Chapter 31
"I heard the Young Master has returned!"
"They say the Family Head himself went out and rescued him from the culprits."
"As expected of our Family Head! By the way, did you hear if the Young Master was injured?"
"Well, it seems he went through quite an ordeal, but apparently there are no major injuries."
"Is that so? Thank goodness, what a relief!"
The Hebei Peng Family breathed a collective sigh of relief when Peng Seo-jin returned safely.
From the lowest-ranking warriors to the servants and closest confidants.
It was a moment that showed just how much everyone in the family cared for the Young Master.
"What do you mean?"
In the Family Head's room of the Peng Family.
The Peng Family's physician was reporting to Family Head Peng Mugang with an extremely surprised expression.
"You've never seen anything like it before?"
"Well, I'm not sure if I should call this a miracle or what, but..."
Even the physician who had examined him directly stammered his explanation with a face that couldn't believe it.
He said that judging by the wound site, it was clear that the poison had been extremely lethal and the arm injury had been on the verge of necrosis, yet somehow it had healed as if washed clean, and he simply couldn't understand how this was possible.
"Was it that man?"
At those words, Peng Mugang immediately recalled a certain man.
The man who had so calmly and effortlessly deflected his attacks, which he had unleashed with unrestrained fury and without holding back.
Not just his martial arts, but those eyes had left such a strong impression on Peng Mugang that they remained etched in his mind.
It was like the feeling of the sun burning fiercely.
Even for Peng Mugang, who had lived a long life in the martial world, it was something he had never seen before.
Just who on earth could he be?
He clearly seemed young, but the depth of his internal energy and martial arts was beyond words.
Perhaps he was a master from a previous generation who had undergone bone and marrow cleansing.
No, that explanation actually made more sense.
Because Peng Mugang had never heard of anyone so young possessing such incredible martial arts.
But then again, Peng Mugang couldn't understand why such a master would have saved Seo-jin.
"Hmm."
His identity, his skills, his motives.
For now, there was nothing Peng Mugang could clearly understand, so despite it being undoubtedly a good thing, he felt somewhat frustrated.
'No, that's not right.'
But soon Peng Mugang shook his head, dispelling the frustrating thoughts.
Now was not the time for such thinking.
Above all, what he should be grateful for now was that his son was safe.
That was enough.
As the physician had said, he now knew well too.
If it hadn't been for that mysterious master at that time, even if he had managed to rescue his son from there, the situation would likely have been extremely serious.
In other words, that unidentified man was the Peng Family's benefactor.
There was no need to consider such a benefactor as an enemy.
Peng Mugang simply wanted to repay the kindness he had received.
He was the type of person who felt compelled to repay not just debts, but also kindnesses received.
But even if he wanted to repay that kindness, he needed to know the identity to do so, and he couldn't figure that out...
The only thing he remembered was,
'Those intense eyes and... that scent.'
Many people didn't know this, but Peng Mugang's innate sense of smell sometimes far surpassed even his aura perception.
He was someone who always remembered a scent once he had smelled it.
To the extent that even if you blindfolded him and told him to find someone by scent alone, he could distinguish between the countless people he had met so far.
In a sense, his nose was like a third eye for Peng Mugang.
But,
"Hmm. It's definitely a strangely familiar scent... Where have I smelled that scent before?"
It was something he felt he knew, yet couldn't quite place.
This was something that even that "benefactor" (?) had not anticipated at all.
"Mmm."
Peng Seo-jin, who had been unconscious for a long time after returning to the Peng Family, finally woke up from his long sleep.
As he stirred, he slowly opened his eyes with a frowning expression.
"S-Seo-jin? Are you feeling a bit better?"
As he finally regained consciousness, he heard the voices of his mother and sister.
Turning his head, he saw his family looking at him.
With incredibly worried faces.
"How did you all... Ah. I see... I've returned home."
Various fragmented memories flashed through his mind haphazardly.
Assassins, warriors, a cliff, a river, terrible poison and wounds, and so on.
The last thing Peng Seo-jin remembered was the scene of his father and the unidentified man who had saved them fighting due to a misunderstanding in the dense forest.
Or more precisely, it was his father who had misunderstood and charged at the man.
Anyway, trying to stop that and then losing consciousness was all he could remember.
And now, after time had passed, he had just opened his eyes here.
How much time had passed, he wondered.
Judging by how his entire body felt stiff and even painful beyond just being sore, it seemed quite a few days had passed.
Peng Seo-jin slowly sat up.
Since it was still not easy to sit up on his own, Yeo Un-hwi stepped forward to support him.
"Mother. Everyone."
Seeing his family's eyes brimming with tears as they looked at him, Peng Seo-jin gave a small smile.
"It seems I've caused you all great worry."
"How can you say such a thing?"
"No, this mother is just grateful and thankful that you've returned safely like this."
As if upset by Peng Seo-jin's words, Paeng Seo-yeon and Dan Hee-young shook their heads.
It was understandable, for no matter how much he had grown into an adult, in Dan Hee-young's eyes he was still just her son who always worried her.
How much had she fretted, wondering if something terrible had happened when there was no news of him for so long?
Now that he had returned like this, she felt nothing but immense relief.
"What happened to my bodyguards?"
Peng Seo-jin, who had been smiling apologetically, suddenly asked with a serious expression.
Even in this situation, having just regained consciousness, he was immediately concerned about them.
It clearly revealed his usual character.
But in fact, he already had a sense of what had likely happened.
Considering the situation when they parted, and the cruelty shown by the enemies...
Still, he asked with a glimmer of hope, wishing his intuition was wrong.
But seeing his family's faces darken at his question, Peng Seo-jin bit his lip hard in anguish.
"I see. They've already..."
They had all been subordinates who had been with Peng Seo-jin for a long time.
They were like close confidants that Peng Seo-jin trusted and relied on more than anyone.
'Just run, Young Master! You must survive no matter what!'
'Hurry! Go quickly, Young Master! We'll handle things here!'
'Aaaaargh! You bastards! You won't get away!'
Was that really their last moment?
For a moment, their final appearances flashed through Peng Seo-jin's mind, weighing heavily on his heart.
Along with feelings of guilt, he keenly felt his own inadequacy.
If only he had been stronger... If only...
Worried about Peng Seo-jin's state, Dan Hee-young patted his shoulder and said,
"For now, don't think about anything else and just rest well. That matter will be taken care of by others..."
"No."
Peng Seo-jin shook his head firmly.
He felt that taking care of the remaining families of the bodyguards who had lost their lives in this incident was something he had to do personally.
At the very least, he thought that was the proper courtesy towards the subordinates who had departed because of this incident.
He really wanted to do it.
"I see. Then we'll discuss that part separately later. For now, get some more rest."
"Yes."
But before that, recovery was the priority.
Only then would he be able to do anything.
With that, Dan Hee-young and Paeng Seo-yeon left the room, and Yeo Un-hwi also briefly greeted Peng Seo-jin before turning to leave.
But then,
"Hmm?"
Peng Seo-jin blinked his eyes.
For some reason, Yeo Un-hwi's back view seemed to overlap with someone he had seen somewhere before.
That man who had saved him this time...
"Ha. It seems I'm still not fully recovered."
It was a thought that made no sense at all.
How could such a thing be possible?
Peng Seo-jin shook his head vigorously as he lay down, as if to shake off the absurd thought.
It seemed he really needed to get more sleep.
"Tee-hee."
The laughter of a little girl could be heard from inside the room.
It was the sound of Yeo Un-hwi playing with his daughter Yul.
Though he wasn't doing anything particularly special, Yul couldn't stop laughing as if she was having the time of her life.
Watching the two of them, Paeng Seo-yeon wore a contented smile.
"Phew."
She let out a long sigh without even realizing it.
It wasn't a sigh of worry.
It was a sigh of relief.
Only now did she finally feel at ease.
After all, she had been losing sleep every night with her mother ever since hearing the news about her brother.
But no matter how much time passed, there was no news of her brother, and Paeng Seo-yeon acutely felt what it was like to have her heart shrink with worry.
Family was this precious.
Once again, she felt deeply sorry for her coldness in cutting off contact and living apart from such precious family members.
Thankfully, her brother had returned.
In their father's arms.
But her brother's condition had looked extremely serious.
The white clothes he always liked to wear had been stained red with blood, and some parts had even turned black.
Seeing that battered state, Paeng Seo-yeon was at a loss for words.
She couldn't even imagine what kind of ordeal he must have gone through.
Still, fortunately, the physician had said that with some rest and stability, there shouldn't be any major problems.
And not long after, her brother had opened his eyes.
Thank goodness, truly.
Tonight, she would be able to sleep soundly.
But... what was that?
Paeng Seo-yeon suddenly recalled a certain memory.
'...I'll... come back...'
She didn't even remember falling asleep, but she vaguely remembered hearing her husband Yeo Un-hwi's voice during that time.
But she couldn't quite remember exactly what he had said to her.
"Honey."
"Hmm?"
Yeo Un-hwi, who had been playing with Yul, turned his head to look at Paeng Seo-yeon.
"Did you perhaps say something to me a few days ago while I was sleeping?"
"Me? Well, when? I'm not sure..."
Yeo Un-hwi tilted his head at Paeng Seo-yeon's words.
"Hmm. I was sure you... Or was it a dream?"
"You must have had a dream. Haha. By the way, do you only see me even in your dreams? I'm touched."
"Tch. No, I don't. Never mind."
As Paeng Seo-yeon's face turned red, Yul came running over and pointed at Paeng Seo-yeon's cheeks with her tiny finger.
"Mommy, Mommy! You're embarrassed! Your cheeks are red!"
"Oh my. Yul! How can you do this to Mommy!"
"Hahaha!"
Yeo Un-hwi burst into hearty laughter.
It was an expression he never showed to others.
After laughing for a while, when Paeng Seo-yeon's attention was elsewhere, Yul and Yeo Un-hwi briefly made eye contact and winked at each other.
It meant it was 'their little secret'.