The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 334

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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 334

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I slipped out of the manor and made my way toward the marketplace district.
The doors of the Yunlong Inn remained wide open, and members of the Martial Arts Alliance moved busily through the streets, inspecting something at various points.
Constables and military officials mingled with the Alliance’s martial artists, who stood guard throughout the area, prepared for any unforeseen trouble.
“Huh?! Look there… the Golden Dragon!”
That was when it happened.
Someone recognized my face and drew a sharp breath in surprise.
When I turned my gaze toward them, a man who appeared to be an official of the Martial Arts Alliance hastily bowed his head in respect the moment our eyes met.
I returned a light bow as well.
Perhaps because of this, a man with an almost entranced expression began nudging his companion’s ribs and whispered softly.
“Did you see? The Golden Dragon just acknowledged me with a bow.”
“Golden Dragon? He should be called the Sword Emperor now.”
“Ha, that’s true. He cut down Mo Yong-cheon with his own hands, after all.”
Everyone present spoke of that event.
The moment the old Sword Emperor vanished.
And the new Sword Emperor standing there in silence.
Any warrior who wielded a blade would have been entranced by such a sight.
This was why the gazes pouring down upon me were more intense than before.
I observed the scene before me, turned my gaze away, and came to a halt.
I had arrived at the marketplace district.
And what stood before my eyes was none other than the Hwaseon Inn.
Unlike the last time when it had been firmly shut, the door now stood open, as if announcing the owner’s return.
Much like the Yunlong Inn, the sight of free food being distributed suggested that this matter concerned not just the Jin Family of Luoyang, but all of Luoyang.
Without thinking, I let out a sigh with an exasperated expression.
The moment I stepped inside, the eyes of the Ha-o Sect members turned toward me.
Gulp—!
As if they had done something wrong, they swallowed dryly, then hurriedly averted their gaze or looked down, desperate to avoid meeting my eyes.
They seemed to be making an effort not to make eye contact.
I let out a hollow laugh and climbed the stairs toward Baek Jin-hwa’s room.
The sturdy man who had always stood guard at the door recognized me, steadied his breathing, and quickly stepped aside.
I entered without acknowledging him.
“Welcome, Young Master.”
Radiant smile—
A lavishly arranged table of wine, just as before.
Beside it, a woman dressed in an elegant silk robe, seated in an alluring pose.
Baek Jin-hwa smiled as if to seduce me, her fragrance like flowers blooming in spring.
I walked toward my seat, waving my hand dismissively.
As if to dispel that scent.
“Hoho— Is it too strong? It’s quite fashionable these days, you know.”
“I’m not sure whether to be grateful or not that we have no women in this house who indulge in such things.”
“I’ve heard you have plenty of beauties. And this time, you’ve even extended your reach to the Northern Sea. Hoho.”
At her words, I smiled faintly and sat down across from her, my gaze settling on Baek Jin-hwa as I absently toyed with the wine cup before me.
“In any case, they fled without a trace, like rats and birds.”
“All we could do to help was offer our lives. Hoho.”
“Yes, I understand. But you could have at least shared information, couldn’t you?”
“Inaccurate information holds no value. Either the Martial Arts Alliance or the Jin Family of Luoyang could have been targeted—there was no way to know.”
“So hiding beforehand was the Sect Leader’s way of ensuring no damage regardless of which side was attacked?”
As I raised my cup and asked, she nodded.
Clack—
I chuckled softly at her response, drained the cup, and set it down rather forcefully.
The table rang out, and a drop of wine that remained in the cup shot upward, while the cup in my hand shattered into powder and scattered.
Simultaneously, that single droplet of wine shot forth like a projectile, grazing Baek Jin-hwa’s cheek before piercing a hole through the wall behind her.
Drip—
Her expression hardened like stone.
“You would have known where the Sword Emperor moved and where he was headed. The reason you didn’t inform me was simply because you judged it couldn’t be stopped, wasn’t it?”
“…!”
“No matter how many of them there were, they couldn’t target the Martial Arts Alliance. In the end, there was no need to even think—it had to be Luoyang. The reason you fled without telling me? It’s obvious.”
“What do you—”
“You thought we couldn’t win. You believed the sect would be annihilated. And you felt it was time to let go of the hand you’d been holding.”
“…!”
My eyes narrowed progressively.
Simultaneously, the killing intent radiating from me grew denser.
Baek Jin-hwa’s complexion grew increasingly pale, and from the slight trembling of her body, it was clear she felt fear.
“That’s fine. It was your decision, so I have nothing to say about it. But if you had only spoken one word before fleeing… we could have reduced the casualties by more than half.”
“Ugh!”
“Be grateful the Sect Leader isn’t here. If that bastard were before my eyes right now, I would have twisted his neck first.”
“Young Master…”
I ignored the voice calling out to me and rose from my seat.
As if there was nothing more worth discussing.
Perhaps because of this, Baek Jin-hwa’s eyes trembled greatly.
“Young Master! Please, just listen for a moment—”
“Get out of my way.”
As I spoke harshly and opened the door, I saw a burly man blocking the entrance. Seeing his posture as if to prevent my departure, I let out a hollow laugh and moved my hand lightly.
Whoosh—!
“Kugh?!”
The man who took the blow to his abdomen flew backward and crashed into the wall.
Crash!
Just as I was about to ascend the stairs, an urgent voice pierced my ears.
“Young Master! I beg your pardon. This calamity befell us because we failed to trust you. Please, direct your anger at me instead and let your wrath be appeased.”
Baek Jin-hwa rushed forward, blocking my path.
Her body trembled like an aspen leaf—fear was unmistakably etched into her being—yet her resolve to not let me leave overcame that very terror.
I had severed the connection, believing it inevitable to abandon her. Yet unexpectedly, she endured and survived, even slaying the Sword Emperor and proving her worth.
With all of the Central Plains singing my praises, the moment our relationship shattered, Ha Omun’s influence would inevitably wane.
If the existence of the one who slayed the Sword Emperor and the power of the Jin Family of Luoyang turned their gaze toward Ha Omun, nothing could be more catastrophic.
Baek Jin-hwa, who could not possibly be ignorant of this, was bowing.
I curved my lips into a bitter smile.
“Very well. Then I ask one thing of you. Bring me information about the bandits Yeon-un and Sword Boy Haryeon by tomorrow morning. Everything. In meticulous detail.”
“…Understood.”
Baek Jin-hwa, her lips pressed firmly together, lowered her head.
Gathering intelligence on bandits with less than half a day remaining was no simple task. Yet she and Ha Omun would mobilize everything at their disposal to accomplish it.
They would never allow a situation where they stood opposed to me.
I flashed her another cold smile, then descended the stairs without hesitation and departed the Hwa Seon Inn.
As I strode purposefully toward the Jin residence and the inn rapidly receded behind me, I finally allowed a deep, satisfied smirk to settle upon my lips.
“How very considerate of them to create this situation for me.”
Until now, Ha Omun and I had maintained an equal relationship, treating each other as peers.
Yet this incident had shattered that equilibrium. I had survived, gained renown, and seized the advantage.
It was the price the sect leader’s choice had exacted.
They would spare no effort to restore my trust, so by tomorrow morning, information about Yeon-un would undoubtedly rest in my hands.
People, after all, respond far better to the whip than to the carrot.

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“….”
Mo Ryeong-san gazed silently ahead.
His eyes beheld fewer than fifty Huncheon Gangsi, and many of even these were damaged beyond repair.
Considering that the Child Angle held the largest number among the Twelve Angles, one could gauge the extent of the devastation inflicted.
And yet.
“Krgh!”
He had lost the Sword Emperor, his masterwork that he had lauded as his greatest creation, and beyond that, even Sa Myeong-gyeom, whom he had painstakingly assembled.
With two of his most formidable Gangsi creations vanished, his heart ached as though thousands of daggers were piercing through it.
“Jin Cheon-u… Jin Cheon-u…!”
Mo Ryeong-san spoke that name aloud, his eyes blazing with fury.
He wanted to tear him apart and kill him immediately.
He felt keenly why Gang Cheonho had been so wary of him while desiring his death.
No, it was not him alone.
The Demon King, Hye-myeong, Mu-jin.
He wished to cast Jeongdo, Namman, and the entire martial world into the flames.
Had it not been for them, his plans would never have crumbled so thoroughly, and even if they had, he would not have lost so many Huncheon Gangsi.
His rage was not directed at Jin Cheon-u alone, but at Jeongdo’s martial world in its entirety and Namman.
“Krkrkuk-.”
Then, from somewhere, a strangely grating sound reached his ears.
Furrowing his brow and turning to look, he saw Gang Cheonho sitting in half-lotus position atop a massive boulder, his chin resting in his hand.
“What brings you to this place?”
“Came to watch a fool make a fool of himself.”
“…Do you truly wish to die?”
“Kkhahah-! Listen to this cripple talk, lucky enough to have survived! Want to try?”
The moment Gang Cheonho finished speaking.
Jing—
With the sound of bells, the Huncheon Gangsi’s gaze turned toward Gang Cheonho.
Those radiating killing intent were ready to charge at any moment.
Yet Gang Cheonho simply smiled.
As his hand lifted slightly.
Ssshhh—!
Shadow Figures began to emerge from the darkness.
Each one possessed the momentum of a tiger.
Over a hundred men seemed ready at any instant to slaughter the Child Angle Gangsi and extend their blades toward Mo Ryeong-san.
But the situation did not unfold that way.
Clap—
The sound of fingertips meeting echoed through the air.
Yet it was no mere applause.
The air resonated, and the shadows of people trembled briefly.
Wind and Cloud converged as one.
As if she were manipulating it freely, the woman wrapped in that aura descended between the two of them, settling in the middle with a smile.
There stood a woman.
A deep navy silk robe, pale silver cords flowing below her waist, and at their ends, delicate dragon scale ornaments that swayed gently.
When the ornaments caught the light, the world shimmered softly as if the scales themselves were breathing.
Her eyes were neither red nor blue.
The color of something deep within water.
With a subtle smile, Mo Ryeong-san’s death aura was suppressed in an instant.
“How amusing.”
She spoke in a low voice.
Her tone was gentle,
yet it swallowed the killing intent hanging in the air.
“Why is it that whenever you gather, you grow frustrated at not being able to devour each other? Is it because you’re like cats and mice?”
“Hmph, crawling out again, you worm of a woman.”
At the word “worm,” the woman’s brow twitched.
In that instant, as wind brushed past Mo Ryeong-san, the bell hanging at his waist fell with a soft thud.
The cord had been severed without a trace.
Mo Ryeong-san, his expression darkening, picked up the bell.
“Do you wish to die as well?”
“You were the one who provoked this. Consider yourself fortunate that I didn’t slit your throat.”
Mo Ryeong-san glared while the woman responded with composure.
Gang Cheonho, observing this exchange, found the situation rather entertaining and burst into hearty laughter before voicing his question.
“Kahahaha! But what brings you here? If you had something to say, you should’ve sent a paper crane folded like last time.”
Chen Linghua, the messenger of the Twelve Angles.
The fact that she had revealed herself in person meant something had occurred.
Thus, Mo Ryeong-san and Gang Cheonho abandoned any thought of continuing their fight, waiting only for her to speak.
Confirming both their gazes, she gave a slight nod and opened her mouth, her low voice flowing through the air.
“Gwanbaek.”
“…!?”
“We’ve caught the tail, but it seems… we need to move.”
At her words, the eyes of Mo Ryeong-san and Gang Cheonho grew cold.
If they had caught something regarding Gwanbaek, then this took priority over devouring each other, or even confronting Jin Cheon-u, who was like a natural predator to them.
Grrrrowwwl—
Clang—!
Gang Cheonho let out a low growl, and Mo Ryeong-san’s bell trembled violently.

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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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