The Youngest Prince of the Zhou Family - Chapter 45

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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 (45)

 

You’ve Crossed the Line

 

There’s a certain kind of line that exists.

 

Based on the boundary I’ve drawn, depending on whether you cross it or not, how I treat you changes.

 

“You’ve crossed the line.”

 

I coldly unleashed my fury.

 

As soon as I entered the Underground Thunder Prison, the spreading smell of blood felt ominous, and sure enough, the White Dragon Captain was dead.

 

And his head was completely gone.

 

I quickly approached the corpse and examined the cross-section of the severed neck.

 

There were traces of a very clean cut.

 

The White Dragon Captain couldn’t even resist and lost his life to a single sword strike.

 

“Well, look at this?”

 

Yak Seon, who was also examining the corpse beside me, soon let out an exclamation.

 

“Since we visited yesterday at the beginning of the hour of the sheep… this wound was also made around that time. In other words, the fierce beast struck as soon as we left.”

 

“…”

 

Wow, this makes me feel even worse.

 

Doesn’t this mean they’re now coming and going from the Zhu Family Estate like it’s their own home?

 

“Mu Ying. Gather all the warriors who were guarding this place yesterday. Everyone, including the shift replacements.”

 

“Yes, Young Master.”

 

Mu Ying immediately ran out of the Underground Thunder Prison at my command.

 

I once again slowly examined the White Dragon Captain’s corpse.

 

‘Snake-Eyed Ghost Lord. It’s definitely that bastard.’

 

He’s an opponent who could make the White Dragon Captain freeze in terror.

 

Originally, the Snake-Eyed Ghost Lord was capable of further paralyzing the reason of targets he had suppressed, maximizing their fear to an uncontrollable state.

 

This was due to the martial arts he had learned, one of the most dangerous martial arts that was once designated as forbidden.

 

In other words, the White Dragon Captain fell victim to the Snake-Eyed Ghost Lord’s schemes and would have been completely captured by his demonic arts.

 

Without even realizing it himself.

 

‘Damn it, I don’t even know that bastard’s face.’

 

There’s one problem.

 

I don’t properly know the Snake-Eyed Ghost Lord.

 

I’ve never killed him, and I’ve only seen his distinctive snake eyes from a very great distance.

 

Therefore, currently, he might be the most troublesome opponent for me.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

“Young Master, all the personnel who guarded the Thunder Prison yesterday have assembled.”

 

“Tell them to come in.”

 

Soon the warriors stood before me one by one.

 

I don’t have the authority to command warriors, but at least regarding internal family matters, I have some degree of say.

 

That was a kind of privilege that direct descendants possessed.

 

“Gasp.”

 

“Huh.”

 

The warriors were startled when they saw the White Dragon Captain’s headless corpse.

 

‘Six people gathered. Since they take turns alternating shifts…’

 

These aren’t guards who patrol the prison.

 

They’re just a kind of escort that guards the prison entrance.

 

Therefore, all of them are people who haven’t entered this Thunder Prison between yesterday and today.

 

I didn’t have high expectations.

 

I just asked just in case.

 

“Beginning of the hour of the sheep. That’s when I left the Thunder Prison. Was there anyone who came and went here after that?”

 

“There was no one during my shift.”

 

“There was no one!”

 

“There was no such person!”

 

“Ah, there was one person though…”

 

Then one warrior suddenly raised his hand.

 

“Who was it?”

 

“Well… Second Madam briefly stopped by.”

 

Damn it, that’s a dead end.

 

Second Madam was already working together with the White Dragon Captain.

 

She most likely came to check on the White Dragon Captain’s condition.

 

‘This brings us back to square one.’

 

Do I have to turn the White Dragon Corps upside down after all?

 

Sigh, the future looks bleak.

 

I had no choice but to leave the Underground Thunder Prison as it was.

 

Yak Seon seemed to feel sorry for me and quietly patted my back.

 

After returning straight to my quarters.

 

And calmly recalling my memories again.

 

‘Snake-Eyed Ghost Lord.’

 

If I were him?

 

If I were receiving orders from the Heavenly Demon and plotting something against the Zhu Family?

 

‘I need to figure out what he’s targeting first.’

 

What exactly is the Snake-Eyed Ghost Lord targeting?

 

The Blood Hand Poison Emperor tried to poison Foster Mother and Yu Harin without a trace to weaken the entire strength of the Zhu Family.

 

Their ultimate goal would naturally be the destruction of the Zhu Family, but now is premature.

 

‘Less than five years remain.’

 

Five years until the Zhu Family’s destruction.

 

But since I killed the Blood Hand Poison Emperor, who was an important figure in that plan, I might have bought some more time.

 

‘Wait, this timing…’

 

Suddenly, hazy memories began to surface.

 

Things that happened in the family right around this time.

 

‘Namgung Yi-hwa.’

 

This was when she was running wild to seize real power in the Zhu Family.

 

​

 

‘Hmph, you’re worse than a bug. You’re disgusting, so don’t talk to me. Got it?’

 

​

 

Namgung Yi-hwa’s expression as she looked down at me with disgust was filled with contempt.

 

During this period, she becomes unstoppable.

 

Even with Mother present, she begins to handle the warriors recklessly and act as she pleases.​

 

Strangely, the fact that Namgung Yi-hwa had visited the Underground Thunder Prison kept bothering me.

 

‘Then that means the White Dragon Captain was still alive until then…’

 

I felt uneasy about it.

 

At times like this, the best strategy is to check with your own eyes.

 

I immediately headed toward Namgung Yi-hwa’s quarters.

 

​

 

* * *

 

​

 

The Inner Compound of the Zhu Family, Northern District.

 

This is where Namgung Yi-hwa’s quarters are located.

 

She originally coveted the Back Garden, which was Mother’s quarters.

 

Because you could see the entire view of the Noble Family estate, and the Back Garden’s location gave a feeling of being protected.

 

A place where the real mistress of the family would reside.

 

That place was exactly the Back Garden.

 

In the end, Mother passed away a year later, and Namgung Yi-hwa took over the Back Garden.

 

‘Someone who achieves whatever she wants… truly a remarkable person.’

 

Anyway, I arrived in front of Namgung Yi-hwa’s Personal Quarters.

 

What was interesting was that no Servants could be seen around her Personal Quarters.

 

“Where did they go?”

 

That thought was brief, as there were definitely sounds coming from inside.

 

I raised my hand to knock on the door.

 

That was the moment.

 

“…nida.”

 

“I understand. I’ll do that for you.”

 

Namgung Yi-hwa was having a conversation with someone.

 

I quickly concealed my presence and hid myself swiftly.

 

‘Who is it?’

 

The presence was faint.

 

Even with my senses that could detect the Killing Intent of the Dragon Ascension Unit, I couldn’t catch the presence of another person inside Namgung Yi-hwa’s Personal Quarters.

 

How long had I been hiding like that?

 

Finally, the door to the Personal Quarters opened and Namgung Yi-hwa revealed herself.

 

However, that was the end of it.

 

No one else besides her came out of the Room.

 

Namgung Yi-hwa immediately started walking, heading somewhere.

 

Should I go into the Personal Quarters, or should I follow behind her? After pondering, I ultimately chose the latter.

 

Somehow, Namgung Yi-hwa’s eyes didn’t look ordinary.

 

The place Namgung Yi-hwa headed to was none other than Ju Sang-jin’s Personal Quarters.

 

She opened the door without warning and went inside.

 

That was when it happened.

 

‘Ugh.’

 

A dry heave naturally burst out.

 

The moment Sang Jin’s door opened, an indescribable stench wafted out.

 

‘What is this.’

 

And in an instant, the stench disappeared completely.

 

As if I had been mistaken.

 

But the intense trace of that stench remained in my mind.

 

In other words, it wasn’t false.

 

‘It’s not a real smell. This is… the smell of Internal Energy.’

 

If my senses hadn’t become extremely sensitive, it was the kind of smell I would never have detected.

 

A moment later, the voices of Ju Sang-jin and Namgung Yi-hwa could be heard together from inside the Room.

 

Ju Sang-jin was on the side refusing, saying he didn’t want to, while Namgung Yi-hwa was trying to force him to eat something.

 

‘Spirit Medicine?’

 

From the faintly audible words, I definitely heard the word Spirit Medicine.

 

“Damn, she was just giving him Spirit Medicine.”

 

A mother bringing Spirit Medicine to her child.

 

It’s not a strange situation at all.

 

Since Namgung Yi-hwa herself is someone with a lot of Money, buying and feeding Spirit Medicine to her own child is nothing.

 

“What a disappointment.”

 

I soon realized I had failed and turned around.

 

I should have just searched through Namgung Yi-hwa’s Personal Quarters instead.

 

Just as I was about to turn around like that.

 

“Wait.”

 

Spirit Medicine?

 

Then it makes even less sense, doesn’t it?

 

I turned back toward Ju Sang-jin’s Personal Quarters.

 

‘That smell.’

 

It definitely wasn’t the smell of Spirit Medicine.

 

It was a musty, damp, intense stench that seemed to simultaneously give off the smell of something rotten that had been left to sit for a long time.

 

A moment later, Namgung Yi-hwa left the Room.

 

I immediately threw open the door to Ju Sang-jin’s Room.

 

“Ugh.”

 

At the same time, the stench wafted over again.

 

At the center of it was Ju Sang-jin.

 

“What are you?”

 

Eyes bloodshot red.

 

And somehow his Martial Aura was unstable.

 

“What did you just eat?”

 

“You? You’re saying ‘you’ to your Eldest Brother right now?”

 

Ju Sang-jin got up from his seat and strode toward me.

 

A somewhat oppressive aura.

 

He was definitely quite different from his usual self.

 

I ignored him and looked around the interior of the Room.

 

Ju Sang-jin wasn’t the source of the smell.

 

Small Wooden Boxes piled up in one corner of the Room.

 

This musty stench was pouring out from there.

 

“Don’t touch them. I’ll really kill you.”

 

Ju Sang-jin drew his Sword and revealed his Killing Intent.

 

Bang!

 

I immediately stepped with Single Step and rushed to Ju Sang-jin’s face.

 

And I struck his abdomen once with Internal Power.

 

“Kugh! Cough!”

 

At the same time, Ju Sang-jin spilled out the contents of his stomach.

 

While he was in pain, I first opened the Wooden Boxes in the corner.

 

Inside were round Pills.

 

“Th, that’s what Mother gave me. D, don’t touch it carelessly…”

 

“You call this Spirit Medicine?”

 

At my question, Ju Sang-jin wiped his mouth with his sleeve and said with a sneer.

 

“Why? Are you jealous? If you’re jealous, you can also…”

 

“No, why would I be jealous. This doesn’t look like Spirit Medicine no matter how you look at it.”

 

“…”

 

At those words, Ju Sang-jin shut his mouth tight.

 

“You know too, don’t you? Right?”

 

At my words, Ju Sang-jin seemed startled and avoided my gaze.

 

Ju Sang-jin definitely knew these Pills weren’t Spirit Medicine.

 

If that weren’t the case, how could he have shoved these Pills into a corner like this?

 

“Did Second Madam give you this? All of this?”

 

“You bastard! Second Madam? Show proper respect to Mother…”

 

“Did you and Second Madam show respect to Foster Mother?”

 

“…”

 

He shut his mouth tight again.

 

I approached Ju Sang-jin and pressed down hard on his shoulder.

 

“Don’t put on airs. I’m just returning what you do to me.”

 

“You, damn, damn bastard…”

 

“Answer the question before you get beaten more. Where did this come from?”

 

Ju Sang-jin stubbornly resisted for a long time but eventually ended up getting beaten by me a few more times.

 

Sigh, why don’t any of these guys listen when I tell them something once?

 

“This is the last time. I asked where you got this from.”

 

“I don’t know, you bastard. She just said she got it from some famous trading company.”

 

“Trading company? Which trading company?”

 

“I said I don’t know. I asked too, but she wouldn’t answer, so what am I supposed to do?”

 

“Hmm, really?”

 

Suspicious.

 

Of course, she wouldn’t feed her own son something dangerous.

 

Even considering that, the smell of the medicine was far too terrible.

 

I grabbed several tracking pills and put them in my pocket.

 

“Who are you to take those?”

 

“When something’s suspicious, investigating first is family law.”

 

“So who are you to dare…”

 

“If you interfere any more, I can throw you in Thunder Prison like the White Dragon Captain.”

 

“…”

 

Only then did Ju Sang-jin shut his mouth.

 

He must have already realized he couldn’t defy me through force, and moreover, he seemed to be restraining himself out of fear that his conspiracy with the White Dragon Captain might be discovered.

 

Of course, it didn’t matter whether he was directly involved or not.

 

The bigger problem was that the White Dragon Captain had dared to act recklessly in front of the adults.

 

I returned to my quarters carrying the tracking pills.

 

Then I immediately presented the pills to Yak Seon.

 

As soon as he received them, Yak Seon grimaced terribly and threw the pills outside.

 

“Wait, what are you doing? We need to find out what this is…”

 

“I already know what it is, you fool.”

 

Yak Seon frowned and held his nose.

 

“That’s not medicine. It’s poison. Very low-grade poison at that.”

 

“Poison? That can’t be…”

 

This belongs to Namgung Yi-hwa.

 

Does that mean she was trying to kill her own child?

 

“It is poison, you fool. It’s a type of Soul Transformation Pills that makes one lose consciousness and is given right before casting Soul Absorption Technique or Spirit Control Technique. The longer you take it, the more severe the side effects become, so even the Dark Path has abandoned this stuff. Really now, where did you get this?”

 

“…”

 

At those words, I let out a deflated sigh.

 

“I made a fuss for nothing.”

 

It seemed I had caught something.

 

Beyond some kind of agreement with the White Dragon Captain, Namgung Yi-hwa apparently knew someone higher up.

 

She couldn’t have obtained such medicines alone.

 

“Elder, I think you need to come with me.”

 

Confirmation was absolutely necessary.

 

Namgung Yi-hwa.

 

The probability that she was connected to the Snake-Eyed Ghost Lord was very high.

—————
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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