The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 157

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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 157

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“Croak?!”
Jang Chuchyeong, who had been lying quietly, bolted upright.
As if roused from a nightmare, he gasped for breath before turning his gaze to confirm my presence. His eyes widened rapidly, and his expression crumpled into distress.
“I’m… dead. And I never even got married before ending up in a place like this!”
“Why do you think you’re dead?”
“Well, because you’re here, Young Master—someone who shouldn’t be. But… did you die too?”
Jang Chuchyeong spoke with a vacant expression, genuinely curious as he tilted his head while studying me.
Unable to help myself, I pressed my palm to my forehead.
“We’re both alive and well.”
“No… that can’t be right? You were supposed to be outside. Or is this a phantom? A hallucination?”
“Stop spouting nonsense. I was deceived by the Elder too and brought here. It seems he was uneasy about sending you alone.”
“Huh?!”
Jang Chuchyeong approached with an expression of disbelief.
As if desperate to confirm that none of this was an illusion, he cautiously reached out to pinch my face.
Smack—
Without thinking, I swatted his hand away and frowned.
“Is it really you, Young Master?”
“Yes, so stop wasting time with foolish gestures. Now tell me—what happened?”
“Well, my Master said that if I were truly his disciple, I should be able to break through this place. So I came in, and then… I fought beasts, grew hungry and ate grass, nearly died from it…”
As Jang Chuchyeong recounted what had transpired, his complexion grew increasingly ashen with each word.
Clearly, these were memories too horrific to willingly recall.
“Then while I was resting by the water’s edge drinking, suddenly everything went dark and I lost consciousness. What did I do?”
“You attacked me. With every intention of killing me.”
“What?!”
“There appear to be parasitic creatures here capable of controlling people. Be cautious of everything you see in this place. Even the smallest things you could crush underfoot.”
“Yes, sir!”
Upon hearing my words, Jang Chuchyeong nodded without hesitation.
The sight of him brought back memories of the past, drawing an involuntary smile from me.
“Was there anything else?”
“Anything else? I’ve noticed my senses feel strange… and the beasts that appear seem to view me as prey?”
“Not that kind of thing. I’m asking if you encountered any people.”
“People… no. I didn’t see anyone.”
I turned my gaze to examine Jang Chuchyeong’s condition.
Blood was visible on various parts of his body, suggesting he had engaged in quite intense combat.
Similarly, his body bore numerous wounds that appeared to be sword cuts, but given that he had no memory of them, they must have been inflicted while he was unconscious.
That opponent managed to face off against the Singyeo cultists with that level of skill?
Truly, the growth rate is remarkable.
I rose from my seat and urged him forward.
“Let’s go.”
“Where to?!”
“We’re retracing the path you came from.”
With that, I led Chu Hyeongi along the route where he had first appeared.
Even if parasites controlled human bodies, they couldn’t erase all traces of their passage. I followed the scattered signs, moving this way and that for quite some time.
This place, constructed by the Jin Formation, seemed far more expansive than I had anticipated. Despite traveling for more than half a shichen, I couldn’t discern where it ended.
Or perhaps the formation was making us circle the same location repeatedly.
As I contemplated this while surveying my surroundings,
I discovered two corpses crushed beyond recognition not far ahead.
“Huh?! There really are people here? But… ugh!”
The moment Jang Chuchyeong saw them, he began retching violently at the gruesome sight.
Anyone would have reacted the same.
Though the corpses hadn’t been dead long, decomposition was advancing rapidly.
Countless ants—too numerous to count—swarmed over the bodies, stripping away flesh and crawling through the gaping mouths, ears, and nostrils, systematically devouring everything that had once formed a human shape.
In such a state, identification would be impossible.
The moment one approached, they would become food for those creatures.
I could sense that threat clearly.
I furrowed my brow.
“This place truly has everything, doesn’t it.”
“What… what exactly is that? Ugh?!”
“You’re witnessing ants decomposing a human corpse. It’s not something you see every day.”
“Please don’t explain!”
Unable to bear the sight, he had already turned his gaze away, but at my continued words, the brief glimpse he’d caught flashed through his mind, and he gagged again.
I let out a soft chuckle and turned away.
“First, we need to find a place to rest. Preferably somewhere without ants.”
“Seriously!”
Hearing his disgruntled voice, I smiled and turned my head.
We had to find a place to rest first.
In this realm, everything visible was an enemy.
Only predator and prey relationships existed here.
From tiny insects and plants to massive beasts.
I was acutely aware that nothing could be underestimated.
To survive in this place, we needed to find shelter.
A place where we could catch our breath in the greatest safety.
Only with some respite could I think clearly, so Jang Chuchyeong and I carefully surveyed our surroundings, searching for a suitable location.
Yet it proved difficult.
As if no safe place existed, I could find nothing suitable no matter where I looked, and thus we spent more than a shichen searching the area.
I came to a halt.
The air flowing through this place was strangely different from anywhere else.
Not a single insect caught my eye, and I felt no threatening presence of predatory plants or beasts.
A giant cave.
Compared to Gu Gunbaek’s Cave, it was smaller, yet spacious enough that hundreds of people could enter comfortably with room to spare.
Among all the shelters I had explored thus far, none seemed as promising as this place.
But then.
“…Young Master, look here.”
Turning my head at the trembling voice, I saw countless bones scattered across the ground.
Bones of massive beasts, both large and small alike.
And among them, human remains as well.
I approached slowly toward the site.
Clear traces of something having been torn apart were evident.
Judging by the surrounding marks alone, it appeared someone had attempted to establish shelter here before meeting their end—devoured without even a chance to resist.
As I examined this briefly and let out a groan, Jang Chuchyeong tapped my shoulder, cold sweat streaming down his face.
“We should flee!”
“There is nowhere else to go.”
“Are you blind? This is the lair of a mad monster.”
Chu Hyeongi’s words were correct.
Though I could not determine who owned this place, it seemed no weaker—perhaps even stronger—than the Black-Haired Savage Beast I had encountered before.
The overwhelming quantity of bones scattered about alone was enough to make me suspect this was indeed where the creature dwelled.
Yet I ignored Jang Chuchyeong’s protests and ventured deeper into the cave.
The interior was somewhat filthy.
Beast fur lay scattered about, and a foul stench assaulted my nostrils.
So overwhelming that breathing itself seemed impossible.
But I did not cease my examination.
I needed to understand what inhabited this place in order to prepare accordingly.
As I scrutinized every detail without missing the smallest clue, my brow furrowing, Jang Chuchyeong’s voice reached me once more.
“…Have you learned anything?”
“It’s a creature of massive size. Overwhelmingly so.”
“Eek?!”
Jang Chuchyeong gasped in horror and dragged at my arm.
Though pulled along by his considerable strength, my eyes continued to survey the cave’s interior.
The marks on the walls suggested an enormous creature.
Overwhelmingly so, as I had said.
Sharp claw marks adorned the upper portions of the walls—places one would need to leap to reach—indicating the creature resembled a feline.
And its intelligence was remarkably high.
From these observations, my conclusion naturally crystallized into one.
“A tiger?”
Considering that every beast I had encountered thus far was at least twice the size of ordinary creatures, the tiger inhabiting this cave would likely be far beyond imagination.
Or perhaps…
“It might be a Demon?”
“A Demon?! The kind that only appears in stories?”
“Yes. Regardless, let’s leave this place. There’s nothing good about staying here any longer.”
“Then you shouldn’t have investigated in the first place!”
Jang Chuchyeong bellowed at the top of his lungs, pulling me forward with even greater force as he bolted ahead. With his considerable strength, our pace remained swift despite dragging me along.
We had been moving forward for some time when it happened.
Jang Chuchyeong’s footsteps suddenly ceased.
“…!”
“Who goes there!”
Clang—!
Abruptly, figures appeared before us.
Three or four individuals clad in pristine white martial robes had positioned themselves upon what resembled a sheer cliff face.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed a narrow crevice in the wall—barely wide enough for a single adult man to squeeze through.
It appeared they had established a formation within that gap, and one man was now extracting himself from the crevice, emerging to regard us with caution.
“Young Master? Could those be… .”
“Indeed. The ones I’ve been searching for.”
I observed them carefully.
Their number was four.
Since I sensed no presence emanating from within the wall, this count should be accurate.
Considering the corpses scattered throughout this place, had they been organized in squads to investigate this location?
I smiled as I examined the embroidered insignia upon their robes.
“Shin Gak men? Then that means both Shin Gak and Snake Horn are present in this place.”
“…What manner of fool are you?”
The Shin Gak men narrowed their eyes, releasing their aura.
The pressure was formidable enough to be felt distinctly.
Had their numbers been greater, I would have certainly perceived them as a genuine threat.
But with merely four of them, their misfortune lay in being noticed by me.
Shing—
I slowly drew my Sword.
Jang Chuchyeong beside me, sensing the gravity of the situation, assumed a combat stance.
The sharp killing intent from those who recognized us as enemies pressed down upon us keenly.
Yet, it mattered little to me.
“An excellent hideout has presented itself.”
I smiled faintly and charged forward.
Clang—!
Someone blocked my blade, retreating half a step.
Simultaneously, a precise technique from my flank shot toward my body. I tilted my head to evade it, twisted my frame to shift direction, and thrust my Sword forward, aiming for the heart.
Thud—!
“Gack?!”
As the final scream tore from his throat, one man clutched at his heart and collapsed, but his comrades showed no regard for his fallen form—only sharper blades came screaming through the air.
The sword pierced cleanly through the dead man’s chest, yet as if anticipated, the attacker stepped closer, wrenched it free, and thrust it upward toward my jaw.
Squelch—Shriek!
It was a grotesque sight, cleaving through a corpse, yet these men seemed utterly indifferent to such trivialities.
Feeling the blade graze perilously close to my chin, I stepped back, and in that same instant, Jang Chuchyeong’s fist erupted from between the enemies.
“Uuuaaahhh—!”
Thud-thud-thud-thud-crack!
A torrent of fist energy hammered across his entire body.
From the upper body down to the lower limbs.
It was a technique as if pounding a man into paste.
Crunch-crunch!
Bones shattered, organs twisted, and blood erupted from his mouth. The moment I saw the once-vital man’s eyes dim helplessly as he collapsed.
I swung my sword.
Scrape!
Behind the falling man, the head of the one who had been targeting Jang Chuchyeong’s opening flew into the air.
Thump!
As the severed thing fell absurdly to the ground, the body spewed blood and crumpled.
I turned my gaze, confirming the kill.
Clang!
I lightly swung my blade to deflect the incoming strike.
Only one remained now.
Though he struggled to conceal it, the man’s fear was unmistakable, and I offered him a light smile.
Kaang!
The swung blade glanced past his sword and in an instant, gleamed as it severed the tendons in his leg.
“Gahhh?!”
The man shrieked and collapsed, trembling.
As the pointed blade bore down and he began to swallow his breath, reaching to bite something in his mouth.
I quickly extended my hand and seized his face in an iron grip.
“Gaaahhh!”
“There are many ways to lighten a heavy tongue. Especially here, it would be most fitting. Let us see how long you can endure.”

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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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