My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 31

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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 31. The Identity of the Benefactor!?
“They say the Crown Prince has returned!”
“I heard the Patriarch himself went out and brought him back from the vicious beasts.”
“Our Patriarch is truly remarkable! But tell me, the Crown Prince—he hasn’t suffered any serious injuries, has he?”
“Well, he’s been through quite an ordeal, but it seems there’s no major damage to speak of.”
“Is that so? Thank the heavens, thank the heavens!”
With Peng Seojin’s safe return, the Peng Clan of Hebei exhaled in collective relief.
From the lowest-ranking warriors to the servants, to those closest to the family.
It was a moment that made plain how deeply everyone in the clan cherished the Crown Prince.
“What do you mean by that?”
In the Patriarch’s Chamber of the Peng Clan.
The clan physician was delivering his report to Peng Mugang, the Patriarch, with an expression of profound astonishment.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years.”
“I scarcely know whether to call this a miracle or something else entirely, but…”
Even the physician who had examined him directly fumbled for words, his face betraying complete bewilderment.
The poison he’d been exposed to was of the most extreme variety, and the wound on his arm had been on the verge of necrosis—one could see this plainly in the damaged tissue—yet somehow it had healed cleanly, as though washed away. He simply couldn’t comprehend it.
“That man.”
At those words, Peng Mugang’s mind turned at once to a particular figure.
The man who, even as Peng Mugang himself had rained down furious attacks in his anguish, without regard for control or measure, had received each blow with absolute composure and effortless grace.
His martial prowess was extraordinary, but it was his eyes that had left the deepest impression on Peng Mugang—a gaze that lingered in the mind.
Like the fierce, burning radiance of the sun itself.
In all his long years traversing the Martial World, Peng Mugang had never encountered anything of its kind.
What could his true identity be?
He appeared to be young, yet the depth of Internal Energy and martial skill he radiated was beyond description.
Perhaps he was a master of an older generation who had undergone Rebirth of Bones and Shedding of Skin.
No—that explanation actually held the most weight.
Peng Mugang had never heard of, nor ever seen, anyone so young wielding such formidable martial prowess.
But why had such a master chosen to save Seojin? Peng Mugang couldn’t fathom the reason.
Hmm.
His identity, his strength, his motive—
Since he could pin down nothing with certainty, Peng Mugang felt an odd frustration despite the blessing of the situation.
‘No. No, I mustn’t.’
But almost at once, he shook his head, casting off the creeping doubt.
This was not the moment for such thoughts.
What mattered most now was that his son was safe.
That was enough.
The physician had said it plainly, and he understood it well himself.
Had that mysterious master not intervened, even if he had managed to retrieve his son from that place, the boy’s condition would have been dire indeed.
Which meant that this nameless man was a Benefactor to the Peng Clan.
There was no reason to regard such a Benefactor as an enemy.
Still, Peng Mugang longed to repay the debt.
He was the sort of man who could not rest easy until he had repaid both debts and kindnesses received.
Yet how could he repay a debt when he didn’t know to whom he owed it?
All that remained in his memory was—
‘That searing gaze… and his scent.’
Few people knew that Peng Mugang possessed an innate sense of smell that sometimes exceeded even Energy Sensing in its acuity.
He remembered every scent he had once inhaled.
He could identify the countless people he’d met throughout his life by scent alone, even blindfolded.
In a sense, his nose was a third eye to him.
And yet—
“Hmm. That scent… it’s oddly familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve encountered it before.”
It was tantalizingly just beyond his grasp.
This was something the Benefactor himself had never anticipated.
***
Mm.
Peng Seojin, who had remained unconscious for some time after returning to the Peng Clan, was just now awakening from his long slumber.
As he stirred, he slowly opened his eyes with a wince of discomfort.
“Se-Seojin? Are you coming to?”
The voices of his mother and sister reached his ears as he regained consciousness.
Turning his head, he saw his family gathered around him.
His expression was deeply worried.
“How did you all… ah. I see. You’ve come back home.”
Fragmented memories flooded Peng Seojin’s mind in chaotic succession.
Vicious beasts, warriors, a cliff, a river, deadly poison, and wounds.
What Peng Seojin remembered last was a scene in the Dense Forest where his father and an unidentified man who had saved them both were caught in a misunderstanding, locked in conflict.
Though to be precise, it was his father who had misunderstood and rushed forward.
In any case, he remembered trying to stop it before consciousness slipped away—that was all he could recall.
Time had passed, and he had only just opened his eyes here.
How much time had elapsed, exactly?
Given that his entire body ached beyond mere stiffness, it seemed many days—perhaps far more—had gone by.
Peng Seojin slowly pushed himself upright.
Since rising alone was still difficult, Yeo Unhui stepped forward to help support him.
“Mother. And everyone else.”
Seeing his family’s eyes glistening with tears, Peng Seojin offered them a small smile.
“I’ve caused you all considerable worry.”
“What are you saying?”
“That’s right. This mother is simply grateful and thankful that you’ve returned to us safely.”
Peng Seoyeon and Dan Xiyoung shook their heads as if pained by his words.
No matter how grown or mature he had become, Dan Xiyoung could only ever see him as a son who brought her worry.
During all those days without word, how her heart had ached with the fear that something might have gone terribly wrong.
That he had returned safely seemed nothing short of a miracle.
“What became of my guards?”
Peng Seojin, who had been smiling apologetically, suddenly asked with a grave expression.
Even in the moment of regaining consciousness, he was already thinking of their welfare.
It was a glimpse of his true character.
Yet he had already suspected the truth to some degree.
Considering the situation when they had separated, and the cruelty displayed by their enemies….
Still, clinging to a faint hope, he had asked—desperately wishing his premonition were wrong.
But seeing his family’s faces darken at the question, Peng Seojin bit down hard on his lip in anguish.
“I see. Already then….”
They had all been retainers who had served alongside Peng Seojin for years.
They were like close companions he trusted and relied upon more than anyone else.
‘Just go, Crown Prince! You must survive!’
‘Hurry! Go now, Crown Prince! Leave this to us!’
‘Argh! You bastards! We won’t let him pass!’
Those had been their last words, hadn’t they?
The memory of their final moments struck him, and his heart grew heavy.
Alongside his sorrow came an acute sense of his own inadequacy.
If only he had been stronger…. If only….
Seeing how troubled Peng Seojin had become, Dan Xiyoung gently patted his shoulder and spoke.
“For now, don’t think about such things. Just rest well. As for that matter, others will handle it—”
“No.”
Peng Seojin shook his head firmly.
He himself had to personally see to the remaining families of those guards who had given their lives in this affair.
It felt like the very least he owed the retainers who had fallen.
He wanted to do at least that much.
“Very well. Then we’ll arrange for that separately. For now, get some more rest.”
“Yes.”
But recovery came first.
Only then could he do anything at all.
With that, Dan Xiyoung and Peng Seoyeon, having seen to Peng Seojin, left the room, and Yeo Unhui also offered a brief greeting before turning to go.
But then—
“…Hmm?”
Peng Seojin’s eyes flickered open.
Yeo Unhui’s retreating figure seemed to overlap with someone he had seen before.
That man—the one who had saved him this time….
“Ah. It seems the fatigue hasn’t worn off yet.”
It was a thought that made no sense whatsoever.
How could such a thing even be possible?
Peng Seojin lay back down and shook his head vigorously to cast off the absurd notion.
She felt like she needed more sleep.
***
“Giggle.”
A little girl’s laughter was spilling out from inside the room.
It was the sound of Yeo Unhui playing with his daughter Yuli.
Without doing anything particularly special, Yuli couldn’t seem to stop laughing about something.
Watching the two of them, Peng Seoyeon broke into a warm smile.
“Sigh.”
She breathed out a long breath without meaning to.
It was not a sigh born of worry.
It was a sigh of relief.
Only now was her heart finally settling.
From the moment she learned the news of her brother, she and her mother had been awake through countless nights.
But no matter how much time passed, no further word came of her brother, and she felt keenly what it meant for her heart to shrivel with dread.
How precious her family was.
She felt anew, and deeply, the weight of her own coldness in having cut off contact and lived apart from them all.
By heaven’s grace, her brother had returned.
Cradled in her father’s arms.
But her brother’s condition looked far too grave.
The white robe he had always favored wearing was stained with blood, turned a ruddy hue, and in several places had darkened to black.
At the sight of him so battered, Peng Seoyeon found herself at a loss for words.
She could not even imagine what ordeal he had endured.
Still, fortunately the physician had said that with a little rest and care, there would be no serious complications.
And not long after, her brother’s eyes had opened.
It was a relief, truly.
Tonight she would at last be able to sleep soundly.
But… what was that?
A memory suddenly surfaced in Peng Seoyeon’s mind.
‘…wait. I will… come.’
She couldn’t remember how she had drifted to sleep, but her husband Yeo Unhui’s voice, which she had heard sometime during that drift, lingered in her ear.
Yet she couldn’t quite recall clearly what exactly he had said to her.
“Dear.”
“Hmm?”
Yeo Unhui, who had been playing with Yuli, turned his head to look at Peng Seoyeon.
“A few days ago, when I was sleeping, did you say something to me?”
“Me? Well. When? I’m not sure what you mean.”
At Peng Seoyeon’s question, Yeo Unhui tilted his head in confusion.
“Hmm. You definitely… or was it not? Maybe it was a dream.”
“Must’ve been a dream then. Ha ha. Though I have to say, dreaming about just me? That’s rather touching.”
“Tch. That’s not it. Never mind.”
As Peng Seoyeon’s face reddened, Yuli came scampering over and pointed at her cheek with one small finger.
“Mom, Mom! She’s embarrassed! Her cheeks are red!”
“Goodness. You little scamp! How dare you tease your mother!”
“Ha ha ha!”
Yeo Unhui burst into hearty laughter.
It was a side of himself he never showed to anyone else.
After laughing for a while, as Peng Seoyeon’s attention drifted elsewhere, Yuli and Yeo Unhui exchanged a knowing glance and winked at each other.
It meant ‘just between us.’

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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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