The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 38

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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 38

 

They stayed in Xi’an for a full day.

 

They rested for a long time because the upcoming journey would be arduous.

 

Even though they had traveled at a leisurely pace considering the boy, spending eight full days eating and sleeping on horseback was difficult even for adults.

 

“Tch. It’s finally coming.”

 

Huashen grumbled while looking at the sky.

 

The sky had looked ominous since the night before, and now rain was finally pouring down.

 

However, they couldn’t wait indefinitely for the rain to stop.

 

“We still have to go. What choice do we have?”

 

Wei Zibai came out first as always and waited for the group.

 

But even as he said this, he seemed uncomfortable and couldn’t look at the boy.

 

“Even if it’s uncomfortable, endure it.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Xie Baowei held the boy in his arms and placed him on the front of Chun-gil.

 

The large bamboo hat had plenty of oiled cloth that could wrap around the boy as well.

 

This was also top quality, so no water seeped through despite the beating rain.

 

“Relax your body.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

The boy couldn’t easily relax.

 

Well, he would loosen up as they traveled.

 

They had disposed of the cart.

 

The road from Xi’an to Hanzhong was filled with such rough terrain that carts couldn’t pass.

 

The road after that was the same.

 

It was the famous Shu Zhandao (plank roads built like shelves on steep cliffs).

 

“Well then, let’s depart.”

 

As usual, Namgung Bin moved first.

 

Namgung Seol’s eyes followed the boy before following behind.

 

“You there.”

 

This happened just before they left through the South Gate of Xi’an.

 

The distinction between official and civilian was clear, and the Namgung name carried powerful influence.

 

The group had never once been stopped by government troops.

 

In fact, they had never even encountered common disputes.

 

The two Namgung siblings had faces that revealed their noble lineage even if they wore rags, so this was natural.

 

So when one of the guard captains watching the gate called out to Xie Baowei, everyone thought it was nothing serious.

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

Xie Baowei’s identification tag also bore the name of the Hwangbo Family.

 

He had erased it with his own hands, then recently received it again.

 

“Is that your child?”

 

The guard captain gestured with his chin toward the boy in Xie Baowei’s arms.

 

“No.”

 

“Then?”

 

“An acquaintance’s child.”

 

“Hmm. Where is he from?”

 

“…Shandong.”

 

Xie Baowei’s expression hardened.

 

The soldiers standing beside the guard captain turned pale, but they couldn’t restrain their superior.

 

“He doesn’t look like he’s from the Central Plains. How old is he?”

 

“Five. Many foreigners come and go through Shandong’s sea routes. Are you saying everyone related to them isn’t from the Central Plains?”

 

“…Was he born in the twenty-second year of Qinghua? Not the twenty-first year?”

 

Xie Baowei silently nodded.

 

The guard captain stared at Xie Baowei for a long time. Then he let out a long sigh.

 

“I once had the chance to meet Commander Wei of Jinzhou Guard. He was a decent man.”

 

The head of Liaodong’s Jinzhou Guard is Huangbo Enxiang. The second son of Dongpae Hwangbo Seungjeong. He entered the military early and inherited the position that the Hwangbo Family had controlled for generations.

 

The guard captain spoke as if troubled.

 

“…There’s no deception, is there?”

 

“None.”

 

Xie Baowei answered firmly.

 

The guard captain pondered for a long while more, then nodded.

 

“Pass through.”

 

The group set out again.

 

The boy hung his head low like a criminal.

 

***

 

“…I’m sorry.”

 

“It’s fine. How can you apologize for heaven sending rain?”

 

The group stopped at a small mountain shrine.

 

The surrounding rice fields were abundant, and the shrine was also large and well-maintained.

 

The group pitched tents against the wall and made camp.

 

The ground was damp and their wet clothes were clammy, but there was no choice.

 

Namgung Seol took position in the main hall that enshrined the ancestral tablets.

 

She had refused several times, but there wasn’t enough space when they brought the horses in too.

 

They tried to bring the boy inside as well, but he adamantly refused.

 

“Just sit there.”

 

“You’re really smart. You’re five years old?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“Wow. Really, when I was five, I probably barely knew to control my bowels.”

 

“That’s why you’re lacking, I suppose.”

 

“Hey now, Brother Wei Ji. That’s harsh. You’ve wounded my childlike heart.”

 

“Sure.”

 

While Xie Baowei went out to gather firewood, everyone skillfully did their tasks.

 

The boy was the same.

 

He spread out bedding, tore dried meat, shared cold food, then put the torn meat in to boil and stirred.

 

Everyone looked at him as if he were admirable.

 

Once the firewood was lit, the atmosphere quickly changed.

 

Above, the sound of rain pattered, while below, the fire warmed the air.

 

Perhaps out of consideration for the boy, they had stopped at villages every time, so this was the first time sleeping outside like this.

 

“It must be uncomfortable. You’re going through a lot.”

 

Shake shake.

 

The boy still seemed awkward around the adults and kept his head down, but shook it vigorously as if to say no.

 

The adults smiled again as if he were admirable.

 

The boy hung his head low again.

 

But he was sincere.

 

Though his bottom hurt from long horseback riding, his thighs were chafed, and his back ached from uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, the boy had never complained once.

 

He didn’t even feel it was uncomfortable.

 

It was no different from when he lived in that hut that was barely better than being outside, but there was an even greater difference.

 

“It’s quiet outside.”

 

Xie Baowei opened the shrine door and entered.

 

Huashen startled and snatched the ladle from the boy’s hand.

 

Wei Zibai awkwardly greeted Xie Baowei.

 

Xie Baowei didn’t particularly mind.

 

The boy, as if accustomed to it, snatched the ladle back again.

 

The firewood he had brought was a full load. Even after taking out an armful, it was enough.

 

Despite the rain falling all day, he had somehow managed to find dry firewood.

 

After a few more trips back and forth, enough firewood had been piled up for the night, so he built up the fire a bit more.

 

Crackle. Crackle.

 

Since they had settled in early, everyone had eaten dinner but hadn’t gone to sleep yet.

 

The rain continued to fall, but the quality tent blocked it well.

 

“What about the child’s parents?”

 

Wei Zibai suddenly asked.

 

For the past eight days, the group hadn’t moved quickly, but they had walked steadily without rest. Sometimes they ran.

 

The road to Xi’an had been easy, but after that it gradually became more difficult.

 

Who wouldn’t know the notorious reputation of the Shu Road?

 

“They’re dead.”

 

“You must have been close for them to entrust the child to you.”

 

Thanks to Huashen’s bright personality, they had been exchanging brief conversations for a while now.

 

It wasn’t easy to remain uncomfortable when eating and sleeping together, seeing each other’s faces every day.

 

However, Wei Zibai alone seemed to drift apart, isolated from the others.

 

The wound from losing his younger brother wouldn’t heal easily.

 

Therefore, he was always the first to get up and the first to be ready.

 

His silent urging had made everyone’s steps longer and faster.

 

Yet Wei Zibai never showed the slightest sign of this to the child.

 

“Hey, in front of the kid.”

 

Huashen said, deliberately glaring at Xie Baowei.

 

Xie Baowei looked back at the child as if he hadn’t thought of it. The child showed no particular reaction, just staring at the flames.

 

It was something he would say casually when people asked. It was good for making them shut up.

 

Silence fell again, then Wei Zibai asked once more.

 

“Where are you from? Yunnan? Zhejiang? I heard there are many Red Foreigners in Guangdong.”

 

“…Shandong. Didn’t you hear?”

 

“Your speech and appearance don’t seem to be from there.”

 

Xie Baowei didn’t answer.

 

The sound of burning firewood and raindrops hitting the tent answered instead.

 

As the silence lengthened, Huashen suddenly spoke up.

 

“That child is truly beautiful. Those clear, bright eyes… Right? I don’t know for sure, but her mother must have been incredibly beautiful.”

 

At Huashen’s smiling compliment, the child lowered her head deeply.

 

The grime from before had long been washed away since traveling with Xie Baowei.

 

Her hair was still short, so at a glance she could be mistaken for a boy, but everyone knew she was a girl.

 

She always wore a large hood pulled down to cover her face, but no matter what, the group couldn’t help but see her face.

 

Xie Baowei didn’t respond to those words either. They weren’t words he could respond to.

 

As if uninterested in the conversation, he just stared at the fire, then quietly took out a few dates from his pocket and pushed them toward the child.

 

The child looked at the dates and Xie Baowei for a moment, then smiled.

 

Her attitude suggested she didn’t care at all about the ongoing conversation.

 

So another awkward silence passed.

 

Namgung Seol stood up from her seat.

 

“Let’s sleep now. The road will become treacherous from tomorrow.”

 

As she entered the shrine, the rest of the people also got up from their seats.

 

They decided on night watch shifts, arranged their sleeping areas, and quickly disappeared to their respective spots one by one.

 

Soon it became quiet without much tossing and turning.

 

Since Xie Baowei had the first watch, he sat warming himself by the fire.

 

The child showed no intention of returning to her sleeping spot, so when he looked at her, she looked back at him.

 

“If I’m a burden, you can abandon me.”

 

The child said quietly.

 

Uncomfortable stirring could be heard from various places.

 

Xie Baowei smiled bitterly.

 

“I won’t abandon you.”

 

“I’m being a burden even now. You could have left me behind.”

 

It wasn’t something a mere five-year-old should say. Not the content, the tone, or the level.

 

Xie Baowei lost his words for a moment, then spoke again.

 

“You are a burden.”

 

Flinch.

 

Huashen’s side flinched. His gaze could be felt piercing through the blanket.

 

“But I still won’t abandon you.”

 

“Why?”

 

“…Go to sleep.”

 

Flinch.

 

This time it was Wei Zibai’s side.

 

Xie Baowei unnecessarily threw another piece of firewood into the fire.

 

“Yes.”

 

The child lay down on her side facing Xie Baowei.

 

He added several blankets including his own over her and patted her gently. Pat. Pat.

 

She seemed to toss and turn a little, then soon the sound of peaceful breathing could be heard.

 

“Are you from Guizhou?”

 

“Is that important?”

 

It was Namgung Bin, who had been quiet until now.

 

His eyes, which had been quietly warming by the fire across from Xie Baowei, turned toward him.

 

“It is important.”

 

“…I don’t know either.”

 

“Her age.”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Her parents.”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

Xie Baowei answered quietly.

 

Even through the sound of rain, the child’s regular breathing could be heard clearly.

 

The group’s hushed presence was equally distinct.

 

“The ones following…”

 

“I dealt with them properly.”

 

Luoyang was a large city where countless people lived.

 

Mixed blood wasn’t strange either.

 

Nevertheless, they had drawn attention.

 

He had dealt with it, but if he had left it alone, there surely would have been trouble.

 

The ones Namgung Bin was talking about were those who had followed them since leaving Xi’an.

 

He had dealt with them while going to gather firewood.

 

“Even though the distinction between official and private matters is clear, disloyalty and treason are definite crimes. I heard Socheon’s blade is still wandering around searching for surviving traitors.”

 

Namgung Bin’s eyes looked at the sky once, then turned toward Xie Baowei.

 

Though his calm eyes held clear light, they seemed piercing.

 

“Is she the bloodline of Yedang?”

 

“No.”

 

Xie Baowei shook his head firmly.

 

“A child whose age and hometown are unknown.”

 

Namgung Bin’s voice was gentle, but what it contained was interrogation.

 

Xie Baowei smiled bitterly.

 

“I’m certain. Because they’re dead.”

 

Namgung Bin didn’t ask any more questions.

 

He just stared intently at Xie Baowei.

 

That gaze reminded him of someone.

 

-Don’t like it?

 

-How interesting.

 

When he closed his eyes, the screams were vivid.

 

The screams seemed to mix together – those from that day, the day before, and the day before that, until he couldn’t tell when was when or whose voices they were.

 

Xie Baowei opened his eyes again, glanced once at the Boy.

 

And let out a sigh.

 

The Guizhou Rebellion had begun with the persecuted Butchers and Hapa as its main force.

 

The rebel king Lee Hamin was also a Butcher, and his wife was a courtesan from the Red Foreigners.

 

For people to have followed such a man, what must his character have been like.

 

“I saw it with my own eyes.”

 

Rain was pouring down.

 

Neither Namgung Bin nor Xie Baowei spoke any further.

 

After listening to the sound of rain falling for a while, Namgung Bin opened his mouth again.

 

“Father said to bring you back. If necessary, even as a match for Aseol.”

 

“…Good grief. What in the world.”

 

Xie Baowei frowned and shook his head.

 

It was completely incomprehensible.

 

“I didn’t understand it either.”

 

Namgung Bin smiled wryly.

 

“It’s not bad though.”

 

What wasn’t.

 

The firelight licked away the shadows on Namgung Bin’s face.

 

His handsome face flickered.

 

Xie Baowei said grumpily.

 

“I’m not so keen on it.”

 

Namgung Bin chuckled as if he understood why, then stood up brushing off his bottom.

 

That also didn’t sit well with him. But he didn’t continue the conversation.

 

Soon, Namgung Bin’s sleeping area became quiet.

 

Xie Baowei remained awake, frowning deeply.

 

The past grabbed his ankles and dragged him into the darkness.

 

Without realizing it, he gripped the clothes covering the Boy.

 

The campfire crackled.

—————
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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