The Youngest Prince of the Zhou Family - Chapter 41

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Youngest Master of the Zhu Family (40)

 

Plan

 

As soon as the Grand Festival ended, the Family Head and Eldest Brother finished preparing to depart straight for the archipelago.

 

The archipelago refers to the sea region itself, composed of countless islands.

 

Their destination was the largest island among them, Jeong-hae.

 

So why does the Zhu Family want to go there?

 

Because that island is one the Zhu Family has claimed.

 

In other words, it’s Zhu Family territory.

 

After visiting this place, the two of them would build tremendous fame.

 

This means fierce bloody battles would begin there, and Eldest Brother was severely injured in this place.

 

Of course, the reason was that brother hesitated terribly.

 

‘But now I don’t need to worry about that as much?’

 

The brother who showed himself in this martial tournament no longer trembled.

 

As if he had steeled his heart, he attacked Father with all his might.

 

Of course, he couldn’t even graze the edge of his clothes, but what mattered was that he at least brought a satisfied smile to the Sword Master’s lips.

 

‘Hmm, it’s still concerning though…’

 

I think there won’t be any major problems.

 

For now, focusing on what I need to do here takes priority.

 

‘Busy, so busy.’

 

I already have a plan in my head for what’s to come.

 

All that’s left is to unfold it step by step.

 

I recalled last night’s events.

 

Brother came to visit and asked me to go to the archipelago together.

 

But I.

 

Naturally refused.

 

It was a development that didn’t exist in my previous life, but what I had to do by staying here was more important than going there.

 

‘Have a safe trip, brother. By the day you return, the Noble Family will be greatly changed.’

 

At those words, brother hesitated for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

 

Unlike my previous life, it seemed I had become quite close with brother, which was fortunate.

 

If I had known it would be like this, I should have tried to get close to brother much earlier.

 

Perhaps we were both too lonely.

 

I sent brother off like that, laid down my weary body, and hurried to sleep.

 

​

 

* * *

 

​

 

The next day.

 

The Zhu Family was bustling.

 

It was the day Family Head Ju Tae-seong and Eldest Young Master Ju Seung-hyeok were departing for the archipelago.

 

Usually when the family heads of other families moved, the family head’s direct guard unit or elite military force would move with them.

 

But the Sword Master was different.

 

He didn’t mobilize the military force.

 

The reason was that he wasn’t weak enough to depend on the military force.

 

Rather, he would point out the vulnerabilities when the Sword Master was absent, and always left the military force at the Noble Family estate.

 

Moreover, when the Sword Master went on long expeditions like this, the Blood Master would return.

 

That was youngest uncle, Great Hero Ju Tae-hwi.

 

A family that possessed two of the Ten Supreme Masters that even the Five Great Families couldn’t have.

 

That was the Zhu Family.

 

“Young Master.”

 

Then Dan-hee knocked on the door.

 

“Oh, what is it?”

 

“The Family Head urgently wishes to see you.”

 

“Suddenly? Me?”

 

“Yes, please go quickly.”

 

At Dan-hee’s words, I hurried toward the Sword Soul Hall.

 

Wait, he should be leaving quickly for the archipelago, so why is he looking for me again?

 

“Did you call for me?”

 

When I entered the Sword Soul Hall, the Family Head, already prepared for departure, was standing blankly in the middle of the room.

 

It seemed he had been waiting for me.

 

“Woo Jin.”

 

“Yes, please speak.”

 

“I heard you refused the Eldest Young Master’s request yesterday?”

 

“…?”

 

What? How does Father know that… wait, could it be?

 

“Did the Family Head order it?”

 

“Rather than ordering, I told him to ask about your intentions. That’s all.”

 

Huh? But why?

 

Why are you trying to take me along?

 

The moment I unconsciously looked at the Family Head’s face, I felt my heart drop.

 

“…Won’t you come with us?”

 

Why… why that expression.

 

Father seemed to want to say something, his mouth twitching.

 

But he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

 

As if worried and concerned about something… yes, it was an expression I’d never seen before.

 

It was so unfamiliar.

 

“May I ask the reason?”

 

“The reason…”

 

Father just nodded with a stern expression.

 

“If that is your decision, I shall respect it.”

 

“…”

 

He didn’t particularly tell me the reason.

 

“You may go.”

 

It was an unsettling reaction indeed.

 

I had many things I wanted to ask, but I too couldn’t open my mouth.

 

I had no choice but to just turn and leave.

 

​

 

* * *

 

​

 

The Family Head and Eldest Brother departed for the archipelago, just the two of them.

 

The Sword Soul Hall, where people frequently came and went, also became quiet accordingly.

 

“Phew, refreshing.”

 

I finished my morning cultivation, washed off the sweat, and returned to my room.

 

No matter how difficult and tiring it gets, I can’t skip cultivation.

 

Then I headed straight to the back garden.

 

It was to see Mother after a long time.

 

“Welcome.”

 

Mother’s complexion had improved considerably.

 

Her body, which had been weak after stopping the medicine, finally seemed to be recovering normally.

 

“You seem to be feeling better.”

 

“Do I? I feel that way too.”

 

The atmosphere of the back garden is quite beautiful.

 

Mother used to enjoy planting and tending to flowers as a hobby, but when she was ill, she couldn’t do that at all.

 

But now she takes walks like this every day while caring for the flowers.

 

Thanks to that, the back garden had been beautifully transformed with colorful flowers everywhere.

 

“By the way, didn’t the Family Head say anything to you?”

 

“He didn’t say anything in particular, just asked if I had any thoughts of going on this archipelago trip…”

 

“Didn’t you want to go together?”

 

I nodded at Mother’s question.

 

Rather than that, I had things to do remaining at the noble family.

 

“Then shall we go to your maternal family home together?”

 

“Hmm, I’d like to go, but I don’t think I can. I have things to do.”

 

“Things to do? What kind of things?”

 

“It’s something important. I’ll tell you once it’s all finished.”

 

“You’re not… going to cause trouble again, are you?”

 

“Of course not.”

 

I chuckled softly and shook my head.

 

Mother looked relieved as she gently took my hand.

 

“This mother always believes in our son. I just want you to grow up comfortably without getting hurt.”

 

“I feel the same way. Seeing Mother in good health is…”

 

my lifelong wish.

 

We had quite a long conversation like that.

 

In the end, Mother decided to visit her maternal family home alone, and I actually thought that was better.

 

It would be better than staying at the noble family and witnessing all sorts of unseemly things.

 

“Woo Jin.”

 

Just as I was about to open the door and leave, Mother spoke quietly.

 

“Don’t hate your father too much. The Family Head feels sorry enough toward you.”

 

“…I know.”

 

I actually knew.

 

That Father always hesitated around me.

 

However, both me and Father.

 

As befitting father and son, we had become remarkably similar in being unable to express ourselves and hesitating.

 

‘…Someday.’

 

It will be resolved.

 

After greeting Mother like that, I immediately headed in a different direction.

 

My expression naturally hardened.

 

Since Father and Eldest Brother weren’t here, there was nothing to hold me back now.

 

The place I headed to was none other than the north side of the inner compound.

 

Where the military forces were concentrated, I went straight to the White Dragon Captain’s personal quarters.

 

The very person who shot the paralysis needle at me during the All Under Heaven Festival.

 

The captain of a kind of intelligence organization that oversees the noble family’s information.

 

“What brings you here?”

 

White Dragon Captain Ju Tae-san asked in a shameless voice.

 

“White Dragon Captain.”

 

I too abandoned courtesy.

 

At least to those who dared to touch me, I had no intention of showing even the slightest tolerance or kindness.

 

“You shot a paralysis needle at me.”

 

“That’s why I’m receiving disciplinary action and waiting like this, isn’t it? I’m waiting for the Family Head’s punishment.”

 

Watching the White Dragon Captain speak indifferently in a blunt tone, my eyes gleamed.

 

“Why did you move so obviously?”

 

“…”

 

He didn’t even look at me.

 

It seemed like he intended to ignore me completely, but I couldn’t just let that slide.

 

“Do you want to step down from that position?”

 

“I have no attachment to positions. If that’s the punishment, I’ll accept it gladly.”

 

“Don’t pretend to be detached. You’re just incompetent, Captain.”

 

At those words, Ju Tae-san openly scowled.

 

“Your words go too far, Young Master.”

 

“I’m stating facts.”

 

“Hah… I’ll say it again, doing this to me is completely useless.”

 

I thought about it countless times.

 

Why did the White Dragon Captain do such a foolish thing?

 

No matter how stupid he might be, it was a place where all the renowned masters of the martial world, including the Sword Master, were watching.

 

Why did he act so obviously there?

 

No matter how much I pondered, I couldn’t find an answer, so I came to find him out of frustration.

 

And he said he had no attachment to his position.

 

“That’s it.”

 

The White Dragon Captain didn’t make a mistake.

 

He was moving exactly according to plan.

 

If he was a traitor.

 

If he was already a traitor of the Zhu Family who had joined hands with the Demonic Cult?

 

Crack!

 

I immediately grabbed the White Dragon Captain by the throat.

 

“As expected… rotten. The White Dragon Corps.”

 

“Wh-what is this…!”

 

The White Dragon Captain panicked and tried to channel his internal power to remove my hand.

 

However, he soon froze.

 

“Demonic energy…”

 

“Hah, you recognize it immediately?”

 

The Dragon Heaven True Energy that had reached the extreme revealed unstoppable demonic energy, flaunting its presence in all directions.

 

However, even Ju Yu-ran and Mu Ying couldn’t easily distinguish whether this was demonic energy.

 

The reason was that it was too pure an energy.

 

It doesn’t make sense for demonic energy to be pure, but I had no other way to explain it either.

 

Anyway, Ju Tae-san immediately recognized the true nature of the energy.

 

That was something absolutely impossible to notice unless you had actually experienced demonic energy.

 

“You… how do you have demonic energy…”

 

Crack!

 

I tried to break Ju Tae-san’s neck right there.

 

But Ju Tae-san instantly escaped from my grasp and stood in front of the window.

 

“Going to run away?”

 

I chuckled softly watching him like that.

 

Ju Tae-san, you picked the wrong person.

 

I’m not such a careless person.

 

“Damn it…”

 

Mu Ying was outside.

 

Already anticipating his escape through the window, I had positioned Mu Ying there.

 

Of course, with Ju Tae-san’s skills, it would be possible to push past Mu Ying and escape.

 

But in that instant when the two clashed.

 

Ju Tae-san would have to be wary of what was behind him.

 

Because I was there.

 

“Pretending to support the Second Young Master, but actually joining hands with the Demonic Cult. Is that it?”

 

“…”

 

“I’m getting a rough picture. You make a mistake yourself, step down from your position… and whoever takes over that position will be the real shadow of the Demonic Cult. Right?”

 

“You’re talking nonsense…”

 

“No, it’s not nonsense.”

 

Bang!

 

Strong Wind Locks Moon unleashed to its extreme.

 

At least in terms of straight-line speed alone, it could be called the strongest movement technique.

 

Breaking through Ju Tae-san’s range in one go, I thrust out my fist.

 

Splurt!

 

Blood splattered.

 

I twisted Ju Tae-san’s wrist using the mysteries of Black King Assault Body, then pressed down with my other hand and broke it.

 

Just in case, to prevent him from picking up his sword.

 

“Young Master? Is something wrong inside?”

 

At the unexpected commotion, Mu Ying asked from outside.

 

But since I had ordered him to guard his position no matter what happened, Mu Ying didn’t move carelessly.

 

I ignored Mu Ying’s words and looked down at the White Dragon Captain I had captured.

 

“Why are you telling me that? If I run away from here…”

 

“First, you can’t escape. Second, if I keep you around, information from within the noble family will leak out.”

 

I soon spoke with a cold smile.

 

“Lastly… who is it? One of the Twelve Demon Emperors?”

 

“…!”

 

At those words, Ju Tae-san’s eyes widened beyond measure.

 

“H-how do you know that…”

 

“Right? Then who could it be? The bastard who would pull this kind of trick.”

 

This stupid fool keeps giving me clues.

 

The bastard who would pull this kind of stunt.

 

Surely it’s not Four Fiends class.

 

It’s definitely one of the Twelve Demon Emperors…

 

If it’s someone who would specifically target and infiltrate the White Dragon Corps…

 

“Aha.”

 

I remembered.

 

There’s one perfect bastard for this kind of work.

 

“Snake-Eyed Ghost Lord.”

 

That damned old man who flashed his snake-like cunning eyes and manipulated people at will.

 

It seemed he was positioned deep inside the Ju Family.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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