The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 96

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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 96

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I watched Namgung Baek before me with my arms crossed.
He kept his head bowed, scarcely touching the lavishly spread dishes, though I could see beads of cold sweat forming on his brow.
He looked like a man burdened by guilt.
Namgung Yeon, by contrast, found herself unable to lift her chopsticks for an entirely different reason.
Uncertain which dish to begin with or how to properly approach them, she seemed to be waiting for someone else to take the first bite.
I casually picked up my chopsticks and began eating.
If I didn’t start, no one else would dare to touch the food.
Only then did Namgung Yeon’s eyes brighten as she grasped her chopsticks, moving them tentatively from dish to dish, sampling each one in turn.
Her eyes widened at the taste of these fine delicacies she had never encountered before.
“This is absolutely delicious.”
“Eat plenty. I promised to treat you properly, yet failed to do so until now.”
“Yes, thank you, Young Master.”
Namgung Yeon bowed respectfully, observing proper etiquette.
Then she glanced sideways and gave Namgung Baek a subtle nudge with her elbow.
It was a rebuke directed at him for remaining silent and withdrawn until now.
Snapping back to awareness, Namgung Baek lifted his head quickly and gazed at me quietly.
In that moment, his eyes betrayed the turmoil within—a man uncertain which words should come first.
I found myself chuckling involuntarily.
Was that the cause?
Namgung Baek’s pupils trembled.
“What are you doing, older brother? You’re not eating.”
“Ah, yes, yes. I should eat. Thank you for this meal, Young Master.”
Roused by Namgung Yeon’s voice beside him, Namgung Baek exhaled a short breath and raised his chopsticks.
Only then did he cautiously place food into his mouth.
Though we had faced each other twice before at the inn, this was the first time Namgung Baek had actually eaten anything.
His eyes widened as the flavors pleased his palate.
The anxiety that had clouded his features moments before vanished entirely, as though he had cast aside all unnecessary worries, and he continued moving his chopsticks steadily, bringing food to his mouth.
Namgung Baek and Namgung Yeon’s chopsticks scarcely paused.
Not only were these fine dishes new to them, but they had clearly gone without proper meals recently, so their hunger was considerable.
Yet unlike Chaeseoha, who ate as though possessed, they moved their chopsticks swiftly to satisfy their hunger while still maintaining the decorum befitting their station—as if fearing someone might snatch the food away.
Even in ruin, the blood of a noble house does not fade, does it?
As I watched the two of them with an unguarded smile, Namgung Baek sensed my gaze and paused, looking toward me.
“I… aren’t you eating, Young Master?”
“Don’t concern yourself with me. Eat your fill. I don’t go about starving myself.”
I spoke these words and set down my chopsticks.
I hadn’t eaten yet, but hunger eluded me. More than that, watching Namgung Yeon eat with such sparkling eyes made me hesitant to reach for food—as if I might be stealing from him.
Instead, something other than the meal caught my attention.
I gazed at the wine bottle sitting on the table.
Whether it was Namgung Baek or Namgung Yeon, both were so absorbed in eating that they hadn’t even touched the alcohol.
Perhaps they judged that using time to drink wine would be less profitable than wielding their chopsticks for another bite.
In the end, it fell to me to fill the empty cups.
I filled both their cups to the brim and raised my own.
Those absorbed in their meal seemed to understand what the gesture meant, for both lifted their cups and drained them in one motion.
For a moment, we exchanged toasts back and forth.
I slowed their pace of eating while quickening my own drinking speed.
Neither of them seemed particularly accustomed to alcohol, for despite drinking only a modest amount, their faces flushed crimson.
Namgung Baek appeared not to even consider dispelling the intoxication with inner energy, while Namgung Yeon seemed ignorant of how to do so.
Only then did my gaze turn toward Namgung Baek.
“Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Of course! Ha, I never knew food provided by the Young Master could taste so delicious.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I’ve always felt regretful that you left without even tasting it twice before.”
“H-ha, my apologies.”
“There’s no need to apologize. But earlier, it seemed like you were avoiding me—or was that my imagination?”
Hic—!
Namgung Baek hiccupped with a somewhat hazy expression.
He seemed to be trying to recall what had happened moments before, but the rising intoxication made it difficult.
I waited quietly for him to speak.
After a brief silence, Namgung Baek finally seemed to resolve himself, meeting my gaze directly before carefully opening his mouth.
“Hic! Phew… everything’s spinning. About what you said earlier? I wasn’t really avoiding the Young Master… it’s just that since that day, I keep having strange dreams. They’re nonsensical dreams, but they’re so vivid… hic!”
“Dreams?”
“Yes! Ha, it’s rather absurd, but… you know that day? The day Moyong Hyeok caused such a commotion over the Pyohyeong Sword.”
I nodded and refilled his empty cup. At that, Namgung Baek’s eyes sparkled as if he’d just discovered the taste of wine, and he drained the cup cleanly.
Then he looked at me again.
“That day keeps appearing in my dreams… but the Young Master was wearing black clothes, and you were putting that outfit and something like a mask into fire… something like that. Ha ha ha. Isn’t it ridiculous?”
Ha ha ha—
I smiled back at him as he laughed, as if it were nothing of consequence.
At the time, I had struck his vital points perfectly.
I had confirmed him collapsing, but by the time I returned, he seemed to have regained some consciousness.
Though I had attempted to verify, my confirmation had been incomplete.
With barely awakened consciousness, he had observed me, and those events had been imprinted in his mind, manifesting as dreams—that seemed reasonable.
I let out an involuntary laugh.
Had he truly feared me merely because of that?
“So you thought I was that Pyohyeong Sword?”
“Ah—… of course not. It’s just that Yeon-a mentioned the Young Master’s skills are extraordinary… and that dream kept coming back to me, so, ha, ha ha. My apologies.”
“No, it’s fine. Anyone would be sensitive to such a thing.”
“Is that… so?”
“I would have done the same. No one wants to get caught in the crossfire and die.”
“Ha, haha.”
No matter how much I tried to dismiss it as a dream, this involved none other than the Nakhyang Jin Family and the Moyong Family.
It felt far too vivid to be merely a dream, yet when I considered the possibility that it was real, the aftershocks of such a reality terrified me.
If I were to speak such words to someone, and they reached the ears of either faction, Namgung Baek would inevitably find himself caught between them—that was the harsh reality.
My life had already fallen into ruin without this.
Should matters escalate, I would be relocating my residence to the afterlife.
The very thought made me shudder, so the best course of action available to me was to exercise extreme caution and seal my lips firmly shut.
In any case, I had discerned the meaning behind the look in his eyes.
In short, it was a trivial matter.
The real problem lay elsewhere.
“Then let me ask you something else. Was there truly no one named Cho Hyeon-gang within the Sega?”
“Cho Hyeon-gang, Cho Hyeon-gang… hmm… that young master. I apologize, but I am certain—I have never heard such a name.”
Namgung Baek paused thoughtfully at my words, then shook his head with conviction as he answered.
Judging by the way he met my gaze directly, as if to affirm the sincerity of his words, it appeared he was not lying.
I steadied my breathing and leaned back in my chair.
Ma Hyeong-chu had attempted to extract information by fabricating a person who didn’t exist.
Yet he had suddenly vanished.
The series of deaths among the spies planted within the Shadow Assassins and the Nakhyang Jin Family.
From his perspective, he would have desperately wanted to obtain that information, but…
He was gone.
Considering Namgung Baek’s assertion that he knew of no such person, it wasn’t merely Ma Hyeong-chu who had disappeared—the entire Blood Demon Squad must have vanished.
Just two days ago, he had come to the inn seeking me.
This was undoubtedly due to the reason Namgung Baek had mentioned.
A distinguished guest was arriving, he had said?
This could only mean that either the Blood Demon Sect Leader himself had to personally greet them because they were of tremendous importance, or they were someone he had to avoid—a figure of immense power.
The former would be someone from their faction, while the latter would be a high-ranking member of the Martial Arts Alliance.
“Do you know who is coming?”
“No, no one told me anything.”
At the look in Namgung Baek’s eyes—as if questioning why I would ask such a thing—I exhaled another sigh and pressed my fingers to my brow.
The reason for his sudden disappearance weighed heavily on my mind.
I felt I needed to see and confirm it with my own eyes.
I rose from my seat.
“Once you finish eating, rest here. Speak with the innkeeper, and he will prepare a room for you.”
“Eh?!”
Ignoring the bewildered voices of the two people, I slipped out of the inn.

* * *

I donned a mask and positioned myself on the highest nearby rooftop, maintaining maximum distance from the Chohyeon Family compound.
At such a distance, people appeared no larger than ants, yet by sharpening my vision slightly, I could discern the faint outlines of their faces.
Despite the sun having set and the moon having risen, the Chohyeon Family compound blazed with light.
The constant stream of carts laden with goods entering and leaving made it clear they were preparing lavishly for an esteemed guest.
Judging by the volume, this was no mere day or two of preparation.
The provisions and supplies were sufficient for a feast lasting at least half a month.
The manner of their preparations struck me as peculiarly deliberate—as though this guest intended to remain cloistered within those walls, with no intention of ever stepping outside.
Who could possibly warrant such elaborate arrangements?
I kept my eyes narrowed, observing the situation intently for a considerable time.
Half an hour passed, then another full hour.
At last, the carts ceased their movements, and the streets emptied of all pedestrian traffic, leaving only darkness and silence in their wake.
Then.
Creeeeak—!
The firmly sealed gates of the Chohyeon Family compound swung wide open.
As though to welcome someone.
I immediately sharpened my vision, snapping to full alertness.
Torchlight began to bloom across the street.
Not merely a handful.
At least thirty figures appeared from nowhere, moving with torches held aloft.
“The Blood Demon Sect…?”
Though the distance prevented absolute certainty, their gait unmistakably marked them as Blood Demon Sect members.
They moved as though escorting someone.
The Blood Demon Sect escorting someone?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, my heart lurched.
Thump—
I felt my pulse quicken violently.
My senses sharpened to an almost painful degree.
Without tearing my gaze from the Blood Demon Sect members, I concentrated intently as they began filing into the Chohyeon Family compound one by one.
Halfway through their procession—
“…!”
Two figures emerged between the torch-bearing members.
One was unmistakably Ma Hyeong-chu.
His usual smile had vanished, replaced by a solemn expression as he attended respectfully to the figure beside him.
Crunch—!
The instant I confirmed this, my fists clenched involuntarily.
I gripped so hard my knuckles nearly shattered.
I felt blood trickling from my palms.
The figure standing beside Ma Hyeong-chu—a being with crimson hair.
“Yeom Ji-hak….”
The face of that man who had smiled down at me from the summit of Taehak Mountain flashed before my eyes.

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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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