The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 132

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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 132

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The procession advanced along the wide-open road.
The escort service that had departed from Xian moved with remarkable speed, expending the stamina we had accumulated, and swiftly crossed through Shaanxi.
We traveled at a pace incomparable to other escort services, and it was thanks to the absence of the Green Forest bandits who typically blocked our path demanding tolls, and the disappearance of brigands altogether.
With no one blocking our procession as usual, we managed to pass through Shaanxi and enter Gansu with genuine ease.
“I’ve never experienced such a smooth escort journey before.”
Even Yang Jachun, who rarely encountered such circumstances, let out an incredulous laugh.
No matter how prominently we displayed the Nakhyang Jin Family banner, bold bandits existed everywhere, and unexpected troubles always seemed to arise.
“It must be the credit of those two ahead. I never imagined they’d be systematically destroying the Green Forest bandits as they went.”
I clicked my tongue and recalled the sight of the Green Forest hideouts I’d glimpsed along the way.
My suspicion proved correct.
Looking at the devastated Green Forest hideouts from every angle, it was unmistakably the handiwork of Gu Gunbaek and Chu Hyeongi.
Shallow and deep furrows scattered throughout resembled the claw marks of a tiger.
Everyone seemed to have realized that the subjects of the rumors were Gu Gunbaek and Chu Hyeongi.
Incidentally, the escort service had become considerably easier as a result.
I had thought they would make some effort to clear the path, but they had done so with almost excessive thoroughness.
Chu Hyeongi’s exertion was evident.
The problem lay in another rumor.
“There were tales of goblins and such, but those seem to be false.”
“Do you think so?”
“You believe otherwise?”
At Yang Jachun’s question, I frowned without answering.
Mist and goblins.
The moment I heard those words, one person came to mind.
Chu Won, the Sect Leader of Shin Gak.
A master of mysterious mist-shrouded movement techniques and medical arts.
With his hunched appearance, seeing him enveloped in that strange mist could easily make one mistake him for a goblin or ghost.
If such a person was moving westward just as I was….
If that were true, whether by coincidence or fate, we were moving in the same direction as them.
And what lay at the end was none other than.
Namman.
What if he had discovered that the Jade Orb remained in Namman?
Or even if he hadn’t discovered it, what if he had found something suspicious?
Given that our objectives were the same, such a situation was entirely plausible.
“Young Master, we’ve arrived.”
As I was organizing my thoughts, Yang Jachun’s voice reached me.
I suddenly lifted my head and gazed forward.
A massive mountain and village came into view before my eyes.
The mountain behind was Gongdong Mountain, my destination.
The small village below appeared to be Slash-and-Burn Village, created by powerless commoners seeking protection from the major sect known as Gongdongpa.
Though small, the village had everything from inns to marketplaces, yet the most important government office was nowhere to be seen.
I surveyed the village and began climbing the mountain slowly.
Naturally, since Gongdongpa wasn’t located within the village itself, I had to ascend the mountain.
Fortunately, thanks to the well-maintained mountain path, cargo wagons and carts could move smoothly.
Still, the incline was considerable, and after advancing only about an hour’s worth of distance, the warriors’ complexions had turned ashen.
Those gasping for breath and sweating like rain were everywhere.
Those riding horses fared somewhat better, but gradually even the horses’ pace was slowing.
Just as I was considering taking a brief rest, numerous halls of a grand structure began appearing in the distance.
“That’s Gongdongpa.”
“We’ve finally arrived.”
I exhaled deeply and urged my horse forward at a faster pace.
Even the warriors leading the procession, realizing we were nearly at our destination, were squeezing out their remaining strength to move forward.
Soon, as we reached the Gongdong Sect Gate.
“Halt! This is Gongdongpa territory. What brings you here?”
“I am Jin Cheon-u of the Nakhyang Jin Family. I’ve brought the promised goods.”
Upon hearing the name Nakhyang Jin Family, the robed man seemed to recognize it, nodding slightly.
Presently, he whispered something to someone, and a figure vanished from sight using lightness of foot, while the robed man pushed open the tightly closed Gongdong Sect Gate wide.
“Please come inside! I shall guide you to where the goods are to be received.”
I nodded and dismounted from my horse.
Leading the horse inside, the man guided me to a spacious open clearing.
At last, the goods had found their owner.
The warriors hurried to untie the ropes binding the cargo wagons and carts, beginning to unload the goods one by one.
The goods loaded on twelve cargo wagons were so abundant that even unloading them proved laborious.
“Are you the Young Master So of the Nakhyang Jin Family?”
Then, a voice suddenly came from behind.
I turned my head slightly to look, and saw a figure of imposing build.
Tall in stature, dressed in white robes, with a long snow-white beard hanging down.
Yet the long beard and wrinkles visible across his face suggested his age.
Though merely standing, an overwhelming sense of pressure emanated from him.
Truly, one destined to assume the position of sect master of a major faction.
I confirmed his appearance and withdrew a letter from my sleeve.
“It is an honor to meet you, Elder. I am Jin Cheon-u, who has led this escort service.”
“How surprising—the Young Master himself has come.”
“Isn’t it only natural for an escort service of Gongdongpa’s importance?”
“Hehe, I appreciate you saying so.”
“Now, if you would affix your seal here, we shall be finished.”
I handed the paper to Gam Cheong-un, who was smiling. The moment he stamped it as received, this matter would be concluded.
“Hehehehe— why such haste? You’ve traveled far and must be weary. We’ve prepared quarters for you. Why not rest there for a while?”
“There are many in my party.”
“Don’t worry about that. Does the Allied Faction lack space for such a number? Besides, Jin Gu-hyeok—isn’t he your grandfather? I couldn’t possibly send you away like this.”
At the mention of Jin Gu-hyeok, I couldn’t help but smile.
My grandfather’s name had come up.
Though he spoke as if they were close acquaintances, my grandfather was someone who had tried even harder than my father to avoid entanglement with the martial arts world.
They may have seen each other once or twice, but I was certain they had exchanged few words.
I regarded Gam Cheong-un intently.
His smile and expression were guileless, yet his eyes betrayed an unmistakable will to keep me here by any means necessary.
Countless martial artists had gathered to offer their congratulations.
If the Young Master of the Nakhyang Jin Family were present in such a place, it would solidify the Allied Faction’s standing considerably.
In any case, people of this sort possessed the cunning of an old fox.
I let out a soft laugh and nodded lightly.
“I understand.”
“Hehe, excellent, excellent! Come now, let us go.”
I had intended to remain until the celebration ended anyway.
I judged it better to stay here than to descend into the village below.
However.
“Eh?! Jin Gongja!”
The trouble was enduring the gazes of these bothersome people.

* * *

Shaman Jangmun Hoyeon held a pristine white sheet of paper up to the sunlight.
At the same moment.
Strange characters materialized across the paper’s surface.
For a brief instant, the paper gradually deteriorated and crumbled, until finally it disintegrated into dust and vanished.
Hoyeon closed his eyes, confirming what he had witnessed.
He recalled the pattern he had just seen and began to decipher its meaning.
“So Gak-ju departed for Namman together. What could be there?”
Even as such thoughts crossed his mind, Hoyeon quickly dismissed them.
Gak-ju’s movements were for The Divine’s sake.
There was no need to question matters undertaken for The Divine.
It was precisely because of his faith and trust in The Divine that he could stand here now.
In any case, because of this revelation, the rumors about goblins that had spread alongside the mist permeating society suddenly made sense.
Surely, they had witnessed Chu Won, the Sect Leader of Sinkak.
A smile graced Hoyeon’s lips as he turned his gaze elsewhere.
A single ring, neatly placed to one side.
Finding nothing else remarkable about it, he grasped it in his hand and clenched his fist.
Crunch—!
The small ring instantly crumbled to powder.
He lightly brushed his hand toward the window, and the dust of the ring—now formless—scattered on the wind and drifted away.
Soon, his gaze shifted elsewhere.
A strangely familiar spiritual energy had caught his attention.
What soon came into view was none other than.
“So it comes to this after all… Tsk tsk.”
Jin Cheon-u.
Gam Cheong-un, the Jangmunin of the Gongdongpa, followed behind with several companions—all faces he had seen before.
Hoyeon observed them while stroking his beard.
“There is certainly something at work here….”
The failure of the Shadow Assassins, and the affairs involving the Eastern Families and Anhui.
The Eastern Families were one matter, but most events entangled with Jin Cheon-u had flowed in directions entirely contrary to their natural course.
Moreover, the recent incident at Sadocheon.
Even the Singyeo’s intelligence network had assessed Jin Cheon-u as merely having learned basic self-defense techniques, yet he had shattered that assessment entirely—had he not?
If he possessed such power in secret, then perhaps—just perhaps—with someone’s assistance, he could have eliminated the Shadow Assassins. This suspicion coiled upon itself, churning through his mind.
Then.
His eyes met Jin Cheon-u’s as they passed.
A casual greeting delivered with an utterly composed expression.
Hoyeon, too, concealed his thoughts and returned the greeting with a smile.
In that moment, something peculiar caught his eye.
Jin Cheon-u’s lips curved into a grin.
Not turning away while smiling, but facing him directly, smiling, and then turning his head.
As if issuing a provocation.
“That bastard….”
I couldn’t quite grasp the true meaning behind that smile.
Whether I’d laughed at Paeng Dohan’s incessant prattling, or if it had been a genuine smile of recognition without ulterior motive—I couldn’t even say for certain.
All I knew was that this unease gnawed at me.

* * *

“Is something the matter?”
I was following Master Gam Cheong-un when Chaeseoha’s voice suddenly cut through my thoughts, and I turned to look back at her.
She was tilting her head, regarding me with curious eyes.
“Something the matter? What do you mean?”
“Well, you were smiling at something over there. I got worried about what mischief you might be plotting, so I asked.”
For a moment, I found myself staring at Chaeseoha with an expression of disbelief. She spoke as casually as if discussing the weather, yet somehow her words struck right at the heart of the matter.
The way she sighed afterward made it clear she was convinced I was up to something.
I scratched my head and offered a bitter smile.
“I simply recognized someone and smiled. There’s nothing more to it than that.”
“So this person you know—are they on the good side or the bad side?”
“….”
“See? I knew it.”
Chaeseoha sighed in resignation, shaking her head slowly.
Yet she didn’t press further, as if she’d decided not to meddle.
Was she showing concern in her own way?
I chuckled softly and approached her with deliberate casualness.
“By the way, could you make something for me?”
“Again? And here, of all places?”
“Yes. I have a feeling it’ll be necessary.”
Chaeseoha let out a small sound of reluctance before nodding as if she had no choice.
Though she didn’t know exactly what I wanted, she seemed to understand that it was something she could create and that I needed it.
“What should I make for you?”
“A Sincerity Pill.”
“…!”
At the mention of the Sincerity Pill, her eyes widened in surprise.
It was a substance crafted to ease the suffering of those dying in agony—so potent that even those with severed limbs or pierced lungs could forget their pain.
A painkiller of sorts.
An extraordinarily powerful one at that.
The reason we hadn’t used it in Anhui was that it took considerable time to prepare, and its addictive properties were several times stronger than opium.
Those who consumed it once would seek it again, and those who consumed it twice would spend the rest of their lives chasing after it.
Even if they were martial artists.
Thus it was reserved solely for easing the suffering of the dying.
“That… what are you planning to use it for?”
“To survive.”
Taking in her expression as she looked at me with utter bewilderment, I responded with a bright smile.

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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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