Chapter 401: The Lazy One is Bored (1)
The elderly man looked up at the sky.
"It's blue."
The clear sky, without a single cloud, was also dyeing the old man's heart in blue.
"The sky is always blue, isn't it?"
"That's right."
The old man quietly nodded.
"The sky is blue. It's always clear. Sometimes clouds block the sky, but that's just because we are looking at the clouds; the sky itself is not changing."
"That's correct, Father."
"Hwamaeng."
"Yes."
Baek Hwa-maeng bowed his head at the old man's call.
"Is everything alright?"
"...."
An answer did not come immediately. The old man's question was tricky to respond to.
"There was a small… issue, but it does not affect the overall situation."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
The old man did not ask any further.
However, Baek Hwa-maeng's heart became increasingly uneasy.
The old man was that kind of person.
Even if he appeared to be wasting time in this garden, he would not miss anything happening in the world. He couldn't have failed to notice that Baek Hwa-maeng's words were flimsy excuses.
"It seems it hasn't yet affected the overall situation."
"I think so too."
"However, it can't continue like this."
"...."
The old man reached out and touched the flowers in the garden.
"Is the child you mentioned named Wi Yeon-ho?"
"...Yes."
Baek Hwa-maeng bit his lip slightly.
'Damn it.'
Every time that name came up, his heart would skip a beat.
Initially, he thought it was just a minor issue that could arise during the course of the overall situation, affecting only that brat. But soon, that brat began to wreak havoc as if sent by the heavens to interfere with their affairs, and now because of him, the entire grand plan was in jeopardy.
So how could he not be angry?
The Mount Hua and the Imperial Palace… everything was destroyed because of that brat.
"There's anger in your heart."
Baek Hwa-maeng quickly lowered his head.
"I apologize."
"There's no need to apologize. It's natural to feel anger when one is angry. The flaw is that you try too hard to hide your true self."
"Yes."
"There is a natural order in the world."
Baek Hwa-maeng quietly waited for the old man to continue.
"It is natural for the sky to be blue. And it is also natural for water to flow downward. If the water can continue to flow perpetually, even if it encounters mountains or cliffs and stops, it will eventually flow into the sea."
Baek Hwa-maeng closed his eyes.
Hearing the old man's words made him feel his impatience dissipate.
"If there is a giant rock blocking the water flow, a person would try to remove the rock. But that is not the answer. What we need to do is to gather the water. Even if it flows around the rock, as long as enough water is released to eventually reach the sea, it will indeed reach the sea."
"I was foolish."
"If you understand now, that's fine."
The old man smiled.
A compassionate gaze.
A warm gaze.
But Baek Hwa-maeng did not feel comfort from that compassionate gaze. He knew that such compassion could quickly turn to sharpness.
His father was that kind of person.
Not even his children were important to him. The only thing that mattered to him was to regain the lost honor of the clan and make those who oppressed them remember the name of the Myeongjeong.
He would not hesitate to make any sacrifice for that.
Even if that meant sacrificing his own child.
"The overall situation, the overall situation… Everything revolves around the overall situation, but there is truly only one real overall situation. So tell me, is there no problem with the overall situation?"
"..."
"Why is there no answer?"
As Baek Hwa-maeng hesitated to respond, the old man's voice turned slightly cold. Baek Hwa-maeng's body trembled, and he fell to the ground.
"Father, I am incompetent, and I could not prevent the minor issue."
"You could not prevent it?"
"It's not that I could not prevent it…"
Baek Hwa-maeng's words began to get tangled.
His choice of words was wrong. This was not something he could control. But saying it this way would imply he couldn't prevent something that he could have due to his foolishness or negligence.
"It was unavoidable."
"I see."
Even after correcting his words, the old man's tone remained icy.
"That means you can still solve it, right?"
"Yes. Of course. However…"
Baek Hwa-maeng hesitated several times before speaking.
"I'm not sure if I should mention this, but there is information that Wi Yeon-ho is heading towards the area where the problem occurred."
"Wi Yeon-ho…"
The old man quietly lifted his head to look at the sky.
'It's like a thorn in my foot.'
It kept bothering him like a corn that sprouts on the sole of his foot. He wanted to pull it out cleanly, but if he pulled it out roughly, the blood he had to spill would not be minimal.
Yet, ignoring it was too bothersome.
"Phew."
The old man shook his head a couple of times and then spoke.
"Hwamaeng."
"Yes, Father."
"The world ultimately flows according to reason. I do not want to forcibly redirect the river."
"Yes…"
"However."
The old man's voice became firm.
"In living in this world, there are times when you must do things contrary to your will."
"Is that so…"
The old man gazed at Baek Hwa-maeng with slightly cold eyes.
"Call your uncle."
"Are you referring to Uncle?"
"Yes."
The old man nodded quietly.
"Your uncle has rested for long enough; it's time for him to earn his keep. The very fact that he let that child go was a mistake on his part, so now he must resolve that mistake himself."
Baek Hwa-maeng lowered his head even deeper.
"If Uncle takes action, wouldn't that mean the issue is as good as resolved?"
"That would be nice."
The old man turned his body with a sigh.
Realizing that the elder had finished speaking, Baek Hwa-maeng deeply bowed and retreated from the garden.
'Now Wi Yeon-ho is finished too.'
If his uncle takes action, no one in this world would be safe.
Absolutely not.
# # #
It was, in a way, a grand affair.
Receiving an invitation from the Sichuan Tang Clan, essentially the leader of the Cheon Ui-ryeon under the Justice League, was significant.
Moreover, if one were to scrutinize the matter, it was Wi Yeon-ho who had extended the invitation, not the Sichuan Tang Clan. Although no one was looking deeply into its meaning, this was quite an important event from a murim historical perspective.
So it felt like something important needed to be done, but…
"What should I do then?"
"There's nothing to do. You can just eat some beef jerky."
"...Huh?"
"Just rest."
"But wasn't I supposed to do something?"
"Your mere presence there has meaning. I grant you permission. Rest as you wish."
"Huh?"
"I said I allow you."
"Huh?"
That was the conversation from the previous evening between Wi Yeon-ho and Wi Jeong-han.
Wi Jeong-han was a very caring father but also a very cold one. He loved his children, but he never overestimated them.
In this matter, he believed that Jang Il was a hundred times more helpful than Wi Yeon-ho.
Taking Wi Yeon-ho along would only lead to accidents; what help would that be?
Of course, the reason for bringing Wi Yeon-ho was precisely to cause those accidents, but he did not want to impede what had to be done.
Consequently, Wi Yeon-ho was left unattended in his room from the very first evening of arrival.
'This feels strange…'
Of course, Wi Yeon-ho did not mind being left unattended. Wasn't being neglected by the world his ultimate life goal?
However, being actively neglected right after coming to the Tang Clan prompted some restlessness within him.
'It's not necessarily bad, though.'
The King of Shadows paid quite a lot of attention to Wi Yeon-ho.
The room he was in was evidently luxurious. It even made him wonder if the King of Shadows had given up his own room. Given its location, that was unlikely, but at the very least, it was certainly the best guest room.
Furthermore, three attendants were assigned to him.
Wi Yeon-ho was an efficient person and did not particularly need anyone's assistance.
Having lived alone in a cave, feeding off moss for five years, what need did he have for the attention of attendants in such a fine room?
Both Wi Yeon-ho, sensing the presence of attendants outside his room, and the attendants, having nothing to do while waiting at his door, felt equally idle and bored.
"The blankets are so cozy."
It seemed like he had never seen such blankets before. The heavy warmth wrapping around him made it impossible not to fall asleep.
And it was wonderfully warm.
While the blankets used in the imperial palace were very high-quality, they were of a different class compared to this. Regardless of how luxurious the items used by royalty were, when comparing guest chambers, the Tang Clan was undeniably superior.
Moreover…
"Excuse me…"
"Yes!"
The door suddenly flung open as soon as he spoke, and an attendant rushed in.
"Could it be that you need water…?"
"I will bring it right away!"
"Would you like cold water, or warm water?"
"Please give me cold water."
"Please wait a moment. Is there anything else uncomfortable?"
"…No, it's fine."
"Yes, then."
This treatment made it unclear whether he was being hosted as a guest or as a devil crawling up from hell.
When Wi Yeon-ho was at the imperial palace, he was just one of countless guests who came from nowhere, but here he was a VIP personally invited by the Clan Head. Naturally, the treatment was bound to be different.
'At this rate, I might really end up becoming a fixture here.'
Wi Yeon-ho felt a sense of impending crisis.
It was comfortable.
Too comfortable.
He had always been someone who had to be careful about his surroundings. Yet here, with Wi Jeong-han allowing him to rest comfortably, it felt utterly absurd.
Where else could such a ridiculous scenario exist?
'Something feels subtly uncomfortable.'
If they set the stage properly, he wouldn't be able to resist the urge to dance and sing.
As everything in the world began to revolve around him, the joy of being lazy had vanished. After all, what was so sweet about being lazy when it should be avoided?
"Ugh…"
As the attendant brought cold water, Wi Yeon-ho accepted it and took a sip.
'Should I do something?'
It was a historical moment.
For the previous Wi Yeon-ho, this would have been impossible, but after rolling around in the martial world countless times, he couldn't afford to be lazy anymore.
Having indulged in laziness for five years that he couldn't before, a willingness to do something arose within him.
'My heart feels all jittery.'
Furthermore, no matter how lazy he was, the fact that his older brother was captured by a demonic cult and he was doing nothing but idly lazing around felt extremely uncomfortable.
Although doing something wouldn't necessarily improve Wi San-ho's situation.
"I can't just let this be."
Suddenly, Wi Yeon-ho sprang up from his seat and adjusted his clothing.
Though he wasn't sure what to do, he decided he would go out.