Chapter 506: Side Story 6

Chapter side_6

It was a day with cold winds.

The moment the gentle breeze touched his skin, a chill rushed in as if a block of ice had been pressed against it. It was not yet midwinter, but if it was this cold already, it felt like they would have to thoroughly prepare for this winter.

From the early morning, the manor was incredibly quiet.

In the yard, the white tiger could be seen yawning widely and dozing off, while the white cat was rolling around playfully in front of it.

Watching these two spiritual beasts, it truly looked like a paradise on earth.

After a while, as the gathered fog thinly cleared and the sun rose, the people lying in their beds stretched and got up one by one.

The first one to open her eyes was Dan So-mi.

Starting her morning earlier than anyone else, this child had grown so much that she could no longer be called a child, having become a proper young lady.

She was now fifteen years old.

Soon to turn sixteen, Dan So-mi had matured to the point where her cute face from the past could barely be found.

She had also become incredibly beautiful. Considering that quite a few suitors had appeared around Yueyang, one might think she was worthy of being called the greatest beauty of Yueyang.

“Phew… He really left, didn’t he?”

Dan So-mi put both hands on her hips and sighed.

Jang Sam-tae, who should have been the first to wake up and clean the yard, was nowhere to be seen. That meant he had really taken a vacation and slipped out of the Hunan Dan Family as if running away.

Leaving Mae-hyang behind with her eyes wide open and even neglecting their daughter so irresponsibly, his behavior could truly be said to be typical of Jang Sam-tae.

Of course, it wasn’t that she didn’t understand his reasons.

When she was young, she hadn’t paid much attention since she watched him without thinking, but as she grew older, she came to realize just how difficult and grueling the work Jang Sam-tae did actually was.

He had to look after the child, do the chores, deal with the old men’s badgering, not to mention reading Dan Woo-hyun’s moods and receiving Mae-hyang’s coaching. She wondered how many people could endure living like that.

But even so, to actually leave like that.

Furthermore.

“Dad is not here either…”

Dan So-mi massaged her throbbing forehead.

With this, she could roughly figure out who had left the Hunan Dan Family.

It was Sa Do-hak, Namgung Cheon, and Dan Woo-hyun.

Jang Sam-tae’s future was starting to look very clear.

“Did they really leave?”

At that moment, Namgung So-hye made her appearance.

Whenever she saw the elegant figure of that woman, Dan So-mi, now a young lady, unwittingly clenched her fists, igniting her fighting spirit.

She seemed to be thinking that one day she would definitely catch up to that woman’s beauty.

“Yes, Uncle Jang is going to have a hard time.”

“More than that, I feel sorry for Mae-hyang… Phew…”

Namgung So-hye shook her head from side to side.

Every single one of her actions gave off an inexplicably alluring atmosphere. Was this the power of Namgung So-hye, known as the greatest beauty of the Central Plains?

Even as Dan So-mi felt herself being drawn to her more and more, she shook off the temptation, determined not to give up Dan Woo-hyun to her.

Grab!

“Oh my, acting cute all of a sudden. You seem all grown up, but you’re still a child.”

“…”

However, thoughts and actions didn’t always align.

Before she knew it, Dan So-mi was embraced in Namgung So-hye’s arms.

The slender fragility she felt the moment they hugged tightly was something that even Dan So-mi, who practiced martial arts, did not possess.

It seemed they had different blood to begin with.

Hadn’t her grandmother been called the greatest beauty of the Central Plains?

It was clear that blood had flowed down to her.

At that moment, Namgung So-hye smiled and gently stroked her hair.

It was then that a voice could be heard.

“Don’t worry about me. I expected this to happen from the start.”

The one who appeared was none other than Mae-hyang.

Dressed comfortably, she was busily moving about and starting to clean the house, showing no signs of worry despite her husband having left on a trip.

If anything, she looked relieved.

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes, of course. In fact, I feel refreshed because that man is not around. The people in this house need to suffer at least once. Only when my hubby is gone will they suffer like crazy… Ah…!”

Speaking without thinking while cleaning, she inadvertently let her true feelings slip out and hurriedly covered her mouth with a shocked expression.

Then, she briefly checked Dan So-mi and Namgung So-hye’s reactions, offered a silly smile, bowed her head, and quickly scurried away.

“…”

“…”

Dan So-mi and Namgung So-hye stared blankly at her retreating figure.

An indescribable feeling washed over them.

They even wondered if they had treated Jang Sam-tae that harshly, but then again, they had also done a lot of good things for him in their own way.

However, there was something that struck them even more, and that was…

“They say married couples start to resemble each other, and it’s really true.”

“I-It is…”

Dan So-mi chuckled and shook her head.

Jang Sam-tae was famous for blurting out words without thinking, and since Mae-hyang was doing the same, where else could you find a couple so alike?

The only thing she was worried about was…

The little girl playing alone in the yard.

“I’m worried about her future…”

Dan So-mi sincerely thought that she needed to raise that child well.

***

“…”

Looking up at the sky, tears welled up in Jang Sam-tae’s eyes.

A guy whose luck had run out couldn’t succeed no matter what he did. Wanting to deny reality so badly that the blue sky looked yellow to him, he looked down at the ground again and let out a long sigh.

“Why on earth are you following me?!”

He quickly turned around and looked back.

As always, Sa Do-hak, Namgung Cheon, and Dan Woo-hyun stood there. The way they were following him with bundles in their hands felt unusual, and it definitely wasn’t a misunderstanding.

“What do you mean, following? You just happen to be on our way.”

Dan Woo-hyun dismissed Jang Sam-tae’s words casually. He emphasized his words as if speaking the truth, and Sa Do-hak and Namgung Cheon nodded in agreement.

“Don’t worry about a thing. It’s just that our paths have crossed. Hahaha.”

“You go your way, brat. Why do you keep looking back?”

The three of them looked quite relaxed.

They seemed to find it amusing to tease Jang Sam-tae, as their smiles didn’t fade. This only irritated Jang Sam-tae further, but he couldn’t exactly throw punches at those three of all people.

His tightly clenched fists trembled.

‘If it were anyone else, I would’ve just…!’

Even for Jang Sam-tae, he couldn’t attack two of the Five Emperors of the World and the Martial God, Dan Woo-hyun. So even if anger surged within him, he had to hold it in.

In the end, he had to come up with a different plan.

Walking slowly forward and organizing his thoughts, Jang Sam-tae quickly moved his feet and dashed ahead. If anyone saw him from behind, they would be shocked by the lightness art that made him disappear like lightning.

Pat pat pat-!

He kicked off the ground and leaped onto a tree branch.

Becoming weightless, he fiercely surged forward again, quickly widening the distance. Considering the distance from where he had moved to where he stopped, it must have already been over several dozens of zhang.

If one only looked at his lightness art, it seemed he could rival the Five Emperors.

“So, did you pack everything you needed from the Hao Clan?”

At that moment, a chilling voice was heard from behind.

Surprised, Jang Sam-tae looked back as he ran, only to see the three of them casually using their lightness arts to close the gap with him.

Unlike him who was desperate, they were completely at ease.

It felt as if they were showing that they could catch up to him whenever they set their minds to it.

“What is there to pack? I just received a small compensation for my hard work, just a little!”

Jang Sam-tae made a tearful face and moved his legs even faster.

Contrary to his thought that he could easily run away, the three men’s legs were much faster than he had expected.

Furthermore.

“I thought you said you weren’t following me!”

“Aren’t you the one constantly blocking our way?”

Hearing Dan Woo-hyun’s confident words, Jang Sam-tae stopped dead in his tracks. His forehead throbbed as if a headache was coming on.

Haa, he let out a long sigh.

He had known it all along.

He knew that no matter what he said, he wouldn’t be able to escape their grasp.

It seemed better to just accept everything rather than waste his energy.

“Are you not going?”

“I’m not going! I’m going to take my time!”

“Hahaha.”

Was it because he realized he had given up?

Namgung Cheon smiled gently.

At the same time, something flew towards Jang Sam-tae. Catching it with a thud, he realized it was a bundle belonging to one of the three men.

Jang Sam-tae looked at Dan Woo-hyun with a dumbfounded expression.

“Carry it.”

“…Yes.”

The moment their eyes met, Jang Sam-tae, intimidated by a gaze that looked as if it would devour him, unwittingly nodded and slung Dan Woo-hyun’s bundle onto his back.

Even though it didn’t seem to contain much, it was quite heavy.

“What’s in it?”

“Money and a few necessities.”

“Money?”

“You can take it. That is, if you have the guts to.”

At the mention of money, Jang Sam-tae’s eyes sparkled.

In truth, although he had threatened the Hao Clan Leader and pocketed a little, considering the journey, the travel expenses were far from enough.

Just as he was planning to rip off the Hao Clan branch in the next town, hearing that Dan Woo-hyun had brought money made his eyes and ears perk up.

However, met with a murderous glare immediately after, Jang Sam-tae froze like a stone statue just as he was about to put his hand into the bundle.

“Hahaha, right, right. It doesn’t matter either way. But where are you planning to go?”

“Where else could I be going? Since it’s my first vacation, I was thinking of visiting my hometown.”

“Hometown?”

Jang Sam-tae nodded.

Since leaving there for the first time, he had never once gone back. It was far away, but more importantly, he had no good memories of it. However, while tending to the graves of various people recently, he realized something: he hadn’t tended to his younger sister’s grave for a long time.

Where else could there be such a pathetic older brother?

Therefore, he wanted to go and see his sister after such a long time.

“You… had a hometown?”

“Do I look like some bastard who just popped out of nowhere?”

Hearing Namgung Cheon’s utterly surprised expression and voice, Jang Sam-tae frowned. It seemed as though they thought a perfectly normal person was a guy with no parents or siblings.

Haa, a long sigh burst out of him.

“So, where is your hometown, brat?”

“It’s Gansu.”

“Gansu? Are you talking about the Gansu I know?”

“Could it be anywhere else? Just making sure you’re not an idiot, seriously… Tsk. There’s a place called Jiuquan near the Qilian Mountains, and I’m right there… Eh…?”

The moment he turned his head at a strange presence, Sa Do-hak’s fist flew relentlessly towards him.

Crack-!

“Keugh!”

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