The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 38

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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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Chapter 38
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Silence descended upon the open field, so complete that even the chirping of insects had ceased. Just as Namgung Wan waited anxiously for the poison to be purged from his body, Ak Jung-hae collapsed to his knees, using his sword to support himself against the ground.
“Senior Ak?”
Ma Hye-hyang, who had been approaching Ak Jung-hae, suddenly froze as the sharp, metallic stench of blood assaulted her senses.
Crimson blood seeped through the gaps between Ak Jung-hae’s fingers as he clutched the wound at his waist. Alarmed, Ma Hye-hyang brushed his hand away and lifted his garment.
“What…!”
The wound was alarmingly deep. Beneath the dim moonlight, Ak Jung-hae’s dark-colored clothing had concealed the severity of his injury from everyone’s notice. Ma Hye-hyang quickly pressed down on the pressure point, but the bleeding only diminished slightly.
Ak Jung-hae, breathing heavily, seized Ma Hye-hyang’s wrist.
“…I’m fine.”
“The wound is in this condition… You should have said something!”
“If I had, what then? Was I supposed to let Ui-gang fight alone? Senior Wan needed to be detoxified first—that was the priority.”
Ma Hye-hyang tore a strip from her garment and pressed it firmly against the wound to staunch the bleeding. The fabric darkened crimson in an instant.
“What should we do…?”
Ma Hye-hyang looked toward Dang So-yong and Namgung Wan with anxious eyes.
If they delayed any longer…
Yet she could not abandon Dang So-yong and Namgung Wan.
Ak Jung-hae spoke with a faint, delirious smile.
“Byeok Seong-yul will… bring someone back.”
Ma Hye-hyang clenched her blood-soaked hands.
Had it not been for Byeok Seong-yul, Ak Jung-hae would never have been wounded so grievously. And would Byeok Seong-yul, who had fled without so much as a backward glance, truly return?
Time crawled forward with agonizing slowness. Dang So-yong had said it would take roughly half an hour at most, yet those minutes felt interminable.
Then, from the distance, she sensed approaching presences.
Multiple figures.
Ma Hye-hyang quickly rose to her feet, drawing her sword. As they drew nearer, she discerned their nature: three martial artists and one ordinary person—no, two ordinary people.
Yet among them, she detected no trace of Byeok Seong-yul. Nor were they disciples of Yeongjonmun. Their footfalls were weighted with authority, their martial prowess considerable and their age more advanced.
“Damn it.”
Ma Hye-hyang gripped her sword and assumed a defensive stance. In the darkness, the rustling of undergrowth drew closer. Tension caused the fine hairs on the back of her hands to stand on end.
Then came a voice—young and utterly unexpected.
“There! There it is! Hurry, hurry!”
As Ma Hye-hyang’s eyes widened, a familiar figure emerged from the brush.
It was Shim Ji-pyeong, Namgung Wan’s adjutant. Shim Ji-pyeong’s eyes narrowed as he noticed Ma Hye-hyang’s drawn sword.
“Are you pointing that at me?”
“Oh! I apologize!”
Ma Hye-hyang hastily sheathed her blade. Shim Ji-pyeong, surveying the open field, suddenly cried out in shock.
“My goodness, the Young Family Head!”
Ma Hye-hyang, regaining her composure, intercepted Shim Ji-pyeong as he moved toward Namgung Wan.
“Administrator Shim, we need a physician. Right now!”
“What?”
“A physician! Senior Ak is in critical condition!”
“Critical condition? How did this happen?”
“Deputy Chief Shim, we don’t have time for this!”
“Wait, please calm yourself. The physician is on the way.”
“What?”
“By now… Ah! There they are.”
Parting through the undergrowth came the Namgung Clan’s warriors… and a child.
“Baek Li-yeon?”
Ma Hye-hyang’s eyes widened in disbelief. Behind her emerged another warrior, carrying an elderly man on his back who groaned with each labored breath.
* * *
Beneath the trees where moonlight barely penetrated, dim lights of different hues collided repeatedly.
A sharp crack—the branch where the light had passed was severed. Cheon Gwi-jo kicked away the falling wood.
A branch thick as a child’s torso came hurtling through the air, which Baek Li-ui-gang split in two. In that moment, Cheon Gwi-jo’s figure vanished between the trees.
“Speaking of which, Byeok Seong-yul—I heard something amusing from that blockhead Hyeongsan…”
His voice echoed through the densely packed trees, making it impossible to pinpoint Cheon Gwi-jo’s exact location.
“That your daughter’s illness stems from being crippled?”
“…”
“A martial cripple with a sealed dantian! Hahahaha!”
Cheon Gwi-jo’s laughter rang out long and cruel.
As Baek Li-ui-gang’s blade felled a tree, a dark shadow burst forth. Pursuing it, he suddenly felt the ground give way beneath him, so he kicked the felled tree aside and threw his body backward.
Cheon Gwi-jo’s attack grazed past Baek Li-ui-gang’s leg in that narrow gap. Crack! Another tree snapped uselessly and tumbled down the slope.
“The resentment piled up from your righteous deeds is beyond counting!”
Clang! Cheon Gwi-jo’s hand and Baek Li-ui-gang’s blade clashed once more.
“A martial cripple who can’t even use martial arts! Hahahaha! Don’t you wonder how long your daughter will survive?”
In that instant, the tip of Baek Li-ui-gang’s blade, which had blocked Cheon Gwi-jo’s attack, trembled, and the blue light wreathing the sword dimmed.
“…!”
It was an utterly transparent provocation. The fact that it worked was shocking enough to surprise even Cheon Gwi-jo.
Cheon Gwi-jo seized the opening and swung his inner energy-laden hand toward Baek Li-ui-gang.
“Die!”
Baek Li-ui-gang twisted his body and turned his head; the sharp sound of Cheon Gwi-jo’s hand grazing past his neck. Blood from the torn flesh stained Baek Li-ui-gang’s upper garment. Cheon Gwi-jo licked his lips in frustration.
Had it been just a bit deeper, he could have snapped his neck outright.
As Cheon Gwi-jo pressed his relentless assault, a chilling sensation of hair standing on end made him quickly twist his body.
By the narrowest margin, the blade passed by his ribs.
“Namgung Wan! How are you already…!”
In that moment, a burning sensation spread through him. It was Baek Li-ui-gang’s blade—his attention had involuntarily shifted while evading Namgung Wan’s attack. Cheon Gwi-jo gritted his teeth and quickly retreated.
Namgung Wan pressed forward urgently.
“Ui-gang! Are you alright?”
“…Chase Cheon Gwi-jo.”
Baek Li-ui-gang spoke while pressing the pressure point on his neck. Namgung Wan glanced at him briefly, then pursued Cheon Gwi-jo without hesitation.
Moments later, startled by the commotion beyond the forest, birds scattered into flight with frantic wings.
A moment later, startled by the commotion from beyond the forest, birds flew away with a flutter.
Clang! Crash! Clang! Beneath the star-studded night sky, the swordsmanship of the Namgung Clan revealed itself without restraint.
The sound gradually faded into the distance before falling silent. Moments later, Namgung Wan reappeared before Baek Li-ui-gang.
“Where is Cheon Gwi-jo?”
“Tsk, he got away.”
“He’s wounded, so he won’t be able to flee for long. We should continue pursuing….”
Namgung Wan blocked Baek Li-ui-gang as he moved forward.
“…?”
“Are you alright?”
Baek Li-ui-gang gazed down at his own blade, now devoid of all radiance.
Baek Li-ui-gang’s sword slid back into its scabbard.
“You’ve made me worry for nothing. Very well, let’s return. We can’t let him get too far.”
This region was familiar to Cheon Gwi-jo. If he decided to flee in earnest, two people alone would struggle to pursue him. Namgung Wan nodded and swung his blade, shaking off the blood that clung to it.
“Cheon Gwi-jo’s strength is considerable. For someone who lost to you seven years ago….”
Namgung Wan had arrived in haste without fully detoxifying himself, allowing him to display only seventy percent of his true power.
Yet Cheon Gwi-jo was injured. Considering that, I had not anticipated he could escape so easily.
“How did he become so much stronger in that time?”
“….”
Baek Li-ui-gang gazed down at his own hands with a darkened expression.
After repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists, Baek Li-ui-gang spoke.
“If anything happens to me, I entrust Yeon to your care.”
“What an inauspicious thing to say?”
Namgung Wan, visibly displeased, waved his hand dismissively and continued.
“More importantly, how did you arrive at such a perfect moment? Did you know Bu Moon-ju was Cheon Gwi-jo?”
Baek Li-ui-gang shook his head.
“I didn’t know the Yeongjonmun’s Bu Moon-ju was Cheon Gwi-jo. However….”
Namgung Wan looked at Baek Li-ui-gang, demanding an explanation.
“However what?”
Baek Li-ui-gang trailed off, his gaze fixed on the ground.
“…Yeon.”
“Yeon what?”
“Yeon….”
“Yeon what! Are you trying to drive me mad with frustration?”
Baek Li-ui-gang’s brow furrowed slightly as he exhaled a sigh, speaking as though he had no choice.
“She was crying and making a fuss, saying she had dreamed of you all dying, so I came.”
Namgung Wan’s face suddenly contorted.
“Don’t jest with me. Why have you been spouting nonsense since earlier?”
“….”
“….”
“….”
“No, you’re serious?”
“….”

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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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