The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 29

Since returning to Jinan,

Xie Baowei had never once regretted coming back.

Though he was bewildered by the inexplicable kindness and unconditional hospitality, he neither rejected nor disliked it.

While he had felt saddened by emotions he had never experienced in his lifetime, he was also glad for them.

But today,

here, in this place,

now, just for this moment,

he regretted it a little.

“Take care on your journey, Xie Shu.”

Xie Baowei left the house looking completely different from when he had arrived.

He wore a hero’s crown with a small jewel embedded in his forehead, dressed in fine, durable martial robes with a silk overcoat.

At his waist hung a precious sword that anyone would covet at first sight.

Chun-gil’s back was also loaded with various supplies.

“Don’t get hurt anywhere.”

Yet for some reason, Xie Baowei couldn’t lift his head.

No, he couldn’t lift his head.

Hwangbo Yeonhwi’s hand gripped his shoulder firmly before letting go.

Starting with that, the others also quietly held his hand or patted his back.

Mmm. No.

He endured by firmly suppressing the sincerity that was about to burst from his lips.

“…I, I should be departing now…”

Only when Seonju carefully spoke up did they finally let him go.

No, wait—thud. Hwangbo Yeontak suddenly pulled Xie Baowei into his broad embrace.

Then he patted his back firmly with his large hands.

“Ahem. If there’s anyone who bothers you, remember them!”

“Uncle! Have a safe trip!”

“Buy Hyemi a present too!”

“…Please travel safely.”

After that, the young nephews rushed over again, and the sisters-in-law smiled warmly as they bid farewell.

The affection in their eyes was grateful, but…

Now, please.

“…Household Head…”

“Oh my, let him go already.”

Only when Hwangbo Seungjeong urged them again could he finally leave.

“…Are you really sure I don’t need to come with you?”

“Yes.”

Still, he could speak firmly to Huangbo Lüli.

Beside him, his sister-in-law smiled gratefully.

Even if it wasn’t for sister-in-law’s sake, I didn’t want you to come.

Huangbo Lüli turned his head and looked sad. What could be so regrettable, who knows.

“Travel well.”

“…Yes.”

Finally, Hwangbo Seungjeong looked up at Xie Baowei.

His wrinkled hands traced Xie Baowei’s hands, caressed his back, and touched his arms before letting go.

Xie Baowei bowed deeply and took his steps.

“Travel safely.”

“Please travel safely!”

“Have a good trip!”

“Have a safe journey!”

As he stepped onto the gangplank connecting to the boat, farewells from the household members continued behind him.

Xie Baowei silently bowed deeply toward them as well.

Chun-gil, who had boarded first, snorted with a puff of breath.

Finally, the boat began to move.

“…Well, he doesn’t look like it, but is that person perhaps going to take the civil service exam? Though the exams aren’t being held… Could he be taking it for the first time at that age? We didn’t even send our child off like that for his first errand.”

A passenger on the same boat quietly asking his companion was clearly audible.

Xie Baowei bit his lips and looked straight ahead.

He could hear the other person excitedly talking about the Hwangbo Family and something about a son-in-law.

Really now.

Even so, he didn’t remove the ill-fitting hero’s crown and overcoat.

He didn’t go inside either.

Because even as the dock grew distant, the faces of the Household Head and brothers who couldn’t bear to leave and kept pacing floated before his eyes.

Xie Baowei also stood at the edge of the boat, gazing at them endlessly.

Until they were no longer visible.

It was his first time being seen off.

***

Thanks to the Daewunha that connected the north and south of the Central Plains, the early part of the journey could be traveled easily by boat.

Due to the cool early summer weather and that long send-off at departure, no one particularly bothered Xie Baowei.

Still, by the second day, they stopped at three or four villages, and with new passengers coming and going, some people gradually approached him to share drinks.

After getting off the boat on the third day and traveling for three more days, they reached the Yellow River.

“Nanling wine! Shandong’s famous liquor! Three coins per cup, drink before you go!”

“Salted duck eggs, white cut meat! Lamb skewers all available! Great with alcohol!”

“Jiangnan silk, Jingdezhen porcelain, special prices today only!”

Dozens of ferry boats constantly crossed the river.

Along the riverbank, temporary taverns stretched endlessly, drawing in customers.

Even though the sun hadn’t set yet, people were already sitting and getting flushed with drink.

Surely the other side would be the same.

“The sun will set soon, sir. Our tavern has famous liquors from all over the country, and delicacies you’ve never even heard of, so how about staying the night?”

The soliciting continued throughout their walk.

Especially the Yellow River, true to its name of “one measure of water, six parts mud,” had murky water with much sediment, making it difficult to cross once it got even slightly dark.

The raftsmen had also called it quits early.

There was probably some influence from the lined-up merchants, but Xie Baowei wasn’t in such a hurry either.

“That’s alright.”

Xie Baowei politely declined each time.

The inn touts showed no signs of displeasure and quickly moved on to find others.

After declining several times and passing the entrance, the inn touts no longer approached him.

Only then did Xie Baowei look around with a somewhat more relaxed mind.

Though this wasn’t a pleasure trip, he felt a little excited.

He couldn’t remember when he had last leisurely strolled through a market like this.

No, was this the first time?

So Xie Baowei walked slowly, buying a chicken skewer to eat, tasting some dumplings, and picking up a bottle of good wine from a confectionery.

It wasn’t really the famous liquor they boasted about, but it was decent enough to drink.

As he wandered around alone looking at this and that, it was already late at night.

During that time, after much deliberation, he bought an ornament and carefully placed it in his chest.

Then his heart became anxious, but when he actually thought about leaving, he felt heavy-hearted.

“Sigh.”

Snort.

He sighed for no reason. Chun-gil nudged him with her nose.

Perhaps that was her way of offering comfort.

“Let’s rest for a bit first.”

He had drunk a little and had some money on him, so he came around this way thinking to stay somewhere a bit nicer tonight.

Since the riverbank was prone to flooding, the inns that offered lodging were located up above.

“Ah!”

As he was taking the back route, some young boy came running and bumped into him.

He caught the boy who was about to fall, and after the boy bowed briefly and tried to run away, he grabbed the boy’s wrist and spun him around.

The money pouch he had kept in his chest was now in his hand.

“Damn it!”

The young boy spat and shook off his hand.

Xie Baowei simply let go. There was no need to get involved.

Getting involved would only bring visits from the Black Dao gangs around here.

Meanwhile, he turned around and reached for his waist.

“Well now.”

Xie Baowei’s face hardened.

“…Mixed blood?”

What he had caught this time was a much smaller, scrawny little kid.

The short hair covered in dust and soot was dark but not black.

The eyes were light, but the skin was dark.

The face also seemed like a Central Plains person’s but was subtly different.

The differences weren’t that great, so an ordinary person would have missed it, but Xie Baowei could tell immediately.

“You…”

From the outside, the child looked to be only about four or five years old.

However, these back alley street children were often older than they appeared.

No. Before that, they often died.

Moreover, mixed-blood children like this lived even harsher lives.

“…Please.”

The child’s eyes trembled, so Xie Baowei unconsciously let go.

The clicking sound he heard was from the young boy he had just released.

Well, they must be in the same gang.

“…Wait.”

The moment Xie Baowei let go, the child jumped backward.

While he hesitated, the child quickly disappeared into the crowd.

The bruises on the body, arms, and wrists, and the child’s large eyes lingered for a long time.

Xie Baowei stood there for a while looking at where the child had disappeared, smiled bitterly, and turned away.

.

.

.

Xie Baowei tossed and turned for a long time.

In the shabby inn, all the surrounding noise could be heard.

That wasn’t why he was tossing and turning.

It was because the child he had seen during the day kept staying on his mind.

“Mixed blood…”

-Kill them. They are the source of all evil. Eradicate them completely.

Damn it.

That was already over.

Xie Baowei scratched his head vigorously and pulled the old, smelly blanket over himself.

Damn memories kept surfacing.

-You little rat! Where are you sneaking in to steal again!

He too had lived in the slums.

Among the poor, if there was a lowest class, it was orphans.

Children without connections could die anytime, anywhere, and no one cared.

“It’s not my concern.”

The younger orphans were, the harder it was for them to survive.

In the bottom of society where it was hard enough to survive alone, there was extremely little they could do, and they were just inefficient mouths to feed.

They usually ended up in the hands of beggars, and if they kept their limbs intact, they were lucky.

When they grew up, well, they’d either be sold to slave traders or become errand boys for the Black Dao.

It was quite rare to see such a young child working as a pickpocket.

Either they were smarter than their age, older than they looked, or someone was raising them for their pretty face…

Especially if they were mixed blood.

“Damn.”

Xie Baowei rolled over.

His train of thought flowed on.

Mixed blood, mixed blood.

He himself had been quite lucky. He had grown up without any serious injuries.

But he didn’t know how grueling the struggles he had gone through to achieve that were.

Unable to trust anyone, unable to love anyone…

-Hmph! You don’t trust me?

No. I trusted you.

I wanted to trust you.

Damn.

Xie Baowei suddenly sat up.

He had already emptied the thoughts that had been filling his head.

He hardened his face and quietly stood up.

He threw the blanket roughly onto the cheap inn’s floor to muffle the sound as much as possible.

He had already drawn the sword he kept by his pillow and wrapped cloth around the blade to kill its gleam.

After being quiet for a while, they had to come to a place like this.

Xie Baowei frowned.

Then for a moment.

“…Huh?”

Am I. Not the target?

He quietly opened the window and looked outside.

The closely packed buildings had just enough space for one person to squeeze through.

Xie Baowei sheathed his sword and slipped his body out.

In the deep night, a shadow crossed over the buildings.

***

The underworld of Huanghe Port was always swept by bloody winds.

As countless people came and went, there were many interests at stake, but the territory was as long as the Yellow River itself, and no one could control it all.

The Jojung officials didn’t care who it was as long as they were slipped some money under the table.

The Baido sects were also greedy for it, but they couldn’t step forward openly.

So, the leadership changed several times a month, and this incident would have ended as just another such affair.

“…Why. Why.”

A typical ferry had about three types of interests involved: the big ones were brothels and taverns, the smaller ones were boat fares and shops, and the trivial ones were pickpocketing and begging.

Depending on the situation, these would be divided or combined, but most didn’t bother with the bottom line.

That was because the profits from pickpockets and beggars weren’t valuable enough to shed blood over.

In that sense, today, Black Beggar, the boss of the beggar gang at this Jangchu Ferry, couldn’t understand what was happening at all.

“Why…”

Why on earth.

This place that was nothing but cripples missing an arm or leg each, scrawny children, and a few old prostitutes.

Why on earth.

“Ugh!”

“Gasp!”

They were men disguised entirely in black clothing.

Having infiltrated the den in an instant, they approached silently and severed people’s necks.

There was no hesitation.

Black Beggar, who had been alone counting the gold coins he had buried, saw it all.

Yet he could neither scream nor flee.

One of the men had looked at him and raised a finger to his lips.

“…Why.”

There were only about five or six of them, but he wouldn’t have been able to handle even one of them.

Even Black Beggar, famous for his tenacity and guts that never let go once he bit down, didn’t dare think of resisting them.

Their movements were invisible even while being watched. He only knew a sword had been swung when blood spurted out.

Horrifyingly, the men dragged all those they had killed and laid them out neatly in the courtyard.

All remained in their sleeping positions.

“Is it finished?”

Nod.

The voice was deliberately rough, as if scraped.

The response came only through head gestures.

Only then did the men’s eyes turn back to Black Beggar.

“This is all the children.”

“We found them.”

Before Black Beggar could say who they were looking for, what they wanted, that he could give them anything they asked for if they would just speak, his throat grew hot.

Black Beggar collapsed just as he was opening his mouth.

It was when the masked men turned their heads.

“Huk.”

The masked man who had discovered three or four children hiding in the corner of the hut collapsed just as he was raising his sword.

Blood spurted from the back of his neck.

“Bastards like you exist everywhere you go.”

It was Xie Baowei.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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