The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 249

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 249

Chapter 249. Rebellion (1)

I was taken aback by Master’s reaction.
“What’s wrong, Master?”
“Did you just say… Yang Eun-jik?”
“…Yes.”
I nodded.
“Sigh… Why on earth did you meet him? No, where did you meet him? More importantly, why are you asking about him?”
“….”
Master, who was usually taciturn, seemed strangely unfamiliar in this moment.
What was going on?
“Please calm yourself, Master.”
“Do I look calm to you? That man is a sleeper agent of the Murim Alliance.”
“A sleeper… agent?”
Sleeper agent—a fish lurking deep in the water, as the term literally meant.
But in the martial arts world—or rather, among those affiliated with the Murim Alliance—it carried a different meaning.
It referred to those who conducted covert operations in secret places.
No one knew their true purpose.
They simply followed orders from above.
How did I know about this?
Because I had encountered a sleeper agent in my previous life.
His target wasn’t me at the time, but I discovered his nature while investigating suspicious activity around him.
I learned that such sleeper agents existed within the Murim Alliance.
So my investigation stopped there.
I had a premonition that digging deeper would be dangerous.
In any case, I needed to calm Master down a bit.
“So you’re saying Yang Eun-jik is a sleeper agent of the Murim Alliance?”
“…!”
At my question, Master flinched and let out a sigh.
“My apologies. I became far too agitated and lost my composure. For the Palace Master of Seolpung Palace to become so excited….”
“It’s fine. I understand.”
“But… do you know what a sleeper agent is?”
Master’s eyes seemed to pierce through me.
I calmly shook my head.
If I admitted to knowing about this now, it would certainly raise suspicions.
“No. I don’t know.”
“Well, since I’ve said as much, if I don’t explain, you’ll go charging into danger headfirst.”
I already knew about that, so I wouldn’t do it this time… but still.
My Master truly knows me far too well.
“Jameow refers to those who belong to the Murim Alliance and conduct covert operations on its behalf.”
“Then, are they dangerous individuals?”
“Before that, I’d like to ask first. How did you come to know about them?”
I quickly deflected the question.
I couldn’t very well say I learned about it in my previous life.
And this time, I had a convenient excuse in the Geumui Guard.
“Actually, when I went to Luoyang last time, I happened to learn of a man named Yang Eun-jik. And I came to know about this when I began assisting the Great Swordmasters of the Geumui Guard. The Geumui Guard was monitoring him, suspecting he was connected to subversive forces.”
“Subversive forces, you say?”
When the Imperial Palace speaks of subversive forces, it means treason.
That’s why my Master was so taken aback.
“A member of the Murim Alliance connected to treason… This doesn’t seem like an ordinary matter.”
I nodded at my Master’s words.
My Master then paused before asking me a question.
“But… you don’t seem surprised that the Murim Alliance would do such a thing.”
That’s because I already know how sordid a place the Murim Alliance truly is.
However, I couldn’t mention that, so I needed a suitable excuse.
It would be awkward to speak of matters involving the Jegal Family Estate or the Sichuan Tang Family…
Then a name suddenly came to mind.
“I heard the circumstances from Jin Yu Warrior.”
“…I see. Then you must well understand how they appear righteous on the surface, yet are utterly corrupt within.”
“Yes. I have some understanding of it.”
“In that case, we can move forward more quickly. Jin Yu Warrior knows well about jameow.”
Ah!
Now that I think about it, Jin Yu Warrior was an assassin of the Murim Alliance. He too was one who operated in secrecy.
Then he would surely know well about jameow and could provide information about Yang Eun-jik.
“Thank you for the advice.”
“Then, I shall see you next time.”
“Yes. Please take care on your way.”

Master left the Temporary Residence.
But….
I never told Master where I was staying, so how did he know to come here?
As I pondered this, I couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.
Those people watching over me must have informed him.
After receiving the Ancestor’s arrangements at the Northern Sea Ice Palace, my strength had grown considerably.
Thanks to that, when I returned to the Main Headquarters, I became aware of things I hadn’t noticed before.
It was the presence of those always watching over me from my surroundings.
I had identified a total of three presences.
At first I wasn’t sure what they were, but as I examined them, I felt a familiar aura.
It was the aura of the Taiyin Ice-Sea Divine Art.
In other words, they were people from Seolpung Palace. So why were they watching over me from my surroundings?
The reason was obvious. Master must have ordered them to protect me.
I could tell it was protection rather than surveillance through their aura.
If they were surveilling me, their aura wouldn’t have felt so serene.
And Master, knowing my talents, would never do something so easily discovered.
How dishonest you are, Master….
Was this disciple truly such a cause for concern?
In any case, there seemed to be no need to worry about them.
I entered the room I used as my personal office and pondered.
In my previous life, had the Murim Alliance ever attempted treason?
Searching my memories carefully, I wasn’t sure if it was related to the Murim Alliance, but there had been some attempts at treason.
That’s probably why the Geumui Guard and Dongchang existed.
After thinking for a moment, I shook my head.
Even if the Murim Alliance were plotting treason, they wouldn’t have deployed assassins only to let it be exposed externally.
I spoke to Palgap.
“Tell Jin Yu Warrior that I’d like to see him for a moment.”
“Understood.”

A moment later, Jin Yu Warrior entered the room.
“You called for me?”
“Yes, please sit.”
“No, I’ll stand.”
“If that’s more comfortable, then by all means. Though I suspect this conversation will take a while… and my throat is rather sore.”
Only then did Jin Yu Warrior nod and take a seat.
“Do you happen to know about the Murim Alliance’s hidden agents?”
At my question, Jin Yu Warrior exhaled a long sigh and nodded.
“Of course, I do.”
“Is there one among them named Yang Eun-jik?”
“Yes, he is indeed one of those hidden agents.”
Just as my Master had said.
And if Jin Yu Warrior knew about this, the matter seemed as though it might resolve more smoothly.
“In fact, I saw him at the wedding banquet in Beijing this time. I was deliberating whether I should report it to you.”
He bowed his head to me.
“I apologize for not reporting this to you sooner.”
“It’s fine. I understand how difficult it must have been to make that judgment. I’m not someone who can’t understand such things. So I’ll give you a formal order now. If anything like this happens in the future, tell me without fail.”
“Understood. But… how did you come to know about him?”
“The Geumui Guard’s Great Heroes have been watching him. I heard his name from them and asked my Master about it.”
“I see.”
He nodded and continued speaking.
“Yang Eun-jik hasn’t been a hidden agent for very long. If I’m not mistaken, it’s been about five years. But he’s successfully completed quite significant missions. However, we don’t know the details of those missions from each other…”
“That would be natural, of course.”
“But I do know about matters I was involved in, and other things. So I know about his swordsmanship, his level of cultivation, his weaknesses…”
He knew far more than I had anticipated.
“And he’s also someone who won’t hesitate to use any means necessary to achieve his goals.”
.
.
.
A few days later.
Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster came to find me.
“So-sang greets the Great Swordmaster.”
“Thank you for receiving me so warmly.”
“Why speak such sorrowful words?”
“Haha.”
Yet his expression was far from bright.
Had something happened?
“The truth is, I’ve come to you because I need your help.”
“My help, you say?”
“It seems Yang Eun-jik has somehow noticed that we’re watching him.”
“Pardon?”
“We’ve lost track of him. It seems there was an oversight on our end.”
“….”
Blast! They lost him?
And I even made it clear that I’m a martial artist!
A sigh escaped me, but I quickly composed myself and let the frustration pass.
The Great Hero who made that mistake was probably being thoroughly chewed out by now, even without my involvement.
“So now we can’t locate his whereabouts. He’s definitely the key link, and we need to find him to completely eliminate those harboring treacherous intentions, but….”
“So you’re asking me to find his whereabouts?”
“That’s right.”
“But even the Great Heroes of the Geumui Guard couldn’t find him. How could a mere merchant like myself succeed?”
“Ah, my apologies. There seems to be a misunderstanding. What I’m asking is for you to speculate on places where he might be hiding.”
“So you want to narrow down the search area?”
“Exactly. Our manpower isn’t unlimited, after all.”
But I still couldn’t make sense of it.
Yang Eun-jik is a martial artist, and the Geumui Guard, with their connections to the martial world, should know his whereabouts better than anyone?
I regarded Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster with that confusion evident in my gaze.
Looking at the dark circles beneath his eyes, which seemed to be fading into death itself, I could infer the situation.
They’d already exhausted every option available to them.
With nothing left they could do, they’d come here half out of desperation and half out of a faint hope.
Honestly, I couldn’t fathom what purpose the Murim Alliance had in orchestrating such a scheme.
Were they after power?
But the Murim Alliance couldn’t possibly be ignorant of the Imperial Palace’s true strength.
It wasn’t merely the military might and financial resources that governed this empire—the Imperial Palace also housed more martial masters than the Murim Alliance.
The Murim Alliance must know this attempt would fail.
Then why commit such an act…?
Could it be they desire chaos?
Whether the rebellion succeeds or fails, chaos is inevitable. If treason erupts, countless lives will be lost and blood will spill.
Not that the Blood Sect members go mad over blood alone….
The Blood Sect was already suppressed by the Murim Alliance long ago. Geuk Cheon Sword, who wielded the Heavenly Stream Ice Sword I learned as his life technique, led that charge.
After that, Blood Sect leaders continued to emerge.
But their forces were weaker than before, and it was fair to say they’d effectively disappeared.
Now that I think about it, the Blood Sect Leader who was sealed away in the Wudang Sect comes to mind….
Tap.
My thoughts were interrupted as Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster placed a bundle of documents before me.
“Here are the materials.”
“Aren’t these classified documents?”
“They are. But you’re an Imperial Inspector, aren’t you? You have the right to see these.”
“….”
“I’m asking for your help.”
“I’ll do my best.”
I picked up the documents and began reading with full concentration. It seemed clear that Jegal Kyung wouldn’t leave unless I said something.
Besides, I too was displeased with the Murim Alliance’s conduct.
This was an opportunity to strike at the Murim Alliance using the Imperial Palace as a blade.
Still, I was fortunate.
I had been worried about how to convey what Jin Yu Warrior had told me about Yang Eun-jik, but now they were providing documents.
It would have been dangerous to relay directly to Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster what I had heard.
These people were favorable to me now, but who could say how long that would last?
Initially, I had reluctantly accepted Jin Yu Warrior at the request of Hyungmun Sect’s Sect Leader Do Jin.
But now he was my man.
Wasn’t it my responsibility to protect my own people?
And Yang Eun-jik was a dangerous individual.
From what Jin Yu Warrior knew alone, he had already caused the deaths of numerous innocent people.
It would be best if he disappeared in this life.
If he lived, I could only imagine what catastrophe he might unleash next… just thinking about it gave me a headache.
“Hmm…”
As I was sifting through the documents, I set them down and spoke.
“Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster, have you perhaps discovered the existence of an underground tunnel?”
“An underground tunnel?”
“Yes. Looking here, there’s a report that soil was found on Yang Eun-jik’s sleeve, isn’t there?”
“There was. But wouldn’t that just be soil picked up from walking around? It rained not long ago.”
“If you look closely, the soil was on the ends of his sleeves. Martial artists always keep their arms raised, never hanging down.”
I continued.
“Isn’t that true for the Geumui Guard warriors as well?”
At my words, Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster, who had been moving both arms back and forth, wore a startled expression.
“Ah! That’s right! I hadn’t noticed because it was unconscious habit.”
“In any case, having soil on both sleeves, specifically only at the ends, means there was soil on both sides.”
I continued.
“Think about it. If a path made of earth was narrow enough to leave soil on both sleeve ends, where could it be?”
“An underground tunnel!”
“That’s what I believe.”
This was my own deduction. I suppose it came from the experience of finding the real Dang Yeon-chil Young Master when I visited the Sichuan Tang Family Estate before.
Now I needed to convey what Jin Yu Warrior had told me.
I sifted through the documents and subtly wove in what Jin Yu Warrior had said.
“Oho…”
Jin-yeong Great Swordmaster’s eyes sparkled.
“I’m truly grateful! I was right to seek you out!”
“Haha, I’m glad I could be of help.”
Looking at his brightened expression, an ominous thought suddenly struck me.
Could he possibly be thinking of forcibly taking me to the Imperial Palace for doing such good work?
Hahaha, surely not.
It can’t actually be… right?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————