The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 68
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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 68
Yingying sat quietly on her bed, hugging her knees.
The lodging was a very high-class inn, and the group had rented an entire hall.
Yingying had a whole room to herself. It was a small room attached to a large one, but every item was of high quality.
Soft silk blankets and a plush bed so luxurious that she wondered if she had ever enjoyed such comfort in her life.
Though she had traveled to many places following Xie Baowei, this was the first time she had stayed somewhere so luxurious.
Even so, Yingying didn’t like this room.
“It’s called Mengding Ganlu. It’s famous for its sweet and smooth aftertaste.”
The teacup was warm.
Yingying didn’t know about tea, but indeed, as Hahee said, a slightly sweet fragrance lingered at the tip of her nose.
She hadn’t intended to drink it…
Without realizing it, the teacup that had approached her lips fell away as if it had barely touched them.
“Are you still uncomfortable with me?”
Whether Yingying was staring blankly at the teacup or not, Hahee lightly settled into a chair one step away from the bed.
“…Yes.”
Yingying nodded honestly. The boy found her uncomfortable.
-Survive, Yingying. You must survive and be happy. Like when I met your father, like when I met you. My treasure. My soul. My love. My everything. You must survive. I love you.
Her mother had held her in her arms, pressed their foreheads together, and sobbed while brushing their lips together.
Yingying still didn’t understand the heart of someone leaving a mere four-year-old child to go to her death.
But she knew one thing for certain. Her parents had loved her, cherished her, and wanted to protect her.
So she lived.
There were times when she didn’t want to live, but she lived.
Even while rummaging through garbage, stealing from people’s pockets, getting beaten, hiding, and running away.
A year that might have passed quickly for others, but for her was like a lifetime – she survived that year.
At the end of it, she met Xie Baowei.
“…I’m sorry.”
Her savior.
He had easily saved her. Even if it was just pity, that was fine.
If it was pity that gave her life, how could she call that cheap?
Even dirty desires would be fine. If she could grasp the dream of happiness at the end, the process wasn’t that important.
It wasn’t something a child should understand, but considering her and her mother’s origins, it wasn’t something a child who was too smart and learned about the world too quickly couldn’t think of.
“I didn’t want to be a burden.”
But this blunt and indifferent person was strange.
He saved her but didn’t desire anything.
He showed consideration for her but didn’t take care of her.
He protected her but moved only for Xie Baowei’s own purposes.
He was indifferent so she could leave at any time, but he adjusted his pace so she could always follow.
Sometimes he entrusted her with his luggage and gave her small tasks. He let her do what she wanted to do and helped with what she couldn’t.
For an ordinary five-year-old, it would have been heartless and indifferent, but not for Yingying.
That made Yingying comfortable, grateful, and sometimes proud.
“I know I make you uncomfortable.”
For the first time, she felt disappointed.
Xie Baowei, who never got angry about anything, got angry and risked his life for only one person.
“I’m also uncomfortable with myself. So…”
Yingying truly thought so.
That thought and resolution were just a little late, as befitting a child.
She just didn’t want to let go of the desire to act spoiled in this peaceful embrace.
Only after swallowing and re-swallowing days of anguish could she finally speak it aloud.
“Whenever you tell me to leave, I will leave.”
And so.
Yingying said.
Though she knew she should leave right away, the boy was inevitably still a boy.
Unlike her resolute and determined face, the desperation that showed without her knowing became trembling that shook the teacup.
“As expected, you’re alike.”
So, Hahee smiled.
What a troublesome child you are.
“You really resemble that impudent brother from long ago.”
“…What?”
Hahee remembered the Xie Baowei of old.
A prickly fourteen-year-old mountain village boy with a buzz cut whom she met when she was twelve.
He had no manners and always grumbled, but he knew everything, so even adults would seek him out when problems arose,
That boy was Xie Baowei – arrogant, indifferent, and blunt, yet despite finding it bothersome, he would ultimately help those adults.
-I do it because I can. What’s there to receive? It’s easy. A pushover? Really. Have you lived an easy life?
Even though he had lost his memory, how angry those words made her.
She didn’t speak to him or listen for a while, then he threw a crude flower crown in front of her door from somewhere.
“That’s why you made me uncomfortable.”
Hahee quietly sipped her tea.
Old memories added fresh colors.
Beautiful enough to bring tears, and so missed.
It was the memory of first love.
“Yingying.”
Hahee said while looking at Yingying.
Truly an uncomfortable child.
Looking at this child made her feel a little jealous.
Some part of Xie Baowei that she didn’t know, the darkness and light of his life, the tenacious and coarse roots of his soul and that fresh fragrance emanated from her in exactly the same way.
No, an even deeper and more beautiful flower had bloomed.
Yes, if Xie Baowei was wild grass, this child was a wildflower.
She could feel from the child a strength that seemed like it would eventually rise again even after being trampled and broken.
“In the martial arts world, there’s something called a master-disciple relationship.”
So how could she not be pleased with her?
“Looking at you reminds me of Wei-lang from long ago. He too must have grown up bent but not broken while being swept up in storms like you. Seeing you, I feel like I can faintly understand his childhood that I never knew.”
It was said that lord, teacher, and father are one.
That the sovereign, master, and father are united.
It meant to serve one’s master like a father, but it would also mean that the master should care like a father.
“…What?”
Hahee held the tea in her mouth.
Even though the warmth had fled, the fragrance still remained. A light nuttiness and subtle sweetness lingered at the end.
It was tea to her liking.
She should take some with her.
Hahee smiled brightly.
The child’s eyes were truly round.
“I’m different from my brother. He would have vaguely said something like ‘come with me.’ I’m not like that. I have no intention of embracing just anyone. Instead, once I embrace someone, I never cast them away. I’ll never do such a thing again. I will take interest in you, interfere with you, meddle with you, nag you, and say harsh words to you. So.”
That’s what affection meant to her. Because she had lived a life where that was so natural, she couldn’t do the same for Xie Baowei.
She had tried to respect his life and understand his ways.
That misunderstanding had made him leave.
“Become my disciple. Yingying.”
“…I, I, I am.”
Yingying had a bewildered expression. What was she talking about?
She had already heard similar words from Xie Baowei. The child thought of it as just an extension of those words.
Like some kind of companion, fellow traveler, temporary party member.
It was natural.
Because he had this person. Because her existence was just a burden. She thought she had been ‘permitted’ just that much.
But what did these words mean?
“No. Just nod your head. Say yes. In the first place, asking a five-year-old to choose the direction of her life is excessive.”
Slurp. Ah.
Taking time to deeply savor the taste and aroma of a cup of tea was truly an enjoyable hobby.
But sometimes, pouring it into one’s mouth until it overflowed to quench thirst first, then feeling that overflowing fragrance was also truly wonderful.
Hahee suddenly lifted the teapot and poured it into her mouth.
Just like she used to do sometimes when she was Huangbo Lüli.
The moderately cooled water went down refreshingly.
The expensive tea fragrance lingered thickly in the breath she exhaled with an “ah.”
Whew. Hahee laughed with relief as if her thirst was finally somewhat quenched.
“For now, just accept it if it seems good. Don’t worry about it. Grab hold of good fortune and use it. And wait. Yingying. If someday you want to leave, well, I’ll think about it, but I’ll let you go. But not now. I like you, and I want to take you into my embrace.”
Hahee picked up Yingying’s completely cooled teacup and handed her the teapot.
Yingying looked with a flustered expression at the teapot, the hand holding that teapot, the arm, shoulder, and Hahee who was grinning while wiping under her chin.
“Trust me. If you can’t trust me, at least trust my brother. You’ll end up trusting me eventually anyway.”
He would have given at least that much trust, right?
Hahee said.
After a moment of silence, Yingying carefully took the teapot.
Then she also received the teacup that was in Hahee’s hand.
Trickle.
Slowly, clear tea filled the cup.
The teacup in the child’s hand touched her lips very elegantly.
The clear tea seeped into the child.
The child’s tightly closed eyes opened slightly.
“It’s soft and sweet.”
Very sweet.
***
“Did you succeed?”
“Mm.”
They spent several more days in Chongqing.
It was because they met a welcome face.
It was Huashen, who had started the pursuit together with them.
They thought he would return to Xi’an, but he had come to Chongqing.
“I suppose I failed.”
“Hmm.”
Tsk.
They received quite a grand welcome at the Hua Family Pharmacy.
Wasn’t this the person who had saved Huashen’s life?
Of course, the bigger reason was probably that the party included three martial artists from the Wulin Alliance Jawoonyeong (Hahee, Peng Sohui, Hwangbo Yeonghil).
“Well… it is regrettable though. There’s a reason they’re called Yukgwi and Qitian, isn’t there? Seeing them then, it did seem difficult.”
Still, it was regrettable. Had there ever been a time when Young Master Nangong failed to complete his mission?
Huashen clicked his tongue. If such a big mission had been successful, even if he had dropped out midway, he would have earned quite a lot of points.
Even with dropping out midway, the difference between success and failure was significant.
“Still, Brother Wei Ji would be pleased.”
“Mmm.”
He heard that Namgung Bin had personally beheaded Gwanghwa.
If it hadn’t been for that, they might have been able to capture Qitian directly, but in the end they failed to catch him.
Xie Baowei had nothing to say and just kept his mouth tightly shut.
After all, taking on the mission had started as an excuse in a way, so wasn’t it the same as just achieving his own purpose and then slipping away?
He felt ashamed.
“Ha. What more could someone who caught Tougui want?”
When Xie Baowei couldn’t say anything and just swallowed his silence, Huashen chuckled.
For someone as perceptive as him, it was obvious.
“That works out well. I was just about to return to the Alliance anyway.”
And so Huashen was added to their group.
“Let me introduce myself. I’m Huashen.”
Huashen quickly blended into the group with his characteristic liveliness.
Fortunately, there were three more people in the group who loved to talk (Hwangbo Yeonghil, Peng Sohui, Dangyeonhwa), so there was even less of a problem.
No, rather, you could say a problem arose.
“You’re a genius.”
“Oh.”
“That Tougui? Wow.”
“…Uncle?”
“That’s right. So Brother Xie was right there!”
“Right there?”
Ugh. Damn it.
“I heard about it often. Keu!”
“Keu!”
“Keu!”
“Keueu!”
“Keueueu!”
Hee-mae didn’t know why she had joined them again.
“Then we met again. Ugh. Really, even now when I think of those eyes, I get chills and break out in cold sweat. But Brother Xie came alone with such a nonchalant expression, didn’t you?”
“Ooh!”
“Waah…”
“…Uncle?”
The journey from Chongqing to Xi’an was peaceful.
It was so peaceful that the group’s chatter never ceased.
At first they often took boats, then switched to overland routes.
The weather gradually grew chilly, both because of the season and because it was a journey leaving Sichuan and heading north.
As the weather turned cold, the group’s pace also slowed.
What companion could be better than a conversation partner for a slow journey?
While it’s hard for a good speaker to be a good listener, generally good listeners were also good speakers.
In that sense, Huashen was both a good speaker and a good listener, Peng Sohui was a good listener and a good speaker,
Dangyeonhwa was a poor speaker and an adequate listener, and Hwangbo Yeonghil was a good listener and an adequate speaker.
So the group’s journey bloomed with stories as flowers instead of late autumn’s fallen leaves.
“Then looking at me, finally!”
“Finally?”
“Ah. Finally what! Brother Hua drags his words too much! Speak quickly!”
“…Gulp.”
Normally Xie Baowei would have remained a poor speaker and adequate listener, but for stories like this, there was no helping it.
He could only remain a bad speaker and bad listener.
“Be quiet. Huashen. What’s so special about that story.”
“Wei Lang, shut your mouth and just drive the carriage.”
“Mmm.”
Damn.
“Ahem. Brother Xie entrusted me to Yingying and said this.”
Ahem. Huashen cleared his throat.
“Go first.”
“Oh my!”
“Eueek?!”
“…Uncle?”
“Such… such danger…?”
No. He hadn’t said it with such a sultry gaze and husky voice.
Xie Baowei kept turning around and frowning.
Only then did Huashen pretend to read the mood and change the subject.
“Brother Namgung was no joke either.”
No, had he already told all the stories there were to tell?
Lüli’s fiery gaze pierced into Xie Baowei.
Xie Baowei fixed his gaze forward and literally kept his mouth shut tight while just driving the horses.
The back of his head felt hot.
“Shihui’s afflictions… three karmas… what was it… what did he say? Brother Xie?”
“Don’t know.”
“Ahem.”
“Anyway, Brother Namgung said this. Do not cover the sky. Even Buddha exists under heaven. Kya!”
“Keu!”
The sky was clear.
It was the season when horses grew fat.
Chun-gil chewed on a carrot as he galloped forward refreshingly.
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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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