The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 553

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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 553

Chapter 553. The Test (1)

I smiled as I gazed upon the Eunhae Merchant Guild Beijing Branch in the distance.
“We’ve finally arrived.”
“Are you pleased, sir?”
At Palgap’s question, I nodded readily.
“Of course. It marks the end of our journey.”
“Indeed, sir.”
“Naturally, mountains of work will be waiting for me when I return. Yet there’s something reassuring about being where I belong.”
Seo-woo Warrior enthusiastically agreed with my words.
“Your words ring true, sir. I too find such reassurance in standing beside you.”
Seeing the others nodding in agreement, I scratched my cheek and spoke.
“I’m grateful you see it that way. Though I must admit, being with family would be even better.”
“Haha.”
Seo-woo Warrior laughed awkwardly.
Truthfully, while in Hubei Province, I had wanted to stop by the Main Headquarters to see my family.
However, with so much work piling up and pressing matters demanding attention, I had no choice but to proceed to Beijing with a heavy heart.
I would have to visit them next time without fail.
Soon we arrived at the Beijing Branch.
“Welcome!”
The Gate Keepers recognized me and quickly opened the way, and we entered the Cha-jang.
“Welcome, sir.”
The Managers inside the Cha-jang greeted us.
“Has there been anything unusual at the Beijing Branch?”
“No, sir. Nothing of particular note.”
“That’s fortunate. How is Elder Brother Eun Jung-ho?”
At my question, the Moon Chief Manager inside the Cha-jang answered.
“He is in the office, sir.”
“I see.”
“Oh, and the Patriarch of Se-eul-gyeong Family came looking for you.
“What?”
As I tilted my head in confusion, the Moon Chief Manager explained.
“He mentioned that you had rescued a child of the Se-eul-gyeong Family from a carriage that fell off a cliff. Is that not so?”
I smiled broadly and replied.
“Ah! That did happen.”
“You had forgotten such a matter!”
Moon Chief Manager laughed as if bewildered and spoke.
“That’s very much like the Third Sub-unit Leader. Since you didn’t do it expecting a reward, you must have simply forgotten about it.”
“That’s true, actually.”
“I apologize for holding you up. Please go see the First Sub-unit Leader now.”
“Yes.”
I instructed Palgap to guide Young Master Jegal Cheon-du and his entourage to their quarters, then headed toward Eun Jung-ho’s office.
“Ah! You’ve returned?”
Eun Jung-ho’s Guard Warrior, standing at the door, recognized me and quickly clasped his fist in salute.
“I’ve returned safely. My brother is inside, yes?”
“Yes, he is inside.”
I called out toward the interior.
“Eun Jung-ho! It’s me, Seo-ho.”
“Come in.”
But Eun Jung-ho’s voice sounded far from normal.
The voice of someone barely clinging to life.
I hastily opened the door to enter, but found myself stopping involuntarily.
“Wh-brother…? Are you alright?”
Was it my imagination that something like a dark aura seemed to be seeping from Eun Jung-ho?
“You’ve come.”
“Yes. But are you really sure you’re alright?”
“Since he hasn’t collapsed yet, wouldn’t that mean he’s still managing?”
At another familiar voice, I turned my head to see Seo Hyang rising from her seat.
Unlike the dying Eun Jung-ho, Seo Hyang still looked vibrant.
Seeing that Gal Hyun Deputy beside her looked little different from Eun Jung-ho, I wondered if Seo Hyang was the unusual one.
It was likely thanks to her mastery of the Heavenly Flow Technique.
After all, the Heavenly Flow Technique had the property of preventing one from tiring easily.
“Did you really have that much work to do?”
At my question, Eun Jung-ho nodded.
Ah… he didn’t even have the energy to explain.
Seo Hyang explained on his behalf.
“Master Gong’s newly created Grand-scale Wind Device has been incredibly popular.”
The Grand-scale Wind Device was an enormously large wind device, primarily made for groups working together in places like workshops.
“But as you know, the number of Grand-scale Wind Devices that can be made is limited.”
“That’s true.”
“So we announced that we would accept applications and deliver them sequentially, but applications came pouring in, and organizing them all took quite a bit of time.”
“I see.”
Then the condition of the other Hyunpung staff members was obvious without even looking.
Given the state Eun Jung-ho was in.
I spoke to my brother.
“From now on, I’ll handle it.”
“At last, I’m free! Hahahaha!”
Eun Jung-ho’s face suddenly brightened.
“Did anything troublesome happen on your journey?”
“You ask quickly. First, everyone is healthy.”
“That’s a relief. Ah, the Patriarch of Se-eul-gyeong Family came by.”
“Yes, I heard from Moon Chief Manager.”
“You did a commendable thing. Thanks to you, the Second Son’s line won’t be cut off, he said.”
“I couldn’t just leave a living child behind….”
“Well, I suppose so. Anyway, the Patriarch asked me to let him know when you returned. He said he’d come himself.”
“There’s no need for that.”
“His heart may feel differently. But tell me—you didn’t get into any other incidents I don’t know about, did you?”
At those words, I found myself turning my head away.
“…What is it? Why aren’t you answering?”
I cleared my throat.
“Ahem, well, it’s not that I wanted it to happen… it just ended up that way….”
I gave him a brief explanation of what had occurred.
“So I saved those people, and requested the Murim Alliance to deal with the Black Cat Sect.”
“…Something quite extraordinary must have happened.”
Eun Jung-ho laughed heartily.
“Well, you said it simply, but I never expected you to avoid trouble anyway. In any case, you’ve returned safely, and that’s what matters.”
My brother continued.
“So you’ve upheld the name Immortal Chivalry Beauty as well?”
“Yes.”
“Well done.”
This is truly Eun Jung-ho.
With such a character, it made sense he was called the Virtuous One of Hubei in my past life.
And I do love Eun Jung-ho.

That afternoon.
I introduced Young Master Jegal Cheon-du and his companions to Eun Jung-ho. I also informed the Crown Prince that I had invited Young Master Jegal Cheon-du.
The Crown Prince came to the Beijing Branch the very next day, and I introduced Young Master Jegal Cheon-du to him.
He was quite satisfied, and immediately began sketching out plans to establish a Martial Hall.
Now I could focus on my own duties for a while.
Originally, I had planned to go directly to other sects or great families to recruit talented instructors, but it seemed better to wait until the blueprint was complete and then recruit talent according to the finished design.

* * *

The Murim Alliance Leader’s office.
The Alliance Leader was listening to a report from Geon Man-seok, who had recently returned from the Tiger Correction Squad.
“…And thus the Black Cat Sect has been completely eliminated.”
“What evidence do you have?”
“Evidence, you say?”
“The Black Cat Sect Leader is a cunning rabbit of a man. Gyo To-sam-gul, wasn’t it? He surely left something behind.”
“The Black Cat Sect burned completely and vanished. There is nothing remaining. I have verified this multiple times.”
“Then that is fortunate, but….”
The Alliance Leader fell silent in thought for a moment, then opened his eyes and asked him a question.
“Did those people whom Eun Seo-ho rescued understand why they were imprisoned?”
“No, they did not.”
Geon Man-seok shook his head.
“I questioned them repeatedly, but they had no idea whatsoever.”
“Is there a possibility they were deliberately feigning ignorance?”
“No. I probed from various angles, but they genuinely knew nothing. It is evidence that the Black Cat Sect handled their work well.”
At those words, the Alliance Leader sighed.
“That makes it all the more regrettable. It is not easy to rescue such people again.”
He asked another question.
“But how did Eun Seo-ho discover that prison in the first place?”
“Ah, that was truly coincidence.”
“Coincidence?”
“Yes.”
Geon Man-seok explained what he had heard from Eun Seo-ho.
“Thus his curiosity about that mushroom led him to the prison.”
“If it truly was coincidence, then there is nothing to worry about.”
Yet for some reason, this man Eun Seo-ho continued to weigh on his mind.
Long ago, there had been an attempt to establish a secret branch of the Murim Alliance in Hubei Province.
While proceeding with the matter through a puppet trading company called the Doun Trading Company, that plan had ended in unexpected failure.
The Eunhae Trading Company had acquired the Yeonhwa Pavilion.
From that time onward, the name Eun Seo-ho reached his ears whenever he forgot about it.
And always in ways that obstructed the Murim Alliance’s affairs.
But unless the man knew about them, there was no reason for this.
That was why he continued to feel uneasy.
“Are you not overthinking this man? He helped us at the Yongbong Martial Arts Tournament.”
“That is true.”
In that situation, thanks to Eun Seo-ho, the Murim Alliance had avoided great shame and loss.
The Alliance Leader’s thoughts were complicated.
Contrary to what the Tiger Correction Squad commander said, he had an intuition that Eun Seo-ho had seen through his secret.
The problem was that there were no particular hostile actions.
There was no sense whatsoever that he was at odds with the Murim Alliance.
‘For someone who’s caught onto my secret, he shows remarkably little sign of it.’
Geon Man-seok spoke to him as he pondered.
“If it troubles you so much, why not simply eliminate him? For the greater cause of the Murim Alliance, we cannot afford to leave suspicious elements unattended.”
The League Master shook his head at those words.
“No, eliminating him immediately isn’t practical.”
“Why not?”
“Because the Emperor favors him. Beyond that, we cannot ignore the backing of the Eunhae Trading Company and the prestige of the Immortal Chivalry Beauty.”
He continued.
“Acting rashly against someone of such standing would jeopardize our Alliance’s plans. Besides, he’s a talent too valuable to waste.”
“That is true.”
The abilities of Eun Seo-ho that I had observed thus far were genuine.
“If such a man were to serve our cause, it would be most gratifying indeed.”
“Certainly, that is so.”
Geon Man-seok nodded in agreement.
Through observing Eun Seo-ho this time, he too had recognized him as an exceptionally talented individual.
Since he himself commanded a unit, he could assess the other’s abilities simply by watching how he managed his people.
“First, we must determine whether that fellow truly intends to obstruct our Alliance. If it’s merely coincidence, we should recruit him.”
“As expected of you, League Master. Your regard for talent fills me with admiration once more.”
“Haha, spare me the flattery.”
“But how do you intend to ascertain his true intentions?”
At those words, the League Master’s eyes fell upon the documents resting on the wooden table.
He lifted them and spoke.
“By entrusting this matter to him.”
“A wise decision.”
“You may take your leave now.”
“Then I shall withdraw.”
The League Master watched the door through which Geon Man-seok had departed.
Geon Man-seok believed that what he was doing served the greater cause of the Murim Alliance.
Because I had conditioned him to think so.
‘There is nothing easier than manipulating one filled with blind conviction.’
It required no great technique.
One need only subtly direct the course of their belief.
That is why I could condition him even with incomplete techniques.
The League Master licked his lips with his tongue.
What mattered to me was whether Eun Seo-ho had discovered my secret.
The Eun Seo-ho I knew was both brilliant and possessed exceptional martial talent.
If he had discovered my secret, there were two options available.
Sway him or eliminate him.
But if he had not discovered my secret, there was only one option.
Condition and exploit him, just as I had done with Geon Man-seok.
‘Wait… he inherited the Geuk Cheon Sword’s absolute technique, didn’t he? Damn it!’
I suddenly realized a problem had emerged.
Anyone who had mastered the Heavenly Stream Ice Martial Art, the absolute technique of Geuk Cheon Sword Gwak Hoon, was immune to brainwashing.
Just like the Seolpung Palace that I had annihilated.
Since that was the only reason, I hadn’t taken any particular action.
‘First, I need to determine whether he’s discovered the secret. How to deal with him will be decided after that.’
He sat at the wooden table and composed a letter, then called for someone outside.
“Who is out there?”
“You called for me?”
“Summon Won Chief.”
“Yes.”

* * *

I was meeting with the Patriarch of the Seyulgyeong Family.
I had tried not to announce my return, yet somehow he had discovered it and come to see me.
“That matter was truly a sorrowful affair.”
The Patriarch’s eyes were filled with sadness.
It was only natural.
His second son and daughter-in-law had died—how could he not grieve?
“I offer my humble condolences.”
“Still, thanks to you, I was able to recover their remains and hold a proper funeral. I was able to save my grandson’s life as well.”
“I’m simply grateful that I could be of help.”
At my words, the Patriarch shook his head.
“Do not speak so. I am so grateful that I do not know how to repay this debt.”
Instead of answering, I bowed my head slightly.
“Therefore, as a token of gratitude, we intend to use products from the Eunhae Trading Company for everything our family can procure from them.”
“I am truly grateful, but there is no need to do such a thing. Other merchant guilds must also make their living. If you suddenly cut off trade with them, they too will suffer.”
The offer was kind, but doing so could invite the resentment of other merchant guilds.
“Hmm, that could be so.”
“And as I told those people there at the time, if the child I saved lives a righteous and bright life, that is the greatest repayment to me.”
Truthfully, while I did help the Seyulgyeong Family, I have no intention of gaining something in return through it.
To accept something from those who have already lost a son and daughter-in-law would honestly be rather distasteful.
I would be satisfied if they could endure this sorrow and live happily.
“Therefore, I hope you will understand my heart.”
Thus I barely managed to persuade him and sent him on his way.
“Phew, that was exhausting.”
As I let out a sigh, the guards around me looked at me with expressions of deep emotion.
“Why do you look at me that way?”
“We felt honored to serve such a master.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the Myeong-jong Warrior’s words.
“Young Master!”
Just then, Palgap rushed toward me, calling out urgently.
“What is it?”
“Someone has arrived from the Murim Alliance.”

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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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