CLS-Chapter 453

Chapter 453:

“Did you just say Sword Emperor’s Secret Manual?”

“Yes.”

Tang Cheon-gun frowned as he looked at Wei Jeong-han, who spoke with a stern expression.

“Wait, isn’t that a martial art your son spread around?”

“To be precise, it’s not that my son spread it, but rather that my son was the last owner of that martial art. That manual came from the Sword Emperor’s tomb, after all.”

“That’s true, but…”

The Dark King spoke as if he couldn’t quite understand.

“What’s your reason for bringing up that secret manual now?”

“Because it might be the cause.”

“The cause?”

Tang Cheon-gun’s expression became subtle.

“I don’t understand why you’re saying this. The Sword Emperor’s secret manual wasn’t just taken by us, but by other sects as well. There isn’t a single renowned sect in the martial world that didn’t get their hands on that martial art. But only we have problems?”

“I know it’s difficult to accept.”

Wei Jeong-han bowed his head.

“It’s not easy for me to make this request either. But please understand that I’m grasping at straws here.”

“Hmm.”

When Wei Jeong-han adopted a humble attitude, Tang Cheon-gun couldn’t continue his reproach and let out a low sigh.

‘This is also not something I can do.’

When you think about it, Wei Jeong-han was doing his best to solve the Tang Family’s problems. It wouldn’t feel right to nitpick at such a person.

“If you want it, I’ll have them investigate. I’ll tell them not to spare any cooperation.”

“Thank you.”

“However, you…”

“Yes.”

Tang Cheon-gun looked at Wei Jeong-han quietly before opening his mouth.

“Are you also thinking about the repercussions that will occur if your prediction is correct?”

It was a statement loaded with meaning.

But Wei Jeong-han had only one answer to give.

“If I had been afraid of such things, I wouldn’t have touched it in the first place. Rather than arguing about whose responsibility it is, it’s more important to somehow resolve this matter.”

“Is that so.”

The Dark King nodded silently without saying anything. It meant for him to leave. As Wei Jeong-han bowed his head and went outside, the Dark King let out a deep sigh.

‘Too upright like bamboo.’

Being righteous is a good thing.

As a martial artist, Wei Jeong-han was someone he had to respect. Though he was younger and had less experience, Tang Cheon-gun acknowledged him.

‘But as a family head, it’s not good.’

The position of family head is like that.

Sometimes you have to swallow humiliation and do dirty work without hesitation. You can’t harm the family for the sake of preserving one honor. Someone might point fingers, but enduring that is the role of one who sits in the family head’s position.

But what Wei Jeong-han was doing now was something that could bring tremendous harm to the family.

“Being upright is good, but…”

The Dark King shook his head.

There was no need to disparage the path he had chosen for himself. After all, he would be the one to bear that responsibility.

***

“Huh?”

“The secret manual, that secret manual!”

“What about it?”

Jang-il gritted his teeth.

‘Look at this carefree bastard!’

Looking at Wei Yan-ho lying calmly on the bed and rolling around made him feel like his insides were turning upside down.

“Hey, you bastard! I’m saying that the secret manual might be the problem!”

“Really?”

“Yes! Think about it once more. Wasn’t there anything strange about that secret manual?”

“Even if you say something strange…”

Wei Yan-ho shrugged his shoulders.

“If there had been strange things, I would have noticed when I first saw it. If I didn’t know then, I don’t know now either. Even if I found out something slightly strange, I couldn’t interpret it anyway.”

“Is, is that so?”

“If even I couldn’t figure it out after looking, it must have been made by some tremendous person. How could I possibly figure that out? Elder Gweonggeuk couldn’t figure it out either, so asking me to notice it is too much.”

The words were right.

But shouldn’t there be some sense of responsibility?

“It might be something that happened because of you.”

“Me?”

Wei Yan-ho pointed at himself with his finger. Those eyes saying ‘What on earth are you talking about, beggar sir?’ were disgusting.

“That’s right. You spread it around!”

“What are you saying? I just sold goods, and those people saw the secret manual and bought it. It’s not like I hid it and secretly showed it for money.”

“That’s true, but those people didn’t have the ability to discern that secret manual.”

“Neither do I.”

“…”

Wei Yan-ho stuck out his belly proudly and said:

“If I had the ability to judge that, would I have been crazy enough to sell it?”

“Then, then you shouldn’t have sold it.”

“Then they shouldn’t have bought it!”

“No, this isn’t something to be stubborn about…”

Wei Yan-ho chuckled and said:

“If I had made and sold this, then it would be my responsibility. I admit that. But this isn’t something I made and sold. It came from that Sword Emperor’s tomb, right? The source is clear and the author is clear, so if there’s a problem, it’s not my fault but that person’s fault, so you should take it up with that person.”

“He’s dead!”

“You said it well.”

Wei Yan-ho pointed at Jang-il and shouted:

“If the person who committed the sin is dead, then that’s the end of it! Why are you coming to me and making a fuss! What sin did I commit?”

“…It’s not like that.”

Jang-il’s face contorted.

‘Who doesn’t know that?’

Anyone could understand that Wei Yan-ho wasn’t at fault if they thought about it even a little. Wei Yan-ho spread the secret manual. But if Wei Yan-ho hadn’t handled things that way, tremendous bloodshed would have occurred in the martial world.

Who were the people flocking for the secret manual at that time? They weren’t ordinary figures. Even Shaolin, who had no interest in material desires, hurriedly dispatched personnel.

If the situation had gone wrong even slightly, a devastating bloodbath where everyone killed each other would definitely have occurred. Even the bloodbath that occurred at Goesan before that was not something to ignore. But if an even greater bloodbath had occurred, the martial world would never have been able to stop the Demonic Cult’s invasion.

Everyone doesn’t mention it, but thanks to Wei Yan-ho’s actions, the martial world was saved once.

But now they’re asking Wei Yan-ho to take responsibility?

Anyone with a conscience couldn’t do such a thing. But the problem was that humans are never rational. If this incident was really discovered to have originated from Wei Yan-ho’s Sword Emperor’s Secret Manual, and tremendous damage occurred because of it, the martial world people would tear Wei Yan-ho apart like starving wild dogs.

“…Do you know what the situation is like?”

“What?”

“How serious this is right now…”

“Geez, a beggar sure worries a lot.”

“What, you bastard?”

When Jang-il got angry, Wei Yan-ho sighed.

“Don’t pretend to be smart. If you were smart, would you be doing beggar work? This old man isn’t so clueless that he can’t predict what you’re thinking, I’m telling you.”

“That baseless confidence again.”

“It’s not baseless. Think about it.”

“Think?”

Wei Yan-ho nodded and opened his mouth.

“Let’s say that secret manual really has problems and something big happened because of it.”

“Right.”

“Then everyone’s going to die anyway, so there’s no need to worry.”

“…Huh?”

Jang-il looked at Wei Yan-ho with bewildered eyes.

“Everyone’s going to die?”

“The Demonic Cult will attack. If they read The Art of War even once, they wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.”

Jang-il became speechless and nodded.

“And if the problem is serious, we can’t stop them anyway. Then there won’t be anyone to get angry at me, so what’s there to worry about?”

Wei Yan-ho grinned.

“If there’s no problem, there’s nothing to get cursed for, and if there is a problem, there’s still nothing to get cursed for.”

“Hey, bastard! You missed one case. What if there’s a problem but we manage to stop the Demonic Cult?”

“Are you joking?”

Wei Yan-ho shouted firmly.

“What kind of place is the Demonic Cult! Even at full strength, it’s questionable whether we could stop them, so how could we stop them when such problems arise?”

“We might solve it well.”

“Then there’s nothing to get cursed for anyway.”

“…Huh?”

Wei Yan-ho pulled the blanket up to his neck.

“In conclusion, either way, there’s nothing to get cursed for anyway. So why all this fuss?”

“…”

“If you’re done talking, get out. Let me sleep.”

“Uh… well…”

“Do you have more to say?”

In the end, Jang-il had no choice but to leave the room with his shoulders drooping.

‘What on earth is that bastard thinking while living?’

Actually, the logic was perfect.

If there had been any part worth digging into, Jang-il would have torn into it like a wolf, but there was nothing wrong with Wei Yan-ho’s words. Except for the one point that things in the world don’t always flow as one intends.

“Ugh, stupid bastard.”

Jang-il shook his head and went outside.

“If only he wasn’t San-ho’s younger brother, I’d ignore him.”

When thinking of Wei Yan-ho alone, he’d push him with a pole so he wouldn’t come up even if he fell into water, but he couldn’t treat Wei San-ho’s younger brother that way.

“Sigh, I’m too kind for my own good.”

With what seemed like a determined expression, Jang-il walked away with a firm face.

And at that moment, Wei Yan-ho was also tossing and turning with an uncomfortable expression.

“Ugh.”

He said that, but it felt unsettling.

‘Things seem to be getting strangely tangled?’

If it were something he expected, there would be nothing unsettling about it, but even Wei Yan-ho hadn’t anticipated this alone.

He was confident he could be free from responsibility. But if this really originated from the secret manual that Wei Yan-ho spread, how many people would die?

Could he look at their deaths purely from an outsider’s perspective?

“Ugh!”

Finally, Wei Yan-ho jumped up from his spot.

What the Zhuge Family Head said was right.

More and more, there were things he couldn’t pull his feet out of. Wei Yan-ho sighed and walked outside.

“Where can I get this?”

Wei Yan-ho came out of the guest hall, receiving greetings from servants, and looked around. Since he didn’t know the way anyway, he’d find a suitable person…

“Ah!”

Wei Yan-ho’s face lit up when he saw a familiar face in the distance. That person was definitely an elder or something.

“Hey there!”

Wei Yan-ho ran toward Tang Yong-min.

Tang Yong-min, who was hurrying to attend to business, was startled when he saw Wei Yan-ho approaching him.

‘What does this demon want with me?’

They say those who come uninvited bring no good news, and those who don’t come when invited bring no good. He didn’t know what the purpose was, but he was certain it wasn’t a good one.

“What’s the matter?”

Tang Yong-min tried to maintain composure as he spoke. If he showed weakness to this bastard, he felt like he’d be pushed around endlessly.

Then Wei Yan-ho bowed politely to him.

“Hello?”

“Ah, yes.”

He’s unexpectedly polite, isn’t he? Still, seeing how he greets someone he’s acquainted with.

But that impression didn’t last long.

“Um, excuse me… that secret manual I sold to the Tang Family before.”

“You mean the Sword Emperor’s Secret Manual?”

“Yes.”

“Right. What about it?”

Wei Yan-ho smiled broadly and said:

“If you have it, could you show it to me?”

Tang Yong-min’s eyebrows trembled.

“…That, didn’t you sell it?”

“Yes.”

“But you’re asking for it back?”

“Yes!”

Tang Yong-min smiled pleasantly.

Of course.

Where else would a madman go?

Tang Yong-min shouted, pouring out his rising anger:

“You little bastard! Just because you’re a bit strong, you’re making fun of your elders!”

Tang Yong-min’s voice echoed throughout the entire Tang Family compound.