The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 509

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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 509

Chapter 509. The Successor (3)

Namgung Yi-in drew his blade.
It was a sword coated with ash to kill reflective light.
In the distant building ahead lay today’s target for assassination.
He took a deep breath, steadying his nerves.
‘Today is no different from any other day. A day spent on my usual hobby.’
He repeated this mantra silently, calming his mind.
Yet the trembling refused to cease.
Just as it had on the day I first took up this hobby of contract killing.

He was merely a branch member, even among branch members.
Still, bearing the Namgung name had granted him considerable privileges.
Reasonably competent skills and connections.
A life adequately satisfying.
Yet one emotion gnawed at his heart—boredom.
As that emptiness grew, the light faded from his eyes.
Then one day.
He found himself facing Black-Clad Criminals attacking the Namgung Family Estate’s House Master.
Watching those who fell by his blade, he felt an inexplicable thrill course through him.
He was a member of the Hui-byeok Guard Unit, protecting the House Master’s family.
Honestly, he drew a soldier’s wage, but actual opportunities to kill were rarer than expected.
Few moths dared throw themselves at the Namgung Family with such recklessness.
He could not forget that exhilaration he’d tasted, yet circumstances prevented him from killing freely.
The Namgung Family would never tolerate tarnishing their name.
Eventually, he conceived a solution.
A double life.
From that moment, his existence as the Dark Guest—a contract assassin—began.
The boredom vanished, and light returned to his eyes.
Sometimes doubt crept in, but he was already addicted to that thrill and could not stop.
Yet one day.
He caught sight of his reflection in the washbasin as he prepared to cleanse himself.
The eyes of a madman starved for blood.
Only then did he recoil and cease his activities as the Dark Guest.
But for one already addicted to that thrill, this nocturnal hobby had long become impossible to abandon.
He had no choice but to resume his work as the Dark Guest. And he justified himself.
‘Other members of the Namgung Family present themselves as righteous on the surface, yet commit every conceivable corruption behind closed doors.’
‘So why shouldn’t I do the same? People can never live perfectly clean lives anyway.’
That was his reasoning.
And so it became his hobby.
A hobby that conveniently earned him spending money.
Time passed, and recently someone had come to him with a murder contract.

“There is one I wish to have eliminated.”
“As you likely know, the fee for such work is one Gold Coin.”
One Gold Coin was a substantial sum—enough to purchase a modest thatched cottage.
“Here it is.”
The Client showed him one Gold Coin.
“However, this shall be given only after the task is completed.”
“That matters not. So, whom am I to kill?”
“Na Jung-su. One who has decided to participate in the Poetry Competition being held in Beijing this time.”
The Client explained Na Jung-su’s appearance and distinguishing features in detail.
“And there is an additional request regarding the method of his death.”
“Then there would be an additional fee….”
Clink.
“I shall provide the additional fee now. Consider it a deposit.”

It was a rather demanding contract, but he completed it successfully.
Yet a problem arose.
Namgung Yang, whom the House Master had ordered to protect, became the suspect.
Through someone’s testimony of Namgung Yang walking through the Marketplace Street after leaving the residence at some unknown time, he had become the accused.
‘How did this happen?’
He soon realized his mistake.
When killing Na Jung-su, he had inadvertently left traces of the Namgung Family’s martial techniques.
Still, he thought the matter would resolve itself—Namgung Yang’s innocence would be proven and everything would work out.
Namgung Yang had failed the Poetry Competition preliminaries and was set to return to Anhui Province tomorrow.
Then there would be no way for anyone to catch him.
But today, suddenly, someone named Eun Seo-ho had spoken words laden with meaning to the Namgung Family Elder.

“In fact, I believe I may be able to uncover the true identity of the one who killed the victim.”

At those words, he felt a chill run through him.
And when he heard that evidence had been left behind, he grew anxious. He had no idea what he might have dropped.
Then came a sound transmission.

– So, if you don’t want to be exposed as the assassin, you’d better bring an appropriate sum.

Then he understood.
That I had already discovered he was the assassin.
And Eun Seo-ho demanded ten gold coins as hush money.
The fact that someone as celebrated as Seon Hyeop Mi-rang would openly demand a bribe left him speechless.
‘This bastard! Even the Marketplace is just glittering on the surface!’
In any case, he had to prevent his identity as the assassin from being revealed.
His dantian would be crippled and he’d be cast out from the Namgung Family at minimum, and in the worst case, he could even face execution.
Either way, it was unacceptable.
He’d normally received one gold coin per assassination contract, but he’d long since squandered that money on entertainment.
Of course, obtaining ten gold coins wasn’t impossible… but the real problem came after.
Would ten gold coins truly seal his lips forever?
Ultimately, there was only one way to silence that mouth permanently.
Murder to eliminate the evidence.
But the fact that his opponent was a master at his peak gave him pause.
Then an opportunity presented itself.

“I think I shall stay here tonight. Do you have a separate quarters available?”

It was an opportunity.
And to have the guards dismissed, no less!
He couldn’t let this chance slip away. So he made an excuse about feeling unwell and stepped outside.
And now he had come to the Separate Quarters of the Chunmong House where Eun Seo-ho was staying.

“Huff….”
Namgung Yi-in gazed at his sword and steadied his mind with deliberate calm.
His eyes gleamed with an eerie light, and the trembling in his hands ceased.
He concealed his presence and approached the Separate Quarters.
No Guard Warriors were visible around the Separate Quarters, only a single sound reaching his ears.
“Snore… Kuh… Mmm….”
At that sound, Namgung Yi-in smiled quietly to himself.
The sleeping powder sprinkled on the food sent to Eun Seo-ho’s Separate Quarters was working perfectly.
A sedative so potent that even a peak-realm warrior could not resist it.
He retrieved a face mask and concealed his features.
Then he hurled himself swiftly toward the Separate Pavilion.
Creak.
The instant he opened the door and stepped into the chamber.
“…!”
A sudden chill seized him, and he instinctively swung his blade.
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out, and immediately he sensed something targeting him.
But before he could react, pain erupted from his shoulder.
Thud!
“Argh!”
Then came a voice.
“Palgap, light the candles.”
“Yes, sir.”
Soon the candlelight flickered to life, and only then could Namgung Yi-in see inside the Separate Pavilion.
The table untouched, not a single sign of disturbance.
And seeing Eun Seo-ho’s form with not a thread of his clothing out of place, he grasped the situation.
‘It was a trap!’
If that were so, what came next was as predictable as fire.
He drew a hidden dagger from his robes and thrust it toward his own throat.
Snap!
But Eun Seo-ho kicked his hand away with his foot, and simultaneously drove his fist toward his abdomen.
Boom!
“Cough!”

* * *

Tsk, where do you think you’re running to!
The assassin who came at me just now tried to slit his own throat and end it all.
Unable to face the consequences that would follow, he attempted to flee to the Afterlife.
Yet he lacked the resolve to face what was coming—so why commit such an act in the first place?
I clicked my tongue and removed the mask from the unconscious man.
Indeed, it was the same man I’d sent my sound transmission to.
In truth, the aura of the Black Path isn’t uniform across all who walk it. Each person carries a slightly different resonance.
That’s how I recognized him as the culprit.
But now his Black Path aura felt far more concentrated than before. He’d clearly mastered the martial arts of the Namgung Family, yet…
Why was this?
A moment’s reflection brought the answer.
The Black Path aura isn’t a specifically defined feeling—it represents an unrighteous energy.
Unrighteous means acting against the natural order of the world.
Having mastered the Taiyin Ice-Sea Divine Art and reached its pinnacle, I now understood that the natural order was far simpler than one might think.
To cherish life.
That is both the beginning and end of following the natural order.
But those of the Black Path do not cherish life, so they naturally commit acts that defy the world’s order.
Their own inner strength recognizes this truth most clearly, and thus their very nature transforms.
Of course, as a martial artist, even those of the Orthodox Sect are not above taking lives.
When attacked by the Assassin Order, the Green Forest Bandits, or other Black Path forces, we have no choice but to kill them.
Yet from them, I sense no Black Path aura.
Perhaps it is because they fulfill their own role.
To cultivate crops, one must also catch insects—and their role is precisely that.
If their hearts hold the will to protect other lives, even by cutting down those who threaten them, they do not become Black Path.
That is what righteousness truly means.
I gazed down at the assassin sprawled beneath my feet.
The thick Black Path aura emanating from him proved he had long acted against the natural order.
No matter how much Orthodox Sect martial arts he’d learned, if he acts without righteousness and behaves like the Black Path, his aura becomes indistinguishable from theirs.
And the reason his Black Path aura feels stronger now than before is likely because he harbored intent to harm me.
I regarded him with cold eyes and spoke.
“Wake him.”
“Yes.”
Then Seo-woo Warrior, who served as my guard, asked a question.
“Before that, shouldn’t we bind his hands and feet? If he attempts suicide again, won’t that be troublesome?”
“A good thought. But that would be cumbersome, so…”
I smiled coldly.
“Let’s simply break his wrists.”
“Understood.”
“And check whether he’s carrying any poison pills.”
Crack!
Seo-woo Warrior shattered both of his wrists without hesitation, then checked inside his mouth for any suicide poison capsules.
“Wake him up.”
Slap!
After Chang-un Warrior struck his cheeks several times, he regained consciousness.
“Gasp!”
Startled, he tried to push himself up with his hands but let out a scream.
“Argh!”
His wrists were shattered—of course it hurt.
As he collapsed back to the floor, I smiled faintly and spoke.
“There’s something I’m curious about, so I’d appreciate your cooperation.”
“Gulp.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily.
He must have felt it too.
That this situation was no joke whatsoever.
.
.
.
A moment later.
I kicked the battered Namgung Yi-in with my foot.
“Hey.”
But seeing no response, he’d lost consciousness again.
Through the interrogation, I’d learned his identity and several pieces of information.
Honestly, I wanted to ask about the Namgung Family as well, but I refrained.
I needed to interrogate him about the contract killing, and asking such things would certainly raise suspicion.
Unless I did that, he might report what I’d asked to Namgung Geon-ji Elder.
If I killed Namgung Yi-in here, there would be no problem, but…
I’d interrogated him, and he claimed he didn’t know well the person who’d hired him to commit murder.
“The voice! If I see the voice and hands, I think I could recognize them.”
To find the person who’d hired him for the killing, I needed to keep him alive.
“Sigh.”
I exhaled and sat in a chair. Then I spoke to Palgap.
“Palgap, you have that, don’t you?”
“What are you referring to?”
“Geumryeong… no, rather Na Jung-su. The one I gave you.”
“Yes. I have it here.”
“Use that to treat him.”
“Pardon?”
Palgap spoke with an expression of disbelief.
“Why should we treat him? He’s a shameless wretch who’s killed so many people.”
Palgap had heard everything during the interrogation just now.
How many people has this Assassin killed?
With considerable skill and having concealed the Namgung Family’s martial techniques, he’d remained undetected until now.
But this time, he simply faced the wrong opponent.
I spoke to Palgap.
“I didn’t want to do this either, but honestly, we were rather rough with him.”
“….”
Since Namgung Yi-in proved less forthcoming than expected, I’d admittedly used excessive force.
There were several places where flesh had been torn so deeply that bone showed through.
He’d lost consciousness and regained it repeatedly.
He possessed more fortitude than I’d anticipated.
Sigh, so the Namgung Family truly lives up to its name?
Yet Chang-un Warrior’s expression seemed peculiar.
“What troubles you?”
In response to my question, Chang-un Warrior scratched his cheek.
“It’s just… this makes us feel like villains.”
I chuckled softly.
“Good and evil are always relative. What matters is not exceeding that threshold.”
“I… see.”
I spoke to Palgap.
“Treat him quickly. If the Namgung Family sees this, they’ll foam at the mouth.”
We hadn’t merely interrogated a Namgung Family warrior—we’d tortured him.
No matter how distant a branch, they cherish those bearing the Namgung name.
They’d have a fit seeing this.
And I’d tortured him this severely precisely because I could rely on Geum-ryeong’s saliva.
Though it had been some time, its efficacy remained unchanged.
Besides, I had no desire to use fresh Geum-ryeong’s saliva on this Merchant.
In any case, even if this Merchant tried to inform on today’s events, without evidence it would merely be slander.
Especially since Namgung Geon-ji Elder, the highest authority of the Namgung Family here, currently viewed me favorably.
Should he be careless, his own actions would be exposed, and he’d face terrible consequences.
So if he possessed any sense, he couldn’t speak of today’s events.
Sigh, this makes me feel like a true villain.
– Squeak!
Geum-ryeong, why do you agree with me?

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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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