CLS-Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Wei Yan-ho quietly gazed at the deceased Gwak Soon, then shook his head from side to side.

“…If everyone just let go of a little greed, we could all live comfortably.”

—That’s exactly why they’re human, you fool!

“Ah, I know that too.”

Wei Yan-ho snapped back irritably at what seemed like his master’s voice echoing in his ears.

“Well, so…”

Wei Yan-ho made a subtle expression as he looked at the book that Gwak Soon had gripped tightly in his hand until his final moment, refusing to let go.

‘The Sword Emperor’s Manual…’

Wei Yan-ho looked up at the sky and spoke in an admiring tone.

“They say heaven rewards those who live virtuously, but I never thought they’d compensate for all my hardships in this way.”

However, he did wish that if anything, they’d given him something more practically helpful instead of this.

Money, for instance. Or money. Or if not that, then money.

No matter how amazing the Sword Emperor’s Manual might be, to Wei Yan-ho it was no different from a white elephant. He had no motivation to learn it, but throwing it away somehow felt wasteful.

“Hmm.”

Wei Yan-ho extracted the Sword Emperor’s Manual from Gwak Soon’s hand, tucked it into his waistband, and then hoisted Gwak Soon onto his back.

“Brother, what… huh?”

Wei Su-ryeon, who had come out to fetch Wei Yan-ho when he didn’t return, saw him clearly carrying what anyone could tell was a corpse on his back, and her eyes trembled.

“Did you kill him?”

“Huh?”

Something about that statement seemed a bit off.

“Usually in situations like this, shouldn’t you ask ‘Did he die?’ instead of ‘Did you kill him?’, my dear sister?”

“…So did you kill him?”

“I didn’t kill him! He died on his own!”

“Why would a perfectly healthy person suddenly die!”

“I’m telling you no! He suddenly started coughing up blood and convulsing, then collapsed and died!”

Wei Su-ryeon looked at Wei Yan-ho with deeply suspicious eyes. In the past, she never would have thought Wei Yan-ho capable of killing anyone, but hadn’t she witnessed him cut down the Twin Demons of the Ghost Path just the day before?

“So… why did that person die?”

“Why are you asking me that!”

When Wei Yan-ho shouted, everyone inside came rushing out.

Seeing the corpse Wei Yan-ho was carrying, they all frowned and spoke up.

“You killed him?”

“Did you kill another one already?”

“A killing ghost has appeared!”

Wei Yan-ho shouted with resentment and anger.

“Nooooooo!”

“Wait a moment… what did you just say?”

Gong Mu-jin’s face hardened with utmost seriousness after hearing Wei Yan-ho’s explanation.

“This man seems to have died here while fleeing with a secret manual.”

“A secret manual? Don’t tell me this secret manual is the Sword Emperor’s Legacy?”

Even while asking ‘don’t tell me’, Gong Mu-jin was already half-convinced. After all, what other incident involving a secret manual could cause someone to die around here?

Given the circumstances and context, the conclusion was obvious. This person was probably the last one to possess the Sword Emperor’s Legacy. And after a desperate flight, he must have succumbed to his injuries and died here.

That much was fine, that much was acceptable.

But…

“No! Why did he have to come die here of all places! In this vast Central Plains! With so many places to die, why here!”

“Wow…”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Gong Mu-jin with the expression of someone who had witnessed something unseemly.

“You’re really cursing a dead person.”

“Cursing?”

Gong Mu-jin was on the verge of exploding with rage.

“Do you know how terrible it is to get involved in something like this? Just from the current situation alone, we’ll be suspected of possessing the secret manual! No matter how much we deny it, they won’t believe us! Seol-hwa! Prepare immediately! To Mount Hua! We must go to Mount Hua!”

Unlike the frantic Gong Mu-jin, Wei Yan-ho was very calm.

“Why would we be suspected?”

“Of course we’ll be suspected! The one who possessed the secret manual died, and we’re the last people he met! Us! So naturally they’ll suspect we have the secret manual!”

“That’s correct.”

“…What?”

“I’m saying I have it, that secret manual.”

“Where?”

Gong Mu-jin’s eyes turned toward Wei Yan-ho.

Wait a moment.

Could that book carelessly stuck in his waistband be…?

“That, that thing? That? Don’t tell me it’s that?”

“You’ve been stuttering since earlier. If you mean the book that man was carrying, then this is it. What was it called? Sword Emperor’s Manual? Something like that seemed to be written on it…”

Gong Mu-jin’s mouth fell wide open.

The Sword Emperor’s Manual.

Even seeing such a blatantly named secret manual, he had just carelessly stuck it in his waistband like some miscellaneous book purchased from a neighborhood bookstore?

“Why do you have that?”

“You keep saying strange things. Of course I have it because that man was carrying it.”

“That’s not what I mean!”

“I think one of adults’ worst habits is saying ‘I’ll speak roughly about this much, so you figure out the rest yourself.’ If you just tell me everything clearly, it would be easier for me to understand, and Great Hero Gong wouldn’t be frustrated either, so it would be good for both of us.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Gong Mu-jin just laughed helplessly.

Whatever this guy does, he should just accept it, but trying to think about it logically again led to this situation.

“So that’s the Sword Emperor’s Legacy.”

“It seems so.”

“What will you do? Soon those chasing it will swarm here like a pack of dogs.”

“Hmm…”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his cheek.

“Since it somehow came into my hands, I can say it’s mine, right?”

“There won’t be many people who would deny that you’re currently the owner of that Sword Emperor’s Manual. The problem is that there won’t be a single person who will acknowledge your continued ownership of it.”

“Then what are you suggesting we do?”

“They’ll kill and steal it.”

“Geez, to think there are people who would do such things under the bright sky of the Great Ming, it’s truly the end times.”

“…Aren’t you a martial world person?”

“Do martial world people live without any laws?”

“You killed two people just yesterday and such words come from your mouth?”

“Oh, right?”

Wei Yan-ho tilted his head.

‘But I’m allowed to, aren’t I?’

Come to think of it, he had the rights of an Imperial Inspector granted by the King, so he had the judicial authority to execute those two old monsters who had massacred civilians.

But since openly talking about that fact wouldn’t be good either, Wei Yan-ho kept his mouth shut.

“So you’re saying everyone will come swarming soon.”

“That’s right. I think the best method would be to just throw away that secret manual. While the hyenas who can’t directly pounce on the secret manual might try to get something from you, I can handle that much.”

“I see.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded as if he understood well.

But when Wei Yan-ho seemed to be obediently listening, Gong Mu-jin felt his heart sink.

“What kind of trouble are you planning to cause?”

“What? What do you mean?”

Gong Mu-jin looked at Wei Yan-ho with anxious eyes. Those eyes definitely belonged to someone planning to cause trouble.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Gong Mu-jin didn’t need to learn more about Wei Yan-ho’s thoughts.

Swish.

With a quiet sound of cutting through air, two or three people simultaneously flew into the inn’s courtyard.

Their gazes turned toward Gwak Soon, who was tucked under Wei Yan-ho’s arm.

“Lightning Swift Hand Gwak Soon. His breath has finally been cut off.”

“The price for an unworthy one coveting treasure.”

At those words, Gong Mu-jin’s pupils wavered.

“So this fellow was Lightning Swift Hand Gwak Soon.”

He had thought that among all those people, anyone capable of stealing the secret manual and escaping alone wouldn’t be an ordinary person, but to think it was Lightning Swift Hand Gwak Soon, called the pinnacle of lightness techniques in the Blue Sea.

‘Well, being Gwak Soon, he would have shaken off all those people.’

The three figures exchanged glances.

They had already confirmed Gwak Soon’s death and the existence of the secret manual stuck in Wei Yan-ho’s waistband.

“Boy, obediently hand over that secret manual. If you do, you won’t get hurt.”

“This?”

Wei Yan-ho pulled out the secret manual from his waistband and waved it in front of him.

“Yes. Just give us that.”

“Uh, hmm…”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his head vigorously, then shook it.

“This is mine, so why should I give it to you?”

“I have no desire to play word games with you. Either hand it over, or die here. Choose one.”

Of course, Wei Yan-ho’s choice was obvious.

“I don’t like either option.”

“This little…”

“Ah, I’d appreciate it if you’d stop calling me a little kid. I’ve heard it quite a lot.”

“…”

“Of course, having lived long means having that much experience and wisdom, so it’s certainly something to be proud of, but if you keep disrespecting young people like that, it makes me wonder if you really have experience and wisdom. That’s why my master always said people should be careful with their words.”

Though he himself never was careful at all.

“You dare!”

Wei Yan-ho quietly looked at the three people, then spoke.

“Treasure is good. But when someone has died, it’s not human behavior to only covet treasure. I’d like to bury this person first before discussing the rest.”

“Hmph! Ridiculous! That fellow died by his own hand after coveting treasure beyond his station, so why should we hold a funeral for such a person? Stop talking nonsense and hand over that secret manual.”

Wei Yan-ho picked his ear and blew on his finger with a puff before answering.

“I believe I said I didn’t want to. But since you’re elders, you might not remember well. Let me say it once more. This item is now mine, so you cannot claim ownership of it.”

“Fine then.”

Just as the elder in front was about to stop talking and take action…

“Heh heh heh, Elder Jeok, intimidating that young one damages Elder Jeok’s dignity too much, doesn’t it?”

“Certainly so. What does that young fellow know that you’d use violence against him?”

Voices came from afar, and one by one, more people began appearing in the courtyard.

“Mmm…”

The elder called Elder Jeok shook his head with a dark expression as the surroundings filled with more and more people.

“I should have acted immediately instead of going easy on him for being young.”

“Even if you did, you don’t think Elder Jeok would become the owner of the secret manual, do you?”

People kept increasing, and soon they completely surrounded the inn and continued bustling about.

Gong Mu-jin hardened his face seeing this scene. With so many people filled with greed gathering, a great incident would surely occur. While he could protect himself, considering Lee Seol-hwa’s safety as well, it seemed he’d have quite a struggle.

“It seems we can’t avoid bloodshed…”

Gong Mu-jin, who was about to speak to Wei Yan-ho, opened his eyes wide and pointed with a trembling hand.

“You, what are you doing right now?”

“What? Well, this is…”

Wei Yan-ho, who had put down the corpse he’d been carrying and was sitting comfortably reading the Sword Emperor’s Manual, waved the secret manual he held open and answered.

“I’m reading.”

“…”

Gong Mu-jin looked at the distant sky and thought.

‘What are the ghosts doing…’

Not taking that bastard away.