Chapter – 08
“…Yes.”
This time, a small smile appeared on Joo Sohui’s lips.
Seeing her like this, she truly looked like a beauty comparable to Xi Shi, and Eon Yeon-hyeok unconsciously averted his gaze.
In fact, in the streets she was more often called the most beautiful woman under heaven or the number one beauty of the martial world rather than by her title.
“May I see the child? I haven’t seen her since she was very young, so I’m quite curious how she has grown.”
“She is sleeping right now, so please see her later. More importantly, there is something I wish to give you.”
Refusing his request, Joo Sohui suddenly tossed something toward him.
As he caught it, his eyes narrowed. He immediately recognized the jade ring that pulsed with energy.
“Is this a Gu Egg?”
“It was something exchanged between the Yeon family and the Geum family. Seeing that there was a separate underground facility, I suspect it may be the work of the Blood Cult targeting the Eon family.”
“…That was close to becoming a disaster.”
The information made his heart sink.
Unlike the Demonic Cult, whose headquarters was far away and which moved with some structure, the Blood Cult operated in scattered cells.
Their leader was unknown, their true form impossible to grasp, and they were thoroughly irrational. The thought that such people had nested in Shanxi, territory controlled by the Eon family, sent chills down his spine.
“The Eon family owes the Peng family a great debt. I will repay this someday.”
“A debt from the Corpse Ghost? How generous.”
Joo Sohui smiled brightly.
“Then I shall leave the rest to the Eon family. For the time being, I plan to spend time with my family.”
* * *
Instead of leaving immediately, Eon Yeon-hyeok secretly stepped outside the inn and climbed onto the roof.
I can’t just ignore this curiosity.
Joo Sohui had refused because her daughter was sleeping, but as long as he didn’t wake her, what would be the problem?
Since the Peng and Eon families were located close to each other, they were both rivals and close associates.
Naturally, as the Supreme Elder of the Eon family, he had often watched Dori grow up.
It was such a tragedy when that child disappeared. I wonder how she looks now.
Sneaking closer, he peeked through the window.
“Let’s see…”
As he scanned the room, he suddenly inhaled sharply when he saw the sleeping girl.
He had wondered how they could immediately recognize their child after being separated for over ten years, but upon seeing her himself, there was no need for doubt.
She looked exactly like a young Joo Sohui.
It would be stranger if she weren’t her biological child with that face.
There was no trace of Peng Baek—she looked so much like her mother that one might believe Sohui had reached the Life-and-Death Realm and undergone rejuvenation again.
…Joo Sohui at the Life-and-Death Realm.
That would be a walking disaster. Even now she was practically a natural calamity.
Shuddering at the terrifying thought, Eon Yeon-hyeok suddenly made eye contact with the girl, who looked to be in her late teens.
Flash.
Her glossy black eyes shone like polished porcelain.
The girl asked:
“Pervert?”
“I am not!”
Sensing danger to his life, he immediately denied it, then fled before Joo Sohui could return.
Meanwhile, Dori, who had unintentionally locked eyes with him, thought:
What was that… a dream?
She blinked in confusion.
Her small doubt soon ended as nothing more than an incident thanks to Joo Sohui’s return. Taking care of the half-asleep Dori, she gave her a morning kiss, brought warm water herself, and gently washed her face.
The sense of guilt was enormous.
Is this what they call a fire-attribute filial daughter?
Before possession, she had been a model daughter—always earning scholarships and landing a job immediately after graduation.
Maybe there really was a law of total filial piety, because with Joo Sohui she only seemed to be unfilial.
“Now that you’ve eaten breakfast, let’s go!”
“Huh?”
Before she knew it, Dori had been fed (more like raised like livestock), and was suddenly picked up and carried into the air by Sohui.
As she had said, the trip from Shanxi to Hebei really didn’t take long.
By the time half a day had passed, the scenery of Hebei was already coming into view.
Holding her daughter carefully in her arms, Joo Sohui felt her throat tighten.
It had only been two months since she had last returned home.
But now she was no longer alone.
She was returning to the Peng family with the daughter she had believed lost forever over ten years ago.
Whoosh.
Leaping across rooftops, Sohui landed lightly.
Dori, still clinging to her, tilted her head in confusion. Sohui looked down at her precious child with deep affection.
“Are we stopping here to rest?”
“No.”
Looking at the sun beginning to set, Sohui spoke softly.
“This is your home, my child.”
* * *
Peng Baek.
The head of the Peng family, now past fifty, had been pacing restlessly around the training ground for days.
They found Dori.
It was because of the letter his wife Joo Sohui had sent a few days ago.
It wasn’t very long.
But the message was clear:
The daughter they believed dead was alive, and currently under Sohui’s protection.
At first he couldn’t believe it. But no matter how many times he checked the handwriting, it was undeniably his wife’s.
As a result, Peng Baek spent days unable to focus on his training. Today marked the fifth day, and he felt like he might collapse.
Then—
“Lord! Madam has returned! But—”
“I’m going immediately!”
Before the servant could finish, Peng Baek rushed out.
It took him less than five seconds to reach the main gate. For someone at the Peak Transformation Realm, it was unusual that he was even out of breath.
And then—
“It’s been two months.”
“My dear…!”
Seeing his wife smiling as warmly as ever reassured him.
Then he noticed the girl standing beside her.
She looked very much like his wife.
So much so that for a brief, foolish moment he wondered if his talented wife had broken through the Life-and-Death barrier and become young again.
But that wasn’t it.
“Dad!”
For a moment, a voice from long ago echoed in his ears.
His eyes moved to the girl’s right hand.
On the back of her hand… a distinctive scar—four small marks in a row, like they had been poked with chopsticks.
Joo Sohui placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder.
“I already hinted at this in the letter, but a detailed explanation will be needed. For our child as well.”
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
His heart pounded violently.
A pull like fate, which he had long tried to ignore, surged back. The doubts he had felt for days vanished, replaced by overwhelming joy.
His lips trembled.
“Then… truly…?”
“Yes.”
Joo Sohui nodded, then said to the girl who looked just like her:
“Say hello, Do-ah. This is your father.”
“Ah.”
Dori, who had been nervously watching the emotional couple, suddenly went Ah-ha! after Sohui’s explanation and politely bowed.
“Hello, grandfather!”
“?”
“?”
The emotional atmosphere immediately cooled.
Seeing their strange expressions, Dori looked back and forth between them and asked awkwardly:
“…Uh, then great-grandfather?”
“No!”
Peng Baek shouted in shock.
