The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 363

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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 363

“I’m sorry… I truly am. What on earth was I doing…?”
Seol Ha-yeon, who had opened her eyes early in the morning, seemed to recall what she had done, and hastily bowed her head to apologize.
Her face was flushed crimson, and her lowered head showed no sign of rising.
If I remained silent, there was an amusing thought that she might never lift it again.
I let out a small laugh.
“You need not apologize to me. Direct that apology to Yeon-a instead. Had that child not intervened, you would not be standing here unharmed.”
“…”
Seol Ha-yeon’s body flinched, as if she grasped the true meaning of my words.
Had Namgung Yeon not thrown himself in to block her, I would have ultimately had to act.
Since subduing one fallen into demonic delusion is no simple matter, I would have used excessive force, and had I done so, even after regaining consciousness, she would not be able to move her body as she does now.
In the worst scenario, I would have had to cut her down.
Seol Ha-yeon, who could not possibly be unaware of this, swallowed dryly.
After observing her for a moment, I sighed and asked.
“Why did you fall into it?”
“…Something felt strange.”
Though she remembered everything else clearly, her brow furrowed as if she had no memory of the moment she fell into demonic delusion.
She seemed to struggle several times to recall it, but ultimately sighed and shook her head.
“In any case, I have caused trouble once again. I apologize, Young Master.”
“You have not yet completely escaped the demonic delusion. Please… remember that part well.”
“Yes…”
She nodded heavily and turned away.
Watching her walk toward the stable with her shoulders drooping weakly, it was clear she had suffered considerable shock from what happened yesterday.
I scratched my head.
“Is she truly alright?”
“On the surface, yes.”
Chaeseoha also sighed with a worried expression.
Before the shock from her defeat in the martial contest had even faded, she fell into demonic delusion, so she could only be more troubled than before.
Moreover, with the added pressure of having to overcome it, Seol Ha-yeon’s mind must be far more complicated than we imagine.
If fortune turns against her, there is a real possibility she could fall into demonic delusion again soon.
“Depending on circumstances, we should be prepared.”
“Prepared for what?”
“There may come a situation where we must kill her.”
At my resolute words, Chaeseoha’s brow furrowed.
However, considering what those fallen into demonic delusion tend to do, she likely also recognized that there may be no cleaner solution than that.
“Junior Prince!”
It was then.
Namgung Yeon, who had been observing from a distance, approached while calling out to Seol Ha-yeon. With a beaming smile, she stood and chattered away in incomprehensible words, shifting the mood, and it seemed Seol Ha-yeon’s expression was gradually returning.
I let out a small chuckle.
“For now, let’s leave it to Yeon-a. More importantly, we should depart soon. Prepare yourselves.”
“Yes, yes, understood.”
We finished our meal lightly and mounted our horses once more.
The road ahead was long.
Since we couldn’t afford to delay even a moment, the instant our preparations were complete, we urged our horses forward.
The wind blowing down was bitterly cold, as if winter had already arrived.
Chaeseoha trembled atop the galloping horse, her teeth chattering from the chill.
And the sky itself seemed ominous.
When I glanced upward, thick, dark clouds hung so heavily that rain could pour down at any moment, and though the sun hadn’t yet reached its zenith, the entire surroundings were turning pitch black as if night were falling.
It was as clear as day that rain would come pouring down soon.
So I increased our pace further.
We still had four hours of travel to reach our destination village. Since I had no intention of riding through the rain, I needed to cover as much distance as possible.
Thus we had to press on for quite some time longer.
But then, at some point—
“Young Master! The rain is coming!”
Yeon-un cried out in alarm as raindrops began to fall.
As the drops slowly began to soak my hair and clothes, I lowered my posture and pushed for even greater speed, but by the time we arrived at what could be called our destination village—
The rain came pouring down!
My entire body was soaked through by the torrential downpour.
“I’m g-going to catch a cold….”
Chaeseoha, the most delicate among us, rubbed her arms and sniffled. Seeing even a runny nose forming, I thought she truly had caught a cold just as she said.
I gave a bitter smile and hurried toward the inn.
After securing a room and soaking in warm water to ease my fatigue, I made that my priority.
But the real problem was something else entirely.
As night fell, the rain grew even more fierce, and the howling wind that accompanied it blew with incomparable ferocity.
This continued into the next morning, and then the worst happened.
“Ha… ha… ha….”
I gazed down at Chaeseoha lying there, breathing heavily. Her complexion had flushed red, and she was sweating profusely.
Her vacant eyes looked up at me weakly.
“A p-physician… catching a c-cold… such humiliation….”
“A physician isn’t immune to illness, is she?”
“Ugh… b-but because of me….”
“Don’t worry about it. Besides, isn’t this quite an amusing situation?”
“…?”
“A descendant of Uiseon has caught a cold.”
“….”
Chaeseoha’s previously vacant eyes suddenly sharpened.
Looking as though she might leap from the bed at any moment and swing her fists, I smiled bitterly and quietly left the room.
The moment the door closed behind me—
“Watch over her well. Buy whatever she needs.”
I pulled a money pouch from my breast and tossed it into the empty air.
The pouch should have fallen to the ground as it flew into the void, yet oddly, no sound accompanied its descent, and the pouch itself vanished.
-Do not worry, sir. I shall protect the young lady.
At Chwiayeok’s voice that followed, I smiled and nodded, then turned back toward the room while gazing out the window.
“Fierce weather.”
“Indeed. Sigh… when will it stop?”
Just then, a voice answered as if on cue.
Standing beside me was Yeon-un.
Naturally, Haryeon was at his side, and the way he had donned a rain cloak made me wonder if he was preparing to leave.
I asked with a puzzled expression.
“Are you going out? In this weather?”
“Haha, did I not tell you? A spirit as free as the wind. Being confined doesn’t suit my nature… so I thought I’d take a stroll outside.”
At his exasperating words, I found myself looking at Haryeon.
Emotion flickered in his eyes as he gazed expressionlessly.
As if he was delighted to see the outside world.
“Is it alright? Taking the child with you…?”
“Haryeon likes it too! Isn’t that right?”
At Yeon-un’s question, Haryeon nodded readily.
Whether he naturally enjoyed such weather or found amusement in seeing this place for the first time, his usually hidden emotions were strangely apparent.
“Be careful not to catch a cold. One person is already enough trouble.”
“Yes, of course. While we’re out, I’ll buy some medicine good for colds. The physician has helped us so much, after all.”
Yeon-un grinned broadly and led Haryeon away.
Watching them leave with such cheerful steps, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“In weather like this, no less…”
The downpour showed no signs of stopping.
With a biting wind driving through as well, even with a rain cloak, their bodies would inevitably be affected.
I was well aware that the weather was harsh enough to make even Chaeseoha catch a cold, yet the two figures visible through the window moved with oddly light steps.
Without thinking, I clicked my tongue and shook my head.

* * *

“How is it? Isn’t the rain rather nice?”
Yeon-un stepped outside with a pleased smile on his face.
Though he wore an umbrella, the downpour was so fierce that his entire body had become soaked through.
One might wonder if the umbrella served any purpose at all.
Yet Yeon-un and Haryeon bore expressions that were far from displeased.
Perhaps they viewed even this as a cherished memory, for they slowly made their way toward the marketplace and began surveying their surroundings.
But was the weather simply too poor?
The pedestrians moved with less frequency than usual, and the stalls scattered throughout the street had shuttered their doors.
Only a handful of unremarkable vendors remained at their posts—a sight far removed from the fresh scenery they had anticipated.
Disappointment settled across their faces, which had been so animated moments before.
“Was it pointless to come out?”
Yeon-un sighed and scratched his head.
If there was so little to see, there had been no need to venture out into the rain.
It was then, as he surveyed the surroundings with disappointed eyes.
Tug, tug—
Haryeon pulled at Yeon-un’s collar.
When I glanced at the child without thinking, his finger pointed toward a single location.
“Come, come! Delicious dumplings even in a downpour! The finest dumplings for sale!”
The sole stall remaining on the street.
A vendor who had not ceased business despite the foul weather.
The aroma of dumplings drifted from that place.
Moreover, because all other establishments had closed, people had gathered there in particular numbers—likely because one could fill one’s belly with inexpensive food.
Yeon-un gazed at the stall for a moment before asking.
“Do you wish to eat dumplings?”
Nod—
As Haryeon nodded, Yeon-un’s lips curved upward. Perhaps because the child so rarely made demands, he welcomed such moments.
Thus buoyed by excitement, Yeon-un glanced about before leading Haryeon beneath the eaves of the building nearest the stall.
“Wait here. I shall return shortly with them.”
Nod.
At Haryeon’s vigorous response, Yeon-un’s expression grew even brighter, and he swiftly moved toward the stall.
“Dumplings, please! I would like some dumplings!”
Yeon-un’s voice pierced through the rain.
He squeezed through the crowd of rain-soaked people, while Haryeon remained beneath the eaves, quietly observing the scene.
Whoosh—
White steam rising each time the steamer opened.
Hands reaching out hastily.
People jostling each other’s shoulders and hurling curses.
For the first time, a glimmer of “amusement” flickered in Haryeon’s eyes.
Even within that expressionless demeanor unbecoming of a child, the corners of his small mouth curved upward ever so slightly.
“You there! Form a proper line!”
“What do you mean ‘line’? How can we form a line in this rain!”
“Those are my dumplings!”
“No, they’re not! I was here first— Oof!”
In an instant, a man slipped and crashed into the stall.
The dumplings scattered skyward, steam and raindrops mingling as they scattered about.
The people instinctively rushed forward.
They threw themselves down, stumbled over their own feet, crawled along the muddy ground—all to snatch even the dumplings that had fallen into the murky water, creating absolute chaos.
Haryeon watched the scene in breathless silence.
A faint, lukewarm curiosity bloomed in those small eyes.
That was when it happened.
The child’s gaze shifted elsewhere.
A dark shadow fell across the child’s form.
The moment she looked up to see where it came from.
The shadow’s owner grinned, revealing yellowed teeth.
A rough hand extended in what was merely an instant.

* * *

“Ha— These dumplings are mine, I tell you!”
Meanwhile, Yeon-un’s dumpling battle continued unabated.
He leaped up to catch the flying dumpling in his hand, then hastily tossed coins onto the stall counter.
The stall owner, who should have already received payment, stood with eyes rolled back and foam at his mouth—but such things could never enter the vision of Yeon-un, who now clutched the dumpling in his hand.
Yeon-un, brimming with laughter, rushed forward toward where Haryeon had been standing.
“Did you see, Haryeon? I got this for you—”
Whoosh—
Yeon-un’s feet stopped as he stared at that spot.
His eyes trembled violently.
It couldn’t be, he thought, denying the reality before him.
The figure who should have been there was nowhere to be seen.
Where Haryeon should have stood, there was no trace of the child.
“Haryeon—!”
Yeon-un’s rough voice pierced through the downpour.

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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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