The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 621
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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 621
Chapter 621. The Circumstances of That Land (3)
Tap, tap.
I whirled around at the sensation of something tapping my opposite shoulder again.
I absolutely did not mistake someone tapping my shoulder.
As a supreme master, there was no way I could make such an error.
Yet I saw nothing, and I couldn’t even sense any presence.
Whether human or animal, one should always perceive their distinctive aura….
Sensing nothing at all left me with no choice but to feel uneasy.
What is this? Could it really be a ghost?
“Squeak!”
At that moment, Geumryeong emerged from inside my sleeve and, looking toward my shoulder, began striking the table with her front paws.
“Squeak! Squeak!”
“What, what is it? Geumryeong? What’s here?”
Seeing nothing myself, Geumryeong’s behavior only frightened me more.
Hearing my voice, the door opened and the Guard Warriors entered.
“What is the matter?”
“Are you alright?”
I answered their questions.
“There is something here, but I cannot see it at all. However, Geumryeong seems to perceive it.”
At my words, everyone looked at Geumryeong.
Geumryeong still appeared to be confronting some unseen entity.
Where on earth could it be?
That was when it happened.
“Oh my? Is something the matter?”
At the voice from behind, I turned my head sharply. Seo Hyang stood in the doorway holding documents, peering into the room.
Blast! I must have been far too tense.
I hadn’t even noticed Seo Hyang’s arrival!
More importantly, this place is dangerous!
“Gwak Vice-Manager! Why have you come here?”
“I had something urgent to ask you about.”
“This place is dangerous! The unknown entity present here could put even Gwak Vice-Manager in peril.”
“An unknown entity? Are you perhaps referring to that white Dambi?”
“Pardon?”
“Dambi… you say?”
Faced with this unexpected revelation, I could only stammer in bewilderment.
“Yes. It’s Dambi. Quite adorable, isn’t it?”
“….”
Now that I think about it, Seo Hyang possesses the Frost Clarity Eye—the ability to perceive hidden things.
Which means her words are truthful.
Seo Hyang knelt slightly and extended her hand.
“Good, isn’t it? Come here.”
At her call, Geumryeong’s gaze shifted, and as it fell upon her embrace….
Wait?
I could see Dambi nestled in her arms.
Why reveal itself only now?
Whether Seo Hyang caused Dambi to reveal itself or Dambi did so on its own, I couldn’t say, but either way, I was relieved that whatever had been startling us actually existed.
“It really is Dambi.”
“Huh… it really is.”
“What? Why is Dambi here?”
That’s exactly what I wanted to ask.
Seo Hyang’s Frost Clarity Eye not only perceives the future but instinctively senses malevolent beings.
If that Dambi were a harmful creature, she wouldn’t react this way.
I cautiously approached the creature and raised my hand in greeting.
“Hello?”
At my greeting, Dambi wagged its tail.
A sign of friendliness, surely.
“Ahem, could it have been you tormenting the people who lived here all this time?”
At my question, Dambi’s expression grew downcast.
Huh?
Can Dambi even make a dejected expression?
As if answering my confusion, its tail drooped as well.
“Kwui!”
Then Geumryeong climbed onto my body and perched on my shoulder.
“Kwui! Kwui!”
“Hmm? This one seems to have something to say? It’ll ask on its own behalf?”
“Kwui!”
Geumryeong conversed with Dambi for a while, then spoke to me.
“Kwui! Kku! Kwuieek! Kku!”
“This creature is the guardian of this land’s meridian passage?”
Then that Dambi is a spirit creature.
“Those who built their homes here left something hidden, and it was trying to tell you about it, but since everyone couldn’t see it, this misunderstanding arose?”
At my words, Dambi nodded its head.
Phew, that’s a relief.
At least it wasn’t an actual ghost as I’d feared.
But something hidden by those who built their homes here?
The legend of the haunted estate began after the Manor Lord and his entire household were slaughtered when he built his estate here.
Does it belong to the Manor Lord?
“Could you guide us to that place?”
At my question, Dambi nodded and slipped away from Seo Hyang’s embrace.
Then her form vanished again, and I could no longer sense her presence.
As I hesitated, Seo Hyang asked.
“Why aren’t you coming?”
“We can’t see Dambi.”
“Ah! I see. Then follow me.”
Seo Hyang nodded and led us forward.
We arrived at one of the several buildings within the estate.
“It seems she wants us to dig up the floor here.”
The floor of this building was wooden.
Which meant we’d have to remove all of it.
“We’ll need to fetch some tools.”
I was about to call for Palgap when Seo Hyang spoke.
“There are tools in the estate’s warehouse.”
“How did you know that?”
“I saw it.”
“Ah… I see.”
The future scene Seo Hyang witnessed must have been the moment we retrieved the tools from the estate’s warehouse.
A moment later.
We retrieved tools from the warehouse and began our work.
Though the labor was arduous, everyone worked with fervent determination, moving stones and excavating soil, driven by the anticipation that something lay beneath.
After digging down for roughly an hour.
Thunk.
The shovel struck something solid with a distinct sound.
“There’s something here!”
Yeo Eung-am Warrior, who had called out, carefully brushed away the soil, and what emerged was….
“It appears to be an underground vault or tunnel.”
A door constructed to lead downward.
“Let’s excavate the surrounding area more carefully so we can see the entire door.”
“Understood.”
We dug expansively around the door until it was fully visible.
The exposed door was larger than expected—wide enough for two people to enter simultaneously.
“Let’s open it.”
At my words, Seo-woo Warrior grasped the door handle and pulled it upward.
Creeeeak.
As the door opened, stone stairs came into view.
A musty odor wafted out, likely from air having been sealed away for so long.
“It would be unwise to enter immediately. Let’s ventilate the space first before we descend.”
“That would be prudent.”
Once the smell had improved somewhat and the air felt sufficiently ventilated, I entered with only three men.
The other warriors remained outside to keep watch over the surroundings.
I distributed the silk pouches containing the Night Luminous Pearls I had prepared beforehand, and each man hung one around his neck.
There was no light whatsoever inside.
Thud, thud, thud.
As we descended the stone stairs, a vast cavern came into view.
The moment we illuminated that cavern with the Night Luminous Pearl, we found ourselves frozen in place.
“….”
“Chirp! Chirp chirp chirp!”
Geum-ryeong was leaping with such joy because an enormous quantity of gold and silver lay piled before us.
Moreover, there were several objects that appeared to be artifacts.
This seemed to be the secret vault of the Manor Lord who first built this estate….
I could discern the nature of this place, but I couldn’t understand why Dambi had wanted to reveal it.
Dambi was merely a being that guarded the meridian of this place—so why had it tried to make this known to people?
While examining the interior with such questions in mind, I noticed something peculiar.
This was the Earth’s Meridian Passage where the land’s vital essence flowed.
Yet a portion of that pure essence was unable to ascend and disperse upward.
Why? Was there something on the floor?
I lowered my posture and swept my hand across the ground.
These are bricks? No—gold!
Gold lay across the floor as if arranged like bricks.
Could these have been blocking the meridian?
I carefully removed one of the gold bricks from the floor.
Whoosh!
In an instant, a pure aura became palpable.
Pristine essence surged upward.
Ah, Dambi! So that’s why you were so desperate to reveal this place.
You must have been displeased that the meridian here was partially obstructed and unable to function properly.
That’s why you revealed this location—so that all the gold bricks from this floor would be removed.
Then the meridian where essence flows would be able to perform its true function.
“Well then, let’s clear away these gold bricks from the floor first.”
“Understood.”
We worked diligently to clear away the gold bricks. But why couldn’t Dambi remove these gold bricks with its own power?
It had rendered even those masters helpless, after all.
Once we had cleared away all the gold bricks from the floor, I could finally sense that the meridian here was functioning properly.
Mm, this feels satisfying.
“Ah? Master, there’s something here.”
At that moment, Lee Pil Warrior called out to me.
“This… appears to be something important.”
What Lee Pil Warrior was pointing to was a scroll wrapped in oilpaper several times over.
What is this?
As I reached for the scroll, Lee Pil Warrior stopped me.
“Master, allow me to examine it first.”
“Ah, very well.”
Lee Pil Warrior withdrew gloves made from green leather from his garments, lifted the scroll with them, and examined it carefully.
Indeed, there was no place more skilled in handling poisons than the Sichuan Tang Family.
“There is no danger.”
“That’s a relief.”
Lee Pil Warrior peeled away the oil paper and handed me the scroll, which I then unfurled.
“Hmm? This is….”
“What is it?”
“This appears to be….”
“Squeak!”
Watching Geum-ryeong chirp at the sight of it confirmed my suspicion.
“It’s a map marking the location of Geom Chong.”
I couldn’t help but furrow my brow as I examined the region.
“This location… is this Yunnan Province?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“More precisely, it’s Chungyeongseong in Yunnan Province.”
“But this notation written here—if this is true….”
“….”
I tucked it into my sleeve and spoke.
“For now, please keep this confidential.”
“Understood.”
Yet it was peculiar that Geum-ryeong, who had such an uncanny nose for treasure, hadn’t discovered this vault.
Why was that?
There had to be a reason.
Stepping outside with such questions lingering, those waiting greeted us with expressions of relief.
“Is everyone unharmed?”
“Yes, we are all safe.”
I turned my gaze to see Dambi nestled in Seo Hyang’s arms.
The creature wore an expression of utter contentment.
“Is this what you wanted?”
The creature nodded its head.
“In any case, you’ve led us to something valuable, so you deserve a reward as well.”
I produced a gold brick I had brought along and offered it.
Squeal!
Yet the moment Dambi saw the gold, it recoiled in disgust and turned away.
“Squeak! Squeak!”
“This creature despises gold? So if I’m discarding it, you want it?”
As expected, Geumryeong. You never miss an opportunity.
In any case, watching that reaction, I understood why Dambi couldn’t remove the gold piled at the bottom of this underground vault himself.
That creature despises gold.
Let alone having it touch his body at this quantity.
That’s why he needed the assistance of another being.
“Huh?! What is that?”
Palgap asked, staring at the gold brick in my hand, and I answered casually.
“It was piled up down there.”
“Is that truly the case?”
“Wow!”
“But we can’t claim it as ours just yet. We need to follow proper procedures to avoid complications later.”
I immediately sought out the Grand Patriarch of the Jegal Family.
“I will purchase that estate.”
“Oh! Have you made your decision?”
“Yes. I believe I now understand why your old friend was so interested in that place.”
“My instincts were correct then. You can proceed with the contract through me.”
Thus I paid the price and proceeded with the contract.
As I placed the signed contract into an envelope, the Grand Patriarch spoke with a satisfied expression.
“That fellow will be pleased to hear the place has been sold.”
“Well, it benefits both of us.”
“But what about the ghost in that place? Is it manageable?”
“Yes. It doesn’t seem to harbor any malice, so it should be fine. A little coaxing should suffice. And the more I look at it, the more I appreciate the location and its merits.”
I continued.
“And… would you clear the area for a moment?”
At my serious expression, the Grand Patriarch nodded and had everyone withdraw.
“Very well. What is this about that requires everyone to leave?”
“It’s because… I discovered a vault in that place.”
“A vault?”
“Yes. So I must ask—where is the heir of the Manor Lord who originally built that estate?”
“I’m not sure why you’re asking, but he’s already dead.”
“What?”
“He died ten years ago.”
“The cause was…?”
“Illness. Consumption, to be precise.”
“I see. But how do you know such details so well?”
“How could I not? He was the notorious Playboy of Luoyang. When a fortune suddenly came into his hands, he became even more suited to the lifestyle—until he became the very embodiment of it.”
“…”
“The property owner who inherited the land was unaware of the treasure within it. Normally, it should be split between the land’s new owner and the original heir, but since he’s deceased, the vault’s ownership belongs entirely to the current land owner.”
“Then…”
“It all belongs to you.”
“Understood.”
“What a windfall. Congratulations.”
I didn’t mention the exact dimensions of the vault or the items contained within it.
My decision not to disclose this to the Grand Patriarch wasn’t an attempt at deception.
Secrets are best kept when fewer people know of them.
Especially since the map I obtained from Geom Chong pointed to Chungyeongseong, and it was already an item that had passed through someone else’s hands.
The contents written on that scroll were operational plans for excavating Geom Chong itself.
[…Once we secure Chungyeongseong through the aforementioned series of operations, we shall commence the full-scale excavation.]
In my previous life, I never understood why Chungyeongseong had to be destroyed so thoroughly, but now I was beginning to comprehend it.
Could it be that the original massacre of the Estate Lord and his entire family was because of this map?
It wasn’t an impossibility.
Though many questions still remained unanswered, I had acquired unexpected wealth and gained excellent land as well.
Now, shall I begin the expansion project for the Luoyang Branch?
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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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