The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 221

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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 221

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Namgung Baek continued to scan his surroundings as he traveled along the mountain path. More than a day and a half had passed, yet Jin Cheon-u still had not returned.
A creeping sense of unease gnawed at him—what if something had gone wrong?
And the current situation made it worse.
Whether it was Sang-haeng or anything else, he had never once taken the initiative to lead such matters. He had always been too busy following Yang Jachun.
But now that Jin Cheon-u had vanished, the fate of this entire Sang-haeng had fallen upon his shoulders.
A burden he had never experienced before pressed down upon him like a weight.
He wanted to flee from it entirely.
“Older Brother! Compose yourself.”
“Y-yes. But… are you truly certain about this? Should we not halt Sang-haeng and search for the Young Master instead…?”
At those words, Namgung Yeon turned his gaze toward Chaeseoha.
She had remained at Jin Cheon-u’s side longer than anyone else, so surely she understood the current situation better than he did.
Yet even under his scrutiny, Chaeseoha offered no response.
She merely kept her lips sealed, lost in thought.
She had been like this for several hours now.
Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Namgung Yeon opened his mouth to ask.
“Physician?”
“Ah—I’m fine. And how much further until we reach the village?”
“We should be able to descend the mountain within half a day, and from there, it’s roughly two hours’ journey to a village nestled near Mount Otae.”
At Namgung Baek’s words, Chaeseoha nodded her head.
Quite a considerable distance.
But to properly reorganize Sang-haeng, they would undoubtedly need to stay in a larger settlement.
Jin Cheon-u would certainly have done the same.
She nodded, her expression softening as she offered a gentle smile.
“Then head there.”
“Pardon? You’re not coming with us?”
At her sudden words, every eye in the group widened. Among those present, only Chaeseoha was weaker than the warriors.
With no way of knowing what schemes the Masked Martial Artist and Hyang Do-un might attempt, didn’t it feel as though she was about to turn back alone?
“You’re going to find that bastard, right? Then I’ll escort you.”
“No. Soocheonchu, please remain here and guard this place. We can’t afford to lose even one fighter in this situation.”
“What? Then you’re going alone?”
“I’ve traveled mountain paths many times, and concealment is my specialty. There’s nothing to worry about.”
With a smile, she grasped the reins and turned her horse around.
Clop, clop—
Passing through the crowd, she reached the end of the group, then glanced back at the path she had come from. She drew in a deep breath as if contemplating something, then exhaled it slowly.
As if calming her restless heart.
Then, conjuring the image of one person in her mind, she furrowed her brow.
I couldn’t gauge the full extent of the enemy’s strength, but there had been no word for a day and a half.
Moreover, that tremendous sound and tremor I’d heard before.
I wondered if it might be connected to that.
Surely in the worst way possible.
Chaeseoha stroked the horse with careful hands, then her eyes gleamed as she began moving forward without hesitation.
That image resembled Jin Cheon-u appearing on horseback to offer his hand to her as she was being pursued by the Masked Martial Artist.
“So risking your life really is your hobby.”

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Jang Chuchyeong appeared not to have slept properly, his eyes sunken and hollow.
Yet as if his own condition mattered not at all, the moment he opened his eyes, he first checked on Jin Cheon-u’s state.
The severe burn marks still blazed an angry red, and across the entire wound, blisters and pus were plainly visible.
He instinctively recognized they needed to be drained.
“Bear with it.”
Jang Chuchyeong drew a small dagger from his waist.
Using it to puncture the blisters, a large amount of pus began pouring out and flowing away.
But he squeezed out as much as possible.
With careful movements, he extracted it all, then wiped it away using cloth he’d brought back earlier.
By the time Jang Chuchyeong finished this entire process, sweat was streaming down his face.
It showed just how much effort he’d expended.
Once all the work was done, he let out a sigh of relief and stood up.
“Phew… I’ll go wash these out.”
Jin Cheon-u still lay with his eyes closed, unable to open them, but his breathing had become more even and his complexion noticeably more stable than before.
As time passed, the pain seemed to be subsiding.
The problem was that this wouldn’t heal within a day or two.
With such thoughts, Jang Chuchyeong stepped outside and first surveyed his surroundings.
Perhaps considerable time had passed, so the distance between them and their pursuers should be closing. Yet the reason they hadn’t appeared was likely because the mountain was vast and the search area wide.
That was small consolation.
Whew—
Jang Chuchyeong let out a sigh of relief and turned his head.
When he heard rustling from the undergrowth and turned to look, he spotted a small rat crawling about.
He casually kicked a stone from the ground.
Thwack—!
The rat struck by it fell over, apparently dead, and Jang Chuchyeong without hesitation approached and picked it up by the tail.
Then he turned his head to examine the trees.
Hoo— oo—
He couldn’t see it, but he heard a sound from somewhere.
Surely the Great Owl was still nearby.
“Want some?”
However, the Great Owl showed no response whatsoever.
Whether it was sleeping because it was daytime, no further sounds could be heard, yet I paid it no mind and hurled the mouse high into the sky.
Whoooosh—snap!
In an instant, the Great Owl descended silently from above, spread its massive wings wide, and snatched the soaring mouse in one swift motion before vanishing.
Though it was still early morning, the Great Owl did not refrain from hunting during daylight hours.
It would catch prey when hungry, and sometimes move about to feed its young.
Fortunately, it seemed we were in such a time.
Chu Hyeongi watched from atop a tree as the Great Owl swallowed the mouse whole, then laughed and turned toward the valley that served as our destination.
I settled there and began washing clothes with practiced ease.
Despite the peaceful expression on my face, my mind was racing rapidly.
The situation was dire.
Though Jin Cheon-u was slowly recovering, he remained unconscious, and his severe burns showed no signs of subsiding.
I desperately wanted to set out and find Chaeseoha, yet moving Jin Cheon-u—who couldn’t even open his eyes—seemed inadvisable.
Moreover, there was no food.
I could eat anything I caught, but the injured Jin Cheon-u needed nourishing food to aid his recovery, and I could find none.
There were limits to squeezing juice from the fruits I found in the mountains to feed him.
“I need to find a way out of this soon….”
Chu Hyeongi furrowed his brow and swallowed a groan.
Since childhood, I had never acted on my own initiative in anything.
Having mostly followed the words of the Family Head Jin Ga-muk, Hong Gu-hyeon, and Jin Cheon-u, I was weak at making decisions for myself.
Even my master had been forceful, had he not.
Thus, unable to grasp the situation and drifting aimlessly in that moment.
“…Found him—!”
Suddenly, a human voice rang out.
I quickly raised my head to look ahead, and beyond the valley, I spotted what appeared to be a masked martial artist staring directly at me.
As he seemed to signal, drawing a whistle from his breast, I pushed off the ground.
In a single instant.
Moving like a bird in flight, my knee shot forward and crushed his face entirely.
Splurt—!
“Gaaaah!”
His teeth shattered and flew out, his nose caved in and blood erupted. He staggered backward violently, collapsing as his eyes rolled back, trembling uncontrollably.
“Damn it.”
Chu Hyeongi quickly left the spot.
Though it was merely one man, encountering a masked martial artist meant their pursuit was practically upon us.
Gritting my teeth, I headed toward where Jin Cheon-u lay.
Tick-tick-tick—
Then.
A strange sound echoed from somewhere.
It didn’t seem to come from a human.
Undoubtedly, it was the Great Owl’s cry.
I knew that the Great Owl only made such a sound when sensing danger, so Chu Hyeongi realized the masked martial artists were nearby.
He quickly slipped between the rocks, hoisted the prone Jin Cheon-u onto his back, and began moving.
It was then that Jin Cheon-u’s voice reached him, faint but clear.
“…Stay calm.”
“Young Master?!”
“You can do this.”
Chu Hyeongi, startled, glanced at Jin Cheon-u, but he remained motionless with his eyes closed, only speaking.
Just uttering words.
Yet they were perfectly comprehensible.
As those words of affirmation sank in, Chu Hyeongi’s eyes gleamed with newfound confidence, and he began to move with greater purpose.
“Here they come—!”
In an instant, a blade came flying with a sharp cry.
Clang!
His forearm grazed against the unexpected strike.
But there was no time to worry about such things.
He extended his leg and swept a kick at the man’s groin.
Thud—!
“Gack!”
Watching the man clutching his groin collapse with foam at his lips, he had to move even faster.
With his beast-like senses, he continued to feel something—the presence of masked martial artists closing in from all directions, tightening their encirclement.
Tap-tap-tap—
At that sound, Chu Hyeongi’s brow furrowed.
The warning-tinged sound suggested that continuing in that direction would lead him straight into the enemy, so he immediately changed course and moved elsewhere.
후— 오!
Was it his imagination that he heard a sound of approval?
Chu Hyeongi found himself smiling unconsciously and increased his pace further. As he continued to hear warnings and change direction accordingly, the frequency of encounters with enemies naturally decreased.
Had he gained confidence from this?
Chu Hyeongi pushed his speed even higher.
“Hah, hah… Where am I supposed to go?! This is driving me mad!”
Of course, this was not the hillside where he had played as a child.
He had no idea where to go to shake off these men or even how to descend the mountain, making the situation incredibly difficult.
In contrast, his enemies were familiar with this terrain.
Carrying Jin Cheon-u while facing such opponents—Chu Hyeongi had never experienced anything this grueling in his entire life.
His expression and eyes revealed everything.
Flap—!
At that moment.
The Great Owl, who had remained hidden until now, suddenly soared high into the sky. Chu Hyeongi looked up in bewilderment—the bird rarely appeared during daylight—only to see it surge ahead of him, moving toward somewhere.
Watching its movements, Chu Hyeongi seemed to make a decision and cried out.
“You want me to follow you?”
There was no answer.
Yet from merely a glance that the Great Owl cast toward Jang Chuchyeong, I could discern his intentions.
Matching the creature’s rapid flight, Jang Chuchyeong drove his feet harder against the earth.
Despite carrying Jin Cheon-u on his back, the beast-like fluidity of his movements was nothing short of miraculous.
Soon enough, as if arriving at his destination, the Great Owl descended slowly. When the creature cried out once more from atop that cliff-like perch, only then did Jang Chuchyeong understand what lay in this place.
“…Thank heavens….”
Before Jang Chuchyeong’s eyes stood a cave.
Though barely large enough for a single person to enter, it was perfectly suited for concealment, and the surrounding undergrowth was so dense that it remained well-hidden from view.
An ideal place to hide.
Releasing a breath of relief, he carefully laid Jin Cheon-u down within when—
Rustle—
A sound from somewhere touched his senses.
He turned his head sharply, clenching his fists.
His eyes gleamed with lethal intent, a promise that he would show no mercy to whoever appeared, as he stared intently at the rustling undergrowth.
A familiar face suddenly burst through.
“Ah—just as I thought! You’re here.”
“…Physician?!”
The unexpected visitor was none other than Chaeseoha.
Pat—pat—
Emerging from the dense undergrowth, she brushed the debris from her clothes and spoke casually.
“I heard strange sounds and wondered if it might be you. I almost passed by without finding you.”
“How did you even get here… and alone at that? Have you lost your mind?”
“This is nothing. Phew—.”
After brushing the dirt from her clothes, she released a sigh of relief and slowly approached Jin Cheon-u, who lay before the cave entrance.
Crouching down to examine his condition, her eyes met his as they fluttered faintly open.
Was it because of this?
Chaeseoha smiled softly.
“Doesn’t this remind you of a similar situation before? Shall I help?”
Perhaps it was her words that stirred a sense of déjà vu?
A faint smile graced Jin Cheon-u’s lips.
“…Yes, thank you.”

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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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