The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 98

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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 98

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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 he had vanished silently on occasion before, leaving guests unattended was an unprecedented occurrence.
She exhaled a small sigh and returned to the room where the others had gathered.
Upon opening the door and stepping inside, she observed unfamiliar faces.
One was Namgung Baek, and the other was Namgung Yeon.
Members of the Cheonhajeilgeom School, which had once commanded the Central Plains.
Such individuals now remained here through Jin Cheon-u’s kindness.
Chaeseoha walked past the two with light steps and returned to her seat.
Yet her gaze drifted toward Namgung Yeon.
A woman of exceptional beauty.
She would surely be called a beauty wherever she went.
Of course, she didn’t particularly concern herself with such matters, but whenever Jin Cheon-u’s name came up, she could detect the affection gleaming in the woman’s eyes.
Chaeseoha confirmed this and released another small sigh.
“He’s not here? You truly don’t know where he went?”
“Well, I was only told to remain here…”
Namgung Baek scratched his head awkwardly at her question. Each word that fell from Chaeseoha’s lips seemed to make his heart flutter strangely.
Namgung Yeon, noticing this, subtly stepped on Namgung Baek’s foot.
“Ow!?”
A cry of pain escaped him, though the others seemed scarcely concerned.
Instead, they were preoccupied with other matters.
“Tch… I told him to keep that boy close, and yet here we are. What trouble is he getting into now?”
“There’s no use worrying about him. The man would stroll leisurely out of hell itself and return even stronger. Why fret so much?”
“But he could still be in danger.”
“Danger? Him?”
At Jang Chuchyeong’s words, Gu Gunbaek burst into laughter.
Jin Cheon-u in danger?
Considering the man as he had observed him thus far, he was the type who would emerge unscathed from such perils and use them as stepping stones for further growth.
“Gahahaha—”
Gu Gunbaek stretched languidly, half-reclined in his chair, and reached for the wine bottle beside him.
“He’s probably causing some trouble somewhere. Don’t concern yourselves.”
“But isn’t that trouble itself a concern, sir?”
“No, Master. Please worry about the Young Master!”
At the voices coming from various directions, Gu Gunbaek furrowed his brow, blew through the wine bottle, and released a long sigh.
“Am I his bodyguard? What? I’m just a guest here and his teacher, nothing more. He’s not even my disciple—why should I bother searching for him?”
No one could respond to such a petulant answer. Given that he was naturally willful and had suffered at Jin Cheon-u’s hands more than once, it seemed plausible enough.
No matter what they tried, it seemed unlikely he would agree to go searching for Jin Cheon-u.
Chaeseoha, who had been observing the situation intently, broke into a subtle smile.
“Say, does anyone here happen to have money? Please raise your hand.”
At her composed question, no one raised their hand.
Gu Gunbaek had nothing to begin with, Jang Chuchyeong didn’t carry money on him, and as for Namgung Baek and Namgung Yeon—what more needed to be said?
As she reminded them of the situation, Gu Gunbaek stared at the wine bottle in his hand, his brow furrowing.
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 cascade of rubble.
“There he is.”
Upon seeing this, Gu Gunbaek let out a quiet chuckle and rose from his seat.
He then glanced casually outside the window toward the source of the sound, wiped the wine from his lips, and smiled.
“This bastard—having all the fun by himself.”

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Whisper—whisper—!
Sounds echoed from all directions.
Unmistakably, the movements of the Blood Demon Squad.
Yet the number of presences I sensed exceeded what I had anticipated.
This could only mean one thing: the Chohyeon Clan had also dispatched warriors to find me.
With this, I became certain that the Chohyeon Clan was indeed part of their faction.
Thud—!
“Gasp—?!”
I moved through the darkness and began my hunt.
To counter their overwhelming numbers, moving as quietly and covertly as possible was my only strategy.
I confirmed the Blood Demon assassin collapse limply, his heart pierced, before retreating back into the shadows.
At that moment.
Another presence registered.
Someone who had discovered the corpse was rushing toward it.
As he stopped and examined the fallen body.
I emerged from the darkness and swung my blade.
Slash—!
His head flew, and blood erupted in a fountain.
Without even waiting to confirm the falling body, I concealed myself and moved on.
Even so, I maintained my senses as sharply as possible.
I needed to create distance between myself and Yeom Ji-hak.
There was no worse situation than facing that opponent again.
“That one possesses exceptional concealment techniques! Everyone, be cautious!”
Then, a voice called out from somewhere.
Sensing the presence, I slowly closed the distance.
I could see several men gathered in that location.
They were not Shadow Assassins.
Then were they warriors of the Chohyeon Family?
Narrowing my eyes to slits, I hurled myself forward in one explosive motion.
“…!”
Thwack! Thwack!
Two venomous strikes concealed in darkness pierced through the throats of two men. As their companions witnessed them collapse with final gasps, they widened their eyes in shock.
I swung my blade.
Shing!
I carved deeply across one man’s back, then twisted my body to pierce another’s throat.
It was but an instant.
Watching blood pool and spread, I attempted to vanish back into the darkness.
But 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 sword urgently to block.
Clang—clang clang clang!
Each collision of steel against steel erupted in brilliant flashes. Our blades fell without yielding an inch, each strike potentially lethal.
I narrowed my eyes and poured more strength into my movements.
Crash!
My forcefully swung blade knocked my opponent’s weapon aside, and I pressed forward.
Feeling my opponent stagger back half a step, I lunged forward with a wide stride and drove my blade home.
Squelch!
“Gasp!”
The Shadow Assassin clutched at his chest and stumbled backward. With his heart pierced, there was no salvation possible.
“Impressive. I suspected you had some skill, but not to this extent.”
Then, a voice came from somewhere.
I turned my head while standing motionless.
A figure emerged from the darkness.
Recognizing the familiar face, a bitter smile crossed my lips.
“Ma Hyeong-chu.”
“Ha, so you did know of me. It seems the Imperial Regent truly is alive.”
That name again—Gwanbaek.
No matter how much I dredged through my memories, I had never encountered or laid eyes upon anyone matching that name.
Which meant this was a person I had never seen before.
And that meant there existed circumstances beyond my control.
“Gak-ju will question you directly soon enough, but I cannot contain my own curiosity beforehand. Tell me, wretch—are you a disciple of Gwanbaek?”
“Do you expect an answer?”
“I’m simply asking. Truth be told, 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 steel, then flicked it lightly with a soft twang.
Yet his mouth never ceased moving.
“The Divine Himself intervened directly. The Absolute Being descended and claimed my elder brother’s life with His own hands—how could he possibly still live?”
Ma Hyeong-chu gazed upward at the heavens.
His eyes fixed upon the moon hanging high above, and they seemed to radiate absolute loyalty and reverence toward the Divine.
He worships.
As though that distant moon—unreachable even if one stretched forth their hand—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 entirely; his face had become as cold as ice, and his eyes were sharper than any blade.
“Such a being would never make a mistake, would He?”
“Your faith runs deep.”
“You fool! That Divine is the world itself, and the world exists solely for His sake! How dare you mock one who cannot even grasp such truth!”
Clang—!
His voice erupted like a torrent of fury, ringing out deafeningly. The shout was so powerful that everyone nearby would surely have heard it.
Which meant someone was coming.
Before that happened, I would end this fight.
With matters having reached this point, Ma Hyeong-chu had no intention of letting me leave alive.
I pushed off the ground and launched myself forward, my blade cutting through the air.
Slash—!
But Ma Hyeong-chu evaded swiftly, and his sword came flying at me.
Slash, slash—!
Not a single collision.
Despite exchanging lethal strikes with each move, neither Ma Hyeong-chu nor I made contact—we simply evaded.
I dodged based on my memories of his familiar swordplay, while Ma Hyeong-chu relied on his natural agility and instinct.
Slash, slash, slash, slash—!
No sound of clashing blades.
Separated by mere paper’s thickness, we continued the endless cycle of evasion and strikes.
With neither of us landing a blow or making contact, the silence was so profound it seemed almost questionable whether a battle was truly occurring.
Whoosh—!
In that instant.
Ma Hyeong-chu’s blade cut across my ribs.
Though not a deep wound, it seemed to serve as a signal—suddenly, our blades clashed together in a frenzy.
Clang, clang, clang, clang—!
We each sought the other’s life.
It was so blatantly apparent that we were targeting only vital points, and the killing intent radiating from us exploded outward in waves.
Our skills were evenly matched.
Neither of us yielded even an inch.
Surely, that’s what he must have been thinking.
In that moment, the sword that had been swinging like a torrent became perfectly still.
Clang—!
The waterway was calm.
Creating no disturbance whatsoever, flowing naturally along the current as if it were merely water.
I could see Ma Hyeong-chu, who had stepped into those waters, widen his eyes in alarm.
It was flowing so naturally that he seemed unaware he was gradually being drawn into deeper waters.
The moment he realized it.
“…!”
It was already too late.
Ma Hyeong-chu thrashed about in panic.
Like someone drowning in deep water, struggling to survive, he flailed desperately within the current I had created, fighting for his life.
But once caught in the whirlpool’s grasp, there was no escape—no matter what one did.
I watched him.
The confidence that had filled his face drained away, leaving it ashen.
My sword swung.
Slash—!
In an instant, the blade extended and tore through Ma Hyeong-chu’s body.
He was cleaved in two with a sickening sound, blood pouring forth.
As blood sprayed in all directions, drenching my body, the warmth of it confirmed the existence that had moments ago been alive before my eyes.
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 echoed from somewhere.
Without thinking, I turned toward the sound, and from the darkness, a figure slowly emerged, as if he had been watching this entire spectacle unfold.
The moment I sensed his aura, I understood.
I cooled the heat that had risen as I cut down Ma Hyeong-chu, my gaze fixed upon him as I prepared for what was to come.
Tingle, tingle—!
Every sense in my body stood on end, sharpening my alertness.
Simultaneously, Yeom Ji-hak’s eyes—eyes that seemed capable of shredding one’s entire body—fixed upon me, and a bloodstained smile played at his lips.
“Do you truly believe you can survive even now?”

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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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