The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 105

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company – Chapter 105

Chapter 105. Manjol Physician (6)

Eun Seo-ho spoke as he observed him.
“You look unconvinced.”
Eun Seo-ho handed him a letter.
“Read it.”
After reading the letter, he looked up in surprise.
It contained information that Manjol Physician had discovered the illness was artificially induced.
“Submit the report as is. They’ll say they’ve worked hard enough and tell you to stop sending reports—that will be proof they’re trying to erase this place.”
“….”
“What’s wrong? You seemed so confident just moments ago….”
Eun Seo-ho’s words sounded almost mocking.
He replied.
“I’ll show you just how righteous they truly are.”

* * *

I watched the Hyungmun Sect Disciple place the report I had written into a bamboo tube.
My heart felt heavy.
Whether it was the Murim Alliance that had coerced the Marketplace, or the Marketplace acting for its own gain, neither sat well with me.
But what exactly makes the Marketplace so confident about the Murim Alliance’s righteousness?
Then again….
To those who don’t yet know its true nature, the Murim Alliance must seem righteous.

After parting ways with him, Manjol Physician and I returned to the Hyungmun Sect’s guest quarters.
“What on earth are you trying to do?”
The moment we entered the quarters, Manjol Physician asked.
“What do you mean, sir?”
“Isn’t it courting danger to let them know that I’ve exposed the artificial nature of the illness afflicting these people?”
Through the bamboo tube letter just moments ago, I had learned that the Murim Alliance was the mastermind behind this entire affair.
So his concern was far from unfounded.
“That’s true. However, I have a good plan in mind.”
“…?”
I called out to Geumryeong, nestled within my sleeve.
“Geumryeong.”
“Chirp!”
“I have a task for you. Deliver this letter to Palgap, and this one to my father.”
“Chirp.”
“If you do well, I’ll give you a silver coin.”
“Chirp chirp!”
The efficacy of silver coins truly was remarkable.
With the letter for my father tied to Geumryeong’s tail and the one for Palgap fastened to its leg, the bird vanished through the window in an instant, traveling far into the distance.
It really is fast.
Though I wonder if feeding it too many silver coins would make it rounder.
That would be rather endearing, come to think of it….
.
.
.
And several days later.
Inside that tree hole lay a bamboo tube.
It was a reply.
The disciple spoke to me with a triumphant expression.
“I shall prove you wrong!”
He withdrew the letter from within the bamboo tube and unrolled it eagerly.
I simply watched with a smile on my face.
The disciple’s eyes wavered.
“Why do you look that way?”
“This… this cannot be… can it?”
“It seems matters did not proceed as expected.”
Thud.
The letter slipped from his grasp, and I picked it up to read it myself.

[Your efforts are appreciated. There is no need to send further reports. Wait within the sect.]

It was exactly as I had anticipated.
“No, no. This can’t be….”
He denied the reality before him, then lifted his head to look at me.
“But that doesn’t prove the Murim Alliance isn’t righteous!”
“You’re right. But you’ll understand soon enough.”
I smiled coldly as I spoke.
“Go inside. The night wind is bitter cold.”

After parting with him, I made my way to the Sect Leader.
The medicine Manjol Physician had created was remarkably effective, and already the Sect Leader, the Dharma Protectors, and the sect elders had risen from their beds.
Thus, at present, there was no one in the Hyungmun Sect suffering from illness.
“Welcome, Virtuous Wanderer of Benevolence.”
At the Sect Leader’s words, I quickly waved my hand.
“Just call me Young Master, please.”
“How could I possibly do that?”
“Sect Leader….”
“So you’ve just come from meeting that pitiful disciple?”
This was a question about the one who had spread the illness here and reported the situation.
Since he was a disciple of this sect, his punishment was also the Sect Leader’s responsibility.
That’s why I had informed the Sect Leader about him.
“It was as I expected. But… he denied reality to the very end.”
“I see.”
He stroked his beard with a sorrowful expression.
“What will you do regarding his punishment?”
The Sect Leader pondered for a moment before answering.
“First, it seems we must protect that child’s safety.”
“You won’t simply abandon him?”
“Whether we like it or not, whether he committed a crime or not, he is still a disciple of our Hyungmun Sect. So we must protect him.”
I began to understand why the Murim Alliance had chosen the Hyungmun Sect among so many sects to do this to.
It was likely because of this very nature.
I recalled words I had heard from Namgung Kang, the Merchant Guild Leader of Baekcheon Trading Company, before my death.

“And I don’t like needless righteousness either. Because of you lot, the standard of goodness keeps rising, and that’s a problem. So you’re an eyesore.”

It was clear that the Murim Alliance was wary of the standard of goodness rising.
Why exactly did the Murim Alliance want to lower the standard of virtue?

* * *

A group of fifty-odd individuals heading toward Hyungmun Mountain.
Cheongsong Master, who led them, was now deeply perplexed.
He had received orders from the Murim Alliance Leader.
To set fire to the Hyungmun Sect and prevent the plague from spreading any further.

“There’s a plague spreading through the Hyungmun Sect on Hyungmun Mountain, and they say it’s a plague that’s fatal to those who’ve learned martial arts.”
“….”
“They say everyone’s already dead from it. But if we leave it as is, there’s a risk the disease will spread, so go and clean up after them.”
“Understood.”

However, the separate orders conveyed to him differed somewhat from that content.

“If there are any survivors, they must die there.”
“….”
“If you make a mistake, this entire Murim will collapse as it is.”
“I will keep that in mind.”

The thought of cutting down those who were perfectly alive—and fellow martial artists of the White Path Murim at that—weighed heavily on him.
But it was a plague fatal to those who’d learned martial arts.
The greater good required sacrificing the few.
So he’d steeled his resolve, but….

“Did you hear? About the Hyungmun Sect.”
“Oh! They said martial artists caught that plague? So they’re okay now?”
“Completely recovered.”
“Really?”
“Manjol Physician made a special cure, and after taking it, they recovered completely, they say?”

Everywhere they stopped, rumors spread that the plague running through the Hyungmun Sect had completely vanished.
The problem came when they arrived at Uichang.
In that place where the plague had already disappeared, martial artists were bustling about in throngs.
And the mountain path leading to Hyungmun Mountain was already packed with people.
“Why are there so many people here right now?”
One of them answered Cheongsong’s question.
“It seems the Commander hasn’t heard the rumors yet.”
“Rumors? Could it be the rumors that the martial artists of the Hyungmun Sect caught the plague and recovered?”
“Exactly. That’s why Manjol Physician is personally distributing medicine they’ve manufactured for the benefit of other martial artists.”
“….”

What Cheongsong was doing had to be kept secret.
Now it had become something that could no longer be concealed.
He reported this news to his superiors, and soon a letter arrived from above.
It was an order to return.
.
.
.
Before returning tomorrow, I stopped at an inn to rest thoroughly.
While eating dinner in the first-floor dining hall, we exchanged various stories.
“Still, we’re fortunate.”
“The illness was completely cured before we arrived.”
Cheongsong nodded at his subordinates’ words. Truthfully, it had been an uncomfortable matter for him as well.
No matter how much it was for the greater good, to wield a sword against a fellow disciple stricken with illness.
During the journey here, I had fallen into self-reproach, wondering if I had learned martial arts for this purpose.
After finishing the meal, the subordinates returned to their guest rooms one by one.
Then a group of people entered the inn.
Ordinary folk generally avoided entering an inn crowded with sword-bearing martial artists.
But since most had already retired to their rooms, this group seemed to have entered the dining hall.
They ate dumplings and other dishes while conversing.
“So Manjol Physician noticed right away? That someone deliberately spread the contagious illness through the Hyungmun Sect?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“It’s fortunate there was medicine for it.”
“And he made the medicine quickly. So by mid-month, everyone had already fully recovered and resumed martial training.”

Listening to that conversation, Cheongsong realized something was amiss.
He had received his orders from the League Master after mid-month.
Which meant that when he received those orders, the Hyungmun Sect no longer had the contagious illness.
‘Then why did the League Master…?’

* * *

I stole a glance at Cheongsong Master’s expression.
His eyes were filled with profound confusion.
Of course, that was precisely my intention—the plan had succeeded.
In my previous life, after Gu Si’s arson attack on the Murim Alliance pavilion, a shocking incident had shaken the martial world days later.
It was news of Cheongsong Master’s suicide.
He left behind a will stating that he was atoning for his past sins and offering his own life to the vengeful spirits of nine thousand souls—a matter that had stirred considerable discussion for some time.
From the various information I had gathered, Cheongsong Master had taken great pride in being a member of the Murim Alliance.
Yet such a man had taken his own life.
I hadn’t understood why he did so at that particular time, but as I pieced together the fragments, it became clear.
He was the one who had burned down the Hyungmun Sect.
And at that time, he hadn’t known the truth.
Only later, when he learned what he had truly done, did anguish and guilt consume him until he finally took his own life.
He had been a renowned master throughout the martial world, one of the pillars supporting the Murim Alliance.
I had decided to create a crack in that pillar.
So I had mobilized Palgap and the two Guard Warriors to execute this plan.
And it appeared the plan had succeeded.
.
.
.
As I left the inn and headed toward the Hyungmun Sect, I expressed my gratitude to Palgap and the Guard Warriors.
“You’ve all worked hard on this matter.”
“Not at all.”
“Young Master has endured far greater hardship.”
“Coo….”
“Geumryeong worked hard too.”
“Coo-oot!”
I chuckled softly. The letter I had sent through Geumryeong this time contained a request to spread rumors.
Those rumors had quickly ballooned in scale.
And with news of medicine being distributed, warriors from across the nation had flocked to the sect.
No matter how powerful the Murim Alliance was, they couldn’t move against the Hyungmun Sect with so many warriors gathered there, so I had ordered Cheongsong’s group to return.
The Manjol Physician must be working tirelessly to produce the medicine.
And the Hyungmun Sect disciples must be exhausted welcoming the flood of warriors.
Still, it was better than burning alive.
Now I needed to return to the Hyungmun Sect. I was curious to see the expression of the mouse who had trusted the cat.

* * *

It was deep into the night.
Ji-un, a disciple of the Hyungmun Sect, made his way to the place where he had been leaving reports.
Amid the bustle of welcoming and guiding the countless warriors who had flocked to the sect that day, someone had slipped a note into his sleeve.
The letter promised compensation and instructed him to tell no one, coming to the place where he left reports at the end of the Hour of the Boar—between nine and eleven in the evening.
Upon reading that note, Ji-un felt a surge of elation.
He believed he had finally escaped this narrow confine and would step into the wider world.
He wanted to show this letter to Eun Seo-ho, who had mocked him.
Look at this!
The Murim Alliance truly is a place of justice!
They had not forgotten the promised reward.
Yet in the end, he could not risk botching the matter, so he told no one and made his way into the deep forest.
Ji-un soon arrived at the tree by the rock.
On impulse, he reached his hand into the tree hole. Something brushed against his fingers.
He withdrew his hand.
“…!”
He was startled. His hand held silver coins.
“What, what is this?”
Then a voice came from behind him.
“Does the amount please you? That’s your passage money to the afterlife.”
“…!”
Ji-un spun around urgently.
Someone dressed in black stood before him, sword drawn.
“Who, who are you?”
“I’ve come to give you the reward I promised.”
But something felt wrong.
Passage money to the afterlife? And what was this killing intent radiating from this figure?
“The Murim Alliance promised me the position of Master.”
“Did you truly believe you could sit in such a position with your meager skills? How foolish.”
His tone dripped with mockery.
“You lack the strength even to join as a common member, let alone become a squad leader of the Murim Alliance, yet you dream so boldly.”
“But, what do you mean….”
“You never learned that the martial arts of the Hyungmun Sect draw their true power not from individuals, but from the collective. Your training was wasted.”
He raised his sword.
“From the beginning, there was only one reward promised to you—death.”
Ji-un barely suppressed his fear and drew his blade.
“Consider yourself fortunate. Because things went awry, you won’t be burned alive—instead, you’ll die by my sword.”
The man’s figure vanished in an instant, and by the time Ji-un became aware, the blade was already driving toward his heart.
Clang—!

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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