The Time-Limited Elixir of the Ruined Clan - Chapter 97

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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 Noble Clan — Chapter 97

‘So he’s finally healed completely.’
Sam Mae Jin Hwa was a technique that could only be mastered after reaching the Entering Divine Realm,
a state of bare-handed flame-summoning that demanded absolute stability in one’s internal energy and dantian.
To attempt it with unstable cultivation was to court disaster beyond recklessness.
Ryun felt a warm glow kindling in her chest as she brought her palms together to light the incense, savoring the moment.

* You may receive counsel. *

‘You can receive counsel at ancient temples?’
A flood of names cascaded through Ryun’s mind—all the storied monasteries she’d ever heard of.
‘Then what if I climbed the main peaks of the Wudang School or the Huashan School?’
Caught between anticipation and curiosity about what revelations awaited her, new characters began to coalesce through the faint veil of smoke.

Whether her eyes were open or closed, the characters only grew sharper in her vision.
‘That’s… it?’
The characters scattered in disarray before reassembling once more.

The characters dissolved with a melancholy whisper.

Dan Mok Cheon Gi and Dan Mok Hyeon U descended from the lead carriage shaking their heads and made their way toward the luggage cart in back.
‘What’s going on? What’s wrong with the luggage?’
Curious, Ryun craned her neck out the window. Hwa Ryun, who had been sitting inside, suddenly furrowed her brow.
“You did leave Dan Mok Bi safely with the Clan, didn’t you?”
“Dan Mok Bi?”
At the sudden mention of her younger brother, Ryun’s own brow tightened. She wanted immediately to assess the situation, but the ability to sense presences lay in the realm of internal energy—beyond her current reach.
‘Ah! While expanding my presence sensing is impossible without cultivation, could I try this approach instead?’
After a moment’s thought, Ryun began to slowly disperse her Spiritual Energy outward—thinly, widely.
Carefully tracing her own energy as it mingled with the breath of those nearby and scattered outward, she detected one presence in particular that felt achingly familiar.
“Dan… Dan Mok Bi!”
Before she could even process the fact that she’d sensed him without internal energy, Ryun found herself crying out his name like a shriek and leaping from the carriage.
At that same moment, Dan Mok Cheon Gi, who had walked all the way to the luggage cart, suddenly seized one of the tightly bound bundles.
“Waugh, waaugh!”
Out tumbled a pale-faced child, Dan Mok Bi, complete with a cry of protest.
Everyone froze, staring in shock between the boy and Dan Mok Cheon Gi. Dan Mok Bi scrambled to his feet but staggered, his legs seized by cramps from hours crouched in the bundle.
“Dan Mok Bi!”
“Good heavens!”
The child had been folded inside that bundle for hours—cramping was the least of it.
Those nearby rushed over in alarm, stretching the boy’s limbs and offering him water to drink.
As they massaged life back into his arms and legs, Ryun knelt beside him, cradling his forehead in her palm.
“You fool! What were you thinking, sneaking along like this?”
“Sniff… Sister….”
“Is anything hurt?”
Dan Mok Bi shook his head.

As he wove his Spiritual Energy as thinly as possible into his breath and exhaled it into Dan Mok Bi, color slowly returned to the boy’s face.
Just as the expressions of those around them began to ease, Dan Mok Cheon Gi, who had been watching the commotion unfold, opened his mouth.
“I was curious to see how far you’d go, but did you really mean to have yourself carried all the way to Nam Jik Rye Seong in that state?”
His voice carried a strange mixture—exasperation, anger, and something that might have been grudging admiration.
Dan Mok Bi leaped to his feet and grasped Hwa Ryun’s sleeve tightly, crying out.
“I—I want to go to Gyeong Hang Un Ryeon with my sister too!”
“If you couldn’t accept what your elder was saying, you should have tried to persuade me then and there. Instead, you disobeyed and came chasing after her without a thought?”
‘Oh dear.’
Hwa Ryun put her arm around Dan Mok Bi’s shoulders. Though the boy flinched at his grandfather’s thunderous voice, his spirit didn’t break.
“But…but Grandson is still just a baby! I can’t explain things very well!”
In an instant, Hwa Ryun’s face turned crimson. The very excuse she herself had used countless times had just come tumbling out of Dan Mok Bi’s mouth.
‘So that’s why they say you can’t even drink cold water in front of children……’
While Hwa Ryun felt tears welling up internally, Dan Mok Cheon Gi let out an exasperated snort.
“Fine. Because you’re still a baby, I said you couldn’t come along.”
“My body is a baby’s, but my heart…my heart is all grown up!”
From the sides came sporadic sounds—chuk, kuhup—the unmistakable noise of people failing to stifle their laughter.
Deciding he couldn’t scold his grandson in front of so many people, Dan Mok Cheon Gi took Dan Mok Bi into the carriage with a stern expression, emerging again a short while later.
No sounds had come from within during those brief moments, yet by the time Dan Mok Bi emerged, his eyes were red from crying, though he tried his best to look dignified as he climbed down.
Of course, that dignity lasted only a moment. The instant his eyes met Hwa Ryun’s, he sniffled and threw himself into her embrace.
“Did Grandfather scold you badly?”
Dan Mok Bi, burying his face in Hwa Ryun’s arms, nodded mutely while sniffling, then tried hard to stop his tears.
“He said from now on I must always ask for permission first……”
“That’s right! What if you’d come without telling anyone? Mother will be so worried. She might cry all night without sleep.”
In an instant, Dan Mok Bi’s face went pale. Hwa Ryun rubbed his cheeks and withdrew the Writing Supplies she’d brought with her.
“Let’s write to Mother right away and send it. Tell her you’re sorry for coming secretly, that you’ll be careful and come back safely.”
“Yes, yes!”
But after crouching in a cramped corner for half the day, Dan Mok Bi’s hands were trembling too much, so Hwa Ryun ended up writing the letter for him.
And during all this, Dan Mok Hyeon Yo was wiping her face.
“Those clothes…what am I supposed to do with them…?”
The neat Martial Robes that Dan Mok Bi had worn when he’d secretly followed them from the Clan were now hopelessly wrinkled from the journey, and without a proper outer coat, Hwa Ryun had wrapped him in her own garments, tying everything tight with cord to keep them from falling off.

* * *

Take pork thick with rind, fat, and meat, fry it once, then braise it long and slow with ginger, spices, rich soy sauce, aged soy, and clear wine.
Serve alongside blanched vegetables with a clean, mild flavor and a cup of White Wine

and one has nothing left in this world to desire.
Cooked for hours until it shines with a glossy sheen, the rind becomes chewy, the fat melts on the tongue, and the meat yields soft and tender to the teeth—a delicacy beyond compare.
“Suk Su! Suk Su!”
Baek Dam, an old man with hair white as snow, raised his voice toward the kitchen while still eating, and a person wearing a white cloth wrap emerged in haste.
“Yes, yes? Is something the matter…?”
“You! Why aren’t you leaving for Bei Jing at once!”
“Pardon?”
“In all my years of eating Braised Pork, I’ve never tasted anything finer than this. How can you bury yourself in such a remote village!”
“I…yes?”
“Pack your things at once! Pack them and go to Bei Jing…!”
“Oh my, guest, guest. If you take away Hang Zhou’s finest cook from us, what are we supposed to eat?”
The proprietor of the Gyolyong Inn rushed out at once.
Though the commotion was rooted in praise for Suk Su’s skill, orders for Braised Pork did increase around the inn, but unfortunately the prepared ingredients had run out, so no more orders could be accepted.
When the proprietor heard that the guest would return next time and asked him to prepare more, a broad smile bloomed across his face.
The two old men finished their abundant meat and wine, then paid their bill.
Then they called Suk Su out once more and pressed him about whether he’d be interested in Tian Shan instead of Bei Jing, until Suk Su fled back to the kitchen, saying he’d bring out some other delicacies as thanks for their compliments, before they relented.
“Hah…the cooking truly is excellent. If things go well, should we just take him with us?”
Heuk Dam murmured this while savoring the lingering taste of meat in his mouth, and Baek Dam looked at him with disapproving eyes.
“At a time like this, do you want to take someone away on a whim and answer to the Sect Leader? We haven’t even found a suitable Junior Sect Leader candidate yet.”
“Ah…”
Just moments before, while eating the Braised Pork, they’d been content, but once the talk turned to business, both old men’s expressions darkened at once.
Yet even that soon twisted into something spiteful. Shouts and cheers had erupted from outside.
“What on earth is that noise outside?”
“Looks like someone from a Clan is heading to the Nam Gung Clan for a visit.”
“A noble family here? The Dan Mok Clan? Lucky bastards. Meanwhile, some people can’t even find a single child—they’re probably dying of shame…….”
Heuk Dam muttered the words while his shoulders sagged.
“And what’s this anyway—is that family some kind of Dan Mok Sect

running this district? One procession and they cause such a commotion?”

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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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