CLS-Chapter 435

Chapter 435:

‘I made a mistake.’

Wei Yan-ho realized he had made a tremendous mistake.

Sending Wu-il to the Zhuge Family had been fine.

Come to think of it, there was nothing better than that. What could be better in this world than lying still and having people work to earn money for you?

The problem arose here.

Not from anything else, but from ‘lying still.’

Wei Yan-ho loved lying still more than anything else in the world. And lying still was Wei Yan-ho’s specialty.

Pride.

At least when it came to enduring long periods on a bed or being lazy, Wei Yan-ho had the pride of being the best under heaven. While he couldn’t match his master in all areas, even his master acknowledged his laziness.

“Hey, you donkey bastard!”

He remembered his master jumping around in fury, beating him repeatedly but never able to rid Wei Yan-ho of his laziness until the very end.

Wei Yan-ho’s laziness was so exceptional that even Baek Mu-han threw up both hands and feet in surrender. Even Baek Mu-han, who showed outstanding achievements in all areas of the world, acknowledged Wei Yan-ho’s laziness as beyond the heavens.

But…

Now Wei Yan-ho was facing a serious crisis.

His specialty of simply lying ‘still’ on the bed and passing time was becoming difficult.

Has his laziness improved?

That was impossible.

The reason Wei Yan-ho was uncomfortable now wasn’t due to general reasons like the bed being too hard or being bored from lying down too long. Wei Yan-ho wasn’t someone who would give up his laziness for such general reasons.

What was making him uncomfortable now was a gaze.

A gaze.

Wei Yan-ho slightly lifted his head.

Staaare.

He could see a gaze looking directly at him. Wei Yan-ho lowered his head again with a displeased expression.

‘I should have told them to take that one along too…’

Sending Wu-il away had been good.

But after sending Wu-il away, there was no one to look after So Ryeo-gun. It was something he could have casually left to the servants, but strangely, So Ryeo-gun refused to leave Wei Yan-ho’s side.

Probably due to anxiety about possibly being captured by the Zhuge Family again. So he wanted protection from Wei Yan-ho.

He understood.

He could understand that much.

Wei Yan-ho wasn’t a person without compassion either. He could at least keep a child by his side and protect him—a child who was suffering from anxiety after being captured by the Zhuge Family and subjected to harsh training.

Since it didn’t require any particular effort, couldn’t he just ignore it and leave the child be?

That’s what he thought, but…

‘This is incredibly distracting.’

Usually, protection should work the other way around. Wei Yan-ho keeping So Ryeo-gun in his sight and not taking his eyes off him—that would be protection.

But So Ryeo-gun seemed to have the wrong concept of protection, as he hadn’t taken his eyes off Wei Yan-ho for even a moment since Wu-il left.

Think about it.

Suppose you want to enjoy a rare midday leisure time.

But if someone is staring intently at you beside the bed where warm sunlight is streaming down, would you really be able to rest comfortably?

Wei Yan-ho’s nerves were thick enough that a whale should call him big brother, but even he couldn’t focus on resting under such circumstances.

‘I’m really going to lose weight at this rate.’

It seemed like he hadn’t been eating well recently either, and if he continued spending time like this without proper rest, his health would deteriorate.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Wei Yan-ho threw off his blanket and sat up groggily. So Ryeo-gun seemed slightly startled and stepped back.

‘If you’re that anxious, then don’t stare like that!’

Children were incomprehensible.

To Wei Yan-ho, children were always mysterious beings. What they were thinking, why they behaved that way—he could never understand.

“Are you hungry?”

So his questions were bound to be limited.

When So Ryeo-gun shook his head, Wei Yan-ho fell into deep thought.

‘I want to redirect his attention elsewhere…’

Wei Yan-ho began to think seriously.

If he could get the child absorbed in something else, it would be easier to rest, but he had no idea what that child liked. When it came to children’s interests, it would be dolls or toys, but there weren’t really any such things here.

After pondering for a long while, something familiar caught Wei Yan-ho’s eye.

‘Oh!’

Among the items prepared in the guest hall, there was something quite useful.

“By any chance, have you…”

Wei Yan-ho smiled meaningfully.

“Ever played Go?”

***

“Welcome.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve met.”

Tang Cheon-gun greeted Zhuge Yeom with a gentle smile. Zhuge Yeom also showed signs of being quite pleased to see him.

On the surface, that is.

‘This cunning bastard.’

‘How well he smiles.’

These were two people who were not unaware that they had already turned against each other. The Zhuge Family was already supporting the elders who were hostile to Tang Cheon-gun. Although it was said to be the will of the Heavenly Alliance Leader, it would have been impossible without the Zhuge Family’s own will.

If they removed the cumbersome pretenses and looked only at reality, the two were already enemies. But they couldn’t show their hostility toward each other in a place where others were watching.

“I didn’t expect you to visit without notice.”

“Considering the friendship between our family and the Tang Family, wouldn’t prior notice be merely a formality?”

“Haha, that’s also true. When you put it that way, I seem narrow-minded.”

They were exchanging pleasantries, but both men’s eyes were as cold as blades.

‘Damn bastard.’

If he could have his way, Tang Cheon-gun wanted to strike down Zhuge Yeom right there.

But if he caused a dispute with Zhuge Yeom here, it would only give the Zhuge Family justification to officially intervene. With the feeling of enduring poison spreading through his belly, Tang Cheon-gun smiled.

“So, what brings you here?”

“I heard that the Tang Family has an interesting guest, so I came to see for myself.”

“You said guest?”

“Yes. I heard that Wei Yan-ho, who has recently become famous throughout the land under the name Light Sword, is here. How could I not meet him?”

“…You said you came to meet Wei Yan-ho?”

“Yes, that’s right. Is there perhaps a problem?”

“How could there be? Meeting a rising new master who’s making a name for himself is always a pleasure. If you hadn’t come personally, I was thinking of sending a message myself. Hahaha!”

“Yes. I have high expectations. Well… ahem, never mind.”

Zhuge Yeom made a slight provocation, but Tang Cheon-gun wasn’t bothered at all.

He couldn’t be bothered.

What did it matter what someone who was crawling into a tiger’s den with his own feet had to say?

Tang Cheon-gun could see off with a smiling face any human who would soon be mauled by a tiger and shit blood, whether they cursed or hurled insults.

Tang Cheon-gun smiled with satisfaction.

‘You’ve walked right into it.’

The interesting thing about Wei Yan-ho was that those who hadn’t experienced him directly always thought he was easy to deal with. While others had been strangely defeated, they had the groundless confidence that if only they kept their wits about them, dealing with that young man wouldn’t be difficult.

And the price of such groundless confidence was always severe.

When someone was walking into a swamp with their own feet, there was no need to stop them, was there?

“This way. I’ll guide you.”

“Hehe, you seem too hasty. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the head of the Tang Family, so shouldn’t we have some tea?”

“If I detain someone who came on business and try to share tea, it will only make their heart anxious. Once you’ve finished your business, come to me. I’ll have good tea prepared. Wine would be fine too.”

“If you insist.”

Tang Cheon-gun decided he should bring out the Hundred Snake Wine he had been aging for a long time.

The Hundred Snake Wine he would drink while looking at Zhuge Yeom’s rotten face would probably taste heavenly.

Suppressing the laughter that kept trying to burst out, Tang Cheon-gun guided Zhuge Yeom to the guest hall.

He could feel the elders and Zhuge Yeom exchanging glances behind his back, but it didn’t matter.

‘Probably all their plans will disappear from their heads soon.’

Even dog shit has its uses when needed. Wasn’t Wei Yan-ho really quite useful in situations like this?

Tang Cheon-gun, heading toward the guest hall, received greetings from the servants guarding Wei Yan-ho’s room.

“Is he inside?”

“Yes. He’s there.”

Of course he would be there.

Where would that man go? He was someone who wouldn’t even go to the toilet and just stayed holed up in his room.

“Please enter.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Tang Cheon-gun quietly knocked on the door.

“Are you there?”

No answer came.

“Hmm.”

Tang Cheon-gun quietly cleared his throat.

“I’m coming in.”

Tang Cheon-gun, who was slowly opening the door, quickly jerked his head aside.

Whooooosh!

Something with terrifying momentum whooshed right past his face.

‘Ah, a hidden weapon?’

Cold sweat ran down Tang Cheon-gun’s forehead.

What on earth had just flown by?

***

“The Zhuge Family…”

The Historian had a somewhat troubled expression.

“Why? Do you have some relationship with the Zhuge Family?”

“It’s more that I’m interested rather than having a relationship. After all, it’s a family with deep history.”

“That’s true.”

The Divine Beggar nodded.

There were many sects with long histories in the martial world, and many places that boasted of their history, but few could match the history of the Zhuge Family, which descended from the Shu Han period.

“But it’s surprising. I understood that the Zhuge Family barely played any role in the Great War, but are you saying they had already made contact with the Radiant Martial Sovereign before that?”

“Who told you that?”

“Excuse me?”

“Who told you that the Zhuge Family didn’t play a role in the Great War?”

“…Isn’t that so?”

The Divine Beggar chuckled.

“I don’t know where you picked up this so-called history of yours.”

“The history that a historian sees must ultimately be based on historical records. I can’t believe everything that’s passed down without evidence. But the Zhuge Family must have known this fact too, so why didn’t they leave historical records…”

“It’s not that they didn’t leave records, but that they couldn’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“Zhuge Wu’s prediction ultimately came true. There was no time to worry about historical records or anything like that. Just surviving was enough to keep them busy, so what records could they leave?”

“Hmm…”

“There’s something you’re not considering. Only an extremely small part gets recorded. The war experienced directly at the time and the war seen through records by later generations are completely different things. That’s why I find you quite fascinating.”

“What aspect do you mean?”

“Terrible histories are usually buried. Even at my age, I still shudder when I think of those times. But to want to dig up and reveal that history, it’s bound to seem strange.”

The Historian spoke with a resolute expression.

“The more we want to turn away from a history, the more it must be properly revealed. Only then can we avoid repeating it.”

“…Yes, you may be right.”

Regret filled the Divine Beggar’s face.

“The more we want to turn away from history, the more it should be revealed… Yes, that’s right. We didn’t know that back then.”

The Divine Beggar cleared his throat loudly and continued.

“Then let’s continue the story. It’s time to tell the most important stories.”

“About the Zhuge Family?”

“No.”

The Divine Beggar’s usual mischievous smile formed at the corners of his mouth.

“Those gentlemen just suffered terribly.”