The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Youngest Son of the Nakhyang Jin Family – Chapter 62

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“A peculiar person?”
Baek Jin-hwa, the proprietress of the Hwaseon Guesthouse, furrowed her brow at the sudden report.
Someone had investigated not only Jin Cheon-u but also Hong Gu-hyeon.
Since many people took an interest in the Nakhyang Jin Family, it was common enough for people to dig into Jin Cheon-u’s background.
But the fact that such a report had reached her meant that whoever was behind this had intentions entirely different from the others.
“Hong Gu-hyeon… Hong Gu-hyeon… Dong-baek, wasn’t he the chief steward?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“So they only managed to find a mere chief steward?”
“Yes, that appears to be the case.”
As Dong-baek nodded in agreement, my frown deepened.
They hadn’t inquired about the high-ranking members of the Nakhyang Jin Family, but instead dug into someone who merely managed the servants…
It seemed the reason this had been reported to me was precisely because of this sense of incongruity.
Moreover, this Hong Gu-hyeon was someone whose whereabouts had become mysterious after the Nakhyang Jin Family incident last time.
Most of the Jin Family’s servants claimed that Hong Gu-hyeon had gone to Beijing, so that was the prevailing assumption.
Yet even a moment’s thought made it clear there was no reason for that to be true.
A man responsible for overseeing servants and maids during the family head’s birthday—an important event held once a year—would never still be absent when the date was practically upon them.
I let out a soft laugh.

‘Soon enough, people will start digging into the Jin Family’s secrets. When that happens, I’ll simply conceal our information from them. This payment is for that.’

What Jin Cheon-u had said when he visited not long ago.
At the time, I couldn’t understand his meaning, but now the situation was becoming clear.
Someone was making moves against the Nakhyang Jin Family.
Hong Gu-hyeon was likely their agent.
Jin Cheon-u, having caught wind of it, swiftly eliminated him, and now these people were arriving in Nakhyang one step too late, targeting the Jin Family.
“Heh, our young master truly fears nothing.”
I couldn’t determine exactly who the enemy was, but considering Jin Cheon-u’s recent movements and the Hao Gate’s intelligence network, they were certainly formidable opponents.
And Jin Cheon-u was even now preparing countermeasures against them.
Preparing?
Given his nature, it might already be finished.
“It seems something entertaining will unfold soon. As agreed, conceal information about the Jin Family as much as possible. Let no one know.”
“Yes.”
As Dong-baek bowed and disappeared, I turned my gaze toward the window.
The numerous people passing through the marketplace caught my eye.
Unknown as they were, among all those people existed a faction targeting Jin Cheon-u and the Nakhyang Jin Family.
One even the Hao Gate didn’t fully understand.
I drew a cold smile across my lips.

* * *

The full moon hung high and bright.
As I gazed up at it illuminating the night sky, something circled through the air before settling on my shoulder.
Flutter—
I carefully unfolded the letter tied around its ankle. It was from Baek Jin-hwa.
Information about those who had been inquiring into Hong Gu-hyeon, and details about those recently showing signs of seeking intelligence on the Jin Family within Nakhyang.
There was far more than I had anticipated.
Among these, some would surely be from the Yeongsal Corps, while the others were likely factions seeking to check the Nakhyang Jin Family.
I nodded and burned the letter in the campfire.
As I watched it turn to ash and scatter, my gaze shifted to the courtyard where some forty warriors lay sprawled about.
Huff— huff—
All of them were gasping for breath, unable to even stand properly.
From morning until night.
Having endured countless blows until now, it was only natural that even those with trained stamina couldn’t rise.
Clink—
I slung my sword across my shoulder as I observed them.
“Huff, huff, huff…!”
Then, I heard someone’s ragged breathing.
Narrowing my eyes and turning my gaze toward it, a man struggled to his feet, his eyes gleaming with determination.
He then grasped the sword lying on the ground.
A laugh escaped me unbidden.
“You have more backbone than I expected.”
While Yang Jachun lay motionless on the ground, there was one who gritted his teeth and endured.
Gu Gunbaek.
I had deliberately drawn him into this situation for precisely this reason.
The will to never surrender, no matter what.
A stubborn one who knew better than anyone how weak he truly was, grinding his teeth to overcome it.
Nurturing such a person made things easier down the line.
And there were other benefits to it as well.
As Gu Gunbaek rose to his feet, the others began to muster their strength as well.
They steadied their trembling bodies as best they could and pushed themselves up from the ground.
One by one, they grasped their swords and stood before me again.
Their eyes gleamed sharply as they renewed their resolve to overcome this trial.
“Impressive.”
Crack—
I watched them and tightened my grip on my sword.
I unfolded my footwork and closed the distance rapidly.
Swinging my blade again, I toyed with my opponents once more.
A one-against-many fight.
Except for one person, they were all masters beyond the first rank, but such battles were nothing new to me.
Surviving alone with Chu Hyeongi.
We had endured that hell together.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, crack!
They collapsed in an instant beneath the sweeping blade.
They tried their best to endure somehow, but the moment my sword appeared before their eyes, they could only fall once more.
I wiped the blood from my blade with my sleeve as I confirmed the fallen.
“Do you intend to get up again?”
I turned my gaze toward Gu Gunbaek.
Bruises far more severe than the others could bear.
His appearance was so pitiful I wondered if he had ever been beaten this badly, yet he trembled on the ground while still trying to push himself up.
Yang Jachun, stirred by his example, was doing the same.
“Come to think of it, I never told you why I’m doing this. One should at least know the reason before being beaten, shouldn’t they?”
“Ugh…”
“Cough!”
Responses came from all around at my words.
They had no idea why this unjust situation of being beaten had been created.
I thought that being struck by the Heavenly Demon Palm alone was sufficient for training.
I quietly observed them writhing on the ground.
I felt their gazes turning toward me one by one.
I saw the light of seeking answers in their eyes.
“You will face those who targeted the Jin Family before.”
“…!”
At those words, every head in the room lifted. Their eyes were filled with doubt, disbelief, and fury.
I continued speaking calmly, meeting their burning gazes.
“This time is different from before. We’ll push forward with our full strength all at once. To erase them without leaving a single stone unturned.”
Silence fell over the room.
Shock and horror etched themselves across every face. Of course, there were many who had clashed with the Jin Family or harbored designs against them.
But no one had ever launched an assault with the intention of complete annihilation.
Though not a Martial Arts Family, the Jin Family’s strength was not something to be taken lightly.
The name of the Nakhyang Jin Family carried considerable weight.
Yet now they spoke of marching in to erase them entirely?
It was almost impossible to believe Jin Cheon-u’s words.
“Their numbers and strength are vastly different from before. Can any of you survive if you face them now? I am doubtful.”
“…Then if we endure this, we can survive?”
Yang Jachun’s voice.
He fixed me with burning eyes.
It seemed he was genuinely accepting the situation, not dismissing it as mere fantasy.
He would know that I never spoke empty words.
Gu Gunbaek was the same.
He waited for my answer with his jaw set firm.
“The martial techniques I’m using against you now are as similar as possible to theirs. Watch with your eyes and learn with your body. I’ll reduce the number of sword strikes you’d take ten times down to three or four.”
At those words, Yang Jachun staggered to his feet.
He gasped roughly, his gaze sharp and piercing as he looked at me.
Then he grasped the sword that had fallen to the ground.
“Are you strong?”
Strong?
I was strong.
Moreover, with enemies pressing in from all sides and even those I trusted betraying me one after another, I had no means to fight back.
But now it was different.
“I am strong. But we will win.”
At that firm declaration, Yang Jachun tightened his grip on his sword.
One by one, the others rose to their feet.
Though their bodies trembled with exhaustion and they could barely move, it was Yang Jachun’s fighting spirit that lifted them up.
I watched them and let out a quiet laugh.
At this rate, they still had reserves left, didn’t they?
They seemed capable of taking a few more blows.
Just as I was about to swing my sword again.
“Any more and they’ll all die.”
A sharp woman’s voice cut through the air.
I turned in surprise toward the source of the sound.
Chaeseoha, her face covered with a veil, walked toward me with heavy steps—I couldn’t tell how long she had been standing there.
I gazed at her with a puzzled expression.
“How did you find your way here?”
“You’re always meticulous, but there are gaps in your vigilance. I simply followed the path you always take and traced the signs left behind—and here I am.”
“Ah.”
I let out an involuntary laugh at her words.
Since the house was already in order, I hadn’t paid much attention to such details—which meant Chaeseoha had managed to track me down.
She exhaled with a soft sigh and turned her gaze toward the warriors.
Their appearance was deplorable, and her eyes flashed with considerable sharpness as she turned back.
“I won’t say anything to your father. But you’ve been far too harsh. Any ordinary person would be dead by now. How many days did you beat them?”
“This much should be bearable….”
“Try taking a beating like that yourself and see if it’s bearable. You can say such things because you’re strong. Please consider the position of the weak.”
The moment she spoke of the strong and the weak, the faces of Yang Jachun and the other warriors grew strangely flushed.
These men, who had lived with pride in belonging to the ranks of the strong, had suddenly become the weak with a single remark from Chaeseoha.
When I shrugged my shoulders, she nudged me aside and approached the warriors.
“Leave this to me for now. People need to be alive to protect anything or fight, don’t they?”
“A fair point.”
I nodded at her words and stepped back.
Only then did she release a relieved sigh and begin examining the warriors’ conditions.
Watching them suppress their pain with sharp groans each time she touched an injured spot, it became clear their condition was worse than I had thought.
Especially Gu Gunbaek.
I sat awkwardly to the side, clearing my throat, observing the situation when Yang Jachun, who had not yet received treatment, approached me.
He seemed to have yielded his turn to the others first.
He stood motionless, gazing at me intently.
“I have a question.”
“Speak.”
“Those targeting the Sega will truly come… is that certain?”
“I stake my name on it. They will come.”
“…Is there no way to know when?”
When?
I smiled bitterly at such a question.
How much time remained until Father’s birthday celebration?
“During the birthday feast… or perhaps a day or two before that.”
I deliberately avoided stating an exact date.
Circumstances change at any moment, and those men would certainly maintain some vigilance due to the incident with the Tenth Zodiac.
Therefore, it would be no surprise if they struck a few days earlier.
Of course, there is a way to know for certain.
The day I am attacked—I who possess the curved jade they so covet—will be the day they make their move.
“Then shouldn’t you inform the Sega immediately? We don’t know when they’ll scale the Jin Family walls….”
“Scale? The walls?”
I looked up at Yang Jachun quietly, narrowing my eyes.
In that instant, I saw him flinch, his body trembling as my gaze fell upon him.
Yet my piercing stare remained unwavering.
Today was none other than my father’s birthday celebration.
I had no intention of letting blood stain this auspicious day. After all, I had been moving and preparing for this very moment all along.
I parted my lips with a cold smile.
“Do not worry. They will never… cross over the wall.”

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