The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 348

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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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Special Side Story Episode 18
Once that incessant troublemaker vanished and silence settled over the chamber, a different problem emerged.
Ak Jung-hae clung to Namgung Wan like a frightened puppy, his body constantly pressing against him.
“….”
“….”
“Namgung Wan.”
“What.”
“Nothing, I just wanted to make sure you were still awake.”
“I’m awake.”
Namgung Wan had meant to tell him to stop clinging, but seeing Ak Jung-hae’s expression, he held his tongue—a rare restraint for him.
How much time had passed? Between the incense burning intermittently and the repeated acupuncture treatments, the passage of time had become impossible to track.
Click—
The sound of a lock opening made Namgung Wan and Ak Jung-hae lift their heads.
The door swung open, and through the hazy mist tinged with dawn light emerged a beautiful woman in crimson robes. Behind her followed men with vacant, glazed eyes.
Namgung Wan and Ak Jung-hae’s expressions hardened.
The woman gazed at Ak Jung-hae and issued a command to the men trailing behind her.
“Take this one with you.”
“Eek!”
The men who had shuffled in seized the terrified Ak Jung-hae by both arms and hoisted him to his feet.
That was when—
“Wait!”
Namgung Wan, meeting the woman’s gaze, gestured with his chin toward the unconscious Byeok Ki-mun.
“There’s an order to these things. You should take that one first.”
The woman smiled coquettishly and continued.
“Perhaps. But the order is ours to decide.”
After studying both of them for a moment, the woman spoke with a sinister gleam in her eyes.
“Or would you prefer to go first?”
Namgung Wan answered without hesitation.
“Fine.”
“W-wait, Namgung Wan!”
Ak Jung-hae gasped in shock, his eyes glistening with tears as he stared at Namgung Wan.
The woman then seized Namgung Wan’s jaw and lifted his face toward hers.
Their faces drew so close that their breath mingled, and her crimson nails traced delicately across the corner of his eye as if to pierce it.
“….”
“….”
The woman soon released him, as if her interest had waned.
“Fear not. It is said that an auspicious day shall be chosen for you, and the Cult Master herself shall bestow her grace upon you.”
“Hmph, you do have eyes, it seems.”
“Ah, Namgung Wan!”
“Take him. It is unfortunate, but the Cult Master has taken a liking to the boy.”
At the woman’s command, the men began dragging the struggling Ak Jung-hae back out.
That’s when Namgung Wan shouted again.
“Wait!”
For a moment, the woman seemed slightly annoyed, but upon seeing the faces of Namgung Wan and Ak Jung-hae, her expression softened into a benevolent smile.
“Speak.”
“Since I’m already here, could you tell me just one more thing?”
“What is it?”
“Is this Cult Master who wants that fellow a man or a woman?”
The woman answered with an expression that suggested she found his curiosity amusing.
“Male, actually.”
“W-what did you say?”
Ak Jung-hae nearly lost consciousness.
A high, tinkling laugh echoed through the space, and the woman spoke again.
“Only joking. Our Cult Master is a captivating woman, I assure you.”
Ak Jung-hae visibly relaxed and was dragged from the storage room.
I thought to myself, ‘At least it seems certain that I’ll undergo this so-called ceremony. For now, they won’t kill me outright.’
Moreover, it appeared I’d be able to break free from the pressure point seal in just a little while longer.
That’s when Byeok Ki-mun’s eyes snapped open.
“H-have they left?”
…
Namgung Wan kicked Byeok Ki-mun again.
Fortunately, before even half an hour had passed, commotion erupted outside.
As if a fire had broken out somewhere, acrid smoke seeped into the storage room. Soon, shouts and the sounds of combat rang out from all directions—reinforcements from the Murim Alliance and the Ak Family had arrived.
Similarly, Namgung Wan broke free from the pressure point seal.
The moment he snapped the chains binding him and reclaimed his sword, he wielded it with fierce intensity, as if repaying all the humiliation he’d endured.
Most of the cult members were killed or captured, though they were merely low-ranking disciples and small fry.
The Cult Master and her disciples, however, possessed martial prowess far beyond expectations, and I could not prevent their escape. This incident would later become the event through which the Blood Immortal Woman first made her name known throughout the Jianghu martial world.
And Namgung Wan, still unaware of this future, was enduring the sight of Ak Jung-hae clinging to him and weeping uncontrollably.
“I thought I was going to die!”
Namgung Wan, who had been pressing his brow and holding back, finally exploded at the sound of Ak Jung-hae’s sniffling.
“You didn’t die, did you! Stop your whimpering!”
Seeing Baek Li-ui-gang approach, Namgung Wan quickly pushed Ak Jung-hae toward him.
Baek Li-ui-gang extended a colorless handkerchief and spoke.
“You’ve been through quite an ordeal. Why don’t you go wash up? There’s a well if you head that way.”
Though his words weren’t particularly kind, Ak Jung-hae accepted with a moved expression, nodding repeatedly before departing.
Once Ak Jung-hae had gone, Baek Li-ui-gang turned to Namgung Wan.
“Young Lady Yang and Master Heo Jung are safe.”
“They are?”
“Master Heo Jung sustained injuries, and Young Lady Yang was too exhausted to come here. They both send their gratitude—apparently you risked your life to help them escape.”
Namgung Wan raised his eyebrows and grumbled.
“What do you mean? We’re all getting captured then? Shouldn’t someone notify the Murim Alliance about this situation?”
As Namgung Wan stared at Baek Li-ui-gang, who calmly affirmed the situation, a sudden spiteful impulse surged within him.
“Jung-hae, that bastard could have escaped too, but he deliberately got captured with us.”
“Why would he do that?”
Seeing Baek Li-ui-gang’s slightly startled expression, Namgung Wan explained with growing amusement.
“Since my direct subordinate became a prisoner, those Ak Family dogs who were standing idle suddenly panicked and came charging like wild horses.”
“….”
Watching Baek Li-ui-gang’s vacant expression, I became even more delighted.
But that pleasant mood didn’t last long.
A young girl with a youthful face and pale skin approached them, her hands clasped respectfully. Her vacant gaze held a tear mole that possessed a peculiar charm.
Namgung Wan opened his mouth with an irritated tone.
“Byeok Ki-hyeon? What is she doing here?”
“Thank Byeok Ki-hyeon. She assisted in this operation.”
Despite that vacant expression, her blade was sharper and more cruel than anyone’s. Among those who attacked the Cult Group today, she was notable for her young age, yet she was also counted as having slain the most cultists.
Namgung Wan, irritated, immediately found his answer.
“Ah, because of that whimpering girl?”
Baek Li-ui-gang frowned at the crude expression.
Namgung Wan arbitrarily interpreted Baek Li-ui-gang’s expression as confusion and continued his explanation.
“You know, that Byeok Family bastard. Did she come here alone, or did she just keep whining uselessly?”
Byeok Ki-hyeon opened her mouth.
“I heard from Baek Li-ui-gang that Namgung Prince chose to be captured rather than endure women’s clothing?”
“What?”
Byeok Ki-hyeon bowed in greeting.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, Namgung Prince, and Ak Prince, along with the other members of the Alliance being additionally captured, my older brother was able to remain safe.”
Namgung Wan paused for a moment, then contorted his face.
“…Are you mocking me right now?”
“Mocking? Are you hungry, perhaps?”
Then Baek Li-ui-gang stepped between Namgung Wan and Byeok Ki-hyeon, clasping his fist in salute.
“Byeok Ki-hyeon, if you need any assistance, please speak without hesitation.”
Namgung Wan glared at Baek Li-ui-gang, then muttered, “Your speech is like an old man’s…” and scowled.
Byeok Ki-hyeon, who had been regarding Namgung Wan with her vacant gaze, turned to look at Baek Li-ui-gang and smiled brightly.
“I appreciate your consideration. However, I’m fine. The troops we brought from the Byeok Family Estate are sufficient. Ah, Namgung Prince, this is Byeok Valley Elixir. Please take it. It’s a gift.”
Byeok Ki-hyeon handed a small leather pouch to Namgung Wan’s hand, bowed in courtesy, and walked away with a cheerful gait.
Namgung Wan, staring at Byeok Ki-hyeon with a dumbfounded expression, burst into frustration.
“That girl is completely insane!”
Baek Li-ui-gang regarded Namgung Wan with a cold expression and spoke.
“Is that how you speak to someone who has helped you?”
“She didn’t come to help me. She came to look after her dimwitted older brother.”
“Either way, she helped you.”
Namgung Wan scoffed and pointed his finger at Baek Li-ui-gang instead, speaking.
“So you did help me? Ha, you—what? You’re going to speak to me like that?”
“One shouldn’t point fingers at people.”
“I’m your benefactor too, and yet you’ve never offered me a single word of gratitude all this time—so who are you to blame whom?”
“A benefactor?”
Baek Li-ui-gang regarded Namgung Wan with an expression of complete bewilderment.
Namgung Wan squinted one eye before letting out a hollow laugh.
“Ha, so you really didn’t know?”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Namgung Wan continued with unmistakable pride.
“Remember when you attended that banquet at the Gabo Sect?”
It was the day Baek Li-ui-gang had attended a gathering hosted by one of the sects under the Murim Alliance. Throughout the event, those who sought to ensnare him had slipped an aphrodisiac into his wine and schemed to push a common woman—a married one at that—into his sleeping quarters.
The plan was for someone to happen upon them together, with the woman partially undressed. Had it succeeded, Baek Li-ui-gang’s reputation would have been utterly destroyed.
“I beat that man senseless so nothing came of it.”
“You struck a common woman with your fists?”
“Is that really what matters right now?”
“You should have turned her over to the magistrate or the Murim Alliance instead of resorting to violence.”
“Are you joking? If this had come to light, no matter how innocent you were, every vile rumor imaginable would have spread about you. How could you even suggest that?”
“….”
“And besides, that woman fled while I was beating the ringleader!”
Baek Li-ui-gang, whose expression had remained inscrutable, bowed his head to Namgung Wan.
“…Thank you.”
Namgung Wan snorted derisively as he spoke.
“If you ask me, you’re destined to die young!”
And for a time, Namgung Wan would deeply regret having spoken those words. But who could have known that now, he couldn’t even recall having said them at all?

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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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