The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 53

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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 53

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Blood spurted from Moyong Hyeok’s chest, and I furrowed my brow.
I thought I had struck precisely, but the depth was shallow.
Because of this, it fell short of being a fatal wound.
It happened because Moyong Hyeok, sensing danger in an instant, instinctively retreated half a step.
It was a golden opportunity to sever his life.
Since I had no intention of giving up, I took another step forward and was about to swing my sword when—
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
From somewhere, I heard the heavy sound of something cutting through the air.
The familiar sound made me frown.
Without even turning my gaze toward where the sound came from, I threw my body to the side.
Crash!
At the same moment, a blade embedded itself where I had been standing.
That alone was not the problem.
Whoosh—!
The sound of someone rapidly approaching.
As I glanced with my eyes, Eon Garyeo came into view.
Her clenched fists unleashed a barrage of unarmed strikes.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap—!
Eon Garyeo’s unarmed combat was dazzling.
Punches and kicks, agile movements.
It was indeed skilled enough that the title of one of the Eight Great Families seemed fitting, but compared to Gu Gunbaek, it was merely child’s play.
I lightly evaded the incoming strikes and extended my left fist.
Thud!
“Ugh?!”
“Garyeo!”
Eon Garyeo collapsed after taking a blow to her abdomen.
Just as I was about to extend my foot to stomp on her head, Paeng Dohan suddenly appeared and swung his blade.
Whoosh—!
A sound rang out as if tearing through the wind itself.
Simultaneously, a blade aura shot forth.
Just as I was about to swing my sword to block it—
Paeng Dohan smiled.
As if to say he had seized a golden opportunity.
But no matter how I looked at it, that was not the situation at all.
That meant there was clearly something else at play.
I stepped back and turned my gaze away.
There stood Moyong Hyeok.
The man who had already stemmed his bleeding through pressure points was now seizing an opening in the fierce exchange between Paeng Dohan and Eon Garyeo, drawing closer with each passing moment.
“…!”
Seemingly unprepared for his presence to be detected, he fixed me with a startled expression before gritting his teeth and launching himself forward.
Boom!
As Paeng Dohan’s spiritual energy drove into the earth with a deafening crash and I landed, Moyong Hyeok’s sword came flying as if he had been waiting for precisely this moment.
Clang-clang-clang!
I deflected his blade with swift movements, my eyes darting across the battlefield.
In that instant, I caught sight of Eon Garyeo extending his palm from above. The coordinated assault of Paeng Dohan, Moyong Hyeok, and Eon Garyeo left no opening for respite—a relentless barrage of attacks.
I met Moyong Hyeok’s increasingly rapid strikes head-on. Rather than deflecting, I allowed his blade to cling to mine, then pulled it close while executing an elegant footwork technique to exchange positions with him.
“Aagh?!”
Smack!
Eon Garyeo’s foot, meant to strike from mid-air, instead lashed across Moyong Hyeok’s face.
Watching him tumble across the ground, I closed the distance in a single breath and swung my sword toward Moyong Hyeok.
“Ugh?!”
“Hyeok!”
Clang!
Moyong Hyeok desperately blocked the descending blade.
He attempted a counterattack, thrusting his sword forward, but I evaded it effortlessly and drove my heel into his abdomen.
Thud!
“Argh!”
Confirming his cry of pain, I swung my sword again.
This strike carried but one resolve—to finish him without hesitation.
But then.
Whoosh!
Sensing a violent surge of spiritual energy, I hastily retreated two steps.
Clang!
Yet the distance of the dao was greater than I had anticipated, and as it collided with my sword, the blade shattered.
That, however, was not the only problem.
“What in the world is happening?!”
Hearing Jang Chuchyeong’s voice, it was clear the Suppression Squad that had been following behind had finally arrived.
The Changryongdan members who had been engaging the Black Crow Society were likewise converging one by one, and the situation seemed poised to reverse in an instant.
Did they perceive this as an opportunity?
Paeng Dohan’s eyes gleamed with lethal intent as he assumed his stance once more, and Eon Garyeo swiftly pressed forward, seizing the moment.
It seemed pointless to endure any longer.
I let out a soft chuckle and withdrew something from my robes, hurling it outward.
Whoooosh!
Powder suddenly billowed through the air.
The scattered haze dispersed on the wind, spreading across the surroundings.
Those unprepared for the sudden situation were the first to react.
“Ugh—!”
“Cough!”
“…It’s poison!”
Someone cried out as they watched those coughing up blood collapse to their knees.
Simultaneously, they desperately drew upon their inner energy to block the poison’s infiltration, but there were clearly those for whom it was already too late.
I confirmed this and turned my gaze elsewhere.
It was Moyong Hyeok, whose retreat had been somewhat delayed.
He was drawing upon his inner energy to block the poison, but judging by his condition, it didn’t seem he could maintain it much longer.
I held my breath and launched myself forward.
“Hyeok! Watch out!”
“Damn!”
I heard Paeng Dohan’s cry as he belatedly realized who my target was, but it was far too late to stop me.
The moment Moyong Hyeok looked at me with a startled expression.
I smiled behind my mask and reached out my hand.
Crack—crack crack!
“Aaaahhhhh—!”
I twisted his wrist to dislocate it and shattered his shoulder blade. As he fell forward with a scream, I rotated his ankle and knee joints, and in the final moment before I could snap his neck—
“You bastard!”
Paeng Dohan rushed forward, swinging his blade.
It wasn’t just Paeng Dohan.
The entire Changryongdan was advancing with bated breath.
Is this where it ends?
Reluctant though I was, I hurled Moyong Hyeok toward them. Paeng Dohan, who had been about to swing his blade, hastily caught the falling man, creating an opening.
I seized that moment to slip away.
“You son of a bitch—! I won’t let you get away with this!”
Clang clang—!
Paeng Dohan’s voice, filled with resentment, rang out, but I simply smiled quietly.
Did he even know who I was?
His cry was nothing but hollow echoes to me.

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Paeng Dohan watched as Pyo Hyeong-geom’s retreating figure vanished into the distance.
His lightness technique was remarkably swift.
Already, his form had dwindled to a mere speck on the horizon.
Though pursuit was not impossible, the present circumstances forbade it.
Clenching his fists with gritted teeth, he swallowed his resentment and turned his gaze away.
The sight that greeted his eyes was nothing short of catastrophic.
It was not merely the corpses of the Black Crow Society members.
Severely wounded Changryongdan members lay scattered about, and at their center was none other than Moyong Hyeok.
Paeng Dohan rushed toward Moyong Hyeok with desperate urgency.
Every bone in his body lay shattered and broken.
His condition was so grave he could not speak; his barely open eyes had lost all light and were fading toward death.
“Hyeok! Are you all right?!”
“….”
His urgent words met with no response.
Only a faint tremor of his body testified that he still clung to life.
“Bring every medical supply we have! Now!”
At Paeng Dohan’s harsh command, those gathered nearby frantically rummaged through their belongings. Everything emerged—trauma salves, bandages, and more besides.
Once these were assembled, a Changryongdan member skilled in medicine rushed forward and began examining Moyong Hyeok’s condition.
All eyes fixed upon him.
This was no time to celebrate the suppression of the Black Crow Society.
Now, saving Moyong Hyeok was what mattered most.

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Evading pursuit was easier than falling asleep and eating rice cakes. The poison I’d scattered made it difficult for them to move freely in the first place, and Moyong Hyeok’s condition was critical.
If the Changryongdan weren’t complete fools, they’d understand what their priorities should be.
Thanks to that, I was able to return without difficulty.
Fortunately, Namgung Baek remained unconscious and hadn’t stirred, so I used the opportunity to change clothes and burned my mask along with the firewood he’d prepared at the campfire.
There was still time to spare.
Assessing Moyong Hyeok’s devastated condition and administering emergency treatment would take considerable time.
I used a water bucket to wash away the blood clinging to my hands and body.
Since I’d left the broken sword behind, it was fair to say that the existence known as Pyo Hyeong-geom had been cleanly erased.
The only regret was that I hadn’t ended his life.
But I’d inflicted wounds so severe that death would be preferable, so he wouldn’t survive under normal circumstances. If he did manage to live in that state, that would be its own form of revenge.
I shook the moisture from my hands and crouched before the campfire. The clothes and mask that had been burning brightly had already turned to ash.
I was passing the time like this when—
“Ughhhh….”
With a groan, Namgung Baek, who had been unconscious with his head pressed to the ground, opened his eyes.
Like someone waking from sleep, he gazed around with a dazed expression, then tilted his head as if something didn’t quite make sense.
Then his gaze turned toward me.
“I… Young Master, what happened?”
“It seems the poison from the spider you ate earlier circulated through your body. You lost consciousness.”
“…Poison? No… that spider wasn’t potent enough for that….”
Namgung Baek showed confusion, as if he’d eaten spiders before. He then inserted his finger into his mouth and pulled out a remaining fragment of spider leg.
“Did I misunderstand?”
“It’s fortunate that it only resulted in unconsciousness. Be more careful when eating spiders next time.”
“Ah… yes, I understand. But how much time has passed? What’s the situation?”
“About three and a half hours. As for the situation….”
I gestured with my chin toward the darkening mountains.
Namgung Baek looked in that direction and saw dozens of figures rushing toward us—the Suppression Squad returning.
Leading them was none other than the Changryongdan.
They seemed to be moving with considerable urgency.
I found myself smiling without meaning to.
I felt Namgung Baek’s gaze on me, his eyes strange.
“What is it?”
“Oh, nothing. You just seem rather pleased about something. Ha, never mind.”
“It appears the suppression of the Black Crow Society has been completed. I feel quite satisfied.”
“Ah yes— those fellows do have a bad reputation, don’t they?”
I nodded lightly while letting Namgung Baek’s words pass through my ears. My gaze remained fixed on the approaching Changryongdan, and as the distance narrowed and the scene became clearer, my smile didn’t fade.
Soon they arrived.
“Forgive us, but we must leave first!”
But before I could even open my mouth, they rushed off again. On Paeng Dohan’s back was Moyong Hyeok, whose appearance could barely be called human.
The Changryongdan quickly mounted their horses and galloped away.
Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, Namgung Baek’s expression went blank.
If my eyes weren’t deceiving me, I had certainly witnessed the utterly ghastly state Moyong Hyeok had been reduced to.
“What… what in the world is this…?”
“Young Master-! Young Master-! Something terrible has happened!”
And then, Jang Chuchyeong came rushing up from behind, gasping for breath as he skidded to a halt before me. Though he bore scattered wounds across his body—evidence of a fierce battle—none of them appeared to be severe or life-threatening.
I furrowed my brow as I regarded him.
“Speak without the dramatics. What happened?”
“That’s just it! That Moyong Hyeok—he’s been absolutely demolished, and it looks like he’s about to breathe his last!”
At those words, my eyes widened.
I displayed an expression and gaze as though I knew nothing of the matter.
Yet it seemed someone was even more shocked than I was.
It was Namgung Baek, standing beside me.
He seized Jang Chuchyeong’s shoulders urgently and shook him.
“What are you saying? Moyong Hyeok, what about him?!”
“He’s… he’s on the verge of death, I’m telling you!”
“No, how could… the strongest…”
“Seems there was someone even stronger than the strongest. My goodness, my heart. You were surprised too, weren’t you, Young Master? I ran here with fire at my heels to be the first to bring you this news!”
Jang Chuchyeong looked at me with an expression seeking praise.
In that moment, laughter threatened to spill from my lips unbidden.
But suppressing it as much as I could, I turned my gaze to the other Suppression Squad members with questioning eyes, and they all nodded with somber expressions.
I closed my eyes tightly as I regarded their faces.
“An impossible turn of events has unfolded.”
Indeed.
Had I not closed my eyes, I would have burst into laughter.

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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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