The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 101

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

The Declining Aristocracy’s Terminal Bond — Chapter 101

‘How is it that even Yi Won hasn’t noticed?’
Dan Mok Ryeon’s family could only sympathize with what they took to be her seasickness, and when the physician arrived, he merely tilted his head in confusion before concluding that the young lady must have been startled by the unfamiliar surroundings. He left her with words of reassurance and acupuncture needles prescribed for nausea, nothing more.
“At this rate…….”
Hwa Ryun had noticed that being near Dan Mok Ryeon dulled others’ perception of him.
Otherwise, how could he have remained hidden from the eyes of Dan Mok Cheon Gi, that paragon of the martial world, until now?
Having witnessed mysteries beyond understanding and truths beyond his own knowledge, Hwa Ryun chose not to unravel the cause of this strange phenomenon, but rather to use it to remain at Ryeon’s side.
‘Yet Dan Mok Cheon Gi seemed to know something.’
He appeared to have noticed something amiss in Ryeon’s condition.
He sighed as he blamed himself for being unprepared, then issued orders that Ryeon would soon recover before leaving the cabin.
‘What is this? Why is she doing this? And she said she’d tell me if something hurt—not again, not again!’
Hwa Ryun dragged a hand across his face and exhaled heavily.
She swallowed blood with practiced ease, concealed her pallid complexion with subtle skill, and went to great lengths to keep those around her from worrying…….
He understood why she did it.
The physicians wouldn’t perceive anything anyway, and she had the certainty and experience that time would heal it on its own—so she had no wish to burden those around her with needless concern.
But.
“Like this, even if I try to…….”
Hwa Ryun tucked Dan Mok Ryeon’s hand beneath the blanket and grumbled for a long while.
A look of displeasure flickered faintly across the young boy’s still-childlike face before fading away.

* * *

When the boat arrived in Yangzhou, the people of Dan Mok Clan sent them off with tears streaming down their faces.
If they had not moved quickly, they would have been detained at the dock for quite some time.
Early spring in Yangzhou, in the Nan Zhi Li Sheng region, was colder than Hang Zhou, yet Ryeon’s face aboard the boat was far more vibrant and healthy than it had been.
Only the tip of her nose and her cheeks flushed from the cold wind, her white face was spread with a smile that made her seem lively and spirited.
The way Ryeon carefully wrapped her younger sister Dan Mok Bi’s cloak tight showed no sign of feeling the cold of early spring.
“Are you cold too, Ryun? Come here.”
“No, I’m fine.”
Even as Hwa Ryun said this, she pressed close behind Ryeon as if to evade her reaching hand.
“You’re really okay now, right?”
Her voice, whispered low, was strangely rigid for a child. Ryeon nodded firmly.
“Of course I’m really okay!”
“Even with all those jewels hanging from you?”
“Yep!”
The moment Ryeon disembarked at the dock, she swept through a nearby ornament shop.
With the active support of Dan Mok Cheon Gi and Dan Mok Hyeon Yo, she bought not only ornaments for Dan Mok Bi but for everyone else as well.
She bought trinkets for Dan Mok Wan, Seo Geuk Rim, and Mae Sin Yu, whom she had brought along, and procured gifts for the cadet branch children and family members waiting at home.
Selecting fine goods in a small shop one suddenly entered was ordinarily a difficult task, but for Ryeon it was simple.
Whenever she picked something up, if it could hold a lot of Spiritual Energy, then it was a good item!
She distributed her Spiritual Energy little by little into each jewel she purchased, and as she slowly cleansed the streets throughout the bustling city of Yangzhou, the scattered Spiritual Energy gradually stabilized.
“Do you like jade that much?”
Hwa Ryun asked, her voice cautious for some reason. Ryeon answered earnestly.
“All jewels are good. Really good.”
‘Because they take care of my Spiritual Energy.’
“Hmm.”
“When our Ryun rises in the world later, will this sister buy ornaments for you too~?”
Ryeon spoke with a mischievous laugh. Hwa Ryun gazed at her face quietly, then shrugged.
“If my sister says she’ll accept them later.”
“Of course I’ll accept them! What are you saying?”
“Well, that aside—sister, is there something written on that fan?”
Hwa Ryun suddenly shifted the topic from beside her. It was still chilly weather, yet Ryeon held a fan in her hand, so she was asking.
“Oh, it’s just…….”
“You really are okay, right? You’re not running a fever and pretending it’s hot, are you?”
“I’m not saying that at all. Are you alright? This is the first time you’ve come this far. If you get lost here, it’ll be hard to find you. You need to hold your sister’s hand tight.”
“……Sigh.”
Ryeon squeezed her hand deliberately and laughed in jest, but Hwa Ryun didn’t brush her away as usual or bolt—instead, she looked at her quietly with deeper eyes.
“Ryun, come on? I’m the primary heir of the Dan Mok Clan, you know. I’m hardly going to fuss about riding a boat on the canal!”
Hwa Ryun’s lips moved as if she had much to say, then she gave up. She did what she always did—she ran away and scurried over to Dan Mok Bi.
Soon the vast estate of the Nam Gung Clan came into view.
The grand mansion, old with deep history, looked almost like a palace if you weren’t careful.
And before that magnificent estate, arrayed and waiting for them, stood a gathering of people.
Nam Gung Hwan, the head of the Nam Gung Clan, his son Nam Gung Gyeong Hae, and his household retainers.
And between them stretched a multitude whose identity one could not pin down, surrounding the path in ranks.
Had the Dan Mok Clan seen them for the first time, they would surely have been startled, but strangely, these strangers all wore familiar expressions.
The same face, the same gaze with which they had looked at Dan Mok Cheon Gi aboard the ship mere days ago.
Faces bright with emotion—long-harbored affection, gratitude and debt, the stirring encounter with a towering tree believed felled rising again, all tangled together with regret and remorse and guilt, glowing vividly.
The faces of those who remembered the Dong Jeong Hyeol Sa of decades past, who remembered who had swept away the bloody shadow that blanketed the Central Plains.
The moment Dan Mok Cheon Gi’s horse took a step forward with a clip-clop.
A man from among those lining the path cried out in a ringing voice.
“All—stand!”
The sound of everyone correcting their posture echoed loudly. The noise of feet striking the ground and bodies straightening began chaotic and scattered, then gradually fell completely silent.
When silence had settled so profound you could hear a pin drop, everyone brought their palms together and performed the salute.
Snap!
Snap-snap-snap!
The sound of the Po Gwon Ji Rye rippled through the air like waves, and the moment everyone, including the Nam Gung Clan people, finished the salute together, the man cried out again.
“Destroy!
Enmity!
!”
At that moment everyone clapped their palms and fists together again and stamped their feet with sharp reports, crying out in unison.
“Righteous!
Conduct!
!”
Even Nam Gung Hwan, the head of the Nam Gung Clan, joined in that cry, and as everyone spoke as one, the heavens seemed to quake and the earth to tremble.
Dan Mok Cheon Gi said nothing for a long moment, only gazing at them quietly.
For an instant, it felt as though he had returned to decades past, fighting through Si San Hyeol Hae alongside his living son, standing at the vanguard to save those people.
And to that final moment when all the war had at last ended……
As the people’s cries faded and their resonance died slowly away into silence again, Dan Mok Cheon Gi brought his own hands together in salute and moved his lips quietly.
“……Destroy…… Enmity…… Righteous Conduct.”
From a throat somewhat parched, a voice emerged ragged and low, and at that very moment the sound of people cheering filled the street anew.
“Uaaaaaa!”
“Mu Wol Geom! Mu Wol Geom!”
Destroy Enmity, Righteous Conduct.

This was a very old rallying cry.
Originally, the Baek Do Meng had taken “Righteous Conduct, Upholding Justice” as their banner.

But when the Baek Do Meng, the Hek Cheon Ryeon, and the Ma Cheon Gyo formed the Martial Alliance to face Blood Coral Valley, “Destroy Enmity”—the vow to erase Blood Coral Valley—came before the conduct of righteousness

or upholding justice.

Now that Dan Mok Cheon Gi had broken Blood Coral Valley, the Martial Alliance had returned to “Righteous Conduct, Upholding Justice,” and “Destroy Enmity, Righteous Conduct” had long since vanished into the shadows of history.
Everyone had forgotten about it, and Dan Mok Cheon Gi himself had thought he had forgotten.
But great deeds leave great marks, and noble sacrifice is never truly forgotten. Evil may once have shone brilliantly, yet none mourn it; goodness may seem fleeting, yet it never truly perishes.
Though it seems to have vanished, though it feels spent, it has not.
A spark that appeared extinguished catches flame again when it meets the wind, and so with the smallest occasion, all begin to cry out once more.
That they remember your kindness.
That they have not forgotten it for a single day.
That they wished to show what you have wrought, what you protected decades ago.

Passing through their midst to enter the Nam Gung compound, Dan Mok Ryeon spoke quietly.
“Grandfather… he came out, that’s why.”
“What?”
In the midst of the crowd’s cheers, he might have missed his granddaughter’s whispered words, but Dan Mok Cheon Gi did not.
Dan Mok Cheon Gi turned to look at Dan Mok Ryeon, his eyes glistening. She met his gaze quietly and spoke.
“It’s not because Grandfather recovered the strength he had lost. That’s not why these people came.”
……
“Because Grandfather stepped outside the clan—on the ship then, and now—that’s why all these people gathered.”

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