My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 127

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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 127. A Letter Arrives from the Sichuan Dang Family
“What? You’re leaving too? So suddenly?”
The morning after Yul-i’s birthday celebration.
Out of the blue, Hwangbo Gyun announced he was returning to the Hwangbo Estate and began packing.
As a result, people started emerging one by one from early morning to see him off.
Yeo Un-hwi was not among them.
He had already left long ago for training with Baeklang Dae.
Watching Hwangbo Gyun finish packing and prepare to depart, Peng Mugang wore an expression of complete bewilderment.
He’d seemed like he would stay at least another half year.
Then again, if he had stayed that long, his son Gang Ryong and Hwangbo Cheon-u might have come barreling in, pleading desperately for him to finally go home.
But even so, to leave this abruptly.
Seeing Peng Mugang’s bewildered expression, Hwangbo Gyun let out a chuckle.
“Why the regret?”
Peng Mugang’s face crumpled at once.
“Regret? You should’ve gone long ago—you’re late. Better yet, you shouldn’t have come visiting in the first place.”
Though Peng Mugang scoffed, Hwangbo Gyun remained unruffled.
“Now that you mention it, I know you enjoyed yourself on my account.”
“Speaking from the heart, your confidence is unmatched across the Central Plains. Even the Twelve Supremes pale in comparison. How does a man become like that? What gives him such sureness? Hmm?”
“Hah. I’m grateful for the kind words, at least.”
“Ha, and here you are, taking it as a compliment.”
Hwangbo Gyun, who had been chuckling over their pointless banter with Peng Mugang, caught sight of Yul-i emerging late, rubbing sleep from her eyes to see him off, and his expression grew wistful, his eyes drooping at the corners.
“Ah, little Yul-i. How shall I live without our Yul-i?”
“Ha! Ha, goodness! Listen here! Perhaps my age is catching up with me and I’m getting forgetful, but Yul-i is my granddaughter, do you hear? My granddaughter!”
Peng Mugang, whose expression had grown utterly flabbergasted, was cleanly ignored by Hwangbo Gyun.
“Yul-i. You must never forget this grandfather of yours, do you hear?”
“Yes! I won’t forget!”
“Oh, what a precious child. Ha ha! Very well then. This grandfather shall take his leave. Until we meet again! Take care of yourself, and all of you take good care!”
After emphasizing the same words to Yul-i several times over—that she must never forget him—Hwangbo Gyun departed with a smile.
Clatter-clang, the carriage bearing Hwangbo Gyun finally left the Peng Estate.
“Hmm.”
After only a brief moment of gritting his teeth, Peng Mugang swallowed softly as he watched the carriage recede into the distance.
It was truly peculiar.
The man who needed to leave had indeed gone.
Yet for him to depart so abruptly was uncharacteristic of Hwangbo Gyun.
He was someone who moved leisurely through any circumstance, whatever it might be.
What could possibly have caused this?
Could it be because of the conversation he’d had separately with Peng Sejin yesterday?
Peng Mugang found himself thinking that Hwangbo Gyun’s hasty departure seemed connected to that very thing.
What could they have discussed?
When the two had returned yesterday, there was a conversation he had been excluded from, and though his curiosity burned to know its contents, since they seemed unwilling to volunteer the information, he had refrained from pressing them.
Now, had he known both would leave so suspiciously, he should have asked once more.
“Hmph.”
But Peng Mugang, lost in thought for a moment, soon shook off the distracting thoughts.
He was not inclined toward deep worry to begin with.
Continued pondering would yield no answers either way, and what did it matter, in any case?
Rather, he welcomed the departure of the man who had appointed himself Yul-i’s grandfather and had long threatened his own position.
“He should have gone sooner.”
Thus Peng Mugang gazed at the spot where Hwangbo Gyun had been and was contentedly pleased, as if a troublesome tooth had been extracted.
Yet everyone could see through his outward demeanor and knew that his heart was not entirely aligned with his words.
After snorting softly, Peng Mugang suddenly turned his gaze to Gu Wang-pyo, who stood beside him.
One remained now.
Sensing the peculiar gaze upon him, Gu Wang-pyo turned his head, and in that instant their eyes met.
“Why aren’t you leaving with him?”
“What do you mean, sir? I belong to the Peng Estate.”
“Is that so? That’s a shame, then. Well, you wouldn’t be considering retirement, would you? If such thoughts ever arise, don’t deliberate—come straight to me without hesitation. I am always prepared to hold a grand celebration for the retirement of this old Gu.”
“That is a rather ominous thing to say.”
“What! It’s a heartwarming and beautiful sentiment. And haven’t you spoken from time to time of wanting to retire? I hope that desire hasn’t changed.”
Yet to Peng Mugang’s words, Gu Wang-pyo simply laughed heartily.
“Well, that was when there was no Yul-i yet at the Peng Estate… ahem. In any case, set your mind at ease. That thought disappeared long ago. And, ah—even should I retire someday, I intend to remain by the Clan Patriarch’s side. So I won’t be parting from Yul-i, and certainly not from you. Not for a very long time, ha ha.”
“That is all most unfortunate and lamentable and heartbreaking to hear. But I assure you, I’m perfectly content. After living this long, I’ve found that being apart sometimes isn’t so bad.”
“But what choice do I have? The bond between myself and the Patriarch is not something that can be severed. Please, simply accept it.”
“Ah, don’t press the Patriarch like that. You’ve changed quite a bit. Once upon a time, you’d do anything at my word.”
“Ha ha. Isn’t that simply the way of people?”
“…If only you’d hold your tongue.”
No matter how plainly Peng Mugang hinted, Gu Wang-pyo wriggled free like an old fox.
It was the kind of composure that only age could bring.
Gu Wang-pyo showed not the slightest intention of retiring gracefully as Peng Mugang wished.
‘You two are quite something, I’ll give you that.’
Peng Sejin watched the pair with a wry smile playing at his lips.
To look at them, one might think it strange how freely they sniped and grumbled at each other, yet standing a step back and observing closely, Peng Sejin sensed their bond had grown deeper than ever before.
Perhaps it was all thanks to Yul-i.
‘Since Sister returned, so much has changed at the Peng Estate.’
He had worried at first.
The looks cast upon his sister and Yul-i, and especially upon his brother-in-law, had been far from kind.
And the scrutiny directed at his brother-in-law had been far more severe still.
Yet stepping in to help felt equally awkward.
Moreover, his father had explicitly forbidden him to intervene.
But contrary to his fears, his sister’s family—beginning with his brother-in-law—had been embraced as true members of the Peng Estate.
Yesterday alone made that clear.
No longer did he see people eyeing them with disdain, nor hear anyone pointing fingers behind Yeo Un-hwi’s back, muttering he was some upstart fool.
Instead, the faces of those at the Peng Estate bloomed with smiles whenever they saw them.
And above all, his father—who had been the slowest to welcome his sister’s family—could scarcely be found on a day when he wasn’t smiling.
All of it was thanks to Yul-i.
It was truly a blessing.
Perhaps because of that.
Watching Yul-i and his sister’s family these days, Peng Sejin found himself wanting to marry.
Truth be told, he had never taken much interest in marriage.
Despite his refined looks, good character, and promising future having drawn marriage proposals from many quarters, he had always refused them.
The reason he could do so, even though he had long since reached a suitable age, was that Peng Mugang and Dan Hee-young were not the sort to force such matters upon him.
This inclination had only strengthened after Peng Seo-yeon departed the estate with Yeo Un-hwi.
Thus Peng Sejin had enjoyed more freedom in that regard.
Yet it could not remain so indefinitely.
He was the heir of the Hebei Peng Estate, after all.
He understood that much.
But until now, he had felt only the weight of that responsibility; never once had he truly desired marriage for its own sake.
Yet recently, observing Peng Seo-yeon and Yeo Un-hwi up close, and watching Yul-i, he found himself thinking of marriage in a way he never had before.
Of course, only with someone he could love as deeply as his sister loved hers—someone for whom he would willingly abandon anything.
For him, it was an extraordinary shift.
Certainly, finding such a person would be extraordinarily difficult, and none could yet say what partner fate might bring Peng Sejin in the years ahead.
In any case, Yul-i’s family was undeniably exerting a profound influence on him.
Perhaps this was why people say how crucial it is to meet the right person in life.
Peng Sejin gazed up at the sky.
The heavens above the Peng Estate were cloudless and bright today as well.
***
On a day when peaceful routine seemed assured.
A letter arrived at the Hebei Peng Estate.
It was an urgent dispatch from the Sichuan Dang Family.
Peng Mugang, who had been taking tea with Dan Hee-young in the main quarters, reviewed the letter and his expression hardened in a way rarely seen.
“Is this truly so?”
“What is it?”
Dan Hee-young, sensing something was gravely amiss from her husband’s face, asked carefully.
Soon after Peng Mugang, she too reviewed the letter’s contents, and her hand rose to cover her mouth in shock.
“My goodness… How could such a terrible thing occur?”
An unimaginable calamity had befallen the Dang Family.
For reasons still unknown, Dang Gu-hui—who had once been crippled—had suddenly slaughtered every member of the Dang household and vanished without a trace.
The letter recorded that an enraged Patriarch Dang Jin-u had issued a Death Order against him.
Moreover, the Dang Family suspected that Dang Gu-hui had acquired some form of mysterious Demonic Power.
Since the Peng Estate had been filled with laughter of late, the news from the Dang Family struck all the harder.
‘Dang Gu-hui.’
Peng Mugang recalled the image of Dang Gu-hui he had seen at a meeting of the Five Great Clans in the past.
He was a man of refined appearance, yet his eyes and aura carried an air so unsettling that it was difficult to overlook.
To make matters worse, there were the persistent rumors that trailed after him.
“I knew the boy was trouble, but not like this.”
It was truly exasperating.
“The Dang Patriarch must be suffering considerable distress.”
Yet this was neither something he could help with, nor something to offer shallow comfort about.
Dang Jin-u surely understood as well that unless this was handled swiftly and decisively, the entire family would be shaken to its foundations.
And beyond that,
“Demonic Power. Demonic Power, no less.”
Peng Mugang’s face grew darker still.
This was clearly not a matter for the Dang family alone—it was something the entire Orthodox Martial World had to watch with full vigilance.
There was even a possibility the Demonic Sect had involvement.
But would they really need to move in such a manner?
No matter how he turned it over in his mind, it made little sense.
Troubled, Peng Mugang’s gaze drifted toward the window.
What exactly was happening in Sichuan right now?
***
As Yeo Un-hwi watched over the training of Baeklang Dae, his brow twitched for just a moment.
“Take a rest.”
The moment the words left his lips, Yeo Un-hwi smirked at the sight of Baeklang Dae collapsing with groans of exhaustion, then turned away.
He moved swiftly in another direction.
A short while later.
Someone appeared behind Yeo Un-hwi, who had settled himself in a place no one would find.
It was Jin So-baek, the Master of Hao Wen.
Jin So-baek arrived silently, like a shadow, and spoke with an unusually stern expression.
“The Spider Web you had spread has been disturbed, just as you said it would be.”
Jin So-baek continued at once.
“It appears you must move soon.”
Yeo Un-hwi’s eyes turned piercingly cold.

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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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