My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven [Novel] Chapter 151

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[Chapter 151] The March of Blood

“We’re almost there. Everyone, get ready.”

“Phew. Let’s do that.”

A group of merchants was passing through a large mountain pass.

This path was one of the fastest routes leading toward Hebei.

As one of them spoke, the other merchants let out heavy sighs and pulled something out from inside their robes.

It was a coin pouch.

They were preparing the tribute money in advance to hand over to the bandits who would soon appear.

“Huu. What in the world are we doing?”

“You said it. Paying money to rotten bastards like them makes my blood boil! I swear it does!”

Naturally, the merchants weren’t happy about offering tribute money, and sighs continuously escaped their mouths.

Hearing this, the oldest man among them was startled and quickly warned them.

“Ahem. Everyone, watch your mouths. What if they hear you? Didn’t we go through a terrible ordeal last time? Do you want to suffer something like that again?”

The bandits guarding this road were truly unhinged individuals.

The previous bandits had at least been somewhat mindful of the atmosphere, had some sense of propriety, and were somewhat reasonable.

But whether the boss had changed or the entire group had been replaced, the current bandits were the type to simply shut up and shove a blade in the face of anyone passing by.

The merchants currently trying to pass through this road had already suffered terribly at their hands once before.

Thinking of the previous bandits, they had tried to somehow reduce the tribute money, only to nearly have their throats slit and everything they owned plundered.

“Does the government just sit by and do nothing?”

A man who had prepared the tribute money because he had been told to, but still couldn’t understand the situation, spoke up.

At that, one of the other merchants chuckled hollowly at him.

“Right, you said this is your first time on this road? I also heard it hasn’t been long since you started working.”

“Yes. It just ended up that way.”

“I see. Then remember my words well.”

With an incredibly serious expression, he offered advice to the rookie.

“The government isn’t much help. That’s true now, and it’ll probably be true in the future.”

“No, what do you mean by…”

“Even if people like us report this to the government, there’s no one who will personally step up and handle it. Most of them find it bothersome, or they’re corrupt officials who turn a blind eye in exchange for bribes.”

The man who kindly explained couldn’t stop sighing, as if talking about it was frustrating for him as well.

“Let’s say there is someone upright and honest who listens to people like us. What good does it do if they come to the government office? The other corrupt officials won’t leave a person like that alone. They’ll use whatever means necessary to kick them out immediately. Because otherwise, they won’t be able to line their own pockets as much.”

“Heo…”

“So what can we do? We have to work, and we have to pass through this road, so we have no choice but to obediently hand over the tribute money. It’s a damn reality.”

The man who hadn’t been working for long ended up shutting his mouth.

What more needed to be said?

The man who had kindly explained shook his head and continued walking.

“Anyway, we’re almost there. They should appear once we cross that hill.”

Soon, all the merchants prepared to offer their tribute money with tense faces.

Hoping that today, they would be able to pass through without any major incidents.

However, no matter how much time passed, no one appeared.

What’s going on?

Feeling that something was strange, a few of the merchants stepped off the path, parted the bushes, and checked their surroundings.

They were worried that if they clumsily ignored it and passed by, they might get caught later and suffer retaliation.

However,

“H-hiik! C-corpses!”

The place was filled with the corpses of bandits.

It was literally a sea of blood.

Furthermore, every single corpse had been torn to shreds.

In an incredibly gruesome manner, at that.

“H-heavens. Wh-what happened here?”

Just who on earth had passed through this place?

They didn’t know yet.

That the path ahead of them would be mountains of corpses.

Someone was making a horrific march of blood.

Heading straight toward Hebei.

“So you’re saying the Murim Alliance hasn’t budged at all even after receiving that news?”

Inside a certain secret room.

Jin Sobaek frowned at his subordinate’s report.

“Yes. By the looks of it, it seems they have no intention of moving immediately.”

“These crazy bastards!”

Furious, Jin Sobaek slammed his fist on the desk.

Were they truly out of their minds?

It was understandable to hesitate because the source of the information was unclear.

If so, shouldn’t they at least send someone to investigate?

But to not make a single move meant,

‘They don’t care whether it’s true or false? Even if the Hebei Peng family gets crushed by the Demonic Cult?’

Jin Sobaek let out a hollow laugh.

It seemed the Murim Alliance was far more rotten than he had thought.

“Damn it!”

Why did something like this have to happen?

It wasn’t a coincidence that Jin Sobaek had discovered the Demonic Cult’s movements.

Feeling suspicious about the Demonic Cult’s recent unusual activities, Jin Sobaek had been keeping a close eye on them.

Then, they suddenly started to move.

The Demonic Cult divided their forces into several groups and spread out in different directions.

And before long, they showed signs of gradually converging toward a single location, as if surrounding it.

That place was none other than Hebei.

If it had been a small number moving, he wouldn’t have thought of it this seriously.

After all, they had been operating secretly in the Murim anyway.

But this time was different.

And an even bigger problem was that the forces they dispatched were beyond imagination.

‘Four of the Ten Demonic Stars are on the move.’

This was the astonishing fact revealed as a result of tracking their movements and analyzing their forces using every method possible.

On top of that, the third son, Gwak Wundo, who was evaluated as being at the forefront of the battle for the position of Minor Cult Leader, had even stepped forward.

That was a force virtually indistinguishable from waging a war.

They had prepared very thoroughly.

Naturally, they weren’t going to Hebei for a vacation.

They had lost the Demonic Cult’s elite troops and Black Demon in Hebei in the past.

What would their goal be, then?

A simple investigation? No, they clearly suspected the Hebei Peng Clan.

And they were definitely moving to strike the Hebei Peng Clan.

Was that a leap in logic?

One only needed to look at the blade the Demonic Cult had drawn this time, the troops they had mobilized.

If they merely wanted to exert pressure or threaten, they would absolutely never mobilize that level of forces.

It wasn’t for show.

They were the Demonic Cult.

And the Demonic Cult had never gently sheathed a blade they had already drawn.

Jin Sobaek was confident in his judgment.

A crisis was right before their eyes. In a panic, Jin Sobaek racked his brain and barely managed to think of the Murim Alliance.

Where else in the Orthodox Murim was there a massive faction capable of stopping the Demonic Cult besides them?

If they could gather all the Five Great Clans right away, that would be one thing, but that was impossible.

Above all, there was no time.

And if even one or two of the Five Great Clans were missing, that move was already a failure.

Clumsily dragging the Five Great Clans into this would only result in greater casualties.

Therefore, the Murim Alliance was the only massive faction capable of keeping the Demonic Cult in check, which was why he had urgently relayed the fact, but…

Jin Sobaek hadn’t expected the Murim Alliance to act like this.

“Those who call themselves the Orthodox faction are truly something else!”

Jin Sobaek clicked his tongue and stood up from his seat.

Then, he quickly prepared to leave.

One of his cherished subordinates, Bae Chojin, asked with a puzzled expression.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the Hebei Peng Clan.”

“Pardon? Why there… the Demonic Cult might storm in soon.”

“There’s still time. And I have to deliver the news personally.”

They probably didn’t know yet.

They needed to know what kind of situation they were in, didn’t they?

They might not believe it if he just sent a letter. So, Jin Sobaek decided to go personally.

At that decision, Bae Chojin asked with an uncomprehending expression.

Why are you going that far? Aren’t we just supposed to sell information?

At that, Jin Sobaek answered.

“Of course that’s true. This is just… how should I put it? It’s just my own way of showing consideration for a valued client.”

Jin Sobaek knew it too.

That his answer would sound incredibly strange.

But what could he do?

He didn’t know himself.

Even as he thought of this as an investment for the future, he knew perfectly well that it wasn’t sensible or rational.

Normally, he should have washed his hands of it.

However…

Anyway, he’d think about it later!

He didn’t have the luxury of spending time arguing right now.

Jin Sobaek’s steps heading toward the Hebei Peng Clan were hurried.

“Grandpa! Grandma!”

Yul had just finished her classes at Sowol Academy and returned to the Peng Clan with Peng Seoyeon.

“My goodness. Our Yul is energetic and pretty today as well. Did you have fun at the academy?”

“Yes! It’s always fun and nice there!”

Yul smiled brightly, looking excited.

Sowol Academy had now become a precious place Yul couldn’t live without.

Because it was filled with things Yul liked.

Her friends, her teachers, and even the beautiful scenery inside the academy.

After returning, Yul’s usually smiley face blossomed even more radiantly.

Of course, there was one thing that made Yul sullen these days, and that was the fact that she hadn’t seen her dad for a while.

Her dad hadn’t returned home for longer than Yul had expected.

Yul eagerly counted the days, waiting for her dad to return quickly.

When her dad came back, she wanted to leap into his arms and talk endlessly about all the things that had happened at Sowol Academy, even the trivial details.

Then, as always, her dad would smile warmly and stroke Yul’s head.

Just thinking about it made her feel good.

That was how much Yul liked her dad.

Of course, she liked her grandpa and grandma too.

“Hehe.”

Seeing Yul giggling nonstop after coming back from the academy, Peng Mugang and Dan Heeyoung also couldn’t stop smiling.

She was a truly beautiful and lovely granddaughter.

Because of this granddaughter, they were spending their advancing years in immense happiness.

Peng Mugang was especially like that.

Wherever he went, he couldn’t stop bragging about his granddaughter and talking about her.

The only problem was that there were hooligans hanging around who cherished her as if she were their own granddaughter.

Why hadn’t he known this happiness before?

Then, Peng Seoyeon’s face suddenly caught his eye.

He was truly proud and grateful to his daughter for giving birth to such a beautiful granddaughter.

However, he had never expressed those feelings even in the slightest.

Well, now he openly adored Yul regardless of who was watching, but given their history, he still felt awkward and embarrassed acting affectionately toward his daughter.

Then suddenly,

“…I heard you started training again?”

Peng Mugang, who had been lost in thought, abruptly spoke to Peng Seoyeon.

“Pardon? Ah. Yes…”

Thinking he was about to nag again, Peng Seoyeon trailed off.

However,

“Then you’ll soon need someone to properly watch over you.”

Completely unexpected words flowed from Peng Mugang’s mouth.

“I don’t know if I’ll have the time, but if you ever need it, just tell me.”

As Peng Seoyeon stared blankly for a moment, hesitating to answer, Dan Heeyoung nudged her.

She knew Peng Mugang had mustered up quite a bit of courage.

At Peng Seoyeon’s lack of response, Peng Mugang felt awkward and tried to take back his words.

“Do you not want to? Well, if you don’t, I won’t force you…”

“No!”

Belatedly understanding the situation, Peng Seoyeon answered in a loud voice without realizing it.

She answered with an incredibly welcoming expression.

“I would love that. Then I will leave it to you.”

“Ahem. Right. Understood.”

Peng Mugang cleared his throat casually and nodded.

But did he know?

That his face was uncharacteristically flushed.

“Honestly, you are really something. Pfft!”

“Why are you laughing like that? What did I do?”

“Nothing. Puhaha!”

Dan Heeyoung couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst into laughter.

Others might call Peng Mugang a roaring tiger or whatever else, but in her eyes, he was nothing but a cute husband.

The relationship between the husband and daughter, which seemed like it would never grow close, had taken another step closer like this.

Right. It would be fine if it improved step by step, one step at a time like this.

And so, the garden of the Hebei Peng Clan was filled with laughter that day as well.

It was then.

“Father!”

Peng Seojin appeared with an urgent voice.

“What is the matter?”

For some reason, Peng Seojin’s face was incredibly pale.

Peng Mugang’s face stiffened at his son’s unusual appearance.

“Well, I think you need to come with me for a moment.”