The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 138

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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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A Fallen Clan’s Limited Years — Episode 138

“But tell me, if the Dan Mok Clan’s dumplings are truly so delicious, why haven’t any of their children been born yet? Can we really not taste them?”
An old man with snow-white hair grumbled the words. The mention of the Dan Mok Clan sent a chill racing down Baek Ui Myeong’s spine.
“It’s not that no children were born, sir. Their young lady was in poor health, so they were trying to accumulate merit.”
“If her health improved, shouldn’t they have shown their gratitude by distributing more dumplings?”
“And so they did, sir, once she recovered.”
“Bah. These dumplings are nothing special. I asked you to bring me something truly delicious, not this dry, flaky mess with barely a whisper of filling.”
“Is there even such a thing as a mouse’s tail that big?”
“You see that?”
Baek Ui Myeong bit back a sharp retort before he could stop himself, then quickly bit his own lip and averted his eyes from the old men’s gaze.
‘These old men are definitely not from the Baek Do Meng.’
To command a perfectly competent person around with a flick of the finger while finding fault and making demands would be beneath the dignity of any Baek Do Meng martial artist—impossible, even if they died and were reborn.
‘Hek Cheon Ryeon? Ma Cheon Gyo?’
He was still searching his mind for their affiliation when the white-haired old man suddenly opened his eyes to slits and fixed them upon him.
“Hmm… so you belong to this inn? You said you serve the proprietor here, didn’t you?”
“Not exactly belong, sir. I simply work here.”
“Is that so? You have no affiliation at all?”
“No, sir… I mean, I do have some affiliation…”
“Then spit it out already! Speak plainly!”
“W-well, if you press me? If I must… then I suppose I’m somewhat entangled with the Hao Wen…”
“Bah! Every beggar in the world claims to belong to some gang, and every servant girl to the Hao Wen. Why do you waste my ears with such nonsense?”
“I’m not actually a servant girl, sir…”
“The way you sass back shows you’ve got some spirit. Do you frequent a particular temple?”
The moment the subject of temples came up, Baek Ui Myeong understood.
The Baek Do Meng had three religions: Righteousness, Buddhism, and Daoism. And because they harbored the pride that everyone in the world shared their convictions, they would never ask such a question.
For Hek Cheon Ryeon, that kind of concern was not part of their doctrine—if they had one. He knew this all too well from his time rolling about in the Hao Wen. They would merely mock anyone who mentioned visiting a temple, calling them soft-hearted.
Yet those very mockers would clutch some strange Buddha statue in the dead of night, muttering to themselves, “I wasn’t cursing Buddha, or Heaven, or the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning, or the Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden, or the Jade Emperor…”
So these men were…
‘They’re Ma Cheon Gyo!’
“I do, sir. I visit the temple up above.”
“A servant from the Hao Wen playing at being a Buddha?”
He expected the man to laugh mockingly at such an absurdity, but instead the black-haired old man simply folded his arms and nodded slowly.
“So you were trying to accumulate merit by taking that green sprout of a child along with you. But you, a Buddha?”
“I wasn’t really trying to accumulate merit, sir. It just… happened that way…”
The white-haired old man set his chopsticks down on the empty plate with a sharp tap.
“Then you shall go to a temple with this old man sometime.”
“W-where? What temple are you talking about? Wait, why are you doing this?”
“To treat you to something good, that’s why. You’ve served us so faithfully—shouldn’t we repay your loyalty?”
“I… I have another temple I visit, and there’s an elder I serve… I… there is one. I haven’t even shown much loyalty to you at all, so why…”
“What?”
The black-haired old man’s eyebrows shot up sharply. His expression flickered with something like betrayal.
“I… why are you looking at me like that?”
“Who is this elder? Tell me—who?”
“What good does it do to know?”
“As I see it, neither you nor that green sprout of yours have many places to turn.”
“That’s harsh, sir…”
“The Nine Heavens Immortal Maiden we serve is the most merciful being in the world…”
“You’re not even hiding that you’re from Ma Cheon Gyo, are you?”
“Hide it? Why would we hide something to be proud of? It is something to be proud of!”
“Yet you only speak of it in private rooms…”
“What did you just say!”
Though there was no way he’d misheard, the black-haired man suddenly lurched to his feet and pointed accusingly, his voice booming. At his fierce presence, Baek Ui Myeong’s courage melted away entirely, and he muttered hastily.
“N-no, I didn’t mean it was shameful…”
Though Hek Cheon Ryeon and Ma Cheon Gyo and the Baek Do Meng had all gathered under the banner of the Martial Alliance, it was no easy thing for men who had lived differently their whole lives to change their thoughts and their foundations.
That’s why all of them move about without hiding their true colors only in places like Ha Nan Province, the headquarters of the Martial Alliance.
Everywhere else, they established their influence only within their own territories. In regions like Hang Zhou where the White Clothing martial world held sway, even the Hek Cheon Ryeon and Ma Cheon Gyo kept their heads down.
‘But why have these old men from Ma Cheon Gyo traveled all the way out here to Hang Zhou?’
Given that the distance was brutally far, wouldn’t Ma Cheon Gyo members find it impossible to set foot in Hang Zhou even if they looked with fresh eyes?
“Well… in any case, I serve other patrons and visit temples, and I’m not particularly invested in Ma Cheon Gyo. I’ll obtain different dumplings elsewhere tomorrow and bring them for you!”
Baek Ui Myeong rattled off his words in a desperate rush, then snatched only the empty plate and chopsticks before fleeing as if his life depended on it.

* * *

Seok Ban An, husband of Dan Mok Hyeon Yo and the son-in-law who had married into the family as a Damazo, was originally the third son of a merchant house that operated a money changer in Shan Xi Province.

He had never mastered even the martial arts that the hired swordsmen at that establishment practiced, and his temperament was on the softer side, so he had never carved out any real position within the Dan Mok Clan.
Only recently had he found small joy in helping with the tasks that Ryeon and Dan Mok Hyeon Yo often asked of him.
So when Seol Gwan Hui sent word separately asking for his help, Seok Ban An was a little surprised but readily agreed to his request.
“My, my. Are all of these from Man Song Merchant Guild again?”
“Yes! Thanks to the young lady creating Clear Lotus Water, they achieved the Three First Prizes, and they’ve sent these as tokens of gratitude.”

Seol Gwan Hui said with a smile.
“So I’m to examine these items and catalog them, then?”
“Yes, they seem to have sent many rare treasures, but we’re familiar enough with weapons and secret manuals—but these glittering valuables are beyond us…”
“You’re hardly ignorant of such things, but since I do take some interest in painting and calligraphy, I’d be pleased to help if I can.”
Seok Ban An said with a gentle smile. Even as he spoke, he understood what was really happening.
Receiving treasures like this meant assessing their value and recording them in the ledgers, which was certainly a substantial task, but Seol Gwan Hui was the sort of man who handled matters decisively and wouldn’t shy from it.
It was almost certainly a request from Dan Mok Ryeon, the owner of these treasures. He knew that Ryeon was the one who helped him—a man floating at the margins of the household—do whatever was needed.
But he didn’t let that thought show, and instead began examining the items as he turned through the warehouse.
‘Man Song Merchant Guild must have been truly overjoyed. Well, passing even a single provincial exam would be extraordinary, but to rank as top graduate in all three of them…’
He’d heard that before the third Man Song merchant even took the Provincial Examination, his niece Dan Mok Ryeon had given him Clear Lotus Water, saying it would become “medicine used by a top-ranked provincial exam graduate.”
Seok Ban An, coming from the upper echelons of the money-changing trade himself, well understood that merchants from Hui Zhou would stop at nothing to secure office, but seeing these gifts of thanks, he could grasp something of their hunger and joy.
Even he, who had grown wealthy from the money-changing business, rarely saw such a collection of treasures gathered in one place.
“…Uncle.”
“…?”
“Uncle!”
Seok Ban An, who had been marveling at an unfolded piece of embroidered silk, was startled by a voice calling from below.
Before he realized it, the acrid dust smell peculiar to large warehouses had faded away, replaced by clear, fresh air. Seok Ban An’s face broke into a warm smile.
“It’s not Ryeon. What brings you here?”
Seok Ban An was quite fond of this niece.
Not because she was helping him integrate into the family.
It was because his daughter, who had always been haughty and aloof and wouldn’t form attachments to anyone, had returned to Hang Zhou and become friends with this cousin, growing noticeably more lively as a result.
“Ah, right—this is all yours anyway. I asked a foolish question.”
Seok Ban An laughed a little sheepishly, and after his niece had briefly smiled back, she glanced around before looking up at him with a somewhat nervous expression.
“Uncle… I have something I’d like to ask of you.”
“What is it? Speak freely.”
Thinking of his daughter Dan Mok Seong’s nature—one who could never speak her true feelings plainly—Seok Ban An felt he would gladly strip away his entire fortune to buy West Lake for Dan Mok Ryeon if it would resolve the rift between them.
‘Though of course, Ryeon is wealthier than I am now.’
“It might be a difficult thing. And if my words strike you as too presumptuous, I hope you’ll pretend you never heard them.”
Seok Ban An was surprised by his niece’s disclaimer, then held his breath as he listened to her request and nodded slowly.

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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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