The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 13

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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 74

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Beijing is the Imperial Capital.
With the grand Imperial Palace situated there, where the absolute powers that move this nation gathered together, it was a city more splendid and developed than anywhere else.
Items that couldn’t be found in other cities were readily available here, so the title of “center of the Central Plains” was hardly an exaggeration.
I entered Beijing with a bamboo hat pulled low over my face.
The reason for concealing my face was that the Nakhyang Jin Family had business operations here as well.
The one managing that place was my uncle, Jin Baek-ryong, and I was being cautious to avoid his guards and people discovering my presence in Beijing.
Fortunately, I hadn’t encountered anyone who knew me thus far, but since they could recognize me even if I didn’t recognize them, I was taking every precaution.
Following the familiar path deeper in, the marketplace of Beijing—grander and more magnificent than anywhere else—revealed itself.
At its center stood the Unryong Inn, built seven stories high, its magnificence so impressive that merely gazing upon it drew gasps of admiration.
For those touring Beijing, the Unryong Inn was said to be a must-visit destination, and it had now become a landmark of the city itself.
As I passed by it, I carefully surveyed the area around the inn.
There were quite a number of people coming and going.
Though they flowed in and out ceaselessly, the long lines that formed testified to the Unryong Inn’s considerable popularity.
Moreover, with so many people, incidents naturally occurred, and I could see quite a few sword-bearing Sega warriors stationed nearby.
They had been sent by the Nakhyang Jin Family, but most were men who had come through Jin Baek-ryong’s connections.
Thus, they were bound together by loyalty to Jin Baek-ryong rather than to the Jin Family itself.
No matter what orders came from the main house, they would never obey.
I confirmed this and let out a quiet chuckle.
“My uncle….”
In that moment, memories from the past surfaced vividly.
Right after the Jin Family’s collapse, Jin Baek-ryong’s actions were shocking.
From the shattered commercial rights of the Sega, he gathered every scrap and swallowed them whole, and even claimed my legitimate inheritance by pretending I was dead.
Yet because of the bond of blood, I came seeking his help, only to find waiting for me nothing but contempt, ridicule, and mockery, as he crushed everything of mine and thoroughly trampled my pride.
As if bursting open something that had accumulated.
I still remember it.
The sight of Chu Hyeongi, beaten bloody in my stead by the guards, and the expression on my uncle’s face as he tossed a single silver coin to me as if giving alms to a beggar.
The silver coin that had fallen and rolled in the dirt—I couldn’t bring myself to pick it up because of my pride—but Chu Hyeongi, covered in blood, picked it up and smiled, handing it to me.

“Look, look, Young Master. I can buy something from that street vendor we saw earlier now! Hehehehe! This is the first thing I’ll eat in days.”

I clenched my fists tightly, recalling that moment.
I glanced sideways at Chu Hyeongi.
I could see him looking around with his master, apparently amazed by something.
“Wow… this is actually where people live, isn’t it?”
“What’s so impressive about this? Hmph, though there certainly is a lot here.”
“Look at those skewers being sold on the street. The juices are just dripping—”
“If you want to eat, then eat. While you’re at it, buy some for me too.”
“Master, I don’t have any money. You have it, sir.”
Chu Hyeongi stared at me while drooling.
At the same time, Gu Gunbaek’s gaze also turned toward me.
Like master, like disciple—their actions were identical.
Finding it absurd, I laughed and pulled out a silver coin from my pocket, handing it over.
“Eat whatever you want.”
“Really?!”
“Ahem! Isn’t one silver coin not enough? You have plenty of money—what’s so stingy about just one coin?”
“One coin is sufficient for street food.”
“Ugh!”
Gu Gunbaek seemed quite dissatisfied, but one silver coin was more than enough to buy plenty of street food.
Sure enough, both their hands were filled with skewers.
Enough to make one wonder if they could eat it all.
I found myself smiling and shaking my head.
Then I turned my body in another direction.
“Sir, aren’t you going in? The Unryong Inn is that way.”
“I have no intention of staying at the Unryong. It’s this way. Follow me.”
I naturally found my path and left the marketplace.
As I moved along the street with familiarity, the surroundings soon became quiet, and a somewhat dilapidated area came into view.
The marketplace is large and splendid, but more expensive than expected.
Beijing, like anywhere else, has wealth disparity, so there are places where poor people gather and live.
This area is precisely where such people live.
Small and shabby, yet it has places like the marketplace, and besides silk, there are cotton cloth shops and blacksmith forges—places where people gather to buy necessities.
I headed toward one of the inns there.
Opening the door and stepping inside, there was quite a smell.
It didn’t look clean, yet despite that, the inn was packed with many people.
It was the cheapest inn in this area.
“Guests? You don’t seem like the type to come to a place like this…?”
We were greeted by an old woman.
She frowned as she looked at me, and her tone of voice was far from pleasant.
One might say she was rather sharp.
I looked at the old woman and smiled.

“You’ll freeze to death sleeping in a place like this, you fools. I don’t want to deal with corpses, so get up already, won’t you?”

All I possessed was a single tael of silver.
I’d purchased wound medicine for Chu Hyeongi, who was covered in blood, and filled our bellies with what remained, but we couldn’t afford to rent a room at an inn.
Every coin had to be conserved.
On a bitter winter night when the north wind howled, we ended up sleeping on the streets, and it was this old woman who extended her hand to us.
Thanks to her kindness, I worked as a porter here for a time and managed to provide for our basic needs.
After spending a month or two there, we left the inn, and not long after, I heard news that the inn had burned down and the old woman had been torn to shreds.
I couldn’t be certain whether it was the work of those pursuing us or my uncle’s doing, but I weighted the latter possibility more heavily.
Had it been those men, they wouldn’t have bothered setting the inn ablaze and leaving the mutilated corpse abandoned in the street.
“Listen here! Can’t you hear me? Has the young man’s ears already gone deaf? Honestly….”
I snapped to attention at the old woman’s grumbling voice.
Then I smiled at her.
“We’ll need three rooms.”
“You’re staying here now? You all look perfectly respectable on the surface….”
The old woman alternated her gaze between me, Jang Chuchyeong, and Gu Gunbaek, her expression puzzled. None of us appeared to be people without money, so her bewilderment at our intention to stay in such a place was understandable.
“Other places are too expensive. Our household…has fallen into ruin.”
“Ha! A ruined man looking far too respectable? Those clothes alone could buy the Unryong Inn, Inseok.”
“No, Young Master….”
Just as Jang Chuchyeong hurried to speak, I quickly reached out and covered his mouth.
Feeling his startled eyes turn toward me, I hastily withdrew five taels of silver from my pouch and handed them to the old woman.
“We’ll be staying for about half a month. Is that sufficient?”
“Five taels for half a month? Where does a ruined man get money to spend so freely?”
“That includes meals.”
“Well, well…you’re quite the character, aren’t you?”
Though the old woman’s expression grew suspicious at my words, she couldn’t resist the weight of the five silver taels in her hand, and she sighed as if resigned.
“Go upstairs—there are exactly three rooms there. Stay in those. Come down if you want meals. If you complain about the taste, you can leave.”
“Thank you.”
“What thanks….”
I offered a light bow and climbed the stairs.
There were three doors, and I opened the most familiar one. The stale, musty stench assaulted my nose, and I felt a strange nostalgia wash over me.
“This is ridiculous—coming all the way to Beijing just to stay in a place like this? At the Unryong Inn, we could have the entire annex to ourselves?”
“That’s right, you madman. Or are you planning to stuff Gu Gunbaek into a room that reeks of bachelor’s quarters?”
I heard the complaints of those who’d followed me into the room.
But I dismissed them lightly, set down my bamboo hat and bundle on the bed, and gazed out the window.
“Isn’t this place suitable? We don’t have to worry about drawing attention here.”
Though it was shabby and reeked, this place meant I didn’t have to concern myself with my uncle’s eyes—or the Imperial Palace’s.
It was the optimal location for moving about freely.
Moreover, it was close to where I needed to go.
I gazed out the window.
The sun was beginning to set.
Because of this, people on the streets had started hurrying back to their homes—unlike the brightly lit marketplace district, this street remained completely dark without a single lantern.
I confirmed this and opened my bundle.
Magnificent silk garments and ornaments came into view. They were expensive items that would make anyone wearing them appear noble.
“Choose whichever you like.”
“Huh?! You’re not wearing it yourself, Young Master? You’re giving it to us?”
“Me too?”
Their expressions showed they couldn’t comprehend the sudden situation.
But when I nodded, Gu Gunbaek and Chu Hyeongi, as if there was no point in deliberating, both reached for the most ornate and darkly colored silk garment.
“I got it first.”
“What are you saying? I grabbed it first. And the Master is going to wear it—how dare the disciple covet it?”
“No, Master and disciple don’t matter over one garment. Any will do. That one looks fine. I’ll give it to you, Master. Please wear it.”
“I’ll give that one to my disciple. You wear this one and give me that. Before you get hit.”
“Ugh, you brute… Always resorting to your fists. Who’s the barbarian here….”
Thwack!
Watching Chu Hyeongi get struck on the back of the head and tumble onto the bed, I grabbed my head and sighed.
Just putting on one garment and it was this chaotic.
“You still have the mask I gave you last time, correct?”
“Do I need to wear it?”
“Yes. Please wear it.”
“We’re going somewhere fun, aren’t we? If not, you’re dead.”
“That’s right, so please wear it.”
At my words, Gu Gunbaek nodded with an excited expression, then began wrapping the silk around his body.
But because his frame was so massive, it looked quite uncomfortable.
His muscles bulged everywhere, threatening to tear through the fabric.
“This is incredibly inconvenient. How did you manage to wear something like this normally?”
“Your physique is simply too large. I’ll need to purchase something roomier. For today, please wear this.”
“Wahaha! In-seok, a real man speaks through his muscles. You should develop some yourself.”
Ignoring his boastful display of flexing muscles, I woke the unconscious Chu Hyeongi.
Once he came to, I dressed him in the garments and mask, then waited a while.
The sun set and night arrived.
The people on the streets gradually disappeared completely, and the once bustling interior of the inn had become eerily silent.
“Let’s go.”
I put on my mask and stood up.
Leaving the inn where even the old woman had fallen asleep and was nowhere to be seen, I traveled deep into the darkness, following the path in my mind.
The surrounding scenery gradually changed.
The dilapidated buildings disappeared one by one until they were no longer visible, leaving only a desolate path stretching ahead. Following that path further, a single stable came into view, standing alone in the distance.
It was the only place with lights on despite the late hour.
As I stepped inside, the stable keeper’s gaze turned toward me.
“What brings you here at such a late hour? Do you need a horse?”
At his words, I nodded and withdrew something from my robes.
The jade token I’d received from Baek Jin-hwa.
The Stable Keeper approached in a single stride upon seeing it, examined it carefully, then confirmed my masked appearance and broke into a knowing smile.
“Ah, we have a distinguished guest visiting us.”

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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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