Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

‘Ah, he’s placing stones disgustingly slowly.’

Moon Yu-hwan’s speed of placing stones was slower than a turtle by Wei Yan-ho’s standards. It was a speed that could easily compete with a snail.

Thinking back to when he used to play Go with his master in the past, it was enough to make him yawn.

Master Baek Mu-han had tormented Wei Yan-ho in many different ways.

Among them, the method that tormented Wei Yan-ho the most was precisely this Go.

As long as Wei Yan-ho was human, he couldn’t pour all twelve shijin of the day into training.

He had to sleep during sleeping hours, and he had to rest a bit during resting hours.

Just training recklessly doesn’t increase efficiency.

When the body is exhausted and the mind is tired, taking appropriate rest is what increases efficiency.

But Baek Mu-han was a nasty-tempered master who found Wei Yan-ho’s resting extremely disagreeable.

One day, it was precisely this Go that Baek Mu-han started after catching and seating the resting Wei Yan-ho.

Wei Yan-ho struggled violently, but there’s no winning against violence, and in the end, he had no choice but to play Go under Baek Mu-han’s coercion.

Of course, there was no way that beginner Wei Yan-ho could be a match for Baek Mu-han, who had enjoyed Go as a hobby in his lifetime.

Though they somewhat matched the level with handicap stones, there was no way Go could progress when Wei Yan-ho had no motivation.

Eventually, Baek Mu-han made a wager with Wei Yan-ho.

If Wei Yan-ho played Go and won, he would give him three days of rest.

Wei Yan-ho, intoxicated by the sweet honey of three days’ rest, dove into Go like a madman, and by the end of his training, he had become a Go master with skills similar to Baek Mu-han’s.

Of course, Wei Yan-ho’s Go style came from such peculiar circumstances.

The longer one game of Go lasted, the more Wei Yan-ho’s resting time would decrease.

Thanks to this, Wei Yan-ho would place stones without delay once his opponent placed theirs, and to end Go even slightly faster, he would madly dig into any gap and lead it to battle.

An unprecedented aggressive Go style was born precisely like this.

Of course, Moon Yu-hwan couldn’t know such facts.

‘He really was a nasty-tempered gentleman.’

Wei Yan-ho reminisced about his master.

He was truly a narrow-minded master who couldn’t stand even that brief moment of rest and taught people Go.

Of course, contrary to Wei Yan-ho’s thoughts, it wasn’t that Baek Mu-han taught Go uselessly because he couldn’t stand watching Wei Yan-ho play. There was a reason Baek Mu-han taught Wei Yan-ho Go.

Go resembled the sword.

The form of the sword, where dozens of variations are created from one sword technique and the correct variation must be chosen according to the situation, and the form of Go, where countless variables are created according to the placement of one stone and the most advantageous method of development must be chosen, had many similarities.

Baek Mu-han hoped that Wei Yan-ho would develop the ability to predict and judge numerous situations in a short time through Go.

Baek Mu-han’s position of having to teach many things in a short time gave birth to such an irregular method. Of course, Baek Mu-han’s personal desire to play Go was probably contained in there to some extent as well.

The Go game continued a bit longer and then ended.

The result was Moon Yu-hwan’s victory by two points.

It was Wei Yan-ho’s unfortunate defeat.

If judged by skill, there should have been a much bigger difference, but because Moon Yu-hwan was swayed by Wei Yan-ho’s strange Go style, it became a close match.

Moon Yu-hwan burst into a pleased laugh and wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead.

“It was a good match.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

“Yes, it was fun.”

Wei Yan-ho didn’t end up saying his inner thought: ‘It would have been three times more fun if you hadn’t played slowly like a slug.’

Wei Yan-ho is an upright young man who knows courtesy.

Moon Yu-hwan called Moon Eun-ji.

“Go and bring tea and cold water.”

“Yes, father.”

Moon Yu-hwan watched Moon Eun-ji leave and looked at Wei Yan-ho with a smile.

At first, he was a bit flustered because of the clothing, but he was a skilled person with a unique Go style. If possible, it was enjoyable Go that he’d want to play several more times.

“You have quite a unique Go style.”

“It’s thanks to being tormented by a wicked master.”

“You had a master?”

“Yes. There’s a gentleman with a glossy face but whose inside is only as big as a dried anchovy’s gall bladder.”

“Ahem.”

Moon Yu-hwan let out a cough in bewilderment.

Where is there a person who speaks of their master like this?

It was something that didn’t make sense by Moon Yu-hwan’s common sense.

“Hehe, I’d like to meet him once myself.”

“You won’t be able to see him?”

“Is he a difficult person to meet?”

“He’s dead.”

Moon Yu-hwan made a sound of regret.

“I’m sorry. I committed a breach of etiquette.”

“No. It’s not really a breach of etiquette. He’s been dead for quite a while.”

Wei Yan-ho wondered inwardly whether he should say it had been about three hundred years or not.

“I see. So is this all you came for?”

It was asking whether he was satisfied now that they had played Go.

“If it wouldn’t be rude, I’d like to stay a bit. My master ordered it.”

“What did he order?”

“He told me to stay in the Scholarly World. He said there would be things to gain.”

“Hmm, then you’re following your master’s dying instructions.”

“You could say that.”

Moon Yu-hwan smiled.

“If it’s such a matter, I should help. I’ll provide you with a room, so stay as long as you wish.”

Wei Yan-ho spoke with a troubled expression.

“But… I don’t have money.”

“Hahaha, how could I expect such a thing from a guest? If you hadn’t asked, I was about to ask you to please stay first. Instead, I hope you’ll occasionally have conversations with me or guests who visit this manor.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

“I think I can do that much.”

As long as it’s not too often.

Then, Moon Eun-ji entered carrying tea and cold water.

Moon Yu-hwan and Wei Yan-ho had a brief chat. Most of it was Moon Yu-hwan asking questions and Wei Yan-ho answering.

When the chat was roughly finished, Moon Yu-hwan bowed his head slightly to signal the end of the conversation.

“Then please rest comfortably.”

Moon Yu-hwan called Moon Eun-ji.

“You prepare a room and clothing for the guest to stay in. And first, guide the guest to the bathroom.”

Moon Eun-ji glanced at Wei Yan-ho, then looked at Moon Yu-hwan again. Moon Yu-hwan, seeing that there was a bit of displeasure mixed in those eyes, spoke firmly with a stern face.

“Hurry.”

Moon Eun-ji nodded and took the lead.

“Follow me.”

“Then.”

Wei Yan-ho lightly greeted Moon Yu-hwan and followed Moon Eun-ji out. Moon Eun-ji guided Wei Yan-ho to the bathroom without saying much.

But Wei Yan-ho seemed to dislike resting his mouth.

“How old are you?”

Wei Yan-ho opened his mouth. Moon Eun-ji glanced at Wei Yan-ho before answering.

“I’m sixteen this year.”

“Then I’m your older brother. I’ll drop the formalities.”

Moon Eun-ji’s face crumpled slightly.

What kind of rude person is this?

Moon Eun-ji, who had grown up with a Grand Scholar as her father and had seen many scholars, had never once seen such a rude person.

Moon Eun-ji, who felt no need to necessarily respond, walked quickly and led him to the front of the bathroom.

“We’re here.”

The bathroom already had warm water drawn.

“Oh?”

Wei Yan-ho glanced at Moon Eun-ji.

It was just a moment ago that he had said he would stay here.

So there was no way she could have prepared the bath water after hearing those words. That meant she had already prepared it even before Wei Yan-ho brought up the topic.

She’s a more clever woman than expected.

“Then, gratefully.”

Wei Yan-ho entered the bathroom.

“I’ll prepare clothing outside.”

As Moon Eun-ji closed the door, Wei Yan-ho threw off what had been called clothes but was actually rags and soaked his body in the warm water.

“Ahh.”

As the warmth of the warm water heated his body, a deep sigh naturally flowed out. How many years had it been since he had bathed with such hot water?

Wei Yan-ho was moved by something that wasn’t really significant.

Even before he started training, he wasn’t particularly close to bathing. He was someone who preferred a warm bed over hot water. But now, the warm water in the bathtub felt to him like heavenly nectar.

“This is all because of that old man.”

Wei Yan-ho felt like crying anew at the hardships he had endured during his past training period. What a terrifying life that had been.

Thinking that he would never see that old man again, a smile naturally formed.

“I’m so happy I could cry.”

Wei Yan-ho wiped his face.

“How happy I am…”

Wei Yan-ho’s voice somehow sounded a bit bitter.

“Kyaak!”

Moon Eun-ji, who had been waiting for Wei Yan-ho, screamed.

“Why?”

As Wei Yan-ho came out with a towel roughly covering his lower body, Moon Eun-ji was flustered and couldn’t even look at him properly.

“Cover yourself more before coming out!”

“I am covered.”

“Really…”

Does this person think it’s okay to just cover his lower body?

Shouldn’t he cover his upper body too, not just roughly cover his lower body with a towel? Coming out in front of a woman with just his upper body completely exposed!

If he at least looked good, she wouldn’t have said anything.

With a body where all the bones seem to be showing…

Moon Eun-ji held out the clothing with a red face.

“Here!”

Wei Yan-ho chuckled and took the clothes.

With Moon Eun-ji turned around, Wei Yan-ho hastily put on the clothes and finally tied up his hair roughly.

“How long has it been since I’ve worn clothes like this?”

Moon Eun-ji glanced back at Wei Yan-ho.

And then she frowned.

Usually, don’t people with strange appearances at least look a bit better after washing?

But strangely, Wei Yan-ho looked even weirder after washing.

When he put on clean clothing and tied up his hair, his skeletal face with skin barely clinging to bones stood out even more.

“…How about letting your hair down?”

“It’s cool and nice though?”

“Sigh.”

Moon Eun-ji shook her head and took the lead.

Wei Yan-ho entered the room that Moon Eun-ji had guided him to. It wasn’t gorgeous, but it was a room with a modest charm. Wei Yan-ho threw himself onto the bed without a second thought.

Thud!

As he felt the sensation of the soft bed, tears of emotion naturally came out.

“It’s soft! It’s soft! It’s a soft bed!”

Of course, Moon Eun-ji frowned.

‘He’s really a rude person.’

If first impressions were scored, Wei Yan-ho was someone who couldn’t even get zero points.

“I’ll bring meals to your room.”

Wei Yan-ho smiled brightly.

“You don’t have to go that far.”

“Our manor doesn’t have a separate dining room, so there’s no choice. Just know that.”

After leaving those words, Moon Eun-ji closed the door and left.

It was an attitude where cold wind was blowing.

Wei Yan-ho smiled and rolled over.

Perhaps because it was the world he was seeing after a long time, even Moon Eun-ji’s cold appearance looked only pretty.

“This is the taste of human life. There’s no master getting angry even when I’m lying down, no master nagging even when I’m rolling around, no master!”

Wei Yan-ho buried his body deep in the bed.

“Ah, it’s comfortable…”

And he soon fell asleep.