this.”
Baek Li-ui-gang exhaled deeply.
Wi Ji-baek. That was why Baek Li-ui-gang stood here in the mountain pass, drenched in dew, rather than beside his daughter.
How he wished to ignore Wi Ji-baek and rush to his daughter’s side. Yet Wi Ji-baek was a dangerous man, and he harbored an immense grudge against her.
Even when he served as Murim Alliance Leader, he had attempted to kill his daughter twice, and now that he had returned, he sought to harm her while she carried his grandchild. He had to end this here.
For the sake of his daughter and the child within her womb—for even a moment of peace in their future.
“Yeon asked for Wi Ji-baek’s head as a gift.”
“Then I shall endeavor to provide it.”
Baek Li-ui-gang smiled faintly.
They had ambushed Wi Ji-baek and now held him encircled within their formation.
Wi Ji-baek’s forces remained unstable. Word had reached them that they had been caught off guard by the surprise attack.
Initially they had intended to aid Wi Ji-baek, but upon learning of his disadvantageous position, they readily abandoned him.
They had gathered their forces at a distance, watching and waiting. Should Wi Ji-baek gain the upper hand, they would assist; should he fall, they would withdraw without hesitation. Thus, Wi Ji-baek had to be eliminated this night.
Baek Li-ui-gang gazed at the sunlight filtering through the trees and spoke.
“The Hyungsan Sect Leader must have escaped by now.”
“Next would be the Elder Yun-eung and Elder Yun-seong of the Huashan Sect to the northwest, correct?”
Ordinarily, sect leaders and elders of such standing were exceedingly stubborn.
Unless circumstances were as exceptional as the Demonic Cult, they rarely cooperated. They were occupied with leading their sects, cultivating disciples, and at such elevated positions, their arrogance and pride made conflict inevitable.
Yet this time, both the Hyungsan Sect and Huashan Sect had come with bitter resolve.
The Hyungsan Sect Leader had personally led his disciples into battle, and the Huashan Sect had committed the majority of its elders.
It was widely known that the Hyungsan Sect Leader cherished Byeok Ki-hyeon. Indeed, the Sect Leader had even bestowed upon her his personal namecard—a gesture signifying that she would be received as an honored guest whenever she wished.
Though lighter in meaning than a formal credential, the fact that it came from the Hyungsan Sect Leader imbued it with great significance. The Byeok Family had then brazenly used that namecard to push Byeok Seong-yul into the Hyungsan Sect as a disciple, claiming Byeok Ki-hyeon’s consent.
Byeok Seong-yul had since been expelled from the Hyungsan Sect. Justly so, for it amounted to deceiving the sect and stealing its martial arts.
Expulsion from a Jianghu sect was no mere dismissal. They severed the internal energy, destroyed the meridians of the limbs, rendering the person utterly crippled.
Had Byeok Seong-yul not coveted the Hyungsan name, he might have lived as the other surviving members of the Byeok Family did, even after the clan’s destruction. It was reaping what he had sown.
Furthermore, Byeok Seong-yul, a disciple of Hyungsan, had fled during the Cheon Gwi-jo incident, and Wi Ji-baek, then the Alliance Leader, had personally intervened to resolve the matter.
The Hyungsan Sect had long assisted the Murim Alliance Leader because of this. Yet upon discovering it was all deception, the entire sect felt as though it had been insulted.
True to the nature of Jianghu warriors who never forget debts, the Hyungsan Sect had taken up arms to settle this grievance.
The Huashan Sect’s support stemmed from the death of Huashan Zhi-geom Myeong-jin Jinsa, the youngest disciple of the Huashan Sect Leader.
Wi Ji-baek had driven Myeong-jin Jinsa into a desperate corner, promised that the Hyeonmu Unit Master would lead the Hyeonmu Unit to her aid if she could only hold on, then fled—a truth revealed through the Hyeonmu Unit Master’s own words.
The Huashan Sect was outraged. They had known Wi Ji-baek was a man of questionable character, but they had not realized he was so utterly contemptible, nor had they imagined he would dare strike at the Huashan Sect from behind.
Baek Li-ui-gang spoke with bitter sorrow.
“It grieves me that so many lives have been lost to the greed of a single man.”
“….”
Namgung Ryu-cheong wanted to refute her words, but the thought of his father-in-law sealed his lips shut.
Contrary to disagreeing with her opinion, if a son were born, he secretly hoped the child would resemble his father-in-law.
In fact, Namgung Ryu-cheong had even prostrated himself in secret before the Buddha statue where his mother offered prayers, asking that if it were a daughter, she would resemble Yeon, and if a son, he would resemble his father-in-law.
That was when it happened.
Kuaaaaaang—!
Suddenly, a deafening explosion tore through the sky, and a beat later, the violent shockwave of qi rippled through their garments.
Namgung Ryu-cheong looked toward Baek Li-ui-gang in alarm.
“The formation…?”
“It holds.”
Baek Li-ui-gang’s complexion had turned ashen.
The encirclement formation they currently had around Wi Ji-baek was one created with the aid of the Jegal Family Head.
After deploying the formation, they were to launch a coordinated assault. More precisely, they had divided into teams by directional position and were taking turns engaging Wi Ji-baek to exhaust him. And Baek Li-ui-gang held the western flank of the formation.
No matter what happened, Baek Li-ui-gang had to maintain this position. Otherwise, the formation would collapse.
But the explosion they had just heard came from outside the designated combat zone. Something had clearly gone wrong.
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke.
“I will investigate.”
Baek Li-ui-gang nodded.
Namgung Ryu-cheong headed toward the source of the explosion with the Namgung Warriors. The explosions continued unabated.
As they approached the blast site, something flew toward them. Namgung Ryu-cheong halted urgently and struck down the incoming projectile.
Clang—!
Then a presence with no intention of hiding spoke.
“So Ga-ju, that is far enough. Go any further and you will die.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong stared in disbelief toward the direction of the voice.
“Were you not supposed to be unable to come?”
Jeggal Hwa-mu swept back his light-colored hair and gestured toward one direction. But before Namgung Ryu-cheong could even confirm that gesture, his gaze had already shifted.
“You bastard…!”
Wi Ji-baek, drenched in blood, cried out in agony.
Across from him stood a face both familiar and strange. Surrounding him, the very landscape seemed drained of color, accompanied by a dense, suffocating demonic aura.
* * *
The expressions of those gathered in the inner courtyard of Baek Li-yeon’s Residence were as dark as could be.
The Great Lady’s face was pale as white mulberry paper, while Namgung Wan, unable to remain still and constantly moving, had a complexion darkened to black.
Namgung Wan seized his Aide and shouted.
“Where are Ryu-cheong and Ui-gang? Still no word?”
“I—I do not know. They were expected to arrive in seven or eight days, so they should still be en route. That is why we have not even received confirmation of whether the message reached them….”
“What do you even know!”
It was an unreasonable outburst, yet no one blamed him for it.
“So Bu-in, you must be strong!”
“Breathe deeply!”
“You must endure!”
The amniotic fluid broke at dawn, and already the second morning was breaking.
A full day had passed. Female servants moved quietly in and out of the birthing chamber carrying basins of hot water and white towels, while from within came faint, intermittent moans that seemed to rise and fall.
The middle-aged woman beside the Great Lady spoke carefully.
“Great Lady, please rest a while. You haven’t eaten all day, and you haven’t rested either, have you?”
“I’m fine. Just a little longer….”
“The cold wind is still sharp. If you continue like this, you’ll fall ill first. If you catch a chill, you won’t even be able to hold the newborn.”
At those words, the Great Lady smiled faintly.
“That’s quite a fair point.”
As the Great Lady tried to rise, she stumbled for a moment.
“My Lady!”
Namgung Wan quickly caught her, and fortunately she didn’t fall.
“Go and rest. I’ll keep watch here.”
The Great Lady nodded slightly and, supported by the middle-aged woman, headed toward the side room away from the pavilion.
Time continued to flow, and soon the sun began to shine down from above.
A woman with graying hair emerged from the birthing chamber covered in blood on her front, searching for the physician.
The elderly Physician Gong, unable to endure the situation that had continued for more than a day, had gone to rest, and now it was Physician Gong’s Disciple who was on duty.
The physician entered the birthing chamber following the midwife, then came out with an ominous expression and looked at Namgung Wan.
Namgung Wan burst out loudly.
“If you have something to say, say it! Don’t beat around the bush!”
“Family Head, that is… well.”
“What is it! Speak!”
The physician closed his eyes tightly, then opened them and spoke.
“If the child does not come by sunset today, I’m afraid you must prepare yourselves mentally.”
“….”
Just as Namgung Wan, pale as a ghost, was about to open his mouth.
“What did you just say…?”
As Namgung Wan turned his head sharply toward the direction of the voice, Baek Li-ui-gang stumbled out from between the garden trees and grabbed one for support.
“What… did you just say?”
At that moment, a figure burst out from behind Baek Li-ui-gang and rushed into the birthing chamber.
Those guarding the entrance to the birthing chamber were startled and grabbed the intruder.
“So Ga-ju, this cannot be!”
“Seize So Ga-ju!”
Namgung Ryu-cheong, as if out of his mind, said nothing and threw off those who grabbed him.
At the commotion, all the warriors guarding the birthing chamber rushed forward.
Then it happened.
“She’s not breathing! Hurry, quickly!”
“Towels, bring towels! Sugar water! Bring sugar water too!”
From Namgung Ryu-cheong, who had been causing the disturbance, to everyone outside the birthing chamber, all movement ceased. As an eerie silence fell….
“Waaaaah. Waah.”
The faint cry of a newborn began to be heard.
A cry of joy burst forth, and Geum-swe came out through the door with tears streaming down her face.
“It is finished! She is safe! A daughter! She is healthy!”
Several people outside the birthing chamber wiped away their tears.
Namgung Wan suddenly grabbed the physician by the collar and shook him violently.
“What do you mean, mental preparation? You quack, I’ll give you something to prepare your mind for!”
At that moment, Baek Li-ui-gang suddenly pushed past Namgung Ryu-cheong at the door and rushed inside.
Everyone was so occupied with restraining Namgung Ryu-cheong that no one could stop Baek Li-ui-gang.

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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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