Chapter 605

# 605

**Chapter 605. The Lazy One Solves (5)**

“Defeated?”
“The report… indicates so.”

The gaze of the elder, which had until then remained fixed on the garden, began to move slowly. His sight, moving with extreme parsimony, settled on the person prostrate on the ground.

“Ugh!”

As if having perceived that gaze, the prostrate individual had a slight spasm.

“Did I hear wrong?”
“I… I am very sorry.”

The elder slowly raised his head.
His voice did not show the slightest tremor.
But that made it even more terrifying.

“Yesterday’s report said that they had defeated the members of the Righteous Martial Alliance and were pursuing them, is that not so?”
“That is so.”
“And now you tell me that in a single day the situation has changed, that they have been defeated and are fleeing?”
“…I am sorry to say, but…”

The elder looked at the sky, clearer than usual.
Then, he opened his mouth calmly.

“Who was it?”
“…”
“Hoemyung still has his deficiencies, but he is not someone who falls so easily. If he were, I would not have entrusted him with such an important task.”

His voice did not tremble.
But that only made it more intimidating.

“That that child has been defeated and retreated means that someone appeared whom he could not face. There should not exist such a person in the Central Plains, where the vigor of justice has weakened. Even if it were the Supreme Sovereign or another, Hoemyung would not have been overcome. Who was it? Who faced that child?”

Dry saliva went down his throat unwillingly.
The elder was not someone who got angry easily. After serving him for decades, the man had never seen him lose his temper.
But now, in his voice, there was a clear glimpse of contained anger.

The man hesitated.
Should he pronounce that name now?
His hesitation was brief. No matter what happened, he could not lie to this person.

“It was Wei Yanho.”

The elder’s lips pursed slightly.
The tightening of those lips seemed to reveal how agitated his interior was.
A heavy silence fell upon them.

The sound of insects, the song of a bird somewhere, the murmur of water in a small stream in the distance…
All those sounds, which normally would not have been perceived, began to flow between them.

How much time had passed?
That oppressive silence had even robbed the man of his sense of time. An instant felt like an eternity.

“Wei Yanho…”
“Yes, that is so.”
“I see, Wei Yanho…”

A touch of bitterness permeated the elder’s words.
Wei Yanho, Wei Yanho…
How many times had he heard that name already?

“Even the first has fallen before him?”

If the Heavenly Flowing Sword had been defeated, it was possible that Baek Hoemyung could not face Wei Yanho.
But the Heavenly Flowing Sword had been alone, while the Baekgeom Fortress carried with it the warriors of its family. And still, it had lost?

*”Was that boy really sent by the heavens to stop us?”*

The elder could not help but laugh.
The heavens?
That could not be. If they existed, they would not have allowed things to reach this point.
Everything had begun to crumble three hundred years ago. If the sky existed and observed the world, why had it not acted then?
Was the blood that they had shed not worth protecting?
Then, the sky did not deserve to be called sky. How could a place that did not help the innocent be considered sky?
Even if it existed, it was already too late.

“There is no turning back now.”
“No, it is not too late yet.”

The elder slowly turned his head.
From one end of the garden, a figure advanced with a slow step.
The Heavenly Flowing Sword.
His younger brother and elder of the Baekgeom Fortress approached with a tense face. His presence completely changed the atmosphere of the garden.
The warm environment suddenly cooled, as if the trees also felt the cold and let their leaves fall.

The elder watched him in silence.
The Heavenly Flowing Sword approached and gestured to the man.

“Retreat. I have urgent matters to discuss with the clan leader.”
“…”

The man glanced at the leader, and upon seeing his slight nod, retreated carefully. Then, the Heavenly Flowing Sword took his place.
The clan leader broke the silence.

“Is it not late?”
“That is so. It is not too late yet.”
“Withdraw the troops now, clan leader. There is still time.”

The elder stared at him before reaching out and taking the teapot. He placed a cup in front of the Heavenly Flowing Sword and calmly poured the tea.
The cold tea began to boil instantly, forming a long thread of steam that swirled before falling into the cup.
The intense aroma of the tea mixed with the smell of the grass.

“Has the defeat affected you so much?”
“…Clan leader.”
“You are terrified.”
“Clan leader!”
“Drink the tea.”
“Not now…!”
“I said drink the tea.”
“…”

The leader’s gaze forced him to yield.
“It is not that I ignore your words. Nor do I despise them. But you must show me that you are not agitated, do you not think?”

The Heavenly Flowing Sword, who had been watching him in silence, took the cup.
The steam rising from the hot tea instantly cooled, as if his heart harbored no emotion. As if he were as cold as that tea.
He drank the contents in one gulp and put the cup down with a dry thud.
The clan leader sighed, as if that gesture displeased him.

“You have changed.”
“Everyone changes.”
“Even so, I thought you would not. I thought that, even if I changed, you would remain the same.”
“If the clan leader hides things from me, how could I not change?”

The leader’s eyes narrowed.
But he did not argue with his words. Perhaps that was already answer enough.

“I have never sought personal gain.”
“I know, clan leader. If you hide something from me, it will be because ignoring it is best for me.”
“And still you reproach me?”
“Clan leader.”

The Heavenly Flowing Sword looked at him with determination.
“As you yourself said, I have never lived for my own benefit either.”
“…”
“Hiding the truth from me is an insult to me. How can you ignore that?”
“I…”

The clan leader closed his mouth.
The Heavenly Flowing Sword’s eyes also filled with regret.

*”Everything is destined to change.”*
There was a time when they sacrificed everything for the rebirth of the Infinity Sword. They understood each other, regretted each other’s sacrifices.
How had they reached this situation?

*”How useless.”*
He shook his head.
Nothing he said would move the leader. If his words could make him hesitate, he would not have guided the Great Family of the Infinity Sword until now.
Yes, the leader was like that.
That is why…

“Clan leader.”

His voice became firm.
“If you wish to fulfill your will, act yourself.”

The leader’s eyes trembled slightly.
“If you continue like this, the Baek Family will fall.”
“Hah…”

A sound of despair escaped from the leader’s lips.
“You have changed too much.”
“I have not changed. It is you who has been left behind.”
“I have been left behind? Me?”
“Yes.”

The Heavenly Flowing Sword pointed to the garden.
“Do you see the world from here?”
“…”
“Do you intend to observe the world from this place? Sitting here, discussing the affairs of the world? Staying here and manipulating the world with a finger?”

The leader’s face hardened like never before.
“The leader of the Baek Family is not a position to flaunt. It is a position to demonstrate and act for oneself.”
“That is going too far.”
“No. It is not so.”

The Heavenly Flowing Sword spoke firmly.
“If the clan leader continues to play at being an immortal, the Baek Family will fall.”
“Who would dare to bring down the Baek Family?”
“Obviously, Wei Yanho.”
“Insolent!”

The leader’s voice distilled anger.
“Defeated by a brat, you have returned like a coward. How can you say that the Baek Family will fall because of him? The Baek Family has lasted for hundreds of years!”
“Yes! Hundreds of years! Not thousands, nor tens of thousands, only hundreds! Was the Baek Family always the Baek Family? No family started as a great house! The Shaolin Temple began with Bodhidharma, and Wudang was founded by Zhang Sanfeng!”
“…”
“A single person! A single person can change the course of the world! Do you not see it? The flow is already with that boy! If you do not stop him, the result is obvious!”

His voice sounded as if he were spitting blood.
“Why do not you act yourself and send Hoemyung to lead the family?”
“Because it is the right thing to do.”
“How can it be right? If so, resign from the position of leader and retire!”
“Damn you!”

Finally, the elder jumped up.
“There is no limit to your insolence. Do you think that because you are my younger brother I cannot punish you?”
“Cut off my head.”
“What?”
“If you wish to punish me, behead me. I prefer that to seeing the clan leader cover his ears.”
“You…”

The clan leader gritted his teeth.
Although anger was evident in him, the Heavenly Flowing Sword did not back down. He who has renounced everything fears nothing.

“I do not know what the clan leader thinks.”
“…”
“I only know that, if you stay here, you will eventually face Wei Yanho when he enters this place. Even if you behead that boy, what will change? Nothing will remain.”
“That will not happen.”
“Until yesterday, you also did not predict that Hoemyung would be defeated by Wei Yanho and retreat, did you?”
“…”

The clan leader remained silent.
“That boy is not someone who can be predicted.”

The Heavenly Flowing Sword stared at him.
“You already know it.”

The leader did not respond.
And with that, the Heavenly Flowing Sword already had his answer.

“Clan leader.”
“…”

He stood up slowly.
“I will go to help Hoemyung. If the clan leader does not act, then I will. But do not think that it is for you. I only do it for the Baek Family.”
“I…”
“Nothing…”

The Heavenly Flowing Sword interrupted his words.
“Nothing is more important than the Infinity Sword and the family! Not even the clan leader!”

A dense silence.
Gazes that crossed in that silence.
Until a voice broke it.

“I say the same.”

With those words, he turned around and left the garden without even saying goodbye.
The clan leader, who had watched him in silence, let out a groan.

“Nothing is more important than the family”…

A desperate laugh escaped from his lips.
“…You know nothing.”

Nothing.
Who could understand his heart? Who could understand his situation?
“Nothing is more important than the family. Yes, that is so.”

Even if that meant the clan leader himself.

The sun, which had reached its zenith, began to descend slowly. Until darkness arrived, the clan leader did not move from his place.
And when the night was deepest, just before dawn, his figure had disappeared.

Only the garden, shattered and in ruins, still followed his traces.