The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 130

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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 Jin Family of Luoyang – Chapter 191

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“Haah, haah, haah….”
Nam Mu-gwang, the son of Nam Tae-cheon, exhaled ragged breaths while surveying his surroundings. Fortunately, he detected no sign of his pursuers.
But this reprieve would not last long.
Surely Muk-hwang’s Bodyguards, led by Gu Ma-hyeop, were already mobilizing to capture him as he fled.
Thus Nam Mu-gwang was desperate.
He opened his senses fully to detect any trace of those chasing him, and while doing so, he rushed home in a frenzy.
He vaulted over the high walls and slipped inside in one fluid motion.
Fortunately, he sensed no presence within.
The interior was silent as a tomb, devoid of any soul—yet even this silence filled Nam Mu-gwang with dread.
“I must retrieve it.”
As he ran, Nam Mu-gwang thought to himself.
There was something he could not leave behind, no matter what.
Words his father Nam Tae-cheon had solemnly impressed upon him in preparation for any unforeseen calamity.
Honoring that promise would be the final act of filial piety a son could offer.
After running for some time, Nam Mu-gwang came to a halt before the Training Hall.
“…!?”
At that moment, he spotted the hidden passage someone had destroyed, his eyes widening. He carefully drew the sword in his hand and steadied his breathing.
Fortunately, he sensed no presence within.
Step by step.
He descended the path downward and entered.
The first thing visible was the trace of martial techniques his father Nam Tae-cheon had devoted himself to mastering.
He committed it to memory as if imprinting it into his mind, then turned his gaze away.
What came into view was a small table surrounded by countless sheets of paper.
Nam Mu-gwang, who had rushed here, released a sigh of relief.
It was clear an intruder had entered, but fortunately they had not discerned what these documents were.
He then produced a fire starter, set the papers ablaze, and methodically burned every remaining sheet.
“Phew….”
Only then did he exhale in relief, but it was not yet over.
He had not returned merely to organize these things.
Nam Mu-gwang hastily moved the table aside.
With the table cleared, only empty space remained. His fingers moved deliberately across the wall surface, probing and caressing it.
As if pressing certain points in a specific sequence.
Then—
Kurrrung—!
The sealed wall suddenly began to open with a tremendous sound, revealing another hidden chamber.
The interior space was far more expansive than I had anticipated.
Moreover, I could see narrow passages stretching endlessly, as if deliberately constructed as escape routes.
Nam Mu-gwang moved with even greater urgency upon entering those corridors.
The bank notes that Nam Tae-cheon had prepared in advance as contingency for unforeseen circumstances.
With this much, once we escaped the Demonic Sect’s territory, we could live comfortably anywhere we pleased.
Additionally, several books and martial techniques that appeared to belong to Nam Tae-cheon.
Clutching these treasures to his chest, Nam Mu-gwang reached out to close the open door.
“…!?”
Yet suddenly, a shadow fell across his vision.
The moment his eyes widened in shock.
I saw something gleaming hurtling through the air.
Nam Mu-gwang, seized by terror, shifted his body back half a step to evade it.
But the sword, as if I had read his movements from the start, flew deeper still—
Thwack—!
It embedded itself between his brows.

* * *

I gazed steadily at the figure before me.
The one with the sword lodged between his brows stared at me with eyes wide in utter disbelief.
Trembling—
His body convulsed.
Simultaneously, his strength drained away gradually.
The light vanished from his eyes in an instant, and as his body went limp, he slowly collapsed face-down onto the ground.
Squelch—
The sword withdrew naturally at that moment.
I could identify who the fallen man was.
Undoubtedly, he was the same one I had seen at the Heavenly Demon’s Forging Chamber.
The very one who had rushed forward wailing toward the dying Nam Tae-cheon.
The memory lingered in my mind because it reminded me of my former self.
Yet all the Nam family’s household members should have been dragged away by Gu Ma-hyeop, so seeing him here meant he had somehow managed to escape and reach this place.
“Thanks to you, I’ve saved myself considerable trouble.”
I wiped the blood from my sword and smiled.
Though it was unfortunate for the dead man, had he not crawled in here of his own accord, I would have departed without ever suspecting the existence of such a hidden space.
I had not initially considered that it might be constructed with such layers.
I sheathed my sword and examined what the man had been carrying.
The first thing that caught my eye was the bank note that had spilled from his garments.
It bore the seal of the Wulong Casino, and the amount was quite substantial.
But it would mean nothing to the dead.
I recovered it and turned my attention elsewhere.
Is this the problem?
The most precious documents I’ve been holding.
One is definitely a martial arts secret manual.
The moment I grasped it and examined its contents.
“A martial technique of the Hojeok school.”
I could naturally discern the identity of the secret manual.
Among the Hojeok martial techniques, it appeared to be an ascending martial art that those who would become the hands and feet of the sect studied.
In other words, this was exactly what Nam Tae-cheon had learned.
I glanced through the contents, but it wasn’t particularly helpful.
The content was quite obscure, and without decoding the ciphers mixed throughout, learning the martial art was nearly impossible.
Of course, I had no intention of learning it anyway.
So what remained was.
I held the considerably thick book and examined it.
“A secret record?”
It was undoubtedly a secret record.
While correspondence and even information about the Sect are forbidden to be left behind, I was never a puppet manipulated under the Sect’s influence from the start.
Since there were no watchers, naturally I could create such secret records.
However, this too must not fall into the hands of those Sect bastards.
Perhaps that’s why they created the hidden passage in duplicate.
The moment I began to slowly turn the pages and read it.
“Is it here!?”
Suddenly Gu Ma-hyeop’s voice rang out as he appeared.
As if he had been chasing after Nam Mu-gwang, his urgent expression shifted to shock as he beheld Nam Mu-gwang collapsed with a hole through his brow, and myself standing leisurely nearby.
“Young Master? How did you come to be here…?”
“I received permission from Muk-hwang and was examining this place. This fellow is a rabbit that crawled in through a burrow. Were you searching for him?”
“Ah… yes, but now… it seems pointless.”
I smiled and put the book away.
Then, turning around, I pointed to the open passage.
“I’m not sure how far it extends, but it would be good to investigate.”
“Understood.”
I paid no attention to the long open passage.
If there had been something truly important inside, the dead man wouldn’t have been so careful about keeping his presence here secret.
Even if there was something, Gu Ma-hyeop and his subordinates would handle it, so I’d have plenty of opportunities to verify what they found.
There was no need to strain myself unnecessarily.
As expected.
Gu Ma-hyeop soon issued orders to his gathered subordinates.
I watched as several of them entered the passage.
Observing this, I leaned my back against the wall and took out the book.
Most Sect members leave no traces.
Therefore, discovering secret records like this was quite rare, and even if found, deciphering them took considerable time.
However, Nam Tae-cheon had not employed such methods.
Without using any ciphers whatsoever, the document was written in his ordinary script, making it considerably easier to discern the contents than I had anticipated.
Compared to the thick tome, the content was remarkably concise.
Instructions on how to communicate with those wretches, their organizational structure, and reasons why they should never be turned into enemies.
It was formatted as though, upon his death, he were passing down fundamental information about the Sect to whoever would inherit it.
There was no need to ponder who that might be.
Surely it would be his son, coming to retrieve it?
The thought crossed my mind that he had followed the Sect in his father’s footsteps, gained power, and harbored desires for revenge.
Naturally, there was nothing here of significant use to me.
As I rapidly turned the pages and read line by line, only the final sheet remained.
Flip—
The moment I turned it over and confirmed the remaining contents.
I found myself frowning without realizing it.
“I’ve wasted time on this for nothing.”
There was nothing of value here.
Had someone ignorant read what was written in this secret ledger, it would certainly have been intriguing enough, but from beginning to end, it contained only information I already knew far too well.
Moreover, even if someone who found this interesting attempted to communicate with those wretches according to what was written, without knowing the cipher, it would be meaningless.
Nam Tae-cheon must have explained the cipher verbally.
That is why it was not written down.
I sighed and hurled the book away.
As the book fell to the floor, creating a small gust of wind, I noticed something fluttering.
My gaze naturally shifted toward it.
What fluttered down was undoubtedly paper.
I wondered if it had fallen from the book, but it had not.
It was completely unrelated to the contents of the secret ledger.
I suspected it must have fallen when the dead man had gathered his belongings.
I approached slowly and grasped it in my hand.
“A painting?”
Not a cipher—a method commonly used by those Sect wretches.
A certain drawing was depicted upon it.
Emanating a mysterious atmosphere, it was so beautiful that it seemed as though it depicted the legendary paradise of Wuling itself.
“Were you searching for this? This place?”
It was a painting placed where the secret records and ledgers were kept.
It could not possibly be an ordinary drawing, so I was certain it held some significance.
I turned my gaze.
Now I could see Gu Ma-hyeop waiting with his subordinates before the hidden passage.
“Do you happen to know what this painting is, sir?”
“A painting… you say?”
Gu Ma-hyeop, sensing confusion at my question, approached.
When I showed him the painting, he stared at it for a long while before shaking his head firmly.
Nothing in particular came to mind.
“There is no such place anywhere in Tianshan. I believe it is merely a landscape painting.”
“A landscape painting….”
It was a plausible conclusion by any measure.
Had I witnessed this place without knowing anything, I would have reached the same conclusion.
But how could that be?
In a space that remained hidden from everyone, and in a place where the most precious things were gathered, would one carelessly display a mere landscape painting without reason?
This painting must hold some significance.
I was certain of it and tucked the painting into my robes.
Was that the reason?
Gu Ma-hyeop regarded me with a peculiar expression.
“Is it something I shouldn’t take?”
“Return it, please.”
At his firm tone, I smacked my lips and gazed at the painting for a moment. In that brief instant, I scrutinized every detail as if committing everything depicted to memory at once.
But had I prolonged the moment?
I noticed Gu Ma-hyeop beginning to speak, and only then did I hand over the receipt and painting I had gathered along with the secret manual of the Dao.
Regardless of it being a traitor’s possession, his eyes held an unwavering resolve—the Sect’s treasures could not leave these walls.
I released a small sigh and posed a question.
“What of the hidden passage? Is there anything?”
“There is nothing. Upon inspection, there is only an exit leading to the Demon Training Hall.”
I nodded upon hearing those words.
That meant there was no reason to linger here any longer.
Cleanly casting aside my lingering doubts, I moved toward my quarters while gazing at the sky.
The already dark heavens seemed unusually dense.
There is a saying that the darkest hour comes before dawn.
Soon the sun would rise.
And with it, a new Heavenly Demon would stand in the sky.
I moved with haste, greatly anticipating that moment.

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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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