Myeongmyeong Merchant Group (5)
Sung Jun-min's voice was ice-cold, and Hwang Min's face twisted in confusion.
"W-Why are you like this? You're scaring me."
She tentatively reached out a hand, but Sung Jun-min slapped it away.
"Tell me the truth! Who the hell are you? Why did you make me do all those awful things?!"
Under his fierce interrogation, Hwang Min tilted her head.
"This can't be right. Why did my soul-subjugating spell break?"
Soul-subjugating spell.
At that word, Sung Jun-min's face contorted in horror.
It was an evil technique that manipulated a person's mind.
"You used a soul-subjugating spell on me?!"
Hwang Min let out a sigh at his shout.
"No choice. Once it breaks, it doesn't work again..."
Her expression turned emotionless as she nodded.
"Yeah. That's right. I cast the soul-subjugating spell on you."
Sung Jun-min staggered in shock before exploding in rage.
"H-How?! How could you do this to me?!"
"Do what? I just fulfilled your desires. You wanted to be the small unit leader, didn't you?"
"I... I..."
Ching!
A razor-sharp blade shot out from her sleeve.
"I was planning to use you more, but oh well. I'd love to figure out how you broke my spell, but no time..."
Hwang Min grinned wickedly and lunged at him, swinging the hidden blade.
Whoosh!
The blade flew straight for his throat.
Clang!
But it was blocked by someone.
"Wh-Who... Gah!"
When he saw who had saved his life, Sung Jun-min couldn't hide his shock.
It was none other than his father's bodyguard warrior.
Sung Jun-min turned his head.
His father was glaring at Hwang Min with fury etched on his face.
Even though that rage wasn't directed at him, his whole body trembled.
"How dare you turn my son into a puppet! Capture her alive—we need to root out her accomplices!"
"Understood."
Ching! Ching!
Kakang!
As the bodyguard and Hwang Min clashed, her expression grew darker by the exchange.
The gap in their skills was considerable.
Finally, the bodyguard's sword reached her throat. But Hwang Min smirked.
The warrior hurriedly moved to seal her acupoints...
Thud.
Hwang Min's body crumpled like a shed skin, and flames erupted from it.
They frantically extinguished the fire, but her breath had already stopped.
"My apologies. She's already dead."
"Vicious bitch!"
The merchant group leader glared at her corpse before turning aside.
"Thank you, Eun small unit leader."
At the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group leader's words, I stepped out into the courtyard.
The sun was just rising.
Hwang Min's corpse lay on the ground, and beside it stood Young Master Sung Jun-min in a daze.
I recalled what had happened earlier.
I'd pushed my lightness skill to the limit to reach the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group and headed straight for Young Master Sung Jun-min's quarters.
The island steward had helped me pinpoint the location.
A black道 aura emanated from him as he slept in his room.
But something was off.
How to describe it?
It lacked a controlling will?
All the black道 auras I'd sensed before carried distinct intents.
But the one from Young Master Sung Jun-min had none.
No will... Ah!
I remembered where I'd felt this before.
The jiangshi controlled by those rebels plotting an uprising.
Exactly like those jiangshi.
So he was likely being manipulated. And the culprit was probably the maid Young Master Yu-jin had mentioned.
Then the door burst open, and a group of warriors dragged Sung Jun-min out.
I immediately sought the merchant group leader. But barging into his chambers would cause a huge commotion.
Instead, I approached his close bodyguard.
"Excuse me... I have something to report."
"Who are you? How did you get in here?"
"I'm Eun Seo-ho, small unit leader of the Eunhae Merchant Group. I'm protecting Young Master Yu-jin."
"Ah! Of course. My apologies."
Having met before, he recognized me quickly.
"What brings you here?"
"Young Master Yu-jin remembered something crucial, so I came despite the impropriety. It seems the fourth young master is under a soul-subjugating spell and in mortal danger right now."
"What?"
"Someone overheard the fourth young master's maid say she'd used the spell on him, and if things went wrong, she'd have to kill him."
Of course, Young Master Yu-jin hadn't told me that.
He'd only mentioned her eyes turning red.
But I couldn't reveal that publicly, so I spun it another way.
Still, it was close to the truth.
"He must've lost some memories from the shock of nearly drowning, but he just recalled it."
"I see!"
"Where are the fourth young master's quarters?"
"Ah, he's in the detention cell now."
"Which way?"
I pointed, and he indicated the direction.
"That way."
"I'll head there first. Report to the leader and come to the detention cell immediately. The young master's life is at stake."
I unleashed my lightness skill again and raced to the detention cell.
Fortunately, just as I arrived, I saw Sung Jun-min emerging, following a woman.
A bloody black道 aura poured from her.
Much thicker with the stench of blood than before.
And...
Her aura was enveloping Sung Jun-min.
I pondered my options, then remembered the Taiyin Ice Sea Divine Art I'd mastered.
This should work against soul-subjugating spells too.
It had easily shattered Geomwoong's control over those courtesans before.
I sent a thread of Taiyin Ice Sea Divine Art energy into Sung Jun-min, and it worked instantly.
He snapped out of it and began interrogating her true nature.
And the result was what I'd witnessed.
I shook my head at the merchant group leader's gratitude.
"No need. It was thanks to Young Master Yu-jin remembering in time."
"Still, you rushed here at dawn with the news and saved my grandson."
"Just doing what anyone would."
"Thank you. But... how did you break the spell on my son?"
Young Master Sung Jun-min nodded too.
"Come to think of it, my mind suddenly cleared like waking from a dream."
"Thanks to this artifact."
"Artifact?"
"Yes. A lucky find with the power to dispel evil spells like soul-subjugation."
I held out a tassel with its core stone already crushed.
"Sadly, it's single-use. Can't use it anymore. Haha."
"So you used this precious item for this?"
"Why hesitate when a life was at stake?"
That I'd mastered the Taiyin Ice Sea Divine Art was a closely guarded secret.
I couldn't say I'd used its energy, so this was my cover.
"May I take a look?"
I nodded readily and handed the tassel to the bodyguard.
He examined it and nodded.
"It held ice art energy. That must've dispelled the spell."
Sung Jun-min nodded vigorously.
"Ah! That's why it felt so cold earlier. A chill I'd never felt in Sacheon—it startled me."
The bodyguard returned the shattered tassel, and the leader looked apologetic.
"Because of us, this valuable..."
"I couldn't stand seeing Young Master Yu-jin, saved by my brother, in danger. And I've grown fond of him too. Haha."
I scratched my cheek, and everyone gazed at me with moved expressions.
"Now I understand why they call you Seonhyeopmirang."
That nickname... it's embarrassing for real.
Then, having heard the news, Small Unit Leader Seong Cheong-min came running, stunned by the scene.
"You're here."
"Yes, Father. What on earth happened?"
The Myeongmyeong leader explained everything to him.
"What?! So Jun-min was under a soul-subjugating spell all this time..."
He closed his eyes in despair, and Sung Jun-min knelt before him in apology.
"Brother, I'm truly sorry. I'm scum. Even if controlled, what I did happened. Whatever punishment you give, I'll accept it gladly."
"No. I failed to trust you. If I'd believed my little brother, if I'd noticed something was off... this wouldn't have happened."
He patted Sung Jun-min's shoulder.
"Stand up. The one you should kneel to isn't me—it's him."
"Pardon?"
"He saved my life when I nearly died, rescued my missing son. And today, he saved yours too."
Sung Jun-min knelt and bowed to me.
"N-No, why?"
"It's only right for a benefactor."
He continued.
"I nearly killed my brother and nephew with my own hands. Controlled or not, it happened. Thank you for stopping me from committing those wrongs."
I scratched my cheek again.
I'd done it, but this level of gratitude felt awkward.
"I'm fine, so please stand. We need to wrap this up before it blows up further, right?"
"Indeed."
The Myeongmyeong leader ordered his warriors to handle Hwang Min's body.
As I watched, something struck me as odd.
The intense bloody black道 aura she'd exuded while alive had vanished completely.
From my experience, black道 auras don't dissipate instantly upon death.
But with no time to dwell, I set it aside for now.
The Myeongmyeong Merchant Group swiftly contained the incident.
For Sung Jun-min, the leader and small unit leader wanted to let it slide, but he refused.
He insisted on demoting himself to a lowly errand runner. If not, he'd cut off his own arm...
They had no choice but to grant his request.
Thus, a future utterly unlike his previous life as leader unfolded for Sung Jun-min.
I couldn't predict its impact on my future, but it wouldn't harm the Eunhae Merchant Group.
In his past life, once he became leader, Myeongmyeong openly checked us, stunting Eunhae's growth.
I'd wanted to retaliate, but the favors from my grandfather and father's generations held me back.
Now I knew—he'd been manipulated by the soul-subjugating spell, not acting of his own will.
Even so, he was highly capable.
That's why we'd struggled against Myeongmyeong.
The assassins who'd infiltrated our Sacheon branch to kill Yu-jin were subdued by me, and those embedded in Myeongmyeong by Sung Jun-min were all rounded up.
With that sorted, Young Master Yu-jin could finally go home.
"Young master, congratulations."
Yu-jin beamed at my greeting.
"Thanks to you, Small Unit Leader."
He turned to Brother Jeong Ho.
"Uncle. I'll definitely visit Hubei Province next time."
"Good. I'll introduce you to my son and daughter then."
"Yes."
Just a four-year gap—they'd make great friends.
"And thank you so much, Uncle. Thanks to you, I can go home safe."
Brother Jeong Ho shook his head.
"What did I do? Thank that handsome uncle over there, not me."
"I thanked him first. He said to thank you, Uncle—that he only moved because you wanted him to."
Brother Jeong Ho glanced at me.
"You..."
I deliberately looked away.
"Ah, looks like he's here."
Small Unit Leader Seong Cheong-min was approaching our pavilion.
Yu-jin ran to him joyfully.
"Father!"
"Good work. Let's go home now."
"Yes!"
He looked up at Brother Jeong Ho and me.
"I formally invite you both to our Myeongmyeong Merchant Group."
A short while later,
we rode in a carriage to the Myeongmyeong Merchant Group.
A place that hadn't fallen out of the top five in decades, its scale was immense.
And it looked much the same as in my previous life or now.
"Yu-jin!"
"Mother!"
Yu-jin reunited happily with his waiting family and retainers.
"Glad you're safe."
"Grandfather."
One man approached and knelt.
Thud.
"Yu-jin. I was wrong."
It was Sung Jun-min.
Doing this in front of everyone couldn't be easy—I admired his resolve.
"Un-Uncle, why?"
Yu-jin panicked at his action.
Brother Jeong Ho approached Yu-jin, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.
"He's apologizing to you. Say whatever you want."
"Pardon?"
"Whatever's on your mind."
"Um..."
After a moment's thought, Yu-jin spoke.
"Honestly, I hated you, Uncle. But Uncle Se-ho told me it wasn't your choice. A bad lady was controlling you."
Yu-jin smiled.
"So I forgive you. You didn't truly hate Father or me."