"Hey, beggar."
"...."
"Are you listening, or did you starve to death?"
"Kaak! Why do you keep calling people beggar, beggar!"
"Then what should I call a beggar if not a beggar?"
"I have a name called Jang-il! Jang-il! Fox-Dog is fine too! Other people don't call me beggar, beggar like you do! Don't you get it?"
"Aren't you a beggar?"
"...."
Jang-il was at a loss for words.
He's a beggar. Right, a beggar. When asked if a beggar is indeed a beggar, what other answer could there be?
"Y-yes, I am."
"And you're a Beggar's Sect beggar at that. Beggar's Sect beggars are the upper class among beggars, so what's wrong with calling a beggar a beggar?"
"...Nothing."
Jang-il swallowed his tears.
Of course, he wasn't ashamed of being a beggar. With so many people in the world worse than beggars, why would he be embarrassed about being one?
Rather, Jang-il was proud of the fact that he was a beggar belonging to the Beggar's Sect.
But then why does his stomach turn when that bastard calls him a beggar?
"Kkeung, why? Why? Why is that!"
"Isn't it strangely peaceful?"
"Huh?"
"The Demonic Cult attacked. Even though they retreated, we don't know when they might attack again, but it's strangely quiet. Nothing special happening."
The road home was peaceful.
Though it was questionable whether this could truly be called peace.
Jang-il grimaced.
Wei Yan-ho had many flaws, but one of his most prominent was that he really couldn't read the atmosphere.
"You call this peaceful? It should be called ominous!"
"What's the difference?"
"...Huh?"
Well, how should I put it… explaining it in words isn't easy.
Wei San-ho answered instead.
"When people are quiet without anxiety, it's peaceful, but now they're trembling with fear and keeping their voices low. So this kind of atmosphere should be called 'ominous.'"
"Ah, I see."
"What! Why do you accept it so easily when he says it! If I had said it, you definitely would have found fault!"
Wei Yan-ho widened his eyes and answered.
"The credibility is different from the start."
"Eueung?"
"Between what that handsome, well-built person says and what a dirty beggar says, which would be more trustworthy? Who would you believe if you were me?"
"...."
There was nothing to say.
"That's why a person's appearance is also important. People in the martial world are all out of their minds too. How can they give money to beggars and buy information? How can they trust that?"
"I agree!"
Ghost Lady, who had been hiding so quietly that no one knew if she was there or not, raised her voice as if her moment had come.
Though not completely at odds with the orthodox factions like the Demonic Cult, she was still classified as part of the unorthodox faction as the legitimate heir of Hao Clan, so during the journey to the Orthodox Alliance and Mount Hua, her spirit had been completely crushed.
Worrying about standing out here, agonizing about being discovered there, she hadn't been able to make a sound all this time, but now that she could finally come out, she shouted as if pouring out all her pent-up frustration.
"How can anyone trust beggars! How can they pay money and buy information from those who go around begging for information too! I really can't understand it."
"How is Hao Clan any different?"
"It's different! Originally, the most important information comes out when gambling or when with courtesans! Beggars can't even get close to such places! The quality of information that Hao Clan possesses is on a completely different level from the information those beggars bring!"
"...That's quite the boast."
Wei Yan-ho sighed.
When he turned his head to look at the group, his sigh grew deeper.
What kind of combination is this supposed to be?
A beggar, a monk, a physician, a Taoist… and even a Hao Clan informant.
There had never been such a group in the world. Just looking at it made his head throb.
"No, so! I'm going home! Everyone go your separate ways now!"
It's his family's journey home, so why are so many people tagging along?
"Heng! What right do you have?"
"Huh?"
Jang-il stuck out his belly and said.
"We've already gotten permission from Great Hero Wei Jeong-han. No matter what you say, there's no reason for us to leave."
Wei Yan-ho's face contorted.
"Father!"
Wei Jeong-han shrugged his shoulders.
"Isn't it nice not to be lonely?"
"Lonely? That's called being cozy! It's been a while since we're going home as a family!"
"Even when we get home, the family can continue to see each other's faces. As long as you don't suddenly disappear again like last time."
"Kkeung."
Wei Jeong-han smiled lightly.
'Making connections is a good thing.'
Wei Jeong-han was also realizing it. Wei Yan-ho had already left his hands. Not only in skill, but his status in the martial world had already easily surpassed Wei Jeong-han himself.
Whether Wei Yan-ho wanted it or not, the martial world would now demand many things from him. In that sense, the people currently gathered around were those who could someday become a strength to Wei Yan-ho.
'If he reaches out his hand, that is.'
Wei Jeong-han pressed his forehead.
'Making connections is indeed a good thing, but I wonder if that guy will even be able to utilize these connections.'
Connections only shine when a person has the intention to use them. But what use are connections to someone who won't come out of his room?
'I need to create incidents somehow.'
What would happen if they returned home as a family without an incident like this?
It's obvious.
Wei Yan-ho would happily lock himself in his room, and Han Sang-ah, thinking that Wei Yan-ho had suffered enough hardship, would say he has that right and wouldn't let anyone disturb Wei Yan-ho for a while.
'That's the highway to ruin!'
The human body forgets what it has if it doesn't use it. If Wei Yan-ho continues living like before, he'll forget all his current skills.
No matter how unreliable the boy seems, having power is a hundred times better than not having it. As a father's duty, he couldn't just watch his child lose what he had.
If he brings even these people along, at least it would create some excuse for Wei Yan-ho to move around a bit more.
However....
"Ah, ttago!"
Wei Yan-ho whined.
"No! I don't need to receive this kind of treatment!"
"Your wounds haven't fully healed yet."
"What kind of acupuncture do you do on a cut wound! Cuts and stabs, what more is there to them?"
"I am a physician."
"Ueueu..."
Wei Yan-ho was overwhelmed by Jin Ye-ran's overwhelming presence. This woman, regardless of other times, emanated an aura that even the great Wei Yan-ho had to flinch at when it came to matters related to medicine.
'I was the one who caused this.'
Come to think of it, it was none other than he who had made Jin Ye-ran this way.
It was Wei Yan-ho who had said to Jin Ye-ran, who had resolved to make Jin So-ah an excellent physician and live for the family together with Jin So-ah, "If you want to do it, do it yourself directly, why make Jin So-ah do it and slink away to the back?"
Since that day, Jin Ye-ran began dreaming of becoming an excellent physician herself, not Jin So-ah.
The problem was....
'It's a bit excessive.'
You should distinguish between an excellent physician and an overzealous physician. Why does she charge at patients as if to kill them?
And no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand why she was putting acupuncture needles on cut wounds.
"Does this really have an effect?"
"The human body responds to stimulation."
"What?"
"When a wound occurs, the body moves to heal that wound. When a big wound occurs, the body weakens because it cannot handle even the gathered energy, but small wounds actually make that part stronger than before. Just like how the flesh where scars form swells up more, and broken bones become more solid when they heal."
"So, why is that?"
Jin Ye-ran said with a serious face.
"Therefore, when you create more small wounds on a wounded area, the body that had become calm becomes activated again to treat the wounds."
"...Wait, hold on."
So right now, what?
Wounds on top of wounds?
There's already a wound, but you poke and cut on top of it to enhance self-healing power?
"Isn't this quackery?"
"It's a new theory."
"Who created it?"
Jin Ye-ran smiled brightly.
"I did."
For the first time, Wei Yan-ho thought he wanted to spit on that pretty smiling face of Jin Ye-ran.
"Th-then you're using me as an experimental subject right now?"
"The term 'experimental subject' seems a bit strange. 'Beneficiary of advanced medicine' would be more appropriate."
"Advanced medicine! Has this woman gone mad!"
"Be quiet!"
Wei Jeong-han, unable to bear it any longer, finally exploded.
The father is full of worry, yet he's flirting with a woman like that. The top of the carriage isn't a sitting room!
"Father, your son is about to become an experimental subject, and that's what you have to say?"
"Please, I beg you, ask her to develop some medical technique that can eliminate laziness. If I could just do that, I wouldn't have any worries until the day I die. While she's at it, something to sew up that thoughtless mouth of yours too."
"You only hate me!"
"Kaaak!"
When Wei Jeong-han made a truly angry face, Wei Yan-ho flinched and lay flat on top of the carriage roof. Then Jin Ye-ran indifferently stuck acupuncture needles into Wei Yan-ho's wounds.
"Ah! A bit more gently!"
"It heals faster the more it hurts."
"Kkeueueung."
Seeing Jin Ye-ran handle Wei Yan-ho, Wei Jeong-han's face became serious.
'Perfect, just perfect.'
At first, she only looked pretty-faced and seemed to lack backbone, but as time went on, the person seemed to be getting stronger in character.
It was like, how should I put it....
"What are you looking at?"
"...Nothing."
Wei Jeong-han turned his head away from Han Sang-ah, who was snapping sharply at him.
'Be careful, Yan-ho.'
Pretty faces are only momentary.
Once married, women transform into completely different creatures from what they were before.
Thinking that his child might walk the same path as himself, Wei Jeong-han kept pressing his increasingly sour-feeling eyes.
'No, wait a minute?'
Come to think of it, isn't this a decent method?
No matter how stubborn Wei Yan-ho is, he won't be able to continue being lazy even after marriage. No matter how well a person endures, if his wife starts nagging beside him?
'Oh ho, this?'
Having discovered a solution in an unexpected place, Wei Jeong-han began looking at Jin Ye-ran with a serious face.
'Not bad. Not a bad idea.'
Even if he suffers a little, it would be better to live like a human being.
Since it's come to this, let's proceed quickly without wasting time....
Hmm?
Wei Jeong-han raised his hand. Then the carriage stopped.
Wei Jeong-han clicked his tongue and looked around.
"If guests have come to visit, wouldn't it be proper etiquette to receive them? However, if the guests don't show their faces, it becomes difficult for this side to be courteous as well, so how about revealing yourselves?"
As soon as those words ended, the bushes rustled slightly.
But that was all.
Those who had surrounded the area were reluctant to reveal themselves.
"Should this side attack first?"
"Hehehehe."
As soon as those words ended, low laughter could be heard.