The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 22

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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 22

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Hochi Fortress, one of the Seventy-Two Forests Guild strongholds, was where its leader Cha Hak-sang ground his teeth in fury. Someone had not only ransacked his territory but had also absconded with the tribute meant for the Green Forest King—and without even killing his subordinates in the process.
This was no laughing matter.
To the uninitiated, the Green Forest might have appeared nothing more than a den of bandits.
Yet in truth, they operated by their own code of honor, bound together beneath their leader with iron discipline.
A fortress leader worth his salt treated his men as family, and they in turn gave him absolute loyalty.
Cha Hak-sang’s expression twisted into something demonic as he reached into his robes.
Whoooosh—BOOM!
A signal flare screamed skyward before detonating with terrible force. Crimson flames erupted in a pattern that resembled tiger’s fangs.
“There is no escape.”
The signal reached his subordinates stationed throughout the Mountain Stronghold.
These men knew every inch of these mountains. They would encircle the entire region completely, leaving not even an ant a path to slip through. Those bastards on horseback had nowhere to run.
Their mounts meant they were confined to established routes—and those routes could be sealed.
Block the passes, and victory was assured.
“Avenge our fallen brother! Tear them to shreds!”
“Yes!”
“Go!”
Cha Hak-sang’s fury ignited his men. They roared and surged forward, following the trail of hoofprints with terrifying speed and purpose.
Go!
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Clop-clop, clop-clop—
Two riders on a single horse, galloping at breakneck speed.
Despite traversing a mountain path, we surged forward as though racing across flat ground. Judging by how fearlessly we ignored every obstacle in our way, one could tell just how reckless my companion was.
Whoooosh—Bang!
Then, high in the sky, the sound of a signal flare erupted.
Without thinking, I turned my head to look, and there I saw a brilliant red burst of flame shaped like a tiger’s fang.
The moment I confirmed it, I yanked the reins and changed direction.
Away from the path we had been taking.
As we ventured deeper, a flowing stream came into view.
I guided the horse slowly into the waterway and pulled back on the reins.
“Whoa, whoa—”
With a gentle tug, the beast seemed to understand its master’s intent, stopping in the water without advancing further.
Only then did I dismount.
“Get down.”
“…Here?”
“We have little time.”
At those words, Chaeseoha swallowed hard and nodded.
Doubt still filled her eyes, but she instinctively sensed that the situation demanded obedience, leaving her no choice.
Her descent from the horse looked uncertain, as though she had never ridden before.
I exhaled and grasped her waist, lifting her down with the same ease one might hoist a child.
“Eek!”
“Don’t make a sound. They won’t be far from here.”
“Mm!”
Chaeseoha quickly came to her senses and clamped her mouth shut. As her feet touched the valley stream, the cold water startled her visibly.
But there was no time to dwell on such things.
Thwack—
I struck the horse’s hindquarters urgently.
“I’ll see you at home.”
Snort!
The beast understood, whinnying and nuzzling its face against me. I stroked its cheek gently, and satisfied, it began trotting away with a steady clip-clop.
I watched its retreating form for a moment, then began moving slowly along the valley stream.
“Where… where are we going?”
“We’ll follow the valley stream downward to erase our tracks as much as possible. That way, we might lose them.”
Cough—
“You’re… not with those people, are you?”
“Does it seem that way?”
At my counter-question, Chaeseoha paused in thought for a moment, then shook her head firmly.
If she were on the same side, I would not have killed her pursuers, nor would I have saved her.
Splash, splash—
Only then did she begin cautiously following behind me.
She and I moved in silence.
Neither of us dared to speak carelessly, asking or answering questions.
We simply walked along the Valley Stream that flowed steadily before us.
“Cough, cough!”
Each time I expelled a cough, I sensed her alarm, though she said nothing.
Yet she too seemed to understand there was no time for concern, so she merely kept her lips sealed.
Whoosh—
The Valley Stream was far colder than I had anticipated.
The sky hung overcast today with no sunlight to warm us, and as the sun sank lower, the chill only deepened—there was no help for it.
In certain stretches of the valley, the water ran so deep that we had to swim, leaving us completely drenched.
After moving along the waterway for nearly half an hour, the cold crept into my bones, and my body began to shiver uncontrollably.
Only then did I turn my gaze away from the river.
“Come up.”
“…Yes.”
At last we could emerge from the water.
Yet the chill lingered stubbornly.
But I could not build a fire.
If smoke rose, they would discover our location.
How many men did the Hochi Organization command?
My memory was hazy, but as a member of the Nakhyang Jin Family engaged in both legitimate and shadow operations, we inevitably had dealings with the Hochi Organization.
Searching my memory, the figure of roughly fifty came to mind.
Not enough to deploy the Heavenly Net, but they would certainly tighten their encirclement steadily.
I had no desire to attempt the madness of facing fifty men in my current state.
Then.
Birds took flight from a place not far away.
As I stopped and stared at them intently, Chaeseoha, who had been following behind, gasped and struggled to speak.
“Hah… hah… There! Where exactly are we…?”
“They’re coming.”
At my words, Chaeseoha’s complexion hardened.
Though still at some distance, there was no doubt.
I had thought I covered my tracks well enough, but seeing them pursue faster than expected, it seemed there was someone among them quite skilled in pursuit techniques.
I quickly surveyed the surroundings.
I needed to find a place where we could hide perfectly concealed.
Then my eyes fell upon something.
Dense vines that had overtaken the area.
The vines had grown high enough to reach the knee, making it suitable for hiding our bodies immediately.
I pushed through the vines and entered the deepest part where a large rock stood.
Beneath my feet, invisible in the darkness, I felt something crawling, but I paid it no mind.
Such things were common in the mountains anyway.
More precisely, after more than a decade of pursuit and being pursued, experiencing countless situations, I had naturally become numb to such concerns.
I settled into the deepest part of the hiding place and gestured toward Chaeseoha, who carefully crept inside and took position beside me.
I quickly tidied the scattered vines to erase any trace of our presence, then held my breath and watched the surroundings visible through the gaps in the foliage.
For a moment, we waited.
Cough— cough—
A cough suddenly burst from her throat.
“Are you alright over there?”
“Quiet.”
I quickly reached out and covered her mouth at the sound of their voices.
Then I carefully turned my head to look to one side.
Several men were approaching, searching the area as thoroughly as if combing through it. As if they already knew where to hide, they ruthlessly stabbed their broad swords into every promising-looking spot.
“Are you sure they’re really here?”
“I’m telling you they are. The tracks lead this way. That’s what those bastards said before they got off their horses.”
The man spoke with absolute certainty while continuously wielding his broad sword. He cut through the thicket and jabbed his blade into every crevice between rocks large enough for a person to slip through.
“Damn it… they’ve already escaped, haven’t they?”
“That’s impossible. There’s no one on this mountain who can escape our eyes. You don’t even know that?”
The bandits with furrowed brows drew closer.
Soon one of the men began wielding his broad sword to cut through the vines.
Slash— slash—!
Fragments of severed vines flew in all directions.
They were determined to search every possible hiding place as thoroughly as combing through hair, and not a single one of them was being careless.
As the men closed the distance, Chaeseoha’s heart pounded violently. The sound was so loud it filled my ears.
I steadied my breathing and waited for the right moment.
The instant I confirmed that one of them had ventured deeper into the vines, I extended my hand lightly.
Whoosh—!
“Gack?!”
With the man’s brief cry, his body collapsed.
Thud!
The sound of him falling into the vines was very quiet, yet unmistakable to all ears.
“What!?”
One of the bandits quickly turned his gaze and cried out in alarm. I seized that moment, rising to my feet and swiftly launching the Obok Snake.
Whoosh—!
The tiny projectile, no larger than a pinky finger, flew at terrifying speed.
A mere bandit could not possibly evade it.
Splat!
It pierced through his skull, and fragments scattered.
The eyes of the man who had cried out lost all light.
Thump!
I did not miss the moment he fell backward helplessly.
I quickly deployed my divine technique and closed the distance toward the remaining two men.
“You bastard!?”
Draw sword!
Ching!
The blade slid free with fluid grace, then flew forward at terrifying speed.
A flash of light erupted, accompanied by the sharp metallic ring of steel.
Seo Geok!
One opponent’s head flew high into the air, and I saw his companion’s blade—swung desperately to save him—streaking toward my neck.
I arched my back and evaded it.
In the same breath, I extended my hand toward him.
Thud!
My Ohdok Sa flew once more, piercing through the fleeting moment to claim another life.
“Hah… hah… cough!”
Though I kept my movements brief and restrained, my body reacted as violently as if I had sprinted for hours.
My breathing grew ragged, and a cough tore from my throat.
At the same moment, I coughed up blood.
The world spun, and before I could stop myself, I collapsed to my knees.
“Are you alright?!”
Chaeseoha rushed toward me at once.
Her scarred face was etched with concern.
She reached out to support me, but I waved her off and struggled to my feet.
Then I began moving the corpses and erasing the traces of our passage.
“We can’t afford to rest here. We keep moving.”
“You’re not in any condition for this.”
“If we stay, more will come. Next time, I won’t be able to do this.”
At my words, Chaeseoha clenched her fists.
She surveyed the fallen bodies around us, then slowly steadied her breathing.
“I’m a physician. And from what I can see, your condition is dire. Your complexion, your breathing—you’re dying. Do you understand that?”
I couldn’t help but laugh softly at her words.
Do I understand?
Of course I do.
I’m here precisely because I understand it fully.
Of course, I didn’t reveal such things openly.
I simply nodded as if I had accepted it calmly.
“I know.”
“And yet—!”
“Finding shelter is the priority now. This pursuit won’t stop.”
At my words, Chaeseoha’s eyes wavered.
She had no argument to make.
And surely, she felt the weight of responsibility for how things had come to this.
She understood that I had thrown myself into danger to save her from the bandits.
If she had a conscience, she would feel remorse.
Moreover, they needed to understand that this was a time when they had to move according to my words.
“Very well. Let us first find a place to rest.”
I nodded and took the lead, charting our course forward.
While I was making every effort to leave no traces behind, if there were someone among them as skilled in pursuit as that bandit from moments ago, they would catch up to us in no time.
Thinking such thoughts, I found myself chuckling softly without realizing it.
This sensation was far too familiar.
It was no different from when I was being hunted by those men back then.
Because of that, finding the safest place was all the easier.
I looked back at the path we had come.
Those men would have come this far by following traces and covering a certain area. The other bandits would be searching different regions at set intervals.
If that were the case, there was only one conclusion.
To go back.
“We return.”
“Pardon?!”
To hide a tree, one uses the forest, as the saying goes.
I intended to carefully retrace the path those dead men had taken.
The Hochi Organization did not have enough personnel to spread the Heavenly Net so wide that they could afford to search the same path twice.
Our destination: near their mountain stronghold.
No one would ever think to hide in such a place.
I smiled without thinking and set our direction.
“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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