The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 355

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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 25
8. A Day in the Life
At the Baek Li Estate, after Sansu-yeon had concluded.
After several days of cool weather, a heavy downpour swept through, and then the temperature began fluctuating wildly.
One day it was so scorching that sweat poured down, yet the next day the tip of one’s nose would sting from cold. That particular day, the heat carried over from the previous day was so intense that ice vendors had appeared.
Martial World practitioners were generally more resilient to both heat and cold compared to ordinary people, but this varied greatly depending on one’s martial cultivation level. Third-rate martial artists were no different from commoners, and only around second-rate did one begin to notice a difference.
And at noon, in Baek Li-yeon’s Residence.
Three people occupied the chamber.
A white-haired young man reclined languidly against an armchair, one shoulder of his outer robe slipped down to his elbow. With eyes closed, he fanned himself slowly, his appearance utterly drowsy.
And another person.
Seemingly unbothered by the heat, a handsome young man wore several layers of silk robes in this weather, holding a remarkably expensive treasure sword cradled in his arms as he stood rigidly with crossed arms.
Finally, a cute young girl who appeared younger than the two men stood with a dissatisfied gaze, her lips pressed firmly shut as she glared at both males with piercing eyes.
With three people crammed into the narrow chamber and the windows sealed shut, it should have been stifling, yet the three figures emanated such a frigid atmosphere and exchanged not a single word that the room felt oddly cold instead.
After a moment, cheerful footsteps approached from outside, followed by a voice.
“Oh, Yalyu.”
“You’re here?”
“Of course it’s only you.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong inside the chamber let out an inward scoff at their exchange.
The door opened and Baek Li-yeon entered the chamber.
Having just bathed, she wore light clothing with her hair still damp at the ends.
Baek Li-yeon spoke.
“What are you all doing in a chamber without its master?”
So Nok stamped her foot as if agreeing with Baek Li-yeon’s words. She then made several gestures, clearly eager to say many things at once.
Baek Li-yeon nodded understandingly and patted her reassuringly.
“You’ve done well. You may go now.”
So Nok bowed toward Baek Li-yeon, cast one more piercing glare at the two men, and left the chamber.
“The Blue Hall exists for a reason—why do you keep coming here? Stop barging into the Inner Quarters. And you call yourself a gentleman?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke.
“I intended to wait outside.”
“But?”
“How could I leave that wretch alone? Who knows what he’d do?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong jerked his chin toward Jeggal Hwa-mu.
The one who had released paralytic poison in Baek Li-yeon’s chamber.
Though it would dissipate into the air quickly, with a bedroom present, what problem could arise that would justify releasing poison? What was he thinking?
Leaving such a person alone in the chamber—there was no telling what else he might attempt.
With the meager martial skill of Baek Li-yeon’s Female Servant standing guard at the door, there was no way she could stop that serpent-like wretch.
Baek Li-yeon sighed.
“Is it you again, Jeggal Hwa-mu? When did you return?”
Jeggal Hwa-mu smiled brightly and waved his fan in greeting.
Namgung Ryu-cheong found the sight distasteful and turned his head away. Then another person entered his field of vision.
“I waited outside.”
Tsk, so there was another snake lurking on this side as well.
Yet upon seeing such a snake, Baek Li-yeon nodded approvingly and smiled as if he had done well.
At that, Yalyu’s lips curved up slightly as well.
Namgung Ryu-cheong could not hold back and opened his mouth.
“Ha, all that matters to you is looking good in her eyes. You don’t understand what’s truly important.”
Baek Li-yeon was now at an age where she could no longer afford to act childishly.
The sight of Jeggal Hwa-mu coming and going from Baek Li-yeon’s inner quarters alone was precisely the sort of thing that would spawn unsavory rumors.
Waiting outside the door without caring whether rumors spread was something anyone could do.
He believed he was instead being “considerate” toward Baek Li-yeon.
Baek Li-yeon spoke with a wry smile.
“Why don’t you try making a good impression on me for once?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong dismissed Baek Li-yeon’s words as not worth responding to.
Baek Li-yeon turned back to Jeggal Hwa-mu.
“Hwa-mu, Ryu-cheong’s right. I’ve told you before—stop barging into my chamber like that. Grandfather is already starting to look displeased.”
“I can’t abandon what I want just because I’m worried about what others think.”
It sounded reasonable enough, but the underlying message was clear: he would continue doing as he pleased.
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s patience, already worn thin from the unpleasant encounter upon their first meeting and the confrontation at the chamber door moments ago, had long since been exhausted.
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke without filtering his thoughts.
“Then again, you don’t have much time left to live, do you?”
“Ryu-cheong!”
Baek Li-yeon cried out in shock.
Jeggal Hwa-mu’s smile vanished for a moment before returning, deeper than before.
“Exactly. That’s why I intend to stay close to Yeon until then. Unlike someone who will have to leave soon.”
The gazes of Namgung Ryu-cheong and Jeggal Hwa-mu clashed as though they were about to draw their blades, their auras intensifying with each passing moment.
Suddenly, Baek Li-yeon spun toward the door.
“Oh? Father!”
In that instant, Namgung Ryu-cheong’s momentum faltered.
Baek Li-yeon rushed out of the chamber, while Jeggal Hwa-mu rose with a disappointed expression, fanning himself languidly.
Namgung Ryu-cheong, glaring at Jeggal Hwa-mu, fluttered his robes as he followed Baek Li-yeon.
Upon stepping outside the building, Namgung Ryu-cheong saw Baek Li-yeon and Yalyu conversing in the courtyard and furrowed his brow. In the intense midday sun, there were only the two of them.
“Where is Dae-hyup?”
“Of course he’s not here. Did you really fall for that?”
It was Jeggal Hwa-mu, who had followed behind.
Namgung Ryu-cheong’s expression grew even more creased.
Baek Li-yeon shouted.
“You two are about to turn my chamber into a disaster again!”
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke as though questioning what she took him for.
“Of course I was planning to fight outside.”
Jeggal Hwa-mu answered immediately.
“I wasn’t planning on that.”
Before Namgung Ryu-cheong could turn around again, Baek Li-yeon quickly shouted.
“Stop it, will you? The problem is you’re even thinking about fighting! If you want to spar, go to the Practice Hall! This is my residence!”
Even without Baek Li-yeon’s intervention, Namgung Ryu-cheong had no intention of falling for this provocation.
Namgung Ryu-cheong was quick to read situations, and from the conversation in the hall just moments ago, he could discern why Jeggal Hwa-mu was getting under his skin.
Jeggal Hwa-mu’s true purpose was to bait him into losing his composure and ruining this moment.
‘The caliber of these so-called friends is truly something….’
Just then, Yalyu spoke to Baek Li-yeon.
“Hot?”
It was an utterly irrelevant topic, completely disconnected from the situation.
As Baek Li-yeon nodded and wiped the sweat beginning to bead on her forehead, Yalyu shielded her face from the sun with his hand.
“Yalyu, it’s fine. Put your hand down. Running around, shouting. I’m dying from the heat because of those two. I just bathed. Ah, I want shaved ice.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong, who had been regarding Yalyu with disdain, spoke.
“Then eat it.”
“I’ve been forbidden by Baek Li Dae-hyup.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong replied coldly to the answer that came from behind once more.
“I didn’t ask you.”
Jeggal Hwa-mu continued without regard.
“She single-handedly depleted the entire ice storage of the Baek Li Family. Then she suffered from indigestion and had quite the ordeal. Remember that her body hasn’t fully returned to normal yet. Yes?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong spoke as if hearing the word for the first time.
“Indigestion?”
Baek Li-yeon scratched her face, embarrassed.
“I didn’t expect to get indigestion from just that much.”
Jeggal Hwa-mu said.
“A healthy person would have stomach trouble from eating that much.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong sighed.
“A ban on eating shaved ice because of indigestion. I’m ashamed for you.”
“No, these things happen to people. Does everyone have to be an iron man like you?”
Just as Namgung Ryu-cheong was about to speak, Yalyu interjected.
“Did it hurt?”
“It’s fine. That was a while ago. Ah, it’s about time Father lifted the ban. Father really… huh?”
As Baek Li-yeon spoke and glanced around the courtyard, she asked.
“Come to think of it, where is Ha-ryeong?”
Namgung Ryu-cheong answered.
“She went out to play with the girl from Baek Geom Dan.”
“The girl from Baek Geom Dan? Jin-jin?”
“That seemed to be the name.”
“Did she say anything else? Like when she’d be back?”
“Nothing. Oh, she said they were going to the mountain valley.”
“The mountain valley? Hmm, so that’s where she went? Then she won’t be back for lunch. Traitor… said we’d eat together, but she’s having all the fun.”
Namgung Ryu-cheong couldn’t fathom what was so enjoyable about playing in the water, but seeing the disappointment in Baek Li-yeon’s expression, he spoke.
“We can eat later. Go join them now.”
Baek Li-yeon shook her head.
“No, it’s fine. If I say I went with Jin-jin, they’ll think I went with the Baek Geom Dan children.”
“But?”
“If I go, the atmosphere becomes a bit… awkward, I suppose. That’s what it’s like being the superior’s daughter.”
Of course, the children weren’t foolish enough to show it openly.
But how could she not notice what they were hiding?
Namgung Ryu-cheong frowned.
“Superior? That’s a strange way to put it. You’re the one in the higher position and the master of the household, so naturally they should serve you with respect. They’re showing displeasure?”
“It’s not so much displeasure as discomfort.”
Naturally they should serve you with respect.
Thinking to herself that this was exactly what one would expect from a clan young master, Baek Li-yeon inadvertently glanced at Yalyu.
Recently, it had been revealed that Yalyu’s biological mother was of slave origin, and the gossip surrounding it had been quite considerable. This was why she worried whether the mention of inferiors might have bothered him.
Though she had only stolen a quick glance, Yalyu reacted as if possessed by a ghost.
“What?”
“Nothing, really.”
Just as Baek Li-yeon was about to feel relieved at his seemingly unconcerned demeanor, Jeggal Hwa-mu opened his mouth with eyes gleaming wickedly.
“Well, your mo—”
Thwack!
Baek Li-yeon’s hand shot out like lightning, clamping over Jeggal Hwa-mu’s mouth.
Baek Li-yeon glared at him, while Jeggal Hwa-mu, his mouth sealed shut and his folded fan still in hand, stared back at her with wide eyes, his gaze brimming with grievance as if asking why she was doing this to him.
Baek Li-yeon glared, and Jeggal Hwa-mu, his mouth sealed shut along with his folded fan, opened his eyes wide and looked at Baek Li-yeon with an aggrieved gaze as if asking why she was doing this to him.

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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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