My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 78

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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 78. Yulie Needs a Friend
“Hiyaaaah!”
“Hyahahaha!”
“Gwaaaagh!”
Shouts that blurred the line between war cries and screams rang out across the Training Ground, where Baekrangdae always conducted their practice.
Once a place few ventured to, it had become perpetually bustling ever since Baekrangdae began frequenting it daily for their drills.
And so the training continued today, as it always did.
What was remarkable was that the hellish intensity of those sessions no longer wavered whether Yeo Unhwi was present or absent.
In fact, though the duration had doubled since the beginning, none of them collapsed in exhaustion the moment training ended, as they once had.
Whether they’d grown accustomed to the pain, their stamina had improved, or both, one thing was certain: they were all advancing beyond what they had been.
How much time had passed?
The members of Baekrangdae were resting in the shade, cooling their throats.
“Ahhh. I’ll live. Haha!
Gu Taesan, who had just gulped down water, laughed with genuine delight.
His massive frame heaved like a mountain at his own hearty laughter.
“By the way, will the captain not come out today?”
“Ah, the captain’s apparently taking his family out for some fresh air today.”
O Chaemu answered from beside him as he drank, and Gu Taesan burst into raucous laughter.
“Oh right! So our captain’s married to Miss Peng Seyeon. Ha!”
It wasn’t just Gu Taesan.
These days, the rest of them kept forgetting that fact.
Perhaps it was because they saw Yeo Unhwi as a person in his own right.
Not as Miss Peng Seyeon’s husband or the Peng Family’s son-in-law, but as Yeo Unhwi himself—their captain.
“I’m jealous. Really jealous!”
Gu Taesan was unusually talkative today.
“I should hurry and find someone myself, have a pretty daughter like little Miss Yulie.”
The twin brothers Gisu and Gisang, standing nearby, grimaced at his words.
“That might be difficult. Just raise her with love instead.”
“Right. Hope for what you can hope for. With that face, how could you expect a daughter as pretty as little Miss Yulie? Have you no shame?”
Gu Taesan bristled at the twins’ sharp words, delivered without a moment’s hesitation.
“What? Are you two insulting my future child? What did the kid ever do wrong!”
“Oh, the baby’s done nothing wrong, of course. It’s your face that failed, hyung.”
“Right. The kid’s innocent. Your face is the real culprit.”
“Hey, you two look like vicious criminals yourselves. Don’t go lecturing me about faces.”
“Pfft. Vicious criminals? At least we’re human. Aren’t you a wild boar?”
“A—a wild boar? Ha!”
Gu Taesan rose from his seat, his face flushed with indignation.
Gisu and Gisang quickly scrambled backward.
“You two, Gisu and Gisang—you’ve gotten soft lately, haven’t you? Come here. Today I’m just gonna—bang!—both of you at once!”
“Taesan.”
“Hyung, please don’t stop me!”
“No, just raise her with love, would you.”
“Tsk, even you, hyung…”
“That’s right. Empty your heart and raise her with love. With love. What more could you ask?”
Peng Dohwan and another nodded in agreement behind O Chaemu.
Gu Taesan suddenly felt like crying.
Why is everyone treating me like this?
What’s wrong with my face!
***
While the members of Baekrangdae were encouraging Gu Taesan to become a wonderful father overflowing with love,
Yeo Unhwi had arrived at the Market with his family.
“Wow!”
Yulie’s mouth dropped open at the sheer scale of the Market, too vast to take in at a single glance.
The Market was vibrant with life.
Both the people coming and going and those hawking their wares bore bright expressions.
Yulie’s eyes sparkled as she absorbed that lively energy.
“Yulie, do you like it?”
“Yes, I do!”
At Yulie’s response, her eyes still fixed on the Market’s streets, Peng Seyeon smiled warmly.
It was Peng Seyeon who had decided to bring her daughter to the Market—Yulie, who had seemed bored of late.
So when she suggested they go out together for the first time in ages, Yeo Unhwi set aside his schedule for the day without hesitation.
It struck them both—Yeo Unhwi and Peng Seyeon—how long it had been since the three of them spent time like this.
Looking back, since they’d left Sodam Village for Peng Manor, there were precious few moments when he’d carved out time for his family.
There had been incidents in the interim, and lately Yeo Unhwi had grown even busier with Baekrangdae duties.
Of course, it wasn’t Baekrangdae alone that kept him occupied—but Peng Seyeon had no way of knowing that.
In any case, after so long, both Peng Seyeon and Yulie wore faces bright with excitement at this rare family time.
“Fresh dumplings made today! Buy our dumplings!”
“Fresh vegetables here! Vegetables for sale! Very fresh indeed!”
Steam rose in clouds from the steamed dumplings at the market stalls, while vegetables and fruit nestled between them, each glowing with an appetizing hue.
Yulie, trembling with excitement, tugged at her mother’s hand eagerly.
Watching her daughter, Peng Seyeon smiled warmly.
She herself felt the same thrill.
Suddenly, she thought of the market in Sodam Village.
This market was far larger and better stocked, yet as she wandered through it, those old memories kept surfacing.
They were precious memories indeed.
She wondered if everyone there was doing well.
Though she felt a pang of longing, the knowledge that she could cherish such good moments filled both her and Yeo Unhwi with warmth.
Just then,
“Hey, hey! Over here!”
“Ah, come on! Our team lost! Let’s play again!”
“Fine! But we’re going to win again anyway? Just watch us!”
In one corner of the market, children about Yulie’s age were playing together.
They darted about kicking a straw ball back and forth, their joy boundless.
Yulie stood transfixed, watching them.
“Hmm?”
When one of the girls caught Yulie’s eye, she broke into a bright smile and waved.
Yulie started in surprise, then mirrored the gesture with a grin and a wave of her own.
The children soon bolted down an alley together and disappeared from sight.
But Yulie’s gaze lingered on that empty space.
Watching her, Peng Seyeon and Yeo Unhwi’s expressions shifted—as if a concern had just taken root.
***
“We’ve been neglecting Yulie, haven’t we?”
Evening had come, and as Peng Seyeon watched Yulie sleep soundly, she spoke the thought aloud.
Yeo Unhwi nodded in agreement.
He had focused only on returning to Peng Manor to keep his family safe.
Shamefully, he’d given no thought to anything else—and that was the truth of it.
Specifically, he hadn’t thought about Yulie’s friends.
In Sodam Village, there had been children close to Yulie’s age, and she’d grown quite close to them.
But since coming to Peng Manor, though her food, shelter, and clothing had become far more luxurious, Yulie had never made friends here.
Her grandfather, grandmother, uncle, mother, and father all doted on her endlessly.
The Baekrangdae members and the household staff also adored her.
So they’d thought it was fine. Even without playmates of her own age.
That was before today, before they’d watched Yulie gaze at children her own age playing freely in the market square.
And then they understood.
Yulie needed friends.
“Is there a way we could help Yulie make friends?”
At Peng Seyeon’s question, Yeo Unhwi fell silent in thought for a moment before something occurred to him.
“What about sending her to an Academy?”
“An Academy?”
Peng Seyeon’s eyes widened at his suggestion.
“Yes. When I was young, I made many friends there. She can study and naturally make companions at the same time.”
“An Academy, I see…”
It was certainly a method she hadn’t considered.
“But which Academy should we send her to? We have no idea how many academies there are in Hebei, or which ones are reputable.”
Her parents probably didn’t know either.
In the cases of people like Peng Seyeon and Peng Sejin, their father and mother had hired renowned tutors to oversee their education at home instead.
As this was the custom among most eminent families, the concept of an Academy felt foreign to her.
But hearing Yeo Unhwi’s words, Peng Seyeon felt convinced that there was no better place for Yulie to forge friendships.
Now it was a matter of learning which Academies were suitable and making a choice.
But still,
“We don’t have nearly enough information. I can’t just send her anywhere at random.”
Yeo Unhwi answered his wife, who had fallen into deep thought.
“Hmm. Information, you say… I’ll look into it.”
***
Jin Sobaek, the master of Haowen, was a man exceptionally skilled at concealing his emotions.
He rarely showed surprise, and maintaining composure in any situation was one of his greatest strengths.
And yet,
“…Are you joking with me right now?”
Jin Sobaek’s face had gone blank.
His emotions were written plainly across his features.
And no wonder—he had never in his life encountered a request quite like this made to Haowen.
Yeo Unhwi, who had returned after barely two weeks, was presenting a new commission.
“You want me to compile a list of the finest academies in Hebei?”
“That’s right.”
Despite Jin Sobaek’s incredulous reaction, Yeo Unhwi nodded with unabashed composure.
“If possible, it would be good to include evaluations from various perspectives—the distance from Peng Manor, the depth of scholarship and character of the instructors there, what sort of children attend, the atmosphere, and so forth.”
“You’re serious? You’re asking us to go and find out all of this?”
“Entirely serious. In fact, I’m quite curious to see what information you’ll bring back.”
“I haven’t said I’ll do it yet.”
As if he would refuse. There was the pride of Haowen to consider.
And for him, the master of Haowen, to be tasked with such an errand? Was this man truly in his right mind?
And yet,
“A thousand silver.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I’ll pay it.”
“You’ll give a thousand silver for this commission? You must be joking.”
“You seem fond of jokes. I’m not.”
“Then you’re serious?”
A thousand silver for such a trivial errand? Truly?
Yeo Unhwi nodded.
“I accept, honored patron.”
Jin Sobaek, master of Haowen, promptly threw his pride far away and grasped Yeo Unhwi’s hand eagerly.
“How long do you need this?”
“I’ll give you a week.”
“Within two days, I’ll have all the academies across Hebei ranked and organized, with information on the instructors’ level and character, the atmosphere of each academy, the distance from Peng Manor, and the advantages and disadvantages of access—all compiled and sent to you.”
“Splendid.”
“In this world, money makes everything possible, doesn’t it? How shall we handle payment? Will you give a deposit like last time?”
“I always pay upfront.”
“How refreshingly direct. I’ll make sure your trust is rewarded without regret.”
“I have a feeling our dealings will be quite enjoyable.”
“I wonder if you’ll find them as enjoyable as I will, honored patron.”
The middle-aged woman who had witnessed the exchange despite herself, and the five martial masters who kept watch in the shadows, felt an urgent desire to disappear into a mouse hole.
They had just watched Haowen transform into a group running petty errands in an instant.
Ha-ha-ha!
The atmosphere between these two had changed so very much since they first met.

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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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