My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 8

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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 8. The Monster
“Then could you do the dishes for me?”
“I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry. You and Yul-i have a good time out.”
“Okay, Dad! See you!”
Today was market day in the village near Sodamchon.
Yeo Un-hui finished the dishes in a rush and quickly prepared to follow Paeng Seo-yeon out.
‘Well then, shall we go.’
This was a form of tailing.
Shadowing his wife to keep her safe.
The reason was Hyung-su, who had poisoned Paeng Seo-yeon.
Yeo Un-hui was certain that Hyung-su would appear again soon.
That certainty stemmed from the type of poison Hyung-su had used.
If it were the sort of poison that claimed a life in a single dose, there would be no reason for Hyung-su to show himself again.
But the poison that had poisoned Paeng Seo-yeon was one that stole life slowly, over time.
He would want to confirm at least that the process had begun—that her vitality was being eaten away by the toxin.
And the moment he discovered that she was not, in fact, poisoned,
‘He would reveal himself.’
So Yeo Un-hui had been secretly tailing his wife for days now.
But Hyung-su still had not shown himself.
There was no way to know when he might appear.
All Yeo Un-hui could do was linger quietly in the shadows around his wife, watching.
“I’m here, auntie.”
“Oh, you came! The young bride?”
“Hello!”
“Our pretty Yul-i is here too? Well then, what should I give you?”
“Um. One carrot and, let’s see, two cucumbers. How much are the eggs? Oh, that’s too expensive. Could you bring down the price a bit?”
“If I bring it down any further, how are we supposed to eat?”
“Oh, there’s plenty to live on here. Don’t complain like that. If you give it at this price, we’ll come by more often.”
“You’re the reason I can’t get ahead. Fine. Take it at that price.”
“Oh, Yul-i’s mother is here? Who else would it be? I’ve got some fresh fruit. Buy some. I’ll throw in plenty extra like last time.”
“Yul-i’s mother. Our fish is fresh today too. Come quick.”
“It’s just one body. Let me look around carefully.”
“That’s right! Mom’s got one body! Carefully!”
“What? Haha.”
A chuckle.
She was incorrigible, he thought.
Despite her stunning beauty, the people at the market adored Paeng Seo-yeon for her natural charm and straightforward manner. And with lovely Yul-i by her side, no wonder.
Without thinking, Yeo Un-hui found himself gazing at his wife and daughter with a warm, contented smile—then caught himself.
‘Ahem. That’s not why I came.’
But what could one do when faced with something so precious?
As the old saying goes, a cough, poverty, and love cannot be hidden.
He was watching over them fondly as they browsed the market when something caught his attention.
Hmm?
Among the throng of shoppers, someone registered in Yeo Un-hui’s awareness.
A faint, subtle Killing Intent wavered between the bodies.
Most masters would have missed even a hint of it.
Before long, the source of that intent revealed itself near Paeng Seo-yeon.
‘Found you.’
Yeo Un-hui’s eyes turned glacial.
***
The bustling market.
A herb gatherer who had come carrying a large bundle of medicinal plants on his shoulder finally rose from his spot after selling all the herbs he’d gathered from the mountains.
He brushed off his hands, circled the market a few times, and finding nothing else worth purchasing, slowly made his way out.
Not long after leaving the village, he turned around and gazed back toward it.
“Strange business. I was certain the poisoning had taken effect.”
He was glad he had decided to linger and observe the situation further.
Had he not, this mission would have failed without his knowing, and he would surely have faced harsh reproach from that person.
But no matter how he thought about it, something didn’t sit right.
He had never encountered such a thing before.
A slow, grinding sound—like something being dragged.
The man slowly peeled away the facial skin from beneath his neck downward.
It was a Human-Skin Mask.
Made with such meticulous detail that most people wouldn’t notice a thing.
The face revealed beneath was sharp and imposing, quite different from before—narrow, piercing eyes and a hooked nose.
A deep, dark Killing Intent flowed from his slitted gaze.
“Well, I’ve made my move once more, so that should settle it.”
A second mistake was simply impossible.
That was when it happened.
“So it was you.”
“Hah!”
The man recoiled sharply, his eyes wide with alarm.
“W-who are you?”
To have his back discovered like this.
Even as he’d let his guard slip and grown careless, such a thing was unbelievable.
But then—
“You—who are you?”
“Hmm.”
A slender scholar stood there.
It was Yeo Un-hui.
“You seem to recognize me.”
He knew well enough.
Who Yeo Un-hui was.
The husband of the woman who had been his target today.
And yet—
‘What is this? A misunderstanding?’
The man, who had investigated these people with considerable care, felt his tension ease at once.
He knew exactly who his opponent was and what manner of person he was.
This man was nothing but an ordinary scholar with no knowledge of Martial Arts.
From the information he’d been given before taking on his commission, and further from his own investigation since arriving in this village, it was unmistakable.
He had left the village for a fortnight in the interim, but that was of no consequence.
One couldn’t possibly master extraordinary Martial Arts in a mere two weeks.
The investigation had long since been completed, and preparations were finished.
So careful had he been, checking and rechecking his every precaution, that he’d found the most natural place to poison his target without arousing anyone’s suspicion, and had carried out his plan.
Strangely, the poison hadn’t taken effect, so he’d made his move again today.
It was peculiar that the scholar had suddenly appeared before him, but he gave it little thought.
If he became an obstacle, he would simply be removed.
As the man’s thoughts settled, the corners of his mouth lifted.
“So you’re alone.”
“As you can see. My wife and daughter are at the Market in that village, though.”
“Did you see?”
“You using the poison? Of course I did. Quite clearly.”
The poison that Hyung-su had used in secret, Yeo Un-hui had likewise secretly counteracted.
Though Hyung-su had no way of knowing this.
Schlink, schrrrink.
“Ah, so you’ve got decent eyes after all, don’t you?”
Two Short Daggers came into Hyung-su’s grip.
He pointed them at Yeo Un-hui, gripping them in reverse.
“If you’d only pretended not to see, you might have lived. Pity. Though you’d have suffered for a long while.”
“Answer me one thing. Why did you do this? What grievance could you possibly have?”
“Why? Kekeke. Very well, since you’re a dead man anyway, I’ll tell you.”
The man’s lips twisted into a vicious smile as he continued.
“The crime of daring to covet ‘that person’s’ woman, and the crime of daring to betray ‘that person’ for a wretch like you! That is why you two fools will die. Remember that well!”
Yeo Un-hui’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly.
Swoosh.
In that instant, Hyung-su’s body sank into the ground and reappeared before Yeo Un-hui.
It was the Light Body Technique, moving without a trace.
Hyung-su then swung his two daggers in reverse grip in a crossed pattern.
Many had lost their heads to this technique.
This day would be no different.
Yet the two daggers, striking with such ferocity, suddenly halted before Yeo Un-hui as if time itself had frozen.
“What—what is this?”
He felt no bite of the blade cutting into flesh.
Hyung-su, startled, checked his own dagger.
At the point where the two short daggers crossed, Yeo Un-hui had raised his Hand Blade to block.
His hand should have been severed clean away, yet the Hand Blade struck nothing—the attack simply stopped.
“What in the…?”
This man had trained in Martial Arts!
And a master of extraordinary skill at that.
“Then, if that’s the case—”
The man forced down his racing heart, steadied himself, and pressed his assault forward.
Crash! Bang! Shriek!
Clang!
He poured everything he had into increasingly sharp, increasingly lethal attacks.
Yet Yeo Un-hui simply raised his Hand Blade with careless ease and brushed them all aside like wind rustling through silk.
“Huh—huh. Damn it all—”
How could his attacks fail so completely? This made no sense.
But he couldn’t afford to give up.
One strike—just one clean strike—and he could finish this.
With that thought, he wrung every ounce of strength from his body, driving his speed higher.
Whish! Whoosh-whoosh!
Shriek!
He thrust both blades out to either side, then spun at tremendous velocity—like a spinning top—and hurled himself at Yeo Un-hui.
Using that rotational force, he drove toward the crown of Yeo Un-hui’s head.
As if to split it clean in two.
But—
Crack.
Yeo Un-hui caught the blade descending toward his skull with his bare hand.
Effortlessly.
This attack, too, never landed.
“Is that all?”
“Tch.”
As Yeo Un-hui tightened his grip on the blade,
Snap!
The dagger shattered.
Hyung-su’s eyes went wide as saucers in an instant.
But there was no time to react.
Yeo Un-hui, who had been defending the entire while, drew back his fist and swung.
Whoosh!
The punch found Hyung-su’s face dead center.
The blow was so fierce that a Qi Wave erupted in its wake.
And—
Boom! Crash-crash-crash!
Hyung-su’s body flew backward, slamming hard into the ground.
The impact shook the earth with a deafening roar.
“Gah—guh—ugh!”
His Vital Energy shattered. His Heart Meridian tore.
All from that single blow.
“Ack—ack—ack!”
Blood streamed from Hyung-su’s nose and mouth.
How… how was this possible?
He stood among the martial world’s stronger practitioners.
He could never match the truly famous masters, but in any serious bout he could hold his own against the best.
And yet… yet…
What manner of monster was this man?
Even Hyung-su, who had weathered countless trials in the Martial World, had never seen a fight like this.
It was as if… as if a Family Head had descended. No—something even beyond that.
“Listen.”
Yeo Un-hui approached the gasping man on the ground, staring down at him.
“What was that thing you said earlier? About that person?”
With trembling effort, Hyung-su raised his head enough to meet his gaze.
That composure, that gleam in his eyes… why didn’t I see it sooner?
I should have known the moment everything began to spiral wrong.
That something had gone terribly, irreversibly awry.
“Tell me that story again.”
He’s a monster. An impossible monster.
Yeo Un-hui’s smile—slight, almost lazy—played across his lips.
Watching that smile, my skin crawled.
Death was impossibly close.

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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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