The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 149

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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 149

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The name “Nakhyang Jin Family” struck like a blade through the air.
Hyeon Illyang, who had been sneering moments before, went rigid, while the Imperial Guards beside him widened their eyes in shock, staring at me.
And it was not merely them.
The Wanderers writhing in agony, along with the members of Mount Seol Sect and Mount Myeongsa Sect—all of them recoiled in disbelief.
I paid no heed to their stares.
My gaze remained fixed solely upon Hyeon Illyang, unwavering.
“I ask again. Is the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family currently waging war against the Nakhyang Jin Family?”
“…What are you saying….”
“If not, then what is this situation, and why does the Young Master of the Hyeon Family stand here?”
Each weighty word that fell upon his ears made him flinch.
Hyeon Illyang, pale and struggling to comprehend, swallowed hard before retreating a step backward.
“This is a matter between myself and those women!”
“The woman over there is a Physician of the Jin Family, and Lady Namgung is my escort. That means the Hyeon Family is currently threatening two people—is that correct?”
“…!”
“N… Namgung?!”
“Now that you mention it… I heard about it. From the Allied Faction….”
Gulp—!
The sound of swallowing echoed loudly from all directions.
The events that unfolded at the Allied Faction had already become the talk of the Central Plains.
The emergence of Namgung Yeon, who inherited the legacy of the once-lost Number One Sword Sect, and the Golden Dragon who shattered Moryeong Hyeok in an instant.
There was hardly anyone who had not heard of such fame.
As a result, not only Hyeon Illyang but all those around him turned ashen.
They had not merely disturbed a simple nest.
They had stirred the nest of a great hornet.
This meant that not only the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family, but all who had interfered in this matter would have to bear the wrath of the Jin Family.
Particularly striking were the expressions of those from Mount Seol Sect and Mount Myeongsa Sect, who had come trusting the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family.
Though they had aided for economic gain, they surely understood which side held the advantage between the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family and the Nakhyang Jin Family.
Then.
Hyeon Illyang, as if he had found a way to break free from this predicament, pointed at me and cried out.
“Do you take me for a fool! Where do you get off impersonating the Nakhyang Jin Family!”
“Haha….”
“Would anyone believe that a Young Master of the Jin Family travels with merely a single escort and a physician? Wouldn’t you agree, everyone?”
“Now that you mention it… I heard that when they entered Gansu, there was a credential tablet. But this person here….”
“Right, right. There’s no credential tablet. And I heard the escort service was quite substantial.”
Hyeon Illyang’s outcry resonated well, and those around him began nodding in agreement with his words.
In truth, he might actually be the Young Master So of the Nakhyang Jin Family. But if that were the case, they feared the backlash that would inevitably follow.
This was not merely the thought of the Hyeon Family and the two sects alone.
The Wanderers, now regaining their senses, shared the same sentiment.
Whether he was the Young Master So or not, if they could cleanly dispose of him here and keep their mouths shut, perhaps they could avoid the worst outcome—or so they hoped, clinging to that fragile possibility.
A laugh escaped my lips unbidden.
Was it because of that display?
All eyes turned toward me.
Feeling their gazes upon me, I rose naturally and settled myself upon a small rock nearby.
As Chaeseoha and Namgung Yeon approached to stand beside me, I caught the cautious glint in their eyes—wondering what I intended to do.
I met the gaze of Hyeon Illyang, whose face bore a smile of conviction.
“Believe me or don’t—it matters little. However, this matter is far too significant to simply overlook. I hear that thanks to the Young Master So, even the carriage at the Nanzhou Unryong Inn was destroyed?”
“That, that is….”
“We suffered the losses, and while your side lost those you call the Gi Ryeon Swordsmen and others, we were prepared to let it pass. But now that you’ve placed a bounty and created this situation, what choice do we have?”
“What nonsense are you spouting! And stop pretending to be the Young Master So of the Jin Family—you must prove it first….”
Thunk—
I casually tossed the golden token.
The golden token, crafted from pure gold, bore intricate and delicate patterns that testified to the work of a master artisan. Those familiar with the Nakhyang Jin Family could not possibly mistake the meaning of those designs.
Those who beheld it—the token that proved one’s connection to the Jin Family—widened their eyes in shock. I then addressed them directly.
“For each neck of a lower-ranked warrior of the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family, ten silver taels. For the elite warriors, five gold taels….”
Seeing the confusion in Hyeon Illyang’s eyes, I pointed at him with a contemptuous smile playing at my lips.
“For the Young Master So’s head, twenty gold taels. For the Family Head of the Hyeon Family, I shall offer a golden seal.”
Only then did those who heard my words widen their eyes in understanding.
In other words, the Jin Family would annihilate the Hyeon Family entirely.
Just as the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family had placed bounties upon the two women, I was now placing bounties upon their heads, stirring the hearts of the people.
“Gasp?!”
“…Is this real?”
The first to react were none other than the Wanderers.
Those most sensitive to coin.
Those who could smell profit with uncanny precision.
As they murmured among themselves, one of them soon grasped his sword and steadied his breathing.
Yet they had not yet made their final decision.
I gave them a gentle push forward.
Retrieving the fallen golden token of the Jin Family from the ground, I turned it over in my hands as I spoke.
“I pledge this upon the honor of the Jin Family.”
“Kill him! Kill him!”
“Twenty gold taels for the Young Master So’s head!”
The moment the Wanderers cried out, the bodyguards of the Hyeon Family swiftly formed a protective formation around Hyeon Illyang.
Their eyes burned with fervor.
Though their skill was lacking, their numbers were considerable—a troublesome situation.
“What are you doing?! Protect the Young Master So!”
Naturally, I looked toward the Snow Mountain Sect and Bright Peak Sect, seeking their aid, but they remained motionless, conversing amongst themselves.
They appeared to be weighing what would profit them and what would cost them.
Yet their conclusion was singular.
If they sided with the Nakhyang Jin Family to drive out the Hyeon Family, they could pocket considerable wealth in the process, and the two sects could divide the fallen Hyeon Family’s enterprises between them.
Fierce battles would erupt in that process, but the difference between building something from nothing and remaining with nothing was simply too great to ignore.
“Then I ask for your assistance.”

—Uwaaaaah!

The battle erupted with the thunderous roar of the Wanderers.
The emboldened Wanderers charged first, targeting Hyeon Illyang, and the Snow Mountain Sect and Bright Peak Sect wasted no time joining the fray.
Ultimately, Hyeon Illyang had no choice but to retreat.
He evaded and parried the flurry of blades descending upon him, swiftly extracting himself from the melee.
“Young Master So, hurry!”
“I’m going!”
Clang clang clang clang—!
Such a spectacle was genuinely amusing.
Money could move even spirits.
Was that proverb not perfectly exemplified here?
Watching Hyeon Illyang flee with a pallid expression, I turned my gaze toward Namgung Yeon.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going?”
“Should I go as well?”
“Shouldn’t you have unfinished business to discuss with Young Master So?”
“…Understood.”
At my words, Namgung Yeon nodded and launched himself forward.
Watching him disappear like a feather caught on the wind, I finally rose and moved slowly toward the carriage.
Did my actions raise questions?
Chaeseoha’s voice reached my ears.
“Where are you going?”
“Where else? To his estate. I need to witness his collapse.”
“Do you truly intend to destroy him?”
Chaeseoha, apparently believing I would merely demonstrate strength and withdraw, regarded me with surprise as she asked.
I found her expression utterly absurd.
They insulted the Nakhyang Jin Family.
Moreover, had I lacked the means or power to prove myself, they would not have hesitated to kill me.
This is not merely a matter concerning Young Master So.
Is it not commonly said?
When the waters above are pure, so too are the waters below.
When children observe and learn such behavior from their parents, they harbor no guilt in adopting and employing the same methods.
They must be erased.
That is for the sake of Gansu and the Martial Arts World.
Just as the Eastern Families had vanished without a trace.
I smiled and boarded the carriage.
“What are you doing? Let’s go.”
“Ugh, really! I shouldn’t have learned how to drive a carriage in the first place. Fine, fine! But you do know the way, right?”
“Just start driving. We’ll figure it out as we go.”
At my words, Chaeseoha stared at me in disbelief.

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Hyeon Illyang grabbed his head and began running like a madman. The bodyguards beside him were locked in desperate combat, struggling to hold back the advancing forces.
Thanks to them, he could escape now.
“Gasp, gasp, gasp… Something is terribly wrong. Terribly wrong!”
Even as he ran, Hyeon Illyang’s mind raced.
This situation was far more wrong than it should be.
He had always been the hunter, never the hunted. For someone like him, who had never experienced being prey, the notion that someone sought his life and that he must flee to survive was unimaginable.
And in Gansu, of all places.
In Gansu, he was king and emperor.
The Allied Faction, which harbored the body of the Righteous Path, cared little for power and might, focusing instead on upholding righteousness.
As a result, they fell far short of the power and influence wielded by the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family.
Though called the Rival Sects and treated as a major faction, their poverty compared to the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family spoke volumes.
Hyeon Illyang had lived this way.
And he had grown up this way.
Yet now, someone who overwhelmed him had appeared.
Someone who wanted his head.
The Nakhyang Jin Family.
Unlike his own people, who lorded over this small land called Gansu, they possessed tremendous influence spanning the entire Central Plains.
Though they were not a martial family and could be underestimated for that reason, their connections and power were not to be taken lightly.
And from such a place, they wanted his head.
As if in retaliation for placing a bounty on one of their own family members, they had placed an absurd sum on his head.
That casual utterance, as if such money were worthless, still echoed in his ears.
The confidence and weight in that voice.
Even the eyes and expression that dismissed the Gi Ryeon Hyeon Family as insignificant.
It was so vivid that it would not leave his mind.
“I… I must hurry and inform Father.”
Only Father could break through this situation. Even surrendering with a white flag and going to the Nakhyang Jin Family to bow his head—only Father could do that.
Surely they would not destroy him after witnessing such sincerity?
Hyeon Illyang swallowed hard and pushed his legs faster.
With no intention of resolving this matter himself, he thought only of passing everything to his parents.
At that moment.
Screeeech—!
Something hurtles through the air.
But it moves far too swiftly to lift my head and see what it is.
Crack—!
“Gahhhhh—!”
As the object strikes my head with precision, my body—suspended mid-lightness technique—lurches forward and crashes to the ground.
Screeeech—!
My clothes tear as I’m dragged across the earth, my skin scraped raw, but there is no time to dwell on such pain.
A woman now stands motionless before me.
She descends with movements as graceful as feathers, her gaze cold and indifferent as she regards me.
“Lady Namgung….”
It is Namgung Yeon.
She alights before Hyeon Illyang with movements so ethereal they seem almost divine, and without answering to her name being called, she raises her sword.
“…Wait, I beg you! I, I was wrong! I did not know you were affiliated with the Namgung and the Nakhyang Jin Family. If I speak to my father, he will provide ample compensation. It would surely aid the Namgung in your rise to prominence!”
Hyeon Illyang spoke whatever came to mind to escape this predicament.
As if he were appeasing her.
But what returned was a gaze unnaturally cold.
Realizing something had gone terribly wrong, Hyeon Illyang cried out again.
“…That sword! Please, take that sword, Lady. Ha, haha, it does not suit me anyway. And I have money as well. Not as much as the Young Master So of the Jin Family, but still a considerable sum.”
Hyeon Illyang hastily withdrew the purse from his breast and cast it at Namgung Yeon’s feet.
Crash—!
A substantial quantity of silver coins and banknotes spilled forth, their amount so great that any ordinary person would find their eyes drawn irresistibly to the wealth.
Yet Namgung Yeon, without even glancing at it, smiled.
How pathetic.
Is this truly what the Martial Arts World has become?
The final moments of Moryeong Hyeok at the Allied Faction overlay perfectly with the figure of Hyeon Illyang before me now—this is no mere coincidence.
She contorted her brow slightly and opened her mouth quietly.
“Is the name of Namgung so light in your eyes?”
Screech—!
Her blade extends with lethal precision, its edge flashing brilliantly.

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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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