The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 102

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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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The Decline of a Great Clan: A Limited Lifespan — Episode 102

“So you’re saying it was simply because I…… stepped outside?”
“Yes, because ordinary people wouldn’t have been able to enter the clan grounds.”
Dan Mok Ryeon trailed off and turned back to look at Dan Mok Cheon Gi.
“Common folk can’t lift a fallen giant to his feet on their own.”
A giant must rise by himself. Dan Mok Cheon Gi turned her words over slowly in his mind.
And Dan Mok Ryeon gazed up at the back of Dan Mok Cheon Gi as he took a step forward.
Had it been because of her?
Had the sight of his granddaughter—the one who had received the Dharma Washing Ceremony—coughing up blood every day without any sign of recovery demoralized him further?
Was that why the Dan Mok Clan never ventured beyond its gates, slowly fading like a stone dulled by weather, breathing its last within those walls? Because he had no strength left to rise.
If he had only stepped outside once, people would have flocked to him—even had he not fully recovered his power.
There must surely have been those who had walked a thousand li just to brush the hem of his robes.
And they were all here now.
Those who had set aside their livelihoods, their work, everything, and rushed all this way simply to perform a Fist-Palm Salute to Dan Mok Cheon Gi now that he had stepped outside.
Until the Nam Gung Clan gates closed, the cheers of the crowd did not cease. Through the narrowing gap, Dan Mok Ryeon saw a martial artist weeping aloud.
In his previous life, he would never have seen Dan Mok Cheon Gi again.
As the doors shut and the outer noise abruptly cut off, Dan Mok Ryeon thought to herself.
Was it all because of her alone……?

* * *

Nam Gung Hwan, the head of the Nam Gung Clan, was not particularly broad-shouldered. His frame was slight, almost diminutive, yet the weight he carried made his true stature impossible to gauge.
As the commotion outside faded, everyone held their breath while Dan Mok Cheon Gi lightly dismounted from his horse.
The two towering figures faced each other in prolonged silence.
Those from both clans watched this magnificent silence with trembling eyes.
Nam Gung Hwan, meeting his old friend after so long, felt his lips tremble slightly.
He had pressed forward with the Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon despite its faltering prospects, all to meet Dan Mok Cheon Gi again—yet now that he stood face to face with him after all these years, his heart felt unmoored.
Jiangnan Province’s Yangzhou and Zhejiang Province’s Hang Zhou were different provinces and some distance apart, but by the standards of the Martial Arts World, they were relatively close.
Because of this, the two families had engaged in endless rivalry and competition, but as someone once said, familiarity breeds a strange affection.
Decades ago, when Dan Mok Cheon Gi had drawn his sword to confront Blood Coral Valley and sought to unite all martial families, the Nam Gung Clan had been among the first to support him, alongside the Je Gal Clan.
“You…….”
“What? So you’re still kicking?”
“……!”
At Dan Mok Cheon Gi’s casual remark, Nam Gung Hwan’s face suddenly crumpled. Then he burst out laughing.
“Were you afraid I’d died? I thought you were dead, holed up in that compound, never showing your face to the outside world, practically waiting for mold to grow on your bones!”
“Ah, Father!”
Nam Gung Gyeong Hae, standing beside him, cried out in alarm. In that same moment, Dan Mok Cheon Gi burst into hearty laughter.
“Ha ha ha! If you were so worried, you should have visited Hang Zhou at some point.”
“Did you think I had nothing but leisure?”
“Tae Heo Jin In traveled all the way from distant Kunlun Mountain to Hang Zhou. He said he would stop by the Nam Gung Clan and left, yet I never saw him. Did you?”
“Ahem, well…….”
Nam Gung Hwan gave an awkward cough and looked away. Dan Mok Cheon Gi did not press the matter further.
Sometimes, those who share the same sorrow find that merely facing each other becomes not comfort but a wound.
Such was the case with Dan Mok Cheon Gi and Nam Gung Hwan—both had lost their eldest sons in the battle against Blood Coral Valley.
For years, they could not bear to look each other in the face.
‘Had it not been for this Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon, we would not have met again until after death.’
Dan Mok Cheon Gi murmured inwardly, casting a brief glance down at the small granddaughter beside him.
If he had not attained enlightenment, if news of his recovery from those old wounds had not spread, Nam Gung Hwan would never have found the courage to reopen the Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon.
In a sense, he owed it to his granddaughter that he saw his old friend’s face once more in this life.
And that he came face to face with all those who had been waiting for him.
Otherwise, he would have died never knowing that he was not forgotten.
“So you’re saying you gathered all those people just to give me a proper welcome?”
“Did I gather them? Ever since word spread that you’d stepped outside the clan, flies have been buzzing around our Nam Gung Clan from every direction!”
I wondered what they were up to, so I caught a few, and they hemmed and hawed before finally admitting they’d heard that you were coming to the Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon that we were hosting.
“Why are they even looking for Dan Mok Cheon Gi at the Nam Gung Clan? Honestly!”
Once he’d let word spread that he was coming, the crowd swelled like spring pollen on the wind.
“So that’s why you left them to gather like that?”
“Hmph. I’ll host a feast for them, so mind your own business.”
Nam Gung Hwan continued grumbling.
“But how have you managed to stay holed up inside the clan all this time without making a single move? And when a person makes progress, shouldn’t they share it with others? Instead, you’re quietly eating up all the benefits for yourself — is that fine? Is it?”
“Father, please… please…”
Nam Gung Gyeong Hae spoke with an almost tearful expression.
Yet Nam Gung Hwan shook off his much taller son’s hand and continued pointing an accusing finger at Dan Mok Cheon Gi.
“How much good fortune have you consumed that you’ve transcended a realm at your age? How much longer do you plan to obstruct the younger generation’s path! Golden Basin Hand Washing — do you know what that is? It means you should be thinking about retirement!”

Golden Basin Hand Washing referred to washing one’s hands in a basin made of gold — a metaphor for severing all debts and grievances as a martial artist and withdrawing from the world.
Of course, it was more legend than substance, since washing one’s hands once could hardly make yesterday’s grudges vanish by tomorrow.
Those who harbored resentment would remain, and a single person couldn’t simply brush themselves clean and leave — even Buddha wouldn’t forgive that.
“Is that so? Then shall I spar with the youngsters here?”
In an instant, Nam Gung Hwan’s face, which had been flushed red in bewilderment, went crimson. He’d only just remembered that he was five years younger than Dan Mok Cheon Gi.
After decades of intimate companionship, he’d somehow forgotten this fact entirely.
“Damn it, when will I stop being milked for being the older one! People must think I’m the senior now!”
“You’ve been the one looking older since you were young.”
“I, I, I—!”
While Nam Gung Hwan’s hands trembled, his son and clan head Nam Gung Gyeong Hae seized the moment to intervene.
“Master! I trust you’ve been well.”
“Gyeong Hae, is it not? It’s been far too long.”
At Dan Mok Cheon Gi’s soft words, Nam Gung Gyeong Hae stood holding the Fist-Palm Salute, his expression guarded, for a long moment.
Dan Mok Cheon Gi stepped closer, lifted him up by the shoulders, and placed his own hand over the younger man’s, remaining still for a time before withdrawing it.
“Good. Have the others arrived?”
“Most have. Only those coming from the distant Mo Yong Clan remain. Master, please come inside.”
With those words, Nam Gung Gyeong Hae stepped aside, his expression heavy as he looked down at Dan Mok Ryeon and Dan Mok Bi.
“So you’ve come too, Ryeon. And Bi as well?”
“That one snuck into the cart’s storage and followed along because she wanted to attend the Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon gathering.”
Dan Mok Cheon Gi spoke with stern reproval, yet warmth lingered beneath his words.
The descendants of martial families ought to have the courage to seize such occasions without hesitation.
“I’m sorry!”
Dan Mok Bi cried out spiritedly, grasping Dan Mok Ryeon’s sleeve tightly and pressing close to her side. Her bashful smile betrayed the affection of a youngest child raised with indulgence.
“Bu Dan Ju, might I ask you to guide the guests to the main hall?”
After mussing Dan Mok Bi’s hair and straightening his posture, Nam Gung Gyeong Hae addressed the young man standing behind him.
The tall youth, whose shoulders sagged slightly, was Nam Gung Gyeong Mu, Nam Gung Gyeong Hae’s brother.

Nam Gung Gyeong Mu
Traits: Observation / Kaleidoscope / Bamboo / Sinew Collector
Aptitude and Potential: Middle-Middle
Cang Qiong Wu Ai Sword

: 5-star
Cang Qiong Da Yan Divine Art

: 3-star
Tian Lei Finger

: 8-star
Da Yan Nineteen Forms

: 7-star
Desire: To escape.
Notes: Excellent manual dexterity and keen observational ability.

‘Observation and Kaleidoscope as traits?’
The trait of Observation was intuitively clear — it seemed to be the ability to scrutinize others with keen awareness.
‘Bamboo and Sinew Collector, I understand those as well.’
Bamboo bends but does not break—that was what it meant. And if one was a Sinew Collector, there was no one more stubborn. Together, the two of them meant that once he fixed his mind on something, not even death could sway him.
With both qualities in him, if he made a decision, nothing in this world could bend him to another will.
But the Kaleidoscope—that was a trait he had never shown before. And the state of his martial skills was rather unusual as well.

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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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