The Lazy Young Master of the Jin Clan

It was a morning that seemed no different from any other, but the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple was bustling with activity.

“He’s not here either!”

Oh Seolhwa said, catching her breath.

“He’s not here.”

Peng Sopyeong and Peng Ogyeong ran up right after, shaking their heads.

Thirty officials of the Blue Dragon Hall and the hall’s instructors had all searched, but in the end, they could not find Jin Sohyun.

“Jin Sohyun is a lazybones. Couldn’t he have just gotten fed up and run away?”

“Still, he’s got guts. Running away in the middle of the night.”

Some of the members believed that Jin Sohyun couldn't endure the training at the Blue Dragon Training Hall any longer and had fled.

“Could it be that Official Jin has left the training hall?”

At the instructor’s question, Gwak Myeong’s face hardened as he furrowed his brow.

‘Did he run away, unable to shake off the pressure?’

Was the pressure from the Heretic Path's Alliance and the Nameless Pavilion too much for him?

Realizing his mistake, Gwak Myeong silently blamed himself.

He was, after all, the Master of the Blue Dragon Training Hall.

His role was to teach the members and guide them onto the right path.

But Gwak Myeong had failed to do so.

‘Instead, I tried to use Jin Sohyun’s talent. I tried to use him to deal with the Heretic Path's Alliance.’

Innate talent and abnormal strength.

He had thought that Jin Sohyun, who possessed both of these qualities, would be able to stand against the Heretic Path's Alliance.

However.

Jin Sohyun was still a young martial artist in his early twenties.

Not only did he lack experience, but he had not yet grown enough to overcome the pressure of having the tide of war decided by his hands.

‘…It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed him.’

In the end, the most talented late-stage prospect of the righteous factions couldn't overcome the pressure and had fled in the middle of the night.

“Master Gwak.”

“Great Warrior Gu…”

Gu Jucheol, who walked up to Gwak Myeong’s side, also had a complicated expression.

“It is my fault.”

“No. Something is strange. Jin Sohyun is not so soft as to run away over something like this.”

“Perhaps we were just choosing to believe that.” 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Unlike Gwak Myeong, Gu Jucheol couldn’t believe that Jin Sohyun had run away.

The Jin Sohyun he knew was not a weak man.

Cheon Yerang ran like the wind toward the confused Gwak Myeong.

“Master.”

What Cheon Yerang held out was a bamboo tube engraved with Jin Sohyun’s name.

“What is this?”

“It was on the ground. And…”

A small note, believed to have been inside the bamboo tube.

Gwak Myeong’s hand trembled as he checked the contents.

“What is it?”

Gu Jucheol asked in surprise, and Gwak Myeong spoke urgently.

“There’s no time!”

Gu Jucheol’s complexion also turned grim after he checked the note’s contents.

‘Don’t tell me they targeted the Jin Clan directly!? So Jin Sohyun left the hall to stop them. Just when did he leave?’

They found out that the reason Jin Sohyun left the training hall was to protect his family.

The problem was time.

Since they didn’t know when the letter had been delivered, the two of them tried to leave the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple as quickly as possible.

Seeing the hurried state of Gwak Myeong and Gu Jucheol, the hall members also grew tense and watched the situation unfold.

But just then, beggars from the Beggars' Sect swarmed into the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple.

“Master Gwak!”

Gwak Myeong, who was just about to leave the hall, stopped in his tracks.

“Aren’t you Pung O?”

Pung O, one of the Wind Wave Beggars famous for being the fastest among the Beggars' Sect, had appeared with his subordinates.

“There’s a problem!”

“If it’s not extremely urgent, I’ll hear it later. There’s something I need to check first.”

“It is extremely urgent!”

The message Pung O sent via sound transmission pierced Gwak Myeong’s ears.

—It’s about the Nameless Pavilion.

‘The Nameless Pavilion!’

Gwak Myeong felt as if his breath had stopped.

The scattered pieces were finally starting to come together and form a picture.

‘They used the Jin Clan as bait to lure Jin Sohyun out of the training hall!’

The ones who had drawn out Jin Sohyun, who was being protected within the fence of the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple, were the Heretic Path's Alliance, the force behind the Nameless Pavilion.

“Don’t tell me the assassins of the Nameless Pavilion actually killed Jin Sohyun.”

Gwak Myeong’s voice trembled.

And the members of the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple who heard him wore shocked expressions.

“The Nameless Pavilion… killed Young Master Jin?”

“Ah… Aah…”

Moyong Susu despaired, recalling Jin Sohyun asking about the Nameless Pavilion at the Martial Alliance’s Guizhou branch not long ago.

‘Young Master Jin knew since then that the Nameless Pavilion was targeting him.’

The officials who heard the tragic news collapsed to the ground.

Peng Sopyeong and Peng Ogyeong had expressions of disbelief, and tears welled up in Yu Oseon’s eyes.

Zhuge Ming’s lips also trembled as if he couldn’t believe it.

“What!?”

Jong Ryeo’ak also couldn’t believe the news of Jin Sohyun’s death.

Blood trickled from between the fingers of Jong Ryeo’ak’s clenched fist.

“…”

Cheon Gaseong remained silent, and Cheon Yerang, standing next to him, unknowingly placed a hand on her chest.

She didn’t know why, but a part of her chest ached.

It hurt.

And she felt an uncontrollable anger.

The reason was still unknown.

Meanwhile, Pung O, who had been questioned by Gwak Myeong, shook his head with a face full of complex emotions.

“It’s the opposite.”

“The opposite?”

This time too, Pung O spoke through sound transmission.

—The assassins of the Nameless Pavilion have been annihilated. It has been confirmed that the Nameless Pavilion Master was among them.

Gwak Myeong, who took the simple investigation report from Pung O, was confused.

According to the Wind Wave Beggars’ investigation, the bodies of six assassins presumed to be special-grade, twenty first-grade assassins, and dozens of other assassins were discovered.

Their cause of death was exsanguination and thin, slender stab wounds that pierced their vitals.

‘Flying daggers!’

Only then could Gwak Myeong understand the situation.

The Nameless Pavilion had attempted to assassinate Jin Sohyun after he left the Blue Dragon Daoist Temple.

And soon, a fight between the Nameless Pavilion and Jin Sohyun had begun.

The battle, which even involved special-grade assassins and the Nameless Pavilion Master, must have been fierce.

And the winner was.

“Were there no bodies of a young martial artist?”

At the most important question, Pung O nodded his head this time.

“That’s right.”

“What are the chances that someone cleaned it up?”

“I can’t say it’s completely impossible, but if someone from the Heretic Path's Alliance had removed the body… they would have also taken the assassins’ bodies with them.”

Pung O was right.

If they were going to remove Jin Sohyun’s body, they should have at least collected the body of the Nameless Pavilion Master as well.

The fact that the Nameless Pavilion Master’s body was left behind suggested two possibilities.

The first was that Jin Sohyun was alive.

The second was that someone else had collected the dead or injured Jin Sohyun.

‘The fact that he didn’t come to the training hall… must mean Jin Sohyun was seriously injured.’

There was no way he could have won against the assassins of the Nameless Pavilion without any injuries.

“Instructors, send the members back to the guest quarters.”

“Yes!”

The instructors moved busily, sending the members back to the guest quarters.

In the meantime, Gu Jucheol, who had heard the news, wore a bright expression, saying he knew it.

“That fellow will be alive. Get the Beggars' Sect’s cooperation to check the nearby physicians, and send a message to the Jin Clan as well.”

“I was already planning to do so. For now, I’ll check the physicians first.”

At the hope that Jin Sohyun might be alive, Gwak Myeong’s expression brightened slightly.

“Pung O, to the nearby physicians, he’s close to six feet tall, wears plain white robes, and has long hair…”

“Master Gwak!”

Gwak Myeong, who was giving instructions to Pung O, whipped his head around.

Once again, it was beggars from the Beggars' Sect who had come to the training hall.

Nam Gae, the branch leader of the Beggars' Sect’s Seokcheonhyeon branch, said, panting for breath.

“The Shanxi… the Shanxi Jin Clan… was attacked by a heretical faction!”

“So it was true that the Jin Clan was in danger… What happened!?”

“Fortunately, the Flying Heavenly Sword Master and the Heavenly Sound White Flower, who were staying at the clan estate, blocked the group from the heretical faction called the Blood Rain Sect, and the Yellow Dragon Divine Sword also helped.”

“The Yellow Dragon Divine Sword! Fortune was on their side.”

The warning in the letter was true.

The Blood Rain Sect had indeed attacked the Jin Clan.

But Kang Cheon, Oh Yoran, and Namgung Muhyeok were at the Jin Clan estate.

“But there is one problem.”

At Nam Gae’s following words, Gwak Myeong slowly raised his head.

“The Flying Heavenly Sword Master, who had left the estate, returned carrying a young man on his back. The man’s name is Jin Sohyun, and the news is that… his life is currently uncertain.”

***

“The Nameless Pavilion Master went out with special-grade assassins?”

“From what I’ve gathered, yes.”

Kang Cheon, Namgung Muhyeok, and Oh Yoran gathered in a separate building prepared at the Jin Clan estate.

In the room right next to them, all the most renowned physicians in Shanxi were gathered, treating Jin Sohyun.

“Haaah…”

Oh Yoran covered her face with her delicate hands.

No matter how she tried to calm down, she couldn’t.

Her heart was pounding so hard it hurt.

“I don’t think I can do this. We have to stop here.”

Oh Yoran said, lifting her head sharply.

“Sohyun almost died this time!”

“Madam Oh.”

“I can’t do it. When Great Warrior Kang carried Sohyun in… I really thought…”

She had already sent off countless precious people.

She couldn’t watch another precious person die.

“I… I’ll stay by Sohyun’s side.”

Oh Yoran got up from her seat and left the building.

A heavy silence fell between the two remaining men.

In the silence that seemed as if it would never end, it was Namgung Muhyeok who spoke first.

“In effect, Jin Sohyun has done everything he could. This is something that neither you nor I, nor anyone else in the Central Plains, could have accomplished.”

The Nameless Pavilion Master was dead.

The special-grade and first-grade assassins who came with him were also dead.

It was unknown how many special-grade and first-grade assassins the Nameless Pavilion had, but one thing was certain.

The Nameless Pavilion could no longer possess the same power as before.

It was as good as Jin Sohyun single-handedly bringing down the Nameless Pavilion.

“What more could I, or the rest of the righteous martial world, ask of Sohyun now?”

“…”

Kang Cheon was silent.

“Isn’t it right to let that child live as he wants to live now?”

At Namgung Muhyeok’s following question, Kang Cheon stared at Jin Sohyun’s flying daggers, which were placed to one side.

As if proving the tragedy of that day, the dagger sheath was stained with blood.

“The choice is not mine to make. It is Sohyun’s.”

“If that is the opinion of his master, Great Warrior Kang.”

Namgung Muhyeok nodded silently.

***

Time passed quickly.

As evening fell upon the Jin Clan estate, Kang Cheon slowly entered the small, quiet room where Jin Sohyun was asleep.

There, Yu Seoheung, Siu, and Oh Yoran were keeping watch by Jin Sohyun’s side day and night.

“Great Warrior Kang…”

Yu Seoheung, who spotted Kang Cheon, stood up from her seat.

“I will stay by Sohyun’s side tonight, so you should go and rest.”

“No. I can’t do that. If not his mother, who will watch over Sohyun?”

“It will be a long fight. You should conserve your strength. We can’t have his mother collapsing when Sohyun opens his eyes, can we?”

“Great Warrior…”

“Siu. Please.”

“Yes!”

With a swollen face, Siu took Yu Seoheung and quietly left the building.

“Madam Oh, you should rest too.”

“How can I rest… when my disciple is fighting a difficult battle?”

“I’m asking you.”

Feeling his sincerity in his serious voice, Oh Yoran had no choice but to get up.

She gently caressed Jin Sohyun’s cheek with her soft hand.

“I’ll be back soon. Please hold on until then.”

After finishing her words, Oh Yoran turned and left the room.

Left alone with Jin Sohyun, Kang Cheon sat down beside the bed.

“Sohyun.”

Jin Sohyun remained silent at Kang Cheon’s call.

Soon after, Kang Cheon called his name again.

“Sohyun.”

“…”

“It’s just me now, so you don’t have to pretend to be dying.”

At Kang Cheon’s words, Jin Sohyun stealthily opened one eye and asked in an awkward voice.

“Was it obvious?”

(End of Chapter)