Chapter 90 : The Slacker Ponders (3)

Chapter 90: The Slacker Ponders (3)

“A man normally rides a horse, you know. How many men have you seen riding alone in a carriage?”

“Hmm...”

Wi Sanho thought Jang Il had a point.

If one had a noble status, one usually preferred a palanquin to a carriage. And when traveling long distances, they were almost always accompanied by attendants.

For a man to be riding alone in such a large carriage — it certainly wasn't something you saw every day.

“Who's inside?”

---

“Young Master.”

The coachman whispered softly from within.

“I believe the beggar just now was Jang Il, the Beggar Sect’s petty beggar.”

“Did he notice and follow us?”

“It seemed to be a coincidence.”

After a short pause, a low voice emerged from within the carriage.

“I heard that petty banner Jang Il rarely leaves Gaebong. And he's reputed to be sly as a fox. Would someone like that really have run into us for no reason?”

“But he truly looked unaware. If the Beggar Sect were moving, they wouldn’t do it like this.”

“I see.”

The voice from the carriage grew quiet.

The coachman slowed the horses to give his master time to think.

“It doesn’t matter. Just in case, order them to erase any traces left behind in Wuhan.”

“Understood, Young Master.”

The coachman nodded and cautiously asked again as he drove the horses forward.

“But, Young Master.”

“Speak.”

“Isn’t it a shame to abandon the foundation we built in Wuhan?”

“It is a shame.”

Though the words said it was a shame, the tone conveyed no such sentiment.

“But what’s even more unfortunate is clinging to a shallow foundation and losing everything.”

“There wasn’t any major problem, though.”

“Everything would unravel the moment someone else interferes.”

The man's voice was cold.

“Throughout history, small anomalies often grow into massive threats. What must be feared most in the murim is an unknown intervention and an unidentified master. Even if I step forward and deal with him personally, it won’t recover what’s already lost. A master of that level wouldn't have grown alone — someone will be backing him. Therefore...”

His voice gradually faded.

“It’s better to let go. It’s not a matter of winning or losing — it’s a matter of avoiding attention.”

“Hmm, I understand what you mean.”

But the coachman thought his master had a bit of an Evasive tendency.

Most people, when faced with an obstacle, tried to move it aside. But his master would simply turn away from the path.

“Do you think I’m overreacting?”

“Not at all.”

“My elder brother is already building visible achievements. Even a lacking little brother like me must do his part.”

“...”

“The real problem is wasting time. Time.”

“I’ll follow your lead.”

The coachman said no more and silently drove the carriage. But the one inside was still staring out the window with sunken eyes.

‘Who is that brat?’

Finding out the identity of the young master who had suddenly appeared and twisted all their plans — that was the highest priority.

Thinking that the boy might become a major hindrance to their grand enterprise, he began drafting a letter to send back to the main family.

---

“You mean to reestablish the Sacred Hand Grounds?”

Jin Soa couldn’t make sense of what Wi Yeonho was saying.

The Sacred Hand Grounds already existed, didn’t it?

Then what did that make the place where he and his sister stayed?

“The Sacred Hand Grounds is running fine, though.”

“That must be the Nameless Medical Clan.”

Jin Soa’s mouth shut as if sealed with sticky rice.

“No one considers the place you’re in now to be the old Sacred Hand Grounds. At best, they might think it's where some of the old disciples live.”

“Your words are correct.”

As Ha Daebung added a supportive comment, Wi Yeonho straightened his shoulders and continued.

“That's how people are. Sometimes, a great person makes a place grand. But more often, when a place is big and flashy, the people inside look great by association. No matter how excellent your medical skills may be, looking like that, it's hard for people to recognize it.”

“Hmm.”

Jin Soa nodded.

Indeed, many who sought them out chasing the old fame of the Sacred Hand Grounds turned away after seeing their shabby appearance and youthful faces.

“To revive the Sacred Hand Grounds, you need to hang a sign in a grand and beautiful place first.”

“But we have no money.”

“Ugh.”

Wi Yeonho groaned at Ha Daebung’s objection.

“Don’t you have some savings tucked away?”

“I’m a salaried man. It might look like I’m making a fortune running the pawnshop, but the one making a fortune is the boss. I’m just a branch manager.”

“Still, you must’ve saved up a fair bit.”

“If I kept the money I made for myself, that’s called embezzlement. In the pawn business, trust is everything. Not only with customers but also among the staff. If I had ever pulled something like that, I’d have lost my head by now.”

“...Do people usually call that trust?”

“The meaning might differ a bit, but please take it as a sign of how important trust is.”

Wi Yeonho looked at Ha Daebung with a disappointed gaze. But Ha Daebung remained proudly unshaken.

“So basically, you’re saying you don’t have money to invest?”

“That’s what people don’t usually understand. Folks assume someone like me makes a lot of money, but in truth, I’m still in the stage of building credit. Money can come later. Right now, I’m barely getting by.”

“But you wear fine clothes.”

“Imagine someone showing up at a pawnshop dressed like a beggar to put something valuable up for collateral. Just picture it.”

He had a point.

“So in the end, you’re just saying you don’t have money?”

Wi Yeonho turned his head and looked at Jin Soa. Surely he knew all too well about their situation on this side.

“Hmm.”

Wi Yeonho let out a deep sigh.

“But Young Hero Wi.”

“Yeah?”

“Can the Sacred Hand Grounds really be revived?”

“If we have money, there’s nothing we can’t do.”

“But I’m just a kid.”

“Huh?”

Wi Yeonho scolded Jin Soa like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

“Have you seen your family’s original building?”

“Yes, I’ve seen it.”

“Did your father manage all those patients swarming in on his own?”

“...Well, no, he didn’t.”

“And even now, aren’t there physicians at your clinic besides you and your sister?”

“That’s right.”

“You’re not seeing that many patients yourself. No one’s expecting some incredible medical feats from a kid. Simply put, you’re the signboard.”

“S-Signboard?”

“To be honest, it’d be more efficient for you to hang off the front gate than sit in the treatment room.”

“Putting the clinic outside the front gate might actually work better.”

“Oh, good idea.”

Jin Soa sighed as he watched Wi Yeonho and Ha Daebung tossing remarks back and forth in perfect rhythm.

“Even if it’s possible, we don’t have the money.”

“But we do.”

“Didn’t you just say the money you have isn’t enough?”

“That’s not what matters. What matters is your resolve.”

“Excuse me?”

Wi Yeonho stared at Jin Soa with his usual drowsy eyes for a while before speaking.

“Do you have the will to make the Sacred Hand Grounds the greatest medical hall in the Central Plains again?”

“...I don’t think it’s ever been the greatest, though?”

“Whatever!”

“Of course I do!”

“Even if hardships and trials come with it?”

“If I was born a man, I die once, not twice! If I could be called the Greatest Physician Under Heaven, I’m ready to endure anything.”

“Really?”

Wi Yeonho grinned.

“Bring me a brush and paper.”

At his command, Ha Daebung requested writing tools from a subordinate. Once the door opened and they were brought in, Wi Yeonho laid out a sheet of paper.

“Here. Write.”

“...Write what?”

‘I, Jin Soa, hereby swear to treat patients solely as a physician of the Sacred Hand Grounds and to follow the orders of its Head, Wi Yeonho.’”

“W-Why is Young Hero Wi the Head of the Sacred Hand Grounds!?”

Wi Yeonho replied with a grumpy face.

“Do you have money?”

“No.”

“Do you have a building?”

“No.”

“Do you have food for today?”

“No.”

Wi Yeonho let out a dry laugh.

“And you want me to make someone with no money, no house, and no food into the Head of the Sacred Hand Grounds?”

“...That sounds incredibly shameless.”

“Exactly. That’s why it’s perfect.”

Wi Yeonho clicked his tongue and slid the paper back to Jin Soa.

“Publicly, we’ll say you’re the Head. I know very well that someone like me hovering around the medical world only draws suspicious eyes. But the profits — they’re mine.”

“Then what do I eat?”

Wi Yeonho turned to Ha Daebung.

“What?”

“I’m a salaried man.”

“You heard that?”

Jin Soa resisted, his face full of disbelief.

“You want me, a descendant of the Sacred Hand Grounds, to work for a salary? And at a newly founded Sacred Hand Grounds at that?”

“Yup.”

“Young Hero Wi, this isn’t right.”

Jin Soa protested fiercely.

“Of course, I desperately want to succeed. I genuinely want to revive the Sacred Hand Grounds. I also deeply want to prove to my overbearing sister that I can stand on my own. But that’s something I need to achieve by my own strength.”

“Ohhh.”

Watching Jin Soa speak with burning resolve, Wi Yeonho nodded repeatedly.

“A man indeed.”

“A real lad.”

It felt like they were witnessing a boy break out of his shell and become a man.

“So fresh.”

Wi Yeonho agreed with Ha Daebung’s comment. That kind of spirit was exactly what a boy of his age should show.

“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll find my own path. Doing everything as Young Hero Wi says — that’s not my path.”

Jin Soa’s eyes were sharp with clarity.

It was a scene that reflected the strength of a renowned medical lineage. Though Jin Soa had struggled, Jin Yeran’s training had indeed raised him into a capable physician without flaw.

“Mm, good.”

A very good decision.

Even Wi Yeonho agreed that a man should have that kind of spirit.

However, spirit was just spirit.

“But... don’t we have something we need to settle before that?”

Wi Yeonho reached into his clothes, pulled out a document, and handed it to Jin Soa.

With a confused face, Jin Soa stared at the paper in his hands.

“What is this?”

“An IOU.”

“Huh?”

Jin Soa accepted the document with trembling hands. It was the IOU he had signed earlier at the gambling house, promising to repay Wi Yeonho twenty taels of gold.

“...Young Hero Wi?”

Wi Yeonho yawned and said,

“Men’s paths, lads’ dreams — that’s all fine. But first, pay me back.”

“...”

Jin Soa felt, down to his very bones, that life was indeed brutal in reality.

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