Chapter 49
From that day on, Peng Do-hwan began secretly following Yeo Un-hwi and observing his every move.
But despite his grand intentions, there wasn't much to see.
Yeo Un-hwi's daily routine was simpler than expected.
When he had no particular business, he mostly spent time with his family.
"Hahaha!"
"Yul-ah. Walk slowly. You might get hurt."
Peng Do-hwan watched from a distance as Yeo Un-hwi strolled through the garden with his family.
"...Hmm. C-Cute."
Peng Do-hwan's gaze unconsciously drifted to Yeo Un-hwi's daughter, Yul.
Honestly, even to his eyes that didn't particularly like children, Yul was incredibly lovable and adorable.
Her smiling eyes and the way she acted coy were so charming.
Moreover, the young child had such a bright personality, greeting everyone she saw regardless of their status. Peng Do-hwan could fully understand why the faces of the Peng Family members lit up when receiving her greetings.
Watching this, Peng Do-hwan suddenly felt the urge to find a wife soon.
His gaze then turned to Paeng Seo-yeon.
He had memories of often playing with Paeng Seo-yeon and Paeng Seo-jin as children when they were the same age.
As they grew up, they naturally grew apart and lost touch, but it wasn't that their relationship had particularly soured.
She had always been upright and kind to everyone without discrimination, receiving great expectations from the family along with Paeng Seo-jin, who was talented in many ways from a young age.
Though Peng Do-hwan was also quite talented, even to his eyes, Paeng Seo-jin and Paeng Seo-yeon were exceptional.
So when he heard that Paeng Seo-yeon had fallen in love with some scholar and left the family, he was incredibly surprised.
It was so unexpected.
He had thought she was someone who would never do such a thing, no matter what.
It would be a lie to say he wasn't disappointed.
So when he heard the news that she had recently returned to the Peng Family with her husband and child, he didn't feel particularly glad.
But seeing the family all together like this today, he felt somehow happy and it was pleasant to watch.
Even from this brief glimpse of them strolling through the garden, he could tell.
How happy this family was, and how much they loved each other.
Even Peng Do-hwan, who didn't yet fully understand love, could feel it.
But,
"Huh! T-This isn't right."
He wasn't here to watch scenes like this.
Get it together!
Fortunately, he saw Yeo Un-hwi heading somewhere, separating from his family for his next schedule.
"Hmm?"
Soon, the place Yeo Un-hwi arrived at was the most remote and rarely visited training ground in the Peng Family compound.
It was a place even Peng Do-hwan hardly ever visited.
But not long after, the entire White Wolf Unit gathered there.
'Why on earth are they meeting here?'
Peng Do-hwan was very curious about this.
The reason Peng Family warriors rarely used this place was because it was too far from the warriors' quarters and there was nothing around - it was somewhat barren compared to other training grounds.
So usually, there was almost never a reason to come here unless something special was happening.
Some newer Peng Family warriors didn't even know this place existed.
But,
'W-What is this?'
Soon, he witnessed an unbelievable sight.
'What am I seeing right now?'
It was training. Group training for the White Wolf Unit.
However, it was so intense it could hardly be called mere training.
"Urrrgh!"
"Uwaaaaah!"
"Hyaaaah!"
As soon as the training began, all the White Wolf Unit members climbed the mountain at an incredible speed.
Later, they came down through places that were almost sheer cliffs, and kept repeating this over and over.
The strange thing was that they weren't practicing or honing any particular martial arts, but just endlessly repeating this day and night.
'No, what on earth are they doing? Have they all gone mad?'
Peng Do-hwan muttered, utterly unable to comprehend.
This was truly insane. Completely insane behavior with no apparent purpose!
Even an army on the brink of war wouldn't train like this.
What on earth were they doing this for?
Moreover,
"Haha..."
What was even more astounding was that in the midst of all this, the man called Commander was sitting in the center of the training ground, enjoying tea and reading a book.
It wasn't as if he was mocking them. What was he trying to do?
But the White Wolf Unit members didn't seem to harbor any resentment towards Yeo Un-hwi's behavior.
'They're enduring it? Them?'
Even the hot-tempered Gi-su and Gi-sang brothers, and the equally temperamental Do-gyeong and Gu Tae-san were gritting their teeth and focusing only on training.
It was a strange sight.
Peng Do-hwan, who had spent most of his childhood with the White Wolf Unit, knew better than anyone how rough and prideful these men were.
Yet these same men were gasping for breath and struggling as if they might die, but showed no signs of anger at Yeo Un-hwi, who seemed to be mocking them by leisurely drinking tea and reading.
How could this make any sense?
From Peng Do-hwan's perspective, who knew all too well that these were men who would challenge even the Family Head if they felt something was wrong, this situation was utterly incomprehensible.
These were people who would confront anyone head-on if they felt something wasn't right, regardless of their status.
The reason the White Wolf Unit had been treated as a troublesome liability for the Peng Family until recently was precisely because of this unmanageable temperament.
If they had always been this patient, they wouldn't have been treated that way in the first place.
What on earth had happened recently to change them all like this...
"This is truly baffling, really."
From Peng Do-hwan's perspective, this was simply too strange, ridiculous, and unbelievable.
Anyway, that inexplicable mad training continued for half a day.
How this was even possible was beyond comprehension.
Thud.
The hellish training finally ended when Yeo Un-hwi closed the book he had been reading.
"Hmm. You all endured better than I expected."
Yeo Un-hwi smiled slightly as he looked at each of the half-dazed White Wolf Unit members.
"Anyway, good work. And if you ever want to quit, just say so. I'll grant your wish. But if you silently do exactly as you're told, just like today, I promise I'll give you what you want. I promise."
'...What?'
Peng Do-hwan's head tilted at Yeo Un-hwi's words.
'He'll give them what they want? What does that mean?'
It seemed there was some kind of deal he wasn't aware of.
He had no way of knowing what it was at the moment.
Meanwhile, in response to Yeo Un-hwi's words, all the White Wolf Unit members, who had been wheezing and gasping as if on the verge of death, brightened their eyes and responded loudly:
"Commander! Thank you for your hard work!"
"We won't give up! We're more stubborn than we look!"
"Hahaha! That's right."
Even after such grueling training that had completely drained them, they were all laughing cheerfully for some reason.
That sight, those smiles, strangely made Peng Do-hwan uncomfortable.
'What is this? Why are they all making those faces?'
Suddenly, for no apparent reason, irritation welled up inside him.
Damn it, damn it, damn it!
Though it was the White Wolf Unit members who were in shambles from the hellish training, curses were flowing from Peng Do-hwan's mouth instead.
He was doing this because he felt wronged and angry about what had happened with Yeo Un-hwi a few days ago, and to uncover his mysterious identity, but for some reason, the more he followed Yeo Un-hwi, the worse he felt.
It was as if he alone was being left out and falling behind.
He knew it was nonsense.
But this was the White Wolf Unit he had prided himself on knowing better than anyone.
Yet now, they seemed so distant from him.
With their mysterious training, mysterious conversations, and expressions he had never seen before as they laughed happily.
As time passed, he even felt an inexplicable sense of betrayal.
'Damn it!'
Anyway, the feelings he was experiencing in the current situation were utterly perplexing to him.
At that moment,
Hmm.
Yeo Un-hwi, who had briefly glanced at Peng Do-hwan watching from afar, smirked.
He had known all along that Peng Do-hwan had been following him all day.
'What an impatient personality...'
He must have been quite curious. About many things.
If so, he should have come and asked. Why was he acting like this?
Still, he planned to leave him be for a while longer.
He was also curious to see what choice Peng Do-hwan would ultimately make.
'Well, anyway, that's that.'
In fact, there was a reason the White Wolf Unit was training like this right now.
It's an obvious fact, but the vessel for martial arts is the body.
To contain good martial arts, one needs a good vessel, a good body - this natural principle applies to almost everyone.
Of course, it's an extremely obvious and natural truth.
But he was different.
Yeo Un-hwi had inherited everything from the Martial God and undergone a complete transformation, gaining a perfect vessel and body.
Yeo Un-hwi could be considered the ultimate body for martial arts.
But these men were not like that.
Although most of them had been training in martial arts since childhood, to reach higher realms, they needed bodies that were even more refined than they currently had.
So before Yeo Un-hwi could teach the White Wolf Unit anything, they needed to go through a process of expanding and strengthening their vessels.
What they were doing now was a kind of preliminary work for that purpose.
Of course, he knew. These men were no longer young, and each had their own fighting style and martial arts that had already become fully ingrained.
For such people, newly expanding and strengthening the vessel of their body was usually an impossible task.
But Yeo Un-hwi didn't think so.
He could see it.
That these men still had potential to develop and become stronger.
It wasn't just about learning higher-level, stronger martial arts quickly.
He was certain that going through a process like this first would be more effective.
That's why he had started this high-intensity physical training.
Well, though it must feel like hell for them.
Nevertheless, when the training ended, the White Wolf Unit members didn't collapse or sprawl on the ground.
They were somehow enduring through sheer willpower.
They seemed determined to follow Yeo Un-hwi's words without any complaint, believing in him completely.
"Now it's time for individual training. Do whatever training you want and get plenty of rest. This training will continue tomorrow."
"Yes, Commander."
The White Wolf Unit's responses were impeccable, no matter how exhausted they were.
Yeo Un-hwi smirked approvingly and turned to leave. Only then did the entire White Wolf Unit collapse to the training ground floor as if on cue.