The Lazy Young Master of the Jin Clan

“Haaah.”

In the separate building prepared at the Jin Clan estate.

Under the clan head's orders, the Jin Clan's escort warriors guarded the place day and night so strictly that no unauthorized person could even cast a shadow over it.

“Huaaaaaaahm!!”

In that place, where not even an ant could be found, Jin Sohyun stretched his body limply.

“This is nice.”

A month had already passed since the end of the fight with the Nameless Pavilion.

During that time, thanks to the physicians' dedicated care, Jin Sohyun had recovered quickly and could now move freely without assistance.

Moreover, after the fight ended, the size of his dantian had grown much larger.

“Hm. How did I do it at the end?”

Jin Sohyun recalled his final sword that had killed the Nameless Pavilion Master.

The flying dagger imbued with the power of Nothingness.

But no matter how he tried, he couldn't even mimic it, let alone summon the power of Nothingness.

“Aish! I don’t know either. It’s not like I’ll be fighting anyone anymore.”

Jin Sohyun lay down flat on his back.

He was currently residing in the separate building, outwardly playing the part of a cripple who had become half-dead from the fight with the Nameless Pavilion.

The world knew that Jin Sohyun had barely survived the attack by the Nameless Pavilion's assassins, but due to the injuries he sustained then, he had become an ordinary person who could no longer use martial arts.

This was Kang Cheon’s idea.

To let Jin Sohyun live the prosperous and comfortable life he desired, Kang Cheon had erased his one and only disciple from the world.

Now, the disciple of the Flying Heaven Ten Sword and the martial artist who had brought down the Nameless Pavilion single-handedly was no more.

All that remained was a lazy young master from a rich family who knew nothing but how to laze around.

“Young Master!”

Siu came in with a bright face, carrying well-peeled apples.

“Oh! Are these apples from Mr. Yu’s?”

“Of course!”

“Hehe… apples are in season, after all.”

“Go on, have some. Are you feeling alright now?”

“Yeah.”

As he took a big bite of the crisp apple, the juice overflowed in his mouth.

A perfect texture and a sweetness that felt like it could melt his tongue.

Jin Sohyun savored the apples from Mr. Yu’s, a taste he hadn't had in a long time.

While he did so, a girl’s questioning voice came from beside Siu.

“I’m sure it was an older sister…”

“Oh, you! The Young Master is a man!”

“Hmm…”

The young girl he had met at the Beakhwa circled Jin Sohyun, who was lazing around while chewing on an apple.

“Why?”

Jin Sohyun, unable to bear the girl’s intense gaze any longer, asked.

“You’re not… an older sister?”

As Mihyang asked with a face of disbelief, Siu stepped between them.

“Aigoo! Mihyang, you go help Young Lady Jin. I’ll take care of the Young Master.”

“Understood.”

At Siu’s command, Mihyang obediently left the separate building.

Watching Mihyang walk away, Siu let out a deep sigh.

“She’s good at her work and seems smart, but I don’t know why she keeps calling the Young Master ‘older sister.’ When she first came, she said a pretty older sister named Jin Sohyun sent her, and I almost kicked her out, you know?”

“Hahaha…”

Unable to bring himself to say it was because he had cross-dressed, Jin Sohyun laughed awkwardly.

“Still, I’m so glad you returned safely, Young Master. Even though you can’t use martial arts anymore.”

Siu smiled brightly.

“What does any of that matter! The Young Master is the son of a merchant family! You can just study commerce now and lead the Jin Clan wonderfully with the Young Lady!”

“Ugh… Gahyeon will take care of that.”

Jin Sohyun lay on the wide wooden floor of the veranda, enjoying the sunlight.

“I’ve been moving around so busily, so I’m not going to do anything for at least three years.”

While the only son of the Jin Clan was declaring his bold ambition, Siu clapped her hands in surprise.

“Ah, that’s right!”

Siu’s hands and feet moved busily.

“Why? What’s up?”

“Today is the day!”

“The day?”

“Ah, you probably haven’t heard, Young Master. Today is the joint funeral for the escort warriors who died protecting the clan.”

Siu stood up from her spot.

“I’ll be right back. You just rest comfortably, Young Master.”

Having quickly prepared, Siu left the separate building.

Left alone unexpectedly, Jin Sohyun quietly put down the half-eaten apple.

‘Come to think of it.’

He had completely forgotten.

Just because his family was safe, he hadn't thought about the escort warriors who had risked their lives to protect the clan.

Jin Sohyun’s figure, which had been staring blankly into the empty air, vanished in an instant.

***

“All preparations are complete.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Jin Seomok silently gazed at the funeral hall that had been set up over the past month.

The bodies of the escort warriors whose relatives were found were handed over to their families.

With a substantial compensation, of course.

In the process, there were beast-like people who, blinded by money, appeared pretending to be the families of the dead escort warriors, but fortunately, with the cooperation of the Beggars' Sect, they were dragged off to the authorities.

For the past month, the Jin Clan had searched high and low for the families of the deceased escort warriors.

Despite that, the relatives of a few could not be identified.

They were those whose only family had been the escort warriors they protected the Jin Clan with.

Jin Seomok prepared a grand funeral for them.

He also bought a mountain near the estate and prepared a cemetery there.

“Let us begin.”

The clan’s escort warriors who had shared joys and sorrows, the martial instructor, and all the members of the Jin Clan family gathered for the funeral.

Kang Cheon and Oh Yoran, who had protected the Jin Clan together, were also present.

Oh Yoran took out her white zither and played a dirge.

At the heart-wrenching dirge of the Heavenly Sound White Flower, most of the people attending the funeral shed tears.

“…”

Jin Sohyun appeared on the roof of the tallest building, which overlooked the entire Jin Clan estate.

He sat on the edge of the eaves, watching the funeral, then took out the Black Snow Flute and put it to his lips.

Soon, a silent dirge slowly flowed over the skies of the Jin Clan estate.

***

“It’s bigger… than I thought.”

As a member of the Hao Sect for the past few months, the Bieunggaek realized their scale was far greater than he had imagined.

“Well… the Beggars' Sect built a vast information network with beggars who exist everywhere in the world. Beggars, courtesans, waiters, thieves, and even ronin… there’s no place without a Hao Sect disciple.”

Did a place without them even exist?

Unless it was the imperial palace where the emperor lived, there would be no place without disciples of the Hao Sect.

Of course, they were no match for the beggars who were united by a sense of chivalry and loyalty to the righteous path and the Beggars' Sect, but the solidarity of the Hao Sect was also at a level that could not be ignored.

“Hm.”

The Bieunggaek fiddled with the gold coin in his hand.

What moves the Hao Sect is money.

Especially for the disciples of the Hao Sect, who are people of the lowest class and not treated well anywhere, there is nothing more precious and valuable than money.

Human greed is the driving force that moves the Hao Sect.

Tossing the gold coin carelessly, he picked up the parchment on the table.

It was news delivered from Shanxi about a month ago.

[The Blood Rain Sect raided the Jin Clan but was repelled by Kang Cheon and Oh Yoran, who were staying as guests, and the Yellow Dragon Divine Sword, who arrived later. The martial artists of the Blood Rain Sect, including their leader, all lost their lives on the spot.]

“Tsk! Fools… daring to pluck a tiger’s whiskers?”

It was absurd.

A raid against the Jin Clan, where Kang Cheon, one of the Five Great Masters of the Central Plains, was staying?

That was no different from walking into a tiger’s den and begging to be eaten.

He put down the first parchment and picked up the second.

[The Nameless Pavilion attempted to assassinate the Jin Clan’s eldest son, Jin Sohyun, but failed. The special-grade and first-grade assassins, including the Nameless Pavilion Master, were annihilated. The assassination target, Jin Sohyun, barely escaped with his life but is said to have suffered critical injuries and is now unable to use martial arts.]

The second piece of news was enough to surprise the Bieunggaek.

It was none other than the Nameless Pavilion.

They had set a trap and tried to assassinate Jin Sohyun, but failed.

But it wasn't a complete failure.

“How dare they target my one and only disciple…”

The Bieunggaek’s hand, holding the parchment, trembled.

It was news he had looked at several times already, but his anger flared up every time he saw it.

If he had his way, he would go to the Heretic Path's Alliance right now and take the Alliance Leader’s head.

However, the Bieunggaek endured and controlled his emotions.

‘Now is not the time.’

He stood up from his seat and began to perform a footwork technique.

He wasn't practicing footwork now.

The Bieunggaek performed the footwork by dragging the tip of his foot on the ground as if drawing a spiderweb, and when his steps stopped.

A strange structure was formed beneath his feet.

It was a kind of organizational chart.

One that only the Bieunggaek could recognize.

“Not much longer…”

The Bieunggaek, who had infiltrated the Hao Sect at Gu Yong’s request, was figuring out the complex structure of the Hao Sect.

He had figured out most of the major roots, and now what remained were the branches that connected them.

“If I just cut off all the branches, it won’t be impossible to pull out the roots.”

If he cut off the small branches connecting the roots and then attacked the roots simultaneously, it wouldn't be impossible to completely finish off the Hao Sect.

Having finished his thoughts, the Bieunggaek erased the organizational chart he had drawn with his foot.

Knock, knock—!

“Elder Bi. Are you inside?”

“Come in.”

The person who opened the door and entered was Ok Myeon.

Although hidden by a mask, he could feel that his face was smiling.

“Looks like something good happened?”

“Haha. Thanks to you, Elder, I’ve learned a lot. We found out that Jin Sohyun, who has been getting on the Heretic Path's Alliance’s nerves recently, has another master besides the Ten-Armed Blood Ghost.”

“And thanks to you, I was able to join the Hao Sect.”

“Of course, that information is meaningless now… but later, the Formless Earth Killing Poison from the Sichuan Tang Clan that you acquired for us, Elder.”

Ok Myeon cackled.

“We have finally succeeded in producing the Formless Earth Killing Poison.”

“Hoh! That is indeed something to celebrate. I heard that even if you know the recipe, the production method is tricky, no?”

“We received cooperation from the Poison Sect.”

“The Poison Sect? Didn’t they disappear along with the Ming Cult?”

“The descendants survived. Currently, their descendants are preparing for the revival of the Poison Sect in the shadows. Fortunately, although the Poison Sect was annihilated, their knowledge remained.”

Ok Myeon and the Bieunggaek sat facing each other in chairs.

“Thanks to that, it seems we’ll be able to produce enough Formless Earth Killing Poison to use in actual combat within a month.”

“Excellent.”

The Bieunggaek laughed heartily, skillfully hiding his emotions.

“I’m glad. With this, the Leader of the Heretic Path's Alliance will also acknowledge our Hao Sect. As it happens, it seems we’ll have an occasion to use the Formless Earth Killing Poison soon.”

“Really? But if it becomes known that the Formless Earth Killing Poison was used, won’t the Tang Clan stay quiet?”

“It’s fine. They… will be too busy dealing with an accident.”

‘An accident?’

The Bieunggaek felt his mouth go dry.

The Formless Earth Killing Poison, one of the five great exterminating poisons possessed by the Sichuan Tang Clan, was almost impossible to produce with the facilities the Hao Sect had, even if they knew the recipe, because the production process was so tricky.

This was why they had stolen the recipe for the Formless Earth Killing Poison from the Tang Clan.

‘The Poison Sect!’

The unexpected appearance of the Poison Sect.

Because of them, the production of the Formless Earth Killing Poison, which he thought would face difficulties, was completed faster than expected.

And the bigger problem was that the Hao Sect was planning to use it.

‘If the Formless Earth Killing Poison is released into the Central Plains, there will surely be problems.’

Many people would surely be sacrificed to the Formless Earth Killing Poison.

This would cause the martial world’s distrust of the Sichuan Tang Clan to blossom.

‘There’s no time.’

The Bieunggaek hid his inner thoughts and congratulated the Hao Sect.

But just then, a Hao Sect disciple urgently came to find Ok Myeon and quietly whispered something in his ear.

Their conversation was so secretive that even the Bieunggaek couldn't overhear it.

After the disciple finished his business and quietly left, Ok Myeon stood up from his chair.

“My… it seems I’ll be busy again for a while.”

“Is something the matter?”

At the Bieunggaek’s question, Ok Myeon hesitated to speak.

At that, the Bieunggaek crossed his arms.

“Am I not also a member of the Hao Sect? It seems I was the only one who thought so.”

“Hoo… the news is that a man named Ma Seongun has returned to the Alliance.”

“Ma Seongun? I’ve never heard that name before. Is he the Alliance Leader’s disciple or something?”

“Ah, you wouldn’t know, Elder.”

Ok Myeon adjusted his clothes and smiled faintly.

“The Blood-Sucking Sword Demon.”

At Ok Myeon’s following words, the Bieunggaek’s body trembled slightly.

“That is what the world calls Ma Seongun. The Blood-Sucking Sword Demon.”

(End of Chapter)