Chapter 235
The Youngest Son of Eunhaesang Trading Company Chapter 235
Chapter 235. Jin-ho's In-laws (5)
Binghaerin's reaction to seeing Geumryeong was stronger than I expected.
He even brought up my identity.
“You mean my identity?”
“Yes.”
But honestly, there was nothing to hide.
“I'm just... the third Captain of the Eunhae Trading Company.”
Of course, I couldn't tell him that I had died and returned to the past.
“Then why does Han Ho-soo follow you? Han Ho-soo may love money, but he doesn't follow just anyone.”
“Is that so?”
I looked down at Geum-ryeong. Geum-ryeong was looking at me with sparkling eyes.
His eyes were sparkling excessively.
Yes, yes, I understand.
When I took the coin out of my pocket and handed it to him, Geum-ryeong didn't hesitate and quickly ate it.
“I just happened to meet him by chance, and now I'm giving him coins, so he's following me.”
I continued confidently.
“To be honest, I don't understand why you're asking me this when you look at him. Sure, it was impressive how he just chased away the leader of the Seolrangs, but…”
At my words, Palace Head Byeonghaerin sighed.
“I'm sorry. Come to think of it, I overreacted. I apologize.”
“It's fine.”
“Then... let's move on.”
* *
Bing Haerin blamed herself.
“I definitely overreacted. I need to reflect on my actions.”
However, there was a reason why she reacted that way when she saw Geumryung.
Han Ho-soo was a very picky spiritual beast, and he chose his own master.
Strangely enough, all of the spiritual beasts that Hanho-su chose as their masters were the Palace Heads of Seolpung Palace.
That wasn't the only reason she overreacted.
It was because of Hanho-su's growth rate.
Of course, Hanho-su was called the king of the spiritual beasts living in the North Sea, but it took a long time for him to become that.
According to records, Han Ho-soo had to grow for over fifty years before he was able to defeat the leader of Seol-rang.
“Master Eun Seo-ho is only twenty years old. That means that Han Ho-soo has been serving Master Eun Seo-ho for no more than twenty years.”
No matter how she thought about it, it didn't make sense.
At that moment, Eunseoho's voice reached her ears as she was riding her horse.
“What? Still not enough? Do you know how hard it was to fight that spiritual beast just now? I know. Well then... Sigh. Fine. I understand. Come on.”
When she turned her head, Eunseoho took out another coin and put it in Geumryeong's mouth.
He was feeding it to her as if it were a snack for children.
According to the records, Han Ho-su only needs to eat one silver coin a year...
For some reason, I thought I understood why Han Ho-su was so strong.
* *
I gave Geum-ryung another silver coin and tilted my head. I could feel the gaze of the Palace Head, Byeong-hae-rin.
Hmm, Geum-ryeong does eat a lot. But the Palace Head Binghaerin still hasn't explained why she reacted that way toward me.
Just then, Jin-ho said to me,
“That pig you're raising is quite remarkable.”
“Yes, it is.”
“It was a close call earlier.”
Everyone nodded at Jin-ho's words.
Earlier, Seo-woo and Jin-yu rushed over to me, probably to protect me while they blocked the leader of Seol-rang.
That was their duty as bodyguards, but I was grateful that they did so immediately.
I must become a better liege.
“Will spiritual beasts like that continue to appear?”
In response to my sister-in-law's question, Palace Head Bing Haerin shook her head slightly.
“We cannot know. The North Sea is a place where such things are impossible to predict.”
“....
”Still, when Seolpung Palace existed in the past, it wasn't this bad...
There was a hint of regret in her voice.
.
.
.
A day passed since we entered the North Sea, and we encountered spiritual beasts about twice more.
They were no match for us. The skills of the young palace head Bing Haerin were particularly impressive.
It seemed that the spiritual beasts were more rampant because there was no snowstorm.
The snowstorm must be frightening even to spiritual beasts.
The next morning, the snow glistening in the sunlight was beautiful.
The path we were traveling on was a shortcut led by Bing Haerin, the junior palace head.
Perhaps because of that, we were able to travel much faster than before.
“We should be able to reach the entrance of the Ice Palace in two or three hours.”
We're already at the Ice Palace Inn.
With that, we gathered our strength and continued on our way.
“Huh? Seoho, is something wrong with my eyes? I think I see an inn up ahead.”
I smiled and replied to Jin-ho, who was rubbing his eyes.
“Your eyes are fine. That is indeed the inn.”
“Come to think of it... I think you said there was an inn at the entrance to the Northern Sea Ice Palace. Is that the inn?”
“Yes.”
Bing Haerin, the Palace Head, said.
“That is the entrance to the Ice Palace and the only place where men are allowed to enter.”
“I see.”
I said to Jin-ho.
“I'm sorry, but you and the guards will have to stay at the inn.”
“We have no choice.”
“To be honest, that inn is a little... uncomfortable compared to the inns we've stayed at so far. But it can't be helped.”
The Ice Palace Inn was large, but its facilities were not as convenient as the inns we had stayed at before.
I continued with an apologetic look on my face.
“I'm sorry that I'm the only one who gets to go inside and eat well and live comfortably.”
“It's okay. I'm just glad we made it here safely.”
As I talked with Hyung-nim Jin-ho, I glanced at Palace Head Byeong-hae-rin.
She looked very embarrassed.
Finally, she sighed and said,
“...But if you have the Palace Head's permission, men can go inside.”
“Really?”
“I'll ask her for you.”
I secretly clenched my fist.
The reason why I paid for the inn for Palace Head Bing Hae-rin and told her that she didn't need to pay me back was
because I wanted to clear the debt I owed her and go to the Northern Sea Ice Palace with Jin-ho.
“But the others can't come.”
I didn't expect that.
When we arrived at the Ice Palace Inn, twin waiters greeted us.
“Welcome, Palace Head!”
“Come in!”
“Hello, everyone.”
However, Palace Head Bing Hae-rin did not get off her horse.
“I have to go to the palace, but I will come back tomorrow morning. Please take good care of these people.”
“Yes, we will.”
Princess Binghaerin had to hurry to take Jin-ho with her, so she asked us for our understanding.
“I need to ask the Palace Head for permission regarding your brother, so I must go to the palace first. I apologize.”
“No, we understand. Don't worry about us. Please go ahead.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Bing Haerin, the palace head, headed toward the back of the inn and soon disappeared into the fog.
I said to Jin-ho.
“Let's wash up and rest a bit.”
“That sounds good.”
We went inside the Bing Palace Inn, washed up, and filled our stomachs.
Then we lay down on our beds and thought about what to do next... but we must have fallen asleep.
When we lay down, the sun was still up, but when we woke up, it was pitch black.
It must be night.
I got up from my bed. I must have slept quite a lot because I couldn't sleep anymore.
When I left my room and went downstairs, one of the twin waiters was awake.
“Ah! You're awake?”
I think he said that he could tell the brothers apart by the mole under their eyes.
Judging from the mole on the right side, he must be the older brother.
“I slept for a while and woke up.”
“It's been almost a year since you've been here, right?”
“Yes, that's right. I came here around August last year.”
“The martial arts you showed us then were truly impressive.”
“I'm embarrassed. My skills are nothing special.”
“I don't think so. Thanks to you, everyone staying at our inn was safe.”
It seemed that he had been seriously injured while fighting the spiritual beasts that had attacked the inn at that time.
“By the way, are you all right where you were injured?”
“Yes, I'm all healed up now.”
He bowed politely to me.
“It's late, but thank you again.”
“You're welcome.”
I bowed back, unable to hide my embarrassment.
It seemed that I was not immune to praise or gratitude.
After finishing our conversation, I left the inn.
Snow was falling softly.
Perhaps because of the full moon, or perhaps because everything was white, it was bright even though it was night.
It was May.
But watching the snow fall like this, I felt as if I were in a dream.
Should I say it was unreal?
An endless snowfield.
I slowly walked forward, stepping on the snow.
Normally, if I went this far at night, the waiter would have tried to stop me, but he just watched me.
That must have been because he knew my abilities.
And honestly, the cold here was a source of strength for me, not a hindrance.
I reached out my hand toward the falling snow.
“Kui?”
At that moment, Geum-ryeong poked her face out from my sleeve and sniffed the falling snow.
Before I knew it, she climbed up my arm and stood on my shoulders.
You like the snow too.
Well, she is a spiritual beast that protected the Palace Head of Seolpung Palace, so she must like the cold and snow.
With that thought in mind, I gently activated my Genuine Qi.
The snow around me swirled lightly and enveloped my body.
“Kui! Kui!”
I could feel that Geumryung, who was on top of my head, was enjoying herself.
I was happy too.
.
.
.
The next morning.
As I was having breakfast at the inn, the Palace Head Bing Hae-rin entered the inn.
I said I could smell wildflowers...
“Ah, you're having breakfast.”
“Yes. Have you had breakfast?”
She nodded in response to my question.
“Yes. I had a light meal.”
Then she looked at me and continued.
“Finish your meal, and Master and Master Jin-ho, please prepare to leave. The Palace Head has granted you permission to enter the palace.”
I smiled at her words.
After finishing our meal, we got ready to leave.
Only Jin-ho and I were allowed to enter the palace, so the other guards and Pal-gap had to stay behind.
“Take care of yourselves.”
“We will.”
“Don't fall in love with the beautiful women of the Ice Palace and cause trouble.”
“You've been watching me all this time, and now you're saying that?”
“Still, you never know what will happen in life.”
Upon hearing this, Yeo-eung-am said.
“But if that happens, you will be getting married... Isn't that something you should be happy about?”
“Um...”
“Now that you mention it, you're right.”
Pal-gap blinked his eyes in agreement with Lee Pil.
“Maybe he feels like he can't be the only bachelor around.”
When Seo-woo said this with a smile, Pal-gap replied curtly.
“You're teasing me.”
“That's right.”
“Oh, come on! That's too much!”
Seo-woo also seemed to enjoy teasing Pal-gap.
“Anyway, Pal-gap just cares about his liege that much.”
I patted Pal-gap on the shoulder and said, “I understand how you feel.”
Now that we had been together for several years, we had become close enough that we could tease each other without feeling hurt.
“I'll be back soon.”
As soon as we stepped outside, we realized what the sound was.
It was the North Sea Ice Palace disciples, who seemed to have come with the young princess Binghaerin.
It was a dozen disciples of the Northern Sea Ice Palace who seemed to have come with Bing Haerin.
Bing Haerin said to them.
“Pay your respects to your benefactor.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the disciples stamped their feet.
Tap! Tap!
Then they all clasped their hands together.
Chak!
“We greet our benefactor.”
Finally, Bing Hae-rin, the junior palace master, clasped her hands together and said to me.
“It is an honor to have our benefactor here at our palace. Please come inside.”
“Yes.”
Immediately, the dozen disciples formed a large group.
They stood in a line on either side of my brother and me, as if escorting us.
The Palace Head Binghaerin handed a necklace to Jin-ho.
“Put this around your neck.”
“Yes.”
Jin-ho took the necklace and put it around his neck.
“Let's go.”
“Yes, sir!”
As we walked toward the misty door, I looked at Jin-ho.
Was that necklace the artifact that would allow us to pass through the Gate of Fog?
As expected, a blue light rose from the necklace and enveloped Hyung-nim's body.
Thanks to that, Hyung-nim was also able to pass through the Gate of Fog.
While we were moving, Palace Head Byeong-hae-rin said to my sister-in-law.
“The mother of the female warrior arrived at the Ice Palace three days ago. So, if you go to the Ice Palace, you will be able to meet your mother and your maternal grandmother.”
“What? My maternal grandmother?”
The Palace Head Bing Haerin replied to my sister-in-law's question.
“I guess you didn't know. The female warrior's maternal grandmother is also a disciple of the Ice Palace.”
“Ah…”
So that means the Northern Sea Ice Palace is her maternal home.
Jinho's family is huge.