Chapter 1
The Daughter-in-Law of a Murim Family
The web novels I happened to discover as a child were the only escape that helped me forget my harsh reality.
Because everything I dreamed of existed inside those novels.
A wonderful man who loved only me, a kind family, loyal friends, and so on.
For more than a decade, I had explored countless genres and let my imagination run wild. But there was one genre I had never been able to get into.
Murim.
“I absolutely hate gore.”
I had never exercised in my life aside from breathing. So even if I possessed the body of someone in a world where beggars could fly through the sky and neighborhood children were the strongest people around, what was I supposed to do?
I would probably die before I even got a lucky encounter and became a master.
“But why did I have to end up in a Murim world even after crossing dimensions?”
The only thing I knew about this place was that Murim people loudly shouted embarrassing nicknames before their own names whenever they were about to use some flashy technique.
“Do you really think you can defeat me, Jo Gwi, the First of the Demonic Path, with such a pathetic little trick?”
Yeah.
Like that.
“Blame your own foolishness for coming here to find the place where you would die!”
The booming voice reached me even through the palms covering my ears.
“Usually, when people go to another world, they at least get sent somewhere with a background that allows them to understand the novel they read or figure out the situation and survive.”
Why was my dimensional transfer set to such a high difficulty?
Thinking about the miserable struggle I had gone through for the past few months made me tremble with anger.
Among all the novels I had read, there had never been a poor soul like me who woke up beneath the eaves of an old house wearing rags and without a single penny.
They should have given me an ability, or at least a good appearance. If not, they could have given me some connection through school, hometown, or family. I needed at least something to rely on.
It was fortunate that I could at least communicate with the people here, but this was all I had been given.
A wave of sorrow suddenly overwhelmed me, and I buried my face between my knees.
At the same time, the ground beneath me shook as if an earthquake had struck.
Boom—! Crash—!
I let out a sigh while crouching as tightly as possible, afraid that the series of explosions in the distance might expose me.
It was not easy for an outsider of unknown origin to find work in the village.
I had entered the forest hoping to gather something to sell.
“Why aren’t any medicinal herbs showing up, and why the hell are Murim people coming out instead?”
How long were they planning to fight?
Well, I suppose it was fitting for Murim people who seemed to do nothing but eat and fight.
That was when I heard it.
The voice of the previously confident ‘First of the Demonic Path’ suddenly became filled with panic.
“W-What?! Has this bastard gone mad?!”
“Do you think I would fear losing my life if it meant I could kill you? For the sake of my children who died unjustly at your hands, I will drag you to hell today no matter what!”
The voice, filled with grief and rage, rang through the area.
The ground shook again.
“Kuaaaaargh—!”
Along with a terrible scream, a cloud of dust flowed into the cave.
This was driving me crazy.
Should I just go deeper into the cave?
As I looked around while thinking about it, I noticed something sparkling and rolling around on the cave floor.
“Is that a pearl?”
The moment I picked up the pale, glossy bead, I suddenly realized that it had become quiet outside.
After some hesitation, I left the cave.
What appeared before my eyes was a completely devastated scene, as if a typhoon had swept through the area.
Uprooted trees, deep marks in the ground, and even small animals that had failed to escape and were lying unconscious were scattered everywhere.
As I looked around and tried to understand what had happened, I spotted two corpses that had been burned so black that their shapes were difficult to recognize.
I did not even need to check.
It was obvious whose corpses they were.
“What horrible people.”
The fight had clearly started early in the morning, but before I knew it, the sun was already setting and evening had arrived.
“Well, at least I got something out of it, so that’s fortunate.”
A bead that gave off light even in the darkness.
Even someone like me, who knew nothing about jewels, could tell that it was definitely not an ordinary object.
I hurried out of the forest and went straight to the largest pawnshop at the entrance of the village.
“Could you appraise this for me?”
“Hmm?”
When I suddenly took out the object and handed it over, the shopkeeper widened his eyes in surprise.
Then he looked at me suspiciously.
“Miss, is this your property?”
“Of course. It’s obviously mine.”
Time to shamelessly lie, Gye Na-ri.
There was no way this world had anything like a certificate of authenticity.
Who could possibly know where this thing came from or who it originally belonged to?
The shopkeeper even brought out a magnifying glass and carefully examined the jewel before nodding.
“It is certainly a high-quality pearl. However, if you have something of this quality, how did you end up wandering around the village looking like that? This is not something an ordinary person could easily possess.”
His eyes narrowed.
“It isn’t stolen, is it?”
“Oh, come on. What are you talking about? Stolen?”
I answered calmly while trying to settle my pounding heart.
Stay calm. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If I could make a decent amount of money here, all the miserable suffering I had gone through since coming to this place would finally be over.
After making my decision, I lowered my head and began trembling my shoulders.
Then, a faint sob escaped through my closed lips.
“Sniff…”
“H-Hey. W-Why are you suddenly crying? What did I even do?”
The shopkeeper stammered in confusion.
I suddenly raised my head and thrust my tear-covered face toward him.
“Actually, I planned to treasure this item until the day I died. Because this is the only thing he left me. It is the only thing I have to remember the happy days we spent together.”
After pausing for a moment, I added,
“Although our time together was short, I gave him everything I had.”
At my sorrowful voice, the shopkeeper rolled his eyes nervously.
I could feel the people sitting around the shop gradually turning their ears toward us.
“He said he could not promise me anything. So he did not even tell me his family name or his given name. He only gave me this bead and told me that we should remember our connection.”
Sighs came from here and there.
“What? He didn’t even tell her his name and just gave her that before leaving?”
“I don’t know which wealthy family’s young master he was, but I bet he only felt attracted to her for a moment.”
“What a terrible bastard.”
People clicked their tongues.
While the owner of the bead was gradually becoming the worst womanizer under heaven, I could feel their sympathy for me growing.
I gathered my momentum, clenched my fists tightly, and continued.
“Although he left me, I couldn’t meet anyone else. Because I was never taught how to take back a heart I had already given away. Although I lost everything while searching for him, I don’t regret it.”
“Oh, dear…”
“What is love, anyway…”
The shopkeeper still looked suspicious, but pushed by the atmosphere around him, he reluctantly asked,
“Then why are you trying to sell such a precious item now?”
“He appeared in my dream last night. And he begged me to stop waiting for him.”
“Oh…”
“Even though I knew it was nothing more than lingering attachment, I kept hoping that our connection would continue. But if there really is some reason why he can never return, perhaps letting him go is the right thing to do for him.”
“Hmm.”
After finishing my words, I tightened my grip on the bead.
“I have to let him go now.”
“Y-You’re really going to let it go?”
“This bead is everything I have. But now, I must gather my courage and start a new life.”
“Yes, that’s a good decision.”
“That man isn’t the only man in the world. You can meet someone better.”
Applause erupted from all around.
As encouragement poured in from people cheering for my future life, the pawnshop owner’s face became awkward.
Now that I had created this atmosphere, there was no way he could drastically lower the price of the jewel.
I looked at the pawnshop owner with an expectant expression and blinked.
How about that? My survival strategy.
And so, I handed over the high-quality pearl, about the size of two finger joints, and received seventy nyang of silver.
On top of that, through someone from a neighboring village who happened to be there, I was able to find a decent job.
It had been about a week since I started my new life here as a server at an inn.
It was an ordinary morning when I arrived at work.
“Good morning! Oh, Innkeeper?”
The innkeeper’s face had turned deathly pale as he greeted me.
“What’s wrong with your expression?”
He looked as if he had seen something he should never have seen.
Instead of answering my question, he pointed at me and shouted like a thunderclap.
“It’s this girl!”
“…?!”
While I tilted my head, unable to understand what was going on, someone slowly approached.
It was a man wearing black robes, with a cold and intimidating air about him.
“Gulp.”
I froze as I swallowed nervously.
Then I heard the door slam shut.
When I looked around in surprise, there was no one left in the inn except me and the man.
Noticing the ominous atmosphere, I began stepping backward.
The man suddenly pulled something out of his clothes and held it out toward me.
“I heard that you sold this Night-Shining Pearl to the pawnshop.”
“Y-Yes?”
“I heard you claimed it was a token given to you by your lover.”
“W-Who exactly are you?”
“This Night-Shining Pearl you sold is a treasured heirloom of our family. It was in the possession of the eldest young master of our family, who disappeared five years ago.”
“…!”
“You will have to come with me.”
Damn it. I’m screwed.
