The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 41

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 41
* * *
People had gathered in the corridor of the inn. From a distance, I caught sight of them and ducked below the railing to hide.
The Employee was dressed neatly, befitting a worker at a high-class establishment, but dark stains that looked like water splattered across his sleeves and front.
The Employee’s voice reached my ears.
“He said he would dry his hair himself, so I came out.”
Shim Bu-gwan asked.
“What did you observe?”
“What do you mean? I’m not sure what you’re asking….”
“Simply share your thoughts about the child.”
“Well, he was well-behaved throughout the washing. But he was remarkably quiet—didn’t answer when asked, didn’t ask questions either. Oh! After washing, he had quite a handsome appearance, actually.”
“…Is there anything else?”
“But his body had many scars and wounds. If you count from the most recent to the oldest ones healing, there were quite a few….”
The Employee, who had been rambling on, fell silent as his topics ran dry.
“Well, please pretend you know nothing about the child.”
The Employee, who had received a heavy pouch from Ma Hye-hyang, withdrew with a bright smile.
“If you need anything else, please call for me again.”
After waiting for the Employee to disappear, Ma Hye-hyang turned to Shim Bu-gwan.
“So that child was the only one?”
“Yes. When first discovered, he was the only one alive among the corpses.”
“Corpses?”
“Yes. They were desiccated like mummies….”
Just as I was about to move closer to hear Shim Bu-gwan’s voice better, the conversation cut off abruptly and he shouted.
“Who’s there!”
Ah, these martial artists.
‘Eavesdropping is this difficult.’
I straightened my clothes and walked out casually.
“It’s me.”
Ma Hye-hyang tilted her head and asked.
“So it’s you? What brings you here?”
I laughed and bounded forward eagerly.
“I wanted to see the child Father brought, but it seemed like you were having an important conversation….”
As I spoke with a cautious tone, Ma Hye-hyang’s expression softened completely.
“I see. Why do you want to meet the child?”
“I noticed earlier that he seemed injured, so I brought some salve! And he looks about my age too. Well, I wanted to talk to him.”
Though I said I wanted to talk, it was obvious to anyone that I simply wanted to play. Ma Hye-hyang, finding me adorable, gently stroked my head.
“You must have been bored staying here. Oh, where is your father?”
“Father isn’t here—he stepped away!”
“Is that so? Hmm, what should we do?”
Ma Hye-hyang turned to look at Shim Bu-gwan. After a moment of consideration, Shim Bu-gwan spoke.
“Perhaps because she’s close in age, she might open up more easily?”
“But what if that child were to…?”
“From what I heard earlier, she’s quite well-behaved, isn’t she? I’ll be right outside the door. Besides, the young master of the Baek Family instructed me to keep watch anyway.”
Ma Hye-hyang nodded and turned to address me.
“If that child doesn’t like it, don’t force her to play or talk. Just come back out. Understood?”
“Yes!”
I stepped through the door that Shim Bu-gwan opened for me. The inn’s chamber was divided into two sections, and I sensed a presence from within. My lips felt dry from tension as I drew a deep breath.
‘It’s fine. I can do this. Nothing has happened yet.’
I reassured myself and moved deeper inside. There was Yalyu, unaware of my entrance, her gaze fixed upon a small potted flowering tree atop a table.
After washing thoroughly, Yalyu looked like a miniature version of her adult self—so identical that I wondered how I hadn’t recognized her before.
Skin so pale it appeared bluish, and lips an unusually vivid crimson.
Drip. At the sound of water falling, my eyes dropped to Yalyu’s feet. The wooden floor darkened where water had pooled.
I froze completely, unable to move a single finger. All my resolve from before entering evaporated, and my mind turned white.
The sound of water droplets fell like the blood that once dripped from a severed neck, and the darkened floorboards seemed to shimmer with the illusion of pooling blood.
Then Yalyu slowly extended her hand. The moment her fingers touched the delicate pink buds nestled in the rustic ceramic pot, the blossoms began to wither as if drained of moisture. Within moments, the flower bud’s stem snapped with a brittle crack.
“…!”
My eyes widened. The instant I witnessed that bizarre sight, I understood what was happening. There could be no more than one martial art capable of such a thing.
Life Devouring Demonic Art. For those of the Orthodox Sect, the very name was enough to make them shudder and gnash their teeth—a martial art that plundered the life force and inner energy of others to strengthen one’s own cultivation, one of the most sinister techniques representing the Demonic Cult.
Those whose vital energy was stolen occasionally survived if fortune favored them, but most perished. Even martial artists of the Martial World were not exempt; members of the Demonic Cult could strip away decades of accumulated inner power.
‘But Yalyu has mastered the Life Devouring Demonic Art?’
The shocking scene pushed my past memories into the background.
‘…So that was it.’
I could instantly understand why Yalyu, the sole survivor of the Cheon-gwi-jo Lair, remained unknown and was imprisoned in the Murim Alliance’s dungeon.
The Murim Alliance had begun as a confederation of great Orthodox Sects united against the Demonic Cult. After their victory in war, they became a massive power bloc wielding influence across the entire Martial World, handling tasks such as mediating disputes, executing notorious villains, and imprisoning them.
But a child who had mastered the Life Devouring Demonic Art. Regardless of her youth, Yalyu, who had learned this infamous technique, would not be seen as a survivor who escaped Cheon Gwi-jo’s grasp, but as a villain. That was why she had been cast into Evil Person Valley.
I forced my rigid body to move and approached the potted tree. Only then did Yalyu notice me. Her glass-like black eyes revealed no emotion whatsoever.
“Does Father know about this?”
Yalyu blinked, then nodded.
“He knows?”
Yalyu nodded again.
“Then, what about the others?”
Yalyu tilted her head as if asking what I meant.
“The people who were with Father.”
“They don’t know.”
“…”
I bit my lip.
Namgung Wan—he was a hardliner who would execute any member of the Demonic Cult first and ask questions later. And with good reason; Namgung Wan’s mother, his elder sister, and even his brother-in-law had been brutally murdered by the Demonic Cult. Furthermore, the Danmok Family, his maternal relatives, had been nearly annihilated in the war against the Demonic Cult. Naturally, Namgung Wan could not tolerate even breathing the same air as a Demonic Cultist.
If Namgung Wan learned of Yalyu’s Life Devouring Demonic Art, he would immediately draw his blade to kill her.
Father could not possibly be unaware of this. Yet he brought Yalyu here without telling Uncle Namgung Wan, which meant…
‘He intends to keep it hidden!’
I staggered backward and steadied myself against my head. After a moment, I made my way to the window and opened it. The fresh air seemed to clear my mind slightly.
‘For now….’
After composing myself and gathering my thoughts, I returned to the table. Ignoring Yalyu’s gaze upon me, I swept the powder from the table’s surface out through the window.
Then I withdrew a handkerchief and offered it to him.
“Either you want to die, or you stop doing things like this from now on.”
“Why?”
“Each vital energy you absorb has slightly different properties. For now, you can handle it without major issues, but as your internal power grows, problems will arise.”
“…How do you know that?”
“Is that really important right now?”
Seeing that Yalyu had no intention of taking the handkerchief, I seized his wrist and pulled it toward me. The moment I grasped it, I felt it rigid and tense, but I ignored it. I wiped the dry residue from his hand.
“You weren’t trying to kill me?”
My hand, which had been wiping away the debris, stopped. I looked at Yalyu.
With an expressionless face, Yalyu muttered.
“That’s what I was told would happen.”
“By whom?”
“Cheon Gwi-jo.”
….
That was when it happened. The door creaked open, and footsteps approached.
“Can’t you restrain yourself for even a moment before causing trouble? I instructed Shim Bu-gwan to let no one through, yet how did you get in here?”
My father approached swiftly, his eyes scanning over me before he lifted me into his arms. His gaze then fixed upon the withered flower tree before Yalyu. The warm tenderness that had been in his eyes moments before turned glacial in an instant.
My father spoke to Yalyu.
“If it hadn’t been my daughter who witnessed what you did, you would have been dragged away as you are.”
….
“If you cannot trust my words, then so be it. If you wish to accept punishment for your sins of your own accord, I will not stop you.”
My father spoke in a bitter tone.
“That too… would not be entirely unwelcome.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————