CLS-Chapter 102

Chapter 102

“…It’s quiet, isn’t it?”

Wei Yan-ho poked his head out cautiously.

This was the place where he had stayed just a few days ago, but somehow it felt a bit strange.

“Was Chief Steward Ha right?”

Wei Yan-ho had similar thoughts, but looking at the deserted front gate made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. It felt as if his Sacred Hand Hall had absorbed all the patients who should have come here.

“Excuse me…”

When he opened the door and went inside, only a desolate wind blew in.

The crumbling thatched cottage remained the same, but until now there had at least been the liveliness of bustling patients. Now that even the patients had disappeared, it had an abandoned house feel to it, which was quite eerie.

Creak.

Sensing someone’s presence, the door opened and Jin Ye-ran poked her head out.

“You came?”

“Ah, yes.”

Wei Yan-ho bowed awkwardly.

“Please come inside. There’s no liquor today, but there’s tea, so I’ll serve you a cup.”

“I just came to visit, nothing more.”

“Please don’t say that.”

“If you insist.”

Wei Yan-ho smacked his lips and went inside.

“What about the others?”

“They all left.”

“Pardon?”

Wei Yan-ho’s eyes widened.

Jin Ye-ran smiled gently as if wondering what was so surprising.

“If I’ve decided to start over, I should begin from the bottom. I thought it would be difficult to embrace this place and start again like this. If I want to walk the path I have in mind, I think it’s right to start from the beginning.”

Wei Yan-ho just nodded.

He couldn’t tell if it was the right method or not. But if she thought so, no one could say her thinking was wrong.

One decides their own path, after all.

“It was hard work giving everyone their overdue wages, but now that it’s all finished, I feel relieved.”

“Hmm?”

Wei Yan-ho’s eyes naturally swept over Jin Ye-ran’s neckline.

‘…It’s gone.’

The white silver jade necklace that had been so hard to retrieve was missing. However, compared to when she had pawned the white silver jade necklace before, she maintained a brighter expression, which was different.

Was she moving forward?

Or was she just pretending to?

No matter how much she had found her path, having to sell her mother’s keepsake must not have been an ordinary matter.

“Are you certain?”

“Well…”

Jin Ye-ran lifted the teapot and poured into the cup placed in front of Wei Yan-ho.

“Actually, I’m a bit worried. No, I’m very worried.”

“Mm…”

“I wonder if I can do well. I’ll have to leave here soon too.”

“Leave?”

“Yes. I’m going to start over from the beginning.”

Wei Yan-ho’s eyebrows twitched. Starting over was a good thing, but why did she have to leave here?

“Is it necessary?”

“It’s about returning to my original intention.”

Jin Ye-ran’s voice didn’t waver.

“If one is truly a physician who thinks of patients, I believe they should seek out patients directly rather than sit in one place waiting for them. There are many people who can’t come to the clinic due to mobility issues.”

“That’s true.”

It was a good intention and good heart, but the question was how long she could maintain that good thinking. It was a path with too many hardships for a woman’s body to travel.

“Do you think you can do well?”

“I’d like to ask you that. Do you think I can do well?”

Wei Yan-ho looked at her with a somewhat dumbfounded expression.

Until now, Wei Yan-ho had only received evaluations from others; he had never seriously evaluated someone else.

“I don’t know if you can do well or not…”

“But?”

“Your expression seems much better than when you used to scold So-ah harshly, so that’s fortunate. I feel like I’m seeing your true self for the first time.”

Jin Ye-ran silently looked at Wei Yan-ho quietly.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No.”

Jin Ye-ran smiled gently.

“You don’t seem to deliberately choose such words, but Young Master Wei sometimes seems to find the words people want to hear.”

“Really?”

Wei Yan-ho tilted his head.

His mother and elder brother had told him not to open his mouth unless necessary. Just seeing him laze around was frustrating enough, but if he opened his mouth and babbled on top of that, it would turn their stomachs inside out.

Yet there was someone who evaluated Wei Yan-ho’s words so positively—truly something to see after living so long.

“So have you moved away from So-ah and Sacred Hand Hall now?”

“No.”

Jin Ye-ran shook her head firmly.

“I’m not moving away. I’m proving myself.”

“Proving?”

“I think I have no choice but to walk the true path of a physician myself and show So-ah that I was right. Rebuilding Sacred Hand Hall would be good if I can do it in the process.”

“Mm…”

“I didn’t become a physician to raise the family; the family rose because I devoted myself to living as a physician, but the priorities got reversed.”

“That makes sense too.”

Jin Ye-ran smiled brightly.

“Thank you, Young Master Wei. Thanks to you, I was able to find my path. I’m still a bit anxious and nervous, but everyone’s beginning must have been like mine.”

“Not quite that much.”

Wei Yan-ho looked uncomfortable.

At this rate, wouldn’t he be blocking an innocent maiden’s marriage prospects? An inexplicable sense of guilt crept up on him.

“Well, I have too much to prepare today, so I don’t think we can talk for long.”

“I see.”

Wei Yan-ho rose from his seat without another word. It wasn’t proper etiquette to detain someone who had work to do.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

“Take care.”

Wei Yan-ho shuffled out of the Nameless Clinic. Throughout his walk out, he felt a tingling sensation in the back of his head.

“Ugh.”

This wouldn’t do.

In truth, all the world’s hardships were essentially self-imposed. If you closed your eyes and turned your head, wasn’t life about having a warm bed waiting for you? If you unnecessarily concern yourself with things like conscience or feelings…

“Fine! I get it!”

Wei Yan-ho vented his frustration at the sky for no reason and began walking in a direction away from Sacred Hand Hall with sorrowful steps.

“What? Who did you say you were?”

The Hao Clan Wuhan branch was in an uproar.

A Red Flag that had never been raised once in several years in Wuhan had been hoisted.

The Red Flag was only given to those of notable status or above in a region, or those who had bestowed great favors upon the Hao Clan. When a Red Flag was raised, the Hao Clan in that region would put all other matters aside and receive the Red Flag Bearer with full ceremony.

Rushing to the location in alarm, they found a child sitting there whose age was unclear—somewhere between boy and young man.

“I’m Wei Yan-ho.”

“…Wei Yan-ho?”

Qu Xing, the Hao Clan Wuhan branch leader known as Mouse Taker, looked at Wei Yan-ho with a puzzled expression.

‘Why does a kid like this have a Red Flag?’

Considering what significance the Red Flag held in the Hao Clan, it was strange for such a child to possess one.

However, seeing that he knew exactly how to use the Red Flag, it didn’t seem like something he had picked up somewhere.

“You know what the Red Flag means, don’t you?”

“I heard if you just put it up, someone comes and does whatever you ask for free.”

“…It’s not free.”

“Tch.”

Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue regretfully.

Ghost Lady of Mount Mo had said the same thing, but he had tried to confirm once more just in case. Seeing that it didn’t work this time either, it seemed they definitely didn’t do work for free.

“I have a request. Two things.”

“Yes, please tell me. Red Flag Bearer requests are handled with top priority. And the Red Flag is recovered upon making the request.”

“Then what’s good about it? I could just visit the Hao Clan anyway.”

“You don’t understand what handling a request with top priority means. The Hao Clan is a place many people seek out, and naturally there’s a waiting order for resolving requests. We handle your business with top priority, ignoring that waiting order.”

“I can’t tell if that’s good or bad.”

It seemed good, but it didn’t seem particularly great.

“So it’s like an official line-cutting pass?”

“…You could say that.”

“Subtle, very subtle.”

Wei Yan-ho chuckled and opened his mouth.

“Please find one item for me.”

“What item?”

“Please recover the white silver jade necklace that Jin Ye-ran of the Nameless Clinic sold.”

“If it’s something that was sold, it may cost money to recover. If the buyer absolutely refuses to sell, there are other methods, but those methods involve risks so I don’t recommend them. Also, you’ll have to pay the same amount as buying it back.”

“That’s fine.”

“What’s the other thing?”

“I need an escort.”

“An escort?”

“A woman will be traveling alone, and I need someone to follow her secretly and protect her from harm.”

“Hmm…”

Qu Xing couldn’t help but show reluctance.

“That’s a very difficult mission. Especially if there’s no set time period.”

“I’ll renew it annually.”

“…Finding a suitable person won’t be easy either. What level of martial arts do you want?”

“If we encounter a martial artist anyway, there’s no answer. Just enough to chase off some mountain bandits.”

“That level isn’t too difficult. However, the requirement for stealth is problematic. If you want someone capable of stealth, this will also be quite expensive.”

“How much for both?”

“You said a white silver jade necklace?”

After hearing Wei Yan-ho’s rough description of the size and quality, Qu Xing nodded.

“Then including the commission fee, about two nyang of gold will be needed.”

“Wh-what? How much?”

“Two nyang of gold.”

“How much could that necklace cost…”

“Recovering the necklace isn’t very difficult, but stealthily protecting someone is not easy work. Ah, if you’re fine with a male doing the stealth work, the price drops considerably. However, given the nature of stealth, when a man protects a woman…”

“Make it a woman.”

Wei Yan-ho waved his hand dismissively.

Even he thought assigning a man would be problematic. Better red than dead—it seemed better to assign a woman.

“Assigning a stealth operative of the level the Red Flag Bearer wants inevitably costs a lot of money. This price already minimizes the commission fee considering you’re a Red Flag Bearer.”

“Mm, you said two nyang?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Please look into it. I’ll bring the money by tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

As Wei Yan-ho shuffled outside, Qu Xing opened his mouth.

“Prepare.”

“But Branch Leader.”

A black shadow rose from the floor.

“He looks young and doesn’t seem to have much money—can he really prepare two nyang of gold in one day?”

“You don’t understand the meaning of Red Flag Bearer.”

“…”

“They don’t give Red Flags to just anyone. Don’t worry and prepare.”

“Yes.”

Feeling the presence moving away, Qu Xing nodded.

“Someone at the level of Red Flag Bearer can manage to raise that much money somehow.”

At least his impression seemed good, which was fortunate. If he were an evil person, he might extort money from others, but he didn’t seem like that type.

“Excuse me.”

Just then, Wei Yan-ho, who had gone outside, poked his head back in.

“Yes?”

“Where is the Prefect’s house?”

“The, the Prefect’s?”

“Yes.”

Qu Xing unknowingly pointed in one direction, and seeing his gesture, Wei Yan-ho shuffled off again.

“…Why is he looking for the Prefect’s house?”

For Qu Xing, it was incomprehensible.