CLS-Chapter 89

Chapter 89

“Master Wei, pleeeease!”

“Go away.”

“Master Wei, pleeeease!”

“I said go away.”

“Master Wei, plea…”

“Aaaahhh!”

Wei Yan-ho bolted upright and threw the blanket he’d been covered with at Jin So-ah.

“Why are you doing this to me! Why are you treating me like this!”

“What should I do?”

Wei Yan-ho glared at Jin So-ah with exasperation. This audacious little brat clearly regarded him as some kind of universal solution box. Otherwise, there was no way he’d be whining like this, asking Wei Yan-ho to solve the mess he’d created.

“Why should I have to solve all your family’s problems!”

“Please don’t be like that…”

“This is your and your sister’s business to begin with!”

“That’s true, but…”

Jin So-ah felt like dying.

It had been fine when he’d been inspired by Wei Yan-ho’s achievements and eloquently expressed his usual thoughts to his sister.

But ever since then, the situation had been taking a strange turn.

“My words sounded reasonable enough…”

Right now, Jin So-ah couldn’t do anything on his own. The debt had been paid off, but Sacred Hand Hall was essentially still in Jin Ye-ran’s hands, and Jin So-ah, who could still be considered young, wasn’t enough to earn the trust of the council members.

Moreover, without a single penny to his name, it was difficult to leave the family and do something on his own.

“Master Wei, pleeeease!”

“Gah!”

Wei Yan-ho kicked Jin So-ah, who was clinging to his legs. Jin So-ah rolled all the way to the wall, then rolled back and attached himself to Wei Yan-ho’s legs again.

“Ugh! You leech!”

“If you save someone from drowning, you should also fish out their belongings!”

“Isn’t that what people usually call shameless?”

“Then what should I do? I can’t swim.”

“Ugh.”

Wei Yan-ho pushed away the clinging Jin So-ah and let out deep sighs.

“I’d rather die than suffer like this.”

What sin had he committed in his previous life to deserve this fate? How was it that wherever he went, there wasn’t a single place without storms on flat ground?

“So what is it that you want?”

“I want to succeed as a physician.”

“Then just do it.”

Jin So-ah spoke with a resolute face.

“It’s impossible here.”

“Then leave.”

Wei Yan-ho offered a clean solution, but Jin So-ah didn’t seem to like that solution.

“If I leave, I’ll have nowhere to go.”

“Hmm, so…”

Wei Yan-ho summarized the situation.

“You want to succeed, but it’s impossible here, and you have nothing so you can’t leave either… so you’re telling me to find you a realistic way to succeed and somehow solve it all, is that it?”

Jin So-ah nodded vigorously.

“That’s right.”

“Damn it!”

Wei Yan-ho kicked Jin So-ah away and opened the door to go outside.

“Master Wei, pleeeease!”

“Ah, get lost!”

Wei Yan-ho went outside, trembling with irritation. As soon as he opened the door and stepped outside, he shot up like lightning onto the roof and lay down on the tiles.

“Master Wei, pleeeease!”

He could hear Jin So-ah’s voice searching for him from below, but Wei Yan-ho cleanly ignored it and closed his eyes.

“Leech-like bastard.”

Making Wei Yan-ho leave his room of his own accord.

Jin So-ah seemed impressive for achieving a feat that no one else had managed.

“If you’re going to overwork someone, you could at least let them rest comfortably.”

How much had he done for them already, and they were still whining for more?

Wei Yan-ho fell asleep, furious at Jin So-ah’s shamelessness.

Snore.

“…Hm?”

When he opened his eyes to the feeling of cold energy penetrating him, the sun had already set.

‘How long did I sleep?’

He felt stiff.

‘Damn Dream Training Technique.’

His wish was to sleep without dreaming for once. The master in his dreams was stronger and more vicious than the original master.

The moment he fell asleep, the master would rush at him swinging his sword, and after facing off with him, he would wake up before he knew it.

“Ugh.”

Wei Yan-ho twisted his entire body.

“Why does it hurt for real when I was hit in a dream?”

At least it was fortunate that the sword the master in his dreams carried was a wooden sword. If it had been a real sword, he might have died of a heart attack.

“Why can’t I reach him?”

Wei Yan-ho thought he’d become strong enough, but there was a difference between heaven and earth compared to the master in his dreams.

At first, he thought it was because it was a dream…

‘But that doesn’t seem right.’

No matter how much it was the Dream Training Technique, unless the master was a god, he couldn’t perfectly implement sword techniques in someone else’s head. That meant the sword the master in his dreams was showing now was created by combining the sword the master had actually shown with Wei Yan-ho’s imagination.

‘But it’s strange that even the me in the dream can’t handle it.’

It wasn’t just that he couldn’t handle it—he was completely outmatched. And what was even more maddening was that Wei Yan-ho himself found the process of his sword techniques being broken down convincing.

The process of sword techniques he’d thought were perfect being dissected and having their flaws exposed was all too clearly visible.

“It wasn’t this strong at first…”

Wei Yan-ho sighed.

He’d been told he needed to complete his martial arts to escape this dream, but the completion of those martial arts was far too vague a concept.

If he had to defeat Baek Mu-han who appeared in his dreams to end this dream, he might have to dream this dream for the rest of his life.

Wei Yan-ho rolled down from the eaves.

“Oh my.”

Then he flinched at seeing Jin Ye-ran standing right in front of him, as if she’d been waiting for him.

“Could we have a word?”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

When Jin Ye-ran nodded firmly, Wei Yan-ho had no choice but to reluctantly agree. Her face was too serious to suggest talking later.

“This way.”

“Yes.”

Wei Yan-ho followed Jin Ye-ran’s guidance into her room.

It felt somewhat uncomfortable entering a maiden’s private chamber, but it would be strange not to go when the room’s owner was asking him to.

“Please sit.”

“Yes.”

Wei Yan-ho sat in Jin Ye-ran’s room. Then Jin Ye-ran didn’t sit immediately but went outside.

“Huh?”

Jin Ye-ran, who had left Wei Yan-ho and gone outside, returned to the room after some time had passed. In her hands was a large dining table.

“You need to eat.”

Wei Yan-ho licked his lips at the feast spread on the table.

He felt like he could eat this meal, which he’d always eaten with the feeling of chewing sand, without any burden today. Because he’d done something for Sacred Hand Hall.

But today’s table had something slightly different from usual.

“Hm?”

What’s that bottle?

Jin Ye-ran placed a cup in front of Wei Yan-ho and picked up the bottle.

“This is alcohol I got from the tavern. Please accept a cup as my token of gratitude.”

“What? I don’t drink alcohol.”

“You don’t drink alcohol?”

“To be precise, I’ve never tried it…”

Jin Ye-ran looked at Wei Yan-ho for a while, then nodded.

“Then even if you don’t drink it, please just accept the cup.”

“Yes. Well, that much…”

When Wei Yan-ho accepted the cup, Jin Ye-ran poured alcohol into his cup, then placed the bottle on the table and stepped back. Then she prostrated herself before Wei Yan-ho.

“What, why are you doing this?”

“Your grace is as vast as the sea. The favor you’ve shown is so great that I wonder if I can repay it in this lifetime.”

“Please get up. Quickly.”

Wei Yan-ho urged her, but Jin Ye-ran didn’t raise her head.

“Not just once, but twice I’ve received your favor. How can I raise my head before my benefactor? I will repay this debt for the rest of my life.”

“…It’s not like I did anything amazing.”

“If not for you, I would have been sold to a brothel. I wouldn’t have been able to see So-ah raise the family again. So how can this favor be small?”

“Ugh.”

Wei Yan-ho began to feel uncomfortable in this situation.

It seemed his dream of having a comfortable meal in this house was just that—a dream. Everyone was desperate to devour Wei Yan-ho.

‘I need to leave quickly.’

Wei Yan-ho ground his teeth thinking of Moon Yu-hwan who had recommended this place.

Calling himself a Three Excellence Grand Scholar, he was nothing but a fool. What kind of person sends someone to a place like this without even knowing if his friend was alive or dead?

“Alright, alright. I understand your feelings well enough, so please raise your head now. I’m too uncomfortable to eat anything.”

Only then did Jin Ye-ran slowly raise her head.

‘She really is beautiful.’

That beauty definitely shone.

She was wearing inconspicuous plain clothes, so she looked like this much, but if she started dressing up in earnest, it was impossible to imagine how beautiful she’d be.

“Benefactor.”

“…My name is Wei Yan-ho.”

“Young Master Wei.”

“Yes.”

“If I may be so bold, could I ask one more favor?”

“Ugh.”

Wei Yan-ho let out a deep sigh.

Somehow he’d had this feeling.

‘Is there a water ghost among my ancestors?’

Both Jin So-ah and Jin Ye-ran—they say they’re grateful, but they’re desperate to work him to death.

“What is it?”

Unable to bear the quiet silence, Wei Yan-ho reluctantly asked, and Jin Ye-ran bit her lips tightly before opening her mouth.

“Please turn So-ah’s heart around.”

“What?”

What kind of talk was this now?

“Right now, So-ah is devoted to you, Young Master Wei. The person who can turn So-ah’s heart around now is not me, but you, Young Master Wei.”

“Uh…”

“So-ah is someone who must inherit Sacred Hand Hall. He’s someone who must raise the family again and restore its past glory. That child is wavering right now. Please turn So-ah’s heart around, Young Master Wei.”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Jin Ye-ran with a blank expression and said:

“So you want to revive Sacred Hand Hall?”

“That’s right.”

“So-ah?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

Wei Yan-ho fell into thought, stroking his chin.

“Can I ask something?”

“Please speak.”

“I don’t understand—’raising Sacred Hand Hall’ and ‘Jin So-ah becoming an excellent physician’ seem like different things. Which is more important?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“You keep talking about both together… I don’t know if what you want is for Sacred Hand Hall to be revived, or for So-ah to become an excellent physician even if Sacred Hand Hall’s name disappears.”

Jin Ye-ran showed clear signs of confusion, as if she’d never thought about such aspects.

“Which is it?”

“Do I have to choose one?”

“It would help set the direction.”

Jin Ye-ran thought and then answered.

“Sacred Hand Hall’s revival.”

“Are you certain?”

“Even if So-ah becomes an excellent physician, if Sacred Hand Hall isn’t revived, I can’t fulfill the dying wish. But if Sacred Hand Hall rises again, excellent physicians could emerge among the descendants.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded. Jin Ye-ran’s judgment wasn’t bad. He would have chosen this side too.

“I understand what you mean. So Sacred Hand Hall standing again comes first. Then there’s a very simple method.”

“Will you turn So-ah’s heart around?”

“Yes.”

Wei Yan-ho grinned.

“There’s a definite way to turn his heart around.”

Seeing Wei Yan-ho’s smile, Jin Ye-ran had to feel an inexplicable sense of unease.