Chronicles of the Lazy Sovereign

Chapter 3: A Tangled Journey (1)

Wi Yeonho had sunk into a sleep sweeter than honey.

Strangely enough, no matter how much he slept, it never felt like enough. One would think that after sleeping a lot, he wouldn’t feel as sleepy the next day—but that wasn’t the case.

Whenever he had a good night’s sleep, he ended up feeling even sleepier the next day.

His sleep had accumulated so densely that unless he got at least fifteen hours of sleep a day, he would be so exhausted that he couldn’t even function properly.

Wi Jeonghan would often foam at the mouth and start swearing whenever he saw him like this, but what was he supposed to do? It wasn’t his fault that he kept getting sleepy. How could it be? Surely, it was sleep’s fault, not his.

That’s why Wi Yeonho felt no shame today either.

The sunlight gently warming his face felt like it was urging him to sleep even deeper.

Just then, the door opened.

"Oppa, wake up!"

Wi Yeonho frowned and clung tightly to his blanket.

He could feel someone tugging on it.

"Wake up! Wake up! You big bear! I said, get up!"

Wi Yeonho clutched the blanket even tighter. But the little devil who had come to wake him up today showed no signs of backing down.

"I said, wake up!"

“Ugh!”

Wi Yeonho peeked his head out from under the blanket and shouted.

"Ah, get lost! Why are you tormenting me first thing in the morning?!"

Normally, by now, Wi Suryeon would’ve gotten mad and stormed off. But not today. Today, she was relentless. She started pounding on the blanket as she yelled.

"You have to get up! Or you’re gonna be in big trouble! Hurry up and get up!"

"Go away! You’re not going? Why are you messing with your heavenly older brother from the crack of dawn, huh? Shoo!"

"You need to get up and train!"

"You do it, you. Hm? Suryeon, your big brother is very tired right now, so go train on your own."

Wi Suryeon’s tiny cheeks puffed up in frustration.

"You’ll regret this, you know?"

Faced with such a cute threat, Wi Yeonho couldn’t help but chuckle.

This little rascal was already trying to toy with people?

"As if I’d regret anything."

"I warned you, oppa. Don’t you say anything later."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Wi Yeonho rolled himself into a cocoon with the blanket.

Wi Suryeon furrowed her brow and let out a shriek.

"Die for all I care!"

After flinging her curse, Wi Suryeon stormed out, and Wi Yeonho burrowed back into his blanket with a grumble.

"Agh, what kind of kid loves training that much? I swear, her name suits her a little too well."

Now finally free from his sister’s morning assault, Wi Yeonho closed his eyes again, satisfied.

Han Sang-a couldn’t bring herself to scold Wi Yeonho out of guilt for not being there to care for him. Wi Jeonghan, who had been away from home, had grown distant from him. In contrast, Wi Sanho had no such reason to make allowances for Wi Yeonho.

And Wi Sanho was someone who valued martial arts training even more than Wi Jeonghan did. He was not the type to sit by while his younger brother strayed from the path.

And then—

"You say you trained?"

"Yeah!"

"Come outside."

"…Huh?"

"Let’s see how much you’ve improved in the three years I was gone."

"…"

Wi Sanho had also been the one who taught Wi Yeonho while their father was away.

"If you fail to meet my expectations, you’d better brace yourself."

Wi Yeonho’s face contorted in despair.

‘I’m screwed.’

The two of them stood facing each other in the training yard.

Each held a wooden sword as they stared one another down.

"I told you, I really trained…"

Despite his excuse, Wi Sanho remained firm.

"Then show me right here and now."

"Ugh…"

Wi Yeonho let out a deep sigh.

Wi Sanho had been a martial arts maniac even back when he was at home.

He had always pushed Wi Yeonho harder than anyone.

He often left home for secluded training or closed-door cultivation, but when he was home, he absolutely couldn’t stand the sight of Wi Yeonho slacking off.

If it weren’t for him, Wi Yeonho would’ve turned into an even worse layabout than he already was.

Even though they were brothers, the six-year age gap and the fact that Wi Sanho had cared for him since infancy meant Wi Yeonho couldn’t bring himself to rebel against him.

To Wi Yeonho, Wi Sanho was far more like a father than Wi Jeonghan ever had been.

Three years ago, Wi Sanho had left home to join the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts Academy. That marked the blooming of Wi Yeonho’s life.

And now he had returned without warning, just like that.

"What are you doing?"

Urged by the sharp voice, Wi Yeonho flinched and looked up at Wi Sanho.

‘Screw it, whatever!’

Wi Yeonho gripped his sword tightly.

"Taaah!"

His blade slashed through the air.

It was the Flying Dragon Ascension technique, a movement from the Flying Dragon Heavenward Sword, the exclusive martial art of the Grand House of Wi in Guangdong.

Smack!

But his Flying Dragon Ascension had all the grace of a dragon with broken wings. Wi Sanho’s wooden sword casually swept through the air, and Wi Yeonho’s sword flew out of his hands.

Wi Sanho, having swatted his brother’s weapon aside, raised his wooden sword again.

"Ack!"

Wi Yeonho instinctively covered his head with both hands.

He knew exactly what was coming. That cruel piece of wood was probably going to test how nicely done his head was.

But strangely, the strike never came. Wi Sanho simply stood there, gripping the wooden sword tightly, his face stiff as stone as he stared at Wi Yeonho for a long moment.

Then, slowly, he lowered his sword.

A quiet sigh escaped his lips.

"Three years have passed."

"…"

"Three years is enough to master a single sword technique. Enough to break through an entire level."

Wi Yeonho couldn’t bring himself to answer.

“But you… you’ve gotten worse than you were three years ago.”

He wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and disappear.

It wasn’t the scolding that got to him. He was used to being scolded—his skin was thick enough that most criticism barely scratched the surface.

What made Wi Yeonho shrink wasn’t the words themselves, but the genuine look of disappointment on Wi Sanho’s face.

Still, his shame didn’t even begin to compare to what Wi Sanho was feeling. Because the one truly, deeply disappointed right now—was Wi Sanho himself.

It wasn’t that Wi Yeonho lacked talent. Wi Sanho knew that better than anyone.

Compared to others his age, Wi Yeonho’s skills were quite exceptional.

Wi Sanho, who had seen countless practitioners at the academy, was well aware that his brother’s level wasn’t low enough to be dismissed.

And yet—what disappointed him was that Wi Yeonho had regressed since three years ago.

Sure, he might’ve gotten a bit stronger physically, but his mastery of the sword was nowhere near what it had once been.

The younger brother who had been rightfully called a genius at the age of nine was now, at twelve, barely average. For Wi Sanho, the realization was devastating.

‘What do I need to do?’

It was obvious. Wi Yeonho must’ve slacked off and thrown his training aside while he was gone.

Wi Sanho had only fifteen days before he had to return to the martial academy. Once he left, Wi Yeonho would go right back to living the same unmotivated life he had for the past three years.

There was no way Wi Sanho could let that happen.

“Go to your room.”

Leaving only those words behind, Wi Sanho turned on his heel and walked off.

Wi Yeonho hesitated, watching his brother go. In the past, something like this would’ve ended with a proper scolding or a full-blown outburst. But this… this silent retreat? It was unsettling.

‘Not getting smacked is nice and all, but…’

The unusual calm only made him more anxious. If Wi Sanho had just screamed or hit him like he used to, he wouldn’t be feeling this nervous. But now, the silence made things worse.

“Heehee.”

Just then, a giggle rang out behind him. Wi Yeonho spun around.

“Wi Suryeon!”

“Yeah?”

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?”

Wi Suryeon blinked innocently.

“Don’t play dumb! You knew Hyung was coming today!”

“Yup.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?!”

Wi Suryeon responded nonchalantly.

“Did you ask?”

“Y-You little...”

Giggling, Wi Suryeon darted away.

“Instead of yelling at me, shouldn’t you be more worried about what Big Brother’s going to do next?”

“Hey! You! Stop right there!”

Wi Yeonho fumed but then let out a long sigh. Honestly, even if he had known, would it have changed anything? Wi Sanho wasn’t angry because he was lazy—he was angry because his cultivation level had fallen.

If martial arts could be mastered through cramming, no one would bother with training in the first place.

“Ugh…”

With his shoulders drooping, Wi Yeonho trudged off to his room—already bracing himself for the storm that was sure to come.