My Dad Is the Strongest Under Heaven
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Chapter 5: A Man Who Teaches Letters
“Goodness, Mr. Lee. Are you all right?”
“…Urrgh.”
The people of Sodam Village supported Mr. Lee, who lay half-dead upon the ground.
His massive build required many hands, but everyone stepped forward without hesitation.
For when no one dared move out of fear, he had stepped up for the sake of the village, only to end up in such a terrible state.
In the villagers’ eyes as they looked upon Mr. Lee, gratitude, guilt, and pity swirled together.
“Hurry, take him away and tend to his wounds.”
As the nodding villagers carried Mr. Lee away, someone spoke up quietly.
“Village Chief.”
The Village Chief turned his head toward him.
The man who had spoken said in a heavy, distressed voice,
“Why on earth did you accept their offer? What are we supposed to do from now on?”
By all accounts, his tone placed the blame squarely on the chief.
His face showed he could not understand it in the slightest.
Because he was normally one to quietly follow the chief’s decisions, everyone was startled by his sudden outburst.
The other villagers quickly tried to dissuade him.
“Hey now, watch what you are saying.”
“Indeed. Mr. Lee was on the verge of being beaten to death—what other choice did the chief have?”
“I’m—I’m only saying this because I’m so frustrated! What are we really going to do going forward?”
“……”
The atmosphere grew utterly bleak.
Looking back at the villagers, he spoke with a voice thick with grievance,
“Even if we managed to pay this time with village funds gathered for other matters, how can such a small village scrape together that kind of money every single month? If this continues, all of us will starve to death. Every last one of us!”
“……”
Everyone fell silent.
For though it was deeply pessimistic, it was also undeniably true.
What in the world were they supposed to do now?
Gloom settled over everyone as they shared the exact same thought.
Yet standing around like this would not yield any answers.
The Village Chief, who had remained silent all along, looked upon the villagers with a deeply exhausted face.
“For now, let us… discuss this matter again later.”
“Village Chief……”
With that, the chief trudged away.
His face looked haggard, as if he had aged several years in a matter of moments.
The gentle, easygoing demeanor he had always possessed was nowhere to be seen.
Soon, the remaining villagers also returned to their respective homes one by one.
“Haa.”
Left behind until the very end, Peng Seoyeon let out a quiet sigh.
It had undoubtedly been an utterly peaceful village.
Just moments ago, before those martial artists had barged in.
‘Second-rate at best. To think, against mere scoundrels like that…’
Was the peace of Sodam Village truly this fragile?
And… what should she do?
Would she have no choice but to step forward herself next time?
Peng Seoyeon shook her head.
If she did that, she might be discovered.
Her traces revealed to the clan she had left behind.
With no solution in sight no matter which path she took, Peng Seoyeon felt a throbbing ache in her temples.
It was then.
Swaaaah—
The wind blew. A cool breeze.
Beyond the village entrance, the lush branches of the great zelkova tree swayed gently in the wind.
“……?”
Holding Peng Seoyeon’s hand, Yul-i, who had been nibbling sweet snacks without knowing what was happening, tilted her head.
“Daddy?”
Peng Seoyeon failed to catch her daughter’s quiet murmur.
“Good. So good! Kuhahaha.”
At the foot of a mountain, a fair distance away from Sodam Village.
Clinking a pouch heavy with silver coins, three martial artists walked along the path, cackling in high spirits.
“Didn’t I tell you? Bleeding dry backwater villages like this is the sweetest deal there is.”
“No kidding. We should have done this long ago. What kind of wealth and glory were we even chasing, living like that?”
In truth, these three had belonged to a small unorthodox gang before suffering defeat in a sudden war between sects, barely escaping with their lives.
Because it was a war born of deep vengeance, everyone in their gang had been slaughtered.
They had fled all the way to this remote countryside just to survive.
“By the way, Hyung-nim.”
“Hm?”
“Those country bumpkins coughed up the coin so fast. If we’d pushed just a bit more, wouldn’t we have squeezed out even more?”
“Tsk! You know nothing.”
The second brother smacked his lips in regret, but the eldest man shook his head.
“Even a cornered rat will bite a cat. If you want to milk a village like that for a long time, it’s best to fleece them just enough so they can barely scrape by. Drive bumpkins like that into a dead end, and they might just throw their hands up and say, ‘cut me open then.’ Isn’t that right?”
“You’re right, Hyung-nim.”
“Ooh. That’s true. As expected of our Hyung-nim, you really know your stuff.”
“You’re a full-fledged bandit now! Say, why don’t we just set up our own bandit lair while we’re at it?”
“What? Keuk. That doesn’t sound half bad. Hahaha!”
They chuckled together.
Their spirits were soaring.
Among blade-wielding martial artists, they had barely dared to breathe, constantly walking on eggshells, but in a rural place like this, they were kings. In this remote countryside, who could dare oppose them?
“Ah, by the way, Hyung-nim.”
“Hm?”
“Earlier, I saw there was quite a pretty wench in that village.”
“Oho, is that so?”
A spark of curiosity flashed in the eldest man’s eyes.
“You rascal, you had time to notice that in the middle of everything?”
“I’ve got a sharp eye for that sort of thing, don’t I? Heheh.”
The youngest martial artist continued excitedly,
“Looked like she’s a mother with a child, but what does that matter? Heheh. If they ever come up short on the money, why don’t we just take that woman instead? How’s that sound, Hyung-nim?”
“That doesn’t sound bad at all.”
A sinister grin spread among the martial artists.
It was then.
“You share quite an amusing tale.”
“Hm?”
Blocking the path of the martial artists was a man who looked like a scholar by every measure.
One with a handsome face and a slender frame.
“Who the hell are you?”
Finding it utterly ridiculous that a mere scholar dared block their way, the youngest martial artist demanded, exuding a fierce air.
Yet strangely enough, the man showed not the slightest trace of fear, merely offering a faint smile.
“Listen carefully to what I have to say from now on.”
“What?”
“I intend to grant you a chance.”
Yeo Woonhwi looked at each of the men in turn and continued calmly,
“Take that money pouch right now, return to the village from earlier, give all the money back, and bow your heads in apology. And state that you will never show your faces near here again.”
“What? You’ve lost your damn mind. Do you even know who you’re messing with?”
Chring.
Just as the youngest martial artist drew his blade toward the scholar who had suddenly blocked them and started spouting nonsense,
“Wait.”
The eldest among the martial artists stopped him.
He stared intently at Yeo Woonhwi with a wary expression, wondering just in case.
“What is it, Hyung-nim?”
Leaving behind the youngest, whose face showed utter confusion, the eldest martial artist cautiously spoke up.
“What do you do for a living? Are you a martial artist by any chance?”
Facing them as they carried swords, Yeo Woonhwi was not intimidated in the least, giving him a strange sense of unease.
Moreover, to issue a warning so boldly? Surely, could he be…
However,
“I am,”
The answer that left Yeo Woonhwi’s mouth differed from his expectations.
“a man who teaches letters in a nearby village.”
“…What? Letters?”
“I am also an ordinary villager living in that place called Sodam Village, which you just robbed, and the husband of the woman you lusted after just moments ago.”
“Ha……”
The eldest man wore an utterly dumbfounded expression.
It was a moment that made him feel ashamed of his brief tension.
His hand gripping the scabbard involuntarily tightened with full force.
“So what you’re saying is that you’re no martial artist, just a pathetic scholar teaching letters, and you dared step in front of us to spout such bullshit? Right now?”
The eldest man’s face turned vicious.
He glared at Yeo Woonhwi with eyes glinting with bloodlust.
“Crazy bastard. I was in a good mood today and didn’t want to see more blood, but this won’t do. Boys.”
“Yes, Hyung-nim.”
“Beat that fearless bastard to death. Make it as painful as possible. Then hang him at the entrance of that village from earlier. We need to make sure no one ever dares defy us again.”
Nodding, the two younger martial artists strode toward Yeo Woonhwi without hesitation.
And the moment the second martial artist reached out to seize Yeo Woonhwi by the hair,
“I shall say it again.”
Thud.
“…Huh?”
Something dropped heavily onto the ground.
It was the second martial artist’s hand. No, his entire arm.
Spuuursh.
An instant later, blood sprayed violently, and at the same time—
“…Aargh, Aaaaargh!”
The second martial artist, who had worn a bewildered look for a brief moment, let out a bloodcurdling scream.
“Noisy.”
Thud.
Fssshhh.
The screaming second martial artist’s head dropped to the ground.
Once again, the spray of blood came only afterward.
It had happened in a fleeting split second, far too fast for anyone to even react.
“Hieeeek!”
Standing right beside him, the youngest martial artist stumbled backward unconsciously before his legs gave out, collapsing to the ground.
Looking down at him with cold eyes, Yeo Woonhwi then turned his gaze toward the eldest martial artist.
“You had better take that money back right now and do as I said.”
Without realizing when, Yeo Woonhwi’s speech had changed completely. As if he were an entirely different person.
“Hieeeek! H-Help me!”
Taking advantage of the gaze shifting away from him, the collapsed youngest martial artist scrambled up, turned around, and began running like a madman.
Driven by the single thought that he had to survive.
But it was a profoundly foolish choice.
Yeo Woonhwi’s eyes slowly trailed toward his back.
And,
“I never gave you permission for that.”
Thud.
Swwwoosh.
In the distance, the fleeing youngest martial artist’s head dropped cleanly to the ground.
As if it were nothing of any consequence.
That very fact sent goosebumps racing across the entire body of the sole witness to this scene.
“Now, only you remain.”
Yeo Woonhwi’s eyes settled on the single survivor.
“What will you do?”
The martial artist who had been their eldest brother until just moments ago wore a face completely drained of its soul.
Above all, that man’s eyes.
They held a gaze he had never once encountered in his entire life—a gaze like an abyss holding the bottomless pit itself.
