The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 353

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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: Chapter 23
* * *
Whether it was the sight of Baek Li-ui-gang and Cheon A-ran that pricked his pride, Namgung Wan—who had shown absolutely no interest in marriage—suddenly decided he would marry and began searching for a woman.
He was truly a peculiar person.
Namgung Mu-cheol, the Family Head of the Namgung Clan, was deeply moved that his son, who had seemed determined never to marry, had suddenly changed his mind. Fearing he might change it again, he hastily sought out families and women willing to proceed with the marriage arrangements. And around the time Namgung Wan had rejected roughly fifty matchmaking meetings, rumors began to spread that the Namgung Family Head had chased after Namgung Wan with a sword drawn at the Martial Alliance Central Hall.
Everyone dismissed it as an absurd rumor out of respect for the Murim Alliance Leader’s dignity, but Eon-du found it entirely plausible.
About a week after such rumors began circulating.
Eon-du stopped walking when Baek Li-ui-gang suddenly halted. The young man accompanying Baek Li-ui-gang, still carrying the freshness of youth, spoke upon seeing someone across the way.
“Senior Namgung?”
“What is it, Ak Jung-hae? What are you doing here?”
“You said you’d watch my swordsmanship today, Senior! We just finished eating and were heading back!”
“Is that so? Well, there’s a problem. I have business with Ui-gang today. You should go on ahead.”
“Pardon? But I made plans with Senior Ui-gang first?”
“And?”
….
Ak Jung-hae fell silent, and Baek Li-ui-gang, who had been listening to the exchange, spoke.
“Wan, is something the matter? You made a prior commitment with Jung-hae. Unless it’s urgent, let’s meet another time.”
“A prior commitment? Fine then, I’ll just come along. Surely you won’t object to me tagging along, Jung-hae?”
“I, I’ll ask you another time, Senior Ui-gang….”
Namgung Wan gazed at Baek Li-ui-gang with a triumphant expression. Just as Baek Li-ui-gang opened his mouth with an exasperated look, Eon-du suddenly caught the scent of fragrant flowers and turned his head without thinking.
She was a woman of striking beauty. Having traveled the Jianghu with his master and seen many beauties, Eon-du found himself marveling that his own eye for beauty was still lacking. The beautiful woman passed by Eon-du’s side and stopped directly in front of Namgung Wan. To anyone watching, she clearly had business with him. Namgung Wan turned to face her, wondering what she wanted. And then….
Crack!
Everyone present, even Baek Li-ui-gang, froze with wide eyes in shock. Before anyone could properly comprehend what was happening, Namgung Wan, unmoved, spoke with a slightly irritated tone.
“I don’t know what that was for, but I’ve taken a blow, so we’re even now, aren’t we?”
….
Then, with a composed expression, he nodded toward Baek Li-ui-gang and Ak Jung-hae.
“What are you doing? Let’s go.”
And so Namgung Wan turned away from the woman as though nothing had happened.
“Ha, haha, haha.”
A sinister laugh emanated from the woman. Eon-du felt an ominous premonition, and then….
…!
The woman lunged forward and grabbed Namgung Wan by the hair!
Eon-du’s mouth fell open.
“W, what are you doing! Let go!”
Namgung Wan could not bring himself to use force against the woman, and she, despite her delicate frame, shook him about like a bull with surprising strength.
“I told you to let go!”
“Why don’t you just take this one too? Huh?! What makes you so special!”
The woman grasping and shaking Namgung Wan’s hair was Yang So-ok, the youngest and only daughter of Man Geum-jeon-jang, one of the three wealthiest men in Hubei Province, and known as the First Beauty of Hubei.
From childhood, her exceptional beauty had drawn marriage proposals so frequently that suitors wore down her family’s threshold, and she was famously known to have narrowly escaped kidnapping on numerous occasions.
She had come to find Namgung Wan because of a close friend. Her friend had gone to a matchmaking meeting with Namgung Wan, and during the process, he had spoken harshly to her, causing her deep emotional pain. Thus, she had come personally to exact revenge on behalf of her friend.
‘What on earth is Namgung Prince saying at these matchmaking meetings….’
In any case, she was truly a remarkable woman.
That day on the street, Namgung Wan had thoroughly lost face. For a time afterward, that incident clung to him like a label.
So Namgung Wan, who used to bristle with killing intent at the mere mention of “Yang,” somehow developed a romantic relationship with Yang So-ok, and eventually married her.
* * *
Baek Li-ui-gang was naturally invited to the wedding. It was the most splendid and magnificent ceremony Eon-du had ever witnessed.
Watching Baek Li-ui-gang pour congratulatory wine for the grinning Namgung Wan, Eon-du harbored a resentment he could voice to no one.
‘Namgung Prince ruined Young Master’s romance and yet he himself succeeded in love and is so happy! Hmph, he’ll face divine retribution!’
Indeed, whatever Namgung Wan had said on the day he met Baek Li-ui-gang and Cheon A-ran, Cheon A-ran—who used to appear at least once every three months—had completely vanished. Baek Li-ui-gang had never revealed his inner thoughts, but Eon-du knew. He was worried about Cheon A-ran and waiting for her.
And then… the Danmok Family was annihilated. To anyone’s eyes, the culprit was the Demonic Cult. But the Demonic Cult denied responsibility, and the Namgung Clan declared their vengeance and pursued the murderers.
Baek Li-ui-gang rushed to support his friend in the face of this tragic calamity. Since the Namgung Family Head was the Murim Alliance Leader, the Alliance dispatched considerable forces to aid the Namgung Clan, and a storm of blood began to sweep through the Martial World, which had been quiet for some time. People whispered that a full-scale war between the righteous and demonic sects might break out again.
However, as the Demonic Cult seemed intent on avoiding all-out war, the conflict dragged on inconclusively. Perhaps people did not realize then that this battle would continue for years to come.
Only sporadic skirmishes erupted, followed by periods of stalemate. Yet countless lives were lost. Those who made their names one day were discovered as cold corpses the next. Even amid such tragedy, some rose to prominence. Baek Li-ui-gang, Namgung Wan, Hwasan’s Myeong-jin, and others.
And then the Namgung Clan, pursuing the murderers, fell into a trap set by the Demonic Cult.
When members of the Namgung Clan, the Alliance members who came to support them, and even the Namgung Family Head—the Alliance Leader—found themselves in grave danger from the Demonic Cult’s cunning snare, they were able to escape the crisis thanks to timely aid from Wi Ji-baek.
However, the Namgung Clan and the Murim Alliance suffered considerable losses in that battle and were forced to withdraw and regroup, while Wi Ji-baek’s reputation soared beyond reproach.
It would later be revealed that this situation was orchestrated by Wi Ji-baek himself, that he had been in collusion with the Demonic Cult, and he was stripped of his position as Alliance Leader—but that was a matter for the distant future.
At that time, Eon-du had no mind to comprehend the unfolding situation. And for good reason….
“Young Master… Young Master has gone missing, you say?”
Baek Li-ui-gang had vanished during the bloody battle where the Namgung Clan fell into the trap. Namgung Wan, transformed into a half-demon, was in no state to communicate.
“That is… I don’t know the exact circumstances either.”
Ak Jung-hae spoke in a voice heavy with guilt. Eon-du seized the edge of Ak Jung-hae’s robe, nearly falling to his knees as he pressed for answers.
“Even so, I beg you. What am I to report to the Family Head if things continue like this!”
Ak Jung-hae’s lips trembled several times before he slowly began to speak.
“It’s just… at first, the senior was managing well with Commander Wi’s support….”
There were those who came to reinforce the Demonic Cult members, who were being pushed back by Wi Ji-baek’s aid, and that’s when things suddenly became strange.
“I don’t know. The senior seemed to notice something odd….”
“Something odd?”
“Yes. But I was too confused to see what it was.”
When the Demonic Cult members, pressed back by Wi Ji-baek’s support, began to retreat, Baek Li-ui-gang alone pursued them.
“Wan and the others and I were either wounded or had to tend to our fallen comrades….”
So they could not pursue Baek Li-ui-gang.
Ak Jung-hae spoke as if to offer comfort.
“The Alliance Leader immediately sent out search parties, so we should be able to find him soon.”
“…Yes.”
But contrary to Ak Jung-hae’s hopeful words, all trace of Young Master suddenly vanished. The Namgung Clan, the Murim Alliance, and acquaintances who participated in the battle all helped search for Baek Li-ui-gang, but they too had suffered considerable losses and could not continue to expend manpower on a fruitless endeavor.
“I’m sorry. We’ve received orders to withdraw. If there’s no progress within a week, we’re to return.”
“Wait, please!”
“Eon-du, don’t worry. I’ll stay behind. I can’t abandon the debt of gratitude I owe the senior.”
“Are you really sure about this? The Alliance….”
At that moment, someone interjected into their conversation.
“Please do not concern yourselves with finding Ui-gang.”
Everyone turned to look at the interloper with slightly furrowed brows. He was a young man with an unremarkable appearance, yet his bearing and tone radiated unmistakable confidence.
“Forgive my intrusion into your conversation. However, it seemed to concern my family, so I took the liberty of joining in despite the rudeness.”
“And who might you be?”
Eon-du spoke with wide eyes.
“Th-the eldest Young Master?”
The young man cleanly ignored Eon-du and performed a respectful fist salute toward the martial artists.
“I am Baek Li-ui-muk of the Baek Li Family. Ui-gang is my younger brother. I am grateful to you all for the assistance you have provided thus far in searching for him, and I express this gratitude on behalf of the Baek Li Family. From this point forward, we shall conduct the search ourselves. So please, do not worry.”
The Baek Li Family had dispatched their eldest son, Baek Li-ui-muk, along with their retainers upon learning of Baek Li-ui-gang’s disappearance.
Observing this, Eon-du reflected.
‘So the Baek Li Family does send people, even for a wayward son like that.’
* * *
While it was fortunate that the search would continue, after Baek Li-ui-muk’s arrival, Eon-du found himself receiving even fewer updates regarding the Young Master’s search.
“Still, I served the Young Master for all these years—surely this is too much?”
“Served him? If you had served him properly, we wouldn’t be in this situation now, would we?”
“What do you mean, how much attention did you pay! Before the Young Master made his name known, you treated him as if he didn’t exist—!”
“What did you say? How dare a servant’s son speak so insolently—!”
At that moment, a warrior of similar appearance emerged from the inn and grabbed their shoulders as if to stop them.
“Hey now, enough of that. Why are you getting worked up over a servant’s words? Don’t make unnecessary trouble.”
“…You should be grateful to Warrior Jang for saving your life! Get out of here at once!”
With a sharp kick, Eon-du tumbled out of the inn, rolling across the ground. Rising to his feet before the gathered onlookers, he brushed the dust from his clothes with casual indifference and turned away.
Only after entering the dark alley did his expression twist in pain.
“Ow, ow, ow—kick a little gentler, you bastards.”
When he lifted his shirt, the footprints were vivid. Eon-du stood there for a moment with his head bowed, then rubbed his ribs and began walking again.
“Hmph, you think you’re the only ones who can find him? The Young Master has lived so diligently all this time. There are plenty of people willing to help!”
As he muttered this, a hand suddenly shot out and clamped over Eon-du’s mouth.
“…You’ll be pun—mmph!”
Something was thrown over his face, and his vision went dark.
“Mmmph, mmmph, mmmph!”
Eon-du was helplessly dragged away.
I always knew something like this would happen to me!
The Young Master had made countless enemies over the years! Damn it! Now that there’s no Young Master to protect me, if I disappear like this, who will search for me? Ah, but I still need to find the Young Master and… he was thinking this when the hood suddenly covering his face was yanked away.
Eon-du’s eyes widened as he squinted against the sudden light and saw the person before him.
“…Young Lady Cheon?”

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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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