Chapter 412: The Lazy One Meets (2)
People tend to overestimate the role of a strategist.
In people's minds, a strategist is someone who can turn adverse situations upside down, create something from nothing, and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with clever tactics.
However, it is practically impossible for such things to happen.
The reason strategists in history are renowned is precisely because such occurrences are rare. If all strategists were like Zhuge Liang, why would people praise Zhuge Liang? If all strategists were like Han Xin, why would they discuss the benefits of having more?
In examining actual history, there have not been many cases where strategists have significantly influenced wars. The outcome of wars has always depended on overwhelming military strength rather than strategy.
Yet people naturally have demands of the strategist.
They expect victories with fewer troops.
They want extreme reductions in allied casualties.
They demand intricate schemes and strategies.
Along with these expectations comes the unspoken demand: "Why can't you achieve what your ancestors did?"
Descendants of the Jegal Clan have all fought against such prejudices.
Some have cleverly utilized this admiration for strategists to gain benefits. Others have crumbled under the burden they carry.
As for Jegal Mun-in, he stood on both sides in an appropriate manner.
He knew that fulfilling all the demands laid upon strategists was an exceedingly difficult task, but he also believed that without being able to do so, one could not become a renowned strategist in this world.
It is the difficulty that makes it worth attempting.
A strategist must secure victory with a small force. A strategist must reverse adverse situations. If one can win comfortably with more troops, then a strategist is unnecessary.
There is, however, one essential thing.
Information.
Yes, it's information.
No matter how great a strategist may be, they cannot create something from nothing. All great strategies and tactics that have overturned the world began with information.
The reason Zhuge Liang could turn Red Cliffs into a hellish battlefield was that he knew the timing of the southeast wind before anyone else. Information has always been the foundation of strategy.
The Jegal Clan has known the importance of information for a long time.
Ultimately, to get ahead of others, one must know more than others, and to know more than others, monopolizing information is crucial. However, the Jegal Clan has not advanced as information merchants. It is not due to their lack of ability, but because they are so outstanding that they know how to categorize useless information with precision.
Storing and managing information that may not be of any use to oneself for the day someone might want it is an inefficient endeavor. Moreover, the Jegal Clan was not so desperate for money that they had to sell information to gain profit.
Thus, their method of acquiring information developed somewhat differently.
They employed sneaky infiltration and theft.
Their approach was more akin to that of the Hao Clan than open methods.
The difference compared to the Hao Clan was that while the Hao Clan wished to acquire any information regardless, they lacked the ability to act. The Jegal Clan not only had that ability but excelled at it.
They secretly nurtured information sources.
Sources that could infiltrate anywhere and approach anyone.
The Jegal Clan called them Yongu (龍羽).
And Woo-il (羽日) was one of the foremost talents among those Yongu.
He was considered the best talent, rated highly to become the next leader of the Yongu. Therefore, he was tasked with assisting the Young Master.
His duty was to fulfill the orders given by the Young Master and retrieve any information he desired.
Until this day, Woo-il believed there was no task he could not accomplish. Even if tasked with infiltrating the imperial palace to obtain a strand of the emperor's hair, he was confident he could succeed.
However, today, Woo-il learned something.
That there are tasks in this world that are impossible by human strength.
'So…'
The mission he was assigned was simple.
To find out what kind of person Wi Yeon-ho is.
It was his task to gather the living, vivid information that could not be filled merely by observing his actions.
When assigned the mission, Woo-il was confident.
He excelled at such tasks. Discovering what kind of disposition a person has was not particularly difficult. Humans often believe they act perfectly according to their consciousness, but in reality, a person's behavior is dominated by the subconscious.
And that subconscious manifests in various ways.
The way they walk, their gestures, even their speech reveal aspects of their disposition.
This mission should not take long.
If just one day were granted, he could uncover Wi Yeon-ho's innermost self, down to his deepest layers, all in one go. He was confident.
However…
'Damn it, I should be able to see anything once I get up!'
Woo-il was experiencing hell.
Isn't hell somewhere where one suffers? If someone had to hide in a stinking ceiling, watching a fully grown man sprawled out sleeping for ten straight hours, they would feel it is hell.
How can someone sleep for ten continuous hours? A day has only twelve hours—if one sleeps for ten hours, how can they carry on with their life?
Moreover, that person was not merely sleeping for ten hours; he had been hidden there for ten hours, but that madman had been asleep long before that.
Woo-il, forcing down the trembling of his hands, looked down through a gap in the ceiling.
A huge grub was on the bed.
Wi Yeon-ho was coiled in the blankets like a large grub, snoring loudly. Of course, he only resembled a grub in form; a grub would be a thousand times more diligent than that rotten fellow.
'What on earth is this guy?'
What is important for those gathering information?
This too is information.
Without preliminary investigation into the opponent, perfect comprehension is impossible. Thus, Woo-il had already completed perfect research on Wi Yeon-ho. Among it, certainly, was the information that Wi Yeon-ho is an unparalleled lazy bum in the world.
Woo-il had practically memorized the details of Wi Yeon-ho's laziness during this time.
Yet still, he could hardly believe it.
'How can a person be like that?'
Woo-il could distinctly feel the difference between reading about something and witnessing it with his own eyes.
The details he had confirmed multiple times in documents felt like they were crumbling as he watched a person sleeping like that right in front of him, tightening his heart.
'He can't be dead, right?'
Sure. Let's say it's possible to sleep like that. Let's say a person can sleep like that.
Even so, is it not normal to at least change positions once when lying in the same pose for ten consecutive hours? How can one maintain the same position for ten hours straight?
If that guy used that bed for a month, it seemed like the bed would sink in the shape of his body.
Even though the world is vast and there are many crazy people, Woo-il had never encountered anyone like the one right here.
Right here.
'How long do I have to wait?'
Woo-il fell into contemplation about what to do if Wi Yeon-ho didn't wake up at all. That shouldn't happen, but at the moment, he was incapable of normal reasoning.
Anyone hiding in the ceiling, looking down at someone who has been asleep for ten hours, would likely experience mental confusion.
"Hmm."
At that moment.
Woo-il's body jolted.
That guy, who looked like a stone statue, finally showed a reaction. After a full ten hours! After a whole ten hours!
'I have to hold my breath.'
Woo-il began to tense up.
From what he had observed until now, it was utterly unbelievable, but that guy was an unparalleled master. Perhaps he was the strongest among those Woo-il had been monitoring so far. To confront someone like him, even the sound of his heartbeat had to be concealed.
"Ugh!"
Wi Yeon-ho shifted the blanket slightly and peeked out.
Seeing him unable to wake up refreshed after ten hours of sleep was painfully distressing to Woo-il. He began to suspect whether he had some kind of illness.
Grrrrrr!
At that moment, a thunderous sound erupted from Wi Yeon-ho's stomach.
"I'm hungry…"
As Wi Yeon-ho opened his eyes, he frowned.
"…But I'm also sleepy."
A serious look of contemplation began to appear on Wi Yeon-ho's face.
Even he, as a human, couldn't just continue sleeping like this. People need to eat to survive. Even if Wi Yeon-ho could refrain from moving from his bed, he could not escape the limits of being human.
"Ugh."
Wi Yeon-ho shifted his body as if he were contemplating.
'Is he moving?'
Woo-il tensed up, looking down at Wi Yeon-ho. His task was about to begin. Finally…
"Eh."
However, Woo-il's expectations were shattered.
Wi Yeon-ho pulled the blanket back over himself and returned to lying down.
'W-wait, is he going to sleep more?'
How can he sleep more here?
After all, he is still a person.
He is a person who eats the same food—how can he possibly sleep more here?
Can this be called laziness?
Laziness is still a term used for humans. However, to Woo-il, Wi Yeon-ho no longer looked like a human.
"Ah, I'm so hungry…"
At that moment, as if to prove that he was human, Wi Yeon-ho again dropped the blanket and peeked out. It seemed he was checking to see if anyone was outside the door.
"…No one?"
Wi Yeon-ho sighed deeply.
Whether they had gone somewhere else or if it was simply that Wi Yeon-ho had not gotten up for so long that they had left him alone, he couldn't tell, but regardless, he saw no one.
"How bothersome."
Wi Yeon-ho stretched his arms wide and lay down in a spread-eagle position on the bed. He was hungry, but he had no desire to take the effort to walk out and find food. Moreover, wasn't it said that there was no restaurant here?
So what should he do?
"Hmm."
While continuing to struggle with his thoughts, Wi Yeon-ho looked up at the ceiling.
"Excuse me."
Woo-il narrowed his eyes.
'Who is he talking to?'
"Excuse me."
'Is there anyone other than me here? That shouldn't be possible…'
As someone who could proudly claim to excel in infiltration and ambush in this world, it was absolutely impossible for someone to be around without Woo-il noticing…
"Excuse me. To the person looking around over there."
"..."
Woo-il's eyes widened in shock.
'No way?'
That can't be.
He had completely concealed his presence with the principles of stealth from the very beginning. Even if he were to move, it would be a different matter, but to discern his presence while he was suppressing his aura…
In that moment.
The eyes of Woo-il, looking down through a small gap in the ceiling, met Wi Yeon-ho's gaze. As their eyes locked for a moment, Wi Yeon-ho smirked and spoke.
"I'm sorry, but could you bring me some food?"
Woo-il's heart started racing wildly.