The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 545

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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 545

Chapter 545. The Tal-myeong Guest (5)

Our objective wasn’t to kill them, but to subdue them.
We needed someone capable of answering questions to learn the true nature of this place.
That’s why I extinguished the flames.
The darker it became, the greater our advantage as a small, elite force.
Crash!
Thud!
We subdued them and sealed their blood meridians to prevent any resistance.
Then we removed the cloth covering the Night Luminous Pearl.
Whoosh!
The surroundings suddenly flooded with light, and those guarding the Prison writhed in agony as their eyes were damaged by the sudden illumination.
We had subdued a total of ten men.
I had all but one of them blindfolded.
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
“W-who are you?”
“Do you think you’ll escape unscathed after this?”
Smack!
Crack!
Men whose bodies couldn’t move, yet whose mouths wouldn’t stop running.
The Warriors each struck the men they had subdued with their fists.
“Gasp!”
“Cough!”
A reminder of their current predicament.
Thanks to that, the surroundings fell silent.
“Cowardly dogs bark the loudest, after all. You needn’t wonder who we are or why we’re doing this—simply answer my questions.”
I continued speaking.
“What is this Prison for?”
They hesitated to answer my question.
“You won’t tell us willingly…”
“I know you won’t speak freely, and I also know exactly how to make you talk.”
Squelch!
Yeo Eung-am Warrior drew his blade and drove it into the thigh of the one man whose eyes weren’t covered, then twisted it.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
Hearing that agonized scream, the blindfolded men’s bodies trembled.
When sight is blocked, hearing and smell naturally become more acute.
In other words, the scream that erupts as a blade pierces the thigh, and the scent of blood spilled in its wake—these stimulate the imagination.
After all, human imagination conjures horrors far worse than reality itself.
I turned my head to look at the Tal-myeong Guest.
His expression seemed somewhat troubled.
“What troubles you, sir?”
“Something feels… off about this.”
“Off about what?”
“I’ve heard you described as virtuous, yet the image of my elder brother before my eyes now is….”
“Not virtuous?”
At my question, he flinched and nodded.
“There are times when I myself feel like a demon. Times when I wonder if such measures are truly necessary.”
I let out a soft laugh.
“But I’ve learned that sometimes one must act like a demon to save someone. Being virtuous to all means saving no one, and it can even sever one’s own destiny.”
“So chivalry is… not a simple thing.”
I nodded.
“Good and evil have always possessed duality. If I am evil to them, then I am good to those imprisoned here.”
“….”
I thought that with so many illustrious titles gathered, he would understand the world well, but it seems that’s not the case.
“So in other words….”
I smiled wickedly as I looked at those subdued beneath us.
“If you don’t answer willingly, you’ll see just how far I can go.”
As my words ended, Yeo Eung-am Warrior twisted his blade again.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
“So you’d better start talking quickly. Our lord is truly terrifying, you see.”
Following Yeo Eung-am Warrior’s words, I continued.
“The first one to speak will die painlessly.”
“….”
“Or would you prefer to die in agony?”
Immediately, a response came.
“N-no! I, I’ll speak!”
“I will! I’ll tell you everything!”
I tapped one of them.
“You speak.”
“Yes!”
He spoke hastily.
“T-this place is the Prison.”
“I know that already. And since I’m impatient, I might just give the opportunity to someone else….”
“The higher-ups deemed these people obstacles to their operations and had them imprisoned here.”
Obstacles….
“I don’t understand. If they’re in the way, why not simply kill them?”
My question found its answer elsewhere.
“Because it would be a waste to kill them.”
A weak, quiet voice—yet unmistakably clear.
I turned my gaze toward the source of that voice.
A young man sitting within the Prison, observing us.
His clothes were tattered and worn, yet the brilliance in his eyes remained sharp and unwavering.
“Are you perhaps the Seonhyeop Mirang Great Swordmaster?”
“That’s what I’m called. You know of me, then.”
“I saw you during the Yongbong Martial Arts Tournament.”
“I see. But who might you be, Young Master?”
“I am Yun Sung-jin of the Jin So-yun Family in Anhui Province.”
What? Yun Sung-jin of the Jin So-yun Family?
I couldn’t help but be startled. I had heard rumors about him.
“Are you the Young Master Yun who disappeared?”
There was a substantial reward of five hundred silver taels for his return.
“Is that how it’s been reported?”
“Yes. You’re known to have vanished. But how did this come to pass?”
“Well… when I regained consciousness, I found myself here. From the conversations of those who come and go, I’ve deduced that whoever imprisoned us here views us as obstacles to their plans, yet believes we have some use to them—hence why we remain locked away.”
“I see.”
Young Master Yun Sung-jin explained the situation with remarkable composure.
In my previous life, he never returned.
“How many people are imprisoned here?”
“I cannot say with certainty, but there are more than ten. I’ve counted the bowls of rice brought on the cart, and that’s roughly the number.”
Even in captivity, he had the presence of mind to count the meal bowls—a man of considerable composure and strong will.
“But Young Master Yun, why were you imprisoned here?”
“I haven’t the faintest idea.”
I turned my head to look at the Black Swordsmen we had subdued.
They trembled violently, their eyes bound.
I questioned the one in blue trousers I had singled out.
“So then, where is your superior?”
“That… that is…”
When I shook my head, Lee Pil Warrior drove his blade into the man’s shoulder and twisted it.
“Aaaahhhhh!”
“Does anyone else wish to answer my question?”
At my words, one of the Black Swordsmen cried out urgently.
“We… we are from the Black Cat Sect! We were only following our Sect Master’s orders!”
The Black Cat Sect…
This place was in the heart of Henan.
A region firmly controlled by the Murim Alliance.
So the Black Cat Sect, or whatever they call themselves, didn’t know the Murim Alliance was to be feared and dared to pull off something like this?
That can’t be right.
This is undoubtedly happening with the Murim Alliance’s tacit approval or direct orders.
“First, we should prioritize releasing those who are imprisoned.”
At my words, Yun Gongja shook his head.
“We can be released later. Even if we escape the Prison now, it won’t be of much help.”
“Don’t tell me—is it Mountain Poison?”
“Yes, it is.”
That explained it.
The Black Swordsmen guarding this place weren’t particularly skilled, so there had to be a reason they couldn’t escape the Prison.
They’d been poisoned with Mountain Poison to prevent them from using martial arts.
I’d suspected as much.
Even if someone is a martial artist, without inner energy, they’re no different from an ordinary person who knows how to wield weapons and has trained their body.
It would be different if they’d mastered external martial techniques, but surely they wouldn’t have imprisoned someone like that here.
“I understand. Then…”
I turned to the Black Swordsmen.
“Is there anyone who can guide us to the Black Cat Sect?”
“…”
“No one? Then I’ll burn the Mountain Stronghold and kill everyone there—”
“W-Wait! I’ll guide you!”
Sigh, I always have to resort to threats to get them to cooperate.
Thus, guided by that Black Blade Warrior, I arrived at the Black Cat Sect.
“Hmm…”
“Hehehehe. How do you like it? The might of our Black Cat Sect! You’re all as good as dead now.”
“…”
The Black Blade Warrior beside me laughed despicably.
The Black Cat Sect was larger than I’d expected, and there were many warriors.
“Your reputation seems well-deserved.”
With our forces, we could certainly handle them, but I couldn’t be confident we’d emerge without any casualties.
How should I…
Ah!
I smiled broadly, and seeing this, the Tal-myeong Guest asked.
“Do you have a good idea, Elder Brother?”
At the Tal-myeong Guest’s question, I chuckled lightly.
“Tal-myeong Guest, my friend.”
“Yes?”
“Suppose someone secretly prepared food they wanted to eat in secret. Then another person comes and tells them the food has spoiled and must be discarded, even though it hasn’t. The original maker can’t claim it hasn’t spoiled. In the end, they can’t eat the food they spent time and money preparing, and they have to throw it away. That would be quite frustrating, wouldn’t it?”
“Frustrating? Wouldn’t they be absolutely furious? But why are you asking me this?”
It seems he doesn’t grasp my intention from this alone.
Well, he doesn’t know the true nature of the Murim Alliance…
I didn’t offer a detailed explanation and simply turned away.
“There is such a thing. Let’s move quickly.”
We immediately returned to the Prison.
“From now on, move according to my instructions.”
“Yes.”
“I shall obey your command.”
Fortunately, there was writing paper and ink there, so I wrote a letter and handed it to Yeo Eung-am Warrior.
“Please deliver this to the Murim Alliance as quickly as possible. And….”
I conveyed additional instructions.
“Understood.”
“Then let us rescue those here and gather them in one place.”
First, I brought Yun Gongja out of the Prison.
Even if he couldn’t use his inner strength, he appeared the youngest, so he would be useful.
“What exactly are you thinking?”
“I went to deal with the Black Cat Sect, but it turned out to be a larger sect than expected. So I’m calling for reinforcements.”
“Reinforcements, you say?”
“Yes. Before that, it’s important that we escape from here, which is why I’m hurrying.”
As we learned the identities of those imprisoned in the Prison, we couldn’t help but be astonished.
Most of them were renowned figures.
Among them, the identity of one person left even me astounded.
Jeok Ui-hwa-ta, one of the Empire’s Five Great Physicians, was imprisoned here.
He was the supreme authority in treating external injuries.
He always wore red robes, supposedly so that blood wouldn’t show on his clothes.
Even now, he wore red robes.
Though the color had faded considerably over time.
He clasped his fists in gratitude to me.
“I am truly grateful that you’ve rescued me.”
“Please don’t mention it. More importantly, we must hurry and leave this place.”
Saying so, I asked Seo-woo Warrior.
“Have we rescued everyone imprisoned here?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Then Jeok Ui-hwa-ta spoke.
“There is one more. That person… Ah! He’s a young man like him over there, with the tips of his hair in blue.”
“What?”
“W-what do you mean? Hair like mine?”
The Tal-myeong Guest asked in bewilderment, and Jeok Ui-hwa-ta pointed to a location.
“Over there, there is another Prison.”
At those words, the Tal-myeong Guest immediately rushed there, and I followed behind him.
There was indeed another Prison.
And this was beneath the Willow Grove I had seen earlier.
So this is where I heard him groaning.
Screech!
The Tal-myeong Guest immediately severed the bars and rushed inside.
Then he collapsed in front of a man lying on the floor, wailing.
“Master! Master! Come to your senses! It’s me! Gyeong has come!”
I approached them and gently reached out to check the Middle-Aged Man’s pulse.
Thank goodness.
He wasn’t dead yet—merely unconscious.
But his condition was quite grave and deteriorating.
It seemed he hadn’t eaten properly in some time, and being trapped in this damp place for so long had taken its toll on his health.
Jeok Ui-hwa-ta spoke from behind me.
“He was already in critical condition when I first arrived here. I treated his external injuries, but that was the extent of what I could do.”
“So you treated the people here, Physician?”
“I couldn’t stand by and watch them die. So I pleaded with them and provided the best treatment I could manage under their watchful eyes.”
“I see.”
In other words, these people had survived this long only because of Jeok Ui-hwa-ta’s medical care.
“He’s been poisoned with something far worse than Mountain Ginseng Toxin. I’ve suppressed it with acupuncture, but it won’t hold for much longer.”
Poison…
I had suspected as much when I felt my inner energy respond as I checked his pulse.
I can detoxify most poisons.
But first, we need to escape this place.
If the Black Cat Sect members swarm here in force, it’ll be troublesome.
“Hurry and carry him. Let’s leave this place.”
“Understood, Elder Brother.”
And so we unexpectedly managed to find the Tal-myeong Guest’s Master as well.

* * *

The Murim Alliance.
As dawn broke, a single letter reached the League Master’s hands.
A warrior had brought the letter, and he stood before the Main Gate, crying out loudly.

“An urgent dispatch from Seon Hyeop Mi-rang, hero of the Yongbong Martial Arts Tournament!”

The name Seon Hyeop Mi-rang was quite famous in Luoyang.
The events of the Yongbong Martial Arts Tournament were still being discussed, and the subsequent tales had spread widely among the people.
Therefore, this letter inevitably found its way into the hands of the Murim Alliance Leader.
He unfolded the letter.

[I, Eun Seo-ho, Small Guild Master of the Eun Hae Trading Company and indebted to the League Master, respectfully submit this letter. It is not otherwise, but while passing through Henan, I discovered and rescued those trapped in a cave, and in the process became entangled with a Black Dao Gang known as the Black Cat Sect…]

“Sigh.”
The League Master exhaled heavily and crumpled the letter in his hands.
The Black Cat Sect.
He knew that place all too well.
Because it was he himself who had ordered them to construct a prison in that cave and confine people there.
‘Stupid bastards!’
Honestly, he wanted nothing more than to ignore this letter, but he couldn’t.
Eun Seo-ho was the man to whom he had given the title of Seonhyeop Mirang.
To ignore such a man’s letter would be absurd.
And the final passage made it even more impossible to do so.

[Suspecting this might be related to traitors, I have also requested support from the Imperial Palace]

If the Imperial Palace were to discover any evidence connecting him to this…
He squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip.
He had to eliminate the Black Cat Sect before that happened.
“Convene an emergency council immediately!”

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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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