The Lazy Young Master of the Jin Clan

"Damn Ju Giltae! When I get out of here, I'm going to kill that bastard first!"

Ju Gilyeon, who was trapped in the underground prison of the Saseong Sect, bit her thumbnail and stared into the darkness.

The guards had even left their posts, as if something had happened outside.

Thanks to that, Ju Gilyeon, who was left alone in the darkness without a single speck of light, was lonely and afraid.

Ju Gilyeon, who had been sitting with her back against the wall, was startled by the sudden appearance of light and stood up.

"Young Hero Jin?"

At her call, the man who had appeared in the darkness with a torch laughed in vain.

"Hehehe... Young Hero Jin?"

"Y-Young Master Go."

The one who had appeared in the darkness was not Jin Sohyun, but Go Cheolji.

He smiled and stared into the iron cage where Ju Gilyeon was trapped.

"Is that the name of the new brat you've made?"

"It's a misunderstanding!"

"A misunderstanding... indeed, it was strange from the beginning. For a beautiful and gentle woman like Young Lady Ju to be engaged to me in a political marriage... kikikik!"

Go Cheolji's face, illuminated by the torch, contorted hideously.

Ju Gilyeon, who had read the madness in his eyes, got goosebumps all over her body.

‘Dangerous… this is dangerous!’

Ju Gilyeon, who felt that Go Cheolji was going mad, approached the iron cage and said softly.

"You know I only have you, my dear."

"What you wanted was my position, power, and money as the only son of the head of the Saseong Sect."

"That's not true!"

"Don't bullshit me!"

Go Cheolji, who was letting out his anger, knocked over the wooden bucket he was holding with the hand that was not holding the torch.

At that, the liquid that had been in the bucket flowed onto the floor and into the iron cage.

Ju Gilyeon, who had not known what it was at first, soon opened her mouth at the pungent smell of oil.

"My dear! My dear Go! What are you trying to do!?"

"Hehehehe... kikikikik! The Peng Clan has come. You know? The Peng Clan has come! Thanks to that, our sect is now ruined."

‘The Hebei Peng Clan? Don't tell me the reinforcements Young Hero Jin mentioned were the Hebei Peng Clan?’

Ju Gilyeon's expression brightened without her realizing it as she heard the news from outside.

At the sight of this, Go Cheolji's laughter grew louder.

"Khahahaha! You're happy, aren't you? You're happy that the Saseong Sect is ruined?! You knew from the beginning that the Hebei Peng Clan would come."

Ju Gilyeon, who had belatedly realized her mistake, pleaded pitifully.

"Young Hero Go! There's no need for this. If we do this, we'll both die!"

"I don't care. The Saseong Sect is ruined anyway, and I'll soon be brutally murdered by an assassin sent by the Heretic's Path Alliance. In that case..."

Go Cheolji slowly lowered the torch he was holding.

"It wouldn't be bad to die here with the bitch who betrayed me."

"No... no... I can't die like this. I can't die!"

"Kikikik! We're dying together. We'll be together even in the underworld."

"No! You crazy bastard! Please stop! Stop it!"

"It's already..."

Go Cheolji's smiling face turned cold.

And Ju Gilyeon realized.

As he had said.

"Too late."

That it was too late.

Ju Gilyeon thought as she watched the torch fall onto the oil-soaked ground.

‘I’m going to die like this. To burn to death so vainly…’

Where did it all go wrong?

Was it the political engagement with the son of the head of the Saseong Sect?

Or was it that she had been captivated by a handsome face and had kept an enemy by her side?

Or was it that she had volunteered to act as a spy to look good to Jin Sohyun?

"This is really shitty."

Ju Gilyeon squeezed her eyes shut.

Thinking that the flames would soon swallow her.

"Hooah!"

‘A voice?’

Ju Gilyeon opened her eyes at the familiar voice.

Jin Sohyun was standing next to her.

‘Am I having a hallucination before I die? Rather… it’s a good thing. To be able to see him even before I die.’

"I was almost late."

"Late... kyaaak!"

Ju Gilyeon squeezed her eyes shut at the wind pressure that made it impossible to open her eyes.

In the next moment, Ju Gilyeon realized that she had escaped from the iron cage.

"Kkeuaaak!"

And in front of her, she saw the figure of Go Cheolji engulfed in flames.

Ju Gilyeon, who was watching this, lifted the water bucket that had been prepared to feed the prisoners and poured it on Go Cheolji.

But it was not enough to put out the fire.

At that, this time, Jin Sohyun grabbed Go Cheolji, who was engulfed in flames, and unfolded the Shadowless Divine Steps.

The wind pressure that arose as he unfolded the Shadowless Divine Steps subsided the flames that were on Go Cheolji's body.

"Heo'eok... heo'eok!"

Although he was breathing, Go Cheolji's whole body was covered in burns.

Jin Sohyun slowly laid Go Cheolji on the floor.

His breathing became even rougher.

Ju Gilyeon, who was watching this with a complicated gaze, lowered her posture and held Go Cheolji's hand.

Go Cheolji, even in the midst of his painful breathing, moved his mouth.

It seemed he was trying to say something, but his voice did not come out as his airway was damaged.

Soon, the strength left Go Cheolji's hand.

"..."

Ju Gilyeon tore her sleeve and placed it on Go Cheolji's two eyes, which could not close as his eyelids had melted.

"...Let's go."

Jin Sohyun looked down at Go Cheolji's corpse behind Ju Gilyeon, who was leaving the underground prison first.

If death has a weight.

How much would the weight of Go Cheolji's death be?

And who decides that weight?

"Is it the share of the person left behind?"

If Go Palsak mourned Go Cheolji's death, the weight of his death would be about one person's share.

If Ju Gilyeon felt guilty about his death, the weight of his death would be two people's share.

Then how much would the weight of those I killed be?

Suddenly, Kang Cheon's words came to mind.

—Whether you want it or not… the day will come when you will have to stain your hands with blood.

Jin Sohyun made a bitter face as he chewed on his master's words.

"That day has really come, Master."

Jin Sohyun closed his two eyes.

"Do not doubt your choice, and do not hesitate in your decision."

The closed eyes opened, and Jin Sohyun's two eyes shone with a brilliant light.

He did not know how much the weight of death was now.

And yet, he moves forward.

He did not know how many more deaths were waiting for him in the future.

And yet.

He moves forward.

***

"It seems you were right. As soon as the rumor spread that the Saseong Sect had killed the Cold-Blooded Grim Reaper, they took down their sign and fled in the middle of the night. It must have been a choice they had to make to survive."

Peng Ohyun looked at Jin Sohyun, who was lying with a bored face, as if he were enjoying it.

"Did you foresee this?"

"This way, we can take care of the Saseong Sect's martial artists without having to kill them."

"And in a more cruel way. Now those brats will have to tremble in fear, being chased by the Heretic's Path Alliance for the rest of their lives."

"So you shouldn't live by committing sins, right?"

"Th-That's right."

Ju Hyeol could not help but shrink his neck because of Jin Sohyun, who was looking at him with half-dead fish eyes.

Currently, they were gathered in the reception room of the Deungho Sect.

The sect leader of the Deungho Sect, Ham So'eon.

The head of the Hongjung Sect, Ju Hyeol.

And Peng Ohyun from the Hebei Peng Clan.

Ham So'eon, the owner of the estate, was so nervous at the sudden visit of the Five Great Families that he could barely breathe.

"Now that things are somewhat settled... it's time to settle the accounts."

Peng Ohyun slammed his two large arms on the table.

"In return for stopping the fight between the Hongjung Sect and the Saseong Sect, I was promised high-purity iron. Isn't that right, Deungho Sect Leader?"

"Yes."

"How much can you give?"

"That... I don't know how much is buried yet, so after a proper check..."

"What are you doing?"

At Jin Sohyun's question, Peng Ohyun shrugged his shoulders and said.

"What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm receiving the promised reward."

"So. Why are you receiving it from the Deungho Sect?"

"Huh? Then from whom should I receive it?"

"Since there is iron that I have promised to receive from the Deungho Sect, please take that."

"You're saying I should take the iron you're supposed to receive?"

"Yes."

"Well... I don't care who gives it to me as long as I receive the iron..."

Peng Ohyun looked at Ham So'eon with a sharp gaze.

Ham So'eon felt suffocated by the subtle pressure.

"W-We will prepare the iron to be paid to the Hebei Peng Clan at our Deungho Sect. So..."

"Why? It was I who borrowed the power of the Hebei Peng Clan, so you should take my iron."

"But then Young Hero Jin won't have a share, will he?"

It was high-purity iron.

If the Heretic's Path Alliance, of all things, had coveted it, there was no doubt about the quality of the iron, so with that much iron, it would be difficult for three generations, but if it was just Jin Sohyun alone, he could touch enough money to live a life of leisure for half his life.

But Jin Sohyun waved his hand.

"The reason I came here in the first place was to mediate between the Deungho Sect and the Hongjung Sect. What money can I receive when I couldn't even mediate properly? I'm fine, so please give my share of the iron to the Hebei Peng Clan."

‘Young Hero Jin had this in mind from the beginning…!’

Only then did Ham So'eon understand the reason why Jin Sohyun had wanted the iron for his share.

He had requested the iron from the beginning with the intention of borrowing the power of the Hebei Peng Clan.

Moreover, in this process, he had not taken any share for himself.

‘I couldn’t even understand the great hero’s broad and deep heart.’

Ham So'eon, who had felt the difference in their vessels, could not help but bow his head, blaming his own incompetence.

"And let the Hongjung Sect build all the facilities related to the ore vein."

"M-Me? No... the Hongjung Sect, you mean?"

Jin Sohyun nodded his head.

"Yes, of course, the Hongjung Sect will bear all the costs."

"What is this...!!"

As Ju Hyeol stood up in a fit of anger, Peng Ohyun, who had been watching the situation with his arms crossed, gave him a look.

Although there was no killing intent, Ju Hyeol, who was intimidated by Peng Ohyun's gaze, suppressed his anger and said as if he were being treated unfairly.

"We have already suffered great damage from the fight with the Saseong Sect. And yet, you're telling us to bear all the costs related to the ore vein... this is no different from telling the Hongjung Sect to die."

"Originally, it would have been right for the Hongjung Sect to be destroyed along with the Saseong Sect. Anyway, you worked with the Saseong Sect, didn't you? In that case, you can be seen as having dipped... not your feet, but your fingertips in the Heretic's Path Alliance, can't you?"

At the mention of the Heretic's Path Alliance from Jin Sohyun's mouth, Ju Hyeol's face turned pale.

Hadn't he seen with his own two eyes what kind of end the Saseong Sect had met?

There was no law that said the Hongjung Sect would not become like that.

"The Hongjung Sect... will bear all the costs."

"Instead, the Deungho Sect, please guarantee a certain commission to the Hongjung Sect. They have to make a living too."

"We can take care of the commission. It would be good to forget the past grudges and live together. But..."

Ham So'eon looked at Ju Hyeol with a suspicious gaze.

"How much can we trust the Hongjung Sect..."

"What? Are you suspecting us now!?"

"Didn't the Hongjung Sect already play tricks to take over the Deungho Mountain? Is there any guarantee that they won't do it again this time?"

"This brat is now!!"

As Ju Hyeol stood up in a rage, Ham So'eon also stood up, not backing down.

Of course, if you compared the military power of the two sects, the Deungho Sect was still no match for the Hongjung Sect.

But now, Jin Sohyun and Peng Ohyun were here.

It meant that Ham So'eon had no reason to back down.

"Both of you, stop. Since the situation is like this, I would like the Hebei Peng Clan to take on the role of mediator and supervisor."

"The Peng Clan, you mean?"

At the unexpected proposal, Peng Ohyun unfolded his crossed arms.

"Yes. As long as the existence of the iron ore vein is revealed, there will be many sects aiming for the Deungho Mountain. Among them will be the Heretic's Path Alliance. To prevent the high-purity iron from falling into their hands, a family with strong power like the Hebei Peng Clan must help. And at the same time, it will also play the role of preventing the Hongjung Sect from doing anything foolish."

It was true when he heard it.

High-purity iron was an important resource that everyone coveted.

"So what does the Peng Clan get?"

"The right to purchase high-purity iron at a reasonable price first... I suppose?"

"Hahaha! I thought you were only good at martial arts, but you're as cunning as if you've eaten a fox's liver. So, where did you come up with this plan?"

"It just happened to turn out this way. I'm the son of a merchant, after all. Anyway! Now the rest is for the three of you to discuss among yourselves. I won't interfere anymore."

"You're going to pull out now?"

"Yes! If I do more, I think I'll die from the hassle."

As if it were not an empty word, Jin Sohyun was lying with a bored face.

The number one lazy bum in Shanxi had never moved so busily before.

His head was complicated with many things to worry about.

Now he wanted to rest.

"I'm leaving now. Don't stop me!"

As Jin Sohyun left the reception room as if he were running away, an awkward atmosphere flowed between the remaining three people.

"Well... as the brat said, I guess we can wrap it up around here."

Peng Ohyun said as he got up from his seat.

"Keep in mind. That the Peng Clan is in Hebei. Do not repeat the same mistake as the Saseong Sect."

"Of course."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The two sect leaders and the sect leader bowed their heads.

"Ah, and one more thing."

Peng Ohyun said as if he were enjoying it.

"Do not forget that the Orthodox Martial World has Jin Sohyun. If you don't want to regret it."

Peng Ohyun, who had finished speaking, left the reception room.

The remaining two looked at the empty air with complicated gazes.

Peng Ohyun's last words had settled heavily on their chests, more than ever before.

"The Orthodox Martial World has Jin Sohyun."

(End of Chapter)