CLS-Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Jin So-ah flinched.

Wei Yan-ho was casually saying things that he, as a physician, couldn’t bring himself to voice.

“Where did you hear such words?”

“Hm?”

“You said you don’t have much worldly experience, so where did you hear such things…”

Wei Yan-ho’s body trembled violently.

“Don’t even mention it. I heard it from a wicked old man.”

“Pardon?”

Wei Yan-ho looked up at the ceiling as if reminiscing.

“I’ve never seen anyone who calls themselves a saint or holy mother have a decent end. Those who can’t even take care of their own rice bowl claim to help others? Hah! Those who think self-sacrifice is natural also naturally think others’ sacrifice is natural too. Someone who knows the value of their own life will also know the value of others’ lives! So don’t go around making a fuss about helping others for nothing. I can’t stand to see such nonsense!”

Wei Yan-ho’s eyes grew misty with distant memories.

“He really was a wicked old man.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, anyway, that’s how it was. My master said that someone who doesn’t know the value of their own life couldn’t possibly know the value of others’ lives. What about you?”

“I…”

Jin So-ah hesitated for a long moment before opening his mouth.

“I don’t know.”

“Tsk.“

“I do think money is precious. But since my sister keeps saying such thoughts are wrong, I don’t know what’s right anymore.”

“Maybe both are right?”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t have to think one is necessarily wrong. This could be right, and that could be right too.”

“But how can that be…”

“Then let’s examine it from the beginning. Why did your family fall into ruin? That large medical hall over there used to be yours, didn’t it?”

Jin So-ah sighed and began to tell his story.

“My late father was a good man among good men. He had no enemies under heaven.”

“Mm…”

Wei Yan-ho listened intently to Jin So-ah’s story.

“My father also provided free medical treatment to the poor, just like we do now. Even if treatment cost a thousand gold, he wouldn’t take payment from those without money.”

Wei Yan-ho frowned.

“Was that sustainable?”

“It seemed fine until before I was born. After all, there was wealth accumulated from before. Around the time I was born, the storehouse gradually began to empty, and by the time I came of age, it was already completely empty.”

Wei Yan-ho clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk, if he spent money at the same rate as now, that’s only natural.”

“It probably wasn’t just that level. Back then, the medical hall was large and there were many physicians working, so money flew away at an incomparable rate to now.”

Wei Yan-ho shuddered as if the mere thought was terrifying.

“I imagine so. So what happened next?”

“That debt was still manageable. Because he had such great reputation, skill, and widespread respect, the money he earned was also considerable. But at some point, my father seemed to realize that he would eventually pass on a huge debt to his children, so he thought of a way to pay off the debt all at once.”

Wei Yan-ho’s eyes lit up. Usually in such situations, conspiracies unfold. Otherwise, a thriving medical hall couldn’t have collapsed in an instant.

“He must have been swindled?”

“Pardon?”

“Someone appeared claiming to lend money, or someone smooth-talked him about a way to make money around that time! Right?”

Jin So-ah looked Wei Yan-ho up and down as if bewildered, then shook his head.

“No.”

“Hm? No?”

“Yes, no.”

Wei Yan-ho swallowed a groan. It seemed the villain’s scheme exceeded his imagination.

Then what?

“Then perhaps assassination? Or did they use extreme measures like threats through force?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Haven’t you been reading too many novels?”

“Eh?”

Jin So-ah looked at Wei Yan-ho with an expression of exasperation. It was such a familiar look that Wei Yan-ho didn’t feel particularly bad about it.

“Then what was it?”

Jin So-ah smacked his lips as if reluctant to speak, then finally let out a deep sigh and continued.

“That… isn’t there such a thing as a method where if you lose, you face ruin, but if you win, you can gain a fortune overnight!”

“Hm?”

Jin So-ah grinned and made a circle with his thumb and index finger, pushing it forward.

“Gambling! Gambling!”

“…”

Wei Yan-ho stared at Jin So-ah with vacant eyes.

Jin So-ah smiled awkwardly as if he had expected this reaction.

“Gambling?”

“Yes.”

“Betting money to win money?”

“Yes.”

“So… your father… the physician of Sacred Hand Hall gambled to pay off debts? Aiming for a fortune overnight?”

“He sat me down and said he would earn big money this time, told me not to worry, and left the house.”

For the first time in his life, Wei Yan-ho experienced being speechless. His tongue, which had always moved smoothly in any situation, wouldn’t move as if coated with plaster.

What on earth should he say?

“Uh, that is to say…”

Wei Yan-ho didn’t let go of the last thread.

“Perhaps that was also someone’s scheme?”

“He always loved gambling very much.”

“…”

“I don’t remember well, but it seems he went to gambling dens frequently. Thinking about how there were frequent fights between my parents when my mother was alive, he probably had terrible skills.”

“Ugh.“

Wei Yan-ho involuntarily let out a groan.

Gambling.

Was he saying that such a prestigious medical family, worthy of recommendation by Three Excellence Grand Scholar Moon Yu-hwan, had lost their mansion and everything due to the head’s gambling and ended up in this thatched cottage?

Not a conspiracy…

Not some other misfortune…

“Only because of gambling?”

“Though I shouldn’t say this, it’s the straight path to ruin.”

“Ugh.“

Wei Yan-ho grabbed his aching nose and looked up at the ceiling.

There really were all kinds of people living in this world. He naturally understood his master’s words that one must see the world to cultivate oneself.

‘Maybe I’m actually a normal person.’

That was definitely not the case, but the previous Sacred Hand Hall master’s disgrace was awful enough to give Wei Yan-ho confidence.

“So you ended up here?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Wei Yan-ho lost his words and quietly looked at Jin So-ah.

Jin So-ah avoided Wei Yan-ho’s gaze with a slightly reddened face.

Indeed, who could hold their head high stiffly in such a situation?

It was as if he had laid bare his family’s shame.

“So what about your father?”

“He continued to treat patients after that, but saying he had to somehow restore the former prosperity…”

“Did he pass away from overwork?”

“Pardon? Oh, that’s not it.”

“Hm?”

“There was no overwork. As you can see, normally there isn’t much to be busy with. Rather, whenever there was leftover money, to break through the situation…”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Jin So-ah with rotten fish eyes.

He felt he knew what would come next without hearing it. Wei Yan-ho already knew well what the most typical reality escape experience by those ruined by gambling was.

“He lost it all again.”

“He was unlucky.”

Jin So-ah made a pitiful expression.

‘Luck my ass.’

If he could, Wei Yan-ho wanted to grab the collar of the Sacred Hand Hall master buried in his grave and shake him like a threshing machine. Wasn’t Sacred Hand Hall, which had been passed down for hundreds of years, on the verge of ruin thanks to one person’s gambling addiction?

“After repeatedly challenging fate like that, my father eventually couldn’t restore the family fortune and fell ill.”

“Heartbreak disease.”

“No, not heartbreak… To be precise, it was because of malnutrition and alcohol poisoning. Throughout his gambling, he didn’t eat food and only sought alcohol.”

“He drank heavily at gambling dens where even sober people lose everything?”

“He had a somewhat timid side.”

Wei Yan-ho’s facial muscles trembled violently. After trembling and clutching his thigh for a while, Wei Yan-ho finally couldn’t hold back and shouted with all his might.

“What kind of man was your father!”

***

Hao Clan Kaifeng Branch Head Ghost Lady was enjoying a rare rest. Recently, after the second young master of Guangdong Wei Family and even Evil Blade Wei San-ho had visited Kaifeng Branch, she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Crack.

Thinking about that incident, Ghost Lady’s teeth ground involuntarily.

“I should have killed that beggar bastard!”

Though she had turned his eyes into black eyes, that wasn’t nearly enough to relieve her anger.

If not for his position as Beggar Sect’s minor branch head, she would have cut off an arm.

Ghost Lady lay on her bed and leisurely closed her eyes.

Anyway, the difficult matters were well resolved, and thanks to Evil Blade dragging even Jang-il away to Hanrim Grand Academy, her mind was at peace.

Now she could rest comfortably for at least half a month without worrying about anything…

Bang!

“Big trouble!”

The door burst open as if it would break, and Kong-mu rushed in breathlessly.

Ghost Lady’s brow furrowed.

With narrowed eyebrows, she sharply shouted in a voice mixed with irritation and anger.

“What now!”

“That, that’s…”

Then, Ghost Lady saw a series of people entering through the door.

‘Three?’

One woman and two men.

All three appeared to be middle-aged.

‘Now they just barge in.’

Ghost Lady let out a deep sigh.

Though Kaifeng Branch was built in a secret location among Kaifeng’s secret places, it had recently become like a neighborhood playground where anyone could enter. Ghost Lady resolved to definitely re-educate the disciples once this matter was handled.

The dignified-looking man among the group looked around, then asked in a slightly anxious voice.

“Are you the person in charge here?”

Ghost Lady was about to respond curtly but changed her mind. If these were people who could be dealt with casually, Kong-mu wouldn’t have rushed in so urgently.

“That’s correct. But shouldn’t visiting guests reveal their identities first?”

The middle-aged man nodded solemnly.

“I was rude. I am called Wei Jeong-han.”

‘Wei Jeong-han…’

Ghost Lady’s eyes widened enormously as she searched for the name Wei Jeong-han in her mind.

At the same time, cold sweat began to form on her palms.

‘The, the Righteous Hero Sword.’

Ghost Lady looked at Righteous Hero Sword Wei Jeong-han with eyes tinged with fear.

The one most feared by those who violate righteousness in the world. Born to the minor Guangdong Wei Family, he had devoted himself to the Supreme Heavenly Righteous Alliance, cutting down countless demon heads with his sword from a young age and performing countless righteous acts with his body.

Anyone who squeezed the lifeblood of common people couldn’t escape his sword regardless of their origin.

Drip.

Cold sweat drops flowed down from Ghost Lady’s forehead, running down her cheek and falling.

Though Hao Clan couldn’t exactly be called a heretical sect, given the nature of dealing with information, there were inevitably dirty corners that couldn’t be revealed to others. To such people, Righteous Hero Sword Wei Jeong-han was never someone they wanted to encounter.

The fact that Righteous Hero Sword visited a Hao Clan branch was never welcome news to Ghost Lady.

‘Stay calm.’

Ghost Lady bit her lip tightly.

No matter how much she was known as a talented woman in Hao Clan, she had to admit she was still a novice to face Righteous Hero Sword.

Her eyes looking at Righteous Hero Sword Wei Jeong-han trembled involuntarily.