Chapter 46
Promise her a few things?
Yeo Un-hwi tilted his head quizzically as Paeng Seo-yeon held up two fingers.
"Just two things, promise me these two things."
"Go ahead, tell me."
"First, stay back as much as possible during dangerous missions. It would be best if you didn't take on dangerous missions at all, but if you must, you have to do this."
"But to always do that..."
"Tsk."
Paeng Seo-yeon furrowed her brow sharply.
Rather than looking intimidating, she only appeared adorable in Yeo Un-hwi's eyes.
He couldn't help but smile at the sight, though he tried his best to suppress it.
This wasn't the time for that, after all.
Meanwhile, Paeng Seo-yeon continued speaking, scrunching up her face in what she thought was a fierce expression.
Yul had started mimicking her mother's face, making it even harder for Yeo Un-hwi to hold back his smile.
"I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but since you don't know martial arts, you'll only get in the way if you're up front. It's better for the other warriors too."
She spoke more rapidly than usual.
"Instead, focus on making the best decisions for the White Wolf Unit. That will definitely be more helpful."
She was right. If Yeo Un-hwi truly didn't know martial arts, that is.
Paeng Seo-yeon seemed determined today.
"The other members won't say it out loud, but I'm sure they all want this too. So promise me. Promise you'll do it."
"Promise, promise!"
Suddenly, Paeng Seo-yeon had brought her face close to Yeo Un-hwi's, her large eyes sparkling as she (gently) demanded.
Beside her, Yul was mimicking her mother's words exactly.
Ugh.
Yeo Un-hwi was terribly weak against his wife when she was this resolute.
"Haha. Well, alright then."
"Good. And the second thing is very simple."
As Paeng Seo-yeon continued, Yeo Un-hwi's head tilted to the side.
What could this second request be?
Meanwhile, in another room...
"I see. Haha."
"You find this amusing?"
In a neatly arranged room.
A man with clean-cut features laughed lightly.
Peng Gyeong-ho frowned at the sight.
Then he spoke as if exasperated:
"Are you really alright with this?"
The man smiled gently in response.
"With what?"
"The White Wolf Unit openly rejected you in front of everyone, didn't they?"
This handsome man was none other than Peng Gyeong-ho's son, Peng Do-hwan.
He replied nonchalantly to his father's words.
"Well, that was inevitable, wasn't it?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Think about it. The White Wolf Unit had just returned with an unexpectedly great achievement and was receiving rewards. Making such a proposal in front of everyone was too hasty. Moreover, if they had readily accepted the suggestion, would the Family Head have been pleased? I think not."
Peng Do-hwan continued with a relaxed expression.
"And Young Lady Seoyeon would have been quite displeased, thinking her husband was being insulted."
"Hmm."
"It wasn't an appropriate situation to bring up that topic in any way. They had just accomplished a great feat and had their probation lifted. From the White Wolf Unit's perspective, they wouldn't want to displease the Family Head and Young Lady."
"Hmm, I see. Now that I hear your explanation, I understand. Indeed, your father's thinking was short-sighted."
Peng Gyeong-ho was generally quick-witted, though not particularly deep in his schemes.
This time, he had made a rash move due to a momentary surge of greed and impatience.
Listening calmly to his son's words, he realized once again how foolish he had been.
Seeing his father's self-reproach, Peng Do-hwan smiled slightly.
"I know you did it all for my sake, Father. But hearing about it, I do find it a bit strange."
He was referring to the White Wolf Unit.
It was unexpected that they not only rejected his father's proposal but also insisted on continuing with their current commander.
Why go to such lengths? Something seemed off.
He knew the White Wolf Unit better than anyone.
Peng Gyeong-ho nodded at his son's words.
"Come to think of it, I noticed their atmosphere seemed subtly different today. How should I put it... They seemed more centered, as if they had found a focal point."
"It seems something must have happened."
What could it be?
Surely it couldn't be because of that scholar who was practically a figurehead.
"So what should we do? Are we just going to let that man who doesn't even know martial arts continue as the White Wolf Unit's commander, just because he's a son-in-law?"
Peng Gyeong-ho looked at his son with a frustrated expression.
"It's too long to wait until the Eldest Young Master becomes Family Head and the White Tiger Unit commander position becomes vacant. And aiming for the White Martial Unit is out of the question while Elder Gu is still in good health."
"And you had already rejected the Family Head's offer of the White Wolf Unit commander position for me long ago."
"Well, back then I thought the White Wolf Unit was just a bunch of brutes with nothing but strength."
In truth, Peng Gyeong-ho was largely responsible for making the situation so complicated.
A few years ago, when the White Wolf Unit commander position was unexpectedly offered to Peng Do-hwan, Peng Gyeong-ho had vehemently opposed it.
To the point where even Family Head Peng Mugang was left embarrassed.
With his father so strongly against it, the proposal was eventually dropped, and Peng Mugang never brought it up again.
Peng Do-hwan had also quietly followed his stubborn father's wishes after a few arguments.
For Peng Gyeong-ho to now bring this up first could be seen as quite shameless and ridiculous in many ways.
Originally, they had planned to quietly wait, even if it took time, for either Peng Seo-jin to become Family Head or for Elder Gu to retire.
But unexpectedly, when the usually troublesome White Wolf Unit achieved such great merit and gained attention from the entire martial world, Peng Gyeong-ho's thoughts quickly changed.
Thus, by forcing the issue, the current situation had come about.
Peng Do-hwan also had much to think about.
For a martial artist belonging to the Peng Family, becoming the commander of one of the Three Great Martial Forces representing the family was a great honor.
Naturally, Peng Do-hwan also coveted that position.
Especially the commander position of the White Wolf Unit.
The White Wolf Unit was a special place for him.
Now, and in the past.
He had only been unable to take the position because of his father's opposition.
If not for that opposition, the White Wolf Unit commander position would have been his long ago.
Though his father's change of heart was transparent, regardless of the reason, now that he was no longer opposing it, Peng Do-hwan wanted to become the White Wolf Unit's commander even now.
Of course, Peng Do-hwan was also incredibly surprised that the White Wolf Unit had managed to behead the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon, one of the Absolute Great Evils.
He still couldn't understand how it was possible.
But in the martial world, where a moment's carelessness could cost one's life, he rationalized that even the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon was human and thus such a thing was possible.
"Hmm."
"Isn't there some way?"
"At times like this, the orthodox method is best, isn't it?"
"The orthodox method?"
"Yes. Make him realize his own inadequacy and step down voluntarily. In other words..."
Peng Do-hwan smiled slyly.
After hearing his son's idea, Peng Gyeong-ho also nodded with a satisfied smile.
*What is going on? Why am I...*
In one of the Hebei Peng Family's private training grounds, No Il-bong wore a bewildered expression.
He couldn't understand why he was in this situation.
Why on earth did he have to teach martial arts to the man in front of him?
He was simply dumbfounded.
Of course, he had nodded in agreement when asked before, but that was because he was too flustered to refuse at the time.
Yeo Un-hwi smiled at No Il-bong, who was looking at him with a lost expression.
"Well then, I'll be in your care."
"Couldn't you learn from someone else? There must be far more skilled warriors in the White Wolf Unit."
"Well, it seems it wouldn't look good to learn directly from my immediate subordinates."
"Who says?"
In response to No Il-bong's question, Yeo Un-hwi pointed somewhere with his finger.
There, Paeng Seo-yeon was holding Yul's hand, secretly spying on them from behind a wall.
"Ha, haha..."
Only then did No Il-bong roughly grasp how the situation had come about.
"But there must be many other warriors. Why me specifically?"
"Because we're somewhat close?"
"Us? Close? How could that be?"
If anything, No Il-bong was the person who avoided Yeo Un-hwi the most in the Hebei Peng Family. He couldn't understand why Yeo Un-hwi thought they were close.
In fact, Yeo Un-hwi had asked him for this favor before Paeng Seo-yeon's request that he start learning martial arts bit by bit.
He had thought he should start learning the Peng Family's basic martial arts soon.
Though he hadn't had much time due to the incident with the White Wolf Unit, with his wife's request and other factors, he had come to No Il-bong again.
Seeing No Il-bong's reluctant expression, Yeo Un-hwi asked:
"Why, do you dislike it?"
"Ah, no, that's not it."
"That's good then."
As if he could say he disliked it?
"It's just... the situation is so unexpected that I'm flustered."
"Well anyway, since things have turned out this way, I'll be in your care."
Yeo Un-hwi said as he lightly moved his body.
"I'll take care of the basics on my own, so just demonstrate the Peng Family's basic martial arts one by one."
"Is that all you need?"
"Of course."
For someone known not to have learned martial arts, saying he'd handle the basics and just wanted demonstrations of the basic techniques...
Somehow, Yeo Un-hwi's words sounded to No Il-bong like he was asking for help in slacking off.
In truth, everyone already knew Yeo Un-hwi had good basic physical fitness, having earned the nickname "Jogging Ghost."
But even so, starting martial arts training from scratch at Yeo Un-hwi's age wasn't very promising.
So No Il-bong simply nodded in agreement with Yeo Un-hwi's words.
*Yes, this is better.*
It would have been more troublesome if Yeo Un-hwi had enthusiastically insisted on becoming a master somehow.
Because that possibility was almost non-existent.
Martial arts require building a foundation from childhood, which is most important.
And internal energy must be accumulated in balance with that foundation.
So while he was still quite young in terms of age, it was considered far too late to start martial arts.
If he didn't understand this and just recklessly pursued high goals, it would be very tiring for the instructor, even if the student didn't mind.
But fortunately, Yeo Un-hwi seemed well aware of his own limitations from the start, which was a relief.
Of course, it would have been best not to get involved in this at all, but given how things had turned out...
"I understand."
No Il-bong quickly organized his thoughts and said with a short sigh.
"Well then, I'll demonstrate everything from the beginning. If you have any questions, please ask after I finish the demonstrations."
"Of course."
No Il-bong then took out a wooden saber and began demonstrating the Peng Family's basic martial arts one by one in front of Yeo Un-hwi.
"Hmm. Good, good."
Watching this, Paeng Seo-yeon smiled with satisfaction, seeming somewhat proud.
She was a bit curious why he wasn't teaching from the very basics, but that was up to the instructor, so there was no need to interfere that far.
The important thing was that he had started.
Paeng Seo-yeon thought that if her husband practiced diligently like this for over ten years, he might at least be able to pass as a martial artist to some degree.
Then he would have enough strength to protect himself to some extent.
That was important.
When you think it's too late is actually the earliest time to start.
And so, Yeo Un-hwi officially began learning martial arts.
"Hiyah! Tah!"
No Il-bong was demonstrating the Peng Family's martial arts to the best of his ability.
At this point, No Il-bong had no idea.
How this connection would change his life.