The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 158

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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 Clan’s Terminal Lifespan — Episode 158

“Ah, sorry, I keep…….”
Ever since arriving at the shrine, she’d been trapped in her own thoughts, doing nothing but repeating “Huh? No? It’s fine?” without managing a proper conversation—so it made sense that Hwa Ryun would be frustrated.
But Hwa Ryun’s expression was nothing like what Ryeon expected.
“Did you do something again?”
“What…… do something?”
Ryeon’s heart lurched without reason, but Hwa Ryun’s face was twisted with displeasure as she smirked.
“You’re like a bodhisattva reborn, I swear. Taking bandits’ murky spiritual residue all the way to a shrine…….”
“Don’t talk like that. Besides, when you do good deeds like this, it comes back to you…… to me too.”
‘Really…….’
Even if she didn’t understand what it meant right now, she’d heard the advice; and though she wasn’t sure exactly what she’d done, purifying this place had raised her Purification Rank by one star, and in any case, her Luck Stat had shot up considerably—so getting soaked in the rain on the way out was worth it.
That’s when Ryeon stumbled mid-mumble.
“Sister!”
“Uh, uh-uh…….”
Ryeon grabbed onto Hwa Ryun’s arm to steady herself. Hwa Ryun quickly brushed her cheek and studied her face, then narrowed her eyes as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“Sister…… are you sleepy?”
“What? This is…… really incredibly drowsy…….”
Drowsiness came crashing down on her all at once, and her eyelids grew heavy. She wanted nothing more than to collapse right then and fall asleep.
“Crying, laughing, and now you’re about to die of sleepiness? I’m going mad.”
Hwa Ryun clicked her tongue in exasperation. Ryeon tried to give her a look, but her eyes were already blurring.
“You need to sleep early to grow tall, so let’s just…… go down, yawn, let’s head down…… I just thought of something nice. I should do this for Seong too, and Gyeu On as well…….”
“I’ll carry you.”
“No, you can’t. Our baby will turn into a sticky rice cake…… a flat rice cake…….”
“It’s a sticky rice ball.”
“Yeah, yeah, our little rice ball…….”
Ryeon rubbed her drooping eyes and tried to open her Umbrella, but her hands fumbled uselessly. Hwa Ryun snatched it away in one swift motion.
“If you won’t let me carry you, give me the umbrella. Let’s go.”
“Mm-hmm…….”
Hwa Ryun took Ryeon’s hand and pulled her along. As she was led away, Ryeon glanced back at the shrine.
The eerie feeling she’d sensed on the way up was gone, and the mist that rose through the rain looked as soft and welcoming as a quilt draped over the night.

* * *

Hwa Ryun watched Ryeon slip into sleep nearly as though she’d collapsed, her brow furrowed. She removed Ryeon’s shoes and pulled a blanket over her, but during all of this, Ryeon didn’t stir once.
“What’s going to become of her when she grows up.”
Lying so still and silent it was almost frightening, Ryeon made Hwa Ryun count her breaths for what felt like an eternity.
Only after concluding that Ryeon was simply in a deep sleep did she furrow her brow and look down at her.
But that wasn’t going to wake sleeping Ryeon. Hwa Ryun glared at her a moment longer, then suddenly lifted her gaze to glance out the window, retrieved her umbrella, and left the sleeping quarters.
As Hwa Ryun reached the eaves just as raindrops began to fall, a long, imposing shadow fell darkly over her.
“Hmm, has Ryeon—is Seong asleep?”
“……Yes, just a moment ago.”
Hwa Ryun answered quietly.
The figure was Dan Mok Cheon Gi, who had just returned from a drinking session with Hwang Chu Hun.
Dan Mok Cheon Gi looked down at Hwa Ryun, one shoulder soaked through. She was a servant boy to Ryeon, barely noticeable most days.
“Hmm…….”
Both Hwang Chu Hun, master of San Chai, and Dan Mok Cheon Gi himself had faces that weren’t exactly welcoming, yet now that he thought about it, Ryeon’s servant had never shown a trace of fear in the presence of the estate master or himself.
Moreover, the clear posture, the solid build, and those eyes. The eldest grandchild clearly treasured this child, and it showed.
“Did Ryeon take a walk?”
“Yes.”
Then nothing more. He might have expected her to report where she’d gone and come from.
“Where did you go?”
“Just nearby.”
Not just “nearby” in the usual sense—it was clear she didn’t want to say where they’d actually been.
Dan Mok Cheon Gi raised an eyebrow.
The child standing before him didn’t seem like a child at all.
Children who have suffered through hardship tend to mature early, worn down by the mire of their circumstances, and he wondered if this one had followed the same path.
‘Remarkable eyes.’
Born in that mire, yet bearing the gaze of one who had already escaped it.
Eyes without darkness, without worry, without fear—or perhaps they had possessed such things once, before leaving them far behind.
“Father! You’re here? Have you heard the story? About how Ryeon somehow knew Dan Mok Seong was struggling, so she deliberately took out one of the Baek Yak Cheong and fed it to her—ah, um, well.”
Dan Mok Hyeon Yo appeared, cradling a small jar in her arms and trailing San Chai servants behind her like a string.
Assuming the figure standing across from Dan Mok Cheon Gi was one of the San Chai people, Dan Mok Hyeon Yo had been speaking easily enough, but upon recognizing Hwa Ryun’s face, she faltered slightly and looked away.
“Ryeon did that?”
“I thought the children had gone out to play with each other… but it wasn’t that.”
“She’s a thoughtful child.”
“I know that well. She’s the eldest sister’s daughter—what would you expect? But speaking of which, have you heard that this household’s daughter isn’t in very good health either?”
“I have.”
“Since Ryeon has a Baek Yak Cheong she was planning to feed to Dan Mok Seong, I thought perhaps your daughter could benefit from it as well.”
“Yet medicine differs by ailment—are you certain the medicine can be used?”
Dan Mok Hyeon Yo nodded, explaining that when the Mabu Patriarch saw the Baek Yak Cheong, she’d been so desperate she looked ready to go to any length just to obtain even a single spoonful.
“When there’s a sick child in the house, sleep becomes impossible… whoever wouldn’t be… well, ah.”
Dan Mok Hyeon Yo glanced at Hwa Ryun, then quickly bowed to Dan Mok Cheon Gi before hurrying away.
As the San Chai servants trailed after Dan Mok Hyeon Yo, Hwa Ryun likewise bowed quickly, murmured something about the late hour, and turned to flee like one escaping, slipping into the dormitory building.
Dan Mok Cheon Gi gazed quietly at the traces they’d left behind.
On the wet, muddy path, a footprint stood out with deliberate clarity—sharp and distinct—while the mud splattered around it held a perfectly uniform pattern before being washed away by the rain.

* * *

“So this child is the new vegetable noodle?”
Ryeon spun around to look at Dan Mok Seong in surprise.
‘She’s saying the same thing Hwa Ryun said.’
“Well… it’s complicated.”
Ryeon had woken before dawn, and when she opened her eyes to find Dan Mok Seong gazing down at her, she started in surprise and bolted upright—only for the two of them to collide foreheads.
After rubbing their foreheads, they’d come to see Hwang Gyeu On. More precisely, Ryeon had wanted to check on Hwang Gyeu On’s condition, and Dan Mok Seong had followed along.
“She said she was feeling a bit ill. Even when I saw her yesterday…”
“So you healed her?”
“Huh?”
Ryeon turned to Dan Mok Seong in surprise, but Dan Mok Seong was only looking down at Hwang Gyeu On’s sleeping face.
“Oh, no… I didn’t do anything…”
“Didn’t you?”
The tone in Dan Mok Seong’s voice made it clear she didn’t quite believe that. Ryeon scratched her cheek.
“Still, this vegetable noodle doesn’t seem to be in as much pain as before.”
Dan Mok Seong said this while glancing at Ryeon—as if comparing her condition to Hwang Gyeu On’s.
“You’re much more… no, never mind.”
Dan Mok Seong let her words trail off, afraid of sounding like she was scolding a child for exaggerating.
Ryeon touched her own cheek.
Yesterday she’d slept so deeply she nearly passed out, but that was only because she was exhausted from the night walk; sometimes her Spiritual Energy would surge suddenly and become precarious, but she could manage that well enough; otherwise she was completely healthy, or so she thought—though it seemed her family didn’t quite see it that way.
Then Hwang Gyeu On’s eyes opened.
“…Huh…?”
“Oh! Gyeu On, you’re awake. We came to see how your body’s doing.”
“You’ve… come? But who is this person…?”
Hwang Gyeu On indicated Dan Mok Seong, and Dan Mok Seong’s eyebrows shot up instantly.
“I’m Ryeon’s cousin—Dan Mok Seong.”
Hwang Gyeu On looked at Ryeon with slight alarm and a faintly wronged expression.
Another person she’d need to use honorifics with from the start!
“It’s an honor to meet you…”
“Right, right. Dan Mok Seong, this is Gyeu On. Hwang Gyeu On.”
“I’ve heard of her.”
“Oh, well… so, um. Gyeu On, we have to leave today, so we came to say goodbye before we go.”
“What?”
Hwang Gyeu On, who had been fidgeting under the blanket, bolted upright with a stricken expression.
“Why? Why are you leaving? Where are you going? Can’t you stay here? Can’t we live here together?”
Both Dan Mok Seong and Ryeon were so startled by that fervent response that their eyes widened, though Hwang Gyeu On was on the verge of tears.
“This is the first time I’ve slept well and not been in pain. But if you leave, I’ll hurt again… if I hurt again…”
Hwang Gyeu On stopped mid-sentence there, as though a thorn had caught in his throat.
And Ryeon already knew what he was about to say.

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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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