The next morning at dawn—
I began martial arts training with Master in the yard outside my room.
“Young Master, you must first learn a cultivation method called the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art (太陰氷海神功).”
“Yes, sir.”
“Normally, we’d start by learning to sense Qi, but since you already have inner Qi in your dantian, we’ll proceed directly with the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art.”
I sat down cross-legged, and Master placed his palm on my back.
“Just remember the meridian path I guide you through. You only need to follow it exactly.”
Master wrapped my inner Qi with his own and guided it along the meridians of the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art.
It didn’t even take half a quarter-hour before I completed a full circulation.
Because all my meridians were already completely open.
Master looked at me in shock and asked,
“Do you already know the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art?”
I feigned ignorance.
“What’s that?”
“Then how are your meridians…”
After a moment of thought, Master spoke.
“You mentioned before that, by chance, you ingested an Elixir, and that its Qi accumulated in your dantian.”
“Yes.”
I’d already revealed most of what was in my dantian to Master.
Because I knew he wasn’t the kind of person to go around talking carelessly.
And besides, there wasn’t any other way to explain the Qi in my dantian.
But the matter of the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art was different.
It was his family’s martial art. I couldn’t just say I knew it.
“In truth, the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art is a cultivation method developed to store Yin Qi in the body as efficiently as possible. According to passed-down accounts, it was created from the survival instincts of someone on the verge of freezing to death.”
“R–Really?”
Now that I think about it, I almost froze to death too.
Because of the cold of the Icy Blue Snow Plum Fruit…
Master continued explaining.
“I believe the same happened to you, Young Master. Your body instinctively moved your inner Qi through the same meridian path.”
A surprisingly accurate analysis.
“If not for that, you wouldn’t be alive now. Most likely, you would’ve frozen to death.”
His guess was so precise, it gave me chills.
“R–Right. I’m lucky, then.”
“In any case, thanks to that stroke of fortune, we can move straight on to foundational strength training.”
Master nodded and continued.
“If you practice martial arts without the support of physical strength and endurance, your body will break down. So it’s essential to thoroughly build your foundation.”
That’s a phrase I hadn’t heard in a long time.
“So that means it’ll be hard.”
“It’ll be so hard you’ll want to curse, but you have to endure.”
“Yes, I’ll do my best.”
I began physical training according to Master’s instructions.
And watching me hold out better than expected, he murmured,
“At this level, I suppose we can increase the intensity.”
“Sorry?”
“Then let’s raise the difficulty. I’ll add two more sandbags.”
At those words, I freaked out.
“W–Wait! That’s too much!”
.
.
.
Time for work.
Having trained my body since dawn, I was completely exhausted and worried if I’d even make it to work.
But—
There’s a downside to having a lot of inner Qi.
After just a bit of circulating Qi and controlled breathing, I’d fully recovered.
Clearly, Heaven was telling me to shut up and get to work.
And if I wanted to reach my goals, I had to move diligently.
No matter how much experience I had in turning the Eunhae Merchant Group into one of the top three in the world, the current me was just a fifteen-year-old boy who had only just begun working in the field.
The only reason I could lend a hand in the Fire Lotus Inn deal was because I’d earned merit by stopping the fire.
Still, being told to hide my constitution…
The words Master said last night caught me off guard.
He said nothing good would come of it becoming widely known, but I could tell from his eyes that the reason was far more complicated.
He wasn’t wrong, though. He’d tell me when the time was right.
“You’re here?”
“Yes. Good morning.”
The clerks of the Finance Pavilion greeted me with kindness in their eyes.
Because I’d prevented the fire, they hadn’t had to suffer through a brutal ordeal.
To keep things under wraps, the Finance Pavilion clerks hadn’t reported to work for a few days.
They’d have to work a few extra nights to catch up, but if that was all it took to avoid that mess, it was a bargain.
Anyway, it was the first time seeing them all again since then.
Just then, Chief Administrator Yu approached, and everyone stood up.
“Young Master, you’re here.”
He smiled, then addressed everyone.
“Starting today, Young Master Eun Seo-ho will be working as my assistant.”
Chief Administrator Yu made it official.
“What?”
“Huh?”
“R–Really?”
The clerks looked back and forth between me and Chief Administrator Yu in surprise. Especially the clerk from Yeo Chang-ui’s side—his expression was pure shock.
Because I hadn’t shown a single hint of this happening.
“Young Master?”
“That’s right. It’s been decided.”
But the clerks didn’t seem envious of me being appointed as Chief Administrator Yu’s assistant.
If anything, they looked pitying.
They knew what kind of position that was.
How brutal it was to be Chief Administrator Yu’s assistant.
With a smile, he turned around.
“Well then, let’s get to work. There’s quite a bit to do.”
“Yes, sir.”
Tears fell inwardly as I was dragged into his office.
The moment I stepped inside, I noticed something had changed.
Beside his desk was another large desk that hadn’t been there before.
The moment I saw it, I knew—it was mine.
“Please sit.”
“Yes, sir.”
I sat quietly. Soon, stacks of documents began piling up on the desk.
“Review these, highlight the key points in red, and pass them to me.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And these need research. Find the relevant data and add it in.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And these are…”
The work just kept coming.
That’s when it hit me.
I wasn’t talented.
I’d just tangled up my own fate.
.
.
.
Time passed, and the Winter Solstice was drawing near.
Every year, the Eunhae Merchant Group gave a three to four-day break during the Solstice.
Of course, not everyone could be off at once, so teams rotated around the actual day.
During that break, I had no plans to get out of bed.
I was going to rest properly.
Of course, I couldn’t skip martial arts training, but that only took up my mornings.
Looking forward to that break was the most natural thing in the world.
Because assisting Chief Administrator Yu kept me unbelievably busy. It honestly wasn’t strange that he eventually died of overwork.
In his office, the only sounds were pages turning and brushes writing.
That was because, in Chief Administrator Yu’s view, chatting was a waste of time—better to read even one more word on a document in that time.
And I agreed with him.
Just then, I sensed someone approaching through my Qi perception.
Maybe because my physical training had intensified lately, my Qi sense seemed to have improved.
Truthfully, Master’s training was still bearable for now, but I never let that show.
If I said, “This is manageable,” he’d respond, “Ah, is that so?” and then throw on more sandbags.
So I was doing my best to play it up.
Right now, the sandbags I used in training weighed a total of twenty-five gwan. (TL Note: Each gwan is around 3.75 kilos or 8.25 pounds, so close to 100kg)
About the weight of a large adult man.
If I added any more, I really might die.
Then a woman’s voice rang out. A familiar voice.
“I’ve been sent by the Merchant Lord.”
And Gyo Jin-un of the escort corps followed up.
“Deputy Jo Yeong-yeong is here.”
Chief Administrator Yu gave a small nod. I quickly added,
“Come in.”
The door opened, and a woman in her mid-twenties stepped inside.
Her name was Jo Yeong-yeong (趙英英).
Born into a family that had worked for the Eunhae Merchant Group for generations, she had naturally joined the group herself.
To become one of the Merchant Lord’s Deputies at such a young age—and as a woman—meant she was both intelligent and quick-witted.
Rumors circulated about her and my father possibly having that kind of relationship.
But to be clear: no.
She’d once said she had someone she loved, and she remained unmarried until the day I died.
“What brings you here?”
“Lord Song has arrived and asked for your presence.”
“Understood. I’ll go with you.”
“Yes.”
She gave a polite nod to Chief Administrator Yu, and that’s when I noticed it.
The faint flush on her cheeks.
But when she lifted her head again, her expression was as blank as ever.
Yet her eyes never left Chief Administrator Yu.
No way—could it be?
Her? With Chief Administrator Yu?
Only then did I understand why she’d wept so bitterly when he passed away.
And why she’d never married.
‘A true, unwavering love.’
Then Chief Administrator Yu called out to me.
“Young Master.”
“Yes!”
“What are you doing? The Merchant Lord is waiting.”
“Huh?”
For a second, I didn’t understand what he meant. Lord Song had arrived, and he needed to be there—why was I going?
“Isn’t it just you who’s attending?”
He extended one finger after another as he explained.
“First, Lord Song’s presence means there’s something to discuss, which likely means paperwork will be involved. I’m already busy, so there’s a good chance you’ll need to handle that. Explaining all this in advance is just… a waste of time.”
“…”
Did he just say it was a hassle?
“Second, you are one of the heirs to the merchant group. You are more than qualified to be present. Any more questions?”
It was all dressed up in nice words, but the point was simple—he was dragging me along to maximize efficiency.
With a small sigh, I followed behind him to the reception room.
.
.
.
The Eunhae Merchant Group had a designated reception room.
Since we often had to entertain guests.
A maid brewed tea, poured it into cups, and quietly stepped back.
Inside the reception room were my father, Chief Administrator Yu, and Yeon, the Division Chief of the Trade Pavilion.
Across from my father sat the guest—Lord Song.
Lord Song was one of the prominent landowners in the region where the Eunhae Merchant Group was based, and a long-time client of the group.
A very special one, in fact.
His elegant attire—jade silk robes and golden earrings—spoke volumes. He was clearly a major landowner in the area.
In the future I had lived, Lord Song had gradually fallen into decline, eventually becoming the aging master of a rundown manor whose name was all he had left.
“It’s been a while since you last visited.”
At my father’s words, Lord Song set down his teacup and replied,
“It just turned out that way. But this is the place I rely on most. That’s why I’ve come to see Merchant Lord Eun personally.”
At that, my father asked carefully,
“Is there something troubling you?”
“There is. I came to ask for a bit of help.”
We listened silently to Lord Song’s story.
“Due to a mistake on my part, ten gyeol of land weren’t included in the official tax filing. The Commissioner of Land Affairs (布正使) is taking issue with it.” (TL Note: Around 25 acres)
“Oh dear, I see.”
My father nodded with a sympathetic expression. But from Lord Song’s face, I saw the truth.
It wasn’t a mistake—he’d done it on purpose.
And got caught by the Commissioner.
“So I spoke with the County Magistrate, whom I’m close to, and he said the Commissioner has been searching for a particular item.”
It was simple enough.
He planned to bribe the official to smooth things over.
And that item was the reason Lord Song had come to the Eunhae Merchant Group.
If I could figure that out, of course my father could too. He asked gently,
“Your concern is our concern. Please speak freely. What is this item?”
“Well…”
Lord Song let out a long sigh before answering.
“A curious object.”
“I’m sorry? When you say ‘curious object’…?”
“I mean, I need a doll that dances on its own every hour.”
A moment of silence filled the room.
My father, Chief Administrator Yu, and Division Chief Yeon all looked confused.
But I knew exactly what he meant.
‘Right… that thing.’
One of the greatest regrets of my past life.
I’d sworn I wouldn’t make the same mistake again—and nearly did.
Maybe that’s why fate sent him to me now. To remind me.
This whole affair had started as nothing.
–TL Notes–
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