The Baengri Clan's Unwanted Granddaughter

Chapter 4

* * *

He’s like a mountain.

That was what I thought the first time I saw Grandfather.

He was sitting on a rug made from a tiger’s hide, wearing a shimmering white silk coat embroidered with jewels. His solid physique emitted an overwhelming presence, and his eyes blazed ferociously. His downturned mouth showed his stubborn personality, and his sharply angled eyebrows revealed his irritation. No one would have guessed that he was over seventy years old.

On either side of him were the Baengri family elders and his trusted subordinates. My eldest uncle Baengri Euimook was present, along with his eldest son, Baengri Myung. And so was...

Father!

My eyes widened. Father was kneeling in the center of the room.

I knew the situation was bad, but this... It was more shocking than anything I could have imagined.

My father looked surprised by this turn of events. I wanted to rush to his side and tell him there was no need for him to do this, but at that moment…

“Euiran, what are you doing here?” My grandfather’s furious voice bellowed across the room.

My aunt struggled to smile. “When a father returns, isn’t it a daughter’s duty to welcome him home?”

“Welcome?” he asked.

“Yes, Father. Come, Yeon. We must bow to your grandfather.” Aunt Euiran pulled me to her side in an obvious attempt to distract Grandfather, and I obediently bowed alongside her.

Once she straightened, she tried to move toward Uncle Euimook inconspicuously, but before she could even take two steps, Grandfather stopped her.

“Now that I’ve seen you, leave,” he said.

“Wh-what?” My aunt looked up at him in surprise.

“Did you not hear me?”

“I-I heard, Father. But, why...?”

“Why?” Grandfather scoffed, cold as ice. “Do you think yourself worthy to set foot in this room?”

“F-Father.”

“Is your attitude befitting of one bearing the name of Baengri?!”

At his thunderous rebuke, Aunt Euiran fell to her knees. “Forgive me, Father!”

Grandfather only glared at her frostily. My aunt’s face started to pale.

As everyone knew, Grandfather despised having to repeat himself. People would often say that “Baengri Paehyuk’s second speech is by the sword.” There was no exception for family.

Aunt Euiran looked up at her eldest brother pleadingly. Unable to ignore his younger sister’s cry for help, Uncle Euimook finally stepped in.

“Father, I’m sure Euiran has learned her lesson.”

“He’s right, Father,” Aunt Euiran said. “I’m sor—”

“Silence!” Grandfather was unmoved.

Biting her lip, Aunt Euiran stood up. “I’ll take my leave, Father.”

No one spoke. The atmosphere inside the room grew even chillier than it had been before. Grandfather’s anger toward Aunt Euiran made even my own heart pound faster. I knew that one slip of the tongue would be enough for him to send me away as well. I was skating on thin ice.

That was when my cousin, Baengri Myung, decided to break the silence.

“Are you feeling all right?” he asked me. “Shouldn’t you still be in bed?”

“Thank you for your concern. I’m much better now,” I said.

Baengri Myung, known for his kind demeanor and fair work ethic, was said to take after his father. Uncle Euimook spoke up as well. “Come here, Yeon.”

I took a step forward, fatigue washing over me. My father frowned with worry but didn’t say a word.

But instead of going to Uncle Euimook, I headed toward my father. Everyone looked at me in surprise.

Taking a deep breath, I moved to kneel beside Father.

My uncle and cousin’s faces hardened.

Only Grandfather looked amused, his eyes sparkling with interest. I was sure at that moment that if I had gone to my uncle’s side, my grandfather would have kicked me out.

I’d have ended up like Aunt Euiran.

It was probably what my uncle and cousin had intended. They both seemed well spoken and gentle on the surface, but really they were no different from Aunt Euiran.

“Yeon, what... Get up this instant,” Father said, grabbing on to me as I staggered mid-kneel. It was difficult to find balance when I was still so weak.

I need to finish this quickly. The cold of the stone floor seeped through the thin carpet, sending chills through my shaking frame. Father could tell.

“Get up right now!” he said. He turned to Grandfather. “Father, Yeon is still—”

“Silence!” Grandfather cut him off.

I held my father’s hand reassuringly.

“Baengri Yeon, do you know why your father is kneeling in front of me?” Grandfather asked.

“No, Grandfather.”

“Then why are you kneeling next to him?”

I lowered my gaze and gulped. “I heard that Father had never once disappointed you before the day he brought me home, so whatever the reason is, I must be to blame for it as well.”

A few uncomfortable coughs sounded from around the room. Seeing a sickly six-year-old child, small and thin, stumble to her knees was enough to make anyone feel guilty—anyone except my grandfather, that is.

“Smart words for a child. Very well. Since you’re here, let me ask you this.” He motioned for something behind him.

Suddenly, a servant appeared out of nowhere with a small box.

There it is. It was this small box that had caused all this commotion.

The servant stood in front of grandfather and opened the lid. Everyone gasped as a brilliant golden pill was revealed within.

“This,” Grandfather said, “is a Divine Decree Suppression Pill.”

Myung interjected, “Grandfather, Yeon hasn’t been in the family long enough to know what that is. Allow me to explain to her.”

Before Grandfather could respond, I quickly said, “Thank you, Myung, but I already know what it is. That’s the pill that could even bring the dead back to life, isn’t it?”

Grandfather stroked his beard and nodded. Seeing our grandfather satisfied by my response, Myung hid his irritation. “I see... you’re well informed.”

Grandfather dismissed Myung back to where he was standing with a wave of his hand.

“Yes, you’re right,” Grandfather said. “Anyone who takes this pill can be brought back to life. There are only a few remaining in the world, and the formula has been lost, so each pill is now priceless.”

The lid was shut once again, and Grandfather closed his eyes. “It was by the blessing of the heavens that I was able to obtain even one.”

He opened his eyes again and looked down at me coldly. “And yet Euigang has asked for this pill, just so he could give it to you!”

That’s right. My father had come to Grandfather and begged him for this priceless treasure—just for me—bearing all the shame and insults from everyone in this room, going so far as to kneel before my grandfather...

Father, how could you be so foolish?

And who was I to deserve any of it?

As though he had just read my thoughts, Grandfather shouted, “Do you think yourself worthy?”

The mood in the room was suffocating. A normal child would have cried out of fear. Father appeared to be readying himself to step in to protect me at a moment’s notice.

Grandfather asked again, “Are you worthy enough to receive this pill?”

I squeezed my father’s arm and looked into my grandfather’s eyes. “I am.”

Everyone gasped in disapproval. Myung smirked, and even Father seemed taken aback by my answer.

This was the lesson that I learned after dying twice over: If I don’t stand up for myself, no one else will.

If I doubted myself, what was to stop others from doubting me as well?

And if I debased myself, was it any different from debasing Father?

If anything, it would only make it more difficult for Father to protect me. I hadn’t known that before.

Continuing, I said, “But I don’t need it now.”

“What?” Grandfather said.

“Grandfather, may I ask everyone in this room a question?”

“You may.”

I glanced around the room before speaking.

“Can the Divine Decree Suppression Pill repair my qi center?”