The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 54

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

Chapter 54

In the martial arts world, there are several families that receive recognition throughout the Central Plains based on their surname alone.

Nangong is one such family, as is Jegal, and Murong as well.

Though not quite at their level, Hwangbo was also among them.

However, there is only one place where a region’s name represents the family.

The Sichuan Dang Family.

What? Some Jinju family? What’s so special about being backed by just one city like Jinju?

The Hebei Peng Family?

They only survived because they dared to establish their family in Northern Zhili.

Hmph. What’s so great about empty-headed fools who just carry around big swords?

That’s what the Hwangbo people used to say.

The E Family also once represented Shandong, but it was only for a brief time.

“The Dang Family was a prestigious clan in the past and remains so now, never wavering. Though Chokmaeng’s headquarters may be in Chongqing, its true center is undoubtedly the Dang Family.”

When Xie Baowei finished speaking with a “Hmm,” Yingying responded with an “Ooh.”

The child’s eyes sparkled like stars as she looked up at Xie Baowei.

What a truly bright child.

Xie Baowei smiled warmly at her.

“There are so many renowned martial families in Sichuan. Places like the Nanhua Alliance and Qinggang School can’t be ignored either, and even the Buddhist Amitabha sect, the Taoist Qingcheng, and Diancang are grouped among the Nine Sects Alliance.”

And yet,

It’s still the Sichuan Dang Family.

“It was also the Dang Family that made Qingcheng and Diancang come down from their mountains. Impressive, isn’t it?”

Xie Baowei boasted as if he were a member of the Dang Family himself.

Yingying laughed cheerfully for the first time in a while.

Excited by this, Xie Baowei suddenly hardened his expression and leaned his face close to Yingying’s.

“But be careful. The Dang Family’s greatest weapon is poison. Before the Dang Family, be cautious of tea, water, and even your breath. That’s a martial arts maxim.”

As he whispered as if telling a terrifying legend, Yingying quickly stopped laughing and hardened her face.

Xie Baowei chuckled.

“You’ll get in big trouble if you say such things when we get there.”

“…Can’t I even tell a child a story?”

“That’s, well. That’s… how should I put it.”

Namgung Seol, who had been listening with a smile, spoke with a troubled expression.

How should I put it. The Dang Family is…

“Petty.”

“Yes. Pet… Eh? Brother?”

Namgung Bin said with a gentle smile.

He shook his head.

“In the past, I had occasion to work with people from the Dang Family. Though we Anhui people are often called closed-minded, that place was different.”

His casual shrug suggested he had been quite affected by the experience.

Xie Baowei asked with a puzzled expression.

“But the Sichuan people I met here weren’t like that?”

Though the people near Chengdu couldn’t represent all of Sichuan, there should still be some general atmosphere, shouldn’t there?

Of course, their reaction when seeing Yingying was bitter, but given the background, it was understandable.

Weren’t those innocent people suffering hardships?

“…The Dang Family is a bit different. As you said, what they handle is dangerous, and their position is what it is…”

If even Namgung Bin, who wasn’t one to easily judge others, spoke this way, it must be quite unusual indeed.

And yet they claim to be the leader of an entire region?

Doubt appeared on Xie Baowei’s face.

Namgung Bin and Namgung Seol smiled awkwardly.

“Let’s just go and see for ourselves.”

“You’ll understand when you see. They’re not entirely bad people though.”

Namgung Seol’s last words didn’t sound very confident.

.

.

.

Chengdu was situated at the western edge of the Sichuan Basin.

With vast, fertile plains as its front yard, it was surrounded by towering mountain ranges like a folding screen to the northwest.

At the northwestern edge of Chengdu, against the backdrop of what was called the Longmen Mountain Range—named for being where dragons come and go—

lay Dangjia, the village where the Dang clan, known as the Sichuan Dang Family or Sichuan Dangmun, lived.

“Whew.”

After crossing over a wide hill, a large village came into view in the distance.

The village extending beyond the forest below the mountain ridge stretched naturally as if it were part of the forest itself.

Light mist surrounded the center, making it appear both mysterious and ominous.

“Is all of that the Dang Family?”

The massive village writhed like some living, moving entity.

The visible aspect had a different feeling altogether.

It overflowed with vitality.

Cooking smoke rose from every house, and the smell of brewing medicine wafted even beyond the hill.

Children played in the streets, while fathers and mothers heading to work looked after their children.

There were also many people seeking out Dangjia.

People pulling carts or carrying A-frames walked alongside the group without exception.

A place where people lived, a place with the scent of humanity.

It overflowed with the kind of warmth that poets typically seek when singing of their hometown.

“It’s different from Chengdu.”

It was certainly different.

Though the bustling Chengdu market with its characteristic liveliness had also been warm with people, it couldn’t hide a thin veil of shadow.

“It’s definitely unique. Is it always like this?”

Xie Baowei asked the two people ahead with an indifferent expression.

Namgung Seol shook his head with a somewhat troubled expression.

“…It’s similar. Though it seems a bit more intense than usual.”

Well, it was understandable.

Weren’t these days filled with rumors too frightening to even speak aloud?

“It’s not your fault.”

He gently placed his hand on the back of Yingying’s deeply bowed head.

These weren’t words meant to comfort the child.

Truly, this was not the girl’s fault.

Neigh.

Deliberately, he pulled Chun-gil’s reins and jumped to the side.

The passersby were startled and retreated far away.

Their fearful behavior, as if they might catch some disease, made even the usually composed Xie Baowei feel strange.

“Remarkable.”

But he wouldn’t run away or avoid them.

While there were some who did that, there were more who stayed close as if keeping watch.

Most of them were common folk with simple faces.

Among them were a few with fierce eyes and wide sleeves, but…

This wasn’t something anyone had ordered them to do.

It was simply because they followed and worried so much that they did this… how should I put it.

He had seen this before.

Though there had been quite a few cases involving more complex and dirty desires mixed in.

They called it ‘loyalty.’

“Please dismount.”

Namgung Bin nodded with a calm expression.

The entrance to the village they had been watching from afar was right in front of them.

A pungent and savory scent of medicinal herbs wafted thickly in the air.

Eyes full of wariness mingled with the peaceful scenery.

It was Dangjia.

***

They still had quite a way to go to reach Dangmun.

No one came out to greet them, and there was no one to show them the way.

Even so, it was easy to find.

Walking straight along the main road in the center of the path, a large main gate rose high through the mist.

“What strange fog.”

“Even if the morning mist of the forest lasts long, it wouldn’t last this long.”

“Should we hold our breath?”

“…Surely they wouldn’t go that far.”

Namgung Seol looked at her brother with a somewhat anxious expression.

Namgung Bin smiled bitterly and shook his head.

At the same time, he quietly rubbed a thin silver ring on his finger.

“It seems to be some kind of formation technique.”

Namgung Bin said while surveying the surroundings.

The village of Dangjia extended deep into the forested interior.

Inside, bamboo groves and pine forests spread everywhere, making it seem as if a village had been built in the middle of a forest.

Formation techniques weren’t the kind of immortal games that common rumors spoke of, where throwing a few stones could deceive the heavens.

Rather, they were more useful in military applications than in places like the martial arts world.

Of course, there were things like the protective formation used by Shaolin’s eighteen arhats, or the defensive formation of the Jegal Family where one should be wary of seven even if one warrior might be manageable, but those were merely individual-level matters.

Real formation techniques were like this.

Using forests and fog to obscure paths, and employing arrangement and deception to confuse directions.

“It looks nice.”

In an ordinary village, even if there were trees, there would only be a few, and most would be neatly cleared away.

However, Dangjia had left things as if they made no distinction between forest and village.

As a result, paths were cleverly hidden and scattered, making it impossible for first-time visitors to know where anything was.

Even so, the central path leading to Dangmun remained clear and unwavering.

It must be the confidence of a great family.

“Yingying. In the south of the Central Plains, or rather, if you take a boat and go even further southwest from the Central Plains, there are places called Cong Lin where the forests and trees are so dense that people live in perpetually hot and humid conditions. I had only vaguely imagined how they might live after hearing stories, but I’m pleased to think this place, while perhaps not exactly the same, might be quite similar.”

Xie Baowei’s words, lost in contemplation, were unusually long.

At his words, Yingying seemed to feel something and turned her head to take in the scenery of the village harmonized with the forest.

It was regrettable that they couldn’t see far since they had reached the end of the path and their view was blocked.

“It’s fine. We can look again when we return, can’t we?”

At Xie Baowei’s words, reading her disappointment, Yingying nodded slightly.

Then she grabbed Xie Baowei’s trouser hem once, tightly.

“…Well. It probably won’t be exactly the same, will it?”

“Roughly similar, wouldn’t you say?”

“Let’s go with that.”

Namgung Seol interjected briefly, but when Yingying turned around and Xie Baowei spoke curtly, she shrugged her shoulders and stepped back.

Xie Baowei briefly entrusted Yingying’s hand to Namgung Seol and stepped forward.

Wasn’t it proper for the subordinate to take the lead in such matters?

Thud. Thud.

There wasn’t a single person at the Dang Family’s main gate, so he had no choice but to knock on the door.

There was no way they didn’t know of their arrival.

Considering the surveillance that had continued throughout their journey, it was only natural.

Even knowing this, it was always the side with something to ask for that had to make the first move.

Namgung Seol didn’t look pleased. Was it that the pride of the great Namgung was hurt? Something like that?

“We’ve come from the Wulin Alliance.”

It wasn’t something Xie Baowei needed to worry about.

The answer came quickly.

Before he could knock on the door a second time.

Rumble.

With a sound like something heavy moving, not the main gate but a small door attached far to the side opened.

Still, there was no one there.

“Hmm.”

Xie Baowei turned around.

Namgung Bin and Namgung Seol were making eye contact with each other.

Was it okay to enter?

When there was no one to greet them?

Courtesy… No, first of all, why were they being so discourteous?

Weren’t such thoughts likely passing between them?

Thinking this, Xie Baowei stepped down from the main gate and carefully peeked inside through the opened door.

As expected, a courtyard first came into view.

Rather than a courtyard, it was walls standing with a proper path between them.

It must be one of the family’s halls.

Around here, it would probably be quarters used by servants.

Even that was large.

It was the behavior of those called prestigious families to show their power by building multiple halls on large grounds, like constructing a palace.

It was truly an outrageous trend.

“Mm.”

Xie Baowei stepped back and looked toward the main gate again.

Between the doors, thick buildings and corridors connected.

That area was probably for receiving guests.

This much made it certain.

“It seems we’re not exactly welcome.”

Namgung Bin smiled bitterly.

Namgung Seol also frowned as if displeased, but Namgung Bin quickly composed his face and moved forward with a calm expression.

Namgung Seol grumbled but followed behind her brother.

“Aren’t you coming?”

As each of them led their horses and stood before the small door, one set of following sounds had decreased.

Looking back, Xie Baowei had somehow returned and stood there holding Yingying’s hand.

“It’s not good.”

His eyes surveyed the large, high walls and gates of Dangmun.

Then he stepped back another pace and drew the sword at his waist.

“You were moving as if you’d enter immediately. Are you going to throw a tantrum now?”

Namgung Seol grumbled.

However, she too hardened her expression and stepped back.

She had learned well enough during their journey that he wasn’t someone who would act meaninglessly.

“Anywhere is fine. The confidence to enter and handle whatever comes is something you can afford. I can’t.”

When Xie Baowei looked at Namgung Bin and said this, Namgung Bin also came to Xie Baowei’s side.

He didn’t draw his sword in advance.

Rustle. Rustle.

Along with silence, only the sound of the forest rustling in the wind could be heard.

It was truly strange.

Wasn’t there a village behind them where countless people lived?

Soon, the thick fog lifted.

Xie Baowei grinned.

“Finally getting some proper guest treatment.”

A person walked out from the side gate. Perhaps in his forties. He was a stern-looking middle-aged man.

Neither slow nor fast.

His back was straight, his expression blank.

He didn’t seem welcoming, but neither did he appear ready to treat them coldly.

Walking steadily, he stopped in front of them.

“I am Tang Shiwei, head of Sabi Hall. Are you the ones from the Alliance?”

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