The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 446

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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 446

Chapter 446. Toward Shaolin (2)

We set out once more toward Shaolin Temple and soon arrived at the Yellow River.
The Yellow River, which flowed along the border between Hebei and Shandong, was in its lower reaches, so its width appeared far greater than when we had crossed the river in Gansu before.
However, we felt no concern.
We knew that Ju Gang Ma could cross the river regardless of its width.
“Come now, let us proceed! Everyone, grip the reins tightly!”
“Yes!”
Ju Gang Ma gradually increased speed, then accelerated and began crossing the river swiftly.
Because we could cross the river in a single bound like this, we were able to save considerable time.
Rather than following the river, we descended slightly southward and turned westward.
“The daylight is beginning to fade, sir.”
At Palgap’s words, I spoke to everyone.
“Let us find a place to make camp for the night.”
“Understood.”
Soon we found a suitable location and settled there.

Crackle, crackle-pop.
Though we had descended into Henan, the forest around us made the night grow somewhat chill.
Sitting here warming myself by the campfire like this felt pleasant.
As I relaxed in such comfort, I suddenly sensed a killing intent.
I rose from my seat immediately.
“What is the matter, sir?”
“I sensed killing intent nearby.”
At my words, everyone tensed and drew their weapons. I closed my eyes and focused my perception to survey the surroundings.
“There has been combat in this area. It appears to be… a clash between Black Path members and Orthodox Sect disciples.”
“What shall we do?”
At Seo-woo Warrior’s question, I hesitated briefly. I wondered if we should needlessly throw ourselves into danger.
But my instinct was speaking to me.
I had to go look.
“We cannot leave potential threats unresolved. Let us go.”
“Understood.”
“Myeong-jong Warrior, you and Palgap remain here to guard our supplies.”
“Yes.”
I rushed toward the location of the combat with the remaining guards.

Clang! Clang-clang!
Bang!
“Push harder! Just a bit more!”
“Hahahaha! You bald monks! Why won’t you just give up?”
Upon arriving at the scene, I quickly grasped the situation. Buddhist monks from Shaolin Temple were locked in combat with Black Path martial artists.
The monks were defending something, while the Black Path warriors launched relentless assaults to seize it.
“Master, what should we do?”
“Let’s lend them a hand.”
With those words, I kicked off the ground.
At that moment, I saw a Black Path warrior’s blade hurtling toward one of the monks.
Clang!
I deflected the blade and immediately swept my sword across, severing the warrior’s arm.
“Argh!”
“Unlike these monks, we show no mercy. Don’t you think it would be wise to withdraw?”
One of the Black Path warriors cried out at my words.
“You! Stay out of this!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. You see, I have a rather meddlesome nature.”
I said with a smile.
“Any deaths that result are not my responsibility.”
Another Black Path warrior shouted then.
“Even if you kill us, there are others after that corpse! Do you think you can face them all?”
“Compassion is admirable, but a weakling should know when to step in and when to stay out!”
Why does he think my martial prowess is weak?
Ah… The darkness must be preventing him from seeing my face clearly.
But wait—did I just hear something I shouldn’t have?
“What did you just say? Did you say ‘corpse’?”
At my words, one of the Shaolin monks gasped and spoke.
“Yes, benefactor. What we are transporting now is the body of the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master.”
“….”
Fate truly is amusing.
Should I call this frightening?
In any case, I could not overlook this situation.
I had gone through such hardship to deliver that remains intact to Shaolin….
If these Black Path scoundrels took it, I might burst from frustration.
Moreover, I currently possess the final wishes of the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master.
I felt a strong instinct that I had to help them….
“The body of the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master! Then I absolutely cannot withdraw!”
But then a question suddenly occurred to me.
“But why are you after the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master’s body in the first place?”
“Because there’s a divine elixir hidden inside that corpse, of course!”
A spiritual elixir?
No, what in the world are you talking about?
I asked with an expression of utter bewilderment.
“Where on earth did you hear such baseless rumors? There is nothing inside the Master’s body. It contains only bones and skin—how could there be a spiritual elixir!”
“The rumors are already spreading far and wide! So how can you be so certain there is nothing?”
How can I be certain?
Because I have Geumryeong.
If there had been something like a spiritual elixir inside the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master’s belly, Geumryeong would have sensed it first and cried out “Kwee!”
And in my previous life, I also investigated the Master’s remains, but found nothing whatsoever.
However, these are not evidence I can present to them.
I let out a sigh.
“Look, I’m not sure where the source of these rumors is, but whoever started them must be rolling with laughter watching you all carry on like this.”
“What do you mean?”
“We already conducted a thorough investigation when we retrieved the body from Geom Chong in Gansu Province and confirmed there was nothing.”
Of course, that was a lie.
It had been strictly managed the moment we found it.
“So everyone who was in Gansu Province knows the body contained nothing… and since they obtained nothing, they seem to have spread these false rumors out of spite… and you’ve all fallen for it.”
“What?”
“What are you saying?”
I scratched the back of my neck.
Having to speak my own name aloud—how embarrassing!
“I…”
But as if sensing my reluctance, Seo-woo Warrior cried out beside me.
“Our lord is the hero of the Yongbong Martial Arts Tournament, Seon Hyeop Mi-rang the Great Hero!”
Immediately after, the Yeo Eung-am Warrior shouted.
“He distinguished himself at Geom Chong on Yanzhi Mountain in Gansu Province!”
I gave the two warriors a grateful glance. Thanks to them, I was spared the awkwardness of having to announce my own name.
At their shout, the Black Blade Warriors fell into confusion, while the Buddhist monks from Shaolin Temple cheered softly with delight.
I spoke to the Black Robed gang members.
“The Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master passed away while gazing toward Songshan Mountain where Shaolin Temple stands. As the old saying goes, even a fox turns its head toward its homeland when it dies—this is proof that the Master yearned for Shaolin Temple, which was like his true home, until his final moment. Therefore, we went through all that hardship to return even his remains to Shaolin Temple…”
I spoke with indignation.
“What contemptible people you are! Thanks to the Master’s compassion, the fortress collapsed and you were spared from being buried alive within it—you should be offering gratitude to the Master’s remains, yet you spread such vicious lies! Do you possess not even a shred of honor?”
At my rebuke, several of them turned away or bowed their heads in shame.
To be honest, there are many wicked people among the Black Path.
But since there are quite a few who turned to the Black Path out of desperation to survive, some still retain a conscience.
I continued speaking to them.
“In any case, you’ve been played for fools. So stop this nonsense here and instead give a satisfying blow to the back of the head of whoever started these rumors.”
I swung my blade.
Screech!
The ground before them sank down by more than a foot.
“If you truly wish to fight us, I won’t stop you. However, I should warn you—if you’re facing me and my Guard Warriors, you should be prepared to lose at least a limb or two.”
A tense moment hung in the air.
“Sigh.”
Then, as if on cue, one of them began sheathing their blade, and soon all the Black Robed Persons started putting away their weapons.
“That one makes a fair point.”
“Indeed… if there had been an elixir inside, those fellows at Yanzhi Mountain would have consumed it first.”
“A wild goose chase! Damn it!”
“Well, we apologize for the trouble!”
And so the Black Dao Gang Members all departed. Only then did I sheathe my blade and approach the monks.
I clasped my fists respectfully in salute.
“I am Eun Seo-ho, Small Guild Master of the Eun Hae Trading Company. It is an honor to meet you, esteemed masters.”
At my words, they waved their hands in protest.
“We are unworthy of such a title. We are truly grateful for your assistance.”
“Fate is a curious thing indeed. To meet on the very road to Shaolin Temple. But may I ask—why are you here? I heard that the monks of Shaolin were transporting the sacred relic from the Murim Alliance to Shaolin.”
“That is correct. We are returning from the Murim Alliance.”
“Yet this place lies far from the direct route to Songshan Mountain from the Murim Alliance, does it not?”
“Yes. We were ambushed shortly after leaving the Murim Alliance. They had thoroughly blocked the direct road to Songshan, so we had no choice but to take a detour.”
“You must have endured much hardship.”
“Fortunately, none of our disciples lost their lives, though we were indeed in dire straits. We are grateful once more.”
“Remarkable—to disperse them all without resorting to bloodshed!”
“You are truly a Great Hero.”
“You flatter me. Haha.”
Then one of the monks spoke.
“I hear our disciples received considerable aid from the Great Hero. We extended an invitation, and I wonder—is that why you’re heading in this direction?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
As I nodded, the monks broke into bright smiles and extended an invitation.
“How fortunate! We too are bound for Shaolin Temple. It would be best if we traveled together.”
“We would welcome that.”
And so we agreed to travel together.
“Please, come this way and rest. We’ve prepared a campsite.”
We made our way to the campsite we had established.
“Young Master, you’ve returned?”
Palgap and Myeong-jong Warrior greeted us.
“Yes. Any trouble?”
“No, sir. None at all.”
“Good. Ah, these are monks from Shaolin Temple.”
I explained the situation to Palgap and Myeong-jong Warrior.
“Well done, sir. Have the monks eaten yet?”
At this question, the monks shook their heads.
It was hardly surprising—they had been fleeing and fighting without respite.
There’s no way he could have eaten a proper meal.
“Would this rice perhaps be of help?”
The Buddhist Monk asked, offering rice as he checked if there were any remaining provisions, and upon seeing this, Palgap responded readily.
“Ah! Then I’ll try making some rice porridge with that.”
“I’d appreciate it.”
Soon Palgap fetched water from nearby and began preparing the porridge in a pot with the rice.
“Allow me to help a bit.”
“Then, if you could stir this for a moment, that would be wonderful.”
Palgap went somewhere and returned with something. It was a mushroom.
“This mushroom is incredibly delicious.”
“Oh? Really?”
Palgap carefully trimmed the mushroom, cut it into small pieces, and added it to the pot.
Among wild mushrooms, many are poisonous, but I harbored no concern whatsoever.
Why, you ask?
Palgap possessed an uncanny ability to distinguish poisonous varieties. A bear truly is a bear, after all.
Thus the warm porridge was completed, and Palgap served each of the monks a bowl.
There were twenty monks in total.
As they each consumed a bowl of Palgap’s porridge, their expressions became as though they had entered paradise itself.
“It’s truly delicious.”
“Thank you.”
Thus the monks satisfied their hunger.
I’ve erased another debt with this.
I thanked Palgap for his effort, and he chuckled, rubbing his nose with a snort.
“This is nothing much, really.”
I smiled lightly and settled into contemplation.
But this rumor that there’s a miraculous elixir within the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master’s remains….
It’s a truly vicious rumor.
Who on earth started such a rumor?
I had worked so hard to achieve a different outcome from my previous life, when the Master’s body had been scattered to pieces.
At that moment, a thought suddenly struck me.
Could it be….
Is there some reason the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master’s remains cannot enter Shaolin Temple intact?
Is that why someone is trying to prevent it?
No, surely not….
There’s nothing in those remains, truly nothing.
If anything were to be found there, it would merely be that the Master’s remains, who cherished and loved Shaolin so dearly, are returning to Shaolin’s embrace.
Yet the nagging sense that something was amiss refused to leave my mind.

The next morning, we organized our camp and set out once more toward Shaolin Temple.
No uninvited guests had visited us the previous night.
But I couldn’t say the same would hold true today.
We formed a large formation with the cart bearing the remains of the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master at its center, surrounded on all sides.
It was less than two hours after we departed.
Whoosh!
Arrows shot toward us.
An ambush.
I didn’t believe these were Green Forest Bandits from San Chae, and that was because our group included a Buddhist Monk.
Among the Green Forest Bandits, there existed an unspoken rule: never lay hands on a Buddhist Monk.
Or so they said—that touching a monk would condemn one to the most excruciating hell among all hells.
And there were also tales of three years of terrible misfortune befalling anyone who did so, which was why they left monks untouched.
Though the Green Forest Bandits were also part of the Black Path, those who coveted the remains of the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master clearly weren’t the type to concern themselves with such superstitions.
“Hand over that corpse while we’re being reasonable.”
“That elixir belongs to us!”
Watching these figures appear before us, I clicked my tongue.
Why did everyone so readily believe such pointless rumors?
At this rate, they’d waste all my time.
Then a brilliant idea suddenly occurred to me.
The method I’d used before to resolve the sinister rumors about the Jamu Doll Company—fighting rumor with rumor.
I spoke to them.
“What? You haven’t heard that rumor yet?”

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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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