The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 171

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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 171

Chapter 171. In the Northern Sea (1)

The prestige of the title Censor was far greater than I had anticipated.
The investigation into Sambu Merchant Group was conducted with remarkable speed and breadth.
However, they would not face severe punishment. Jihyeon must have received considerable bribes from Sambu Merchant Group as well.
Unless the Emperor issued a direct command, they would receive only a moderate level of punishment and that would be the end of it.
Well, that much is sufficient.
After all, the real culprit lies elsewhere, and I merely dispersed attention.
Now it was time for me to slip away.
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.
“The road to the Northern Sea is quite treacherous, so please take care of yourself.”
At Bok Yun Sub-leader’s words filled with concern, I nodded with a smile.
“I shall do so. Please take care of yourself as well, Sub-leader Bok.”
“Do not worry. I have a tendency to be rather thorough in such matters.”
“That is something we share in common.”
I answered lightly with a laugh and glanced at the young boy beside him.
A familiar-looking face.
Bok Young, the younger brother of Bok Yun Sub-leader.
In my previous life, Bok Young became the Merchant Guild Leader.
I had heard he possessed deep scholarly knowledge.
However, unless he were to enter service at the Royal Court, such learning was not a necessary talent for a Merchant Guild Leader.
“Bok Young.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Are you perhaps interested in entering service at the Royal Court?”
“…Yes? How, how did you know that?”
“One can tell by observation. That said, there is an institution in Beijing called Apricot Flower Academy. Though it was only recently established, Great Scholars serve as instructors there. If you wish to pursue your studies, I would recommend enrolling there.”
His eyes sparkled at my suggestion.
As a merchant family’s son, he had received some mathematical education, making him precisely the type of talent the Emperor desired.
Should he gain the Emperor’s favor, it would be advantageous for Gwangjun Trading Company as well.
And from what I observed of Bok Yun Sub-leader, he was not the type to act recklessly even if his younger brother received the Emperor’s favor.
Bok Yun Sub-leader nodded.
“I shall take the initiative to promote this.”
“Very well.”
“And please accept this.”
He handed me a small horn carved from beast bone.
“What is this?”
“Should you encounter the nomadic tribes of the grasslands, this horn will prove invaluable. It serves as proof that you belong to our merchant company, and they will allow you to pass without incident.”
In other words, it was the company’s guarantee.
“You must return this horn to us.”
By requiring its return, Bok Yun Sub-leader ensured I would have to visit the Gwangjun Trading Company again—a subtle way of saying I must return safely.
Understanding his intention, I nodded.
“I understand. I will certainly return it to you.”
I placed it in my robes and took my leave.
“Then we shall depart.”
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.
While I could ride a horse, traversing the grasslands proved far more grueling than anticipated.
No matter how far we rode, the landscape remained an endless expanse of grass.
This was precisely why we needed to carry dried provisions and water.
We encountered nomadic peoples occasionally, and the horn Bok Yun Sub-leader had given me proved quite useful.
Rather than attacking us, they even shared water and food.
Yet there were times when the horn offered no protection, and we were forced to shed blood.
We could not simply allow ourselves to be robbed.
After days of travel across the grasslands, we finally arrived at the Northern Sea.
“From here onward, this is Northern Sea territory.”
At Jin Yu Warrior’s words, I nodded.
“I see.”
Even without his confirmation, I could tell we had reached the Northern Sea.
As we traveled northward, the temperature had grown increasingly bitter, and beyond this point, snow lay thick upon the ground.
“Hey, are you trying to cross into the Northern Sea right now?”
Turning at the sound of a voice calling to us, I saw a Fur-Clothed Middle-Aged Man regarding us intently.
“Pardon?”
“You’re heading toward the Northern Sea, aren’t you?”
“Ah, yes. That’s correct.”
Upon my straightforward affirmation, he furrowed his brow and spoke curtly.
“You must be mad to seek death.”
“….”
His harsh words left me bewildered.
“Stop wasting time and follow me.”
What is this? Such rudeness?
Ordering me to follow without explanation.
I stood momentarily stunned by his audacity when the man suddenly bellowed.
“Damn it! When I tell you to come, you come! Why are you so suspicious? You’ll freeze to death standing there. Move it!”
I exchanged glances with the Guard Warriors and followed him.
There was nothing repulsive about him, and his actions showed no malice.
Where he led us was a shelter constructed beneath the rock.
“Tie the horses inside.”
The place he pointed to was built like a nomadic dwelling.
“Bring whatever you need beforehand. You won’t be able to leave until tomorrow morning.”
After tying the horses inside and carrying our luggage out, the middle-aged man closed the door.
“This way.”
Upon entering the shelter beneath the rock, a campfire was burning with two men gathered around it.
One was a young man, the other appeared to be of similar age to the middle-aged man who had brought us here.
“Where did these guests suddenly come from?”
“They said they’re heading across to the Northern Sea, so I brought them along.”
“What, today of all days? This is driving me crazy.”
Their conversation held meanings I couldn’t quite grasp.
Seo-woo Warrior stepped forward and asked.
“The day is still bright—is there a reason we cannot cross to the Northern Sea today?”
“You really don’t know? Today is when the Seolpung wind blows.”
“Ah! Today is when the Seolpung wind blows?”
Jin Yu Warrior was startled at those words and bowed his head to me in apology.
“My sincerest apologies. I did not realize today was when the Seolpung wind blows… I nearly put my lord in grave danger.”
“Seolpung… wind?”
A familiar term.
It was the name of the fourth form of the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique I was learning.
And that martial art belonged to the Seolpung Palace.
The middle-aged man seated there offered an explanation.
“On days when the Seolpung wind blows, it’s best not to cross into the Northern Sea. If you’re swept up in a violent snowstorm, you won’t be able to see even an inch ahead, and if you encounter the swirling snowflakes amid that chaos, you may fall into illusions and lose your way.”
The fifth form of the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique is snowflakes.
“Before you know it, you’ll sink into the snow swamp and be unable to escape.”
Snow swamp, the snow abyss.
The sixth form.
“If you’re caught in the accumulating snow in that state, well, you simply freeze to death.”
The second form, heavy snow.
Though I had not yet witnessed the exact phenomena of the Seolpung wind they described, listening to their explanation made me wonder if the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique was created based on the natural phenomena of the Northern Sea.
“That’s why experienced hunters like us simply stay holed up like this when the Seolpung wind comes.”
“I see.”
So the man who brought us here, though his manner was discourteous, had brought us here out of goodwill.
I cupped my fist in gratitude toward them.
“We are grateful for your assistance.”
“Think nothing of it. Everyone helps each other survive out here. It’s too harsh a place to survive otherwise.”
“But I sensed no particular warning signs—how did you know the Seolpung wind was coming?”
“That’s difficult to explain. It’s just experience.”
Jin Yu Warrior added an explanation.
“That’s right. I could sense it originally too, but it’s been quite some time since I left the Northern Sea, so I’ve lost the feel for it.”
“Then Seolpung has no particular cycle?”
“Well, not really. Still, around this time it comes once every fortnight or so. But once autumn arrives, there’s no regularity to speak of.”
“I see.”
So that’s why Master said we had to return before autumn arrived.
The middle-aged man who had guided us spoke.
“So how long are you planning to stand there? Sit down. My neck hurts.”
“Ah, yes.”
Once we found suitable spots and sat, he asked.
“Do you have food with you?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then eat on your own. Our supplies are running short too.”
Though his grumbling tone made me wonder, I actually felt reassured.
It seemed they deliberately weren’t offering food because they understood the situation themselves.
Just then, the middle-aged hunter sitting before the campfire asked.
“Say, that… what is it… um…”
Why was he suddenly stammering?
“Could that be a woman disguised as a man…? Ahem, a woman in male disguise?”
“Pardon?”
“No, it’s just… your face is so pretty that you look just like a woman.”
I was momentarily flustered by his words. But then…
“Our young master is simply quite handsome, so I understand the misunderstanding.”
At Palgap’s words, the Guard Warriors nodded, which embarrassed me.
The middle-aged hunter apologized with an awkward expression.
“You’re a man. Sorry for the misunderstanding.”
“Not at all. But why did you think so?”
“This year is the first time in ten years that the Northern Sea Ice Palace opens its gates.”
“Has it already been that long?”
Jin Yu Warrior’s eyes grew complicated as he explained to us.
“The Northern Sea Ice Palace accepts female disciples between the ages of five and fifteen once every ten years. This is what we call the opening of the Northern Sea Ice Palace’s gates.”
“I see.”
“So among those who come knocking on the Northern Sea Ice Palace’s doors with guards like yourselves, quite a few women disguise themselves as men to avoid unnecessary trouble.”
“So that’s why you misunderstood.”
But something seemed odd.
“Um, but didn’t you say the Northern Sea Ice Palace accepts female disciples only up to fifteen years old? I’m about to turn twenty.”
“…”
In that moment, a chill descended as if Seolpung itself were blowing through, and a heavy silence fell.
“Ah, well… yes.”
“It seems it was quite a while.”
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.
.
Whiiing—!
Uuuung—!
Shrieeek—!
The sound of the wind rushing in resembled a master swordsman ceaselessly wielding his blade.
“The wind sounds quite menacing.”
At Yeo Eung-am Warrior’s words, Jin Yu Warrior nodded.
“Indeed. It’s not without reason that even the people of the Northern Sea avoid the Seolpung.”
“With winds like these, one’s life would truly be in danger.”
The Hunter answered Lee Pil Warrior’s remark.
“For ordinary people, yes. I’ve only heard my father speak of it, never witnessed it myself, but the martial masters of Seolpung Palace could move freely even within such winds, or so I’ve heard.”
“What? Seolpung Palace?”
“Ah, you’re hearing of it for the first time, it seems. That makes sense. It was such a reclusive place, after all.”
“The masters of that place were beings who commanded the Seolpung of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
The two hunters spoke enthusiastically about that place.
According to their explanation, Seolpung Palace was composed of beings who commanded the Seolpung of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, and it was a place that dealt with the harmful spirit creatures of the Northern Sea and served as the guardian of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
“It must have been an extraordinary place.”
“Indeed. It was called Seolpung Palace precisely because it was the place that commanded that Seolpung.”
Master had never explained this in detail to me, yet here I was hearing such an explanation.
“But then, if I may ask…”
At that moment, Palgap posed a question to them.
“Why do you speak of Seolpung Palace in the past tense?”
The hunter who had brought us here answered.
“Because it no longer exists.”
“What?”
“It was annihilated. By the Demonic Cult.”
I glanced at Jin Yu Warrior’s expression.
His expression upon hearing that story was difficult to describe in words.
Regret? Fury? Pride?
A complex and subtle expression that defied easy definition.
Upon seeing that look, a single thought suddenly occurred to me.
Could Jin Yu Warrior possibly be a survivor of Seolpung Palace?

Throughout the night, fierce winds battered the hut relentlessly, and I found myself wondering if it might actually be torn away.
The Hunter who had brought us here seemed to read the concern on our faces.
“Worried the hut might blow away?”
“Ah, yes….”
“Though it looks flimsy, it’s far sturdier than it appears. Rest assured and get some sleep.”
“Ah, yes.”
We took turns catching what sleep we could.
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.
.
A man walked across the snow-covered plain.
A young nobleman in his twenties.
Though I had never seen him before, there was something strangely familiar about him.
He stopped in his tracks.
Before him, a fierce blizzard raged.
He drew his sword.
The white blade was equally strange in its familiarity.
In that moment, his hair turned white.
The sword cut lightly through the blizzard, and simultaneously, a path opened within the fierce winds that seemed to permit no one passage.
The man walked into it with ease, untouched by even a single gust.
He stopped again and turned toward me, opening his mouth to speak.
What?
“Young Master! Breakfast is ready. Young Master.”
I heard Palgap’s voice.
As I opened my eyes, I saw not the snow-covered plain, but the interior of a shabby hut.
Ah, it was just a dream.
I heard Seo-woo Warrior’s voice.
“When you add dried meat powder like this, it brings out even more savory depth.”
“Ah!”
“Please, try some.”
Excellent! Remarkable!”
“You there! Did you train as a chef somewhere?”
“Father! This is truly delicious.”
As I regarded the scene with puzzlement, Palgap explained.
“Last night, as thanks for lending us the hut, Seo-woo Warrior prepared breakfast for us.”
“I see.”
I nodded and recalled the words of the man from my dream.
Surely… he said he would wait there, didn’t he?

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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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