The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 170

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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 170

Chapter 170. Bok Yun (3)

The small dining table that Palgap hurled struck him from behind, and seizing that opening, my guards rushed forward and pressed their blades against his throat.
The situation was over.
I rushed to Palgap.
“Are you alright? No dizziness or nausea?”
The quick-witted Palgap understood my meaning and answered.
“Thanks to the antidote you gave me earlier, Young Master, I’m fine.”
We merchants never know when we might fall victim to treachery.
So I always carried a small supply of antidotes, and I had given Palgap an appropriate one.
The assassin who had been working covertly as Bok Yun’s attendant was dragged away, and we returned to the inn.
Since Bok Yun Sub-leader was also staying at the same inn, he returned with us. The Gwangjun Trading Company was located a day or two’s journey from the inn, but he had come to this area on business.

That night.
When I came down to the first floor of the inn, I found Bok Yun Sub-leader sitting there. Beside him, a guard was watching him with pitying eyes.
“Are you well?”
As I approached and asked carefully, he shook his head heavily.
“Well… if I said I was, it would be a lie. Perhaps because it was a betrayal by someone I trusted, it stings more than I expected.”
I understand that feeling all too well.
In my previous life, there was a guard who had betrayed me.
Now it seemed the time had come to repay that karma.
“Still, I must offer my thanks.”
He rose from his seat and cupped his fist in salute to me.
“Today, thanks to you, Eun Small Merchant Leader, I was able to save my life. Had you not exposed my attendant’s true identity, I would surely be dead. I thank you again. I will repay this debt without fail.”
He then lowered his head.
“And I apologize that my attendant was poisoned because of me.”
“It simply happened that way. So please don’t trouble yourself over it. Besides, he didn’t consume much poison, so he’s already made a complete recovery.”
“How can he have recovered so quickly from poison?”
“He’s an exceptionally sturdy fellow.”
He let out a hollow laugh and sat down, then spoke with a grave expression.
“The assassins targeting me are not just one or two. I don’t understand what value my death holds that they’re being so persistent.”
“….”
“Po-du just left. The assassin we captured confessed that my real attendant is already dead.”
That was the real reason Bok Yun Sub-leader had been sitting here looking so dejected.
“I’m so sorry he died because of me. If I hadn’t taken him as my attendant, this wouldn’t have happened…”
Though I understood his feelings, I pulled up a chair and sat before him, hoping he wouldn’t dwell on it too much.
Creak.
“If we’re being technical, there’s hardly anything in this world one shouldn’t apologize for. The assassin who harmed an innocent attendant should be the one apologizing—not Bok Yun Sub-leader.”
“….”
“So steel yourself. If you collapse here, you’ll only dishonor the attendant who died first.”
He nodded at my words.
“You’re right. Eun Small Merchant Leader speaks truth.”
His eyes gleamed with renewed vitality.
Yes, if he’s to become my old friend, he needs to be made of sterner stuff than this.
“To be honest, I’ve held back all this time because I disliked escalating matters, but continuing this way will only multiply the sacrifices of those beneath me.”
For Bok Yun Sub-leader, this incident seemed to be the catalyst he needed to break through something.
I posed a question to him.
“Do you have any suspicions about who might be responsible?”
“Of course.”
He nodded gravely.
It was likely either a rival within the merchant guild itself, or one of the competing merchant groups.
From here on, it was his burden to bear.
“I hope the matter resolves favorably.”
“Thank you.”
He clasped his fist in gratitude and shifted the conversation.
“By the way, you’re heading to the Northern Sea, I hear.”
“That’s correct.”
He remembered what I’d mentioned at the tavern earlier.
“Our business here is concluded, and we’re preparing to return to our main house. It happens to lie along the route to the Northern Sea—would you consider traveling with us?”
Even having visited Liaoning, I didn’t know it as well as a local would.
In such circumstances, Bok Yun Sub-leader’s proposal was a reasonable one.
Of course, those troublesome assassins would likely make appearances, but swatting flies was simple enough.

The next morning.
We departed from the inn.
Traveling by carriage alongside Bok Yun Sub-leader, I found myself growing closer to him with each passing mile.
And I gleaned quite a bit of useful information along the way.
For instance, what precautions to take when encountering nomadic peoples, or how to find one’s way if lost in the grasslands—such practical knowledge.
He truly lived up to his station as a sub-leader of a merchant guild that maintained intimate relations with the nomadic tribes.
Our journey together was drawing to a close.
“That is the Gwangjun Trading Company.”
“I see. Quite an impressive scale.”
“Yes, since we primarily deal in horses, we require considerable space.”
Bok Yun Sub-leader nodded with a smile, and indeed, the scale of the merchant guild visible from atop the hill was staggering.
“So that’s why your main headquarters is located here, away from the bustling city centers.”
“Precisely. The land is cheaper, and it’s easier to procure feed for the horses.”
Bok Yun Sub-leader invited us to spend the night, and I readily accepted.
After traveling together this far, it would have been awkward to refuse, and besides, I had no desire to sleep under the stars.

Upon entering the main headquarters of Gwangjun Trading Company, we met Bok Im-gil, the Merchant Guild Leader and Bok Yun Sub-leader’s father.
“Oh! Who might this be? Isn’t this Eun Seo-ho, the sub-leader of Eunhae Trading Company?”
“Yes, I trust you have been well.”
We had met before at a gathering in Luoyang, so he remembered me.
He answered with a hearty laugh.
“I’ve been doing splendidly. My son sent word ahead of your arrival. I must express my gratitude once more.”
“Not at all. It was merely good fortune.”
“Haha, still as humble as ever, I see. But what brings you from Hubei all the way here?”
“In truth, I was en route to the Northern Sea.”
“The Northern Sea?”
He wore a puzzled expression but asked no further questions.
He understood that such matters were not to be probed too deeply.
“It must have been a grueling journey. Do rest comfortably here before you depart.”
“Thank you.”
Bok Im-gil instructed an attendant to show my party and me to our quarters.
Following the attendant, I felt grateful that I would sleep well tonight.
Things were about to become far more interesting.
Now that Bok Yun Sub-leader had safely arrived at the main headquarters, a direct confrontation with whoever had commissioned his assassination was inevitable.
Soon enough, they would realize they had awakened a sleeping tiger.

* * *

Bok Im-gil discussed matters with Bok Yun in his office.
“I’m relieved you’re safe.”
“The Eun Small Merchant Leader’s assistance was invaluable.”
“Yes, so you said. But how did you come to meet the Eun Small Merchant Leader?”
Bok Yun explained the entire sequence of events to his father.
“I see.”
“Father, have you met the Eun Small Merchant Leader before?”
“I encountered him at the last Top Hundred Merchant Guilds gathering. If I’m not mistaken, he’s the only one who managed to keep the silver token in this competition.”
“You mean that silver token?”
Bok Yun, having attended the gathering himself, understood just how difficult it was to preserve the silver token.
He had attended only a couple of times before, and each occasion he had failed to keep it.
“Yes, he’s a remarkable man. Do your best to maintain a good relationship with him.”
“We’ve already grown closer on the way here. It’s my first time meeting someone my age with whom conversation flows so naturally.”
“Hmm, is that so? When I saw him before, he didn’t seem like someone who opens his heart easily. It appears he’s taken quite a liking to you.”
“I’m fortunate. I’ve taken a liking to him as well.”
At Bok Yun’s sincere smile, Bok Im-gil let out a soft chuckle.
“By the way, I’ve discovered who was behind the attempt on your life.”
“I think I know as well.”
“Who do you suspect?”
“The Sambu Merchant Group, isn’t it?”
“Correct.”
They were a merchant guild operating in the same Liaoning region, and their primary commodity was also horses.
However, their origins were somewhat different—they had begun as three Black Path members who had fled from afar.
They had grown rapidly and threatened the position of the Gwangjun Trading Company. But the ambitious venture they had recently pursued failed against the Gwangjun Trading Company.
That humiliation to the Sambu Merchant Leader’s pride must have driven them to such ruthlessness.
“The assassin who targeted me confessed. He said they would pay one hundred gold taels for my life.”
“Only those with such financial resources and reason to persistently target you would be capable of this.”
“Indeed. No one understands the terror of the Black Path quite like those who came from it.”
“Exactly. It’s precisely the sort of thing those dogs would do.”
Merchants refrain from employing such cowardly assassination tactics because the consequences are severe.
How could anyone trust the goods of a merchant who would dispatch assassins to harm their competitors at the slightest provocation?
But the Sambu Merchant Group, being of Black Path origin, seemed to believe that as long as they weren’t caught, anything was permissible.
“I have no intention of letting this matter rest. They will pay the appropriate price for their actions.”

* * *

That afternoon.
I ventured out with my Guard Warriors.
Since the Gwangjun Trading Company’s main headquarters was located here, a marketplace had naturally formed.
Whenever I visited a village, surveying the marketplace and analyzing the commercial landscape was both my habit and my passion.
“Palgap, let’s go.”
“Yes, sir.”
I had worried that Palgap might hold a grudge over the previous incident, but fortunately he understood the situation.
In fact, he was grateful that I had saved him.
I set out to the marketplace with my Guard Warriors, and the Gwangjun Trading Company assigned one of their warriors to serve as our guide.
“That is the largest marketplace in this village.”
“I see.”
Being a frontier region with less than ideal weather, necessities like paper and grain were reasonably priced.
“The silk made from wild silkworms is truly exquisite.”
“Of course. But it comes at a price.”
Wild silkworm silk is considered the highest grade among all silks.
Because it comes from wild species, production is limited, yet it is far more durable and lustrous than cultivated silk.
Of course, it is extraordinarily expensive.
That is why wild silkworm brocade from Sichuan is so dreadfully costly.
Thus, they bring wild silkworm silk from here to sell, and even accounting for transportation costs, the wild silkworm silk here is cheaper than Sichuan brocade.
As we exchanged various remarks while surveying the marketplace, I heard a telepathic message from Seo-woo Warrior.
– Someone is tailing us.
And then came a telepathic message from Jin Yu Warrior.
– They don’t appear to be assassins, but there are definitely people following us.
I had already sensed it myself.
The stench of the Black Path was unmistakable.
It seemed they had attached themselves to us ever since we left the Gwangjun Trading Company’s main gate.
I grew curious about their true purpose.
I deliberately turned into a narrow alley, and at some point, a group of men stood before us.
One of them stepped forward and cupped his fist in salute.
“Are you Eun Seo-ho, the Small Merchant Guild Leader? There is someone who wishes to meet with you briefly.”
“Who is this person?”
“You will know once you meet them.”
“Tell them to come themselves.”
At my words, the group erupted in anger.
“How insolent!”
“Does everyone who calls in this harsh world expect you to come without question?”
Our superior ordered us to bring you by any means necessary. You are the one who drank the poisoned wine.”
At the same moment, they drew their weapons.
Clang—!
Clang, clang—!
Since they drew their weapons first, we didn’t hesitate either.
But what about them?
We had three peak-stage warriors on our side.
.
.
.
Moments later,
all those who had surrounded us were sprawled across the ground.
“….”
The warrior who had accompanied us as our guide stood with his mouth agape.
“Are you surprised?”
He carefully nodded, and I chuckled softly before speaking.
“Still, please don’t spread word of this.”
“Ah, understood.”
“We’ll be staying here, so please report this to the County Office.”
At my words, he immediately rushed toward the County Office.
In the meantime, I kicked the ribs of one of those lying on the ground.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
“Now then, how about you answer? Who sent you?”
“….”
“Would you like to taste a blade through your ribs?”
“….”
Words wouldn’t work.
I gestured to Jin Yu Warrior, and he drew his sword, pressing it against the man’s ribs.
Then the man trembled and confessed.
“It’s… it’s the Merchant Guild Leader of the Sambu Merchant Group.”
The Sambu Merchant Group… I remember them.
In my past life, when the Gwangjun Trading Company withdrew from the Top Hundred Merchant Guilds, they were the ones who newly entered at the lowest rank.
I had disliked their methods for being crude, and now I understood why.
Having so many Black Path warriors under their command meant the Sambu Merchant Group was also part of the Black Path.
They would eventually be exposed by Bok Yun Sub-leader anyway, but now they had touched me.
So offering my assistance wasn’t overstepping.
Shortly after,
Po-du arrived leading the constables, arrested them, and dragged them to the County Office.
I also headed to the County Office with them.
And I showed Jihyeon my credentials as an Imperial Censor, speaking.
“This matter will be reported to the Emperor.”
That alone was sufficient.
My actions were not an overreach. The Emperor himself had told me to be his faithful eyes and ears.
Since it’s already in my hands, I might as well use it well, wouldn’t you say?
Besides, they’re not worth dirtying our hands over.

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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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