The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 157

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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 157

Chapter 157. The Purpose of the Blood Calamity (1)

The villagers treated the disciples of the Wudang Sect with utmost hospitality.
From that alone, I could discern what the Wudang Sect meant to the villages surrounding it.
As I rested, I felt something stirring within my sleeve.
When I reached in, I discovered that Geumryeong had somehow slipped inside.
This creature truly moves about without restraint.
Yet as I felt her tapping repeatedly against my hand inside the sleeve, it was clear she had something to communicate.
I rose from my seat.
“I shall step away for a moment.”
“Very well.”
I made my way quietly to a secluded place.
“Geumryeong, come out.”
At my call, Geumryeong poked her head out and placed something into my palm.
Upon seeing the golden-hued fruit gleaming before me, I spoke to Geumryeong in alarm.
“This is poisonous! If someone ate this, it would be catastrophic….”
No, wait.
Though strikingly similar, the stem was a dark crimson, and upon closer inspection, I could discern faint white speckles that would escape notice at a glance.
“…!”
This was the Divine Spirit Blessing Fruit.
“Where did you find this?”
In response to my question, Geumryeong descended to the ground and pointed with her tail toward something.
Then she drew a square with her foreleg, and within it, a circle.
So she had retrieved it from inside some sort of container.
This had to be the mysterious spiritual medicine that the Baekcheon Trading Company had purchased.
The bloodstained aura clinging to this fruit confirmed it beyond doubt.
I quickly placed it into my secret storage.
Should anyone discover that I possessed it, an unwanted conflict might very well erupt.
My heart grew uneasy.
Thanks to Geumryeong, I had easily intercepted the means to restore the Blood Sect Member’s body, yet I could not rest easy.
The Murim Alliance I knew would, for the sake of their objectives, procure another spiritual medicine and bring it forth.
Moreover, there were those in this place harboring impure intentions.
Yet on the surface, they appeared virtuous, and not all who dwelled in this village were of such nature.
The villagers who had provided shelter for myself and the disciples of the Wudang Sect were ordinary residents.
Only I could discern the truth, and I possessed no means to prove my words.
Then there remained but one course of action.
I’ll deal with them when they make their move. After all, the term “caught in the act” exists for a reason.
The law recognizes those caught committing crimes in real time.
“Chirp! Chirp!”
Geumryeong’s eyes gleamed as he looked at me—the gaze of one seeking praise.
“Well done. You did good.”
“Chirp?”
I thought perhaps this time he’d work for free, but he wasn’t having it.
In this regard, he was remarkably thorough.
I reached into my pocket and produced a silver coin, which Geumryeong swallowed in one gulp.
We concluded our business and returned to the Wudang Sect.

The next morning.
I rose from my chamber and performed my breathing cultivation.
The spiritual essence of Wudang Mountain was so pure that the qi flowing through my cultivation felt remarkably clean and refined.
As I finished my breathing cultivation, I heard Lee Pil Warrior’s voice from outside.
“Young Master, it is time for breakfast.”
“Very well. I shall be right there.”

* * *

Jin Seon, the Sect Leader of the Wudang Sect, stood in a tall pavilion, gazing quietly down at the landscape below.
From atop this highest pavilion in the Wudang Sect, the entire vista spread before my eyes in a single sweeping view.
“Sect Leader.”
At the sound of that voice calling to him, he turned his head.
“Jin Jeong Elder.”
The person who approached him was Jin Jeong Elder.
“What troubles weigh upon you that you stand here?”
At that question, the Sect Leader responded with a hearty laugh.
“So you’ve come? Worried about me?”
“Of course I am.”
The Sect Leader’s Daoist name was Jin Seon.
That meant the Sect Leader and Jin Jeong Elder shared the same generation.
They were the same age and had walked together since childhood, so it was easy to tell.
Whenever Sect Leader Jin Seon had troubles on his mind, he had this habit of climbing to high places and gazing down at the world below.
Still, it was fortunate that as Sect Leader, he could not leave his post for long.
Before becoming Sect Leader, he would ascend to the highest peak of Wudang Mountain, and searching for him had been quite the ordeal.
“Have you taken your morning meal?”
“I have. And you, Elder? Have you eaten?”
“Yes.”
Jin Jeong Elder nodded and then asked carefully.
“So what troubles you, Sect Leader?”
The Sect Leader exhaled heavily and spoke.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Sir?”
“I’m leaving my post for this journey, and I don’t know why, but I feel deeply uneasy.”
Jin Jeong Elder patted his shoulder reassuringly.
“Still, nothing should go wrong. We are the Wudang Sect.”
“That’s true.”
This time, the Wudang Sect had to depart for the Jongnam Sect with the Sect Leader, several elders, and disciples from the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth generations.
It was because of the friendly martial arts tournament between the two sects.
The friendly martial arts tournament, which had begun long ago, was held every autumn.
Last autumn’s tournament was supposed to take place, but due to circumstances at the Jongnam Sect, the schedule was postponed, and the tournament was held in early spring instead.
So they had to depart for the Jongnam Sect soon.
Yet no matter how much I thought about it, something felt unsettling and anxious.
In truth, last night I had seen the Jinmu Emperor in my dreams.
Unlike my joy, the Jinmu Emperor’s expression was grave and stern.
That’s why I felt so uneasy.
A premonition that something ill would come to pass.
‘Could it be that the Jinmu Emperor appeared in my dream to warn me of something? Ah, now that I think about it…’
The Jinmu Emperor had told me:

“Trust that audacious Eun fellow.”

I had merely spoken those words, yet I couldn’t fathom what they truly meant.
The thick scent of blood that wafted alongside him.
It only deepened his unease.
‘Blood… that accursed Blood Sect Leader comes to mind.’
He wanted to kill him on the spot, but the Blood Sect Leader remained confined—a necessary evil.
As the Sect Leader’s thoughts turned to this matter, he questioned Jin Jeong Elder.
“That situation… it remains unchanged?”
Jin Jeong Elder understood the question and answered.
“It remains as it was.”
“To be honest, I am uneasy. Though I had no choice but to confine him, isn’t he like a hidden bomb that could detonate at any moment?”
“That is indeed the case.”
The Sect Leader fell silent for a moment, lost in thought, before asking Jin Jeong Elder again.
“Now that I think of it, I heard that Young Master Eun Seo-ho’s attendant was struck by a wooden sword from one of our disciples.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Fortunately, it seems the injury was not severe.”
“I granted him permission to tour the Wudang Sect since he wished to see it, but what a pity this turned out to be. His schedule must have been interrupted midway, no?”
“Would it not be so?”
“…Have you seen Young Master Eun Seo-ho?”
“Yes. I happened to see him, and despite his youth, I felt he possessed remarkable insight.”
“What occurred that gave you such an impression of his insight?”
“That was….”
Jin Jeong Elder recounted what he had witnessed and heard of Eun Seo-ho, and the Sect Leader listened with admiration, nodding thoughtfully.
“Such a thing happened? What a shame. His spirit was so clear, and to possess such insight as well! Had he become a disciple of our sect, he would have spread the Wudang name throughout the entire Central Plains!”
“I too wished it were so.”
Jin Jeong Elder also expressed his regret.
Had Eun Seo-ho not already mastered other martial arts, they would have invited him to join regardless of his age.
Both the Sect Leader and Jin Jeong Elder were masters who had reached the pinnacle of their cultivation.
Thus, they both recognized that Eun Seo-ho was already a supreme master in his own right.
Days ago, when Eun Seo-ho had made his donation and requested to tour the Wudang Sect, the Sect Leader harbored slight suspicions.
Yet upon observing him, he felt an astonishingly pure and pristine aura, and readily granted permission.
Now he understood who that audacious Eun fellow was—the one who had appeared in his dream and spoken with the Jinmu Emperor.
‘One who possesses such a pure and pristine aura… I can trust him.’
He spoke to Jin Jeong Elder.
“We should allow Young Master Eun Seo-ho a few more days to tour this place. And during my absence, I entrust this sect to your care.”
“Understood.”

* * *

We had finished our morning meal in the Guest Hall’s dining room and were savoring tea when the Baek-mun Hall Master suddenly appeared.
“I heard that last time, due to an accident, you weren’t able to tour the entire Main Compound.”
“Ah, yes, that’s correct.”
“The Sect Leader regretted this and has granted permission for you to tour the Main Compound for a few more days.”
“Is that truly the case? Honestly, I had resigned myself to letting it go.”
I had wanted to venture inside once more anyway.
No matter how I thought about it, there was certainly a collaborator from the Murim Alliance within the sect.
Only by finding that collaborator could I prevent the blood calamity.
Though I had seized the Divine Spirit Blessing Chamber, I couldn’t say the matter was completely resolved.

The person who came to guide us was someone I hadn’t seen before.
“I am Myeong Guk of the Hocheongdae. I’ve come under the Sect Leader’s orders to guide Young Master Eun Seo-ho and his party.”
“I am Eun Seo-ho, Small Guild Master of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
We donned permission badges around our necks and entered the Wudang Sect.
However, unlike usual, the grounds seemed to have an excited atmosphere about them.
“Today feels more vibrant than before.”
“It’s likely because of the martial arts tournament with the Jongnam Sect.”
“Does the tournament involve the twenty-fifth generation disciples?”
“Both the twenty-fifth and twenty-fourth generation disciples are participating.”
So that’s why a new person came to guide us instead of Gong Ryun Daojang.
Mu Un Daojang, being a twenty-sixth generation disciple, likely still had much to learn before taking on such duties.
“That’s why the Sect Leader and several elders are leading disciples to the Jongnam Sect.”
That statement resolved one of my questions.
In my previous life, I had wondered why the Wudang Sect couldn’t stop the rampaging Blood Sect member, and now I had my answer.
The Sect Leader and many of the sect’s masters had been away at the Jongnam Sect because of the tournament.
But then another doubt arose.
The incident in my previous life occurred in autumn, yet now it was already winter, well into the new year.
My confusion was resolved by Myeong Guk Daojang.
“The tournament is normally held in autumn, but this time it was delayed by several months due to matters at the Jongnam Sect.”
“I see.”
Then the Murim Alliance must have orchestrated a delay in the tournament’s schedule.
“That’s why the disciples have been training intensely, and because of such an atmosphere, it seems younger disciples have been sparring in unauthorized areas.”
“That’s certainly possible for their age.”
We toured primarily the areas we hadn’t seen before.
As we examined various places, we arrived at a pavilion.
“What is this place?”
“It’s where we honor the Jinmu Emperor. Please, come inside.”
We entered the pavilion and beheld a portrait hanging on the front wall.
A figure in black robes with a fierce countenance—the aura emanating from that portrait was strikingly similar to the aura I had felt in my dream.
Could the one who appeared in my dream truly have been the Jinmu Emperor?
Well, at least they won’t be committing fraud.
With such frivolous thoughts, I left that place and headed toward another pavilion.
.
.
.
After spending the entire afternoon touring the Wudang Sect, I hadn’t spotted anyone particularly suspicious.
Then again, if it had been easy to find, such things wouldn’t have happened in my previous life.
So I’d need to keep my focus on this place all day long.
I returned the permit badge hanging from my neck to Myeong Guk Master.
But he refused to take it.
“Please keep it with you.”
“Pardon? I was told it had to be returned the same day.”
“Normally that would be the case, but the Sect Leader has given special instructions. He said to keep it until he returns.”
“I see. Understood.”
I wondered if the Sect Leader somehow understood my intentions and had arranged this accordingly.
Myeong Guk Master cautioned me once more.
“Be careful not to lose that permit badge.”
Of course I’d be careful.
If I lost it, I wouldn’t be able to enter that place even if something happened.
“That permit badge doesn’t merely grant access—it authorizes you to carry weapons within Wudang Sect Territory.”
“…!”
The ability to carry weapons within Wudang Sect Territory held far greater significance than I’d realized.
I really needed to be careful not to lose this badge.

* * *

Screech! Screeeech!

The sound of a flute echoed through the chamber.
The Blood Sect Member—no, the Blood Sect Leader—opened his eyes.
At last, the moment had arrived.
He slowly recalled the incantations of the martial techniques he had mastered, turning them over in his mind.
Once his body recovered, he would be able to employ his martial arts immediately.
Screeeech.
Something different from usual was passed through the small opening where meals were delivered.
It was a golden fruit.
The Blood Sect Leader grinned wickedly. The elixir he had been promised had arrived before him as expected.
He picked up the golden fruit and swallowed it whole.
The fruit dissolved on his tongue, leaving only sweetness before vanishing without a trace.
At that very moment, the essence of the elixir began to circulate throughout his body.
He performed breathing exercises to absorb the elixir’s power.
Once his body was restored, he would shatter the chains binding him and demolish this cursed pavilion.
And he would utterly destroy the Wudang Sect.
He would begin his revenge against the Wudang Sect and the world that had imprisoned him here for twenty long years….
Gurgle.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, a sharp pain seized his abdomen.
Could it be…?

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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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