The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 289
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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 289
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The members of the Martial Arts Alliance walked in procession, their bodies drenched by the pouring rain, each bearing a shadow of darkness across their faces.
The momentum they had carried to capture the Sword Emperor dissipated into thin air, leaving only the bizarre conduct displayed by his son in their wake.
The moment it became clear that the power the Moyong Family had accumulated was not truly their own strength, their hearts sank with unbearable weight.
When the existence of an unexpected and mysterious hidden force was revealed, every footstep became heavier than the rain itself.
Even Hye-myeong, who stood at the very front of the procession, walked in silence with his head bowed.
The chilling traces of those he had encountered at Yunrim Temple still vividly lingered in his mind.
“What are your thoughts, Gwak Bangju?”
“Are you referring to Yunrim Temple?”
“Indeed.”
“I am newly astonished. Who in this world would have imagined that there existed those capable of manipulating the Moyong Family?”
At those words, Hye-myeong and the others swallowed their groans.
They had no inkling whatsoever of who could command the Number One Sword Sect like mere extensions of their limbs.
“Could it be… that they have colluded with the Demon Sect?”
At that moment, Hwangbo Janghu voiced the most plausible theory.
If it were that place, from which information had scarcely emerged since the Righteous-Demonic War, then perhaps there existed something capable of bending the Moyong Family to their will.
“The Demon Sect, the Demon Sect…”
“As the Sect Leader suspected, the Moyong Family was certainly deeply involved in the downfall of the Namgung Family. The traces carved there… they were unmistakably the result of the Sword Emperor’s Ascending Heaven Sword Technique.”
At Gwak Bangju’s words, sounds of gasping breath were heard throughout. The fact that the Sect Leader of the Opening Sect had personally gone to verify this meant it was certain information.
“If they had borrowed the hand of the Demon Sect to carry out their schemes, then the Demon Sect, holding their weakness, could have manipulated the Moyong Family. The reason the Demon Sect remained silent as a dead mouse after the Righteous-Demonic War might very well have been for this reason.”
At Gwak Bangju’s words, several of them nodded their heads.
It was sufficiently persuasive reasoning.
However, Hye-myeong shook his head with an uneasy expression.
“Your words seem correct at first glance, but my thoughts differ somewhat. The aura they possessed was not demonic energy.”
Had the monks disguised at Yunrim Temple truly been Demon Sect disciples, they would have certainly revealed their distinctive energy during the fierce battle.
But that was something I had never sensed even once.
It felt as though they were wielding something that did not exist in this world.
For this reason, I could not feel certain about the theory that they were the Demon Sect.
Sigh…
In the end, a heavy sigh escaped from Hye-myeong’s lips.
The Sword Emperor, whom it would not be strange to publicly declare dead, had vanished without a trace, and his son showed signs of attempting to collude with some unknown force.
I had sought to unravel one thread, only to find more becoming entangled, leaving my heart with unbearable frustration.
“Heh heh— it seems matters are becoming increasingly complicated.”
“Please do not worry. We shall gradually uncover the truth, one piece at a time.”
At Gwak Il-cho’s assurance, Hye-myeong nodded his head.
Then, as if recalling something peculiar, he gazed at him once more.
“Does your recognition include that child from the Jin Family as well?”
“Haha, you’ve noticed?”
At Gwak Il-cho’s words, Hye-myeong broke into a gentle smile.
While concealment was the Gaebang’s specialty, there was no deceiving Hye-myeong’s eyes.
“Why do you ask?”
“There are a few things that trouble me.”
“Trouble you?”
At Hye-myeong’s question, Gwak Il-cho nodded.
The first thing that came to mind was the matter of Moryeong Hyeok and the Black Ox Society.
The name Pyo Hyeong-geom had surfaced, and Moryeong Hyeok was crushed. After that, the disappearance of the Chohyeon Clan’s patriarch and the Martial Artist’s sect leader, along with the various incidents occurring recently—and now this.
The one entangled in all these events was none other than Jin Cheon-u.
Hye-myeong seemed to trust him, yet there were far too many things that warranted unease.
Today’s events had solidified my conviction, and now I wished to resolve this doubt.
But then Hye-myeong laughed.
“Hehehehe—.”
“Why… are you laughing, Sect Leader?”
“You know far too little about that child.”
“What do you mean…?”
Unable to comprehend this cryptic remark, Gwak Il-cho felt bewildered, but Hye-myeong said nothing more, walking silently through the rain.
* * *
Four days had already passed since the incident at Yunlim Temple.
However, because everything had been handled discreetly and quietly, the horrors that unfolded at Yunlim Temple, including those involving the Moyong Family, would never be revealed to the outside world.
Hye-myeong had quietly slipped out of Beijing with those he’d captured and Moryeong Hyeok in tow, so no one would dare speak of it.
Still, rumors weren’t entirely absent.
“Who on earth attacked Yunlim Temple?”
“Who knows. I stopped by briefly and it was absolutely horrific. The monks were just… slaughtered. Ugh! Now I can’t get the image out of my head.”
The involvement of the Martial Arts Alliance and the Moyong Family remained completely unknown, but the carnage at Yunlim Temple was more than enough to set tongues wagging.
A temple situated closest to the imperial palace.
A place so beautiful in its scenery that countless people visited daily—yet now only pitiful remnants remained, making it difficult to recall its former glory.
And it was none other than Hye-myeong who had created this devastation.
“A Buddha who has cast aside compassion is truly a terrifying law.”
I found myself shaking my head with a hollow laugh.
The terror that came with the epithet Gonghuang.
The devastation was so complete it couldn’t even be compared to when Gu Gunbaek had destroyed the Chohyeon Clan—it was enough to understand why he was counted among the top three of the Ten Sovereigns.
“Buddha this, Buddha that—where exactly are we going?”
At that moment, Chaeseoha, who had been following beside me, voiced her complaint.
Dragged out since early morning, she cast a vacant gaze at me, her sleep still insufficient.
She seemed to be struggling to clear her drowsy mind with small yawns, but it wasn’t fading easily—her expression remained blank and her eyes were barely open, narrowed to slits.
I smiled as I watched her.
“Sightseeing in Beijing. You’ve never done it properly before, have you?”
“So you drag a sleeping person out of bed for this…?”
Chaeseoha stared at me with a dazed expression and let out a hollow laugh.
When I nodded at the questioning look in her eyes, she clenched her fists and trembled slightly.
As if barely restraining the urge to strike me.
I understood her frustration well enough.
But sometimes such leisure is necessary.
“Do we really have to wander around at a time like this?”
“What timing? I just go out when I have free time.”
“No, look around you.”
With a sigh, her gaze turned toward various parts of the street.
The atmosphere was terrible because of the Yunlim Temple incident.
Yunlim Temple, which happened to be situated not far from Beijing where the Emperor resided, had become a sea of blood overnight.
The Emperor’s great fury was palpable—Imperial Guards and Golden Armored Guards were visible throughout the streets, and military officials moved about in clusters.
Anyone suspected of being a criminal would be apprehended without mercy.
From Chaeseoha’s perspective, who wanted nothing to do with the imperial family, this situation was bound to be unsettling.
“It’s not our concern. Don’t worry about it.”
“Not our concern…?”
Chaeseoha shook her head at words she couldn’t understand, furrowing her brow.
Though she hadn’t been directly involved, she could guess at the situation, so my words were difficult for her to comprehend.
I shrugged with an awkward smile and turned my gaze away.
I took in the broad street and the countless pedestrians passing through. There were those hurrying along, others standing idle and chattering endlessly, and still others soliciting customers as if trying to grab passersby.
As I was carefully scanning through all of this, I noticed something.
A man yawned as he passed by, and then I saw his fingers twitching subtly.
It was an unremarkable gesture at first glance, but a woman approaching from the opposite direction’s eyes gleamed with light as she moved her fingers, then disappeared into the crowd.
That movement was remarkably natural.
Confirming this, I quickened my pace slightly.
Following the woman who had vanished.
Even as I did so, I made every effort to appear natural alongside Chaeseoha.
To anyone watching, it looked as though I was simply sightseeing on the street, not pursuing someone.
But then, a voice suddenly caught my attention.
“You there!”
Without thinking, I turned my gaze toward the voice.
The voice was familiar—I had heard it once before.
The moment I turned to look, I could see the owner of that voice.
Chungho, who had once been the chief disciple of the Martial Artist but was now among the Emperor’s Imperial Guards.
I was startled by this unexpected encounter and my eyes widened, but simultaneously, a thought flashed through my mind and I furrowed my brow, turning my gaze to the side.
A figure naturally revealing itself from behind Chungho’s back.
Of course.
Like needle and thread moving as one body, there was no way he wouldn’t be there.
“Hahaha—I never expected to find you here.”
With a cheerful laugh, the figure revealed himself.
His unrestrained gaze and manner of speech, as if embracing all the world, struck my ears sharply.
A presence I thought I would never see again.
The Emperor.
I quickly bowed my head and showed proper respect.
As naturally as possible so that passersby wouldn’t recognize the Emperor’s presence, yet with utmost courtesy.
“It has been a long time, Young Master.”
“Haha, indeed. I’m delighted to see you again like this. I was actually hoping to see your face once more.”
“You speak of me?”
“Of course. Is it not thanks to you that the Jin Family remains intact? I still vividly remember those fearless eyes of yours looking straight up at me. How could I forget?”
A slight smirk.
I lifted the corners of my mouth slightly, containing a subtle mockery.
I could tell that while he seemed to be offering praise, he was also making a threat—a presence that was somewhat displeasing yet strangely captivating.
Then the Emperor’s gaze turned toward Chaeseoha beside me.
As she bowed her head with a sickly pale complexion and trembled, the Emperor looked at her and me with a puzzled expression, harboring questions.
“But who is this beside you?”
“The woman who will become my wife.”
It was something I had used once before.
I felt Chaeseoha’s trembling ease at those words, but conversely, the Emperor’s expression showed considerable surprise.
He quietly alternated his gaze between me and Chaeseoha, let out a hollow laugh, shook his head, and spoke again.
“What a pity. I was actually thinking of arranging an introduction myself.”
“An introduction, Your Majesty?”
“Haha, my daughter is quite lovely, you know. I’ve been thinking she would suit you well.”
The Emperor clicked his tongue lightly in disapproval as he studied Chaeseoha once more, then shifted his steps and extended his hand forward with a gesture that seemed to beckon me along.
Unable to help myself, I offered a bitter smile and followed in his wake.
This was not something I could refuse.
Chaeseoha gazed at me with anxious eyes, silently pleading for me to do something, but no matter how I invoked the name of the Jin Family of Luoyang, there was no escaping this situation.
My counterpart stood above all others.
He was the Emperor of this realm.
As I walked with such thoughts occupying my mind, the Emperor’s voice reached my ears once more.
“There’s a fine establishment nearby that serves excellent wine. Since we’ve met like this, how about a drink?”
“If you would honor me with such an invitation, it would be the greatest privilege.”
“Haha, it’s rather unusual to hear a son of the Jin Family ask someone to buy him a drink. Very well. Today I shall treat you. Come now, let us go. It’s been quite some time since I’ve ventured out, and with such troubling news weighing on my mind, I could use a drink.”
“I am deeply grateful.”
“Hahaha—Chungho, what are you doing? Lead the way.”
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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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