The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 191

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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 191

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“Hah… hah… hah…”
Nam Mu-gwang, the son of Nam Tae-cheon, exhaled ragged breaths as he surveyed his surroundings. Fortunately, he detected no sign of pursuers following him.
But this reprieve would not last long.
Muk-hwang’s bodyguards, led by Gu Ma-hyeop, were undoubtedly mobilizing to capture him as he fled.
This was why Nam Mu-gwang was so desperate.
He opened his senses to detect any trace of those chasing him, and while doing so, he rushed back to his residence in a frenzy.
He vaulted over the high wall and slipped inside in one fluid motion.
Fortunately, he sensed no presence within.
The interior was so quiet it seemed no one existed there, yet even this silence filled Nam Mu-gwang with dread.
“I must recover it.”
As he ran, Nam Mu-gwang thought to himself.
There was something he could not leave behind under any circumstances.
The matter Nam Tae-cheon had solemnly warned him about in preparation for any unforeseen crisis.
Keeping that promise would be the final act of filial piety he could offer as a son.
After running for some time, Nam Mu-gwang came to a halt before the training grounds.
“…!?”
In that moment, he noticed a passage someone had destroyed, his eyes widening. He carefully drew the sword in his hand and steadied his breathing.
Fortunately, he sensed no presence from within.
One step at a time.
He descended the path leading downward and entered.
The first thing visible was the trace of martial techniques Nam Tae-cheon had devoted himself to mastering.
As if committing it to memory, he took it in with his eyes before turning his gaze away.
What came into view was a small table surrounded by countless papers.
Nam Mu-gwang, who had rushed in haste, released a sigh of relief.
It was clear that an intruder had entered, but fortunately, they seemed not to understand what these papers were.
He then produced a fire starter, set the papers alight, and methodically burned every remaining sheet.
“Phew…”
Only then did he release a sigh of relief, but it was not yet over.
He had not returned merely to organize this.
Nam Mu-gwang hurriedly cleared away the table.
With the table removed, only an empty space remained. His fingers moved across the wall surface, probing carefully.
As if there were a specific sequence that needed to be pressed.
Then—
Krrrrung—!
The sealed wall suddenly began to open with a tremendous sound, revealing another hidden space.
The interior space was far more expansive than I had anticipated.
Moreover, I could see narrow passages stretching out in a long chain, as if deliberately constructed as escape routes.
Nam Mu-gwang moved with increased urgency as he entered that passage.
A bank note that Nam Tae-cheon had left behind as contingency for unforeseen circumstances.
With this much, once I escaped the Demonic Sect’s territory, I could live comfortably anywhere.
Furthermore, several books and martial techniques that appeared to belong to Nam Tae-cheon.
Nam Mu-gwang carefully tucked those treasures into his bosom, then reached out to close the open door.
“…!?”
Yet suddenly, a shadow fell across his vision.
The moment he widened his eyes in shock.
He saw something gleaming hurtling toward him.
Terrified, Nam Mu-gwang shifted his body back half a step, attempting to evade it.
But the sword, as if it had read his movements from the start, flew deeper still—
Thunk—!
It pierced his brow.

* * *

I gazed steadily at the figure before me.
The one with the sword embedded in his brow stared back at me, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Trembling—
His body shook.
Simultaneously, he gradually lost all strength.
His eyes dimmed in an instant, and as his body went limp, he slowly collapsed, falling face-first to the ground.
Squelch—
The sword withdrew naturally at that moment.
I could identify who the fallen one was.
Undoubtedly, it was the same man I had seen at the Heavenly Demon Forging Chamber.
The one who had rushed forward wailing toward the dying Nam Tae-cheon.
The memory lingered in my mind, as it reminded me of my own past self.
Yet all the Nam Family’s retainers should have been dragged away by Gu Ma-hyeop, so seeing him here meant he had miraculously escaped and made his way to this place.
“You’ve saved me considerable trouble.”
I wiped the blood from my blade and smiled.
It was unfortunate for the dead man, but had he not crawled in here of his own accord, I would have left without ever suspecting the existence of such a hidden space.
I had never considered that it might have been constructed with such double layers.
I sheathed my sword and examined what the man had been carrying.
The first thing that caught my eye was a bank note that had spilled from his bosom.
It bore the seal of the Wunlong Casino, and the amount was quite substantial.
But it would mean nothing to the dead.
I recovered it and turned my attention elsewhere.
Is this the problem?
The most precious documents I possessed.
One is undoubtedly a martial arts manual.
The moment I grasped it and examined its contents.
“A manual of the Huojiao martial arts.”
I could naturally discern the identity of the secret text.
Among the Huojiao martial arts, it was estimated to be an ascending technique that subordinates under their command would learn.
In other words, this was precisely what Nam Tae-cheon had mastered.
I glanced through the contents, but it offered little practical benefit.
The content was considerably obscure, and without deciphering the coded language interspersed throughout, learning the martial art would be nearly impossible.
Of course, I had no intention of learning it anyway.
So what remained was.
I grasped a considerably thick tome and examined it.
“A secret ledger?”
It was undoubtedly a secret ledger.
While correspondence and even information about the Sect are forbidden to be recorded, I was never a puppet manipulated under the Sect’s influence from the beginning.
Since there were no watchers, naturally such secret ledgers could be created.
However, this too must not fall into the hands of those Sect dogs.
I wondered if perhaps that was why they had constructed the passage in duplicate.
As I slowly turned the pages to read it.
“Is it here!?”
Gu Ma-hyeop’s voice suddenly rang out as he appeared.
As if he had been pursuing Nam Mu-gwang, his urgent expression faltered when he saw Nam Mu-gwang collapsed with a hole through his brow, and myself standing at ease.
“Young Master? How did you come to be here…?”
“I received permission from Muk-hwang and was examining things briefly. This fellow is a rabbit that crawled in through a burrow, after all. Were you searching for him?”
“Ah… yes, that was the case, but now… it seems pointless.”
I smiled and put the book away.
Then, turning to look behind me, I pointed to the open passage.
“I’m not certain how far it extends, but it would be wise to investigate.”
“Understood.”
I paid no attention to the long, gaping passage.
If there had been something truly important inside, the dead man would not have guarded this place so carefully.
Even if something existed, Gu Ma-hyeop and his subordinates would handle it, so there would be plenty of opportunity to verify what they discovered.
There was no need to exert myself unnecessarily.
As expected.
Gu Ma-hyeop soon issued orders to his gathered subordinates.
I watched as several of them entered the passage.
Observing this, I leaned my back against the wall and withdrew the book.
Sect members rarely leave traces.
Thus, discovering secret ledgers of this kind was quite rare, and even if found, deciphering them required considerable time.
However, Nam Tae-cheon had not employed such methods.
Without using any cipher whatsoever, the document was written in his ordinary script, making it surprisingly easy for me to discern its contents.
Compared to the thick tome, the information was remarkably concise.
It detailed how to communicate with those people, their organizational structure, and the reasons why they should never be made into enemies.
It was formatted as if passing down fundamental knowledge of the Sect to someone who would inherit it upon his death.
There was no need to ponder who that someone might be.
Surely it was his son, coming to retrieve it?
The thought crossed my mind that he had followed the Sect, gained power, and sought vengeance rather than reconciliation.
Naturally, there was nothing here that would be of great use to me.
As I flipped through the pages rapidly, reading line by line, only the final page remained.
Flap—
The moment I turned it over to examine what was left.
I found myself frowning involuntarily.
“I’ve wasted time on this for nothing.”
There was nothing of value here.
Though anyone unfamiliar with the contents of this secret ledger would find them sufficiently intriguing, I already knew everything written from beginning to end far too well.
Moreover, even if someone who found this interesting attempted to communicate with those people according to what was written, without knowing the cipher, it would be meaningless.
Nam Tae-cheon must have explained the cipher verbally.
That’s why it wasn’t written down.
I sighed and tossed the book aside.
As the book fell to the floor, creating a gentle breeze, I noticed something fluttering.
My gaze naturally shifted toward it.
What fluttered down was unmistakably paper.
I wondered if it had fallen from the ledger, but it hadn’t.
It was completely unrelated to the contents of the secret ledger.
I suspected it must have fallen when the dead man was gathering his belongings.
I approached slowly and grasped it in my hand.
“A painting?”
Not a cipher—a method commonly used by those Sect people.
A certain image had been drawn.
Emanating an air of mystery, it was so beautiful that it seemed as though it depicted the legendary paradise of Peach Blossoms.
“Were you searching for this? This place?”
A painting placed where the secret records and ledgers were kept.
I was certain it could not be an ordinary painting and must hold some significance.
I turned my gaze away.
Now I could see Gu Ma-hyeop waiting for his subordinates at the entrance to the passage.
“Do you happen to know what this painting is?”
“A painting… you say?”
Gu Ma-hyeop, sensing confusion at my question, approached.
As I showed him the painting, he stared at it for a long while before shaking his head firmly.
There didn’t seem to be any place that came to mind.
“There is no such place anywhere on Tianshan Mountain. I believe it is merely a landscape painting.”
“A landscape painting, you say….”
It was a plausible conclusion by any measure.
Had I witnessed this without knowing anything, I would have reached the same conclusion.
But how could that be?
A space hidden from everyone’s eyes, a place where the most precious things were kept—would one place a mere landscape painting there without reason?
This painting must hold some meaning.
I was certain of it and tucked the painting into my robes.
Was that the reason?
Gu Ma-hyeop regarded me with a peculiar expression.
“Is it something I shouldn’t take with me?”
“Return it, please.”
At his firm tone, I clicked my tongue and gazed at the painting for a moment. In that brief span, I scrutinized every detail as if committing the entire composition to memory at once.
But had I prolonged the moment?
I noticed Gu Ma-hyeop about to speak, and only then did I hand over the secret manual of the flute along with the receipt and painting I had gathered.
His eyes held an unwavering resolve—that regardless of it being a traitor’s possession, nothing belonging to the Demonic Sect could leave this place.
I released a small sigh and posed a question.
“What of the hidden passage? Is there anything at all?”
“There is nothing. Upon inspection, it appears there is only an exit leading to the Demon’s Pool.”
I nodded upon hearing those words.
That meant there was no reason to remain here any longer.
Cleanly releasing my lingering attachment, I moved toward my quarters and gazed up at the sky.
The sky, already dark, seemed unusually deep.
There is a saying that the darkest hour comes before dawn.
Soon the sun would rise.
And with it, a new Heavenly Demon would stand in the sky.
I moved with eager anticipation for that moment.

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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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