Medicine, meals, doctor's visits, treatments, more medicine, sleep, and yet more medicine. It felt like I'd swallowed every rare elixir in the world.
Ever seen a fist-thick wild ginseng? I have. It's in my stomach now.
I rubbed my eyes, trying to shake off the drowsiness.
'Must've dozed off during the treatment.'As I sat up, the only one left by my bedside was the family physician, tidying the bedding. I turned to him.
"Where's Father?"
Father had stayed by my side through every treatment so far. In my previous life, I'd seen it as surveillance. Now I knew it was worry.
"That fourth young master, always up to no good."
"...?"
The physician glanced at me, clicked his tongue, and swept out of the room.
By the time I got up and stepped outside, he was gone.
"What was that about?"
The inner courtyard was eerily quiet. My father's and my quarters were at the westernmost edge of the Baek Ri Clan estate, tucked in the farthest corner. For direct lineage quarters, it was remote and plain.
'Not that I mind—fewer relatives to run into.'Father's original quarters had been elsewhere. But after he formally registered me in the family, Grandfather had banished us here, saying he couldn't stand the sight of us.
I crossed the bare, unadorned courtyard toward the servants' building—to ask about Father's whereabouts.
'Of course.'No one was there. That explained the unnatural silence. Servants always scurried off to rest when Father wasn't around.
'Where could he be?'Should I wait here or go look for him? As I debated, a commotion erupted from behind the building, near the white-walled enclosure.
"Hurry up, all of you!"
It was the servants from our quarters, who had vanished earlier. A higher-ranking one was urging them on.
"Quick, quick! Everyone here?"
"Ah, I was sleeping so well. What's going on?"
"Tch. Lounging around napping—you wouldn't know. The Patriarch just came back!"
"What? The Patriarch?"
"He's holding a banquet tonight, so the lady of the house said leave half the servants at quarters and send the rest to the main hall. Who's coming?"
I widened my eyes, eavesdropping.
The Baek Ri Clan's Patriarch—my grandfather—was an enigmatic man whose thoughts no one could fathom. He'd elevated our middling clan to one of the Ten Great Clans overnight with his prowess, yet he'd hole up in seclusion for a year claiming cultivation, or take off traveling the moment he emerged, saying he needed fresh air.
In the novel, he was the protagonist's occasional ally, appearing just two or three times to showcase his Eleven Heavenly Strongest might.
'I barely saw him myself.'Even living in the same house for years, encounters were rare enough to count on one hand. When I fell into qi deviation, he was away traveling.
But now he was back...
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇The novel unfolded from the protagonist's view, skipping the childhood of side-villain trash like me. But I had a backstory with solid plausibility for becoming the villain—and this moment was forging it!
'I have to stop it.'If I were truly six, I wouldn't know where Father might be. But I marched straight there without hesitation.
Along the way, servants and guards whispered, giving me odd looks.
By the time I arrived, I was gasping for breath, my back soaked with sweat.
The elderly retainer guarding the door looked shocked.
"Young miss?"
My pale face and bloodless lips made me look ready to collapse. He blurted, "Are you alright?"
I tried to say yes, but a cough burst out first.
Seeing that, he remembered I'd only just recovered from qi deviation. Pity filled his eyes.
"You're still unwell—why come all this way?"
"Hah... hah... Father... is Father here...?"
Before I could finish, a thunderous roar erupted from inside.
"Don't talk nonsense!"
"Physician! You'll keep disappointing me like this? Still haven't come to your senses—what the hell...!"
It was Grandfather's voice.
The retainer glanced at me and said, "You're looking for the fourth young master. But as you heard... it's not a good time to pass on messages."
I clenched my fists.
This room was for those Grandfather permitted—key position holders or esteemed direct kin. I, naturally, wasn't allowed.
As I bit my lip in anxiety, a voice snapped.
"What's this, Baek Ri-yeon?"
My neck stiffened at the sound.
The retainer bowed behind me. "Lady Ri-ran, you've arrived."
Baek Ri-ran. Father's half-sister, my aunt.
Aunt eyed the retainer sharply. "Why's this child here? Did Physician bring her?"
"No, she came alone."
"...Alone?"
She glanced between me and the door, scoffing.
"Hah, how dare you come here? This isn't a place for you to set foot!"
Her two maids smirked openly behind her.
I just stared silently.
In the past, at this age, I'd feared running into her. She'd nitpick endlessly: eye contact was insolence, averting was defiance, greeting was overstepping, silence was rudeness. Whatever I did, she'd invent some torment.
Her verbal abuse escalated until beatings began.
"Defiling the Baek Ri Clan with vermin like you...!"
I'd shrink, apologize profusely, not even knowing my fault.
She was cunning, tormenting me only in private, out of sight—especially avoiding Father's ears. Early on, he was rarely home; later, our rift kept me silent.
'I was such an idiot.'Back then, I thought her hatred natural—a crippled Baek Ri who couldn't cultivate.
But at Father's funeral, I overheard:
"That bastard Physician strutting around with his sword skills—I saw it coming! Serves him right!"
Aunt envied Father's skill and fame but couldn't touch him directly. Then his naive, powerless, positionless daughter appeared—a perfect target.
"Why are you just staring? Ignoring me now that your father's back?"
A sly twist: implying arrogance because Father returned. Anyone hearing would think me insolent.
I bowed quickly. "I'm sorry. It's been a while, Aunt."
Then, as if truly ashamed, "I was too ill to even greet you properly."
A timely cough made her face stiffen.
The situation was awkward now—berating a sick niece right after meeting.
She wanted to snap more but held back under watching eyes. My cough was real, after all.
'Fever's creeping back.'As the cough subsided, she softened as if nothing happened. "You made it here alone, so you must be feeling better."
If I said yes, she'd play it off as light scolding. No—and she'd shoo me back.
"Ah... well..."
I hesitated. She cooed, "It's fine. Speak freely."
"...No one was at the quarters. I looked around, but everyone seemed busy somewhere. I had to come alone."
"...!"
Aunt's eyes bulged.
Household and servant management fell to Grandfather's second wife—Aunt's mother.
No servants at quarters? Absurd.
She had two maids right there. But Father's quarters' servants slacked chronically—especially around me—under Second Grandmother's tacit approval.
'As long as it doesn't reach Grandfather.'But now?
The shouting inside had stopped. Grandfather was a top master; everyone in there cultivated—they could hear distant whispers if focused.
'They all heard.'A conversation right outside the door? Every word.
Even Aunt's ploy to paint me arrogant was calculated for that.
'She didn't expect this twist.'Aunt's lips trembled. "You're mistaken. Servants wouldn't... Don't spout nonsense—go back..."
Grandfather's furious voice cut her off.
"Ri-ran! Get in here now! Baek Ri-yeon, you too!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Read 109 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/i-became-the-neglected-granddaughter-of-a-murim-clan
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━