Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign Novel - Chapter 450

Chapter 450: The lazy One Takes Action (5)

“Hey, you damn bastard! Don’t you have any other place to have fun than visiting a Beggar Sect den/hideout? In my entire life as a beggar, I’ve never seen anyone as pathetic as you.”

“Should a beggar be saying that?”

“You’re acting like a beggar without being one, you damn Wei Geolja!”

“What the hell is a ‘Wei Geolja’?”

“It’s someone like you who pretends to be a beggar when they’re swimming in money!”

“Visiting a Beggar Sect den once isn’t going to ruin me.”

Jangil barely contained his boiling fury.

‘Damn bastard.’

Of course, taking Wei Yanho to the Beggar Sect branch in Chengdu wouldn’t cause any serious problems. Beggar Sect branches are open places, and they don’t prevent anyone from entering.

Unless they were fugitive criminals, of course.

So the place was also open to Wei Yanho, but the problem was that Jangil didn’t have the slightest desire to take him along.

Who would want to travel with someone who caused trouble wherever he went and stirred up unexpected storms on dry land?

“Grrrr.”

If at least his qinggong was mediocre, he could shake him off, but once Wei Yanho was set on something, there was no way to get rid of him. In the end, he would have to drag this monster along with him.

That reality broke Jangil’s heart.

“Your father is running around like crazy to resolve this matter, and you can stroll around like nothing’s happening?”

“Why do you ask if you already know? I help more by staying out of his sight.”

“…I can’t refute that.”

Wei Yanho certainly understood the situation.

“And what’s that lump there?”

“…Don’t talk about it.”

Wei Yanho shook his head. Jangil looked curiously at So Ryeogun, stuck to Wei Yanho’s side.

“It’s weird.”

“What?”

“Children and animals usually instinctively avoid bad people. So he should stay away from you, but he seems to be acting strangely.”

“What does a beggar know about a child’s pure heart? Recognizing a good person is a privilege of children.”

“What nonsense.”

Jangil shook his head and kept walking.

Even though he spoke like that, Jangil didn’t feel at ease.

With the situation as it was, it was impossible to be at ease. He had told Wei Yanho that it wasn’t a big deal, but not finding any internal clues, he had decided to look outside and that’s why he was going to the Beggar Sect.

“Where’s the Beggar Sect den here?”

“Over there.”

“Over there?”

“There, don’t you see it?”

Wei Yanho’s eyes widened as he saw the building Jangil was pointing at.

“There?”

“Yes.”

“But that’s a perfectly normal mansion?”

“Correct.”

“How is that correct?”

Wei Yanho shouted at Jangil with wide eyes.

“How the hell are beggars going to live in a place like that?! Beggars should live in huts or under bridges! How can they be beggars if they have a house?”

“It’s not a house, it’s a building owned by the Beggar Sect.”

“Why would the Beggar Sect have a building?!”

“Let’s go.”

Jangil became irritated.

“What? Can’t beggars have buildings?”

“If they have buildings, they’re not beggars!”

“Haven’t you ever heard the saying ‘small contributions make a great treasure’? If one hundred thousand beggars in the Central Plains beg for one coin each, imagine how much that would be! With enough pressure, nothing is impossible!”

“…Damn Wei Geolja!”

“Actually, it’s because the magistrate of Chengdu banned huts in the city. Since it’s an important place, beggars can’t avoid operating here, but if they build huts outside the walls, they can’t work, so they bought a building inside.”

“He banned huts? Is that possible?”

“It must have been pressure from the Righteous Heavenly Alliance. Many people don’t like seeing beggars in the city. They have enough excuses.”

“The world is cruel.”

“Exactly.”

Jangil sighed.

Chengdu was a place where the influence of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance was strong, so even the beggars acted carefully. If they provoked conflicts with the members of the Alliance, the Righteous Martial Alliance wouldn’t fare well.

Of course, the Righteous Heavenly Alliance couldn’t ignore the fact that spies from the Righteous Martial Alliance were lurking in their territory either, so they often sought to humiliate the beggars.

They were beggars who endured that suffering to continue operating, so this treatment was understandable. Although, of course, they were still beggars and didn’t receive special treatment.

“So it’s the Beggar Sect den?”

From afar it looked like a normal building, but as you got closer its true nature was revealed. It still qualified as a “building”, but if it deteriorated a little more, terms like “ruin” or “abandoned house” would be more appropriate.

“What did you expect? It’s the Beggar Sect, after all.”

“You said that so confidently!”

“Hey! Do you think it’s easy for us beggars to have a building like this?”

“Didn’t you say that one coin from each beggar would be enough?”

“How many mouths do we have to feed?! Do you think we sell information to live in opulence? There are so many beggars that begging isn’t enough! If they could live just from begging, everyone would be a beggar!”

“You’re right.”

Wei Yanho felt solemn.

“Enough noise! Follow me, we don’t have time.”

Jangil entered abruptly. Since it was a Beggar Sect den, although there was a door, it was wide open and no guards were to be seen.

Of course, what would there be to steal in a Beggar Sect den?

“It’s not educational to show this to a child.”

“Then you shouldn’t have come!”

“As long as it’s fun, it doesn’t matter.”

Jangil entered, irritated.

“Damn beggars! I’ve arrived!”

“…Sometimes I think that maybe you’re the one who despises beggars the most in the world.”

Jangil entered limping and burst open the door to the hall.

“What… what is this?”

For a moment, Jangil looked around, bewildered.

“Did I come to the wrong place?”

No beggars were to be seen inside. It’s not that there weren’t people, but those who were on the mats on the floor didn’t look like beggars.

“Oh? A new beggar?”

“He arrived?”

But their reactions were indeed those of beggars.

“Why are you dressed like that?”

“Oh, don’t ask.”

One of those sitting stood up and waved his hands.

“The magistrate went crazy and now prohibits walking around in rags.”

“What?”

“He says we can’t walk around like beggars.”

“And… then?”

Jangil looked at everyone with empty eyes.

The clothing of beggars couldn’t be any other way. But people recognized beggars immediately because their clothes were old, torn, and dirty, without any coordination.

Without clothes to change into, they had to wear the same ones all year round, and if they got wet in a stream, they couldn’t beg that day. It was inevitable.

But the beggars here were wearing impeccable clothes. If it weren’t for the mats on the floor, it would seem like there was a party.

“But that way no one will know you’re beggars!”

“What can we do? If we walk around like beggars, they kick us out of the city.”

“…My God.”

“On top of that, we must bathe daily. If we look like beggars, they expel us.”

Wei Yanho, who had been observing the situation, murmured:

“Now I understand the meaning of ‘life is hard’.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“But that magistrate is weird. Beggars exist because they don’t do their job well. Instead of improving, they oppress us.”

“He wasn’t so severe before. But recently it got worse. He seems determined to expel all the beggars from Chengdu.”

Grrrrruuuuuuu.

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud sound rumbled in the beggar’s stomach. It was so thunderous that it almost sounded like thunder.

“Oh…”

The beggar who was speaking grabbed his stomach and collapsed.

“Ah… now that I see it… why are you so thin? Three years ago you were chubby.”

“Do you think I can beg like this?”

Of course not.

They were too clean and presentable. If they begged like that, it would be a miracle if they weren’t beaten.

“We’re all starving as if it were food. Before, people here were kind and it wasn’t difficult to get something, but lately they’ve become cruel. Since they banned rags, it’s very difficult to get a plate of food.”

“Then you should beg more earnestly! Why are you all here?”

“We don’t have strength, we don’t have strength.”

The beggar spoke softly, as if he didn’t have the energy to get angry.

“Those who went out to beg often don’t return. We’ve found them collapsed in the street and brought them back several times. Now it’s more difficult, so we tell them not to go out.”

“God.”

Jangil’s face paled.

How are beggars supposed to live if they don’t go out to beg?

“Can’t you ask the main headquarters for help?”

Wei Yanho asked, and Jangil became enraged.

“Hey! If we hoarded food to depend on help, we would be beggars! Beggars!”

“But you’re the Beggar Sect.”

“We already asked the headquarters for help. But… the last provision of food ran out and we’re waiting for more. Since Kaifeng is far away, it doesn’t arrive quickly. We’re going to starve to death.”

Jangil was speechless.

“If this happens, you must urgently inform the headquarters.”

“I told you we already did! But those crazy people said it’s normal for beggars to go hungry and that we shouldn’t exaggerate! Ay… shouting made me even hungrier. Little beggar, don’t you have a little rice hidden?”

“…”

Jangil looked at everyone with empty eyes.

Now that he saw it, although they were wearing decent clothes, they were all emaciated. It’s normal for beggars to be thin, but this was extreme. It seemed like they could collapse and die at any moment.

‘Oh, no.’

They’ll die of hunger like this. First…

Jangil turned his head with bloodshot eyes.

“What?”

Wei Yanho felt Jangil’s gaze and slowly backed away.

“Wei Yanho!”

“Huh?”

In that instant, Jangil launched himself like lightning and grabbed Wei Yanho’s hem.

“What is friendship?! Friend!”

“We’re not friends!”

“Give me money! You’re rich. Everyone will starve to death! If a beggar dies of hunger, he can’t even go to hell! The guards of hell will kick them out for not having food! They’ll become wandering ghosts!”

“Let go of me! No!”

“Money! Give me money! MONEY! WEI YANHOOOOOO!”

The power of the word “money” was overwhelming.

“What? Money?”

“Who has money?”

“Give me a coin!”

The beggars, realizing that someone with money had fallen into their hands, pounced on Wei Yanho.

Seeing their hungry faces, Wei Yanho looked at the sky with tears in his eyes.

“Damn it…”

Why did he end up like this wherever he went? Why?

What bad luck.

What terrible luck.