Chapter 94
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 94
Chapter 94. Eun Jin-ho Goes Missing (2)
There was a bracelet on my wrist.
“It's because of this. This bracelet is called a blood ring, and it can be used to find Jin-ho.”
I continued.
“Do you remember the elder who caught the assassin who burst in during Young Master Jung-ho's announcement ceremony?”
“Of course.”
“He lent it to me. Of course, please keep this a secret from the others.”
“I understand. But how can you find Jin-ho with that bracelet?”
“This bracelet reacts to the blood of the person wearing it. When there is a blood relative within ten meters, this bracelet...”
I showed the bracelet to my father and said, “It turns red.”
“The color turns red.”
“It's red.”
“My father is standing right in front of me. But this is originally silver.”
I remembered when I received this from the old man at the general store.
As I dug into the ground, the old man's rebuke made me realize what I had to do.
What I had to do was not dwell on my regrets.
What happened happened.
I will continue to change the future, and there will be many things that will change as a result.
I wasn't the type of person to just stand by and watch them weigh me down and suffocate me.
I'm not overconfident in my abilities, but I have the ability to solve them.
Besides, I have the weapon of knowing the future.
So I just have to solve them.
The next day, after organizing my thoughts, I went to see the old man at the general store.
The old man smiled when he saw me.
“Now you look like you're back to your old self.”
“I'm sorry for bothering you yesterday.”
“Bother? Thanks to you, I earned enough to pay for my dumplings.”
The old man stood up and took a bracelet out of the closet and handed it to me.
“I'll lend this to you.”
“What is this?”
“It's called a blood bracelet. If you have a blood relative within ten degrees of kinship, it will turn red.”
“Thank you.”
I put the bracelet on my wrist. Seeing this, the old man said,
“But there is a slight problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“Once you put it on, it won't come off for a month, no matter what you do.”
“...”
.
.
.
Back in reality, I told my father.
“But they say it won't come off for a month.”
“Huh...”
“But honestly, I don't think anyone else in our family can go look for Jin-ho.”
My father sighed at my words.
“I see. I'm sorry to burden you with this.”
“What do you mean?”
I asked.
“Jin-ho is my brother. It's only natural for a younger brother to look for his older brother. Don't apologize for this, Father.”
“I understand. I'll allow you to join the search party. But Seo-ho...”
“Yes, Father.”
“You must convince your mother.”
“....”
.
.
.
It was decided that the search party would depart in three days.
The biggest obstacle I faced was getting my mother's permission.
Naturally, she did not give her permission at first.
Even when I showed her my blood oath, she remained unmoved. Mrs. Hong Geum-so advised me.
“It is only natural that your mother does not give her permission. With one son already missing, would any mother allow her other son to go into danger?”
“...”
“If you must go, tell her that you will return safely. That is the most important thing to her right now.”
Mrs. Hong Geum-so's advice made me realize how foolish I had been.
My mother was worried about my safety, but I had only emphasized that I could find my brother...
That evening, I showed my martial arts skills to my mother.
She was the first person I had shown my martial arts skills to since returning from my previous life.
My mother was the daughter of a martial artist.
That was why she recognized my martial arts skills.
Only then did my mother allow me to join the search party.
Having overcome the biggest obstacle, I focused on the affairs of Hyungpung Kingdom.
I had to make sure that everything would run smoothly in Hyungpung Kingdom while I was away.
Then, on the evening before my departure,
An unexpected visitor came to see me. It was Seo Woo, the husband of Lady Hong Geum-so.
“How are you feeling?”
“Thanks to you, I have completely regained my strength. I am truly grateful.”
“I am glad to hear that.”
Even to my eyes, he looked very healthy.
The Bokshiringwa is truly amazing.
That's why, in the future I experienced, the master of the Blood Cult was able to wreak havoc on the martial artists as soon as he ate the Bokshiring.
“But what brings you here?”
“I have a request for the king.”
“What is it?”
“I heard that you are going to look for Jin-ho. I would like to accompany you.”
“What do you mean? You must know what kind of place Yunnan is...”
“I want to repay your kindness.”
“No, you can't. If something happens to you, I won't be able to face Lady Hong.”
“This is also Lady Hong's wish.”
“What? Lady Hong's wish?”
“She said that even if one is born a man and cannot achieve great things, it is still one's duty to repay a debt of gratitude. I agree with her.”
Seo bowed with his hands clasped together.
“I beg you. Please give me this opportunity to repay your kindness.”
I looked at him.
Come to think of it, Seo is a first-class warrior who used to be the head escort of the escort agency.
He would be of great help in this matter. And then.
“Seo-woo.”
“Yes.”
“Are you planning to return to the escort agency?”
“That was my original plan, but now I want to stay by my wife's side.”
“That is a wise decision.”
The person who gave Seo-woo a reason to stay was a famous master of martial arts.
Even though he was now a head escort, Seo Woo's reputation was quite high for beheading the black-clad thug.
He was skilled, but he also gained a lot of experience working as a head escort.
Come to think of it, the place where Seo Woo beheaded the black-clad thug who was wielding the blood-stained sword was...
“I forgot to mention that. Actually, I was the Head Escort in charge of Guangxi, Guizhou, and Yunnan.”
Yunnan.
I said to Seo Woo.
“You're hired.”
“What?”
“I misspoke. Come with me to Yunnan.”
“Thank you for accepting my request.”
.
.
.
The day of the search party's departure arrived.
I picked up the luggage that Pal-gap had prepared for me.
This time, it was not a business trip, but a search. That meant it would not be a leisurely journey by carriage.
We would have to ride horses and, depending on the situation, carry only a small bag on our backs as we continued the search.
“Are you ready, young master?”
“Let's go.”
My party consisted of Pal-gap, two bodyguards, and Seo-woo, who joined us later.
Together, we headed for the train station.
There, we would join the members of our trading company and head for the escort agency.
When we arrived at the station, Jeong-chung, the leader of the Eunpungdae, and his party were already there.
The search party sent by the Eunhae Trading Company consisted of Team Leader Jeong-chung and ten warriors.
According to my father, Team Leader Jeong-chung volunteered for the search party.
As I had seen in my previous life, Jin-ho and Team Leader Jeong-chung had a special bond.
Jin-ho was currently twenty years old, and Team Leader Jeong-chung was thirty.
However, there was a friendship between Jin-ho and Jeong-chung that transcended their age.
“Your Highness, have you arrived?”
“Yes. Thank you for your help.”
“I will do my best.”
No further words were necessary.
At that moment, my father and Hyung-nim approached and bid us farewell.
Then we headed for the Changin Escort Agency.
.
.
.
It took about an hour to reach Changin Escort Agency.
When we arrived at Changin Escort Agency, the governor came out to greet us.
“Thank you for coming.”
“Not at all.”
Jeong-chung stepped forward.
“I am Jeong Chung, representative of the Eunhaesang Trading Company for this search party. And this is Eun Seo-ho, the third son of the captain of the Trading Company.”
“I am Mak Chung, Head Escort of the Changin Trading Company.”
While they were exchanging greetings, Mak Chung was startled when he saw Seo Woo.
“Are you Master Seo Woo, the Head Escort of the Daejeong Escort Agency?”
“I was once called by that undeserved name.”
“I heard that you made a miraculous recovery.”
“Yes. I had a miraculous encounter and made a miraculous recovery. I joined the search party to repay that kindness.”
“I feel reassured to have you with us.”
“I am honored.”
Seo Woo seemed to be more famous among the Head Escorts than I had thought.
Even Head Escort Mak Chung and the head of the Changin Escort Agency, who was always looking for talented people, were drooling over him.
I wondered if my master had also been recruited by that head.
I heard that my master has left on a mission. Therefore, he does not know that I am leaving for Yunnan.
What would he have said if he knew I was going to Yunnan?
I don't think he would have stopped me.
After reorganizing our ranks, we set off for Yunnan.
.
.
.
We could have ridden horses to Yunnan, but it was faster and more comfortable to go by boat.
We traveled down the main stream of the Yangtze River, passed through Chongqing, and arrived at the foot of Jianchang Mountain in Yunnan, where we disembarked.
We decided to get off the boat and go to the Eulim Inn, and start our search from there.
In fact, Yunnan is a very dangerous place.
It was hot, but not too hot.
The south was low-lying and covered with dense forests, but the north was hilly and mountainous.
The mountains were very high, and there were even places covered with snow that never melted.
In other words, it was a place where all four seasons coexisted.
Therefore, the search would not be easy. Still, I would not give up looking for Jin-ho.
We boarded a boat and began to travel up the Yangtze River.
During that time, we heard from Seo Woo-musa about various things to be careful of in Yunnan.
“One of the things you must never do in Yunnan is eat mushrooms.”
“Mushrooms?”
“Yes. Due to its climate, Yunnan has many mushrooms, but many of them are poisonous. That's why the sects that use poison from the Myogang River mainly extract poison from poisonous mushrooms.”
“You mean it can kill you.”
“Yes, that's right.”
We also heard other precautions, such as not to go into the water carelessly.
Actually, I already knew these things.
However, I pretended not to know because the people around me didn't know about them.
Also, in my current life, I had never been to Yunnan, so I couldn't show that I knew about these things.
Of course, I had been there in my previous life.
After traveling upriver for about a month, we arrived in Yunnan.
We got off the boat and rode horses for three days.
Finally, we arrived at the Eulim Inn.
It felt strange to be at the last place where traces of Jin-ho had been found.
“Welcome.”
Three men came out of the inn and greeted us.
They were employees of the Eunhae Trading Company who were stationed here and in charge of bocha.
“Thank you for your hard work, elders.”
“Young Master Seo-ho, no, His Majesty Seo-ho, have you come as well?”
“Yes, I have.”
“I know you must be very worried about Young Master Jin-ho's disappearance.”
“My parents are more worried than I am. I came here not only because of my brother, but also because all of the missing Eunhae Trading Company employees are like family to me.”
I continued.
“With family members missing, I think it is only right that I come.”
Jin-ho is my blood brother. So, it was inevitable that I would be more worried than others.
That does not mean that I am not worried about the other Eunhaesang Trading Company employees.
They are all precious people who have been with me at Eunhaesang Trading Company.
They were moved by my words and said, “We are deeply grateful to you for your words.”
“We are deeply grateful for your words.”
“There is no need to be moved by something that is only natural.”
They replied to my words.
“Please come inside. We will tell you the information we have gathered.”
A short time later.
We took a seat on the first floor of the inn.
There were no other guests besides us, so it was almost like we had rented the entire place.
Two of the three employees dispatched from Eunhae Trading Company to reside here had returned, and only one remained.
His name was Seong Jun-baek.
“Actually, there are more people who have gone missing here.”
“More?”
“Yes. And we found those who remember their last moments, and they all said they walked into a thick fog.”
Fog? Could it be... that?