The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 364

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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 364

“What did you say?”
“H-Haryeon has disappeared!”
Yeon-un appeared before me drenched to the bone, his entire frame trembling violently.
His pupils had dilated as if gripped by extreme terror, and he collapsed to the ground, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.
He seemed to lack even the strength to move, and this went far beyond the sorrow of merely losing a child—something deeper haunted him.
I found myself furrowing my brow.
“What happened?”
“H-Haryeon said she wanted dumplings… While I was buying them… she vanished.”
“Is it not possible the child simply wandered off to look at something nearby?”
At my words, Yeon-un shook his head violently.
As if such a thing could never occur.
“That child would never leave my side! You know this, don’t you? Moreover… I searched everywhere, in all directions, and found no trace of her.”
Despair.
I saw despair burning in Yeon-un’s eyes.
As if he had lost everything.
Or as if Haryeon was his entire world.
Having wandered the Central Plains with nothing but a sword, finally finding a child upon whom he could lean his heart—it seemed Haryeon held meaning far greater than even Sword Boy once did.
“Please… help me…”
At last, Yeon-un shed tears and pleaded for aid.
With desperate determination to find her, he grasped my collar and pulled, leaving me no choice but to help.
I offered a bitter smile and patted his shoulder.
“Where did she disappear?”
“At… the marketplace.”
“Then let us first calm ourselves and return there. Yeon-a, prepare yourself as well.”
“Yes!”
Namgung Yeon moved quickly to help the collapsed Yeon-un to his feet.
As he rose with difficulty and took his first step, steadying his resolve—
“…!”
Suddenly, Yeon-un pitched forward and collapsed to the ground.
Too abruptly for Namgung Yeon to catch him.
Like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Startled, I approached and examined him. It seemed that after searching for hours in the rain and foul weather, unable to bear the shock, he had lost consciousness.
I stared at him for a moment.
“Go… bring So-ha here.”
“Yes!?”
“Quickly.”
At my command to fetch Chaeseoha, who was suffering from a severe cold and could barely breathe, she was startled, but at my urging, she immediately sprang into action.
In the meantime, I examined Yeon-un’s body carefully.
I felt for his pulse and gently infused my energy into him.
I wondered if his vital channels had become disrupted, but everything remained perfectly aligned—his pulse and heartbeat were both sound.
Just as Baek Jin-hwa had said, it was hard to believe that his breath and heartbeat had stopped for three days, for everything about him was identical to that of an ordinary person.
The moment I unconsciously furrowed my brow.
I sensed a presence from one side.
“Cough! Cough! W-what’s happening?”
In the meantime, Chaeseoha descended the stairs with labored steps, coughing as she surveyed the situation.
She gazed at the collapsed Yeon-un for a moment, then slowly approached and felt for his pulse. Soon after, she wiped away cold sweat and steadied her breathing.
“This is… what on earth is going on?”
“What seems wrong?”
“Yes. He is breathing, cough! But…”
Chaeseoha quickly laid Yeon-un flat and drew out her needles.
Soon her needles pierced various points across Yeon-un’s head.
Yet her expression was somehow urgent.
I sensed something was amiss.
“What is it?”
“He is breathing… but there’s no vitality. Cough! It’s like needling a corpse…”
“What do you mean?”
“A corpse that merely breathes. Sigh— what on earth…”
“I’m not entirely certain, but it seems connected to Haryeon’s disappearance. Could severe shock cause this?”
“Yes!? Cough cough!”
Chaeseoha rose from her seat with a harsh cough. However, her body was in poor condition, and as she swayed and nearly fell, I quickly reached out to steady her.
“Are you alright?”
“Ah, yes, I’m fine… But this isn’t the time for this, is it? We must search at once…! Or rather, we should help Yeon first… Cough! What do we do!?”
“I’ll search for Haryeon. However, your condition and Yeon-un’s…”
Chaeseoha can move.
Moreover, with Chwiayeok here, there’s no need for concern.
But Yeon-un is the problem.
He surely hasn’t truly died.
His heart is still beating.
Yet I cannot know when he will open his eyes, nor can I predict what urgent situation might arise, so I cannot rely solely on Chwiayeok.
I sighed and looked at Namgung Yeon.
“You stay here. I’ll go alone.”
“The rain is heavy. Perhaps I should…”
“No, it’s right that you remain here. And… watch him carefully.”
At my words, Namgung Yeon nodded and turned her gaze. She looked at Yeon-un, who lay silent as death, breathing only, and narrowed her eyes before nodding.
“Understood.”
I left those behind and departed the inn.
Whoooosh—!
The rain poured down with unusual ferocity.

* * *

“Krahaha—!”
“Look at her! She’s quite the beauty, isn’t she?”
“I know! I never imagined we’d find someone like this.”
In some damp, nondescript place.
The men huddled together burst into raucous laughter.
At least thirty strong, they were the ruffians who controlled the back alleys of the village.
They gazed at one spot with cruel smiles.
Several women trembled with fear. All of them were outsiders—travelers who had been captured while visiting the village.
The women could see the sinister glint in the ruffians’ eyes and could imagine all too well what fate awaited them.
Thus they struggled in despair.
But they were already trapped, with no escape.
“This could be quite enjoyable, and we could make a fortune selling them. We’ve struck gold today.”
“Haha—there’s more, boss. Haven’t you heard? At the inn right now….”
At the subordinate’s words, his lips curling upward, the gang leader’s smile deepened.
“A celestial beauty, you say?”
“Yes! Hahaha! If we sell her in Beijing, we’ll make a fortune. And there’s another pretty one too—couldn’t be better!”
The ruffians chattered excitedly among themselves.
They had already captured women of exceptional beauty, which alone would bring them considerable wealth. But to hear there was one even more beautiful made their eyes gleam with greed.
As they laughed and talked, one of them glanced to the side and noticed a child crouched in the corner, staring intently at them.
Innocent eyes and expression.
As if finding this situation curious and fascinating, the child watched them with rapt attention.
What were they doing? What were they trying to do? What was their intent? Why had the child been brought here?
All these questions filled those pure, curious eyes.
The gang leader frowned at the child’s gaze, noting the complete absence of fear.
“Sell that child to Sword Boy. By the way… I thought the kid was carrying a sword? Where is it?”
“Ah—that one? We checked it thinking it might be worth something, but it’s cheap. You could buy one like it for pocket change….”
“Tch. I brought the kid because the sword looked good.”
“Still, there are plenty of men who like young ones. Wouldn’t it be better to sell her that way?”
The gang leader paused, swallowing.
As if deliberating, he took a moment before breaking into laughter.
“Fine! Find out the details. Considering the age, we should get at least ten silver taels, shouldn’t we?”
“Of course! I’ll look into it right away.”
Satisfied with his subordinate’s assurance, the gang leader rose from his seat. He walked slowly toward where Haryeon was and crouched down to look at the child.
The rough man’s hand reached out.
The moment his hand touched the child’s hair.
Haryeon’s head lifted and their eyes met.
“Profit!?”
That was the moment.
One of the women who had been dragged along seized a sharp wooden splinter that had fallen to the ground and lunged forward.
The gang leader, startled by the sudden turn of events, tried to dodge hastily, but collided with Haryeon in front and tumbled to the ground.
Thud—!
The woman, seizing the opportunity, drove the jagged wooden shard into his throat.
“Gack—!?”
As the gang leader began to thrash about, clutching his neck in agony, the eyes of the watching thugs widened in shock.
An unexpected turn.
Their bewildered expressions made it clear they had never imagined such a thing could happen.
“This crazy bitch!”
“Kill her!”
The situation deteriorated rapidly.
The thugs’ fury toward the woman was uncontrollable, and their drawn blades descended upon her without mercy, as if to hack her to pieces.
Thud, thud—crunch!
The woman’s body, unable to even resist, was torn apart in an instant, blood and flesh spraying everywhere.
The terrified screams and wails of the other women pierced the air, and the place became a scene of utter chaos.
But the situation did not end there.
“Aaahhh—!”
Since death was inevitable anyway, she would not die in shame.
She was not the only woman who had resolved thus.
Another captive woman seized a stone from the ground and brought it down upon a thug’s head, and as a sharp cry escaped and a dagger fell from his grip, another woman picked it up and stabbed the thug without hesitation.
Thud, thud, thud—!
“Aaahhh! Die!”
“Gack—!”
“You bastard!”
The screams of the desperate women and the groans of the dying thugs.
The voices of those venting their rage mingled together.
At the same time, emboldened by the fearless woman who had stepped forward, the other women also seized whatever lay on the ground and lunged at the thugs.
Crash—!
Lightning flashed, illuminating the darkness before vanishing.
The hand of someone wielding something was visible, and blood splattered.
All that could be heard were screams and cries.
Though these thugs who controlled the alley could not be easily overcome, in the chaos of bodies falling and tangling, lanterns rolling about, and flames igniting and spreading, no one could say with certainty who would emerge victorious.
The place became nothing but a hellish chorus of desperate screams and shouts from those fighting for their lives.
Haryeon rose to his feet, gazing upon that infernal scene.
As if the voices of those burning, tangling, and screaming did not reach his ears, he simply walked forward and grasped Yeon-un’s sword, discarded like garbage.
“Kyaaahhh—!”
“Uaaahhh!”
“Gack—!”
Thud, thud!
“These insane women, ugh!?”
Crunch!
Countless sounds reached the child’s ears from all directions.
Blood sprayed across the ground, bodies lay strewn about in grotesque disarray, and desperate hands reaching toward the child in a final struggle for life went limp and fell.
Haryeon watched it all with an unmoved expression and moved to escape the scene.
“Where do you think you’re running!?”
At that moment, accompanied by someone’s cry, a dark shadow appeared behind Haryeon, and a wickedly sharp dagger flew toward the child’s throat.
Whoosh—!
However, before that dagger could reach Haryeon.
A woman with a blade embedded in her neck, even as she was dying, squeezed out her last strength and swung her sword with fierce force, driving it into the man’s skull.
Crack—!
The man collapsed helplessly.
Haryeon watched the sight without emotion and hurried out through the door with quick steps.
“Kyaaaah—!”
“Die—!? Ugh!”
“Aagh! Die, you bastards!”
“Insane women—!”

* * *

Whoosh—
The open door closed, yet the sounds within did not cease.
However, Haryeon walked on as if indifferent to the carnage unfolding inside, merely letting the rain fall upon her.
She walked in silence without a word, naturally advancing down an unfamiliar path.
As if connected to someone by an invisible thread.
Moving forward without hesitation, as if chasing an inseparable bond of fate, the surrounding scenery gradually changed and familiar sights came into view.
The marketplace street.
Even the dumpling vendor stall had closed at this hour.
The sun that had hung in the sky had vanished from sight, and the moon was swallowed by clouds and hidden from view.
All that remained was darkness.
Haryeon walked through that darkness, taking in the scenery, and soon came to a stop at one place.
The spot where the dumpling vendor stall was visible.
Beneath the small eave where Yeon-un had told her to wait for a moment.
Though the driving wind made it impossible to escape the rain, Haryeon stood there as if waiting for Yeon-un, unmoving.
Was she hoping he would come find her?
Or was she simply waiting because she had nowhere else to go?
Her expressionless face revealed no emotion, making it difficult to discern what she was thinking.
“Haryeon?”
Then, a voice was heard.
Haryeon’s gaze turned cautiously in that direction.
Standing at the end of her sight was a man.
Yeon-un? No.
A presence far more compelling than him.
She watched as he approached her slowly.
The distance between them narrowed with each step.
As if the gap between her and him was closing.
After etching Jin Cheon-u’s approaching figure into her eyes for a long moment, he suddenly stood before her and reached out to gently caress her cheek.
“Are you alright?”
At the sound of his voice, Haryeon tilted her head in bewilderment.
As if nothing had happened at all.
Her eyes questioning, as if asking what could possibly be wrong.
It was then that Jin Cheon-u’s eyes narrowed.
Yet Haryeon casually grasped Jin Cheon-u’s collar and, gazing at the sword at his side, made a gesture of searching for Yeon-un.
“Yes… let’s go.”
Jin Cheon-u led Haryeon toward the inn.
The child’s clear eyes remained fixed upon Jin Cheon-u as he walked beside her.

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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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