My Dad Is the Strongest Under Heaven
Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Episode 4. The Nightmare That Came to Sodam Village
Whooosh!
Yeo Woonhwi was currently on his way home.
And he was doing so using his lightness technique at a terrifying speed.
A distance that had taken him three days and nights of near-ceaseless walking to reach barely took half a day on the return journey. There was still a little way to go, but he would arrive shortly.
Yet despite this blistering speed, Yeo Woonhwi’s heart was gripped by impatience.
It was because of the fifteen days he had promised Peng Seoyeon.
Having just emerged from the Cave of the Martial God, Yeo Woonhwi had stopped by an inn in a nearby village to soothe his famished stomach.
While slurping down a bowl of freshly served noodles, he overheard a conversation between merchants seated at the next table.
Two more days had passed beyond his calculations.
…Why?
His calculations should have been flawless.
In his past life, the time Yeo Woonhwi spent unconscious after absorbing the golden sphere in the Cave of the Martial God was well short of fifteen days.
That was why he had set aside a generous fifteen-day window to visit the cave, just to leave ample leeway.
And yet fifteen full days had passed, with an additional two days on top of that?
‘This makes no sense.’
Startled, Yeo Woonhwi hurriedly shoved the rest of the noodles into his mouth and rushed out onto the road.
One might ask what the big deal was about being a day or two late, but she was a wife who had believed in him and let him go for fifteen days without pressing for answers.
He did not want to cause her a single shred of unnecessary worry.
Well… it was already too late for that now.
In any case,
‘I need to pick up the pace.’
Whoooosh!
Yeo Woonhwi’s figure shot forward even faster.
“Hey, my wife stewed a whole pot of chicken today. Care to come over and eat?”
“Oh, sounds great. I’ll bring some of that newly salted fish. Should I grab some liquor too?”
“Tsk, man, are you out of your mind? Drinking in broad daylight? You want my missus to bring the hammer down on us?”
“Ah, is that so? What a shame. Tsk.”
“We still have the evening, don’t we?”
“Eh? She won’t bring the hammer down then?”
“At least I’ll have an excuse. I can say I held out until nightfall.”
“What? You sly bastard, you’re worse than me. Hahaha.”
Smack!
“Ow! What the—who hit my back… Ah! Honey.”
“I stewed chicken because you’ve been looking so frail lately, and all you can think about is inviting a friend over to drink?”
“N-now, how could that be? He brought it up, so I was just scolding him, asking who drinks in the morning!”
“And you were planning to drink tonight instead?”
“…Ah? You heard that? Heheh.”
Glaring daggers at him, the woman whipped around, walking away as she spoke.
“Well, what are you doing? The chicken’s going to get cold.”
“A-ah. Right, of course. You go on home and fetch that salted fish too.”
“Haha, will do. Head on ahead. I’ll be right over.”
Sodam Village.
Nestled at the foot of a small, nameless mountain, this rural village was as peaceful as ever today.
On the surface, people might seem to bicker and squabble, but there was no village quite like this one when it came to caring for and looking out for one another.
It was, truly, a warm and affectionate village.
“Hello!”
“Oh my, our Yul-i! Did you go to the market with your mother?”
“Yes!”
“Aren’t you lovely? What should this auntie give you, hmm? Let’s see… Ah, right. Do you like rice cakes, Yul-i?”
“Yes! I love rice cakes.”
“You do? Here you go. Chew carefully, alright?”
“Thank you for the food!”
Peng Seoyeon, who had been holding Yul-i’s hand, smiled with gratitude, offered a polite greeting, and slowly walked on.
Watching the two of them stroll into the distance, the villagers exchanged words.
“She’s truly graceful, isn’t she?”
“Yul-i? Or Yul-i’s mother?”
“Both of them, of course.”
“I know, right? How does she only get lovelier as time goes by?”
“It must be because she’s so loved. By such a wonderful husband.”
“What about me?”
“Huh?”
“My husband loves me plenty too, you know?”
“Ugh. Well, time for me to go finish the rest of the housework.”
“Excuse me? Are you really going to walk away like that, unnie?”
When that family first arrived in the village, everyone had questioned whether they would ever be able to settle down here.
For starters, Peng Seoyeon practically radiated the aura of someone from a noble, distinguished lineage.
No matter how much she tried to mind it, such grace was not something easily hidden.
On top of that, her husband was, by all appearances, a scholar devoted to books.
He had a slender frame and wore a gentle, good-natured smile at all times.
Neither of them seemed suited to living in a tiny village like this.
Frankly, having someone who could teach reading and writing was a welcome addition from the villagers’ perspective.
Even so, it was true that everyone had assumed they wouldn’t last very long.
Yet before they knew it, a considerable amount of time had passed since the pair settled into the village.
In the meantime, Yul-i had been born, and the family had completely melted into the fabric of the community.
Every single person in the village was fond of them.
“By the way, I haven’t seen Yul-i’s father around at all lately.”
“He probably went to the neighboring village to teach. He does that from time to time, doesn’t he?”
“I suppose.”
Being a small village, a rare scholar who could teach letters was always in high demand.
Even so, it felt like he had been gone for quite a while now.
“……”
She heard every word.
Peng Seoyeon’s senses were far sharper than those of ordinary people.
A shadow of deep worry had crept over her face.
‘What could have happened?’
He was not a man to break a promise.
Leaving out of the blue for fifteen days without giving a reason had been uncharacteristic enough of her husband, yet she had let him go without pressing him because she trusted the man he was.
‘Could something have gone wrong…?’
Peng Seoyeon shook her head.
Dwelling on such negative thoughts would do no good right now.
‘Let’s not think the worst. He’ll be back soon.’
She steadied her heart.
It was then.
A murmur arose.
The village entrance grew unusually noisy.
And there stood three unfamiliar men with swords at their waists, wearing ferocious smiles.
In that instant, Peng Seoyeon’s eyes narrowed.
“Excuse me, but what on earth are you talking about?”
“What do you mean, what am I talking about? How can you not understand something so simple?”
Noh Jin-mu, the chief of Sodam Village, wore an utterly flabbergasted expression.
These men had marched into the village out of nowhere, demanded to see him, and the first words out of their mouths were—
“So, you are saying you will protect our village from bandits, and in return, we must pay you tribute every month?”
“Now, now, why call it tribute? There’s a perfectly good term called ‘protection fee,’ isn’t there?”
“That’s right. Look here, Chief. Where else could you find a deal this good, having masters like us step forward to protect you while you just sit back? Compared to what we do, that tribute—no, protection fee—won’t feel like a waste at all. So why don’t we settle this amiably…”
“I apologize, but.”
The village chief cut him off.
“We have no need for your protection.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Up until now, our village has never suffered any real harm from bandits. Even on the rare occasion something did happen, the men of our village banded together and handled it just fine. Therefore…”
“Ah, so you’re saying you have no need for us? For us?”
“…We are grateful for the thought alone.”
“Ha, haha. Wow. Sounds like this village has it pretty easy, doesn’t it?”
“You can say that again. Big Brother, what should we do?”
“Hmm.”
The man who appeared to be the eldest of the three martial artists stepped forward.
He was the one who had been standing silently in the back until now.
“Hearing the chief’s words, I understand. Yes, that could very well be the case.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Then let me rephrase.”
“Pardon?”
“From this moment on.”
“Gah!”
The man violently seized the chief by the collar.
His eyes glinted menacingly as he glared down at the old man.
“Consider us the bandits. Understand?”
With a shove, he threw the chief to the ground, sending him rolling across the dirt.
“Aaargh.”
“Elder!”
The villagers rushed over to support the chief.
At the very least, the chief was old enough to be their father.
“What in the world do you think you’re doing?!”
The villagers shouted in indignation.
Yet the martial artists paid them no heed, offering only savage sneers in return.
“Well, the terms have shifted a little, but the idea is simple. From now on, have the money ready around this time every month. Fail to do so, and you’ll find yourselves robbed by us instead.”
“Where on earth is there such a law?!”
“Where? Right here. It’s a brand-new law we just forged, so make sure you follow it obediently. Got it?”
They snickered.
The men who had ostensibly arrived to protect the village had turned into a band of bandits in a single heartbeat.
Faced with this absurd situation, the villagers were utterly at a loss.
Right then,
“You damn bandits, where do you think you are?”
It was a man of massive, burly build.
As he stepped forward, the villagers’ faces brightened.
He was Mr. Lee, a man renowned throughout the village for his formidable natural strength.
“M-Mr. Lee! That fellow has stepped up.”
“I wondered where he went, and here he is. That settles it, we’re saved!”
The martial artists looked at him with sheer disbelief.
“And what are you supposed to be?”
“If you apologize right now and leave quietly, I’ll act like this never happened. So get the hell out.”
Mr. Lee looked down at the martial artists as he spoke.
Having already taught rowdy thugs a lesson on multiple occasions in the past, he was brimming with confidence.
Yet rather than cower, the martial artists mocked him openly.
“Ha. What is this beanpole blabbering about?”
“He says he’ll let us off if we get lost right now.”
“Oh, my. How terrifying.”
They snickered.
“You bastards!”
As Mr. Lee reached out to grab the eldest martial artist by the collar, the man smoothly took a step back.
The moment Mr. Lee’s swung arm found only empty air, leaving him off-balance, the martial artist thrust his foot forward, kicking him squarely in the solar plexus.
“Guh-ack!”
A single strike. With that one blow, Mr. Lee clutched his chest and collapsed onto the ground.
Step.
Seizing the momentum, the martial artist dashed forward and kicked the kneeling Mr. Lee right in the jaw.
And then.
Crack.
With a sickening crunch, Mr. Lee’s jawbone fractured.
“Aaaaargh!”
Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, Mr. Lee rolled across the dirt.
“Hey. Beanpole.”
The eldest martial artist looked down, sneering.
“Say that again. What was it? If we leave quietly, you’ll act like this never happened?”
Thud!
“I said, spit it out again! Well?”
Thump, crack, smash!
“Aaaagh… S-spare me.”
“Where did all that swagger from earlier go, huh? A grown man begging for his life after taking a few hits? Tsk, pathetic bastard! Ptooey!”
As the eldest spat on him, the two snickering martial artists behind him joined in, relentlessly stomping on Mr. Lee.
“Mother?”
Peng Seoyeon swiftly covered Yul-i’s eyes, her face hardening completely.
She wanted to step in this very second, but her thoughts churned with whether that was truly the best path for the village, and whether it might invite even greater trouble.
On top of that, Yul-i was right here with her.
Thud, smash! Kick, crack!
“Urrgh. S-sto…”
Meanwhile, the brutal beating continued without mercy.
The people of Sodam Village were mere rustic farmers.
In the face of such savage, overwhelming violence, there was nothing they could do.
All they could do was tremble in pure terror.
‘This won’t do. They’ll kill him at this rate.’
Just as Peng Seoyeon could bear it no longer and was about to intervene—
“How much…”
Flinch.
The relentless barrage of blows stopped instantly.
The village chief squeezed his eyes shut.
“How much will it take?”
The eldest martial artist turned his head toward the chief.
“What did you just say, Chief?”
“…I will give you whatever you desire, so please, stop this.”
“Oho?”
A filthy grin spread across the martial artists’ lips.
“Now you’re finally speaking our language.”
They chuckled.
It was the moment a nightmare descended upon Sodam Village, a place they had believed would be peaceful forever.
