The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 154

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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 154

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Life in Namman was not particularly inconvenient.
Food was no concern since the beasts hunted for us, and clothing was abundant enough that I gave it little thought.
There was only one problem—insects.
Upon waking, my entire body would be covered in crawling creatures. Though I brushed them away without much difficulty, an unsettling sensation lingered.
This morning, I rose from my makeshift bed while shaking off the day-flying insects that clung to me.
Without a proper bedchamber, I had merely spread large leaves as a sleeping surface, leaving me with an aching, stiff feeling that refused to fade.
Yet compared to sleeping rough in the past, it was tolerable enough.
If I envied anyone, it would be Chaeseoha.
I turned my gaze toward her.
A place where massive wolves clustered together in teeming numbers.
They moved as one, demonstrating their pack nature, and there in their midst lay Chaeseoha, breathing softly in slumber.
She had fashioned a plush wolf’s body into a bedchamber, using its tail as a blanket—truly the picture of a Southern Barbarian.
Consider it.
Most Southern Barbarians sleeping here slept alongside the beasts they raised, a sight remarkably similar to Chaeseoha’s arrangement.
I shook my head and stretched before turning away.
A massive cave loomed in a place I could only see by looking up—and from within it came the sound of human footsteps.
Only one person could sleep in that cave.
Gu Gunbaek alone.
As expected, his towering frame forced me to look upward, and positioned as he was in that elevated place, I had to crane my neck back painfully far to meet his gaze.
Was this how the people of the Southern Savage Palace understood the distinction between their lord and themselves?
Barbaric indeed.
Then, Gu Gunbaek’s voice reached me.
“Namman treating you well enough?”
“Not badly, save for the day-flying insects.”
“Hahaha! That’s just old Central Plains habits clinging to you. Insects crawling on you? That’s breakfast.”
“…I would prefer you refrain from such appetite-dampening remarks.”
Gu Gunbaek, as if to prove his words were no jest, plucked the day-flying insects from his garments one by one and popped them into his mouth.
Crunch, crunch—
Watching him chew, I found myself thinking that Namgung Baek would suit this place far better than either myself or Jang Chuchyeong.
I frowned and turned my head away.
“Where is Chu Hyeongi?”
“Ah, that one. Sent him to train.”
“Training? Already?”
I wondered if this was not excessive, even for a master who spared no effort in teaching his disciples.
Though I had sensed something similar before, it had never been this severe—a stark change from what I remembered.
“The Southern Barbarians! And if you’re my disciple, you must do it! Because someone has to inherit the next Beast Palace. Hehehehe!”
“What are you asking me to do?”
“Why would you need to know? Do you want to go too?”
I shook my head at those words.
I was curious about where he’d sent someone and what they were supposed to do, given that peculiar grin on his face, but I decided it was better to remain ignorant for my own safety.
“You’re a stubborn one, hehehehe. But aren’t you hungry? I have some dried frogs around here—want some?”
Gu Gunbaek disappeared for a moment before returning, and in his hands were vivid crimson frogs and colorful frogs, completely desiccated and skewered on wooden sticks.
The moment I saw them, a headache struck.
I had filled my empty belly by eating frogs before, but those had been non-toxic varieties.
These were clearly highly venomous at first glance.
“I’ll have to decline.”
“Kehehehe, you certainly have particular tastes.”
Gu Gunbaek showed no sign of stopping his laughter, as if he found this situation amusing.
It was as though he derived greater satisfaction from watching a guest enjoy themselves in his home.
Well, it made sense.
Among the forces of the Outer Realms, Namman ranked among the three strongest, yet it had little interaction with the Central Plains.
The reason was simple.
The Demonic Sect blocked the entrance to Namman, so no martial artist with any sense—whether righteous or demonic—would dare approach.
I clicked my tongue and surveyed the area around Gu Gunbaek once more.
There was something conspicuously absent for the Master of the Beast Palace.
From the moment I encountered Gu Gunbaek again in Namman until now.
A beast that every Southern Barbarian carries with them at all times.
Such a creature had not appeared once.
“But Elder, don’t you raise a beast?”
“I do. Every Southern Barbarian raises one. Usually they receive it from their parents at birth. But I’m different.”
“How so?”
Gu Gunbaek straightened his shoulders as though he’d been waiting for that very question. Soon his lips curled upward, baring his teeth as he spoke with unmistakable pride.
“We were born together. That’s our Baek Gu.”
“Born on the same day and hour?”
“Yes. My mother gave birth to me and Baek Gu’s mother gave birth to him at the exact same time and moment. Ahahaha! Isn’t that magnificent?”
Given such a bond, it was strange that they walked separately like complete strangers. Considering that he’d left Baek Gu behind even when he ventured into the Central Plains, I wondered if they might not be as close as one would expect.
Dogs were said to follow their masters well, but perhaps this one considered his master not a superior but an equal.
I let out a quiet chuckle.
“Yet I’ve never seen him by your side.”
“He likes to take walks alone. Right now he’s probably wandering around somewhere, marking his territory. Over there somewhere.”
Gu Gunbaek gestured with his chin toward a direction.
The trees and undergrowth were so dense that even with his indication, I couldn’t pinpoint the exact location—a minor shortcoming.
Then Gu Gunbaek gestured with his chin toward another spot.
This time, unlike before, I could identify the location with some precision.
“If you’re bored and have nothing to do, go take a look over there. There’s quite a bit to see. For someone like you whose hobby is observing others’ martial techniques, it would be absolutely maddening.”
“What is there?”
“This cave was carved out by successive Gung-ju of the past. Within lies their training ground.”
“…!”
I couldn’t hide my astonishment at that moment.
If Gu Gunbaek’s words were true, then this massive cave I now stood in wasn’t formed naturally—it had been carved by human hands.
Despite Gu Gunbaek’s overwhelming height and build, the entrance to this cave was so vast that even he appeared diminished against it.
A training ground created by those who had hollowed out such a place?
Just as he said, my interest was naturally piqued.
When I smiled with an intrigued expression, Gu Gunbaek’s eyes gleamed.
“If you want to see it, go ahead.”
“May I truly enter? I had assumed it was a Forbidden Land of the Beast Palace.”
“What’s so great about a training ground? If skills could skyrocket overnight just from seeing that, Namman would have become the ruler of the Central Plains. Khekhekhe.”
Gu Gunbaek’s words aren’t exactly wrong.
Even if he saw it, he seemed indifferent, knowing that there was nothing worth obtaining, and that even if he did obtain something, it wouldn’t be anything significant.
But I’m saying this because I judged that the traces remaining in That Place would surely be helpful to me.
“Anyway, since no one from the Beast Palace looks for this place, take your time and look around if you have a moment. And if you happen to see Baek Gu wandering around on your way, say hello to him.”
How did you know?
“There’s a collar on him. A collar with ‘Baek Gu’ written on it around his neck. It would be strange if you couldn’t recognize it. So I’m leaving.”
Gu Gunbaek turned his back with a faint smile and disappeared.
I watched his retreating figure as he waved his hand and turned away, and without realizing it, I furrowed my brow and looked toward the place Gu Gunbaek had pointed to.
It looks like just an ordinary location, but it’s starting to interest me.
But as Gu Gunbaek pushed her from behind, she couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable sense of unease.
In the end, he returned to where he had been sleeping and grasped the Sword that lay there peacefully.
“Where are you going?”
Namgung Yeon’s voice could be heard, and she, who looked visibly exhausted, naturally followed along.
I could feel the determination to be together wherever we went, but those hollow eyes and noticeably gaunt face made it clear that rest was needed.
The journey so far must have left me quite exhausted, and having immediately engaged in a heated clash with Jang Chuchyeong upon arrival, the weight of that fatigue would feel all the more profound.
“Stay by So-ha’s side instead of me. I’m just going to take a quick walk.”
“Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry about it. If you really have nothing else to do, just share with Chu Hyeongi and Sword.”
When the topic of Jang Chuchyeong came up, Namgung Yeon’s brow furrowed.
Moreover, it’s a gaze that doesn’t seem to treat them as a person.
It felt like I was looking at filth.
I think I was beginning to understand what kind of person Jang Chuchyeong was to Namgung Yeon.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Yes, please take care on your way.”
I turned away from her bowing head and started moving toward the location that Gu Gunbaek had mentioned.
It wasn’t like the rugged mountains I’d seen in the Central Plains, but being surrounded on all sides by unfamiliar plants and feeling the stickiness with every step gave me an uneasy feeling.
Plants and insects I’d never seen before in my life, and the gaze of beasts watching me from every corner.
Since Chaeseoha came to this place, I kind of understand why she doesn’t sleep properly and keeps poking around here and there.
At that moment.
Something swift blocked my path, standing directly before me.
A massive black leopard.
The creature glared at me, baring its fangs in a threatening display.
Grrrrrowl—!
The low, ominous sound that emanated would have frozen an ordinary person solid the instant they heard it.
Whether it sought to block my advance or had simply identified me as prey, I had no intention of halting my steps merely because a beast threatened me.
I took another step forward, releasing my spiritual pressure outward.
“Move aside.”
Flinch—!
As I took a single step, the creature shrank back, retreating.
Yet it seemed unwilling to yield so easily, releasing another low growl as it bared its sharp fangs once more.
I advanced again, drawing my sword halfway from its sheath.
In that instant, my spiritual energy surged forth with overwhelming force, pressing down upon all directions. The chirping of birds ceased, and even the insects that had been crying fell silent.
The surroundings became eerily quiet in an instant, leaving only me and the creature blocking my path.
The moment I opened my eyes with a cold stare.
Screech—!
Unable to overcome the intimidation, the leopard finally leaped away and fled.
Though it was merely a contest of auras with a beast, I felt oddly satisfied.
A smile played across my lips as I slowly ventured deeper inside. Just as Gu Gunbaek had said, there were no signs of human passage—not even the people of the Beast Palace came here.
Only scattered animal tracks were visible.
“They built a training ground in such a place? I truly cannot fathom the thinking of these Southern Barbarians.”
I understood that their way of life differed from that of the Central Plains, but the distance from the cave where the Gung-ju resided felt distinctly unsettling.
Yet this was the work of those Gung-ju who had created that cave.
The small traces they had left behind might somehow aid me, so I could not bring myself to slow my pace.
That instant.
My vision rippled, and the landscape twisted.
“….”
I attempted to retreat at this strange occurrence, but like sinking into an irreversible swamp, the transformed scenery did not return.
Simultaneously, a wave of oppressive heat washed over me.
Every plant before my eyes began to move as if alive, and from all around, the intense gaze of something unseen pressed upon me.
A chill ran down my spine sharp enough to feel it all at once.
This place was no ordinary location.
Only then could I truly comprehend Gu Gunbaek’s words anew.
The Southern Barbarians did not avoid this place out of reluctance—they refrained from coming because they understood the danger the moment they entered.
And that leopard that had blocked my path.
I realized it had been attempting to warn me away from venturing further inside.
Sigh—
A breath escaped me, and my expression twisted.
Simultaneously, curses directed at Gu Gunbaek spilled from my lips.
“This… mad old man.”

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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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