We arrived at the Sichuan Branch of the Eunhae Merchant Group.
“Gasp! D-Deputy Merchant Lord?”
One of the Escort Guards standing at the Sichuan Branch’s front gate recognized me and rushed over in shock to greet us.
“I heard the First Deputy Merchant Lord had gone missing. Good heavens, what are we supposed to…”
Brother Jeong-ho stepped out from behind me and said,
“I am right here. Thanks to Seo-ho, I am safe. Thank you for worrying about me.”
“Gasp! You were alive! What a relief! No, this isn’t the time! Please, come inside at once.”
Then he hurriedly rang the bell by the gate.
That signal just now meant someone of the utmost importance had arrived.
Well, that made sense. It was true for me too, but Brother Jeong-ho, who had been missing, had returned alive. That was more than enough reason to send that signal.
A moment later, Uncle and a whole crowd of people came rushing out from inside.
“What is it?”
“The First Deputy Merchant Lord has returned! He’s alive!”
“What did you say?”
Uncle saw us as we stepped into the courtyard, and his eyes immediately filled with tears as he ran over.
“Jeong-ho!”
“Uncle. I apologize for causing you so much concern.”
“You were alive! You little brat! You were alive!”
“Seo-ho saved me.”
“Seo-ho did?”
“Yes.”
I cupped my fist toward Uncle and said,
“After Father heard the news, he said he would personally come to Sichuan, so I stopped him and came in his place. Then, while searching the areas where Brother might have been, I found him.”
“So that was what happened! Thank goodness, thank goodness… Come inside and rest properly.”
“Thank you.”
“But the child beside you is…”
Uncle recognized him a moment later, and he asked in surprise,
“Isn’t he Young Master Seong Yu-jin of the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group, the one who was said to have gone missing with him?”
At Uncle’s words, the child cupped his fist.
“That is correct. I am Seong Yu-jin. It is an honor to meet you, Branch Chief.”
I asked Uncle for understanding.
“It seems Young Master Seong will need to stay here for the time being. His mind and body still haven’t settled after everything, so he refuses to leave Brother Jeong-ho’s side.”
“Huh… Yes, that is understandable. Let him do so.”
Uncle said to Young Master Yu-jin,
“You must have gone through so much. Stay here comfortably before you go.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Then I should send word to the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group!”
“Please do.”
“Ah, did you send word to your father? He must be waiting desperately for news right now.”
“Yes. I sent word as soon as I found Brother.”
I had sent Geumryeong right away to deliver the news, and I had already received a reply.
That reply held Father’s relief exactly as it was.
We arrived at the residence we were guided to, washed up, and changed clothes.
I had been worried about where we would find clothes that Young Master Yu-jin could wear, but…
“These are clothes I wore when I was young, and they fit him well enough.”
There were still clothes left from when Cousin Chung-seok, Uncle’s second son, had been a child, so we dressed him in those.
Then, while we were eating, drinking tea, and resting, Palgap came in with news.
“The Merchant Lord of the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group has come personally. And our Eunhae Merchant Group staff who were there came with him as well.”
Huh? The Merchant Lord came in person?
We hurried outside to greet him.
“It is an honor to meet the Merchant Lord of the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group.”
“Yu-jin!”
But the Merchant Lord did not have eyes for any of us. He was staring only at Yu-jin, who was clutching tightly at Brother Jeong-ho’s collar.
His face was filled with emotion.
“G-Grandfather…”
“Yu-jin… You were alive! You really were alive! Do you have any idea how worried we were?”
“I am sorry for causing you so much concern.”
“It is all right. Once your father and mother see you alive, they will be overjoyed. Everyone will be.”
Everyone?
No, Merchant Lord. I do not think everyone will be happy.
He continued speaking.
“Do not be hurt that your father and mother did not come with me. They are down south searching for you. Now that word has been sent, they should return soon.”
At that moment, I recalled what Team Leader Do had told me when we were coming to Chengdu.
“Young Master Yu-jin is the Deputy Merchant Lord’s only son.”
“I see. Deputy Merchant Lord Seong Jun-min must have been truly devastated.”
“What do you mean? Young Lord Seong Jun-min is not the Deputy Merchant Lord. The Deputy Merchant Lord’s name is Seong Cheong-min.
At that, I froze for a moment.
What? The Deputy Merchant Lord of the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group I knew was Seong Jun-min.
Wait.
Now that I thought about it, according to my memories from my previous life, the eldest son of the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group died in an unfortunate accident less than three months after becoming Deputy Merchant Lord.
That was why Brother Jeong-ho, who had attended the Hundred Great Merchant Groups Under the Heaven back then, had said, “The Myeongmyeong Merchant Group’s Deputy Merchant Lord changed.”
And the Deputy Merchant Lord of the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group I met in my previous life was Seong Jun-min.
“Oh, my apologies. In any case, it seems he has not been Deputy Merchant Lord for long.”
“Yes. This is only his second month.”
A thought flashed through my mind.
No way.
Was that why someone had tried to kill Young Master Yu-jin?
I urgently asked,
“Where is the Deputy Merchant Lord right now?”
“Hm? By now, he should be around the southwestern foothills of Mount Emei, but… Ah! I completely lost my head. I truly apologize. I should have asked after the Eunhae Merchant Group’s First Deputy Merchant Lord first. Are you all right? Were you hurt anywhere?”
“I am fine.”
Young Master Yu-jin stepped forward and added,
“I survived thanks to Mister Jeong-ho.”
“Yes, so that was what happened. How could I ever repay this grace?”
This conversation was not what mattered right now.
“Merchant Lord, I apologize. Please forgive my rudeness for leaving first.”
If my guess was right, Deputy Merchant Lord Seong’s life was in danger at this very moment.
“Escort Guard Seo Wu, Escort Guard Jin Yu, follow me. And the rest of you… protect Brother and Young Master Yu-jin.”
“Yes!”
We climbed onto the River-Crossing Horses.
It would be faster to use one of Deputy Merchant Lord Seong Cheong-min’s belongings and tell Geumryeong to find him.
But explaining that would be difficult, and we did not have the luxury of waiting for Geumryeong to make the trip.
We asked the River-Crossing Horses to move as fast as they could.
“Neeeeigh!”
The River-Crossing Horses cried out loudly and increased their speed.
It was the Twelfth Month, but sweat still ran down Seong Cheong-min’s forehead.
His only son had fallen into the river right before his eyes, then had been swept away by the violent current and vanished.
“Father!”
His son had called out to him in desperation, but there had been nothing he could do.
Even now, whenever he closed his eyes, he could vividly see his son’s figure being swallowed by the rapids and carried farther and farther away.
‘Yu-jin…’
Honestly, he had to assume there was no chance that his son and Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Jeong-ho were alive.
But he felt as though his desperate heart would only settle if he found their bodies at the very least.
How could he let his son go when he had not even found his body?
His wife was staying at a nearby inn as well.
She had stubbornly insisted that she could not go back until they found their son.
“He wasn’t over there. Let’s search the area beside it.”
“Let’s do that.”
Many of the people helping with the search around him were the guards who had come with Eun Jeong-ho and staff members from the Eunhae Merchant Group.
Since Eun Jeong-ho had been swept away by the rapids while trying to save his son, there was no way Seong Cheong-min could avoid feeling apologetic.
“I am truly sorry. I don’t even know how to express how sorry I am.”
At his apology, one Escort Guard shook his head. It was Escort Guard Jeon Woo-jin, Eun Jeong-ho’s guard.
“Please do not say such things. My lord is not the kind of person who would resent anyone over something like this. Besides, the Deputy Merchant Lord’s son also went missing with him, did he not? I think right now, we should save even the strength it takes to say those words and focus on the search.”
“You are right.”
Like that, they continued searching, but they simply could not find them.
They did find several bodies.
But those bodies were not the ones they were searching for, so their hope turned to disappointment, and that disappointment once again turned into hope.
How many days had they continued searching like that?
When nearly fifteen days had passed.
Thud.
“Deputy Merchant Lord! Deputy Merchant Lord!”
“Please, come to your senses!”
In the end, he collapsed.
He had continued forcing himself through the search without eating or resting properly.
On top of that, unlike the others, he was not a martial artist, and he was utterly exhausted in spirit as well.
When he opened his eyes, he realized he was lying on a bed.
“Yu-jin…”
In truth, he was a cold and meticulous man.
That was how he had achieved considerable results, surpassed his brothers, and become Deputy Merchant Lord.
But even he had a human side, and that was his heart for his son.
Because only after gaining a son had he finally understood what people meant when they said a child was so precious they would not even hurt if placed inside their eyes.
So how could he possibly stay sane when such a son had gone missing?
Creak.
Just then, the door opened, and someone came inside.
A prickling sensation ran over his body, and goosebumps rose across his skin.
“Who are you?”
“Oh? You were awake?”
The person who entered was dressed in black and wore a mask over his face.
‘Who is he? Where is everyone…’
But his thoughts could not continue any further.
“I did not expect you to fall apart this badly. Thanks to that, the opportunity came easily.”
“Are you… planning to kill me? Wh-Who ordered you to do this?”
“You are usually so clever, but it seems your son’s death turned your brain into mush. Who stands to gain if you die right now?”
At those words, Seong Cheong-min bit his lip.
Because more people than expected would benefit from his death. However, the one who would benefit more than anyone else was the fourth son, who had placed second in the competition to become Deputy Merchant Lord.
“Jun-min?”
The masked man did not answer, but through the faint movement of the mask, Seong Cheong-min knew his guess was correct.
At the same time, another possibility rose in his mind.
“Don’t tell me… Yu-jin… It wasn’t an accident?”
“All I did was give him a light push, and he fell right over. I had loosened the rope ahead of time, too. Though I did not expect the Eunhae Merchant Group’s Deputy Merchant Lord to fall in with him.”
“You bastard!”
Thwack!
But with one gesture from the masked man, he had no choice but to tumble across the floor.
“Is anyone out there? Save me! There’s an intruder!”
“Ah, you can scream all you like, but it won’t do you any good. Everyone in this inn is asleep right now.”
Seong Cheong-min could only clench his fists.
His personal guards and attendants, who had not participated in the search, seemed to have already been subdued by this man.
The masked man quietly looked at him and declared,
“After you take a little nap, everything will be over.”
Sleep Incense drifted in through the open door, and Seong Cheong-min felt his eyes beginning to close.
The intruder tore the blanket on the bed and made a long rope from it, then wrapped it around Seong Cheong-min’s neck.
“And the world will know that you took your own life out of despair after losing your son.”
Seong Cheong-min tried to resist, but as drowsiness consumed his body, he could not move even a single finger as he wished.
A thought suddenly came to him.
That perhaps, if he died like this, he would be able to meet his son in the afterlife.
It was then.
Crack!
Someone came crashing through the window.
A handsome young man dressed in red rushed straight at the intruder and threw a fist.
Thud!
“Guh!”
The force was so powerful that the intruder’s body spun three whole times through the air before slamming into the wall.
“Haa, haa, haa, damn it! I almost didn’t make it.”
I sucked in ragged breaths.
After heading to the place the Merchant Lord of the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group had told us about, we found the group from the Eunhae Merchant Group who were in the middle of the search.
“Aren’t you the Third Deputy Merchant Lord?”
“We are truly sorry. We failed to properly serve the First Deputy Merchant Lord.”
I did not accept their apologies. They had no reason to apologize.
And there was something far more urgent.
“Where is the Deputy Merchant Lord of the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group right now?”
“He is at the inn over there.”
“He collapsed from exhaustion, so he should be lying in bed right now.”
Damn it!
I quickly headed to that inn.
As I approached the inn, I sensed the Qi of the Unorthodox Sect.
It was not overwhelmingly strong, but it was spread across a wide area.
I did not know what it was, but the situation was clearly dangerous.
I headed to the place where the Unorthodox Sect Qi was the strongest, and since there was no time to open the door and enter, I smashed through the window and jumped inside.
Then I threw a punch at the masked man without even bothering to ask questions.
Escort Guard Jin Yu, who came in after me, urgently covered his nose and said,
“It’s Sleep Incense!”
I nodded and circulated the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art.
Since it fundamentally possessed the effect of clearing the mind, it could resist the power of Sleep Incense as well.
Then, after catching my breath and settling my Qi, I asked Deputy Merchant Lord Seong Cheong-min, who was still looking stunned.
“Are you Yu-jin’s father?”
“Pardon? Y-Yes, I am.”
“I came to inform you that Young Master Yu-jin has been rescued.”
At my words, his eyes flew open, and he asked back,
“Pardon? Th-Then? Are you saying Yu-jin is alive?”
“That is correct.”
I put strength into my voice and said,
“My brother saved Young Master Yu-jin. And Yu-jin misses his parents very much right now.”
At those words, the masked man, who had risen after being embedded in the wall, stammered and shouted,
“Th-That’s impossible! He was swept away by those rapids! There’s no way he survived! He was caught in the most dangerous part of the current!”
Huh, now that I thought about it…
I had not asked Brother Jeong-ho how he had managed to cut through those rapids and reach land.
Well, that was something I could ask later. Right now, I had to deal with this man first.
I approached the masked man, filled my fist with internal Qi, and struck him in the stomach once again.
“Kuheok!”
Then I removed the mask from his face as he choked and groaned in pain.
At the face that was revealed, Seong Cheong-min closed his eyes and let out a sigh.
And when he opened his eyes again.
“…!”
I felt a chill run down my spine.
Oh, Young Lord Seong Jun-min.
You touched the one person you never should have touched.
–TL Notes–
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