The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 333

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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 333

Chapter 333. This Is Most Inconvenient (2)

I spoke with a frivolous thought crossing my mind.
“Then, let’s collect the snow.”
“Understood.”
Once snow accumulated, it became indistinguishable from ice itself.
For this reason, I gathered snow on several plates and stacked them layer upon layer within a specially prepared container.
Then I sealed it carefully once more.
“Now let us depart.”
“Yes.”
We returned to the Northern Sea Branch and immediately began preparing for our departure.
“Are you leaving so soon?”
At Soo’s question, I lowered my head with an awkward expression.
“I apologize for departing so hastily. However, this is a time-sensitive commission, and the schedule has already fallen considerably behind.”
At my words, he spoke with a regretful expression.
“Since you put it that way, I cannot detain you further. At least allow me to provide ample provisions for your journey.”
“Thank you.”
From the gifts I had received, I packed only the lighter and smaller items, while handing the rest to Soo.
Being in the Northern Sea, this was a place lacking in resources. These would surely prove useful.
Once we left the Northern Sea, the temperature would begin rising immediately, so I would need to keep the container cold beforehand.
With that thought, I placed my hand on the container and attempted to channel my inner energy into it, when I suddenly froze in shock.
“What? What is this?”
My inner energy was moving far too easily, exactly as I had intended.
In truth, moving one’s inner energy at will is quite a difficult feat.
When I first began cultivating energy, it took a full double hour just to draw the qi from my dantian and circulate it through the meridians in a complete cycle.
As I reached the pinnacle, I became far more adept at controlling my inner energy than before, yet it still required careful concentration.
Now… there was none of that.
I merely thought of it, and my inner energy moved. As naturally as moving my hands and feet.
Could it be…?
I closed my eyes and observed my own body.
“…!”
In that moment, I understood what had transpired.
My dantian had grown larger than it was days ago, and my meridians had expanded in breadth.
Suddenly, the final words the Heavenly Demon had left with me came to mind.

“Looking at your achievements, it seems this matter hasn’t been entirely disadvantageous for you.”

It was then that the Heavenly Demon realized I had transcended the peak and ascended to the realm beyond perfection.
That’s why he spoke to me in such a manner.
“Why do you say that, sir?”
As I stood there in stunned silence, Seo-woo Warrior asked with a worried expression.
“Ah… I only just realized it.”
“Realized what?”
“My cultivation level appears to have risen.”
“What? You’re only finding out now?”
Seo-woo Warrior looked surprised at my words. I wore an embarrassed expression as I asked.
“Then you all knew about it?”
“Yes. We discovered it that day.”
The six Guard Warriors nodded in agreement.
“….”
Feeling somewhat mortified, I gazed toward the distant mountains.
The Guard Warriors smiled and offered their congratulations.
“Though belated, our congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
I scratched the back of my neck as I accepted their gratitude.
“I appreciate it.”
“We must redouble our efforts as well. To protect our lord, shouldn’t we maintain a cultivation level no lower than his?”
The eyes of Seo-woo Warrior burned with fierce determination, and for some reason, it felt intimidating.
In any case, I infused my energy into the special box containing Soo’s eyes, making it cold.
And we departed for Guizhou, accompanied by the farewells of the Northern Sea Branch members and the tribal people.

As I rode, I recalled events from my past life.
The Prefect’s Daughter of Guizhou died several months from now.
Roughly around autumn, when the weather grows cool.
That meant I still had some time to spare.
Of course, that didn’t mean I could afford to dawdle.
The Provincial Inspector had asked me to bring it as quickly as possible, and my knowledge of the future could change.
As I headed toward Beijing, the clothing of the people I saw reflected the season vividly.
I’d forgotten while in the Northern Sea, but it was summer now.
By the time we arrived in Beijing, the month had changed to the eighth.
I instructed the Guard Warriors to protect the box, then went to Hyun Pung to handle the accumulated matters.
It felt good to bathe after so long and fill my belly properly, but it was somewhat melancholy that I had to work without rest.
I had no time to rest since I had to depart for Guizhou again tomorrow morning.
Yet I couldn’t neglect the affairs of Hyun Pung either.
While handling matters thus, Palgap came to find me.
“Young Master! Young Master!”
“What is it? What’s the matter?”
“The Provincial Inspector has arrived.”
“What?”
I tilted my head in confusion and asked again.
“Is this the Provincial Inspector of Guizhou?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Why would someone of the Provincial Inspector’s rank still be in Beijing?
I hurried toward the Guest Reception Room.
“I greet you, Provincial Inspector.”
“Ah, it’s been a while since we’ve met.”
“I thought you had returned to Guizhou?”
“The matters took longer to handle than expected, so I’ve only just finished. I made inquiries just in case, and heard you had returned.”
“Yes. I arrived today.”
“Did you bring the eye?”
“Yes. I brought it. Shall I show you?”
At my question, he nodded.
“If possible, I would appreciate it.”
In the Provincial Inspector’s eyes swirled hope, earnestness, and suspicion.
He hoped I had brought the eye, yet doubted whether it was genuine.
I went with him toward Cha-jang.
On a cart stored in one corner sat a special box.
“You’ve arrived?”
As I approached, the two Guards protecting the cart bowed to us.
“This is the Provincial Inspector.”
At my introduction, they bowed to the Provincial Inspector as well.
“I’ve come to verify the ice. Please bring out the box.”
“Understood.”
The Guards opened the box, then lifted the lid of the smaller container within.
Two Guards carefully extracted a sheet of ice from the box.
“This is ice. We selected the purest ice available from the Northern Sea. You’re welcome to touch it.”
At my words, he reached out and felt the ice with his own hand.
His expression shifted to one of genuine astonishment.
“It’s real… it’s actually real ice!”
“Your Daughter will surely be delighted with this.”
“Of course, she’ll absolutely love it!”
The Provincial Administrator’s face brightened with excitement.
Then he tilted his head curiously and asked.
“But how can the ice not melt in this heat? It’s truly remarkable.”
In response to his question, I pointed to the ornament hanging from the outside of the inner box.
“It’s thanks to this artifact.”
“An artifact?”
“Yes. It’s an artifact that disperses cold energy around it. Thanks to this artifact, the ice remains frozen even in this summer heat.”
Of course, it was a lie.
There was no reason to boast about my cultivation level.
I deliberately claimed the cold was maintained by an artifact as a precaution against unforeseen circumstances.
The ornament was simply something I’d purchased from the Marketplace Street. I’d intentionally bought one with blue-tinted raw gemstones to make my explanation sound plausible.
This commission was a significant opportunity for our Eunhae Trading Company.
And word that the Provincial Administrator of Guizhou had commissioned us would surely spread far and wide.
In such circumstances, someone with ill intent might attempt to sabotage this task.
So I needed to be prepared.
With my energy infused into it, I could track the ornament’s location.
The tracking technique from the Imperial Palace martial arts proved useful in moments like these.
By embedding a trace of my energy, I could follow it wherever it went. Of course, there was also the possibility that a common Thief might target the ornament rather than someone trying to interfere with us.
It didn’t matter.
Either way, I would deal with them accordingly.
“Extraordinary!”
The Provincial Administrator expressed his admiration at my explanation.
“Now that you’ve verified it, shall I seal it back up?”
“Ah! The ice will melt! Quickly, put it back in the box.”
“Yes.”
I placed the ice back in the box, then subtly drew upon my energy to infuse cold energy throughout before sealing the container firmly shut.
“Can you depart tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
“Then let us travel together to Guizhou at dawn.”
“Thank you.”
It was an unexpected stroke of fortune.
Traveling with the Provincial Administrator and his entourage meant I could save on expenses and spare myself considerable hardship.
The Green Forest Bandits wouldn’t dare attack us, and I wouldn’t have to deal with any tedious complications from Imperial Officials.
Moreover, after the battle with the Bizarre Being—or rather, Man Gyeong—and the long journey from the Northern Sea, my Guard Warriors weren’t in peak condition.
For these reasons, I welcomed the Provincial Administrator’s proposal with open arms.

The next morning.
We prepared our things and waited for the Provincial Administrator’s arrival.
“Young Master, the Provincial Administrator will be arriving shortly.”
The Provincial Administrator had sent word ahead, and I gave final instructions to the staff at Hyun Pung before thanking the Eun Branch Manager at the Beijing Branch, then stepped out to Cha-jang.
And I left the Beijing Branch with the box in hand.
“Good morning. Did you rest well through the night?”
“Truth be told, I was too excited to sleep properly.”
“The journey will be long. Sound sleep is important.”
“Yes, I’ll take that to heart.”
The Provincial Administrator nodded with a satisfied smile.
Our position in the Provincial Administrator’s procession was soon determined—right in the center.
Directly behind the Provincial Administrator.
It was clear that the cargo we carried was of considerable importance.
We set out for Guizhou.
“From here, we’ll board a boat at Jinan below and travel upstream along the Yangtze River, then proceed to Guizhou through the Zaling River and Wuzhang River in Shanxi Province. Does that suit you?”
The guide for our journey, a Baek Ho, spoke.
As the Provincial Administrator oversaw the administration of an entire province, he had a separate military force to protect him.
Composed of a hundred soldiers, their commander was also called Baek Ho.
The same title as the commander of the Baek Ho Office.
“That’s fine. The faster we can go, the better.”
Using boats would allow us to travel far more quickly than by land.
However, water could be dangerous on this particular journey.
The Ice would melt instantly if it came into contact with water.
That’s why I had carefully waterproofed the special box with candle wax, but I still couldn’t afford to let my guard down.
So this is how my Master travels every time, always tense like this. I was reminded once again that the work of the Pyoguk was far from easy.
Since we were traveling with the Provincial Administrator, we didn’t need to go through the tedious procedures required to pass through a province.
Thanks to that, we could board the boat without any hassle.
This time, because our party was so large, we had to charter a large vessel.
Still, it meant we were that much safer, so I was satisfied.
“Departure!”
With the Ship Captain’s cry, the boat set off.

* * *

Dong Hui, the Guizhou Provincial Administrator, had several Deputy Officers under his command.
Of course, beneath the Provincial Administrator were the Six Ministries, similar to those in the Royal Court, which allowed for a division of administrative duties.
Beyond that, there were numerous tasks the Provincial Administrator had to handle, so the presence of Deputy Officers was essential to assist with these responsibilities.
Among them, Pyeong Tak, one of the two Deputy Officers accompanying the Guizhou Provincial Administrator on this journey, quietly made his way onto the ship’s deck.
‘Here I am, forced to commit theft—something that was never meant to be my fate! Damn it!’
He grumbled inwardly.

There was a reason he had come to do such things.
On the day when his own mistake had earned him a thorough scolding from the Provincial Administrator.
He was sitting alone at a tavern, trying to suppress his frustration and lift his gloomy spirits with drink.
This was before the prohibition on alcohol had been issued.
A man with a friendly face approached him.
“My! Who is this? Aren’t you Deputy Officer Pyeong, serving under the Provincial Administrator?”
“You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
He said this to avoid the annoyance, but the man smiled and sat down across from him anyway.
“I know you work hard at everything. In fact, I’ve received a favor from Deputy Officer Pyeong before.”
“You’re speaking to me?”
“You don’t remember? Well, it’s natural that only the one who received the favor remembers such things. Haha.”
The man glossed over it so smoothly that Pyeong Tak found himself thinking it must be true.
“One shouldn’t drink alone. Let me buy you a drink.”
The free drink he obtained that way—but it wasn’t actually free at all.
The man’s name was Maeyeom.
He said he worked for the Oseong Trading Company, one of the most prominent merchant guilds in Guizhou.
Maeyeom bought him drinks each time they met, and feeling indebted, Pyeong Tak found himself agreeing to his requests.
That was how it began.
Maeyeom thanked him with generous gifts, and emboldened by the attention, Pyeong Tak could only agree to increasingly larger favors.
Thus a relationship of obligation was formed, yet Pyeong Tak found himself unable to escape from it.
In truth, he hadn’t even realized he was sinking into a quagmire.
He was simply pleased to be treated well and praised.
Then one day, Maeyeom said to him.

“The Prefect’s Daughter wants to see the eyes, I hear….”
“How do you know that?”
“Our guild has quite good intelligence. So here’s what I’m asking—when the Provincial Administrator seeks a merchant guild to commission, would you recommend our Oseong Trading Company?”
“Do you have the ability to obtain eyes in this summer?”
“Of course.”
Having received this request, Pyeong Tak had intended to recommend the Oseong Trading Company, to which Maeyeom belonged, to the Provincial Administrator.
But then….
Something infuriating had happened.

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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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