The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 230

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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

* * *

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 sight before me was unmistakably like a masterwork of art.
There was something sacred about him.
To gaze upon him was to be drawn inexorably inward, and once ensnared, escape became impossible—like witnessing a being who merely breathed without action, yet even that breath could not be called human.
After remaining motionless for an eternity, the man’s eyes twitched.
Then, slowly, he opened them.
Golden irises suffused with divine power flickered for an instant.
It was at that very moment a smile graced his lips.
“How amusing.”
He sensed it.
One of the ancestral halls of the successive Divine Patriarchs somewhere in the Central Plains.
Someone there had laid hands upon the Divine’s seat.
A figure who screamed with blazing eyes, pouring forth rage.
A voice laden with anguish, as though rupturing something long contained.
Along with that erupting voice came the sensation of one particular force.
Undoubtedly, it was one of the three Primordial Heavenly Stones.
That one had pushed him away as if rejecting him.
Because of it, I could not see what I wished to see, nor grasp what I wished to grasp.
“Does this one reject even me?”
The man laughed at such a thought.
Of the three Primordial Heavenly Stones, he had claimed one, another had vanished by Gwanbaek’s hand, 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 Heavenly Stones have found their masters.”
And one of those masters had ascended to the seat and laid hands upon it.
Had they stumbled upon it by chance?
Or had they sought it deliberately?
The interference prevented me from learning the details, yet I could confirm one thing: all the Primordial Heavenly Stones had been lost.
The most suspicious was Gwanbaek.
Yet the sensation felt distant from that one.
Unrefined and somewhat crude, yet somehow intricate and pure in its essence.
Which meant it was someone else entirely.
The murderous intent radiating from one standing vacant at the Divine’s seat unmistakably revealed a connection to the Divine Sect.
But whether this was happening now or would occur in some distant future remained unknowable.
Or perhaps…
“It may have returned.”
The power of Gok Ok always exceeded expectations.
Even more so if it were 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 beginning with that sensation, he could sense that it had certainly returned.
Then had Gwanbaek used this one?
Considering that the aura of one who should have become a cripple or been unable to survive had grown stronger than before, he judged that the one who would become the master of the primordial stone had been holding onto his soul.
For he possessed the ability to seize the souls of others.
The fascination did not easily fade.
This one as well as Gwanbaek.
Beings that created ripples in the tedious daily existence of the Divine.
That was most amusing.
Would he truly grow to match the murderous intent he had unleashed and stand before me?
Or would he crumble without enduring?
Or perhaps, how does one who seeks to resolve bitter resentment toward the Priest intend to reclaim everything that was lost?
Either way, it was a matter that stirred interest.
The man closed his eyes once more with such thoughts.
Not sleeping, but as if attempting to perceive all things in the world.
And at that same moment, a faint smile appeared at the man’s lips.

* * *

“Cough, cough!”
“Young Master?! Are you alright?”
I coughed and pushed myself up from the ground. As a sharp pain coursed through my body, I furrowed my brow, and Chaeseoha, who had drawn near, gently rubbed my back to soothe me.
“What happened?”
“You tumbled down from those stairs above. You really scared me.”
At her words, I turned my gaze once more.
Towering stairs came into view.
The sight alone was enough to make my head spin.
Without thinking, I furrowed my brow and rose to my feet, attempting to take a step toward the stairs 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 vision 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 advance.
The instant I place even a single foot upon those stairs.
My entire body will be torn to shreds and I will die.
“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 touched my heart.
It was thrashing wildly, warning me to flee this place.
As if saying it could protect me no longer.
And so I could not advance further.
I had already witnessed what would happen the moment I ignored this threat and took a step forward.
“Damn it… this isn’t going as intended.”
“What’s up there?”
What’s up there?
A seat for The Divine.
The moment my hand touched it, I felt that piercing gaze.
Such an absurd presence and stare that even the fearsome Gwanbaek seemed insignificant by comparison.
Moreover, wasn’t it trying to look toward me?
Fortunately, it seemed the Gok Ok’s aura had blocked that gaze, but I could not deny it was a horrifying memory I never wished to experience again.
The moment it surfaced in my mind, cold sweat poured down my face once more.
“Are you alright?”
Despite hearing her voice, I could not relax my furrowed brow as I steadied my breathing.
I tried to calm my mind, but it was far from easy.
I turned my gaze once more toward the seat of The Divine positioned high above.
The height was such that merely looking upward caused my neck to ache—a physical manifestation of the majesty that defined existence itself.
Furrowing my brow, I racked my mind again.
I etched every detail I had witnessed at the summit into my memory.
A single throne where The Divine would sit.
Behind it lay a peculiar semicircular wall adorned with murals that seemed to symbolize something profound.
Yet despite my pride in my exceptional memory, no matter how deeply I searched my recollection, the images on those murals remained frustratingly indistinct.
Everything was shrouded in haze.
As though I had witnessed something that could not truly be seen.
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 Seat before us began to crumble.
Crack—crack—
Like a sandcastle collapsing, the destruction began from the very apex, fracturing and shattering into countless fragments that scattered everywhere.
As though it had fulfilled its purpose and could exist no longer.
The moment I instinctively pulled Chaeseoha back and retreated.
The enemy granted no time for thought.
Boom—!
A thunderous sound erupted from somewhere.
Simultaneously, countless Huncheon Gangsi poured inside, their eyes fixed upon me with a heartbeat’s intensity, their hostility unmistakable—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 there was space where they existed, and following them would inevitably lead me to an exit.
Without hesitation, I gripped my sword and rushed toward them.

* * *

“Uuuaaaaahhhhh—.”
Early dawn.
Chu Hyeongi opened his eyes and stretched with a vacant gaze, surveying his surroundings. The sun was beginning to rise, so I needed to finish preparations for departure before it grew stronger.
After taking a sip of water and a bite of the dried meat I’d hidden in my robes, I began waking the others who were still asleep when I sensed a peculiar presence approaching.
My gaze turned toward it.
“What is it? Do you need something from me?”
“Where has the Young Master gone?”
At those words, I looked around to find Jin Cheon-u, but he was nowhere to be seen, just as Namgung Yeon said.
I scratched my head and stood up from my seat.
“He must have gone to see So-phi.”
“The physician has also disappeared with him.”
At that remark, my eyes widened considerably.
A young man and woman of marriageable age vanishing suddenly—there was only one thing that came to mind.
Just as I was about to voice it, I noticed Namgung Yeon’s eyes sharpen dangerously, so I quickly closed my mouth.
Then.
“…We barely made it.”
A familiar voice came from somewhere.
Namgung Yeon and I quickly turned our gaze, and we could see two figures walking toward us from the middle of the desert, their expressions 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 signs of being torn in several places.
Chaeseoha’s condition was particularly severe.
Her skirt was torn in long rips, exposing her skin, and her disheveled hair seemed to testify to how intense the night had been.
Seeing this, I swallowed hard.
“How… how long… to end up like that….”
“It must be a misunderstanding.”
“What misunderstanding? That’s clearly….”
“Shh. They’re coming.”
Jin Cheon-u and Chaeseoha had drawn near.
The Imperial Guards and even the warriors swallowed hard, staring intently at the two before awkwardly turning their gazes away as their eyes met, and they resumed their work.
The atmosphere was somewhat peculiar.
Perhaps sensing this, Jin Cheon-u and Chaeseoha approached me and Namgung Yeon with puzzled expressions.
“What’s the matter?”
“Well, what’s the matter is… uh?”
Just as I was about to speak freely, Namgung Yeon beside me quietly stepped between the two of them.
Then he smiled brightly.
“Did you rest well last night?”
“Does it look like I rested well?”
“Truly. I thought I’d die from the agony. I thought I was going mad.”
“You’re fine now, aren’t you?”
“Even when I screamed that it hurt so much, you couldn’t understand a word I said. Good grief….”
“I couldn’t stop myself, so there was nothing to be done about it.”
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 should never have heard.
His hardened expression carried an indescribable emotion, and soon he turned away, plugging his ears with his fingers.
As if he didn’t wish to listen.
Meanwhile, even Chu Hyeongi seemed to have lost his composure, his mouth hanging open as he listened, before he too quietly widened the distance and withdrew.
Jin Cheon-u frowned as he watched them.
“What are you doing? We’re leaving before the sun rises any higher, so prepare yourselves. I intend to escape this place as quickly as possible.”
“…Understood!”
At Chu Hyeongi’s response, Jin Cheon-u nodded and returned to his place, looking somewhat weary.
At that moment, seeing Chaeseoha following beside him while rubbing her backside, the people could say nothing more.
“Ugh—this really hurts like death. 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 and walked away, the people could only hold their breath in silence and watch.
To anyone’s eye, something auspicious seemed about to unfold.
Was that the reason?
Chu Hyeongi gazed at Jin Cheon-u’s departing figure with glistening eyes for a long while, then wiped them with his sleeve and wore a satisfied expression.
“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 where 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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