Episode 96

“F-Father!”

“Hyung!!”

The entire family gathered around the fallen Cheol Woon-bi and cried.

Even though this was the path he chose, how could they not be sad when the head of the family had died?

“Eukk…”

Seeing them sob, Yu Jinsan also felt a bit solemn. He could no longer feel his breathing or his beating heart, and his skin was turning pale.

It was natural that his aging body had used up all its qi in the last 6 days.

Everyone was drenched in this solemn mood at the predicted death of the family head.

Except for just one.

“Please move!”

It was Yu Seol who couldn’t just let him die.

The child pushed the various people away and placed her palm on Cheol Woon-bi’s dantian.

“Euk!”

“…wh-what are you doing?”

The family members were all watching her, not sure what was happening. The eyes of the child held determination to save the old man. She must be blaming herself after realizing that he died making her gift.

In an instant, Yu Seol’s palm was drenched in light.

“…?”

Only Yu Jinsan had noticed it.

The immense qi from her internal energy of the union of five elements was piercing into Cheol Woon-bi’s dantian.

Hope flickered in his eyes as he watched.

‘Right, Seol, you can do it!’

This unstoppable flow of true qi began to travel around Cheol Woon-bi’s body like a wave. It wasn’t easy to move one’s innate qi within the body of another.

Moreover, if the other person had a different nature of strength, the difficulty would increase dozens of times. This was because two different qi’s collide within the body.

If it weren’t for his granddaughter, who was born with the best constitution of the body, he wouldn’t have even dreamt of it.

Suddenly, this storm of qi began to swirl around Yu Seol.

Swish!

“Euk!”

“Wh-what is it?”

The artisans were all shocked and stepped back to widen the distance. The only one who held his position was Yu Jinsan.

‘I am seeing the Yu Family’s cultivation. When did she even grow to this…?’

His granddaughter was taking the steps to become a twelve-star qi user, which even the head of the family had been unable to do.

The Yu Family’s cultivation technique wasn’t meant for this. The speed at which it builds up the internal qi was also quite slow.

Instead, it was solid at its foundation and as gentle as the wind, bringing stability to both mind and body just through its circulation.

Yu Jinsan, who watched the situation, couldn’t help but be shocked.

He could feel the profound energy enveloping Cheol Woon-bi’s organs, breathing life into them.

After a while…

Kukung!

It was a sound that came from Cheol Woon-bi’s chest.

Clearly, it was the sound of his heart beating.

That wasn’t all. Even his weak, pale skin was turning red. The man was being brought back to life.

Yu Seol then finished her work and stood up.

“Phew.”

For the first time, Yu Jinsan saw his granddaughter sigh. Since this was a task that required a high level of concentration, it was inevitable that her mental strength had dropped.

He patted her on the shoulder with a proud face.

“You did good.”

The artisans once again gathered around to check on Cheol Woon-bi.

They were astonished to see the changed state of their family head.

“Father is alive again!”

“How can this be…?”

Before they knew it, Cheol Woon-bi, whose face had turned a normal color, was slowly opening his eyes.

When he came to his senses, he was showering praises to Yu Seol.

“Thank you, really thank you, child.”

“It’s all thanks to you.”

Yu Seol said as she stepped back, feeling embarrassed. And then she looked at her grandpa with a tired look.

Yu Jinsan, who sensed what it meant, quickly told the child.

-Since you got a wonderful gift, it would be rude to leave right away. Let us stay here for one more day.

-Yes, I am sleepy…

In the evening, the festival took place at the Cheol Family’s manor.

How could one not celebrate the creation of the first new weapon in their family? It also symbolized gratitude for Yu Seol’s help in saving their family head.

“Child, hurry up and try this too.”

Yu Seol’s mouth was already full of food.

Yet, all kinds of foods kept arriving from the left and right.

“This is the honey rice cake that Aunt made by hand today.”

Even before she could swallow, women were waiting on the left and right, holding food.

“Tasty.”

“How did you learn such incredible martial arts? Where did you get such strength?”

At that moment, a man came running and stopped next to her.

“Don’t ask questions that will get you in trouble, sister. Have you forgotten our family’s principles?”

“I just asked because she looked cute. Why are you so serious?”

“I didn’t mean to be serious. As you know, the principle of never asking about the client’s personal information must be followed.”

“Fine. Okay, get some water. My child’s throat is choking.”

The Cheol Family was famous for making weapons, regardless of whether the client was from the Justice Faction or the Evil Faction, as long as they paid the full price.

The goal was to prevent any hostile forces from targeting the family by maintaining a neutral position.

Add to that their connection to the imperial family. Thus, they were a sacred family that no one would dare touch.

When the situation was resolved, the man relaxed and smiled.

“Yes, I will get it done right away.”

Thus, Yu Seol ended up feasting to her heart’s content for a change.

“I feel like my stomach will burst now…”

Yu Seol, who left the place, walked towards her grandpa, stroking her bulging stomach.

He had been sitting face to face with Cheol Woon-bi in the corner, discussing something.

Just as Yu Jinsan was about to smile contentedly upon spotting his granddaughter, someone stealthily approached and tugged on Yu Seol’s sleeve.

“Come here for a moment.”

A cute-looking girl with her hair tied in pigtails. It was Ah-ryeon, who was known as the child of the Cheol Family.

A confused Yu Seol looked at her.

“…me? Why?”

“Come here for a moment.”

Yu Jinsan, who was watching the scene from afar, had a worried look.

The child had little experience talking with peers, so he couldn’t help but worry.

‘She should make friends this way.’

For the sake of her growth, he knew he couldn’t interfere.

After exchanging a few more words with Cheol Woon-bi, he concluded their conversation.

“You need to rest a bit more for your body to recover. Do not push yourself too much. I think it is best to rest for today.”

Cheol Woon-bi and Yu Jinsan faced each other and bowed.

“Today is the best day for me because I made the treasured weapon and had my life saved. But a greater joy than that is making like-minded friends.”

Cheol Woon-bi also knew that Yu Jinsan was an old man who had gone through Body Reformation.

Was that why? On the outside, they looked like one old man with white hair and a boy who looked about 8 years old, and yet their talks weren’t awkward.

“My heart feels the same. Please take care of yourself until the next time we see each other again.”

Perhaps because the work was done, his steps on the way to the residence felt light. But, as expected, his granddaughter wasn’t there.

Where was she, and what was she up to? He didn’t know how, but he was confident that the two would eventually become friends.

‘I just hope they didn’t fight.’

After washing his body with the water prepared by the Cheol Family and entering the room, he felt drowsy immediately.

He was lying on the side, waiting for his granddaughter to end the day.

Yu Seol didn’t return after a long time.

‘When you meet a good friend, you forget the passage of time.’

But even so, she hadn’t come even after an hour had passed.

How long has it been? At some point, he was about to fall asleep without realizing it.

Clack!

The door swung wide open, and Yu Seol rushed in.

“Grandpa, wake up.”

“…It’s too late now. Let’s sleep early and talk tomorrow.”

Yu Seol shook the shoulders of her grandpa, who was lying on his side.

“Get up. I have something to tell you.”

“…What?”

“Ah-ryeon says she’s jealous of me because I’m pretty. And guess what.”

“…And what?”

After a brief pause, Yu Seol put her lips to his ear and whispered in a low voice.

“Ah-ryeon likes Grandpa.”

At those words from his granddaughter, Yu Jinsan was jolted awake.

What kind of absurd nonsense was this?

She was the same age as his eldest granddaughter, who had died.

“What are you talking about? You should have said I was your grandpa.”

“Here, they say you’re my hyung.”

Yu Jinsan sighed and turned around again to lie down.

“Yes, if you think about it, Grandpa was quite popular when he was young. You should be thankful that you look like me.”

As if he had been waiting for it, he heard the laughter of his granddaughter from behind.

“Pffft. Bwahahaha.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“You said before that I look like grandma.”

Yu Jinsan quickly turned to the other side and poked Yu Seol in the side.

“This brat!”

“Hehehehehe.”

As his granddaughter, who had been laughing, went silent, Yu Jinsan spoke in a quiet voice.

“Anyway, we will be leaving as soon as the sun rises tomorrow, so pack your bags now.”

“Okay.”

He had already decided to leave quietly and had discussed it with Cheol Woon-bi.

The next morning.

Yu Jinsan and his granddaughter were carrying their luggage one by one, quietly escaping from there.

The entrance of the Cheol Family manor.

Yu Seol hesitated in front of the gate.

“What’s the matter?”

“Grandpa, I forgot something.”

“…?”

“Wait here.”

What had she left behind?

Yu Seol returned suddenly after a while, but she wasn’t alone.

‘Oh heavens…’

A girl, slightly shorter than his granddaughter, accompanied her.

The nostalgic feeling of her constantly following him around during his entire stay here was palpable.

It seemed like Yu Seol had forgotten to bid farewell to her friend.

“…San, where are you going?”

Yu Jinsan was a bit shocked as he watched her with tears welling up in her eyes and a sad look.

“I should head back home now.”

“…will we see each other again? Will you come back?”

He couldn’t help but feel confused.

At that moment, behind Ah-ryeon, Yu Seol nodded her head as if signaling something.

He couldn’t just run away and leave his granddaughter’s friend crying alone. Yu Jinsan also answered hesitantly.

“…uh yes. See you again.”

Yu Jinsan managed to make an awkward smile at the child’s bright expression.

After leaving the Cheol Family, the two of them returned to the Black Night Clan.

As soon as Yu Jinsan arrived, he immediately met with Pung-ho.

“Seeing that you have a good complexion, I guess things went well at the forge.”

“It’s all thanks to you. Let’s take a look now.”

Pung-ho, who was handed the spear, couldn’t contain his excitement.

“Woah… It is absolutely gorgeous. I feel like it possesses some unknown strength.”

“Right. This is a new weapon created by the best blacksmith. Our Seol now has the Dragon Slayer Spear.”

“I am really jealous. And I have some good news.”

“Hmm. What good news?”

A meaningful smile appeared on Pung-ho’s face.

“I found someone fluent in ancient Sanskrit. Perhaps he will be able to easily decipher the book now.”