The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 65

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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 Crumbling Household’s Borrowed Time — Episode 65

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Before the Martial Competition ground, Dan Mok Seong clenched her fist tightly and muttered under her breath.
“The future of the Dan Mok Clan rests on my shoulders…….”
Ryeon heard the words drifting from beside her and turned slightly to look.
It was one of those autumn days when the wind brushed past pleasantly. The fallen leaves whispered with a soft rustle, and the people of Geum Ga Jang—servants and family alike—had gathered at a distance to watch.
Some people buckle under pressure and stumble; others draw strength from duty and push harder. Dan Mok Seong was the latter sort, though in her past life, even that resolve had not been enough.
The thought of it tightened her chest a little.
‘Even then, Seong was…….’
She recalled the image of Dan Mok Seong sending someone ahead first.
In those days, caught between grasping hands circling a falling clan—like flies swarming rotted fruit—Dan Mok Seong and Dan Mok Bi had fought on desperately, their family beside them.
Ryeon fastened the collar of Seong’s practice robe firmly, then wrapped both of the girl’s cool hands in her own. Ryeon’s hands were slightly smaller, but they held firm.
“D-Dan Mok Ryeon. What are you doing?”
“Cheering for Seong.”
Dan Mok Seong seemed to find the contact ticklish and shrank her shoulders slightly, then took several deep breaths before pulling her hands away.
“You don’t need to worry. I’m fine already, even without you fussing.”
For someone saying that, she’d held onto Ryeon’s hands for quite a while, but Ryeon simply smiled and said nothing more.
As Dan Mok Seong climbed onto the competition platform, Geum Jong Ha appeared to meet her.
Dressed in ornate silk martial robes with a Hero’s Crown upon his head, he was unmistakably a youth raised in wealth and privilege—tall, refined, and striking.
One of the Geum Ga Jang’s fighters rang the bell signaling the start of the Martial Competition.
At the same moment, Dan Mok Seong and Geum Jong Ha bowed to each other with the Fist Salute, then each drew a practice sword, its blade deliberately dull.
“Hmph. Let me see just how splendid your swordwork truly is!”
“As if you’d understand it.”
Dan Mok Seong shot back, her eyes narrowing fiercely.
“Silence!”
Geum Jeok Geol stepped forward. Unlike Ryeon’s match, there was no third party to oversee, so the highest-ranking person here had no choice but to stand in the middle.
“This is a Martial Competition in which both sides seek to test and learn from one another. Do you understand? No underhanded tricks, no lethal techniques. You will face each other fairly and honorably—no humiliation, no mockery.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
Geum Jeok Geol withdrew with a sharp breath, stepping off the platform. In that same instant, the boy and girl clashed.
And in eyes aflame with Keen Perception, starlight glimmered faintly.
“Haaah!”
Dan Mok Seong moved first, her feet finding the ground. Geum Jong Ha, sensing the blade bearing down on him with dangerous intent, twisted his arm to block and then swept powerfully in another direction.
The match unfolded quite differently from her bout with Ryeon.
There was sword-to-sword contact, and Geum Jong Ha had clearly grown a full level stronger than he had been during his sparring with Ryeon.
‘I never expected Seong to win easily, but…….’
There was the age difference—Geum Jong Ha was two years older—and even though she’d trained with swords for years, could a child who’d only learned swordwork for a month truly overcome that with such speed?
Still, Ryeon had given Dan Mok Seong an intensive crash course in Geum Ga Jang’s blade techniques since she’d experienced them herself, and she’d hoped it would yield some advantage. But Geum Jong Ha proved unexpectedly solid.
‘And I thought Geum Jong Ha would look down on Seong a little. Did I go too hard on him last time?’
Though Dan Mok Seong was larger than Ryeon, she was still smaller than Geum Jong Ha, and as a child who’d only trained for a month, Ryeon had expected he would underestimate her. But the match wasn’t playing out that way.
“Ugh, urgh!”
“Kuh!”
The boy and girl clashed again and again. At first, Dan Mok Seong seemed to falter somewhat, but gradually she reclaimed momentum.
In the instant their blades met, Ryeon thought her eyes had locked with Dan Mok Seong’s over Geum Jong Ha’s shoulder. Her hands clenched into tight fists without her meaning to.
“Hyaaah!”
Yet the two fighters’ battle showed no signs of ending.
Dan Mok Seong’s clever attacks crashed against Geum Jong Ha’s solid defense, while his techniques—delivered with hidden angles—were parried by her quick-witted reactions.
Geum Jong Ha’s Hero’s Crown had fallen away long ago, and his robes were tattered with dust and sweat.
Dan Mok Seong fared the same. Her tightly bound hair had come undone, and her hands and cheeks bore raw scrapes.
Both were breathing heavily, their blows growing steadily slower, when Geum Jeok Geol and Dan Mok Hyeon Yo, watching from beyond the platform, exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.
Geum Jeok Geol gestured to one of the fighters standing guard at the platform’s edge, and the man lightly vaulted up onto the stage, seizing both youths’ practice swords at once—one in each hand—and held them steady.
“The Martial Competition is suspended! As no victor has emerged after more than a quarter of an hour, I declare this match a Draw.”
Before the Draw could even be fully announced, Dan Mok Hyeon Yo flew toward the platform.
Dan Mok Hyeon Yo’s face looked as though she might burst into tears. She hurriedly wiped her daughter’s face with her own sleeve.
Drenched in sweat and squinting against it, Dan Mok Seong seemed only now to register the word “draw.”
“I… Mother…”
Dan Mok Hyeon Yo bit her lip hard, grieved that no victor had been decided. She shook her head vigorously as she looked at her daughter’s face, creased with tension like a walnut at the chin.
“You did wonderfully. Seong, you did wonderfully!”
“…Aunt.”
“You’ve studied for barely a month and fought the heir of Geum Ga Jang to a draw — where in this world is such an achievement? Magnificent!”
“A-Aunt!”
Ryeon, who had followed her aunt, listened in silence to Dan Mok Hyeon Yo’s words of consolation, but when she heard them drifting toward territory beyond her aunt’s control, she hurried to interrupt.
Meanwhile, Song Bugin, the matriarch of Geum Ga Jang, was also holding her son Geum Jong Ha close.
“Goodness, you stubborn thing! For a martial artist, victory and defeat are commonplace!”
“Ugh… Mother…”
Geum Jong Ha’s eyes had gone red from fighting back tears, his lip bitten hard.
“Our son fought well. You gave your all — that’s what matters. You’ll do better next time if you work harder!”
“I… I could have done more! Even when martial artists fight life-or-death matches, they don’t stop after just a moment!”
Geum Jong Ha sulked, but his trembling hands gripping the wooden sword nearly let it slip from his grasp.
Song Bugin quickly snatched the wooden sword from Geum Jong Ha and passed it to the other attendants.
The members of the Dan Mok Clan and those of Geum Ga Jang were exchanging uncertain looks with one another.
As Dan Mok Hyeon Yo remained rigidly composed, Wi Ji Cheong smiled and deftly stepped between them.
“Our Miss Hyeon Yo’s love for her daughter runs so deep that she could barely watch the martial competition properly.”
The head of Geum Ga Jang cleared his throat at words meant to excuse her excessive parental concern.
“Madam, please. Why don’t you come over here instead?”
“Ah, goodness.”
Song Bugin sighed awkwardly, wiped her son’s cheek firmly, and returned to her husband Geum Jeok Geol’s side.
Geum Jeok Geol’s expression stiffened for a moment — this time too, he had not seen his son achieve a decisive victory.
“Mmph.”
Geum Jeok Geol let out a short, deep sigh, restraining his disappointment.
What else could be done? The result of the martial competition had been seen by all, and it could not be changed.
After the fierce competition, Geum Jong Ha drank an entire bucket of water, then locked eyes with Dan Mok Seong, both their gazes flushed and intense, before suddenly drawing himself up and shouting.
“Father! Mother! Leaders of the Dan Mok Clan, inner and outer branches! We should go and review the match!”
“Ah, no—Jong Ha. You look absolutely drenched. What are you trying to do?”
Song Bugin protested disapprovingly. Geum Jong Ha, who had suddenly raised his hand, shrank back his shoulders.
“Miss Seong also fought quite fiercely, so it would be better if both of them refreshed themselves first before the two of you review the match together. We can have refreshments ready in the meantime.”
By then, Dan Mok Hyeon Yo had regained her composure. She looked at Song Bugin and, beyond her, at Geum Jeok Geol. Her gaze toward him carried an emotion too turbulent for words.
Geum Jeok Geol said nothing. Dan Mok Hyeon Yo turned her head to look at Wi Ji Cheong beside her. Wi Ji Cheong’s smile deepened faintly, and she carefully took one of Dan Mok Hyeon Yo’s hands, patting it gently.
Then Dan Mok Hyeon Yo exhaled once and, her smile brightening, looked toward Geum Jeok Geol and Song Bugin and spoke.
“Indeed, we also brought along some pastries and small gifts. I’m grateful we’ll have this chance to share them together.”
The moment Dan Mok Hyeon Yo’s permission fell, Song Bugin broke into a radiant smile and had each of the young boy and girl taken off by servants.

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An unbearably awkward moment.
Ryeon pressed down the sigh rising to her throat and gently fanned herself with the White Jade Fan in her hand.

Geum Jong Ha
Characteristics: Eyes on the path ahead / Seedling growing in shadow / Burning
Geum U Do: 3 stars
Geum U Sin Gong: 2 stars (1↑)
Yu Young Bo: 3 stars (1↑)
Talent and Aptitude: Mid-High
Concern: How can I review the match together with Dan Mok Ryeon?

Dan Mok Seong
Characteristics: Bamboo / Two faces / Eyes on the path ahead
Twelve Stars Falling Blade: 2 stars
Heuk Pung Dan Cheon Do: 2 stars
(New)
Infinite Footwork: 4 stars (1↑)
Talent and Aptitude: Mid-High
Concern: I didn’t win!

Whether it was because they were young or because both possessed exceptional talent, their prowess grew by leaps and bounds.
“But…….”
Ryeon had opened her mouth to ask why she herself was present while they reviewed the Martial Competition, but then her words caught.
Both of them turned to look at her simultaneously, their gazes so earnest and pleading that she closed her lips again.

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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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