My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 95

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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 95. Not a Matter of Gratitude, But Duty
“One… two…”
Peng Mugang rose slowly from his seat, a faint smile on his lips as he listened to Yul-i’s clear voice counting aloud—but the smile faded just as quickly.
His gaze turned toward the kidnappers.
“Agh!”
The abductors shuddered, their bodies trembling.
The benevolent expression he’d worn while watching his granddaughter vanished entirely. Now his face twisted with rage.
He’d heard everything.
What their purpose had been, and how they’d meant to kill Yul-i the moment their plan unraveled.
Men who laid hands on children and women.
They belonged to the category of filth Peng Mugang despised most.
Naturally, they didn’t deserve to live.
“Please, wait. It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding—”
“Shut your mouth.”
One of the kidnappers, mid-gesture and mid-excuse, had his jaw shattered.
Teeth scattered across the floor as bone fragments fell in their wake.
“Gack—!”
“Eeeek!”
All the abductors tried to flee.
But Peng Mugang unleashed an Earth Wind technique, sealing their vital pressure points and paralysis meridians.
The kidnappers collapsed to the ground in a heap, unable to move.
Fallen and helpless, they could only roll their eyes in terror.
Then Peng Mugang’s voice reached their ears.
“I’ll make sure even Hell itself feels afraid when you remember me.”
“…!”
Disposing of men like this took no longer than the time it took Yul-i to count to ten.
A terrible killing intent blazed from his eyes.
Crack. Crunch.
Accompanied by a sickening sound, the kidnappers’ bones shattered methodically in Peng Mugang’s grip as they slowly perished.
He even injected Internal Energy into their bodies, twisting their meridians and making their sinews and bones move of their own accord, layering unbearable agony upon them.
He was employing the Bone-Breaking Torture Technique on them.
Yet they couldn’t even scream.
He’d sealed their Pressure Points, rendering them voiceless.
And so the kidnappers who’d attempted to snatch a merchant’s daughter for quick profit found themselves writhing in the most terrible pain imaginable, their eyes weeping blood as they met their end.
“Hehe… ten! Grandfather, I counted all the way!”
Yul-i, who’d finished her count, turned her head.
That was when Peng Mugang’s large hand covered her eyes.
Not a drop of blood stained him anywhere on his body.
“Grandfather?”
At Yul-i’s confused voice, Peng Mugang swiftly scooped his granddaughter into his arms and leapt skyward.
Yul-i’s eyes widened.
“Whoa, whoa! Grandfather! We’re flying!”
“Ha! Do you like it?”
“Yes!”
“You rascal. Ha! Once you learn Martial Arts from grandfather, something like this is nothing at all.”
“Really? Wow! I want to learn right away!”
“That’s right. That’s right! Ha!”
Watching Yul-i’s bright smile, her mind already free of what had happened moments before, Peng Mugang laughed heartily.
He resolved something then.
That he would make Yul-i strong as quickly as possible.
At least strong enough to protect herself from incidents like this.
He’d be satisfied if she reached even half his current strength.
The tiger that had been consumed by such immense fury vanished, and in its place stood merely a grandfather who cherished his granddaughter.
The only fault, if any, was the grandiose ambition to make his granddaughter as fearsome as the roaring tiger of Hebei itself.
***
News of Yul-i’s kidnapping spread swiftly through Peng Manor.
And when word reached them, many within the household burned with fury.
It was vile enough that they’d attempted to abduct a child for ransom, but worse still—they’d tried to kill Yul-i once the plan went awry.
The members of Baeklang-dae and all those who held Yul-i dear gnashed their teeth, swearing they’d cut down every last kidnapper themselves.
But when they heard the abductors had already met their end at Peng Mugang’s hands, they beat the ground in frustration at the lost opportunity.
Each of them said they could have made the ordeal even more painful, even more prolonged.
Yet there was at least this small mercy: those who discovered the wretches’ bodies said the kidnappers must have felt every conceivable agony imaginable before they died—torments so exquisite they would never visit such suffering on anyone again in this world.
In the midst of burning fury, it was truly a consoling thing to hear.
But even so, not everyone’s heart found ease.
For it was not only the Peng Manor that had been left to suffer through this ordeal.
“We are truly sorry.”
After learning the full details of the incident,
Eun Su-a’s parents came to the Peng Manor and apologized with genuine sincerity.
It was clear they had been deeply troubled since learning what had happened, their faces haggard and drawn.
As it turned out, most of those who had orchestrated this affair were people they had once employed.
Those wretched creatures had learned that Eun Su-a’s household had considerable wealth, and so they had devised this scheme to kidnap her and make a substantial profit.
What was even more shocking was that even those who had been hired to guard the house had conspired with the kidnappers and aided them.
They had been promised a sum of money if the operation succeeded.
That was how they managed to slip inside the building undetected and carry off the kidnapping in complete secrecy.
How many men had been enlisted just to abduct a single child?
They were every one of them contemptible creatures.
The mere thought of it sent chills down the spine.
In the end, Eun Su-a’s parents had tracked down and apprehended everyone connected to the affair.
Without question, none of them would survive what lay ahead with their lives intact.
In any case, Eun Su-a’s parents had come to the Peng Manor to express their genuine remorse for the great ordeal their family’s misfortune had brought upon it.
“Yul-i. I’m sorry. Waaaah!”
Eun Su-a, who had come to the Peng Manor with her parents, could no longer contain herself and burst into tears.
Her parents tried to console her, but once the tears had started, they would not stop.
Small wonder—the friend she had invited because she wanted to grow closer had been kidnapped in her stead, and had nearly lost her life. What depths of remorse must she have felt?
The thought that she might never see Yul-i again only made her cry harder.
Yet,
“Su-a.”
Yul-i, who had been holding her mother’s hand, moved toward the weeping girl and took her hand.
“Yul-i! Waaah!”
“Don’t cry. It’s all right.”
“But—”
“I’m fine, truly. And besides, this is all the fault of those bad men, isn’t it? So why are you apologizing? You silly thing.”
“S-sniff. Really?”
At Su-a’s question, Yul-i nodded.
“So stop crying now. All right?”
“Okay.”
“That’s my good Su-a.”
“Silly. We’re the same age.”
“Hehe.”
Yul-i broke into a bright, innocent smile.
And Eun Su-a found herself smiling too.
Watching the two of them, Eun Su-a’s parents felt tears prick their eyes.
Similarly, as Peng Seo-yeon gazed at the children comforting each other, a gentle smile crossed her face and she spoke.
“Su-a’s parents, I share Yul-i’s feelings entirely. This incident is absolutely not your fault. So please, don’t apologize any further. There is nothing to apologize for.”
Of course, when Peng Mugang had first brought her word of Yul-i’s kidnapping, Peng Seo-yeon had been so shocked that her knees had simply given way beneath her.
And in truth, even now her heart had scarcely found peace.
But regardless, this was clearly not Su-a’s family’s fault.
It was entirely the fault of those who had sought to commit an evil deed. How could one blame those who had nearly fallen victim to it?
What wrong had they committed?
So Peng Seo-yeon held no thought of reproaching them.
And she was not alone in this.
Peng Mugang, Dan Hee-young, and the entire Peng Manor shared her sentiment.
Of course, Eun Su-a’s parents had not come out of fear of retaliation from the Peng Manor.
They had come because they genuinely grieved over the incident and found it heartbreaking.
In Yul-i’s case, it had simply been a matter of cruel misfortune.
Had Peng Mugang not been there, it would have ended in tragedy.
It was truly fortunate.
That Peng Mugang had been present at that moment.
On this day, his excessive devotion to his granddaughter shone brilliantly.
And so Yul-i was able to return home safely.
“Father, thank you.”
Not long after Su-a’s family had departed, only the household members remained in the Main Hall, along with Yeo Un-hui.
Peng Seo-yeon lowered her head slightly, gazing at Peng Mugang.
She tried to keep her voice steady, but it trembled faintly.
It was the voice of someone barely holding back tears.
“I truly cannot thank you enough. If you hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would have become of Yul-i…….”
The very thought of it was unbearable.
She could no longer imagine a life without Yul-i.
“Seo-yeon…….”
She had tried to hold it together.
But as tears began to fall freely, Dan Hee-young gently moved to comfort her daughter.
Then,
“Do not cry.”
Peng Mugang, who had been quietly watching his weeping daughter, spoke in his blunt manner.
All eyes turned toward him.
Yet indifferent to the sudden weight of their gazes, Peng Mugang continued.
“And do not thank me for it.”
Words that might have sounded cold fell from his lips.
“Husband, why must you speak so harshly?”
Dan Hee-young looked at Peng Mugang as if pleading with him not to be this way, not now.
Their daughter was crying and offering gratitude—why must he push her away?
Yet what followed was not quite what anyone had expected.
“You have no reason to thank me for such a thing.”
Peng Mugang spoke with unwavering conviction.
But could it be a misperception?
Unlike the harshness of his words, his eyes held no coldness, no cruelty whatsoever.
It was Dan Hee-young who noticed this first.
“Husband……?”
“What is there to praise in an old man protecting his granddaughter? Nothing remarkable about it.”
“Father.”
“Seo-yeon. Listen well. This is simply what must be done.”
What must be done.
Something in Peng Mugang’s words stirred Peng Seo-yeon’s heart.
Her father had never before expressed his feelings so openly, which perhaps made this moment all the more striking.
“Husband. You really are…….”
Understanding at last what her husband was trying to convey, Dan Hee-young’s eyes softened.
A gentle smile graced her lips.
With utmost seriousness, Peng Mugang laid bare what lay in his heart.
“So as long as breath remains in me, I shall stand as Yul-i’s grandfather and shield her. You, and Yul-i, and…….”
Peng Mugang’s gaze shifted to Yeo Un-hui, who stood beside Peng Seo-yeon.
“All of you are my family. So do not thank me for this again.”
With that, Peng Mugang turned and departed the Main Hall without looking back.
Perhaps he was embarrassed, having let fall so many words of affection—uncharacteristic for him.
Yet his retreating figure seemed to Peng Seo-yeon strangely warm today.
It was the moment the great distance between father and daughter had narrowed by a step.

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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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