The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 34

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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 Nakhyang Jin Family — Chapter 34

Geomcheon, the Heaven of the Righteous Path Martial Arts World.
Demon Heaven, the Heaven of the Demonic Path Martial Arts World.
Blade Heaven, the Heaven of the Heretical Path Martial Arts World.

The absolute rulers of the current martial arts world, beings said to have ascended to a level beyond human reach—the Half-Immortals.
These three collectively known as the Three Heavens.
Yet the Three Heavens remained aloof.
They did not dominate the Central Plains Martial Arts World.
Therefore, those who truly drove the martial arts world forward were different.
People called them the Ten Heavenly Emperors.
Not only the Three Hegemonies, but absolute beings from the Outer Realms as well.
Because they possessed the influence to manipulate the current martial arts world as they pleased, no one found it strange that their titles bore the character for Emperor.
And standing before me now was Gu Gunbaek himself—the absolute sovereign and supreme master of the Southern Savage Palace.
The Demon King.
Among the Outer Realms, he was known only by his epithet due to the Southern Savage Palace’s isolation, and there were few who had ever seen his true face or knew his actual name.
However, he was infamous for his utterly capricious nature.
The incident that made his eccentricity legendary was the War Between Demon King and Demon Heaven—when he suddenly took issue with the Dark Sect and led the Southern Savage Palace into war against them.
The war, which seemed endless, abruptly ceased.
The reason was simple: he had grown bored and ended it.
So how did he become the Green Forest King?
While traveling, the Green Forest King appeared to rob him, but after he beat the man down, he discovered it was indeed the Green Forest King. Finding it amusing, he simply sat down and took the position.
He was an utterly incomprehensible being.
Late into the night.
We built a campfire and roasted the meat Gu Gunbaek had brought back.
Drrrr… drrrr…
Gu Gunbaek, who had been guzzling down the liquor he’d brought from the main residence, was now sprawled on the ground snoring away in sleep. Jang Chuchyeong watched him for a moment, then approached and whispered.
“Young Master, is that man really the Demon King of the Southern Savage Palace? That outsider?”
“Yes, he is.”
“But why is someone from the Outer Realms here?”
“He came looking for something amusing, I suppose.”
Jang Chuchyeong’s expression showed complete bewilderment. It seemed his idea of amusement and Gu Gunbaek’s were vastly different.
“This is certainly strange.”
“Don’t think of it negatively. You’ve now become the Demon King’s sole direct disciple. Looking at the martial arts world alone, your status would rank higher than mine.”
“…To that extent?”
As I nodded, Jang Chuchyeong’s expression became dazed. His eyes betrayed disbelief at the sudden revelation.
Having lived his entire life as a servant, it was only natural.
“If you’re envious, why don’t you become his disciple too? You could be the senior disciple and he the junior disciple.”
Even as Gu Gunbaek lay sprawled out, snoring deeply, his ears remained alert—his eyes cracked open, studying me with sudden awareness.
Heh heh—
A faint smile played at his lips as his gaze blazed with fervent desire, as though urging me to become his disciple.
“Have you still not abandoned the idea?”
“Once I set my heart on something, I don’t give up easily. And you expect me to give up on someone like you? Preposterous!”
“I am walking my own path.”
“What happens when you go swinging that ridiculous toothpick around and it snaps? Learn my martial arts, I’m telling you. A man’s true weapon is his fists! The fist is the ultimate instrument of power!”
I shook my head firmly at his words.
While his argument wasn’t entirely without merit, I had concluded that the sword I had cultivated over all these years was the weapon that suited me best.
“I have no intention of becoming your disciple, but I would appreciate occasional instruction.”
“No, you brat. Why would I, in my right mind, teach someone who refuses to become my disciple?”
Glug, glug—
Having finished speaking, Gu Gunbaek uncorked a fresh bottle of liquor and drained it. His insatiable appetite for drink seemed unchanged from past to present.
I let out a soft chuckle and turned my gaze away.
Soon I found myself staring quietly into the crackling flames of the campfire.
By now, information about the Nakhyang Jin Family had surely fallen into the hands of the Shadow Assassins Leader.
I was growing curious about how he would move next.

* * *

The underground organization located on Hanan Pyeongjeong Mountain.
Three men occupied the space, their faces concealed behind thick black masks, rendering their features invisible.
The gaze of two of these men turned in a single direction.
The man seated at the head position, legs crossed in a somewhat arrogant posture, examined the letter he had been handed, tilting his head in confusion.
“Nothing unusual occurred?”
“Yes, such a marking was found at the location where information is received.”
“That differs from the intelligence I received. There is certainly something happening internally. Yet… nothing at all, you say… Have you confirmed the status of the Tenth Division?”
“According to reports, most of the personnel who entered last time remain inside undergoing training. It is a training that lasts several months, though this has occurred regularly before.”
Hmm—
The man absorbed this information with a low murmur and nodded. If the markings showed no problems and the internal situation was stable, then his concern had been unnecessary.
Moreover, the Tenth Division had always been a repository for the most useless members of the Shadow Assassins, so they rarely drew attention unless something truly significant occurred.
“Very well. If there are no irregularities, leave it be for now. What else?”
“We have located the position of the missing Jade Orb.”
At these words, the man’s eyes gleamed with predatory intensity.
A sinister smile spread across his lips.
“Where?”
“The Dongfang Family.”
“The Dongfang Family?”
The man turned the name over in his mind, lost in thought.
They were neither a renowned clan nor a regional hegemon in the martial world.
Though a martial family, they aligned themselves with the Imperial Court rather than the martial arts world. Having produced Imperial Guards generation after generation, they wielded considerable power.
The Jade Orb was in such a place?
The man turned his head to regard a particular figure.
One bearing an enormous iron mace across his back.
He opened his mouth as he gazed upon him.
“Seventh Squad, go.”
“I shall undertake this task!”

* * *

“Damn, it’s massive!”
Gu Gunbaek clicked his tongue as he beheld the sprawling expanse of the Nakhyang Jin Family before him. Though he had witnessed much across the Central Plains, never had he seen anything quite so vast.
“Isn’t the Demon Palace quite large as well?”
“Palace? What palace do we have?”
“Isn’t it called the Demon Palace because there is one?”
“Palace my foot. The troublesome ones just sprawl on the ground to live, and those needing personal space pitch tents or inhabit caves the beasts have claimed. The ones with any sense occasionally construct something, but it’s all crude wooden structures at best.”
“…Then what is the Demon Palace?”
“What else? We threw it together so we wouldn’t look inferior to those Martial Arts Alliance and Demonic Sect bastards. Krahahahaha!”
Gu Gunbaek burst into hearty laughter, slapping his thighs repeatedly. Unable to discern where the humor lay, I glanced at Chu Hyeongi, who merely shrugged in equal bewilderment.
Sigh.
I exhaled and stepped inside.
Returning home after so long stirred an unexpected warmth within me.
The noticeably brighter atmosphere compared to before suggested Father had handled the aftermath with his usual thoroughness.
Sensing this, I made my way toward the Annex.
“Young Master?”
“Have you been well?”
There, the first sight that greeted me was Chaeseoha feeding the koi in the pond. Fortunately, whether through my parents’ influence or her own adaptation, she had settled in without attempting to flee.
Though she still wore the veil, her voice carried considerably more brightness than before.
“I wondered when you would return. It seems your journey was resolved successfully.”
“Indeed, well done. Pay your respects. This is… Master Gu.”
“Master Gu?”
“Yes, Chu Hyeongi’s master.”
At my words, Chaeseoha’s expression betrayed confusion, yet she naturally turned toward Gu Gunbaek and offered a careful bow.
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Chaeseoha, the Young Master’s physician.”
“Hm? Ahahaha! No need for such formalities. I’ve merely come to instruct my disciple, so treat me as though I don’t exist… But you there.”
In that instant, Gu Gunbaek’s form vanished in a blur.
A speed the eye could scarcely perceive.
He had already closed the distance to Chaeseoha, sweeping away her veil.
Was it inevitable?
Though she gasped and hastily gathered the veil once more, her face was already fully exposed.
Upon catching sight of her face, Gu Gunbaek let out a low chuckle.
“Can you even see properly through that veil? Why do you insist on wearing that suffocating thing?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked if it’s not suffocating. I would’ve thrown it away long ago.”
“That is….”
“Speak clearly! Are you a child? Why do you stammer like that? It’s infuriating.”
“Ah… I apologize….”
“Did you do something to me that warrants an apology? Why are you apologizing?”
Bombarded by Gu Gunbaek’s relentless barrage of questions, Chaeseoha could only clamp her mouth shut without managing a proper response. Tears began to glisten at the corners of her eyes, visible through the gaps in her veil.
“A veil that suffocates and a personality that suffocates—how about you come spend a year with me in Namman? I’ll straighten out that temperament of yours.”
“…I…”
“Don’t stammer!”
“No! I’m fine!”
“There, that’s how you answer when someone asks—no stammering, no hesitation. Understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Hearing a proper response, Gu Gunbaek finally nodded in satisfaction.
But the willful Gu Gunbaek, having apparently lost interest in Chaeseoha, turned his attention back to me and posed another question.
“More importantly, where is my room? Can I share it with my disciple?”
“We could prepare a separate room for you, if you prefer.”
“No, one will suffice. Master and disciple are one body, after all. So I’ll take the bed, and you—being my inferior—sleep on the floor. Understood?”
“But… that’s my room….”
“What do you mean ‘yours’? Everything the disciple has belongs to the master, and everything the master has belongs to the master.”
Jang Chuchyeong stared at me with an expression of utter disbelief.
I turned away lightly, ignoring his pointed gaze that seemed to plead for intervention. Gu Gunbaek was never someone I could do anything about.
“Come now! Let’s unpack and begin proper training!”
“Ah, Young Master… wait, nooooo!”
Though he resisted fiercely and cried out, there was no one here who could escape from Gu Gunbaek’s grasp.
I offered a bitter smile and waved toward the disappearing figure of Jang Chuchyeong.
Survive well.
The moment the two figures vanished from sight, the commotion subsided, and Chaeseoha—who had been watching the situation with a dazed expression—let out a sigh and turned to me.
“What… quite the boisterous person, isn’t he?”
“You’ll be seeing him often from now on. Get acquainted with him.”
“Yes, but are you going to meet with the Family Head now?”
“First, I think I’ll wash up and consider things.”
At those words, Chaeseoha nodded. Though unseen, she seemed to smile gently.
“You’ve become more at ease. Your voice and expression have relaxed considerably.”
“Everyone treats me so comfortably. It’s almost unbelievable.”
“That’s simply how these people are. Though it’s good that you’re loosening up, do be especially careful.”
“Yes, I understand.”
I left her voice behind and stepped into the Annex.
I felt the weight of their stares pressing down on me, but I deliberately ignored them and pushed open the door to step inside.
Taking in the familiar sights of the room for the first time in ages, I unpacked my belongings and spent a moment settling in before hot water was prepared.
I shed my clothes carelessly and sank my body into the large wooden bathtub.
Submerging myself completely beneath the scalding water, I slowly surfaced and gazed up at the ceiling.
I closed my eyes for a moment and let my thoughts drift.
Tap—tap—tap—!
My index finger struck the wooden tub, producing a rhythmic sound.
As the steady rhythm burrowed into my ears and I focused, the hazy memories of the past gradually came alive.
Time seemed to flow without measure.
Yet I did not stop, methodically retracing each memory.
At last, the tapping ceased, and as I slowly opened my eyes, a single memory crystallized in my mind.
“Dongfang Family.”
I spoke the name aloud and smiled.

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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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