The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 273

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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 273

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Chwiayeok loved the night.
The silence and solitude that could only be felt in the late hours were so comforting. This sensation of becoming one with the darkness itself—those who had never experienced it would never understand.
Tap, tap, tap—
I held my breath at the sound of approaching footsteps, then resumed moving once they gradually faded into the distance.
As I slipped over the wall with nimble movements, a sense of accomplishment washed over me, and the valuables tucked in my robes reminded me that I was truly alive.
This was the night.
The night was my stage.
My eyes gleaming as I savored the performance, I suddenly sighed and let my shoulders sag, shaking my head.
“How much longer do I have to stay in this wretched place…?”
Considerable time had already passed since I accepted the commission.
Yet I still couldn’t leave Henan, for one simple reason—I never knew when another order might come down.
While the task itself was merely to approach discreetly and scatter poison, it seemed quite important to whoever was pulling my strings.
Because of that, I remained bound to Henan, unable to move freely.
Though my heart yearned to flee, I knew all too well what it meant to disobey them.
“Hmph!”
I snorted derisively and turned away sharply.
Those wretches who had shackled my once-free spirit.
My teeth ground together at the mere thought, yet I knew better than anyone that there was nothing I could do about it.
“Bah! Despicable bastards!”
Grumbling and walking without hesitation, I settled my stolen goods with Ha Omun’s fence and pocketed a hefty sum of silver and notes.
When one’s mood was foul, there was nothing better than eating, drinking, and indulging.
With my pockets bulging so satisfyingly, shouldn’t I go have some fun?
And what Chwiayeok loved most was a place where I could enjoy wine, women, and gambling all at once.
As I pushed through the doors and stepped inside, countless figures came into view.
Some looked wealthy, others did not.
The women in particular were quite a sight—adorned with makeup and clothing even more garish than those in the red-light district, they wandered about flashing flirtatious smiles at the wealthy patrons.
Breathing in the atmosphere deeply and flushing with excitement, I threw caution to the wind and began gambling, winning and losing in turn, creating waves of emotion.
When I won big, I cheered loudly and tossed silver coins to the women clinging to me; when I lost, I scowled and freely drained bottle after bottle of wine.
Lost in this for quite some time, at some point—
A whisper reached my ears from somewhere.
“Truly?”
“Yes, I’m telling you. Everyone who’s seen her says an immortal maiden has descended.”
“There… there’s really such a woman…?”
“The problem is how well she gambles—they say she wins every day. No one’s ever seen her lose.”
Whisper, whisper—
Chwiayeok’s attention turned toward the voices echoing from various corners. A woman with beauty comparable to a celestial fairy gambling?
Wasn’t that amusing just to think about?
Moreover, if she was skilled enough at gambling to have never lost even once, he found himself wondering if their temperaments might align rather well.
And if her face was beautiful on top of that, well, that would be the icing on the cake.
Chwiayeok cautiously approached the men.
“Excuse me, what exactly were you just talking about?”
“Just now? Ah—we were discussing the gambling houses in Nakhyang. Were you asking about that?”
“Yes. Is it true that a woman as beautiful as a celestial fairy gambles and travels around?”
As he asked with gleaming eyes, the men wore bitter smiles.
“Are you thinking of going? I’ve only heard the rumors myself, so I can’t say if it’s true. But for word to spread even this far, it must be real, don’t you think? Haha.”
“They say she’s the most beautiful woman under heaven. Once you lay eyes on her, you can’t look away, they say. Hahaha. If only the distance weren’t so great, I’d go see for myself.”
At the two men’s words, Chwiayeok’s eyes brightened.
Nakhyang, was it…
It was certainly intriguing enough to capture his interest, but relying solely on rumors meant the distance was farther than he’d initially thought.
Yet it continued to linger in his mind.
Beauty as radiant as a celestial fairy.
Having never seen a woman called the most beautiful under heaven, Chwiayeok harbored no small desire to witness her with his own eyes.
Wasn’t it the nature of men to desire women?
“That’s right! That’s what it means to be a man!”
Soon, he made his decision.
Distance was no obstacle.
A woman called a celestial fairy for her beauty, who had never lost a single hand at the gambling table—how could he simply pass by such a spectacle?
His lips curved into a crooked smile.
What did distance matter?
He could simply spend a bit more on drinks.
Wasn’t money and time ultimately meant for pleasure?
Just as one plucks a blooming flower, once that woman fell into his hands, that would be the end of it.

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“…Again today?”
“Yeah, it’s not like we have anything else to do anyway.”
As the night deepened.
The moment I entered Chaeseoha’s quarters, she fixed me with a silent stare, her eyes narrowing to slits.
As if displeased at being forced to do something she didn’t want to do, she eventually sighed and opened a drawer, beginning to retrieve something.
Quite a hefty pouch of money filled the table completely.
All of it taken from the gambling dens, and though I didn’t bother counting the exact amount, it was clear the money had at least doubled from what I’d given her.
It was so unbelievable that a woman who had lived her entire life ignorant of gambling could have won such sums that even Namgung Yeon, who had been watching the whole affair, was left speechless.
It wasn’t mere luck.
She was the one who could diagnose illness from a person’s expression and gaze.
With such subtlety applied to gambling, she would certainly know who held strong cards and who didn’t, and her psychological warfare was stronger than anyone’s.
A physician reads the hearts of patients, after all.
While dice rolls and odd-or-even games relied heavily on fortune, as long as she avoided those, she couldn’t easily lose.
Chaeseoha understood this better than anyone, so she exploited it fully, and thanks to that, she obtained an absurd sum of money.
Was that why?
She sighed with eyes showing little interest.
“There’s quite a lot of money here….”
“Ha, gambling isn’t done because you have money or because you lack it. You do it simply because it’s entertaining.”
“I honestly can’t understand what’s entertaining about it.”
Chaeseoha shook her head and sighed.
Despite winning a large sum with a small initial amount, she didn’t seem particularly interested in gambling.
It was more like she felt the money had simply swelled up.
That also meant she harbored no great desire for material wealth.
She would find more interest in medicinal herbs or medical techniques to heal people than in money held in her hand.
“Why doesn’t the Young Master just take it?”
“Because he has no interest in men.”
“That’s quite repulsive.”
Chaeseoha frowned and shook her head.
It wasn’t strange for a man to have no interest in men, but she—having read my expression and eyes along with that single remark I’d made—
Had clearly identified him as someone with a taste for women.
“But is he really someone who requires this much effort?”
I nodded at Chaeseoha’s question.
His concealment technique was far more than simply suppressing one’s presence.
Even his breathing disappeared, and he left no footprints.
The very air around him remained undisturbed, so no matter how keen one’s senses were, he was difficult to detect.
That was how he had managed to survive countless traps and pursuits until now.
In concealment alone, his stealth rivaled that of the Death Emperor.
That was Chwiayeok’s true weapon.
The fortunate part was that his nature wasn’t as cruel as an assassin’s.
He found joy in theft rather than in killing.
Yet had I properly mastered martial arts and wielded a sword instead of wealth, the world might already remember the name of the “Slayer King.”
“The difficulty lies in finding someone in hiding. Once we lay eyes on them, we can decide whether to capture or kill.”
“Alright, alright, I understand. Let’s go, we’re going.”
At my firm words, Chaeseoha began her preparations with a grumble.
The moment she applied makeup to her ordinarily plain face, her eyes were no longer those of a physician.
Once Chaeseoha finished her cosmetics, she glanced at me sideways.
Did my expressionless gaze displease her?
She furrowed her brow and opened her mouth.
“Go change your clothes, would you.”
“Understood.”
Was there an edge to her voice, or was I imagining it?
As her words struck me with unusual weight, I quickly turned and left the room, and at that same moment, a door opened elsewhere, revealing Paeng Dohan and Eon Garyeo.
Our eyes met, and both of them looked at me in surprise.
“Where are you headed?”
“I have business to attend to. But what about the two of you?”
“Ah, my body’s recovered somewhat, so I thought I’d swing a blade or two. Lying in bed all this time has made me stiff.”
Tap, tap—
Paeng Dohan tapped the saber in his hand, his eyes gleaming.
Despite it being too soon to exert himself so strenuously, I suspected his eagerness to move stemmed from none other than Cheon Yul.
They could clash at any moment.
With confidence bolstered by recent events, I thought an entertaining fight might unfold before long.
As I nodded lightly—
The door opened, and Chaeseoha appeared.
With makeup, crimson rouge, and an ornate palace dress, she was an entirely different person from her usual modest self.
She who had captivated all eyes with her unadorned face alone now became a dazzling presence upon completing her adornment.
The breath of those who beheld her caught, and once their gaze met hers, it was difficult to tear away.
The reactions of Paeng Dohan and Eon Garyeo were dramatic.
Paeng Dohan’s jaw dropped and froze, while Eon Garyeo’s eyes flashed sharply in an instant.
The next moment—
Crunch.
“Gaaahhh?!”
Eon Garyeo mercilessly stepped on Paeng Dohan’s foot.
His face turned pale and his body trembled.
Yet his gaze remained fixed on Chaeseoha.
Eon Garyeo’s eyes, mixed with jealousy and fury, regarded him coldly before she forcefully grabbed his ear.
Though Paeng Dohan’s face contorted in pain, he seemed unable to cry out, keeping his mouth open as he endured the agony, yet his eyes still followed Chaeseoha.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Yes, and don’t forget to take Yeon with you.”
“Yes, yes, I understand.”
Chaeseoha nodded indifferently at my words and turned her gaze away.
Watching Paeng Dohan, now held by the ear in Eon Garyeo’s grip and staring down at the floor, Chaeseoha’s eyes crinkled with amusement.
Perhaps because of this, Eon Garyeo beside her stood frozen with a vacant expression before hastily bowing his head at Chaeseoha’s casual greeting.
The way he bent at the waist so awkwardly resembled someone choking on something.
One side groaning stupidly while held by the ear, the other bowing in an absurdly contorted manner—it was a ridiculous sight.
The spectacle was so utterly absurd that I nearly burst out laughing.
Shake, shake—
Without thinking, I shook my head and turned my gaze away.
The view outside the window caught my eye.
In the courtyard, I could see Namgung Yeon already waiting for Chaeseoha, her head bowed as if to say there was nothing to worry about.
Confirming that Chaeseoha had come outside and was leaving the annex with her, I finally withdrew my gaze and turned it toward the two before me.
Was my gaze startling?
As Eon Garyeo belatedly released his grip with hands and feet, Paeng Dohan staggered and let out a groan, and Eon Garyeo, now clinging to him, carefully straightened his disheveled clothes with a composed expression.
It was as if the one who had caused the illness was now offering the cure.
Only then did Eon Garyeo, having composed his voice, voice his question.
“Where exactly are you going at this hour in such a state?”
“I have some matters to attend to. Nothing to concern yourselves with.”
At my casual remark, both men nodded with puzzlement in their eyes, yet made no attempt to probe deeper.
They clearly understood the distinction between what they should know and what they should not.
A wise approach.
In any case, was this meeting also fate?
An opportunity had presented itself to use this idle time productively.
“If you don’t mind, would it be acceptable to train together?”
“Oh? You as well, Young Master? Then we’re delighted! Wouldn’t you say so, Garyeo?”
“Of course. Light conditioning, but it should prove quite beneficial.”
At the sight of both men smiling brightly, I nodded in return, revealing my satisfaction.
There was still time.
Before the night grew deeper, it seemed worthwhile to better commit the martial techniques of the Paeng and Eon families to memory.

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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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