The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 221

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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 221

Chapter 221. Karma Repaid (10)

Min commanded his servants.
“Beat these wretches and throw them out!”
“Yes, sir!”
The servants immediately seized clubs and began thrashing Ma Jeong and his nephews without mercy.
These servants had witnessed their master Min’s humiliation firsthand, so every swing of their clubs was laden with emotion.
“Aaagh!”
“Ugh!”
“We’re leaving! We’ll just go, alright?!”
They fled Min’s house in panic, dodging the relentless beating.
“Hnngh… I won’t forget this… Achoo!”
Ma Jeong spoke to his nephews with a voice trembling with rage.
“Let’s try the next house.”
“Yes.”
They gnashed their teeth, thinking only of how Min had turned them away, never once considering what they themselves had done.
Soon they arrived at another house, and Ma Jeong knocked on the door.
“Ahem, is anyone home?”
“Who is it?”
After a moment, the door opened and a man emerged.
“Starting today, we’ll be living in this house. You’ll need to leave.”
“Pardon?”
“I said leave.”
“Does the Manor Lord abandon his grand estate to live in this cramped hovel?”
“Ahem, circumstances have arisen.”
The house owner studied Ma Jeong’s appearance.
He looked like a drowned rat, his clothes covered in soot, his body bruised and battered as if he’d been beaten senseless.
The house owner recalled what a young nobleman had told him earlier today.
Ma Jeong had become destitute, and without the warriors who once protected him, there was no need to grovel before him anymore.
He’d thought it impossible, yet here was the proof.
There was no other reason such a wretch would appear at his door.
“Please wait a moment.”
He went inside, drew a bucket of water, and dumped it directly over Ma Jeong and his companions.
“Pfft!”
“Pfft-pfft-pfft!”
“What the hell?! Get out of here now!”
Bang—!
The main gate slammed shut with a harsh, grating sound.
“….”
Ma Jeong ground his teeth.
“Just you wait! I won’t forget this humiliation!”
“Sir, please—let’s just return to the thatched hut.”
“Let’s go.”
His younger relatives tried cautiously to dissuade him, but stubbornness had taken root in him.
“No! I have my pride—I can’t give up like this! Let’s try that house next door!”
But they should never have gone to that neighboring house.
It was the family home of Ma Jeong’s third wife.
“Is anyone here?”
After calling several times, someone finally emerged from within.
“Who are you?”
This time, Ma Jeong shoved the person aside without hesitation and stormed inside. Then, with arrogant authority, he issued a command.
“Prepare me a lavish meal.”
“Pardon?”
“What are you doing? I said prepare a meal! And know that I’ll be living here from now on.”
“….”
That was when it happened.
“What? Prepare a meal? You’ll be living here? You wretched bastard!”
They turned in panic to look behind them, but it was already too late.
The house owner—Ma Jeong’s father-in-law—swung a club directly at him.
Crack—!
Stars exploded across his vision.
“You killed my daughter, and now you have the audacity to show your face? Well, you’ve come at the right time! Today I’ll beat you to death and avenge my daughter’s death!”
Thud—! Smack—!
Arms hardened by years of labor swung with tremendous force, and Ma Jeong and his relatives took a thorough beating.
“Oh, Deok-bae!”
At his cry, one of the oblivious relatives spoke up.
“But Deok-bae betrayed you too, didn’t he?”
“The guards won’t come anymore anyway.”
“Keep your mouth shut—urgh!”
Another club joined in the assault.
It was wielded by the father’s son—who harbored equal hatred for Ma Jeong, the man who had killed his sister.
“S-save me!”
“You? A person? You’re worse than a beast!”
Only after a considerable time had passed did they barely manage to escape the house before being beaten to death.
But they had taken so many blows that their entire bodies throbbed with pain. Limping as he walked, Ma Jeong spoke with a dejected expression.
“Let’s… return to the thatched hut.”
“Yes.”
They had no choice but to return to the thatched hut that Eun Seo-ho had prepared for them.
Their clothes were not merely tattered—they were soaked through and frozen stiff as boards.
Shivering violently, they barely managed to kindle a fire, though they ended up burning the rice.
After that nightmarish night passed, dawn broke.
Ma Jeong, who had spent the entire night with eyes wide open, stepped outside. He intended to go find Eun Seo-ho and beg him—surely they deserved at least one maidservant to help them.
Surely he would grant them that much.
It was then that a contingent of government forces came rushing toward their thatched hut.
Seeing them, Ma Jeong’s eyes lit up with what seemed like a ray of hope.
‘That’s it! Jihyeon must have heard of my plight and sent people to help me! After all I’ve done for him, the least he could do is—’
They approached Ma Jeong and asked.
“You are Ma Jeong, correct?”
“Indeed I am. Ahem! Can’t you tell by looking?”
“I thought you were a beggar.”
“How dare you! To speak thus to—”
“Enough of your noise. Where are your family members?”
Something about their tone felt wrong. It lacked the deference he was accustomed to.
“They’re inside—”
“You stand accused of multiple murders! Seize him and his relatives!”
“Yes, sir!”
The government forces swiftly subdued Ma Jeong and his nephews, binding them with rope.
“What is the meaning of this! Release these bonds at once! I’ve memorized every one of your faces! Do you think I’ll let this slide—”
Crack!
His head snapped to the side.
One of the soldiers had struck his face with a fist.
“Silence! How dare a criminal speak with such arrogance!”
“Criminal? Me, a criminal?”
“You murdered eight innocent women. What else would that make you?”
“That’s… what do you mean—”
“Enough of this noise. Gag him.”
“Yes, sir.”

* * *

I headed to the County Office after receiving word from Jihyeon.
“Welcome, sir….”
I extended my hand forward and spoke.
“Why the sudden formality? Just speak comfortably as before. There are eyes watching.”
“Ah, yes, of course. Haha. You’ve arrived?”
“Yes. Is the interrogation proceeding well?”
Jihyeon nodded readily.
His expression was genuinely refreshed.
“He’s confessed to a considerable amount of crimes so far.”
“Has he confessed to murdering the ladies as well?”
“Not only that—he’s now confessing to various other crimes one after another.”
“What about those brothers?”
“That’s still in progress. Shall we go take a look?”
“Yes, let’s.”
I followed Jihyeon toward the Prison.
As we drew closer to the Prison, the stench of blood grew thicker and screams echoed through the corridors.
“Aaaahhhhh! W-wait! I’ll talk! I’ll confess!”
A man hung against the wall, enduring torment.
He shrieked in anguish, his voice breaking.
Wow….
Was that even human anymore?
His condition was so pitiful it was hard to believe he was once a man.
Yet knowing the atrocities he had committed, I felt little sympathy for him.
“That day… I pushed my Elder Brother off the cliff. I asked him to retrieve my shoe that was caught on the cliff….”
And as I listened to his confession, I thought to myself:
He deserved more beatings.
.
.
.
Days later, an envoy sent from the Imperial Palace arrived in Taekyung County.
“Jihyeon of Taekyung County, receive the Imperial Decree of the Emperor!”
At those words, Jihyeon quickly knelt before him.
“Jihyeon of Taekyung County….”
The Imperial Decree ordered the arrest and transport of Ma Jeong and his entire household to the Imperial Palace.
This was because I had sent a letter to the Emperor beforehand.
I had to report to the Emperor about my use of authority to conduct the investigation.
After all, I had exercised the power the Emperor had granted me.
While I could have reported after the fact, this time I sent the report in advance.
Since this was a case worthy of making an example of, I doubted he would order me to handle the punishment myself.
As I had anticipated, the Emperor issued the order to arrest and transport Ma Jeong and his entire household.
Furthermore, I myself received an imperial summons to the Imperial Palace.

Clatter, clatter.
Inside the wooden mobile prison sat Ma Jang-ju.
Behind him, mobile prisons carrying his nephews and cousins followed in procession.
Beneath the horse-drawn mobile prison lay nothing but brush and bramble.
As we departed the County Office, the residents of Taekyung County emerged before its gates.
At first glance, it appeared that every resident of Taekyung County had come out.
Naturally, they had not gathered to bid Ma Jeong farewell.
The evidence lay in their hands—each clutching a handful of sand.
Originally, they had held stones, but I had instructed Jihyeon to exchange them for sand instead.
Since we were transporting Ma Jeong under imperial decree, it would be problematic if the villagers’ stone-throwing resulted in his death.
No matter how deep the villagers’ thirst for vengeance ran, one could not defy an imperial command.
“You wretched bastard!”
“Because of you, our daughter!”
“You despicable creature!”
“You worthless scoundrel!”
The residents of Taekyung County cursed in unison, casting sand upon Ma Jang-ju.
Yet Ma Jeong seemed to have lost his senses, receiving the barrage of sand without a word of protest.
Then, catching sight of me, he suddenly struggled to his feet.
“Please, please help me… Ptooey!”
As he tried to speak to me, sand entered his mouth, and I couldn’t help but smirk at his startled expression.
It seemed he had been trying to say, “Please, help me!”
Why did he regard me as his lifeline?
If he thought about it even briefly, he would realize that everything began to unravel from the moment we met.
It appeared he alone remained ignorant that this was karma repaid.
I turned to glance beside me and spoke.
“How do you feel?”
“Excellent.”
Standing beside me was Han Jae-ik.
“Have you made your decision then?”
Han Jae-ik nodded.
“Yes. I have decided to join the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“You are most welcome. I shall arrange a suitable position for you.”

The next day,
the Han-ga Martial Arts School bustled with preparations for relocation.
Han Soo, the School Master and father of Han Jae-ik, had recovered sufficiently from his injuries that we deemed him fit to travel.
That was when it happened.
“Master!”
A child came rushing into the martial hall.
“Please don’t leave!”
“Yun Seok?”
“We were wrong! We were wrong for not coming because our parents told us not to, and for skipping training behind your back!”
It wasn’t only Yun Seok who clung to Han Soo.
Countless children, young men, and their parents came flooding in.
“Master!”
“Master, please don’t go!”
“Han Gwanjoo, what are we supposed to do if you leave this village?”
“Please give us the chance to repay the debt we owe you.”
As Han Soo gazed upon them, his eyes grew red, and he turned to face me.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because it feels as though I haven’t wasted my life all this time.”
“You have every right to be proud. It’s the virtue you’ve cultivated over all these years.”
Han Soo smiled bitterly and spoke to me.
“I apologize, Small Guild Master. It seems I cannot leave this village after all.”
I smiled at him.
“You’ve made the right decision.”
“Sir?”
“As the only martial school in Taekyung County, you must protect this village.”
I continued.
“This works out well. I was wondering what to do with the Ma Family Manor. From now on, it will be the Han-ga Martial Arts School.”
“What?”
“The courtyard is quite spacious, so it’s perfect for use as a martial hall.”
“Ah….”
Han Soo’s eyes wavered.
“I’d also appreciate your management of the cotton fields here.”
“B-but I’m poor with numbers….”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll send someone from our trading company shortly. And you have An Suk, the Chief Manager, don’t you? You can rely on his assistance.”
“Yes, I will do so.”
I turned my head and asked Han Jae-ik.
“Then, what will you do, Han So-hyup?”
“I….”
I read hesitation in his eyes.
He was reluctant to leave his parents behind. Given his devotion to family, it was only natural.
“Han So-hyup, please remain here as well. With your assistance, managing that vast cotton field will be far more manageable.”
“May I truly do so?”
“Of course.”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
“Once Han Gwanjoo’s wounds have healed and the weather turns warmer, please visit the Eunhae Trading Company. After all, my father is the Merchant Guild Leader—surely you should meet him at least once?”
“Thank you so much!”
I smiled and spoke to the workers.
“How fortunate this has worked out. You can move those belongings to that estate.”
The workers, pleased with the arrangement, responded with spirited voices.
“Yes!”
I addressed Han Gwanjoo and Han So-hyup.
“Then, we shall take our leave. I entrust you with much responsibility, and should any matter arise, please send word to me.”
I stepped back.
Snap—!
Han Gwanjoo and Han So-hyup offered me a martial salute.
“We shall never forget the kindness you have shown to the Han-ga Martial Arts School.”
I returned their salute respectfully and turned to leave the estate.
In truth, it was I who had spread the rumor that Han So-hyup’s family was departing.
It was true that relations between Han So-hyup’s family and the villagers had grown strained.
Yet each side had their reasons, and they shared a common enemy in Ma Jang-ju.
As the saying goes, the earth hardens after rain—having endured such trials together, their bonds would only grow stronger.
Moreover, the presence of a martial school protecting this village held great significance.
For my part, it was better to employ locals to manage the cotton fields here.
Truthfully, as I expand my business ventures, I find myself short on capable hands. I must recruit talented individuals quickly.
Now then, I should return home—
No, I must go to the Imperial Palace instead.
It matters not, as I had intended to go there anyway.
There are matters I must attend to before spring arrives.

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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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