The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 147
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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 147
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Flap, flap—!
Messenger hawks scattered in all directions.
As if sharing information in real time, the hawks flew ceaselessly, dispersing and alighting in various locations in an endless cycle.
It was a sight often seen when pursuing someone while coordinating efforts, yet something about it felt subtly different from usual.
Not only the Wanderers’ messenger hawks, but those of the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family, the Snow Mountain Sect, and even the Bright Peak Sect circled the sky.
Hyeon Illyang, observing this spectacle, smiled.
Though he had been severely reprimanded for defying his father’s wishes, he had now been granted an opportunity to make amends.
Hyeon Illyang glanced sideways.
The elite warriors of the assembled families were monitoring the information arriving in real time.
“They’re heading toward Gireun Mountain, it seems.”
“Audacious, even if their courage is swollen. To come to this place of all locations.”
“Do you think they have some backing?”
“If they did, they would have shown themselves by now.”
The bounty on the heads of the two women alone was ten gold taels.
The Wanderers, who had never once touched a single gold ingot in their lives, had eyes that could roll back in their heads, and the Snow Mountain Sect and Bright Peak Sect, sequestered in their rural countryside strongholds, were no different.
Moreover, as the two sects were receiving assistance from the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family, they had even dispatched their finest disciples this time to make a lasting impression.
With the situation unfolding thus, the carriage driven by the two women had become like prey trapped in the Heavenly Net, while their side needed only to drive the quarry toward the desired location.
“What of our forces?”
“They are currently pursuing closely from behind. It appears they will catch up before long.”
At those words, Hyeon Illyang nodded.
He intended to demonstrate the full might of the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family to those women—against whom they had drawn their swords and whose commands they had defied.
Once they comprehended the entirety of the situation, they would understand that they could never escape from the embrace of the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family.
“Let us move as well.”
“Yes!”
Hyeon Illyang led the elite warriors of the family forward.
Slowly tightening the noose, when those fools could not even twitch, I would be the one to seize the two women.
* * *
“Phew— they’re persistent.”
“Hah, hah… Y-yes, they are. I never expected it would be this bad…”
At Chaeseoha’s disgruntled murmur in front of the halted carriage, Namgung Yeon nodded while catching her breath.
Around her lay countless fallen bodies.
Most were wanderers known by name throughout the region, and their numbers had already reached twenty.
As if determined not to grant them even a moment’s rest, they kept locating their position and attacking relentlessly, leaving no time for sleep, washing, or even eating properly.
Chaeseoha, who wasn’t fighting, was fine enough, but Namgung Yeon, who had been engaged in this fierce battle for four days straight, was considerably exhausted.
Once she steadied her breathing, she gulped down water and shoved dried meat into her mouth.
If she didn’t fill her stomach during these brief moments of respite, she had no idea when she’d get another chance to eat.
I watched Namgung Yeon and smiled.
This was the worst of it.
Both body and spirit seemed severely strained. She was holding on through sheer willpower, but I couldn’t say how much longer she could endure.
And the real problem was just beginning.
The fact that the wanderers’ attacks had grown sparse meant we’d already entered the territory of the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family.
We would need to be even more careful from here on.
Not only the elite of the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family, but disciples of the Snow Mountain Sect and Bright Peak Sect might also appear, eager to curry favor with them.
I stretched leisurely and spoke.
“If you find you can’t go on, I’ll help.”
“…I am the Young Master’s guard. Protecting the Young Master is my role. And I haven’t… given up yet.”
Namgung Yeon looked at me with a resolute expression.
Everything happening now had been entrusted to her.
Understanding this, she seemed determined to fulfill her duty with all her might.
I found myself smiling and nodding.
“That’s the spirit. When I meet Chu Hyeongi in Namman, I can’t afford to fall behind.”
“…”
At the mention of Jang Chuchyeong’s name, Namgung Yeon clenched her fists.
Unlike herself, who had no master’s teachings, Jang Chuchyeong was a disciple of the Fierce Tiger Emperor.
Gu Gunbaek would teach his disciple everything he possessed—all his knowledge and experience—so if she simply stood still, the gap between them would widen rapidly and never close again.
Namgung Yeon could not accept that.
Having accomplished everything alone to reach this point, she wanted to grow with all her might until the very end, standing before Jang Chuchyeong.
“There!”
At that moment, a voice called out from somewhere, snapping me back to awareness.
Chaeseoha quickly climbed onto the carriage, and Namgung Yeon took her position beside her. I moved rather leisurely into the carriage, when suddenly Chaeseoha’s gaze turned toward me.
As the carriage began to move, her voice reached me.
“Only the Young Master can be so leisurely. I’m completely frazzled.”
“It’s a matter I’ve entrusted to you. There’s nothing wrong with being a bit relaxed.”
“Anyway… that a single sword could create such a situation… the Murim truly is a fascinating place.”
“That’s how it is. Once a grudge takes root, there’s no escaping it. Not until one side disappears.”
“…”
With a soft chuckle, Chaeseoha’s gaze turned toward me.
Interpreting his words now, it meant that unless we surrendered and died, or the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family disappeared, the situation would not change.
Crack—
Eventually, she exhaled a sigh and began cracking the whip.
The carriage surged forward with terrifying speed once more.
As we bolted at full speed to avoid being caught by those pursuing us, the place we had been grew distant in an instant.
Yet I could not consider us safe.
I gazed upward at the sky.
In that moment, I saw several messenger hawks soaring high into the air.
As the hawks scattered, flying toward their destinations, they would soon create another enemy before us.
With such thoughts, I looked toward Namgung Yeon and saw her scanning her surroundings with tense vigilance.
Compared to days before, she had grown considerably gaunt.
The shadows beneath her eyes had deepened considerably as well.
Her body and spirit were visibly cornered.
Yet despite this, merely watching her think ceaselessly about how to overcome this crisis showed that she felt a sense of responsibility in her own way.
But was there time to think?
“They’re coming.”
“…!”
Whoosh—!
The thicket before us split apart as several figures emerged.
Clearly different attire from those before.
At a glance, they were disciples of a martial sect of considerable standing.
Namgung Yeon clenched her teeth as she confirmed the embroidery on their garments.
“The Snow Mountain Sect!”
The moment those words left her lips, a Snow Mountain Sect disciple rushed forward at terrifying speed, closing the distance.
Having caught up to the carriage’s pace with his lightness technique in a single breath, he swung his sword as if targeting the reins.
But Namgung Yeon’s blade was faster.
Clang—!
In an instant, their swords crossed, and in the next, she aimed at her opponent.
It was the Snow Mountain Sect disciple who was taken aback.
Realizing that reality differed from what he had heard, his eyes widened. Namgung Yeon’s superiority was so evident that bewilderment flickered across the face of the man wielding the sword against her.
Unable to hold his ground any longer, the man who had crossed blades with her furrowed his brow and retreated.
But the others beside him threw themselves forward, and another assault began. Chaeseoha gripped the reins and turned the carriage, exerting every effort to shake off these opponents.
“There are more!”
At that moment, with Chaeseoha’s cry, another group appeared.
As if they knew the path ahead, the Snow Mountain Sect disciples who had been hiding emerged simultaneously, throwing themselves forward and closing in on the carriage as much as possible.
Blades swung by several figures flew in sharply.
Namgung Yeon’s eyes flashed at the sight.
Still drawing upon her inner energy, which had not yet fully recovered, she hastily elevated it and moved her sword to block the blades coming from all directions.
The fastest swordplay in the martial arts of the Namgung Clan.
Flash Lightning Thirteen Sword Thunder.
Clang clang clang clang—!
The sharp metallic ring of clashing blades echoed relentlessly through the air.
Her martial technique, seemingly capable of blocking everything, struck down the Seolsan Sect Disciples’ swords with astonishing force, and the uncontrolled inner energy scattered outward, driving her opponents back.
“Ugh?!”
“Argh!”
The Seolsan Sect Disciples cried out in pain as they tumbled across the ground.
Though it appeared to be a swift, powerful sword technique infused with force, in truth it was a cutting method that required sharp precision rather than mere brute strength.
Namgung Yeon’s expression darkened.
The situation should have been satisfactory, but just as before, it had devolved into a simple technique relying solely on raw power.
“Calm yourself a bit more.”
“Yes.”
I offered her a word of guidance as I watched her.
She nodded with a stern expression, then steadied her breathing as if to refocus her mind, sharpening her senses and beginning to survey her surroundings with heightened awareness.
There was no way to predict where another attacker might emerge.
We had been fortunate enough to repel this ambush, but I couldn’t assume the next encounter would yield the same result.
I smiled faintly and gazed out the window.
“Somehow, nothing is deviating from my expectations.”
I watched the Seolsan Sect Disciples retreating into the distance and shook my head. If they were truly helping the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family with this, they could have at least changed their clothes.
The fact that they arrived in the unmistakable robes of their sect and wielded their swords showed they had rushed here, unwilling to cede credit to the Bright Peak Sect.
But they were not the only ones.
“There! Stop them!”
As a voice rang out from somewhere, a massive tree that had been standing peacefully toppled to the ground.
Boom!
With a violent crash, the fallen tree blocked the road, and Chaeseoha, who had been driving the carriage, gasped and yanked the reins, changing direction.
“Damn it! Chase them!”
I had thought they would stop, but contrary to my expectations, they swerved and fled, prompting the men to shout and hurl themselves forward.
It seemed the Wanderers were not yet ready to give up.
And there were quite a few of them.
However, their skill level was not particularly high, and they could not match the speed of the rapidly advancing carriage, gradually falling behind.
Seeing this, Chaeseoha released a sigh of relief.
“Phew… Phew— That was a close call.”
“Don’t let your guard down. Everything is proceeding according to plan.”
“Plan…? What plan was there?”
At Chaeseoha’s question, even Namgung Yeon looked at me with a puzzled expression. Yet her eyes sparkled with intrigue—the look of someone who sensed I had something in mind.
But how could that be?
I gazed at the two women with amusement playing at the corners of my lips.
“According to their plan.”
“What?!”
“We’re being herded. Toward a place of their choosing.”
In truth, if I had wanted to, there were countless ways to stop the carriage.
But they had forced us to change direction with a clumsy ambush, and despite being capable of pursuing us, they had let us go—as if herding prey.
Like a hunt.
What did that mean?
It meant losing us now would cause them no concern.
Which also meant they had set a trap at the end of this road.
The moment my words startled the two women into thought—
The carriage burst from the narrow alley onto the open road.
What revealed itself was—
*Screeeech—!*
An open clearing filled with more than fifty martial artists standing shoulder to shoulder, blocking the entire path.
*Whiiiine—!*
Chaeseoha seized the reins desperately, bringing the carriage to a halt.
Whether she lacked the courage to plow through people, or feared the threats that would rain down from all sides the moment she attempted such a thing, I could not say—but it was a wise decision.
“This is…”
“Didn’t I tell you? We’re being herded.”
Namgung Yeon swallowed hard, her body trembling as she forced herself to speak. At my reply, she swallowed again and slowly descended from the carriage.
Her eyes, gripping her sword, took in the countless figures before her, and then she fixed them with a gaze as sharp and honed as a polished blade.
“Clear the path. I will tolerate no further obstruction.”
Namgung Yeon spoke without fear, leveling her sword toward the assembled crowd.
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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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