Chapter 60 : Wandering with the Righteous Sword (3)

Chapter 60: Wandering with the Righteous Sword (3)

Jin Soa flinched.

As a physician, it was something he could never bring himself to say aloud—yet Wi Yeonho was speaking it as if it were nothing.

“Where did you hear something like that?”

“Huh?”

“You said you didn’t have much worldly experience, so where did you even hear such a thing…?”

Wi Yeonho shuddered.

“Don’t even ask. I heard it from a particularly stubborn old man.”

“What?”

Wi Yeonho looked up at the ceiling, as if reminiscing.

“I’ve never seen anyone who called themselves a ‘Living Buddha’ or a ‘Holy Mother’ die peacefully. People who can’t even take care of their own rice bowl, claiming they’re helping others? Hmph! People who think it’s only natural to sacrifice themselves always think it’s natural for others to be sacrificed too. Only someone who values their own life can truly understand the value of someone else’s! So don’t go throwing yourself into things for others so carelessly. I can’t stand seeing that kind of thing!”

Wi Yeonho’s eyes glistened with distant memories.

“That old man was really something.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, in any case. Master once told me—someone who doesn’t value their own life couldn’t possibly understand the value of another’s. What about you?”

“I…”

Jin Soa hesitated for a long time before finally opening his mouth.

“I don’t know.”

“Tsk.”

“I do think money is important. But my sister keeps telling me that way of thinking is wrong, so now I don’t know what to believe.”

“Maybe both are right?”

“Sorry?”

“There’s no reason to think only one side is wrong. This could be right, and that could be right too.”

“No, what do you mean…”

“Then start from the beginning. Why did your family fall apart? That big clinic over there used to belong to your family, didn’t it?”

Jin Soa sighed and began to speak.

“My father was one of the kindest men you could meet. He had no enemies in the world.”

“Hmm…”

Wi Yeonho listened attentively to Jin Soa’s story.

“Like us now, he offered medical care free of charge to those who had nothing. Even if the treatment cost thousands in gold, he wouldn’t take a single coin from those who couldn’t pay.”

Wi Yeonho frowned.

“And that was okay?”

“It must have been, at least until before I was born. He had wealth saved up from before, after all. But around the time I was born, the storehouses gradually began to empty, and by the time I was old enough to understand, they were completely barren.”

Wi Yeonho clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk, with the way he was throwing money around, that’s no surprise.”

“It wasn’t just to that degree. The clinic was large back then, and there were many physicians working under him. Money must’ve flown out at a rate you can’t even compare to now.”

Wi Yeonho shivered, as if just imagining it was frightening.

“Yeah, I can believe it. So, then what happened?”

“The debt was still manageable. His reputation, skill, and goodwill were so strong that income continued to flow in. But at some point, it seemed my father realized that at this rate, he would one day saddle his children with an enormous debt. So, he began searching for a way to pay it off all at once.”

Wi Yeonho’s eyes sparkled. It was usually around that point that a conspiracy would unfold. Otherwise, there was no way a prosperous clinic could collapse overnight.

“He must’ve been conned, right?”

“Sorry?”

“Someone probably showed up claiming they could lend him money or had a brilliant way to earn some, sweet-talking him into a scheme, right? Am I wrong?”

Jin Soa looked Wi Yeonho up and down in disbelief and shook his head.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Huh? It’s not?”

“No, it really isn’t.”

Wi Yeonho swallowed. So the misfortune went beyond what he had imagined.

Then what was it?

“Could it have been an assassination? Or maybe he was threatened with violence? Something forceful like that?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Have you been reading too many novels?”

“Eh?”

Jin Soa looked at Wi Yeonho with pity. It was such a familiar look that Wi Yeonho didn’t even feel particularly offended.

“Then what was it?”

Jin Soa hesitated, looking uncomfortable, then let out a deep sigh and continued.

“You know… that thing—if you lose, you’re ruined, but if you win, you make a fortune.”

“Huh?”

Jin Soa grinned and held up his thumb and index finger in a circle.

“Gambling. It was gambling.”

“…”

Wi Yeonho stared blankly at Jin Soa.

Jin Soa gave an awkward smile, as if he had expected that reaction.

“Gambling?”

“Yes.”

“You mean… betting money?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re saying… your father, a physician of Sacred Hand Grounds, gambled to pay off debt? Hoping to make a fortune?”

“He sat me down when I was little and said he’d be back with a lot of money, so I shouldn’t worry. Then he left.”

For the first time in his life, Wi Yeonho found himself at a complete loss for words. His tongue, which always moved smoothly no matter the situation, now felt like it had been coated in plaster and wouldn’t budge.

What was he supposed to say?

“Uh, so then… was it someone else who pushed him into it?”

“He was always fond of gambling.”

“…”

“I don’t remember much, but I do recall him going to gambling dens often. Thinking back to how often my parents used to fight when my mother was alive, I guess he wasn’t any good at it either.”

“Urgh.”

Wi Yeonho couldn’t help letting out a groan.

Gambling, of all things.

So a family of physicians, renowned enough to earn the recommendation of the Grand Historian Mun Yuhwan, had lost their entire estate and wound up in a shabby cottage like this—all because of the clinic head’s gambling habit?

Not a conspiracy…

Not some tragic misfortune…

“All because of gambling?”

“I’m not really in a position to say this, but it’s the fastest way to ruin a family.”

“Grrrgh.”

Wi Yeonho pinched the bridge of his stinging nose and looked up at the ceiling.

There were all sorts of people in the world. He suddenly understood what his master meant when he said one must see the world to grow as a person.

‘Maybe I’m actually a normal person.’

Of course, that wasn’t true—but the disgrace of the former Head of the Sacred Hand Grounds was so appalling, it gave Wi Yeonho a strange sense of confidence.

“So that’s how you ended up here?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Wi Yeonho was at a loss for words and simply stared at Jin Soa.

Jin Soa looked away, his face slightly flushed.

Well, in a situation like this, who could raise their head proudly?

It was no different from laying bare the disgrace of his family for all to see.

“So what about your father?”

“He continued treating patients afterwards, but he kept saying he had to restore the family’s former glory…”

“He pushed himself too hard and passed away?”

“Pardon? Oh, no, it wasn’t that.”

“Huh?”

“It wasn’t really overwork. As you can see, we’re not exactly swamped with patients these days. It’s just that, whenever we happened to have some extra money, he’d try to fix the situation…”

Wi Yeonho stared at Jin Soa with dull, dead eyes.

He didn’t even need to hear what was coming next—he already knew. He was well aware of the most typical form of escapism embraced by those who lost everything to gambling.

“He threw it all away again, didn’t he.”

“He just had some bad luck.”

Jin Soa spoke with a look of genuine regret.

‘Bad luck, my ass.’

If he could, Wi Yeonho would’ve dug up the former Head of the Sacred Hand Grounds and shaken him like grain in a thresher. The Sacred Hand Grounds, passed down for hundreds of years, was now on the verge of collapse—all because of one man’s gambling addiction.

“After repeating the same challenge over and over again, my father ultimately failed to restore the family and collapsed.”

“From heartbreak.”

“No, not that kind of heartbreak… strictly speaking, it was malnutrition and alcohol poisoning. He wouldn’t eat while gambling and just kept drinking.”

“He drank at the gambling den? When even the sober get stripped clean there?”

“He was surprisingly timid.”

Wi Yeonho’s facial muscles trembled. After a while of twitching and clutching his thigh in frustration, he finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and shouted with all his might.

“Just what kind of man was your father supposed to be?!”

*         *         *

Gui Nangnang, the Kaifeng Hall Leader of the Hao Clan, was enjoying a rare moment of rest. Recently, after the Second Young Master of the Grand House of Wi in Guangdong and even the Demon-Banishing Sword Wi Sanho had stopped by the Kaifeng Hall, she’d been on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Crack.

Just thinking about it made her grind her teeth.

“I should’ve killed that beggar bastard!”

She had made sure his face was swollen black and blue, but even that wasn’t enough to soothe her rage.

Had he not held the position of a Sub-Branch Leader in the Beggar Sect, she would’ve cut off one of his arms.

Gui Nangnang lay on her bedding and peacefully closed her eyes.

At any rate, the trouble had been dealt with, and since the Demon-Banishing Sword had taken Jang Il off to the Great Scholarly Institute, she finally felt at ease.

At least for the next two weeks, she could rest easy without worry…

Bang!

“We have a problem!”

The door nearly shattered as Gongmu burst in, panting heavily.

Gui Nangnang’s brow furrowed.

With her forehead scrunched, she shouted in a voice sharp with irritation and anger.

“What now?!”

“Th-the thing is…”

At that moment, she saw a group entering through the door.

‘Three?’

One woman, two men.

All three looked to be of mature age.

‘Now people just barge in, huh.’

Gui Nangnang sighed deeply.

This Kaifeng Hall, built in one of the most secret locations in Kaifeng, had become a public playground where just anyone wandered in. She silently vowed to retrain the guards as soon as this mess was dealt with.

Among the newcomers, the man with the calmest demeanor looked around the room and asked in a slightly anxious tone,

“Are you the one in charge here, Lady?”

Gui Nangnang was about to respond curtly, but changed her mind. If this man was someone Gongmu had run to fetch in such a panic, he wasn’t someone to treat lightly.

“Yes, I am. But wouldn’t it be proper manners for guests to introduce themselves first?”

The middle-aged man nodded with composure.

“Forgive my rudeness. My name is Wi Jeonghan.”

‘Wi Jeonghan…’

As she searched her memory for that name, Gui Nangnang’s eyes widened.

At the same time, a cold sweat began to form in her palms.

‘The Righteous Hero Sword.’

Gui Nangnang looked at the Righteous Hero Sword, Wi Jeonghan, with a hint of fear in her eyes.

He was the man most feared by those who violated the code of chivalry. Born into the small Guangdong Wi Clan, he had joined the Sungcheon Righteous Martial Alliance, and from a young age had slain countless demonic practitioners and embodied uncountable acts of righteousness.

To those who exploited the common folk, regardless of origin, his sword was inescapable.

Drip.

Cold sweat trickled down Gui Nangnang’s forehead and rolled down her cheek.

Though the Hao Clan wasn’t exactly a demonic group, their work involved information, and with it came unspeakable filth. To people like that, the Righteous Hero Sword, Wi Jeonghan, was someone they never wanted to face.

The fact that the Righteous Hero Sword had visited the Hao Clan’s branch was anything but welcome news to Gui Nangnang.

‘Stay calm.’

Gui Nangnang bit her lip hard.

Even if she was considered a prodigy within the Hao Clan, she had no choice but to admit she was still a greenhorn compared to the likes of the Righteous Hero Sword.

Her eyes trembled as she looked at Wi Jeonghan.

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