The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 322

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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 322

* * *

I revealed the existence of the Sword Emperor.
In truth, he was nothing more than an empty shell—already dead with no soul remaining—but the fact that Mo Yong-cheon, who had been hiding, was exposed once more would draw everyone’s attention.
Furthermore, the Martial Arts Alliance would investigate Mo Ryeong-san, and in the process, they would discover the remaining bloodstains and realize something was amiss.
There was no corpse, yet blood remained. If Mo Yong-cheon had been there, it meant he had done something. The Martial Arts Alliance would become frenzied in their search for him.
“Mo Ryeong-san will inevitably draw attention as well.”
With Jeongdo Samhwang’s gaze now fixed in that direction, it would not be easy for me to use Mo Yong-cheon for any schemes in the immediate future.
If I could halt Mo Ryeong-san’s actions even once, it would work to my advantage.
“I never expected to use it in this way.”
I smiled faintly and thought of Baek Jin-hwa.
The expression she had shown in that final moment of departure.
It was incomparable to anything I had seen before.
With information of this caliber, Hao Munzhu would surely be satisfied as well.
With those thoughts concluded, I emptied my mind.
Then, I naturally sensed a presence and looked toward the window.
In an instant, the presence drew rapidly closer, and suddenly a large head thrust through the window.
It was Chu Hyeongi.
I furrowed my brow.
“What are you doing?”
“I was looking for you, Young Master. I thought this would be faster than going through the door.”
Speaking casually, he squeezed his body through, but his shoulder caught on the window frame. His bulk had grown considerably, and he twisted and grunted as he struggled.
“Stop wasting time. What’s your business?”
“Ah—! That’s right. The Family Head is looking for you!”
“…You were trying to crawl through the window just to tell me that?”
“Of course not! I needed to clean the room anyway, so I figured—.”
“Use the door.”
“…Yes.”
Chu Hyeongi swallowed a sigh and struggled to pull himself back out.
But this time, he had become completely stuck.
After wrestling with it for a while, he caught his breath and looked at me with a bright smile.
“Young Master, could you help me out?”
“Sigh—”
I exhaled and stood up.
Father was looking for me, after all.
It was better to arrive as quickly as possible.
“Young Master?! Where are you going! Help me—!”
I ignored the murmurs behind me and opened the door to step outside.
“Young Master—!”
A loud cry stretched out behind me.

* * *

Leaving Chu Hyeongi’s noisy voice in my wake, I hurried toward where my father was.
Upon entering through the door, the first thing that caught my eye was my father with his usual vacant expression.
One corner was piled high with countless papers, and over a dozen bowls of medicinal broth lay scattered haphazardly across the floor.
Anyone could see he had been absorbed in his work while consuming the herbal medicine.
“I heard you were looking for me.”
Though I announced my presence with a light bow, my father’s gaze did not turn toward me.
As if he hadn’t heard, he concentrated and continued brushing, his strokes showing no sign of stopping.
A moment passed, then another, and more than half an hour had quietly elapsed.
Then, as time continued to drift aimlessly.
The brush strokes that had been flowing with concentration finally ceased, and only then did my father turn his head, his eyes meeting mine.
“So, you’ve come?”
“Yes, Father. What is it you needed?”
“Ha, so I need a reason to see my son’s face? I’m learning something new today. Thank you for telling me.”
*Smile*
My father lifted the corners of his mouth, his smile deep and knowing. Though it seemed sarcastic at first glance, I knew that wasn’t his intent.
I smiled back at him and asked again.
“Father, whenever you call for me, you always have some task to assign. That’s why I asked.”
“True. This time is no different.”
“What is it this time?”
“It’s about Myeong-i.”
“My second brother…?”
My father nodded, set down his brush, and crossed his arms. Then, seemingly uncertain where to begin, he swallowed a groan before shaking his head with a long sigh.
“His journey should have concluded long ago, but it’s stalled in Hebei. It seems his laziness has flared up again.”
“His laziness illness…you mean?”
“Sigh—yes.”
Watching my father exhale deeply, I managed an awkward smile.
My second brother is usually quite passionate about his work, but once laziness takes hold, he rarely moves at all.
As if he had poured everything into his tasks, he waits to be refilled, focusing only on eating, drinking, and enjoying himself until he recovers.
That illness has struck him in Hebei.
“How long has it been?”
“Ten days. His last journey took half a year.”
“Ha, then he still has quite a ways to go.”
At my jest, my father’s brow immediately furrowed.
Though his previous journey is finished and might seem inconsequential, the losses from his delayed return are considerable.
The carriages, warriors, and soldiers—all of them are tied up in this matter.
There’s no way to reassign them elsewhere.
Moreover, they’re receiving monthly wages equivalent to those on active duty despite doing no work, so from Father’s perspective, it’s only natural his heart grows heavy.
“Should I go and bring him back?”
“Beat him if you have to, but bring him back.”
“Ha ha….”
At Father’s forceful tone, I scratched my head.
He must be recalling something from the past with that remark.
When I was younger and carried the heavy sense of duty as Young Master So, there was a time he’d beaten me quite severely.
I quickly brushed aside the lingering memories that surfaced and asked.
“Where is he?”
“Stone Pavilion.”
Ah, he’s chosen quite the pleasant place to idle away.
I nodded and quickly turned to leave.
The longer time passes, the greater the losses the So family will suffer.
This is no time to be leisurely.

* * *

“….”
The moment I turned back and opened the door, I witnessed something peculiar.
Chaeseoha, Paeng Dohan, Eon Garyeo, Namgung Yeon, and Chu Hyeongi had all gathered in the room and were moving about busily, seemingly preparing for something.
They held hammers, nails, wooden planks, and various other materials in their hands.
The reason became apparent immediately.
The window.
“No, that Young Master… that’s not… ”
Where the window had been, a massive hole now gaped in the wall.
The hole appeared to have been made by someone forcibly squeezing their body through, and I found myself furrowing my brow and sighing involuntarily.
“I told you to help me….”
“And you thought that meant drilling a hole in the wall?”
“What else could I do? Besides, the physician told me to do it.”
“Eh? Me? I merely mentioned it as one possible method. It was Jang Howei who actually carried it out.”
As the excuses continued, I furrowed my brow and sat in a chair, whereupon everyone fell silent and began watching my expression carefully.
Chu Hyeongi blamed Chaeseoha, Chaeseoha blamed Chu Hyeongi, and the blame-shifting continued until even the innocent Namgung Yeon and Paeng Dohan were dragged into it.
Seeing the argument show no signs of ending, I furrowed my brow, exhaled a long sigh, and opened my mouth.
“Sit down.”
At my heavy words, they nodded one by one and carefully moved to sit in their respective comfortable spots.
Feeling all their gazes concentrate on me, I finally broached the main matter.
“I must go to Hebei to bring back Second Brother.”
At those words, Chu Hyeongi’s head snapped toward me. Of all people, he understood best what those words meant.
“That illness is back again?”
“Yeah, if you’re going to rest, do it at home. Of all places, Shijiazhuang?”
“Still, Shijiazhuang is close by. Last time it spread from Yunnan and caused such a commotion.”
Jang Chuchyeong’s expression showed he was thoroughly fed up, as if the memories from that time were still vivid and horrifying. He clicked his tongue in exasperation.
There had been a time when the household fell into emergency status because, despite sending letters urging his return multiple times, he wouldn’t budge an inch.
As a result, hadn’t our eldest sister, who was closest by, hastily ended her journey to the Western Regions and rushed off to Yunnan?
Both Jang Chuchyeong and I let out a sigh simultaneously.
It was a memory etched that deeply.
“All I need to do is bring the Young Master back, so there’s no problem with me going alone, but….”
“But he’s the Second Young Master. He absolutely won’t come willingly, will he?”
“I know. He’ll dig in his heels.”
Unless his demands were satisfactorily met, he would never budge, so I’d need something to break his stubborn resolve.
But there’s an easier way.
“If he keeps refusing, I’ll just leave him behind. After all, what I really need are the supply carts, the martial artists, and the warriors.”
These three things are what I need immediately.
So the Young Master can be left behind.
“No, if you only need those, couldn’t you just send a letter asking them to return?”
“It won’t work. During the Yunnan incident last time, the letters I sent were used as kindling. Moreover, they’ve found a comfortable situation where they can rest easy and earn money—who would refuse such an opportunity?”
“They’re really hopeless, aren’t they? The Second Young Master too, but the people taking advantage of the situation as well….”
“Well, I’d probably do the same.”
“…Come to think of it, so would I.”
Jang Chuchyeong, having briefly considered their position, realized our thoughts aligned. His lips curled upward in a grin.
Then he raised his thumb, and the gesture drew a laugh.
“So I’m going. If he won’t listen, I’ll either leave him behind or bring him back by force. So….”
I glanced back at them briefly.
With that noisy fellow Cheon Yul gone, our number was five.
“Is anyone willing to come with me?”
“Me! Me! I’ll go with you!”
Before the words even finished, Paeng Dohan’s hand shot up. His eyes sparkled brilliantly, and he made no attempt to hide his elevated spirits.
He seemed emotionally stirred at the prospect of going to Hebei after such a long time.
Since the Paeng and Eon families were settled in Hebei, having those two by my side would prevent troublesome situations from arising, making it convenient in that regard as well.
“Very well. Prepare yourselves.”
“Hahaha! Understood. I’ll prepare right away.”
“Thank you, Young Master.”
The two excited men hurried out of the room.
Jang Chuchyeong, who had been watching them intently, opened his mouth with an expression of displeasure.
“Will it be alright? Those two are a bit… unreliable.”
“Those two are just as unreliable to me as you are.”
“Ugh!”
…
Chu Hyeongi’s lips jutted out in displeasure at my words that had struck the mark, while Namgung Yeon bowed his head as if seeking forgiveness for his transgression.
In that moment, as I turned my gaze away with a hollow laugh—
“I’d like to go too.”
Chaeseoha raised her hand along with the sudden declaration.
“There’s no objection, but are you sure? There were quite a few people at the medical pavilion.”
“Ah—! That’s what I came in to talk about—no, no, let me erase it, erase it!”
Chaeseoha tapped her own head repeatedly, wiping away whatever she had been thinking of.
As I regarded her with a puzzled expression at this incomprehensible behavior, she finally seemed to calm down somewhat and looked at me with an enigmatic gaze.
“Why does this household have so many maternal relatives? The people working here say that distant in-laws and all sorts of connections keep streaming in.”
Only then did I understand why people were constantly coming and going through the medical pavilion.
However, she herself seemed not to have noticed.
“There may indeed be that many maternal relatives, but most of them gained entry by slipping money under the table. From now on, we’ll be more selective about who we accept.”
“What?!”
“I’ll inform the steward as well, so you need to be careful too. The more your medical skills become known, the more the Emperor’s gaze will turn toward this place.”
“Ugh—these people…!”
Crack!
The people who had been laughing and chatting together—having accepted bribes and made connections—caused Chaeseoha to tremble with indignation as she clenched her fists.
It seemed as though she would strike anyone standing before her.
“If that’s your concern, the timing is fortunate. Close the medical pavilion and come with us. The steward will handle the arrangements while we’re away.”
“Understood.”
Chaeseoha rose from her seat with slumped shoulders and left the room listlessly. Though she was returning to gather her belongings, the eyes glimpsed between her disheveled hair were sharper than any blade.
I wondered if she was developing distrust in humanity once again.
I regarded Chu Hyeongi with a bitter smile.
“What are you doing?”
“Yes?”
Chu Hyeongi tilted his head as if he didn’t understand my cryptic words. Wondering if there was something he was unaware of, I glanced at Namgung Yeon beside him, but she too shook her head as if equally confused.
At that, I sighed and gestured with my chin.
“You need to fix it.”
“Ah—!”
Only then did Chu Hyeongi remember and jump to his feet.

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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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