The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Merchant Group - Chapter 97

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company – Chapter 97

Chapter 97. Eun Jin-ho, Vanished (5)

It happened in an instant.
Eun Jin-ho reached out toward Eun Seo-ho as he plummeted over the cliff’s edge, but his hand grasped only empty air.
“Seo-ho! No! Seo-ho!”
Eun Jin-ho cried out in anguish.
The tremor had ceased, yet no one noticed. And of all people—it was Eun Seo-ho who had fallen.
How could this be?
Eun Jin-ho slammed his fist against the ground.
“I have to go down there.”
As he rose to his feet, he suddenly collapsed.
Jung Chung caught him as he fell, swiftly striking his pressure points to send him into unconsciousness.
Seeing this, Yeo Eung-am Warrior and Lee Pil Warrior spoke to Mak Chung.
“We shall remain here and search for our lord.”
At their words, Palgap quickly raised his hand.
“I too shall stay and find the young master!”
Seo-woo Warrior stepped forward as well.
“I, Seo-woo, have yet to repay the debt I owe to the lord. I beg you, do not deny me this opportunity to settle that obligation.”
Hearing their words, Mak Chung sighed deeply.
The situation was indeed troublesome.
He needed to return to Hubei with the tea, yet leaving only these men behind weighed heavily on him.
Moreover, departing without knowing whether Eun Seo-ho—who had come here to search alongside them—was alive or dead felt deeply wrong.
It was then.
“I shall remain.”
Pyo Du, who had led those who had vanished, stepped forward.
“I have shown shameful conduct this time. If I return to the Pyo Bureau in this state, that shame will render me unable to fulfill my duties. I humbly ask for permission to stay and wash away this disgrace.”
Mak Chung made his decision.
“Very well. Then these four, yourself, and four willing warriors shall remain here.”
“Thank you.”
.
.
.
Meanwhile.
Something extraordinary happened to Eun Seo-ho as he fell beneath the cliff.
Whoooosh.
A silvery luminescence began to radiate softly from his body.
Responding to that light, the thick mist below the cliff began to stir.
The mist enveloped Eun Seo-ho in layers.
Thanks to it, when Eun Seo-ho touched the ground completely, he felt no impact whatsoever.
Whoooosh.
Soon the mist dispersed, and even the silvery radiance vanished back into Eun Seo-ho’s body.
A presence hidden deep within the valley watched this unfold.
“Chirp?”

* * *

I opened my eyes.
“Ugh….”
Where am I?
I recalled the memories that remained with me.
An earthquake had struck, and Jin-ho Elder Brother had nearly tumbled over the cliff while protecting Haeng-su.
So I….
I lifted my hand to examine it.
I remembered how I had deliberately released my grip on Jin-ho Elder Brother’s arm at the last moment.
In that instant, Jin-ho Elder Brother’s severed head flickered before my eyes.
If I hadn’t let go of Jin-ho Elder Brother then, it would have been him plummeting into the abyss below the cliff.
It was an instantaneous judgment, but I harbored no regrets if saving Jin-ho Elder Brother meant my own death.
I had sworn vengeance against the Murim Alliance and Baekcheon Trading Company for my family’s sake.
But if Jin-ho Elder Brother is dead, what use is vengeance….
It seems almost absurd.
Yet here I am, alive and unscathed after plummeting from such a towering cliff—it appears my vengeance is Heaven’s will.
But why am I perfectly fine?
My bones should have shattered into fragments; death was inevitable.
I sat down and began to circulate my inner energy. There seemed to be nothing obstructing my cultivation.
“Phew….”
After completing my energy circulation, I opened my eyes and checked my belongings for anything lost. The most important thing was my pouch.
Fortunately, the pouch was intact.
The bracelet was unharmed as well.
That was when it happened.
“Hm?”
Something small enough to fit in my palm had appeared without warning, now perched upon my knee and gazing at me.
“Ah! You startled me!”
I was taken aback by this creature that had approached me without the slightest sound.
Yet it merely stared at me with gleaming eyes.
So I examined it slowly.
Its appearance was….
A pig?
Yes. It was indeed a pig.
A very small, pale pink pig with golden fur on the tip of its curled tail and all four hooves.
And compared to any pig I’d ever seen, its face was rounder, its body rounder too.
With its entirely rounded form, it looked just like a ball of pale pink yarn.
So that meant….
“Ahem, it’s, it’s actually quite cute.”
It really was adorable.
After observing it for a while, it didn’t seem like anything that would harm me.
But the pig-like creature waddled over my knee and tapped my pocket with its small hand.
Then it stared at me intently.
It seemed to be begging for pocket money.
I couldn’t bring myself to ignore that gaze.
I pulled a silver coin from my pocket. Half of my action stemmed from curiosity about why it had touched my pocket in the first place.
I held out the silver coin to the creature.
“Is this what you want?”
“Koo?”
It seemed to be asking if I was really giving it to him, so I nodded.
“Yes. You can have it.”
The moment my words finished, the creature quickly snatched the silver coin from my hand.
And then.
Gulp.
It swallowed it.
“…!”
Startled, I quickly grabbed the creature and shook it.
“Hey! You’re not supposed to eat that! Spit it out! Now!”
“Koo-oo! Koo! Koo!”
But the creature laughed delightedly, slipped from my grasp, and disappeared into my sleeve.
“Sigh….”
I let out a long breath.
“Well, there are plenty of people who swallow hundreds of silver coins without issue, so what harm could one coin do?”
I stood up.
Because of me, not just Jin-ho Elder Brother but everyone must be grieving. Anyone would think I was dead.
And.
I promised Mother I’d return safely….
But where is the way out?
Just then, the creature that had hidden in my sleeve gently descended to the ground and wagged its tail.
Though it was a curled tail, strangely enough, it seemed capable of communicating through its movements.
“You want me to follow you?”
“Koo!”
The creature scurried ahead, and I followed in its wake.
We walked for what felt like an hour.
Then a cave appeared before me.
And the creature’s tail pointed directly into it.
“You want me to go inside?”
“Caw!”
I sensed there was a reason for the creature’s insistence. So I followed it into the cave.
Mist hung thick inside the cave as well.
Moving cautiously deeper, I came to a halt.
“This is….”
Before me stood a single sword embedded in a massive stone.
The blade was entirely silver.
From the blade itself to the hilt, and even the pommel at the end of the crossguard.
I approached the sword and read the characters inscribed on its blade.
Silver Mist Sword.
A blade of silver mist—that was its meaning.
And I knew of this sword.
In my past life, the owner of this Silver Mist Sword was the Murim Alliance Master.
The Master who had aided the Emperor received this blade as a gift.
If I took this with me, the Murim Alliance Master would never receive it from the Emperor.
The question was whether I had the right to claim it.
The Silver Mist Sword was no ordinary blade.
Should an unworthy person draw it, a rejection phenomenon would occur.
The one who grasped it would become a madman.
Even if forced into submission, the sword would never unleash its full power.
A troublesome weapon in every way.
Now that I think about it, one of the rejection phenomena is said to be this mist….
“Caw-caw!”
The creature suddenly startled and dove into my sleeve.
A fierce killing intent directed at me.
I spun around immediately.
Behind me stood a warrior, sword in hand, advancing toward me.
“This is, mine, sword, is, mine, sword, is.”
His gaze and tone were clearly not those of a sane man.
“I, I have no desire for this sword… Ugh!”
But my words did nothing to diminish his hostility toward me.
His blade continued to press relentlessly forward.
This madman was going to drive me insane.
Where in the world did this lunatic come from?
I found a clue in what he kept muttering—”my sword, my sword.”
Could it be that this Madman Warrior went mad trying to seize this sword?
Anyone without the qualifications who grasps the Silver Void Blade becomes a madman.
Boom!
Crash!
Screech—!
I continued dodging his attacks, spinning in circles through the cave, but this would never end.
I had to settle this one way or another.
I drew the sword from my waist.
Shing.
Then I began to unfold the Jinseol Twelve-Form Sword Technique I had learned.
From what I could tell, the Madman Warrior attacking me was at least at the Peak realm.
I was still lingering in the First-Class realm.
My inner energy had grown slightly, but I still couldn’t cross the wall into the Peak realm.
So the only method available to me now was the second form: Red Snow.
Whoooosh.
I drew up my inner energy and raised my sword.
Then I thrust my blade toward the Madman Warrior attacking me.
Normally, when someone first learns the sword and attacks another person, they unconsciously hesitate to use a killing strike.
I was the same.
But once you realize that if you don’t swing your sword, you will die, you have no choice but to use a killing strike.
Just like I am now.
It was fortunate that my Master was not beside me at this moment.
With his keen perception, he would surely have sensed something suspicious in me—someone who didn’t hesitate to use a killing strike against an opponent.
The Madman Warrior lightly evaded my blade and attacked me again.
Clang—!
Clang—!
I swung my sword to block the Madman Warrior’s blade while simultaneously launching my own attack.
But honestly, how could a First-Class warrior hold their own against a Peak warrior?
My body only accumulated more wounds.
Suddenly, a memory from my previous life surfaced—the moment before I died. Because now, just like then, my inner energy was depleted.
But I cannot die here.
I have a goal I must absolutely achieve.
My desperation kept my sword swinging.
Gradually, I stopped thinking about anything.
And at the same time, something miraculous happened. I could see the movements of both myself and the Madman Warrior objectively.
Was this the ‘Observation’ I had heard whispered about?
My sword felt slightly more refined, slightly faster.
It was then that frost settled white across my body.
Clang—!
The blade could no longer endure, and the steel shattered, scattering through the air.
At that same moment, I snapped back to my senses.
“Gasp!”
The Madman Warrior showed no mercy—he didn’t pause his assault just because my blade had shattered.
I quickly rolled my body to evade the incoming strike.
I looked like a lazy donkey tumbling across the ground, but was that really the concern right now?
I was about to be skewered to death.
As I retreated backward, I collided with a massive boulder that had my sword embedded in it.
Thud.
My escape route was cut off.
Damn it.
If only I had a sword.
If only I had a sword.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, the entire boulder began to rumble.
And then.
Crack—!
The boulder shattered into fragments and came crashing down.
Somehow, the Silver Sword was now in my hand.
“What? How did this get into my hand?”
But I had no time to dwell on it.
The moment the Madman Warrior saw the Silver Sword in my grip, his ferocity intensified.
The killing intent felt as though it were piercing through my very body.
Since it had come to this….
I gripped the sword and steadied my breathing.
And I recalled the eighth form I was currently cultivating.
One-Point Suspended Ice.
My target was the Madman Warrior’s heart.
For some reason, I felt that I could now unleash the true essence of One-Point Suspended Ice.
I took a calm, deep breath.
My inner energy, which had been depleted in my dantian, was now brimming full.
And I recalled what I had just experienced.
Now!
The Silver Sword in my hand shot toward the Madman Warrior’s heart with piercing speed.
Thrust—!
There was no sensation of flesh parting—it penetrated so effortlessly.
The Madman Warrior’s eyes returned to clarity.
“I apologize….”
Why was he apologizing to me?
“In my arms… a letter… atonement for my sins….”
Atonement for his sins?
And the Madman Warrior breathed his last, and I retrieved the Silver Sword.
Thud.
The Madman Warrior collapsed to the ground.
“Ha!”
I slumped down onto the floor right there. It had been truly exhausting.
I gazed down at the silver sword I held in my grip.
The silvery luminescence dancing along the blade was unmistakably sword energy.
I had reached the pinnacle.
It seemed that moment when I swung the sword without conscious thought earlier was the state of perfect emptiness I’d only heard about in stories.
I was fortunate.
Had I not reached the pinnacle, it would have been me lying dead on this floor.
And the reason I, having just reached the pinnacle, could defeat the Madman Warrior was also thanks to this silver sword.
A legendary blade was truly a legendary blade.
I spotted the silver scabbard scattered on the ground, and I sheathed the sword within it.
Click.
In that instant.
Whoooooosh—!
The mist surrounding us began to move, then was entirely drawn into the sword I held in my hand.
As if the mist had never existed at all.
What?
Was the source of Muchul Musan’s mist the silver sword all along?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————