The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 30

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

Chapter 30

Xie Baowei gripped his short blade firmly.

The men charged without a word.

He grabbed the arm of the first one attacking, struck his knee, then threw him forward.

To the one swinging from the right, he threw his blade as is to create an opening, then leaped left to block the blade and headbutted his forehead.

He turned that man’s blade and stabbed it into his neck, then took the blade.

By then, he crouched low to dodge the blade of the black-clothed man stepping over the first thrown opponent, then charged straight in, taking the hit with his shoulder and instantly striking the instep, ankle, and back of the knee before withdrawing.

He immediately threw the dagger he was holding at the man on the right, then charged straight ahead.

As the man dodged Xie Baowei’s thrown dagger and thrust his blade, Xie Baowei caught the blade with his armpit, pulled it away, then delivered consecutive strikes to the solar plexus and jaw.

In that position, he leaped high and spun around, and in an instant four men had fallen.

One was dead, but two were crawling on the ground and one had fainted.

Only one remained.

“What grudge do you have against beggars?”

Behind him, still keeping a distance of one step, the surviving children blinked their eyes.

He tried speaking while slashing the throat of the man with the injured leg using the enemy’s blade he had caught under his armpit.

The Masked Man who appeared to be the leader only twitched his eyebrows and remained silent as expected.

“Well. It’s none of my business.”

Next was the man who was unsteadily standing while clutching his knee.

When he resisted with clenched fists, Xie Baowei first cut off his fist, then stabbed the blade into his neck.

Even during this, the Masked Man seemed to be observing the children behind rather than Xie Baowei, then suddenly opened his mouth.

“May I withdraw?”

Perhaps surprised by those words, Xie Baowei pondered briefly then shrugged his shoulders.

The blade slipped and fell from his reversed grip.

Clank!

In that instant, the man’s pupils turned toward the falling blade.

Swoosh!

Clang!

Not missing that moment, Xie Baowei’s foot kicked the tip of the blade just before it fell.

Blade met blade and sparks flew.

In between, Xie Baowei took one deep advancing step with a thud.

His body shot forward like an arrow.

But again. Crack!

Just as Xie Baowei’s next step was about to land, a rupture occurred.

It was his left leg.

There was no way to miss such an opening.

The Masked Man’s body turned left. The man’s sword slashed long across Xie Baowei’s body.

Xie Baowei extended his left hand long as if to sacrifice it.

Crack!

It was an instant.

Sparks flew from Xie Baowei’s left arm as it collided with the man’s sword.

“…Iron armor?”

Slice.

With a chilling sound, it felt hot below.

When the man slowly looked down, Xie Baowei’s treasured sword that had been dangling from his waist was somehow drawn and had slashed across his belly.

“…Cowardly.”

“I know.”

Those were the man’s last words.

As he withdrew his body, the man collapsed forward.

Xie Baowei rolled up his sleeve and briefly examined the still smooth armguard on his forearm and the treasured sword that had no grease on it despite cutting deep into a human body.

-The Qinghan Sword and Flying Scale Armor. Make sure to carry them with you. So you won’t get hurt.

While the Qinghan Sword was obviously good quality, the Flying Scale Armor made of thin iron plates was so light at first that he thought it might be made of wood and was rather suspicious.

He had made such a fuss about giving it, so it wasn’t given for nothing after all.

He was certainly an extremely meticulous gentleman.

He shook his head as he recalled Hwangbo Yeonhwi personally fitting it on both his forearms and shins.

Then he also stabbed the unconscious subordinate in the neck and wiped his blade clean on the body.

“Thank you.”

One boy had already run away.

Another was glancing around nervously then rummaged through the hut.

The one who approached him was the remaining one.

The hapa he had seen earlier.

Transparent eyes looked straight at Xie Baowei.

Though her hair was short making it ambiguous, her features were delicate like a girl.

“It wasn’t for you.”

Xie Baowei looked at the girl and spoke with a stern face.

He wasn’t angry at the child.

His anger had a different reason.

Still.

Xie Baowei glared sharply at the dead martial artists. But what he truly wanted to resent was above them.

However, there was no way.

He could only live on.

Shaking his head, he thoroughly wiped his blade clean then put it in its sheath. He also picked up his original short blade to check if the edge was damaged.

The enemies’ weapons were ordinary so he discarded them.

During this time, the girl approached Wang Chu’s corpse.

The young boy who had been rummaging through the hut was startled and ran over to push the girl away.

“You bitch!”

The young boy growled low and raised his hand high, then lowered it after glancing at Xie Baowei.

When Xie Baowei showed no reaction, he glared at the girl then hurriedly searched the corpse and hut.

The money accumulated so far was quite substantial as yellow gold was revealed.

The young boy glanced at Xie Baowei while conflicted, then pocketed about one-third… no, about half while watching for his reaction.

Xie Baowei still showed no reaction.

The young boy’s eyes lit up as he grabbed another handful and quickly ran off, disappearing into the darkness.

“…Take what’s left.”

The girl stared for a long time in the direction the young boy had disappeared.

Xie Baowei, having roughly finished organizing, spoke to the girl.

The girl alternately looked at the remaining gold and Xie Baowei, then shook her head.

“Please take it, benefactor. It would only bring me trouble.”

Her voice was younger than expected.

But due to her manner of speaking and content, it was difficult to guess her age.

After saying this, the girl only gathered several coins.

Next, for some reason, she grabbed and dragged Wang Chu’s corpse.

However, a girl who was at most eleven or twelve, and looked only six or seven due to malnutrition, couldn’t possibly drag a full-grown man’s corpse.

After struggling for a long time and giving up, she rummaged around the hut again and found straw, branches, cloth and such, covering Wang Chu’s hut and the corpses with them.

The last thing she held in her hand was flint.

“…Was he good to you?”

“No.”

Xie Baowei just watched quietly before asking.

The child shook her head as if it were obvious.

“Mom said I should do this.”

“Who.”

“…Mom.”

With that brief exchange, both Xie Baowei and the boy fell silent.

He took the flint from the boy who was struggling to light a fire.

After lifting and carrying Wang Chu’s corpse, he gathered even the attackers’ bodies in one place.

When he finished collecting them all, there were over twenty dead.

There were also two boys who couldn’t escape the flames.

He searched through the hut again, gathered things like pig fat, spread them evenly, then set it on fire.

The corpses were consumed by flames in an instant.

Though the beggars’ den was some distance from the village, with a fire this size, people would notice and come.

Even so, the two simply stood watching the flames.

“How old are you?”

“Five years old.”

Xie Baowei looked at the boy in surprise.

That was actually the right age.

No, much younger.

Let me think, when I was this age…

It wasn’t that the child was small from malnutrition, but that someone so young had come to understand the world.

Recalling the somehow dark pupils of the boy, Xie Baowei asked again.

“Your name?”

“Yingying.”

The character for peace repeated twice.

It was a common name, but thinking of the hapa’s life and the boy’s current situation made his heart bitter.

“Anywhere to go?”

The boy quietly shook his head.

Then suddenly, as if something made him sad, he began shedding tears like chicken droppings. Drop. Drop.

Xie Baowei simply watched from beside him.

The boy quickly composed his emotions.

He wiped his tears and shook his head, then bowed deeply toward Xie Baowei again.

“Thank you for saving me. If you tell me your name, I will surely repay this kindness someday.”

It was a humble promise with no way to prove it, no ability, and uncertain survival, but there was strong determination in the boy’s eyes.

Perhaps because of that.

Xie Baowei looked far off toward somewhere in the north for a moment, then shook his head.

“Will you come with me?”

Xie Baowei asked.

The boy’s eyes wavered.

“I have a cursed body.”

The boy glanced at Xie Baowei briefly, then looked at the flames with sad eyes.

To this, Xie Baowei spoke.

“There’s no such person.”

The boy remained silent.

Xie Baowei shook his head again and spoke.

This time it wasn’t a question.

“Come with me.”

***

They crossed the river safely.

The boy didn’t eat much, and the adult didn’t particularly encourage it either.

The two walked as if they were separate travelers.

The boy rarely relied on the adult. The adult was the same.

When the horse and adult strode ahead and looked back, the boy would come running quickly.

Though it must have been difficult, he never said it was hard.

“This won’t work.”

“I’m fine.”

“Too slow.”

“I’m sorry.”

He bought a cart and hitched it to Chun-gil.

Chun-gil didn’t seem to like it, but after seeing Yingying, reluctantly nodded.

He considered having them both ride the horse together, but it failed.

Chun-gil was too big and the movement too rough for a small child to ride.

Also, to carry the boy, he would inevitably have to hold him tightly in front, which made Yingying uncomfortable.

“Can you ride in this?”

“Yes.”

He laid plenty of blankets, quilts, and clothes in the sturdy cart.

Though it would naturally be uncomfortable, Yingying didn’t complain.

Xie Baowei didn’t worry about it anymore either.

Two days later, in some field, Xie Baowei received night visitors.

“Me or the kid.”

If he had known this would happen, he should have stayed in the village they just passed.

He had decided to camp at an awkward time and only attracted enemies.

Xie Baowei scratched his rough chin and asked.

Seeing the opponents’ eyes panic at the sight of the child, he could tell.

“Just leave.”

But of course they wouldn’t just leave.

Sigh.

Xie Baowei let out a deep breath.

“Keep your eyes closed.”

As soon as Xie Baowei finished speaking, the men rushed forward.

Blood flew wildly in the wrong night.

.

.

.

“You can open your eyes now.”

Yingying, who had been trembling with eyes tightly shut, carefully opened them at the familiar voice.

Then he saw the rough breathing and wounded face of a man covered in blood.

He looked hurt everywhere, and tears quickly welled up, but he held them back.

“I’m fine.”

Xie Baowei smiled lightly.

The boy’s eyes couldn’t tell, but he really was fine.

It was thanks to the armor plates on his forearms and shins.

The minor wounds would heal just by sleeping well.

“Mm. It would be better to just keep your eyes closed.”

Xie Baowei said again while brushing off the blood and flesh stuck to his body.

Though the child had seen many terrible things, there was no need to show him more.

“Because of me…”

“No?”

Yingying held back his tears and spoke.

Xie Baowei opened his mouth as if asking what he was talking about.

“…Well. This side has pretty bad luck too.”

Xie Baowei shrugged his shoulders.

Yingying’s eyes wavered.

“Really, you might be in bigger trouble.”

Xie Baowei said with a slight frown.

“So, um, well then. If you want to run away, just tell me. I’ll let you go.”

I didn’t think much of it when I brought her along.

Isn’t it actually more dangerous for me? Xie Baowei tilted his head in thought.

Yingying hurriedly shook her head.

“It’s okay.”

“You say a lot of things are okay.”

Xie Baowei chuckled softly.

Then he looked around and muttered to himself that this place wouldn’t do.

“It’ll be troublesome, but let’s move. I think there should be a stream if we go a little further.”

Certainly, it wasn’t a condition suitable for sleeping.

Yingying nodded.

Only then did Xie Baowei grab Chun-gil’s reins and lead her.

Xie Baowei thought as he immersed his body in the stream.

The assassins targeting me don’t target the boy. Even when I deliberately showed openings, they didn’t.

If they were after my life, they would naturally use the boy as well.

This was definitely just for ‘warning’ purposes.

Those crazy bastards at the top of the nation really throw away human lives like flies for such trivial reasons.

‘Yet they worry about Xiaotian’s tiny bit of anger.’

Power is truly frightening.

I disliked it before, but the more I know, the more I hate it.

-Kill him. It’s for the nation.

That’s what power is.

Something that doesn’t tolerate even a speck of enemy.

-Come. I shall use you importantly.

If not an enemy, then use them like dogs or horses.

Xie Baowei dunked his head in the stream and lifted it up.

Yingying was leaning against the cart, watching him intently, then hid.

Sigh.

Xie Baowei caught a glimpse of that and let out a deep sigh toward the ground.

He couldn’t lift his head.

Whose fault is it?

It’s my fault. My fault.

***

They arrived in Luoyang two more days after that.

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