The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 83

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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 House’s Borrowed Time — Episode 83

“Writing all through the night like that—it won’t do a shred of good, you know.”
Hwa Ryun approached Dan Mok Ryeon as she saw off the departing guests, her lips twisting into a petulant pout.
She had watched as the two of them shoved the Letter Dan Mok Ryeon had given them carelessly into their traveling packs.
“Still, family is family. And who knows when we’ll see each other again, parting like this……”
“They’re practically strangers at this point. When times were hard, they wouldn’t even look this way, but now that you seem to have grown wealthy, they come running in hopes of scraps. Why bother providing for them at all?”
“…….”
Dan Mok Ryeon faltered for a moment, but noticing the stubborn resolve beneath Hwa Ryun’s seemingly harsh words, she simply laughed.
Cold and cutting though the words sounded, their true meaning was something else entirely.
Family ought to stand shoulder to shoulder and support one another in hardship—those who fail to do so are no family at all, and that’s why she despised them.
That was Hwa Ryun’s meaning, wasn’t it?
She had spoken similarly when discussing the head of the house once before. One should not expect repayment when trusting and following someone—love is given boundlessly, like a ceaseless current……
Hwa Ryun always carried herself as though she were the more mature one, the one who understood the world’s ways. And so she spoke of Dan Mok Ryeon as though worrying she was too naive, day after day—yet the more Dan Mok Ryeon observed her, the more innocent Hwa Ryun seemed to be.
Where in the world could one find love without limits, or loyalty without price?
‘Sometimes I’m frightened thinking that it’s because she holds such beliefs that she’s entangled with Ma Cheon Gyo.’
And then there was the fact that while Hwa Ryun spoke in her mouth of affection and devotion without recompense, she was actually the sort of person who counted every debt she received and labored to repay it—the thought made Dan Mok Ryeon laugh all the more.
“Why are you suddenly laughing?”
“Hmm. It benefits me too, that’s why I did it. I thought it would be good if those children became stronger through trying things I suggested, and if they do, I benefit as well, don’t I?”
And my Luck Points would rise considerably.
From her experience thus far, neither distance nor method nor emotion seemed to matter.
Geum Jeok Geol had given her Luck Points countless times, and—she thought she’d seen the Recovery Document she’d written for Geum Jong Ha used more than once, though she couldn’t fathom how many times—even Tae Heo Jin In and Yeop Un, who had departed long ago, still raised her Luck Points now and then, as if on schedule.
Hwa Ryun stared at Dan Mok Ryeon intently, with an expression that seemed pitiful, as one might regard a small kitten playing by the water’s edge, or laden with regret—an expression that somehow did not suit her young face at all.
“Give that servant to your cousin. Don’t even think of bringing her here.”
The subject shifted abruptly then, and Dan Mok Ryeon understood at once what Hwa Ryun was worried about.
Seeing how Dan Mok Ryeon left letters for each of the distant relatives departing without having found a place in the main house, Hwa Ryun feared that pity might overcome her again and she would decide to take in Dan Mok Jun’s servant as well.
“I won’t, I won’t. Besides, Hyeon Seong already said he’d take her first.”
Though it was said the master had ordered it, Dan Mok Hyeon Yo had nevertheless fumed vehemently that the servant could not possibly join the household, given that she had fed tainted food to the family—yet Dan Mok Hyeon Seong would not budge.
How could one blame a servant for what the master commanded, and given that she had sacrificed everything to uphold justice, it was only natural that he take responsibility and provide for her.
Dan Mok Hyeon Yo was so vexed that she came to Dan Mok Ryeon herself.
— Do something, won’t you? He listens to you, at least!
Yet the reason Dan Mok Hyeon Seong was able to take in the servant despite their squabbling was that Dan Mok Ryeon, observing their quarrel, had quietly persuaded Dan Mok Hyeon Yo.
— That servant’s heart is filled only with gratitude that Hyeon Seong saved her. I don’t think you need worry overmuch.
— But still……
— Hyeon Seong takes responsibility for his words through his actions. If you scold him or forbid him, won’t he be disappointed?
— Isn’t disappointment preferable to him coming to harm!
Dan Mok Hyeon Yo remained adamant, but in the end, her resolve crumbled.
— Then, Dan Mok Ryeon, watch over them for me.
— I beg your pardon?
— When you’re with the two of them, observe whether that servant harbors any improper feelings, whether she serves Hyeon Seong well. I’m asking you to keep watch. I shall repay this debt without fail.
— Of course…… I will.
Dan Mok Hyeon Yo demanded the promise several more times, and only when Dan Mok Ryeon nodded did she finally depart, satisfied.
‘If I watch and say all is well, does that make it well?’
It was not a request one would make of a niece with whom one was close, yet Dan Mok Ryeon did not refuse.
In truth, the servant’s only concern was ‘How can I best serve young lady Hyeon Seong?’, and if she harbored any other thoughts, that concern would shift too—so it would be discernible.
“I’ve promised to take only those of superior aptitude, sister.”
“This sister is a woman of her word.”
Dan Mok Ryeon spoke with confidence and then ruffled Hwa Ryun’s hair.
Hwa Ryun let out a melancholy sigh, satisfied so long as Dan Mok Ryeon’s hair didn’t end up disheveled and she didn’t take responsibility for the servant.

* * *

When the Boy actually appeared in Baek Ui Myeong’s quarters, Baek Ui Myeong was startled despite having waited for him all along.
“Oh, oh, you’ve come……”
“You didn’t run. I thought you’d go far away instead.”
“You told me not to run away…….”
Not that he’d actually fled once and crept back—he kept that to himself. The Boy regarded him with a mischievous smile.
“Looks like you’ve been working hard.”
“I, ah, yes, yes. Thank you…… thank you.”
“For what? Beating you?”
Baek Ui Myeong couldn’t bring himself to say yes. His lips twisted. The Boy laughed aloud at the sight of him, then picked up the chopsticks he’d left beside the refreshments and began to move.
Moving his hand lightly, tapping here and there, he made Baek Ui Myeong sway like a reed in the wind.
“Are you…… going to teach me something?”
“I’m not even your master. Why would I teach you anything? Besides, I have something to do. Come on.”
With that, the Boy leapt out the window. Baek Ui Myeong scrambled after him, but his landing was clumsy and heavy—nothing like the Boy’s grace. His face flushed red.
“Before you move, breathe in deeply and circulate that energy through your body as you go.”
“But you just suddenly jumped out the window without warning.”
“If someone suddenly draws a blade, you either meet it or die. That’s all.”
“Why do you keep telling me to die…….”
“I give you guidance and you make excuses—can’t do this, can’t do that. If you’re going to be like that, what’s the point of living?”
“……!”
In that instant, Baek Ui Myeong’s eyes snapped open. The Boy had been careless with his words, but now it struck him—he’d actually been imparting technique all along.
The experience of a seasoned master was priceless beyond measure!
“Ah, no, I understand. Yes, I’ll remember—breathe in before moving, yes!”
“Be quiet.”
“Yes…….”
After that, he simply followed the Boy in silence, winding through paths near Hwan Byeok Ru that even he didn’t know, until they reached what looked like the crumbling wall of an old manor.
‘I feel like I’ve seen this worn wall somewhere before…….’
“Someone will come out in a moment. I want you to follow them.”
“Me?”
“Follow them and watch to see if they’re up to anything strange, anything suspicious.”
“You want…… me to do that?”
“Yes.”
The Boy nodded and looked up at him quietly. Baek Ui Myeong swallowed hard.
“The thing is, I’ve never actually learned the Concealment Technique……. Won’t that be impossible?”
The Boy regarded him with surprise in his eyes.
“You’re that incompetent?”
“It depends on internal energy! I haven’t had any internal energy until now.”
“For all the time you’ve spent building External Technique…… ah, never mind. Watch carefully.”
“What?”
Here? Now? Like this?
Baek Ui Myeong’s eyes widened, but the Boy didn’t wait. He simply moved—one step to the side—and vanished from view.
“Where did…… where are you……?”
“Here.”
“……!”
The Boy appeared behind him. Baek Ui Myeong nearly cried out.
“You see?”
The words ‘How am I supposed to see someone disappear?’ rose to his throat, but Baek Ui Myeong simply nodded vigorously without protest.
The Boy smiled faintly and opened his mouth.
“Listen carefully. The core principle is Object-Self Unity.

Don’t be conscious of yourself. Accept what surrounds you. Don’t think of yourself as some great person, don’t tell yourself ‘I’ve accomplished this much.’ You are nothing.”
A sudden barrage of criticism, yet Baek Ui Myeong had resolved to absorb every word the Boy spoke.
“But that’s not all. When you walk a path, think of the parts of that path your feet don’t touch. When you drink from a cup, think of the parts your lips don’t reach.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Concealment is understanding that. But what isn’t used isn’t unnecessary. What isn’t seen hasn’t disappeared. Now do you understand what the Concealment Technique is?”
“What?”
But before he could ask, the rear gate at the end of the manor wall swung open, and the guards pushed someone roughly out.

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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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