Chapter 99
The Youngest Son of the Eunhae Trading Company Chapter 99
Chapter 99. Eun Jin-ho Goes Missing (7)
I scratched my cheek and continued.
“Anyway, that's how it is. To be honest, it's all just an excuse. When I saw you all earlier, I saw the future of the Eulmyeongpa. You were all outstanding.”
Even though we were outnumbered, each and every one of them was a master.
Just by fighting against such people and creating an equal match, I could see their potential.
“That's why I'm investing in that future.”
Yoon-musa nodded, as if he understood what I meant.
“I understand. I will accept your kindness.”
The moment I saw the man covered in blood with his face peeled off, a thought flashed through my mind.
“When did the Sect Leader start feeling unwell?”
He hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“It started at the beginning of this year.”
“Are you attending to the Sect Leader?”
“Yes. I am one of his disciples who attend to him.”
“Then invite a man named He Qing, known as the White-Haired Doctor of Hubei, to examine the Sect Leader.”
“Why him?”
“He is the best physician I know when it comes to detoxification.”
“...Detoxification?”
The expression on the face of the senior monk changed. There was no way he didn't know what that meant.
I nodded.
“Yes, it seems to be poison.”
* * *
Inside a room at an inn.
Eun Jin-ho sat on the bed with a gloomy expression.
“Seo Ho...”
He could still clearly feel Eun Seo-ho's grip on his arm.
And he could still remember the scene when he smiled and let go of his arm.
“Why... did you let go of my arm?”
The bruise on his shin, where Eun Seo-ho had kicked him, was still visible.
“That was a hard kick.”
It must have been because he looked so frustrated and stupid.
He had been worried about his health for several years, but at some point, he became healthy again.
So he thought it was a relief.
His younger brother, Eun Seo-ho, was so bright and bold.
He was dead.
He was worried about how to tell his family about his brother's death, but the fact that he would never see him again was too painful.
He buried his face in the futon and wept bitterly.
At that moment, there was a sudden commotion outside.
“What? Eh? Eun-seo-ho, young master?”
“Huh! No! How are you alive? No, it's not what it looks like, Head Escort! Head Escort Mak-chung!”
“Jeong-chung, Head Escort! Prince Eun-seo-ho has returned!”
“Prince Eun-seo-ho has returned alive!”
“What? Seo-ho has returned alive?”
He fell from a cliff that seemed to be a thousand feet high, and he's alive!
He had to see it for himself.
He had to confirm it with his own eyes.
He jumped up and opened the window. Then he jumped out of the window.
It was only this floor, but with his martial arts skills, it was no problem.
He saw Lee entering the inn courtyard.
He was still handsome.
His eyes were full of determination.
It was Eun Seo-ho.
It was definitely Eun Seo-ho.
He smiled at him. It was the same smile he had when he let go of his hand.
“I'm back, Jin-ho.”
He returned his smile.
“You were worried, weren't you? I'm sorry for making you worry... Ugh!”
This time, Eun Jin-ho kicked Eun Seo-ho's shin hard and shouted.
“You idiot! What the hell were you thinking doing that! Try that one more time! I'll... I'll... I'll chase you to the afterlife and beat you to a pulp!”
“I'm really sorry, brother.”
He didn't say he wouldn't do it again.
“By the way, did you hold a grudge against me for kicking your shin in the foggy forest earlier?”
Eun Jin-ho felt annoyed with his younger brother and kicked his shin again.
Bang!
* * *
I looked out the carriage window at the scenery.
It was a familiar sight.
Getting off the ship and heading for the Trading Company in a carriage, I felt a new sense of emotion.
I explained to everyone how I had come back alive.
To be honest, I don't know how I'm alive.
So I just said that when I opened my eyes, I was lying on the floor unharmed.
And I just said that I got this guy sitting on my lap.
I didn't tell them about Eunmu-geom.
I didn't want to take any chances. You never know with people.
The Eunmu Sword is now in my pocket.
Even after hearing my story, people were still puzzled, but Head Escort Makchung cleared things up.
“It seems that it was the help of the mountain god. There have been stories of a mountain god living in that mountain since ancient times.”
“I guess so.”
“That must be why you got that spiritual beast.”
Everyone agreed with that.
It had to be true, because otherwise there was no explanation for why I was still alive.
I looked at the guy sitting on my lap, staring at me with bright eyes.
Do you know what happened?
I thought he might know.
But he couldn't speak...
Next to him, Pal-gap was snoring loudly. This was the result of my fuss over washing him.
By the way, that's amazing.
You were able to tire out Pal-gap.
Thanks to Pal-gap's efforts, I learned that this guy's real hair color is white, close to pink.
After running for a while, we arrived at Eunhae Trading Company.
“Pal-gap.”
“Mmm...”
“Pal-gap, wake up.”
“Mmm... You... Take good care of our young master... Mmm... Our young master is very powerful... Mmm...”
What on earth is he saying?
No, Seo Woo-myeong, why are the two bodyguards nodding their heads again?
There's no choice.
I signaled to the boy on my lap, and he jumped up and kicked Pal-gap in the face with his back foot.
“Ugh!”
Then, as if nothing had happened, he landed lightly on my lap and sat demurely, pretending to look at Pal-gap.
He has everything he needs.
Pal-gap was startled and looked around frantically.
“Come on, you little brat!”
“Get up.”
“What?”
“We're home.”
When we got out of the carriage, our family, who had been notified in advance, welcomed us warmly.
The family's emotions were especially strong because Jin-ho, who had been missing, had returned.
“Jin-ho!”
“Huh! Jin-ho, my son... Do you know how worried your mother was?”
Seeing that, I couldn't help but feel guilty.
I almost made them hear the news of my death right there.
I decided to report to Jung-chung later about how I fell off the cliff and came back.
At that moment, Ye Chang's aide approached me.
“Are you here?”
“Yes.”
“Then please hurry to Hyungpung-guk. There is a lot of work to be done.”
What? I barely made it back alive, and now I have to work without rest?
Who is the ruler of Hyungpung-guk?
Ah... It's him, isn't it?
.
.
.
The next morning.
I went to bed late after finishing last night's work, but I woke up at the same time as usual.
When I finished my breathing exercises and got up, my master entered the Mungok Hall right on time.
“Master, are you here?”
“Good morning.”
My master looked at me and continued.
“I heard from Head Escort Makchung. You fell off a cliff and miraculously survived.”
“....”
I quickly bowed deeply to my master.
“I am sorry for causing you worry.”
“No, it's fine. I'm just glad you're alive.”
When Master looked at Pal-gap and the two warriors, they felt some kind of silent pressure and obediently left the Moon-gok Hall.
Normally, the teaching of martial arts should not be seen by others, so it was natural for the two warriors to leave, but today, even Pal-gap was sent out.
“I apologize for interrupting your training.”
“Ah, you know.”
As expected, Master was sharp.
“It seems you have attained enlightenment, and it seems to be related to obtaining that spiritual beast.”
A spiritual beast...
I took it out from my sleeve and held it out.
“Are you talking about this?”
“Koo?”
Master stared at the spiritual beast for a long time. And the creature in my palm also stared blankly at Master.
When I cautiously looked at Master's face, his eyes were trembling.
“There was one left.”
“What?”
Does Master know about this creature?
“What is this creature?”
“That spiritual beast is a Hanho-su. It is a spiritual beast that used to protect Seolpunggung.”
Seolpung Palace...
“This creature is instinctively drawn to the cold air unique to Seolpung Palace. That is why it approached the king.”
“What?”
“Actually, the martial arts that our family has been practicing... Ha...”
My master's sigh felt heavy.
“It is the martial arts of Seolpung Palace.”
My master looked at me and said.
“It seems you know where Seolpung Palace is.”
“I've only heard rumors.”
“Then you know quite a bit.”
My master's eyes looked so sad as he looked at me. No, it was more like longing than sadness.
No.
There was also anger mixed in.
I wondered why that place had been destroyed, but I couldn't ask.
That would be too cruel.
“That's why you told me not to reveal the origin of my martial arts.”
“I am telling you this because I believe that you, as the prince, will keep my secret.”
“I will repay your trust.”
By the way, Master was a member of Seolpungung!
I didn't know that in my previous life.
I did suspect it, though.
The martial arts I learned were much more powerful than other martial arts.
And the name of the mental technique is Taeum Byeonghae Shinkong.
It's not easy to achieve a level of excellence that deserves the name Shinkong.
Anyway, I only learned the truth in my current life.
Did you send me out of the Moon Hall to tell me this?
Master seemed to have calmed down and continued.
“Han Ho-soo... He loves money. Because he lives off money.”
Ah...
That's why he swallowed my coin.
I was secretly worried, but it was just food.
“That's why he has such a keen sense of smell for money. He also chooses wealthy masters to live off of. And the smell of money he picks up includes not only the smell of money he currently has, but also the smell of money he will have in the future.”
I looked at the boy on my palm.
If that was why he chose me as his master, I thought he had chosen well.
It would never go hungry again.
“But... did you give this guy money?”
I nodded in response to his question.
“Yes. It looked like it wanted money, so I took out some coins and gave them to it, and it swallowed them right away. How did you know?”
My master chuckled at my question.
“Because he sticks to you like glue.”
My master continued.
“Once this guy receives money, he will serve his owner until the day he dies. And he will never take money from anyone other than his owner.”
“That's good to know.”
“There is no limit to how much money this guy will eat, but one silver coin a month is enough.”
“Is there anything else I should be aware of?”
“No. He's a smart guy who knows how to take care of himself. He costs a little to keep, but he's worth it.”
“I see. Then I'll take good care of him.”
I replied and said to the guy,
“Hey, you need to practice your sword skills, so go over there for a while.”
My master shook his head lightly and stopped me.
“It's fine for him to stay here. There is no weapon in this world that can kill him.”
“What?”
“You can learn about him later.”
“Um...”
I called out to my master.
“What's wrong?”
“Actually, this isn't the only thing I found at the bottom of the cliff.”
“...?”
I took out the silver sword I had been hiding.
My master said he was from the Seolpung Palace.
Then he would recognize this sword.
As expected, Master's eyes widened when he saw the silver sword.
“Is this... the silver sword?”
He was surprised earlier, but I had never seen him this surprised before.
“It seems so.”
I told Master what had happened there.
I told him about following this guy into the cave, seeing this sword, and fighting the crazy warrior.
I told him about how I lost myself in the fight and finally reached my peak.
I told him about how I got this sword and the last words of the crazy warrior.
I even told him about how the fog disappeared when I put the sword back in its sheath.
Finally, I took out the identity card and letter I had picked up there and handed them to my master.
“This is what he had in his possession.”
Master took the identity card and stroked the part where the name “Seolpunggung Yoo Deok-jin” was written.
Then he opened the letter.
A moment later, his face contorted.
For some reason, I understood that expression. It was an expression that only someone whose family had been exterminated could make.
I had experienced it myself in my past life.