Chapter 182
There's an expression called "an eyesore."
It's mainly used when someone's actions are extremely irritating and disagreeable. Wei Jeong-han had never once in his life experienced the feeling of something being an eyesore.
And for good reason—he was a man with clear convictions and certainty, and he wasn't the type to concern himself with others.
If there was something he didn't like, he simply wouldn't look at it again, and if it crossed the line, he would just cut it down.
But the opponent now making his eyes sting was someone he couldn't avoid looking at, nor could he cut down.
After all, he couldn't cut down his own son.
"That's right. Eat a lot, eat plenty. How can a child become so gaunt?"
"Yeah. I'm gaunt."
"Yes, yes, hurry up and eat."
The corners of Wei Jeong-han's eyes began to twitch.
Gaunt?
No matter how much concepts about the human body differed from person to person, Wei Yan-ho right now wasn't gaunt. Rather, he should be seen as maintaining just the right build for a martial artist.
Compared to the past when he was round and plump, looking like he'd roll quite well if you grabbed him and rolled him down a slope, you could certainly say he had become gaunt…
Objectively speaking, rather than saying he had become gaunt, one should use the word "healthy," but in Han Sang-ah's eyes, Wei Yan-ho appeared to be a person reduced to skin and bones from some fatal disease.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be acting like this.
The dishes that Wei Yan-ho was now calmly stuffing into his mouth—Palbopan (Eight Treasure Rice), Luoyang Sea Cucumber, and Spicy Fish Slices—were foods he had never properly eaten even when he was at the Righteous Alliance.
Why?
Because they were expensive!
The Righteous Alliance basically operated a cafeteria for those working within the alliance, but for the high-ranking officials and wealthy who didn't want to eat that mass-prepared food, they also ran a separate high-class restaurant.
And all the dishes filling this large table had come from there.
The single spoonful that Wei Yan-ho had just stuffed into his mouth was surely worth about the price of Wei Jeong-han's usual meal.
'That tasteless fool is devouring such expensive food.'
His body trembles with fury.
He feels self-loathing, wondering if this is why he searched for his son.
But…
"Eat more, more. This is delicious too."
"Have you tried it, Mom?"
"It looks delicious."
"Okay."
After five years, Han Sang-ah held her son in her hands, constantly wiping, adjusting, and oiling him as if he might break or wear away…
Well, cooking oil is still oil, so watching Han Sang-ah apply oil, Wei Jeong-han simply couldn't bring himself to speak up.
There are various ways to die. There was no need to deliberately provoke his wife's mood and die by nagging—the most painful way to die in the world.
Moreover…
Tak tak tak tak tak.
While Wei Yan-ho turned his head to the right to receive food from his mother, Wei San-ho was moving his chopsticks at an invisible speed, building a tower of food in Wei Yan-ho's rice bowl.
"..."
Indeed, the balance and spatial perception abilities of a martial artist destined to become the world's greatest were magnificent. Even though various dishes had piled up more than a jang high in the rice bowl, there was no sign of the food falling or collapsing.
"Whoa, what's this?"
Wei Yan-ho was surprised upon discovering the food tower, but Wei San-ho answered calmly.
"You need to eat a lot. Your body is currently in its growth period, the time when your physique will be completed. Eat a lot in a balanced way."
"I don't like vegetables…"
"For a martial artist, proper nutrition is also important. Picky eating is forbidden."
"Ah, I understand."
A fantastic harmony was taking place—Han Sang-ah feeding from the right, Wei San-ho piling up from the left.
"Brother, drink some tea while you eat."
And Wi Su-ryeon, who had been watching for an opportunity beside Han Sang-ah, was filling a cup with tea.
'Why.'
Wei Jeong-han couldn't help but fall into a fundamental doubt.
'Why is that guy so loved?'
Even though he had returned after five years, the scene he was witnessing now didn't seem to be composed merely of joy at seeing someone after a long time.
"Mmmmm…"
It was incomprehensible.
They say even a hedgehog finds its own young precious… Honestly, even to Wei Jeong-han's eyes, it was true that Wei Yan-ho was cute, but not to the extent of fawning over him like this.
Objectively speaking, wasn't Wei Yan-ho actually close to being human scum?
Normally, someone living with Wei Yan-ho's personality should have all their human relationships destroyed. Moreover, having people gather around would be unimaginable.
But…
"Shall we have a drink, Senior?"
"Mmm, let's do that, Junior."
Wei Jeong-han could only make an expression of being at a loss as he looked at Plum Blossom Sword Ghost Gong Mu-jin, who was offering him a wine bottle.
'Why is this person here?'
Plum Blossom Sword Ghost Gong Mu-jin was someone even he couldn't dare to ignore. Even excluding the background of Mount Hua and judging purely by swordsmanship, he was a person with sufficient qualifications to be respected.
Why had such a person formed a connection with his son? Why?
Jjoreureureuk.
Gong Mu-jin, who had poured wine into the cup, smiled and handed the wine bottle to Wei Jeong-han.
Wei Jeong-han poured wine into Gong Mu-jin's cup again and looked around.
"..."
The result was both strange and miserable.
On one side, Musan of Shaolin was somehow finding grass stalks among the delicacies and nibbling on his rice, and beside him sat Yi Seol-hwa and Seomun Da-yeon.
On the opposite side were even Jang-il and Mo San-ah.
'Mount Hua and Wudang, plus the Beggar's Sect and Hao Clan… '
Wasn't this a truly bizarre combination?
If Jin Ye-ran, who had stepped away due to an invitation from the Medicine Hall, were added, even the medical faction would be included.
That so many people had gathered around the single axis of Wei Yan-ho was truly incomprehensible. The Wei Yan-ho he knew was someone who would make even people beside him stick out their tongues and run away, not someone with the charm to draw people together like this.
"Hul… Ahem, you have a remarkable son."
"...You're too kind."
Wei Jeong-han understood Gong Mu-jin's sentiment. No matter how much it was lip service, he couldn't say "excellent son." Not if he knew Wei Yan-ho.
"I have always respected you, Senior. In the midst of that, to form a connection with Senior's son and even share drinks with you like this—I couldn't ask for more."
"Haha, you're gilding my face. I too have long heard and admired the reputation of the Plum Blossom Sword Ghost. I am more than delighted to meet you like this."
The two smiled broadly and raised their cups to drink.
Han Sang-ah's eyes became slightly sharp.
She wasn't pleased to see her husband drinking with another sword-obsessed person at a reunion with their son after five years, but since she had heard from Jo Hyeon that this sword-obsessed person had taken care of Wei Yan-ho, she kept her mouth tightly shut.
She couldn't nag someone who had taken care of Wei Yan-ho, no matter what else might be involved, when she should be grateful instead.
If Wei Yan-ho had heard this, he would have caused a ruckus asking who exactly had taken care of whom.
"So what exactly happened during all this time?"
At Wei San-ho's question, Wei Yan-ho swallowed what he had been chewing and downed the tea Wi Su-ryeon had poured in one gulp.
"Kya!"
Wei Yan-ho set down his cup refreshingly as if he had just had a drink of alcohol, patted his stomach, and opened his mouth.
"To explain, it's a bit…"
"It doesn't matter if it's long, so explain."
"Mm…"
Wei Yan-ho, confirming the gazes of the crowd focused on him, realized he could no longer avoid it and opened his mouth.
"So, what happened was… After brother chased after that lecher that day…"
"...Even lies should be told in moderation."
Wei Jeong-han looked at Wei Yan-ho with a disgruntled expression and said.
"A cave you happened upon was coincidentally the secret vault of a past master, and though no one could open that vault, then you coincidentally opened it, went inside, and there the past master had left his consciousness in his internal core, so you learned martial arts?"
Wei Jeong-han snorted.
"Hey, you brat. You might as well say you fell off a cliff and found a dragon's internal core below! Does that even make sense?"
Wei Jeong-han's reaction was natural. It could be called an extreme common-sense response.
The problem was that when a person with two eyes goes to a place where people with three eyes gather, he becomes the strange one.
"Oh my, our son. How much hardship you must have endured!"
Han Sang-ah was already shedding tears over Wei Yan-ho's suffering, regardless of whether the story was true or not.
'No, honey… '
You believe that? Right now, that?
And Plum Blossom Sword Ghost Gong Mu-jin kept nodding.
"Without circumstances of that degree, it would be impossible."
'What's with this person too?'
How can he nod so casually after hearing such a story?
It would be more realistic to say he went sightseeing to Songshan and Dharma was still alive there, taking him in to teach him!
"It's fate."
"Damn it! I wandered around that much begging and roamed every mountain there was trying to catch at least a wild beast—why didn't such things happen to me!"
Mo San-ah and Jang-il were even in perfect sync.
"You've suffered."
"How could…"
The relatively calm Seomun Da-yeon was one thing, but Yi Seol-hwa had tears welling up in her eyes after hearing Wei Yan-ho's story.
'No, why does everyone believe it so matter-of-factly!'
Crack.
Then, the sound of Wei San-ho clenching his fist tightly could be heard.
'Oh!'
Wei Jeong-han looked at Wei San-ho with delight.
As expected, my son.
No, that one is my son too… As expected, our eldest son!
Though he was his child, wasn't Wei San-ho among the most level-headed and quick to judge situations among the people Wei Jeong-han knew?
Wei San-ho would be different from the others and wouldn't simply believe that absurd story.
So now he would bring iron-fisted rule to Wei Yan-ho for spouting nonsense…
"That old man's… No, where did you say your master was from?"
"Something about some Hundred Family or other… Why?"
Wei San-ho spoke in a cold voice.
"No matter how much he was a person from the past, to make a person undergo that method of training. It's only because you endured well that you're here now—if there had been even a slight problem, you might not be in this place now! I must thoroughly investigate this matter!"
"Brother, calm down! He probably isn't remaining there now."
"Grrrr!"
Wei Jeong-han looked at Wei San-ho with a blank expression.
'When did he become such a doting brother?'
They say there's no one in the world to trust.
"Anyway, though there were difficult times, everything worked out well now, so it's okay."
"Oh my, my child! How admirable!"
"Right. That's my little brother!"
"Our brother!"
Gong Mu-jin laughed heartily and said.
"What a heartwarming family. Seeing this makes me regret not marrying and having children."
"Doesn't Hero Gong have disciples better than children?"
"Hahaha, that's true."
Just as the atmosphere was becoming quite harmonious, footsteps were heard from outside the door.
"Wei Jeong-han, is Great Hero Wei inside?"
Just as Wei Jeong-han was about to answer with a puzzled look outside, a voice that made his body stiffen was heard.
"The Alliance Leader has arrived."