Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign Novel - Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Wei Yan-ho lay on the roof tiles, looking at the rising moon floating in the sky.

While a somewhat cool breeze was blowing, Wei Yan-ho closed his eyes and savored the wind rubbing his face.

Although it was almost midnight, the sound of reading could be heard from various places in the mansion.

Wei Yan-ho honestly thought they were extraordinary.

To continue such an effort of self-will, without coercion from anyone, was not a common feat. Especially for Wei Yan-ho, it was like a story of another world, completely unreal.

“Mmm…”

His passion and effort were certainly remarkable.

However, a corner of Wei Yan-ho’s heart was deeply sunk.

“Mmm…”

Wei Yan-ho rose from his position.

“Are you planning on leaving?”

Then a quiet voice came from below Wei Yan-ho.

“I wasn’t planning on leaving without saying goodbye to the host who fed me and hosted me.”

With a soft laugh, host Moon Yu-hwan smiled gently.

“So, what are you worried about to greet the moon tonight?”

Wei Yan-ho shrugged.

“I feel a little suffocated.”

“On suffocating days, the night air is good. I also enjoy the night walks when I feel my heart suffocated.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

“Even if it’s not now, you’re planning to leave soon, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Wei Yan-ho spoke honestly.

He had seen many things in the academic world.

He had seen those who devoted themselves with determination, unlike him, and those who had free time, unlike him.

And I had seen that they too, ultimately, were no different from other people, and finally felt that the academic world was just a place in the world, not unlike anywhere else.

Maybe I could see more if I stayed in the academic world, but that wouldn’t make me feel much more than I already felt.

It was time to go.

“If it is your master’s last wish, you must fulfill it. However, I can’t help but feel a little sorry. Young man, have you ever thought about going into the service of government?”

“Me? You mean me?”

“Your Honor also seems to have a good opinion, so if you propose, you could enter the imperial court. Don’t you care about that path?”

Wei Yan-ho shook his head firmly.

“I don’t think that’s for me.”

“Isn’t it?”

“I have no confidence in being able to endure such a place. In a place full of cunning snakes, it would give me indigestion even with one meal.”

Moon Yu-hwan smiled without responding.

“Anyway, I’m seeing and feeling a lot before I leave.”

“What have you felt?”

Wei Yan-ho seemed to reflect for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“If I’m allowed to mention the two most important things, one is that even people who read books, ultimately, don’t live like the books they read…”

“That’s right.”

“And the other is that the academic world is a scarier place than I thought.”

“Why is that?”

“I never imagined that, among all the people I’ve known since I came to the martial world, the place with the greatest teachers would be the academic world. I’ve even been at the headquarters of the Mendigo sect.”

“Lee Wang-ya’s martial arts are certainly remarkable.”

Wei Yan-ho smiled.

Moon Yu-hwan, who had been silently observing Wei Yan-ho’s smile, also responded with a smile.

“Did you know?”

“Yes, from the beginning.”

“Mmm, that’s a bit of a problem. I have to ask you a favor.

“I won’t mention it anywhere.”

“Please, I’m really asking you. I want to live like a scholar.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

“Instead, please tell me just one thing.”

“Speak.”

“Can you hear it?”

“What do you mean?”

“The sound of reading now.”

“I can hear it.”

The sound of reading was still heard around him.

“Those people are learning. Some must aspire to progress and fame, and others must dream of improving this country. And those who are now in the imperial court should have had dreams like that.”

“That’s right.”

“But why are those who entered the imperial court desperately trying to devour one another? Is power really so sweet?”

“…”

Wei Yan-ho continued to speak without waiting for Moon Yu-hwan’s response.

“I understand that the Censored and that person named Nok Gi have their own reasons and justifications. But can’t be solved through dialogue? Should they necessarily destroy each other? Even if that means enduring to death or sending their own child to a certain death?”

“Mmm…”

Wei Yan-ho sighed.

“My teacher told me to go to the academic world and know the world. I thought I would see the justice and moral principles of the world there. But surprisingly, what I saw here is the ugliness of the world. Now I don’t even know why my teacher sent me.”

Moon Yu-hwan nodded and opened his mouth in silence.

“Nok Gi is a villain?”

“…I suppose so.”

– So, what about Lee Wang-ya?

“Well, I guess he’s not exactly a villain.

Moon Yu-hwan nodded.

“Imagine that your first place was not this, but the East Palace (where the eunuchs reside). Imagine being treated with honor there.”

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

“Then Nok Gi would be a villain?”

Wei Yan-ho hesitated to respond.

“I guess not.”

“So, wouldn’t it be us, who are trying to kill him, villains from your perspective?

“I think so.”

Wei Yan-ho seemed to understand something, though not entirely.

There are villains in the world who are unbreakably evil, whatever they say. Anyone would recognize them as villains. But most evil is not so obvious. The circumstances, beliefs, ideals and history they have built are intertwined and form relationships. Thus, someone who is more benevolent than anyone else becomes crueler than a demon to others.

Wei Yan-ho nodded.

“At first, everyone learns learning and harbors ideals in the heart. But the ideals of each one are different. When these ideals clash, people come to understand. To develop their own ideals, we must first overcome reality.”

“Even if that means killing each other to develop our ideals?”

“It’s wrong, it’s tragic, but too entangled knots can’t be untied, there’s no other solution than to cut them with a blade.”

“Why should we untie the knots? Can’t we leave them alone?”

“Because you can’t use the rope if you don’t untie the knots.”

“Mmm…”

Moon Yu-hwan spoke calmly.

“The world is like a tangled knot. Everyone knows we have to untie the knots, but it takes too long to untie those knots, and there is no guarantee that devoting that time really unties them. Over time, those who become impatient look for ways to undo those knots.”

“That’s scary.”

“That is the identity of what you call the cunning and dirty plans to sacrifice one’s life or send one’s own child to a certain death.”

“Is everyone like that?”

“The imperial palace is a little harsher, but other places are not very different.”

“I don’t understand.”

Wei Yan-ho sighed deeply and continued to speak.

“I have no idea what my master wanted me to see in the world. I don’t know what he wanted me to see or feel. The world is too fast for me to see, feel and understand.”

“Isn’t that enough?”

“What?”

“If the world goes fast, you can follow it slowly. Aren’t you doing it already?”

“…”

“It may not be that you are slow, but we are fast. Therefore we cannot untie knots. You are slow, but you see everything clearly. You saw everything that happened in this mansion. What are you worried about then?”

“But I’m a bum.”

A diligent person will see and learn many things, but a lazy person could see more clearly than a diligent person. Aren’t you already doing it?”

“That’s strange.”

“What’s strange?”

“I thought the academic world I knew considered laziness a sin.”

Moon Yu-hwan smiled softly.

“Did I not say so? The world is a place created by people with different ideals and realities that intertwine. If everyone lived the same life, they would not create knots.”

“I suppose so.”

Moon Yu-hwan looked silently at Wei Yan-ho.

“You said you were worried about what to see and feel in the world?”

“Yes.”

“First walk and see the world.”

“…”

“And feel it.”

“No, what I mean is…”

“What’s the point of thinking ahead of time about what to see and what to feel, and then see and feel?”

Suddenly, Wei Yan-ho’s eyes opened a little bit.

“Walk with your own steps, watch the world as it is with your own eyes. And feel how your heart feels. Then the world will show you the way you should take.”

“As I really am, the world as it really is…”

“That’s right.”

The wind blew around Wei Yan-ho’s body.

Moon Yu-hwan was a little startled, but seeing Wei Yan-ho’s expression as infinitely peaceful, he calmed his mind.

Wei Yan-ho simply closed his eyes as the winds from all over the world seemed to gather around him.

Moon Yu-hwan silently surrounded Wei Yan-ho.

Finally, Wei Yan-ho’s eyes opened.

“Mmm…”

“Do you seem to understand something?”

Wei Yan-ho scratched his head slightly and then shook his head.

“The truth is, I’m not sure.”

Moon Yu-hwan burst into a laugh.

“Hahahaha! That’s enough. You just need to understand with your heart.”

Moon Yu-hwan pulled a small brush out of his chest and handed it to Wei Yan-ho. Wei Yan-ho squinted his eyes and looked at the brush Moon Yu-hwan had given him.

“What is this?”

Moon Yu-hwan smiled with irony.

“Do you immediately keep an expensive-looking blade in your chest, but do you first worry about a cheap brush?”

“Well, that’s how people live.”

This brush is also a masterpiece among the masterpieces…

The brush in Moon Yu-hwan’s hand was snatched like lightning and disappeared into Wei Yan-ho’s chest.

“I will accept it with gratitude for now.”

“I think I understand Lee Wang-ya’s feelings.”

Moon Yu-hwan shook his head and looked at the moon.

The crescent moon looked at him with a smile.

“I hope you will one day find the answer.”

Moon Yu-hwan left those words and slowly walked away.

Wei Yan-ho leaned over the roof tiles and looked at the smiling moon.

At the time he heard Moon Yu-hwan’s words, there were changes in his body.

The energy around him embraced him, and the inner energy core inside him also breathed vitality into his body.

As Baek Mu-han had said, when Wei Yan-ho felt something, the inner energy core of Baek Mu-han sleeping within him responded and raised his level.

The words of his teacher that he would become stronger as his enlightenment deepened were true.

However, Wei Yan-ho could not know.

What did he understand?

No, did you really notice anything?

Wei Yan-ho looked up at the sky.

Baek Mu-han was watching him from there.

– Have you noticed?

Wei Yan-ho shook his head.

– I’m not sure yet, Master.

The moon smiled like its master.