Chapter 497
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 497
Chapter 497. Baekroju (1)
After asking for permission from the head of the trading company, I hurriedly headed to the Beijing branch.
“Seo-ho!”
Hyung-nim greeted me with a bright smile when he saw me.
“What's going on? Is there a problem with our Taoism?”
“Well...”.
Jin-ho sighed and continued.
“One of the Palm print masters has disappeared.”
“Disappeared? What do you mean? No, that's not important. Who disappeared?”
“It's the Palm print master.”
If it's the master craftsman... He's the best friend of Seo Hyang's older brother, Master Dong Hyuk-soo.
I met him recently during an inspection with Master Dong Hyuk-soo.
“Did you ask your friend, Master Dong?”
“Of course, I went there first. But he didn't know either. He's also searching for the master craftsman with the guards.”
He may have given up on participating in the competition, but he's not the type of person I know who would disappear without a word.
If he wanted to give up, he would have said so himself.
Just like his refreshing white wine, which has no aftertaste.
“According to Dong, Master Yeong-gujin was a skilled martial artist. He worked at a martial arts academy for quite some time.”
“Really?”
“With someone like that suddenly disappearing, something must have happened.”
I agree.
The problem is that Master Yeong-gujin's exhibition is tomorrow.
He worked so hard to prepare for this exhibition, and it would be devastating if it were all for nothing.
At that moment, Master Dong-hyeok entered the Beijing branch.
“Did you find him?”
He shook his head in response to my question.
“I haven't found him yet. That bastard! Where the hell did he go... Huh.”
“But you noticed he was missing right away, so you'll find him soon.”
While Jin-ho comforted Dong, I asked Pal-gap.
“Pal-gap. Where was Master Yeong's lodgings?”
Hearing my question, Jin-ho understood what I meant and said, “Ah! Geum...”
“Ah! Geum...”
Puk!
“Be quiet!”
I quickly sent telepathy to Jin-ho and kicked his leg lightly.
It was just a light kick, but it must have hurt.
“Ugh!”
Even my brother, who was a martial artist at the peak of his powers, screamed and sat down.
“What's wrong, brother?”
“Why did you do that?”
“Ah... I think I just got a cramp in my leg.”
“Oh no...”
I rubbed Jin-ho's leg, and he grumbled telepathically.
- Ouch, that hurts.
- I'm sorry. But I told you before. We have to keep Geum-ryung's existence a secret.
- Of course, Geum-ryung is amazing, but do we really have to go that far? To other people, she's just a cute little pig.
- Geum-ryung is a little shy.
After reminding him again, I got up and held out my hand.
“Are you feeling better?”
“Mm...”
Jin-ho held my hand and stood up.
“I told you to stop training... If you feel sick again, go see the physician.”
“...Yes.”
I headed for the master craftsman's quarters.
Oh, I forgot to tell my sister-in-law not to tell her that I kicked him.
I'm sure she'll understand.
Soon, I arrived at Palm print's place. The boy who had been making alcohol with him was there, looking worried.
He must have wanted to look for Palm print, but he couldn't leave because he had to watch over the alcohol and ingredients.
The boy said he was the grandson of the old man who taught Palm print how to make alcohol, and that he had been living with Palm print, making alcohol together since the old man passed away.
Was his name Maeng-hyun?
“Ah! Captain! Have you found Mr. Gu-jin?”
“Not yet.”
“I see.”
Seeing his dejected expression, I comforted him.
“He'll be back soon, so don't worry too much.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“May I take a look at the master craftsman's quarters?”
“Your uncle's quarters?”
My main purpose was to find something that would help Geum-ryeong find him.
But I couldn't say that.
“Yes. In order to find someone, we need to find a clue first.”
“Ah, I see.”
I asked Myeongjong and Chang-woon to watch over the alcohol and ingredients for a moment, then entered the residence with Maeng-hyun.
The residence looked much the same as the others.
There were two beds and a multi-purpose table.
There was also a small chest.
I looked around the room and asked Maeng-hyun.
“Is there anything that catches your eye?”
“Something that catches my eye?”
“Yes. Even if it's something small.”
After thinking for a moment, he replied.
“Come to think of it, Mr. Gu Jin received a letter.”
“A letter?”
Receiving a letter was not unusual. But in this situation, it could be something special.
This was Beijing, not Hubei.
Who in Beijing would send him a letter? Who could it be?
Mang-hyun said,
“Yes. But the look on your face when you received it was strange.”
“Really? Do you know where the letter is?”
Mang-hyun shook his head.
“No, the uncle burned it.”
“This is indeed something special.”
Burning a letter means leaving no trace of it.
The place was very clean.
It was hard to believe that two men were staying there.
Pal-gap was impressed by the sight.
“Wow! It's really clean.”
Maeng-hyun sighed.
“It's almost obsessive-compulsive. Of course, it was because he was so good at cleaning and organizing that your grandfather took you as his disciple.”
At that moment, Master Dong's voice came from behind them.
“You still have that habit.”
“What?”
“In the military, you develop the habit of organizing and tidying up during training. But Gu Jin was good at it from the beginning. I heard later that he had been like that since he was a child.”
“What kind of family is this...?”
“I don't know.”
He continued.
“Gu Jin is the third son of the Seonju Yeongga. His father is Chun Bu-jang, the Dao Commander of Gyeongju. He is in charge of training.”
A Dao Commander is a high-ranking martial arts academy with the rank of third rank.
“He says that he tidied his own room since he was a child. He said that his father would scold him severely if his room was not tidy.”
“I see.”
“And his older brothers are currently in Beijing.”
This smells fishy...
For some reason, I have a feeling that Palm Print Master is in that mansion.
Still, just in case, I had to ask Geum-ryung for help.
I put one of Palm Print Master's items in my sleeve and sent a telepathy message to Geum-ryung.
“Remember the smell of this item.”
“Kui!”
I told her to remember the smell of the item because it meant that she would soon receive money, so she quickly replied.
“Got it.”
I went outside and sent telepathy to Geum-ryung.
“Find the owner of the smell I just told you about.”
“Kui!”
Geum-ryeong quickly jumped out of my sleeve.
* * *
A mansion in Beijing.
In one of the rooms, Yeong-gyu was tied to a chair, sighing.
“Ugh, I'm going crazy.”
At that moment, the door opened and a familiar face appeared.
“You haven't given up, have you?”
The person who approached him and said that without explanation was his second older brother, Yong-gong.
He frowned and began to question him.
“What the hell is this? I came here because you asked me to come and see you for a moment in your letter, but you drugged my car!”
“How else could I keep you here if I didn't drug your car? I'll let you go if you promise not to run away.”
“Hyung-nim, I am your younger brother. How could I not know you? You didn't even tell me why you don't want me to run away, so how can I promise you that?”
“I am your older brother. I knew you would say that, so I tied you up.”
Hearing that, Yong-joon let out a deep sigh.
“So what is this? When I told you I was going to make sake, you acted like you wanted to cut ties with me...”
“Yes. It was a real shock when you announced that. You had been a model soldier, and then suddenly you handed in your resignation.”
“Do my father and older brother know what you're doing?”
At that question, he pulled up a chair and sat down in front of him.
“Of course they don't. They're soldiers through and through. There's no way they would accept something like this.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
In response to that question, Yong-soo said abruptly.
“Get married.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Are you going to just grow old and die alone?”
“Don't beat around the bush! Get to the point! What is your purpose in telling me to get married?”
Seeing Yong-jin raise his voice, Yong-so answered calmly.
“The Minister of Military Affairs has a daughter. But there is a problem.”
“...What kind of problem?”
“She's mentally ill.”
“...What?”
“She's of marriageable age, but there's no suitable match for her, so his wife is very worried. If you marry her, you can ease his worries, and I can build a relationship with him. It's a win-win situation, isn't it?”
Yong-gu looked utterly ridiculous.
It meant that the Minister of Military Affairs had detained him in order to sell him off as his son-in-law.
“Hyung-nim!”
“Don't be so angry. To be honest, becoming the son-in-law of the Minister of Military Affairs is a good thing for you.”
Yong-gu tried to persuade him gently.
“As long as you get married, they won't care if you make sake or tea. So just close your eyes and help me out.”
“...”
Yong-joon gritted his teeth and said, “So that's why you deliberately detained me when tomorrow is the day of the competition?”
“That's right.”
He deliberately made the deadline tight so that Yong-joon wouldn't have enough time to make a proper decision.
I deliberately made it urgent so that you wouldn't be able to make a proper decision.
“You've always been a quick-thinking child.”
He had suffered so much at his hands that he didn't even want to call him his brother.
“And one more thing.”
Eung-gong said with a cold expression.
“If you don't decide by tomorrow morning, I'll destroy the two things you hold most dear.”
“...!”
“The brewery and that boy, Maeng-hyun.”
Hearing this, Yong-jin gritted his teeth and said,
“How far are you willing to go?”
“I didn't start out like this. But as an official in the royal court, I had no choice but to get my hands dirty in order to survive.”
“....”
“Think about it carefully.”
Dao stood up from his chair and left the room. Yeong-gu kicked the chair where Dao had been sitting.
“Damn you!”
Bang!
A small pig peeked out of the small window of the room and watched the scene.
* * *
I was on my way to the evaluation hall. I couldn't be away for long.
Then, I felt something moving inside my sleeve.
Huh? Did Geum-ryeong come back already?
I put my hand inside my sleeve and felt that someone was there.
That meant that the Palm print master was nearby.
“Show me the way.”
“Kui!”
Following Geum-ryeong's guidance, a mansion appeared.
The signboard on the mansion read, “Seonju Yeongga.”
My guess was correct.
I said to Jin-yu Musha, “Follow me secretly.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, sir.”
I used my stealth technique to sneak into the mansion and, with Geum-ryeong's help, arrived at the place where the Palm print master was being held.
Looking through a small window, I saw the Palm print master.
He was tied to the back of a chair and held captive.
Huh...
Seonju Yeongga is considered one of the most prestigious martial arts families.
But what is this?
I looked around.
It was in a fairly secluded location, and there were no servants or maids in sight.
I could only sense the presence of what appeared to be warriors nearby.
I have a feeling...
Not only the Dao Commander of Guizhou, but most of the members of the family are unaware of this situation.
That's why I can't just go in and demand that they hand over the master craftsman.
There's no proof that he's here...
Should I bring the crown prince?
No. That would make things too complicated.
After thinking for a moment, I thought of someone.
There was someone with a fiery temper who wouldn't cause a big problem if he barged in here.
He is also a close friend who cherishes Palm print more than anyone else.
I immediately left the mansion and headed for the Beijing branch.
“What? You said you were going to the evaluation meeting, why are you back?”
My brother Jin-ho asked me when he saw me, and I replied urgently.
“I just found out where Palm print is.”
Hearing my words, Master Dong-hyuk rushed over and asked.
“So where is he? That guy?”
“I remembered you saying earlier that the Seonju Yeong family's mansion is in Beijing, so I focused my search there. And I heard that he went there this morning.”
“Let's go right now!”
As I expected, he rushed off, and we followed behind him.
Soon, we arrived at the residence of Seonju Yeongga.
“Who are you?”
“I am Dong-hyeok-su, a close friend of Mister Gong. I am here to see my friend.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“Yes. We agreed to meet today.”
He said so confidently. Judging from the gatekeeper's reaction, it was clear that Palm print was here.
Otherwise, he would have said, “Young Master is not here.”
“Please come in. I will let him know you are here.”
He also did not know that he was being held captive.
That is why he said he would let him know.
We went inside and did not wait for a guide, but headed straight for the place where Palm print was being held captive.
There, the two warriors whose energy I had sensed earlier were guarding the door.
“Stop!”
“We've come to see Young Master Dao.”
“Why are you looking for him here?”
“Young Master Dao told us to come here. So please let us pass.”
“That's impossible. The second young master ordered us not to let anyone in.”
Hearing this, Master Dong-hyuk rolled up his sleeves and said,
“I've never liked that Hyung-nim.”
Suddenly, he pointed to the side with a surprised look on his face and shouted,
“What's that?”
The moment the warriors looked in that direction, Master Dong took something out from his waist and threw it toward the door.
Bang!
Did you just throw an axe?