Chapter 54
"This is the place."
The location Yeo Un-hwi arrived at with Yul was a small mountain not far away, just as Peng Seo-jin had said.
The scenery along the way was truly beautiful.
There was a small village nestled on the mountain.
As soon as the villagers saw the Young Master in the distance, they came out to greet him warmly.
The village chief welcomed the Young Master with tears in his eyes.
"Welcome, Young Master."
"Have you all been well?"
"We're always doing well thanks to you, Young Master."
"Haha. I'm glad to hear that. Remember, if any problems arise, contact me as I instructed before. I'll send someone as quickly as possible."
"We're already so grateful for how you've looked after us... This old man doesn't know how to repay such kindness."
"Haha. If you want to repay the kindness, just live happily with the villagers for a long time. That's enough."
Just then, some of the village women quietly approached with children, carrying bundles of something.
"Young Master, here."
"What's this?"
"We prepared some snacks, though we're not sure if they'll suit your taste."
"Is that so? Haha. I'll enjoy them."
All the villagers looked at the Young Master with sparkling eyes.
Soon they arrived at a small pavilion built under a large tree on a hill just past the village.
Naturally, the warriors and attendants unpacked and sat down to enjoy the scenery.
It seemed they often accompanied the Young Master here.
"It's a beautiful village, isn't it?"
"It certainly looks that way."
"What was the place where you lived like, Brother? I heard from my sister that it was also a beautiful place."
"It was a village called Sodam. A place with good people that matched the scenery."
Though it hadn't been long since they left, he already missed it.
It wasn't just Yeo Un-hwi. Paeng Seo-yeon also said she sometimes dreamed of good memories with the villagers, and Yul would occasionally call out the names of the kind aunties who doted on her in her sleep.
It was clearly a place that had given Yeo Un-hwi's family precious memories.
Yeo Un-hwi nodded with a slight smile.
"Actually, I came across this place by chance. I often felt stifled from constantly receiving successor training at the Peng Family."
Peng Seo-jin continued speaking naturally as he enjoyed the scenery.
"Moreover, when my sister, who always listened to me and comforted me, suddenly disappeared one day, I felt somewhat left behind. Ah, I'm not saying this to blame you, Brother. Haha."
Still, he couldn't help feeling apologetic.
Yeo Un-hwi chuckled softly and nodded. Then he listened attentively to Peng Seo-jin's story.
"Well, that led me to sneak out sometimes. I'd disguise myself and go out at night to drink heavily, or spend all day sitting in the middle of the market in shabby clothes, observing how the world works. Then one day, I had the thought to just ride my horse anywhere, so I set out aimlessly."
It was an unexpected story.
He had thought that if anyone, Peng Seo-jin would have lived an unwavering, upright life, but perhaps that was just prejudice.
"That's how I discovered this place, with no particular purpose, just riding and riding. It was so beautiful that I wondered if such a place had always been nearby. But in this beautiful village, bandits were constantly harassing the villagers almost daily."
Peng Seo-jin continued his story as if that day was still vivid in his mind.
"So I stepped in, but the villagers actually blamed me. They said that if I intervened once and left, they would suffer even more at the hands of those bandits."
It was an understandable sentiment.
In fact, Yeo Un-hwi, who had been an ordinary scholar without martial arts training, knew well that unless it was a life-or-death crisis, clumsy help often brought more torment and pain.
"That made me stubborn. So I told them I would take full responsibility for this village until the end. At first, they didn't believe me. So I kept coming here, sending people, protecting and caring for them, and only then did the people start to smile at me."
Peng Seo-jin smiled pleasantly as he recalled that day.
It was enough to make even Yeo Un-hwi smile along with him.
"It was truly fascinating. And I realized how little I knew about the world. I also learned that taking responsibility isn't something that happens in an instant."
Peng Seo-jin's face suddenly turned serious again.
"I also learned that such words shouldn't be spoken carelessly. It's never an easy thing to do. Even if I am the Young Master of the Peng Family."
"But you're already doing it well, aren't you?"
Seeing Yeo Un-hwi's puzzled look, Peng Seo-jin shook his head and said:
"If I hadn't survived the Golden Manor's scheme and returned, I would have ultimately become someone who failed to keep that promise. Whatever my reasons, that would have been the result."
It was true.
If that had happened, the villagers would have remembered Peng Seo-jin as a benefactor who helped them briefly but ultimately disappeared.
Helping and caring for people like this is an incredibly difficult and challenging task.
But Yeo Un-hwi knew.
Even if he hadn't intervened, Peng Seo-jin would have returned.
Only, he would have lost his entire right arm.
And that person's life would have certainly been twice as difficult, arduous, and lonely as it was now.
Peng Seo-jin quietly looked at Yeo Un-hwi.
As if he was about to say something important.
Meanwhile, a pleasant breeze continued to blow, and the rustling of leaves from the lush trees sounded pleasant to the ears.
After a brief pause, Peng Seo-jin carefully opened his mouth again.
"I haven't properly thanked my benefactor. To say thank you for saving me."
"I thought a lot about how to convey these obvious words. Who could that person be? Why did they save me? Is it someone I know?"
"And suddenly, one person came to mind. At first, I thought it couldn't be. But it became clearer and clearer. The 'it couldn't be' became 'maybe,' and that 'maybe' soon turned into certainty. No, honestly, I still think it doesn't make sense, but."
Peng Seo-jin's voice trembled slightly.
It was just a confirmation. But for some reason, Peng Seo-jin felt incredibly nervous.
"I... I think the benefactor who saved me was you, Brother."
"Hmm."
A short distance away, Yul was playing with flowers alongside the attendants and warriors.
Everyone seemed to find Yul adorable, smiling pleasantly as they looked after her.
Yeo Un-hwi quietly surveyed the scene once before looking back at Peng Seo-jin.
He briefly considered denying it and keeping it hidden as before, thinking it might be troublesome.
But for some reason, he didn't want to do that in this moment, in this place.
Soon, Yeo Un-hwi slowly nodded.
"Wh... What? Ugh!"
At that sight, Peng Seo-jin's eyes went blank for a moment before widening immensely.
Though he had been certain, actually confirming that his thoughts were correct made his heart start racing.
"How can someone who asked with such certainty react like that?"
"Y-You're right. I'm being ridiculous. Haha..."
"Hahaha!"
Yeo Un-hwi burst out laughing, finding Peng Seo-jin's awkward laughter amusing.
Needing time to calm his mind, Peng Seo-jin took a deep breath and looked up at the sky.
Yeo Un-hwi quietly waited for Peng Seo-jin.
How much time had passed?
Yul was still absorbed in playing with flowers, and the weather remained clear.
Just as Yeo Un-hwi was thinking he should visit this place with his wife sometime soon, Peng Seo-jin carefully opened his mouth again.
"Brother, I have a few questions."
"Go ahead and ask."
"Above all, the reason you saved me..."
"Because you accepted me as family first."
"Pardon?"
"Honestly, I could have understood if your father-in-law, mother-in-law, and you had disliked me."
Yeo Un-hwi knew better than anyone how beautiful and precious his wife Paeng Seo-yeon was.
From the family's perspective, they might have felt she was taken away.
So when he returned to the Peng Family, he had steeled himself.
"I thought I would endure any hateful glares or angry words thrown at me. But as soon as you saw me, you called me 'Brother' and welcomed me."
Yeo Un-hwi wasn't naive enough to fully trust someone's outward appearance.
After all, he was the one called the Blood Demon before his regression.
Such a person wouldn't be fooled just because someone treated him kindly on the surface.
But the Peng Seo-jin he met and experienced was a man whose outer and inner selves matched.
The same was true for how he treated Yeo Un-hwi.
In fact, Yeo Un-hwi felt even more apologetic and grateful because of this.
For Yeo Un-hwi, from the moment Peng Seo-jin called him "Brother" and warmly welcomed him and his family when they first met, Peng Seo-jin also became family that Yeo Un-hwi had to protect.
"Haha. Brother, you're talking about something so obvious."
"Then it shouldn't be strange that I naturally saved you. I simply rescued my family, that's all."
"I... see."
A pleasant smile spread across Peng Seo-jin's face.
It was quite an embarrassing thing to say, but for someone whose life had been saved, such words were simply appreciated.
Thus, Yeo Un-hwi's answer was sufficient for Peng Seo-jin's question.
"What else are you curious about? Since we've started talking, ask everything so there's nothing left bothering you later."
"Haha. If that's the case, I'll ask just one more thing without refusing."
"You can ask more."
"This is already so much to process, so I'll take it slowly."
"Haha!"
The more he knew him, the more interesting this man was.
Despite holding the position of Young Master in one of the Five Great Families representing the martial world, he was never arrogant or boastful, always humble and considerate of others.
And when the time came for him to apologize, he did so without hesitation, politely regardless of who the other person was, never considering it shameful.
Indeed, Peng Seo-jin's demeanor was just like his wife's.
Perhaps that's why Yeo Un-hwi had liked Peng Seo-jin from the beginning.
Of course, as mentioned earlier, it started with Peng Seo-jin opening his heart first.
Yeo Un-hwi nodded in understanding at Peng Seo-jin's groan.
Then Peng Seo-jin made a slightly troubled face before asking his next question.
"Is there a reason you're hiding your strength?"
Perhaps this was what he was most curious about.