The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 617

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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 617

Chapter 617. The Vanished Letter (4)

It was a strand of indigo thread.
Indigo thread… Could it be Nam Sa-gaek?
Nam Sa-gaek.
A person with the peculiar habit of leaving indigo thread strands at crime scenes—though his notoriety was spoken of even more than his elusive nature.
He would not hesitate to commit murder for the sake of stealing wealth.
In any case, if this was his doing, the matter becomes simpler.
I need not show him any mercy either.
I immediately headed to Ak Dae-in to report this finding.
“Oh! What is the matter?”
“I just finished investigating the boat and discovered this.”
“Is this not an indigo thread?”
“Yes, that’s correct. I found it where the box was located.”
Ak Dae-in immediately summoned Ji Seok-mun.
“Did you perhaps see this where the box was kept?”
“No. I searched thoroughly, and I would have found it if it had been there.”
“Hmm…”
Ak Dae-in let out a troubled sigh and spoke with a perplexed expression.
“If this thread is any indication, is the culprit Nam Sa-gaek? And the fact that it was left while searching the box…”
“If the culprit is indeed Nam Sa-gaek, it means he is still here.”
“There is also the possibility that someone impersonated Nam Sa-gaek.”
Ak Dae-in fell into deep thought.
“Is there anything I can assist you with?”
“Not at the moment.”
“I understand. Should you need my help at any time, please do not hesitate to call upon me.”
After saying this, I withdrew from his presence and returned to the inn.
Since he said he had no need for my assistance for now, there was no point in getting in his way.
Should I take matters into my own hands?
Whether it was the real Nam Sa-gaek or someone impersonating him, leaving the thread today was his mistake.
Geum-ryeong can detect even the most minute scents.
“Geum-ryeong!”
“Squeak!”
“You remember the scent of the thread I showed you today, right?”
“Squeak!”
“All you need to do is find the owner of that thread. Then I’ll give you a silver coin.”
“Caw! Caw!”
Geum-ryeong’s eyes gleamed, and he vanished like an arrow shot from a bow.
And not long after, he returned.
Based on the time elapsed, it couldn’t be far away.
After all, carrying something that heavy far would not be easy.
“Let’s go!”
“Caw!”
I ran after Geum-ryeong, and Seo-woo Warrior and Jin Yu Warrior followed behind me.
Since speed was paramount in this matter, I brought only those two.
We arrived at an estate.
Nam Sa-gaek’s safe house was in Nanking!
“Shall we enter?”
At Seo-woo Warrior’s words, Jin Yu Warrior shook his head.
“It appears there are mechanical traps inside. It would be dangerous to enter recklessly.”
“Do you know something about mechanical traps?”
At Seo-woo Warrior’s question, he nodded.
“I received extensive training in the past to detect and navigate mechanical traps. So I still retain a unique sense for them.”
The bitterness in Jin Yu Warrior’s voice as he spoke revealed just how grueling and cruel that training had been.
“Then it would be wise to heed his counsel.”
I nodded in agreement.
“That’s right. We shouldn’t rush in carelessly just because our cultivation is high.”
But we had to enter that place.
What Geum-ryeong-i brings back precisely are expensive and precious things.
Letters are not among them.
Which means I have to go inside myself and retrieve the letter.
There’s a possibility the letter was burned, but I doubt it happened.
It’s a letter written in Marae Seo script.
A greedy man who wouldn’t hesitate to commit murder for money wouldn’t destroy it before learning exactly what it says.
Suddenly, a good idea came to mind.

* * *

That evening.
A notice was posted at the marketplace in Nanking.

[Nam Sa-gaek, listen well. The treasure map you obtained this time is the map to the legendary great treasure vault that has slumbered for centuries. It is not something you can handle. Therefore, this Il-seok Do-shin senior will come to claim it tonight.]

People who saw that room gathered in small groups and chattered away.
“Oh! Il-seok Do-shin—isn’t he that thief who stole the League Master’s treasures from the Murim Alliance Leader’s warehouse?”
“What about Nam Sa-gaek? Didn’t he rob the wealthiest man’s house in Zhejiang Province?”
“So who is superior—Nam Sa-gaek or Il-seok Do-shin?”
“But how did Nam Sa-gaek get his hands on a treasure map? What’s that all about?”
“A legendary great swordsman’s treasure vault, they say?”

A man in a bamboo hat passed swiftly by those people.
Veins bulged prominently along his arms.
‘How dare they send a challenge to me!’
His identity was none other than Nam Sa-gaek.
He possessed considerable pride, so Il-seok Do-shin’s challenge letter had deeply offended him.
‘But that’s supposedly a legendary great swordsman’s treasure map?’
A few days ago, he had overheard sailors talking by chance. They spoke of treasures aboard a ship that the King of Marae Seo was sending to his daughter.
Thus he immediately sprang into action.
He seized the moment when the guard warriors changed shifts, slipped inside, suspended the chest from the ceiling, and while everyone fell into chaos, he quietly claimed it and departed.
Later, he deliberately left behind a strand of dark blue thread.
Returning to the estate he used as his safe house, he opened the chest and found a considerable amount of gold and silver treasures, along with a single scroll.
When he unrolled the scroll, it was filled entirely with characters he could not decipher.
He considered burning it, but the scroll was wrapped in silk with gold leaf embossed upon it.
On a whim, he left it as is, and it appeared the scroll was indeed something precious.
‘I must immediately find someone who can read the script of Marae Seo and decipher it.’
First, he needed to humble this fellow called Il-seok Do-shin.
‘I must maximize and activate the mechanisms within the estate.’
With that thought, he headed toward the estate.
The problem was that among those who had seen that room, many harbored designs on claiming a share.
‘A treasure map?’
“A legendary great swordsman’s treasure, they say.”
‘That whelp Nam Sa-gaek has acquired something quite valuable.’
‘He possesses something beyond his station.’
‘A treasure map—that’s my specialty.’
Thus those seeking a share converged on a single location to track Nam Sa-gaek’s whereabouts.
That place was the Hao Organization.
Thanks to the notice someone had posted, the Namgyeong Branch of the Hao Organization had gained considerable revenue.

* * *

I gazed out through the window of the Inn, observing the street below.
The notice I had posted was placed directly in front of the Inn where I was staying.
“So, it seems your fishing is going quite well?”
At Palgap’s question, I nodded in agreement.
“Yes. Excellent.”
Among those I had just seen, there were at least five of considerable renown.
The notice was my own creation, but its effectiveness was remarkable.
There were several reasons for this, but primarily it was to prevent Nam Sa-gaek from destroying the letter.
And it also served to attract unwanted attention.
I had subtly leaked information about Nam Sa-gaek’s Estate to the Hao Organization.
As a result, the Hao Organization members staying at this Inn were absolutely delighted.
In any case, by attracting such attention, the hidden mechanisms within the Estate would be revealed by those who entered first.
They might be injured or killed in the process, but I hardly cared.
They were all vicious individuals who killed innocent civilians whenever their plans went awry. Reducing their numbers at this opportunity seemed perfectly reasonable.
You might think me cruel, but once you learned of their deeds and future actions, you would share my sentiments.
If there were any I wished would not needlessly risk their lives, I intended to stop them before they entered Nam Sa-gaek’s Estate.
In any case, I was playing the role of the fisherman profiting from others’ conflict.
Should we head out now?

A short while later.
The Guard Warriors and I made our way toward Nam Sa-gaek’s Estate.
And witnessing what unfolded within, we could only laugh.
“Well, well. Quite the commotion.”
That was precisely the case.
Clang! Clang clang!
Those wielding their blades.
“Aaaagh! I won’t let this stand! You bastard!”
Those writhing in agony, pierced by spears that shot forth from the mechanisms.
Countless individuals were attempting to breach the Estate, likely because I had written that I would visit tonight.
The thought of striking first before Il-seok Do-shin arrived.
“Finally, we’re through!”
“Wooooah!”
As the saying goes, there is no defense against a coordinated assault.
Eventually, the mechanisms were disarmed one by one or their effects expired, and passages began to open.
And at a distance from us were others who, like us, observed quietly, seemingly intent on profiting from the chaos.
– What should we do?
At Seo-woo Warrior’s question, I answered without concern.
– Nam Sa-gaek is not one to surrender his possessions so easily. Therefore, we proceed as planned.

* * *

Nam Sa-gaek gasped for breath.
“Damn it all!”
He had maximized the power of the mechanical traps installed throughout his estate and was waiting for Il-seok Do-shin to arrive.
He said he would come tonight.
But his expectations were thoroughly shattered.
“Nam Sa-gaek! Good things should be shared, shouldn’t they? Hehehehe.”
“You have the treasure map of the legendary great swordsman? Hand it over!”
“This is ridiculous. I refuse, you bastards.”
“If you refuse, we’ll simply take it by force!”
The Black Sword Sect members, their eyes bloodshot from the provocative words Eun Seo-ho had planted in the room, rushed in recklessly.
While the mechanical traps initially held them back, their sheer numbers began to overwhelm the devices.
Eventually, a considerable force breached the estate’s interior.
Clang! Clang clang!
A desperate chase ensued.
But Nam Sa-gaek’s long-standing reputation was not without reason.
At the moment of absolute crisis.
Boom—!
He hurled a smoke bomb, obscuring the vision of his pursuers. Naturally, they lost track of Nam Sa-gaek in their carelessness.
In that moment, he swiftly escaped through the escape route he had prepared.
Gyoto Three Caves, as it was called.
Nam Sa-gaek was a cunning rabbit of a man, and thus he had prepared escape routes in advance.
Though the terrain was quite treacherous, the devices he had strategically placed throughout allowed him to traverse it swiftly.
“Phew, I barely escaped with my life.”
He withdrew a scroll from his bosom and grinned wickedly.
“Hehehehe. It’s a shame to leave the estate behind, but it doesn’t matter. I have all I need right here.”
Then.
Whoosh!
The scroll vanished from his hand in an instant.
Startled, he glanced about frantically and spotted a group of figures.
The Masked Intruder standing among them had eyes as cold as ice.
An inexplicable dread washed over him, and he feigned composure while remaining vigilant.
“W-who are you! How dare you do such a thing?”
“Who else? Someone looking for this.”
“It’s mine. Give it back. You bastard!”
“And how would you prove it belongs to you?”
“Because I had it.”
“Ha! True to form for a thief. Claiming something is yours just because you hold it—how amusing.”
At this composed demeanor, Nam Sa-gaek heightened his vigilance considerably.
“Then let’s do this. Since I’ve deciphered it, let’s find that treasure and split it fifty-fifty. What do you say?”
But the one holding the scroll let out a derisive laugh.
“Deciphered it? That’s amusing. If you had, you’d know this isn’t a treasure map at all.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Why do you think this is a treasure map? Shall I guess? Because you saw Il-seok Do-shin’s challenge letter. It said there was a treasure map showing the location of a legendary great swordsman’s warehouse.”
“….”
“But that was all a lie.”
“That’s… what do you mean?”
“I wrote it that way deliberately to prevent you from burning it. Thank you for keeping it so carefully.”
“That can’t be… it seems like you’re the one lying now?”
“Think what you will. But if you can read Maraeseo script, you’d realize this isn’t a treasure map. It’s simply a letter from the King of Marae Seo to his daughter.”

* * *

I regarded him with unhurried composure.
Nam Sa-gaek’s expression shifted from disbelief to something far more twisted.
He’d realized my words were true.
“Aaaaagh! You toyed with me?”
“You should never have touched that box on the ship from the beginning.”
I’d involved myself in this matter because I feared it would damage relations between Marae Seo and the Empire.
It would complicate Seon-il Elder Brother’s situation considerably.
Moreover, from a human perspective, this was a letter from my father sent from our distant homeland.
How much would the Princess, his daughter, suffer if she never received it?
“I won’t let this stand!”
He rushed toward me with a dagger raised, but
Thwack!
One shouldn’t underestimate my Guard Warriors.
I glanced at Nam Sa-gaek sprawled unconscious on the ground and spoke.
“Bind him. I should add another achievement for Ak Dae-in.”
.
.
.
When we returned to Nam Sa-gaek’s Estate, it was under strict military lockdown courtesy of the soldiers Ak Dae-in had brought.
Those who’d been seeking the treasure map kept their distance, merely watching from afar.
They dared not make a move, knowing Ak Dae-in’s fearsome reputation.
That Ak Dae-in arrived at precisely the right moment before others could plunder the estate’s wealth was thanks to my advance notice.
“Ah! You’ve arrived?”
“Yes. I’ve brought Nam Sa-gaek into custody. And….”
I presented the letter.
“Here—I’ve also recovered the letter from His Majesty, the King of Marae Seo.”
Ak Dae-in received the letter from me and let out a soft chuckle.
“Now I understand why His Imperial Majesty favors you so. Still, there will be troublesome people who believe this letter to be a genuine treasure map. Will that be a problem?”
“No problem at all.”
I spoke while looking at the unconscious Nam Sa-gaek I had brought bound.
“He can take the blame for everything. I’ll claim that he burned the treasure map.”
Ak Dae-in, who had been studying me for a moment, asked carefully.
“Hmm… Is there perhaps something I’ve wronged you about?”
“Not at all, but why do you ask so suddenly?”
“It’s nothing. Just don’t forget—I’m on your side.”
Why the sudden concern?

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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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