The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 447

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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 447

Chapter 447. To Shaolin (3)

At my words, they tilted their heads in confusion and asked back.
“A rumor?”
“What rumor are you talking about?”
“How could you be so uninformed about rumors… Aren’t people like you usually very well-informed about such things?”
“I’m asking what rumor you’re referring to!”
As I continued to drag out the moment, they grew impatient and urged me on.
“What? You really don’t know?”
“Not knowing that… tsk tsk, you’re clearly not cut out for the Black Path.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
It was Palgap and my guards, as expected.
Having synchronized our breathing over such a long time, they naturally aligned with my words.
The Shaolin Temple monks seemed perceptive enough to remain silent and still.
“Ah, come on! Stop dragging it out!”
It was time to reveal the truth.
“The spiritual elixir that was inside the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master’s body is gone now.”
“What?”
“Gone? What do you mean?”
I opened the coffin containing the remains of the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master.
Click.
“See the mark here on the chest?”
Then I pointed to one of the original wounds.
It was a scar that appeared recent because it had been exposed as the corpse dried and shriveled.
“There was originally a spiritual elixir here. But while the Murim Alliance was keeping it, the elixir disappeared.”
“What?”
“According to those who guarded that place, a brilliant rainbow light poured down in the dead of night. They say the Buddha descended and took the elixir directly.”
“…”
“I don’t know the truth of the rumor myself. But it’s undeniable that the elixir has vanished. Yet you really haven’t heard this rumor?”
“Never heard of it!”
“That’s strange… The rumor is spreading all over Luoyang right now…”
My words left them looking bewildered.
But with me showing them the corpse directly and explaining, they couldn’t help but believe.
The operation was a success.
.
.
.
As we made our way toward Songshan Mountain, we were ambushed six times in succession.
But each time, I spread hastily fabricated rumors to turn them away.
Having just repelled the sixth group of attackers, one of the monks spoke with concern.
“Still, I’m not sure if this is… appropriate.”
“That’s how rumors naturally arise. And later, these rumors will gain substance and detail.”
I continued my explanation.
“And most rumors have no basis in reality. Many are deliberately fabricated by someone for their own purposes. So the monks must not be swayed by mere rumors.”
“This journey teaches many valuable lessons.”
In truth, Buddhism cautions against deception.
But I am no monk.
As we resumed our journey, we were attacked once more—this time by the Black Path.
But these attackers were different from those we had encountered before.
They charged at us without hesitation or warning.
“It’s them! Because of them, we were forced to deviate from our path to Shaolin!”
The monk’s words made me sense that something was amiss. But for now, dealing with these attackers took priority.
We calmly engaged them in combat.
Clang—!
Clang! Clang!
The clash of cold steel rang out loudly.
Their martial prowess was considerable.
But their misfortune was that they faced me and my Guard Warriors.
The attackers fell one by one, and their Bandit Leader’s expression grew increasingly desperate.
As our blades met, I posed a question.
“What is it that you seek?”
“Obviously, the sacred relic!”
“If you truly sought the sacred relic, you wouldn’t show such disinterest in it.”
I deliberately created an opening for them to approach the relic.
But they did not take it.
Their sole objective appeared to be driving us from this place.
Which meant they were not after the sacred relic at all.
Then…
“Is there a reason we cannot proceed to Shaolin?”
At my question, he flinched.
Hmm… could it be true?
No matter how I considered it, something felt decidedly wrong.
If the false rumor about a miraculous elixir within the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master’s sacred relic had spread, such rumors should have circulated before we even reached the Murim Alliance.
Yet I had received no reports of such rumors. The rumor had only recently begun to spread.
Which meant… the rumors began the moment we departed Luoyang with the Master’s sacred relic.
What exactly is happening here?
Why would they go to such lengths to prevent the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master’s remains from reaching Shaolin Temple?
To uncover the answer, I absolutely must escort the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master’s remains to Shaolin Temple.
With that resolve, I drew upon my inner energy and unleashed my sword with renewed force.
In less than an hour, I had subdued all the attackers.
Well… there were monks among them, so killing them felt wrong.
“Palgap, could you fetch some rope for me?”
“Rope, sir?”
“Yes. If I hang them from a tree, they won’t be able to chase us for a while.”
At my words, their faces drained of all color.
“If you tell me the truth—why you targeted the remains, or rather, why you prevented them from reaching Shaolin Temple—I’ll tie you beneath the tree instead of above it.”
“….”
They exchanged glances, their eyes darting nervously back and forth.
I chuckled at the sight.
“First come, first served!”
“Me, me!”
“I’ll tell you!”
I selected the one who raised his hand fastest.
“Go ahead.”
“W-well, actually, we were commissioned by someone. They said that soon, monks from Shaolin Temple would come from the Murim Alliance to take the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master’s remains to Songshan Mountain, and we were ordered to obstruct them and prevent them from reaching Shaolin Temple.”
“Do you have any idea who hired you?”
“No. For jobs like this, it’s more convenient for us not to know the client’s identity.”
That made sense.
Knowing the client’s identity could get you eliminated to keep your mouth shut.
“However, there was a distinctly dangerous aura about them.”
“Is that so?”
Living by the sword meant encountering danger frequently.
Because of that, I was relatively skilled at sensing dangerous atmospheres and killing intent.
A dangerous aura, then….
In any case, it seemed I’d extracted all the useful information from them.
“Let’s tie them up.”
“Yes!”
“But, I….”
I smiled at the Black Path member.
“I keep my promises.”
True to my word, I bound the Black Path member who had revealed the commission details beneath the tree.
Though I did tie him upside down.
This is actually more exhausting than I expected.
Telling the same story once or twice is fine, but doing it six times wore me out.
And on top of that, getting entangled with these lowlifes.
This won’t do. I’ll have to extract proper compensation from Shaolin Temple for this.
.
.
.
Several more days of travel passed.
The monks of Shaolin Temple do not ride horses.
Because we had to match their pace, our speed was painfully slow.
“Neigh!”
Ju Gang Ma, blessed with strength and stamina, despised moving at such a leisurely pace.
As a result, he frequently displayed his frustration with impatient behavior.
But then.
– Squeak!
The moment Geumryeong let out a single squeak, Ju Gang Ma immediately suppressed his irritation and hung his head low.
To me, Geumryeong is an endlessly lovable creature, but it seems the others see him differently.
The monks of Shaolin Temple appeared deeply troubled after hearing the earlier account.
Yet their eyes burned with fierce determination—the responsibility of bringing the remains of the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master back to Shaolin Temple weighed heavily upon them.
Fortunately, the rumors I had spread did not seem to have reached nearby areas, and no uninvited guests came seeking us out.
A blessing indeed.
“From that point onward lies the territory of our Shaolin.”
At those words, I felt some of my tension ease.
Of course, I could not guarantee absolute safety, but a large-scale ambush would be unlikely here.
After perhaps another hour of travel, we encountered a group of monks.
Hmm? There was something familiar about them…
Ah, Jeongmyeong Monk!
And several of the monks nearby also looked familiar.
They were monks from Shaolin Temple whom we had met on the road to Lanzhou.
“What? Senior Brother! Jeongmyeong Senior Brother!”
The monk traveling with us also called out to them joyfully upon seeing them.
“Jeongcheong!”
Given that his dharma name was Jeongcheong, it seemed he and Jeongmyeong Monk were of the same generation.
They rushed toward us with expressions of surprise.
“Wait! Who is this? Isn’t this the Seonhyeop Mirang Great Swordmaster?”
“It has been a long time. Did you return safely to Shaolin Temple back then?”
“Yes. Thanks to your help, I returned safely, and I reported everything to the Abbot and the others. I came to realize once more just how great a debt of gratitude we owed.”
“Not at all. This is merely the compassion of the Buddha watching over this land.”
Thus we exchanged brief pleasantries, and Jeongmyeong Monk asked the one he called Jeongcheong.
“But what happened? You should have arrived long ago, yet you have not. We were out searching for you.”
It seemed they had sent a messenger when departing from the Murim Alliance.
With that, they would have known approximately when to expect our arrival, and that time had long since passed.
The monk called Jeongcheong let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“We were attacked by those seeking the Master’s remains and were driven far to the east for quite some time.”
“What?”
“However, thanks to the Seonhyeop Mirang Great Swordmaster and his party, whom I happened to meet, I was able to arrive here safely. And… I also discovered that there are those targeting us.”
“Targeting you?”
“Yes. There were those attempting to prevent the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master’s remains from reaching Shaolin.”
“What? Who on earth would do such a thing!”
The enraged Jeongmyeong Monk composed himself and bowed respectfully toward me.
“I am truly grateful. It seems I am receiving your help once again.”
“That too is the grace of Buddha.”
Though I had indeed endured considerable hardship, it felt shameful to claim credit for it myself.
“From here onward, this is Shaolin’s territory. You may rest assured. Let us proceed.”
“Yes.”
Our party followed Jeongmyeong Monk and his companions up the mountain. Among them were monks I had seen before, and their expressions clearly showed their delight at our arrival.

The Empire possessed five sacred mountains renowned throughout the land.
Mount Tai in the east, Huashan Mountain in the west, Mount Heng in the south, Mount Heng in the north, and Songshan Mountain at the center.
These sacred mountains were nearly all treacherously steep and formidable.
It was fortunate this was Shaolin’s territory; had the Green Forest Bandits nested throughout these peaks, the journey would have been far more perilous.
Still, even the most impassable stretches had been made traversable—either by carving tunnels through the lower slopes or constructing mountain paths along the heights.
“The disciples of Shaolin must have endured considerable hardship constructing this path.”
Jeongmyeong Monk smiled gently and bowed in acknowledgment.
“We are grateful that you recognize such effort.”
Climbing higher and higher, we finally arrived at Soshil Peak and entered the temple grounds.
Then someone approached us.
“…!”
I was startled by the spiritual energy emanating from him. At this level… was he at the Hwagyeong stage?
Wait, if someone at Hwagyeong is at Shaolin…
The venerable monk approached me and bowed respectfully.
“Amitabha Buddha! What a joyous day it is to have two such distinguished guests arrive together. Welcome. I am Jisung.”
Jeongmyeong Monk then spoke.
“This is the Abbot Master.”
I quickly cupped my fist in salute and paid my respects.
“I pay my respects to the Abbot Master. I am Eun Seo-ho, Small Guild Master of the Eun Hae Trading Company. Thank you for extending this invitation.”
Then Jeongcheong Monk spoke.
“We received considerable assistance from the Seonhyeop Mirang Great Swordmaster this time. Without the Great Swordmaster, we would not have been able to complete our mission.”
He continued with a grave expression.
“There is much I must report.”
“We shall speak of it later.”
“Understood.”
The Abbot Master then turned toward the remains of the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master, who stood behind me.
The Abbot Master had come in person not so much to greet me, but to receive the remains of the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master.
My companions and I quickly stepped aside, reading the situation.
The monks hastily opened the lid of the box containing the sacred remains.
As light entered the box, everyone could see the sacred remains.
However, something seemed different from when we first discovered it at Geom Chong….
As I tilted my head in confusion, I looked up at the sky.
Ah!
Now I understand what’s different. It’s the direction.
Unlike before when facing East, now the remains are facing Northwest.
Could the sorrowful appearance be because of the direction?
At that moment, the Abbot Master seemed to read my expression and spoke to me.
“You appear quite exhausted.”
“Ah, no. I apologize. I’ve been showing poor manners.”
“It’s understandable that you would be tired.”
“Honorifics are too much for me. Please speak comfortably.”
“If the patron wishes it, I shall do so.”
“Thank you.”
“However, it seems there’s a reason behind this….”
To this, I spoke honestly.
“I thought the sacred remains of the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master should be able to face East.”
“East?”
“In fact, when we discovered the sacred remains, they were facing East. I believe this holds significance.”
The Abbot Master nodded and gave the order accordingly.
The cart turned, and the sacred remains of the Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master now faced East.
My intuition was correct.
The same appearance as before.
No, it was even more captivating now than it had been then.
Was it because of that serene expression on the face? Or was it because we had returned to Shaolin Temple?
I couldn’t explain what it was.
My chest felt ticklish, as if something were sprouting within me.
In that instant, the Master’s sacred remains seemed to smile at me.
What?
Seeing the same illusion twice….
As I rubbed my eyes to dispel the hallucination, the Abbot Master’s exclamation burst forth.
“Amitabha Buddha!”
And simultaneously, several monks behind him coughed up blood from the shock.
At the same time, a sweeping wave of qi erupted!
Could it be… enlightenment at this very moment?
And immediately after, another astonishing event unfolded.
Among my Guard Warriors, I felt the sweeping wave of qi as well.

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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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