Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign Novel - Chapter 444 (New)

444: The Indolent, A Chance Encounter (4)

As they stepped outside, Jangil and Jegal Munin were already waiting.

“Is the matter settled? You simply took for granted that he would follow orders without a fuss, didn’t you?”

“Tch, it’s not even like that!”

“Of course it is. I’ve been far too cooperative lately. Even I’m shocked by my own behavior. They say one should never abandon their true nature, so starting now, I’m going to focus on being as shiftless as I used to be.”

“Stop. Just listening to you makes my skin crawl.”

Wei Jeonghan shuddered as if he were genuinely nauseated.

If the boy was already this taxing to manage, reverting to his former self would be enough to cause Wei Jeonghan a complete mental breakdown.

“He doesn’t even intend to follow through.”

He understood the motivation behind Wei Yanho’s sudden burst of productivity. Though others might find the change minor, for Wei Yanho, this represented a monumental exertion.

The knowledge that his elder brother was a prisoner of the Demon Cult was the only thing keeping him from total inertia.

“This experience will benefit you.”

“Me?”

“Indeed. To be honest, I am hesitant to send you. As a representative of the Righteous Martial Alliance, it is a gamble… but as your father, I believe it is a vital lesson.”

“Don’t you have those priorities backward?”

“You will grasp my meaning once you stand before the War King. Cheok Soogwang is a man of that singular caliber.”

“Hmm.”

Usually, such a name would pique a martial artist’s curiosity, but Wei Yanho appeared entirely apathetic.

“I really shouldn’t set any expectations.”

Wei Jeonghan was well aware that those who placed their hopes in Wei Yanho were usually met with nothing but disappointment.

“Alright, so where is this gentleman located?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea.”

“…”

“…”

Wei Yanho’s brow furrowed as he stared back.

“What?!”

“H-hold on, listen before you lose your temper! The Jegal Clan agreed to lead the way, provided you depart through the main gates.”

“Tch.”

Wei Yanho’s expression soured, looking as though he were physically pained by the restraint of not being able to hurl a barrage of insults.

“Is he truly that frustrated that he can’t curse out his own father?”

“He is undoubtedly our master. A genuine leader is never compromised by blood relations.”

Such was the quiet estimation of Jangil and Jegal Munin.

“Fine, I’ll go since you’re pestering me, but when this is over, I don’t intend to leave my mattress. I’ve been so active recently that I’ve actually shed weight.”

“Yes, for a swine, you’re looking quite lean. You brat! Your face is as round as a bun! What on earth have you been gorging on?”

Wei Yanho flinched.

He had simply spat out the first excuse he could think of, but in truth, claiming weight loss was a blatant lie. A master of his level usually maintained a body in peak condition.

Yet, Wei Yanho’s physique had drifted past ‘peak’ into ‘plump.’ “Chubby” was, unfortunately, the accurate description.

“A martial master with a soft gut?!”

“I-it’s not soft! It’s just a gentle curve. It’s endearing!”

“Stop stuffing your face, for heaven’s sake! If you rot in bed all day, of course you’re going to get fat! Good grief, a supreme master with a potbelly! I’ve never seen the like. People will think you’ve been practicing the Secret Arts of the Sacred Pig!”

“…”

Even Wei Yanho was stunned into silence by that one. If Baek Muhan were to see his current state, he would likely grab a blade to trim away that excess fat and throw it on a grill.

Then again, if Baek Muhan were still among the living, Wei Yanho wouldn’t have dared to let himself go like this.

“Let’s just leave.”

“Look at him, storming off without a word…”

Wei Jeonghan clicked his tongue in exasperation.

How had he managed to father such a child?

“At least he managed to get him moving,” Jangil noted.

At those words, Wei Jeonghan gave a weary, bitter smile.

“It wasn’t my doing. He decided to go on his own. If that boy truly decides to plant his feet, there isn’t a soul alive who could budge him.”

“That is true.”

Jangil nodded. Few had suffered through Wei Yanho’s stubborn streaks as much as he had.

“But do you honestly intend for him to encounter the sovereign of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance?”

“There is no other path.”

“…The outcome seems rather predictable, doesn’t it?”

“Doesn’t it?”

Jangil let out a heavy, tired breath.

“Even the Grand Leader of the Righteous Martial Alliance avoids that man to prevent a catastrophe. If Wei Yanho, who hasn’t even reached the rank of Supreme, goes to meet him…”

“I am filled with dread as well. But we have no choice. We require the aid of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance’s leader.”

“The boy is a wildcard. Sometimes things resolve themselves in the most bizarre fashions. But the anxiety is hard to shake. Wei Yanho’s luck can’t be infinite. If his fortune fails him here…”

Jangil shook his head, refusing to follow that train of thought to its conclusion.

“If the bond with the Righteous Heavenly Alliance is severed, it will be absolute bedlam.”

“Things couldn’t possibly be worse than they already are.”

Wei Jeonghan had resigned himself to the situation. If the crisis was this dire and they still couldn’t cooperate due to petty ego and friction, then there was nothing left to preserve.

“My only real fear is one thing…”

“And that is?”

“If things go south, will he be able to get out in one piece?”

“Don’t waste your sleep on that. He’s the sort of person who would yank out the hairs of King Yama’s beard just to claw his way out of the underworld.”

“Mmm, I suppose you’re right.”

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t visualize Wei Yanho in actual peril. This was the same youth who had wandered out of the Imperial Palace—a place of absolute lethality—without a scratch. What environment could possibly hold him?

Short of the Demon Cult itself, there seemed to be nothing left that could truly threaten Wei Yanho.

“It sounds ridiculous, but it carries a strange logic.”

Even a powerhouse like the Supreme Sovereign couldn’t expect to enter and exit the Righteous Heavenly Alliance’s territory unscathed. It was a daunting stronghold. While it didn’t consolidate its forces in a single hub like the Righteous Martial Alliance, its domain was terrifying.

But Wei Yanho? He likely could.

“It’s not that he’s more powerful than their leader, but he just projects that bizarre sense of certainty.”

Perhaps it was because they had witnessed him perform too many miracles…

“Hurry up!”

“Fine, you little brat! We’re coming!”

Wei Jeonghan muttered complaints as he trailed after Wei Yanho.

“By the way, why is that old geezer tagging along?”

“Who? Patriarch Jegal?”

“Yeah.”

“If he doesn’t accompany us, who is going to show you the way to the Righteous Heavenly Alliance? Even if you found it, they’d slam the gates in your face without an introduction.”

“Ah, fair point.”

Wei Yanho let out an exaggerated, wide-mouthed yawn.

The sheer audacity to ask such a question and then act bored…

“Ah, and regarding this…”

Suddenly.

The heads of both Wei Yanho and Wei Jeonghan snapped to the side in perfect unison.

“Did you catch that?”

“Yes.”

“Move!”

Wei Jeonghan bolted without a second thought. Wei Yanho followed suit immediately, abandoning any pretense of laziness. Jangil and Jegal Munin, though confused, sprinted after them.

“What is happening?”

Jangil pushed his qinggong to its absolute limit. He wanted to shout a question, but he was barely keeping pace with Wei Yanho. Jegal Munin had already been left in the dust.

“He’s not even breaking a sweat while using that much speed?”

Jangil tightened his jaw.

The art of light movement was the pride of the Beggar Sect, and the Beggar Sect was the gold standard for qinggong.

To rise in the Beggar’s Path, being able to traverse a thousand li in a single night was the baseline. Jangil was confident that no one, regardless of generation, could outstrip him in velocity. Yet, Wei Yanho’s speed was so blistering that even he was struggling to stay close.

However, the real shock wasn’t the speed itself—it was the fact that this slothful boy was running like this without a single moan of protest. That realization put him on high alert.

And when Wei Yanho finally skidded to a halt, Jangil’s eyes widened in horror.

“Is that blood?”

They were deep within the estate of the Tang Family of Sichuan.

This was a fortress supposedly impossible for outsiders to breach. Even if an infiltrator bypassed the perimeter, reaching the private inner gardens undetected was unthinkable.

So, what was the meaning of this gore and the collapsed figures?

“What in the world…?”

Jangil’s gaze, as he came to a stop beside Wei Yanho, was trembling.

“Grrrrr…”

They were bodies.

No—they were still clinging to life.

Beside the fallen, several men remained standing. But their condition was harrowing. Based on their attire, they were clearly retainers of the Tang Family, but something was horribly wrong.

Their eyes were a horrific crimson, as if the capillaries had all exploded at once, and strings of thick saliva trailed from their contorted mouths.

“…Deviation of Qi?”

A pained sound escaped Jangil’s throat.

“It wasn’t over yet.”

A cold shiver raced down his spine.

He had been under the impression that the chaos within the Tang Family had subsided, leaving only the investigation of the cause. He was wrong. Finally, a lingering doubt was answered.

Why had so many fallen simultaneously before?

How could such a coincidence occur?

It wasn’t a coincidence at all.

Those who had collapsed previously were merely the opening act. The ones they were looking at now were the second wave.

So… were there even more to come?

The thought that others were walking around like ticking time bombs made Jangil’s skin crawl.

Without any warning or symptom, they would suddenly descend into a murderous frenzy and maul anyone nearby. How could they possibly defend against such a thing?

“They’ve lost their minds.”

Wei Yanho clicked his tongue.

“…Reasoning with them is off the table. We need to neutralize them immediately.”

“If you hold back too much, you’ll get hurt. I don’t think they’ll go down from simple strikes.”

“They’re completely deranged.”

Wei Jeonghan drew his blade, his expression turning icy. Tang Family reinforcements would be arriving shortly, but there was no time to wait for them. If they had been a few minutes later, the victims on the ground would already be corpses.

“Just restrain them.”

“I’m telling you, it won’t be that simple.”

“That’s exactly why I said restrain them.”

“Ugh, seriously!”

Wei Yanho grumbled as he stepped forward.

“You realize that capturing a lunatic without maiming them is ten times harder than taking down a sane person.”

The stream of complaints was endless, but Wei Jeonghan simply ignored him. Wei Yanho reached for his hip, then made a sour face.

“Ah, right. I don’t have a blade.”

He scanned his surroundings and, seeing Jegal Munin finally catch up, wheezing for breath, he barked:

“Hey, hand over your sword.”

“This one, my lord?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jegal Munin unsheathed the weapon at his side and offered it up.

“Trusting one’s steel to another is the ultimate sign of our bond. At last, my lord acknowledges my unwavering loyalty. I am truly moved…”

“Bah, shut it!”

Wei Yanho spun around and planted a boot in Jegal Munin’s chest.

Jegal Munin let out a yelp as he was launched through the air toward a nearby roof.

“So annoying, I could actually kill you.”

“Good work.”

“That did feel pretty good.”

It was the first time he had ever been complimented for kicking a subordinate. Wei Yanho, feeling a strange sense of gratification, turned back with the sword in hand.

“Well, let’s see what we’re dealing with. I doubt they can understand English, but they better be ready. I can’t stand that stench. It’s already getting on my nerves.”

He could feel it vividly.

That thick…

And repulsive aura of the Demon Arts.

Recalling his encounter with the Insane Demon, Wei Yanho charged forward, blade in hand.

It was time for the chaos to begin.