The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 88

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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 88

Chapter 88. The Spirit Fruit of New Beginnings (4)

The Green Forest Bandits trembled like aspen leaves when they met her gaze.
“Do you wish to die, boy?”
Then another figure appeared.
An ordinary young man with an unpleasant expression.
Though he had merely drawn the Flowing Leaf Blade and done nothing else, the Green Forest Bandits collapsed to the ground.
They couldn’t understand why. Their legs simply gave out beneath them.
Their trousers grew damp.
The young man holding the Flowing Leaf Blade clicked his tongue and spoke.
“My, it seems your spirit is quite depleted.”
His appearance was that of a young man, yet his manner of speech belonged to an old sage.
“Indeed it is. Hehe.”
The woman spoke with affection.
“Boy, if you wish to live, conduct yourself with virtue.”
“Yes! Yes!”
“I shall!”
“I’ll wash my hands of it at once!”
And the Green Forest Bandits fled in haste.
The two looked at Mun Ju-sung and asked.
“Are you the boy called Mun Ju-sung?”
“Ah, yes! Y-yes, I am.”
“Come with your mother and follow us.”
“What?”
“We were asked by young Eun to help with work at our Yeochun Inn.”
The incomparably supreme Pa-du Pa-pa.
And the resurrection of her husband, Yu Yu Geom Je, the master of Hwagyeong who had transcended the mundane world.

* * *

The familiar building visible ahead.
I had arrived at the Eunhae Trading Company Headquarters.
“We’ve finally arrived.”
I nodded at Palgap’s words.
The journey back to Hubei was faster and easier than traveling to Shaanxi.
Water routes were naturally swifter than overland paths, and the return journey merely required us to drift downstream along the river.
As we entered the trading company, the Gate Keeper quickly offered his respects.
“I greet the Hyun Pung Bureau Master.”
“Thank you for your diligence. Nothing troublesome occurred, I trust?”
“No, all has been peaceful.”
“That’s reassuring.”
I stepped inside and addressed Yeochang’s Deputy.
“Rest well today. You’ve earned it.”
“Thank you for your kindness.”
“And Bae Cheol Warrior, Go Ju-sang Warrior.”
“Yes!”
“You’ve labored greatly.”
“It was a meaningful journey.”
“It was an honor to serve alongside you.”
The two warriors bowed and departed.
I watched their retreating figures with a satisfied smirk.
I’d need to summon them frequently for future tasks.
“Palgap and the two warriors—head to Mun Gok Hall first.”
That was my way of telling them to wash up and attend to their duties.
“Understood.”
“Then I shall take my leave.”
I made my way directly to the Silver Dragon Hall where Father awaited.
I needed to report our safe arrival in person.
Since the Hyun Pung Bureau operated as an independent organization, I could report directly to Father.
.
.
.
Moments later, I stood before Father.
“Father, I have returned safely from my mission.”
“Well done. You’ve worked hard.”
Father smiled warmly at me.
“Eom Manager provided me with the full details. You’ve accomplished something remarkable this time.”
He was referring to the capture of the Shaanxi Scorpion.
“I knew of your capabilities, but I confess—even I didn’t anticipate this outcome. To apprehend a swindler, then outwit him into confessing through deception? Remarkable! Ha ha ha!”
I felt embarrassed by the praise.
“And that’s not even counting the direct trade lines she established with the tea plantations producing black tea, plus absorbing three merchant organizations from Shaanxi.”
Ah, now that you mention it, that did happen.
“Are you accepting those merchant organizations, sir?”
“Yes, we’ve decided to manage them under our company.”
That works out well.
“The memorandums of understanding regarding them were arranged and signed by the Internal Chief Manager and Yeon Gak-ju.”
“That’s fortunate.”
“Yes, you’ve worked hard on this.”
“Not at all. I was simply doing what needed to be done.”
“Speaking of which, did the matter regarding the Wuyi Merchant Guild go smoothly?”
I reported the essentials concisely and handed over the report I had prepared in advance.
“The details are all in this report, sir.”
“I see, so there were no significant issues.”
“That’s correct.”
Father nodded as he accepted the report.
“Go rest now.”
“Still, I should pay my respects to Grandfather and Mother.”

After finishing my report to Father, I returned to Mun Gok Hall, washed up, and changed into fresh clothes.
Then I visited Grandfather and Mother in turn to greet them and report that I had returned safely.
Eun Jung-ho was away on business.
So I told my sister-in-law and my other elder brother that I was back, then returned to the Separate Pavilion.
Exhausted.
There was still one task remaining.
I had to administer the Bok Si-ryeong fruit to Lady Hong Geum-so’s husband—the true purpose of this journey to Shaanxi.
Tomorrow, my busy daily routine would begin anew.
Today had been the most leisurely.
And since I would be giving it to him anyway, wouldn’t it be more effective while it’s still fresh?

* * *

A tile-roofed house.
A man lay upon the bed within.
Though gaunt and wasted, his features suggested he had once been a handsome man in better days.
His name was Seo-woo.
He was the husband of Lady Hong Geum-so.
He had been a first-rate warrior, serving as Pyo Du of the Pyoguk.
His confinement to this bed had come about during a confrontation with a Black Blade Warrior encountered while on official business.
The Black Blade Warrior specialized in the Septic Palm technique.
Though he had managed to overcome that Black Blade Warrior, the Septic Palm strike he received during the battle manifested its effects not long after.
When he began coughing blood, he sensed something amiss—his organs were beginning to putrefy from the poison.
In the end, he could no longer serve as Pyo Du.
His organs rotting away, he lost not only the ability to move but his sight as well. He could not speak.
Only his nose and ears remained functional.
Whether he understood this or not, each night his wife would speak to him of the day’s events.

“The weather was so lovely today. I wished we could have walked along the riverside together.”
“….”
“You will recover. I want so desperately to walk along the riverside with you again.”

At first, Seo-woo had wished to surrender to his fate.
But hearing his wife’s voice each day insisting he would surely recover, he abandoned such thoughts.
He resolved that he would survive.
Perhaps that was why.
He clung so desperately to the thread of life.

“I hope he lasts as long as possible. Frankly, there’s no hope for him, but he’s still quite profitable.”

Even as he seethed at the physician’s mercenary words.

“I sold my wedding ornaments today. I had wanted to keep them until the very end….”

Even as he suppressed his sorrow at his wife’s words.

Then one day, his wife spoke with an excitement quite unlike her usual manner.

“I’ve begun working for the Eunhae Trading Company now. I thought I might sew clothes for some wealthy young master, but it turned out to be the son of the Eunhae Trading Company Master himself. He was pleased with my sewing. The truth is, the clothes I made were for dolls rather than people, but he’s paying quite generously for them.”

And then, instead of the physician’s familiar voice, a different physician’s voice was heard.

“Tsk, tsk. All this time, I’ve been using the wrong medicine. I’m ashamed to even call myself a physician—what a worthless dog of a man!”

That must have been when it started.
When things began to gradually improve.

“I received praise from the Merchant Guild Leader today. He said the doll clothes I made were beautiful.”

“Did I mention? The Jamu Dolls are incredibly popular. They sold so well that I received a bonus.”

And my wife’s voice began to brighten.

“Today, Young Master Eun Seo-ho said something…”
“Young Master Eun Seo-ho…”

Gradually, the proportion of conversation devoted to this man named Eun Seo-ho began to increase.
And we moved from a small house that reeked of mustiness to one filled with pleasant fragrances.
Gradually, the environment surrounding my wife and me began to change.
It was all thanks to this man named Eun Seo-ho.
When a year had passed, my eyes began to see again.
I could finally see my wife’s face, which I had longed to see so desperately.
“Huh? I… I can see?”
At my eyes moving differently than usual, my wife cried out in surprise.
I blinked once.
It meant yes, I could see.
“Ah…”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
.
.
.
Time continued to pass.
I felt it—if I continued treatment for just a few more years, I would not die.
But greed is a cunning thing.
I should have been grateful merely to be alive, yet when I thought of myself as I once was, wielding martial arts, my present self seemed so pathetically worthless.
I was reduced to staying at home, living off the money my wife earned.
I had resolved that once I recovered, I would make my wife happy…
But instead, I was only making her suffer.
Of course, my wife said she only needed me to be alive, but… I couldn’t accept that.

It was summer.
The cicadas chirping outside the window announced the season’s arrival.
Thanks to the work-wind mechanism spinning beside me, the heat was bearable.
It was a collaborative creation between Master Craftsman Gong Mil and Eun Seo-ho, the Small Merchant Guild Leader—or rather, the Hyun Pung Bureau Master.
‘To craft and sell such ingenious devices. Truly, remarkable individuals are indeed remarkable.’
At that moment, the door to the chamber where he lay opened.
Creak.
Yet no footsteps could be heard.
‘Who is it? A thief? What is their purpose?’
But since I remained immobilized, I could mount no defense.
As Seo Woo tensed, a handsome young man’s face appeared before his eyes.
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Eun Seo-ho, Master of the Hyun Pung Bureau under the Eunhae Trading Company.”
“…!”
Seo Woo’s eyes widened at those words.
He had long wondered what manner of person this was, and only now was that curiosity satisfied.
Yet doubt soon crept in.
Normally, when someone arrived, a maidservant would announce the visitor.
But he had slipped in without any such notice.
Moreover, this was a time when the lady was away at her duties.
Yet he had not come with her.
This meant he had some secret business with me.
“You wear the expression of one wondering why I have come.”
Seo Woo blinked once.
“I do not forget grievances, but neither do I forget kindness. Thanks to the lady’s skill, our trading company has reaped considerable profits. So I harbored gratitude, and it was then that this came into my possession.”
Eun Seo-ho opened a box he had withdrawn from his robes and showed its contents.
A fruit resembling a cherry appeared.
“It is the Spirit Fruit of New Beginnings. Consuming this will restore your body to its state from ten years past.”
“…!”
“I intend to have the Great Hero consume this. There is no need for breathing exercises with this. It is a spirit medicine that applies to the body itself, not to inner power.”
It was shocking news.
He had heard rumors of such spirit medicines existing. Yet he could not comprehend it.
Why, exactly?
Why would he bestow such a precious spirit medicine upon me?
No matter how much his lady had aided the trading company, it was not enough to warrant such generosity with a treasure of this caliber.
As if reading his thoughts, Eun Seo-ho spoke.
“You wear the expression of one wondering why I give this to the Great Hero.”
Seo Woo blinked.
“Because the Great Hero once saved my life. Though the Great Hero would not remember it.”
Had such a thing occurred?
“Is that not the nature of debt and gratitude? The giver forgets, but the receiver remembers….”
Eun Seo-ho smiled.
“As I said before, I do not forget grudges, but neither do I forget kindness. Since you saved my life, I too wish to restore what you lost—not merely your life, but the existence you once possessed.”
Eun Seo-ho reached into the box and retrieved the Bok Si-ryeong fruit. He placed it into Seo-woo’s mouth.
“Simply consume it.”
Seo-woo swallowed the Bok Si-ryeong fruit that had entered his mouth.
In that instant, Seo-woo felt the transformation occurring within his body.
The withered flesh and muscle began to fill out once more.
The organs that had barely maintained their form began to revive.
The desiccated meridians came alive.
And then.
“Ah… ahhh….”
His voice began to emerge.
Witnessing this, Eun Seo-ho spoke.
“Congratulations on reclaiming your new life.”

* * *

I emerged from Lady Hong Geum-so’s house. Just as I had entered without a trace, I departed without one.
“Did the task proceed well?”
At Palgap’s inquiry as he waited nearby, I nodded.
“Yes.”
In response to my answer, the two Guard Warriors spoke.
“What a relief.”
“Honestly, it felt like our own concern.”
Warriors are said to walk the path of the mountain sword forest—meaning one never knows when an opponent’s strike might wound or claim one’s life.
Much like Seo-woo Warrior, who became disabled while serving under Pyo Du.
Seo-woo Warrior was said to have been a sincere and virtuous deputy.
The pity was all the greater because one so widely respected had fallen to such a state.
Those who had unknowingly received kindness from Seo-woo Warrior over the years had protected him and his wife, it was said.
That is why the ruffians could not harm Lady Hong Geum-so.
There is a saying.
The reason one must cultivate virtue in ordinary times is ultimately for oneself when crisis arrives.
A person receives according to what they have given.
This is why one must live righteously.
This is what I wish to say to Baekcheon Trading Company and the Murim Alliance.
They too shall receive the karmic consequences they have accumulated.
Regarding the miraculous event that befell Seo-woo Warrior, I had already paid the Physician who treated him a considerable sum to ensure his silence.
And Seo-woo Warrior himself agreed to keep the secret.
One day the secret will be revealed, but by then I will be capable of managing the attention it brings.
“Let us return to the headquarters.”

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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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