The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 178

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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 Decline of a Fallen Clan — Limited Lifespan 178

“If Mother grows stronger…”
With several people gathered there, picking fruit in silence grew tedious, so Dan Mok Hyeon U broke the quiet first.
“Do you think she’ll return to Hang Zhou?”
At those words, Do Wi’s expression stiffened slightly. Dan Mok Hyeon U noticed it, but merely raised his eyebrows and took a step closer to Dan Mok Ryeon’s side.
“What do you think, Ryeon?”
“Don’t you think Grandmother’s wishes matter most?”
“True enough.”
“We should also speak with the Beijing Ice Palace people.”
At that, Do Wi’s fingers trembled slightly. Dan Mok Ryeon glanced back at him.
“Do Wi, would you prefer it if Grandmother stayed at the Beijing Ice Palace?”
Do Wi seemed caught off guard by such a direct question, hesitating before nodding.
“Yes. She would be a source of strength and balance, no matter the circumstances. She is also family the Palace Master can rely on now.”
“Hmm. Come to think of it, the Palace Master never married.”
Since it was rare for a person leading a household to postpone marriage, Dan Mok Hyeon U murmured with curiosity. Even his older brother, despite his poor health, had been an heir and couldn’t avoid matrimonial arrangements.
“The Palace Master has said there is someone he holds dear.”
“But then why didn’t he marry? Does that person dislike the Palace Master?”
“No, she simply lives far away, and there are various circumstances…”
“Our parents married despite living between Beijing and Hang Zhou.”
“That is precisely why our elder went to Hang Zhou. But the Palace Master cannot do the same.”
Do Wi, usually composed, spoke with unusual sharpness this time. Dan Mok Hyeon U flinched.
Jung Young simply gathered the dogwood fruit with eyes that said, ‘I’m not here,’ and said nothing.
“Then perhaps the Palace Master, the Sub-Palace Master, and Grandmother and Grandfather should discuss this together.”
“Ah… there is no Sub-Palace Master at the Beijing Ice Palace yet, Ryeon.”
Dan Mok Hyeon U relayed the fact that had just occurred to him.
At the mention of Sub-Palace Master, Do Wi flinched most visibly. Since he was the very person declining the position, talk of a Sub-Palace Master left him deeply uncomfortable.
Dan Mok Ryeon stood, basket full of dogwood fruit, and looked down at Do Wi. Do Wi, whose basket was less than half-filled, looked up at her.
The hot steam from the hot spring and the cold Qi rising from the ice crystals mingled to create a strange, shimmering mist that hung mysteriously in the air.
“The person whose future should be discussed is not us, but the person in question and the Palace Master and Sub-Palace Master, wouldn’t you say?”
Do Wi stared up blankly for a moment before slowly lowering his gaze.
Then Dan Mok Ryeon smiled with a mischievous expression.
“Hmm. Should I apply to be Sub-Palace Master too?”
“What?”
“What?”
“Pardon?”
“I… yes?”
Though applying for the Sub-Palace Master position wouldn’t actually make one automatic, she knew an odd statement like that would cause a stir.
But when everyone at the gathering turned so sharply it seemed the wind changed direction, even Dan Mok Ryeon was taken aback.
Hwa Ryun in particular narrowed her eyes and looked at her with an expression of deep suspicion.
Dan Mok Ryeon deliberately smiled with nonchalance, tilting her head.
“There’s no Sub-Palace Master at the Beijing Ice Palace, you said. I’m the Palace Master’s great-grandniece, so we’re not so distant a relation.”
Dan Mok Ryeon counted the degrees of kinship on her fingers as she spoke.
Since the closest blood relative remaining to the Beijing Ice Palace Master was her cousin Bing Xue Yan, by bloodline reckoning, Dan Mok Ryeon could claim to be closest to the position of Palace Master as well.
“That is true, but Ryeon, you…”
Dan Mok Hyeon U, his complexion a sickly shade, tried to speak but caught himself upon seeing Do Wi looking even more dumbstruck, and closed his mouth.
Moreover, Jung Young’s face now looked as if he might fall from a cliff.
Finally, Do Wi stammered out a response.
“The Palace Master’s seat is not inherited by blood alone. It is held by whoever best understands the martial way of Beijing…”
“Hmm. I believe that was me?”
At what seemed an arrogant claim, Do Wi’s expression shifted, though he could not refute it.
Was it not Dan Mok Ryeon who, having seen a sword technique merely once, could not only reproduce it but had even tempered her internal cultivation without formal study, and could still condense frost upon her blade’s edge?
Do Wi stared at her in a daze.
Dan Mok Ryeon’s gestures were far too elegant for a child, and a slender Jade Bracelet glinted pale and lustrous at her wrist.
The Orange Flower Ornament fastened in her hair braided and coiled in a circle was likely crafted from thinly cut agate, and the Jade Pendant and various knots at her waist swayed beautifully, catching and reflecting the light of the ice crystals—all of it standing out against the distinctive deep blue martial robes of Beijing.
Though one could tell at a glance she was a child from a foreign land, she seemed equally like someone raised in the deepest reaches of Beijing with noble grace.
“That position is…… that position is…… the most…….”
The moment Do Wi bit down hard on her lips, Dan Mok Ryeon closed her eyes and laughed softly.
“But since Sub-Palace Master means the next Palace Master, it’s only right that the person who loves Beijing most should hold it.”
“…….”
“I’ve come to love this place dearly, but I may never love it quite as much as the people of Beijing do.”
“That’s right! You love the Dan Mok Clan!”
Dan Mok Hyeon U, who had been holding his breath, suddenly burst out loud enough to startle his niece, then quickly steadied his breathing and spoke in a rush.
“If Seong hears you saying things like this, she’ll turn the whole Central Plains Martial Arts World upside down.”
“Oh no. Please keep it secret from Seong.”
“Play a piece with your uncle once, and I’ll keep it secret.”
“That’s actually something I’d like to do anyway…….”
“Then twice.”
“I could also tell Aunt that I released the carp on your behalf.”
“That matter…… is fine…… I think it’s already too late anyway…….”
As Dan Mok Hyeon U and Dan Mok Ryeon went back and forth with each other, Jung Young’s face was radiant with the satisfaction of a man who had won the world, while the boy Hwa Ryun’s expression was darkened as though he saw through Dan Mok Ryeon’s intentions entirely, yet he said nothing.
“Well, we’ve caught them all, so let’s go now!”
Dan Mok Ryeon spoke, cradling the basket full in her arms. The servants followed her with clearly flustered faces, looking down at the basket that they had barely half-filled.
Do Wi, standing furthest back, wore an expression of deep gravity.

* * *

Though summer was drawing near, the Beijing Ice Palace remained cool, yet this time it carried an unusual warmth and humidity brought on by the visitors who had come calling.
It was a fresh wind blowing into the Beijing Ice Palace, which had cut off nearly all contact with the outside world for a long time due to Bing Xue Yan’s illness.
In particular, the shock was great from the presence of a girl displaying talent unlike anything seen before.
“Even Hyeon Seong wasn’t like that…….”
At Bing Xue Yan’s murmur, Dan Mok Cheon Gi gave a slow nod of agreement.
“You should pay more attention to educating the child. Is there anything that currently interests or amuses Dan Mok Ryeon?”
What would become of her if such excessive talent led her to grow intolerant of the present tedium?
When she observed the martial arts of others, she grasped their subtleties in an instant and embodied them, leaving nothing left to explore.
“Nothing? Meeting her grandmother for the first time, a full day passes as though in a dream.”
“That is…… that’s a different matter entirely.”
Bing Xue Yan, seeming somewhat embarrassed, waved her hand in an unusually awkward gesture.
“Has the clan head of the Dan Mok Clan been decided?”
“How could I have decided anything while you lay sleeping?”
Bing Xue Yan nodded calmly. If Dan Mok Cheon Gi had appointed a new clan head, it would have been after her death.
“What do Hyeon Yo and Hyeon U think of it?”
“They said they have no desire to do it.”
For them, their clan head could only be Dan Mok Hyeon Seong, who had been their elder brother. Bing Xue Yan allowed the pain in her chest to linger for a moment before exhaling.
“Hyeon Yo must have had much on her mind…….”
Knowing her brother was dead, Bing Xue Yan could tell even from the sparse news that reached her sickbed how hard Dan Mok Hyeon Yo had struggled to fulfill her duties as the eldest.
Playing the role of someone cold, then selfish, speaking as though it mattered nothing to be disliked by others…….
Dan Mok Cheon Gi spoke quietly.
“They intend to let Seong and Dan Mok Ryeon decide.”
“That is a cruel thing to do as well.”
Though she spoke thus, Bing Xue Yan showed no particular sign of strong objection. Dan Mok Cheon Gi continued quietly.
“If the two children each have their own convictions while also being of one heart, wouldn’t it work out?”
“When did they grow so much…….”
Seeing her granddaughters knowing nothing of indulgence and displaying such adult bearing brought her no joy whatsoever.
“Children that age should have some element of recklessness about them. What on earth have you done with them in Hang Zhou?”
“No…… it’s simply that Hyeon Yo and my daughter-in-law have raised the children admirably…….”
“They haven’t indulged them at all and raised them only with strictness?”
“No, I——”
Dan Mok Cheon Gi looked at Bing Xue Yan with eyes full of grievance, but Bing Xue Yan’s mind had already drifted elsewhere.

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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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