Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign

Chapter 68: The Good Do Not Come (4)

"You really shouldn’t be taking that young lady..."

Wi Yeonho sank into serious contemplation.

It had already taken great effort just to drag himself to the door, thinking he might as well ask them to quiet down since the noise had gone beyond tolerable limits.

The question of whether reaching out to open the door was worth the effort gnawed at him, but for the sake of a more restful sleep, he decided it was.

The real trouble came after that.

When he finally opened the door and slipped his body out, he saw Jin Yeran walking outside with some rough-looking man.

Having spent nearly twenty years reading the room for survival, Wi Yeonho grasped the situation immediately. Once he grasped it, the mental calculations began.

Truthfully, Wi Yeonho had no particular reason to help Jin Yeran. He was here simply because Mun Yuhwan had recommended the Sacred Hand Grounds to him.

But ignoring the current situation wasn’t an option, because Jin Yeran had been the one feeding him.

Judging by the way Jin Soa acted, the moment Jin Yeran disappeared, it was obvious he wouldn’t even get a cold potato to eat, let alone a proper meal.

So how could he just watch her be taken away?

Thanks to the teachings of his wicked master, Wi Yeonho had evolved beyond laziness, adding gluttony to the mix. For someone like him, the daily spread of delicacies brought to his room was not something he could give up.

Sure, it was a little inconvenient, but wasn’t eating gourmet food with a bit of hassle a hundred times better than comfortably eating stale rice?

“Excuse me, wait a moment.”

Wi Yeonho called out, stopping Jwa Geol in his tracks.

But Jwa Geol couldn’t make sense of this situation at all.

“Is that guy really crazy?”

He shook his head from side to side.

He had already decided not to associate with Wi Yeonho, thinking he was insane, but his behavior only got more absurd by the minute.

‘Endure it.’

There was nothing to gain from getting into it with a lunatic.

“Let’s go.”

Jwa Geol urged Jin Yeran to move.

She looked back at Wi Yeonho with a trace of hesitation in her eyes, sighed deeply, and turned her body again.

Just as she was about to take a step, Wi Yeonho’s voice came flying once more.

“I said you can’t take her.”

Jwa Geol’s patience finally snapped.

“You crazy bastard, I’ve had enough!”

He turned around, eyes blazing, and glared at Wi Yeonho.

“Hey! You lunatic! Why the hell not!”

“…Then who’s going to feed me?”

“Why the hell should she be the one feeding you!”

“I don’t know either. But since she’s the one who’s been feeding me, if she disappears, there’ll be no one left to feed me.”

“Is that so?”

Grinding his teeth, Jwa Geol began walking toward Wi Yeonho.

“So food is the problem, huh? If food’s out of the equation, then there’s no problem, right?”

“Huh? I guess that makes sense?”

Wi Yeonho found himself plunging into a serious reflection on human survival and meals.

If humans didn’t need to eat, they’d have more time to sleep. Wouldn’t life be far richer that way?

How had he failed to consider such a simple idea until now?

‘It’s all Master’s fault!’

This was all because his master had drilled into his head that not eating meant more time for cultivation. Truly, that man had left far too many imprints on Wi Yeonho’s life.

But why was that man approaching with such a vicious expression?

“Stop it!”

Jin Yeran, grasping the gravity of the situation, urgently grabbed Jwa Geol’s arm to stop him.

But Jwa Geol easily shook her off and lunged at Wi Yeonho.

“I’ll knock some sense into you today!”

“Huh?”

Wi Yeonho stared, mouth agape, at Jwa Geol’s fist flying toward him.

Why was this kind uncle suddenly attacking him?

“Ah, no—!”

Crash!

But while his mouth was slow, the fist was fast.

His body reacted instinctively to the incoming blow, and he struck Jwa Geol squarely in the jaw.

“Guh!”

With a wheezing gasp, Jwa Geol was launched into the air.

“Whoa...”

Wi Yeonho muttered in bewilderment as he witnessed the scene.

Thud!

Jwa Geol hit the ground hard, sending dust and fragments of stone flying.

“Are you okay?”

The onlookers stared at Wi Yeonho, stunned.

Jwa Geol, who had tried to punch Wi Yeonho, suddenly soared into the air and crashed to the ground. They wondered if Wi Yeonho had done something, but he looked just as confused as they were.

“What kind of sorcery is this?”

The patients rubbed their eyes.

“Ugh…”

Jwa Geol struggled to get up from the ground.

‘W-What just happened?’

He forced his hazy consciousness to focus and tried to recall the events. He had clearly intended to land a punch on Wi Yeonho.

But suddenly, a flash of light—and then he saw the sky. His back was throbbing with pain, and he had blacked out for a moment.

What in the world had just occurred?

“Are you alright?”

“Huh?”

At the voice beside him, Jwa Geol slowly turned his head.

"Ah, uh, sorry about that. It’s not like I meant to… I've just been through so much that I instinctively counterattack whenever someone tries to hit me."

Jwa Geol glared at Wi Yeonho, forcing his barely open eyes wide.

"So… you're saying you hit me, is that it?"

"I said it wasn’t on purpose."

"…"

"Besides, you were the one who tried to hit me first, so you could say this was self-defense."

Jwa Geol stared at Wi Yeonho with eyes brimming with disbelief.

Was he really supposed to believe what this lunatic was saying?

One thing was clear—he had definitely been hit by something.

And now, the culprit had confessed.

There was a person who hit, and one who got hit. And yet, Jwa Geol couldn't make sense of any of it.

"You hit me?"

"I said I was sorry."

"Seriously?"

Wi Yeonho let out a sigh.

After his long, exhausting life with Baek Muhan, what he had learned upon returning to the world was this—there was no such thing as trust.

Even when you told the truth, no one believed you. So what could he do?

"Well..."

Wi Yeonho cleared his throat.

"I understand why you might not believe me, but the truth is the truth. I’ve said what I needed to say."

Jwa Geol rubbed his throbbing jaw and blinked hard.

So that lunatic actually hit him?

Him?

That fool wrapped in a blanket, his eyes crusted with sleep gunk—he had hit Jwa Geol?

'Was he supposed to believe that?'

And not just any hit—one so strong it knocked him out cold.

Thinking logically...

'It made no sense!'

Rather than believe that this guy, who looked too weak to kill a chicken, had launched him into the air, it seemed more plausible that someone else—someone formidable—was secretly protecting him.

'Either way, this wasn’t good news.'

If that half-wit had really done it, that was a problem. But if someone strong was protecting him from the shadows, that was just as bad.

"Hmm…"

Jwa Geol sensed things were taking a very unpleasant turn.

'Should I test it one more time?'

Even if there was a hidden expert, they didn’t seem interested in seriously injuring anyone, which meant they probably didn’t want to escalate things. If that was the case, giving it one more try wouldn’t cost him his life.

Jwa Geol began creeping toward Wi Yeonho.

"Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea?"

Wi Yeonho tilted his head.

"Sir, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"Hmph!"

Clenching his fist, Jwa Geol struck down at Wi Yeonho’s head.

At that moment—

Thud!

The sound was different from before, heavier and duller. In an instant, Jwa Geol flew through the air like a puppy hit by a wagon, then crashed to the ground and rolled away down a slope with brutal momentum.

"Urrrrgh..."

A groan like something crawling out of hell escaped Jwa Geol's mouth.

It hurt—way too much.

It felt like his head had been cleanly detached from his neck.

"See? I told you not to do that."

Wi Yeonho clicked his tongue with sympathy.

"It’s really not like I want to be this way. But try living just two months with some cranky old geezer who attacks you whether you’re resting or sleeping. You’ll turn out like me too."

What in the world was this lunatic even talking about?

"Don’t worry. This is a clinic. If you get hurt, they’ll treat you."

Jwa Geol forced his heavy eyelids open and began lifting his body.

If he got hit like that one more time, even if he survived, he might end up crippled for life.

"Guhhh..."

This time, keeping his eyes wide open, he saw it clearly—the moment his fist was about to reach Wi Yeonho’s head, a hand shot out from under the blanket and struck his jaw.

How could a punch hurt this deep in his bones?

Jwa Geol had lived in the underworld, taking and throwing punches countless times. He was no stranger to getting hit. In fact, he regularly trained in a low-level outer body art called Iron Skin Third Layer just to survive in the underworld.

But still—this wasn’t a blade wound. It was just a punch. And yet, the pain was overwhelming.

How could a human fist cause such shock to a body hardened like steel?

'A master!'

The thought came quickly, the conclusion even faster.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he had no choice but to accept the truth: the lunatic standing before him was a master. One who, if he so wished, could turn Jwa Geol into a lump of meat in an instant.

"…May I ask where you’re from, esteemed one?"

Jwa Geol’s tone turned polite.

"I’m not an esteemed one."

He had never heard of a lunatic turning out to be a master, so clearly this guy wasn’t a lunatic—he was a weirdo.

In the world of Murim, the most dangerous weren’t the famous orthodox sects or even the underworld factions.

They were the eccentrics—those with overwhelming martial prowess and completely unpredictable thoughts.

Those kinds of people were completely unpredictable—they could do anything at any time—so the common sense in this world was that you should never get involved with them.

And in Jwa Geol’s eyes, the man in front of him had all the marks of such an eccentric.

"I don’t know why you’re involving yourself in this matter, but this is a personal affair."

"That’s true."

"Besides, we have a proper contract concerning the debt. Even if we take this to the authorities, they’ll side with us."

"That seems likely."

"So I ask you to stay out of it from now on."

Wi Yeonho responded with a sulky look.

"That’s a bit difficult."

"And why is that?"

"Like I said earlier, that young lady makes my meals. If she’s gone, there’ll be no one left to feed me."

"…"

Jwa Geol’s face twitched and trembled.

So… this whole mess really was about food?

"You’re telling me you interfered with Black Land Manor’s affairs over a mere meal?"

"Black Land Manor?"

"The organization I belong to, and the one that young lady owes her debt to. No matter how powerful you may be, Black Land Manor will not take this matter lightly."

"Ah, hmm…"

Wi Yeonho tilted his head, then gave a faint smile as he replied.

"Then… is it okay if I back out now?"

"You son of a—"

For the first time in his life, a curse spilled from Jin Soa’s mouth.