Yes, This Was the Hebei Paeng Family
Episode 19
Tu-kwaaaang!
It wasn’t even what you could call a proper martial technique—just a crude burst of qi—but clearing the obstacle was no trouble at all.
“Wow! That huge boulder….”
“You’re amazing!!”
“Ah! I can see the village now!”
The girls’ eyes widened as they shouted in delight over and over again.
And judging by the faint blushes on their faces…
“Let’s go.”
“Cheon Daehyup, thank you for saving us, even if it is a little late.”
She—Paeng Gayeon—raised her hand and cupped her fist in a graceful salute, just as befitted the daughter of a noble family.
“Miss, I came because I was asked. There’s no need to worry about it.”
“Still….”
“It’s fine. Your master and grandfather must be worried, so just think about getting back as soon as possible.”
She slowly nodded.
I was busy too.
I needed to go back, take on a new assignment from Gangjindan, and raise my cultivation.
In the harsh world of murim, the only thing you could truly rely on was your own strength.
I couldn’t afford to linger on this any longer.
“Someone’s coming?”
“Everyone, come out!”
When I led the women back into the village, people came pouring out from everywhere.
It was a small village, so the entrance filled up with people almost immediately.
“Huh? How…?”
“M-my daughter, s-she’s home…!”
“Hey! Mister Dae! Come out here this instant! Your daughter’s back!!”
As soon as they recognized their faces, cries of shock and disbelief erupted from all around.
Along with sobbing voices, too.
“Th-this gentleman helped us.”
“When he rescued us, I was so happy I could barely breathe….”
It was understandable that they were shocked.
After all, they’d made it out alive from the notorious Green Forest mountain den.
“Sniff, th-thank you so much! Great hero. I don’t even know how to thank you….”
“Good sir! Truly, truly thank you. I thought I’d never see her again… sob.”
“……sob.”
The villagers were so choked up they couldn’t even finish their sentences.
To the bandits, the women had been nothing more than disposable entertainment, but to someone else, they were precious family.
Soon, the whole village had turned into a sea of tears.
“Don’t worry about it.”
It was a painfully stock line, but I didn’t want to pour cold water on such a moving reunion.
I wasn’t that oblivious.
All I had to do was take the old man’s granddaughter, Paeng Gayeon, and leave.
“Sniff… sob. This is really touching….”
Before I knew it, she’d lifted her sleeve and was wiping away her tears.
Fine droplets of moisture clung to Paeng Gayeon’s eyes like dew.
I still had some time, so I waited in silence until her sniffles settled down.
“...I showed you something embarrassing.”
“Isn’t that just what it looks like when a family is reunited? I understand.”
“…….”
Paeng Gayeon lifted her head and smiled faintly.
“Miss Paeng, now that the villagers have been rescued safely, we should be on our way. Let’s go.”
But she didn’t move. Instead, she shook her head.
My head was starting to ache.
Wasn’t this enough already?
“No. We have to wipe out the remaining bandits, or there’ll be trouble later.”
We’d clearly only agreed to rescue the commoners, but somehow the goal had shifted to extermination.
“You’re in a sealed state right now, so it’s dangerous.”
If she was saying that because she trusted my martial power, then I might need to give her a proper flick to the forehead.
By now, the bandit leader and the rest of the Green Forest forces were probably already collapsing, torn apart by infighting over territory and spoils.
Paeng Gayeon hadn’t thought that far.
Still, looking at her confident expression, it was obvious she had a hidden card up her sleeve.
“Hmph! Do you think I’m an idiot? I already requested support from the Murim Alliance.”
“A support request? You used the Justified Path Relay Order?”
“That’s right. Ahem!”
She put both hands on her hips and lifted her chin proudly.
The golden-haired girl standing in front of me was, in name and fact, a direct descendant of the Paeng family.
It had nothing to do with me anymore, since I’d already been cast out, but a direct bloodline of one of the Eight Great Families—especially one that contributed heavily to the Murim Alliance every year—could formally request an aid detachment.
It’s a heavy-handed response, but either way, it’s the righteous sects doing what righteous sects do.
Usually, that kind of thing wasn’t used for incidents like this; it was more common when requesting escort support or driving off evil sect forces.
As Paeng Gayeon straightened her shoulders with confidence, her full breasts bounced conspicuously.
For the daughter of the Hebei Paeng Family, she was using her authority for the right cause.
Not bad.
I was a little surprised.
I’d assumed she was a thoughtless girl.
That was my mistake for judging her too quickly just because she was a Paeng.
Prejudice really was terrifying.
As expected of the granddaughter of Paeng Seom-ak, the Five Tiger Blade Emperor, she was much sharper than the other Paeng blood relatives.
If she sent a carrier pigeon to the Gan Province branch of the Murim Alliance before they caught her, then… support should arrive in less than half a day.
I needed to revise my evaluation of her.
She’s actually quite capable.
If she’s gone this far… I might as well help her.
Not everyone got to receive such treatment.
As expected, this was the Hebei Paeng Family.
As befit the granddaughter of a renowned house that had built its name over generations in Hebei, she had prepared for everything even when it looked reckless at a glance.
“If it’s the Gan Province branch, it shouldn’t take long. Miss Paeng, then let’s get ready to greet the Murim Alliance support team.”
This would be a good chance to formally secure a support request and maybe meet the qualifications to participate in the martial tournament.
It wouldn’t take more than half a day.
I could also pocket some extra compensation, so it was all good for me.
“Huh? Ah… well….”
Just a moment ago, she’d been so confident, but now Paeng Gayeon was suddenly avoiding my eyes and stomping her feet in place.
……
When I saw her fidgeting with her index finger, one possibility flashed through my mind like lightning.
No way?
Come to think of it, wasn’t I overestimating her a little too much?
She was from the Hebei Paeng Family, after all.
I fixed her with a cold stare.
After fidgeting for quite a while, Paeng Gayeon finally glanced at me sideways and spoke in a tiny, shrinking voice.
“I didn’t send it to the Gan Province branch… I asked the Huashan branch.”
“…….”
As expected of the Hebei Paeng Family.
That bloodline was famous for having rocks for brains, and the reputation clearly hadn’t gone anywhere.
Traditional martial-arts settings really did stand firm on their stereotypes.
I was the idiot for expecting anything.
If it was the Huashan branch, it would take three or four days…
If Paeng Gayeon had recklessly stormed the Green Forest mountain den expecting support to arrive by then, she’d either have been killed in the meantime or used as entertainment several times over.
“Haah….”
I’d thought I might get another trip to Central Plains out of this….
A sigh slipped out before I could stop it.
“...Cheon Daehyup? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Wait here.”
“Huh? Huh?! Ah, C-Cheon Daehyup!”
I shot out of the village at once.
To think I’d expected anything from a girl like that.
In any case, support from the Murim Alliance would reach this village within three days.
Once the main bandit force was wiped out, the remnants would either scatter or lose all nerve to come back down.
I reached the foot of the mountain in an instant.
A thick stench of blood drifted in with the wind, sticky and heavy.
“D-Die!!”
“Persistent bastards…!”
“Once we bring you down, this mountain range will belong to us!!”
“Quit spouting nonsense! Go to hell!!”
It was almost over; only a few dozen bandits were left.
Sticky blood clung to the soles of my shoes.
Man, I’d killed a lot.
Through the pile of corpses, I could see the bandit leader’s welcome face.
There was a reason the phrase “fortune gained from another’s loss” existed.
Snick—
I slowly drew my sword.
I was the last winner standing.
*
“Ugh… so frustrating! It’s infuriating!”
She kicked a stone rolling along the roadside as hard as she could.
As if it were that man’s face.
It was all because of that incident that kept replaying in her head day after day and never left her mind.
Crunch—
She ground her teeth again.
Of course, if she had to name the cause…
To think he would do something like that… how despicable…!
It was because of Cheon Sojin.
How could he pin such a false accusation on me?
Looking back now, she should have endured it. Regret came flooding in too late.
And that fact that had kept provoking her was probably all part of the setup.
“Huh? Lo, look! I-it’s Guyang Jihee?”
“Shh… idiot, keep your mouth shut. You want to fall, too? Do you want to die? That girl was just lucky, that’s all.”
“Thanks. Whew… I almost got caught too.”
“Let’s get out of here before something happens….”
You can hear me, you know?
They probably thought they were whispering, but every word reached her ears perfectly.
She kicked the roadside stone again, harder this time, and locked eyes with a passing female student.
“Are you well?”
“H-hiiik! I-I’m sorry, Miss Jihee… I wasn’t standing here on purpose….”
“What’s this? Is Guyang Jihee trying to pick on ordinary students now?”
“Shh, keep quiet.”
“…….”
It was all because of that man.
That bastard…
■
“I said I’d forgive you.”
“…….”
“If you apologize here, that is.”
On the day she sent that man flying with a Guyang-style fist strike, the medical hall had been packed with people.
Everyone had come under the pretense of visiting Cheon Sojin, but almost none of them were there out of genuine concern.
They’d come to see this.
“...Y-you think I’d do that?”
“Well, do whatever you want. It’d be pretty amusing if the daughter of the Guyang Family couldn’t even make it out on her first mission and got locked in a wall-facing chamber.”
“…….”
Back then, there had been no choice.
Because what he said was true.
“...I-I’ll do it.”
“What? Can’t hear you.”
“...I’m sorry.”
She apologized while enduring the humiliation, but—
“That posture’s no good. Shouldn’t you at least bow your head?”
“…….”
“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”
Cheon Sojin was… really a fucking bastard.
*
When I returned after dealing with the bandit remnants, a large crowd was waiting at the village entrance.
“You are the benefactor of our village!”
The village head prostrated himself flat on the ground.
As the old man, his hair white with age, bowed deeply, the villagers one by one followed suit.
“Thank you… Great hero.”
“Thank you so much….”
This was a little awkward.
“Why are you all doing this? It’s uncomfortable. Please, everyone get up.”
“No, no… if you hadn’t stepped forward, Great hero, even if support from the Murim Alliance arrived, we don’t know whether the children would still have been alive….”
Saving them and bringing them out alive wasn’t an easy task.
If things went badly during the fight, the women would literally be discarded like refuse.
“I’m really fine, so please, everyone get up. Could you call me a carriage or something?”
“Those are the words of our benefactor! We’ll prepare the finest carriage in the village!!”
The village head hurried off at a trot.
“Miss Paeng, are you relieved now? Let’s go back.”
If I returned with only Paeng Gayeon, everything would be perfect.
After taking Gangjindan… if luck was on my side, I might even be able to make two blossoms bloom.
“Yes….”
She kept stealing glances at me from the corner of her eye, her cheeks reddening like an apple.
“…….”
##
---