The Ignored Granddaughter of a Murim Family - Chapter 61

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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 61
* * *
“Well, did you see that?”
The Two-Story Pavilion Near Lake.
The second floor, forbidden to all but blood relatives of the Namgung Clan, overlooked several Practice Halls of the Namgung Clan in a single glance.
Yet the distance was considerable enough that even with perfect vision, a person standing in the Practice Hall appeared no larger than a toothpick.
However, for Namgung Mu-cheol and Cheonsan Yeomje Gu Hong-ma, the story was entirely different.
Gu Hong-ma spoke, his whiskers twitching.
“First, allow me to offer my congratulations. That troublemaking grandson of yours has finally taken his first step. Sword energy at ten years old, no less.”
A reluctant smile bloomed at the corners of Namgung Mu-cheol’s mouth, which had been set in a grave expression.
“Hmph, he merely forced it out for a moment out of sheer stubbornness. The boy himself probably doesn’t even realize he created it.”
Yet that first time was the most crucial. How much suffering must one endure to produce even that single instance? Gu Hong-ma, understanding this, spoke as though it were no laughing matter.
“Tsk, tsk. Do spare us the transparent humility.”
“Ahem!”
Gu Hong-ma gazed down at the Practice Hall once more.
The Practice Hall was in an uproar, with Baek Li-yeon at its center.
“But how did that child manage it? She was clearly a cripple in martial arts, having learned almost nothing!”
Namgung Mu-cheol’s expression darkened again.
“Moreover, at first she attempted to evade, only to change her mind.”
“Hah!”
Gu Hong-ma sighed as though utterly astounded, clicking his tongue.
“A child who doesn’t value her own life. Tsk, tsk. Such ones die first.”
“Ha, if that child had truly valued her own safety, would you have been able to seize the Gongqing Stone Jade in the first place?”
She would not have been swept up in the landslide, nor would she have discovered Man Shin-ui’s Alchemy Chamber.
Nor the Gongqing Stone Jade.
Gu Hong-ma stroked his whiskers with unflappable composure.
“Seize, you say? The girl consented to it as well.”
Namgung Mu-cheol struck the railing.
“Enough of your nonsense. Do you have any idea how much humiliation I’ve endured because of you?”
“Complaining won’t change anything. Do you truly think I’d return it simply because you ask? If I had such intentions, I wouldn’t have taken it in the first place. You know my circumstances, don’t you, brother? So then, why have you summoned me?”
* * *
The Medical Chamber of the Namgung Clan. I had certainly thought myself fortunate when I caught the broken wooden sword. But it seemed my luck ended precisely at that moment of catching it.
I breathed in the melancholy scent of the familiar apothecary. Namgung Wan stood before me like a ghost, his face ready to explode at any moment.
The elderly physician across from me examined my palm and let out a low whistle.
“You caught a wooden sword as it flew apart from breaking, and you sustained wounds like this? No matter how I look at it, these seem like injuries from a blade…”
“What are you saying?”
Namgung Wan also inspected the wounds and furrowed his brow.
“This is… could it be…?”
It was certainly worth being astonished about.
I nodded slowly. Only after seeing the wounds myself did I become certain. The peculiar movement of Namgung Ryu-cheong’s inner energy that I had witnessed just before the wooden sword shattered—that was the process of him generating sword energy!
‘Creating a sword aura at ten years old.’
She was truly a monster. Father, blessed with heaven’s talent, had only manifested his sword aura at twelve, or so I’d heard.
Of course, Namgung Ryu-cheong’s sword aura was so faint it barely deserved the name, and it dissipated almost instantly, yet the inner force contained within it was potent enough to wound my hand.
And Namgung Wan had noticed this fact as well.
“That insane woman….”
But he didn’t sound pleased. If anything, he seemed even more furious. And for good reason—one shouldn’t be able to manifest a sword aura with a wooden sword. Even with an iron blade, you couldn’t do it with some cheap, crude weapon. A sword couldn’t withstand the inner force that its wielder poured into it.
If even an iron sword couldn’t endure it, a wooden one certainly couldn’t. Being cut on the hand was fortunate. Had the wooden sword not shattered and instead exploded in place, the damage would have been far worse.
Both Namgung Ryu-cheong, who wielded the sword, and Seo Ha-ryeong, who stood so close beside her, would have been riddled with splinters. This was basic knowledge that anyone learning martial arts should know.
At Namgung Wan’s curse, the Old Physician let out a nervous cough.
“Ahem.”
“Well, can she be healed? There must be no complications whatsoever!”
“If the wound is properly sutured, kept immobile, and supported by inner force cultivation, there should be no problems.”
“Inner force cultivation?”
“I mean circulating qi through breathing exercises. However, the young lady’s inner force channels….”
The physician felt a chill and stopped mid-sentence.
Namgung Wan was glaring at him as if ready to kill.
“Since inner force is necessary… if she receives assistance from another person, she should heal without any aftereffects.”
I watched the entire exchange and found it somewhat absurd.
‘Even if I hear that I’m a cripple with no inner force, it doesn’t really matter.’
I’d heard it so many times that it didn’t bother me anymore. But it seemed Namgung Wan was worried about my feelings.
‘Well, it’s better not to hear it anyway.’
Warmed by his consideration, I smiled softly.
Namgung Wan suddenly burst out.
“Why are you smiling! Your hand is in tatters, and you’re laughing now?”
“In tatters….”
“What are you doing! Hurry up with the treatment! You must do your absolute best!”
“Of course, sir.”
The Old Physician, accustomed to Namgung Wan’s temperament, quickly removed the medicinal paste he’d applied to my wound.
“How does it feel?”
“I don’t feel anything.”
“The anesthetic has taken well.”
The physician began heating a needle over a flame. I’d felt nothing when looking at my wound, but seeing the needle suddenly made me want to faint.
The physician’s attendant approached and spoke.
“Please bite down on this.”
Seeing the cloth rolled up for biting, I wanted to faint a second time.
“Does it hurt?”
“The numbing powder has worked well, so it shouldn’t hurt. But we’re being cautious just in case.”
I’d been injured so many times before my regression and in my past life that I’d been stitched up quite a few times. But that bizarre sensation of thread passing through flesh—no matter how much anesthetic was used, that was something I could never get used to, no matter how many times I experienced it.
Terrified, I unconsciously grabbed at Namgung Wan’s sleeve. He looked down at me with amusement.
“You examined your split palm with such curiosity without batting an eye, yet suddenly you’re being childish?”
“It’s terrifying,” I whimpered.
I scrunched up my face and gripped Namgung Wan’s sleeve tightly with my uninjured hand.
“You’re anesthetized, so you’ll be fine.”
“No, no, the thread passing through flesh, that awful scratching sensation—it’s so strange!”
“With the anesthetic, you won’t feel anything at all.”
“Liar!”
“Enough noise. Hold her down.”
At Namgung Wan’s command, the waiting Servant seized my limbs.
Namgung Wan himself gripped my torso.
“Begin.”
“Wait, wait!”
“Start now.”
“I won’t cry!”
* * *
‘When did I fall asleep?’
I tried to sit up, still drowsy and disoriented. The moment I stirred, a firm pressure clamping down on my wrist jolted me fully awake.
Despite my wrist being held so tightly I could barely move, a sharp pain radiated through my hand—intense enough to bring tears to my eyes.
“Don’t move your hand.”
It was Yalyu.
‘Right, I’m injured.’
Stupidly, I’d forgotten and tried to push myself up with my right hand as usual. Instead, I rubbed my wet eyes with my left hand. My last memory was rambling incoherently in the Medical Chamber, intoxicated by painkillers.
‘I must have said something ridiculous, but I can’t remember any of it. I hope I didn’t say anything strange.’
But I was now in my Residence Quarter, the one provided by the Namgung Clan.
“Young Miss Baek! You’ve awakened!”
The Female Servant hurried over, carrying a tray with a medicinal bowl.
I asked when I’d returned and how long I’d slept, my eyes widening in shock at the answer.
“A full day has passed?”
“Yes.”
The Female Servant glanced at my wrist, which Yalyu was still holding, and continued.
“You seemed to be in pain, Young Miss, and kept trying to move your hand in your sleep. So this boy held your hand still all night to prevent you from moving it.”
“Yalyu did?”
“Yes. Even when I offered to watch over you, he insisted on doing it himself.”
I looked at Yalyu in astonishment.
Then suddenly, the Female Servant performed a deep bow to me.
“I owe you my life, Young Miss. I don’t know how to repay such grace. I will do everything in my power to show my gratitude.”
“No… that’s not necessary… haha.”
I laughed awkwardly.
Truth be told, the Female Servant and I weren’t particularly close. We’d barely exchanged more than a few words. The longest conversation we’d had was yesterday at the sparring match between Namgung Ryu-cheong and Seo Ha-ryeong.
It couldn’t be helped. I’d kept sending her away because Yalyu made it impossible for me to keep her in my Residence Quarter for long. The Female Servant, sensing my discomfort, quickly rose and spoke.
“Then I shall return to the physician. He asked to be informed when you awoke.”
The Female Servant hurried from the bedchamber. Yalyu brought over the medicinal broth she had left behind.
The broth had cooled to a pleasant temperature. I downed it all in one gulp, my face contorting as I smacked my tongue against the roof of my mouth.
Yalyu looked at me with slightly widened eyes.
“What?”
“I thought you’d make excuses not to drink it again this time.”
His words startled me, but I quickly composed myself and spoke casually.
“…I know when I need to take my medicine.”
“Mm.”
Yalyu checked the broth bowl and, satisfied, set it aside.
‘Hmm. He doesn’t seem to believe me 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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