Chapter 187: Chapter 187

Although the Hunan Dan Family was massive in size, there was a fairly large self-sufficient field cultivated beyond the wall.

However, since the last harvest, no crops had been planted, and due to the heavy rain, the field had turned flat, changing into a place that could only be used after being hoed once more.

Dan Woo-hyun, who was returning from fishing, ended up witnessing a strange situation in that field.

It was Namgung So-hye, who was hoeing with great difficulty.

She was sweating quite a bit, causing her clothes to cling tightly to her body. Thanks to that, her figure was fully revealed; if it had been Yueyang instead of these mountains, she would have instantly captured the attention of passing men.

“…….”

After standing and watching Namgung So-hye for a while, he let out a deep sigh.

“What are you doing?”

He eventually asked.

Namgung So-hye, who had been hoeing diligently, suddenly turned her head and met Dan Woo-hyun’s gaze. As if realizing that her appearance was not very presentable, her face flushed red.

“Can’t… Can’t you tell by looking? I’m hoeing.”

Namgung So-hye’s dispirited voice was heard.

Looking next to her, Zhuge Yeon could be seen leisurely lying on top of a cow and taking bites out of an apple.

Unlike Namgung So-hye, who was hoeing hard, she had gone to Yueyang to borrow a cow and was using it to plow the field without exerting any effort.

Watching that leisurely display, Namgung So-hye trembled with frustration.

“They say if your head is bad, your body suffers, and those words fit perfectly.”

“No, it’s not?! Yeon-ah is just being cheap!”

“Cheap? Would you mind saying I’m working efficiently instead?”

Because Zhuge Yeon was right, Namgung So-hye had nothing to say.

When she was plowing barely one row by herself, Zhuge Yeon plowed three or four rows, so how could they even compare?

Dan Woo-hyun laughed in disbelief and looked at Zhuge Yeon.

“Where did you get the money to borrow a cow?”

“Borrowing an old cow is simple. Believe it or not, I have a bit of knowledge in acupuncture, so I just gave its leg an acupuncture treatment and borrowed it.”

Zhuge Yeon flashed a bright smile.

Skills translate to money. Since she had not lived looking only at a single sword like Namgung So-hye, Zhuge Yeon possessed multi-faceted talents.

Although she had lived a rough life cooped up in the mountains because of Zhuge Un, if she had originally set her mind to it, earning money would have been child’s play.

“I see. Impressive.”

“Thank you. Am I earning my keep with this much?”

“Yes. I would like you to keep doing that in the future. Because someone somewhere is completely useless when it comes to work.”

“What is that supposed to mean?! Are you talking about me right now?”

Namgung So-hye glared at Dan Woo-hyun with an extremely angry expression. She already felt bad as she seemed to keep getting swept up in Zhuge Yeon’s pace, and since even Dan Woo-hyun was acting like that, she became annoyed for no reason.

She struck down with the hoe forcefully with a dissatisfied look.

Thud! Thud! The ground was dug up.

At that sight, which clearly looked like taking anger out on the wrong target, Zhuge Yeon shrugged her shoulders.

“Come to think of it, it seemed like Father was looking for you.”

“I understand.”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded at Zhuge Yeon’s words.

Right before turning around, he did not forget to flash a smile at the still-disgruntled Namgung So-hye.

“Ah! Seriously!”

Namgung So-hye’s frustrated voice came from behind. Chuckling to himself at her sharp voice, he opened the main gate of the family estate and stepped inside.

As if he had already guessed that Dan Woo-hyun was coming, Zhuge Un appeared in front of him the moment the door opened, as if he had been waiting, and bowed his head.

“Have you returned?”

“What is it?”

Dan Woo-hyun, walking inside naturally with steady steps, did not even spare a glance at Zhuge Un. He treated him as if he were invisible, but clear words flowed from his mouth in response to Zhuge Un’s presence.

“It is about the Golden Ring Merchant Group…”

“I left that matter to Geum Eun-hak. It is none of your concern.”

“…Is that so?”

Zhuge Un let out a soft groan.

Since he had joined the family estate, he thought it was only natural that he should manage the overall affairs. However, because Dan Woo-hyun had left the merchant group’s affairs to Geum Eun-hak, he had told him not to interfere or even report on it.

It meant he should clearly divide the work.

Zhuge Un burst into a wry laugh despite himself.

Since this was the first time he had faced such a situation, he was even somewhat flustered.

But it was fine.

If his work was reduced by one, he could focus that much more on other things. Perhaps Dan Woo-hyun was being considerate of him.

‘Of course, I do not believe this man would actually do that…’

With that thought, he relaxed his expression.

Following Dan Woo-hyun, who was slowly walking somewhere, Zhuge Un carefully opened his mouth.

“The movements of the Chu Gate Family have recently become active. It seems they will soon…”

“Come, you mean?”

“Yes, judging by the situation, I suspect they will wage an all-out war.”

In the process of gathering information about Hunan recently, Zhuge Un had realized that the Hunan Merchant Group was under the protection of the Chu Gate Family.

Although it was hard to accept that the power of a mere clan that brewed alcohol was stronger than a merchant group encompassing the entire Hunan, he knew well from experience that unacceptable things occasionally happened in the Central Plains.

Furthermore, in the current situation, the Chu Gate Family absolutely needed to eliminate the Hunan Dan Family.

They must have realized it was more efficient than targeting the Golden Ring Merchant Group, and they would have known that considerable power was needed for that.

They would be thinking that the place with the power to sweep away the Hunan Merchant Group in an instant, and nowhere else, was the Hunan Dan Family.

“They probably think it is better to crush us head-on rather than scheming behind the scenes.”

“Yes, the justification is…”

Dan Woo-hyun stopped, and Zhuge Un stopped walking as well. His gaze turned toward Hoyeon Ji, who was on one side of the Hunan Dan Family. The woman, who was sweating today as well to make alcohol, was breathing heavily as if she was quite tired.

“It seems they will use the Ho Yeon Family as an excuse. Of course, I cannot guess in what manner…”

“…….”

Dan Woo-hyun nodded silently and approached Hoyeon Ji. At the sound of his footsteps, Hoyeon Ji, who was dripping with sweat, recovered herself and looked at Dan Woo-hyun.

“Ah! Patriarch Dan, you have returned?”

“Yes, it seems today’s alcohol turned out quite well. The scent is different.”

“It is my pride and joy.”

Hoyeon Ji scooped some alcohol using a small gourd and handed it to Dan Woo-hyun. The pungent aroma that wafted up the moment he received it brought a sweetness unlike any alcohol she had made so far.

Even Zhuge Un swallowed his saliva.

“It is good. At this level, it is worthy of being called the alcohol of the Ho Yeon Family.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

As he nodded and acknowledged it, Hoyeon Ji grinned from ear to ear. It was a compliment heard after a long time after receiving nothing but scolding every single day.

Her tense heart relaxed in an instant.

A broad smile leaked out.

Dan Woo-hyun handed the remaining alcohol in the gourd to Zhuge Un. Then, he sat down in a corner and quietly stared at Hoyeon Ji.

Under that gaze, Hoyeon Ji’s face flushed crimson.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

“It is not that… but there is something I want to ask.”

“What is it?”

Hoyeon Ji asked back, tilting her head.

Questions from none other than Dan Woo-hyun? Feeling nervous for no reason, her heart began to thud.

Her face was filled with deep concern, wondering if he was going to say she was no longer needed.

“Do you remember what I mentioned last time?”

“What you mentioned?”

“The matter of the Chu Gate Family.”

“…Of course I remember.”

At the mention of the Chu Gate Family, Hoyeon Ji’s eyes burned like an active volcano. Her aura changed somehow from her usual easygoing expression.

“Has there been any change in that thought?”

“There is none. I must repay them for everything they did to me.”

As if to say those were the terms, Hoyeon Ji stared directly into Dan Woo-hyun’s eyes without avoiding them.

At that gaze that showed not a single step of retreat, Dan Woo-hyun smirked.

“Indeed, those were the terms.”

“Yes, so bringing that up now… could it be?”

“Well, I do not know how it will be.”

Dan Woo-hyun turned around without saying anything further. Hoyeon Ji frowned at his curiosity-inducing remark, but Dan Woo-hyun did not seem to have any intention of explaining.

Hoyeon Ji stared at Dan Woo-hyun’s retreating back with a dissatisfied expression.

“What are your thoughts on this?”

Thud, thud.

He followed beside Dan Woo-hyun, who was heading somewhere once again. Although he was not saying anything, he could not shake the feeling that he had prepared everything from the start.

“No, there is no such thing.”

He spoke firmly and smiled.

Zhuge Un frowned at that expression.

In a situation where nothing could be predicted about how the opponent would move, he wondered what on earth that leisure Dan Woo-hyun was showing was.

Had he read the curiosity in Zhuge Un’s gaze?

Dan Woo-hyun, who was walking ahead, stopped dead in his tracks.

He turned his head slightly and looked at Zhuge Un.

“Do you know what the most frightening thing in the world is?”

“A hidden blade.”

Zhuge Un answered without a shred of hesitation. If one only knew about it, neither ghosts nor the enemy’s plans were scary. However, one had to fear a blade hidden inside a bosom.

Was that not why Namgung Cheon ended up like that?

If Zhuge Un had thought just a little deeper and found that blade, Namgung Cheon’s arm would not have been severed, and the Namgung Family would not have fallen.

“Indeed… but what is even more fearsome than that is.”

“Pardon?”

“An overwhelming power that shallow tricks cannot even come close to.”

“……!”

For a moment, Zhuge Un felt a sensation as if he were about to lose his breath. The single word from Dan Woo-hyun’s mouth weighed down on his shoulders like a ten-thousand-geun weight, and the fierce energy that enveloped his entire body along with it made even his flesh tremble.

Gulping down his saliva, he struggled to lock his gaze.

Just doing that exhausted his mental strength so much that he felt like collapsing. Gritting his teeth with sheer willpower, he stood firm with both legs on the ground.

And he realized at once.

While he was wasting time gathering information, analyzing it, and predicting the opponent’s moves, Dan Woo-hyun had already finished his thoughts and put everything into action.

Come to think of it, Sa Do-hak and Namgung Cheon had not been seen since this morning.

That meant the Hunan Dan Family, not the Chu Gate Family, had begun to move one step ahead.

‘Perhaps I…’

Zhuge Un thought.

This man, Dan Woo-hyun, in front of him.

Was he not someone standing at a much higher place than originally thought… and was that not the very power that kept the Sword Emperor and the Demonic Emperor by his side?

The corners of his lips trembled on their own.

Zhuge Un, who had calculated everything with his genius brain, predicted future events, and drawn up plans, had to admit that he was slower than Dan Woo-hyun in all of it.

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