The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 12

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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 73

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Clatter—clatter—
A massive carriage thundered down the main road, racing forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Pedestrians had to leap aside in alarm at the breakneck speed, and curses erupted from every corner—a sound so natural it seemed almost expected.
Yet those curses never reached the carriage.
It had already vanished before anyone could even finish their complaints.
The speed was nothing short of reckless.
From within that carriage, I gazed out the window.
The landscape blurred past my vision in an instant.
Despite the tremendous velocity, the carriage produced only minor tremors—a testament to just how exquisitely expensive this conveyance truly was.
“Ugh, I’m dying….”
Chu Hyeongi, whose wounds remained severe, was not faring well.
Sprawled across one side of the carriage, he groaned in agony—even the smallest vibration seemed to send waves of pain through his body.
Anyone could see he was a patient requiring careful transport, yet the driver seemed indifferent to such concerns, accelerating rather than slowing down.
In truth, he appeared utterly unconcerned with the patient’s condition.
“Ha-ha-ha! Faster! Come on! You can do better than this, you beasts!”
Gu Gunbaek’s voice rang out from the driver’s seat, booming and resonant. Rather than finding joy in pulling the carriage itself, he seemed to revel in pure speed, cracking the whip relentlessly.
And the one suffering for it was his disciple.
I observed Chu Hyeongi, whose face had turned a sickly pallor.
“We still have quite a distance to go. Is this really necessary?”
“Please… save me.”
“Tell your master. Or better yet, take the reins yourself.”
“Ha-ha-ha! You weakling! Why can’t you get up?! Pain heals faster when you move!”
Though I had spoken in a low whisper, Gu Gunbaek’s ears caught every word, and he bellowed from his perch, spurring Chu Hyeongi onward.
With that, he drove the horses even more brutally.
The boy’s body jolted violently with each impact.
“…How can someone like that be a, a master… damn it.”
“That’s my line, you brat! Why did I ever take on such a pathetic disciple! Ugh!”
Clatter—!
The carriage lurched violently as it struck a stone.
My buttocks nearly lifted from the seat—the impact was considerable.
Had I not protected myself with my inner energy, I would have felt genuine pain.
Chu Hyeongi, who had been lying down, tumbled straight to the floor.
“Aaaahhh!”
He shrieked, his voice breaking with agony.
With pain radiating from every part of his body, he curled up, clutching himself and whimpering—a sight truly pitiful to behold.
I gazed at the sight before me and let out a weary sigh.
At this rate, we were truly going to lose someone.
“Elder, shall we rest for a moment?”
“Hm? Already? We’ve only just departed.”
“A full day and a half has passed.”
“Has it really? Now that you mention it, I’m quite hungry.”
Only then did he seem to come to his senses at my words, and the carriage’s pace gradually slowed.
For a day and a half, he had driven the carriage without rest.
He had eaten nothing and slept not at all.
Yet the moment I spoke, as if awakening, he began rubbing his hollow stomach and yawned, revealing his exhaustion.
Witnessing this, both Jang Chuchyeong and I exhaled in resignation.
“There, that spot looks suitable. It appears someone has already been here before.”
Gu Gunbaek stopped the carriage at a desolate clearing.
Upon descending and examining the traces, just as Gu Gunbaek had said, there were indeed signs of previous visitors scattered about the area.
It seemed a considerable number of people had gathered here.
The hoof prints, the carriage wheel marks—all of it.
I scrutinized these traces and discovered something.
A torn fragment of fabric.
Yet the texture differed from ordinary silk, bearing the unmistakable feel of expensive brocade not easily procured anywhere.
And I knew who wore this brocade.
“Uncle, then.”
Though the Chief Chamberlain Ga Inhoo’s garments were also of fine quality, this fragment matched perfectly in color and weave to what he had worn on Father’s birthday.
If so, then it was Uncle and Ga Inhoo who had camped here.
The torn brocade—did that mean there had been a struggle?
“Mm… what’s strange about it?”
“Chaeseoha was here.”
“Truly?”
I nodded and examined the other traces.
Near the carriage wheels, I spotted droplets of blood.
It appeared that when they dragged Chaeseoha out, a struggle had ensued, and her fierce resistance had torn Uncle’s brocade.
No, that must surely be what happened.
Then Gu Gunbaek approached my side, examining the surroundings with a hum, and muttered something as if he had discerned something.
“Four and a half days’ distance. Let’s make it four days’ distance. Hey, you madman! If you hadn’t wasted time with that funeral nonsense, we’d have caught them already.”
“What do you intend to do by catching the carriage the Chief Chamberlain is riding in?”
“Beat them all to a pulp and take her away.”
Gu Gunbaek clenched his fists and snorted.
Attack a carriage carrying the Chief Chamberlain and rescue Chaeseoha?
Such an act would be branded as treason by imperial decree.
Unless he intended to leave no evidence and slaughter them all, a simple attack and seizure would be meaningless.
I shook my head firmly in refusal.
“I’m not chasing after him with that intention. Either way, it seems fine for now, so let’s take our time. Chu Hyeongi, prepare for an overnight stay.”
“Are you really sure it’s okay? There’s blood on him… Is this not serious…?”
“The Emperor himself ordered his capture, so they won’t treat him roughly. It’s fine, so prepare.”
At my words, Chu Hyeongi nodded his head.
Yet it seemed he was displeased, his brow furrowing—though it had only been a few months, he had grown quite attached in that time.
Leaving Chu Hyeongi to tidy up and begin preparations for the overnight stay, I turned my gaze around once more.
The location was excellent, and the surrounding space was spacious.
Even if we fought fiercely, there would be ample room remaining.
I shifted my attention toward Gu Gunbaek, who sat in the shade of a tree.
He moistened his mouth with liquor from a gourd bottle, and as I approached, he glanced at me with a peculiar gaze.
“What scheme are you plotting now?”
“Sir… I hope you don’t keep thinking of me as someone who’s always up to something strange.”
“No, it’s just that your eyes had a certain look to them as you approached.”
“There’s no malice in it.”
“Is there something else?”
“….”
“….”
At Gu Gunbaek’s probing words, I found myself momentarily speechless.
As I gazed at him quietly, I noticed the corners of his mouth twitching as if in mockery.
He seemed to find this situation amusing.
I slowly steadied my breathing and composed myself.
“I’d like to request a sparring match.”
“Me? With me? Not that guy, but this Gu Gunbaek? You didn’t mishear, did you?”
Gu Gunbaek questioned me repeatedly as if unable to comprehend, pointing at his own face with his index finger.
His expression was one of bewilderment.
While it was true that he occasionally beat people playfully, there surely existed no madman in this world who would propose a sparring match against the Demon King.
Yet I nodded with certainty.
“Yes, there’s no one else here to spar with besides you, sir.”
“Ha— Look at this guy. What are you scheming again? Don’t you know who I am? And you want to spar?”
“I ask for a light match, if you please.”
“Hmm… Fine. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Gu Gunbaek slapped his palm against his fist and rose to his feet.
As his enormous frame and massive body stood towering above me, I felt the sensation of being crushed beneath a mountain, despite him not even releasing his inner power.
This was the aura of one who stood in a place I could not reach.
I steadied my breathing once.
“Do you want me to hit you just enough to keep you alive, or beat you to death?”
“…Please go easy on me.”
“Listen, I don’t do halfway. Either you die or you stop right before the gates of the afterlife. One or the other.”
Gu Gunbaek grinned wickedly and raised his fist.
As his piercing gaze bore down on me with an unspoken question, I steadied my breathing once more and steeled my resolve.
“Come with the intention to kill me.”
“Then you’re already dead.”
Whoosh!
I had no time to feel a chill run down my spine.
The moment Gu Gunbaek standing before me uttered those words, half of them reached my ears from the front, and the remaining half came from behind.
Shred—!
The clothes I wore tore open in over a dozen places, fragments falling to the ground.
Following Gu Gunbaek, who had somehow moved behind me, I turned to see him standing there with a slight smirk.
Drip…
Cold sweat streamed down as my breathing quickened.
I examined my condition with trembling eyes.
At least a dozen holes pierced through my clothes.
Then, feeling a stinging sensation, I touched my neck.
Undoubtedly, his hand had grazed past me.
Had he truly intended it, I would already be dead from that single move.
My entire body would have been punctured, my frame shattered.
Feeling that sensation, I slowly calmed my mind.
“How was that? Once more?”
“…I would be grateful.”
“Krahaha! You madman! This time I won’t hold back!”
I nodded and focused intently.
The moment Gu Gunbaek’s laughter suddenly cut off.
Boom boom boom boom boom—!
Countless fists hammered across my entire body.
“Ugh…!”
“I held back considerably. You still look like you’re about to die, don’t you? From now on, show this elder a bit more respect.”
I took those words to heart as I staggered to my feet. Fists from I knew not where struck over a dozen points across my body in the briefest of moments.
It was truly no exaggeration to call it the speed of light.
But soon I grasped my sword and faced Gu Gunbaek once more.
I had not simply asked for sparring just to take hits.
I needed to find a way to draw out the power of the Jeweled Orb more reliably.
Above all, I had to forge a body capable of responding faster to the visions of the future that flashed before me moment by moment.
Gu Gunbaek was the perfect opponent for this.
Steeling my resolve once more and facing Gu Gunbaek, he suddenly drained a gourd bottle in his hand with great gulps, then shook the empty vessel.
“Have you ever been hit with this before?”
Watching it, I heightened my concentration and pulled my senses to their limit.
Not missing a single movement, not even the flow of wind I could feel.
Zing—!
In that same instant, a scene flashed before me.
Without thinking, I rolled across the ground.
Whoosh—!
“Gasp!”
But the gourd bottle came flying faster than I anticipated, tracking my movements perfectly before striking my head.
I swallowed a groan as the violent impact drove my body into the ground.
The shock was strong enough to make my vision spin.
“Huh?”
Crash—!
Fragments of the completely shattered gourd bottle scattered across the floor.
Yet Gu Gunbaek stared at me with a peculiar glint in his eyes, as if something seemed off.
Then, as if to verify something, he moved again.
Thud—!
“Ugh!”
“Huh? That’s not it. Do what you just did again.”
The moment his fist struck my abdomen, an intense shock reverberated through my very marrow. Yet before I could even register the pain, another fist came flying.
I clenched my teeth and focused.
Boom!
But I couldn’t see the incoming fist with my eyes.
As I took the hit and stumbled backward, I caught Gu Gunbaek muttering, “That’s not it either?”
But that’s what I should be saying.
This isn’t it.
When I glimpsed the future, the sensation felt slightly different.
I couldn’t quite grasp what I was missing—it slipped through my fingers like sand.
“If you’re distracted like that… you’ll die—!”
Gu Gunbaek’s voice reached my ears.
His sharp warning snapped me back to attention, and I refocused on him.
Gu Gunbaek swung his arms in wide arcs, then grinned wickedly at me.
With each swing of his arms, fierce winds began to surge. The moment the gale-like winds completely enveloped his fists.
Gu Gunbaek unleashed it.
Crash—!
“Gasp!”
I was sent flying.
The tremendous impact launched my body into the air before I crashed hard into the ground.
I tumbled across the earth several times before finally coming to a stop, but my entire body trembled so violently that I couldn’t move properly.
“You’re thinking of something, aren’t you? If you don’t show me properly, you’re dead.”
Then Gu Gunbaek’s voice reached me again.
Immediately after, I felt his overwhelming killing intent pressing down on my mind, and death loomed terrifyingly close.
My senses sharpened to an extreme edge.
I felt Gu Gunbaek’s fist extending through the air with resistance. In that moment, I concentrated with all my might and surrendered my body to my instincts.
Shimmer—
A fleeting instant became visible.
It was at that precise moment that Gu Gunbaek’s fist came hurtling through the air.
I widened my eyes and retreated five paces backward.
Yet even that seemed insufficient, so I hurled my body back and rolled across the ground.
Crash-crash-crash-crash-boom!
The force erupting from Gu Gunbaek’s fist roared with tremendous violence, reducing the surroundings to rubble, and as if that weren’t enough, he continued unleashing his power, sending waves of energy across a dozen paces toward me.
“Hah, hah….”
I exhaled ragged breaths and gazed down at my feet.
It was truly a matter of a single sheet of paper’s distance.
Gu Gunbaek’s power dissipated, leaving only that infinitesimal margin behind.
“Wa-ha—wa-ha-ha-ha! What was that? What did you do?! How did you know?”
Loud laughter echoed across the space.
As the murderous intent that had enveloped my entire body vanished simultaneously, the tension drained from me and I collapsed where I stood.
“Hah….”
I exhaled a long breath and turned my gaze once more.
A sight that could scarcely be described as anything but a paper’s breadth away from disaster.
I stared at it for a moment, then let out a soft chuckle.
“I’ve grasped the thread.”
Beside me as I smiled, an enormous crater had been gouged into the earth.

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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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