The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 542

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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 542

Chapter 542. The Tal-myeong Guest (2)

The Tal-myeong Guest spoke to me with an air of self-importance.
“You’ll need to exert yourself. If you lose to me, you’ll forfeit your reputation.”
“Sigh.”
I exhaled slowly.
Well, as long as he’s satisfied with himself, that’s all that matters.
He’ll realize soon enough that he’s been making a fool of himself, so there’s no need for me to enlighten him now.
No matter how much I explain right now, would it even register in his mind?
“Haha. I’ve arrived late. Would it be acceptable for me to join you for a meal as well?”
“By all means.”
Besides, if I shatter his delusions now, I won’t get a free meal, will I?
No matter how much money I have, I should still enjoy a complimentary meal paid for by a willing fool—no regrets attached.
The next morning.
We descended to the dining hall on the first floor to have breakfast.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. The bedding here is truly comfortable and pleasant.”
“That’s the pride of our inn. Haha.”
Just then, the Tal-myeong Guest came down wearing a headwrap.
Due to the influence of the martial arts he had cultivated, the tips of his hair had turned blue, so he was concealing it this way.
The Tal-myeong Guest was quite famous, after all.
Thanks to this, none of the other guests at the inn recognized his identity.
“Good morning.”
“Yes.”
Last evening, he had to pay quite a substantial sum for dinner. There were more than a few people he had treated to free meals.
Our group was included among them.
“Let us sit over there.”
We found our seats. It was a spot with a partition, hidden from the view of outsiders.
Of course, we had to pay a bit extra, but having an entire group openly carrying swords would intimidate the other patrons.
While we waited for our food to arrive, I heard someone’s voice from behind.
“Yesterday’s meal was quite exceptional.”
“Right? We ate something unexpectedly expensive. I’m still so full I can barely think about breakfast.”
“Then why did you come down? Sleep more?”
“Still, I need to eat breakfast to get through the day.”
“Fair point.”
“By the way, I heard yesterday that someone was having some kind of competition or training to build their martial reputation?”
“Ah, so that’s why you bought dinner last night?”
“Seems like it.”
“You should have gotten more out of it then.”
“Still, thanks to that fool, I ate quite well.”
“And he was pleased thinking he’d accumulated virtue.”
“What? Good grief!”

At that exchange, Tal-myeong Guest’s complexion darkened rapidly. Few people could maintain composure while being treated as a fool.
He realized his own foolishness faster than I’d anticipated.
“Since you bought dinner last night, I’ll buy breakfast this morning.”
At my words, he bit his lip before asking me.
“What did I do wrong?”
Ah…
So he wasn’t quite as foolish as I’d thought.
The fact that he asked me that.
I explained willingly.
“In my view, virtue requires desperation to accompany it. Yesterday, among those who came to this inn, was there anyone starving?”
“…”
Tal-myeong Guest couldn’t answer.
This inn where we were staying was a rather expensive establishment given its fine facilities.
Someone going hungry wouldn’t even consider lodging at such a place.
“So you were just wasting effort.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me this yesterday?”
“Words necessary for one person become meaningless noise to those who can’t perceive it, only breeding resistance. Had I offered such counsel yesterday, you would have dismissed it as jealous, childish prattle.”
“…”
Just then, the porridge we’d ordered arrived, and the conversation ended there.
I glanced at those speaking ill of Tal-myeong Guest.
Their attitude wasn’t admirable, but I had no intention of reproaching them.
People’s desire for free things is simply human nature.
What must be understood, however, is that nothing in this world is truly free.
Even a faint debt of conscience remains, and it inevitably works in some way.
That’s why I’m buying breakfast for Tal-myeong Guest as well.
And besides, breakfast is cheaper than dinner.
.
.
.
We set out on the road again.
To reach Bok Ryong Mountain where the Jegal Family Estate is located, the fastest route from Kaifeng is to cross the river and travel overland.
Kaifeng, being a bustling city, had well-maintained official roads.
As we followed the official road, I noticed people gathered in one spot, murmuring among themselves.
What’s happened?
We approached the commotion.
“Is something the matter?”
One of them answered my question.
“A carriage that was traveling ahead has tumbled down the cliff base.”
“What?”
The path we needed to traverse was carved into the mountain slope road.
Still, it was wide enough for two carriages to pass each other comfortably, wasn’t it?
“Apparently, the horses suddenly bolted, and that’s what caused it.”
Beside us, what appeared to be members of their party were wailing or stamping their feet in distress.
“Then shouldn’t we rescue them immediately?”
“The problem is, the cliff is extremely steep.”
I peered cautiously down the cliff base.
Indeed….
It would be difficult to descend unless one were a martial artist of considerable skill.
As I examined the depths below, I heard the voices of those around me.
“There’s no way anyone could survive a fall from this height.”
“That’s true enough.”
“Tsk tsk, what a tragedy.”
Wait. Hold on.
I flinched at the faint aura I sensed from below.
Someone is alive.
Though others might not perceive it, I had cultivated the Taiyin Ice-Sea Divine Art and was sensitive to such auras.
This is unmistakably human energy.
The aura of a human and that of an animal are fundamentally different in nature.
“Someone’s alive.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“There’s a survivor.”
At my words, those who appeared to be Guard Warriors looked startled and questioned me.
“Is that truly the case?”
“Yes.”
I immediately removed my outer robe and handed it to Palgap.
“Gasp! Are you going down that cliff right now?”
At Palgap’s question, I nodded.
“Yes.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“Of course it’s dangerous. But if we can save them, shouldn’t we?”
At my words, Myeong-jong Warrior spoke.
“I shall follow.”
“Will you be alright?”
“The skill I once possessed climbing up and down the Danjang Cliff of Huashan Mountain has not yet faded.”
“Then I entrust this to you.”
“We shall follow as well.”
I shook my head at their words.
“Only Myeong-jong Warrior and Jin Yu Warrior will follow me. The rest of you, stand by.”
“Understood.”
Those who appeared to be from the overturned carriage approached me with desperate expressions.
“Please, we beg you.”
“We implore you!”
Then Tal-myeong Guest spoke.
“It is unfortunate, but this time I shall yield my turn to you.”
What is he saying now?
What? Yielding? Yielding in a matter of saving lives?
This bastard is infuriating.
I spoke to him coldly.
“Do not confuse the order of priorities.”
And I began descending toward the cliff base.

* * *

Tal-myeong Guest watched Eun Seo-ho descend toward the cliff base.
He had intended to yield this turn to Eun Seo-ho.
He had received counsel this morning, and was it not only fair to share opportunities in turn?
So when he said he would yield his turn, Eun Seo-ho’s expression hardened.
In that instant, Tal-myeong Guest felt a terror that froze his entire body.
It was an aura he had only felt from his dead Master—and now he felt it from Eun Seo-ho.
And he spoke with an icy tone.

“Do not confuse the order of priorities.”

Upon hearing those words, he could only stand dumbfounded.
In other words, saving lives came first, and the contest came later.
Only then did he realize what mistake he had made.
In his excessive obsession with the contest, he had forgotten what truly mattered.
Then the words his dead Master had once spoken came to mind.

“You possess excellent focus when you have a goal to achieve. But at the same time, you see only that and not your surroundings. No matter how important your objective may be, do not overlook what is truly important because of it. You will surely come to regret it.”

I had made the same mistake again this time.
I felt ashamed.

* * *

Thud.
I landed lightly on my feet.
I had finally reached the point where the carriage had fallen.
Jin Yu Warrior and Myeong-jong Warrior descended the cliff behind me.
The first thing I saw was the Coachman’s corpse.
Even in death, he still gripped the reins tightly, his neck broken from the impact.
The horse was already dead as well. Fragments of the carriage had pierced its neck, causing it to bleed profusely.
I quickly searched for any signs of life.
“Inside the carriage! Please clear away the wreckage!”
“Yes!”
We rapidly cleared away the carriage debris. And discovered the bodies of a man and woman.
They had suffered massive trauma, their entire bodies covered in blood.
Yet they held each other so tightly that despite the impact, their bodies remained pressed together.
Between these two, I glimpsed something.
A piece of fabric in a different color from what they wore.
“Found them.”
Did they hear my words?
The man and woman’s embrace loosened, and a child emerged from between them.
A boy who appeared to be around two years old.
Then the dead man and woman must be the parents.
Honestly, there was nothing an ordinary person could do while a carriage tumbled down a cliff.
Only the trained could manage such a thing.
In this desperate moment as the carriage rolled, the father and mother moved by pure instinct—to save their child at any cost.
“The child is not breathing.”
As Jin Yu Warrior said, the unconscious child’s face had turned blue from lack of breath.
Thanks to the child’s parents, there were no external injuries, but the violent impact from the tumble must have caused internal damage.
I quickly held the child and infused the power of the Taiyin Ice-Sea Divine Art, forcibly opening and circulating the meridians.
Since the child was so young, holding them in my arms provided more stability than laying them down.
And finally.
“Waaaaaah!”
The child regained consciousness and burst into tears.
Alive.
Hearing the child’s cries, cheers erupted from the people above the cliff.
“We can rest assured now.”
“What a relief.”
I gazed upon the wreckage of the carriage and the bodies with a bitter expression.
What would become of this child who had lost both parents?
But I shook my head.
Trying to predict this child’s future was a futile exercise.
After all, the loss of parents did not necessarily condemn one to misery.
Perhaps it was that fervent desire to save the child that had drawn me to this place.
If this child could endure this tragedy and grow up bright and strong, then surely those two would find happiness in the heavens as well.
This was the child I had saved.
I would make it so, by force if necessary.
“What you’re seeing right now is too difficult for you to witness, so I’m going to cover your eyes. I know it’s frustrating, but I’ll remove it shortly.”
The child nodded at my words.
I took out a handkerchief and covered the child’s eyes. Then I spoke to the Guards.
“Let us recover the bodies.”
“Yes.”
I sent a silent transmission to Seo-woo Warrior.
Soon, a burlap sack tied with rope descended from above the cliff.
We recovered the bodies of the Coachman and the couple, placed them in the sack, bound it securely, and sent it back up.
After searching the carriage for any personal effects or items that needed to be kept, I secured the child firmly to my body and climbed back up the cliff.
Thud.
When I reached the top, someone extended a hand to me.
Looking up, it was the Tal-myeong Guest.
“Please take my hand.”
I accepted without hesitation and was pulled up.
In truth, I could have managed without assistance, but it seemed churlish to refuse when help was being offered.
Just then, a woman rushed toward me, weeping profusely.
“Thank you so much for saving our Young Master.”
“Are you the Nursemaid?”
She wiped her tears and nodded.
“Yes. We are from the Seyulgyeong Family of Beijing. The ones who have passed are the Second Young Master and his wife.”
“I see.”
I untied the binding and wrapped the child in my own robe, offering them to her.
The child was trembling, clearly cold.
“Please take them.”
“Thank you so very much.”
She bowed repeatedly to me.
I removed the cloth from the child’s eyes, and upon seeing the Nursemaid, the child burst into tears and clung to her.
The others also expressed their gratitude to me repeatedly.
“Thanks to you, we were able to recover the bodies of the Young Master and his wife.”
“Thank you for recovering my elder brother’s body as well.”
“…?”
“The Coachman is my Elder Brother.”
“I see. He never let go of the reins until the very end. You should take pride in fulfilling that duty.”
“Ugh!”
At that moment, someone asked me a question.
“Pardon me, but aren’t you Eun Seo-ho, the Small Guild Master of the Eun Hae Trading Company?”
“That’s correct.”
Then the people around me began praising me in unison.
“Of course! There’s a reason they call you the Immortal Chivalry Beauty!”
Ugh!
I wondered why those words wouldn’t come out.
“Young Master! You must put on your jacket.”
“Thank you.”
I hastily put on the jacket and then my outer robe.
And to hide my embarrassment, I clasped my fists in salute and prepared to leave.
“Then I shall take my leave now.”
But a Warrior stopped me.
“Please wait a moment. Someone from the Family Estate will arrive shortly. Please accept our gratitude.”
“No.”
I shook my head in refusal.
“I have urgent business elsewhere. And if the child grows up happy and well, that will be the greatest reward.”
“….”
“Even in that situation, the Father and Mother held the child tightly, determined to save only the child.”
At my words, they burst into tears again.
I continued speaking.
“If the child ever shows signs of guilt or indebtedness for being the sole survivor, tell them this: that is proof your parents loved you, and you need only grow righteously, using that love as your foundation.”
I spoke while looking at the child.
“Just as it is not the tree’s fault when wind and rain blow toward it, the child bears no blame either.”
And I smiled faintly.
“If they still don’t understand, send them to me.”
And as I mounted my horse, the Tal-myeong Guest was watching me with an intense gaze.
What is this? Why is he looking at me like that?
So fiercely.

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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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