Chapter 127
“What, you’re leaving too? So suddenly?”
The morning after Yul-i’s birthday party.
Out of the blue, Hwangbo Gyun announced he was returning to the Hwangbo Clan and packed his things.
Because of this, early in the morning, everyone began to come out one by one to see him off.
Yeo Un-hwi was not among them.
He had already left for training with the White Wolf Unit some time ago.
Watching Hwangbo Gyun, who had finished packing and was ready to leave, Peng Mugang wore a look of complete confusion.
He had been acting as if he would stay for at least another six months.
Then again, if he had, his son, the Mighty Dragon Hwangbo Cheon-woo, might have stormed in, wailing for him to please, please come back.
But still, to leave so suddenly.
Seeing Peng Mugang’s bewildered expression, Hwangbo Gyun grinned.
“Why, are you sad to see me go?”
Peng Mugang’s face immediately crumpled.
“Sad? You should have left ages ago. No, you shouldn’t have come to visit in the first place.”
Peng Mugang snorted, but Hwangbo Gyun remained as shameless as ever.
“It’s too late to say that now. I know you enjoyed having me here.”
“I’m telling you in all sincerity, your confidence is second to none in all of the Central Plains. Even the Twelve Venerables of the World would have to step aside. How can a person be like that? What gives you the right? Huh?”
“Kukuk. Thanks for the compliment.”
“Haha, and he takes that as a compliment.”
Hwangbo Gyun, who had been chuckling and exchanging pointless jokes with Peng Mugang, finally let the corners of his eyes droop with disappointment when he saw Yul-i, who had come out late, rubbing her eyes to see him off.
“Oh, Yul-ah. How will I live without our Yul-i?”
“Hah! Well, I never! Hey! You must be getting forgetful in your old age. Yul-i is my granddaughter, my granddaughter!”
Hwangbo Gyun completely ignored Peng Mugang, who was standing beside him with an incredulous expression.
“Yul-ah, You must never forget this Grandfather, all right?”
“Yes! I won’t forget!”
“Aigoo. You pretty little thing. Haha! Alright. Then this Grandfather will be on his way. Let’s see each other again! I’ve had a good stay! Everyone, take care!”
After repeatedly emphasizing to Yul-i that she must not forget her Grandfather, Hwangbo Gyun soon left with a smile.
Clatter, clatter. The carriage carrying Hwangbo Gyun finally departed from the Peng Family estate.
“Hmm.”
His expression of utter disgust was brief; watching the carriage recede into the distance, Peng Mugang let out a small groan.
It was truly a strange thing.
It was true that someone who was supposed to leave had left.
But to leave so suddenly was unlike Hwangbo Gyun.
He was a man who moved at a leisurely pace in any situation.
What on earth could it be?
Could it be because of the private conversation he had with the Heavenly Secret Diviner yesterday?
For some reason, Peng Mugang had a feeling that was why Hwangbo Gyun was leaving in such a hurry.
What could they have talked about?
When the two had returned yesterday, he had been burning with curiosity about the conversation they’d had, leaving him out, but since they didn’t seem inclined to tell him willingly, he hadn’t pressed the matter.
But if he had known they would both leave so suspiciously, he would have asked one more time.
“Hmph.”
But after a moment of thought, Peng Mugang shook off his idle thoughts.
He wasn’t the type to dwell on things deeply in the first place.
It wasn’t as if he would find an answer by continuing to think about it, so what did it matter?
Rather, it was a welcome development for him with one of the figures who had been calling himself Yul-i’s grandfather and constantly threatening his position gone.
“Should have left sooner.”
And so, Peng Mugang looked at the spot where Hwangbo Gyun had been, as happy as if a nagging tooth had been pulled.
But everyone knew that while he acted that way, his heart didn't entirely feel the same.
Peng Mugang, who had been snorting, suddenly looked at Gu Wang-pyo standing next to him.
Now there was one left.
Sensing a strange gaze, Gu Wang-pyo turned his head, and their eyes met for a moment.
“Why didn’t you go with him?”
“What do you mean by that, sir? I belong to the Peng Family.”
“Is that so? What a shame. Well then. Have you ever thought about retiring? If such a thought ever crosses your mind, don’t hesitate, come find me without delay. I am always prepared to hold a grand retirement ceremony for Elder Gu.”
“That sounds rather chilling.”
“What! It’s a heartwarming and beautiful story. Besides, didn’t you sometimes say you wanted to retire? I hope that sentiment hasn’t changed.”
But at Peng Mugang’s words, Gu Wang-pyo just laughed heartily.
“Well, that was when Yul-i wasn’t yet in the Peng... ahem. Anyway, don’t worry. It’s been a long time since I’ve had any thoughts of retiring. Ah. And even if I do retire someday, I plan to stay by your side, Family Head, so I won’t be separated from Yul-i. No, I mean, I won’t be parting with you, Family Head, for a long, long time. Haha.”
“That’s a very unfortunate, regrettable, and heartbreaking story. I’ll tell you in advance: I’m fine. I’ve learned from experience that spending some time apart isn’t so bad.”
“But what can be done? The bond between you and me is inseparable, so please just accept it.”
“Ahem, don’t force your will on the Family Head. You’ve changed. You used to act as if you would do anything I commanded.”
“Haha. Isn’t that just how people are?”
“...If only you couldn’t talk.”
No matter how much Peng Mugang hinted, Gu Wang-pyo acted like a slippery eel.
Perhaps it was the wisdom that came with age.
It seemed Gu Wang-pyo had not the slightest intention of meekly retiring as Peng Mugang wished.
*“Those two are really something else.”*
Watching them, Peng Seo-jin let out a hollow laugh.
At a glance, they bickered and snapped at each other to an extent that made one wonder if it was acceptable, but watching them from a step back, he felt that their relationship had grown even stronger than before.
Was this all thanks to Yul-i?
“So much has changed in the Peng Family since my sister returned.”
At first, he had been worried.
Because the gazes directed at his sister, Yul-i, and his brother-in-law were not kind.
Moreover, the gazes toward his brother-in-law were even more severe.
But it was an ambiguous situation to step in and help.
Besides, he had been ordered by his father never to interfere.
But contrary to his worries, his sister’s family, including his brother-in-law, had been accepted as members of the Peng Family by everyone before he knew it.
He could tell just by watching yesterday.
There were no longer any resentful gazes, nor were there people pointing fingers behind Yeo Un-hwi’s back, calling him a mere scholar.
Rather, the faces of the Peng Family members who looked at them were full of smiles.
*Above all, his father, who had been less welcoming of his sister’s family than anyone at first, now found it hard to go a day without smiling.*
It was all thanks to Yul-i.
It was truly a fortunate thing.
Perhaps that was why.
Lately, watching Yul-i and his sister’s family, he found himself wanting to get married.
In truth, Peng Seo-jin had never been very interested in marriage.
Despite receiving many marriage proposals from various places thanks to his handsome appearance, character, and future prospects, he had always refused.
Even though he was well old enough to marry, it was possible because Peng Mugang and Dan Hee-young were not the types to force such things.
That tendency had grown even stronger after the incident where Peng Seo-yeon left the Peng Family with Yeo Un-hwi.
Thus, Peng Seo-jin had been able to be a bit freer in that regard.
But it wasn’t as if he could stay that way forever.
He had to carry on the line of the Peng Family.
He was aware of that.
But while he felt that sense of responsibility, he has never once thought of wanting to get married on his own until now.
But recently, watching Peng Seo-yeon and Yeo Un-hwi up close, and watching Yul-i, he found himself wanting to get married without even realizing it.
Of course, with someone he loved so much that, just like his sister, he could give up anything for that person.
For him, it was a tremendous change.
Of course, finding such a person would be very difficult, and no one yet knew what kind of partner Peng Seo-jin would meet in the future.
In any case, it was certain that Yul-i’s family was having a great influence on Peng Seo-jin as well.
Perhaps this was why they say who you meet in life is so important.
Peng Seo-jin looked up at the sky.
Today, the sky above the Peng Family was incredibly clear, too.
One day, during the peaceful routine.
A letter arrived to the Peng Family.
It was an urgent dispatch from the Tang Clan.
Peng Mugang, who had just been drinking tea with Dan Hee-young in the Family Head’s office, hardened his expression in a rare display after checking the letter.
“Good heavens. Can this really be true?”
“What’s wrong?”
Sensing something unusual from her husband’s expression, Dan Hee-young asked cautiously.
Soon, Dan Hee-young, who had checked the contents of the letter after Peng Mugang, covered her mouth with a shocked face.
“My goodness... how could such a terrible thing happen?”
An unimaginable event had occurred in the Tang Clan.
The letter recorded that Tang Guhwi, who had become a cripple for some yet-to-be-revealed reason, had suddenly killed all the members of the Tang Clan and had disappeared.
And that the enraged Family Head, Tang Jinwoo, had issued an Assassination Order for him.
Moreover, the Tang Clan suspected that Tang Guhwi had learned some unknown form of Demonic Martial Arts.
As the Peng Family had recently been filled with nothing but laughter, the news from the Tang Clan was all the more shocking.
*“Tang Guhwi.”*
Peng Mugang recalled the image of Tang Guhwi he had seen in the past at the Five Great Families meeting.
He had a handsome appearance, but for some reason, his gaze and atmosphere were very unsettling.
On top of that, there were the unsavory rumors that followed him.
“I knew he was a problematic fellow, but to this extent.”
It was truly dumbfounding.
“The Tang Clan Head must be going through a lot.”
But this was not something they could help with, nor was it a matter to offer clumsy condolences for.
Tang Jinwoo surely knew that this was an incident that could shake the entire family if it wasn’t handled as quickly and certainly as possible.
Besides,
“Demonic martial arts, demonic martial arts, you say.”
Peng Mugang’s face grew more serious than ever.
This was clearly a matter that not just the Tang Clan, but the entire Orthodox Martial World needed to watch with keen attention.
It was possible that the Demonic Cult was involved.
But did they really need to stir up trouble in this way?
No matter how much he thought about it, it was a matter he couldn’t quite understand.
His heart heavy, Peng Mugang’s gaze turned to the window.
What on earth is happening in Sichuan right now?
Yeo Un-hwi, who had been watching the White Wolf Unit’s training, twitched an eyebrow for a moment.
“Take a short break.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Yeo Un-hwi smirked at the sight of the White Wolf Unit members collapsing with groans, then turned his body.
And he moved quickly somewhere.
A short while later.
As Yeo Un-hwi-hwi sat down in a place no one could find, someone appeared behind him.
It was the Gate Master of the Hao Sect, Jin So-baek.
Appearing silently, like a shadow, Jin So-baek spoke with an uncharacteristically firm face.
“As you commanded, the spiderweb I laid out has been disturbed.”
And Jin So-baek-baek continued immediately.
“I believe it’s time for you to make your move.”
Yeo Un-hwi’s eyes sank, growing colder than ever.