The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 339

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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 339

Chapter 339. Things Gone Awry (2)

The Provincial Inspector questioned Baek Bal Hwa-ui in response to his words.
“You would know that better than anyone. How could we possibly know?”
I nodded in agreement with his sentiment. I asked Baek Bal Hwa-ui directly.
“Is there a particular reason you ask, sir?”
“Well… judging solely by your daughter’s symptoms, it’s already reached a stage where treatment would be nearly impossible.”
“What do you mean?”
“Based on the symptoms alone, she clearly wouldn’t survive past this autumn.”
“…”
“However, after taking her pulse, I discovered that the progression has halted. In fact, her condition has actually improved. Improved enough that full recovery is entirely possible.”
“…”
We fell silent for a moment.
Was such a thing even possible?
Then again, that’s precisely why Baek Bal Hwa-ui was asking us.
The Provincial Inspector pondered briefly before speaking.
“All we did was prevent her from drinking those teas she’d been consuming.”
“Muaksu requires only three years of consumption before the poisoning progresses on its own, even without further ingestion.”
“Ah! Now that you mention it, there is snow.”
“Snow… do you mean the snow that falls from the heavens? But this region…”
Baek Bal Hwa-ui’s expression grew puzzled. It made sense—this was a region where snow never fell.
The Provincial Inspector pointed toward me.
“I commissioned Eun Seo-ho, the Small Guild Master here, and he brought snow from the Northern Sea.”
“Ah, so that’s why Young Master Eun Seo-ho is here.”
“Yes. That’s how it came to pass. Thanks to him, we were able to recognize your daughter’s condition.”
I continued gently.
“I believe the heavens themselves recognized the Provincial Inspector’s devotion to his daughter.”
“You flatter me.”
The Provincial Inspector cleared his throat and continued.
“When do you plan to begin treatment?”
“I shall commence immediately.”
“I entrust my daughter to your care.”
“Of course. I will do my utmost. And if I may be so bold, once I finish today’s acupuncture treatment, might I examine the snow that Young Master Eun Seo-ho brought?”

* * *

The Provincial Inspector returned to his office.
He settled into his chair and recalled events from two months prior, before his departure for Beijing.

Dong Ja-ryeong sat upon the bed, her complexion pallid, and spoke to him.
“Father, my fate… it hasn’t changed, has it?”
“No, Ja-ryeong. Your fate can certainly change.”
“I’m going to stop struggling now.”
….
“I had hoped to go to Beijing with you this winter and see the snow fall, but it seems that won’t be possible.”
“Ja-ryeong….”
“Ah, when you go to Beijing this time, please heed the counsel of the Imperial Officials. Through their guidance, you will obtain what you seek.”
“I understand.”
She pressed a bound manuscript into the hands of the Provincial Inspector, who nodded in acknowledgment.
“What is this?”
“It’s a record of the future events I’ve foreseen thus far.”
In essence, a book of prophecy.
“I wrote it hoping it would be of use to you, Father.”
Even as she approached death, his daughter’s concern for him stirred his heart. Yet he deliberately rebuked her.
“You foolish child! With your already weakened constitution, you’ve surely exhausted yourself writing this! Don’t you understand that such effort shortens your life?”
“I was thoughtless, Father. I apologize.”
“Hmph! I shall return shortly.”
With that, he hastily departed from his daughter’s chamber.
He could not bear to let her see his tears.
If she witnessed his weeping, it would only cause her distress.

And so I departed for Beijing and stopped by the Government Office.
While handling my affairs, I suddenly recalled something my daughter had said.
At that opportune moment, an Imperial Official from the Government Office asked me a question.
“Sir, why does your expression seem so troubled?”
I shared my concerns with him, and the Imperial Officials of the Government Office recommended the Eunhae Trading Company to me.
I accepted their advice because my daughter had suggested it.
Had she not done so, I would naturally have entrusted the matter to one of the merchant guilds in Guizhou.
They would have made greater efforts to find it, and it would have been easier for me to repay the favor.
However, the Eunhae Trading Company procured the eyes far more quickly than expected.
And thanks to traveling alongside Eun Seo-ho, who had personally obtained the eyes, I was able to discover that Dong Ja-ryeong had been poisoned.
According to Baek Bal Hwa-ui’s words today, had things proceeded as Dong Ja-ryeong indicated, she would not have survived past autumn.
However, for some reason, the progression of the poison had halted, and he said treatment was now possible.
The only notable occurrences were touching the eyes and having a conversation with Eun Seo-ho.
There were two reports of color returning to Dong Ja-ryeong’s complexion, and there was only one commonality between those instances.
It was that she had conversed with Eun Seo-ho at close proximity.
Since my own daughter is a woman, I had assumed it was simply that kind of reaction to Eun Seo-ho’s handsome features.
However, upon reflection now, it seemed the reason was not merely that simple.
“Yeon Gyeok.”
“Yes, my lord.”
At my call, my Guard, who had been standing at the door, entered.
“You said it before, didn’t you? That the Small Guild Master Eun Seo-ho seemed like an extraordinary person.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“What exactly did you say at that time?”
“I said that it seemed the Small Guild Master Eun Seo-ho’s martial prowess was responsible for transporting the eyes from the Northern Sea without them melting.”
“Right, that’s what you said. But it’s true that he received help from some device, isn’t it?”
“Yes. So I examined that device in detail. And from what I could observe, it was not a device at all.”
“Not a device?”
“That is correct.”
He spoke with conviction.
“I believe that device was a kind of illusion. Given that the aura within that device matches the Small Guild Master Eun Seo-ho’s aura, I believe he infused his own energy into it.”
Yeon Gyeok, the Guard Warrior of the Provincial Inspector, was a Peak Master.
However, he was considerably more sensitive to auras than most, and his level of perception rivaled that of the highest masters.
“In my assessment, the Small Guild Master Eun Seo-ho has transcended the Peak realm. However, judging by how he has not yet perfectly refined that energy, it seems he has only recently entered the Transcendent realm.”
“What? At that age?”
“It is certainly a remarkable matter.”
Yeon Gyeok continued.
“From what I know, whether it is the aura of extreme yang or extreme yin, those in proximity to such energy are likewise affected by it.”
“Is it a harmful effect?”
“It depends on the circumstances, but using the young lady as an example, moderate yang energy would activate the poison, whereas extreme yang energy would burn it away.”
“I see.”
“However, the aura of Eun Seo-ho, the Small Guild Master, is that of extreme yin. And yin aura halts the progression of poison.”
He continued.
“Moreover, extreme yin aura possesses the function of purifying all that is impure.”
“You mean things like poison?”
“Precisely. Poison falls within the category of impurities.”
Then the halting of Dong Ja-ryeong’s poisoning must be attributed to Eun Seo-ho’s influence.
And Yeon Gyeok’s words were far from finished.
“Yet it is peculiar.”
“What do you mean?”
“Such potent extreme yin aura is rarely seen even among the disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, and yet a man possesses it—that is what strikes me as remarkable.”
“Now that you mention it, I recall hearing that Eun Seo-ho, the Small Guild Master, inherited the supreme technique of Geuk Cheon Sword Gwak Hoon, the hero from two centuries past.”
“Then it is quite understandable.”
The Provincial Inspector recalled Dong Ja-ryeong’s words.

“We should endeavor to maintain good relations with Eun Seo-ho, the Small Guild Master.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“According to the future I glimpsed just now, he is destined to become a hero of this empire.”

I had already intended to show favor to Eun Seo-ho from the start. Dong Ja-ryeong’s words only reinforced this resolve.
And now, believing that Eun Seo-ho was the reason Dong Ja-ryeong’s life was spared, I had to repay that debt with certainty.
“However, my lord, I believe we should feign ignorance regarding this matter.”
“Indeed. His excuse about using a magical artifact suggests he wishes this to remain concealed.”
Should he come to regard us as burdensome and distance himself, it would be a considerable loss.

* * *

I scratched behind my ear.
Hmm, my ear itched slightly—was someone talking about me?
After the acupuncture treatment and herbal medicine, she drifted peacefully into sleep.
Afterward, I showed my eyes to Baek Bal Hwa-ui, as he had requested to see them.
He examined my eyes carefully.
However, he couldn’t discover anything unusual, and this phenomenon seemed entirely novel to him—he appeared quite fascinated.
If even I found it strange, that says everything.
I returned to my room, removed my outer robe, lay down on the bed, and fell into contemplation.
There was something odd about the conversation I’d had with the Provincial Inspector and Baek Bal Hwa-ui earlier.
In such a situation, the Provincial Inspector had failed to ask the question he naturally should have asked.
The question: “Can my daughter survive?”
The Provincial Inspector I had observed until now was a man consumed with worry over his daughter.
Now that I thought about it… his complexion had seemed oddly brightened these past few days.
As if he already knew beforehand that Lady Ja-ryeong would recover…
He knew beforehand?
I bolted upright.
If that were true, it would resolve many of the questions that had puzzled me.
He knew the future.
Could Lady Ja-ryeong also be someone who had returned, like me?
I considered this briefly, but could only shake my head.
If that were the case, she would have died young in her previous life as well, and I could know nothing of what came after.
So this hypothesis was rejected.
Then only one possibility remained: Lady Ja-ryeong possessed the ability to perceive the future.
And judging by her character as I had observed it, she likely recorded future events out of concern for what would happen after her death and passed them to the Provincial Inspector.
Thanks to that, the Provincial Inspector had been able to govern Guizhou peacefully without incident.
But I still couldn’t understand why the poisoning symptoms that had threatened Lady Ja-ryeong’s life had stopped, or why her condition had improved.
That poison called Muaksu was said to progress irreversibly even after stopping its administration, if one had consumed it for merely three years.
At that moment, my hand had felt something strange where it touched.
The blanket was soft, so why did it feel hard?
Looking at where my hand rested, I understood the reason.
Ah…
It was because of my energy.
Having only recently reached the pinnacle, I had not yet fully contained my energy.
Though I had become much better at controlling it than at first.
“Huh?”
In that moment, I blinked as I looked at my hand.
Now that I thought about it, my energy was that of the Taiyin Ice-Sea Divine Art.
In other words, it possessed purifying properties by its very nature.
Could my uncontained energy have affected Lady Ja-ryeong?
So that…
It’s a hypothesis with considerable merit.
Still, I need to be careful about this.
If others discover that my qi possesses the function of detoxification, it will reveal that my martial arts are from the Seolpung Palace, which was exterminated.
Even setting that aside, I’d face considerable exhaustion from those seeking me out.
Of course, it’s certain that the benefits I could gain from this are substantial, but I didn’t want to haggle over someone’s life.
And striving to save someone’s life is impossible without considerable self-sacrifice.
That’s why, though they receive compensation, physicians who lose sleep and suffer anguish, struggling tirelessly to save lives, deserve respect for something separate from that.
What kind of humans are those who act violently toward such people….
Of course, there are also those unworthy of the title physician.
In any case, I know myself well.
I’m someone without such self-sacrifice.
“Well, is this a fortunate turn of events?”
Though I didn’t intend it, thanks to this I was able to save Lady Ja-ryeong.
Hmm, the Provincial Inspector, Baek Bal Hwa-ui, and the others probably didn’t notice this.
.
.
.
Several days passed after that.
Lady Ja-ryeong’s complexion improved with each passing day. From that alone, I could tell the current treatment was progressing well.
And the Physician treating Lady Ja-ryeong stayed close beside Baek Bal Hwa-ui, assisting him while learning about detoxification from him.
According to that Physician’s account, the treatment of illness and detoxification follow completely different paths.
And I was summoned by the Provincial Inspector and headed to his office.
“I heard you called for me.”
“Ah, come in.”
He offered me a seat, and I sat before the wooden table.
“I called you to have a cup of tea. Is that alright?”
“Of course.”
A Maidservant brought tea and poured it for us.
“Please, drink.”
“I’ll gratefully partake.”
As expected from tea used in the Provincial Inspector’s residence, it was quite premium.
Then a voice came from outside.
“Sir, it’s Ji Deputy here.”
“Come in.”
The door opened and the Ji Deputy I’d seen on the boat before entered.
“My apologies, but a matter has arisen that requires your direct attention.”
“Is that so?”
The Provincial Inspector sought my understanding.
“Would you mind if I stepped away for a moment?”
“Of course not. Please, don’t concern yourself.”
He left with Ji Deputy, and I enjoyed tea alone in his office.
It seems he trusts me quite a bit.
This is supposedly the Provincial Inspector’s office, yet he left me here alone as an outsider.
He showed favor before, but now it feels as though he’s placed me within his own domain entirely.
That’s when I noticed a book on the Provincial Inspector’s wooden table. The handwriting… it was a woman’s script.
I spread my energy and examined the surroundings.
I needed to confirm whether anyone was watching me.
After confirming no one was present, I quietly approached the wooden table and examined the book.

[Father, a famine will soon arrive and will persist for a very long time. You must prepare for it.]

My prediction had been correct.
Lady Ja-ryeong was someone who could see the future.
What?
I froze entirely at the passage written below that.

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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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