The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 169

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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 Jin Family of Luoyang – Chapter 230

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A place unknown to any.
A figure seated upon a lofty throne.
Whether he slept with eyes gently closed or remained lost in contemplation was impossible to discern, yet the thought that his form resembled a painting was no mere illusion.
There was something sacred about him.
Like gazing upon an existence from which one cannot help but be drawn in, and once drawn in, can never escape—he did nothing but breathe, yet even that could not be called human.
After remaining motionless for a long while, the man’s eyes twitched.
Then slowly, he opened them.
Golden eyes suffused with divine power flickered briefly.
A smile formed at the corner of the man’s mouth at that very moment.
“How amusing.”
He sensed it.
One of the ancestral halls of past sect leaders somewhere in the Central Plains.
Someone there had laid hands upon the Divine’s seat.
A figure pouring forth rage through blazing eyes, crying out.
A voice tinged with resentment, as if rupturing something that had accumulated.
Along with the bursting voice came the sensation of one power.
Undoubtedly, it was one of the three Primordial Stones.
That one had pushed him away as if rejecting him.
Because of it, he could not see what he wished to see, nor grasp what he wished to grasp.
“Does this one reject even me?”
The man laughed at such a thought.
Of the three Primordial Stones, he had obtained one, another had vanished through Gwanbaek, and the last one he sought had been taken by someone else.
As if all three could not be given to a single person.
“All three Primordial Stones have found their masters.”
And one of those masters had ascended to the seat and laid hands upon it.
Had he stumbled upon it by chance?
Or had he sought it out deliberately?
Unable to discern the details due to the interference, he could nonetheless confirm that he had lost all the Primordial Stones.
Most suspicious was Gwanbaek.
Yet the sensation felt distant from that one.
Unrefined and somewhat crude, yet somehow intricate and pure in its power.
Which meant it was someone else.
The murderous intent pouring forth from one standing vacantly at the Divine’s seat undoubtedly belonged to one deeply connected to the Divine Cult.
Only, whether this was what was happening now or what would happen in the distant future remained unknowable.
Or perhaps…
“It may have returned.”
The power of Gok Ok always exceeds expectations.
Even more so if it is a primordial stone.
Moreover, there was the sense of déjà vu that the man had felt years ago.
Considering all the matters that had been continuously obstructed starting from that moment, I could sense that it had surely returned.
Then did Gwanbaek use this one?
Thinking of how the aura of that wretch—who should have become a cripple or been unable to survive—had grown stronger than before, I judged that whoever was to become the master of the primordial stone had their soul being held captive.
After all, he possessed the ability to seize the souls of others.
My interest does not easily fade.
Both this one and Gwanbaek.
Beings who create ripples in the tedious daily existence of the Divine.
That is most amusing.
Will he truly grow to match the murderous intent he unleashed and stand before me?
Or will he crumble without enduring?
Or perhaps, how does this one—who seeks to settle a blood-soaked grudge against the Priest—intend to reclaim everything that was lost?
Either way, it is a matter that piques my interest.
With such thoughts, I closed my eyes once more.
Not to sleep, but as if to perceive everything in this world.
At that same moment, a faint smile graced my lips.

* * *

“Cough, cough!”
“Young Master?! Are you alright?”
I coughed and pushed myself upright from where I lay. As a sharp pain bloomed across my body, I couldn’t help but furrow my brow. Chaeseoha, who had drawn near, gently rubbed my back to soothe me.
“What happened?”
“You fell tumbling down those stairs. I was really startled.”
At her words, I turned my gaze once more.
An impossibly tall staircase came into view.
The sight alone was enough to make one’s head spin.
Without thinking, I furrowed my brow and rose to my feet, attempting to take a step toward the stairs once more, when a powerful pressure suddenly pushed me back.
But I had to go up.
There were many things I hadn’t properly confirmed.
Just as I was about to take another step.
My body refused to obey.
Though my mind insisted I must advance, I could not move—as if bound by iron chains.
Simultaneously, an alarm bell rang in my mind.
*Zing—*
The moment a scene flashed through my consciousness, goosebumps erupted across my entire body, and I quietly withdrew the foot I had been about to place forward.
I cannot move forward.
The instant I place even one foot upon those stairs.
My entire body will be torn to shreds.
“Is it different from before?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Chaeseoha’s question reached my ears, but I could not process it.
I slowly raised my hand and pressed it against my chest.
It was pounding wildly, warning me to escape this place.
As if saying it could no longer protect me.
And so I cannot advance further.
For I have already witnessed what will befall me if I ignore this threat and take that step.
“Damn it… Nothing goes as intended.”
“What’s up there?”
What’s up there, you ask?
A seat for The Divine.
The moment my hand touched it, I felt that piercing gaze.
An overwhelming presence and stare so absurd that even the fearsome Gwanbaek seemed insignificant by comparison.
And it had been looking toward me, had it not?
Fortunately, it seemed the Gok Ok’s aura had shielded me from that gaze, but I could not deny that it was a terrifying memory I never wished to experience again.
The moment it surfaced in my mind, cold sweat drenched me once more.
“Are you alright?”
At the sound of her voice, I could not smooth the furrow from my brow as I steadied my breathing.
I tried to compose myself, but it was far from easy.
I turned my gaze once more toward the Divine’s seat perched high above.
The height alone—so dizzying to merely look upon—seemed to embody the majesty of existence itself.
Furrowing my brow, I racked my mind again.
I etched into memory everything I had witnessed from the very summit.
A single throne for the Divine.
Behind it stood a peculiar crescent-shaped wall, its surface covered entirely in murals that symbolized something profound.
Yet despite my pride in my exceptional memory, no matter how deeply I searched my recollection, the images of those murals refused to crystallize clearly.
Everything remained shrouded in haze.
As though I had seen them with my own eyes, yet could not truly perceive them.
And in that very moment.
Rumble—
A strange sound and tremor rippled through the air, and both Chaeseoha’s and my eyes widened in shock.
The Divine’s throne began to crumble before my eyes.
Crack—crack—
Like a sandcastle collapsing, the destruction began from the very peak, fracturing and splintering into countless fragments that scattered into the void.
As though it had exhausted its purpose.
The moment I instinctively pulled Chaeseoha back and retreated.
The enemy granted me no time to think.
Boom—!
A deafening roar erupted from somewhere.
Simultaneously, countless Huncheon Gangsi poured inward, their eyes fixed upon me with the intensity of a heartbeat, radiating unmistakable malice—even Chaeseoha beside me went pale.
Yet witnessing this, I became certain of one thing.
“If I follow those creatures, I can escape.”
“What?!”
The fact that they moved freely meant space existed where they dwelled, and following them would inevitably lead me to an exit.
Without hesitation, I grasped my sword and charged toward them.

* * *

“Uuuaaahhhhh—.”
Early dawn.
Chu Hyeongi opened his eyes and stretched with a vacant gaze, surveying his surroundings. The sun was beginning to rise, and he needed to finish preparations for departure before it grew stronger.
After taking a sip of water and some dried meat he’d hidden in his garments, he was about to wake the sleeping members one by one when he sensed an odd presence approaching.
Chu Hyeongi’s gaze shifted.
“What is it? You need something from me?”
“Where has the Young Master gone?”
At those words, he looked around to find Jin Cheon-u, but just as Namgung Yeon said, he was nowhere to be seen.
Chu Hyeongi scratched his head and rose to his feet.
“He must have gone to see So-phi.”
“The physician has also disappeared.”
At that statement, Chu Hyeongi’s eyes widened considerably.
A young man and woman of marriageable age vanishing suddenly—there was only one thing that came to mind.
Just as he was about to voice it, he noticed Namgung Yeon’s eyes narrowing sharply and quickly closed his mouth.
Then.
“…We finally made it.”
A familiar voice came from somewhere.
Namgung Yeon and he quickly turned their gaze and spotted two figures walking toward them from the middle of the desert, looking utterly exhausted.
The state of the two was quite a sight.
As if they’d been rolling around in the sand, sand clung to them from head to toe, and their clothes bore tears in several places.
Chaeseoha’s condition was particularly severe.
Her skirt hem was torn long, exposing her skin, and her disheveled hair seemed to testify that the night had been quite intense.
Seeing this, Chu Hyeongi swallowed hard.
“How… how long did they… like that….”
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“What misunderstanding? That’s clearly….”
“Shh. They’re coming.”
Jin Cheon-u and Chaeseoha had already approached.
The Imperial Guards and even the warrior swallowed hard, staring intently at the two, and when their eyes met, they awkwardly turned away and began their work.
The atmosphere was somewhat peculiar.
Whether conscious of this or not, Jin Cheon-u and Chaeseoha approached Chu Hyeongi and Namgung Yeon with puzzled expressions.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well, what’s the matter is… uh?”
Just as Chu Hyeongi was about to speak freely, Namgung Yeon beside him quietly stepped between the two.
Then he smiled gently.
“Did you rest well last night?”
“Do I look like I rested well?”
“Truly. I thought I’d die from how terrible it looked. I thought I’d go mad.”
“You’re fine now, aren’t you?”
“Even when screaming that it hurt, you couldn’t understand a word I said. Goodness….”
“I couldn’t stop it, so there was nothing to be done.”
At those words from Jin Cheon-u and Chaeseoha, Namgung Yeon swallowed hard and quietly retreated backward.
Like someone who had overheard a conversation they were never meant to hear.
His hardened expression held emotions that defied description, and soon he turned away, plugging both ears with his fingers.
As if he didn’t wish to listen.
Meanwhile, even Chu Hyeongi seemed to have lost his wits, standing with his mouth agape before quietly backing away to create distance.
Jin Cheon-u frowned as he watched them.
“What are you doing? We’re departing before the sun rises any higher, so prepare yourselves. I intend to leave this place as quickly as possible.”
“…Understood!”
At Chu Hyeongi’s response, Jin Cheon-u nodded and returned to his quarters, looking somewhat weary.
In that moment, as Chaeseoha followed beside him, rubbing her backside, the others found themselves unable to speak further.
“Ah— this is killing me. This is all the Young Master’s fault.”
“Why are you blaming me? It’s your own fault for struggling.”
As the two of them exchanged heated words while departing, the others could only hold their breath and watch in silence.
To anyone’s eyes, something auspicious seemed about to unfold.
Was that the reason?
Chu Hyeongi gazed at Jin Cheon-u’s retreating figure with glistening eyes for a long while, then wiped them with his sleeve and broke into a satisfied smile.
“Our Young Master has truly grown up….”
At the trembling voice of the man, the Imperial Guards and warriors nodded in agreement.
It was a morning when misunderstandings deepened.

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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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