My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 114

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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 114. A Gift

“Dumplings for sale! Fresh dumplings!”
“Fresh vegetables here! Buy your vegetables!”

It was not long before Yeo Un-hwi arrived alone at the largest market in Hefei.
The cries of merchants and the haggling of customers filled the market from every corner.
Yeo Un-hwi strolled through the market at an easy pace.
As he walked, a memory surfaced—of wandering through markets in Hebei with Peng Seo-yeon and Yul-i long ago.
Those were happy times.
Then he had walked thinking of Sodam Village; now he walked through Hefei recalling those days in Hebei.
So this was how memories accumulated, one by one.
With that thought, Yeo Un-hwi smiled quietly to himself.
As he was browsing the market, his eye was suddenly drawn to a merchant displaying pretty ornaments on a stall.
Though he knew little of women’s jewelry, he found himself oddly captivated by these pieces.
Yeo Un-hwi approached slowly, crouching down to examine the ornaments more closely.
Upon closer inspection, the jewelry—crafted from gleaming glass and fine knotwork—appeared even more beautiful and delicate.
The merchant who had been dozing lightly before the stall felt Yeo Un-hwi’s presence and lifted her head.

“Oh my, well! A customer’s arrived. Do come closer.”

She was an old woman with a warm, kindly smile.
Yeo Un-hwi smiled back at her in return and offered a greeting.

“Yes, good day to you.”
“What I sell is women’s ornaments. Are you looking for something to give as a gift?”

The old woman spoke with a gentle tone that was pleasant to the ear, despite her years.
Her gracefully curved eyes and the well-placed wrinkles at their corners seemed to tell the story of how she had lived her life.
A smile naturally rose to Yeo Un-hwi’s lips as he answered.

“Beautiful things know no distinction between men and women. I might wear them myself, after all.”
“Heh-heh-heh. Now that you mention it, you’re right. I suppose this old woman has wasted her years. Forgive me for my lack of learning.”
“In truth, you’ve shown keen insight. I was looking for gifts for my wife and daughter.”
“You rascal, teasing an old woman like that.”
“Haha, my apologies.”

The old woman clicked her tongue, though there was no displeasure in her expression. Rather, she seemed delighted to be having such a conversation with a young person after so long.

“Well then, is there something that catches your eye?”
“Hmm. Well, they’re all so lovely it’s difficult to choose.”
“Don’t rush yourself. Take your time choosing. A gift selected with care will always be more treasured.”

Following the old woman’s advice, Yeo Un-hwi examined the ornaments one by one with care.
What color would suit his wife? And what of Yul-i?
Listening occasionally to the old woman’s descriptions, Yeo Un-hwi spent a long time considering the two of them before finally settling on an ornament.
It was a small piece featuring a lotus-shaped Glass Ornament in red and gold, adorned with fine colored silk.

“This one will do.”
“You’ve chosen well. I’m certain they’ll love it.”
“Let us hope so.”

With a slightly bashful smile, Yeo Un-hwi paid for the ornament and rose from his place.
At that moment, the old woman called out to stop him.

“Wait just a moment.”

Tilting his head slightly at the old woman’s slow gesture, Yeo Un-hwi walked back toward her.
Then the old woman placed something into his palm.
It was another ornament that looked identical to the one Yeo Un-hwi had chosen.

“It’s a gift from me. Take it.”
“I beg your pardon? No, I couldn’t possibly. I should pay you for it.”
“Don’t be like that and take it. It’s my thanks for such a pleasant conversation after so long. I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t dismiss an old woman’s sincerity.”

Ah.
A hint of discomfort crossed Yeo Un-hwi’s face.
Now that she’d said it so plainly, it felt awkward to refuse any further.
In the end, Yeo Un-hwi bowed to the Old Woman and clutched the ornament firmly in his hand.

“Then I’ll accept it with gratitude.”

The Old Woman answered nothing, only smiled and waved him away, urging him to be on his way now.
Having stepped away from the Old Woman’s stall, Yeo Un-hwi soon blended into the throng of the marketplace.
The afternoon was drawing on.
Whether preparing for the evening meal or not, the market had grown noticeably more crowded.
It was undeniably a place where the smell of life hung thick and rich.
His wife and Yul-i loved places like this too.
As he thought of the two of them, the fold of his robe where he’d placed the gift he’d just bought began to feel strangely warm.
Yeo Un-hwi made his way to a quiet corner, a little removed from the center of the market, and leaned his back against the wall.
He gazed at the bustling crowd—how long had he stood there?

“Coming all the way to a place like this just to pick out gifts for your wife and daughter—how affectionate you are.”

Someone approached from the side and spoke to him casually.
A familiar voice.
It was Jin So-baek, the proprietor of Hao Wen.

“Is it?”

Yeo Un-hwi chuckled softly at his words.

“You must care for your family greatly. You even had me investigate the academy last time.”
“It hardly needs saying.”

Jin So-baek muttered with half-complaint, half-envy, “Ah, how I envy your family, sir.”
But there was something in his manner that suggested a hint of discontent.
Why is he acting like that?
Yeo Un-hwi raised an eyebrow slightly and broached the main subject.

“Have you looked into what I asked you to look into?”

But it seemed Jin So-baek had been waiting for just this moment, and he brought up something else entirely.

“Before that, there’s something I need to make clear, sir.”
“What is it?”
“I really must say, you’re being quite unreasonable! No matter how much Hao Wen prides itself on putting customers first, I can’t help but wonder if you see us as some sort of information delivery service! Well, since you’ve been a steady patron of Hao Wen, I’ll help you out this time in appreciation of that goodwill, but I must ask that you refrain from this sort of thing going forward!”
“Hmm. That’s disappointing.”
“No matter how disappointed you are—!”
“I don’t conduct business on goodwill. If I’ve called you all the way out here, I intended to pay you proper compensation for your efforts, just as I always have. Of course, including travel expenses. But to speak of goodwill? Then perhaps we should conclude our business arrangement here and—”
“Whenever and wherever you call upon Hao Wen, we shall do our utmost for your safety and reputation. What are we, if not members of the Martial World who can answer such calls? Indeed we are.”
“For all your first impression suggested otherwise, you’re quite the cheerful fellow.”
“It’s simply that seeing your face puts me in such good spirits, sir.”

Jin So-baek’s discontent had vanished as though washed clean, and his face now held nothing but joy and delight.

“Well then, let me hear what you’ve found.”
“Yes, understood.”

Jin So-baek reached into his robes and produced something, which he handed to Yeo Un-hwi.

“I’ve completed locating all the individuals you asked me to investigate last time.”

Jin So-baek continued in his measured tone.

“I’ve documented detailed information about them, including their recent circumstances, so please review it when you have a moment.”
“Understood.”

Yeo Un-hwi accepted what was offered and slipped it into his robes.

“Regarding the Five Great Clans you inquired about — in truth, the relations between those five families are not nearly as fractious as one might expect.”

After all, the common purpose of guarding against the Murim League and the Nine Sects and One Faction had never disappeared, and so the gatherings of the Five Great Clans had continued across the years.
That said, it would be inaccurate to claim their relations had always been harmonious; rather, the Five Great Clans of recent times were fairly close-knit.
Though it would be equally inaccurate to say the Patriarchs themselves shared intimate bonds.

“Peng Mugang, the Patriarch of the Hebei Peng Clan, is close with Hwangbo Gyun, the Patriarch of the Hwangbo Family. You might say he’s the only one who appreciates Hwangbo Gyun’s dreadful sense of humor. As for Dang Jin-woo and Namgoong Hwan, they appear indistinguishable in looks and temperament — though the Patriarch of the Jegal Family, known as Celestial Thunder, is rather peculiar.”
“Peculiar?”
“I can’t say for certain, but the man is known to read Heavenly Secrets, so his movements are unpredictable, you might say. He doesn’t seem to act purely for the interests of the Jegal Family itself. Usually, when I compile information about someone, I can assess their character and predict their actions — but with him, predictions become all but impossible.”
“Hmm. I see.”

Jegal Seung, known as Celestial Thunder.
Yeo Un-hwi had met him only once, back when he was a Blood Demon.
Though the encounter had been brief, he’d reached the same conclusion as Jin So-baek.
Jegal Seung was indeed an enigmatic figure — his thoughts utterly inscrutable.
At the time, Yeo Un-hwi had treated him with considerable wariness, and Jegal Seung, observing this, had found him deeply fascinating.

“In any case, the conclusion is that there are no signs of discord brewing among the Five Great Clans. There was one man who might have caused such problems, but he became crippled not long ago.”
“Dang Gu-hwi?”
“Ah, you know of him. He was, after all, known to everyone as the worst troublemaker of the Five Great Clans. Regardless of whether he claimed to follow the Orthodox Sect, his nature was cunning and vicious — countless people had suffered at his hands. At the time, I thought, ‘Well, whether trouble comes to the Sichuan Dang Family or the Five Great Clans, something will certainly happen.'”

That’s what he’d thought then.
Jin So-baek shook his head slightly as he continued.

“But then, suddenly, he became completely crippled, didn’t he? His Dantian was destroyed, and aside from being unable to speak, he can’t communicate at all — the man has become completely paralyzed from head to toe. Sigh. But I’ll say this now: please don’t ask me to identify the assassin who did it. I’ve scraped together all the information I can find, but all I’ve managed to learn is that the culprit is a masked master of extraordinary skill.”

Jin So-baek exhaled a heavy sigh, visibly frustrated and wounded in his pride.

“To reduce that wretched Dang Gu-hwi to such a state and then vanish without a trace — how terrifying must this assassin be? Really, if such a killer came looking for me, I’d flee immediately without hesitation. My exceptional mastery of Lightness Martial Arts exists for precisely that reason, after all. Haha.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed.”
“Then why aren’t you fleeing now?”
“Pardon? What do you—”

As Yeo Un-hwi smiled slightly, Jin So-baek, who had been staring at him blankly, went deathly pale in an instant.

“No… surely. That assassin is…”
“He committed something that should never have been done.”

Jin So-baek’s words caught in his throat.
So it had been right beside him all along, despite how hard he’d searched.

“Ah, ha… ha. I see.”

Jin So-baek nodded, a hollow laugh escaping him.
There was much he wished to know, but he sensed he should ask no further — so he closed his lips and said nothing more on the subject.
Somehow, it seemed that Yeo Un-hwi was connected to every major incident in the Martial World recently.
The one silver lining was that Yeo Un-hwi appeared to be selecting only irredeemable villains for elimination.
Dang Gu-hwi, the Absolute Demon, Youling Shenjun — all of them.
All of them were names that no one could touch carelessly.

“Good heavens, surely you’re not suggesting you’ll wipe out the Demonic Sect as well?”
……
“Please tell me you’re not. You’re frightening me.”

Jin So-baek hastily retreated a step before Yeo Un-hwi’s utterly expressionless face.
At the thought that he might soon need to dig deeply into intelligence about the Demonic Sect as well, a chill ran down his spine.
In any case, the information he had brought was all he had to offer.
It was Jin So-baek, after all, who had learned something truly momentous.

“Then I shall take my leave.”
“You’ve done well. We’ll settle the payment at our next meeting.”
“Of course. Thank you, sir.”

Jin So-baek’s mood brightened at the mention of money, and he grinned before slipping naturally into the crowd and disappearing from sight.
Watching Jin So-baek’s receding figure—earning so much coin yet still gladdened by talk of payment—Yeo Un-hwi found himself thinking what an amusing friend he was.
Of course, Yeo Un-hwi knew exactly how Jin So-baek used that money.
And that was precisely why Yeo Un-hwi trusted him more than anyone else.
He was not a man who lived for his own desires.
Or perhaps he was the one most faithful to his own pure desires—
Those noble longings of compassion and loving-kindness.
In any case,

“Well then, I should be going as well.”

His business at the market was finished.
The hour of the banquet was drawing near.
The figure of Yeo Un-hwi who had been at the market moments before vanished like smoke.

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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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