Chapter 280
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 280
Chapter 280. To Hebei Province (1)
It was time to go to Beijing.
This time, he had to go to Hebei Province with Master Peng Gang-un, so he couldn't delay any longer.
So, he used his lunch break to head to the martial arts training ground.
I had to explain the situation to the warriors Myeongjong and Chang-woon.
At that time, the two warriors were undergoing training at the Eunpungdae.
“It's been a long time since I've been here, so it feels new.”
I asked Lee Pil, the warrior, after hearing his words.
“Come to think of it, you've been at Eunpungdae for a long time, haven't you?”
“Not that long. I've only been working here for about five years.”
“Isn't that long enough to be considered a senior?”
“Not quite, but it's enough. To be considered a senior, you have to be like Yeo Moo-sa. He's been working for fifteen years.”
Jin-yu Moo-sa looked slightly surprised at that.
“It's not easy for a warrior to work in one place for more than fifteen years. That's amazing.”
That was due to the nature of the warrior profession.
Basically, living by the sword means that you could lose your life or be injured at any time.
Because of that, retirement came early.
“Maybe you're just very lucky, Lady Yoo.”
I smiled and replied.
“Lady Yoo should have come with us today.”
Seo Woo and Yeo Eung-am were off duty today. So Seo Woo and Yeo Eung-am are both out.
“By the way, being here reminds me of when I was in training.”
Before becoming my bodyguard, Jin Yu also underwent a month of training at the Eunpungdae.
“Was the training difficult?”
“To be honest, I was worried at first, but everyone treated me well, and the training wasn't that difficult. Compared to the training I had as a child... I wondered if it was okay to train so comfortably.”
We looked sad at Jin-yu's words.
Not only me, but Pal-gap and the other bodyguards also knew about Jin-yu's past.
After all, no matter how hard the training at Eunpungdae was, it couldn't be as hard as the assassin training that involved life and death.
I quickly changed the subject.
“How is Pal-gap's training going these days?”
“If there are ten stages of training, I have completed the fourth stage.”
“You're already halfway there. That's amazing!”
“I think so too.”
Pal-gap listened to our conversation with a calm expression.
“It's all thanks to Jin-yu's guidance.”
“Pal-gap.”
“Yes?”
“Either look calm or just show that you like it. With that clown flying so high in the sky, you look really ugly when you try to look calm.”
“Ouch! Dao! That's too much!”
“What did I do?”
“Handsome people don't understand those with ordinary appearances. Ordinary people have to dress up and groom themselves to look presentable, but handsome people look handsome even when they pick their noses... Sigh.”
I chuckled at Pal-gap's complaint.
“I just told you to make either a calm expression or a proud expression, not both.”
“....”
Soon, we entered the training ground, and one of the training instructors who spotted us ran toward us.
“Young master, you're here?”
“Thank you for welcoming us.”
“The members are currently having lunch, so...”
“I know.”
Eunhae Trading Company provided inexpensive lunches for its employees.
In the case of Myeongjong Musha and Chang-un Musha, I asked that their meals be charged to me.
“May I go to the cafeteria for a moment?”
“Of course. This way...”
“Thank you, but I know where the cafeteria is. I just want to take a quick look, so please don't tell the others.”
The instructor bowed his head, understanding my intention.
“I understand.”
One way to tell if someone fits well into a group is to watch them eat.
You can get a rough idea by seeing if they eat while chatting with others or if they eat alone.
Honestly, as they were both Myeongjong Musha and Changun Musha and had been in large sects, they wouldn't have trouble adapting to group life.
Still, the atmosphere of the prestigious sect with its strict rules was a little different from that of the Eunhaesang Trading Company.
It was a little more relaxed.
And since rumors had already spread within the Eunhaesang Trading Company that the two warriors had caused trouble during the dragon and phoenix duel, I was worried that the others would shun them.
So I came here to see if they were adapting well.
Soon, we arrived at the restaurant reserved for warriors.
I guess it would be uncomfortable for the regular employees to sit and eat with warriors carrying weapons.
“Hey, look, the two warriors...”
“Shh!”
I saw them too, so I quickly told him to be quiet.
Something felt... off.
***
Unlike other employees, members of the Eunpungdae are recruited once every three months.
This is because many of them retire, either voluntarily or involuntarily.
However, the treatment at Eunpungdae is quite good, so there were not many cases of retirement other than injury or death.
If a member of Eunpungdae dies while working as a warrior, Eunpungdae will hire one of their family members to support them.
In addition, if they are injured and can no longer wield weapons, they are given the opportunity to change to another job or have one of their family members hired.
Compared to other places where only a small amount of compensation is given when a warrior dies or is injured, this is a truly generous benefit.
That is why, when the Eunpungdae announces recruitment, countless warriors apply.
There are three requirements for application.
Martial arts skills, written test, and personality.
Martial arts skills must be at least third-class.
After all, the standard expected of ordinary warriors is only to exceed third-class level.
The written test consisted of two rounds. In the first round, candidates had to read a sentence randomly selected by the examiner to pass, and in the second round, they had to read and solve simple arithmetic problems.
Surprisingly, many candidates failed the written test.
This was because there were many illiterate warriors, so those who knew how to read and write near the Eunhae Trading Company headquarters made a good living giving private lessons.
Those who passed the written test received training as temporary members.
The training lasted three months and was intended to assess their character.
Of course, any warriors who had problems during that time were dismissed.
After successfully completing the three months of training, they became official members and underwent one month of practical training before being assigned to each team.
In Eun Seo-ho's opinion, Seo Woo and Jin Yu did not need basic training, so they only underwent practical training, but Myeong Jong and Chang Un were required to start with basic training along with the temporary members.
Although they were severely whipped, they avoided being expelled.
The sect leaders of each sect sent Eun Seo-ho to give them medicine for their wounds, showing that they had not abandoned them.
They did not want to lose this new opportunity.
Therefore, they took every training session seriously.
However, they were proud of their skills as first-class warriors.
So, they were quite shocked when they lost to second-class warriors during training.
Their training instructor explained the reason to them.
“It's because you lack practical experience.”
“If it were real combat, we would...”
“Have you ever fought the Green Forest Bandits with your lives on the line?”
“We've fought the Green Forest Bandits a few times.”
“But you always had your guardians with you. Even if you were in danger during the fight, you knew someone would come to your rescue.”
“...!”
It was true.
Whether it was the Mount Hua Sect or the Zhongnan Sect, when they mobilized their disciples to fight the Green Forest Bandits, the masters always accompanied them.
“That's not real combat. Real combat means fighting with no backup. It's a fight where a single mistake can mean life or death.”
“....”
“Actually, the third captain had you train with the temporary members so that you could gain more real combat experience.”
The training instructor said with a smile.
“You will be working with the third captain from now on, and he is someone who travels all over the empire. How many dangers will you face while working with him? That is why you must study hard and learn everything you can here. If you die young, there will be many people who will mourn you.”
After that, Mingzong Musha and Changyun Musha abandoned even their pride in their martial arts skills.
They also had no choice but to abandon their pride in coming from the prestigious Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan Sect.
Previously, they had been direct disciples, but now they were nothing more than outer disciples.
Returning to their初心, they trained sincerely, and gradually began to make friends.
However
there were those who disliked them. So they picked fights with them over every little thing.
Even now, as they were eating lunch, it was the same.
“Why do we have to look at those brats? They're ruining my appetite.”
“You're right. They almost killed our captain and his wife, and they still have the nerve to show their faces here.”
Until now, they had only picked fights to this extent.
However, perhaps because the two warriors had continued to endure and not respond to them, today they went a little further.
They also knew that there were no training instructors around during meal times, which was another reason for their behavior.
In fact, the instructors were watching them, but they were out of sight.
“I don't know what the young master was thinking when he saved you guys.”
“He must have been feeling heroic.”
“By not expelling you, he has brought shame to the name of our sect.”
They couldn't ignore Eun Seo-ho and the sect that had saved them because they were their taboo landmines.
“Stop it.”
“Don't insult the third captain and the sect.”
They responded by laughing openly and mocking them.
“Wow, you're scary when you get angry. Ha ha!”
“Want more? Why? Are you afraid we'll beat you up?”
Unable to stand it anymore, the two warriors' companions stopped them.
“Stop it.”
“Aren't you colleagues?”
“Colleagues? Only you would consider criminals like them colleagues.”
The gang became increasingly aggressive.
They were the ones who had been coercively gathering forces since they started training, while the two warriors' colleagues were a little passive.
That was why the gang didn't care about them.
“If you continue to insult the third captain, the sect, and my colleagues, we will not stand idly by.”
“Oh, really?”
One of the gang members who had been taunting them picked up a bowl of noodles.
“Go ahead, try it.”
Then he threw the bowl.
This startled everyone in the restaurant. It wasn't because the troublemaker had thrown a bowl of noodles.
Bang!
It was because the person who was hit by the bowl was someone they hadn't expected at all.
“...”
“...”
It was the person who had thrown the bowl.
Silence fell in the restaurant, and it was broken by the beautiful voice of a young man.
“I didn't expect you to get along well, but isn't it a bit too much to attack your colleague?”
He was Eun Seo-ho, the captain of the Eunhae Trading Company, the governor of Hyungpung, and the hero of the Dragon and Phoenix Duel.
Next to him stood his bodyguards, Jin Yu and Lee Pil, with their swords drawn.
The sharp aura made everyone there tremble with fear.
They recalled what had just happened.
The noodle bowl thrown by the troublemaker flew with force, but Jin Yu suddenly appeared in front of them and swung his sword to knock it back.
It happened so fast that the man who threw the bowl couldn't react in time and was hit.
However, he didn't even think of wiping the blood from his forehead.
He remembered what he had just said, and his mind went blank.
“Huh!”
They quickly prostrated themselves in front of him.
“We are sorry!”
“Please forgive us!”
***
I looked at the people prostrated in front of me.
They were members of the Eunpungdae in their previous lives and had caused various problems.
The most infuriating thing was that they sold our Trading Company's confidential information to another Trading Company.
In fact, when they threw bowls at Myeongjong Musha, I wondered if they were aiming at me.
But that would have caused a bigger problem.
First of all, Jin-yu and Lee Pil, the warriors who followed me, would have been punished, and there was a high possibility that the instructors watching from the roof would have been called to the Chief Administrator.
That is why Jin-yu made them knock the bowls away.
In any case, their words and actions toward the two warriors were enough to get them expelled.
But... with that kind of personality, they must have caused trouble when they were training as temporary members in their previous lives... How did they become official members?
I had such questions, but I put them aside for now and said to Myeongjong and Chang-woon.
“I'm glad to see you're doing well.”
“Greetings, my liege.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I have something to tell you. Have you finished your meal?”
“Ah! Yes!”
“We just finished.”
“Then let's go.”
I didn't even look at the people bowing in front of me, but just looked up at the ceiling and sent my telepathy.
- Take care of it. I'll watch over you.