The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 451

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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 451

Chapter 451. Ascension (4)

I was so taken aback that words failed me.
Ji-sang Monk’s Mother had died ten years ago, and her husband was still alive and well?
I didn’t know what purpose Ji-sang Monk’s Maternal Uncle had in telling him such a thing, but something felt deeply wrong.
I asked again.
“Is it possible that her brother doesn’t know she’s dead?”
“Doesn’t know? He came to the funeral and even pocketed the condolence money.”
“….”
“Do you have any other questions?”
“Ah, no, that’s all. Thank you.”
I gave the villagers a reward, and they accepted it with cheerful smiles before departing.
“From what I can tell, Ji-sang Monk doesn’t seem to know that his mother has passed away.”
At my words, Seo-woo Warrior’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“Honestly, wouldn’t mentioning someone alive be more effective than mentioning someone dead?”
“That’s true.”
“And her deceased mother’s husband has no connection to him whatsoever. So why would he be concerned about his health?”
Seo-woo Warrior answered.
“As you say, there’s no reason for it. There’s only one conclusion—Ji-sang Monk’s Maternal Uncle is nothing but a scoundrel of the highest order.”
I nodded in agreement with that conclusion.
A question then arose in my mind.
Why didn’t Ji-sang Monk know that his mother had passed away?
It wasn’t that far from Shaolin Temple.
Before becoming a formal Buddhist Monk, perhaps it would have been difficult, but after becoming one, leaving for nearby villages shouldn’t have been so hard.
I decided to unravel this mystery later and for now, we returned to Shaolin Temple.

Upon arriving at Shaolin Temple, it was already time for the evening meal.
How should I handle this….
I wrestled with the dilemma, but the conclusion was already clear.
Ji-sang Monk had to know the truth. It would pain him, but he could not remain ignorant forever.
If he did, he would continue to be manipulated by his Maternal Uncle, and his future would inevitably grow darker.
I could not allow someone as good as Ji-sang Monk to suffer because of such a wretched family!
There was a possibility he might learn the truth and, consumed by rage, commit murder….
But the depth of cultivation I had witnessed in Ji-sang Monk was not shallow.
He would surely be able to control that fury.
After the evening meal, I made my way to Jangyeonggak.
I had to reveal the truth to him.
He needed to know before he committed the act, not after. How tragic it would be to discover it only once the deed was done.

“Amitabha Buddha, what brings the benefactor to this place?”
As I approached Jangyeonggak, Ji-sang Monk greeted me with a bow and clasped hands.
Though I had come here earlier as well….
I smiled and spoke to him.
“Being new to Shaolin Temple, I grew curious and have been strolling through various parts of the grounds. I seem to have wandered all the way here.”
“I see. I apologize, but this area is restricted to temple residents only.”
“Ah, my apologies.”
“Not at all. You came here unknowingly, so how could you have known? That is precisely why we are here, after all.”
Truly a good person.
At that moment, the sound of a drum echoed through the temple grounds.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
With that sound, a group of monks approached Jangyeonggak.
It was the changing of the guard.
I had timed my arrival precisely for this shift change. After observing the exchange for a moment, I approached him as he headed somewhere.
“It seems you are heading to dinner now.”
“Yes, I am about to take a meal and rest.”
After exchanging some light conversation, I asked as if something had suddenly occurred to me.
“For some reason, your face seems familiar. Have we perhaps met before?”
At my question, he shook his head.
“No, this is our first meeting. Besides, I have never left Shaolin Temple.”
“Is that so?”
His eyes seemed sad as he said this. Had his Maternal Uncle perhaps forbidden him to ever leave Shaolin Temple under the pretext of his mother?
“Forgive me for the rudeness. Your face simply seemed so familiar….”
“Not at all. It is quite possible.”
I scratched my cheek and made an exclamation.
“I have just remembered where I saw you.”
“Yes?”
“It wasn’t that I met you, Monk. Rather, I once saw someone who resembled you in a nearby village years ago.”
I continued.
“She was an exceptionally beautiful lady.”
At my words, his pupils trembled.
Yes, he would have understood instinctively.
That the person I was speaking of was his mother.
“Ah, I see.”
“She was Hae Lady from Dae-ri County, the third wife of Song Merchant House, who had connections with my father.”
“Is she… living happily now?”
Ji-sang Monk’s eyes wavered, and his voice grew hollow.
Yes, having explained it in such detail, he couldn’t possibly not understand.
That’s why he asked if she was living ‘happily.’ Someone unrelated wouldn’t ask such a question.
“Ah, well….”
I adopted a sorrowful expression.
“I heard she passed away ten years ago.”
“What?”
“She had a son from a previous marriage, and after sending that son to Shaolin Temple, she was forced into remarriage against her wishes. It seems she suffered from illness because of it.”
“….”
“What’s infuriating is that her brother appeared at the funeral and even accepted condolence money.”
I expressed my indignation.
“He sold his sister as a concubine to a wealthy household and received all that land, yet he lives in comfort and arrogance! Where is his shame? Really!”
“….”
“Ah, I got carried away without realizing it. My apologies.”
“…No, it’s fine.”
Ji-sang Monk’s face was contorted with anguish as he answered.
“Then… well….”
“Yes.”
“Is the lady’s husband… doing well now?”
“He’s quite vigorous, actually.”
“….”
I called to him carefully.
“Are you… alright?”
“Ah, yes, I’m fine. Yes, perfectly fine.”
I withdrew a handkerchief from my sleeve and offered it to him.
I regretted it, but this was pain he had to endure regardless.
And compared to the suffering and sorrow he should have experienced, this was nothing.
“You’re shedding tears.”
“I’ve… shown myself in an unseemly manner.”
“Should you ever need assistance, come find me. And I’ve learned that anger isn’t necessary for vengeance.”
I left those words behind and departed.
It seemed I needed to step aside for now.

* * *

My heart felt as though it were being torn apart.
No—it felt as though it were being shredded to pieces.
My mother had passed away.
During those nights when I wept with longing to see her, she was already no longer in this world.
At first, I could not believe it.
But how many cases could there be of the Hae Lady of Dae-ri County, the third wife, whose husband is Song Merchant Lord, having a son who entered Shaolin Temple as a disciple?
At this point, I could face the truth directly.
I recalled the appearance of my maternal uncle when he came to meet me.
He had come to find me dressed in terribly shabby clothes, seeking my help.
So I had carefully saved and given him the monthly allowance I received.
Yet he had been living in comfort and luxury!
Once I began to suspect, the strange details came flooding back.
The clothes he wore whenever he came to find me were always the same.
And there were no newly patched sections.
The color had barely faded.
If someone wore the same clothes for years, no matter how carefully they treated them, the color would fade and patches would appear—it was inevitable.
Yet despite his shabby appearance, his hands were remarkably pale and delicate.
Hands reveal the truth of a person’s life.
They show whether someone lives comfortably, labors hard all day, or practices martial arts.
If he dressed so shabbily, his hands should have been rough as well.
Only then did I understand the situation.
My maternal uncle had been deceiving me all this time.
I was not foolish, nor was I naively kind-hearted.
One cannot survive competition and become a Warrior Monk of Shaolin simply by being docile.
Moreover, succeeding in becoming a Warrior Monk among so many disciples meant I was sharp-witted for my age.
I had only one weakness: my mother.
But today, even that weakness had vanished. Since my mother had already passed away, she could no longer be my weakness.
Still, today I wanted to weep.
These tears I shed now are tears of mourning for my mother.
After grieving for a long time, I wiped my tears with a handkerchief.
Looking at that handkerchief, I recalled the image of Eun Seo-ho.
He had approached me and suddenly asked if we had met before, then naturally brought up the subject of my mother.
His reason for approaching me must have been to tell me news of my mother.
I remembered what Eun Seo-ho had said when he gave me this handkerchief.
That anger does not aid revenge, and that I should come find him if I needed help.
Now I was filled with anger.
It was clear that the Maternal Uncle was the source of all this tragedy. And as if that weren’t enough, he was now ordering me to do something I absolutely should not do.
It would be strange if I weren’t angry.
But I could sense the intention behind Eun Seo-ho’s message to me.
It meant: don’t be swayed by the Maternal Uncle’s words and do something foolish.
‘Then… does he already know everything? Even what I was planning to do?’
A chill ran down my spine in that instant.
‘I need to visit him right away.’

* * *

It was already time to sleep.
But I wasn’t sleeping—I was reading in my quarters instead.
If things went as expected, Ji-sang Monk would come find me even at this late hour.
“Young Master, we have a visitor.”
At Palgap’s words, I nodded. Just as I predicted.
“Show him in.”
“Very well, sir.”
Soon the door opened, and the Ji-sang Monk I’d seen earlier entered.
His eyes were swollen—it seemed he had wept quite a bit.
A sigh escaped me. Suddenly, I felt a pang of sympathy.
“Please, sit.”
He took the seat I offered and bowed his head.
“First, I must thank you. I only just learned of my mother’s fate.”
“The lady I mentioned earlier was your mother, then.”
“You already knew, yet you feigned ignorance. How cunning of you.”
As I thought.
I immediately bowed my head slightly in apology.
“I apologize for my deception.”
“No, please. I’m simply grateful that I can now pray for my mother’s passage to paradise.”
He spoke with such formality that I felt embarrassed.
“But why have you shown me such kindness?”
“You may not believe me, but I actually saw Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master in a dream.”
“You did?”
“The Master looked upon you with such sorrow. It made me curious about what was troubling you, so I investigated and learned the circumstances.”
“…”
“Why didn’t you ever try to learn about your mother?”
At my question, he replied calmly.
“The Maternal Uncle told me that if I left Shaolin Temple, my mother would suffer harm.”
“So that was the situation.”
Damn, this really makes me want to curse.
“I hated seeing Mother suffer because of me.”
Using filial piety against him!
Among all the wicked, he is the most despicable.
“You said to come if I needed help, so I’ve come to seek you out.”
“Speak freely.”
“In truth, my Maternal Uncle ordered me to do something that heaven and earth would condemn.”
He relayed what had happened to him in a calm voice.
“He told me to steal the sacred elixir within Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master’s body. And if I burned the body, no one would know who did it, he said.”
Though he spoke calmly, could his heart truly be at peace?
He was barely containing his rage with every ounce of strength.
“You may be angry.”
“Pardon?”
I spoke again.
“You have every right to be angry at what you’ve endured.”
“But earlier, you said anger isn’t necessary for revenge….”
“That’s correct. Anger isn’t necessary for revenge. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t feel it. Aren’t joy and sorrow, love and hate natural to all people?”
I continued.
“The point is simply that you mustn’t let those emotions ruin your purpose.”
“Ah….”
“Your mother, who has passed on, surely witnessed how wonderfully you’ve grown. And she must have been immensely proud.”
“Don’t you think so?”
“Yes. So for the sake of your revenge, do not soil your own hands. Leave that vengeance to heaven’s will. If you were to stain your hands with blood and face defrocking, how sorrowful would your departed mother be?”
Though as a warrior-monk, breaking the precepts wouldn’t easily lead to defrocking, it still shouldn’t be done for personal reasons.
“But this heart of mine—I don’t know how to govern it.”
“I will help you.”
“What?”
“You see, I am sincere in my duty to protect Hyeol Gon Seong Seung Master’s body.”
“But there’s no reason for you to go to such lengths for my sake.”
“Think of it as your mother sending me here for your future.”
“….”
“Otherwise, how could I be here now? Isn’t this heaven answering your mother’s earnest prayers?”
I continued.
“So, what if you entered Chamhoe Cave for about a month?”
“Chamhoe Cave, you say?”
He paused at my suggestion, then nodded.
“Very well. For a month, I will meditate and pray for my mother’s rebirth in paradise.”
You can trust in this.
When you emerge a month from now, everything will be cleanly resolved.

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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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