Chapter 186
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 186
Chapter 186. Ice Sea Water Technique (2)
I let out a sigh.
Suddenly, I remembered the image of Master Cho I saw in the North Sea.
“If the next generation does not learn this, the martial arts of Seolpung Palace will disappear forever.”
And you even shed tears.
How cruel.
Damn it, I have no choice.
If I don't do it, the true martial arts of Seolpung Palace will be lost forever.
I'm so weak-minded.
Let's take a look at the marks on the rock. I could see the footprints left when he walked on water using Binghaesu Jeokgong.
Strictly speaking, they were footprints from the Footless Step Technique, but due to the special environment of water and the Ice Sea Water Technique, they were slightly different from the Footless Step Technique.
I'll have to walk on the rocks using the Ice Sea Water Technique.
When my feet touched the last footprint.
“...!”
In an instant, my view reversed and I was transported to a completely different place.
But this time, I didn't panic.
It was a place I was very familiar with.
“I'm back here again.”
“Kui! Kui!”
Looking down at the familiar sound, I saw Geum-ryung tapping my feet with her front paws.
“You came too?”
Come to think of it, Geum-ryung had come with me when I entered the water.
Thanks to that, I learned that
Geum-ryung could move and breathe freely even in water.
But why is she tapping my feet?
“Do you have something to say?”
“Kui!”
“What is it?”
Geum-ryeong ran off somewhere and looked back at me.
Her eyes seemed to ask why I wasn't following her.
I'm coming. Go ahead.
Following Geum-ryeong, I arrived at the place where I had found the secret manual of the Jinseolshik Sword Technique in the North Sea.
This time, there was another secret manual.
“Binghaedong Mental Technique” and “Binghaesu Jie Gong.”
Two secret manuals.
“I guess I have to master these too before I can leave here, right?”
Geum-ryung nodded in response to my question.
I smiled bitterly and sat in the middle of the cave and opened the secret manuals.
.
.
.
When I opened my eyes, the surroundings had changed to a flat field covered with snow....
“Huh?”
No, it wasn't. I was standing on a huge piece of ice.
In other words, I was standing on an iceberg.
“Come here.”
When I turned my head, I saw that the investigator was standing behind me.
I clasped my hands together and bowed.
“It is good to see you, Master.”
In response to my greeting, Master nodded and said,
“You came back quite early.”
“It is all thanks to your arrangements, Master.”
“That is not wrong. Without my keen insight, I would not have been able to make such detailed arrangements.”
I was slightly taken aback by his blatant boast.
Seeing my reaction, the investigator asked me with a puzzled look.
“Why are you so embarrassed? I didn't say I was good, did I?”
“Well... Usually, it's not the person themselves who says such things, but the people around them, isn't it?”
“I know I'm talented, so why would I need to borrow someone else's words?”
“...I see.”
Then, a question suddenly came to mind.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“When I was learning the Jinseolshik sword technique, I had to use the basic technique of Jinseolshik in order to get inside.”
“That's right.”
“And this time, in order to learn the hand technique, I used the Binghaesujok technique to get inside.”
I continued.
“But that is all I know about martial arts. Then what should I do about the other things you left me?”
The investigator smiled at my question.
“Do you think I didn't plan that too?”
“Then can you tell me how many more things you have planned?”
“I want to tell you, but I can't.”
“What?”
The investigator clicked his tongue.
“I designed the arrangements, but that nitpicky guy said that we had to put some kind of ‘restrictions’ in place so that the higher-ups wouldn't feel uncomfortable.”
He couldn't tell me that much because of some kind of restriction, like it was a secret of state.
“Anyway, you don't have any more questions, right? We don't have much time. If you don't learn everything in time, you'll be in trouble.”
“What?”
“The iceberg you're standing on is collapsing.”
Damn it.
Nothing is easy.
* *
Dongting Lake.
Pal-gap was sitting on a tree stump, looking out at the lake.
That was because Eunseo Ho, whom he served, was now in Dongting Lake.
“My young master is really suffering...”
It wasn't winter yet, but it was still too cold to go into the water.
He came here because he couldn't sleep unless he went into the cold water on a day like this to check something.
Come to think of it, Eunseo Ho had been like that since he was a child.
Whenever he had something to do, he had to do it before he could go to sleep.
Even when he was exhausted from work and collapsed on his bed, he would suddenly jump up and say, “No! I have to practice! I have to practice!”
In fact, Pal-gap sensed that Eun-seo-ho was hiding something.
It was Eun-seo-ho's fifteenth birthday.
It started when he sensed that something was wrong.
He would take the wrong turn on a road he usually knew well, and suddenly look at him with a mature expression and eyes that seemed to pity him.
Then he would suddenly go to a snow-covered mountain to find a magic potion.
“Come to think of it, I was really scared back then.”
Come to think of it, there was probably no one else who had experienced so many things like him.
Even so, the reason he was still alive and breathing was because Eun Seo-ho had taken care of him even during those difficult times.
He even lent him the Chapter Wall that the emperor had given him.
“What on earth is he hiding?”
Perhaps it was something that would burden others if he revealed it, so he kept it a secret.
He hoped that whatever the secret was, he could reveal it and feel at ease.
He was confident that he could handle whatever it was.
He thought about what kind of secret it could be, but soon gave up.
He was not good at thinking things through.
He was better at reading people and acting accordingly.
And he trusted Eun Seo-ho. It didn't matter if he never told him that secret, no matter how long it took.
From the moment they met, Eun Seo-ho was his master.
“Pal-gap is also part of the Eunhae Trading Company! Don't bully him!”
Even though he was only five years old, he couldn't forget how he had shouted at the mean boys who were bullying him in a fierce voice.
And he had called him family.
As if it were fate, the former captain, who had since retired, asked him if he would like to become Eun Seo-ho's servant.
He accepted the offer and never regretted his decision.
His father supported his decision, saying, “Yes, I guess that is your destiny.”
He turned his head and looked at Seo Woo.
He had been standing stiffly in the same spot since earlier.
“Are your legs okay?”
Seo Woo replied with a serious expression.
“I don't know what kind of hardship my liege is enduring inside, so how can I stand guard and remain comfortable?”
“I'll just sit here. If I can't protect you because I'm tired, that would be ridiculous, wouldn't it?”
“I suppose so...”
Seo Woo-mu stared at Pal-gap.
“How is your training going?”
“Yes.”
When they went to Luoyang, Eun Seo-ho gave Pal-gap a secret manual as a gift.
It was a secret manual that began with the words, “To those who walk the path of killing the king.”
With the help of Jin-yu, Pal-gap studied it and kept wondering, “What is this?”
It was because the martial arts in it were so familiar to him.
He even understood the parts that Jin Yu said he didn't understand.
Jin Yu and the others said that the secret manual was a martial arts manual for assassination, but he saw it differently.
If he had to give it a name, he would call it “The Secret Manual for Becoming the Perfect Servant.”
That's why he liked the martial arts he was learning so much.
“...!”
At that moment, he felt something.
Since learning those martial arts, he had been able to sense Eun Seo-ho's emotions more and more, even from a distance.
The emotion he was feeling now was...
Annoyance.
In any case, feeling this emotion meant that Eun Seo-ho was coming out of the lake.
He grabbed a towel and quickly approached the lake, and Seo Woo-mu looked up and flinched at the sight.
Then he nodded as if in acknowledgment.
A moment later
Eun Seo-ho appeared. Not a single drop of water clung to his body as he walked out of the water.
Even as he emerged from the water, there was no sound of splashing.
With his appearance added to that, it was a mysterious feeling, as if the god of the lake had appeared.
Seo Woo-musha and Pal-gap were momentarily speechless.
Until Eun Seo-ho opened his mouth.
“Damn it! Damn you, Josa! Even so, you really drowned me in the sea...”
*
I grumbled as I came out of Dongting Lake.
When I mastered the Ice Sea Mental Technique and Ice Sea Water Technique, the investigator smiled playfully and said,
“Then we don't need this iceberg anymore.”
“What do you mean, all of a sudden?”
Then he stomped his foot and broke the iceberg.
Before I could prepare myself, I fell into the sea.
Meanwhile, I heard the voice of my master.
“You must reach the bottom of the sea with your feet before you can return.”
He should have told me that earlier.
I grumbled to myself as I used the Ice Sea Technique and Ice Sea Water Technique.
When my feet touched the bottom of the sea, I returned to Dongting Lake.
Then I hurriedly left Dongting Lake.
“Young master, are you out?”
“Yes.”
“But why are you in such a bad mood, young master?”
“It's because of some old fool.”
Thanks to him, I learned the true power of the Ice Sea Mental Technique and Ice Sea Water Control, but regardless, I didn't feel very good.
It wasn't because I had gone through all that trouble and didn't get anything in return...
“Kui!”
Geum-ryeong explained while wagging her tail vigorously, and I flinched at her explanation.
“There's a gift in there?”
“Kui kui!”
Geum-ryung was scolding me for rushing out like that.
I turned around and said,
“I'll go back in for a moment.”
“Ah... yes.”
I dove back in and headed for the rock.
Thanks to my complete mastery of the Ice Sea Water Cutting Technique, I was able to reach it much faster than before.
I was so fast that Geum-ryung was floundering behind me, which was cute to see.
Come to think of it, the rock looked very similar to the iceberg I had seen when I was learning handicrafts.
There was a reason why the investigator broke the iceberg at the end.
I stood on the rock and stomped my feet just like the investigator had done.
There was no sound or vibration, but the rock shattered into pieces.
What's that?
Inside was a small red box that fit in the palm of my hand.
Is there anything else?
When I looked at Geum-ryeong with that thought, he shook his head. It meant that there was nothing else.
I nodded and came out of the water again.
.
.
.
A moment later.
I returned to the inn.
I placed the red box on the table and opened it.
Inside was a handful of gold coins and a letter. I opened the letter first.
"I thought you might be disappointed if I didn't give you anything, so I brought you this. I didn't want you to think I was a bastard for making you work so hard without giving you anything. You worked hard to master the Binghae Donghwa Mental Technique and Binghae Sujeok Gong.
Seeing that, I smiled awkwardly.
Even the investigator hid his reward under a rock.
I almost misunderstood.
I smiled at Geum-ja. Money is good after all.
Does that mean you'll give me something like this again next time? That's great!
Gasp!
I was startled by the thought that popped into my head.
How could you make me feel this way... Investigator, you're scary.
Could it be... a trap?
.
.
.
I received a message from Jihyun and headed to the county office.
“Are you here?”
“Yes. What is it?”
“Here is the investigation report.”
Huh? The investigation is already over? It can't be a rush job, right?
With mixed feelings, I opened the investigation report that Jihyeon handed me and began to read it carefully.
Oh...
It's impossible to investigate and organize everything so thoroughly and clearly in just two days!
Furthermore, I really liked that it was written based solely on facts, without any biased opinions.
“You have a very capable subordinate.”
“No, I did it myself.”
“What?”
“How could I neglect a report that will be submitted to His Majesty the Emperor? So I investigated it myself and wrote the report myself.”
“Is that so?”
I recognized at a glance that Jihyeon was a talented person. I want him.
But there is no way that the emperor would not recognize a talent that I recognized.
And the more such talented individuals are by the emperor's side, the easier my life will be.
I smiled brightly and said to Ji-hyun.
“Thank you for your hard work. I will make sure to submit this to His Majesty the Emperor.”