Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: See, I Was Right? (2)
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Whooooong...
In the underground training hall of the Sichuan Tang Family.
A lone woman sat there in meditation, a single saber resting across her knees.
Strangely enough, the saber wasn't held in anyone's hand—yet it hummed with a resonant blade song, vibrating intensely.
The blade's song continued for a while before gradually fading. The woman quietly opened her eyes.
"What is it?"
No sooner had her words rung out than the training hall's door swung open, and a guard bowed deeply.
"Lady Zhuge has come to visit the family. The Martial Alliance Pavilion Master instructed me to inform you as well..."
"Oh, little sister Ryeong? I see."
The guard flinched at the sight of the usually stern woman smiling warmly, but he bowed once more and withdrew.
She considered going to meet her old friend right away but decided she should properly finish her training session first. With that, she lifted her saber.
The moment her hand gripped it, a typhoon-like aura surged forth. As the blade moved, a fierce tiger's roar echoed through the air.
That roar was the hallmark of the Five Tigers Single Saber Technique, a secret art known only to the direct descendants of the North Hebei Peng Family.
And the woman who wielded it second-best in the entire martial world was none other than the top female expert of the righteous factions—one of the Five Absolutes, the Flower Absolute, the Iron Saber Queen Peng Yeon-hwa.
*****
"Are you sure you'll be alright? If we send word to the Hwa Clan, even if the patriarch doesn't come himself, they'll surely dispatch an elder at least..."
"I'm really fine, Mother. I'm almost fully healed already. It'll be good as new before the physician even arrives—no scars or anything."
This was already the fifth time she'd voiced her concern mid-sip of tea, only for him to reassure her.
It might have started to feel tedious, but after hearing Zhuge Mi-ryeong's circumstances, it was understandable why she was making such a fuss.
After my bath time with Go Cheon—where my neck hairs had stood on end—I'd gotten the rough outline of the situation.
About twenty years ago, a woman named Ji-bong, one of the Three Peaks, had married Go Cheon for love alone. Back then, he had nothing to his name but his title as one of the Nine Dragons and his martial prowess.
Their one and only precious son born from that union? That was Go Hyeon.
Raised with utmost care, the boy grew up strong and tall, dreaming of becoming a renowned hero like his father and mother.
Once he'd learned some basics of martial arts, Go Cheon suggested he join an escort mission with the Go Escort Agency to gain real experience. And then... good lord.
The caravan was ambushed by bandits, and he ended up dead.
Not everyone in the caravan perished, so Go Cheon got a full report on exactly who did what to whom. Even the body made it back home...
But Zhuge Mi-ryeong couldn't accept her beloved son's death.
Sometimes she'd convince herself he was still alive and well. Other times, she'd think he was missing but under active search. Anything but death—she stubbornly denied it.
She'd come to Sichuan hoping a visit with her friend might ease her heart a bit.
And then—bam—here I show up, looking eerily like Go Hyeon.
Even while intellectually knowing he was dead, her mind spun a hopeful fantasy that he was alive somewhere. Meeting me was enough to send her into a tailspin.
"Rest up for now. I don't trust your father to teach you properly, so I'll find someone qualified to train you in earnest. Behave yourself until then, got it?"
"Yes, Mother."
"My lady, even so, finding someone on my level won't be that easy..."
"You're skilled, dear. But you're lacking when it comes to bringing out the best in others."
Thinking of my master, I nodded instinctively—only to shrink back under Go Cheon's sharp glare.
"Why glare at the kid who went through hell? To be honest. You just swing your sword around a few times and tell him to copy you—how's anyone supposed to do that?"
"...You're seeing it wrong, my lady. I was just watching Hyeon..."
He couldn't argue back and seemed whipped, but Go Cheon was grinning happily. Even a fake son was enough to lift his wife's spirits, and that made him glad.
But here's the thing.
That fake son kept fantasizing nonstop about knocking his fake mom flat on her back.
Not that I could help it lately—there was no outlet for my urges. With a body that could handle ten rounds a day without issue, holding back was frustrating as hell.
Every time this self-proclaimed mom leaned in close, her scent wafting over, I had to desperately recite the national anthem in my head just to fight off the erection.
"I'll go pay my respects to the Tang patriarch first. You rest here, my lady, and join later."
"Is that alright? The patriarch's temperament is a bit..."
Zhuge Mi-ryeong looked worried. Apparently, the Tang head had quite the prickly personality.
"Don't worry. Who knows? Maybe age has mellowed him a bit."
"..."
Zhuge Mi-ryeong fell silent. Real asshole, huh?
"Anyway, I'll be off for a bit. Need to send word to the escort agency too, so it'll take some time."
"Of course. Now that Hyeon's back, we can call off the search."
Ah, got it. Go Hyeon was officially dead, so if he just popped up alive, someone might blurt out, "Wait, didn't this kid die?"
Not good for Zhuge Mi-ryeong at all, so it was about keeping mouths shut.
I nodded. Telepathy would be so much easier...
Whoa, I thought she trusted too easily—turns out she had a plan.
Go Cheon must've sniffed out that I was practicing martial arts by now. Though Huangbo Hyo-seon hadn't noticed.
Anyway, Go Cheon left the lodgings, leaving me alone with Zhuge Mi-ryeong. We sat across from each other, sipping tea and nibbling snacks in pleasant company.
She was an incredible storyteller; even her everyday tales never got boring.
Her face looked young too, giving me the illusion of a blind date with a pretty older sister. Yeah, but no.
"So then, Escort Leader Jang..."
A woman's voice came from outside. Probably a maid. Zhuge Mi-ryeong asked,
"What is it?"
"Oh, tell her I'm coming!"
The door opened, and in walked the Tang Family matriarch, Peng Yeon-hwa. A woman with a sharp, piercing gaze.
Zhuge Mi-ryeong had a bit of an edge to her refined features too, but this woman felt like she'd slice your finger just brushing against her—her aura practically radiated menace.
But the instant their eyes met, that sharpness softened, her face blooming like a spring breeze.
"Little sister Ryeong! It's been too long!"
"Sister Hwa! How have you been?"
Watching two beautiful women joyfully exchange greetings was a feast for the eyes.
And both were undisputed top-tier milfs. Damn, this is prime.
"Who's this young hero? For his age, he seems to have considerable cultivation..."
Oh crap. Go Cheon hadn't laid any groundwork here!
Meanwhile, Peng Yeon-hwa's question sent Zhuge Mi-ryeong into peals of laughter.
"Sister, can't you recognize your own nephew? Pfft... 'Who's this young hero? For his age, he seems to have...' Puhaha!"
It might've been comedy gold to Zhuge Mi-ryeong, but to Peng Yeon-hwa, this was pure documentary drama.
"Nephew...?"
"It's my son Hyeon. Last time you saw him, he was a five-year-old kid, right? Puhuhu..."
Zhuge Mi-ryeong was still chuckling, while Peng Yeon-hwa's pupils quivered visibly.
Shit, no telepathy—I couldn't warn her! I went all-out with body language signals.
'This auntie, son, gone, me, playing her son, temporary, husband asked.'
Please get it, damn it...
Suddenly, her gaze turned icy as frostbite, her aura alone making me feel dissected alive.
If I didn't muster my internal energy to resist, it felt like my waist would snap.
The storm of pressure raged for a moment before Peng Yeon-hwa's face lit up with interest, and she withdrew her aura.
"Not bad. Little sister, looks like you've raised your son pretty well."
"Don't even get me started, Sister. If not for the fresh clothes, you'd see the scrapes from all his recent ordeals—he's got a long way to go."
Peng Yeon-hwa's acting was so blatant even a dog wouldn't buy it, but Zhuge Mi-ryeong didn't notice.
"Even so, this level puts him among the top late-stage talents. Polish him a bit more, and he could aim for the Nine Dragons."
"You think so?"
Zhuge Mi-ryeong's lips were practically ascending to the heavens at the praise for her son. That's when the telepathy rang out.
Go Cheon, bro, hurry up...
In the Tang patriarch's office.
Go Cheon sat across from the current head of the Sichuan Tang Family, Tang Jo-myeong.
"Heh, so you're saying you'll use some no-name kid whose origins you don't even know as a stand-in for your son?"
"That's right, Patriarch."
"Heh, unbelievable! A woman who's wed to the bloodline of one of the Five Great Families, and you think so little?"
Go Cheon disliked Tang Jo-myeong's tone, which seemed to trample outsiders like him who weren't from the great families. But since he was the one in need, he held his tongue and answered.
"If there's any issue, I'll take full responsibility. The Tang Family doesn't need to do anything else—just treat him like my son in front of my wife."
"Time heals all wounds. I lost my father and uncles too, but I got over it. This pointless..."
"Patriarch Tang."
Go Cheon glared at him with blazing eyes. Tang Jo-myeong, whose martial prowess dwarfed Go Cheon's, still flinched.
"You probably wouldn't understand, but a parent's heart that sends off a child they birthed and raised turns pitch-black and burns away."
"..."
"It's not pointless at all. For my wife's sake, I'd do anything—as long as it doesn't betray basic human decency."
"Wh-what if she never gets over it? You gonna keep him around forever?!"
"If it comes to that, I'll adopt him formally or handle it somehow. All the Tang Family needs to do is not reveal the truth to my wife. Not a hard request, is it?"
Go Cheon's aura was no joke—the sword master's pressure, said to be closest to transcendent peak among all apex experts, loomed like a mountain conveying simple acceptance.
Tang Jo-myeong nodded unconsciously, then flushed with shame.
"A-alright! If Escort Leader Go takes full responsibility, what more can I say? I'll make sure the household keeps quiet—no need to worry!"
Having wrung out the answer but also vented his emotions uncontrollably, Go Cheon nodded bitterly.
"Thank you."
Tang Jo-myeong had a notoriously long memory for grudges, so who knew what hassle he'd stir up later? With nothing more to do right now, Go Cheon had no choice but to leave.
Once he felt Go Cheon was far enough away, a shadow slipped into the patriarch's office at his command.
"Hye-won, you heard? Find out who that guy really is. Appearance, martial arts, personality—anything."
"...Understood."
She oversaw the Tang Family's intelligence, and occasionally got dragged into fetching useless info like this.
What good would digging up dirt on Go Cheon's fake son do? At best, reveal some disqualifier to Zhuge Mi-ryeong and stir chaos.
Even if it were useful, it wasn't a job for the head of intelligence—but Tang Hye-won could never defy her brother Tang Jo-myeong.
Even with his narrow-minded nature, as patriarch, crossing him could ruin her and her adopted husband's standing.
The timid Tang Hye-won had no intention of gambling like that.
He was only around twenty anyway—easy enough to investigate. With Dream Fantasy Grass, it wouldn't be hard at all.