The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 279
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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 279
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Chwiayeok always waited for nightfall.
Hidden away in some damp, unknown place, I held my breath, counting the moments until the sun would finally set.
A single short blade gripped in my hand.
As if proving it was finally fulfilling its purpose, the crimson-stained edge gleamed with blood, its razor-sharp blade seeming to mirror the very depths of my resolve.
“…I will kill.”
My gaze fixed upon the blade, my resolve unwavering. Though it was my own mistake, those years of being enslaved by the blood mountain poison, subjected to contempt and humiliation—
Now that I had reached a point of no return, I was determined to take as many companions as possible with me to the afterlife.
If I could, the entire Dan Li Family.
If not, then at least Dan Rimyeong’s head.
My brow furrowed as I steeled my heart, then turned my gaze outward.
Night had fallen, and darkness now draped the surroundings.
As I stepped outside and began walking cautiously, voices of people echoed from all around.
Despite the late hour, lanterns illuminated the streets as brightly as midday.
“Hahahaha!”
“Hohoho!”
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
Fireworks burst forth from various places, and the laughter and cheers of the city’s people rang out endlessly as masked dancers and acrobats performed throughout the streets.
I took in the sight, my brow narrowing.
Someone was dying, yet those around me remained utterly indifferent.
I could not laugh, yet they laughed. I could not enjoy, yet they reveled.
Feeling a bitter laugh escape me at this extreme contrast, I melted back into the darkness.
My destination was already determined.
The estate where the Dan Li Family had gathered to celebrate the birthday banquet of the Prince.
As I moved toward it, I smiled.
Was this not like a gift from heaven itself?
Forced to consume an antidote once a month or face death from the blood mountain poison, yet all the key figures of the Dan Li Family from Liaoning had come to Hebei.
With a smile befitting such perfect circumstances, I embraced a malevolent ghostly aura and vaulted over the estate’s walls before anyone could notice.
At that moment, patrolling Sega Warriors came into view.
As they turned their gaze, puzzled by the sudden gust of wind—
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
Fireworks burst from somewhere, and cheers erupted from the crowd.
Thwack!
I seized the moment and extended my blade.
Though I had not mastered the assassin’s technique, darkness was my stage, and a man cannot survive with his throat and heart pierced.
“Gasp!”
“Krraaaagh!”
Waaaaaah—!
The brief death rattle was swallowed by the roaring cheers and vanished.
The moment the two bodies collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Chwiayeok moved with even greater boldness.
“What are you saying! Chwiayeok?!”
“Yes, it appears he has slain all of the Sega warriors and stolen the antidote.”
“Impossible! The poison requires consumption once a month—fleeing would be meaningless!”
“…That is!”
At that moment, Dan Rimyeong’s voice echoed from a distant hall. The instant I realized there were others pulling the strings of the Sega beyond him, Chwiayeok’s lips curled into an even darker smile.
There it is.
Waaaaaah—!
Simultaneously, another roar of cheers erupted from beyond the walls.
The night seemed to tremble with jubilation itself.
Dancers and festive music mingled, and the streets swelled with noise as if silence had never existed.
But this place was different.
*Shlick*—
“Gack…!”
A man collapsed with his throat seized, unable even to scream.
Then, at the end of the corridor devoid of light, another man’s neck twisted silently.
Yet outside, the cheers continued to burst forth.
“Long live the Prince! Long live!”
“Raise it higher! Light the fires higher!”
The screams were buried by the wind and faded, while only the thick stench of blood spread through the estate.
Though Chwiayeok’s shadow could not be seen, with each step, men spilled their blood one by one.
*Whoooosh*— *Boom*
A deafening sound pierced the sky as brilliant fireworks exploded in dazzling patterns.
For a moment, the dark interior of the estate was illuminated, revealing fallen bodies and bloodstains scattered about, then darkness returned.
A man who noticed the strange situation rushed toward the hall, and just as another man, alarmed by the scent of blood wafting over, opened his mouth—
“F-Family Head! Something… Hack!”
*Thwack*!
Before the words could finish, a dagger pierced through his chest.
The moment the corpse with rolled-back eyes collapsed to the ground, another firework shot skyward, and with its brilliant light, it revealed the true spectacle of the estate—a scene no different from hell itself.
Waaaaaah—
What followed was the roar of the crowd.
Light and sparks, and songs.
Inside and outside the estate were entirely different worlds.
Chwiayeok licked his lips, his cold eyes flashing.
He felt his hands trembling violently.
One who had never properly wielded a weapon nor experienced assassination, yet in the darkness had stolen the breath from many warriors.
This is why my hand holding the short sword trembles.
My muscles ache, and the blood-soaked hilt is slippery beyond measure.
The blade, saturated with crimson blood, felt duller than before, requiring more force with each strike, and my stamina drained rapidly as a result.
“Haah—.”
Chwiayeok drew a deep breath and wiped his face with his collar.
Steadying his trembling body amid the thick stench of blood was no easy task, yet his settling gaze still held that ghostly aura.
As if he’d resolved that even if this cursed life ended today, he would drag at least one more with him.
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The stone market of Chengdu was so crowded with people that there was nowhere to set foot. Countless souls had gathered to enjoy the eve festival, their numbers beyond counting, and even taking a single step forward proved difficult.
“What… why are there so many people…!”
Chaeseoha, trapped between the throngs and unable to escape, furrowed her brow in complaint, and I smiled faintly as I pulled her along.
Only then did she seem to realize we’d broken free from the crowd, exhaling a sigh of relief as she brushed off her clothes.
“This is supposed to be enjoyable, right? It feels more like a festival designed to kill you.”
“I didn’t expect it to be this crowded either. It seems people have gathered not just from Beijing but from the surrounding regions as well.”
“Ugh… if I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve stayed in my room today and enjoyed it tomorrow.”
Though her words flowed freely with complaints, Chaeseoha’s gaze continued to drift toward her surroundings.
The acrobatics and mask dances visible everywhere, the bursting fireworks and the people’s tricks—they certainly possessed a brilliance that captivated the eye.
I smiled and bought some wine and skewers from a street vendor.
A festival truly tastes best with drink and food.
Thus we slowly made our way through the crowd, taking in the sights around us.
A dancer was performing a sword dance at a distance.
“Wow—how does she dance so beautifully?”
In the moment when Chaeseoha, utterly captivated by her performance, opened her mouth in undisguised amazement, the sword in her hand swept through the air, cutting the wind.
Thwack—!
The dancer’s blade carved through the wind, but something else pierced flesh. Feeling that presence distinctly, I found myself wearing a small smile.
Rat-a-tat-tat—!
Following that, the mask dance continued and fireworks erupted.
Whoosh— Thwack!
A cold blade stole someone’s life.
The final gasp was swallowed by the sound of fireworks, and no one in the crowd sensed anything amiss.
They simply enjoyed the festival, oblivious to it all.
Chaeseoha, her expression and eyes more animated than ever, led me forward, and with each step she pulled me along, my sharp senses grew ever more acute.
“Wooooah—!”
A man with strong liquor in his mouth sprayed it toward a torch. Fierce flames burst from his mouth, and the crowd’s exclamations rang out loudly.
Crackle!
Watching this, Chaeseoha drank the wine in her hand and took a bite of her skewer.
“Cough!”
In that moment of chewing, the flavor of the skewer was as sweet as the festival before my eyes, and the potent wine sliding down my throat was as sharp and stinging as a dagger lodged in my throat.
Whoosh!
The aroma of wine and roasted meat intertwined.
Mingled with it, the faint metallic scent of blood drifting through the air.
Boom—!
As fireworks shot skyward and painted brilliant patterns across the darkness, the crowd’s cheers swelled louder, echoing across the entire city.
Indeed, this was a festival befitting the birthday celebration of the Prince.
Everything visible gleamed with splendor, every morsel that touched the lips was a delicacy, and even the cheap wine flowing down one’s throat felt like fine vintage in this atmosphere.
“Wow—! How magnificent!”
Chaeseoha gazed upward in undisguised wonder.
The embroidered patterns adorning the night sky seemed to please her greatly, for her upturned face showed no sign of looking away.
When the fireworks shot upward once more and painted another design, her eyes sparkled with an intensity that suggested she was utterly captivated, and she let out another gasp of delight.
It wasn’t only she who felt this way.
The gazes of the people surrounding us were equally transfixed.
Though the fireworks had ceased their ascent, the crowd, still intoxicated by the embroidered patterns in the sky, grew louder with their drinking and chatter, further heightening the festive mood.
Yet Chaeseoha remained gazing upward.
As if clinging to a faint hope that the fireworks might burst forth once more.
“You’ll catch a cold.”
“Phew! Thank you, Young Master. My mood has improved so much because of you.”
“Did something unpleasant happen?”
“I was in a terrible mood because of what happened earlier, but now it feels like it’s all been washed away.”
Chaeseoha smiled brightly.
The sudden recollection of my connection to the Dan Li Family—something I’d preferred not to dwell upon—left an unspoken knot in my chest, though I concealed it.
Yet today, having watched the festival and let those feelings drift away, her expression and eyes appeared noticeably lighter.
I offered her a gentle smile in response to that brightness.
“Sometimes, knots we didn’t intend to tie come undone on their own.”
“Ah, yes, that’s true.”
Crash—!
In that instant.
A tremendous sound erupted from somewhere.
Thinking perhaps another firework had been launched, the crowd’s eyes lifted skyward once more, but the night sky remained dark, with nothing ascending into it.
“…Help—!”
Simultaneously, a strange cry pierced the air.
“Aaahhhhh—!”
“…What is this?!”
Someone was shrieking as if begging for their life.
As a figure ran through the crowd, wailing and gasping for breath, people recoiled in horror, creating distance.
A man drenched entirely in blood.
So many wounds—stab wounds and lacerations—that they were impossible to count.
Through the tears in his garments, the marks of blades embedded in flesh were visible everywhere, and the blood flowing from these wounds continued unabated, leaving a trail upon the ground.
“P-please… save me… please…!”
Still, the man ran.
Crying out as if seeking help, driven only by the will to survive, but the ordinary people gathered around had come merely to enjoy the festival.
No one wished to involve themselves in such matters.
They simply furrowed their brows to avoid entanglement and distanced themselves, while some hastily abandoned the spot, unwilling to remain in such a place.
As the running man drew near to where we stood, the crowd parted once more, and he collided with the vacant-minded Chaeseoha and tumbled to the ground.
Thud!
“Ugh!?”
Chaeseoha’s rear struck hard from the impact with the man’s body.
The moment she gazed upon the fallen figure’s face, her brow furrowed in pain.
“…!?”
Chaeseoha recognized him instantly.
Simultaneously, a smile spread across my lips.
Dan Rimyeong, the Family Head of the Dan Li Family.
It was undoubtedly him.
“…You are…!?”
Dan Rimyeong also recognized Chaeseoha, his eyes widening as he stared at her, and as if discovering a glimmer of hope, he scrambled to his feet and began rushing toward us desperately.
“Sa….”
Just as shameless words were about to spill from his lips.
Suddenly, a shadow fell across his back, and a messenger bearing ghostly malice swung a blood-stained dagger with eyes devoid of mercy.
Whoosh—!
The swung dagger embedded itself directly into Dan Rimyeong’s crown, and as if its purpose was fulfilled, the blade snapped, leaving only the hilt in the messenger’s grasp.
“Crack!”
With Dan Rimyeong’s final groan, his pupils trembled violently and lost their light, and soon he knelt before Chaeseoha before collapsing forward.
“Kyaaaaaaaa—!”
“Uwaaah!”
“Eek! Someone is dead!”
As the voices of the people erupted simultaneously, the messenger’s figure vanished into the crowd.
However, Chaeseoha and I remained motionless, gazing intently.
Dan Rimyeong kneeling before Chaeseoha, blood pouring from his crown as if bowing his head to the earth.
Was it not as if he were seeking forgiveness for his sins?
After observing this for a long while, Chaeseoha closed her eyes tightly, grasped her trembling hands to steady herself, and slowly, ever so slowly, regulated her ragged breathing before exhaling.
Soon after, she gazed at me with an indifferent expression.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
I led her away from the festival’s chaos.
Yet in my ears, the sounds of fireworks, screams, and cheers still echoed in tangled discord.
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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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