CLS-Chapter 190

Chapter 190

“As you know, Yan-ho is a child with an extremely strong sense of responsibility.”

‘Huh?’

Wei Jeong-han stared blankly at Wei San-ho with vacant eyes.

‘Did I hear that wrong?’

After sticking his finger in his ear and digging around several times, Wei Jeong-han asked Wei San-ho with a bewildered expression.

“Could you say that again?”

Wei San-ho nodded with a calm face.

“As Father well knows, Yan-ho is a child with a strong sense of responsibility.”

“…It’s not that I heard wrong, but that you haven’t fully woken up yet.”

“This is no time for jokes, Father.”

You’re the one making jokes, you crazy bastard!

Sense of responsibility, he says.

Wei Jeong-han had finally discovered today what word was most incompatible with Wei Yan-ho. There could be no word more unsuited to Wei Yan-ho than that phrase “sense of responsibility.”

“Yan-ho has a strong sense of responsibility. Though he has a strong tendency to avoid taking on work, once he has something he must do, he’s the type who will complete that task by any means necessary.”

“Good grief.”

Wei Jeong-han began pondering what words he could use to deliver a crushing blow to this absurd statement.

But despite his concerns, strange reactions began to follow in succession.

“He certainly seems to have that tendency.”

It was Gong Mu-jin’s words.

“No way…”

Just as Wei Jeong-han was about to object, Wei Su-ryeon also expressed agreement.

“He’ll do anything to avoid work, but when he thinks something must be done, he somehow gets it done.”

What have all these people been seeing?

While Wei Jeong-han was bewildered, Jin Ye-ran spoke up.

“That person is, as far as I know, someone with the strongest sense of responsibility and kindest heart in the world. He’s someone with the compassion to step forward first to help others, even when it’s not his responsibility.”

Wei Jeong-han quietly turned his head and spoke to Han Sang-ah sitting beside him.

“Dear.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s set a date.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“If she didn’t have rose-colored glasses on, such words couldn’t come out. From my perspective, that girl seems to have serious rose-colored glasses, so before those glasses come off, we should marry off that troublesome boy… Ow ow ow ow ow!”

Wei Jeong-han screamed, forgetting his dignity as Han Sang-ah mercilessly twisted his side.

“I have no choice but to acknowledge it.”

Jang-il entered through the door, expressing his agreement.

Wei Jeong-han looked at Jang-il with sharp eyes.

“Where have you been? No, before that, what do you have no choice but to acknowledge?”

“The fact that Wei Yan-ho has a strong sense of responsibility.”

“You’re the Fox-Dog of the Beggar’s Sect—is that something you should be saying?”

Just as Jang-il was about to make some excuse, Gong Mu-jin spoke up.

“Senior.”

“Hmm?”

Gong Mu-jin opened his mouth with a reluctant expression.

“I’ve been thinking while staying a bit apart from that Yan-ho fellow this time.”

“Speak.”

“When you’re right next to Yan-ho, you get angry, your insides turn upside down, you get irritated, and you want to strangle him…”

“…Even so, since I’m his father, isn’t it a bit much to curse my son like that in front of his father?”

“Just listen for now.”

“Mmm.”

“Anyway, when you’re beside Yan-ho, irritation wells up so much that you tend not to see people properly. Thinking about it alone, what Wei Yan-ho accomplished in that short time is truly tremendous.”

Wei Jeong-han became speechless.

Why are all these people acting like this?

“Since I met the fellow, he’s done so much. First, he instantly defeated the Twin Demons of the Ghost Path, and he simply dealt with the Blood Master of Nashan who would have drenched the world in blood if left alone, didn’t he?”

“Mmm…”

“Moreover, he repelled those who rushed to steal the secret manual without any sacrifices, and after entering the Heavenly Orthodox Martial Alliance, he even fought the Alliance Leader to a draw.”

Wei Jeong-han’s face grew more sour as time went on.

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“That’s not all.”

Jang-il picked up where Gong Mu-jin left off.

“Before that, he captured the appearance of a Demonic Cult figure and saved the life of Miss Seomun, and in Wuhan…”

Jang-il looked over, and Jin Ye-ran quietly nodded.

“He saved our family.”

“That’s right. Moreover, though it’s not certain, there are quiet rumors circulating that he saved Prince Yi, who was involved in treason at Hanrim Grand Academy.”

“Then that golden sword…”

“That’s right.”

Gong Mu-jin slapped his knee.

He had been wondering where that Imperial Inspector’s Golden Sword that Wei Yan-ho drew when passing through the gate came from… If he had dealings with Prince Yi, that is, the Inspector General, then that mystery is neatly solved.

“Come to think of it, if he saved the Inspector General’s life, wouldn’t that be the greatest achievement among all his deeds so far?”

“That’s right.”

Jang-il nodded vigorously.

“So to summarize, as soon as Wei Yan-ho appeared in the martial world, he saved the Inspector General’s life at Hanrim Grand Academy, went to Wuhan and revived Sacred Hand Hall, then defeated the Demonic Cult conspiracy, punished the Twin Demons of the Ghost Path, and solved the Blood Master of Nashan incident.”

“What kind of tremendous feat is this?”

Wei Jeong-han’s mouth fell wide open.

When he just heard it, he thought it was natural, but hearing it organized like this, isn’t this inhuman?

“How could that lazy bum…”

While Wei Jeong-han was suffering from the gap between the real Wei Yan-ho and the Wei Yan-ho in his head, Wei San-ho spoke up.

“It’s only natural. Actually, Yan-ho is a child with stronger responsibility than anyone else. And he’s affectionate and naturally gentle.”

Wei Jeong-han clutched his chest.

No!

That’s not it!

I can’t explain exactly what, but that’s not it!

No matter that he’s my own child, Wei Yan-ho was not someone who should be packaged that way.

“That’s a bit…”

Even the mother who suffered labor pains for ten months was denying it with a reluctant face.

“He’s dear because he’s my child, but I don’t think we can see him that way…”

“See!”

A strange situation was unfolding where those around praised Wei Yan-ho while his parents desperately denied it. Those who knew Wei Yan-ho best were instead undervaluing his worth.

“It would be best to accept facts as facts.”

At Jang-il’s words, Wei Jeong-han grabbed the back of his neck.

“What kind of nonsense is this!”

And finally, curses burst from his mouth.

“My son having a sense of responsibility! Do I have some other child I don’t know about? Wait, we’re not talking about San-ho, are we? We are talking about Yan-ho, right?”

“Though you may want to deny it, that’s the truth.”

“Heh heh heh heh…”

Wei Jeong-han laughed helplessly.

How could such a thing happen unless the Wei Yan-ho he knew and the Wei Yan-ho they knew were different?

“Perception is a strange thing. If you want to evaluate a person fairly, you just need to look at their actions. Based on those actions, Wei Yan-ho is a very active, diligent man who handles matters without missing even the smallest detail—a man overflowing with responsibility.”

“…”

“Of course, it won’t be easy to accept. Wei Yan-ho has this unique way of being irritating that provokes anger in those around him, making it difficult to view his true nature coldly. Even I’ve been confused more than once or twice by the gap between the Wei Yan-ho I see in documents and the Wei Yan-ho I know.”

“So he’s hopeless as a human but tremendous as a martial artist?”

“Something like that.”

Jang-il said reluctantly.

“Anyway, from my position where evaluating information through documents and assessing human worth is routine, I have no choice but to agree with San-ho’s statement that Wei Yan-ho has a strong sense of responsibility.”

“…The end times have come.”

Wei Jeong-han muttered helplessly and leaned back heavily in his chair. He felt strength leaving his back and legs.

Wei Yan-ho overflowing with responsibility.

‘They’ve all lost their minds.’

He’s his child. Could there be anyone who knows him better?

A sense of responsibility for someone who, when told to train, won’t leave his blankets until he’s beaten?

“Then let’s return to the main point.”

Wei San-ho, who had cleanly achieved victory without saying much, spoke again.

“Yan-ho has an extremely strong sense of responsibility and will definitely accomplish what he must do, but he has the shortcoming of being very lazy.”

“Your words don’t match up!”

Wei Jeong-han exploded, but Wei San-ho cleanly ignored his words.

“What we can understand from this is… Yan-ho demonstrates his sense of responsibility and moves his body when what he must do becomes clearly apparent.”

“Hmm…”

Gong Mu-jin nodded in agreement.

“That’s certainly true.”

That Wei Yan-ho was lazy but definitely did what needed to be done was clearly evident when thinking about his encounter with the Twin Demons of the Ghost Path.

At that time, didn’t he stop the Twin Demons of the Ghost Path who were just going to leave and personally take their heads with his own hands?

If Wei Yan-ho were truly just a lazy person, he wouldn’t have bothered to punish the Twin Demons of the Ghost Path.

‘He seemed like a different person.’

Though Wei Yan-ho was amazing when competing with Master Sama, if he had to choose the most amazing appearance among all he’d seen, he would undoubtedly say it was Wei Yan-ho at that time.

Wei Yan-ho, serious with his playfulness removed, was close to the essence of a martial artist that Gong Mu-jin could admire.

In terms of feeling, that Wei Yan-ho felt several times stronger. Certainly, if judged by martial realm, the appearance shown in the duel with Master Sama would be much higher in level, but strangely, he felt that way.

‘If he showed such an appearance normally, people wouldn’t suffer so much.’

The gap between Wei Yan-ho as a human and Wei Yan-ho as a martial artist is seriously, devastatingly large.

“Then the conclusion is very simple. If you want to see Yan-ho not stagnating or regressing but constantly developing, you just need to create work for Yan-ho.”

“…Wait a moment, Master Wei.”

Gong Mu-jin interrupted Wei San-ho’s words.

“Isn’t that the most difficult thing? The Wei Yan-ho I know would never create work for himself, no matter what!”

Until now, because there was the purpose of moving to the Heavenly Orthodox Martial Alliance, he had experienced various incidents along the way, but dragging out Wei Yan-ho, who had already arrived at the Alliance and shut himself in his room, by creating work for him was not as easy as it sounded.

“If he won’t create it, we just need to drag him into a situation where he has no choice but to create it.”

Wei San-ho’s face was resolute.

“What do you plan to do?”

“In my opinion, it would be difficult at the Heavenly Orthodox Martial Alliance. There aren’t likely to be incidents serious enough to require Yan-ho to step forward here. The top priority should be getting Yan-ho out of the Alliance.”

“Hmm…”

Gong Mu-jin scratched his cheek.

“That’s not so easy.”

But the answer to Gong Mu-jin’s words came from elsewhere.

“You probably don’t need to worry about that much?”

Jang-il interjected.

“He’ll probably have to step forward soon.”

“Why?”

Jang-il smiled ominously and chuckled.

“Because something has happened that clearly requires Wei Yan-ho to step forward. Probably similar conversations are happening in the Alliance Leader’s Hall right now.”

“Huh?”

Wei Jeong-han looked at Jang-il with vacant eyes.

What on earth was happening?