Chapter 234
The Youngest Son of the Silver Sea Trading Company Chapter 234
Chapter 234. Jin-ho's In-laws (4)
Captain Bok-yoon laughed heartily and added.
“You can borrow as many horns as you want. But you won't need them this time.”
“...?”
“The Northern Sea Ice Palace is an object of fear and awe to the tribes of the grasslands.”
He leaned closer to me and continued.
“I heard this from a friendly tribe in the past... In the past, a tribe once targeted the disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“....”
“And they sent a letter to the Northern Sea Ice Palace, demanding a corresponding price in exchange for the return of their precious disciples.”
“I see!”
“To resolve this, the Palace Head of the Northern Sea Ice Palace personally intervened, and I heard that half of the grasslands froze over at that time.”
“...”
Half of those vast grasslands froze over!
I could feel the power of the Northern Sea Ice Palace once again.
“It is said that the Moyong Clan mediated in the middle, and that is why it ended there. Anyway, after that, the tribes of the grasslands established an unwritten rule. That is, they must not touch the disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
In other words, they value their lives.
“Not to mention that you are the next heir to the Northern Sea Ice Palace. How could anyone dare to stand in your way?”
“I see. I didn't realize that traveling with you would be so safe.”
Bok-Yoon Purple Mist Pills smiled at my words.
“Actually, even if you weren't traveling with the young master, we wouldn't have needed a whistle.”
“What?”
“Rumors are still spreading among the tribes of the prairie. They say that if they see a young man moving like the wind and his subordinates, they should run away.”
I blinked at his words.
Could he be referring to me?
“When you passed through the prairie last time, you seemed to be causing quite a commotion.”
“Hahaha. It just happened...”
I felt embarrassed and scratched the back of my neck.
.
.
.
The next day.
We left again as soon as we finished breakfast.
With the help of Captain Bok-Yoon, we were able to pack plenty of supplies.
Yesterday, when I delivered my father's letter to Captain Kwang-Joon, I also expressed my personal gratitude.
Now all that remained was to stop by the Trading Company branch located in the hunter tribe and deliver my father's letter and funds.
When we entered the grasslands, Palace Head Bing Haerin manipulated the bracelet on her wrist.
Then, the symbol of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, the character for “ice,” appeared in blue in the air.
“When they see this, no tribe in the grasslands will dare to approach us.”
“It's a kind of mark.”
“Yes.”
Thanks to this, we were able to cross the grasslands quickly without any interference.
“I will guide you to the Eunhae Trading Company branch.”
When we arrived at the border of the North Sea, a warrior named Jin-yu stepped forward as our guide.
He had stayed there to protect the hunter tribe until the branch was established.
That was why we didn't bring a separate guide.
When we entered the Eunhae Trading Company branch in the North Sea, we saw people bustling about.
“Hey, handle that leather carefully! That's expensive!”
“Hey, you can't leave that there!”
When they saw us, they stopped what they were doing and quickly bowed their heads.
“What? Captain!”
“What brings you here?”
Their reaction was natural. Two captains had come to what could be considered a remote area.
It meant that my father had made a difficult decision.
“We have some business in the North Sea and stopped by on our way.”
“Where is the branch manager?”
“He is in the hunters' village.”
Hearing this, we unloaded our luggage and headed for the hunters' village.
“Come, come in.”
“Hahaha! This is the famous silk of the Eunhae Trading Company!”
“Wow! This is delicious!”
As soon as we entered the hunters' village, we saw the branch manager and the hunters drinking alcohol on tables set up outside.
“Next time we visit, we will bring you some alcohol from the Eunhae Trading Company.”
At my words, those who were drinking alcohol were startled and jumped up from their seats.
“Huh! Captain! The second captain is here too.”
“I stopped by on my way to the North Sea.”
Even though it was work hours, I didn't scold them for drinking.
I knew that they were drinking to build camaraderie.
In other words, this was also part of their work.
“Let me introduce you. This is my second sister-in-law.”
“I heard the news from those who came to pick up the leather earlier. I am sorry I could not attend the wedding.”
“Don't mention it.”
This place is so far from the main office that it is impossible to attend.
And because he has so much independent authority, he was appointed as the branch manager here.
In his previous life, he was loyal to the Trading Company until the end and was well trusted by the people there.
Miss Bing Hae-rin did not come with us.
She said she felt uncomfortable with the hunters treating her.
The reactions of the Gwangjun Trading Company and the grassland tribes were already uncomfortable enough, so she couldn't imagine how the hunters here would react.
We ended the meeting smoothly and returned to the North Sea branch.
We delivered my father's letter and some money to the branch manager. We also gave him a gift we had brought with us.
“This is from my father. He said to take care of yourself.”
“Oh, thank you!”
With that, we had completed the task my father had given us.
.
.
.
That evening.
Our party rented the branch's large hall and gathered there.
We needed to prepare for our imminent entry into the North Sea, the snowy land.
“Palace Head. When should we depart for the Northern Sea Ice Palace?”
It was now May, and although snowstorms were said to occur regularly, we didn't know their frequency, so we asked someone who knew.
“We can leave tomorrow. There are no signs of snowstorms for the time being.”
“That's good to hear.”
“Well, as long as I'm with Master, it doesn't matter when we leave.”
“What?”
The Palace Head ignored my question and continued talking as if she hadn't heard me.
“Anyway, the North Sea isn't dangerous just because of the cold. It's because of the bloodthirsty spiritual beasts that live there.”
I nodded at her words.
This was because I remembered the snow leopard I had encountered when I had previously visited the North Sea.
“And the spiritual beasts of the North Sea are powerful.”
“It doesn't matter. I've dealt with bloodthirsty beasts with this spear.”
The Palace Head shook her head at Jin-ho's confidence and warned him.
“The spiritual beasts of the North Sea are stronger and more cunning than those of the Central Plains.”
“...”
“It's not just you and Master Eun moving, but everyone here is moving, so there will be many bloodthirsty spiritual beasts targeting us. Those creatures are always hungry.”
“Gulp.”
At her words, the sound of someone swallowing could be heard from somewhere.
“That's why we prepared this place in advance.”
Bing Haerin, the Palace Head, explained to us what to do when we encounter danger in the North Sea.
We also discussed how to deal with spiritual beasts.
“If you encounter a spiritual beast and its eyes are blue, don't try to fight it. Just quietly back away. It will go on its way.”
“Yes.”
“If their eyes are red, they are spiritual beasts that crave blood. They are dangerous. It would be best to form a circle and move together.”
The sword formation she taught us was a wheel formation, but it was a slightly unusual type.
It was a formation in which three people protected the horses and those they were protecting while attacking their enemies from all sides at the same time.
With that, we were fully prepared to head for the North Sea.
The next morning.
We crossed over to the North Sea.
Finally, the end of our journey was in sight.
The wind blew with snow mixed in, but compared to the snowstorm, this was nothing.
“Wow... It's really snowing.”
Jin-ho seemed to find it strange to see snow in June.
“Then it's real snow. It can't be fake, right?”
“It feels beautiful somehow.”
“Don't lose your focus. As you learned yesterday, most of the spiritual beasts here are white, so they're hard to spot.”
“I got it.”
I glanced at Jin-ho's sister-in-law standing next to him.
She seemed a little excited, probably because she was finally going to meet her mother.
I remembered that when the principal of the Yangyang Martial Arts Academy brought his daughter Hyun-yi with him, he said that girls born to women of the Northern Sea Ice Palace must become disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.
However, when I met him in Hangzhou, he said something different.
He said that girls also had a choice.
Something seemed strange.
Was there an exception?
I asked Bing Haerin, the Palace Head, about this.
“Both are correct.”
“What?”
“Children originally have a choice. However, some do not have that choice.”
“?”
She continued.
“For example, girls born to those with the surname Seol before the age of 30 must become disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace.”
“Does the surname Seol have a special meaning?”
“They are people who have reached the peak of their abilities. As their children, they are likely to be born with exceptional talents.”
“In other words, they don't want to lose their talent.”
“You can think of it that way.”
Anyway, my sister-in-law is walking the path of an escort, and her mother came to the wedding just to make sure that she didn't get into trouble because of me.
She is trying her best to avoid getting involved in any incidents related to me.
If Jin-ho's mother-in-law finds out that her daughter and son-in-law went through such a dangerous place to meet him, she might react coldly.
I hope he won't be hurt if that happens...
As I looked at Jin-ho with such thoughts, I couldn't help but smile.
He's not the type to be swayed by such things.
As I was walking along, I stopped talking. It seemed that the Palace Head, Bing Haerin, had also noticed something.
“Stop! Everyone, get off your horses. It's a spiritual beast.”
Following her instructions, we got off our horses.
Horses are very sensitive, so if they are startled by a spiritual beast, they could fall and be seriously injured.
“Prepare for battle.”
As we grabbed our weapons and formed a formation, we saw something white rushing toward us.
It was a pack of white wolves. Seeing this, Palace Head Bing Haerin sighed.
“Seolrang, of all things...”
“I guess we looked tasty to them.”
She laughed at my words.
“I guess so.”
Soon, Seol-rang approached us, his eyes red with blood.
We calmly fought back.
It was no surprise that the Palace Head Binghaerin and my bodyguards fought well, but the warriors of the Eunpungdae Yookjo also fought quite well.
And my sister-in-law also fought better than I expected.
After all, heart disease was a disease that afflicted those with exceptional talent.
And she had also learned well from Head Escort Ha.
Her sword technique looked familiar.
It was the Snow Flower Sword Technique.
I hadn't learned it, but it was the first sword technique that students of Seolpung Palace learned.
When I first learned about that sword technique, I wondered why he didn't teach it to me, but I later found out.
That sword technique was already incorporated into the Jinseolshik Sword Technique that I had learned, so there was no need to learn it.
One by one, the number of Seolrang began to decrease.
Once again, Geumryeong was a great help.
Perhaps it was because of Geumryeong's aura, but the spiritual beasts hesitated when they came near me.
I'll have to give him a silver coin next time.
“...!”
That was when it happened.
Suddenly, a thrill ran down my spine, and I flinched without realizing it.
What is this? What on earth is this...
“Stand back!”
I heard the shrill cry of the Palace Head, Bing Hae-rin.
Everyone quickly stepped back, and soon we saw a huge beast approaching us.
It was as big as two thatched houses combined.
“It's the leader of the Seolangs.”
The roaring sound made my hair stand on end. It was a formidable opponent.
Of course, it wasn't an opponent we couldn't handle, but it wasn't something we could defeat without suffering damage.
We were still at the entrance to the North Sea, so we couldn't afford to suffer damage at this point.
We had to defeat it with as little damage as possible...
Just as I was desperately thinking,
“Koo-!”
Geumryung jumped out of my sleeve and stood in front of the leader of the Seolrang.
A battle of wills ensued between the two spiritual beasts.
A red aura rose from the leader of the Seolrang, and a golden aura rose from Geumryeong.
The fact that their energy could be seen meant that they were equally strong.
How long did the standoff continue?
“Kee-ing...”
In the end, it was the leader of the Seolrang who backed down.
He tucked his tail between his legs and quietly turned around.
The other Seolangs followed him and fled in a hurry.
“Phew...”
“Ha...”
We breathed a sigh of relief. I lifted Geumryung with both hands and said, “Thank you. You saved my life.”
“Kui!”
Geumryung raised his head proudly.
Yes, yes, you deserve it.
By the way, you even made the leader of the Seolangs run away. You are truly amazing!
But I don't remember seeing a golden aura before...
Has he grown stronger?
At that moment, I heard the voice of the Palace Head, Byeonghaerin, beside me.
Her eyes were filled with shock, and her voice was trembling.
“Could that be... Han Ho-su?”
As expected, she recognized Geum-ryung. A lame excuse wouldn't work.
“That's...”
“Please tell me the truth, Master. Who are you?”