Chapter 54
The Youngest Son of the Eunhaesang Trading Company Chapter 54
Chapter 54. Rumors Like This (4)
“Whoa!”
We arrived at the gate of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
When we took the child down from the horse, the gatekeeper was startled and rushed over.
“Young Master!”
“Young Master Zou!”
From the name Tang Zongxiong, I realized that the child I had rescued was the victim of the kidnapping.
I said to the gatekeeper,
“Call someone and let the child into the house. He must be very frightened.”
The child continued,
“I was about to be kidnapped, but Master saved me.”
“What?”
“Hee-hee!”
The two gatekeepers were startled and immediately rang the bell to signal an emergency inside.
“There are criminals in the carriage behind us.”
I also brought the people who had tried to kidnap the child to the Sichuan Tang Clan.
I thought it would make things easier in many ways.
I could predict the hardships they would face in the future, but that was none of my concern.
I didn't care about the wounds they had suffered from being thrown around in a shabby carriage with no straw to protect them from the impact of the wheels.
“And...”
I looked at Pal-gap, and he took the body wrapped in cloth from the cart and laid it on the ground.
When the gatekeeper saw this and asked what was going on, Dangjo-ung stepped forward and said,
“This is my nanny.”
“...”
“They kidnapped my nanny's child and ordered me to bring him here, and my nanny died at their hands.”
Dang Jo-ung explained the situation calmly, with a composure beyond his years.
His overly rational demeanor, unbecoming of a child, bothered me.
Right now, Dang Jo-ung is forcing himself to suppress his emotions.
This is not good.
Emotions cannot be suppressed forever.
Eventually, they will affect the body or the mind.
I haven't lived a long life, but when I look back on my life, there have been a few people like that.
One of them is Dangjoo-ung in front of me.
That's why it turned out this way.
Later, Dangjoo-ung became quite cruel.
He only used poison to kill people in the most cruel ways, and he committed such evil acts as burning alive a group of people who kidnapped children.
In particular, he took the lead in any task for the Martial Alliance, which had saved him, and even after the Martial Alliance abandoned him, he died with a smile, saying, “I am grateful for the opportunity to repay their kindness.”
This time, the Martial Alliance did not save him, so such a thing would not happen, but at least he hoped that he would not become cruel.
He could guess that he had become that way because he had been kidnapped in his past life and held captive by his brother for five years, suppressing extreme fear and terror.
How scared must an eight-year-old child have been?
Therefore, he needed to let out the emotions he was suppressing.
That way, they wouldn't explode in the wrong direction later.
And the thing martial artists must be most wary of is their inner demons.
If left unchecked, this experience would surely become an inner demon that would hold Dangjo-eung back.
Like his previous life, where he was expected to achieve great things due to his tremendous talent but ultimately died without overcoming the ultimate barrier.
Such a future for this child!
I don't want that.
I placed my hand on Dangjo-woong's shoulder. Then I bent my knees and looked him in the eyes.
“You're home now.”
“Yes. Thank you for saving me and bringing me here.”
“You're back now. And you're alive.”
“...”
“You'll see your parents and family soon.”
Dang Jo-woong's eyes reddened at my words.
“You're not dead, and you can see your family.”
“...”
“You're alive now.”
“...”
“Repeat after me. I am alive.”
“I am... alive.”
“Let's try again.”
Dangjoo repeated my words several times, and tears began to well up in his eyes.
Finally, Dangjoo burst into tears.
“Ugh!”
“Yes, yes, it was very scary, wasn't it?”
“I was scared. I thought I was going to die. I was scared that I would never see my family again.”
And so, Dae Jang-woong cried in my arms.
Now he can rest easy.
Yes, this should be enough to erase all the bad memories of this incident.
I sensed someone running toward us from a distance.
Dang Jo-ung cried so hard that he eventually fell asleep.
The door opened and a woman dressed in gorgeous palace attire rushed out.
“Jo-ung!”
When I saw her, the gatekeeper said,
“This is Lady Hong-ri, the third wife of the Clan Head.”
I picked up Dang Jo-ung and handed him to her.
“This is your son.”
“Ah...”
“He seems to have cried himself to sleep. He was crying loudly when he came home, but now he seems relieved to be home.”
“I see.”
“I am a passing traveler. Actually...”
I bowed to her and explained the whole story.
“That is what happened.”
“Thank you so much. How can I ever repay you?”
“We did not do this for anything in return. We just happened to come across you on our way. We will be on our way now.”
“No, please come in. How can I let the savior of my son and my family leave like this?”
“Actually, we have circumstances that prevent us from staying. Please forgive our rudeness in leaving like this.”
Why would we deliberately pass through the jungle?
It was to quickly and secretly reach Chengdu in Sichuan Province.
If it became known that we were the ones who rescued the Sichuan Tang Clan's precious treasure, it would cause problems.
And since we did not do this for any reward, it is right that we leave as we are.
“Then we will be on our way.”
Meanwhile, Pal-gap had untied the horses from the cart and was already riding one of them.
I also mounted my horse and headed straight for our destination, the Sichuan branch of the Eunhae Trading Company.
At that moment, I caught a glimpse of Lee Pil's expression.
He looked quite relieved.
Come to think of it, his expression had stiffened slightly when he found out that Tang Cho-woong was the son of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
I had a strange feeling, but I decided to ignore it for the time being.
* * *
An hour later, Tang Cho-woong opened his eyes.
“Uh...”
It was a familiar ceiling.
“Zhao-woong!”
He turned his head.
His father and mother were standing next to his bed.
“Father? Mother?”
“Yes!”
“Are you awake?”
It was real.
He had really met his family.
He threw himself into his father and mother's arms and cried again.
“I had a terrifying dream. I was with the wet nurse at the market...”
As he told the story, Dang Jo-ung gradually realized.
What he had experienced was not a dream at all.
“Father! Where is the Master who saved me? I haven't properly thanked him.”
“Huh?”
“Well, it's like this…”
Dang Jo-woong's father, Dang Gyu-jeong, and his mother, Hong-ri, hesitated to speak.
“He just left you in my arms and walked away.”
Hearing Hong-ri's words, Dang Jo-woong was disappointed and bowed his head.
“If it weren't for him, I would have died. And you always told me that as a member of the Sichuan Tang Clan, we must repay kindness with double kindness and repay our enemies tenfold.”
“That's right.”
“Then I want to do the same.”
“But he didn't tell us his name or where he was from, and he disappeared like the wind.”
At that moment, Clan Head Dang Kyu-jin, Dao Jong-woong's father, cautiously said, “So, could it be that they...”
“No, that's impossible!”
Dao Jong-woong firmly denied the possibility that they were involved with the kidnappers.
However, Dang Kyu-jin's words made sense.
It was not unheard of for someone to pretend to be a benefactor in order to receive something in return.
“He said that if I promised to repay him, then when I grew up and saw someone in danger, I should save them if I had the ability to do so. He said that would be repayment enough.”
“Did he really say that? Did he ask for anything else?”
“Nothing at all.”
“Hmm...”
Dang Gyu-jeong nodded.
If that was the case, then it seemed that he had truly saved his youngest son out of goodwill.
'After all, if he was really an accomplice, he wouldn't have left like that. His purpose would have been to stay here and get something in return.
Dang Gyu-jeong said.
“But we don't know anything. He left without telling us anything.”
Mrs. Hong-ri nodded at his words.
Moreover, they did not know who had kidnapped the child.
“If we knew his name, we could find him.”
It may sound like bragging, but the Sichuan Tang Clan is the most influential clan in Sichuan.
If we know his name, we can find him.
At that moment, Tang Zao shouted.
“Ah! I remember. It's Master Ying Xuehou.”
“Master Eun Seo-ho?”
“Yes. When you saved me, you told me your name to reassure me. You were Eun Seo-ho, who works for Eunhae Trading Company.”
Hearing this, Dang Kyu-jeong stood up and said, “Trust me.”
“Please, Father.”
He had to find the person who saved his late wife and his youngest son.
He had to find the man who saved his late son and repay him for his kindness.
It was for the sake of his family's reputation, but it was also his father's heartfelt gratitude for saving his son.
He immediately told his aide.
“Find a man named Eun Seo-ho from the Eunhae Trading Company. But it seems like there's something going on, so be as discreet as possible.”
“Yes, sir.”
* *
I looked at the building in the distance.
This place, located north of Chengdu in Sichuan Province, is the Sichuan branch of the Eunhae Trading Company.
Although it is located in a fertile area, the Eunhae Trading Company is not here for the grain.
Since ancient times, Sichuan silk has been known as Shu Jin and is one of the four famous silks of the Central Plains.
Naturally, the Silver Sea Trading Company also dealt in silk and distributed Shu brocade from here.
The area was also rich in sugar and citrus fruits and was a major producer of rock salt.
For the trading company, it was truly a land of gold.
However, the road to Sichuan was very dangerous.
That is why I cannot come here often.
As a result, we were unable to respond to the changing situation here.
That is why this Sichuan branch was established.
And the head of this branch is...
My uncle.
“You're not going to see him?”
I nodded in response to Pal-gap's question.
“Yes. That's what we agreed.”
I know that my uncle is not a spy for the Dan Trading Company.
My uncle was the one who helped the Eunhae Trading Company become a renowned silk trading company.
However, I am not seeing my uncle because I do not know who the spy for the Dan Trading Company is.
If I meet my uncle, the people at the branch will immediately know that I have come.
Then the Dan Trading Company would launch another sabotage operation, and it would end up in a mudslinging battle.
I was sorry to my uncle, but I had to postpone our pleasant meeting for a while.
I looked at the branch office building from a distance, then turned away.
Now it was time to begin the operation.
.
.
.
After a while, I found a suitable target.
It was a group of children playing in the neighborhood.
I bought a lot of snacks and sat down under a tree. I placed the snacks on a rock next to me and called the children over.
“Hey, kids.”
“...?”
I handed them the snacks and said,
“Would you like some?”
“It's candy!”
The candies I offered them were made of flour dough fried in oil, coated with honey, and then sprinkled with sugar.
It was a simple snack on a stick, but the children's mouths watered.
“But my mom said not to eat food from strangers...”
“She said you shouldn't.”
“That's right. You shouldn't eat food given to you by strangers. But this guy bought too much danggu. It would be a waste to throw it away.”
“Hmm... You shouldn't throw away food.”
“I was told that throwing away food is a sin.”
“That's why I'm asking you to help me eat this.”
Only then did the children cautiously pick up one skewer with candy on it.
Once they had filled their stomachs, they finally turned their attention to me and asked,
“Who are you?”
“I'm a traveler. I came here with my servant over there.”
I pointed to Palgap, and the children tilted their heads.
“That man looks like a bear.”
I couldn't help but laugh at their words.
“Hahaha. Really? Then what do I look like?”
“You look like... a martial artist.”
“Huh?”
I was taken aback by their unexpected answer. They said I looked like a martial artist?
“Because you're pretty.”
“That's right. You're pretty, Oppa.”
“But you can't say I look like a martial artist. They said that's a possessed doll.”
“That's right. I heard the adults say so.”
First it was a spirit, and now it's a ghost?
Huh...
Well, there's not much difference between a spirit and a ghost.
I smiled again and said,
“Still, I appreciate you saying I'm pretty like a Zamu doll.”
“Doesn't that make you feel bad?”
“No, it's okay. Actually, it's nice. Because I know a secret song about Zamu dolls.”