The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 148

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

The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 148

Chapter 148. Dabie Mountain (2)

The world is filled with those who enjoy spirits, and there are just as many varieties of drink to match.
And here, on Dabie Mountain, there exists a particular spirit of exceptional rarity.
Tian Xiang Lu Jiu—the Celestial Fragrance Dew Wine.
It is a spirit that collects upon the blossoms of the sacred herb known as Tian Xiang.
A fragrance so exquisite it is said to rival the very scent of heaven itself—those who taste such a spirit are said to carry its memory for a lifetime.
And it is also a miraculous cure for a certain peculiar ailment.
“So you’re saying this Celestial Fragrance Dew Wine exists here on Dabie Mountain?”
I nodded at Seo-woo Warrior’s question.
“The note I saw indicated as much. That’s why I’m going to verify it. Of course, one detail proved genuine, but the other could be false.”
I continued.
“But if I don’t verify it now and it turns out to be true later, I’ll regret not having gone to check when I had the chance.”
Everyone nodded at my words.
They all had such experiences themselves.
“So you all agree to searching for the Celestial Fragrance Dew Wine?”
Yeo Eung-am Warrior answered my question.
“We merely follow wherever our lord wishes to go.”
The other Guard Warriors nodded in agreement.
Palgap scratched behind his ear and spoke.
“Honestly, what authority do we have to tell you yes or no? And even if we tried to stop you, you’d go anyway, wouldn’t you?”
“That’s our Palgap. You know me too well.”
“Sir?”
“Ah, my true thoughts slipped out.”
I smiled as I spoke.
“Then let’s go.”

The Taiyin Fragrance Distillery is located at the foothills of Dabie Mountain.
Taiyin itself is a spiritual herb that grows only in mountain foothills, and since it blooms only in autumn, now is precisely the right season.
We would have to wander through the dark mountainside, but that was no concern.
We had the Night-Luminous Pearl, after all.
After walking for about an hour, we caught a scent.
It was a fragrance so exquisite that words could barely capture it.
Had the fragrance been visible to the eye, one would have gasped at its beauty.
“Could this fragrance possibly be… the scent of Taiyin?”
Lee Pil Warrior asked, his voice tinged with astonishment.
“It seems so. Though I too am smelling it for the first time.”
I nodded and moved toward the source of the fragrance.
Purple flowers the size of a human head bloomed before us, and in the hollow center of each flower, a violet liquid pooled.
“It’s Taiyin.”
“So it truly exists. What on earth was that note about?”
At Lee Pil Warrior’s words, I chuckled softly.
“Perhaps some recluse wrote it down merely to pass the time? Besides, fortune and chance encounters have no real logic to them anyway.”
“That’s true enough.”
Seo-woo Warrior clicked his tongue as he watched me pull a gourd bottle from my pocket.
“You certainly come prepared.”
I smiled wryly and spoke.
“Shall we collect the Taiyin Fragrance Distillery into this?”
In my past life, this Taiyin Fragrance Distillery was consumed in the most absurd manner.
A man loses his way on Dabie Mountain and wanders until he discovers Taiyin.
He drinks the Taiyin Fragrance Distillery pooled within it, and carries the remainder down the mountain in a gourd bottle.
A master who catches its scent offers him counsel.

“That is what they call Taiyin Fragrance Distillery—a remarkable spiritual elixir. If you lack confidence in preserving it properly, it would be better to entrust it to one with the ability to do so.”

Someone overheard it, and the rumor spread far and wide.
In the end, calamity befell them.
Because of that Heavenly Fragrance Liquor, conflict erupted in the village where that man lived, and the villagers became enemies of one another.
But today, since I’m taking all the Heavenly Fragrance Liquor with me, that man’s villagers won’t have reason to become enemies of each other.
“But Young Master, what happens to these flowers once we harvest the Heavenly Fragrance Liquor?”
“Well, whether we harvest it or not, the flowers wither by the end of the tenth month anyway, and they won’t bloom again for another five hundred years.”
“Wow! Then it must be incredibly expensive.”
“Of course! You should’ve known that from a martial family’s perspective.”
“But what’s this liquor good for when consumed?”
It was Jin Yu Warrior who answered Palgap’s question.
“Are you familiar with severed pulse syndrome?”
“Yes, I’ve heard of it. Something about yin-severed pulse or yang-severed pulse, I believe.”
“Yes, this is a sovereign remedy for severed pulse syndrome. It works regardless of which type it is.”
Jin Yu Warrior continued.
“That’s precisely why we must maintain absolute silence about this until our lord permits otherwise. If word spreads that we possess the Heavenly Fragrance Liquor, a bloodbath could ensue.”
“Gulp!”
At Jin Yu Warrior’s warning, Palgap trembled and looked toward me.
Seeing the question in his eyes, I nodded emphatically.
“Jin Yu Warrior speaks the truth.”
In my previous life, a father desperate to cure his son’s yang-severed pulse sought out that man for the Heavenly Fragrance Liquor.
The man handed over the liquor, but it proved ineffective.
The Heavenly Fragrance Liquor was counterfeit.
Enraged, the father confronted the man. But it turned out that a neighbor who loved drink had secretly stolen the liquor and replaced it with something else.
Humiliated and furious, the man fought with his neighbor and stabbed him to death.
The dead neighbor’s son, consumed by vengeance, sought to kill the man, but in the chaos, he ended up killing an innocent bystander who had come to stop the fight.
Thus, through this twisted chain of revenge, the entire village became locked in mutual enmity.
“It’s all collected.”
The Heavenly Fragrance Liquor filled three small bottles in total. I placed two in my pouch and offered the remaining one to the Guard Warriors.
“Aren’t you curious about the taste of the Heavenly Fragrance Liquor? Each of you should have a sip.”
At my suggestion, Palgap and the four Guard Warriors waved their hands in refusal.
“We couldn’t possibly!”
“How could we, from a martial family’s perspective!”
“This should be drunk by those who need it more than we do.”
“Exactly. Besides, we cannot drink now. How could we touch alcohol when we must protect our lord?”
At their words, I nodded.
“Then, once we return to the Main Headquarters, you’ll be allowed to drink then, yes?”
“….”
The way they hesitated to refuse suggested their hearts weren’t entirely against it.
It was only natural.
After all, they were human too, and humans could never be entirely free from desire.
Simply declining what I’m offering right now already demonstrates tremendous self-restraint on my part.
The fragrance of this liquor was as intoxicating as the allure of a peerless beauty.
Suppressed desires must be released gradually, lest they cause problems later.
“Actually, when this liquor is consumed as a drink rather than medicine, they say the fragrance remains unchanged even if diluted a hundredfold.”
To be honest, this is less a liquor and more a refined elixir.
Therefore, blending it into wine should yield the proper taste.
“So let’s return to the Main Headquarters and hold a celebration with this.”
Only then did they nod, their minds at ease.
“We are grateful for your consideration, my lord.”
“Shall we head back then?”
I fingered the pouch containing the Tianxiang Luo Wine as I made my way back to the camp.
By tomorrow, we would arrive at that village.
The village where my father—who needed this Tianxiang Luo Wine in my previous life—resides is the village we’ll reach by tomorrow.
I intend to trade this Tianxiang Luo Wine with that father.
Some might say I’m trading with a life, but I believe this is a fair exchange.
In my previous life, because I couldn’t obtain the Tianxiang Luo Wine, that son lost his life.
And what I ask in return is not something so burdensome for that father.
Moreover, it is a request that will save many lives.

* * *

A day’s journey from Dabie Mountain, there exists a village.
That village’s name is Minjang Village.
Being near Suwon, it was a rather prosperous place.
Most of the land in that village was owned by a great landowner named Min Ik.
The villagers worked Min Estate Lord’s land as tenant farmers, and since their homes and shops also stood on his property, he wielded even greater influence than the County Magistrate.
Even the County Magistrate bowed first when Min Estate Lord visited the County Office.
Yet despite his apparent freedom from worry, he harbored a deep concern—his second son.
The second son was remarkably gifted, able to read the Thousand Character Classic at age three, but he possessed an unusual intolerance to heat.
So much so that he lived without any heating even during the coldest winters.
After summoning countless physicians to examine him, they finally discovered the reason.

“This child has the Solar Severed Meridian. With the sun burning within their body, imagine how scorching it must be.”
“Pardon? Did you say Solar Severed Meridian?”
“Indeed. With such potent yang energy, the child would be brilliant and exceptionally talented in martial arts. However, because that yang energy is far too strong, it scorches the innate qi, causing most to perish before reaching twenty years of age.”
“Then, what must be done? How can my son survive?”
“He must consume spiritual medicine.”
“What?”
“Extreme yin spiritual medicines like the thousand-year cold ginseng from Snow Mountain, or perhaps the Heavenly Incense Dew Wine that can cure any severed meridian condition. Without such remedies, there is no cure.”
“Then!”
“If someone with an extreme yin constitution were to remain at his side, it might extend his lifespan. However, those with such a constitution are exceedingly rare.”

From that moment on, Min Ik began searching desperately for spiritual medicine that could cure his son.
Yet all that came were charlatans and swindlers.
Day after day, he grew weary, but he never surrendered.
How could a father abandon his child’s life?
Thus time slipped away in vain.

October was already passing.
He was grateful that his son’s condition improved somewhat when winter arrived.
He was calculating the grain harvest for the year in his office when it happened.
Creak.
Suddenly, the closed window swung open of its own accord.
“…?”
At first, he thought it was the wind. But the moment he saw a letter drop to the floor through the open window, he realized it was no mere gust.
He rose from his seat and opened the window wide.
Yet no one was visible.
‘Now that I think about it, my office is on the third floor. How is this possible?’
He called out to the Warrior standing guard outside.
“Did someone just arrive and leave?”
“No one has come, sir.”
“The window just suddenly opened.”
“It seems a strong gust of wind blew through.”
The Guard Warrior was both loyal and skilled, so he had no choice but to trust his words.
‘What on earth…’
He regretted that the Warrior who usually stood guard nearby had stepped away momentarily.
‘Could they have known that?’
He picked up the letter that had fallen to the floor and unfolded it.

[Tonight, I shall visit your office with spiritual medicine to cure your son’s ailment.]

* * *

That night.
I was staying at an inn in a village called Minjang Village.
The village bore the name Minjang Village because most of the land in this area belonged to Min Ik, the Estate Lord.
And the one who needed the Thousand Fragrance Elixir in this place was none other than Min Estate Lord, the true master of Minjang Village.
I had sent him a letter through Geumryeong, informing him that I would visit tonight.
It was time to make my move.
I set out toward the Min Family Estate with only Jin Yu Warrior at my side, and soon we arrived in the vicinity.
“From here on, I’ll proceed alone. So, Jin Warrior, please… act as you see fit.”
“Understood.”
I had brought him along precisely because anyone else would certainly object to me moving alone.
Since Jin Yu Warrior’s former profession was that of an assassin, he would be able to guard me from wherever necessary.
If Palgap were to master the secret manual that the Old Bookkeeper had recommended, I would need to ask Jin Yu Warrior for assistance.
I scaled the stone wall of the Min Family Estate.
As I was employing the Shadowless Step Technique at its peak, no one detected my presence.
After all, it was a technique that left neither footsteps nor traces.
I quietly made my way toward the building where Min Estate Lord’s office was located, avoiding the attention of others.
I intended to enter through the window.
Thanks to my Master’s training, scaling walls and walking across roofs posed no difficulty.
My Master’s basic physical conditioning training was the truly grueling part.
In any case, I arrived at the office on the third floor and glanced upward cautiously.
There were signs that someone was present on the fourth floor.
It seemed he had arranged guards beforehand.
I gently pushed open the window.
Creak.
Through the open window, I could see Min Estate Lord sitting at a wooden table. He looked exactly as I remembered.
“Here I go.”
As I climbed through the window, he lifted his head.
I straightened my robes and bowed respectfully.
“I greet you, Estate Lord.”
“Are you the one who sent this letter?”
I nodded, looking at the letter in his hand.
“Yes.”
“You could have simply come to visit. Why send such a letter?”
“Of course, it is to protect both you and myself.”
“….”
“You are searching for the Longevity Elixir, but can you not imagine the troubles that would arise if you actually obtained it?”
“That is true enough.”
I reached into my pocket and withdrew a small gourd, placing it on the nearby table.
“It is Heavenly Fragrance Elixir.”
“…!”
“As you know, it is the ultimate remedy for all meridian blockage ailments.”
Min Estate Lord quickly suppressed his astonishment and asked with composure.
“What do you want?”

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