The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 186

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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 186

Chapter 186. Ice Sea Water Severing Technique (2)

I exhaled a long sigh.
Suddenly, the image of the Ancestor as I had seen him in the Northern Sea surfaced in my mind.

“If the successor does not master this, the martial arts of Snowwind Palace will be lost forever.”

And there were even tears in his eyes.
How pathetic.
Damn it, I have no choice.
If not me, the true martial arts of Snowwind Palace will vanish forever.
I never knew my heart could be so weak.
As I examined the traces revealed on the rocky terrain, I could see the footprints left when walking through the water while wielding the Ice Sea Water Severing Technique.
Strictly speaking, they were footprints of the Traceless Step Method, but due to the unique environment of water and the Ice Sea Water Severing Technique, they differed slightly from the standard Traceless Step Method.
I should try walking across the rocky terrain while wielding the Ice Sea Water Severing Technique.
The moment my foot touched the final footprint.
“…!”
My vision inverted in an instant, and I was transported to an entirely different place.
But this time, I was not startled.
This cavern was far too familiar to me.
“I’ve come here again.”
“Kwui! Kwui!”
At the familiar sound, I looked down at my feet to find Geumryeong tapping my foot with her front paws.
“You came too?”
Now that I thought about it, Geumryeong had entered the water with me.
Thanks to that, I had discovered something.
Geumryeong could move and breathe freely even underwater.
But why did she keep touching my foot?
“Do you have something to tell me?”
“Kwui!”
“What is it?”
Geumryeong scurried off in some direction, then turned back to look at me.
Her eyes seemed to ask why I wasn’t following.
Fine, let’s go.
Following Geumryeong, I arrived at the place where I had previously discovered the secret manual of the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique in the Northern Sea.
This time, a different secret manual lay there.
The Ice Sea Transformation Heart Method and the Ice Sea Water Severing Technique.
Two secret manuals.
“So I have to master both of these to leave this place, correct?”
Geumryeong nodded at my question.
I smiled bitterly and sat in the center of the cavern, unrolling the manual.
.
.
.
When I opened my eyes, the surroundings had transformed into a snow-covered plain….
“Huh?”
No, that wasn’t it. The place where I stood was a massive sheet of ice.
In other words, I was standing atop an iceberg.
“Welcome, child.”
When I turned my head, my Ancestor was already standing behind me.
I clasped my fist and bowed respectfully.
“I greet you, Ancestor.”
My Ancestor nodded, accepting my salutation, and spoke.
“You’ve returned sooner than expected.”
“It is all thanks to your meticulous arrangements, Ancestor.”
“Well, you’re not wrong. Without my exceptional insight, I wouldn’t have been able to design such detailed preparations.”
I was slightly taken aback by his blatant self-praise.
Seeing my reaction, my Ancestor asked with a puzzled expression.
“Why are you taken aback? Surely you don’t think I shouldn’t speak of my own excellence?”
“Well… typically, such things are said by those around a person, not by the person themselves, are they not?”
“If I know that I am excellent, why should I need to borrow another’s words?”
“…I see.”
Then, a question suddenly occurred to me.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“When I learned the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique, I had to unfold its first form to enter this realm.”
“That’s right.”
“And this time, I unfolded the Ice Sea Water Severing Technique to enter here and learn the water technique.”
I continued.
“But those are the only martial arts I know. So how am I to access the other things you’ve left behind?”
My Ancestor smiled knowingly at my question.
“Do you think I haven’t arranged for that as well?”
“Then could you tell me how many more arrangements remain?”
“I would like to tell you, but I cannot.”
“What?”
My Ancestor clicked his tongue.
“I designed the arrangement myself, but that Fastidious One said there needed to be some kind of ‘restriction’ so the Higher Authorities wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.”
So it was a restriction like the Heavenly Secret—something he couldn’t reveal to me.
“Anyway, do you have any other questions? We’re running out of time. If you don’t master this within the time limit, things will become difficult.”
“What?”
“The iceberg you’re standing on right now is collapsing.”
Damn.
Nothing’s ever easy.

* * *

Dongjeong Lake.
Palgap sat on a tree stump, gazing out at the lake.
His master, Eun Seo-ho, was currently inside Dongjeong Lake.
‘Really, what hardships Young Master must endure….’
Though winter hadn’t yet arrived, the weather was still too cold to enter the water.
He’d come here because Eun Seo-ho said he couldn’t sleep unless he went into that frigid water and verified something.
Come to think of it, Eun Seo-ho had always been that way since childhood.
Whenever there was something that needed to be done, he could only sleep peacefully after completing it.
Even after being worn down by work and sprawling across his bed in the chamber, if he said “No! I must train! I must train!” he’d spring up at once.
In truth, Palgap sensed that Eun Seo-ho harbored some secret.
It began on Eun Seo-ho’s fifteenth birthday.
When he received word that something seemed amiss.
He’d take wrong turns on paths he normally traveled without issue, and he’d gaze at Palgap with a suddenly mature expression and eyes full of pity.
And then he’d suddenly venture into snow-covered mountains to seek elixirs.
‘Now that I think about it, I was truly terrified back then.’
Considering it, few attendants had experienced as many things as he had.
Yet the fact that he still lived and breathed now was surely because Eun Seo-ho had shown him consideration throughout.
He’d even lent him the Jade Bi Disc that the Emperor had bestowed.
‘But what on earth is he hiding….’
Perhaps that secret, if revealed, would burden others, which is why he kept it hidden.
He wished that whatever the secret was, Eun Seo-ho would share it and find peace.
He was confident he could bear it, whatever it might be.
He pondered what secret could possibly be hidden, but soon abandoned the thought.
He had no talent for scheming.
He was more confident in reading the situation and acting accordingly.
And he trusted Eun Seo-ho. Even if that incomprehensible secret were never spoken of for a lifetime, it mattered not.
From the moment they first met, Eun Seo-ho was his master.

“Palgap is family of our Eunhae Trading Company! Don’t bully him!”

I could not forget the sight of him, barely five years old, shouting defiantly at the ill-natured boys who had been tormenting him, his voice sharp and unwavering.
And he had called me family.
That day, as if by some twist of fate, the Former Trading Company Master, now retired, had asked him if he would become Eun Seo-ho’s attendant.
He had accepted the proposal, and he had never regretted that decision once.
And his father had supported his choice, saying, “Yes, that must be your destiny.”
He turned his head to look at Seo-woo Warrior.
He had been standing rigidly the entire time, maintaining his post.
“Your legs aren’t aching, are they?”
Seo-woo Warrior answered with a solemn expression.
“I cannot know what hardships my lord is enduring in there, so how could I rest comfortably as his guard?”
“I will simply remain seated. If I grew weary and failed to serve Young Master properly, that would be absurd, would it not?”
“That would be… true.”
Seo-woo Warrior regarded Palgap quietly.
“How is your training progressing?”
“Well.”
The secret manual that Eun Seo-ho had gifted to Palgap when they went to Luoyang.
A secret manual that began with “For those who walk the Path of the King Slayer.”
As Palgap learned it with Jin Yu Warrior’s help, he kept thinking, “What is this?”
Because it was a martial art perfectly suited to him.
The parts that Jin Yu Warrior could not understand, he understood perfectly.
Though Jin Yu Warrior and others called the secret manual a martial art for assassination, it appeared differently to his eyes.
If he had to name it, it would be “A Secret Manual for Becoming the Perfect Attendant.”
That was why he loved the martial art he was learning so much.
“…!”
Then he felt something.
Since learning that martial art, he had grown increasingly attuned to Eun Seo-ho’s emotions, sensing them even from a distance, faintly and clearly.
This emotion he felt now was….
Irritation.
In any case, feeling this emotion meant that Eun Seo-ho was emerging from the lake.
He grabbed a towel and hurried toward the lake shore, and at his movement, Seo-woo Warrior tilted his head in confusion before flinching.
Then he nodded, as if acknowledging something.
Moments later,
Eun Seo-ho emerged. Not a single drop of water clung to his body as he walked out of the water.
And there was no splashing sound whatsoever as he rose from the water.
Combined with his appearance, it was as if a deity of the lake itself were emerging—mysterious and ethereal.
Seo-woo Warrior and Palgap were momentarily speechless.
Until Eun Seo-ho opened his mouth.
“Damn it! Cursed Ancestor! How could you throw me into the sea like that, of all things….”

* * *

I emerged from Dongjeong Lake, grumbling to myself.
Once I had mastered both the Ice Sea Transformation Heart Method and the Ice Sea Water Severing Technique, the Ancestor spoke with playful amusement.
“Well then, this iceberg will no longer be necessary.”
“Yes, but what do you mean by that?”
Before I could properly respond, he kicked the iceberg to pieces.
I plummeted into the seawater without any chance to prepare myself.
As I sank, the Ancestor’s voice reached my ears.

“You may only return once your feet have touched the very bottom of the sea.”

He could have mentioned that earlier, I thought irritably.
Grumbling inwardly, I channeled both the Ice Sea Transformation Heart Method and the Ice Sea Water Severing Technique.
When my feet finally touched the seabed far below, I returned to Dongjeong Lake.
And I hastily emerged from the lake.
“Young Master, you’ve come out?”
“Yes.”
“But Young Master, why do you seem so displeased?”
“Because of some old codger, that’s why.”
Though I had discovered the true power of the Ice Sea Transformation Heart Method and the Ice Sea Water Severing Technique, my mood remained sour regardless.
It certainly wasn’t because I had endured all that hardship without receiving anything additional in return….
“Kwee!”
Geumryeong wagged her tail enthusiastically as she explained, and her words made me flinch.
“There’s a gift inside?”
“Kwee-kwee!”
Geumryeong was reproaching me for leaving so hastily without checking.
I turned around and spoke.
“I’ll go back in for a moment.”
“Ah… yes.”

I dove back down toward that rocky formation.
Thanks to perfecting the Ice Sea Water Severing Technique, I reached it far more quickly than before.
I was moving so fast that watching Geumryeong floundering to keep up was rather endearing.
Now that I thought about it, this rocky formation bore a striking resemblance to the iceberg where I had learned water techniques.
There must have been a reason why my Ancestor shattered that iceberg at the end.
Standing on the rock, I rotated my foot the same way my Ancestor had destroyed the iceberg.
There was no sound, no vibration—yet the rock crumbled into fragments.
What is this?
Inside lay a small crimson box, compact enough to fit in the palm of my hand.
Is there anything else?
Looking at Geumryeong with that thought, he shook his head. Nothing more besides this.
I nodded and surfaced once more.
.
.
.
A short while later.
I returned to the inn.
I placed the crimson box on the table and opened it.
Inside were a handful of gold coins and a single letter. I opened the letter first.

[I’m leaving this for you so you won’t feel slighted. That damned old fool would surely call me worthless for making you suffer without giving you anything. You’ve endured much hardship mastering the Ice Sea Transformation Heart Method and the Ice Sea Water Severing Technique.]

I couldn’t help but smile wryly at the sight.
My Ancestor really was something—hiding compensation beneath a rock like that.
I nearly misunderstood the situation.
I chuckled softly as I gazed at the gold. Money truly was wonderful.
So this means next time as well, my Ancestor will provide something like this? That’s excellent.
Gasp!
I was startled by a thought that arose unbidden.
To think my Ancestor could inspire such feelings in me… they were truly formidable.
Could this possibly be… bait?
.
.
.
I received Jihyeon’s message and headed toward the County Office.
“You’ve arrived?”
“Yes. What is the matter?”
“Here is the investigation report.”
Hmm? The investigation was already complete? Surely it wasn’t done carelessly?
With lingering doubt, I unfolded the investigation report that Jihyeon offered and began examining it meticulously.
Remarkable.
To think such detailed and well-organized investigation could be completed in merely two days!
Moreover, it contained no biased opinions whatsoever—only facts, which I found most commendable.
“You certainly have a capable subordinate.”
“No, sir. I conducted it myself.”
“You did?”
“This report will be submitted to the Emperor. How could I be negligent? Thus I investigated personally and prepared the report myself.”
“I see.”
At a glance, I recognized Jihyeon as a talented individual. How I coveted such talent.
But if I recognized this talent, the Emperor surely would not overlook it.
And the more such talented individuals surrounded the Emperor, the easier matters would become for me.
I offered Jihyeon a radiant smile.
“I am grateful for your diligence. I shall ensure this report reaches the Emperor without fail.”

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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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