The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 198

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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 198

Chapter 198. Jin-ho’s Spring (2)

After finishing dinner, I took a brief tour of the trading company.
Having been away for so long, I needed to check if anything had changed or if there were any irregularities.
Just then, Jin-ho came trudging toward me from the opposite direction, and upon seeing me, he started in surprise and asked.
“Oh… when did you arrive?”
“What are you talking about? I sent word beforehand that I’d be arriving today.”
“Ah… is that so? Well, I’m glad you returned safely regardless. I heard you won the Imperial Silk Procurement Competition. Congratulations.”
“Thanks. But what have you been so busy with lately? You didn’t even come to greet your only younger brother?”
“Oh, just… this and that…”
The way he trailed off and avoided my gaze was deeply suspicious.
“Well then, I’ll be going.”
“Yeah.”
Jin-ho hurried away, and as I watched his retreating figure, I furrowed my brow.
He was nothing like his usual self.
What was this?
It seemed like he was hiding something.
Now that I think about it, Jin-ho had seemed odd before in my previous life as well.
What could that have been about?
“Palgap, don’t you find Jin-ho suspicious too?”
“Indeed, it does seem suspicious.”
“Aren’t you curious?”
Palgap chuckled softly and bowed his head.
“I shall investigate.”

Palgap was undoubtedly exceptionally skilled at extracting information. The fact that he’d already uncovered so much before nightfall proved it.
Perhaps I should have placed Palgap in the Information Bureau instead?
No.
Palgap needed to remain by my side.
In my previous life, he’d suffered greatly serving me before meeting his end. This time, I would ensure he enjoyed wealth and honor beside me.
“It appears the Small Guild Master Jin-ho has recently become quite infatuated with a certain young lady.”
“What? Jin-ho has a woman?”
“Indeed. She is the daughter of Ha Cheol, the head of the Changin Escort Agency.”
Wait—Ha Cheol? Could it be Ha Su-min?
Palgap confirmed my suspicion.
“Her name is Ha Su-min. She turned nineteen this past September, it seems.”
“….”
Damn it, how could I have forgotten?
I’d remembered details about my Elder Brother’s Wife, yet I’d completely overlooked Ha Su-min.
In my previous life, Jin-ho never married. His first love remained an agonizing wound that never healed.
The passionate flames of his affection burned without direction, ultimately consuming him from within.
I only learned the full truth much later.
And that was precisely when Jin-ho’s condition began to seem strange.
But at the time, I was too preoccupied with matters at the Eunhae Fabric Shop to pay him proper attention.
Moreover, even after learning of it, I was too consumed with other concerns, and since it was already in the past, I didn’t dwell on it deeply.
But what am I to do about this…?
“Why do you seem troubled, my lord?”
I sighed and shook my head.
“It’s nothing.”
“Does the young lady Ha not meet with your approval?”
“No, that’s not it. I support Jin-ho’s happiness.”
I truly do.
The problem is… Ha Su-min will die soon.
She won’t die in an accident, nor will she perish in conflict.
A year from now, she will suddenly succumb to illness.
A condition that cannot be cured by ordinary medicine: Severed Pulse Syndrome.
Triple Yin Severed Pulse.
Severed Pulse Syndrome is an incurable disease where excessive yin energy obstructs the blood vessels, preventing proper circulation of vital essence and qi, resulting in a shortened lifespan.
In my previous life, I’d wondered why Ha Su-min suffered from Triple Yin Severed Pulse.
But now, I believe I understand the reason.
The Changin Escort Agency was established by my Master to rebuild the Snowwind Palace.
In other words, most of the escorts working there are disciples of the Snowwind Palace.
And the Snowwind Palace teaches the Glacial Art, which is a martial technique of yin energy.
The mysteries of fate are peculiar—simply having a father who cultivated yin-based martial arts doesn’t mean only children with yin energy are born.
Typically, children are born with a balanced state of roughly equal proportions, and their development gradually shifts depending on their growth path.
However, there are exceptions to every rule.
Some are born with one type of qi abnormally dominant from birth.
That’s what manifests as a severed meridian.
One of the several reasons for severed meridian syndrome is when one parent’s influence is excessively strong, but honestly, that’s just luck too.
Ha Su-min simply had no luck.
In any case, if Ha Su-min dies, Eun Jung-ho will remain unmarried and alone for the rest of his life.
Then he would certainly pester me constantly, complaining of boredom.
I had to try something.
Severed meridian syndrome is not incurable—it’s merely difficult to treat.
There are methods to cure it, but the treatment itself is challenging.
I should bring the Black Flute Physician here.
He specializes in illnesses caused by constitutional imbalances.
As I turned my steps toward my separate residence, a question flickered through my mind.
The Black Flute Physician is the father-in-law of the Snowwind Palace Master, my Master.
If my Master’s disciple’s daughter had contracted such a difficult illness, surely my Master would have asked the Black Flute Physician for help.
Even if the Black Flute Physician wanders without fixed residence, my Master would surely know his whereabouts.
Could it be that my Master doesn’t know she’s ill?
.
.
.
The next morning.
After completing my morning qi cultivation, my Master arrived at the separate residence courtyard.
How does he always arrive at such perfectly timed moments?
“Master, I have returned safely from Beijing.”
“I hear you achieved excellent results this time. My congratulations.”
“Thank you, Master.”
“According to Song Pyo-du, you performed quite admirably this time.”
“Ah…”
He was referring to how I had hindered the Jin Family Trading Company and the Dae-ung Trading Company in their interference.
I scratched behind my ear and replied.
“I merely repaid them lightly for the trouble they caused.”
“Song Pyo-du said he had never laughed so hard his belly ached before.”
I chuckled.
The sight of them all tumbling down the cliff below where we stood was truly exhilarating.
Ah! This would be a perfect moment to naturally ask about Ha Sojeo.
“Master, by any chance, is there someone named Ha Cheol at the Pyo Bureau?”
“Yes, he is my colleague.”
“Then he must be a Pyo-du as well.”
“If we count by years of service, he has been at it a couple of years longer than I have, so he would be my senior.”
My Master smiled faintly.
“On the surface, yes, but in truth, I am a disciple of Snowwind Palace.”
Just as I suspected.
“I heard that you have a daughter named Ha Su-min?”
“Yes, that’s correct. She is a remarkably talented and resourceful child. Quite brilliant, and she possesses natural aptitude for martial arts as well.”
My Master posed a question to me.
“Are you, perhaps, interested in her?”
“Ah, no, not at all!”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“Pardon?”
“Your elder brother, the Lord, seems quite fond of the girl—he visits about once every three days.”
….
He’s quite persistent, Jin-ho.
“In fact, I too am aware that Elder Brother Jin-ho has taken an interest in the young lady. I was merely curious as his younger brother.”
“I see. Then you need not worry overmuch.”
My Master smiled.
“She is among the finest women I have ever encountered—I would rank her in the top five.”
As I thought.
My Master does not know that Ha Su-min suffers from the Three Yin Meridian Deficiency.
In my previous life, I heard she died quite suddenly….
Though if he had known of her condition, he would not have called it a sudden death.
The fact that my Master is unaware also means she shows no symptoms.
If she were to die a year from now, symptoms should have appeared by this point.
Why are there still no symptoms?
“Then who is the first?”
“My wife.”
….
That was an obvious question to ask.
“Is there anything else you wish to know?”
“No, nothing.”
“As I mentioned before, you no longer need to study the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique under me. You have already learned the true Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique from the Ancestor.”
That’s true. I’ve already reached a level where I can execute the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique more fluidly than my Master.
Of course, if I were to spar with my Master using only the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique, I would lose.
The difference in inner energy and experience cannot be ignored.
Is he telling me to descend the mountain now?
In my previous life, I only learned the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique, and once I had mastered it, he said there was nothing more to teach me and stopped visiting the next day.
Ah, he did visit one more time, though.
When he entrusted his son, Gwak Jun-ha, to the Eunhae Trading Company.
But what came from my Master’s lips was entirely unexpected.
“Now, it is time for you to learn a different sword technique.”
“A different sword technique, you say?”
I feigned bewilderment on the surface, but inwardly, I was delighted.
Unlike my previous life, the thread of master and disciple continued unbroken.
“The sword technique I shall teach you is the Snowsoul Sword Method. In truth, I had not fully mastered it myself, so I could not have shared it with you, Lord. However, thanks to the secret manual containing the profound insights of the Ancestor you recovered, I have made considerable progress.”
Now that I thought about it, my Master had once said….

“In fact, I was learning another sword technique, but while in the midst of mastering it… in any case, I cannot pass on martial arts I have not properly learned myself.”

That was what he had said.
The secret manual my Master spoke of must be the single tome I had acquired from the bookstore in Luoyang.
It was a text that began with the words “The beginning of the Yin Principle…,” and when my Master saw it, he was utterly astonished.
Not long after, I could sense that the aura emanating from my Master had changed, so it was certain he had perfected that sword technique at that time.
So that technique was the Snowsoul Sword Method.
“Thus, I can now transmit the Snowsoul Sword Method to you, my disciple, Lord.”
From that day forward, I began learning the Snowsoul Sword Method from my Master.
The Snowsoul Sword Method was not a technique I had learned in my previous life. That meant I was learning it for the first time.
Yet from the very first day, I could sense it instinctively.
This is a superior martial art compared to the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique.
Now that I thought about it, my Master was the Palace Master of Seolpung Palace, and it seemed problems had arisen there while he was learning this technique….
That would mean this technique was one he had been learning during his time as Lesser Palace Mistress.
Typically, martial families have separate martial arts that only the House Master and Lesser House Master learn.
Could it be that this Snowsoul Sword Method is a technique only the Palace Master and Lesser Palace Mistress learn?
.
.
.
I headed to the dining hall to take breakfast.
Soon my family arrived, and the handmaidens brought the meal.
After finishing the meal and drinking tea, my Grandfather spoke to me.
“So, Hee-ah arranged your twentieth birthday celebration?”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
I set down my teacup and answered his question.
“My Aunt held a banquet for me.”
“She is my daughter, but she certainly thinks deeply. I should send her a letter of gratitude.”
My Grandfather smiled warmly, and seeing that Father and Mother wore subtle smiles, they seemed satisfied.
“However, I still believe we cannot let your twentieth birthday pass like this.”
Mother seconded Father’s words.
“I agree. Above all, in our Merchant Guild, we recognize true adulthood at the age of twenty. So, though it is late, we have decided to hold a birthday banquet for you.”
“Haha.”
I laughed awkwardly.
In truth, a banquet had been scheduled for my birthday, but when Elder Brother Eun Jung-ho collapsed from overwork, I had no choice but to participate in the Imperial Silk Procurement Competition in his stead.
So I had assumed my birthday banquet had been cancelled.
To be honest, we had already held a grand banquet for the Small Merchant Guild Leader’s public announcement, so I wasn’t particularly disappointed.
But it seemed my parents felt differently.
The fact that they insisted on holding a birthday celebration for me despite how late it was spoke volumes.
“I understand. However, I believe we should keep the scale of the banquet somewhat modest.”
“If that’s your wish, then so be it. But shouldn’t we at least contact the Jegal Family and the Sichuan Tang Family?”
“Ah….”
Now that I thought about it, those families did exist.
A twentieth birthday celebration was a meaningful occasion, and if I didn’t invite them, they would certainly feel slighted.
Any merchant worth their salt must attend to such details and carefully manage their connections.
“You’re right.”
At that moment, I noticed Jin-ho looking somewhat vacant.
For Jin-ho’s sake, I had to cure Ha Su-min’s illness. But before I could treat it, I first needed to diagnose it.
Revealing her condition might cause my brother further pain, but treatment required that I first identify the illness.
From what I could see, no one knew of her condition, and others remained equally ignorant.
Perhaps if someone skilled in pulse diagnosis or medicine had examined her, they might have discovered it, but such an opportunity had never arisen.
After all, one couldn’t simply grasp the wrist of an unmarried woman without good reason.
And the fact that it had gone undetected until now meant that ordinary skill couldn’t discern her affliction.
So, as I had initially thought, the Black Flute Physician himself would need to conduct the pulse diagnosis.
As I pondered how to summon the Black Flute Physician to examine her, a promising idea came to mind.
“Father, in that case, I shall personally deliver invitations to several of them.”

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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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