The Lazy Young Master of the Jin Clan

The couple who greeted the returning maidservant waved their hands with bright faces.

"So, did you meet Sohyun?"

At Jin Seomok's question, Siu shook her head vigorously and smiled brightly.

"The Young Master is doing very well. It seems Elder Kang's teachings have made the Young Master positive and diligent! The Young Master is currently having the happiest and most active moments of his life."

"Is that really true!?"

As the couple rejoiced, Siu also nodded her head vigorously with a happy face.

"Ah! The Young Master said that it would be best to minimize contact with the outside world in order to focus on his martial arts training. So... I think we should refrain from meeting him for the time being, for the Young Master's sake."

"What a praiseworthy and joyous occasion! Yes, I can't block Sohyun's future because of my selfish desire to see my son!"

Jin Seomok gripped Yu Seoheung's hand tightly and nodded with a resolute face.

"My wife!"

"My dear!"

Siu, who was watching the happy couple awkwardly, scratched the back of her neck.

'It'll be... okay, right?'

Meanwhile, Jin Sohyun, holding a laundry bat made of steel that felt as heavy as a thousand pounds, had to do the piled-up laundry again today.

But his face looked brighter than usual.

"When Siu comes back... sniff! I'll be able to go home... Let's just endure it until then! Sniff!"

Jin Sohyun cast his gaze far away, as if chasing after the family estate that was impossible to see.

But all he could see were trees and bushes.

"Siu... I believe in you."

***

Half a year passed.

On the snow-covered mountain slope, a rabbit that had failed to hibernate came out into the outside world.

The rabbit, which was looking around the world with its red eyes, kicked the ground with its large hind legs.

But this was the rabbit's last powerful leap.

Whoosh— Thud!

Something sharp that flew from somewhere accurately pierced the rabbit's neck.

"Hoo—!"

A boy jumped down from a tree in the distance.

It was a rather tall tree, but the boy's movements were as light as a feather.

The boy pulled out the long piece of wood that had pierced the rabbit's neck.

It was the boy's wooden flying sword, which he had carved from wood.

"This solves the soup... but there's no way that gluttonous old man will be satisfied with a rabbit."

—Is there no meat? Aish, you brat! A meal without meat cannot be called a meal! Do you understand? Get me some meat, no matter what it takes! Dig a hole, or go into a cave, whatever it takes to get it!

The name of this boy, who frowned as he recalled the old man who would spit while nagging him to bring meat, was Jin Sohyun.

He was an unfortunate boy who had been betrayed three times by the maidservant he trusted and abandoned deep in the mountains.

"...A ghostly old man."

Jin Sohyun glared at the snow-covered mountain with a sharp gaze.

It wasn't that Jin Sohyun hadn't tried to escape in the meantime.

But every time he did, Kang Cheon, who somehow knew, would appear like a ghost and drag him away for forced labor.

After doing this a few times, Jin Sohyun, who had become too lazy to even try to escape, decided to submit to his fate.

"Hoo... it's already winter."

It had already been nine months since he was confined to the mountain.

The useless body that had only existed with fat and bones was no more.

The past nine months had created something called muscle in Jin Sohyun's body.

Jin Sohyun, who was looking around with a much firmer body and sharpened senses, quickly lowered his posture and brought his ear to the ground.

Thud— Thud—

A faint tremor in the ground.

'This is... a deer!'

Jin Sohyun's eyes changed as he realized there was a deer nearby.

Jin Sohyun took out two wooden flying swords from his bosom and roughly wiped the saliva that had gathered at the corner of his mouth with his sleeve.

"Let's solve dinner and breakfast with this!"

Even to feed the old man, whose stomach size and gluttony surpassed that of any young man despite his age, Jin Sohyun had to catch the deer.

But unlike other hunters, Jin Sohyun did not move.

He just sat in place and focused his senses on the smell of the deer carried by the wind and the faint sound of its footsteps treading on the snow.

This was a hunting method that Jin Sohyun, who found even the slightest movement troublesome, had devised to obtain food without moving.

'Location is northeast... distance is one hundred and fifty jang.'

Even though the distance was a whopping one hundred and fifty jang (about 450m), Jin Sohyun accurately calculated the deer's location and distance.

"I wonder if this much power will be enough."

He focused his internal energy at his fingertips.

Finally, Jin Sohyun, who was feeling the flow of the wind on his skin with his eyes closed, threw the wooden flying sword at the same time as he snapped his eyes open.

Whoooosh—!!

The wooden flying sword, which flew at a speed strong enough to pierce even the wind, accurately pierced the nape of the deer that was standing one hundred and fifty jang away.

"Caught it!"

Jin Sohyun burst out with joy at having secured food and jumped up and down.

But Jin Sohyun's joy did not last long.

Grrrrr—!

Uninvited guests who had smelled the blood had come to the side of the dead deer.

"Hey! That's mine!"

Jin Sohyun glared at the five wolves surrounding the dead deer.

For the current Jin Sohyun, dealing with the wolves was nothing more than a troublesome matter, but finding another deer was even more troublesome.

For Jin Sohyun, who was a lazy bum by birth, any more trouble was out of the question.

"Move!"

Jin Sohyun and the pack of wolves began a bloody food competition over a single deer.

***

A hungry pack of wolves moves only by wild instinct.

Even if the opponent is a twelve-year-old boy.

But unfortunately for the wolves, the boy they met today was no ordinary boy.

He was certainly not an easy prey that could be killed by biting its neck if they put their minds to it.

Was it because of that?

The wolves were greatly flustered.

"Back off quietly when I'm asking nicely."

The boy stood proudly on the dead deer and lectured the wolves.

"Even if you are beasts! You should at least have some courtesy between fellow hunters! I caught this one first! Can't you see here?"

Jin Sohyun pointed to the hole in the deer's neck.

"I made this hole."

Grrrrr—!

As the wolves did not back down and bared their teeth, Jin Sohyun also furrowed his brow.

"You ill-mannered mutts!"

Jin Sohyun had once seen a dog wagging its tail in front of a butcher shop when he went to the market with his mother, Yu Seoheung.

It was a dog with yellow fur, and Yu Seoheung had affectionately called it 'Nurongi' [Yellowy].

This time, Jin Sohyun called the wolves 'Nurongi'.

"You guys go look somewhere else."

The wolves, who knew from instinct and experience that it was not easy to find prey in the harsh winter weather, had no intention of leaving the deer and Jin Sohyun alone.

One step, then another.

The wolves, who were carefully closing the distance, rushed in one by one.

"So you really want to fight, is that it!?"

Jin Sohyun jumped high into the air and shot the flying sword he was holding.

Ping—!

The wooden flying sword, which flew at high speed, struck the wolf's nape.

Keng—!!

One by one, the wolves collapsed from the pain they had never felt before, and Jin Sohyun, who had landed on the ground, kicked up a wolf that was rushing in late with the tip of his foot.

"Hap!"

The wolf that was kicked struggled and collapsed.

No matter how ferocious a beast was, it was no match for a martial artist.

Moreover, Jin Sohyun, who had been semi-forcibly taught martial arts by Kang Cheon, one of the Five Great Masters of the Central Plains, was not a human that the wolves could handle.

"Give up now!"

As Jin Sohyun also bared his teeth and claimed ownership of the dead deer, the wolves whined and backed away.

It was then.

A wolf that had been quietly watching the situation finally stepped forward.

That wolf had a physique that was on a different level from ordinary wolves.

Jin Sohyun noticed that the wolf in front of him was the leader of the pack.

"You're the leader."

The leader wolf silently bared its teeth and put strength into the tips of its paws.

Noticing this, Jin Sohyun frowned.

At that moment, the leader wolf rushed in.

The swift movements of the leader wolf, which had never missed its prey.

The leader wolf, which rushed at Jin Sohyun with the speed of the wind, opened its mouth wide.

And Jin Sohyun, who was watching it calmly, lifted a stone the size of his face with the top of his foot.

"You eat this!"

He then shoved the stone into the wolf's mouth.

Thwack—!

Keck— kekekek—! Keck!

The wolf, which had unexpectedly bitten a stone, collapsed on the ground and began to struggle.

Startled by the leader's fall, the wolves hesitated and backed away.

"See, who told you to covet what belongs to others?"

Jin Sohyun was about to sling the deer over his shoulder and turn away.

But the movements of the leader wolf, which was struggling as if it couldn't breathe properly, gradually slowed down.

As the leader wolf's breathing grew fainter, Jin Sohyun put down the deer he was holding and pulled out the stone that was stuck in its mouth.

"Phew... yeah, what did you do wrong?"

As the leader wolf, which had come back from the dead, quickly backed away, small wolf cubs appeared by its side.

The wolf cubs licked the leader wolf's paws, making whining sounds.

"Eek...! Hey! That's cheating!"

Jin Sohyun felt wronged.

To bring children to a battlefield so cowardly!

Torn between the annoyance of having to find prey again and sympathy for the wolf cubs, Jin Sohyun had no choice but to infuse his internal energy into his wooden dagger and cut the deer.

"Here, take this. Let's split it in half."

Jin Sohyun cut the deer in half and threw it to the pack of wolves, showing off.

"I'll give you the entrails too. They're amazing."

In fact, he had never eaten the entrails because of the gamey smell, but for the wolves, there was no delicacy like it.

At first, the wolves, who were hesitating while watching Jin Sohyun's expression, retreated with the deer he had thrown them.

Seeing them take the entrails without fail, Jin Sohyun smiled with satisfaction.

"You guys... next time, hunt for yourselves."

It was when Jin Sohyun, his heart warmed, was about to turn away.

The leader wolf approached Jin Sohyun.

"This is mine."

As Jin Sohyun glared while packing the remaining deer meat, the leader wolf lowered its posture and approached very slowly.

And then it began to lick the top of Jin Sohyun's foot.

"Oh? You know how to act cute too?"

Jin Sohyun carefully stroked the head of the leader wolf, which was licking his body, as if it were a neighborhood mutt.

"Good boy, my mountain Nurongi."

As he was stroking the wolf, a thought suddenly flashed through Jin Sohyun's mind.

'Wait a minute?'

It didn't seem easy for the pack of wolves to survive this harsh winter.

Moreover, the leader wolf had two cubs, and even they were very thin, as if they hadn't eaten much.

"Hey. Nurongi."

The leader wolf, which of course couldn't understand human words, tilted its head at Jin Sohyun's call.

"You, want to do a job with me?"

***

"He's a genius! This child will one day become the number one under heaven."

The Grand Commander of the Heretic's Path Alliance, Mu Yu, said with a voice full of excitement, spitting as he spoke.

"How long has he been learning martial arts?"

"He'll be twelve soon... so it's been exactly five years."

The master of the Heretic's Path Alliance, Ju Cheon, rose from his jade throne.

He stood in front of the boy, who had a small but sturdy build.

"I like you. Especially your eyes captivate me."

Ju Cheon liked the boy's gaze as he looked at him.

The boy's black eyes, which seemed to have obsidian embedded in them, did not waver even when facing him.

Moreover, the boy's gaze was like seeing the blade of a famous sword that the best swordsmith had dedicated his entire life to creating.

"Tell me what you want. What do you desire?"

At Ju Cheon's question, the boy said, "Martial arts."

"Martial arts... what kind of martial arts do you want."

"I want to have as many and as varied martial arts as possible. Give me all the martial arts manuals that the Heretic's Path Alliance has. If possible, please also obtain martial arts manuals that the Heretic's Path Alliance does not have."

"What are you going to do with so many martial arts manuals?"

"I will learn them and master them with my body."

"Even if you learn many martial arts, it doesn't mean you will become that much stronger. What's more important is how strong the martial arts you learn are."

"It's fine. Please give me all the martial arts manuals that the Alliance Master can obtain."

At the boy's defiance of the Alliance Master's words, Mu Yu felt as if his heart would drop.

But fortunately, Ju Cheon was looking at the boy with a face as if he were seeing something interesting.

"Interesting. Grand Commander!"

"Yes, Alliance Master! Please give your command."

"Give this child all the martial arts manuals that the Alliance possesses. Also, as soon as you obtain any usable martial arts manuals from the outside, give them to this child."

"As you command."

While the Grand Commander Mu Yu left to carry out the Alliance Master's order, Ju Cheon asked the boy.

"What is your name?"

"Ma Seongun."

"A good name. Yes, Ma Seongun. I heard your talent is extraordinary. If you continue to grow like this, you will succeed me and become the Alliance Master of the Heretic's Path Alliance."

"..."

"I will have high expectations of you."

The boy bowed his head slightly.

There was no emotion in the eyes of the boy who bowed his head.

After finishing his meeting with the Alliance Master, Ma Seongun returned to his cold and dark room, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes.

As darkness fell, the memories of the past once again engulfed the boy.

It was the last memory of his life.

A man with ten flying blades approached him.

Ma Seongun, who had thought he had risen to the number one under heaven on his own, was no match for him no matter what he did.

All the martial arts he possessed were useless in front of that man.

With a sense of powerlessness at being able to do nothing, a flying sword flew in and destroyed everything Ma Seongun had.

A man approached Ma Seongun, who had lost everything and was even losing his life.

The man looked down at Ma Seongun.

Boredom or weariness.

The moment he read the emotion in those eyes, Ma Seongun realized that he was not a threat to him in any way.

"Ugh!"

Ma Seongun, who snapped his eyes open, stared straight into the darkness with obsidian-like eyes that contained an abyss.

"The heavens have given me a second chance."

Regression.

Ma Seongun, who had returned to the past from the future, clenched his fist as he fumbled through the memories before his regression.

"This life will be different..."

In the deep darkness, Ma Seongun quietly muttered the name of the man he could never forget.

"...Jin Sohyun."

(End of Chapter)