My Dad Is the Strongest Under Heaven
Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Chapter 32. What Nobody Wants
Half a month had passed since Peng Seojin returned after being ambushed by unknown assailants.
During that time, the Hebei Peng Clan mobilized all their men to investigate who was behind the plot, but they could not easily uncover the truth.
Yet the thread began to unravel from an unexpected place… Upon hearing that Peng Seojin had returned alive, one of the Hebei merchants who had taken part in the scheme volunteered a confession out of terror that his crime might be exposed at any moment.
He was the man who had secretly applied a scent to Peng Seojin—an incense that would not fade for three days.
“Spare me! I was blinded by greed for just a moment, and I—!”
Yet there was no mercy.
Though he had confessed of his own accord, it was not enough to quell the wrath of the roaring tiger.
The clan merely promised to leave his family untouched on the condition that they leave Hebei.
And the true mastermind was revealed to be the Golden Manor.
As expected, the mastermind was far from ordinary.
The Golden Manor was a merchant syndicate whose reach extended across the entire Murim, and the wealth they commanded was staggering.
It was even an open secret throughout the martial world that they would not hesitate to engage in any dirty deed for money.
Yet because the power wielded through that vast fortune could never be ignored, no one dared to cross them recklessly.
Even so, what they had committed against the Peng Clan was an unforgivable offense.
Having identified the culprit behind the scenes, Peng Mugang had no intention of letting them off lightly.
However, a shocking truth came to light soon after.
The Golden Manor had already been burned to pure ashes several days prior, and the three masters of the manor had recently been found dead beneath the cliff of a high mountain with their heads crushed.
Their bodies were stripped bare, which made identifying them difficult from the corpses alone,
yet the unique markings carved into their flesh identifying them as the three rulers of the Golden Manor, along with their remaining accessories, allowed their identities to be verified.
In any case, even for the Peng Clan, a foe like the Golden Manor was immensely troublesome to deal with, yet that very adversary had already vanished completely.
What was even more astonishing was that the staggering fortunes and treasures within the Golden Manor had vanished without a trace as well.
Those who rushed to the scorched ruins of the Golden Manor hoping some scraps of wealth remained returned empty-handed, having salvaged nothing.
It was utterly dumbfounding.
Every time such startling facts were uncovered one by one, Peng Mugang and Peng Seojin could not help but recall the mysterious grandmaster who had saved Peng Seojin back then.
Just who in the world could he be?
Anyone else would never have even thought of it.
Yet the father and son of the Peng Clan had a faint image of someone in their minds.
It was only because the idea was so utterly absurd that they kept shaking their heads in disbelief.
“…Why don’t you assign him some task?”
Inside the Patriarch’s study.
While sharing an intimate cup of tea and talking with Peng Mugang, Dan Heeyoung brought it up out of the blue.
Peng Mugang looked at his wife with a puzzled expression.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Our only son-in-law, of course.”
Only then did Peng Mugang’s expression register comprehension, followed promptly by a snort.
He still seemed displeased with Yeo Woonhwi.
Though lately, another rather peculiar reason had been added to the pile.
In any case, the boy was someone he felt he understood, yet couldn’t comprehend at all.
He grumbled in complaint.
“Ah, please. What son-in-law? A freeloader is more like it.”
“That is why I am saying we should help him so he doesn’t have to hear himself called a freeloader.”
Peng Mugang did not budge in the slightest at Dan Heeyoung’s words.
Dan Heeyoung narrowed her eyes and looked at her husband.
“Are you really planning to leave him be without any work like this? You should help him adjust properly to this place.”
“He’s spent his whole life reading books and studying—what kind of work do you expect me to entrust to a lad like that?”
“You never know until you try. Whatever you give him, he’ll do well.”
“Based on what?”
When Peng Mugang asked, Dan Heeyoung smiled brightly and answered.
“You can tell just by looking at him.”
“Well, I’ve looked plenty, and I can’t tell at all.”
“Darling, really….”
A prick of conscience.
When Dan Heeyoung glared at him, Peng Mugang flinched.
Sure enough, the only person Peng Mugang feared in the world was Dan Heeyoung.
Where else would a man who wouldn’t flinch before an army of ten thousand show such a cowering reaction?
Watching her husband, Dan Heeyoung let out a short, deep sigh.
“It isn’t as if I’m asking you to give him some grand title or high position. I’m just saying we should give him something to do so he can settle in properly.”
Yet Peng Mugang shook his head once more at Dan Heeyoung’s words.
“You don’t understand. If we give him something carelessly, it’ll only breed endless talk. People will say he’s enjoying endless luxuries just because he married well.”
“Leaving him idle like this will only bring about even more of that talk.”
Normally, when Peng Mugang spoke so firmly, even Dan Heeyoung would back down gracefully.
Yet today, Dan Heeyoung seemed to have no intention of retreating.
It was the first time his wife had shown such resolve, leaving Peng Mugang thoroughly flustered.
Instead, Dan Heeyoung pressed on even more firmly.
“Even if it isn’t something many people covet or want to do, and even if he doesn’t know martial arts right away, assign him something he can handle well.”
“Mmm, something other people wouldn’t readily want to do, you say….”
In the end, Peng Mugang decided to accept his wife’s suggestion.
However, what Dan Heeyoung had in mind was simple administrative work, whereas the task Peng Mugang thought of at that moment was an entirely different sort of duty—something Dan Heeyoung could not have dreamed of in her wildest thoughts.
“Ahem. Well, if that is what you truly wish….”
“Really?”
“Of course. I understand your feelings well. I shall do as you wish.”
Dan Heeyoung’s face lit up instantly.
Seeing her husband yield so easily, she rejoiced like a young child.
Beside her, however, a meaningful grin was spreading across Peng Mugang’s face.
‘I wonder if those rascals are reflecting on their actions properly. Heh heh.’
“Please, please spare our lives! We truly gave you everything we had, didn’t we?!”
On a narrow mountain path in Hebei, a band of men, every single one brandishing a blade, was intimidating a group of people hauling heavily loaded carts.
Watching them tremble in terror, the armed thugs cackled in amusement.
“What nonsense are you babbling? You still have something left, don’t you?”
“Wh-What do you mean….”
“Your lives, of course! Gwahahaha!”
“Eek!”
Just as the group, who appeared to be ronin, shook down the passing merchants of everything they owned and were about to claim their lives as well—
“Hold it right there.”
A new group suddenly appeared before them.
One of them stepped forward and spoke.
“So it’s you bastards. The ones tormenting travelers passing through this area.”
“Hm? What are you lot?”
The leader of the ronin band narrowed his eyes, sizing up the newcomers from head to toe.
Then, evidently convinced they were in the same line of work, he issued a warning.
“From the look of it, you bastards seem to be in the same boat as us, but this spot is already taken. You’d better look somewhere else. Even in our trade, there’s business etiquette to uphold. Right?”
“Pfft. Hyung-nim. Looks like those bastards take one look at you and think we’re just like them?”
At those words, the eldest man glared at the burly fellow as if offended.
“He was talking about you.”
“Come now, what are you saying? He clearly said it looking at you, Hyung-nim!”
“You lot look all the same anyway, so what does it matter?! Men! Strike them down! We can’t let them take our territory!”
“We don’t need your damn territory, you bastards!”
The men who looked somewhat similar to ronin drew their blades with furious faces and charged at the bandits who had been trying to harm the merchants.
Yet their martial prowess was extraordinary.
“Wh-What the hell?! These guys—!”
Numerically, the ronin band was far superior.
Yet in the blink of an eye, the ronin band was completely overwhelmed.
Just like that, all the subordinates were laid out flat on the ground in an instant.
Now, only one subordinate and the leader remained.
The leader of the plundering band whipped his head around in panic.
Then, he lunged toward a woman nearby, grabbing her and holding a blade to her throat.
“Kyaaaah!”
“D-Don’t come any closer! If you take one step, I’ll slit this wench’s throat right here!”
Seeing that, the massive, burly man let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha. Look at this guy. First he treats us like his own kind, and now he’s taking hostages? What kind of logic is that, seriously?”
“Tell me about it. Does he suddenly think we’re righteous heroes of justice?”
“Too late for that, though. You’re never getting out of here alive.”
“What? What kind of bullshit….”
At the very moment the ronin leader tilted his head in bewilderment—
The sharp whistling of wind tore through the air!
Heavy impacts struck flesh and bone!
Arrows faster than lightning flew in, piercing straight through the heads of the ronin leader and his subordinate in swift succession.
“Gaaah….”
Heavy thuds hit the dirt.
Just like that, the ronin leader and his remaining subordinate collapsed to the ground, wind holes bored through their skulls.
It was the moment the ronin band that had terrorized the entire region met their total demise.
Soon, the man who appeared to be the eldest among the mysterious group cast a swift glance around the area, and after confirming no enemies remained alive, he approached the merchants.
“Are you all right?”
“U-Ugh. Pl-Please, we beg of you.”
“Hmm?”
Yet somehow, none of the merchants looked at them as though looking upon their saviors.
“Sp-Spare our lives. We’ll give you whatever you want.”
“What? Hey, old man!”
“Bwahahaha!”
The massive man burst out laughing.
“See, didn’t I tell you? I told you they’d see you that way too, Hyung-nim! Hahaha!”
While misunderstandings, tears, and laughter mingled together—
“Wait, isn’t that…?”
One of the merchants present belatedly noticed the two emblems on the chests and backs of the men they had mistaken for ronin.
Embroidered on the men’s backs was the crest of the Peng Clan, and on their chests was a white wolf.
“C-Could it be?! The White Wolf Troop?”
“If it’s the White Wolf Troop, isn’t that the martial squad representing the Peng Clan?”
“Indeed. It was the White Wolf Troop! Formidable, just as the rumors said.”
Only then did the merchants understand the prowess displayed by the mysterious masters who had rescued them.
“Let’s head back soon. We’ve finished our assigned task, and the main family might scold us if we stay out unnecessarily long.”
“Ah, even if we are under house arrest, can’t they let us be a little more at ease when we’re out doing tasks like this?”
“Right. I wanted to grab a drink on the way back. Are we treated like prisoners after saving people?”
“Exactly. Sigh, beating the high-and-mighty lord’s son to a pulp just because we were pissed off was our mistake. Haven’t you never seen the Patriarch that angry before?”
“Hey, but that bastard had it coming! He wasn’t even human!”
“All right, all right! Stop blabbering nonsense and let’s get moving!”
The ronin band—no, the White Wolf Troop—left behind only hearty laughter before vanishing into the distance.