My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 108

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 108. A Proper Taking of Responsibility
Song Deok-jo.
An elderly physician who served as the chief medical officer at the Hebei Peng Estate, he had long been regarded as someone of steadfast dedication and integrity, earning the trust of many through his quiet diligence.
Moreover, he was renowned for his unflappable nature—his kind smile rarely wavering, his expression remaining serene even in the face of remarkable circumstances.
Today was no different; he had first checked on the health of Clan Patriarch Peng Mugang and the lady of the household, Dan Hee-young, and was now methodically tending to the various ailments among the estate’s residents.
While thus occupied,
“Physician.”
Someone called out to him.
He turned to find it was Yeo Un-hwi.
“Yes, what may I help you with?”
He asked with the same warm smile he always wore.
He was one of the few who had treated Yeo Un-hwi without prejudice since the man first arrived at the Peng Estate, offering him kindness with a generous heart.
Thus Yeo Un-hwi held him in good regard as well.
“I’ve brought something for you.”
Yeo Un-hwi smiled softly and extended a small bundled package.
“I hoped you might find it useful in the medicinal herb storage.”
“Pardon? The medicinal herb storage? That facility can only accommodate materials that have been properly vetted.”
Song Deok-jo’s expression grew troubled.
Though he was the sort to let most matters pass easily, he was meticulous about managing the herb storage—the mark of a conscientious physician.
More than anything, he could not identify what Yeo Un-hwi was presenting, and thus could not give a ready answer.
“Let’s have a look first, and then we can discuss it.”
Yeo Un-hwi was clearly aware of this hesitation; his confident smile soon drew a nod from Song Deok-jo, who set aside his reservations.
“Very well, let me see.”
And he unwrapped the bundle,
“Gasp!”
Song Deok-jo’s breath caught sharply in astonishment.
Anyone who had known Song Deok-jo for years would recognize the significance.
His face showing emotion so openly was an event that had scarcely occurred in his entire life.
“B-by the heavens… is this… is this the Bing Huang Herb?”
Even at its assessed price, ordinary people could not fathom its cost; beyond that, no amount of gold could procure such a rare and precious medicinal plant—yet there it lay.
And not just a modest amount, but a bundle full of it.
Confronted with such an impossibility that defied all reason, Song Deok-jo rubbed his eyes repeatedly, as if to clear them.
But it was true.
Every single piece filling that bundle was genuine Bing Huang Herb, without exception.
In his decades as physician to the Hebei Peng Estate, he had never witnessed such an inconceivable sight.
Seeing Song Deok-jo stunned into speechlessness, Yeo Un-hwi posed his question again.
“Does this suffice to qualify for the herb storage?”
“P-pardon? Ah, yes. Yes! Of course!”
Qualify was hardly the word—one could empty the entire storage and convert it solely to a chamber for the Bing Huang Herb and it would still scarcely be adequate.
“Then I entrust it to your care.”
Yeo Un-hwi turned without apparent concern and departed toward his destination.
What in the world was this all about?
Song Deok-jo remained in a daze.
At that moment,
“What has occurred here?”
Crown Prince Peng Sejin appeared.
He had witnessed the two in conversation as he passed and drew near.
His eyes darted between Yeo Un-hwi’s retreating figure and Song Deok-jo’s astonished face.
Song Deok-jo, who had been standing dazed with an armful of the Bing Huang Herb, slowly turned toward Peng Sejin and held it out for inspection.
“Your Highness, this is the Bing Huang Herb.”
“Hmm? Ah, so this is that legendary Bing Huang Herb. Haha. Indeed, at first glance it looks distinctly peculiar… Wait, is this… all of it the Bing Huang Herb? All of this?”
“Yes… he gave all of this as a gift.”
Peng Sejin’s eyes widened as he beheld the bundled herbs in Song Deok-jo’s arms, then he let out an astonished laugh.
“This is extraordinary. Wherever did you go this time?”
Wait. Could it possibly be… that place?
“Hold on just a moment!”
Struck by sudden curiosity, Peng Sejin dashed after the receding figure of Yeo Un-hwi.
***
“The Captain has returned!”
Yeo Un-hwi had come back.
It had been only days.
Barely three days had passed, yet the Baeklang Dae members rushed toward him as though he’d been gone for months, welcoming him with unbridled enthusiasm.
There was something odd about how their confidence and motivation shifted depending on whether Yeo Un-hwi was present or absent.
As he greeted each member of Baeklang Dae in turn, he noticed the Ki brothers—Ki-su and Ki-sang—standing apart, hesitant and uneasy.
It was an unusual sight; normally they would have rushed forward first, full of their usual brash energy.
Ki-sang approached hesitantly, then spoke with careful deliberation.
“Captain, we have something we need to tell you.”
“Hmm? Is this something that needs a private discussion?”
At Yeo Un-hwi’s question, the twin brothers exchanged a glance before shaking their heads in unison.
“No. We’ll speak here. Today will likely be our last day, after all.”
“Your last day?”
At the brothers’ words, the faces of the Baeklang Dae members hardened.
They were reacting exactly as one might fear—their minds jumping to the worst conclusions.
Do-gyeong, who had been closer to the brothers than anyone, frowned sharply and fixed them with a hard stare.
“What in the world are you two thinking? Are you joking? What do you mean, last day?”
She was not alone in her concern.
The other members of Baeklang Dae chimed in one after another.
They all understood better than anyone what Baeklang Dae meant to Ki-su and Ki-sang, and they could not allow the twin brothers to make such a foolish, regrettable choice.
That urgency spilled out of their mouths as crude, urgent words.
“That’s right. Stop talking nonsense, you idiots.”
“Where else would take in savages like you two?”
Yet Ki-su and Ki-sang showed no sign of wavering at their words.
Their faces held the resolve of those who had made their decision.
“Quiet, all of you. Let’s settle down.”
At Yeo Un-hwi’s words, the excited Baeklang Dae members fell silent.
“Ki-su, Ki-sang. Before I hear what you have to say, there’s something I want to give you first.”
“What? What could that be…?”
Something to give them?
The twin brothers tilted their heads, unable to fathom what he meant.
Yeo Un-hwi then held out something small, wrapped in fine cloth.
“What is this?”
“Open it.”
Perhaps it was their imagination, but the moment Ki-su and Ki-sang received it, they felt a strange coldness emanate from the bundle.
As they unwrapped the cloth, their eyes fell upon an herb shimmering with an otherworldly luminescence.
“This… what is this?”
Ki-su and Ki-sang’s heads snapped up, their eyes fixed on Yeo Un-hwi.
Yeo Un-hwi smiled softly and answered.
“What else? It’s the thing that will cure your mother’s illness.”
“What? Could it be… the Bing Huang Herb?”
Yeo Un-hwi nodded.
It was the one he had set aside before handing over a large bundle to Song Deok-jo.
The hands of the twin brothers holding the cloth began to tremble.
At this moment, how Yeo Un-hwi had learned of their mother’s illness was far from important to them.
The Bing Huang Herb—the Bing Huang Herb itself!
How could it possibly be here?
Watching the Bing Huang Herb rest so casually in their own hands, Ki-su and Ki-sang could not distinguish whether this was a dream or reality.
“How could you have…?”
“How? It doesn’t appear on the open market, so I went and obtained it.”
“Where could you have gone to acquire such a thing?”
“Where? The only place in the world where it can be obtained.”
The eyes of Ki-su and Ki-sang widened as if they might split open.
“The North Sea Ice Palace? No… surely not?”
“Yes, why? Is there a problem?”
……
Yeo Un-hwi nodded casually to the brothers, even as they thought such a thing impossible.
“You really went to the North Sea and back? Just to obtain this?”
“That’s what I’m telling you.”
And the distance from Hebei to there was so vast…
Everyone in the room fell silent for a moment, their faces blank with astonishment.
If this had been someone else’s story, they would have dismissed it as a lie; but this time was different.
Because the one speaking was Yeo Un-hwi, the Baeklang Dae members found his words eerily convincing, their skin prickling with goosebumps.
Was he truly human? Not an immortal?
Who exactly had they come to serve as their Captain?
The more they thought about it, the more astonishing it became—and they found themselves laughing helplessly.
In that moment, the twin brothers, their faces more stunned than anyone else’s, burst into loud laughter.
“Ha. Captain, you’re seriously killing me. Hahaha!”
“Really, you went all the way to the North Sea Ice Palace for us? Aha! This is insane. Truly!”
“Hey, you two—watch your tone with the Captain….”
Do-gyeong, about to chide Ki-su and Ki-sang for their disrespectful manner, closed her mouth instead.
And for good reason.
Tears were streaming ceaselessly from the twin brothers’ eyes.
“I’m truly, truly… truly grateful. Captain. *Sniff, sob.*”
It wasn’t sadness—it was joy.
Such overwhelming joy that tears poured down their cheeks unbidden. When was the last time they’d wept like this? Had they ever?
With this, their mother would no longer suffer. She would recover without worry.
And they themselves wouldn’t have to leave Baeklang Dae.
Combined with these two truths was the knowledge that Yeo Un-hwi had traveled all that distance to gather this precious herb for their sake—and gratitude, such overwhelming gratitude, spilled from their eyes.
This was the first time the other Baeklang Dae members had ever seen Ki-su and Ki-sang shed tears.
They were all as good as family to one another.
And so, struck deeply by the compassion Yeo Un-hwi had shown the twin brothers, everyone felt the weight of that generosity. Several of them grew misty-eyed and wiped their noses.
Yeo Un-hwi, having looked from Ki-su and Ki-sang to each of the Baeklang Dae members in turn, opened his mouth at last.
“Listen well. From now on, I intend to truly take responsibility for you all.”
At Yeo Un-hwi’s sudden words, the Baeklang Dae members tilted their heads in confusion.
Take responsibility? For what?
“I’ve heard enough about it. Not just these two, but all of your circumstances.”
He had assumed that as formal warriors of the Hebei Peng Estate, they were living comfortably without major trouble.
But that wasn’t the case.
Each of them carried various burdens, and many had families depending on them.
They had troubles aplenty weighing on their minds, but they simply hadn’t shown it openly.
And that made sense—Baeklang Dae had been different from its very inception.
In those days of endless strife, when blood never dried from swords, Baeklang Dae had been founded not with young recruits carefully trained from childhood and possessed of natural talent, but with roving swordsmen and masterless warriors who had proven themselves through skill alone.
Most of those who had joined Baeklang Dae from those early days belonged to that category.
There were exceptions, like Peng Do-hwan, though they were rare indeed.
It was through this occasion that Yeo Un-hwi came to understand that the members of Baeklang Dae faced troubles no other martial unit would ever encounter.
“You’ll handle most things on your own, I’m sure. But when you reach a true impasse, come find me. I’ll see it resolved.”
So his intention was to ensure that they could focus purely on cultivating their martial skills and their work as members of Baeklang Dae.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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