The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 218

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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 218

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Sang-haeng moved at a leisurely pace as he entered the village.
Though small, it was one of the places that Sang-haeng and Pyo-haeng frequented often, so the marketplace was lined with a fair number of inns.
We naturally unloaded the supply cart, and except for the guards left to watch it, we scattered once more just as we had before, heading toward places to rest.
I too secured a room, washed away my fatigue, and only after taking a meal could I finally catch my breath.
Night had fallen before I knew it.
Chu Hyeongi, who had followed me into the room after finishing his meal, sat before me with a furrowed brow.
“Is it really true? That story from earlier?”
“You mean the bandits?”
“Yes, will they really target us?”
“If it’s a possibility, the odds are high. Wouldn’t you be angry if you were in their position?”
I offered a bitter smile, recalling Gu Gunbaek.
Under the guise of training his disciples, he had returned after beating down countless masked martial artists—enough to make one wonder if he was erasing his own past.
No matter how much one revered Gu Gunbaek like a god, if one suffered such a significant blow, anyone would gnash their teeth in rage.
Moreover, since he had simply handed over his position and left, the bandits had been locked in endless struggles to claim it.
Would this festering desire for revenge be directed at Gu Gunbaek?
No.
I had no doubt it would be aimed at me, the easier target.
At my words, Chu Hyeongi clamped his mouth shut.
Since he had done similar things himself, he could naturally understand how those in the opposite position would feel.
Yet he still seemed displeased, his brow remaining furrowed.
“It looks like we’ll be the ones cleaning up the mess the elder left behind.”
I scratched my head with a bitter smile.
Looking at the situation purely on its own, Gu Gunbaek’s fault was clear, but I couldn’t deny that all of this stemmed from my going to find him in the first place.
“And then there’s the Hyang-un Sega…”
“They started the conflict first anyway. Besides, it was Sa Do-cheon who brought them down.”
“But I’m involved in every step of that process, which is the problem. I’m in the perfect position to be a target for their frustration.”
I smiled and shook my head.
I couldn’t know what Hyang Do-un was thinking.
But if he truly intended to target us, he would choose the most certain method.
Having escaped the grasp of the Blood Demon Faction’s Danju, it couldn’t be said that he had nothing.
I couldn’t know how much it was, but I couldn’t shake the thought that it would be enough to orchestrate something.
Men who had skimmed money through various means would find it trivial to hide funds from Sa Do-cheon’s eyes.
If such a man were burning with revenge against the Jin Family, what would he need to do first?
Naturally, he would need to gain allies.
He couldn’t hope to win in a direct confrontation with the Jin Family, but the difference between having allies and having none would be immense.
He possessed both skill and wealth.
There would be no shortage of places willing to accept him, but he was more likely to choose freedom over being manipulated under Sa Do-cheon’s command—and those who stood opposed to the Jin Family.
Naturally, the bandits came to mind.
Right now, there was no faction grinding their teeth against the Jin Family quite like them.
If those two were to join hands?
“What would we do if that actually happened?”
“Then it would simply become a troublesome matter.”
Chu Hyeongi’s expression turned incredulous at my words spoken with a smile.
We could potentially lose the Imperial Guards or the warriors—a situation that might well unfold—yet I spoke of it so casually.
Because of this, Chu Hyeongi scratched his head vigorously.
“Well then, I’ll go take a look around. I can’t just sit still when I’m feeling uneasy like this.”
He sprang up from his seat and quickly slipped out of the room. It seemed he felt some guilt and thought he should do something about it.
In the end, all he would manage was a patrol.
I smiled faintly and gazed out the window, but soon turned my head at a sudden presence I felt.
The sound of footsteps that had been distant grew gradually closer, and then the door opened.
“Here, medicinal broth.”
“Leave it.”
The one who entered so familiarly was none other than Chaeseoha.
She held the medicinal broth and carefully set it down before me.
The dark liquid, carrying the pungent scent of bitter herbs, was so off-putting that I lost all desire to touch it.
It would surely be bitter.
Quite bitter indeed.
As I unconsciously frowned, Chaeseoha’s sharp voice rang out.
“Drink it now. You won’t die from drinking it.”
With a pointed remark, she lifted the bowl and held it out toward me. Her determination to see me drink it was so resolute that I found myself nodding and accepting it.
It was indeed bitter.
Quite bitter indeed.
As I set down the empty bowl with a furrowed brow, a piece of taffy suddenly popped into my mouth.
Looking at her with a dazed expression, I caught sight of her smiling face.
“You drink this every day—you should start getting used to it. I want you to say it tastes good even without the taffy.”
“I have no talent for making bitter things taste pleasant.”
“How many times must I tell you? Bitter things are good for your body. More importantly, are you alright? Jang Howei’s expression didn’t look good.”
“I’m fine. Nothing has actually happened yet.”
The situation had not yet unfolded.
Everything from beginning to end was merely speculation, so there was no point in dwelling on it too deeply.
However, I did need to keep it in mind.
And I had to prepare for contingencies.
Right now, I was the leader guiding the Sanghaeng.
Many lives hung in the balance on even the smallest matter, so I needed to think through strategies to prepare for every possible situation.
“In times like these, an elder’s way of thinking truly is the best.”
“You mean Master Gu, sir?”
“That’s right. Once we crush them all, it’s done.”
“Ah-.”
In that moment, Chaeseoha nodded as if she understood something.
If it was Gu Gunbaek, he wouldn’t care about logic or consequences—he simply crushed everything with overwhelming force and called it resolved. There was no need to think too hard about it.
After entertaining such thoughts for a moment, I let out a hollow laugh and gazed out the window.
Though the inn was said to be large, this was still a small village. Moreover, the night had grown late, and the streets were devoid of wanderers.
Occasionally, the figures of patrolling constables appeared, but aside from them, the place was quiet enough that there should be no one on the streets.
Yet something caught my eye.
Figures moving back and forth in the darkness.
They all seemed to be observing the inn, conversing with one another about something, before dispersing once more.
I gazed at them steadily and rested my chin on my hand.
“As expected, they won’t let us leave quietly, will they?”
“Who’s following us?”
“I can’t tell if they’re bandits or someone else, but there are spies watching us.”
The moment I spoke those words.
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, two figures hurled themselves toward the street.
Two people.
Namgung Yeon and Jang Chuchyeong.
They seemed to have sensed the presence of those spying and tried to catch them quickly, but it appeared too late to seize those who had already fled.
Jang Chuchyeong grumbled and blamed Namgung Yeon, while Namgung Yeon listened in silence, his gaze fixed as if looking at garbage.
I clicked my tongue lightly upon observing this.
“This looks like it’ll be more troublesome than I thought.”
I exhaled a sigh and finally withdrew my gaze.
There was no sense of a rushing crowd, so they didn’t seem intent on launching a surprise attack tonight.
From that alone, I could tell their purpose was reconnaissance.
Who could it be?
I entertained such thoughts for a moment, but then shook my head as if it was meaningless.
Whether bandits or Hyang Do-un—what did it matter?
I smiled and gazed endlessly at the desolate night streets, then slowly rose from my seat and stretched languidly.
Glancing to the side, I caught sight of Chaeseoha’s expression, her eyes gleaming brightly with what seemed like a desire to converse.
I found myself smiling and spoke firmly.
“What are you doing? It’s late—go to bed.”
“Yes, yes. I’m going to sleep now.”

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Deep within the mountains of Shanxi, hidden from the world.
There, men of uniformly large and powerful builds had gathered together.
Unkempt beards and various weapons clasped in their hands.
Merely witnessing their menacing aura—as if they were prepared to march to war at any moment—made it clear that the murderous intent they harbored toward someone was far beyond trivial.
The men’s gazes converged toward the center.
A figure wielding a massive axe, seated upon the throne of the new Masked Martial Artist King.
He was Geuk Tae-cheon, the current Masked Martial Artist King who had claimed the position in place of Gu Gunbaek.
Geuk Tae-cheon examined each and every one of those gathered before him.
The majority of the faction leaders among the Seventy-two Factions had been greatly diminished through the bloody struggle for the throne.
So much so that they could no longer maintain all seventy-two strongholds.
Yet what gnawed at them even more was that the former king’s disciple had attacked them and destroyed their strongholds.
As a result, precious few remained.
Excluding the scattered strongholds struggling to survive across various regions, the number of those defending the main headquarters was merely around a hundred.
These were the most skilled warriors currently protecting the Masked Martial Artist main base.
Yet Geuk Tae-cheon smiled nonetheless.
Because he had a reliable ally at his side.
As he turned his gaze, there stood a man.
One who stood with a gentle smile.
Though he wore the robes of a scholar, seemingly unconnected to the Masked Martial Artists, none dared to disrespect him.
His name was Hyang Do-un.
Once a figure of renown from the Hyang-un Sega, he was a Powerful Expert who had reached a level far beyond what one would expect from a mere merchant family background.
Judging by how effortlessly he subdued even the subordinates present, one could only speculate that he had perhaps reached the pinnacle of his cultivation.
The war over the Masked Martial Artist throne, which had raged with such ferocity that its outcome seemed impossible to predict, had ended so abruptly only because Hyang Do-un had aided Geuk Tae-cheon.
Whoosh—!
At that moment.
A carrier pigeon descended from the sky with an elegant flutter of wings.
As the scholar beside him swiftly retrieved the letter tied to its ankle and examined its contents, he nodded in confirmation.
“Without doubt. He has entered Shanxi.”
“Damn bastards!”
Geuk Tae-cheon’s expression darkened as he spat out a curse.
The former Masked Martial Artist King’s disciple and Jin Cheon-u.
The moment he recalled those two, his teeth ground together so fiercely that blood rushed backward through his veins.
That the former Masked Martial Artist King had stepped down from his position to follow Jin Cheon-u—one could perhaps accept that. But what followed was utterly unforgivable.
They attacked the Seventy-two Factions.
Countless strongholds had been destroyed and obliterated beyond counting.
Some had been killed, others left crippled.
As if declaring complete enmity with the Masked Martial Artists themselves, they had demolished strongholds and brutally beaten the masked martial artists within them.
Naturally, the prestige of the Masked Martial Artists had plummeted to the depths.
“Jin Cheon-u…! I will repay this debt without fail.”
The man at the center of all these events.
That man is none other than Jin Cheon-u, the Young Master of the Jin Family of Luoyang.
Considering the long-standing relationship between the Jin Family of Luoyang and the Masked Martial Artists, this was something that should never have been done. Such an act could only occur if one completely disregarded the Masked Martial Artists.
“We cannot simply let him pass, can we?”
“Exactly! He must pay the price for mocking the Masked Martial Artists!”
Geuk Tae-cheon laughed as he struck the ground with the axe gripped in his hand.
Geuk Tae-cheon, overflowing with pride in the Great Masked Martial Artists.
Now that such a man had taken his place and sought to restore the Masked Martial Artists to their former glory, those who had tarnished the name of the Masked Martial Artists would surely pay the price.
“What of the Hyang-un Sega’s revenge?”
“Haha, if the Masked Martial Artists take action, we shall also do our utmost to assist you.”
“Haha— that’s certainly reassuring to hear.”
Geuk Tae-cheon, bursting into hearty laughter, turned his gaze.
Dozens of figures visible among the countless Masked Martial Artists gathered together.
They were the retainers of Hyang Do-un and members of the fallen Hyang-un Sega.
Each possessed exceptional skill, and they would prove invaluable in this endeavor.
Satisfied with this, he rose from his seat with a pleased smile.
“Come— let us go!”

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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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