The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 169

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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 Declining Family’s Limited Lifespan — Episode 169

‘What on earth… what exactly have you prepared?’
Honestly, even when I arrived at the Beijing Ice Palace, I was wrapped up in an enormous amount of things. Hadn’t I come bundled head to toe in items meticulously crafted by that master craftsman—the one Seon Gyeong had stamped as a First-Class Craftsman?
But hearing Bing Xue Yan’s words, it felt like she was saying, ‘You say you like ornaments, but this is far beyond that.’
“I hope it pleases you.”
Ryeon looked toward Dan Mok Cheon Gi with eyes seeking help, and the grandfather slapped his own forehead in response.
“The lady speaks true wisdom.”
“M-Grandfather?”

* * *

When Ryeon returned to her quarters in night clothes, the people of the Beijing Ice Palace were moving about busily. They set down the gifts Bing Xue Yan had mentioned and vanished like shadows.
And in their absence stood Hwa Ryun with a sullen expression, hands on her hips. Beside her, the plump white cat Baek Ryeon meowed loudly—”Miaow!”—with an equally pouty face. It was clear she disapproved of Ryeon having slept elsewhere for the night.
‘At least it wasn’t a hiss.’
“What on earth is all that?”
The moment the door closed, Hwa Ryun spoke up.
‘As expected, a reckoning awaits me the moment I return to my quarters.’
Ryeon thought this to herself while stroking the cat who had nestled into her arms, deliberately avoiding her gaze.
“What? What do you mean? Did you sleep well?”
Yet contrary to her expectation of continued questioning, Hwa Ryun’s lips trembled before she released a deep sigh and let the matter drop.
Under ordinary circumstances, Ryeon would have quipped that a child sighing like that meant she was losing her fortune—but she knew full well that Hwa Ryun’s concern was the cause, and the words simply would not come.
‘Ryun, you haven’t slept all night, have you?’
Ryeon had enjoyed an unusually deep sleep beside her grandmother and returned well-rested, yet for some reason Hwa Ryun looked distinctly fatigued.
“……Did the bleeding stop?”
“Y-Yes. It already stopped completely by then! It was just for a moment. I suppose I was startled when Grandmother coughed up blood.”
“You weren’t planning to slip away in the middle of the night because of it?”
“About that……”
“And Moyong Seol Ho—Sister helped heal him too, didn’t she?”
“I mean……”
The question in her words carried eyes that already knew the full answer.
“No, I wasn’t pushing myself. I was actually glad! I felt fine!”
“So Sister healed Hwang Gyeo On and he didn’t know anything about it, and you just washed your mouth and said nothing?”
“No, what’s with all this talk about washing my mouth? Hwang Gyeo On knows—he knows and he was incredibly grateful.”
Ryeon waved her hands in surprise, but Hwa Ryun would not relent.
“When we left, the Mountain Estate Master seemed completely unaware.”
‘Is that Mountain Estate Master your friend?’
Ryeon wanted to correct Hwa Ryun’s manner of speech but accepted that now was not the time.
“I told Hwang Gyeo On to keep it secret. If people start thinking I’m some kind of cure-all remedy and come rushing at me, that would be troublesome.”
Hwa Ryun opened her mouth wide as if the words she wanted to say were suddenly bursting out.
It was probably going to be some variation of ‘But didn’t you realize?’
“And Hwang Gyeo On said he’d give me the Mountain Estate Land Deed—how am I supposed to accept something like that?”
“He offered you that? How are you supposed to accept it? You just take it! So you turned it down and sent him away?”
“I don’t like places where I’d be living in harmony with nature.”
“You’re someone who loves wealth and treasures and silk, and you’re going to turn away a land deed?”
“I’m not interested in land unless it’s a place where I’ll actually live. Besides, Hwang Gyeo On is going to grow up to become a Mountain Estate Master someday. When he does and fights with the Blood Coral Valley, he’ll take my side. That’s what I prefer!”
At Ryeon’s bright, clear expression, Hwa Ryun’s words caught in her throat.
If Hwang Gyeo On became aware of the debt he owed Ryeon, his temperament would certainly not permit him to remain idle.
He would throw himself between her and danger rather than merely offer support.
Yet.
“That matter—the Blood Coral Valley problem… you said there was no need to worry about it.”
Ryeon drew a gentle smile. For the first time, Hwa Ryun flinched.
“Why are you… why are you smiling like that?”
“Ryun, you can’t expect me not to worry, can you? Not to worry? An entire building burned down in Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon! Even when I was born, those people……”
Ryeon, speaking without realizing it, hastily closed her mouth.
“What were those people doing when my sister was born?”
Hwa Ryun’s eyes seemed to gleam suddenly. Ryeon swallowed hard.
“No, well. It was like that. When I’d just been born, those bastards came storming in…….”
“Storming in? And then what?”
“Our family’s circumstances weren’t great at the time either. There were a lot of people coming in, and because of that I got sick too. Things didn’t improve much after that either…… anyway, that’s why I can’t help but worry.”
Hwa Ryun’s expression faded from his face before settling into the pouty, sullen look that only children could muster so perfectly.
“I don’t understand.”
“What don’t you?”
…….
Hwa Ryun pressed his lips shut, cutting off what he’d meant to say. Ryeon knew what words he’d swallowed.
That she would shed her own blood for a stranger she’d just met, that she would help a little girl she’d happened to shelter at the Mountain Estate—none of it made sense to him.
If she was so worried about a future collision with Blood Coral Valley, wouldn’t it be right to look after her own body first? That was the question hanging unspoken in his eyes.
But strictly speaking, it wasn’t really a question—it was the look of someone wanting to tell her that her thinking was wrong.
“Ryun.”
“Yes.”
“What I want to do with Blood Coral Valley is because Safety, No Disaster, Long Health is my dream, so—hey, don’t laugh. Baek Ryeon! Don’t laugh!”
“……I’m not laughing.”
Meow!
Baek Ryeon, who’d been nestled in Ryeon’s arms, suddenly leapt up and settled herself in Hwa Ryun’s.
“Anyway, Blood Coral Valley is the process of achieving my goal, not the goal itself or the result. Do you understand?”
“But if that goal is Safety, No Disaster, Long Health, then why do you keep giving of yourself to random people while wearing yourself out like that?”
Ryeon felt tears threatening.
For a while Hwa Ryun had been calm and dutiful, blunt even—but the moment he stopped being that way, he began laying bare exactly how he’d lived in his past life.
‘She’s my grandmother! Not some random person! She was the estate master’s daughter who let us shelter from the rain! We lived together in that mountain estate without getting rained on!’
Ryeon felt the weight of responsibility keenly and forced out the most tender smile she could muster.
“Safety, No Disaster, Long Health naturally includes the wellbeing of my family, relations, and friends. If I lose those people, then that’s a disaster and a calamity for me. And then my heart would grow sick.”
…….
“And I absolutely do not wear myself out while helping others. I was just…… I was sick before, you know. So there are still…… still some weak parts left in me. It’s not that I’m deliberately overexerting myself to help others.”
“You packed a towel knowing full well you’d bleed?”
“I thought only Grandmother would be bleeding.”
She added only a small lie. Hwa Ryun’s expression made clear he didn’t believe her in the slightest, but he still said nothing more.
He heaved a deep sigh and simply rifled half-heartedly through the ornaments and clothes that Bing Xue Yan had sent.
Ryeon fidgeted with her lips and then gently tugged at Hwa Ryun’s sleeve.
“I’m sorry for worrying you…….”
“Huh? What? How, who did what? I mean, why would I worry about someone else?”
Hwa Ryun jumped back with a start, denying the implication of her words, but then suddenly clamped his mouth shut.
“Ryun?”
“No…….”
Hwa Ryun looked at Ryeon with an expression of disbelief for a long moment, then slowly shook his head. He seemed to be denying something.
“No, no. It’s nothing.”
“Then you’re not angry anymore?”
“I wasn’t angry from the start.”
“You were angry. You opened your eyes wide and pointed fingers while complaining.”
“How am I complaining? That doesn’t mean I’m angry.”
“Well, if you worry too much you might get angry, and this sister of yours has a heart as vast as the ocean, so I understand everything.”
…….
“I really am sorry for worrying you. But I really wasn’t overexerting myself. I’m fine now too!”
“Ah…… I understand. I said I understand. I get it, so stop now.”
He shook his sleeve away and waved his hand frantically, looking so terribly embarrassed that Ryeon couldn’t help but smile and changed the subject. She had something she wanted to ask anyway.
“By the way, Ryun, do you happen to know what Red Flower Persimmon is?”
“Red Flower Persimmon? You mean the persimmon grown in hot spring water? The one that’s some kind of limited life span fruit?”
“Ah! Right, that must be it.”
“Why are you asking about Red Flower Persimmon?”
“Grandmother’s condition seems like it might need that, so I was thinking of looking for it…….”
Hwa Ryun finally let out a noise like he might scream, his expression twisting with exasperation.
“A person needs to have some sense of the situation! What were we just talking about?!”
He’d beaten it into her head over and over not to wear herself out helping others!
“Our little glutinous rice cake is so very cute, isn’t it?”
“I’m losing my mind.”

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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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