CLS-Chapter 510

Chapter 510:

“I’m crazy.”

It was a voice that was ambiguous about whether it had strength or not.

“I’m crazy, completely crazy!”

The strength in his voice grew a bit stronger.

“Crazy!”

“Gaak! Really!”

Wei Yan-ho whipped his head around sharply.

“Who told you to follow me? Who!”

“I must be crazy.”

Jang-il muttered with a face drained of spirit.

“What wealth and glory am I expecting to enjoy by following this? If I want to die, I could just stick my nose in sewage, but why go all the way to that distant Xinjiang to die? Oh, my fate.”

“Ugh, really!”

Wei Yan-ho kicked Jang-il. Jang-il collapsed weakly to the ground.

“I told you not to follow me! Don’t come, but you insist on following and then complain! That’s just beggar mentality!”

“How can I not follow, you bastard! If I follow, I’ll die at the hands of Demonic Cult members, and if I don’t follow, I’ll be beaten to death by King Beggar. If I have to choose, shouldn’t a person choose death with dignity!”

Jang-il foamed at the mouth.

Recently, overshadowed by Wei Yan-ho’s tremendous reputation, he hadn’t been able to show much presence, but before Wei Yan-ho’s appearance, the position of Jianghu’s greatest eccentric had belonged to King Beggar.

He was exactly like Wei Yan-ho in that he was unreasonable and ignorantly stubborn. Suffering from Wei Yan-ho outside, and from King Beggar when returning to Beggar’s Sect—where could there be a more miserable life than this?

“Then why don’t you just disappear somewhere?”

“How can I avoid the beggars’ eyes without dying! Even if I run away, I’ll be caught within three days!”

“No different from the Demonic Cult.”

“…Huh?”

Now that he heard it, that was true.

“Stop talking nonsense… So what do you want to do? Are you going or not?”

“…I have to go.”

When Jang-il struggled to his feet, Wei Yan-ho frowned.

“These wretches, really…”

Several people came into Wei Yan-ho’s view.

Starting with Jang-il, Peng Dao-ji, Musan, and a Zhuge Family member had naturally followed them out. He couldn’t understand why they were following at all.

“Just go away. Why do you keep following me around?”

“Hmm, my lord. Those words are incorrect. Since ancient times, those who accomplished great things have always been surrounded by people. Rather, this level could be called modest compared to the work my lord must do from now on. For example, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang…”

“Argh!”

Wei Yan-ho kicked away the Zhuge Family member who had started reciting historical examples and scratched his head vigorously.

“I already have enough to worry about.”

With these useless wretches swarming around him, there was no way he could feel good. But if he tried to shake them off, they weren’t the type to fall away easily either.

Those guys were indescribably persistent.

“Tsk.”

Wei Yan-ho glared at Jang-il as he spoke.

“If you’re going to do it anyway, at least do it cheerfully. You insist on following even when I tell you not to, so what are you complaining so much about? A man being so petty.”

“Yes. I listened well to the self-criticism.”

“…”

Wei Yan-ho, having nothing to say, closed his mouth. Thinking about it, the words he’d just said applied to Wei Yan-ho as well.

“If you’re all done fooling around, come here.”

When Wei Jeong-han beckoned with his hand, everyone approached Wei Jeong-han without a word.

“Are you really planning to follow?”

The four people looked at each other’s faces.

“Amitabha, that is my intention.”

“It’s a dangerous path.”

Musan smiled gently.

“Where in life is there a place without danger? In this world, one might gain enlightenment on a battlefield, while falling into demonic possession in the comfort of home. Something like this physical shell being in danger is not such a big deal.”

Jang-il snorted.

“Acting like you’re following because you’re afraid of getting beaten if you go back, but your words flow like a clear stream.”

“…”

“Anyway, those monk bastards are more of a problem.”

“Benefactor, a monk seems better than a beggar bastard, don’t you think?”

“What, you bastard?”

Wei Jeong-han waved his hand to restrain Jang-il.

“What about you?”

Peng Dao-ji shrugged his shoulders.

“Actually, I know that thinking about it logically, it’s a crazy act. I also know that not following would be the right path.”

“Then why do you insist on following?”

“Because Wei San-ho is there.”

“…You mean San-ho?”

“Yes.”

Peng Dao-ji quietly nodded his head.

“If it were anyone else, I might not know… but if it were Wei San-ho, when I was in the same situation, he would have come to rescue me without looking back. That guy was that kind of person. So naturally, I should do the same, shouldn’t I? My abilities may not match his, but I don’t want to lose even in chivalry.”

Wei Jeong-han smiled bitterly.

‘A great chivalrous man.’

He was someone who charged toward chivalry without looking back. But somehow, discovering in others the image he had always pursued himself wasn’t entirely pleasant.

‘This is why everyone tried to stop me.’

It was like watching a moth flying into fire. Courage only has meaning when it’s accompanied by one’s own ability. Courage without strength is nothing more than recklessness.

“What about you?”

The Zhuge Family member opened his fan and smiled gently.

“I don’t think it’s a good choice, but my lord needs assistance. Just charging into the Demonic Cult alone would only result in becoming like Lu Bu charging into Cao Cao’s army. I will become my lord’s Zhang Liang.”

“There’s really something I want to ask…”

“Please inquire.”

“Do you really think Yan-ho is worth serving?”

“Hmm…”

The Zhuge Family member frowned as if something didn’t sit right with him.

“Master Wei.”

“Speak.”

“Do you think the rulers of the past were truly worth serving?”

Wei Jeong-han couldn’t answer.

“Emperor Gaozu of Han and the Hegemon King of Chu were both people with many flaws. Unless one is a ruler at the level of Emperor Taizong of Tang, one cannot dare speak of perfection. Even the First Emperor of Qin, who first unified the world, committed countless tyrannies. There’s no such thing as a ruler worth serving. What’s important is whether they’re people who can accomplish something.”

For a moment, Wei Jeong-han’s eyebrows twitched.

The words were correct.

‘But couldn’t you just say “your son is excellent and worth serving”?’

He could understand why the saying that those who speak the truth die early had been passed down since ancient times. The words were all correct, but strangely, they twisted his gut.

‘How do only these types gather around?’

Looking carefully, there were no ordinary people around Wei Yan-ho.

Wei Jeong-han’s gaze turned to Jang-il.

“What, what’s with that strange look?”

“Nothing.”

That guy was the strangest of all.

“So everyone’s ultimately going to follow?”

“Um…”

Jang-il raised his hand.

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to ask me?”

“…I don’t think there’s much need for that?”

“No, why not?”

Wei Jeong-han shook his head back and forth.

‘Should this be called having good fortune with people?’

If there was the biggest difference between Wei Jeong-han and Wei Yan-ho, it was probably this. Wei Jeong-han had formed reasonably good relationships with many people, but he hadn’t created companions who would follow him into mortal danger.

But around Wei Yan-ho, there were such people. They might not be of great help, and from a father’s perspective, they weren’t exactly welcome friends, but still, having people was something.

“I won’t stop you.”

Wei Jeong-han sighed as he spoke.

“You’re all of an age where you can take responsibility for yourselves. And if you’re going to rescue San-ho as his friends, I can’t stop you. However.”

Wei Jeong-han’s eyes became desolate.

“Don’t forget what it means to go to the Demonic Cult. No one can protect you there. You’ll have to take care of your own lives.”

“We’re prepared.”

At Peng Dao-ji’s answer, Wei Jeong-han nodded.

‘This wasn’t in my expectations, but…’

He hadn’t really thought these people would actually follow. Going to the Demonic Cult meant shouldering that much burden.

But perhaps these people might become variables, he thought. What they were about to do was that dangerous and unlikely to succeed.

‘I wonder how future generations will evaluate this matter.’

Wei Jeong-han smiled and shouted.

“Well then, let’s depart.”

***

“So that’s how you came to go to the Demonic Cult?”

“That’s right.”

Guwangqushen rubbed his stomach. His face showed that just thinking back on it made his stomach churn.

“It’s not as heroic as I thought.”

“Heroic?”

“Yes. According to what history tells us, Radiant Martial Sovereign and his friends, rising indignantly at the Demonic Cult’s rampage, went to uphold justice…”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Guwangqushen burst out shouting.

“When I was about to die immediately, justice could freeze to death!”

“…I wasn’t the one who told it that way.”

“Anyway, those gossiping bastards make up all kinds of stories. What? Going to the Demonic Cult to uphold justice? Then did patience naturally arise so they endured until the Demonic Cult ran rampant?”

“I told you I wasn’t the one who said that.”

The Historian spoke as if wronged. He had only conveyed what he heard—why was he being yelled at?

“Even now, when I think of that time, I still wake up with a start in my sleep. No one would understand the feeling of walking into mortal danger with your own feet.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“King Beggar ordered it.”

The Historian smiled mysteriously.

“The fact that Divine Beggar isn’t someone who would act just because someone ordered him to is something everyone in the world knows.”

“…Tsk.”

Guwangqushen turned his head with an awkward expression.

“Well, you know, that sort of thing.”

“Yes?”

“We’d followed along so well until then, but to part ways waving our hands when it came to going to mortal danger would be too shameless.”

The Historian laughed quietly.

Seeing him even blush slightly, he seemed quite embarrassed. Even though no one would blame him for following Wei Yan-ho to rescue Wei San-ho.

Though it might have been evaluated differently at the time, now it was being evaluated as an incredibly heroic action. And that action had greatly changed the fate of Jianghu as well.

The Historian quietly opened his mouth.

“It’s certainly shocking.”

“What is?”

“That Wei San-ho sided with the Demonic Cult. This must be what you meant by history that shouldn’t be passed down to future generations.”

“No, it’s not?”

“…What?”

Guwangqushen spoke with a blank expression.

“Why would we hide that? It’s not particularly something that needs to be hidden.”

“But, but the reputation of the Guangdong Wei Family…”

“What’s the problem with that? Now that Wei San-ho sided with the Demonic Cult, who could possibly criticize the Guangdong Wei Family?”

The Historian became speechless.

That was true.

What did it matter what Wei San-ho had done? In the end, Wei Yan-ho had resolved all those matters and saved the world.

“Then what exactly is the matter you couldn’t tell?”

“I’ll have to tell that story from now on.”

Guwangqushen let out a low sigh.

“Looking back after everything passed, all of Wei Yan-ho’s actions were incomparably heroic. But in reality, that wasn’t the case.”

“Considering his personality, I suppose…”

“That’s not it…”

Guwangqushen firmly cut off the Historian’s words.

“Wei Yan-ho struggled endlessly. Against the harsh fate given to him.”

Guwangqushen looked at the Historian with eyes full of regret.