Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign Novel - Chapter 60

Chapter 60

“Please tell him that Dad would like to see him sometime.”

“I will.”

“Then.”

Moon Eun-ji left the room and Wi San-ho silently watched the door through which he had left before sitting at the dining table.

“Looking at the dining table, which was already half empty, Wi San-ho sighed. The beggar sitting in front of him patted his swollen and bulging belly.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

“I’m eating.”

They had only exchanged a few words, but in that short time, what should the food have been stuck in his mouth to finish his meal?

Well, that’s why he’s a beggar.

“Are you eating food or drinking it?”

Heh! If a beggar child sits down to eat quietly, it’s the perfect way to get his plate torn apart.

Wi San-ho gave a bitter smile.

The Mendigo sect was a martial sect, but also a sect of beggars. As they also needed funds, they maintained their own businesses as typical martial sects and engaged in the exchange of information through their independent intelligence network.

However, as they accepted countless beggars as disciples — so many who were called the “One Thousand Beggars” — they were always short of money.

Although someone like Jang-il would be considered a key figure in the Beggar Sect, his appearance was exactly that of a neighborhood beggar who had not eaten for days.

‘Not bad.’

If beggars began to worry about appearances, the leaders could live comfortably, but then the absolute majority of the Beggar Sect, the Mukkeolgae (Loose Mendiges), would die of hunger.

So Jang-il’s current appearance was something to praise, not to criticize for lack of dignity.

“Speaking about it, did you communicate with home?”

“House?”

“The Wei family of Guangdong”.

Wei San-ho shook his head.

“No, not yet.”

“Tsk tsk, Wei Yan-ho sent a letter home, so by now the house must be in chaos, but you are so indifferent.”

“Then you could come this way.”

Wi San-ho ate as if nothing. Seeing it that way, Jang-il beat his chest with frustration.

The person who had gone mad at his younger brother’s affair now showed little concern for his family, which was both frustrating and absurd.

“Don’t you worry your family should be in shock?”

“They’re people who would prefer Yan-ho to be found even a day earlier. They’re probably also desperately looking for him right now.”

“Is that so?”

For Wei San-ho, who knew well that his parents were traveling around the world looking for Wei Yan-ho, the priority was to find him as soon as possible. Only then would his parents be calm.

Wei San-ho finished his meal and lay down in his bed.

Jang-il, lying in the next bed, casually asked.

What will you do when you see him?

“What do you mean?”

“Well, since they haven’t seen each other in a long time, you could hug him… things like that.

Wei San-ho seemed to think for a moment before talking.

“I’ll have to hit him.”

“Hmm?”

“I won’t be able to calm down unless I hit him once.”

“Wow, wow, there’ll be chaos with the fight between the brothers, but I wonder if you can hit him.”

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t I tell you? Your brother is incredibly strong.”

Wei San-ho smiled.

“Is that so? Then I’ll have to hit him even more.”

Wei San-ho could already see in his mind the direct and challenging responses of Wei Yan-ho.

***

When patients who had arrived at the clinic reached a somewhat stable condition, Jin So-ah finally found time to think about other issues.

Jin So-ah left late at night after confirming that the patients had fallen asleep. Perhaps because they were busy with the work, the workers were barely visible. After turning around as if he were worried, Jin So-ah seemed to make up his mind soon and knocked on the door of the room where Wei Yan-ho lay.

“Do you sleep?”

Jin So-ah opened the door and entered without even waiting for an answer.

As he entered the room, he saw Wei Yan-ho still lying on the floor as a dead person.

Seeing him lying there, sleeping with his belly uncovered, shortly after eating, really looked like someone without a single worry in the world.

“Do you sleep?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Jin So-ah controlled his blood pressure, which went up to his head, breathing deeply. If he took this person’s behavior seriously, he would become a patient instead of a doctor.

“You’re sleeping.”

“That’s what I said.”

Jin So-ah put his hand in his robe and pulled out a finely polished golden needle.

‘Would it hurt you a lot if you stabbed him with this?’

Jin So-ah even thought of using the sacred golden needle as a weapon. If his late father had known, he would have foamed through his mouth and collapsed.

“If you’re not sleeping by chance…”

“I said I’m sleeping.”

“You don’t seem to be sleeping…”

“I don’t know how someone who can’t trust people’s words gets to be a doctor.”

Jin So-ah tightened the golden needle harder.

‘Where was the point of bloodshed again?’

Jin So-ah’s gaze looked at the Baihui acupuncture point, at the center of Wei Yan-ho’s oily, shiny head. If I pressed him gently with a single chi, Wei Yan-ho would have to stand before the King of Hell and apologize for all his laziness.

Jin So-ah, desperately repressing his first murderous impulse, spoke again in earnest.

“There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“For me to leave?”

There’s something I’d like to consult with you about.

Wei Yan-ho raised his head slightly.

“With me?”

“Who else is here besides Master Wi?”

Wei Yan-ho stared at Jin So-ah for a while. Several suspicions were reflected on his face, which soon became full of pity.

“Do you want to consult me?”

“Yes.”

Wei Yan-ho thought he had experienced all kinds of strange things since his arrival at the Sacred Hand Hall. For the first time in his life, he had received excessive treatment, and now even someone wanted to consult him.

If Wei Jeong-han and Baek Mu-han had known this fact, they would have shed tears of joy.

However, Wei Yan-ho was someone who knew his place and his limits better than anyone else.

He never considered himself a reliable advisor. If so, the result was evident.

Wei Yan-ho spoke cautiously.

“Don’t you have friends?”

Scream.

Jin So-ah’s sound gnashing his teeth leaked through his lips.

Wei Yan-ho smiled clumsily.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I think I touched a sensitive point.

Jin So-ah grabbed his thigh and repressed his anger with a trembling face.

Wei Yan-ho could see his body shaking.

“I shouldn’t ask children who don’t have friends if they have friends…”

Wei Yan-ho was full of guilt.

“That’s not it. I have something to ask Master Wi, who has seen much more of the world than I have.

Wei Yan-ho responded with indifference.

“I haven’t seen much.”

– Still, you must have seen more than me, right?

“I was only at home until I was twelve, then I spent five years in a cave and left a couple of months ago to come here.”

“…”

Jin So-ah stood weakly.

He felt so pathetic about trying to consult with Wei Yan-ho that he wanted to bite his tongue and die.

“Even so, I will listen to what you have to say.”

Jin So-ah looked at Wei Yan-ho with empty eyes before sitting weakly on the floor.

“So what is it?”

Jin So-ah snapped her lips as if she didn’t find it reliable, but then opened her mouth with the attitude that she had nothing to lose.

“What do you think is the problem with our clinic right now?”

“Problem?”

“I mean, what do you think our problem is from the perspective of a stranger like Master Wi?”

Wi Yan-ho supported his chin and frowned. After a good time, he shook his head as if he had no idea.

“That’s too difficult a question.”

“No problems?”

“No. There are so many that that’s the problem. I don’t know which is the most serious or where to begin to fix it.”

“Are there so many?”

Wi Yan-ho looked at Jin So-ah as if to ask him what kind of question that was. Jin So-ah lowered his head before the clever look of Wi Yan-ho.

“Well, there would be many.”

“Cheer up. That’s the way the world is.”

“So what do you think is the most important thing when it comes to running a clinic?”

Wi Yan-ho responded with indifference, as if there was nothing to think about.

“Money.”

“Excuse me?”

“Money, I said money.”

“Isn’t medical skill the most important thing in a clinic, money being a secondary issue?”

“You can hire doctors with money.”

“Even so, wouldn’t the ability of the hired doctor be the problem?”

“You can hire qualified doctors.”

Jin So-ah was about to refute Wi Yan-ho’s unhesitating words, but he closed his mouth.

Wi Yan-ho attacked Jin So-ah’s weak spot.

– The truth, don’t you think so too?

“…”

Jin So-ah couldn’t answer.

Wei Yan-ho snapped his tongue.

Jin So-ah refuted as if he could not accept it.

“I learned from my late father that medical skill is the art of benevolence.”

“That’s right.”

Medical ability is the art of saving lives. Saying that money is the most important thing in practicing such art…

Wei Yan-ho turned his head aside and snapped his tongue.

“So, in your opinion, does this no-money clinic seem to work well?”

“That’s…”

“If you continue practicing medicine without charging money to those who cannot afford it, you could save people money for about one more year.”

Jin So-ah nodded.

“If you charge money, you could save people until you die, right?”

Jin So-ah’s eyes trembled.

Seeing it well, there are people who think that not charging for treating people is great, but how many people could be cured like that? Only a few hundred. If you treat people for money all your life, would a few hundred be the problem? You could save thousands, tens of thousands.

“That’s true.”

Treating those who cannot pay with losses should be done within the limits of what the clinic allows to maintain. If you simply give away everything like now, do you think something will be solved? I bet you think the people you have treated are incredibly grateful to you, but if you declare bankruptcy, they will just snap the tongue once and say, “Those people were very good people,” period.

Jin So-ah’s face got red.

Those people were very grateful!

“Of course they’re grateful. Naturally they’re grateful. You’re taking care of them without charging them. I’d appreciate it too. So, among those people, how many of them ran out of food and clothes to make money and pay you?”

“…”

“Of course they are thankful from the heart. Probably many think they should reward you when they succeed later. The problem is when that success will come.”

Jin So-ah couldn’t refute.

“If they were really grateful, they would save money by cutting food expenses right now, no matter what success or anything else. But how many people is there?”

Wei Yan-ho’s words were harsh.

However, Jin So-ah could not discuss Wei Yan-ho’s words at all.

“Do you think other people charge for treatments because they’re insensitive and they only care about money? You seem to think you’re doing a great job of good, but not at all. The good works that tear down the foundation can be touching at the time, but then it’s just nonsense. Twenty years from now, few people will even remember that the Sacred Hand Hall existed.”

Wei Yan-ho’s words became daggers that pierced Jin So-ah’s heart.

He meant it wasn’t true, but Jin So-ah knew it would turn out as Wei Yan-ho said.

“But the medical skill is…”

At the words of Jin So-ah, unable to set aside his repentance, Wei Yan-ho snorted.

It takes something to eat and live for there to be medical skill. If I’m about to starve right now, what medical skill is there?

Wei Yan-ho’s reproach echoed in Jin So-ah’s ears.