Do you know what the most frightening thing in the world is?
'Still, just maybe.'
What are you talking about?
People fall into pits because they can't let go of that subtle lingering hope.
Do you know why people gamble? There's no one who doesn't know that gambling is unwinnable. Yet people still gamble. Why?
That's right.
'Still, just maybe I might win some money.'
That's what eats away at people.
We fell into that trap too. Everyone was anxious. When we were alone together, we'd tremble with anxiety, saying shouldn't we stop this and run away quickly.
But we weren't bold enough to act on it.
'Still, just maybe Wei Yan-ho might return without causing any trouble.'
'Still, maybe Wei Yan-ho might be someone with his head screwed on right.'
'No matter what, this is the Imperial Palace, so he won't act like he usually does.'
Yes, that's right.
We should have realized it then.
That it was an utterly foolish thought.
Utterly, utterly foolish.
What would be the most essential condition for paradise?
The finest wine in the world?
Food so delicious that just one bite would make your eyes widen in amazement?
If not that, then a peerless beauty?
Others might speak of such things, but Wei Yan-ho would sneer at them.
Wei Yan-ho knew.
The most essential condition for calling any place paradise is that it be a place where the heart is at ease. Having already eaten rich food like grains of sand, Wei Yan-ho knew very well that without peace of mind, nothing else had any meaning.
In that sense, this place met at least the first condition of paradise.
"Haaaaam."
Wei Yan-ho was completely sprawled out.
"This is nice."
The sunlight pouring in through the window was just right. If sunlight is too strong, that alone can put you in a slightly bad mood, but the sunlight coming through the window now was just enough to make a person feel good.
'And the breeze is cool.'
A cool breeze was constantly flowing in through the window. Wei Yan-ho took a deep breath.
'They really designed this well.'
Whether it was because the pavilion was built this way, or whether he was lucky enough to be assigned to a place with just the right ventilation, he couldn't tell, but this was definitely the optimal place for a lazy person to laze about.
Thanks to this, Wei Yan-ho had no reason to leave his bed.
'When will they call for me?'
Lee Wang-ya had mentioned seven days and nights, but judging by his tone, he clearly hadn't thought it would take that long. However, Wei Yan-ho had already been staying here for nearly seven days and nights.
'It would be fine to stay a little longer…'
The Imperial Palace was indeed the Imperial Palace.
The bed was so soft that once you lay your back on it, you couldn't possibly get up, and the blanket was so soft and warm that you couldn't possibly throw it off.
Moreover…
Knock knock.
When he heard the sound of knocking on the door, Wei Yan-ho poked his head out from under the blanket.
"Please come in."
The door opened carefully, and palace maids carrying a large table entered and set it down on the floor.
"We've brought your meal."
"Thank you as always. You don't need to bring so much. I'm sorry to trouble you."
"If there's anything uncomfortable, please let us know."
"Ah, well… there's one thing I'd like to ask about."
"Yes, please speak."
Wei Yan-ho scratched his head awkwardly and said,
"Isn't there a chamber pot here?"
"A chamber pot?"
"Yes. The person who brought me here—Lee Wang… no, the person who brought me here told me not to go outside. I thought he might stop by and I could ask him, but he hasn't come by at all, so I'm wondering what to do."
The palace maids looked at each other.
"We're sorry, but chamber pots cannot be brought into this place. Imperial protocol forbids it, so if you're in urgent need, please use the privy outside."
"Hmm, then there's no choice."
"Well then."
The palace maids carefully went outside. As they were leaving, the glances they shot felt somehow unpleasant, but Wei Yan-ho was used to such looks.
'I deserve those looks.'
While those pretty women were working their hands to the bone, wasn't Wei Yan-ho just repeating the cycle of eating and sleeping for seven days and nights now?
It couldn't be helped that he received cold stares.
Of course, if he couldn't boldly overlook such things, how could he call himself a great man?
Wei Yan-ho understood them with a heart as broad as the ocean.
"But this is getting troublesome…"
Wei Yan-ho was human too.
Being human, what goes in must eventually come out. No matter how great a martial artist, there were limits to endurance. In extreme cases, there was the method of using the Three Essence True Fire to burn away everything in the stomach, but that wasn't a practical method.
'Because it's incredibly exhausting.'
It was so exhausting that even a lazy person like Wei Yan-ho would think it better to move his body than use such a method.
The problem was that Wei Yan-ho had been overeating for seven days and nights, and now it was difficult to push any more food in.
'If I had eaten moderately, I could have lasted ten days.'
How foolish humans are. If he had known this situation would come, he should have eaten sparingly and prepared in advance, but not knowing he would spend such a long time in this place was Wei Yan-ho's mistake.
"What should I do?"
Wei Yan-ho began to ponder while looking at the door.
"Should I go out once?"
For the first time in seven whole days and nights, Wei Yan-ho began to put on his shoes.
***
"What the hell is that bastard doing?"
Nok-gi slammed down his teacup.
"H-he's not moving a muscle in his room."
"How can a person be like that! What do the palace maids say?"
"…They say they've never seen him get off the bed. When they bring food, he's always lying on the bed, and when they go to clear the table, the food is completely gone."
"He's lying down then too?"
"Yes."
"Could there be someone hiding in there? So he's trying to conceal it?"
"We did consider that given how much food is being consumed, but that doesn't seem to be the case. If a master of that caliber wanted to hide someone, he wouldn't need to use such methods."
"Right, that would be the case. Yes."
Nok-gi ground his teeth.
'This turtle-like bastard!'
He's human, isn't he? He's still human, isn't he!
But how can a person not take a single step outside his room for not just a day or two, but a full seven days and nights?
"Is there no sign at all?"
"…Not yet."
Nok-gi shook his head with a grim expression.
"There's a limit to how long I can prevent that bastard from having an audience with the Emperor. Lee Wang-ya's pressure is too intense. I can't stall any longer."
"There's no other way."
"Incompetent fool!"
Nok-gi flew into a rage.
"You need to come up with some method! Can you still call yourself a Shadow Guard leader while just waiting for that bastard to come out?"
"Just… just wait a little longer."
"Wait? What scheme will that produce?"
"No matter how great a master I am, what goes in must come out. Since we've prevented chamber pots from being brought into the room, there will come a moment when he can't hold it and comes out."
"Hehehehehe."
Nok-gi laughed helplessly.
"To think that I, the great Nok-gi, have been reduced to waiting for that bastard to go to the privy. How did I end up in such a pitiful state?"
At Nok-gi's self-mockery, the Shadow Guard couldn't even lift his head.
"What about putting poison in his food?"
"That's impossible. Rumors have already spread throughout the martial world that he captured the Poison King. We can't catch someone with poison when even the Sichuan Tang Family's poison couldn't handle him."
"Mmm…"
Nok-gi rubbed his face roughly.
'What kind of bastard is this?'
Even if Gwon Geuk, the leader of the Righteous Martial Alliance, were here, it wouldn't be this frustrating. At least with Gwon Geuk, they could try various approaches. But Wei Yan-ho was completely impossible to deal with.
Even mobilizing the Blood Spirits, there was no method.
No matter how skilled the Blood Spirits were, it was impossible to infiltrate Wei Yan-ho's quarters silently, assassinate him, and escape. Wei Yan-ho was already a master with few rivals in the world.
'Besides, it's not the right method.'
Challenging someone who specializes in combat to a fight was foolish. Even if they could win, the damage would be great. If they couldn't blame Lee Wang-ya for that crime, they would only suffer losses.
"The limit has been reached."
He had been deflecting the Emperor's attention elsewhere and even using somewhat forceful measures to prevent the meeting, but now he had run out of excuses.
Moreover, wasn't Lee Wang-ya throwing aside his dignity and using every means to persuade the Emperor?
Though he was making maximum use of the Emperor's wariness toward Lee Wang-ya, it was no longer sustainable.
"What should we do?"
Based on Dongchang's intelligence network, Nok-gi had already laid all the plans to trap Wei Yan-ho. He had prepared a trap that would be impossible to escape from if properly sprung.
But no matter how precisely a trap is made, it's meaningless if the target doesn't come toward it.
"I don't know what Lee Wang-ya is plotting, but one thing is certain: that bastard must not meet the Emperor. This isn't simply an imperial matter. That bastard meeting the Emperor might derail the great undertaking we've been preparing for so long!"
When he thought that the great undertaking might be derailed, his body trembled. Tools that had lost their utility were simply discarded. For Nok-gi's own survival, this matter had to succeed by all means.
"By any means! By any means, come up with a method! By any means!"
Just as Nok-gi was shouting frantically, it happened.
"Reporting!"
At the voice from outside the room, Nok-gi's eyes flashed coldly. Reports should be made face to face. Those guarding outside couldn't dare act this way, and once a principle is broken, it's no longer a principle.
But Nok-gi didn't lose his temper and waited.
There was no one here who didn't know his temperament. For them to report in such a manner meant the matter was that urgent.
"The target has left his room!"
"What!"
Nok-gi shot up from his seat.
"Is that true?"
"Those keeping watch rushed here to report."
"Prepare! Quickly! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity has come! If you let this opportunity slip, none of you will remain safe! Quickly!"
"Yes!"
As the Shadow Guards rushed outside, Nok-gi also straightened his attire and hurried outside. Heading toward the inner depths of the Imperial Palace, Nok-gi clenched his fist.
'You're caught.'
The big fish that had been testing the bait had finally taken the hook. Now whether he would reel in this big fish or let it slip away in vain depended entirely on Nok-gi's skill.
"Keke keke!"
Nok-gi laughed with utmost sinister delight.
If Wei Yan-ho was at fault for anything, it was only that he had fallen into the hands of the Imperial Palace's greatest angler. Thinking of casting his net so that he could never escape, Nok-gi quickened his pace.