The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 406

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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 Eun Hae Trading Company Chapter 406

Chapter 406. The Harvest I Had Awaited (1)

While I conversed with the Regional Commander, the Guard Warriors had already bound all the assailants securely.
Naturally, they had also confiscated all the poison capsules meant for suicide.
Witnessing this, the Regional Commander clicked his tongue in admiration.
“Impressive. This is clearly not the work of an amateur.”
“The Upper Realm is a fierce place, after all, is it not? We have no choice but to face such individuals regularly.”
I selected the one carrying the finest weapon.
Among martial artists, a superior weapon was coveted nearly as much as martial skill itself, making it highly probable that the one with the best weapon was the leader.
At my signal, Myeong-jong Warrior splashed cold water across his face.
“Gasp!”
Startled, he regained consciousness, and upon seeing me, he seemed to grasp the situation and bit his lip.
“They appear to be ronin.”
“Correct.”
“Well, their clothes and weapons are all different, after all.”
Ronin were divided into two categories based on their inclinations.
White Robed and Black Robed Assassins.
The White Robed earned money through legitimate work like guard duties, while the Black Robed earned through illicit activities such as raids and assassinations.
These were undoubtedly Black Robed Assassins.
He grinned wickedly and spoke.
“Well, what a shame. Even if you torture me, you won’t get what you want.”
“So you have no intention of revealing who hired you.”
“We don’t know ourselves. How can I tell you what I don’t know?”
How utterly shameless.
Though such brazenness was necessary to lead among Black Robed Assassins.
“Then, how much were you paid?”
“What?”
“You must know how much money you received. Surely you’re not claiming ignorance? At your age, if you don’t know how much you were paid, there’s no explanation other than stupidity.”
“Ten taels of gold!”
“So you do know. But you were paid merely ten taels of gold to assassinate a high official of the first rank and a member of the Shandong Ak Clan, the Regional Commander? Are you naive? Or are you desperately short on funds?”
“Damn it!”
He ground his teeth at my words and spat out his response.
“They promised to erase me from the Murim Alliance’s wanted list if I succeeded!”
Ah, so that’s why he moved for such a pittance.
Ten taels of gold was merely operational funds.
Clever strategy indeed.
“So given those circumstances, you had no choice but to take this job, regardless of the consequences?”
“What else would it be?”
“That means the client is someone capable of erasing names from the Murim Alliance’s wanted list.”
“…!”
His eyes widened at my words.
“The person who hired you must be someone of considerable rank within the Murim Alliance.”
I smiled wickedly.
“That’s quite different from what you said earlier. You claimed to know nothing?”
“….”
His face twisted with bewilderment.
Shing.
Seo-woo Warrior, standing behind me, drew his blade.
“Then, would you mind telling us everything you know?”
.
.
.
A moment later.
I surveyed the battered Ronin Leader before me. He could barely grip a sword, let alone walk properly, but I felt no pity for him.
Being a Black Robed Assassin meant he had claimed the lives of countless innocents, and appearing on the Murim Alliance’s wanted list meant he had operated with corresponding brutality.
Through the Merchant’s confession, I confirmed that the one behind this scheme was a member of the Murim Alliance.
I also learned that the contract was to kill the Military Commander, and that he spoke with an Anhui Province dialect.
At this point, I had extracted everything worth knowing.
“Anhui Province—wasn’t the Baekcheon Trading Company’s leader a member of the Namgung Family?”
“That is my understanding.”
And the Namgung Family was based in Anhui Province.
“This demands a thorough investigation.”
Deep fury resonated in the Military Commander’s voice. How could anyone not burn with rage when someone had tried to end their life?

The next morning.
We set our sights on Luoyang once more.
Having come this far, I could say our work was largely complete.
Yet to be safe, we traveled to Luoyang at some distance from Ak Young-gyeong Regional Commander and his party.
There were no further attacks until Ak Young-gyeong Regional Commander arrived in Luoyang.
Hiring those Black Robed Assassins last time hadn’t been easy either, so this time would be even harder.
Thus I confirmed that Ak Young-gyeong Regional Commander had arrived in Luoyang and entered the city walls.
Now it was Ak Young-gyeong Regional Commander’s turn to shine.
A man who had risen to Regional Commander of Nanking within the Military Ministry would surely do well.
Moreover, with personal grudges now at stake, it was certain he would tear everything apart.
Tsk, tsk. That foolish Namgung Kang, why did he stir up such trouble….
I turned my head to look at my companions and spoke.
“Now we shall take our own path.”
“Yes. Where do you intend to go?”
“We’re heading to Hangzhou.”

* * *

At the Baekcheon Trading Company, a beating of almost unbearable ferocity was taking place.
Thwack! Thwack thwack!
The one delivering the blows unilaterally was Namgung Kang.
And the one taking them was Ji Taek-mun Manager.
“Damn it! You have no skill, yet you dare call yourself a manager! You bastard! Did I make you a manager to work like this?”
“I’m, I’m sorry… Ugh!”
He let out a pained groan.
The moment he returned to the Baekcheon Trading Company after being summoned, Namgung Kang kicked him as expected, and had been beating him ever since.
Blood was already flowing freely, but Namgung Kang showed no sign of stopping.
“I entrusted you with the Changhae Trading Company, and even running it well wouldn’t be enough—yet you lost the company? Just die! You bastard!”
The other managers and servants around watched nervously, unable to intervene.
They dared not step forward to stop him, knowing Namgung Kang’s temperament.
It was then.
“Um, Guild Master.”
“What? Now?!”
At that icy response, the attendant shrank back and spoke in a small voice.
“It appears Ak Young-gyeong Regional Commander has just headed toward the Murim Alliance.”
“What?”
“Ak Young-gyeong Regional Commander has entered the Murim Alliance….”
“Damn it!”
At those words, Namgung Kang gnashed his teeth.
He had sought out capable Black Robed Assassins and commissioned them… yet they had failed.
‘Why did they fail? With four masters at their peak, they should have been more than capable of eliminating an old man, even with guards protecting him.’
Among the black-robed assassins I hired, four had reached the pinnacle of martial mastery.
It was a contract that should not have failed unless a supreme master intervened—yet here we were.
Supreme masters were hardly common, after all.
This meant there was no time to waste.
I had to clean up this mess immediately.
He rushed toward the prison, and only then did the others carry Ji Taek-mun—sprawled like a rag doll—to the physician.

Moments later,
Namgung Kang arrived at the prison and saw his deputy officer and the guard unit that had protected Mo Cheong locked inside.
“Please, spare us!”
“We only did what the Merchant Guild Leader ordered! So why are you doing this to us?”
At their words, Namgung Kang smiled coldly.
“Now, where do you get the nerve to try pinning your crimes on me?”
“Merchant Guild Leader!”
“I trusted you with my affairs despite your wicked hearts! Ugh!”
“….”
His words made them understand.
They were to bear his guilt and die in his stead.
Naturally, rage surged through them.
“You bastard!”
“You abandon us after we served you faithfully!”
To them, Namgung Kang spoke in a low voice.
“That’s simply how the world works.”
Shing.
He drew his blade and stepped into the prison, severing the deputy officer’s neck.
Crack—!
Thud, roll-roll-roll.
The deputy officer’s head rolled across the floor. Watching this, the Guard Captain suddenly recalled Mo Cheong Manager’s words.

“Hah! You’ll all end up just like me in the end.”

I closed my eyes.
‘As you said… in the end, I’ve come to this. I wanted to live a little longer, but that little time turned out to be less than two months.’
But I refused to die like a dog.
‘Mo Cheong Manager, you prepared a way to survive, but I’ve at least prepared a way to make a final desperate move.’
Thwack!
I pulled out a hidden dagger that I’d secretly brought in through the guard of the Prison and concealed.
And I hurled it toward Namgung Kang.
Slash!
My neck flew off, but my final desperate move was effective.
The Guard Captain imprisoned in the Prison never imagined I would have prepared such a hidden blade.
Thunk!
“Aaaahhhhh!”
The dagger lodged itself in Namgung Kang’s left eye.
“Ugh! This… this bastard! Call a physician! Get a physician right now!”
Chaos erupted throughout the Baekcheon Trading Company, and all the physicians rushed to treat Namgung Kang’s eye.
“Can my eye be healed?”
“I apologize.”
“…”
That answer explained his current situation.
An attendant carefully spoke to him, who couldn’t hide his despair at losing one eye.
“Sir, Merchant Guild Leader. There’s been contact from the Murim Alliance. Your father is coming.”
“…”
The pain of losing his eye still tormented him, but this was a summons from his father, one of the senior members of the Murim Alliance.
He had to go immediately, no matter what.

Shortly after.
Namgung Kang arrived at the Murim Alliance and headed to his father’s quarters.
“Namgung Kang, Merchant Guild Leader of the Baekcheon Trading Company, has arrived.”
The door opened, and his father appeared. And…
Thunk!
A teacup flew toward him, and blood flowed from his forehead where it struck.
Namgung Kang bit his lip at that cold and chilling gaze.
He sensed it instinctively.
That he would be fortunate if he walked out on his own two feet today.

* * *

We retraced our steps and arrived back in Hangzhou.
The scenery of West Lake was breathtaking, no matter how many times I saw it.
“Truly, what a magnificent sight.”
Seo Hyang marveled beside me.
“I think I’ve done well serving as the Small Guild Master’s deputy officer. I get to see such wonderful landscapes.”
“But surely the constant travel must be exhausting for you?”
At my words, she smiled softly.
“If I can witness scenery like this, such hardship is well worth enduring.”
“By the way, why did you come to Hangzhou?”
At Palgap’s question, I smiled knowingly.
“What do you think I came for?”
“Could it be because of Yangyang Martial School?”
“That’s part of it, but I have a more important objective. This time, I need to acquire the taverns in this city.”
That’s why I brought Seo Hyang along.
“First, let’s head to Yangyang Martial School.”
“Yes.”
We made our way to Yangyang Martial School, where the children and Yeom Jin-yeon welcomed me warmly.
“Welcome.”
“I apologize for not visiting sooner.”
“Not at all. Thanks to the supplies you’ve provided, we’ve had a warm and well-fed winter.”
After exchanging greetings with the children, I followed Yeom Chief Manager to his office.
“Please, have some tea.”
“Thank you.”
Yeom Chief Manager offered me tea and spoke calmly.
“It’s been two and a half years since we relocated here.”
“Indeed.”
Nearly two years had passed since the famine began.
“So, how is the tavern operating at the location where Yangyang Martial School originally stood?”
At my question, he smiled faintly and replied.
“We’re not even recovering a tenth of the money we invested.”
It was exactly as I had anticipated.
A tavern in that location made no sense.
Compounded by the alcohol prohibition edict, it was a disaster.
He must have believed that building a tavern there would be a windfall, so he did it anyway.
Even at the cost of forcibly displacing Yangyang Martial School.
But he still doesn’t know about the consequences he’ll face for forcing out Yangyang Martial School.
“June will be here soon, and the weather is perfect. You should begin preparing to relocate.”
But first, let me examine these taverns.

I left the Yangyang Martial School and walked through the Red Light District of Hangzhou.
Before the liquor ban, this place had been crowded with countless people.
But now it was eerily devoid of life.
Naturally, the red lanterns that once bathed the surroundings in crimson light were dark.
Oil was scarce, and with no customers, there was no reason to light them anyway.
Palgap asked, sounding surprised.
“Young Master, is this really the place I remember?”
“Yes, it’s the same place you know.”
“A famine truly is terrifying, isn’t it?”
I nodded in agreement.
My steps came to a halt at a fabric shop operated by Wi Jun-deok Manager—or rather, Wi Jun-deok Shop Owner.
The shop held few ornate silks; instead, it was mostly stocked with practical fabrics.
He certainly moves quickly.
Just then, Wi Jun-deok Shop Owner, who had been inspecting the shop, rushed over in surprise.
“Small Guild Master, you’ve come?”
“How have you been?”
We went inside, and Wi Jun-deok Shop Owner served me tea.
I had already drunk tea earlier, but since he was offering it as a gesture of welcome, I should accept.
“You seem to be managing well despite the famine.”
“Yes. It’s difficult, but thanks to your advice, I’m getting by somehow.”
“That’s fortunate.”
“But what brings you to Hangzhou?”
Rather than answer his question, I broached the real matter.
“I need you to help me with something.”
“Just tell me what it is.”
“Are there any taverns in Hangzhou that are on the market?”
Wi Jun-deok Shop Owner thought for a moment before answering.
“On the market… yes, several have come up for sale.”
“It seems conditions are quite difficult.”
“That appears to be the case.”
“What about the ones not on the market?”
“They’re not much different. They’re barely hanging on, which is why they haven’t been put up for sale yet.”
“I see.”
“But why are you asking about this?”
I smiled slightly at his question and answered.
“Because I intend to become the owner of all the taverns in Hangzhou.”

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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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