The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 37
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
The Youngest Son of the Nakhyang Jin Family – Chapter 98
* * *
Click—
Chaeseoha opened the doors of the annex one by one, and upon checking the final room, she furrowed her delicate brow.
The person who should have been there was nowhere to be found.
While it was true that he often disappeared without a word, leaving guests unattended was something entirely new.
She exhaled a small sigh and returned to the room where people had gathered.
Upon opening the door and stepping inside, she saw unfamiliar faces.
One was Namgung Baek, and the other was Namgung Yeon.
Members of the Heaven’s First Sword Clan, which once commanded the Central Plains.
Such people were now staying here through Jin Cheon-u’s kindness.
Chaeseoha passed by the two with light steps and returned to her seat.
Yet her gaze remained fixed on Namgung Yeon.
A woman of exceptional beauty.
She would be called a beauty wherever she went.
Of course, she didn’t particularly concern herself with such things, but whenever Jin Cheon-u’s name came up, she could glimpse the favor gleaming in her eyes.
Chaeseoha confirmed this and sighed softly once more.
“He’s not here. Do you really not know where he went?”
“Well, I was only told to stay here….”
At her question, Namgung Baek scratched his head with an awkward expression. Each word that fell from Chaeseoha’s lips made him feel strangely buoyant.
Namgung Yeon, noticing this, quietly stepped on Namgung Baek’s foot.
“Ow!?”
A cry of pain echoed from the sudden hurt, but the others seemed hardly concerned.
Rather, they were preoccupied with something else entirely.
“Sigh… I told him to keep that one with him, and yet. What trouble is brewing now?”
“There’s no worry more pointless than worrying about that bastard. He’d live leisurely even in hell and crawl back out—why worry so much?”
“But it could still be dangerous, couldn’t it?”
“Dangerous? Him?”
At Jang Chuchyeong’s words, Gu Gunbaek burst out laughing.
Jin Cheon-u in danger?
Considering the man he’d witnessed thus far, he was the type to emerge unscathed from such perils and use them as stepping stones for further growth.
“Gahahaha—”
Gu Gunbaek stretched languidly, half-reclined in his chair without concern, and grasped the wine bottle beside him.
“He’s probably causing some trouble somewhere. Don’t worry about it.”
“Isn’t that trouble itself a concern, sir?”
“No, Master. Please do worry about the young master!”
At the voices coming from various directions, Gu Gunbaek furrowed his brow, blew into the wine bottle like a horn, and exhaled a long sigh.
“Am I his guard? What? I’m just a guest here and his teacher, nothing more. He’s not even my disciple—why should I trouble myself searching for him?”
No one could respond to such a twisted answer. Given that he was naturally willful and had suffered at Jin Cheon-u’s hands more than once, it seemed plausible.
No matter what they tried, it seemed unlikely he would agree to go search for Jin Cheon-u.
Chaeseoha, who had been observing the situation intently, broke into a subtle smile.
“By the way, does anyone here happen to have money? Raise your hands, please.”
At her composed question, no one raised their hand.
Gu Gunbaek had nothing to begin with, Jang Chuchyeong didn’t carry money, and as for Namgung Baek and Namgung Yeon—need I say more?
As she reminded them of the situation, Gu Gunbaek frowned while staring at the wine bottle in his hand.
He had no idea how much this wine he was drinking cost.
If asked whether he could pay for it, he could only shake his head.
Crash!
Then.
From somewhere, the earth trembled and an enormous sound reached their ears.
As Jang Chuchyeong and Chaeseoha rushed to the window, they saw a tall building collapse in a thunderous heap.
“There he is.”
Seeing this, Gu Gunbaek let out a snort of laughter and rose from his seat.
Then, glancing casually out the window toward the source of the sound, he wiped the wine from his lips and smiled.
“This bastard, having all the fun by himself and making a fuss about it.”
* * *
Whisper, whisper—!
Sounds come from all directions.
Unmistakably, the Shadow Assassins are moving.
But there are more presences than the number I know of.
What this means is simply that the Chohyeon Clan has also sent warriors to find me.
With this, I became certain that the Chohyeon Clan is indeed part of their faction.
Thump—!
“Gasp?!”
I move through the darkness and begin my hunt.
To counter overwhelming numbers, moving as quietly and covertly as possible while hunting is the best strategy.
I confirm the Shadow Assassin, his heart pierced, collapse helplessly, then conceal myself in the darkness once more.
That moment.
I sense another presence.
Someone who discovered the corpse is rushing over.
As he stops and examines the fallen body.
I emerge from the darkness and swing my blade.
Slash—!
His head flies through the air and blood sprays forth.
Without even time to confirm the falling body, I hide myself and move on.
Even so, I maintained my senses as sharply as possible.
I needed to create distance between myself and Yeom Ji-hak.
There could be no worse situation than facing him again.
“He possesses exceptional concealment techniques! Everyone, be cautious!”
Then, a voice called out from somewhere.
Sensing the presence, I gradually closed the distance and approached.
I could see several men gathered there.
They were not Shadow Assassins.
Then were they warriors from the Chohyeon Clan?
Narrowing my eyes to slits, I gazed upon them before launching my body forward in one fluid motion.
“…!”
Thwack! Thwack!
Two vipers hidden in darkness flew forth, piercing through the throats of two men. In the moment the other men widened their eyes in shock, witnessing their comrades collapse with final gasps.
I swung my blade.
Slash!
I carved deeply across someone’s back, then twisted my body to pierce another man’s throat beside me.
It was but an instant.
Confirming the blood pooling in small puddles, I attempted to conceal myself once more within the darkness.
Yet in that moment, something flew toward me.
Clang!
A heavy blade aimed for my neck.
Deflecting it and retreating half a step, my opponent’s blade came crashing down again without pause.
I moved my blade urgently to block it.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Each collision of steel against steel created brilliant flashes of light. The blades, wielded without yielding even an inch, were each strike lethal.
I narrowed my eyes and poured more strength into my strikes.
Crash!
My powerfully swung blade knocked my opponent’s weapon aside, and I pressed forward.
Sensing my opponent’s shocked retreat of half a step, I took a large stride and thrust my blade forward.
Squelch!
“Gasp!”
The Shadow Assassin before me clutched his chest and staggered backward. With his heart pierced, there was no way he could survive.
“Remarkable. I thought you had some skill, but not to this degree.”
Then, a voice came from somewhere.
Standing motionless, I turned my head.
A figure emerged from the darkness.
Recognizing the familiar face, I let a bitter smile cross my lips.
“Ma Hyeong-chu.”
“Ha, so you knew of me after all. It seems Gwanbaek truly is alive.”
Gwanbaek—that name surfaced once more.
No matter how much I dredged through my memories, I had never encountered or seen anyone matching that name.
That meant this was a person I had never seen before.
And that meant there were circumstances beyond my control.
“The Lord will question you directly soon enough, but I can’t help my own curiosity beforehand. Tell me—are you a disciple of Gwanbaek?”
“Do you expect an answer?”
“I’m simply asking. The truth is, I don’t believe Gwanbaek is even alive.”
Ma Hyeong-chu spoke these words while caressing his blade.
With careful fingers, he traced the edge of the sword, then flicked it lightly with a soft twang.
Even as he did, his mouth never ceased.
“The Divine Himself intervened directly. The Absolute took action with His own hands and claimed my elder brother’s life—how could he possibly still be alive?”
Ma Hyeong-chu gazed upward at the sky.
His eyes fixed upon the moon hanging high above, and they seemed to reveal absolute loyalty and reverence toward the Divine.
He worships.
As if that unreachable moon were his god, his eyes gleamed with rapture, awe, and every emotion imaginable.
Then slowly, his gaze turned toward me.
The expression from moments before had vanished without a trace—his face was now as cold as ice, and his eyes were sharper than any blade.
“Such a being could never make a mistake, could he?”
“Your faith runs deep.”
“Fool! That being is the world itself, and the world exists solely for His sake! How dare you mock me with such ignorance!”
Clang!
His voice erupted like a torrent of rage, ringing out loudly enough to deafen the ears. Such a powerful cry would surely be heard by anyone nearby.
Which meant someone was coming.
Before that happened, I had to end this.
Now that it had come to this, Ma Hyeong-chu had no intention of letting me leave alive.
I kicked off the ground and hurled myself forward, my blade sweeping through the air.
Slash!
But Ma Hyeong-chu’s sword came flying at me after he swiftly evaded.
Slash, slash!
Not even a single collision.
Despite exchanging lethal strikes with each move, neither Ma Hyeong-chu nor I made contact—we simply dodged and evaded.
I avoided his familiar swordwork based on my past memories, while Ma Hyeong-chu relied on his natural agility and instinct.
Swish, swish, swish, slash!
The sound of clashing blades was nowhere to be heard.
Dodging and striking by the thinnest of margins, the pattern repeated endlessly.
With neither of us landing a blow or making contact, the silence was so profound it seemed almost impossible that a battle was taking place at all.
Whoosh!
In that instant.
Ma Hyeong-chu’s blade cut across my ribs.
It wasn’t a deep wound, but as if it were a signal flare, our blades suddenly clashed together in a frenzy.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
We each sought the other’s life.
It was so blatantly obvious that we were aiming solely for the vital points, and the killing intent directed at one another exploded outward like a violent torrent.
Our skills were evenly matched.
Neither of us gave ground by even an inch.
Surely, that’s what he must have been thinking as well.
In that moment, the blade that had been swinging like a raging current became perfectly calm.
Clang—!
The water flows gently.
Creating no ripples whatsoever, simply flowing naturally along the current’s path.
I could see Ma Hyeong-chu, who had stepped into those waters, widen his eyes in alarm.
The flow was so natural that he didn’t even realize he was gradually being drawn into deeper waters.
The moment he understood.
“…!”
It was already too late.
Ma Hyeong-chu thrashed about in panic.
Like someone drowning in deep waters, struggling desperately to survive, he flailed within the current I had created, fighting for his life.
But once caught in the whirlpool’s waters, there is no escape no matter what one does.
I watched him.
The confidence that had filled his face drained away, leaving it deathly pale.
The blade swung.
Slash—!
In an instant, the extended blade tore through Ma Hyeong-chu’s body.
He was split in half with a sickening sound, blood pouring forth.
As blood sprayed in all directions, drenching my body, the warmth I felt proved beyond doubt that the existence before my eyes had truly lived.
I flicked the blood from my blade and gazed at what remained of Ma Hyeong-chu.
With this, I had exposed the most troublesome one.
Clap, clap, clap—
Then, applause sounded from somewhere.
Without thinking, I turned my head toward the sound, and as if he had been watching this entire situation unfold, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness.
The moment I sensed his aura, I understood.
I cooled the heat that had risen within me as I cut down Ma Hyeong-chu, and kept my gaze fixed on him, prepared for what was to come.
Crackle, crackle—!
Every sense in my body stood on end like a madman’s, putting me on edge.
Simultaneously, Yeom Ji-hak’s eyes—eyes that seemed capable of tearing my entire body to shreds—turned toward me, and a bloody smile played at his lips.
“Do you still think you can survive?”
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————