The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 152

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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 Declining Noble House’s Limited Lifespan — Episode 152

After a long silence, Hwa Ryun asked the question.
“…Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why on earth did you give me that name…?”
“If you want to know the meaning, just ask—do you have to sigh about it?”
“So what does it mean, then?”
“Lightning flashes so fast—I thought about calling you Flashling, but then it didn’t feel quite right, so…”
“You actually thought it didn’t feel quite right?”
“I’m human too. I know when something seems a little off.”
“So your brilliant conclusion was that lightning wasn’t quite it, and if not lightning, then thunder? Thunder, so… Rumble?”
“How did you—?”
Hwa Ryun’s eyes widened in surprise, but just as quickly her expression shifted to one of exhausted resignation, and she dragged a hand across her face.
“Why don’t you just call it Thunderclap

instead?”
“Oh, that’s perfect! Thunderclap. It sounds strong. Then your name would be Blue Heaven

? The two together—Blue Heaven and Thunderclap

. How does that sound?”
“…”
But Hwa Ryun fell silent, her eyes downcast, saying nothing.
“What? Don’t you like this one either…?”
“…No, it’s not that. I’ll take it. I really do like it.”
“Then don’t complain about it.”
“I just said I liked it.”
Dan Mok Ryeon had to spend a long time coaxing Hwa Ryun, who had turned her head away with deliberate stubbornness.
After that, everything went smoothly. Ryeon deliberately asked for rice porridge to be made, shared a bowl with Dan Mok Seong, then pretended to be tired and drowsy enough to hurry Dan Mok Seong into the Sleeping Quarters.
Dan Mok Seong, unaware of her own condition and fussing only over Ryeon, ate the Baek Yak Cheong that Ryeon gave her, lay down on the bed, and continued speaking with heavy, closing eyes.
“Ryeon… the daughters of the Dan Mok Clan… don’t get motion sickness.”
“Mm, yes.”
“But if you do get motion sickness… I can have you ride on my horse…”
“Yes, yes. I’ll definitely ask if I do.”
“All right…”
Not long after, she fell asleep as if she’d lost consciousness.
“Seong’s asleep.”
Ryeon said this quietly as she slipped out of the Sleeping Quarters. The rain was pouring, so it was faint, but she could hear the sound of the adults chattering noisily in the distance.
“Even if my sister was so attentive, do you really think everyone would notice it?”
Ryeon flicked Hwa Ryun on the bridge of the nose and grinned. Having fussed over Dan Mok Seong all evening, it seemed Hwa Ryun had gotten sulky.
“I know, right.”
“Ugh. But then why are you like this?”
“Our Hwa Ryun over here—when I was sick, you had no idea how much I did for you, so I guess really no one knows anything at all.”
“W-what are you talking about?”
“What can we do? We just have to look after each other.”
Ryeon said this and pretended not to know, turning her head away as she walked on ahead. Hwa Ryun hurried to follow her.
“What did my sister do for me while I was sick? Wait—when was I ever sick?”
“It’s a secret. You don’t even remember anymore, right? You got ill when you were out looking for blackstone herb.”
“I didn’t get sick from looking for blackstone herb. I just got sick around that time. You get sick a lot during growth periods, right? But seriously, you’re really not going to tell me?”
At Hwa Ryun’s wheedling complaints, Ryeon leaned in and whispered teasingly.
“The truth is, I had you take a whole jar of Baek Yak Cheong.”
“…Don’t joke about that.”
Back then, Baek Yak Cheong hadn’t even been properly refined yet, but Ryeon simply grinned mischievously.
Realizing that Ryeon wasn’t going to give her a straight answer, Hwa Ryun spoke with a stubborn expression on her face.
“Well, setting that aside—where does Sister intend to go without sleeping?”
“They say there’s an old shrine somewhere on these grounds. Let’s go have a look.”
— A sigh.
“You told me not to engage in religious activities…….”
“Religious activities? This is just visiting an old shrine. It’s about honoring our ancestors.”
Dan Mok Ryeon spoke thus, her eyes sharp as a hawk’s as she surveyed the Mountain Lodge.
She had overheard Yang Geum Bo, the Piao Bureau Director, quietly mention to the Lodge owner that Hwang Chu Hun had casually brought up the shrine—how it was so ancient that maintenance proved difficult, and while its sacred nature made demolition unthinkable, it had simply been left to decay.
But that was not all that troubled her.
The Dan Mok Clan’s people had sensed the bandits’ descent by their aura, yet Dan Mok Cheon Gi’s reaction seemed almost as though he had been expecting what was to come.
And then there was the strange atmosphere between Hwang Chu Hun and Dan Mok Cheon Gi as they discussed the shrine—her own heart hammering wildly, her spiritual energy rising far too quickly.
‘There is something here. Something in that shrine, certainly.’
“The ancestors of others, sleeping in another’s lodge?”
“That is…….”
Dan Mok Ryeon found no compelling reason to insist on visiting that particular shrine, so she simply rolled her eyes.
‘Besides, whenever I reach an old temple or shrine or sanctuary, there’s always guidance offered—didn’t that happen before?’
Last time she had not made proper use of that counsel, but this time she felt confident.
For that to happen, she needed to enter some sort of old temple, shrine, or sanctuary…….
“But nothing particularly fortunate tends to happen at such places. You didn’t hear this from some strange person, did you? Before, they said rainy days were auspicious…….”
Hwa Ryun pointed with a glance toward beyond the eaves. Rain poured down steadily, yet not a single auspicious thing had occurred—that was what her eyes suggested.
Dan Mok Ryeon recalled the tactic she had once used to deflect Dan Mok Hyeon Yo’s persistent questioning and attempted something similar now.
“……The truth is, I just want to go see it…….”
“…….”
Hwa Ryun suddenly stiffened.
“And it’s quiet there…….”
“Why would you need a quiet place?”
“Well, I could practice meditation there, something calming…….”
Hwa Ryun’s expression grew more uncomfortable, then gradually became unclear. Dan Mok Ryeon nearly showed her surprise before quickly composing herself.
‘This actually works? So the simplest reason—that I simply want to—is enough?’
“Want to come with me? Then I’ll give you a Jade Bead.”
Dan Mok Ryeon discreetly drew something from her pocket with careful, deliberate motions.
“Do you know what this is? It’s a bead that a master craftsman polished.”
“I know. I was right there when it happened, wasn’t I?”
“Here—I’m giving this to you.”
“I’ll have to decline. I don’t need it.”
“Hmph.”
When Dan Mok Ryeon frowned and stared, Hwa Ryun finally reached out and took the Jade Bead.
The bead, slightly smaller than a child’s thumbnail, gleamed a pristine white with jade-green luminescence running through it—mysterious and ethereal.
“This is a treasure. You must always keep it with you. Understand? You can’t lose it.”
“I understand. But even if we’re going to the shrine, do you know where this Lodge’s shrine actually is?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll just ask whoever comes……wait—”
Dan Mok Ryeon, mid-sentence, fell silent and turned her head. A small girl was poking her head around the wall, watching them both.
“Here comes someone to ask. She looks like the Lodge owner’s daughter.”
“How can you tell?”
“I overheard people talking about it on the way up.”
The girl peering from beyond the wall was roughly the same height as Dan Mok Ryeon, but painfully thin, her complexion pallid.
The hollowness beneath her eyes and the chapped dryness of her lips were familiar to Dan Mok Ryeon—they were once the very face that had stared back at her from any mirror.
Yet despite everything else, her clothing was not that of a Lodge master’s daughter but rather like some palace princess—luxurious silk robes trailing to the floor, adorned with precious ornaments.
As for jewelry alone, it was little different from what Dan Mok Ryeon wore now.

Hwang Gyeo On
Traits: Unafraid of darkness / Devoted / Resolute / A sickly flower in a greenhouse /
Concern: Now that the fever has broken, is it alright to go out and play? Who are these people?
Hint: Currently in combat against Blood Tears.

Your assistance would prove valuable.

‘Hwang Gyeo On……? Fighting Blood Tears—what does that mean?’
Dan Mok Ryeon covered her mouth with her sleeve and whispered quietly to Hwa Ryun.
“That girl…… seems to be sick with something.”
“At a glance, certainly looks that way.”
Hwa Ryun replied in a tone devoid of any inflection. Dan Mok Ryeon, unable to tear her gaze from Hwang Gyeo On, murmured something under her breath.
“……I was exactly the same once.”
“…….”
Dan Mok Ryeon could see again, in fragmented form, the sorrow that had ensnared her own family all this time.
The Bureau Director Hwang Chu Hun had relinquished his seat as one of the Thirteen Heavens’ Third Heaven Master not because he wished to, but because he could not abandon an ailing daughter and leave the Mountain Lodge to pursue other matters.
Just as her own family had done.
When Dan Mok Ryeon gestured softly toward Hwang Gyeo On, the sickly-looking girl glanced about her surroundings before tottering forward and asked boldly, as though she’d been watching for the right moment all along.
“Are you guests at our house?”
The moment those words left her mouth, Dan Mok Ryeon’s eyes widened.
“This little one? How old are you?”
The servant who had accompanied Hwang Gyeo On was far more startled than his young mistress, but recognizing who Dan Mok Ryeon was, he could only stand there speechless and bewildered.
“Huh? I’m…… I’m eight years old…….”
When Dan Mok Ryeon spoke in a stern voice, Hwang Gyeo On flinched and quickly stated her age. Dan Mok Ryeon laughed with satisfaction.
“Then you should call me older sister!”
“Older sister……?”
“That’s right—I’m ten.”
From beside her, Hwa Ryun could be heard muttering, ‘She’s grieving like death itself over being born later,’ but Dan Mok Ryeon pretended not to hear.

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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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