CLS-Chapter 402

Chapter 402:

“Uuuum.”

Wei Yan-ho let out a groan as he looked outside the door.

When was the last time he had left his room on his own two feet when there wasn’t even anything particular to do? It had never happened except for when he fled to the rooftop to escape the demons charging into his room.

‘This feels strange.’

People naturally feel a sense of alienation when they do something they’ve never done before. That was exactly how Wei Yan-ho felt right now. Wei Yan-ho let out a low sigh.

‘I need to change too.’

The fact that the world was changing rapidly was something even he couldn’t help but acknowledge. The turbulent times that adults constantly talked about were approaching. Hadn’t his family already been swept up in that whirlpool?

Since ancient times, there has been only one way to endure turbulent times.

Becoming strong.

Those who are steadfast never waver even when fierce winds blow. To avoid being shaken under the great storm called turbulent times, one must become stronger.

‘I should train.’

Wei Yan-ho’s eyes blazed with fire.

There would be no more lazy person.

If being lazy for a moment could cost him everything, Wei Yan-ho would choose to abandon the laziness that had been like his alter ego.

With a resolute expression, Wei Yan-ho left his room.

“Huh?”

Wei Yan-ho’s eyes widened.

“The sun is setting?”

Before he knew it, the sun that had been hanging in the middle of the sky was slowly sinking beyond the western mountains.

It was extremely strange.

Wei Yan-ho had definitely come outside to train. But why was the sun already setting?

He had definitely intended to train. Really.

It was just that, well, how should he put it.

When he arrived at the training ground prepared behind the guest quarters, the sunlight was too warm. Feeling good from the warm sunlight he hadn’t felt in a while, he had only climbed up on the eaves to rest for just a moment…

Isn’t that how people are?

When you’re covered with warm sunlight like a blanket, an irresistible drowsiness is bound to come over you. This is an absolute law that has never changed since humans appeared in this world.

So he had only closed his eyes for a moment…

“Uh, umm…”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his head vigorously.

This really wasn’t him trying to be lazy. He had just wanted to rest for a moment before training. But since the result turned out like this, it was regrettable.

‘There’s still time.’

When today passes, tomorrow will come.

If he couldn’t train today, then he could just do it tomorrow. If you eat in a hurry, you’ll get indigestion, and if you go too fast, you’ll take the wrong path.

Don’t they say you should tap even a stone bridge before crossing it?

Wei Yan-ho slowly raised his upper body.

After stretching languidly, he felt his mind clearing up a bit.

‘I really am hopeless.’

It wasn’t the sleeping that was absurd. People should sleep when they’re sleepy, and Wei Yan-ho’s philosophy was that you could sleep as soon as your back touched something. No, to be precise, you could sleep even without your back touching anything. Since Wei Yan-ho could sleep standing up if he just made up his mind to sleep.

The problem was that this place was the Tang Family.

No matter how much Tang Cheon-gun had invited him here, fundamentally the Tang Family was an enemy of the Righteous Martial Alliance. Wei Yan-ho, who would be recognized as belonging to the Righteous Martial Alliance, was surrounded by these hostile Tang Family members.

And yet to fall asleep sprawled out like this. Even Wei Yan-ho himself found it absurd.

“Ahhhhh!”

As he stretched fully, he felt his joints clicking back into place with rattling sounds. Wei Yan-ho, who had jumped down from the eaves, looked around.

“But where do I go to get food here?”

His stomach was crying out. Well, it made sense since he had only slept without eating. The problem was that he had only eaten food that was brought to him until now, so he didn’t know where the dining hall was.

The biggest problem with being a lazy person is that because you only roll around inside your room, the amount of information you take in is extremely limited. But it would also be embarrassing to go to the maids now and ask for food.

‘A person should have some dignity.’

Thanks to the proper home education he had received since childhood and the education that Baek Mu-han had beaten into him with his fists, Wei Yan-ho had the right mindset of living without causing trouble for others.

Unless he was paying their wages, it was bound to be uncomfortable to order the maids around.

In the end, Wei Yan-ho made what seemed like the most obvious choice.

Trudge trudge.

For now, if he looked around all the places where lights were visible, there would probably be a dining hall among them.

Wei Yan-ho grabbed his hungry stomach and began walking forward with trudging steps.

“You cannot go here.”

“I’m sorry. This area is forbidden.”

“Hey! I told you that you can’t come this way!”

Wei Yan-ho’s mouth puffed out.

‘Where am I supposed to go!’

This Tang Family place was only splendid on the outside, but was utterly useless.

Everywhere he walked was forbidden, everywhere he went was only for family members. There was nowhere that he, as a guest, could go.

They had said he could go anywhere except the forbidden areas, but there were no places that weren’t forbidden. It was to the extent that he thought ‘So that’s why they said it so casually.’

Well, that was fine.

He had no intention of entering places he was told not to enter anyway. Since Wei Yan-ho had been possessed by a contrary spirit, it was human nature to want to enter when told not to, but even forbidden areas had their distinctions.

What would the Tang Family’s forbidden areas contain?

If it were other families, they might store treasure vaults or secret manuals, but the Tang Family’s treasures were ultimately poisons.

Wei Yan-ho had absolutely no desire to walk into a place where poisons were blooming abundantly on his own two feet.

The Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity?

Even if you could block ten thousand poisons, you’d die if you couldn’t block the ten thousand and first poison. So what could you trust to stick your head into poison?

Sometimes it’s beneficial to do as you’re told.

He had no complaints about that, really.

His complaints arose from somewhere else.

“Excuse me, where is the dining hall here?”

“I’m sorry. We cannot speak privately.”

“Isn’t this speaking privately right now?”

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

Well, how polite.

They’re really politely screwing him over, aren’t they?

Wei Yan-ho’s face trembled.

These guys were definitely intentionally not telling him where the dining hall was located.

Wei Yan-ho had been eating food given based on others’ moods for twenty years. He could tell what emotions someone was feeling from a single gesture or tone of voice. The emotion those guards were showing Wei Yan-ho right now was clear hostility.

Of course, that was understandable.

They were guards protecting forbidden areas, and Wei Yan-ho was an intruder who had approached forbidden areas without permission. And there was no reason for them to look kindly upon Wei Yan-ho, who had come from the Righteous Martial Alliance in the first place.

But!

‘They should at least tell me where to eat! This is all about making a living!’

Transcending enemies and allies, isn’t there something called human compassion?

Wei Yan-ho ground his teeth.

‘I’ll find the dining hall no matter what it takes.’

“Fine.”

Wei Yan-ho turned around so forcefully that it made a whooshing sound.

Watching Wei Yan-ho’s back as he gradually moved away, the guards clicked their tongues.

“Does he understand his own position?”

“…But wouldn’t it be better to just tell him there’s no dining hall? What if he causes trouble wandering around poking into things like this?”

“Then it would only diminish their own standing. What’s so precious about someone who caused a disturbance as soon as he arrived?”

“That may be true, but…”

They had no idea what mistake they were making right now.

“What a rotten world.”

Wei Yan-ho’s mouth was sticking out a good four fingers’ worth.

He understood everything. He understood it all, but…

Still, they should at least feed him.

“Should I just go back to my room?”

It would be embarrassing for the maid sisters, but if he just asked them to bring some food, food would come quickly…

But Wei Yan-ho soon shook his head.

‘Those sisters are too burdensome.’

If they would at least show that they found it moderately annoying, Wei Yan-ho wouldn’t feel burdened, but since they lit up their eyes and tried to listen to everything he said, it felt unpleasant. When had Wei Yan-ho ever received such treatment that he could get used to it?

Besides, those sisters… they seemed like they couldn’t sleep properly at night worried that something might happen, so he should give them time to rest at times like this.

“Ugh, I’m too kind for my own good.”

Wei Yan-ho casually uttered words that would have earned him a triple combo punch from Baek Mu-han if he had heard them.

“That place wasn’t there earlier either, and this side is all… Hm?”

A light in the distance caught Wei Yan-ho’s eye.

‘Huh? Where’s that?’

It seemed quite far away, but the fact that the light could be seen clearly from here meant it was quite a large building.

‘Should I go take a look?’

Wei Yan-ho moved his feet.

Though his steps looked leisurely, he was shooting forward four or five zhang with each step he took.

Yet the fact that he didn’t arrive immediately showed it was farther away than he had thought.

“Hm?”

Wei Yan-ho’s nose began twitching.

“Food smell!”

This time he seemed to have found the right place. A faint food aroma was wafting from that far end.

Wei Yan-ho quickened his steps with joy.

Soon arriving at his target building, Wei Yan-ho tilted his head.

‘It doesn’t seem like a dining hall?’

For a dining hall, well, somehow the feeling was a bit different.

But what was this rich food aroma wafting from inside?

Wei Yan-ho decided not to worry about it.

The fact that no one had stopped him from coming this far meant this place wasn’t forbidden, so he could just go in and check.

“Is anyone there?”

Wei Yan-ho, who had opened the door and entered, looked around.

‘It’s kind of gloomy?’

Wei Yan-ho’s eyes surveyed the surroundings.

‘Hm?’

The walls were covered with weapons.

From ordinary longswords to bizarre-shaped exotic weapons he had never seen before in his life, they filled the walls completely.

“It’s not a dining hall.”

A dejected Wei Yan-ho sighed.

Just where in the world did the Tang Family put their dining hall?

And if this wasn’t a dining hall, then this food smell was…

He knew he should turn around and leave, but this smell was irresistibly tempting him. The uniquely spicy aroma of Sichuan twisted the stomach of the starving Wei Yan-ho.

‘Let me just take a look, just a look. If someone’s eating, I could probably sneak in. Or maybe just one dumpling…’

Wei Yan-ho moved his feet toward where the food aroma was coming from. After going through about two more doors into the interior, he could see a grand feast laid out on a dining table in what appeared to be an inner room.

“Huh?”

The food was steaming and laid out like a mountain and sea delicacy, but strangely, no one could be seen around the dining table.

‘All that will get cold.’

He didn’t know why food was set out in a place with no people, but that was an insult to the food. Every dish has its most delicious temperature. Hot food should be eaten when it’s hot, and cold food should be eaten when it’s cold.

If all that warm food got cold, the flavor would be reduced by half.

“…Where did everyone go?”

Wei Yan-ho’s hands began trembling.

That food wasn’t his.

But those dishes were too precious to just leave behind.

‘Should I just taste it?’

Surely they wouldn’t beat him up just for tasting it.

His conscience telling him he shouldn’t touch other people’s things and his unbearable hunger began fighting fiercely in his head.

At that moment.

“Who are you?”

A sharp voice was heard from behind Wei Yan-ho.