Chapter 98 : The Slacker Points the Way (1)

Chapter 98: The Slacker Points the Way (1)

"Aigo, my whole body aches."

Jin Soa slumped down, not caring for food or anything else.

Chop chop chop chop.

"This is heavenly!"

"……."

If only that man in front of him weren’t there, he might’ve gotten a bit of his appetite back.

It was incomprehensible why, out of all the many rooms, he insisted on sharing a table in Jin Soa’s room.

"Not eating?"

Wi Yeonho picked up a large skewer laid in front of Jin Soa and brought it to his mouth. Jin Soa glared at him.

"How can you eat so casually in front of someone who’s dying of exhaustion?"

"It’s delicious!"

"Grrrrgh."

Jin Soa rubbed his arms and legs.

"At this rate, I’ll be the one who ends up as a patient. I barely have time to study these days."

"That’s because you’re lazy, lazy."

"What the—"

Jin Soa touched his ear.

Did he hear wrong?

He had never imagined a day would come when Wi Yeonho, of all people, would call him lazy.

They say the pot calls the kettle black…

No, that would be an insult to the kettle.

Even if everyone in the world had the right to talk about laziness, Wi Yeonho was the one person who absolutely should not.

Jin Soa trembled, then shouted.

"Even if others don’t know, Young Master Wi shouldn’t be saying that! Me, lazy?"

"Why can’t I say it?"

"Young Master Wi is the Greatest Slacker Under Heaven!"

"Which is why I know laziness better than anyone."

"…Huh?"

Now that he thought about it… he had a point?

"It’s like food—you know it best if you’ve eaten it. Same with liquor. And laziness—you only truly understand it if you’ve indulged in it."

Before he knew it, Jin Soa was nodding. Somehow, it all sounded terribly convincing.

"Anyway, it’s seriously tough. Can I really become a physician like this?"

"Of course."

Wi Yeonho stuffed more rice into his mouth and said,

"People they call 'divine physicians' are usually all quite old. Have you ever seen a young renowned doctor?"

"No, I haven’t."

"There are many prodigies in the world, but not in medicine. If reading medical texts alone could make you a divine physician, then there should be plenty of young ones by now."

"You should at least finish chewing before saying that…"

Wi Yeonho clicked his tongue at Jin Soa’s grimacing face.

"Because medicine is something you develop through seeing patients! And since you’re seeing more patients than anyone else, you can grow faster than anyone else."

"Ooh!"

Jin Soa nodded enthusiastically and said,

"That’s an impressively convincing lie."

"Was it that obvious?"

"Yes."

"It’s true though."

"…I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone harder to believe."

Jin Soa spoke bluntly as he put a bite of food into his mouth. He had no appetite, but if he didn’t eat, it’d be hard to endure the afternoon consultations.

"But what happened last night?"

"Nothing happened."

At the break of dawn, the people from Lustful Hand Grounds had been dragged off to the law enforcement office. With Wi Yeonho having laid down the law, Lustful Hand Grounds, which was also known to be the Sacred Hand Grounds was bound to be half-destroyed within a day or two.

‘Then it’ll be a bloodless takeover.’

With the only competitor among the physicians now crushed, Sacred Hand Grounds would undoubtedly secure its place as the only major clinic in Hubei.

"Ahem."

Having finished his meal, Wi Yeonho lay flat on the floor.

"Now we just sit back and watch the fireworks."

As far as Sacred Hand Grounds was concerned, Wi Yeonho had done everything he needed to. There was nothing left to do, even if he wanted to.

Wi Yeonho thought all the problems had been resolved, and for the first time, he could rest with peace of mind.

Or so he thought.

"Bring out the Manor Lord!"

"Miss, please don’t cause a scene here."

"Did you not hear me? I said bring out the Manor Lord this instant!"

The servants looked flustered.

A woman was demanding the presence of the Manor Lord at the front gate. Normally, someone like her would be immediately beaten and thrown out, but the woman claimed to be the Manor Lord’s older sister.

If there was even a small chance that she was telling the truth, mishandling it could cause irreversible trouble. In the end, they had no choice but to nervously send word to the Manor Lord.

"I will inform the Manor Lord immediately. There are patients here. If you keep shouting, you’ll startle them."

At the word 'patients,' the woman flinched and nodded.

It seemed the mention of harming the patients had struck a chord.

"In that case, I’ll wait right here. But I expect you to bring him as soon as possible."

"Yes. Please wait just a moment."

The servant left her at the gate and sprinted inside.

He was determined to give her a proper beating if it turned out she was lying, but the shock value alone of a woman claiming to be the Manor Lord’s older sister demanding his presence at the gate was enormous.

It was enough to make the Manor Lord, who never left the consultation room, dash barefoot to the front gate.

"Y-you, Sister!"

Jin Soa cried out in surprise when he saw Jin Yeran waiting at the gate.

"Come here."

Jin Yeran called out stiffly.

"A-allow me to escort you inside."

"You expect me to go in there?"

At her cold, sharp voice, Jin Soa was left flustered and hesitated, unsure of what to do.

What saved him was a low voice that came from behind.

"With all these patients around, are you really going to air out family matters here?"

As Wi Yeonho approached with his usual lazy gait, Jin Yeran looked around with a hardened face. The line of patients stretched long. Whatever she might say, doing so in front of them would tarnish the reputation of Sacred Hand Grounds.

"Please come inside, Sister."

"Hmm…"

Jin Yeran nodded and followed behind Jin Soa.

Naturally, she passed by Wi Yeonho, but even in passing, she didn’t spare him a single glance.

"The cold wind’s really blowing."

Wi Yeonho smiled faintly and followed the two into the Manor Lord’s Office.

Once inside, Jin Soa offered the seat of honor to Jin Yeran.

"Please have a seat, Sister."

But Jin Yeran didn’t even glance at the seat of honor and sat beside it instead. When Wi Yeonho shuffled in and sat across from her, Jin Soa hesitated, looking around, unable to find a place to sit.

"What are you doing? Sit in your seat."

"……."

Jin Soa glanced at the seat of honor with discomfort, then reluctantly sat down.

"What is the meaning of all this?"

Jin Soa found it difficult to answer. The question was too broad. He had no idea where to even begin.

"Well, first of all…"

"Quit now and come back."

"…Excuse me?"

"Medicine is the art of benevolence. It's not something done for business! And yet here you are, turning medicine into commerce."

Jin Soa looked at Jin Yeran with a complicated expression.

"Is a physician not a person?"

"What did you just say?"

Jin Yeran stared at him in surprise at his outburst.

"I asked if a physician isn’t a person. Everyone else strives to earn money and gain fame, to elevate their status. Why is it only physicians who must live in poverty, eating gruel every day?"

"Have you forgotten the teachings of our predecessors!"

"Sister!"

Jin Soa spoke with a firm face.

"Our predecessor lived in a mansion like a palace. That building of Sacred Hand Grounds is still standing over there, so don’t say otherwise. It's easy to speak of practicing medicine with words. But even the predecessor lived comfortably off the money earned through medicine!"

"That was money earned as a natural result of practicing medicine. It wasn’t earned to make money! Why can’t you understand that!"

"No, Sister. It’s you who doesn’t understand!"

Jin Yeran was stunned by the unwavering gaze of Jin Soa.

‘Since when did this child…’

She had always thought of Jin Soa as young. Seeing him stare straight into her eyes and assert his views felt impudent—yet somehow admirable.

It was a good thing for someone to have a firm opinion. The problem was that his beliefs were completely at odds with what she valued.

"Medicine is the art of benevolence."

"I don’t deny that. But if physicians must starve in order to practice benevolence, who would ever choose to do it? The one failing to uphold our predecessor’s path isn’t me, Sister. It’s you."

"……."

Jin Yeran bit her lip.

She had hoped to raise him into a flawless physician, someone worthy to inherit the name of Sacred Hand Grounds. But in the end, Jin Soa had chosen the path of a merchant.

"What do you think Father would say if he saw you now?"

Jin Soa didn’t back down.

"Father once gambled just to save Sacred Hand Grounds. If its prestige had nothing to do with money, why would he have done that? He knew. He knew that without money, it was impossible to carry on the name of Sacred Hand Grounds. Why is it only you who refuses to understand?"

"And don’t you think that’s exactly why we failed? That we strayed from the path of true medicine, which is why Sacred Hand Grounds could not endure? That’s why now, more than ever, you must return to the path of a true physician!"

"That’s enough."

Jin Soa suddenly stood up.

"I don’t think what I’m doing right now is some royal path. I don’t believe I’m absolutely right, nor do I cling to arrogance or stubbornness. But I do know this: If we do things your way, we’ll never bring the name of Sacred Hand Grounds back to glory—not in this lifetime. Look at what’s happening now. After years of struggle, we were still labeled a failure. Yet in just a few days, Sacred Hand Grounds is being talked about all over Hubei again."

"Soa!"

"I am not someone who lives by your command. You walk your path, Sister. I’ll show the world in my own way that Sacred Hand Grounds is still alive."

"Are you truly going to defy me?"

Jin Soa met her gaze, his eyes calm.

"This isn’t defiance, Sister."

"……."

"It’s not defiance—it’s the establishment of my own will. No matter how much you’re my sister, I am the rightful successor of Sacred Hand Grounds. The right to use its name and determine its direction belongs to me alone."

Jin Yeran’s eyes trembled.

Jin Soa was declaring his independence.

She had always known a day would come when he’d leave her protection and spread his wings toward the world—but she had never imagined it would happen at a time like this, in such a way.

"I will make Sacred Hand Grounds the finest medical institution in the Central Plains as its rightful Manor Lord. So please, Sister, stop standing in my way."

With those final words, Jin Soa turned and strode out of the Manor Lord’s Office.

"Soa!"

Jin Yeran called after him, but Jin Soa didn’t look back and left without hesitation.

For a while, Jin Yeran stared blankly at the door he had exited, then turned her head and glared sharply at Wi Yeonho with a venomous gaze.

"Ah… what?"

Wi Yeonho flinched and sank into his chair as her icy stare suddenly targeted him.

"This is all your fault, Young Hero!"

"Huh."

"I asked you to guide Soa onto the right path—and this is what happens? Even if I die, I’ll never forgive you. Never!"

"Huh…"

Jin Yeran jumped to her feet and ran out of the room. Watching her go, Wi Yeonho let out a deep sigh.

"They say when whales fight, it’s the shrimp that gets crushed."

Of course, in Wi Yeonho’s case, it wasn’t because the whales were violently thrashing—he’d just been too lazy to get out of the way even when he saw them coming and got caught in the middle.

Suppressing his overwhelming reluctance, Wi Yeonho slowly stood up from his chair.

"Grrrgh."

He’d rather die than suffer through this.

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