The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 688

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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 688

Chapter 688. Cho Seol-hui (2)

I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but the emblem remained—a single, unmistakable crest.
It was shaped like crystalline snowflowers.
I felt certain I’d seen it somewhere before… but where?
Ah!
Then it struck me—I knew exactly where I’d seen that emblem.
On the belt of the robes my Ancestor had been wearing.
“Seolpung Palace… it’s the crest of Seolpung Palace.”
I murmured this realization aloud, reaching out to touch the emblem.
In that instant.
“…!”
What? How…?
I’d been sitting on my bed in my bridal chamber just moments ago—how had I suddenly appeared on this snow plain?
“You’ve come.”
I turned at the sound of that familiar voice, one I hadn’t heard in so long.
My Ancestor stood before me, watching.
“Ancestor!”
“Your arrival here means you’ve discovered the martial manual I concealed.”
“You… concealed a martial manual?”
My Ancestor nodded at my question.
“Indeed. When I learned of a future where all of Seolpung Palace’s martial manuals would be lost, I had to prepare countermeasures. Yet I could not hide every manual, nor could I ignore the risk of them falling into the wrong hands.”
“So the manual you chose was Cho Seol-hui’s teachings?”
“Yes, though there are several others as well. It was difficult selecting only those that wouldn’t matter if they fell into others’ hands.”
“And in doing so, you embedded these hidden arrangements throughout.”
“Precisely.”
My Ancestor smiled with quiet satisfaction.
“It seems you’ve encountered quite a number of these arrangements.”
Now that I thought about it, my Ancestor had mentioned that some arrangements connected to others, while some stood apart.
“Yes.”
I nodded with confidence.
Through my Ancestor’s arrangements, I had grasped the true essence of the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique, and I had learned the Ice Sea Transformation Heart Method and the Ice Sea Water Severing Technique as well.
I had also mastered the Extreme Yin Soul Ice Technique—a hundred unarmed combat forms.
In the library of Chuyong Palace, I had learned the Extreme Ice Sword Technique from an arrangement I encountered there.
My Ancestor had mentioned preparing an arrangement regarding the Snow Soul Sword Technique at that time, but where could it be?
“So far, I have encountered four of your arrangements.”
“I see.”
The Ancestor nodded slowly as he spoke.
“Then encountering this arrangement regarding Cho Seol-hui at this very moment must be the will of heaven.”
“Pardon?”
“It means that had you encountered a different arrangement without fully understanding Cho Seol-hui, you would have made no further progress.”
“Was Cho Seol-hui such an important martial arts text?”
“Of course! It is the foundation of Snowwind Palace’s martial techniques! Have you ever seen someone build a house without a foundation? Even a mere hut requires foundational work.”
“Well, that is true, but….”
I scratched my cheek as I answered.
“To be honest, even after reading Cho Seol-hui, I couldn’t understand it well. It’s just reminiscences of the past, isn’t it? It only contained memories of playing with snow, or recollections of snowy days.”
“….”
“Despite examining it multiple times, I couldn’t grasp any profound meaning within it. I suppose it’s because I’m dull. Haha.”
As I laughed awkwardly, the Ancestor clicked his tongue with a look of disappointment.
“You know yourself well.”
“….”
Well, it’s true that my enlightenment falls short of the Ancestor’s, but… still, speaking so directly like that hurts my feelings.
“Profound meaning? That’s not what Cho Seol-hui is about. Why that expression? Are you hurt because I called you dull?”
Is he using mind-reading technique? How did he know?
“Being intelligent, having a good memory, having good comprehension… possessing such superior aptitude does not mean one is not dull.”
“Pardon?”
“One is dull when they cannot perceive the essence.”
“What is that essence? Please tell me. I will listen intently.”
“The true meaning of Cho Seol-hui cannot be grasped simply by being told about it.”
The Ancestor approached me.
“So then, comprehend it through your body.”
“Pardon?”
In that instant, the Ancestor lifted his foot and kicked me.
Surely the snow plain lay behind me, yet my body pierced through that snow plain and continued falling endlessly.
“Kyaaahhh!”
Thus my vision became distant and hazy.

“Kwui? Kwui?”
“Hmm?”
At Geum Ryung-i’s cry, I opened my eyes.
What filled my vision were snowflakes falling from the sky.
“Kwui?”
And Geum Ryung-i was sitting on my lap, chirping away.
“You’re finally awake?”
“But why am I lying here like this?”
“Kwui?”
Why would you ask me that?
You know better than anyone, don’t you?
Right… Now I remember. The Ancestor kicked me and sent me tumbling down here.
Sigh. That’s too much.
I rose to my feet and surveyed my surroundings.
Snow was falling from the sky, and ahead of me stood a thatched cottage.
Should I head over there first?
Stepping inside the thatched cottage, I found a warm hearth, and beside it lay corn and rice cakes.
Seeing that made my stomach rumble.
I placed the corn into the hearth. Seeing that there were skewers too, I suppose I’m meant to roast the rice cakes as well?
Shortly after, the savory aroma of roasting corn began to fill the air.
After eating the corn and rice cakes, I gazed out the window at the falling snow.
It seems the Ancestor sent me here to grasp the true essence of Cho Seol-hui’s teachings through my body… but I have no idea how to proceed.
“Kwui?”
I cradled Geum Ryung-i in my arms and let out a sigh.
“If I fail to grasp Cho Seol-hui’s true essence through my body this time as well, I won’t be able to leave this place, will I?”
“Kwui!”
“Yeah, I figured as much.”
Of course, even if I spent decades here, not a moment would pass in the outside world.
But I don’t wish to stay that long.
Enduring such an extended period is harder than one might think.
I need to get out of here as quickly as possible….
“Kwui! Kwui!”
Geum Ryung-i struck my arm with its front paw.
Thwack! Thwack!
“Ugh! Why are you hitting me?”
“Kwui! Kwui!”
“Don’t be impatient? If I am, I’ll never escape this place?”
“….”
Damn it, then what am I supposed to do?

Time passed.
Subjectively, it felt like two days had gone by.
I ventured outside to survey the surroundings and wandered aimlessly for a while.
Through this, I discovered something.
If I strayed beyond a certain distance from this thatched cottage, I would inevitably return to it.
I lay upon the snow and gazed at the sky.
After doing so for quite some time, something felt peculiar.
“Come to think of it, it’s been a long while since I’ve gone without work for this long.”
As I abandoned my sense of urgency and embraced leisure, my mind grew tranquil and my thoughts crystallized with clarity.
How should I put it?
Since dwelling on such matters now would prove futile, I suppose I simply surrendered to the situation.
When I was first trapped in the Ancestor’s Anbae, I worried that my family and Guard Warriors would search for me, but by the fifth time, such concerns no longer troubled me.
There was something serene about this state of being.
“Chirp! Chirp!”
At that moment, hearing Geumryeong’s voice, I rose to see Geumryeong-i bounding and leaping across the snowy field.
“Hmm?”
Looking at the footprints Geumryeong-i had left in the snow….
“Did you draw a picture?”
“Chirp!”
You drew it because you were bored?
Looking more closely at what Geumryeong-i had drawn….
“Could it be that you drew Geum Won-bo?”
“Chirp.”
Typical Geumryeong-i. The love of money never changes.
It was drawn quite well, actually.
Then, I suddenly recalled the various snow games mentioned in the Cho Seol-hui Teachings.
“When I was young, I think I used to play with snow whenever it fell….”
Reminiscing about my past, I gathered snow from the ground and began compressing it.
The snow compressed into a firm, solid ball.
Then, the Ancestor’s words came to mind.

“Have you ever seen a house built without a foundation? Even a humble hut requires foundational work.”

Now that I think about it, there were quite a few tools inside the Thatched Cottage.
I entered the Thatched Cottage and discovered a wooden mold for making bricks and several chisels of different shapes.
Perfect!
I brought out the wooden mold, filled it with snow, and pressed out snow bricks.
“Squeak?”
“What are you doing?”
I smiled and replied.
“I thought I’d try building a Castle Made of Snow here. Wouldn’t that be a perfect way to pass the time?”
I looked around and continued.
“Honestly, it’s getting a bit boring.”
There’s nothing to do here except bake corn and rice cakes.
So I remembered the Ancestor’s words and decided to try building a snow castle.
I began laying the foundation by pressing out bricks.
Tap tap, tap tap tap! Thud!
The snow packed so well that perfectly smooth snow bricks formed.
As I stacked walls with those bricks, I soon became completely absorbed in building the castle.
I had no other thoughts besides this.
“This is actually quite fun?”
As I stacked the bricks one by one, I managed to build quite high.
“Now I should make the roof.”
I carved snow into shape beforehand, then poured melted snow water and froze it to make beams.
And I supported the beams with pillars made from snow bricks.
“Geum-ryeong, fit this in place for me!”
“Squeak!”
With Geum-ryeong’s help, I completed the roof.
“But this design looks a bit plain?”
As I pondered, I created a slope running down from the top of the Castle Made of Snow.
I remembered sledding down slopes with straw mats when snow piled up in my childhood.
And so the Castle Made of Snow was completed.
“It’s finished!”
“Squeak!”
It felt like a massive project that took just over ten days.
Now that it was done, I felt a sense of accomplishment.
“Squeak squeak!”
“Hmm? You want to try sledding? Sure, you go first.”
With my permission, Geum-ryeong climbed up through the Stone Stairs of the snow castle, then slid down the slope I’d created on a sled I’d carved from firewood.
Whoooosh!
“Squeak!”
He seems to be having a lot of fun. Should I try it too?
I also carved a sled from firewood and slid down the slope.
Whoosh!
This is fun.
Without realizing it, I felt like I’d returned to my childhood.
Back then, I played without a care in the world, just like now.
I was simply happy whenever snow fell.
There’s a saying that if you cheer when snow falls, you’re a child, and if you sigh, you’re an adult.
That’s because once you grow up, you can no longer see snow as just snow.
Snow is merely snow, yet adults perceive it differently based on circumstances.
I was no exception.
When snow fell, travel became inconvenient, I had to calculate the labor needed to clear it, and I worried about disruptions to our shipping operations.
The memories of playing with snow had become nothing more than childhood nostalgia.
At that thought, I let out a quiet laugh.
“Still, it feels good to play like this without worries after so long.”
I rode the sled several times, yet I never grew tired of it.
“I wish I could have played with my brothers.”
When I was young, I used to play with snow together with them.
And not just with my brothers—I’d divide into teams with the children of employees at the company and have snowball fights.
We’d play enthusiastically until the sun set and their parents came to pick them up.
Suddenly, Seo Hyang came to mind.
“I wonder if Seo Hyang has ever ridden a sled like this?”
She was from Guizhou Province.
Since Guizhou rarely receives snow, Seo Hyang’s greatest wish was to see snow.
That’s why I went to the Northern Sea and brought back snow for her.
I remembered her smile when she saw the snow I brought—so radiantly happy.
It was such a beautiful smile.
I think that’s when she began to matter to me.
She was the first person to genuinely rejoice and appreciate what I did.
It was pure joy, untainted by any other emotion.
And I recalled how she looked when she came to Beijing, delighted as snowflakes touched her face.
Watching her, I felt something stir within me.
Her father had asked me to marry his daughter, which startled me at the time.
Remembering that moment, I found myself smiling without thinking.
“Huh?”
A sudden realization made me blink.
“So that’s what it was…?”
[Cho Seol-hui (初雪喜)]
It meant to rejoice at the first snow of the season.
[Child who entered Snowwind Palace, do you remember that joyful heart when you played on snowy days?]
And I finally understood what the opening passage of Cho Seol-hui meant.
There was no profound meaning to it.
Simply the joy I felt when snow fell.
The excitement that stirred in my heart on snowy days.
The happiness born from that feeling was the very foundation of Seolpung Palace’s martial arts.
Whiiing—!
Suddenly, a gust of snow-laden wind swept in.
I closed my eyes without thinking, and when I opened them again, my surroundings had changed.
It was that place from when I first entered Anbae.
And my Ancestor smiled faintly and asked.
“So, did you play to your heart’s content?”
“Yes. But I wished I could have played more.”
Honestly, I regretted not playing longer.
“If that is what you feel, then you have truly grasped the Cho Seol-hui Teachings.”
My Ancestor nodded with a satisfied expression.
“Now show me the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique.”
“Yes.”
With that, I drew my blade and unfolded each form of the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique one by one.
Whiing!
Whoosh—!
Snow scattered as my body moved.
Seeing that snow, memories of playing joyfully came flooding back.
Now that I thought about it, the forms seemed to be more than just movements to cut, tear, and pierce an opponent.
And it felt as though something that had been missing from my forms had finally been filled.
After completing the forms and sheathing my blade, I spoke.
“So the foundation of Seolpung Palace’s martial arts was joy.”
“Indeed.”
“But wouldn’t it be strange to find joy in harming someone?”
“Within that heart lies also the wish for those you protect to play joyfully. Having experienced joy in play yourself, you wish the same for your children and disciples.”
My Ancestor’s words were true.
A child can play joyfully in the snow only because there is someone protecting them from cold and hunger.
We call such a being an ‘adult’.
My Ancestor smiled.
“It seems you have no more questions, so go now. Until next time.”
Whiiing—!
The snow-laden wind blew once more.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back in my bridal chamber.
Wait, wait a moment… what about the castle I made of snow?
Squeak!
At Geumryeong’s call, my eyes widened as I turned my head.

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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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