My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 140

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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 140. Each Has Their Own Way
Evening came, and a banquet was held.
In truth, among all of Baeklang Dae, only Dokgo Yeong had shared a meal with them at the banquet.
That was perhaps a mercy.
He had no wish to endure that blatant hostility he’d sensed from the moment they arrived—not while trying to eat.
He was certain he would have indigestion otherwise.
Yet his meal with Dokgo Yeong was hardly comfortable either.
No—deeply uncomfortable would be the truer phrase.
Who would be at ease dining alongside one of the Twelve Supremes?
Especially when—
“Try this dish, won’t you? It’s quite extraordinary.”
“I’ll manage well enough on my own, thank you. There’s no need for the fuss.”
Listening to the two of them trade words made his discomfort tenfold worse.
It was strained beyond measure.
“How do you two manage to stay out of that conversation?”
Do-gyeong asked Gi-su and Gi-sang in a tone of mild amusement.
“Out of what?”
“Over there.”
Do-gyeong tilted her head toward Yeo Un-hwi and Dokgo Yeong.
At once, the twin brothers went pale and trembled visibly.
“Sister. We may be reckless, but we know the difference between sense and foolishness. We don’t have nine lives. Would we be mad enough to open our mouths in that company?”
“You seem to think we’re complete simpletons sometimes, Sister Do-gyeong.”
“Sometimes? Do you truly believe it’s just sometimes? You’re awfully confident, aren’t you?”
…….
The twins said nothing more.
Further words might have drawn real rebuke.
But the awkward, strained atmosphere was brief; Dokgo Yeong’s ease of manner and the steady flow of wine—one cup, then another—soon had Baeklang Dae reverting to their usual boisterous celebration.
Among them, the very one who’d been grumbling about leaving and missing home was eating and drinking with the greatest appetite.
Wait—when had he even poured a cup for Dokgo Yeong? The fool had truly lost his mind.
To judge by the look in Do-gyeong’s and the brothers’ eyes, they had already resolved to mercilessly tease him about this the moment he sobered up tomorrow.
Watching Baeklang Dae carry on as they always did, Yeo Un-hwi smiled and savored the banquet in contented measure.
Once the wine flutes began to emerge, Yeo Un-hwi slipped away for a brief night walk.
He had already received permission to wander freely, barring a few designated areas, so there was little he couldn’t explore.
His idle steps eventually carried him to the banks of the Pond, where moonlight danced upon the water.
Gazing at the moon’s reflection on the still surface, Yeo Un-hwi found his thoughts turning to his family.
His wife and Yul-i must be seeing the same moon.
Though his time with the Sado League had proved less trying than expected, he found himself eager to return home nonetheless.
As he savored the night air while thinking of Peng Seo-yeon and Yul-i, something arrested his attention.
“What is this…?”
It was a trace of aura.
Long since left behind, it was fading—nearly vanished—and scarcely perceptible.
Yet he had sensed this same aura recently before.
In Sichuan.
Yeo Un-hwi’s eyes grew cold.
***
The next morning.
Baeklang Dae, summoned to the Sect Master Hall at dawn, received gifts from a smiling Dokgo Yeong.
Piled high upon fine, soft cloth were treasures Dokgo Yeong had prepared for them.
And each one was enough to make eyes widen in astonishment.
“My word.”
The most exquisite Night Luminous Pearls and countless Gold and Silver Treasures sparkled before Baeklang Dae’s eyes.
It was as though he’d plundered the very vaults of the Sado League itself. What would people think?
Ah—but then again, since the master was the Black Sovereign himself, did it truly matter?
Yet Baeklang Dae could not simply accept all of it.
The offerings were far too generous.
Of course, from the perspective of the Sado League’s master, these were merely modest tokens of goodwill.
Still, to accept them carelessly risked casting this entire meeting in an unfavorable light to others.
Though the Murim League had supposedly been consulted beforehand, this situation was unprecedented enough that many eyes were already watching closely.
It was all the more reason to proceed with caution.
A single misstep could bring harm upon the Hebei Peng Clan.
At least there was one mercy: people swayed by such things had no place in Baeklang Dae—or so Yeo Un-hwi thought, until he caught sight of Gi-su and Gi-sang, their mouths dripping with greed as they reached for the Night Luminous Pearl, only to have Do-gyeong cuff them both across the back of the head.
Those two were the exception.
“Hah. Well.”
Dokgo Yeong clicked his tongue, watching Yeo Un-hwi and Baeklang Dae stubbornly refuse what he was practically forcing upon them.
Anyone else would have had their eyes roll back in their head, rushing forward to snatch it all up. But these people were waving their hands in protest instead.
He thought he understood why.
Yes, he’d been shortsighted.
Everyone had their position, their circumstances.
‘So that’s how it is, then……’
Dokgo Yeong resolved that before long, he would have his subordinates load all of this into a carriage and deposit it at the Peng Estate without a word.
If they wouldn’t take it willingly, he’d simply send it in secret.
He was the type who, once his mind was set, would not rest until the deed was done.
Yet his expression betrayed nothing of this.
This was what it meant to have maturity.
Still, he wanted to press something—anything—into their hands right now.
Yeo Un-hwi shook his head, watching Dokgo Yeong smile bitterly on the surface while whatever scheme churned behind his eyes.
“I’m grateful, but I can only accept your intentions, truly.”
“Nonsense! How can one accept only intentions! I say that’s the cruelest thing a person can say!”
Was there really cause for such indignation?
“Let me see… Ah, yes. Then take this, at least.”
Dokgo Yeong reached into the heap of gifts and withdrew a small box.
He opened it for them to see.
Inside lay Restorative Pills—and not ordinary ones, either. Their fragrance was so potent it didn’t merely tickle the nose but seemed to pierce it.
At a glance, they looked extraordinarily precious.
No—precious didn’t begin to cover it.
The quantity had been carefully prepared to match the exact number of Baeklang Dae members present.
At this quantity, all the gold and treasures piled in this chamber combined might well fall short.
Dokgo Yeong chuckled, reading the shock in Yeo Un-hwi’s face.
“What do you think? Will you accept these? I took special care to prepare them according to your numbers. Haha!”
No, this was even harder to accept……
But when Yeo Un-hwi glanced back at his members, he saw their eyes fixed unblinking on the pills. This, at least, they truly desired.
Yeo Un-hwi let out a long sigh.
“Very well.”
As Yeo Un-hwi nodded, not only Dokgo Yeong’s face brightened—the Baeklang Dae members behind him cheered as well.
At once, the precious pills were distributed one by one, directly from Dokgo Yeong’s own hands to each of them.
Could they really accept this?
They all wore expressions of bewildered joy.
Yeo Un-hwi looked over his members, then turned to offer Dokgo Yeong his thanks.
But then a question came to him.
“Why do you treat us with such generosity?”
“Hmm?”
Dokgo Yeong smiled broadly at the question.
“And why should I not?”
For a moment, Yeo Un-hwi’s face went blank.
“You already know, don’t you? I’ve said it myself. You are the ones who lifted the burden from my shoulders—you are my benefactors.”
“It’s only that you haven’t spoken much about it directly, sir.”
Despite spending considerable time with Dokgo Yeong, he had never once brought up his sister. Why?
It wasn’t as if he were avoiding some grave and solemn expression of gratitude.
When the Namgung Estate avenged the death of their youngest daughter, they had shared stories of the child with Baeklang Dae.
They had mourned together, remembered together, comforted one another.
But Dokgo Yeong had said none of those things.
Rather than weep, he laughed. Rather than dwell on his sister, he preferred to hear more of Baeklang Dae.
It was distinctly different from how the Namgung had been.
Dokgo Yeong, who had been studying Yeo Un-hwi in silence, suddenly smiled.
It was a smile like the others he’d worn, yet somehow deeper.
“Why should you burden yourself with knowing about my sister? What matters is this: that child was my family, loved more dearly by me than anyone else. And you—you have avenged her grievance. That is what is important.”
At Dokgo Yeong’s words, Yeo Un-hwi’s eyes widened.
Ah, so each had their own way.
The Namgung Estate had remembered, cherished, and shown their gratitude in their fashion. And Dokgo Yeong had done the same in his own.

“Indeed, that’s quite right.”
Yeo Un-hwi smiled softly and nodded in agreement.
***
Before long, Baeklang Dae departed the Sect Master Hall.
Yet from a distance, someone stood watching their retreating figures.
It was Sa-ma-ryang, the supreme strategist of the Sado League.
He had been observing them closely from the moment Baeklang Dae arrived.
Of course, there had been no trouble thus far.
Likely there would be none in the future either.
What could they possibly accomplish here?
This was the Sado League, after all—bristling with masters far exceeding Baeklang Dae’s caliber.
And yet, what was this peculiar unease?
Sa-ma-ryang found himself gripped by an ominous foreboding, as though simply watching them would trigger some calamity.
Though he knew better than anyone that such thoughts were excessive.
‘Am I being too paranoid?’
Then it happened.
“So this is where you were.”
A savage-faced, middle-aged man with one eye appeared.
Sa-ma-ryang felt no pleasure at the sight of him.
It was none other than Ma Se-ak, the second-in-command of the Sado League.
He was one of the Ten Great Masters—a man burning with ambition, among the most vehement haters of the Righteous Sects.
He was notorious for conducting every sort of dirty scheme from the shadows to obtain what he desired, and to erase those Righteous Sects who displeased him.
From the position of supreme strategist, Sa-ma-ryang found him to be the most troublesome and uncontrollable figure in the entire Sado League.
Thus he took no pleasure in encounters with Ma Se-ak.
Yet Ma Se-ak now wore an expression of profound displeasure.
In eyes that despised the Righteous Sects above all, the sight of Baeklang Dae swagger about right here would surely rankle him.
All the more so, here within the Sado League itself.
Only because they were guests of the Dark Sovereign could he refrain from confronting them, barely containing himself.
“Hmph. In all my years, I’ve never seen Righteous Sect dogs invited as guests and treated with such courtesy in the Dark Sects.”
“They are the benefactors of the Sect Master, so what choice do we have?”
“Benefactors? Hah!”
Ma Se-ak chuckled as though the very notion were absurd.
“The old man must be losing his wits. Wouldn’t you say?”
“Words spoken cannot be unspoken. Should you prefer your mouth to remain intact, I suggest you guard your tongue more carefully.”
At Ma Se-ak’s words, sparks flashed in Sa-ma-ryang’s eyes.
There were things one could endure and things one could not.
Sa-ma-ryang’s gaze turned fierce and gleaming.
Ma Se-ak in turn bared his fangs.
“A snot-nosed brat dares run his mouth without a shred of fear.”
They glared at each other as though blood would spill between them at any moment.
Then Ma Se-ak’s lips twisted into a cold smirk.
“Well, what’s done is done. Just make certain there are no such mistakes again.”
“You’re not planning to do anything rash, are you?”
Detecting something amiss in Ma Se-ak’s tone and expression, Sa-ma-ryang narrowed his eyes and pressed him.
Ma Se-ak merely shrugged.
“Who knows? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Tsk, tsk.”
Ma Se-ak then vanished from sight.
Watching his departing figure, Sa-ma-ryang bit down hard on his lip.
It occurred to him that his unease might not stem from Baeklang Dae at all—but from Ma Se-ak.

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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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