My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 133

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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 133. The Time Has Come
Baeklang Dae had recently taken on a new commission at the Hebei Peng Estate and had come to suppress a bandit lair.
Though it was quite a large-scale bandit encampment, the suppression proceeded swiftly.
Just as they were finishing up, having cleanly eliminated the bandits that had been terrorizing the region and lightening their shoulders with relief at how effortless the task had been,
a tremendous explosion erupted, and from a cave hidden deep within the bandit lair emerged a massive man with a long black beard, wielding a great cudgel.
“Khahahaha! I know not how you discovered my presence here! To cross paths with a Great Demon such as I — how unfortunate you wretches are. Today, every last one of you shall——!”
Baeklang Dae, their faces twisted with grim recognition of a situation far too similar to one they’d faced before, descended upon the self-proclaimed Great Demon before he could even finish speaking.
Among them, the twin brothers Ki-su and Ki-sang attacked first. Or rather, they erupted.
“Die, die, die, dieeeee!”
Cheol-tap Georyeong-wang desperately defended against the twins’ barrage of short sword strikes, but he was outmatched—his wounds multiplied by the moment.
“You cursed whelps! Arghhhh!”
With a roar, he swung his massive cudgel in a counterattack.
But—
Whoosh, whoosh!
In that instant, arrows whistled sharply toward his head, and he had no choice but to stumble backward and retreat.
“Uoooo!”
Crack!
Then Gu Tae-san, moving with surprising speed for his bulky frame, closed in and brought his great sword down with crushing force, forcing Cheol-tap Georyeong-wang to leap high to evade.
“You worm——!”
Whissssh!
Screeeech!
But O Chae-mu and Peng Do-hwan were waiting, their blades crossing as they cut him down.
“Ughhhh!”
Cheol-tap Georyeong-wang collapsed heavily to the ground, a deep gash across his chest.
Formidable.
Terrifyingly formidable.
“You… how is it that a mere martial force unit is capable of such——”
Disbelief etched across his face, he stared at Baeklang Dae.
Yet—
Scrape.
As though there was nothing more to hear, O Chae-mu’s blade flashed once more.
Moments later, Cheol-tap Georyeong-wang’s head rolled across the ground.
A Demon Leader who had once lorded over the region fell to Baeklang Dae’s hands in an instant.
“Kagh! Ptui! The wretched thing stirred up such vile memories——”
“Ugh. I nearly broke out in hives just now. It all came rushing back.”
Ki-su, Ki-sang, and every member of Baeklang Dae recalled that moment.
Yet the fear they had felt then had already transformed into something far more potent—a hunger for battle.
And so that… Iron Tower… what was his name again?
The ill-fated Demon Leader, whose name had scarcely been fixed in Baeklang Dae’s memory, had arrived much like the Absolute Demon of old, yet met a fate entirely different.
Thus Baeklang Dae, now wielding martial force on an altogether different scale, swiftly resolved the commission.
“Not bad.”
Yeo Un-hwi, who had settled somewhere in the bandit lair to read, closed his book and offered a faint smile.
Of course, they had yet a long way to go to reach the standard Yeo Un-hwi demanded.
But certainly, with intensified training regimens and their relentless mastery of the Fenglonghunyuan-gong that Yeo Un-hwi had transmitted to them, Baeklang Dae was growing at a pace that perfectly embodied the phrase “rapid growth.”
Should they continue developing at this steady rate, it would not be long before no single martial force unit in all the Five Great Clans—indeed, throughout the entire Martial World—could stand against Baeklang Dae.
Yet it was equally true that the path ahead remained long.
“Come. Let us return.”
“Yes, sir!”
At Yeo Un-hwi’s words, Baeklang Dae began their journey back to the Hebei Peng Estate.
***
Not long after their return to the Hebei Peng Estate, Baeklang Dae headed straight for the Training Ground as they always did.
To undertake the grueling task of bandit suppression early in the morning and then return only to train again—
It should have been unbearable, yet Baeklang Dae wore expressions of utter inevitability about it all.
For them, training had become like breathing—or perhaps, something far more essential than that.
“Hmm?”
Yet someone was already waiting at the Training Ground.
It was Gu Wang-pyo and Baek Mu-dae.
“You’ve arrived.”
But what could this be about?
Gu Wang-pyo’s expression was unusually grave.
Baekmu-dae, positioned behind them, wore the same expression.
Their faces bore that peculiar gravity—as if they’d all just steeled themselves for something weighty.
What’s this about?
Yeo Un-hwi and Baeklang Dae grew serious in response to their manner.
“Has something happened?” Yeo Un-hwi asked, his jaw tight.
His voice carried a note of caution.
Then Gu Wang-pyo slowly opened his mouth.
“The time has come.”
“Pardon?”
***
And several hours later.
“Whooooaaa!”
“Pour! Drink! Drink!”
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
The tavern roared with noise and life.
The Peng Estate’s warriors, flushed with cheer and fine food and drink, filled every corner with their laughter.
Warriors from Baeklang Dae, Baekmu-dae, and Baekho-dae mingled freely together.
So that was what Gu Wang-pyo had meant by “the time”—the time for a gathering.
Yet he’d worn such a grave expression beforehand, as if some catastrophe loomed.
These people had a peculiar sense of humor.
Or perhaps they simply took their drinking with utmost seriousness?
“Ahh! There’s nothing—nothing—like a drink after a good bout of training!”
“This is what living means!”
For Baeklang Dae, who’d been too occupied with training and sleep to spare a thought for drinking, this rare gathering tasted sweet beyond measure.
Everyone was lost in the pleasure of the moment.
Everyone except one.
“I’m already drowning in work, and now you’ve dragged me here without warning. Is this really necessary?”
Peng Sejin—exhausted and bewildered as always—had been forcibly brought along by Gu Wang-pyo’s sudden appearance.
Though his subordinate Nak-il and the warriors of Baekho-dae were enjoying themselves thoroughly.
Gu Wang-pyo clicked his tongue at the grumbling Peng Sejin.
“Tsk-tsk. For a Crown Prince, you’re awfully timid, aren’t you?”
“I imagine you’re the only elder who’d jest by calling me ‘Crown Prince’ in that tone.”
“Now, haven’t I always said not to worry over trifles? Look around—see how happy everyone is? This is precisely what binds men to their leader. Such moments matter.”
“It’s not that you enjoy it, Elder Gu. You merely wanted an excuse to drink yourself senseless, didn’t you?”
Gu Wang-pyo’s face flushed with embarrassment.
Truth be told, he rarely found occasions where he could drink freely.
His wife had taken to restricting his intake, citing his health.
Though he was devoted enough to heed her words, complete abstinence was beyond the capacity of a man like him.
Today, unable to bear it any longer, he’d orchestrated this gathering by half-compulsion.
Of course, his wife believed Peng Sejin had proposed it.
On such occasions, she was usually lenient.
Peng Sejin had seen through the ruse at once.
“You’ve hidden behind my name again, haven’t you? How many times must I tell you—stop this and use the opportunity to quit drinking altogether.”
“Can you sever ties with a parent whose health fails?”
“Pardon?”
What did he mean by a parent whose health fails?
“Can you refuse the food your wife has lovingly prepared? Can you discard a martial art you’ve mastered for years simply because a better art exists? Can you throw away a cherished robe just because someone asks you to? That’s what you’re asking of me with your demands to quit drinking.”
“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re saying.”
“Bah! Ungrateful wretch! Enough of this noise. Now drink!”
……
Playing drunk, he was simply unleashing words he’d held back for far too long.
Peng Sejin let out a long, weary sigh.
Then his gaze caught the warriors of the Peng Estate, giggling and guffawing away.
Ah, what does it matter.
Half-resigned, he drained his cup and brought a morsel of food to his lips, muttering to himself.
“Well, it’s good everyone’s having a pleasant time, at least……”
“Blaaahhh!”
Before his murmur could finish, Ki-su and Ki-sang vomited directly onto the floor one after another.
……

Peng Sejin’s face twisted.
He set down his food at once.
His appetite had vanished entirely.
“I can’t… I can’t eat another bite!”
“Right! I feel like I’m dying!”
Ki-su and Ki-sang cried out.
Waving their hands as if begging for mercy.
But then—
“Ha, you just vomited, so your stomach’s empty. You can drink more.”
Do-gyeong, holding a bottle in each hand, approached with the look of someone who wouldn’t tolerate weakness.
Without hesitation, she pressed the bottle necks straight into Ki-sang and Ki-su’s mouths.
Then she herself drank from her bottle and giggled gleefully.
Truly, she looked every bit the finest drinker of the Baeklang Dae.
It was quite the spectacle.
Watching the scene, Yeo Un-hwi let out a hollow laugh.
Like last time, he found these gatherings difficult to adapt to.
He simply wasn’t accustomed to drinking sessions this loud.
That was when—
Someone stood before Yeo Un-hwi.
A massive frame cast his seat in shadow.
It was Gu Wang-pyo.
“You there!”
“Yes?”
Gu Wang-pyo immediately grabbed Yeo Un-hwi’s shoulders and thrust his grim face close, speaking urgently.
“Tell me now! Everything! All of it!”
“Tell you what?”
Yeo Un-hwi, finding the flushed face of the thoroughly drunk elder oppressive, tried to slip away—but Gu Wang-pyo wouldn’t let go.
“Yul-i! Everything that would make Yul-i happy! I’ll steal her heart back from that wicked Patriarch this very moment!”
Words terrifying enough that one might wonder if they should be spoken before the Peng Estate’s warriors tumbled from Gu Wang-pyo’s lips.
Yet no one around him seemed to mind—this was hardly his first such outburst.
Peng Sejin didn’t even react.
Indeed, for all his reckless talk, Gu Wang-pyo was the very man who would leap into hellfire before anyone else if it were for the Patriarch Peng Mugang.
Their rivalry to win Yul-i’s heart had grown fierce only recently; otherwise, the two clearly shared the deep bond of Patriarch and loyal retainer.
Whether they could return to those days remained to be seen.
In any case, Yeo Un-hwi told him several things he could think of that Yul-i enjoyed.
Upon hearing them, Gu Wang-pyo laughed heartily and repeated them aloud several times, committing them to memory.
“I already knew about the Rabbit Doll and the candy—hmm, does Yul-i like the Wild Boar Doll too? Well? Where’d he go?”
Yeo Un-hwi had disappeared without a trace.
Gu Wang-pyo glanced about and tilted his head in confusion for only a moment before picking up his cup again, draining it heartily, and laughing with delight.
“Phew.”
Yeo Un-hwi, having slipped quietly out of the tavern, caught his breath.
The night breeze was cool and refreshing.
The moonlight shone bright, blending with the sound of laughter from within—a genuinely pleasant night, he thought.
That was when—
“Excuse me.”
The tavern keeper approached and spoke to Yeo Un-hwi.
“Someone asked me to deliver a message to you, sir.”
“Someone?”
“Yes. They were wearing a bamboo hat, so I couldn’t see their face clearly.”
“I see. Thank you.”
The keeper withdrew, and Yeo Un-hwi unfolded the small paper he’d received.
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
It seemed a visitor had come from far away in the dead of night.

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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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