The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 47

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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 Eunhae Trading Company – Chapter 47

Chapter 47. The First Pocket (1)

The situation had concluded.
I gazed upon Jegal Kyung, who had become a corpse.
Looking at him, an inexplicable melancholy washed over me, and I exhaled a long sigh.
In any case, I finally felt relieved.
The revulsion I had sensed from the marketplace until moments ago had vanished.
Could it be that one no longer feels it after death?
I would need to ask my Master about this.
And when the opportunity arose, I would also need to inquire about the formation array.
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.
.
“Grandfather! Are you alright?”
The Grand Patriarch sat collapsed on the ground. I rushed over and asked urgently.
“Are you well?”
“I am fine.”
Yet despite his words, the Grand Patriarch’s complexion appeared deathly pale.
“I am fine, so do not worry yourselves.”
“But….”
He continued in response to Jegal Yu-ah’s words.
“It is merely that my inner energy is somewhat depleted. Such severe depletion is rare indeed.”
“Then that formation array was truly so formidable?”
The Grand Patriarch answered her question.
“Indeed it was.”
The Grand Patriarch regarded me with a peculiar gaze.
Why does he look at me with such eyes?
“Young Master, I am grateful that you rushed to our aid and helped us in this manner.”
“Not at all. It was only natural that I should do so.”
“I knew you would say such a thing. Yet gratitude remains gratitude.”
He continued.
“If you have no urgent matters requiring your return, would you do me the kindness of staying at the inn for a time? I would wish to host you here at the estate, but as you understand, we must attend to various matters, and I fear our hospitality would suffer for it.”
“I understand. I shall do so.”
“Thank you.”
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.
The Jegal Family had arranged the most luxurious room in the finest inn within the vicinity.
Though such extravagance wasn’t necessary.
Still, I wondered if Yu Chief Manager was managing well back at the company.
Having discerned that there was another hidden force behind this incident, I needed to return to the Jegal Family Estate as quickly as possible.
Thus, I couldn’t bring Yu Chief Manager with me.
The journey required traveling at full speed, which would have been too taxing for Yu Chief Manager’s frail constitution.
Moreover, it was undesirable for Yu Chief Manager’s absence from the company to extend any further. Work continued to accumulate at the trading house.
So I asked my Master to escort Yu Chief Manager.
After all, my Master’s journey would pass through our trading company anyway.
My Master agreed readily, as I’d anticipated, and said he would depart at first light.
Two more days passed in this manner, and I spent my time diligently exploring the surrounding area.
Having found myself with spare time since arriving here, there were tasks I needed to accomplish.
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.
.
On the third day.
I received a summons from the Grand Patriarch.
The place I was guided to was not the Grand Patriarch’s private quarters, but rather what could be called the main hall of the Jegal Family Estate.
Wolyong Hall.
Upon entering the enormous structure, I spotted the one who had come to greet me.
“Miss Jegal Yu-ah.”
“Welcome, Young Master. Everyone is waiting for you.”
I asked her a question.
“Are you no longer keeping up that act?”
“There’s no need anymore. It’s all thanks to you, Young Master.”
“I did nothing. It was only possible because of the efforts and sacrifices of the Jegal Clan members.”
I entered the House Master’s office.
The Grand Patriarch, the House Master, and several others were seated within.
“I have come in response to your summons.”
I bowed respectfully, and the Grand Patriarch spoke to me.
“Raise your head.”
“Yes.”
As I lifted my head, the Grand Patriarch rose from his seat and spoke.
“Thanks to you, Young Master Eun, the Jegal Family has been able to escape a grave crisis. I am truly grateful.”
He then bowed to me with a fist salute, and following his lead, everyone else bowed to me as well.
To receive words of gratitude from the Grand Patriarch of the Jegal Family itself!
I waved my hand to stop him.
“Why do you say such things? I have done nothing.”
“No, you have done much for this clan.”
He continued speaking.
“Before that, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“How did you come to know that an incident would befall the Main House? My attendant said you mentioned the Jegal Family Estate was in danger and that formation techniques would be used?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
I answered calmly, having anticipated the Grand Patriarch’s question.
“In fact, I encountered him when I visited Jae-an-won.”
“Yes, you mentioned going to Jae-an-won.”
“Yes. At that time, I noticed he was being unusually cautious of me. It seemed excessive for mere wariness toward an outsider. It was as if… he was concealing something.”
“Concealing something, you say….”
“Yes, right until the end, he remained guarded before disappearing. Having grown up as a member of a merchant family that must always be wary of both external intruders and internal traitors, I was able to read that subtle expression, which is why I found it suspicious.”
“But that alone….”
“The decisive moment came when I recalled seeing him before leaving the Jegal Family Estate—it only occurred to me after we’d finished eating at the inn. If it were revealed that someone from the same Jegal Family had attempted poisoning, what would be the typical reaction?”
“One would be flustered.”
“Yet he was walking with leisurely steps toward somewhere. From that sight, I realized danger still remained for the Jegal Family Estate.”
“I see. Then regarding the formation techniques being used?”
“Isn’t that only natural? After all, he too is a member of the Jegal Family.”
“Hmm….”
“With an uneasy heart, I simply wished to offer a warning and returned to the estate, only to find the incident had already unfolded. I was quite shocked as well.”
“I see. Well understood.”
With that, the questioning ended.
In truth, I found it somewhat odd. He hadn’t asked the truly important question.
The one about the Lion’s Roar. It was natural to be curious about how I’d brought those who’d mistaken each other as enemies and drawn their blades back to their senses.
Yet he hadn’t asked about it.
Why?
This wasn’t someone who would overlook such a question.
After observing the Grand Patriarch for a moment, the House Master spoke.
“Therefore, our Jegal Family wishes to repay you. Tell us—what is it you desire?”
“No! I desire nothing.”
At my words, the Grand Patriarch continued.
“Haha, speak freely, won’t you?”
“I truly desire nothing. I did not act in expectation of reward.”
I continued speaking.
“With people in crisis standing before my eyes, how could I simply stand by and watch? That is why I acted. Since I did not move in expectation of reward, how can you ask me to name one?”
In truth, had I wished to extract compensation from the Jegal Family, there would have been much to gain.
But I simply wished for the Jegal Family Estate to remain strong.
That way, the Murim Alliance could not so easily reveal its ambitions.
In other words, this was a cornerstone for binding the Murim Alliance in the future.
Yet my answer seemed to have made quite a deep impression.
“Haha! A true gentleman stands before us!”
The Grand Patriarch nodded at the House Master’s words.
“Indeed. Though young in years, he possesses the bearing of a true gentleman.”
The others nodded in agreement at his words.
“However, it would be discourteous to refuse when Father speaks so kindly. So speak freely—do not hesitate to tell us what you wish.”
Under that silent pressure, I finally exhaled and spoke.
“Then I have one request.”
“What is it?”
“In truth, Yu Chief Manager of our trading company became Internal Chief Manager under rather complicated circumstances. But before that, he was a man who genuinely enjoyed composing poetry. And the time I spent here with the Grand Patriarch was truly delightful. Therefore, I humbly ask this.”
I bowed deeply and continued.
“I hope that Yu Chief Manager might continue to be your friend in the pursuit of poetry.”
At my words, the Grand Patriarch’s eyes grew red.
What?
Why did he suddenly react like that?
“Cough! How is it you move me so?”
“…Yes?”
“Have you forgotten, young master? Yu Chief Manager is already my brother. That means Yu Chief Manager is Yul’s uncle.”
The House Master continued from there.
“Father speaks truly. Yu Chief Manager shall henceforth be my uncle.”
In other words, if anyone dared harm Yu Chief Manager, the Jegal Family would not stand idle.
Thus Yu Chief Manager had gained a formidable backer.
I had merely asked that our trading company’s relationship with them continue—nothing more.
“Is there truly nothing else you desire?” asked Jegal Yu-ah.
I nodded lightly.
“No.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Truly?”
“Yes.”
Then the Grand Patriarch spoke.
“Now that I think of it, a man named Yeon Gak-ju from your household is moving to directly purchase Iron Goddess tea in Anxi, Fujian Province, is he not?”
“You are well-informed.”
“I learned of it quite by chance. In fact, our main house owns tea plantations in Fujian Province.”
“I see.”
“I noticed before that you too have great interest in tea. So, to repay your kindness, I shall grant your trading company the distribution rights to the Iron Goddess tea harvest from our family’s tea plantations in Fujian Province.”
“I beg your pardon?”
From what I knew, the Iron Goddess tea plantations owned by the Jegal Family were vast beyond measure.
In the future I had experienced, the Murim Alliance had seized them.
If our trading company obtained the distribution rights to the tea harvested from those enormous plantations, the profits would be incalculable.
“The term shall be indefinite.”
“No, no! I cannot possibly accept such generosity!”
“That much is well deserved. The entire Jegal Family, myself included, owes you a debt of life-saving gratitude.”
“But sir….”
“Just accept it, accept it! I wish I could do more, but there may come a time when you need our family’s assistance, so I’ll save the rest for that future occasion.”
Thus, through this affair with the Jegal Family, I obtained something I never could have anticipated.
It was the result of the present life I had changed.
I still cannot foresee how this present life’s future will unfold, but for now, matters have concluded favorably.
Now I needed to return.
“Then I shall take my leave. I hope you’ll understand that I too have duties awaiting me and cannot remain absent any longer.”
“Yes, of course.”
It was then that Jegal Yu-ah spoke.
“Young Master Eun.”
“Yes?”
“I’m truly grateful. If there’s ever anything I can personally help you with, I’d like to offer my assistance.”
Given that the family elders were present, I could not coldly refuse her offer.
“I shall remember your kindness, Miss. Please take care of yourself.”
At my words, her cheeks flushed crimson in an instant.
It was then that the House Master spoke.
“Ahem, ahem. Tell me, do you perhaps have a betrothed?”
“Not yet, sir….”
“I see. Very well.”
What was the intent behind this question?
In any case, I bowed to everyone.
“Then I wish you all well. My gratitude to the Grand Patriarch, the House Master, and everyone’s generous kindness.”
Now I truly needed to return home.

* * *

The Grand Patriarch watched Eun Seo-ho’s carriage receding into the distance.
His eyes brimmed with profound satisfaction.
‘Was this young master’s visit to the Main House a blessing from our ancestors? Or is it Heaven’s will that the Main House must not yet perish?’
He withdrew a small jade token from his sleeve and gazed at it intently.
A keepsake exchanged with an old friend in days long past.
My old friend’s clan had once boasted of remarkably pure and untainted inner energy, but now they were gone.
They had been annihilated in an instant by the Demonic Cult.
The anguish I felt upon learning of my old friend’s death was unbearable.
Yet something felt amiss, so I conducted a secret investigation into the matter.
In the course of that investigation, I discovered a letter my old friend had left behind.
Only then did I understand the truth.
It was the work of the Murim Alliance.
Though I harbored the grudge of my old friend, I grew suspicious of the Murim Alliance and kept my distance from them thereafter.
That I remained unaffected by the Soul-Binding Sealing Formation this time was thanks to the jade token my old friend had given me.
The token contained my old friend’s pure and untainted inner energy, which protected me from the corrupted qi of the Soul-Binding Sealing Formation.
And I sensed that same clear, untainted energy from Eun Seo-ho.
This could only mean one thing: my old friend’s descendants had survived somewhere and secretly preserved their bloodline.
Therefore, I refrained from questioning Eun Seo-ho about his Lion’s Roar out of respect for my old friend.
And it was also to protect Eun Seo-ho, who had saved my clan, from their reach.
‘I shall need to manipulate some information regarding this matter.’
It seemed I would need to move with some urgency.

* * *

Upon returning home, I immediately headed to Father’s office.
“Young Master, I have safely completed my journey and returned home.”
“Was it an enjoyable time?”
“Yes. It was a most delightful and meaningful experience.”
“I heard from Yu Chief Manager that something urgent arose with the Jegal Family, so you had to return in haste?”
“The truth of the matter is….”
I recounted the entire sequence of events to Father, and after listening to my account, he let out a long sigh.
“So such a thing occurred.”
“Yes.”
“Still, you are yet….”
I quickly extended what I had been holding to Father.
“And Father. This is a gift from the Jegal Family.”
“Hmm?”
“They insisted I accept it, so I did take it. But I am uncertain whether I should truly be receiving this.”
Father accepted the documents from me and unfolded them.
When I had counted precisely three.

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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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