The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 280

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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 280

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Screeeeeech—
As the festive eve drew to a close, ear-piercing shrieks erupted from every corner of the city.
The people who had been enjoying the festival began to grasp the situation, and those who had been laughing and chattering fell silent, hurrying toward their dwellings.
Constables burst forth from the magistrate’s office and rushed toward some location, while the gates of the Royal Palace, which had been firmly sealed, swung wide open and soldiers poured out to begin searching the streets.
The festive atmosphere dissipated, and a heavy silence settled over the city.
I turned my gaze away from the window where I had been observing the scene.
Unable to forget the carnage that had unfolded before my eyes, I could see So-ha lying on the bed with her forehead pressed against her hand.
Her expression, exhaling without uttering a single word, seemed to be a tangled mixture of indecipherable emotions.
I gazed at her quietly and opened my mouth.
“Was the shock severe?”
“Ah, a person died right before my eyes—of course it was. Especially since he was Father’s close friend.”
Sigh—
She exhaled another long sigh before finally raising her upper body. Her thoughts seemed to have settled somewhat as she turned her gaze toward me.
“Did the Young Master order this?”
“That’s unlikely. I did release Chwiayeok, but I never expected he would actually kill him.”
“…Is that so?”
“You can trust me. What I did was simply… to let him go.”
I averted my eyes from her piercing gaze and offered a slight smile.
I had indeed let him go, but the outcome had been foreseeable.
In the past, he was someone who gnashed his teeth at the mention of the Dan Li Family.
Yet with all circumstances turning against him and death looming before his eyes from the poison, I was certain that the people of the Dan Li Family would drive him to a desperate act.
However, the decision ultimately rested with Chwiayeok.
He chose to kill the man from the Dan Li Family and carried it out.
Had he not done so, I would have employed a different method, but as it happened, events unfolded conveniently according to my preferences.
“You don’t look particularly satisfied.”
“I am satisfied. Completely and utterly. But I didn’t want to witness it with my own eyes. Ugh—”
So-ha shuddered and rubbed her shoulders with both arms.
She harbored no desire for vengeance, yet she seemed to have wished to hear of his death someday—though she never imagined it would unfold before her very eyes.
I smiled and shook my head.
“Consider it revenge accomplished and forget it. You saw the festival and achieved your vengeance—two birds with one stone.”
“That wasn’t what I intended.”
Her expression softened somewhat, as if her mood had improved. Seeing the smile return to her lips, it appeared she had cast aside the memory that had been lodged in her mind.
“There!”
“Over there!”
At that moment, a commotion erupted from outside.
When I turned my gaze toward the window, I could see countless people bustling through the streets.
“Quite the commotion out there.”
The sounds drifting in from outside were remarkably intense.
Constables and royal guards had already begun searching the vicinity, pursuing Chwiayeok.
No matter how skilled one was at concealment, having faced the Dan Li Family alone and sustained considerable wounds, it seemed he would find it difficult to shake off their pursuit.
I turned my gaze back toward So-ha.
“Rest for today. Once we enjoy the main festival tomorrow, we’ll head back immediately.”
“They’re resuming the festival in this situation?”
“It’s the Royal Prince’s birthday celebration. It would be petty to cancel it merely because a few people died.”
“Ah.”
“That’s the extent of the Dan Li Family’s influence.”
As I spoke with a smile, So-ha nodded as if she understood.
Since we were guests of the Royal Prince, they would mobilize all available personnel to find the culprit, but there was no question of canceling the celebration.
For them, it was merely a trivial incident where some covert struggle had occurred.
“In any case, matters have been resolved.”
“Resolved?”
“The Dan Li Family. I had been considering issuing them a warning since they attempted to interfere with the Jin Family… but this turned out to be an unexpected gain.”
“Sigh…”
As I spoke with a slight smile, So-ha shook her head and sighed. She was undoubtedly thinking me sinister.
Only then did I slip away from the window and head toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m bored. I’ll take a look around outside. Don’t worry—I won’t run away. Rest yourself.”
At my words, So-ha looked at me with a somewhat dumbfounded expression, then shook her head and clicked her tongue as if to say there was nothing to be done about it.
I responded with a smile and left the room.

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“Huff… huff…!”
Chwiayeok’s complexion was far from healthy as he threw his body forward with tremendous effort. Though he deployed his specialty—the art of concealment—to mask his presence, the blood flowing from his body left unmistakable traces behind. His ragged breathing and inability to focus rendered even his concealment technique meaningless.
He had succeeded in his objective: killing Dan Rimyeong. Yet the path to achieve it proved anything but easy.
In the moment his legs faltered and he staggered forward with difficulty.
Crash—!
His legs gave out entirely, and he tumbled across the ground.
His body was already covered in sword wounds from countless places.
As he rolled, the wounds scraped against the earth, and fresh agony flooded through him.
Part of me desperately wished to collapse and examine my injuries, but thinking of the constables and Royal Guards who might pursue me at any moment, I knew I could not afford to stop.
He forced himself to his feet and moved again.
“Heh… hehehehe—.”
Even moving his body required immense effort, and his mind had grown so scattered that each step was a struggle. Yet in this moment, Chwiayeok felt truly alive.
“Ahahaha—.”
Laughter spilled from his lips unbidden.
Since he could no longer obtain the antidote, his remaining life would not exceed a month. Yet he wore a radiant smile like one who had gained eternal freedom.
No longer would he obey anyone’s commands.
He could live freely, doing as he pleased.
This was how a thief should live.
Compared to those days when he was grasped and manipulated in the hands of Dan Rimyeong and the Dan Li Family, the remaining time before death was a treasure worth trading a hundred years for.
He would make the most of whatever time remained.
“Ahahaha—!”
“There! That’s him!”
Then.
A fierce shout pierced his ears from somewhere.
Chwiayeok’s expression hardened as he turned his gaze, and the Royal Guards were closing the distance at tremendous speed.
His clothes were drenched with blood.
Anyone could tell at a glance that he was a criminal.
“I can’t be caught here!”
Having escaped their grasp once, I could not die in a place like this. Chwiayeok gritted his teeth and melted back into the darkness, moving with careful precision.
But it was not easy.
Even hidden in shadow, his body continued to leave traces behind.
Chwiayeok ran with clenched teeth.
Without stopping his legs, he reached out and tore strips from his clothing, then hastily wrapped them around the wounds still bleeding to stanch the flow.
It was not complete hemostasis, but for now it would suffice.
In that moment, he suppressed his presence once more and turned sharply into an alley.
Snap—!
Crash—!
“Ugh?!”
Suddenly a leg shot out and swept his own from beneath him.
As Chwiayeok’s body tumbled pathetically across the ground, the Royal Guards pursuing him seized the opportunity and pressed forward with even greater speed.
However.
Crack—!
Crack, crack—!
Something flew from the darkness and swung down with terrifying force.
A precise strike that struck the opponent’s vital points with accuracy in complete darkness was far beyond what mere Royal Guards could withstand.
“Cough!”
“Gasp!”
Violent gasps erupted, and the men’s bodies crumpled one by one. Their eyes, unable to comprehend what had transpired, rolled back helplessly, and I could no longer sense the presence of those pursuing Chwiayeok.
Was it because of this?
Chwiayeok’s eyes trembled as they fixed upon a figure.
“You… are…!”
A being standing motionless, swallowing the pitch-black darkness itself.
I gazed at Chwiayeok, who could not hide his shock, and pulled my lips back into a thick smile, baring my white teeth.

“You managed to survive.”
“You…!”
I smiled as I looked at Chwiayeok in his pitiful state. His eyes trembled violently, as though he could not comprehend this situation at all.
Fear dwelled in his gaze and expression.
It was not mere fear.
Fear that had deeply taken root and been carved into his very being.
His eyes gazing upon me revealed it clearly.
I lifted the faint smile at my lips higher as I regarded him.
“You’re badly wounded. It’s almost miraculous that you’re still alive.”
“This is…”
“I know. You killed Dan Rimyeong, didn’t you? You drove a short blade into his crown right before me, yet you didn’t even notice—it seems nothing else entered your vision.”
“…!?”
At my words, Chwiayeok’s complexion changed in an instant.
It drained of all color, becoming deathly pale.
He had wielded the short blade with nothing but the resolve to kill, never imagining it would have accomplished anything before me.
“…It was not my fault! Dan Rimyeong, that man used me…”
“I know, so don’t be afraid. Rather, I wish to praise you. I never dreamed you would actually succeed.”
“What do you mean…”
“I anticipated it would turn out roughly like this, but I thought you’d only target Dan Rimyeong alone. Yet you killed them all.”
“…Ugh!”
“And you survived.”
What captured my interest was precisely this point.
He wielded a short blade, yet he had not properly learned martial arts.
It should have been impossible for someone relying only on concealment techniques and a single blade to kill everyone in the manor.
Yet this man had done it.
Not only that—he had survived.
Though my appearance was wretched, the very fact that I breathed through hell itself proved something different from the past—something that inevitably sparked my interest.
I approached Chwiayeok, who sat trembling on the ground.
“Do you wish to live?”
“I….”
“I don’t ask twice.”
“Y-yes, I wish to live! I desperately wish to live!”
Chwiayeok cried out forcefully, revealing his yearning for life. Yet knowing it was impossible, his eyes soon dimmed and a bitter smile crossed his lips.
“But I know it’s futile… Hehehehe… So please, let me go now. With only half a month left in my life, I wish to do everything I desire before the end.”
“And what do I gain from this?”
“Hehehehe- Would you take my secret techniques? The Dan Li Family has been desperately searching for them.”
Secret techniques?
I had searched for them in the past but ultimately failed. However, now I had a better idea than turning my attention to such techniques.
I threw a small jade vial from my robes.
“…What is this?”
“Do you know of the Uiseonchae family?”
“Of course. Dan Rimyeong has been grinding his teeth searching for them….”
“This is an antidote created by the last descendant of that family.”
“…!”
At the word antidote, Chwiayeok’s eyes widened sharply.
Merely watching his trembling hand grip the jade vial, it seemed he grasped the meaning in an instant.
“Take it.”
“This… you’re giving this to me… why?”
“I assure you, the moment you consume it, you’ll need never search for an antidote again—you’ll be completely free.”
“…Is this truly so?”
“Yes, because I made it for you.”
Not for anyone else, but for Chwiayeok himself.
This single phrase held the weight.
“Why would you…?”
“I’m not certain if all the Chae family are like this or if she’s simply exceptional, but apparently she couldn’t leave it be. She didn’t eat or drink—she focused entirely on creating it.”
An antidote created by someone who neither ate nor drank, all for him. The moment those words reached his ears, Chwiayeok’s body began trembling violently.
As if receiving such warmth for the first time in his life.
“I’ll release you. But if you consider it a debt, how about devoting your full abilities to her service?”
“That… what do you mean?”
“The Chae family needs protection. With you, there’s no question.”
No one knows what will unfold ahead.
Though I pride myself on protecting So-ha well thus far, I cannot guarantee it will continue—so having a hidden blade sheathed within my grasp would be the greatest reassurance imaginable.
Moreover, I had received a fine gift from the Demonic Sect as well.
I gazed at him with a deep smile on my lips.
An expression and gaze that utterly disbelieved the situation.
Yet his trembling eyes remained fixed upon the jade vial in his hand, unable to look away.
I found the wavering look in his eyes deeply satisfying.
As if he were torn between freedom and shackles.
From that alone, it was clear that So-ha’s warmth was stirring his heart.
I kept my gaze fixed on Chwiayeok and pushed him forward.
“The choice is yours to make.”

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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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