The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 519

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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 519

Chapter 519. Ice and Flame (7)

I followed behind Meng Minor Palace Master.
He was heading toward the location I had intended, just as I’d anticipated.
“In truth, the place we are going cannot be seen by outsiders.”
I asked as though I knew nothing of this.
“Is that so?”
“Therefore, you must never speak of having entered that place to anyone else.”
“Understood. I shall remember it well.”
Soon we arrived at our destination.
It was surrounded by towering stone walls, apparently to prevent others from approaching.
“Please wait a moment.”
He went inside and returned, then spoke to me.
“You may enter now.”
“Yes.”
Hae Gongja remained outside to keep watch.
Creak.
As I opened the door and stepped through, a spacious courtyard came into view.
The surrounding buildings were adorned with jade-hued metamorphic stone quarried from Cangshan in Dali, Yunnan Province—a truly beautiful sight.
One could tell from that alone.
That this was an important structure.
“It seems something of significance must be stored here.”
“This is where the treasures of our Chuyong Palace are kept.”
“That explains why you restrict entry to outsiders.”
“We also keep here the records documenting our Chuyong Palace’s history, as well as important documents.”
Then I had come to the right place.
Still, this fellow is truly…
He shares the same name as that child Maeng Hyun who makes alcohol with Young Gu Jin Master, yet why is he so foolish?
Would it truly be acceptable for someone like this to become the next Palace Master?
Though we are of the same external alliance and currently in a ceasefire conference, the Northern Sea Ice Palace remains an adversarial force to Chuyong Palace.
We could become enemies again and clash at any moment, yet he brings me here and even explains everything…
If the Palace Master learns of this, Meng Minor Palace Master will be beaten soundly.
But that is not my responsibility.
Even though I suggested coming here, if he had simply refused outright, there would have been no problem.
I did push him a little, but I never expected him to yield so easily.
Even I was somewhat taken aback.
Perhaps in my previous life, the rapid decline of Chuyong Palace’s power was because Meng Minor Palace Master ruined the palace after becoming its master.
The blade sang as it left its sheath.
He drew his sword.
“Please, draw your weapon.”
I accepted without hesitation and drew my blade.
Then I made him a proposal.
“Since drawing blood would be unwise, let us determine victory through another method.”
“How so?”
I produced a plate I had prepared beforehand and held it out.
“Bind this plate to your body. If it shatters, you lose.”
“Very well.”
We each secured a plate to our chest.
Then we assumed our stances.
I quietly assessed Meng Minor Palace Master’s level of cultivation.
This is the early stages of the Peak Realm?
From what I understood, Meng Minor Palace Master was only one year older than me.
Reaching the Peak at twenty-four would earn anyone recognition as at least a prodigy, if not a genius.
But Bing Haerin, Young Palace Master and I are different.
Still, at that level, it made sense he would confidently intrude into the Palace Master’s office yesterday.
And now he did not shy away from facing me.
The air split with a sharp crack.
Meng Minor Palace Master charged forward first, his blade sweeping toward me.
Flames erupted from the steel.
Fire bloomed from his sword.
Using Yeolhwa-gong from the start! He is serious, then.
I evaded the attack with a simple defensive movement.
In truth, this was not my first time facing a warrior wielding Yeolhwa-gong.
In my previous life, there were those in the Black Path who used it.
Moreover, Jingyeong Great Swordmaster’s martial art was also Yeolhwa-gong.
But no Yeolhwa-gong compared to that of Chuyong Palace—they were like candlelight before a bonfire.
Flames danced and twisted with mesmerizing grace.
The way he commanded fire was like watching a god of flame itself.
Much like Meng Minor Palace Master before me now.
An ordinary warrior would have faltered at such a sight, but I remained composed.
The gap in our strength was vast, and my martial art was rooted in the bitter cold of the Northern Sea.
I infused my blade with inner force and unleashed my technique.
The eighth form of the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique. Single Point Frozen Ice.
A technique designed to end the fight in a single strike.
Fire techniques, for all their brilliance, are easily seen from afar on a dark night like this.
Which meant discovery was imminent.
To create time to search this place, I had to end it in one strike.
I drew my sword and focused all my attention toward him.
The blade sang through the air!
“Huh!”
He raised his sword in panic, attempting to defend himself.
I’m sorry, but it’s already too late.
The gap between the pinnacle and the threshold of the pinnacle was insurmountable from the start.
There was no way he could withstand my full-powered assault.
Thud!
My blade touched his chest, and the protective plate shattered.
“I… I have lost…”
But this wasn’t the end of what I wanted.
I rained down dozens of punches upon him.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
“Gasp!”
My inner energy ravaged his insides, and he lost consciousness.
He collapsed.
Ah, now I feel somewhat satisfied.
I approached him and shook his body.
“Hey, are you alright? Hello?”
But his body didn’t move at all.
He was definitely unconscious.
Then I should hurry and examine the records.
I quickly sensed the surrounding energy to check if anyone was guarding this place.
Still, there was no one around.
It was thanks to Meng Minor Palace Master having cleared everyone out of here earlier.
He likely did so to avoid anyone discovering that I had been brought here, but it worked in my favor.
I moved quickly and entered the pavilion.
The documents were stored in the bookshelves on this floor.
I climbed to this level and rapidly scanned through the shelves.
Found it.
Records from twenty years ago.
I pulled out the book and flipped through its pages.
The book was a kind of diary that the Palace Master of that time recorded daily.
I quickly skimmed through it, then stopped at one particular passage.

[The members of the Northern Sea Ice Palace arrived at the Main Palace for the Ice Conference.
However, the members of Seolpung Palace were nowhere to be found.
When I inquired, I received only the grim news that they had been annihilated by someone.
Upon hearing this, the Lesser Palace Mistress Hyung Jin grieved deeply.
Losing one’s only worthy rival was indeed a sorrowful matter.
I became curious about who had annihilated Seolpung Palace and began my investigation.
The fact that an external faction had been annihilated meant we too could become their target.]

What is this?
According to this record, the current Palace Master had a connection with my Master?
Is that why he treated me so warmly?
And this means they were not the culprits who annihilated Seolpung Palace?
I turned the pages again.
Perhaps the previous Chuyong Palace Master had discovered who was responsible for the calamity that befell Seolpung Palace.
As I flipped through the pages rapidly, my gaze halted on one particular entry.

[I heard of strange phenomena occurring at Muchul Musan. I set out for Muchul Musan together with Hwasik.
There, I witnessed a sword guarded by a Madman Warrior.
That sword, embedded in stone, was unmistakably the Eun Moo-geom—the sacred treasure of the Seolpung Palace Master.
I attempted to recover the Eun Moo-geom, but I could not.
There was a guardian spirit protecting the Eun Moo-geom.
A guardian spirit called Han Ho-su.
Since that guardian spirit would not permit it, the Eun Moo-geom had to remain there.]

Ah, so this is the record of that day Geumryeong mentioned when Hwasik attempted to seize the Eun Moo-geom.
According to this record, it was not an attempt to seize the sword but to recover it.
Geumryeong had misunderstood it as theft.

[Yet I sensed something familiar from that Madman Warrior.
At first I did not notice, but the more I thought about it, his appearance bore the exact same characteristics visible in the descendants of Doyeon Gate.]

Doyeon Gate?
Where in the world is that?
I had never heard of such a place, even in my previous life.
If the Palace Master of Chuk Yong Palace spoke with such certainty, then that Madman Warrior must undoubtedly be of Doyeon Gate’s bloodline.
Well, at least it’s clear that Chuk Yong Palace is not Hyung-su.
In one sense, my heart felt lighter.
Had Chuk Yong Palace been Hyung-su, escaping safely from this place would have been the first problem.
Moreover, I had managed to obtain a crucial lead.
By investigating Doyeon Gate, I would surely learn about that fiend.
I returned the book to its place and headed back to where the martial arts match had been held.
But then… someone was approaching this location at considerable speed.
Gasp! This aura…!
Creak.
The door opened, and the owner of that aura revealed himself.
The Palace Master of Chuk Yong Palace looked at the Meng Minor Palace Master lying unconscious on the floor, then turned his gaze toward me, standing there awkwardly.
“Explain what has transpired here.”
Behind the Palace Master of Chuk Yong Palace, Hae Gongja was fidgeting anxiously.
There was only one thing I could do.
Explain the situation as calmly and truthfully as possible.
“In truth, the Meng Minor Palace Master seemed to have something he wished to tell me.”
However, I did not reveal everything he had intended to do to me.
I was not so petty as to do that.
And keeping such things as leverage was far more advantageous for me.
“The Meng Minor Palace Master suggested a martial arts match, saying I should not interfere with the matter between him and Bing Hae-rin, the Young Palace Master. When he expressed a desire to spar in a quiet place, I guided him here.”
I continued my explanation.
“Though it was merely a match, if we were to draw blood, there would be no benefit to either of us. So we agreed that whoever’s plate broke first would be deemed the loser, and we proceeded with the match. As you can see, the result is…”
“You emerged victorious.”
“Yes. However, it seems I may have used excessive force, and he lost consciousness.”
I had also delivered several dozen strikes on top of that.
Though I had done so without leaving visible marks.
Pain and the absence of visible injury were two different matters, but that was hardly my concern.
“I see. However…”
He regarded me and the space behind me with a peculiar expression, then turned his body.
“Follow me.”
“Yes.”
“And dispose of that.”
“I shall obey your command.”
The Palace Master of Chuk Yong Palace issued a curt order to the warriors behind him, then departed the place. I followed obediently in his wake.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
We passed through the stone door and entered the office.
“This way.”
The Chuyong Palace Master’s office was divided into two sections—one for audiences and one for conducting business.
He led me to the business section.
It meant he had something urgent to discuss.
“Sit.”
I obediently took the seat he offered. He stared at me intently before speaking.
“I saw your footprints.”
“Pardon?”
“You deliberately knocked that incompetent fool unconscious and visited the pavilion where the Main Palace records are kept.”
“….”
“You wouldn’t have known, but a Palace Master can see the footprints left there.”
I hadn’t anticipated that.
While I was racking my brain for an explanation, he asked me something.
“So, how is Myeong Hyun doing?”
“…Pardon?”
“Gwak Myung-hyun. That fellow.”
Ah….
They said the two of them were rivals, didn’t they.
“Your father is the Merchant Guild Leader of the Eun Hae Trading Company. If you’ve become the Lesser Palace Mistress of Seolpung Palace, then your master must be Myeong Hyun, correct?”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”
“Damn that bastard!”
The Chuyong Palace Master burst with indignation.
“If he’s alive, he could at least send word! This wretched fool, burying himself in such a cesspool!”
Though he was cursing, I could tell it wasn’t genuine anger.
If it were true anger, his eyes wouldn’t have reddened at the rims.
“Ahem, ahem. My apologies. I lost myself for a moment.”
“It’s quite alright.”
“So that scoundrel is living well?”
“Yes. He is in good health.”
“That’s a relief.”
He looked at me and asked again.
“So, why did you enter that pavilion?”
I hesitated for a moment about whether to tell him the truth.
But there was only one answer.
I couldn’t fabricate a convincing lie, and I was certain he wasn’t an enemy.
The sincerity he’d just shown regarding my Master, and the records I’d confirmed earlier.
Besides, if I wanted to learn more about Doyeon Gate, it would be better to have his cooperation.
So… I would tell him the truth.
“I apologize, but until just before I went there, I believed the one who caused the incident at Seolpung Palace was Chuyong Palace.”
“What?”
The Palace Master’s expression darkened.
It was beyond absurd—pure fury was rising to the surface.
I quickly continued.
“I have my reasons for thinking so.”
“What reasons?”
I withdrew a whetstone from my robes.
“Because of this.”
He examined the whetstone I offered and asked.
“Why this?”
“It is the sole evidence left behind at Seolpung Palace after the incident—proof of the perpetrator.”
“This?”
The Palace Master’s brow furrowed as he studied it carefully, then he nodded.
He understood. The owner of this whetstone was a martial artist who wielded Yeolhwa-gong.
And a warrior who dwelled in a hot region.
“I see. This would certainly warrant suspicion of us. However, this is not the whetstone we use.”
“Are you certain?”
“Of course. Allow me to explain. As you know, the Yeolhwa-gong we employ generates formidable heat.”
“That is true.”
“Because of this, our blades are never in pristine condition. So we use whetstones considerably coarser than this one. We must shape the blade’s form with rough stone.”
Ah…
“As a result, our swords tear and rend rather than cleanly cut. The blade becomes like a saw.”
Just as the Palace Master said, the blade of the Meng Minor Palace Master was the same.
“…”
“This belongs to one who uses Yeolhwa-gong, certainly, but it is a whetstone used by those who wield a technique with weaker heat than our Main Palace.”
“I see.”
He returned the whetstone to me and spoke.
“So you infiltrated the pavilion to find evidence of this?”
“I apologize.”
I bowed deeply in contrition.
“If you broke nothing, there is no need for apology. I understand your circumstances well enough. And the one you brought there is my own wayward son, after all.”
I felt somewhat embarrassed.
It was I who had manipulated him.
Still, it was his own doing. Had he not pestered me, I would not have used him.
I broached the subject carefully.
“There is something I wish to ask you, Palace Master.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know of the Doyeon Gate?”

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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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