My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 94
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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 94. Who is this person?
“Wow!”
Yul-i’s eyes went wide.
With her mother’s permission, Eun Sua’s house turned out to be full of interesting things.
The yard had a slide and other play equipment she’d never seen before, and the room was filled with charming, pretty dolls.
But what captured Yul-i’s attention most of all was the delicious sweets and snacks.
Her eyes sparkled brighter than they ever had when she saw them.
“Try this!”
Eun Sua grabbed a snack and popped it straight into Yul-i’s mouth.
Yul-i was startled before she could even see what it was, but the moment she tasted it, her eyes went round.
A nutty yet sweet flavor dissolved smoothly across her tongue.
The sweetness flooded both her cheeks.
Yul-i cupped her cheeks and broke into a happy smile.
“So, so good!”
“Right?”
“Yes!”
“That’s my favorite snack. Hehe!”
Watching Yul-i’s happy smile, Eun Sua’s own face lit up and she laughed along.
“Try this one. And this one! Try this one too!”
“Yes!”
“How is it? Delicious, right? If you keep coming to my house, I’ll give you these all the time, so we have to stay good friends, okay? You understand?”
“Yes! Yes!”
Yul-i nodded her head eagerly.
Seeing her, Eun Sua’s face brightened with a proud smile.
Eun Sua had taken a real liking to Yul-i. From the very first moment they met.
The first time she was playing with friends at the market and their eyes met, Sua felt an instant desire to become close with Yul-i.
Even though she didn’t know her name, age, or anything about her.
That evening, Eun Sua had told her mother that she’d met a girl at the market today who would become her best friend for life.
Of course, her mother had laughed it off, thinking “our daughter really is an odd one,” calling a girl she’d just met—whose name she didn’t even know—her lifelong best friend, but as time passed, Sua’s words proved true, and the two became close friends.
It was truly a remarkable connection.
How to describe it.
Eun Sua was the type who made friends easily and broadly, but there was something about Yul-i that made her want to grow even closer.
And it was the same for Yul-i.
Sua was the first friend Yul-i had made since arriving in Hebei, and above all, their hearts matched perfectly.
It was as if they’d been friends for years.
Yul-i had had friends back in Sodam Village, but none who got along with her as well as Sua did.
What would you call a connection like this?
The two children’s eyes met and they both broke into bright smiles.
Before long, they’d emptied a whole plate of snacks and begun playing with dolls.
Yul-i picked a magnificent warrior doll, while Sua chose a merchant doll dressed in elaborate clothes.
Their doll play had quite the story to it.
At first it was clearly a story of a warrior saving a merchant attacked by bandits, but when they looked again, it had somehow turned into a story where the merchant defeated the villain and the warrior was counting money.
But Yul-i and Sua considered this outcome profound in its own way and were satisfied.
After the doll play ended and they’d arranged the dolls neatly in their places, they went out to the yard and rode the slide.
They took turns and slid down three times each, waiting patiently for their turn.
Sharing and order were among the most important teachings of Soweol Academy.
Next they got on the swing.
They made a game of seeing who could swing higher, and Yul-i won.
Sua was disappointed and vowed she’d win next time.
After playing like that for a while longer, they went back inside and drank some refreshment that had been prepared.
“Ahh!”
Yul-i and Sua drank and exhaled refreshingly.
They’d played so hard that beads of sweat dotted their hair, even in the cool weather.
But at this age, such exertion only added to their joy.
After resting briefly, Yul-i and Sua picked up the dolls again.
This time it was a story of a scholar and a young lady.
How long they played like that.
Suddenly, Yul-i felt the need to use the toilet and jumped up from where she sat.
Seeing this, Sua told her where the toilet was.
“Go out of this room, then straight to the right.”
“Sure! I’ll be back!”
Yul-i dashed toward the bathroom in a hurry, yanking the door open as she went.
Not long after, she emerged from the bathroom, her business finished.
“Hehe.”
Yul-i’s face was radiant.
This was fun.
She’d never realized that visiting a friend’s house could be such a joy.
Just a little longer before I head home!
With that thought, Yul-i turned to head back toward Eun Sua’s room.
Swoosh.
A black hand materialized behind her, reaching out.
Some time later,
“Huh? Why isn’t she back?”
Eun Sua, who’d been waiting alone in her room with a bored expression, bolted upright.
Quite a bit of time had passed, yet Yul-i still hadn’t returned.
Eun Sua tilted her head in confusion and left the room, heading toward the bathroom.
Then she called out.
“Hey, Yul-i! What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming back?”
But unlike what she expected, no answer came.
Eun Sua slowly opened the bathroom door.
There was no one there.
“Yul?”
Yul-i had vanished.
***
A small clearing in a forest not far from Eun Sua’s house.
There, a thin man wore a sinister smile as he looked at his subordinates.
“The job was done clean, right?”
“Yes, sir. Of course. Who do you think we are?”
“We slipped in perfectly and brought her out without a soul knowing.”
“Well done. Tch tch.”
The thin man turned away, satisfied, as his subordinates groveled with matching crude laughter.
There sat a small child on a chair.
The man removed the cloth mask covering the child’s face.
But then,
“…Huh?”
The thin man’s face went rigid the moment he saw the child’s face.
After staring at the child for a moment, he forced his mouth open.
“Who… who is this?”
His expression twisted into confusion.
He looked from one side to the other, front and back, but this child was no one he knew.
His subordinates’ faces filled with question marks at their master’s reaction.
“Sir? What do you mean who? Isn’t this the daughter from the house you told us about?”
“That’s what I’m asking—who is this kid?”
“We kidnapped the little girl from that place, just as you ordered.”
“This isn’t the daughter of that house at all! What house did you idiots break into?”
The thin man couldn’t contain his rage and bellowed.
At that moment, the small child struggled to make a sound.
“Mmph!”
“Right. If you don’t know, maybe this kid can tell us.”
The man quickly untied the cloth from the child’s mouth.
“Kid. Tell me. Who are you?”
“I’m Yul-i! Who are you mister? Let me go right now! If you don’t, my grandfather won’t let this slide!”
“What?”
The moment her mouth was free, Yul-i began blurting threats, and the men burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“Look at the nerve on this one!”
“Kid, do we look scary to you? Huh? And who’s your grandfather? Who is he that we should be afraid of?”
“Peng Mugang!”
“Yeah, yeah, your grandfather’s name is Peng Mugang. Oh, how terrified we are! Hehe.”
The kidnappers mocked her playfully, pretending to shake with fear.
“So who exactly is this Peng Mugang, old geezer? Huh? Wait… Peng Mu… gang?”
“Um, grandfather? Wait, you mean Peng Mugang?”
Several of the kidnappers’ faces began to drain of color.
“Y-you don’t mean the grandfather you just mentioned is the Clan Patriarch of the Hebei Peng Clan—that roaring tiger, Peng Mugang, do you?”
Yul-i nodded vigorously.
“Ha, haha.”
The man who appeared to be the leader of the kidnappers let out a hollow laugh and looked at his subordinates.
“We—these idiots were supposed to bring some rich man’s daughter, but we’ve brought the Clan Patriarch of the Hebei Peng Clan’s granddaughter?!”
“No, sir, we entered the house you told us to and brought out the girl we saw. You said there was only one daughter in that house!”
“There is only one! Just one—but still! Ha. God, I’m losing my mind.”
The leader of the kidnappers scratched his head frantically, pacing back and forth in agitation.
He’d wanted to pull off something big, but this had become far too big.
He’d just wanted to steal some money, but now it looked like he’d lose his life instead.
“Um, sir. What do we do?”
“What do you mean, what do we do! You bastards!”
Even if he let the child go now and pretended nothing happened, the milk was already spilled—impossible to gather back up.
The man, who had been gnawing at his lips, finally seemed to make a decision and spat out his words.
“Since it’s come to this… bury it.”
“What? The child? We were just supposed to kidnap her and take the money, weren’t we?”
“You fool. She’s already seen all our faces—you want to let her live?”
Truth be told, he’d never intended to let the child live after collecting the ransom.
But now even getting that ransom had become impossible.
If they got caught up with the Hebei Peng Clan, it would all be over.
If they just buried this brat and left this place as if nothing happened, they’d never get caught.
That’s what he thought.
“Child. Don’t resent us. This is all just your bad luck.”
The kidnappers approached Yul-i again.
At the sight of them, Yul-i’s face twisted in terror.
“D-don’t! Don’t do this! Let me go! Waaah!”
Yul-i shrieked piercingly.
But her mouth was quickly gagged again, and the bound child was helpless.
Soon tears began to pool in Yul-i’s large eyes.
Just as a hood was about to be pulled over Yul-i’s head once more,
“……!”
Yul-i saw something.
“Bad luck’s attached itself. Deal with it cleanly.”
That was when it happened.
Thud.
Something enormous descended onto the leader of the kidnappers’ head.
“Wh-what is it!”
It was a hand.
A hand several times larger than any ordinary man’s—grotesquely enormous.
In that instant, gripped with a force that seemed ready to crush his skull, the man’s spine stiffened with shock and he spun around in panic.
“W-who are you!”
But there was no one behind him.
Only his subordinates stood there.
And their faces had gone white as paper, all uniformly rigid with terror.
“Wh-what in the world is this. Who are you——!”
At the man’s words, his subordinates pointed forward with trembling fingers.
The man slowly turned his head in that direction.
There stood,
“G-grandfather!”
“My dear granddaughter. Were you frightened?”
“Sniff. Yes.”
A massive man held the small child they had abducted, standing at a distance from them.
But when had he arrived?
And… grandfather?
Gasp! It—it can’t be Peng Mugang?!
The kidnappers’ faces, upon realizing the identity of the man holding Yul-i, drained from pale to a sickly blue.
Step by step, their feet began to shuffle backward.
“There, there. Now that grandfather is here, everything is fine. Yul-i, for a moment, why don’t you look up at that sky over there, cover your ears, and count loudly to ten?”
“Yes!”
Yul-i immediately turned her gaze toward the sky her grandfather had pointed to and began counting.
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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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