Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign

Chapter 84: The Slacker, Runs Wild (5)

"That's me."

In contrast to the rapidly chilling atmosphere, Wi Yeonho answered calmly.

"You're Wi Yeonho?"

"Yes."

"You're really Wi Yeonho?"

"Yes."

The Head of Black Land Manor, Gwak Dosan, stared at Wi Yeonho in bewilderment before turning to gauge the expression of Black Bear Jwa Geol.

"That's correct."

"Correct?"

"Yes. He's the expert who blocked my path."

"..."

Gwak Dosan let out a long sigh.

'So Jwa Geol's lost his edge too.'

He had expected someone young, since he was described as a youthful master, but not someone this soft-faced and fuzzy. No—he couldn’t have imagined it.

That someone like Jwa Geol, who had supposedly made a name for himself in the underworld, had been bested by a kid and fled with his tail between his legs—Gwak Dosan found it not just ridiculous but outright absurd.

"Isn't he too young?"

"That's what I tried to tell you, sir."

"Your mouth works fine, huh? Since you're still talking."

"Even so, that brat—"

"Silence!"

Jwa Geol lowered his head without another word.

Watching him, Gwak Dosan clicked his tongue. The fact that they’d been so shaken by a single brat that they had even sent someone to the Sacred Hand Grounds to investigate felt utterly humiliating.

And even then, all they’d managed to learn was a name.

"Do you even realize how much disgrace I suffered from that report about him? You all exaggerated, calling him a master this and that, and yet he turns out to be some little brat!"

"Sir, if you let your guard down—"

"I said silence!"

"Ugh..."

Jwa Geol gave up trying to persuade him any further.

Once, Gwak Dosan of the Black Land had been known as a man of deep strategy in the underworld.

‘The boss has grown old.’

The Gwak Dosan of old would never have let his guard down, no matter how young Wi Yeonho looked. But now, sitting back and putting on airs—his life as an underworld man was as good as over.

"Tsk tsk."

Clicking his tongue, Gwak Dosan looked at Jwa Geol with disapproval.

‘How can someone have such poor judgment?’

Being young didn’t mean one couldn’t be a master. Having spent years surviving on the edge of a blade for decades, Gwak Dosan of all people should’ve known that.

However!

‘Look at those eyes, that posture!’

With eyes so dull they could’ve belonged to a rotting fish and a posture that looked like just standing was a burden—it was clear what kind of person he was dealing with.

A young master should emanate freshness, have eyes sharp like blades, and exude a strength that anyone could sense.

Having spent nearly forty years in the underworld, he wasn’t someone who could fail to recognize that level of mastery.

"Master, my ass."

Though he couldn’t completely rule it out.

That this youth might have transcended to a realm where stance and aura no longer revealed anything.

But considering his age—even if he had started learning martial arts from inside his mother’s womb—it would still be impossible. A natural stance meant that the practitioner’s movements were so refined they looked like an ordinary person, not like someone crippled and lifeless.

‘Being this pathetic-looking isn’t what “natural” means!’

Gwak Dosan clicked his tongue and shouted toward Wi Yeonho.

"So you really are the Wi Yeonho who interfered with the affairs of the Sacred Hand Grounds?"

"Yes."

Wi Yeonho’s responses were always concise.

"You’re sure?"

"Yes."

Strangely, people often found themselves confirming Wi Yeonho’s clear answers multiple times. It was a sad thing to witness.

"You’re not seriously thinking you’ll get away with interfering in the affairs of Black Land Manor, are you?"

"Oh, just a moment."

"Huh?"

Just as Gwak Dosan was about to speak again, Wi Yeonho motioned for Ha Daebung to come over and began whispering something into his ear.

Ha Daebung nodded, pulled a rolled-up paper from inside his robe, and handed it to Wi Yeonho. At his gesture, a subordinate nearby brought over ink and brush, as if it had all been prepared beforehand.

Wi Yeonho handed both items to Jin Soa.

"Sign this."

Jin Soa looked at Wi Yeonho with blank eyes.

"Huh? Sign?"

"Yeah. Just sign it for now. I’ll explain later."

"O-okay."

Without knowing the reason, Jin Soa signed at the bottom of the document.

After checking the signature, Wi Yeonho rolled up the paper and tucked it into his robe, then looked back at Gwak Dosan.

"I was actually planning to come to you about this, so this works out well."

"Hmm?"

Gwak Dosan pricked up his ears, curious as to what Wi Yeonho was getting at.

"How much exactly is the Sacred Hand Grounds in debt?"

"Debt?"

"Yes, the debt."

At a nod from Gwak Dosan, one of the subordinates opened a ledger and replied.

"Twenty taels of gold and fifty taels of silver."

"Pay up."

At Wi Yeonho’s signal, Ha Daebung gestured, and the subordinates began stacking up heaps of silver neatly beside Gwak Dosan.

"W-what is this?"

"It’s the debt of the Sacred Hand Grounds. As of today, the debt between the Sacred Hand Grounds and Black Land Manor has been fully settled. Please write a debt clearance note and take the money."

"Huh?"

Gwak Dosan stared at the tower of silver stacked next to him and swallowed hard.

‘Where’d all this money come from?’

He had never once believed he would actually receive the twenty gold taels. That amount had only been a means to pressure the Sacred Hand Grounds—an already failed business could never have paid such a sum.

But now, with the money piled before his eyes, he couldn’t tell if he was dreaming or awake.

"H-how exactly do you want the guarantee written?"

"Sir!"

Startled, Jwa Geol shouted, and Gwak Dosan shoved him aside with hands as big as cauldron lids, then turned back with a beaming smile.

"Do you have the paperwork?"

"You can talk to this man about that."

"Of course."

Ha Daebung, holding ink and brush, began writing something on a blank sheet of paper. Once finished, he handed it to Gwak Dosan.

"This is a document transferring the rights to the Sacred Hand Grounds’ debt to Master Wi. Once you sign this, Black Land Manor will no longer be able to interfere with Sacred Hand Grounds’ affairs."

"I-is that so?"

He didn’t really understand what that meant, but if they said so, then so be it.

"So, if I sign here, I get to take the money, right?"

"Exactly."

Ha Daebung’s kindly smile made it feel like he was being scammed somehow, but Gwak Dosan was, after all, a man of the black path.

And what was the black path?

A drifter's life.

A man who’d gotten this far not through honest work but through threats, extortion, and collecting fees for territory. If he had no greed for money, he would’ve quit a long time ago.

‘Let’s take the money first.’

Money was always good.

Without another word, Gwak Dosan signed the document Ha Daebung handed him. After confirming the signature, Ha Daebung smiled and rolled up the paper.

"With that, all financial ties between the Sacred Hand Grounds and Black Land Manor are now resolved."

"Thank you for your effort."

As Ha Daebung stepped back, Wi Yeonho spoke again.

"Then we're done here, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were angry because I blocked your collection from the Sacred Hand Grounds, weren’t you?"

"Y-yes, that’s right."

"Well, now that you’ve received the money, isn’t it all settled?"

"Y-yeah, I guess?"

As Gwak Dosan nodded without even realizing it, Jwa Geol quickly scurried up to him and whispered urgently.

"Get a hold of yourself, Boss!"

"H-huh?"

"You’re being swayed right now."

"Huh?"

Gwak Dosan’s face twitched. Then he stepped back and shouted.

"You little brat, your schemes run deep!"

Wi Yeonho let out a sigh and turned to Ha Daebung.

"What does that guy even do?"

"...That’s Gwak Dosan, the Head of Black Land Manor. He used to be famous for his cunning and ruthless ways..."

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Wi Yeonho looked at Gwak Dosan with pity in his eyes.

No one could hold back time. His master, too, had once been known as a gallant young man. Who would’ve guessed he’d become such a cranky old man in his later years?

"Hmph, money is just money. Do you really think some measly silver settles your interference in our business?"

"Measly? That’s a lot of money."

"Well, I suppose it is, a bit."

"Of course."

As Gwak Dosan began to veer off course again, Jwa Geol grabbed his arm.

"Please, calm yourself, sir!"

"Hey, I’m not heartless. I took twenty taels of gold. I can’t just pretend nothing happened. I should at least say thanks."

"That’s not the point, is it!"

"Look, I’m not one of those scheming politicians from the Imperial Palace. I just got twenty gold taels. How can I act like nothing happened? A man who does that gets struck by heaven."

"But that was money you were owed!"

"Yeah, but we never expected to actually collect it."

Jwa Geol clutched his chest.

Why was the head of a black path sect suddenly acting like a man of conscience?

‘Or maybe it’s because of his conscience that he rose this high in the first place.’

Considering the blood, threats, and schemes that ran rampant in the underworld, one might’ve called him a surprisingly decent man. But unfortunately, the situation didn’t look so good.

Jwa Geol leaned in and whispered in Gwak Dosan’s ear.

"You remember, right? He ordered us to kill them."

Just hearing the phrase "he" made Gwak Dosan's body tremble.

"R-right."

"So what will you tell him if you just take the money and let them go?"

"Y-you’re right! But still..."

"But what?"

"This all started because of the money, right? So if I bring him the money, maybe he’ll understand?"

"You think so?"

Even Jwa Geol was starting to waver.

‘No, this isn’t right!’

Jwa Geol shook his head hard to clear his thoughts, then barked,

"What he wants isn’t the money—it’s the Sacred Hand Grounds! If you let them go now, the Sacred Hand Grounds will revive. What will you do then?"

"Ah..."

"And don’t you see that?"

Jwa Geol pointed to the neatly stacked gold bars.

"If you finish them off here, all of that becomes yours."

Gulp.

As he looked at the gold glimmering inside the open chest, Gwak Dosan involuntarily swallowed hard.

‘How much is all that worth?’

It was more money than he could even imagine.

"And you’re going to just walk away from it?"

"Jwa Geol."

"Yes, Boss."

"Do you know how one survives in the underworld?"

"I haven’t fully grasped that yet."

"It’s simple. If someone lays a hand on you, you chase them to the ends of hell and strike back. If you let people think you're weak, you can’t protect your territory or your own people."

"That’s absolutely true."

...Although he hadn’t seemed all that absolute just a moment ago.

Now resolved, Gwak Dosan’s eyes turned cold.

"You brat. I’ll acknowledge that our financial ties to the Sacred Hand Grounds are over. But I can’t overlook the fact that you interfered with Black Land Manor’s operations. If you have a grudge, direct it at your own arrogance for stepping into this mess."

Wi Yeonho tilted his head.

"So… you’re saying you want to fight me?"

"Heh... a fight, you say... In our world, we call this retribution."

"Retribution, huh..."

Wi Yeonho scratched his cheek and let out a short laugh.

"You’re going to regret this."

Just like everyone else had.