The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 228

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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 228

Chapter 228. Jin-ho’s Wedding Banquet (3)

Listening to Seo-woo Warrior’s explanation, I began to understand why Bang-u Sub-leader would concoct such a vicious scheme.
The Jinse Trading Company had recently been pushing forward with an ambitious new venture—the Jinse Pharmacy.
Seeing the success of Palgap Pharmacy, he must have felt envious. Or perhaps he coveted the profits that Palgap Pharmacy was generating.
With only Palgap Pharmacy in operation at the time, any new pharmacy seemed like a guaranteed success.
But things hadn’t gone as smoothly as he’d hoped.
Palgap Pharmacy created its medicines using high-quality medicinal materials supplied by the Eunhae Trading Company, which meant a diverse selection and competitive prices.
In such circumstances, Jinse Pharmacy, entering as a latecomer, had only two viable strategies.
Either sell specialized medicines that Palgap Pharmacy didn’t carry, or undercut their prices.
Jinse Pharmacy chose the second path.
But to sell cheaper than Palgap Pharmacy, which had a stable and professional supply network, they had no choice but to use inferior medicinal materials.
So customers initially came for the low prices, but when the medicines proved ineffective, they naturally stopped buying from Jinse Pharmacy.
In any case, in the current situation, if people who ate at Jin-ho’s wedding banquet and suffered stomach troubles found that medicines from Palgap Pharmacy weren’t working well, but medicines from Jinse Pharmacy were highly effective—
Customers would naturally flock to Jinse Pharmacy.
This despicable wretch.
No matter what, how could he try to poison innocent guests with stomach ailments!
I could understand why Bang-u Sub-leader would resort to such underhanded tactics.
“Seo-woo Warrior.”
“Yes.”
“Bang-u Sub-leader’s position within the Jinse Trading Company isn’t particularly solid, is it?”
“No, from what I understand, fewer than half of the members support him.”
Palgap asked with a puzzled expression.
“That’s quite strange. How did he become Sub-leader with just that?”
“He must have used threats or bribery. Given his nature, it’s entirely possible.”
“I agree.”
Seo-woo Warrior nodded in agreement.
“And even though the Jinse Company Master is bedridden, if his mind changes, he could remove Bang-u Sub-leader from his position.”
In other words, he’d become Sub-leader, but his position wasn’t yet secure.
So he intended to establish an undeniable achievement to solidify his position as Sub-leader.
That’s fine, but why would he harm our Merchant Guild in the process?
This rotten bastard.
At that moment, Lee Pil Warrior, who had been listening quietly, asked with confusion.
“Then why doesn’t Jinse Pharmacy just make the stomach-trouble medicine themselves? Why commission someone called Black Frog to make it separately?”
“That’s probably because of the Jinse Company Master. He’s not the type to pursue profit while harming others.”
“Ah….”
“If word of this reaches the Merchant Guild Leader, even if Bang-u Sub-leader accomplishes something undeniable, his position will become precarious. And if those supporting the eldest son discover it, the matter could become public.”
“Indeed, from Bang-u Sub-leader’s perspective, he has no choice but to act in secret.”
“So, what do you intend to do?”
I smiled at Palgap’s words and answered.
“What else? I’ll strip Bang-u Sub-leader of his position.”
.
.
.
The next day, I finished my morning duties and rose from my seat.
“It is lunchtime. Please enjoy your meal.”
“Very well.”
I let them eat comfortably among themselves and headed toward the Separate Pavilion.
I had lunch to take and something to verify.
The moment I arrived at the Separate Pavilion, Jin Yu Warrior reported to me.
“My lord, a reply has arrived from Bang Jin Prince.”
“What did it say?”
“He accepted.”
The previous night, I had asked Jin Yu Warrior to secretly deliver a letter to Bang Jin Prince, the eldest son of the Jinse Trading Company.
The message was to meet me this afternoon, the following day.
However, since it would be problematic if others saw it, I instructed him to come secretly to the Pavilion on South Street.
If he accepted, I told him to tie a red cloth on the tree in front of his quarters before lunch.
If he refused, I told him to tie a white cloth instead.
Bang Jin Prince—a man who had been unjustly denied the position of Sub-leader.
In such circumstances, when I offered him the proposal to “create favorable conditions in the Sub-leader competition,” he could not have refused.
“Then, let us depart after lunch.”
“Understood.”

After a simple lunch, we headed toward South Street, our agreed meeting place.
A district lined with high-end shops.
After walking for some time, we arrived at the meeting place. At the far end of South Street stood a small pavilion.
That was where we were to meet.
Upon entering, I found a man surrounded by a Guard Warrior and an Attendant in a secluded corner, gazing out at the view beyond the pavilion.
Bang Jin Prince.
I approached him and offered a respectful salute.
“It has been a long time since we last met.”
Bang Jin Prince returned the salute graciously.
“Indeed.”
“Shall we depart?”
He nodded and followed me.
My destination was West Street.
Since West Street and South Street were connected, we could reach it quickly, though the narrow mountain path made the journey somewhat inconvenient.
“I accepted your proposal, but where exactly are we headed?”
I answered Bang Jin Prince’s question.
“To West Street.”
“Then why not arrange to meet at West Street from the beginning? Ah, West Street is rather dangerous, isn’t it?”
“Precisely. West Street is far more perilous than South Street. We cannot risk being seen traveling together, as we have no way of knowing where Bang-u Sub-leader’s eyes might be watching.”
“A fair point.”
Thus we made our way discreetly to West Street.
The person I sought was Black Frog.
Someone Bae Cheol Warrior had mentioned.
Even in my previous life, he had earned quite a reputation throughout Hubei Province.
His specialty was poison.
Those who needed to use poison covertly would seek out Black Frog in secret and conduct their transactions.
Naturally, those afflicted by his poisons would find Black Frog to obtain antidotes.
However, dealing in poison was not only a violation of imperial law, but to those who suffered from it, he was as much an enemy as death itself—which meant he had no choice but to live in hiding.
Of course, he earned the name Black Frog partly because his appearance resembled that of a dark toad.
But the name was given even more so because of his exceptional skill at concealment.

We passed West Street and arrived at a structure hastily constructed from planks and straw mats, using a cliff face as one wall.
Built so carelessly that it resembled a hut far more than an actual dwelling.
“We’ve arrived.”
At my words, Bang Jin Prince tilted his head quizzically.
“And how does coming here relate to creating a situation favorable to me?”
“The person inside is someone who can tip the scales in your favor.”
At my words, Bang Jin Prince gestured to his Guard Warrior.
One of them entered the hut and returned, shaking his head.
“There’s no one inside.”
I smiled as I spoke.
“The hut is a decoy. The real location is here.”
I tapped the rocky terrain before me.
“Pardon? That rock? But… how would one enter it? I can barely see an entrance.”
An entrance certainly existed.
One had to lift the straw mats covering the hut floor to reveal a small opening barely visible enough to crawl through.
It was only possible because the man known by the alias Black Frog possessed a diminutive frame.
If we were to enter through the hole he used, we would inevitably emerge covered in dirt.
Besides, it wouldn’t even be easy to squeeze through.
Moreover, attempting such an entry would leave us vulnerable to Black Frog’s poisons or traps—our heads would be crushed to pulp.
But I had no reason to endure such dangers or inconvenience.
“Cut it open.”
“Yes.”
At my command, Jin Yu Warrior drew his blade and channeled his inner energy. Bang Jin Prince’s two Guard Warriors’ faces drained of color.
They recognized Jin Yu Warrior’s level of mastery.
“Haaah!”
A brilliant sword arc sliced horizontally across the rock.
Screech!
Then Seo-woo Warrior pushed the severed rock.
Boom!
Everything happened in an instant.
I leaped onto the freshly cut rock face and peered down below.
“You’ve chosen quite a pleasant location.”
“Gasp! W-w-who?”
Behind the rock lay a surprisingly spacious open ground, and Black Frog, who had been working there, tumbled backward in shock as he stared at me.
A diminutive frame, a blackened face, features resembling a frog.
It had been a long time.
Though in this life, it was my first time seeing him.
True to his nature as a fugitive who had lived on the run for over a decade, he suppressed his panic and reached into his robes.
He attempted to throw a smoke bomb and flee.
Thwack!
Boom!
“Argh! I surrender! I surrender!”
It was useless before a master of the pinnacle realm.
When the smoke cleared moments later, what I saw was Jin Yu Warrior and Seo-woo Warrior pressing their blades against Black Frog’s throat, his hands bound behind his back, their feet pinning him to the ground.
Being masters of the pinnacle realm, they could move as if their vision were unobstructed, even with their sight obscured.
His face was already swollen in several places from the blows he’d taken.
Still, since I’d used only smoke bombs and not poison, it ended at this level.
Had I used poison, he would have lost an arm.
I approached him with a leisurely smile.
“Pleased to meet you, Black Frog. You must know who I am, so I won’t bother with introductions. And you recognize him as well, don’t you?”
I pointed toward Bang Jin Prince, and upon seeing him, Black Frog let out a bitter laugh.
“Two famous figures from Hubei Province in one place.”
“So, are the operations underway there commissioned by Bang-u Sub-leader this time?”
He responded to my words with shameless audacity.
“Why would that man commission anything from me?”
Meanwhile, Bang Jin Prince tilted his head in confusion.
“Commissioned from that bastard?”
I nodded and questioned Black Frog again.
“So what was the commission?”
“I told you, I never took any commission!”
Black Frog was playing dumb.
I hadn’t expected him to confess willingly from the start.
Black Frog’s poisons were popular not only because their efficacy was exceptional but also because his tongue was remarkably tight-lipped.
Ordinary torture had never loosened his lips.
I knew this because in my previous life, he was eventually captured.
That happened about a decade from now.
And though information about those he’d supplied poisons to was extracted, and he was beaten to a pulp through countless tortures, he never uttered a single word.
But…
Unexpectedly, he had one weakness.
And that was.
“Aaaaah! W-what is that! G-get it away! Take it away now!”
His own face.
When I held up a mirror to show him his reflection, he had a seizure.
In truth, he despised his own ugly face so much that he’d worked under a physician to learn how to make medicines, hoping to fix his appearance.
But through reckless use of the medicines, side effects occurred, and his face became the grotesque visage it was now.
So beyond merely hating his own face, he’d developed a phobia of it.
Black Frog went into hiding partly to preserve his life, but also because he didn’t want to expose his face to the world.
It was a rather tragic tale.
But that was that, and a crime was a crime.
How many people had died and suffered because of the poisons he’d made?
He tried to close his eyes, but the drug’s side effects prevented them from shutting.
He attempted to turn his head, but Jin Yu Warrior held his face in place, making it impossible.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
I watched him wail for a moment before making an offer.
“If you tell me what Bang-u Sub-leader commissioned, I’ll put the mirror away.”
“I—damn it! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you!”
Once I lowered the mirror, he gasped for breath.
“Huff, huff… Bang-u Sub-leader asked me to create a drug that causes stomach upset. He wanted to slip it into people’s meals during Eun Jin-ho Sub-leader’s wedding ceremony….”
“And then?”
“After causing the stomach upset, he planned to sell an effective remedy from Jinse Pharmacy… and asked me to reveal the formula for that antidote.”
“I understand.”
True to my word, I stopped shining the mirror and tucked it away.
As I turned my head, Bang Jin Prince was grinding his teeth, spewing curses.
“Bang-u… this insane bastard….”
He barely suppressed his rage before bowing to me.
“I apologize on behalf of my younger brother. I am truly sorry.”
“How could this be your fault, Prince?”
Indeed, Bang Jin Prince is as upright as the Jinse Company Master. A man like this should become a Sub-leader.
Though he was from a rival merchant guild, competition should still be conducted with integrity.
That way, competition remains enjoyable, and innocent people don’t get caught up in it.
“I will inform my father of this matter immediately. And….”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“This alone won’t be enough to bring him down decisively. He’ll shift the blame onto someone else and slip away.”
“You’re right… he would.”
He’s despicable enough to do it, but his mind works far too cleverly.
“I understand you’ve invested considerable funds into the Jinse Pharmacy venture.”
“That’s correct. We invested quite substantially.”
“Since Jinse Trading Company doesn’t typically deal in medicinal materials, I imagine you’ve faced considerable difficulties.”
“True. Honestly, it’s still creaking along. And I myself have doubts about why Jinse Trading Company should even be in the pharmacy business.”
“Which is precisely why I’m bringing this up….”

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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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