The Lazy Young Master of the Jin Clan

"Let's go back to the family estate. I need to send a message to the Namgung Family."

"Wh-What's wrong? Can't you tell me too?"

"I'll tell you when I'm more certain."

Jin Sohyun got on the carriage that had been left at the inn with Siu.

The two-horse carriage ran quickly towards the Jin Family estate.

When the two-horse carriage, which had left the city, was about halfway through the main road, the coachman stopped the carriage.

"Whoa, whoa..."

The coachman, who had stopped the horses, spoke to the inside of the carriage.

"Young Master! There's a problem."

"What's wrong?"

Siu opened the cover on the inside of the carriage and stuck her head out.

"It seems a wheel has come off a cart. The road is blocked."

"You're right."

As the coachman had said, a cart with a missing wheel was blocking the main road.

"I'll go and help, so please tell the Young Master to wait for a moment."

"Yes."

The coachman got off the carriage and approached the cart with the missing wheel.

There, an old man and a young man were gathering the scattered luggage with troubled faces.

"I'll help you."

"Aigoo... I'm sorry. Please do."

While the three were gathering the scattered luggage together, the black-clad men who had been watching the situation, hiding their presence, slowly began to move.

—Deal with the Goshawk before he returns to his nest.

The assassins of the Silver Signpost.

Their target was the eldest son of the Jin Family, Jin Sohyun.

The assassins of the Silver Signpost, who had divided into three groups of three, slowly approached the carriage and drew their swords.

The assassins, holding swords that had been painted black so as not to be conspicuous, waited for a signal.

"I wasn't seeing things after all."

At Jin Sohyun's voice coming from somewhere, the assassins held their breath and prostrated themselves on the spot.

"Who are you, misters?"

At Jin Sohyun's voice coming from eight directions, the assassins were greatly flustered.

'Eight Directions Sound!?

Not only had their presence been discovered, but Jin Sohyun's voice was coming from eight directions, so they couldn't even pinpoint his location.

—Retreat for now!

It was the moment the assassins of the Silver Signpost, who had realized that the assassination had failed, were moving to retreat.

Whoosh— Thwack!!

A fist-sized stone that had flown from somewhere struck an assassin's head.

The assassin, who had flown without even a scream, fainted on the spot.

'We've been discovered! Scatter!'

The assassins scattered in all directions.

Jin Sohyun, who was watching the nine assassins fleeing in different directions, let out a dry sigh.

"Agh! What a hassle!"

Jin Sohyun held the stones he had prepared in advance in his hand and threw them at the assassins who were closest.

Swoosh—!!

The stones, imbued with internal energy, accurately struck the back of the fleeing assassins' heads.

As the sound of heads cracking was heard from here and there, sweat formed on the back of Am'o, who was leading the assassins.

'This is not simple skill. This is... the work of an expert!'

The assassins, who had planned to stop the carriage with a broken cart and then ambush and kill Jin Sohyun, did not know that they were the ones being lured.

In an instant, nine assassins were taken down, and the only one left was himself, the leader.

'They were all hit in the head and fainted. Is he planning to extract information?'

Am'o prepared himself and confirmed the poison pill he had embedded where his molar was.

In the meantime, a man revealed himself in front of Am'o, who was fleeing into the bushes.

'Goshawk! He's already caught up!?'

Am'o, who had realized that he could not shake off Jin Sohyun, gritted his teeth.

No, he tried to grit his teeth.

Thwack—!

Jin Sohyun grabbed Am'o's jaw with a lightning-fast speed.

'Damn it!'

He had to close his mouth to break the poison pill, but Jin Sohyun's hand did not allow it.

Am'o had no choice but to try to draw the sword from his waistband, but Jin Sohyun's left hand pushed his sword back in.

"A thirteen-year-old brat named Yunhwa bit a poison pill she had put in her mouth and committed suicide."

Jin Sohyun's voice was cold.

"But you have the same thing, mister?"

Am'o faced Jin Sohyun with unwavering pupils.

A person has two hands.

Since Jin Sohyun's right hand was holding his jaw and his left hand was holding his sword, all that was left was his own left hand.

Am'o extended his left hand and aimed for Jin Sohyun's neck.

'If he lets go, I have to bite the poison pill immediately!'

If the attack succeeded, Jin Sohyun would die, and even if it failed, he could commit suicide by biting the poison pill.

Either way, he could achieve his goal.

But Am'o did not know.

That Jin Sohyun could move much faster than he knew.

Swoosh—!

Jin Sohyun, who had parried the assassin's desperate attack with his right hand, pressed his acupoint with the fingertips of his left hand.

Am'o, whose acupoint had been pressed without even having time to blink, could not help but be shocked.

'I couldn't even see his hand movements!'

Even though he was right in front of him, he couldn't even fathom how Jin Sohyun had moved.

In the meantime, Jin Sohyun held his jaw and applied force.

Crack—!

Jin Sohyun, who had dislocated the assassin's jaw, frowned.

"Ugh... it can't be helped even if it hurts. Otherwise, you'll bite the poison and die."

Having finished his words, Jin Sohyun knocked out the leader of the assassins and then turned his head.

"Aigoo, there are so many of them."

***

Jin Sohyun, who had gathered the fainted assassins in one place, waited until they came to their senses.

The assassins' mouths and hands were strongly tied so that they could no longer commit suicide.

After a little more time passed, the leader of the assassins, Am'o, was the first to open his eyes.

"Hello."

At Jin Sohyun's greeting, Am'o gave a dry gaze.

"I have something I want to ask. Why are you trying to kill me?"

"..."

Am'o lifted his chin and expressed that his mouth was blocked.

"Ah, just a moment."

Jin Sohyun untied the cloth that had been tied around Am'o's mouth and then put his dislocated jaw back in place.

"I've taken out the poison pill. But don't bite your tongue or anything. Then I'll have to gag you again."

"..."

"Now, please tell me. Why are you trying to kill me?"

"Do you know the rules of assassins?"

"I know them. No matter what, do not reveal the reason and purpose of the assassination."

"If you know, then kill me. No matter what you do, we will not open our mouths."

His unwavering pupils seemed to say that his words were sincere.

"The Heretic's Path Alliance must have sent you... is it because I was there? Then the other people will be in danger too."

Jin Sohyun said this and massaged the back of his neck.

"Those weaklings will be in danger."

From Jin Sohyun's point of view, the next-generation talents of the Five Great Families were weaklings.

Weak brats who couldn't even properly deal with one person, even with five of them.

If they were ambushed by assassins like Jin Sohyun, their lives could be in danger.

"For now, you all will go to the prison of the authorities..."

"Y-Young Master."

At Siu's sobbing from behind, Jin Sohyun turned around.

There was Siu with a sword touching her neck, and a young man who had taken her hostage.

"If you value this wench's life, step back. Hurry."

The blade in the young man's hand came closer to Siu's neck.

But even so, Jin Sohyun did not move a muscle.

He just looked at the blade in the young man's hand.

"Can't you hear me? This wench's life is on the line...!"

"That blood... whose is it?"

"What?"

"The blood on your sword. Whose is it?"

The answer came not from the young man, but from Siu.

"The coach... the coachman's blood! This man suddenly stabbed the coachman!"

"You shut up. This is the only warning."

"Did you kill the coachman?"

"He'll be dead by now. And if you don't step back, this wench will meet the same fate. So think carefully."

Jin Sohyun ignored the young man's words and looked at Siu's face.

"Siu."

"Young Master..."

"Close your eyes."

Siu did not ask why.

She just closed her eyes tightly as the Young Master had said.

At the same time, with the sound of something breaking, something hot touched Siu's cheek and head.

"Are you alright?"

At Jin Sohyun's voice that followed, Siu slowly opened her eyes.

"Don't look back. Just stand here with your eyes closed for a moment."

"Y-Yes... I-I will."

Jin Sohyun wiped the blood on Siu's cheek and head with his sleeve and then turned his back.

In the meantime, the assassins who had come to their senses looked at their comrade whose head had been blown off.

'Did he control his power against us?'

The young man, who was a skilled assassin, had his head blown off without even being able to react.

And that, with a single small stone that Jin Sohyun had taken out of his pocket.

'Did they tell us to assassinate a monster like this?'

Am'o realized that their mission had been wrong from the beginning.

This lazy bum, who was called the Slothful Young Master of the Jin Family, was not an ordinary human.

He was a monster.

Jin Sohyun approached the leader of the assassins, bent his knees, and met his eye level.

And he said in a very small voice.

"Don't scream. It's noisy."

***

"Please keep it a secret from my family. Then, I'll leave it to you, Mister Mu."

"Ah, yes..."

Mu Yonghu, as per Jin Sohyun's request, entered the abandoned house.

What Mu Yonghu faced there were nine assassins who were in a miserable state.

"This is...!"

Even with a brief look, the assassins' condition was that they were barely breathing.

"This... is what Sohyun did?"

Jin Sohyun, who had returned to the family estate with a lonely face, had told him that the coachman had died in an attack by assassins, and that Siu's life had also been in danger.

The greatly surprised Mu Yonghu had checked Jin Sohyun's well-being, but he was fine without a single scratch.

Jin Sohyun just looked confused.

"I can't believe it even though I'm seeing it with my own two eyes."

Mu Yonghu looked at the assassins one by one.

They all had their mouths and eyes tied and covered with cloth, and they had no intact limbs.

'He broke both wrists and ankles with a single technique. They won't be able to move properly again.'

The completely shattered arms and legs of the assassins seemed as if they would not be able to hold a sword or walk properly again, even if they managed to recover.

'No matter how much he learned martial arts from Elder Kang... this is not normal.'

It was impossible for even Mu Yonghu to subdue nine assassins without a single scratch.

"What on earth are you hiding?"

Having finished his monologue, Mu Yonghu untied the cloth that was covering the assassins' eyes one by one.

After some time passed, the leader of the assassins opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was not Jin Sohyun, but a middle-aged man standing with a cold face.

"My name is Mu Yonghu. I am the head of the Jin Family's escort guards."

"..."

"You don't need to remember me. I just told you so that you would at least know who you are dying by and why."

Mu Yonghu drew his sword from his waistband.

"The Young Master told me to lock you up in the prison of the authorities. But my thoughts are different."

Mu Yonghu's sword emitted a light.

Mu Yonghu, who had cut off all the assassins' necks with a single stroke, muttered coldly.

"You don't deserve to live."

Mu Yonghu, who had killed all the assassins, shook off the blood on his sword and then left the abandoned house.

"Burn it. So that not even a single bone fragment is left."

"Yes!"

Oil was poured on the abandoned house, and a torch was thrown on it.

In an instant, a fire demon bloomed, and the abandoned house began to burn in no time.

Along with the corpses of the assassins.

***

"What... what is this!"

So Chwigae, who was managing the Shandong branch of the Beggars' Sect, could not help but be greatly flustered.

The huts he had worked so hard to manage were all shattered, and the resisting beggars were beaten with striking clubs like dogs on a dog-meat day and were sprawled here and there.

"I am a branch leader! A branch leader of the Beggars' Sect!!"

Despite So Chwigae's shout, the beggars who had suddenly appeared did not stop.

"Th-These brats... ah, ah!"

So Chwigae, who had discovered someone, rushed over.

He grabbed a man's shoulder and pleaded.

"Why are you doing this to me! Young Sect Leader!"

Gu Yong smiled and removed So Chwigae's hand, which was touching his shoulder.

"Branch Leader So."

"Please explain! Young Sect Leader!!"

"A petition has flown to me. The content of the petition... was that Branch Leader So has been selling the information of the Beggars' Sect to the unorthodox faction for a cheap price."

So Chwigae's face turned pale.

"Wh-What kind of outrageous statement is that? This So Chwigae has served the Beggars' Sect for no small number of years! To think I would sell the information of the Beggars' Sect to the unorthodox faction of all places!"

"That will be revealed soon. So please cooperate obediently."

"There must be some misunder... misunderstanding!"

"Take Branch Leader So away."

"Yes!"

The Yellow-Clad Beggars of the Beggars' Sect, who protected the sect's rules and punished criminals, dragged away the protesting So Chwigae.

"This is the last one!"

A man who had been watching So Chwigae being dragged away stood by Gu Yong's side.

He was about eighteen years old.

The man, who had clear eyes that felt pure and white, clean skin that did not suit a beggar, smiled happily.

"This time, we'll be able to find out who has been leaking the information of the Beggars' Sect."

"Good work, Ryang. It's all thanks to you."

"I was just lucky. I'm glad I could be of help to you, brother."

"Yes."

Gu Yong lightly stroked the head of the man called Ryang.

Ryang smiled lightly, as if he were pleased with the touch.

Thwack—!

At the heavy pain he felt in the back of his neck, Ryang knelt on both knees.

His head was dizzy, and he felt nauseous.

"Come to think of it, it's a simple matter. The information that was passed to the Heretic's Path Alliance was information that even the branch leaders could not touch. Who on earth could know such high-level information? And who makes that information?"

"Bro... brother..."

Ryang discovered Gu Yong, who was smiling slyly at him.

Towards such a Ryang, Gu Yong whispered in a very small voice.

"Who on earth knows the most about the martial artists of the Central Plains? Ryang, that is... your brother, me."

Ryang's eyes widened.

He had finally learned the truth, and he had realized that everything was wrong.

'No...'

Ryang tried to extend his hand somehow, but his stiffening body did not allow it.

Soon after, as Ryang lost consciousness, Gu Yong also stood up from his seat.

"Shall we take him?"

"Yes. Take him."

While the Yellow-Clad Beggars were taking Ryang away, Gu Yong's gaze turned to the west.

From that place where no one had been, an old man appeared out of nowhere.

He was looking at Gu Yong with a complicated expression.

"Gu Yong..."

Gu Yong waved his hand at the old man he had met after a long time.

"It's been a while, Elder Bi."

(End of Chapter)