My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 121

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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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Chapter 121. There Is No Revenge
The two men moved to a different room.
Having left their quarters at Baeklang Dae, they now sat across from each other at a table in Yeo Un-hwi’s chamber.
“What brings you here?”
Yeo Un-hwi spoke first.
They had met after Peng Seo-yeon’s challenge duel at the Hebei Peng Estate, and had reunited again the day before.
Yet after exchanging only polite greetings and parting ways, and having spoken little of substance at the banquet, Yeo Un-hwi could not fathom why Dang Mujun had sought him out.
Though, if he were being honest with himself—
there was one possibility that occurred to him.
One reason known only to Yeo Un-hwi himself.
But keeping that secret hidden, Yeo Un-hwi greeted Dang Mujun with a warm, affable smile.
Dang Mujun in turn regarded him with his characteristic melancholy smile, eyes fixed and unblinking.
Then, suddenly, his eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth.
“I never imagined we would meet again like this.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m speaking of your brother’s assassin.”
A low, resonant hum filled the air.
“Nngh!”
In an instant, Yeo Un-hwi’s Qi erupted outward in a violent surge, bearing down upon Dang Mujun.
Caught in the sudden stranglehold of that immense energy, Dang Mujun bit down hard on his lip.
Yeo Un-hwi’s Qi sharpened like a honed blade, tensing through the room in suffocating waves.
But no one else would notice.
Yeo Un-hwi had enveloped the space around this chamber entirely in his own Qi, allowing neither sound nor presence to escape.
“How did you know?”
His voice came low, saturated with killing intent.
Dang Mujun forced his mouth open with effort.
Blood was already beading along his bitten lip.
“Merely… good fortune.”
The first hint of familiarity had struck him when they met at the Hebei Peng Estate.
A man standing beside Peng Seo-yeon’s daughter, exchanging courtesies.
Of course, he had not noticed it at first.
But as they spoke once, twice, three times, Dang Mujun began to sense something uncanny about this man.
That he had encountered this man somewhere before.

Yet no matter how hard he racked his brain, he could not place where or when.
And the second moment of recognition came yesterday.
Unlike two years prior, when the Five Great Clans’ conference had seen Baekmu Dae in attendance, he met him again now as the lord of Baeklang Dae, who had taken its place.
Unlike that first meeting, when he had stood as a devoted father before his daughter, the figure he saw now as lord of Baeklang Dae struck Dang Mujun with an even stronger sense of déjà vu.
Yet still, he could not determine why this feeling persisted.
Then, last night.
Dang Mujun understood. He grasped why Yeo Un-hwi seemed so familiar to him.
When the sudden chaos erupted with the unexpected appearance of the Danmok lineage, Yeo Un-hwi’s Qi had shifted, just for a fleeting instant.
It was so brief that others would have missed it entirely.
Even had someone noticed, the Qi was sharp yet subtle, and given that Baeklang Dae members stood nearby, most would have assumed it belonged to one of them and thought nothing more of it.
But Dang Mujun was different.
Because he had felt that Qi before, and because he had remained puzzled by Yeo Un-hwi ever since, he could recognize it immediately.
That the Qi belonged to Yeo Un-hwi.
And who Yeo Un-hwi truly was.
Yeo Un-hwi let out a quiet laugh upon hearing Dang Mujun’s account.
It was neither vexation nor anger.
He laughed because it was absurd and amusing that mere déjà vu alone had led the man to this realization.
Here stood a figure whose inborn senses and natural talents were without equal.
It was no accident he was called the finest talent and genius in the history of the Sacheon Dang Family.
It was fortunate, truly.
That such a man possessed a righteous heart.
His thoughts drifted naturally to Dang Guhwi, who had once been the Crown Prince of the Sacheon Dang Family.
They say one can fathom the depths of ten-fathom waters but never the inner nature of a single person, yet Yeo Un-hwi, having already glimpsed Dang Guhwi’s future, knew precisely what manner of man Dang Guhwi was.
And so he found himself grateful that such talent as Dang Mujun possessed was not vested in Dang Guhwi.
Had it been otherwise, matters would have grown exceedingly troublesome.
“So what do you intend to do?”
Yet despite that thought, Yeo Un-hwi’s intensity remained undiminished as he pressed Dang Mujun further.
Dang Mujun fell silent for a moment, his lips pressed together.
His face deepened with thought.
When he finally spoke, it was not to interrogate Yeo Un-hwi in return, but something entirely unexpected.
“I should know first. You said there was a grudge and revenge was exacted. What grudge was it, exactly?”
What possible reason could you have had?
Dang Mujun asked, his eyes fixed directly on Yeo Un-hwi, the husband of Peng Seo-yeon.
Of course, he knew well enough that his brother had been a villain beyond redemption.
But what grudge could possibly warrant destroying his Dantian itself, rendering him a cripple?
Because of that, Dang Guhwi now lay in his room, utterly paralyzed—unable to speak, unable to move even a finger—enduring each day in agony such that death would be a mercy.
And with all his crimes laid bare, Dang Guhwi had been stripped of his position as heir to the Sacheon Dang Family.
In truth, his life had ended the moment his body came to such a state.
“Do you really want to know?”
“I do.”
Dang Mujun nodded.
Yeo Un-hwi released a short breath and opened his mouth slowly.
And then he told him everything—every last detail of what Dang Guhwi had done.
As he listened, Dang Mujun’s face shifted moment by moment.
When the full account was finished, Dang Mujun let out a hollow laugh.
He wanted to ask if it was truly so.
But he did not.
For he could well believe his brother was capable of such things—and more.
Sending assassins to use that terrible poison, slowly torturing Peng Seo-yeon to death.
After hearing the reason from Yeo Un-hwi, Dang Mujun found himself feeling apologetic instead.
He lowered his gaze, unable to speak further.
Yeo Un-hwi, who had been watching him quietly, then asked.
“So then it’s my turn to ask. Now that you know who I am, what does the Dang family intend? Will you seek revenge?”
The vengeance of the Sacheon Dang Family was cruel, relentless, and absolute.
The saying that they repaid kindness twofold and enmity tenfold was no exaggeration.
That was why so many martial artists feared making an enemy of the Sacheon Dang Family.
Yet to Yeo Un-hwi’s question, Dang Mujun shook his head without hesitation.
“No. The Sacheon Dang Family will do nothing regarding this matter.”
“Why?”
It was not a question he should have asked, yet Yeo Un-hwi found himself curious and asked anyway.
“Because it is the will of my father, the Patriarch of the Sacheon Dang Family. Certainly, we repay our enemies tenfold. But before that—”
Dang Mujun spoke directly, his eyes meeting Yeo Un-hwi’s.
It was as though he meant to declare that all the people of the Sacheon Dang Family were not like his brother Dang Guhwi.
“At the very least, our house knows what shame is. If we could not distinguish between enemies we should repay and those we should not, how would we differ from those heretical sects or the Demonic Sect?”
Yeo Un-hwi nodded as though he understood.
Without speaking it aloud, he recognized that the Dang family’s choice was the right one.
Regardless of the particulars of the matter, had they chosen revenge and rushed forward, Yeo Un-hwi would have shown them no mercy.
Moreover, now that his identity was revealed, had the Sacheon Dang Family truly moved against him, he had already resolved to strike at the family himself first.
With the power he now possessed, it would be no difficult task.
The fact that had they chosen the opposite course it might have led to the complete annihilation of the Dang family was something Dang Mujun would never know.
Phew.
Having now learned all the facts and bared the Dang family’s position, Dang Mujun let out a hollow laugh.
The aura of pressure that Yeo Un-hwi had been exerting dissolved as though washed away.
“Well then, I suppose I should thank you. Because of that incident, I’ve become heir to the family. Anyone who saw us would think I’d commissioned it myself.”
The circumstances had flowed in his favor so thoroughly that even suspicion would be understandable.
But what could be done?
Since things had come to this pass, there was nothing for it but to work diligently.
‘Your becoming so has saved many lives.’
Having already seen the grim future that would have unfolded had Dang Guhwi become master of the family, Yeo Un-hwi considered it not a misfortune but rather—well, a very good outcome.
Though he had not struck down Dang Guhwi with such calculations from the start.
Silence settled between them.
After a moment, it was Dang Mujun who spoke first.
He released a long, measured sigh and spoke with a slight smile.
“Yes, well. It has turned out as it has. Though it may have appeared that I was threatening you, what I truly wished to convey was that the Dang family need trouble itself no further.”
In truth, it was Dang Mujun who had been threatened by force, yet it was he who had broached the subject first.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
And Dang Mujun simply turned and vanished without the slightest hesitation.
Yeo Un-hwi watched the direction in which Dang Mujun had left for a moment.
He was quite an interesting fellow.
The Sacheon Dang Family, now with Dang Guhwi as its master, would be of no further concern.
But the curiosity stirred in him instead.
What shape would the Sacheon Dang Family take under Dang Mujun’s leadership?
Yeo Un-hwi found himself genuinely looking forward to it.
***
After that, the Five Great Clans Conference proceeded without incident.
Compared to the first day, it was remarkably uneventful.
Each morning saw conferences among the Patriarchs that continued until the evening banquet.
From the second day onward, the heirs of each family also attended the meetings.
As expected, Hwangbo Gyun groaned his way through the tedious sessions, while Hwangbo Cheonwoo felt embarrassed by his father’s conduct.
Yet Jegal Seung steered the proceedings with remarkable dexterity all the same.
Thanks to his efforts, the conference produced several meaningful results.
“So the Director of Baeklang Dae is your son-in-law, is that right?”
After the conference ended,
Namgung Hwan asked Peng Mugang, who was walking beside him.
Peng Mugang turned to regard him with a puzzled expression.
“Hmm? Yes, that’s correct. Why do you ask?”
“Well. Something about him seems quite different from what I’d heard.”
The memory of Yeo Un-hwi during the day when Peng Mugang had summoned Baeklang Dae separately to express his gratitude had left a particularly strong impression on Namgung Hwan.
He had thought it was some kind of jest, raising someone ignorant of martial arts to lead Baeklang Dae, but having seen him in person, he now understood why Peng Mugang would make such a decision.
Of course, this was all a great misunderstanding on his part.
“Hmph. A worthless son-in-law, no matter how you look at it.”
At Namgung Hwan’s words, Peng Mugang snorted.
At this response, Namgung Hwan let out a soft chuckle.
He took it to mean that Peng Mugang was maintaining the pretense out of embarrassment.
In any case, the Five Great Clans Conference continued on in this manner.
Each evening’s banquet grew more lavish and splendid, and compared to the awkwardness of the first day, the second and third days rang with noticeably greater laughter.
After two years’ worth of awkwardness, joy, and adjustment, the martial forces of each family had grown notably close to one another over the course of just three days.
They exchanged farewells with reluctant expressions and departed for their respective homes.
The conference at the Namgung Estate, held for the first time in two years, concluded without incident.
***
Before long, Peng Mugang and the Baeklang Dae contingent had arrived in Hebei.
“Hmm. A bit muggy, isn’t it?”
Yet a pleasant smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.
They had returned at last. To the Hebei Peng Clan.
After a journey that was brief by some measures and long by others.
This gathering had felt particularly drawn out to him.
Every day, his only thought had been to return to the Peng Estate and see his granddaughter Yul-i.
Then, quite suddenly, Peng Mugang caught sight of the middle-aged man seated beside him and began to grumble.
“By the way, why did you follow us in the first place?”
“Me? I was bored, and it seemed like there’ve been interesting things happening at the Hebei Peng Clan lately, so I came along.”
Hwangbo Gyun grinned shamelessly.
On the day the conference ended and they were to part ways, he had suddenly changed his mind, given Hwangbo Cheonwoo a cursory rundown of what needed to be done, and climbed into the Peng carriage.
But as this was far from the first time such a thing had happened, Hwangbo Cheonwoo and the Hwangbo Family members had simply sighed heavily and set out.
“You really are one of a kind, aren’t you?”
“I’ve never heard such a thing before.”
“That’s because no one dares speak it to your face.”
Hwangbo Gyun had always been this way since his youth.
In all of Peng Mugang’s years, there was no one quite as unpredictable as Hwangbo Gyun.
As Peng Mugang shook his head in exasperation, he leaned out the carriage window for a long look ahead.
The buildings of the Peng Estate had come into view.
It appeared they had all already come out to greet him.
His wife, Peng Seo-yeon, the old steward, and all the other martial attendants had come out together.
And among them, he caught sight of Yul-i in the distance.
The moment he saw his granddaughter, Peng Mugang’s lips curled upward of their own accord.
“Hmm?”
But as Peng Mugang’s expression brimmed with joy, his face soon began to crease with confusion.
Someone was holding Yul-i.
It was Elder Gu Wangpyo.
‘No—why was Elder Gu holding our Yul-i?’
Peng Mugang felt a sharp, creeping certainty that something had gone terribly wrong.

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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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