The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 13

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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 13

Chapter 13. An Unexpected Journey (1)

The next morning at dawn.
I began learning martial arts from my Master in the courtyard before my chamber.
“Young Master, you must first master the meditation technique known as the Yin Ice Sea Divine Method.”
“Yes.”
“Normally, we would begin by learning to sense inner energy, but since you already possess inner power in your dantian, we shall proceed directly to the Yin Ice Sea Divine Method.”
I sat down in a lotus position, and my Master placed his palm against my back.
“Remember the meridian pathways I guide you through, and simply follow the same course yourself.”
My Master enveloped my dantian’s inner power with his own, guiding it along the meridian pathways of the Yin Ice Sea Divine Method.
In less than half an hour, I was able to complete a full circulation.
My meridian pathways were already completely open.
My Master asked me in astonishment.
“Do you already know the Yin Ice Sea Divine Method?”
I deflected his question.
“What is that?”
“Then how could your meridian pathways be…”
My Master paused in thought before speaking.
“You mentioned before that you accidentally consumed a spiritual elixir, and its energy accumulated in your dantian.”
“Yes.”
I had already revealed most of the truth about my dantian’s energy to my Master.
I knew he was not someone who would carelessly spread such information.
Besides, there was no other way to explain the inner power in my dantian.
However, the Yin Ice Sea Divine Method was different.
Since it was my Master’s family martial art, I could not claim to know it.
“In truth, the Yin Ice Sea Divine Method was created to accumulate yin energy within the body as efficiently as possible. According to legend, it is a meditation technique born from the survival instinct of someone on the verge of freezing to death.”
“Is that so?”
Now that I thought about it, I had nearly frozen to death myself.
Because of the cold in the Blue Ice Snow Plum Chamber…
My Master continued his explanation.
“I believe your case is similar. Your body instinctively moved your inner power along those meridian pathways.”
It was a more accurate analysis than I expected.
“If that had not happened, you would not be among the living now. You would most likely have frozen to death.”
His precise deduction sent shivers down my spine.
“Yes, I suppose so. I was fortunate.”
“In any case, thanks to the opportunity you gained, we can proceed directly to basic physical conditioning.”
My Master nodded and continued speaking.
“If you employ martial techniques without the physical stamina and muscular strength to support them, your body will deteriorate. Therefore, you must build a proper and thorough foundation.”
It was a familiar lesson, one I hadn’t heard in some time.
“It will be difficult, won’t it?”
“You’ll find it grueling enough to curse, but you must persevere.”
“Yes. I’ll do my best to endure it.”
I began my physical conditioning training under my Master’s guidance.
And as he watched me holding up better than expected, he murmured to himself.
“At this rate, I can increase the intensity further.”
“Pardon?”
“Then let’s raise the intensity. I’ll add two more sand weights.”
At those words, I felt my heart sink.
“Wait, surely not that!”
.
.
.
Work hours arrived.
I had spent the entire night conditioning my body, so I worried whether I would have any strength left to report for duty.
However,
possessing abundant inner energy had its drawbacks.
The moment I began my breathing cultivation, I recovered completely.
Heaven’s will demanded I simply go to work.
And to achieve my goals, I needed to move diligently.
No matter how much experience I possessed in building the Eunhae Trading Company into one of the Three Great Merchant Guilds of the Realm, I was now merely a fifteen-year-old boy who had just begun practical work.
When I secured Hwa Yeon Pavilion, I was able to contribute because I had earned credit by preventing that fire.
But this business about hiding my constitution….
What my Master told me last night left me bewildered.
He cited the reason that it would be disadvantageous if it became widely known, but I could sense from his gaze that there were more complex reasons behind it.
His words weren’t wrong, and he would explain when the time came.

“Welcome, sir.”
“Yes. Good morning.”
The officers of Jaegyeong Pavilion who greeted me were brimming with goodwill.
Thanks to my preventing the fire, the officers of Jaegyeong Pavilion were spared from grueling overtime work.
During that time, the officers had stayed away from work to keep up appearances.
Because of that, I had to work late for a few days, but if that could compensate for such hardship, it was a worthwhile trade.
In any case, everyone here was a familiar face I hadn’t seen in some time.
Then Yu Chief Manager approached, and everyone rose from their seats.
“Young Master Eun Seo-ho, you’ve arrived.”
Yu Chief Manager smiled and addressed everyone.
“From today onward, Young Master Eun Seo-ho will be working as my assistant.”
Yu Chief Manager had driven the nail home.
“Pardon?”
“What?”
“Is that… truly the case?”
The officers looked at me and Yu Chief Manager in shock. The Yeochang officer in particular seemed utterly astonished.
I had given them no indication of such a thing.
“Young Master?”
“That is how it shall be.”
Yet the officers showed no jealousy toward me for becoming Yu Chief Manager’s assistant.
Rather, their expressions were filled with pity.
They understood.
They knew how grueling a position as Yu Chief Manager’s assistant truly was.
Yu Chief Manager turned with a smile.
“Then let us begin our work. We have quite a lot to do.”
“Yes.”
Inwardly weeping, I was dragged along to Yu Chief Manager’s office.

Upon entering Yu Chief Manager’s office, I immediately noticed how different it had become.
Beside his desk sat another large desk that hadn’t been there before.
I recognized at once that the new desk was mine.
“Please, sit.”
“Yes, sir.”
I settled into my seat obediently. Soon, documents began piling high across my desk.
“After reviewing these, simply mark the key points in red and bring them to me.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And these require research. Find the relevant materials and add them to the files.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And these are….”
My luck had run out.
Only then did I understand.
I was not talented.
I had simply twisted my own fate with my own hands.
.
.
.
Time flowed onward, and the winter solstice drew near.
Every year, the Eun-hae Trading Company granted three to four days of leave around the winter solstice.
Of course, not everyone could leave at once, so staff rotated before and after the solstice.
During that vacation, I planned to remain in my chamber as much as possible.
I would truly rest well.
Though I couldn’t skip martial training, I could manage that in the mornings alone.
My anticipation for the leave was natural.
Assisting Yu Chief Manager was extraordinarily demanding—so much so that his death from overwork seemed entirely unsurprising.
In Yu Chief Manager’s office, only the sound of rustling pages and the scratch of brushes could be heard.
This reflected Yu Chief Manager’s philosophy: if there was time for idle conversation, it was more efficient to read one more character on the documents.
I shared the same conviction.
Then I sensed someone approaching through my enhanced perception.
Perhaps because I had recently intensified my physical training, my perception had grown sharper.
Truthfully, my Master’s training regimen was still bearable, but I would never admit it.
If I said, “I can manage this,” he would respond, “I see,” and simply add more sand weights.
So I was doing my best to feign struggle.
Currently, the sand weights I used for training totaled twenty-five guan.
That was the weight of a reasonably built adult man.
If I increased it any further, I would truly perish.
Soon, a woman’s voice reached my ears—a familiar one.
“The Guild Master has sent me.”
Then came the voice of Guard Gyo Jin-un.
“Jo Young-young, the Deputy Manager, has arrived.”
At those words, Yu Chief Manager nodded, and seeing that, I quickly responded.
“Please, come in.”
The door opened, and a woman in her mid-twenties entered.
Her name was Jo Young-young.
She was the daughter of a family that had long served the Eun-hae Trading Company, and she too had naturally come to work for the guild.
For one so young, and a woman no less, to become one of the guild master’s deputy managers meant she was exceptionally intelligent and perceptive.
Rumors had circulated that perhaps she and Father shared a certain kind of relationship.
To be clear, that was not the case.
She harbored affection for another man, and in the end, she never married, not even until I died.
“What is the matter?”
“Song Jang-ju has just arrived. He asked that you attend the meeting.”
“Understood. Let us go together now.”
“Yes.”
She bowed slightly to Yu Chief Manager, and in that moment, I saw it.
Her cheeks flushed ever so slightly.
When she raised her head again, her expression was as composed as always.
Yet her gaze remained fixed upon Yu Chief Manager throughout.
Could it be? Yu Chief Manager?
Only then did I understand why she had wept so bitterly when Yu Chief Manager died.
Why she had never married.
‘So it was true love after all.’
Then Yu Chief Manager called to me.
“Young Master.”
“Yes!”
“What are you doing? The guild master is waiting.”
“Pardon?”
For a moment, I did not understand his words. Song Jang-ju had arrived, and the Internal Chief Manager needed to attend—so why did I need to go?
“Shouldn’t only the Internal Chief Manager be going?”
Yu Chief Manager explained, counting off on his fingers one by one.
“First, the arrival of Song Jang-ju suggests there is something to discuss, which likely means documentation and related work will need to be handled. However, I am occupied with other matters, so the probability is high that you, Young Master, will need to undertake that work. But explaining all of that would be tedious… a waste of time.”
“….”
It seemed he had almost said it was bothersome?
“Furthermore, you are one of the potential successors to the guild. Therefore, you are entirely qualified to attend. Do you have any further questions?”
For all his dressing it up, the conclusion was simple: he was bringing me along to work efficiently.
I exhaled softly and followed Yu Chief Manager toward the Reception Room.
.
.
.
The Eun-hae Trading Company had a dedicated Reception Room.
There was much to attend to in welcoming a guest.
A maid from the Tea Room brewed tea, distributed cups to everyone, and withdrew.
In the Reception Room sat Father, the Internal Chief Manager, and Yeon Gak-ju of Sangyu Division.
And across from Father sat our guest, Song Jang-ju.
Song Jang-ju was one of the prominent landowners in this region where the Eunhae Trading Company operated, and he had long been one of our company’s customers.
A very special customer, at that.
As his resplendent attire—a jade-colored silk robe and gold rings adorning his ears—testified, he was among the greatest landowners of this region.
Yet in the future I had experienced, Song Jang-ju began a slow decline, eventually aging into nothing more than the master of a dilapidated estate that bore only the name of a manor.
“It has been quite some time since you graced us with your presence.”
At Father’s words, Song Jang-ju set down his teacup and spoke.
“Circumstances have kept me away, I’m afraid. Still, this place remains my greatest source of trust. That is precisely why I have sought out you, the Master of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
Father asked carefully at those words.
“It seems you have some matter of concern.”
“Indeed. That is why I have come to request your assistance.”
We listened in silence to what Song Jang-ju had to say.
“Through my own negligence, ten parcels of land were not reflected in the tax records, and Pojeongsa has taken issue with this.”
“My, is that so.”
Father nodded with an expression of sympathy. But I read the truth from Song Jang-ju’s face.
It was no negligence—it was deliberate embezzlement.
And he had been caught by Pojeongsa.
“So I consulted with Jihyeon, with whom I have maintained friendly relations, and he mentioned that Pojeongsa is seeking a certain item.”
A simple matter, really.
He intended to offer a bribe to settle the affair.
And that item was the reason Song Jang-ju had visited the Eunhae Trading Company.
There was no way Father could have failed to grasp what I had discerned. He asked with a gentle expression.
“Song Jang-ju’s troubles are the troubles of our Eunhae Trading Company. Please speak freely and tell us—what is this item?”
“That is….”
Song Jang-ju sighed before answering.
“A curiosity.”
“A curiosity, you say?”
“That is to say, I need a doll that dances of its own accord every hour.”
At those words, silence fell over the Reception Room for a moment.
Father, the Internal Chief Manager, and Yeon Gak-ju all wore expressions of bewilderment at what he was saying.
But I knew what it was.
‘Yes. That existed.’
One of the things I had regretted most in my past life.
I had sworn not to repeat it this time, yet I had nearly fallen into the same regret once more.
I wondered if perhaps this was why fate had brought him to find me.
The origin of this matter was something trivial.

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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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