The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 726

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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 726

Chapter 726. Hyerim Sect (3)

I straightened my robes and offered a formal bow to the Hyerim Sect Master.
“Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Eun Seo-ho, Small Guild Master of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“I am Im Sang, Sect Master of Hyerim Sect.”
He returned my bow and continued speaking.
“I am grateful for your aid to our sect today. We nearly faced catastrophe.”
“It was only thanks to Young Lady Seo Hyang sounding the horn whistle that we learned of the danger in time.”
He questioned my words.
“If you gave my daughter a horn whistle knowing they would come without warning, how did you come to know of their arrival?”
“The methods of the Black Path are predictable. Through my trading expeditions, I have faced countless Black Path operatives, so their patterns became clear to me.”
As I spoke, I turned my gaze toward Lim Seok-hwa.
“Have you made your decision?”
“How can I hesitate when you have already resolved the debt we owed them?”
I shook my head and replied.
“Young Lady still retains her choice. There is another path—I can assume the debt that Hyerim Sect owes, and you may repay it gradually.”
“….”
“There is no danger in such a debt, so there is no need to force yourself to become my wife’s maidservant.”
My words were sincere.
A maidservant who performs her duties well is valuable, but loyalty is paramount.
Moreover, Young Lady Seo Hyang harbors certain secrets.
Should those secrets be revealed to others, it could prove dangerous.
Therefore, trust and loyalty must come first.
If I forced Young Lady Seo Hyang to become a maidservant against her will, the likelihood of betrayal would only increase.
Though I had spent considerable wealth to aid Hyerim Sect, that alone cannot guarantee loyalty.
One cannot simply assume that paying a debt makes someone yours.
Mother understood this, which is why she instructed me to ‘make them truly one of us.’
And making someone truly yours requires genuine effort and care.
“What will you do?”
Lim Seok-hwa, who had been contemplating my question, finally spoke.
“Today, Small Guild Master, you have not only saved our sect but also saved my life. Had I suffered such humiliation, I would have taken my own life.”
Indeed, in my previous life, I had truly done so.
“How could I refuse one who has shown me such profound grace? I, Lim Seok-hwa, shall follow your will, Small Guild Master.”
“Thank you for accepting my proposal.”
Sect Master Im Sang invited us to remain a while longer.
“Please, humble though it may be, do have some tea before you depart.”
“Of course.”
Since we needed to discuss future matters, I followed him down the corridor.
That was when it happened.
– Coo-ee?
Geumryeong sent me a telepathic message.
Wait a moment?
Why would he say that?
As I pondered this internally, I felt Geumryeong fluttering and wagging his tail inside my sleeve.
– Coo-ee! Coo! Coo-ee-it!
He smelled money?
I turned my head to look at a particular location—the rear of the building.
“Is something the matter?”
As I gazed in that direction, Hye Rim Moon Master asked me with a tense expression.
I smiled and spoke.
“Could there perhaps be a Treasure Vault in that location?”
If the Treasure Vault existed, the Hyerim Sect wouldn’t be struggling so visibly.
It was merely a casual remark I had thrown out.
If Geumryeong said he smelled money, there was certainly something valuable there.
So I had laid the groundwork to discover it.
But then.
“Gasp! H-how did you know that?”
Was I actually right?
.
.
.
A short while later.
I was served tea.
To be honest, it wasn’t expensive tea—merely of lower quality—yet it seemed he was drinking it quite sparingly.
Sip.
After taking a sip of the tea, I smiled bitterly to myself.
But sensing the care with which he had offered it, I said nothing.
“So, is there truly a Treasure Vault in that location?”
At my question, Hye Rim Moon Master nodded.
“Indeed. We have never revealed this to the outside world—how on earth did you discover it?”
“I could smell the money.”
“….”
I couldn’t very well tell him that Geumryeong had sensed it, so there was no helping it.
At this, Hye Rim Moon Master marveled.
“I wondered how the Eunhae Trading Company could grow so rapidly—it seems your ability to locate wealth is the secret to your success.”
“Ha ha ha.”
“Sigh… That place is deeply connected to a painful chapter in our Hyerim Sect’s history.”
He recounted the sect’s hidden past.
Long ago, the Sect Master who knew how to open the Secret Vault died a violent death without revealing the method, and the martial arts of the Hyerim Sect began to decline thereafter.
“Thus, every Sect Master who inherited the position has been burdened with the secret history surrounding that vault and the testament to open it.”
“I see.”
“If only that vault could be opened, the Hyerim Sect could reclaim its former glory…”
Only then did I understand why the Hyerim Sect needed so much money.
It was to find a way to open the vault.
The fact that they hadn’t succeeded until now meant they had exhausted every conceivable method.
Among those methods, some must have been extraordinarily expensive.
“But now we’ve nearly given up. All we do is accumulate debt… This incident made me realize something. I nearly lost the most precious thing while obsessing over that cursed vault.”
The Sect Master’s tone was filled with bitterness and self-reproach.
He gently caressed his daughter’s hand beside him as he spoke.
“Please take good care of my daughter.”
“Of course. I’ll need her help greatly. I promise I won’t overwork her and will look after her carefully.”
“That’s all I ask.”
“By the way, would it be alright if I took a look at that vault?”
“…What?”
The Sect Master hesitated in confusion.
“I suppose that’s not possible.”
“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant… If you could open it, why would I refuse?”
“Then may I take a look?”
“Of course. I’ll guide you there.”
We rose from our seats and headed toward the cave beside the building.
“Here it is.”
Before us stood an enormous gate blocking the cave entrance.
I placed my hand upon the gate.
A chill emanated from it.
Not merely the coldness of temperature, but a chill flowing from the very material itself that comprised the gate.
“Is this ten-thousand-year cold iron?”
“Indeed.”
The gate bore countless scratches and gouges—evidence of relentless attempts to breach it.
Yet none of the marks penetrated more than a fraction of an inch.
“Have you attempted to excavate downward from above?”
“Of course. But that proved futile as well.”
The Sect Master sighed heavily.
“From what we’ve discovered, they constructed a massive box-shaped vault from ten-thousand-year cold iron and covered it with earth above.”
“I see.”
Ten-thousand-year cold iron is extraordinarily expensive.
The fact that they had fashioned a vault from such precious material and buried it beneath earth spoke volumes about the Hyerim Sect’s former power and prestige.
But now, the Hyerim Sect was barely standing, struggling to survive day by day.
Could the Sura Blood Sect have known about the existence of this Secret Vault?
Is that why they targeted the Hyerim Sect’s land?
It was certainly a situation worth suspecting.
If so, I had to find a way to open this place, but how on earth could I open this door?
Looking at how there wasn’t a single scratch in the middle of the door, it seemed like a sliding door.
– Squawk!
That’s when Geumryeong sent me a telepathic message.
Hmm? You’re saying it’s not here?
– Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!
You’re saying the scent of money you picked up isn’t from this place, but somewhere else?
Geumryeong was incredibly accurate when it came to the scent of money.
If Geumryeong said it wasn’t here, then it wasn’t.
Then where is it?
– Squawk!
Geumryeong extended its tail to show me the direction, and I discreetly covered Geumryeong with my sleeve while surveying that direction.
I needed to head out of the cave first.
I exited the cave and headed in the direction Geumryeong was pointing.
As I left the cave without a word, the Sect Master and his children followed me with puzzled expressions.
Outside, dusk was already falling.
As I approached where Geumryeong was leading, I tilted my head. There was a Separate Quarters standing there.
“What is this Separate Quarters?”
“It’s one of the Separate Quarters of the Main Compound. It must be about a hundred and fifty years old.”
“Is there any record of this Separate Quarters?”
“It should be in the Archives. But…”
Why was he hesitating?
“Ahem, since it’s too dark to see, would it be alright if we searched for it tomorrow morning when it’s bright?”
I understood the reason.
They were short on oil for the lamps.
They truly were living in poverty in every way.
“Don’t worry. You can use this.”
I took out the Night Luminous Pearl, and the Sect Master was startled.
“Gasp! What is this?”
“It’s a Night Luminous Pearl.”
“So this is a Night Luminous Pearl!”
“Yes.”
“I’ve never seen a Night Luminous Pearl in my entire life.”
The Sect Master examined the Night Luminous Pearl with wonder.
Well, Night Luminous Pearls weren’t that common, after all.
“Jin Yu Warrior, please accompany the Sect Master.”
“Yes.”
Shortly after, Sect Master Hye Rim returned with an ancient tome.
The building was said to be about one hundred fifty years old, and the books appeared equally aged.
“Here it is.”
“Thank you.”
I examined the tome and discovered the passage I had been seeking.
According to the record, the Sect Master’s Fourth wife had remarked that the dilapidated structure on the mountainside seemed unworthy of the Hyerim Sect’s standing, so he demolished it and gifted her a magnificent new Separate Pavilion in its place.
“Ah….”
As I exhaled a heavy sigh, Im Seok-je, the elder brother of Lim Seok-hwa, asked me.
“Why is something wrong, Small Guild Master?”
“Look here.”
I pointed to the passage I had discovered. He tilted his head in confusion and asked.
“What is the problem with this?”
“Do you know how expensive eternal cold iron is? The amount needed to forge a single sword could purchase an entire tile-roofed house.”
“Gasp! Is it… truly that expensive?”
“Yet they used it lavishly to construct the Secret Vault. With such abundant wealth, why would they leave behind a dilapidated building?”
“Ah!”
“Ah!”
The three families realized the implication of my words and gasped in astonishment.
“Then…?”
“Yes. That is correct. The location where the Separate Pavilion stood was precisely where the entrance to the Secret Vault had been.”
“Then… what of that cave?”
I answered the Sect Master’s question.
“It was likely created to conceal the true entrance to the Secret Vault. They fashioned a convincing false entrance while hiding the real one beneath that shabby structure.”
“Good heavens!”
Thump.
At my words, Sect Master Hye Rim collapsed to the ground.
It was understandable—all this time, he had believed the false entrance was the true one and had devoted tremendous effort to it.
He must have cycled through countless moments of hope followed by crushing disappointment.
He stammered his question.
“Then… what must be done to access the true entrance?”
“We need only demolish the Separate Pavilion. Is that acceptable?”
“It matters not.”
Now he gazed upon the pavilion with eyes filled with hatred.
Was Sect Master Hye Rim now looking upon the pavilion with resentment and loathing?
Or was he regarding the foolish ancestor who had destroyed the original building and erected the pavilion as a gift to the Fourth wife?

We immediately began demolishing that Separate Quarters.
It was an old building that had stood for a hundred and fifty years. If it had been properly maintained during that time, perhaps it would have held up better, but since it hadn’t been, it was an eyesore.
Because of that, demolishing it wasn’t particularly difficult.
A mere touch and the whole structure came crashing down.
We diligently cleared away the debris and excavated the solid foundation stones beneath.
Now it was Geumryeong’s turn to shine.
While my guards blocked the sight of the three families, Geumryeong descended to the ground, sniffing rapidly as she scurried about before suddenly pointing to one specific spot.
– Squeak!
There it is!
I wiped Geumryeong clean with a handkerchief and tucked her back into my sleeve before speaking.
“Let’s excavate this area.”
At my words, Im Seok-je, the son of the Hyerim Sect Master, began digging at that spot, and my Guard Warriors also started excavating the surrounding area.
When we had dug down to about knee depth.
Thunk.
We heard something strike against something solid.
We then excavated the surrounding area, and soon the entire object was revealed.
It was a rectangular iron door.
A door forged from eternal cold iron.
Had they not noticed this when constructing the Separate Quarters here?
Or perhaps they had deliberately concealed it from view while raising the earth and establishing the foundation.
Usually, Secret Vaults have their doors on the side, but this one is on the floor.
Given that the elevation here is quite high, water shouldn’t accumulate, so they may have constructed it this way for that reason.
“But how do we open this?”
Im Seok-je asked, touching the door.
At that moment.
Thunk.
The door responded. It popped slightly outward.
And beside it was a handle.
“It appears this responds only to bloodline.”
At my words, Im Seok-je called out to the Hyerim Sect Master.
“Father.”
Then the Hyerim Sect Master grasped the handle and pulled it open with all his strength.
Creeeeak.
And what was revealed were countless stone stairs.
The fact that the interior was so clearly visible meant there was a Night Luminous Pearl inside.
“Let us descend.”
At my words, he nodded.
After instructing three warriors, including Seo-woo Warrior, to keep watch, we descended below.
Step, step,
The air wasn’t particularly fresh, likely because it had been sealed for quite a long time.
And then another door came into view.
This time, the Hye Rim Moon Master took hold of it himself and opened it.
Creak.
The door swung open smoothly, without any resistance.
And inside it was….
Wow.
Now I understood why Geumryeong had reacted.

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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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