Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign

Chapter 19: Hao Clan (2)

“Thank you.”

“However, on our side as well...”

“Yes?”

“We have our principles.”

“Huh?”

As Wi Yeonho tilted his head in confusion, Jang Il explained on her behalf.

“Information fee.”

“Oh, the information fee? How much is it?”

“Five nyang of silver.”

“That’s not too bad.”

Wi Yeonho pulled out five coins from his coat and handed them over.

“...”

“What is it?”

“Even if you choose to mock us, we have no means to resist. But if we don’t receive the information fee, we cannot hand over the intel. Even if you were to kill us all, the principles of the Hao Clan will not change.”

“What are you talking about?”

Jang Il poked Wi Yeonho in the side.

“She said five silver nyang!”

“What? What kind of info costs that much?!”

“There’s actually some top-grade intel included. That’s why it’s a bit pricey.”

“Five silver nyang? Hold on.”

Wi Yeonho took out all the coins he had tucked away and began counting them.

“...I’m short.”

“I’m sorry, but if you’re short, I can’t give you the intel.”

“Can’t you just sell me one nyang’s worth separately?”

“That would be difficult.”

“Well, can’t be helped, then.”

Without a second thought, Wi Yeonho turned around.

“Where are you going?”

“To earn money.”

“Huh?”

“If I’m short on cash, I have to make more. What else can I do?”

“No! You can’t! Not you!”

“Why not? Then what do you suggest?”

“Kuhuhu... So this is how it ends.”

Jang Il could no longer hold back his tears.

In the end, Jang Il had to give up all the money Wi Yeonho had previously earned and his own hidden emergency stash. Even then, it wasn’t enough, so he had to write a promissory note.

‘My heart is cold.’

Watching Jang Il cry endlessly in the corner, Wi Yeonho clicked his tongue.

“You’re such a pushover. A complete pushover.”

And just like that, Wi Yeonho drained even the Beggar Sect’s hidden emergency funds from the General Bureau in Kaifeng to get what he wanted.

Gui Nangnang handed over the documents, and Wi Yeonho examined them.

“Hmm, very thorough. This is on a whole different level compared to the stuff the beggars gathered. I can see this is a different class entirely as an intelligence group.”

“Hey, you scoundrel! You emptied out our hidden funds, and that’s all you have to say?!”

“It’s the truth.”

Wi Yeonho shrugged.

“And I have one more request.”

“Go ahead.”

“I’d like to send a letter. Can I do that from here?”

“It’s possible.”

“Then please send it to Guangdong. Is it expensive?”

“More than the escort agencies. But this time, let’s consider the fee covered if you answer a few of my questions.”

“Well, that works for me.”

Gui Nangnang quietly asked,

“What’s your name?”

“Wi Yeonho.”

“Your age?”

“Let’s see... I’m seventeen now.”

“What? You’re younger than me?!”

Jang Il rushed over as if feeling wronged.

Wi Yeonho casually tossed him into a corner and looked back at Gui Nangnang.

“Seventeen.”

Gui Nangnang hesitated, unsure whether to trust Wi Yeonho’s answer, which didn’t match his appearance in the slightest.

‘His martial aura... and even his looks... there’s no way he’s seventeen.’

“Please answer truthfully.”

“I am telling the truth.”

“Wi Yeonho... Wi Yeonho...”

Murmuring his name to herself for a while, Gui Nangnang’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Guangdong. Wi Yeonho. By any chance, are you Wi Yeonho, the second son of the Grand House of Wi in Guangdong?”

“Huh? You know me?”

Gui Nangnang nodded.

“Of course. There’s no way I wouldn’t know the second son of the Grand House of Wi. Especially since your family once commissioned us to find you—I remember it clearly.”

“Really? From home?”

At that moment, Jang Il shouted in surprise.

“Wait, Wi Yeonho? Second son of the Grand House of Wi in Guangdong? Are you Sanho’s younger brother?”

“Huh? You know my brother?”

Gui Nangnang let out a sigh.

“So the second son of the Grand House of Wi, who was believed to be dead, has returned. If only you’d come back a year earlier, we could’ve claimed the commission fee. What a shame.”

“My family made a request?”

“Yes. They offered a full hundred bars of gold to anyone who could find you.”

Jang Il nodded.

“Yeah, a similar request came our way too.”

“A hundred bars of gold? Whoa, I didn’t know my family was rich.”

Though he tried to sound nonchalant, Wi Yeonho had to pinch the bridge of his nose to keep from tearing up.

His family had been searching for him all this time. And they’d even put up a reward as large as a hundred bars of gold.

‘They probably couldn’t even afford that kind of money.’

He could now sense just how desperate they had been.

Truthfully, he wanted to return home that very instant.

If not for Baek Muhan’s inner core embedded in his body, Wi Yeonho would have rushed back without a second thought.

“Is the letter to be sent to the Grand House of Wi in Guangdong?”

“Yes.”

“Very well. Will you write it now?”

“Please.”

Once paper, brush, and ink were prepared, Wi Yeonho wrote the letter to his family and handed it to Gui Nangnang.

“Here.”

“It’ll take at least ten days for the letter to reach Guangdong.”

“That’s fine. I’ve waited five years—what’s ten more days?”

“And I apologize for the misunderstanding. You just looked so much like a member of the Beggar Sect…”

“Rotting in the mountains for five years will do that... I used to be quite fresh-faced, you know.”

“And this...”

She took out a red cloth from her coat and handed it to him.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a mark designating you as a VIP client of the Hao Clan. If you hang it at your lodging, one of our informants will come to you.”

“Do you only give this to high-paying customers?”

“No, nothing like that. Please consider it an apology.”

“It’s free?”

“Not exactly.”

Wi Yeonho looked deflated.

“Then it’s not that meaningful.”

“You’ll find it more useful than you think. It’s not something we hand out lightly.”

Gui Nangnang smiled.

A seventeen-year-old who had overpowered both Gongmu and the Four Shadows?

She could say with confidence—no one in the Central Plains had such ability.

To find someone with comparable strength, one would have to look back at least a full generation.

In the world of the gangho, where martial strength was everything, someone whose power didn’t match their age was an immensely significant existence.

It only made sense to tie a thread to someone like that.

“If you insist, then just this once, we’ll waive the information fee for next time.”

“Really?”

“This is a special exception. We don’t want what happened here to drive a wedge between you and the Hao Clan.”

“Nothing really happened though, right?”

At Wi Yeonho’s words, Jang Il ground his teeth.

“I had to write a promissory note, and I got a black eye!”

“Well, that’s just the usual. You’re a pushover.”

“I’m not!”

“Anyway, we’re all done here, so we’ll be going now.”

“Take care.”

Once Wi Yeonho and Jang Il left, Gui Nangnang opened her mouth.

“Gongmu.”

“Yes, Hall Leader.”

“Send a message to the main house immediately. The second son of the Grand House of Wi in Guangdong has returned as a master.”

“Yes.”

As she listened to Gongmu’s reply, Gui Nangnang sank into thought.

Right now, only the Hao Clan and the Beggar Sect knew this information.

It would’ve been ideal if even the Beggar Sect hadn’t known—but that didn’t change the value of the intelligence.

'This must be used.'

Information only held value when it was scarce.

'Besides...'

It wasn’t just the fact that Wi Yeonho had returned as a master that made this matter so important.

When she had faced Wi Yeonho, Gui Nangnang had felt a fear beyond imagination.

If that fear had come solely from martial aura, there was no way someone like Gui Nangnang—who regularly met with the Hao Clan Leader and major powers of the gangho—would be experiencing it for the first time.

'There’s something there.'

Wi Yeonho held a secret.

Uncovering it—that was now Gui Nangnang’s job.

'Looks like I’m going to get busy.'

Having exited the Hao Clan, Jang Il wiped his tears.

“My money...”

“Money comes and goes. And beggars shouldn’t be obsessed with wealth. Stick to your principles.”

“Ughhh.”

Jang Il wanted nothing more than to beat this wretched bastard to death right then and there.

But with no strength, what could he do?

“You got all the information now, right?”

“Well...”

“Then we’re done here, aren’t we?”

“Uh... there’s a bit of a problem.”

“What now?!”

“Um, I have to travel pretty far...”

“And?”

“I don’t have travel expenses.”

“...”

“Can I earn a little money here before I go?”

Tears welled up in Jang Il’s eyes once again.

And so, Wi Yeonho extorted more travel rations and provisions from Jang Il before packing his bags.

He honestly wanted to stay a little longer, but the thought that he could only return home after finishing the assignments his master had left behind made him suppress his laziness—perhaps for the first time in his life—of his own will.

That was how deep Wi Yeonho’s longing for home ran.

“Well then, I’m off.”

“...Please, just go already.”

“If you keep acting like that, I won’t leave.”

“I beg you, just go.”

* * *

“Back then, I really thought I’d never see him again.”

The Divine Mad Dog shuddered, as if a chill ran down his spine.

“No, I shouldn’t have seen him again. I should’ve cut all ties with that bastard right then and there. I should’ve never done something stupid like contacting Sanho!”

The Historian watched the Divine Mad Dog, puzzled.

No matter what, the Divine Mad Dog was once the Boss of the massive Beggar Sect—and even now, he was considered a legend in the gangho.

No matter how great Wi Yeonho was, how could he shake someone like the Divine Mad Dog this much?

“Um... he just seems a bit eccentric. Other than that, I don’t really see any major issues?”

At that moment, the Divine Mad Dog lunged at the Historian and grabbed him by the collar.

“Is that what you think?”

“Guh! Cough! What are you doing...?”

The Divine Mad Dog let go and let out a deep sigh.

“Truth is... I thought so too.”

“Sorry?”

“Yeah, I thought he was just a strange but amusing brat. Back then, anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“I should’ve cut all ties with him while I had the chance. If I had, I wouldn’t have gone through all those horrible things. No one—and I mean no one—who’s ever gotten involved with Wi Yeonho ended up well! Not a single one!”

“...”

The Divine Mad Dog continued, his voice trembling.

“Take that place for example. Yeah, the first place he went.”

“Where did he go?”

“Where do you think?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“The place least suited for someone like him. The sanctuary of scholarship, where books breathe and knowledge thrives.”

“You don’t mean...?”

“Yes. The Confucian Forest. That quiet, peaceful sanctuary of learning became a hotbed of chaos the moment he appeared.”

“...”

“One thing’s for certain. That brat drags disaster with him. Even if he doesn’t mean to, trouble follows him wherever he goes. I should’ve realized it back then.”

“...”