The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 144

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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 Fallen Clan’s Terminal Heir — Chapter 144

‘No, she was smiling a little herself!’
Mae Sin Yu felt somewhat wronged, but in front of Dan Mok Ryeon, no sharp words would come out.
Dan Mok Ryeon, pouting slightly, pushed the plate toward him.
“Be quiet and eat quickly.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mae Sin Yu stared at the dark brown Bitter Pill sitting in the small bowl, then squeezed his eyes shut and put it in his mouth.
He forced himself not to wince at the bitterness that made his face contort.
“Yun Gi Zo Sik! Do it now — Yun Gi Zo Sik!”
As waves of heat and cold swept through him alternately, he listened to Dan Mok Ryeon’s instruction and quickly crossed his legs in meditation.
Soon a cool breeze seemed to blow softly from somewhere, easing his sweat, and he felt a warm, small hand touch his back. Then his ragged breathing grew calm, and Dan Mok Ryeon’s voice began to echo more and more distantly.
“Slowly. Don’t rush. Don’t worry. I’ll help you. Even if not me, all the other adults will help you too.”
Mae Sin Yu tried to grasp those words faintly as he thought.
The thread-thin bloodline connecting him was closer to that of a stranger than a true blood relative, and he was someone who spoke ungracefully and had no beautiful features—so why would she go this far for him?
If the medicinal potency was too strong for young Dan Mok Bi to take, they could simply wait a few years before giving it to her.
Otherwise, Dan Mok Ryeon herself could take it, or Dan Mok Hyeon Yo and Dan Mok Hyeon U could take it instead.
He had survived at the frayed edge of the family genealogy, barely passed the trials, and remained here—yet he had no brilliant talent that others lacked, no sparkling wit to show for himself.
He had intended to accept only what he could repay, and later, once he could stand on his own feet, to repay everything he’d received and shake it all off cleanly…….
It seemed he could hear a girl’s laughter from somewhere.
If he could protect that laughter so it never died out, would that pay back all the attention he’d received now?
He’d think about that later—Mae Sin Yu decided to set aside the worry he couldn’t solve right now.
Mae Sin Yu gathered his doubts together along with his Yun Gi Zo Sik cultivation.

* * *

“But is it really all right to start with the Treasury Hall…?”
“Once the other construction projects begin, you’ll need to oversee them.”
“That’s true, but if possible, it would be better to start with Wol Yeong Jae….”
“Grandfather approved, so don’t worry.”
When Dan Mok Ryeon had earned money with the Clear Lotus Water, she had first repaired the servants’ quarters and given them raises, and now she was renovating and expanding the Treasury Hall and Guest Hall.
“The Treasury Hall is, in a word, the heart of the clan.”
The world didn’t run on money alone, people said, but nothing could be done without it either. In that sense, calling it the heart would hardly be an exaggeration.
Seol Gwan Hee, the Master of the Treasury Hall, looked at Dan Mok Ryeon with welling eyes.
“Young miss…….”
“So first we repair the heart and tend to it well—there will be much work for you.”
“Young miss……?”
Seol Gwan Hee’s eyes trembled.
“I noticed we’ve sold off a lot of fields and orchards. We need to recover those, bit by bit. Not all of them right away, but gradually.”
“Ah!”
The fields and orchards wouldn’t convert to large sums of money immediately, but they were a means of producing food, so recovering them was worthwhile.
“And replace all the children’s practice robes and equipment with better ones. After that’s done, next comes repairing the family members’ quarters. Expansion won’t be necessary, I think. Just keep the interior simple and clean.”
“……Will I oversee all of that……?”
“Since it involves spending money, it’s the Treasury Hall’s domain.”
And when Dan Mok Ryeon opened her mouth to continue, Seol Gwan Hee brought paper and brush. She was ready to record Dan Mok Ryeon’s words.
“Give all the servants two sets of clothes each. They should have a sense of unity, be comfortable to move in, and be sturdy, but look beautiful too. Understand? Comfortable, sturdy, and absolutely! Beautiful. Embroider the Dan Mok Clan’s mark along the hem of the garment.”
Where does a sense of belonging come from?
From nothing else. From good pay and a fine uniform!
“We’ve already recruited messenger corps from the Yu Seong Pyo Bureau, yes? We need to make uniforms for all these people too. These also need to be comfortable to move in, sturdy, and look good. All three things are equally important. Understand? Impressive enough that others glance at them without thinking, so comfortable during work that you don’t miss any other clothes, and durable enough to wear for a long time.”
“I will be sure to remember.”
“I’ll ask your aunt to introduce people—she’ll do it well. ……But will we have enough money for all this?”
Seol Gwan Hee held the brush to her lip and pulled out a small abacus from her pouch, clicking it rapidly. The abacus beads clattered across their frame and then stopped with a click.
“It shouldn’t be difficult. With your assets, this much is more than sufficient……only, I’m afraid we won’t be able to buy back all the orchards and fields we sold.”
“We don’t need to do everything at once. Keep some funds in reserve.”
“Yes, young miss.”
“And… if I can spare a bit more….”
Dan Mok Ryeon trailed off, looking slightly embarrassed.
“I need some gemstones.”
“Pardon?”
Seol Gwan Hee’s eyes widened at the unexpected turn in conversation. Dan Mok Ryeon spoke quickly.
“Jade, white jade, agate, pearl, diamond, green tourmaline, opal, lapis lazuli, tourmaline, garnet, amethyst—ornaments made from things like that. Nothing too conspicuous, distributed evenly across my person so I can wear plenty of them. No rings—they’d be cumbersome. Hair ornaments, belts, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, that sort of thing.”
“How… how many would you require?”
Seol Gwan Hee had already resolved to indulge her if she asked, even for something extravagant.
But listening to her now, it didn’t sound like she wanted jeweled ornaments for decoration. Instead, there was something desperate and grave about it—as though she were counting out grains of rice to feed a household tomorrow.
“Remember those gifts the Man Song Merchant Guild sent me last time?”
“Ah, yes, they did.”
But since they were gifts sent to a child of a martial family, the gemstones and ornaments hadn’t been particularly abundant.
“I’ll need about twice that amount. I’ll choose them myself—just have merchants or craftsmen brought in. Don’t be selective; show me anyone who comes willing to sell.”
“Understood.”
She had experience from the Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon that had passed before her. Dan Mok Ryeon had no intention of preparing for this journey carelessly.
‘Two hair ornaments on each side, four altogether. Bracelets on both wrists like arm guards, two of those. One on each ankle. A densely woven belt….’
Next would be Dan Mok Seong and Dan Mok Hyeon Yo. Hyeon Yo would likely accept them gladly, but she wasn’t sure about Seong. Either way, she meant to press jeweled ornaments on both of them.
Then, whenever spiritual energy overflowed on the long journey ahead, she could absorb it and regulate it, couldn’t she?
Dan Mok Ryeon’s eyes gleamed with determination.

* * *

From that day forward, Dan Mok Ryeon lived in the Library and Wol Yeong Jae. First, to read all the books on her families’ martial techniques. Second, to devise a method for crafting Spirit Pills. Third, to examine the books Nam Gung Hwan had copied for her.
Though each family typically kept secret methods for Spirit Pill production, truly exceptional Spirit Pills were rare in the Martial Arts World. That was how difficult they were to make.
Needless to say, for the Dan Mok Clan—having lost its Medical Hall and left with only an Herbal Medicine Store—it was even more hopeless.
There were a few Spirit Pill formulas in their possession, but in Dan Mok Ryeon’s estimation, none were sophisticated enough to produce genuinely excellent Spirit Pills.
‘If our clan had been able to make such remarkable Spirit Pills, we could have sustained ourselves by selling them. Or… would that have just meant I ate inferior medicines from home and died sooner for it?’
This was a household that scraped together every last coin to have even a bone-setting ceremony performed just to keep their eldest grandchild alive. If there had been any respectable spirit medicine on hand, they would have fed it to her long ago.
‘Thinking about it that way, it’s actually fortunate nothing was there.’
So where could she find a Spirit Pill formula that didn’t exist anywhere?
Dan Mok Ryeon looked down at her notes with satisfaction, then silently sent a gesture of gratitude toward Nam Jik Rye Seong, where the Nam Gung Family Estate lay.
Thanks to having obtained various types of Spirit Pills, she’d been able to feed one to each person and examine them from every angle with her Divine Insight.
Until then, she hadn’t dared attempt it—knowing neither the method, the principles, nor the proper proportions.
This afternoon, after feeding Dan Mok Wan the last Spirit Pill, she had spent the entire day sitting at her desk, using Divine Insight and Harmony Cultivation to work through combination after combination.
Low loss of power on absorption. No toxicity or addiction with consistent use. Materials not excessively difficult to obtain. Easy to produce, yet effects that were extraordinarily potent!
‘No wonder just anyone can’t make Spirit Pills anywhere.’
Spirit Pills required starting with the inner cores of spirit herbs or spirit beasts suffused with spiritual energy, then having the maker personally expend internal energy to bind the materials together, after which they had to be aged in a spiritually potent location.
An appropriately spiritually potent place would be her own room, and instead of expending internal energy, she could simply channel spiritual energy directly—couldn’t she?

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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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