The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 365

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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 365

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“….”
I gazed out the window in contemplation, my thoughts wandering.
First, Yeon-un, who had collapsed, opened his eyes the morning after Haryeon returned. He had no recollection of what had transpired, nor did he even realize he had fallen unconscious.
Like a man who retained only the memories from the moment before his collapse, the image of him desperately searching for Haryeon the instant his eyes opened was still vivid in my mind.
But what of Haryeon, in contrast?
“How peculiar.”
She had vanished without a trace, only to reappear several hours later.
Not a single wound marred her, nor did she bear any sign of having been entangled in some ordeal.
Her expression was serene, her eyes tranquil.
Her appearance was so utterly unchanged that I felt foolish for having worried.
Where in the world had this child gone?
I could not discern the answer.
Even if I asked, she could not answer, for she could neither read nor write, and interpreting her gestures had its limits.
I leaned back in my chair, recalling that moment.
The image of Haryeon standing motionless, drenched by the torrential rain.
Her eyes as she looked at me seemed to shimmer with some inexplicable brilliance.
It was as though she gazed upon something that drew her in—a child captivated by an irresistible force. Even as she grasped my sleeve and walked back to the inn, she clung to me as if unwilling to let go, scarcely separating from my side.
There was nothing strange in such behavior.
For that is simply the nature of children.
“I truly cannot fathom it.”
I shook my head with a hollow laugh.
The more I pondered, the more elusive the answer became, and no matter how intently I examined the situation, not a trace of suspicion surfaced.
Yet this inexplicable sense of foreboding—
I could not shake it.
As I sighed and rested my chin in my palm, furrowing my brow, the closed door opened and Chaeseoha appeared.
“Aren’t you coming? Everything is prepared.”
“Are you feeling better now?”
“I’m full of vigor. A mere cold won’t get the better of me.”
Chaeseoha offered a radiant smile.
She appeared so robust that one could scarcely believe she was the same person who had burned with fever and could barely stand.
I smiled faintly and asked.
“What of the others?”
“Ah, you mean Yeon the martial artist? Fortunately, he’s fine. Haryeon is unharmed as well. But even you don’t know where she went, do you?”
“I was unable to discover it.”
“I asked her several times, but she only blinked at me. So I gave up. In any case, she returned safely, so all is well, isn’t it? I truly thought some disaster had befallen us.”
Chaeseoha trembled as she recalled the emotions of that moment, then, as if unwilling to dwell on it further, she shook them off and slowly steadied her breathing.
“Anyway, if there’s nothing wrong, shall we go now? The rain has stopped, and the weather is absolutely beautiful today.”
Chaeseoha’s gaze turned toward the window.
True to her words, the weather was indeed fine.
The torrential rain that had poured down moments before seemed like nothing but a lie.
After gazing at it briefly, I rose from my seat and gathered my belongings.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
I led her out of the room.
Since we hadn’t yet covered half the journey to Sichuan, I needed to quicken our pace somewhat.
We had wasted precious time because of this incident.
As I led Chaeseoha down to the first floor, the loud chatter of people who had gathered since early morning enjoying their meals reached my ears.
Cutting through that noise, a single voice pierced through.
“Young Master! Everything is prepared.”
Yeon-un, waving his hand with an enormous smile.
Whether from the joy of finding Haryeon, his smile seemed reluctant to fade from his face.
I gazed at him for a moment and let out a quiet chuckle, then led the group toward the inn’s entrance.
“Have you heard? About the Crazy Tiger Society?”
“Ah—I heard it was absolute chaos?”
“According to the one who discovered them, they were all dead. They killed each other with their blades.”
“Hmm—but who on earth did they…?”
“That’s the thing… The women who were captured apparently gritted their teeth and attacked. They killed and were killed, and in the end, the fire… they couldn’t escape…”
“They burned to death?”
At someone’s words, the people let out sighs.
When they spoke of the women, sympathy was evident, but when they mentioned the Crazy Tiger Society, an inexplicable anger lay beneath their words.
Thugs? Or perhaps a heretical sect?
Whatever kind of place it was, it seemed a considerable disaster had occurred.
Just as I was about to listen to more of the conversation.
Yeon-un’s excited voice rang out once more.
“The horses are all prepared. More than that, please give me the luggage! I’ll carry it.”
“It’s fine. It’s not particularly heavy.”
“Aha—I’m grateful because of that. If it weren’t for you, Young Master, I truly…”
Yeon-un’s expression was as if he might shed tears at any moment, revealing the emotions of his past.
The shock and terror of losing Haryeon had surfaced once more.
I found myself offering a bitter smile and let out a sigh.
“I did nothing of note. The child simply lost her way and wandered, and when I happened to find her, she returned. Rather than thanking me, please concern yourself with Haryeon.”
“Ah, I understand. Still… thank you, Young Master!”
Yeon-un bowed once more in gratitude.
Then he turned and rushed toward where Haryeon was, clinging so closely to her side that it seemed he had no intention of parting from her under any circumstances.
It was unclear who the actual guardian was.
I shook my head and slowly exited the inn.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
The moment the inn’s door opened and closed again.
The voices from inside grew muffled.
“But still, with all that rain falling, how could the—”
Slap!

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“Ugh, I’m so sick of this. Is there really anything out here?”
A man furrowed his brow with an expression of boredom.
No matter where one looked around, the scenery was utterly tedious.
Dang Chan, the Young Master of the Sacheon Dang Family, showed little enthusiasm for searching through these mountains, his eyes reflecting his displeasure.
“Ha, the Family Head merely asked us to verify. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
“This is ridiculous. An unidentified group, you say? What in the world is that supposed to mean?”
This was what frustrated Dang Chan.
He knew neither who they were nor what they intended.
They had simply moved on the intention to verify information that had arrived regarding an unidentified group.
Yet after days of searching the surrounding area, nothing unusual had appeared, nor could they find any trace of people, which made him suspect this was merely a baseless rumor.
Though he desperately wished to escape this dreary place and return home, if he obtained no results whatsoever, it would reflect poorly on the Dang Family’s intelligence network.
Thus, he could not simply turn back.
Dang Chan slumped his shoulders and sat down against a tree.
He pulled a piece of dried meat from his pouch and stared at it intently before letting out a long sigh.
“I wasn’t even hoping for exotic delicacies, but I’d at least like to eat something decent, you know?”
“Should we hunt an animal?”
“What good would that do? All we can do is salt it and roast it. Sigh—”
Dang Chan sprawled out on the ground and gazed at the sky.
Had circumstances been different, he would be enjoying fine food and wine in a pleasant establishment while savoring the fragrance of courtesans.
It had already been half a month since he’d last done so.
His body’s restlessness had reached its limit.
“Let’s head back.”
“Yes? But we haven’t found anything…?”
“If nothing’s turned up after all this, it’s clearly just a baseless rumor. Let’s not waste more time and return.”
“But the Family Head will know….”
“Come on, what can we do if nothing appears? Surely you’re not thinking of fabricating a report if nothing shows up?”
“Ugh….”
The bodyguards swallowed their groans at Dang Chan’s words.
Having wasted half a month without uncovering even a single clue, his argument was undeniably reasonable.
And so, when the man reluctantly nodded in resignation, Dang Chan broke into a bright smile.
“Then let us return now!”
Dang Chan’s voice, brimming with hearty laughter, echoed across the mountains. Those scattered about searching for something gradually emerged one by one, their eyes gleaming with renewed vigor.
Though I showed no outward sign, it was clear they too had endured considerable hardship.
As we descended the mountain, the heavy atmosphere lifted, and their eyes and expressions brightened more than ever before.
“Young Master So!”
At that moment.
A bodyguard ahead raised his hand to halt the group, lowering his posture.
Instantly, all those following suppressed their presence and concealed themselves. Following their gaze naturally to one spot, I could see several shadowy figures combing through the mountain at some distance away.
“Could it be…?”
“It appears to be them without question.”
The eyes of the man with half-lidded gaze turned cold.
These were no ordinary travelers walking a mountain path.
They were unmistakably surveying their surroundings as if confirming something.
Suspicious behavior by any measure.
Dang Chan’s eyes sparkled.
“Then why not seize them? If we capture them, our task is perfectly complete, is it not?”
“We must first confirm—”
“Confirm what.”
Dang Chan wore a sneer as he drew throwing knives from his robes and gripped them.
Three blades settled into his hands, gathering momentum, and simultaneously he pushed off the ground, launching himself forward in an instant.
As if without the slightest hesitation.
“Young Master So!?”
The startled bodyguards cried out and hastily gave chase, but keeping pace with Dang Chan’s overwhelming lightness of movement proved far from easy.
“You wretches! Reveal yourselves!”
*Clang clang!*
Dang Chan’s fierce shout reverberated across the entire mountain.
With an elegant gesture, his hand extended, and the thrown blades flew forth as if possessed of will, streaking toward the shadowy figures.
“…!”
The moment I witnessed this, someone moved.
A movement of supreme grace.
Drawing his sword in an instant, he deflected the first blade while twisting his weapon, then parried the second and third knives that sought gaps at measured intervals.
*Clang!*
“Impressive!”
Though his technique was blocked, Dang Chan laughed instead.
Six more throwing knives had already materialized in his hands.
The moment he hurled them, a biting chill swept through with a north wind, and the six blades lost their trajectory, scattering away.
Dang Chan swiftly drew a short blade from his sleeve and gripped it in reverse, but a sharp sword strike cut toward him.
“…!?”
Dang Chan, alarmed, gritted his teeth and twisted his body to evade the blade, yet the frigid steel that followed threatened to pierce straight through his brow.
In that instant, his right hand extended.
“It’s a poison dart.”
As the warning reached my ears, the five-venom snake I had concealed at my wrist shot forth, yet the advance notice rendered it utterly useless.
My trump card—the five-venom snake—struck the ground in vain.
“Ugh!”
Seizing that opening, a cold blade thrust forward, threatening to sever Dang Chan’s neck at any moment.
“That will suffice.”
Yet the situation unfolded contrary to expectation.
Once more, a man’s voice echoed through the air.
Whether it was an irrefutable command that bound the sword’s wielder, the blade that seemed unstoppable halted mere inches from Dang Chan’s nape, unable to advance further.
“Young Master So!?”
“A, a Powerful Expert!”
Dang Chan, unable to move, cried out as if issuing a warning to remain vigilant.
Those who had gradually knelt began releasing their momentum with sharp gazes, and it was clear that a bloodbath would erupt the moment Dang Chan’s head was severed.
It was then that the man’s voice sounded once more.
“I never expected to encounter someone from the Dang Family in a place like this.”
His tone was utterly unhurried.
As the figure who had walked slowly from the rear came into view, the eyes of everyone present widened.
“C-could it be… the Jin Family!?”
“I am Jin Cheon-u of the Jin Family. And you are?”
Shock.
Not only Dang Chan but everyone present was struck with shock.
Jin Cheon-u.
What martial artist in the realm would not know those three characters?
Indeed, even those outside the martial world could not help but know that name.
Dang Chan, holding his breath, subtly shifted his stance to evade the blade at his neck and create distance, then gazed upon Jin Cheon-u with an awkward smile.
“I, I am Chan of the Dang Family. It is an honor to meet you, Jin Gongja.”
Dang Chan, who had bowed his head in confusion, belatedly lifted his gaze sharply as if reasserting his pride, regarding Jin Cheon-u.
In that instant, a brilliantly radiant smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

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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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