Chapter 214
“Right. Then I hope you enjoy your time while you’re staying at the Peng Clan.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
The Peng Clan Head’s Hall.
Yeo Un-hwi paid his respects to the three newcomers and Peng Mugang before leaving the Clan Head’s Hall.
Peng Mugang’s expression was strange as he watched them walk away.
He had welcomed them warmly, but his face was somehow conflicted.
Unlike him, the elders of the Peng Clan were simply beaming.
They had gladly welcomed the guests who had come to see Yeo Un-hwi.
The elders had now reached the point where they welcomed anything Yeo Un-hwi did with open arms.
Elder Peng Gyeongho, Peng Do-hwan’s father, was at the forefront of fostering that atmosphere.
“Hahaha! Commander Yeo’s guests are all fine-looking men, aren’t they? Just looking at them, don’t they all look like they could pack quite a punch?”
“It would be a shame for them to do nothing but eat our food, so tell them to let us know if we need an extra pair of hands. Aren’t they such affable young men?”
“We’ve been in dire need of extra hands lately, too. This works out perfectly. Haha.”
“Don’t.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t even think about making them do anything.”
“No, why are you…”
“I said don’t. Do. It.”
“Ah… Yes. Well, if that is your will, Clan Head, then I understand.”
Peng Mugang clicked his tongue after stopping the elders from thoughtlessly trying to make the guests do menial labor.
What did they think they were going to make them do?
If the elders learned who those friends really were, they would surely be so startled they’d have a fit.
Peng Mugang had once again protected the elders who served as the pillars of the Hebei Peng Clan.
In any case, although he had already heard about them, they were unbelievably skilled.
Their realms were even so far beyond Peng Mugang’s that he could hardly fathom them.
Yeo Un-hwi had told him they had reached a realm comparable to that of the Twelve Supreme Venerables.
It was good that his son-in-law was so formidable, but Peng Mugang was beginning to find the guests who kept coming increasingly burdensome.
***
“Ha. This is truly a beautiful place. Don’t you agree?”
“Indeed. Everyone here looks so bright and cheerful. It’s wonderful.”
“That’s beside the point. How much longer are you planning to stay?”
“Huh?”
At Zhuque’s sidelong glare, the other three Guardians tilted their heads and played innocent.
It had begun the night before.
It started with something Bai Hu said after a minor disturbance had been settled.
‘Commander! Since we’ve come all this way, I’d like to stay a little longer!’
‘There’s no reason we can’t. Let’s do that.’
Permission had been granted far too readily.
Of course, not everyone was happy about it.
“Is it really all right for us to stay away this long? Shouldn’t we hurry back and take care of our assigned duties? How much must the Divine Maiden be suffering all alone!”
“Ahem. I’ve already taken care of everything that needed doing in one go. And the Divine Maiden gave her permission.”
“What permission? Didn’t she only give in because you stubbornly insisted?”
“Ahem. Insisted? We’re not children.”
“Exactly. If you’re not children, why are you acting like this? Seriously.”
The three Guardians pretended not to hear Zhuque’s grumbling.
After all, how hard had they worked to get here?
The three Guardians had firmly resolved to enjoy themselves here as much as possible before returning, even if their ears bled from her nagging.
***
“Ah, Commander! There you are! I was just about to come find you.”
Yeo Un-hwi was strolling through the Peng Clan’s garden with the Four Guardians when Jin So-baek approached from the distance with a broad smile.
“Oh. Miss Hongyeon is here too. Haha. But I don’t believe I’ve met the people beside you.”
Hongyeon—and, in fact, Yeo Un-hwi and all four Guardians—saw it.
Despite his welcoming smile, Jin So-baek subtly took half a step away from Hongyeon.
But Hongyeon tactfully refrained from acknowledging it and introduced the three Guardians.
“They’re friends of mine. We’ve known one another since childhood.”
“Ah, I see. You’ve known one another since childhood. Haha. Huh?”
At that moment, Jin So-baek’s face, still wearing its smile, froze as he realized something.
As he counted the three people, Zhuque among them, one by one, his face gradually went pale.
“One, two…? Uh, c-could you be the Four…”
“Shh. Anyway, what was it you wanted to say?”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing. I’ll tell you next time, next time. I’m feeling a little dizzy right now. Ha, haha…….”
Jin So-baek then staggered away somewhere, his face as pale as a sheet.
“What an interesting person.”
“No, he’s simply a timid fellow.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s a long story.”
Good grief, he was far too fainthearted.
He hadn’t seemed like that when they first met.
That was when—
“Dad!”
A bright, carefree voice rang out from somewhere.
When he turned his head, Yul-i was approaching with Peng Seo-yeon, both of them smiling.
Peng Seo-yeon, who had already reached Yeo Un-hwi, glanced around before asking,
“What are you doing here?”
“Some new guests arrived, so I took them to greet your father and was just on my way out.”
“Ah. I see. Welcome. Welcome to the Peng Clan. My name is Peng Seo-yeon.”
“Could you be our lord’s……”
When the Four Guardians looked at Yeo Un-hwi, he smiled and nodded.
“She’s my wife.”
“Oh! It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The Four Guardians bowed respectfully in greeting.
Having roughly guessed where they had come from and who they were, Peng Seo-yeon waved her hands and stopped them.
“You don’t have to do that. Please feel free to relax around me.”
“No, but even so.”
“We’ll be seeing each other often from now on, and I’d like us to be comfortable around one another. It’s my wish, so please do as I ask.”
“If you put it that way… Very well.”
The Four Guardians looked awkward, then eventually nodded.
Peng Seo-yeon smiled.
Even though she must have known who they were, the fact that she treated them without the slightest prejudice was deeply impressive to the Four Guardians.
As expected of our lord’s wife.
That was when—
“Hello!”
When a clear, bright voice came from below, the Four Guardians lowered their gazes.
Then their eyes went wide.
“O-oh. Oh. Wh-who is this? What a pretty child.”
“She definitely called our lord ‘Dad’ earlier…?”
“Then she’s our lord’s daughter!”
“Good heavens. She’s really this…”
So cute and lovable.
The other three Guardians all understood what Bai Hu had left unsaid.
No, they agreed wholeheartedly.
At Yul-i’s lovable, innocent smile, the Four Guardians, who had spent their entire lives seeing nothing but rough and terrible things, felt as though their eyes were being cleansed.
In the meantime, Yul-i nestled into Zhuque’s arms.
They must have grown quite close by now.
Zhuque easily lifted Yul-i into her arms.
Yet the Four Guardians’ expressions as they watched Zhuque grew distinctly strange.
They looked deeply envious.
At that sight, Zhuque grinned without realizing it.
“What? Jealous?”
“……”
Honestly, they were far too envious.
They had never imagined that Zhuque would be carrying out her mission this happily.
To be honest, since Zhuque was the one serving the Heavenly Demon Yeo Un-hwi most closely, they had assumed that her duties would consist of one difficult incident after another. Would she be all right alone? Should they have sent one more person? Those thoughts had crossed their minds.
But reality was the exact opposite of what they had imagined.
“I wanted you to be happy, but not this happy.”
“Yeah. While we’re working ourselves to death, you’ve been enjoying yourself to your heart’s content.”
“This isn’t right. This…”
The other three Guardians, seemingly unable to accept reality, began protesting and stubbornly insisting that they take turns handling Zhuque’s mission.
Zhuque chuckled and shook her head.
“It’s too late.”
“Why!”
“What do you mean, too late!”
“I can already hear you plotting. Do you think we’re going to fall for that?”
Zhuque shrugged at the Four Guardians glaring at her.
“I’m an outsider to the clan, and it hasn’t been long since I was allowed to serve our lord this closely and even take charge of guarding the young miss. If the person assigned to guard her were to change already—and keep changing—wouldn’t that look strange to everyone, and understandably raise questions? You all know that, don’t you? Secret missions must be carried out as inconspicuously as possible. Don’t forget: our most important task is to serve our lord at his side. Or do you intend to ruin the mission for your own selfish interests? Is that all you are capable of? All of you?”
“…Ugh.”
At Zhuque’s words, the Four Guardians groaned and fell silent.
It was the first time Yeo Un-hwi had seen Zhuque talk so incessantly.
He had thought she was the taciturn type. Or perhaps she only became talkative in front of the Four Guardians.
Hmm, in truth, Zhuque’s argument did sound plausible, but from Yeo Un-hwi’s perspective, even if Yul-i’s guard changed frequently, he would not have cared which of them did the job, as long as it was one of the Four Guardians.
Still, Zhuque’s words seemed quite convincing from the other Guardians’ perspective.
Judging by how quiet they had all become.
But their furious, aggrieved expressions had not changed in the slightest.
Soon, Yul-i took Peng Seo-yeon’s hand and went to meet her maternal grandmother.
Before she left, in response to the Four Guardians’ request that they be allowed to hold her just once each, Yul-i nestled into each of their arms in turn and gave them a bright smile.
The Four Guardians’ hearts sank once again at the sight.
They had not known that a small, innocent, lovable creature could be so bad for one’s heart.
Yeo Un-hwi chuckled at the sight of the three Guardians clutching their chests and staring blankly in the direction Yul-i had gone, while Zhuque looked at them pitifully, and said,
“More importantly, it’s about time for me to leave. Will you come with me?”
“Pardon? Where are we going?”
“Follow me and you’ll find out.”
Yeo Un-hwi soon led the Four Guardians somewhere.
They arrived at a training ground.
“Oh! Commander, you’re here!”
“Welcome!”
When Yeo Un-hwi appeared, the trainees stopped and greeted him in booming voices.
They were the White Wolf Unit.
The White Wolf members who had gathered around Yeo Un-hwi looked at the three Guardians with curiosity.
“Who are these people…?”
Zhuque stepped forward and gave the same explanation as before.
Friends who had trained with Hongyeon since childhood?
Then did that mean these people were also experts comparable to her?
It did not take long for their curiosity to turn into a desire to compete.
The ones whose eyes shone brightest were Gi-su and Gi-sang.
They were the two who had been soundly beaten by Hongyeon the other day.
Gi-su and Gi-sang stared at the three newcomers, then suddenly exchanged glances and hurried back to the spot where they had been training.
Then they began training with loud shouts.
“Hyaaap!”
“Hoooo!”
“Hyaaaaaaaah!”
“Kraaah!”
Before long, the other members also returned to their places, and even louder training shouts than before rang throughout the entire training ground.
Having roughly guessed what the members—especially Gi-su and Gi-sang—were thinking, Yeo Un-hwi let a faint smile curl across his lips.
They were probably planning to challenge the three Guardians to spar as soon as training ended, hoping to make up for being beaten by Hongyeon last time.
Unlike Yeo Un-hwi, however, the three Guardians, who were seeing this training session for the first time, were impressed in their own way.
It was much more intense than they had expected.
Just as when they themselves had undergone brutal training from childhood to reach the realms they had attained now.
Xuanwu, who had been quietly watching the training, suddenly seemed to feel his chest grow warm and said with a smile,
“How about we spar too? It’s been a while.”