The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 173

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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 173

Chapter 173. In the Northern Sea (3)

His words made me tense without thinking.
But showing too much agitation would seem suspicious, so I forced myself to appear calm and asked.
“May I ask why you think so?”
“It’s strange how calm the winds of the Northern Sea are right now. It was like this when I walked here with my old friend.”
“Perhaps the heavens look favorably upon me.”
I neither affirmed nor denied his question, instead offering a vague response.
My Master had instructed me to conceal my connection to Snowwind Palace as much as possible, but having learned the Taiyin Ice-Sea Divine Art and the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique from him, I couldn’t claim to have no connection to Snowwind Palace.
Yet denying that connection would feel disrespectful to my Master.
I needed to be careful nonetheless.
Since this man had once met a disciple of Snowwind Palace, Geumryeong would likely recognize me as well.
Thus we continued deeper toward the heart of the Northern Sea.
The sensation of riding across the snow-covered plain felt peculiar.
The Girl’s Father who traveled with us spoke.
“In truth, the Northern Sea faces great hardship from the blizzards, but the spirit creatures that occasionally appear are also a problem.”
“Now that you mention it, I heard from the hunters that there are malevolent spirit creatures?”
“That’s correct. About ten years ago, their frequency of appearance increased dramatically. Though when Snowwind Palace was still thriving, it was somewhat less severe.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“Ah, my explanation was incomplete. Originally, Snowwind Palace, along with the Northern Sea Ice Palace, worked to exterminate the malevolent spirit creatures of the Northern Sea. With a single blade capable of wielding the north wind and bitter snow freely, the creatures feared them.”
He continued his explanation.
“Now the Northern Sea Ice Palace alone handles the extermination of malevolent spirit creatures, but it seems they are clearly overwhelmed by the task.”
“I see.”
That was when it happened.
In the distance, people were rushing toward us.
“Save us!”
Those crying out were drenched in blood, and a white leopard was chasing them from behind.
Seeing this, the Girl’s Father drew his blade and shouted.
“Red eyes! It’s a Red-Eyed Snow Leopard!”
The snow leopard was white like snow itself, but both its eyes were a vivid crimson.
At his words, I dismounted and spoke.
“It appears to be a malevolent spirit creature.”
“Indeed. Normally, snow leopards feed on the essence of snow, but when they begin to crave blood, their eyes turn red like that. From that point on, they are no longer sacred animals. They become nothing but demons.”
Then Seo-woo Warrior spoke.
“It’s coming this way.”
I too drew my Silver Blade.
Though the Silver Shadowblade is the symbolic sword of Seolpung Palace, I was told it changes form depending on the wielder, so there’s no issue using it here.
I was drawing steadily closer to the Red-Eyed Snow Leopard.
But then,
Screeeeeech—!
Huh?
I heard something that sounded like it had stopped abruptly just now.
Screeeech?
Could an animal even make a sound like that?
As if it had braked with desperate force, smoke billowed from the Red-Eyed Snow Leopard’s paws.
Then it tucked its tail and began fleeing in panic.
Why was it so flustered all of a sudden?
We quickly snapped to attention and gave chase.
Lee Pil Warrior hurled a throwing blade at the Red-Eyed Snow Leopard.
The blade struck true, and as its speed began to wane, Seo-woo Warrior and Jin Yu Warrior unleashed sword energy toward the creature.
Whoosh—!
Shriek—!
In the end, the Red-Eyed Snow Leopard fell.
One might ask whether it was truly necessary to pursue and kill a fleeing beast so relentlessly.
But such a question only arises from ignorance of Spirit Creatures.
Spirit Creatures are animals that have lived for countless ages, and their obsession runs extraordinarily deep.
Once they’ve marked prey, they watch and wait, striking whenever opportunity presents itself.
In other words, if we didn’t eliminate it here, we could be hunted at any moment.
We burned the Red-Eyed Snow Leopard’s corpse.
I considered skinning it to sell, but I’ve heard that the hides of demonic beasts invite calamity, so I refrained.
In the meantime, I approached those who had been fleeing.
“Are you unharmed?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Thank you for helping us.”
A young girl and a young man bowed their heads in gratitude. They bore a resemblance that suggested they were siblings.
Something about them seemed familiar.
“We owe our lives to you.”
“It seems you were also heading toward the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“Yes, we were.”
The young man nodded, then asked carefully.
“May I ask where you are headed?”
It was the girl’s father who answered the question.
“We are heading to the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“Ah!”
The young man quickly cupped his fist and spoke.
“I’m terribly sorry, but… the Pyoguk escort warrior who was protecting us was killed by the Red-Eyed Snow Leopard.”
“How terrible…”
“So, would it be alright if we traveled together?”
At those words, the Girl’s Father looked at me, and I nodded.
“Let us do so.”
And so we set out once more, during which we discovered the corpse of the Escort Master who had been protecting them.
Upon seeing two bodies brutally slain not far from where we stood, Seo-woo Warrior spoke with a sorrowful voice.
“They appear to be warriors from the Pungju Escort Bureau.”
The Young Man answered.
“That’s right. They died trying to save us…”
The clothes they wore looked familiar. The Pungju Escort Bureau—I knew of that place.
“Could you spare us some time? I wish to cremate their bodies.”
“Of course.”
Since Seo-woo Warrior had once been an escort master himself, this did not feel like someone else’s tragedy.
I, too, felt the same way, given my deep ties to the escort bureaus.
The ones who had frozen to death in the snowstorm earlier remained intact, so we had left them as they were.
But corpses like these, torn and mauled with blood scattered about, would attract other beasts, and they would be devoured.
We gathered any personal effects and identification tokens from their bodies, then cremated them.
We collected the ashes into a single urn and handed it to the Young Man.
“When you return, please deliver these to the Pungju Escort Bureau.”
At those words, the Young Man bit his lip and answered.
“I will.”
It seemed he had grown quite close to the fallen escort masters.
Still, with the escort masters who were to protect them now dead, the return journey would be problematic. They didn’t appear to have much means.
I handed him silver coins.
“Use this for travel expenses on your way back.”
“No, I cannot accept this after being saved. It would be wrong.”
“But if you don’t return safely, how will the ashes and personal effects reach their families?”
Only then did the Young Man accept the money I offered.
When receiving an escort request from the bureau, the escort fee was paid in two installments.
Half before departure, half upon arrival.
If the escort was interrupted midway, the fee remained only what was paid initially.
And when an escort master died like this, only a modest condolence payment was given to them.
I had heard that some unscrupulous escort bureaus even demanded compensation from the escort master’s family for damages.

And so we set out once more.
Somehow, our party had grown by five members. As I glanced at them, Jin Yu Warrior sent me a telepathic message.
– Are you perhaps concerned that they might interfere with your plans?
– Not at all.
I shook my head slightly.
– If I couldn’t manage it, I would have refused their company from the start.
Besides, we won’t be traveling together for that long anyway.
Since there was little problem with it, I simply extended a small gesture of goodwill.
– Please don’t worry too much. We’re nearly at the entrance to the Northern Sea Ice Palace now. There are guides there.
– Guides?
– Yes. Reaching the entrance to the Northern Sea Ice Palace means you’ve proven yourself worthy of entry. And without a guide, you cannot enter the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
Hearing that message, I glanced sideways.
The Girl Met Last Night and the Rescued Girl had become friendly and were chatting about this and that.
Watching them chatter away like that, I felt something strangely peculiar.

We stopped briefly for lunch, then set out again.
After walking for several more hours.
An inn appeared in the distance.
Seeing the massive inn that reached about eight stories high, I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.
An inn in a place like this?
Not only I but the others wore bewildered expressions, yet only Jin Yu Warrior and the Girl’s Father remained composed.
“We’ve finally arrived.”
“Pardon?”
“That is our destination.”
At the Girl’s Father’s words, Yeo Eung-am Warrior asked.
“Are you saying that is the Northern Sea Ice Palace?”
“No. It would be more accurate to call it the entrance to the Ice Palace. We’ll rest there for a moment, then enter the Ice Palace under the guidance of a guide. And….”
He spoke as if sighing.
“It is the only place where men can stay within the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
At those words, the young girl looked at him. Knowing they would soon part, her eyes were filled with the sorrow of parting.
So this is where the real farewell begins.
Soon we arrived at that inn.
It was a magnificent inn bearing a plaque that read [Ice Palace Inn].
“Welcome.”
The moment we arrived, two men who looked identical, like twins, rushed out to greet us.
“We’re glad you’ve arrived safely.”
“Leave the talking to us and come inside.”
“We’re not actually going to the Northern Sea Ice Palace, but may we still stay here?”
At my question, they answered readily.
“Of course.”
“Our inn does not discriminate against guests.”
“But we do turn away those who are not guests.”
I pressed further with another question.
“And who exactly are those who are not guests?”
“Those in rut like animals, or those starving for blood—they are not guests.”
Their faces turned momentarily fierce at those words, but soon softened back into courteous smiles.
“Please, come in.”
“If you are a true guest, welcome to the safest inn in the Northern Sea.”
I glanced at Jin Yu Warrior, and he nodded.
It meant we could rest here without concern.
“Then let us take our rest here.”
Our party entered the inn, and I was immediately taken aback.
The interior was remarkably refined and luxurious.
Beautiful women dressed in pristine white robes moved busily about, attending to their duties.
Every one of them radiated considerable inner strength—they must all be disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
“Welcome.”
The woman seated at the counter rose and greeted us with courtesy.
The room rates were comparable to other inns in the Central Plains.
“And we do not charge for the room of anyone entering the palace.”
“I see.”
“Tomorrow happens to be when those entering the palace are admitted inside, so you may travel with them.”
As we were completing the lodging procedures, a woman’s voice called out from behind.
“Yeon Rang?”
At that voice, the Girl’s Father turned his head, and our gazes followed toward her.
A woman of considerable beauty.
Appearing to be in her twenties, he answered her with a trembling voice.
“It has been a long time.”
“You kept your promise.”
“I did.”
He looked at his daughter with complicated eyes as he spoke.
“Greet her. She is your mother.”
.
.
.
That night.
I descended to the First Floor for a moment.
Though it was an hour when everyone should have been asleep, the Girl’s Father sat alone, nursing a cup of wine.
“Why are you not with your daughter?”
“Ah.”
Some might call it needless meddling, but for a merchant, such concern is entirely natural.
Small connections like these can become great help in the future.
Besides, approaching others without hesitation is also a virtue of a merchant.
He sighed lightly and spoke.
“She’s likely with her mother right now.”
“The person we saw earlier—you said she was your mother?”
I sat before him and naturally continued the conversation, and he nodded.
“Yes, I first met Hyun-i’s Mother at Seolpung Palace.”
Since he mentioned earlier that a disciple of Seolpung Palace was his old friend, it must have been from that time.
“Seolpung Palace maintained a very close relationship with the Northern Sea Ice Palace. And Northern Sea Ice Palace regularly sends disciples to Seolpung Palace to patrol this region together.”
“I see.”
“We fell in love during that time, and through that connection, Hyun-i was born.”
….
“However, as you may know, children under five years old cannot enter the Northern Sea Ice Palace. It is law.”
“So the Great Hero has been raising her.”
“That is correct. And Hyun-i must become a disciple of the Northern Sea Ice Palace. That is… the law, which is why I brought her here.”
Is there a law that daughters born of women from the Northern Sea Ice Palace must become disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace?
“Then this child is seeing her mother for the first time now?”
“Essentially, yes. She can live with her mother for about a year, but that is not a time the child will remember. After a year, we must part.”
Such a heartless law left a bitter taste in my mouth.
The sorrow of having to send away the child one has given birth to because of the organization’s laws—it must be no different from having one’s very entrails torn asunder.
But there is something puzzling.
“Yet when children meet their mother for the first time at such a young age, they usually seem awkward or shy. But I detected no such hesitation in Hyun-i.”
“Ah, that is…”
He smiled.
“It must be because I have always told her that Hyun-i’s Mother cherishes and thinks of her greatly, and that though circumstances keep their bodies apart, she is always longing for Hyun-i and desperately wishes to meet her.”
He truly is a wonderful father.
At those words, I found myself smiling faintly.
But then, a sudden curiosity arose.

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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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