Chapter 27
The next day.
"Seo-jin still hasn't returned?"
Peng Mugang asked, looking at the middle-aged man who had come to see him in the morning.
He was Ha Do-yeong, the Chief Steward who had been working for the Hebei Peng Family for as long as his graying hair suggested, overseeing all internal affairs.
Ha Do-yeong replied with a worried expression to Peng Mugang's question.
"Yes, Family Head. He usually returns within a day, but this is the first time he's been gone this long."
"Haha. Well, he's a grown man now. These things happen. When I was his age, I was even worse, Chief Ha."
Peng Mugang laughed it off as if it were no big deal.
"I'm sure he'll come back on his own. He can take care of himself. So stop worrying."
"Yes, I understand."
Though he answered that way, the Chief Steward still felt uneasy.
Certainly, as Peng Mugang said, a grown man might stay out for a night occasionally.
But Peng Seo-jin was the type to always return to sleep at the main house unless it was absolutely necessary to do otherwise.
Sometimes to the point where one might think, "Isn't that a bit much?"
So the fact that the Young Master hadn't returned or sent any word for over a day continued to nag at the Chief Steward.
But since the Family Head said not to worry about it, it seemed best to wait and see for now.
Contrary to his concerns, the Young Master might return as if nothing had happened.
And so the afternoon came.
Giggle giggle.
Yul was beaming with joy as she played with her father.
Yeo Un-hwi also smiled happily, watching his adorable daughter.
Paeng Seo-yeon and Dan Hee-young observed this heartwarming scene while chatting over tea.
It was a peaceful everyday moment.
Though they still had a long way to go before fully adapting, they were nonetheless enjoying the happiness of this ordinary moment.
But just then,
"My Lady!"
"What is it?"
"It's about the Y-Young Master...!"
"Hm? What about our Seo-jin?"
Seeing the servant's stricken face as he rushed in, Dan Hee-young felt an ominous premonition.
Soon, as the story spilled from the servant's lips, Dan Hee-young staggered.
"Mother!"
Paeng Seo-yeon's voice trembled with anxiety as she supported her swaying mother.
It was the moment their happy daily life shattered.
And so, the Chief Steward's early concerns unfortunately did not end up being unfounded.
The news came from a group of peddlers who had just arrived at the Peng Family estate.
In their hands was a blood-stained Peng Family emblem.
It was the emblem that Peng Family warriors always carried with them.
It was designed so that if something unexpected happened, they could hide it nearby or toss it somewhere to somehow relay the news to the main house.
On the back of the emblem was a small embroidered message promising a reward to those who brought it to the Peng Family.
That's how the emblem had made its way back to the Peng Family.
Naturally, the Peng Family was thrown into chaos.
Each emblem had a different color, and this blue one belonged to the Young Master's personal bodyguards.
The peddlers added that they had found the emblem near a broken bridge connecting two cliffs on their usual route, which they found strange.
Upon receiving the report, Family Head Peng Mugang dispatched warriors to search the entire area the peddlers had mentioned, his face grim.
After half a day of searching, what the Peng Family discovered were signs of a nighttime battle and the hidden corpses of the bodyguards nearby.
For better or worse, Young Master Peng Seo-jin was not among them.
What on earth had happened?
There was still nothing they could know for certain.
And for now, the most urgent matter was determining whether Young Master Peng Seo-jin was alive or dead.
"Who would dare do such a thing..."
The atmosphere in the Family Head's Hall was utterly gloomy.
Given the gravity of the situation, no one dared to speak up easily.
Eventually, one of the Peng Family elders burst out in anger.
"We must find those responsible for this and punish them severely!"
"That goes without saying. But first, we must confirm whether the Young Master is alive or dead."
"What nonsense! He must be alive!"
"That's not what I meant..."
In an instant, the Family Head's Hall erupted into chaos.
Amidst this, Peng Mugang spoke up.
"Now is not the time for us to be squabbling amongst ourselves."
At his words, everyone fell silent.
Peng Mugang, who normally seemed more hot-tempered than anyone, had a tendency to become incredibly calm when major incidents occurred.
This unexpected trait was one of the reasons his retainers followed him with such great trust.
In that sense, Peng Mugang was undoubtedly an excellent leader.
Of course, his face now was deeply troubled.
This concerned none other than his own son.
How could his expression be anything but grim?
He was now doing his utmost to suppress his anger and remain level-headed.
"Everyone, conserve your energy for unnecessary matters and focus entirely on finding Seo-jin! Understood?"
"Yes, Family Head!"
"You should rest."
"I'm fine. You should rest instead."
Dan Hee-young shook her head at Paeng Seo-yeon's words.
But Paeng Seo-yeon couldn't rest either.
How could they possibly relax in this situation, not knowing whether their beloved son and brother was alive or dead?
No matter how much they tried to calm themselves, tears kept welling up in their eyes.
"Mom, Grandma. Don't cry."
Seeing her grandmother and mother like this must have troubled little Yul, as she kept wiping their tears with her small handkerchief.
"It's okay, Yul."
Though they managed small smiles, their faces were still filled with worry.
Yeo Un-hwi quietly observed them.
*So that incident happened around this time.*
This event that was causing them such sorrow now.
Yeo Un-hwi already knew about Peng Seo-jin's disappearance.
Though he hadn't known exactly when it would occur.
After his regression, when he had been rampaging madly after losing Paeng Seo-yeon and Yul, he had still paid attention to news of the Hebei Peng Family, if only for his wife's sake.
Among that news, he had learned about what happened to Peng Seo-jin long after the incident had occurred.
The story was that the Young Master of the Hebei Peng Family had been ambushed one day and gone missing, only to barely make it back much later,
And that because of this incident, the Young Master had been gravely injured, losing his entire right arm and becoming one-armed.
Yeo Un-hwi remembered feeling pained upon hearing that his wife's brother had met such a fate.
Even during that time when he had been consumed by thoughts of revenge, news about the Peng Family always stuck in his mind without him intending it to.
Since he knew that Peng Seo-jin eventually returned on his own, perhaps it wouldn't matter if he did nothing now. But for some reason, Yeo Un-hwi felt he should intervene this time.
Peng Seo-jin had been the first person to warmly welcome him without any reservations when he first came to the Peng Family.
So,
*This life, I'll help him live a different one.*
Yeo Un-hwi decided to take action.
With a calm gaze, having made up his mind, Yeo Un-hwi secretly snapped his fingers.
Soon, Paeng Seo-yeon and Dan Hee-young fell asleep without even realizing it.
"Oh? They fell asleep."
Yul said in wonder, seeing her mom and grandma suddenly asleep.
Yeo Un-hwi slowly stood up and gently stroked his wife's hair, whispering softly.
Then he turned to his daughter and asked,
"Yul. Do you like your uncle?"
"Yes. I like him very much. Uncle, Grandma, and Grandpa too. Not as much as Mom and Dad, though."
"Is that so?"
"Then Dad will go bring back the uncle you like."
"Can Uncle come?"
"Of course. Dad knows where he is."
"Then Mom and Grandma won't have to be sad anymore."
Stroking his daughter's head as she said such sweet things, Yeo Un-hwi stood up.
"Then stay here with Mom and Grandma. Dad will be back soon."
"Okay! Have a safe trip, Dad."
As he was about to leave the room, Yeo Un-hwi's eyes grew cold.
Just as he was about to set out to find Peng Seo-jin,
Hm?
Yeo Un-hwi sensed something.
His gaze turned in that direction. It was the top of the highest building in the Peng Family compound.
If it hadn't been Yeo Un-hwi, it would have been difficult to notice.
Especially since the other person was intentionally concealing their aura.
It was none other than Peng Mugang.
*What is Father-in-law doing up there?*
Yeo Un-hwi secretly looked in that direction with a puzzled expression.
A supreme master like Peng Mugang, who had reached such heights, could quickly sense if someone was watching them.
So Yeo Un-hwi concealed his aura even more perfectly than Peng Mugang.
The man on the roof failed to detect Yeo Un-hwi's presence at all.
Then,
"Hup."
Peng Mugang's eyes suddenly widened, and he disappeared using an incredible lightfoot technique.
He had clearly set out himself to rescue Peng Seo-jin.
It seemed he could no longer sit still when it concerned his own child.
And indeed, that was exactly how Peng Mugang felt.
Until now, he had stayed at the Peng Family estate to maintain his position as Family Head, but seeing how things were progressing, he felt he could no longer remain idle.
If it were something the warriors could have found, they should have found it long ago.
Peng Mugang thought it was time for him to take action.
Of course, it wouldn't be an easy task, but he was determined to find his son no matter what.
Yeo Un-hwi could fully understand his feelings.
No, he actually liked seeing him take action for his child like this.
But watching Peng Mugang set out personally, Yeo Un-hwi suddenly had a question.
*What's this? How did it happen?*
From the looks of things, it seemed certain that Peng Mugang must have taken action just like this when Peng Seo-jin went missing in his past life too.
Yet Peng Seo-jin still lost his arm?
Moreover, he had heard it took several more days for Peng Seo-jin to return to the Peng Family.
This meant that although Peng Mugang had taken action personally, he surprisingly failed to find Peng Seo-jin right away.
Which meant there was a high possibility that Peng Seo-jin was somewhere much further away than the area where the incident occurred.
In any case, if he rushed out recklessly, he too might fail to find Peng Seo-jin, just like Peng Mugang.
Even though Yeo Un-hwi had inherited the Martial God's power, at his current level he couldn't immediately scan the entire area with his aura perception.
That was almost in the realm of divinity and impossible for now.
Perhaps when more time passed and he delved deeper into the martial arts inherited from the Martial God. But for now, it was beyond him.
Then was there no way?
No, there was.
After pondering for a moment, a small smile spread across Yeo Un-hwi's lips.
He had thought of a method.
A way to find Peng Seo-jin as quickly as possible.
The part he had momentarily overlooked in his rush to find Peng Seo-jin.
The fact that Yeo Un-hwi already knew the culprits behind this incident.