The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 61

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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 Eunhae Trading Company – Chapter 61

Chapter 61. Catching the Rat (6)

The Merchant Guild Leaders who now supported Eun Myung-sang gazed at him with eyes brimming with goodwill.
The Dan Merchant Guild Master took a step back.
“I see. My hearing must have been poor that day—I didn’t catch it well.”
Eun Myung-sang offered him consolation.
“I’ve heard your losses have been quite substantial. I sincerely hope this matter resolves favorably for you.”
In truth, it was nothing but salt in the wound.
“It’s a predicament I brought upon myself, so what can I do? Haha.”
The Dan Merchant Guild Master continued with a bitter smile.
“But if the Branch Manager spoke of it that way, it seems the branch chiefs must have already known about it as well…”
“They certainly would have known. How could they not? When they asked whether we should venture into the salt business, I explained the situation to them.”
At Eun Myung-sang’s response, the Dan Merchant Guild Master clenched his fists tightly.
Yet outwardly, he maintained his smile.
“I… I see.”
Watching him, Eun Myung-sang chuckled inwardly.
‘I was already wondering how to broach this subject, so I’m grateful he asked.’
The conversation they had just exchanged was the true reason Eun Myung-sang had come to today’s gathering.
Meanwhile, the Dan Merchant Guild Master realized he had been deceived by Young-po.
All this time, Young-po had repeatedly urged him to purchase more salt, insisting it was a business venture that would surely yield enormous profits.
‘How much have I invested all this time!’
His original plan had been to use Young-po to swallow even the Eunhae Trading Company’s assets.
But with Young-po’s betrayal, everything had crumbled to dust.
No—it was worse than that. He had suffered catastrophic losses.
Even if he economized for ten years, he couldn’t be certain he could recover from such devastation.
Today, an imperial edict bearing the Emperor’s seal had been posted in every county office. Surely Young-po couldn’t be unaware that the Dan Clan Merchant Guild had suffered losses.
And no one deliberately invites calamity upon themselves.
So where was he now, and what was he doing?
The answer was clear.
The Dan Merchant Guild Master recalled the treasures Young-po had been quietly accumulating at his Secret Estate.
‘That should help me recover at least some of the losses.’
As the Dan Merchant Guild Master excused himself from the others and departed the Banquet Hall, Eun Myung-sang spoke to his guard.
“Tell Seo-ho it’s time to finish this.”

* * *

I gazed up at the night sky.
The moon shone brilliantly.
A perfect night for catching rats.
“So then.”
I turned my head. Sister Hyang-ok stood beside me, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.
“When should I make my move?”
“Very soon now.”
We were currently concealed near Yeongpo Chief’s Secret Estate.
I gazed at that secret estate and offered a bitter smile.
Who would have ever suspected a secret estate existed in such a place?
In my previous life, I never knew that Young-po was a rat.
Had it not been for the matter concerning the Jamu Doll Company, I would have remained ignorant forever.
Though I might have harbored suspicions.
It was not due to incompetence on the part of the Eunhae Trading Company or myself. Rather, Young-po’s tenure as a rat simply did not last long.
By my recollection, it was nearly the end of June—just days from now.
The murdered body of Young-po was discovered in the deep forest.
He had been killed with considerable brutality, and from the wounds left behind, one could deduce the perpetrators were three in number—skilled swordsmen at that.
The motive was a matter of grudge.
Yet the culprits were never apprehended.
What on earth had transpired?
But that incident has not yet occurred.

I chuckled softly as I gazed upon the estate.
The Emperor’s decree had been announced abruptly.
But Young-po Chief was no ordinary man.
All this time, he had been feeding false information to the Dan Clan Merchant Guild while preparing for this very moment.
He had been liquidating his assets, already siphoning considerable wealth to other locations.
Young-po Chief’s presence here now was merely to settle what remained.
Did Young-po Chief realize?
That all the assets he had siphoned away were already within my grasp?
I couldn’t simply stand by and watch him embezzle ill-gotten gains from selling the Eunhae Trading Company’s secrets.
At that moment, my Uncle’s Guard Warrior approached and relayed his message.
It was time to bring this to a close.
“Shall we go then?”
As if answering my words, Sister Hyang-ok drew her blade. Then she spoke to the Eunpung Corps Squad Leader Gu Ji-sung.
“I’m counting on you today.”
“Have no concerns.”
Squad Leader Gu Ji-sung blew his whistle.
Shrieeek—!
That was the signal.
We immediately stormed into Young-po Chief’s Secret Estate.
“Who dares!”
I could see the warriors blocking our path. But there were only three of them.
Our numbers were far greater.
They seemed flustered. Young-po Chief emerged from behind to see what was happening, then went pale.
“Gasp! What, what is this!”
Sister Hyang-ok shouted at him.
“Young-po Chief! I charge you with the crime of espionage!”
“What are you saying? Espionage? I have never done such a thing….”
I answered his excuses.
“But the Dan Merchant Guild Master has already confessed.”
….
At my words, he erupted in fury.
“Dan Merchant Guild Master! You bastard!”
As if anyone could tell who the real bastard was…. In any case, we seized Young-po Chief’s Secret Estate in an instant.
Soon the three warriors and Young-po Chief were bound and forced to their knees.
At this point, something puzzled me.
It was the three warriors guarding the estate. They had fought desperately to protect Young-po Chief.
I wondered if they were blood relatives, but it didn’t seem so. Their gazes toward Young-po Chief were far from kind.
“Why go to such lengths? Couldn’t you have simply escaped?”
At my question, one of them gnashed his teeth.
“We wanted to! But, but! The Marketplace Master poisoned us!”
“You poisoned them?”
“It’s the kind of poison that causes an agonizing death unless they consume an antidote once a month.”
I tilted my head in confusion.
Such poisons do exist.
But they’re extraordinarily expensive and extremely difficult to obtain.
He used such a rare substance merely to guard this estate?
“Do you happen to know where the poison or antidote is kept?”
“I don’t know where the antidote is, but I know where the poison is stored.”
I went to the location they indicated and retrieved an iron box.
“Is this it?”
“Yes.”
But it was firmly locked.
I asked Yeongpo Chief.
“Where’s the key?”
“I’ve lost it.”
“….”
As I pondered how to proceed, Gujiseong Squad Leader smirked.
“Looks like it’s my turn.”
He produced a needle from his pocket, inserted it into the lock, and manipulated it deftly.
Click.
The box opened.
“You’re quite skilled.”
“It was a hobby from my younger days. Haha.”
“Any skill is worthwhile when used for good.”
Inside the box lay a single pouch of tea.
“Is this the poison?”
At my question, the warriors gnashed their teeth in response.
“Yes.”
“That tea is the poison that causes an excruciating death.”
“This?”
They nodded, and Yeongpo Chief spoke with triumphant arrogance.
“You must release me now if you wish to save them. Without my antidote, they will die. If they perish, that blood is on your hands.”
“….”
“Are you certain you’re willing to accept that?”
Then he laughed with contemptible malice.
At those words, Sister Hyang-ok flared with anger.
“What kind of dog-like nonsense is this? So you bear no responsibility for poisoning them in the first place?”
The fact that Sister Hyang-ok, who had been speaking with careful respect, shortened her words meant her fury was immense.
“A dog would be better than you. You worthless bastard….”
But I had to stop her here.
Our Sister Hyang-ok has quite the sharp tongue when she’s angry.
It’s not just her words—she shreds her opponent’s spirit until there’s nothing left.
Without mercy.
At least joining the Ami Sect as a lay disciple has improved her considerably.
Honestly, I’d love to shred Young-po Chief’s spirit too, but not now.
There’s a guest arriving here soon, and there are things I need to hear from their lips.
“Sister, please let it go. There’s no need to provoke them further.”
“But….”
“And there’s no need to give the Warriors an antidote.”
At my words, Sister’s eyes widened.
“What? What are you saying….”
“Why would they need an antidote if it’s not poison?”
I continued quickly before anyone could object.
“After drinking this tea, about an hour later, they must have suffered terribly from abdominal pain so severe it felt like their intestines were tearing.”
The Warriors nodded at my words.
“When you took the pill they called an antidote in such a state, the abdominal pain disappeared instantly, didn’t it?”
They nodded again.
“And they probably gave you the pill on a fixed date each month, but that pill—it must have tasted so unbearably foul you could barely swallow it.”
“How, how did you know that?”
How did I know? Because this scheme is just starting to become fashionable now, so I know it well.
This tea has no name.
It’s simply called “False Poison Tea.”
It means it’s not actually poison.
It was primarily used to coerce others—those who drank it, believing the pain meant they’d consumed real poison, had no choice but to comply with their captor’s demands.
Fearing I might fall victim to this tea and make a wrong decision, I once tried drinking it myself….
I nearly died.
It’s fortunate I drank it with a healthy body thanks to the Black Flute Physician; otherwise, I truly would have perished.
I answered as if explaining how I’d discovered it.
“Of course I know. The Eunhae Trading Company is originally a medicinal herb specialist after all.”
Of course, this was just an excuse.
“Actually, this contains a bit of toxic herb that causes abdominal pain without threatening life. And what they gave you as an antidote is genuinely an antidote. It neutralizes that toxic herb. The important part is.”
I spoke while looking at Young-po Chief.
“You don’t need to keep taking the antidote. After all, the poison tea was just a one-time deception.”
At my words, the three Warriors cried out in fury.
“Aaaarrgh!”
“These bastards!”
“How dare they deceive us?”
But what was unexpected was that not only the three Warriors cried out in fury—Young-po Chief did as well.
“Damn it! I paid good money for that! I spent ten silver taels on both the poison and the antidote!”
At those words, I twisted the knife in his wound.
“Wow! You paid ten silver taels for this? Half a tael of silver? It shouldn’t even be worth half of that!”
“Aaaaargh!”
I had thought he was a talented man with real ability, but now it was clear he was just a fool playing at wisdom.
Did he truly believe he could easily obtain such a poison here in Sichuan, where the Sichuan Tang Family held dominion?
If he were caught trafficking in such poison, he would be dragged before the Sichuan Tang Family and subjected to unspeakable horrors?
Watching the three warriors struggle to suppress their fury, I suddenly recalled the death of Yeongpo Chief.
A corpse in the forest, brutally murdered.
Three men skilled with the blade.
A grudge between them.
Now I understood who the culprits were.
As the saying goes, a long tail gets caught—they must have found it suspicious that he survived despite never consuming the antidote.
That’s when they realized they had been deceived.
It was then that Sister Hyang-ok spoke.
“Someone approaches.”
With those words, the main gate burst open and a man shouted.
“Yeongpo Chief! I know everything that’s happening here and I’ve come to—”
He saw us and his expression shifted to confusion.
The three warriors and Yeongpo Chief were bound and kneeling in the courtyard.
The estate was surrounded by our forces.
Sister Hyang-ok regarded him and spoke.
“So you are the Dan Clan Merchant Leader.”
“You… who are you…?”
“It seems you knew our Yeongpo Chief quite well.”
“That is… well, you see…”
“And why have you come to this place? In the dead of night? People might misunderstand.”
At Sister Hyang-ok’s words, the Dan Merchant Guild Master coughed awkwardly and spoke.
“We’ve come to recover the valuables stored here.”
“Recover, you say?”
“The valuables here were stolen from our guild by the Thief, so we are merely reclaiming them.”
Just as I expected—he was making excuses.
At those words, Young-po erupted.
“What are you talking about! Stolen? These were all given to me by you! As payment for leaking information from the Eunhae Trading Company!”
And so I secured his testimony.
“Moreover, recently you gave me gold ingots where only one was real and the rest were fakes!”
“I gave you genuine gold.”
“They were fakes!”
“No matter how much I employ spies, I would never commit such shameless deception—wait!”
Only then did he seem to grasp the situation.
I had switched the gold ingots partly to extract confessions by exploiting their conflict, but he was proving far more foolish than I’d anticipated.
To so easily admit that he had paid the price for espionage work.
Sister Hyang-ok spoke to the Dan Merchant Guild Master.
“I’ll bring Father here. Shall we discuss this matter calmly together?”
“There’s no need to go that far….”
“Or perhaps we should involve the Inspector in our conversation?”

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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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