My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 71

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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 71. The Truth He Did Not Know
“The… the Crown Prince?”
Jegal Gil’s eyes darted between Yeo Unhui and Peng Sejin, caught off guard by the unexpected arrival of the Crown Prince.
What in the world was happening here?
Though he prided himself on grasping situations faster than most, his mind now struggled to keep pace with what was unfolding.
Perhaps it was the aftermath of witnessing that tremendous battle between Yeo Unhui and Hei Ma just moments ago that left him reeling.
His heart was still hammering wildly in his chest.
“I imagine you’re quite bewildered and shocked. I understand,” Peng Sejin said, his tone soothing as he steadied Jegal Gil.
The Crown Prince continued, “What I’m about to tell you differs greatly from what the world believes to be true.”
With that prelude, Peng Sejin began laying out everything that had happened in this place to Jegal Gil—every detail, every fact.
As Jegal Gil listened, his expression shifted with each revelation.
“…!”
What struck him most profoundly—what truly ignited his fury—was learning that the Sailim Dan, painstakingly cultivated by the Murim Alliance, had willingly stepped forward to play the traitor for the Demonic Cult, all to save their own hides.
Even for people as arrogant and self-absorbed as they were, how could they have shown not even a shred of hesitation or shame?
It was nothing but disappointing.
No—it had crossed into revulsion.
The story pressed on.
Among those who had volunteered to betray the righteous path, the Group Leader Jo Min had been the one selected for the task.
But what made it even more unbearable was his first request: he had asked Hei Ma to slaughter every last member of the Sailim Dan.
Crunch.
Jegal Gil ground his teeth without realizing it.
“Beasts—less than beasts.”
How could any human being do such a thing?
No matter how precious life might be, this crossed a line that should never be crossed.
These men, who should have valued righteousness and loyalty above all else, had instead proven themselves more vile and despicable than even the most wicked villains—the kind who would make demons themselves recoil.
Jegal Gil felt endless shame at the mere fact that he shared the same organization as them.
Yet what shocked him most from the entire account was this: after Yeo Unhui had dealt with Hei Ma, he had cut down every last one of the Sailim Dan traitors without mercy.
Ah!
Now it made sense.
The wounds on the corpses—that was why…!
One great mystery had just been solved. But then—
Jegal Gil’s gaze fixed on Yeo Unhui.
“Don’t you think that was excessively cruel?”
Granted, the Sailim Dan had committed grave sins.
But did that justify cutting them all down on the spot alongside Hei Ma? It seemed excessive.
Yeo Unhui, however, shook his head without hesitation, his tone unwavering.
“No. I was far too merciful, if anything.”
“How can any person say such a thing?”
“Exactly. How can someone betray those who sheltered them their whole life, raised them, and gave them everything?”
“……”
It wasn’t Yeo Unhui’s words that stopped Jegal Gil cold.
It was the look in his eyes.
For a moment, Jegal Gil found himself speechless.
This was the gaze of a man burning with righteous fury. That was what Yeo Unhui wore.
Not the eyes of a murderer who savored the kill.
“How could they abandon comrades they grew up with, comrades they swore to fight beside for life? Such people are unworthy of the name ‘righteous’—they are not even human. Is that not so?”
“But surely there is still the matter of law and order. If one simply handles things as one sees fit……”
“Law and order? Yes, law. Tell me—if we handle this according to the law as you say, what happens?”
“Then naturally, we would escort them to the Murim Alliance……”
“And then?”
“We would follow proper procedure to determine their crimes and administer punishment.”
The words themselves were perfectly reasonable.
Yet Jegal Gil’s voice grew smaller with each syllable, as if doubt were eating away at his certainty.
“Who would? The Murim Alliance? Them?”
Just as Jegal Gil had feared, Yeo Unhui let out a hollow laugh and turned the question back on him.
“Do you truly believe that’s possible? Surely you don’t think the Murim Alliance elders would simply stand by and watch? And what of that indecisive Murim Alliance Master, always looking out only for himself—what would he do?”
“How could you possibly……”
Jegal Gil was at a loss for words.
Yeo Unhui knew far more than he had given him credit for.
“Listen. You already know the answer yourself, don’t you? The Sailim Dan will never face proper punishment.”
Yeo Unhui spoke with quiet certainty.
Song Ildo, the current leader of the Murim Alliance and wielder of the Flowing Star Sword, was certainly formidable, but he was too soft as a man and too flawed to serve as a true commander.
Even if he reported everything that had happened here to the Alliance in full, the Sailim Dan would surely deny it all.
More likely, they would fabricate absurd stories and pin the blame on the Hebei Peng Clan or those who had sheltered him.
“What’s more, the Alliance leader fears nothing so much as discord with the senior elders. That’s precisely why the Murim Alliance rots from within, despite having strategists of genuine talent.”
……
“So naturally, the Sailim Dan will spend a few days in custody under the elders’ protection, then walk free.”
And afterward, those corrupt bastards would think on it.
How best to dispose of those who know their ugly secrets, they would scheme with eager minds.
“In the end, innocent people will suffer. They might even die if fortune turns against them. So tell me—do you still believe my actions were wrong?”
As Yeo Unhui continued, Jegal Gil wanted to say again and again that it was excessive, that he was overthinking it—but he could not.
After so many years serving the Alliance, even he could sense that events might unfold exactly as Yeo Unhui described.
He felt ashamed of his earlier insistence that they return to the Alliance and follow proper procedure for punishment.
‘What a wretched reality this is.’
Jegal Gil’s heart grew heavy.
The despair of a world where following proper law only guaranteed the worst outcome was crushing.
All of it stemmed from the Murim Alliance rotting from its head downward.
He felt suffocated.
As if the breath itself was being choked from his lungs.
“If I’m honest, for what they’ve done, even making them suffer long and die slowly wouldn’t be sufficient.”
Yeo Unhui watched Jegal Gil’s silence for a moment, then spoke again.
“But I didn’t. I took their lives, but I showed them mercy nonetheless.”
……
Jegal Gil could not refute a single word Yeo Unhui spoke.
Everything he said was flawless truth.
And was this man not his savior, the one who had risked his life to pull him from the claws of that vicious Hei Ma?
Well—perhaps not truly risked his life, but in any case.
If he couldn’t trust this man, whom could he trust?
Yet he himself was an investigator of the Murim Alliance.
To simply nod and say, “I see your point. Well done killing those wretches,” was not a position he could honestly take.
But nor did he have any real alternative to offer.
Faced with the fundamental, systemic rot of the Murim Alliance, despair seized him again.
Reality was too cruel, too foul to bear.
‘I regret it now. I should have been more flexible.’
As Yeo Unhui watched him, he recalled a conversation from the past.
An older version of Jegal Gil—older than he was now—had said to him then.
‘I should have been faster and more cunning than the wicked. Like a serpent.’
He had spoken in his usual flat tone, but his eyes, his voice—they had been saturated with deep regret.
And so now was the moment to pass that wisdom to the younger Jegal Gil.
“If you truly wish to punish the wicked and change this present reality,”
Yeo Unhui placed a hand on Jegal Gil’s shoulder and continued.
“then you yourself must change first. Rigid as you are, your limits are far too obvious.”
……!
At Yeo Unhui’s words, Jegal Gil lifted his gaze to meet him.
Yeo Unhui’s eyes were fixed steadily on his own.
“Become more flexible—far more than you imagine possible. More cunning than the wicked themselves. Learn to play the villain when the moment demands it.”
From his days as the Blood Demon. A companion met by chance.
They had spoken only three times, in truth, but this was what the Jegal Gil he had last met before his regression had told Yeo Unhui.
And after those words, Yeo Unhui had never seen him again.
So now Yeo Unhui cast back to his past self the wisdom he had briefly held in trust.
Hoping that this time, that understanding would not come too late, and that he would not be left with regret.
Shaken by words he had not foreseen, Jegal Gil’s eyes trembled for a long moment before he turned his gaze to the sky and drew a deep, heavy breath.
Too much had happened today.
More than he could bear.
“I need time to think. I should rest. Then I’ll take my leave. I’m truly grateful for all of this.”
Jegal Gil turned and walked back the way he had come.
His mind overloaded, his stride no longer carried the bearing he usually possessed.
“Will he be alright?” Peng Sejin asked Yeo Unhui, concern clear on his face.
In truth, Peng Sejin had opposed revealing everything to that man so openly.

It was far too dangerous, or so he had thought.
In Peng Sejin’s eyes, Jegal Gil was certainly a skilled investigator, but his character seemed rigid as oak, lacking all flexibility.
Peng Sejin believed it unwise to lay bare everything that had happened before such a doctrinaire man.
Yet Yeo Unhui saw things differently.
For some reason, he seemed to trust Jegal Gil.
As though they were not meeting for the first time now, but had known each other long ago.
But judging from Jegal Gil’s bearing and responses toward Yeo Unhui, Peng Sejin was certain the two were indeed meeting for the first time.
He could not fathom how such a thing had come to be, nor could he grasp what Yeo Unhui was thinking in acting this way.
Yet in following his wishes, Peng Sejin was simply placing his faith in Yeo Unhui.
“It will be fine. Don’t worry.”
Yeo Unhui nodded at Peng Sejin’s question and replied.
“If that’s what you say, then……”
Well, things would sort themselves out one way or another.
Peng Sejin pressed ahead with an optimism uncharacteristic of himself.
Yet this came not from carelessness or shallow thinking, but from the depth of his trust in Yeo Unhui.
“That said.”
Peng Sejin turned his head slowly, surveying the area.
“You’ve done quite… a lot here.”
“Ha. Well, it turned out that way.”
After all, it had been a battle with the Demonic Cult’s Ten Demons.
Yet for all he said, having witnessed the fight from beginning to end, Peng Sejin could only let out a hollow laugh at how utterly one-sided Yeo Unhui’s dominance over Hei Ma had been.
He had certainly told Yeo Unhui something.
That he could display his power as freely as he wished.
That the Peng Family was more than equal to it—he had said so with such confidence!
That was what he had told him.
And yet,
‘Honestly… I never thought it would be this much… ha……’
Could the Peng Family truly manage someone like this elder brother?
Doubt had begun to creep into Peng Sejin’s mind about the very words he had spoken.

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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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