The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 424

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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 424

Chapter 424. A Friend’s Wedding (3)

Even as I stood bewildered, the conversation continued.
“Are you truly certain? I shall ensure the price for the Yuseong Sect’s techniques is paid without regret.”
“There is no need.”
“Who else could repay such an enormous sum? The interest on the borrowed funds has already grown to astronomical proportions, has it not?”
“…I said there is no need!”
“Hmph! You shall come to regret this.”
With that, the Mysterious Guest rose and departed.
Now I could approach the Sect Master, could I not?
I waited a moment before moving forward, and my eyes met the Sect Master’s.
“….”
A brief silence fell, and the Sect Master spoke.
“Come, sit.”
“Yes.”
I made my way to the pavilion where the Sect Master sat and took the seat across from him.
“I displayed unseemly conduct. My apologies.”
“Not at all.”
“Someone of your caliber would have heard the entire conversation just now.”
Could he truly believe me if I claimed not to have heard?
There was only one answer I could give.
“I beg your pardon. I happened to overhear.”
“Hmm, then an explanation would seem necessary.”
“It is not.”
I waved my hand.
“It is fine. I shall simply forget what I heard.”
Though of course, I was curious.
What exactly was transpiring?
The Sect Master opened his mouth with a grave expression.
“In truth, the Main Organization carries considerable debt. It accumulated during the long illness of my late father.”
“I see.”
“And the man who was just speaking with me is the Master of the Daegong Trading Company. For reasons I cannot fathom, he offered to repay the debt in exchange for the Main Organization’s techniques.”
He smiled bitterly as he spoke.
“As you well know, a sect’s techniques are the very essence of that sect—its soul and its strength. How could I possibly accept such a proposal?”
The Sect Master’s words were true.
The techniques of a martial family or sect are their spirit and their power.
“I apologize if this is presumptuous to ask, but….”
“What is it?”
“How much debt are we talking about?”
I posed the question, and he answered.
“Thirty thousand silver taels originally. But with interest accumulated over time, it’s reached fifty thousand taels.”
Good heavens, these shameless loan sharks.
“So… the situation has become rather difficult.”
Ah, so that’s why In Jung-yeon participated in the Yongbong Martial Arts Tournament.
I had been too occupied at the time to attend the tournament myself, only hearing about it from Jin-ho.
He said she fought with remarkable resolve and desperate determination.
With the sect facing a crisis of survival, financial support would have been absolutely essential.
Yet suddenly, a question occurred to me.
Bok Yun Sub-leader is the sub-leader of Gwangjun Trading Company, a major merchant guild within the Top Hundred Merchant Guilds.
Could someone of his stature truly be unaware of Yuseong Sect’s circumstances?
“Sect Master, have you perhaps mentioned this matter to my old friend?”
He shook his head at my question.
“No. How could I sell my daughter to pay the sect’s debts?”
“….”
“And if I were to repay the debt with my son-in-law’s help, it would become a shackle upon her heart. Now that she can live happily in a prosperous household, I cannot bind her ankles with my burdens.”
I see….
Bok Yun Sub-leader must be wrestling with this dilemma.
Truthfully, fifty thousand silver taels is an amount Bok Yun Sub-leader could repay with some effort if he truly pushed himself.
But to repay such a debt would compromise his father-in-law’s dignity, and yet to simply ignore it would weigh heavily on his conscience.
“But that aside, why did you wish to see me?”
“Ah….”
The Sect Master smiled awkwardly.
“It seems our conversation has wandered down an unexpected path. The reason I summoned you was… to ask you to take good care of my daughter.”
He continued.
“Should anything happen, she has nowhere to rely upon but you.”
“How can you say such a thing? Does my lady not have her birth family to depend upon?”
He shook his head slightly.
“I have a feeling that someone out there is targeting our sect.”
His intuition was sharp.
Having lived through my previous life, I could recognize that the Sect Master’s premonition was accurate.
“Therefore, I am entrusting you with the responsibility of protecting her should such circumstances arise.”
Yet this was something that, despite being Bok Yun Sub-leader’s connection, I—practically a stranger—should hardly be hearing.
I spoke carefully.
“Sect Master, forgive me, but are you comfortable revealing something so intimate to someone who is essentially an outsider?”
The Sect Master gazed at me intently before responding.
“For some reason, I felt compelled to tell you. But one cannot discuss such matters in crowded places, can one? So I asked you to come here… yet that person’s unexpected arrival forced me to reveal what I had hoped to conceal.”
“It’s quite all right. Please don’t concern yourself.”
“Thank you then. I’ll be on my way.”
But instead of leaving, I made a proposal to the Sect Master.
“Sect Master, I would like to lend you money.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly as I said. I wish to lend you the funds.”
It was clear that the Murim Alliance stood behind the Daegong Trading Company.
Based on my memories from my previous life, the Yuseong Sect’s seasonal tribute was given to the Moyong Clan.
A price paid for loyalty.
The man who would become In Jung-yeon’s husband was the Second Young Master of Moyong Clan.
He possessed neither good character nor ability.
There was no way a marriage to such a man could bring happiness.
The Sect Master I saw now was a man who desired his daughter’s happiness. Even with the League Master’s arrangement, there was no way he would willingly send his daughter to such a worthless second son.
Actually, now that I think about it, I’m not fond of the League Master either.
Why would he arrange a marriage to such a despicable man as a matchmaker!
In any case, the reason the sect was bound to the Moyong Clan through marriage was surely because the sect’s circumstances had become so dire.
If I resolved that debt beforehand, I could sever the snare that sought to entangle the Yuseong Sect’s seasonal tribute.
“Borrow money from me and repay that debt.”
“What collateral do you require?”
“The collateral I seek is the peace of the Yuseong Sect.”
Seeing the confusion on the Sect Master’s face, I continued with a gentle smile.
“I am Jin-u of Bok Yun Sub-leader. Therefore, I cannot stand idle watching my father-in-law worry over his bride’s family. How can any son-in-law find happiness when his wife’s household is troubled?”
“…You speak true.”
“That is why I offer to lend you the money. You said it was burdensome to accept a son-in-law’s help, but am I truly an outsider?”
“….”
“Moreover, fifty thousand silver taels is not such a great sum for me. So please, feel no burden. One tael of silver per year in interest, with no time limit. What say you?”
After a moment of consideration, he nodded.
“Remarkably generous terms indeed.”
“Not so generous, really. The interest accumulates by one tael each year.”
“But will thirty thousand taels ever become fifty thousand?”
…Well, I have nothing to say to that.
Just then, an attendant arrived and whispered to the Sect Master.
“Please wait a moment. A guest seeks me, but I shall return shortly.”
And so I was left alone in the Rear Garden Pavilion.
Hmm, the decision to lend the money… it was the right choice.
It’s not as though I lack the means.
“Chirp.”
Just then, Geumryeong emerged from my sleeve.
“Hmm? Do you wish to see the back garden too?”
“Chirp?”
Geumryeong emerged from my sleeve and began wandering around the pavilion with little bouncing steps.
Then, with a splash, he tumbled into the pond.
Really, why the sudden water play? You’ll get soaked, and I’ll have to dry you off.
Muttering thus, I pulled out a handkerchief.
– Squeak!
But suddenly, I heard a telepathic message from Geumryeong.
Why did he suddenly sound so delighted?
The biggest reason this creature gets excited is when he spots something valuable, isn’t it?
“Geumryeong, come out!”
“Squeak!”
Geumryeong emerged from the water.
“Is there something expensive in there?”
“Squeak! Squeak squeak!”
Geumryeong wagged his tail as he explained. So there was something beneath the pavilion?
What on earth could it be?
I didn’t know exactly what it was, but if Geumryeong said it was valuable, it must be something that could benefit the Yuseong Sect.
“First, let’s dry you off.”
Geumryeong shook himself to shed the water first, and I dried the remaining moisture with my handkerchief.
“Now, get back into my sleeve.”
“Squeak.”
Geumryeong slipped into my sleeve, and soon the Sect Master returned.
“Forgive me for stepping away so suddenly.”
“Not at all.”
“Then shall we continue our conversation?”
“There is no need to rush. The wedding reception has not yet concluded, and the guests may still require your attention. Perhaps we should finish our discussion after the ceremony is complete.”
“That’s true enough.”
I rose from my seat with teacup in hand and spoke as I moved toward the pond’s edge.
“By the way, this rear garden is truly beautiful.”
The Sect Master nodded at my words and spoke with evident pride.
“It was created during my great-grandfather’s time. More than a century has passed since then. In those days, our sect was quite prosperous.”
“Your sect is still sufficiently promising now.”
He shook his head and continued.
“I appreciate you saying so, but it was vastly different then. We were counted among the three greatest wealthy families in this Liaoning region. But then… my great-grandfather made poor investment decisions, and our family fortune declined sharply.”
“I see.”
“In any case, when I gaze upon this garden, my worries fade somewhat. Though it’s unfortunate that the weather is so cold the water rarely thaws.”
“That is indeed a pity.”
Saying so, I deliberately let the teacup I was holding slip into the pond.
Splash!
“Oh! My apologies!”
“No matter. It’s fine.”
“I shall go in and retrieve it myself. In my family, there is a saying that if a teacup used by our household falls into the pond and cannot be found, the marriage cannot proceed.”
Of course, no such saying existed—it was a hastily fabricated lie I had concocted to enter the pond myself.
Entering the water without reason would certainly raise suspicion.
“Then I shall summon servants to search for it.”
“No, I must find it myself.”
I removed my outer robe and waded into the pond. Fortunately, I was not wearing formal ceremonial attire.
Still, Palgap would certainly have much to say about this.
At present, Palgap and my guards waited beyond the doors. This rear garden was situated in a secluded location where unauthorized persons could not freely enter.
I sent a silent transmission to Geumryeong.
-Geumryeong, so where is that expensive item?
Squeak!
Geumryeong emerged from my sleeve and guided me.
Thud.
Soon my hand brushed against something hard and solid.
Is this… a box?
In any case, I had found it. Now I needed to exit.
“Sect Master, there appears to be something sunken here.”
“What do you mean?”
I lifted what I held directly from the water.
This box, roughly a span in size, was fashioned from stone and quite heavy.
I retrieved it and placed it upon the pavilion.
“Do you have any notion of what this might be?”
“I have no idea whatsoever.”
I brushed away the moss from the box’s surface with my hand. Then, characters appeared with perfect clarity.

[To the Descendants of Yuseong Sect]

“Permit me to open it.”
At my words, he nodded, and I carefully opened the box.
Huh? This is…
We both fell silent.
A brilliant radiance burst forth from within the box, illuminating the surroundings.
A Night Luminous Pearl. And a remarkably superior grade at that.

Inside the stone box were five night-luminous pearls in total.
They shone far brighter and more powerfully than the ones I had discovered in Luoyang before.
The Sect Master grasped my hand and expressed his gratitude repeatedly.
“Thank you! Truly, thank you! Thanks to you, I’ve found the family’s treasure!”
“The family’s treasure…?”
At my question, the Sect Master nodded with tears glistening in his eyes.
“According to the family records, night-luminous pearls have been passed down through generations, but no one had ever found them. To think they were here all along!”
Judging by how they were placed in a stone box and hidden beneath the pond near the pavilion, someone had deliberately concealed them.
Moreover, the lid bore the inscription: [For the Descendants of Yuseong Sect].
Didn’t the Sect Master say his great-grandfather had ruined the family through poor investments?
Perhaps someone, fearing these night-luminous pearls might be sold off in those desperate times, had hidden them away?
In truth, night-luminous pearls last longer underwater than gold does.
“These night-luminous pearls—do you happen to know their approximate value?”
“At this quality, each would fetch around twenty thousand silver taels.”
“What?! That… that expensive?”
“Yes. In truth, as a merchant I should purchase them far below market value, but how could I do such a thing to you, Sect Master?”
I smiled as I spoke.
“You’ve spared me the trouble of drawing up a debt contract.”
The fact that you’re asking the price suggests you’re willing to sell them.
“I shall purchase them at twenty thousand silver taels each.”
Notably, I have no memory of hearing about these night-luminous pearls in my previous life, which means no one ever discovered them and they remained buried.
According to my recollection, the Yuseong Sect was destroyed and this entire place became ruins.
The Sect Master sold three of the five night-luminous pearls to me.
Thus I gave him sixty thousand silver taels.
With this, the Sect Master was able to sever the noose that had been strangling the Yuseong Sect.
.
.
.
Naturally, I received quite the scolding from Palgap.
“Young Master, who prides himself on being fastidious, must have had good reason to enter the pond yourself, but still… I wish you would take better care of your health.”
“I understand.”
“The Sect Master who went to meet you came out completely soaked—do you know how shocked he was?”
“I’m sorry.”
Despite his scolding, Palgap chuckled softly.
“So, was it worth entering the pond?”
“Of course it was.”
“But then, what is this one doing?”
What Palgap pointed to was Geumryeong, rolling about gleefully on the bed while hugging Geum Won-bo.
I laughed softly and replied.
“I did something worthy of such joy.”

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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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