Chapter 192: Chapter 190

Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors

Anyway, amidst that jumbled speech, one thing was clear: Zhuge Sa was currently feeling unwell and seemed intent on driving both Mangnyang and me away.

Mangnyang said,

“If you don’t want to give us a riddle, that’s fine too. I read the signs and it seems you’ll die in a few years, so I thought I should visit just in case.”

[……]

At that moment, the Great Brave Monument twitched. Then, it walked on all fours a bit and finally stood before us on its hind legs. Surprisingly, the Great Brave Monument turned out to be quite large, exuding an imposing presence. It opened its mouth again.

[Very… accurate… damn… why… did you come here just to watch me die… hehehe…]

Mangnyang glared at the Great Brave Monument directly. This was rare behavior for him as well.

“Stop that weird way of talking. Did you acquire some bizarre knowledge from the Otherworldly Realm?”

[Dammit… what are you gonna do about it… you little bastard…]

“I thought Baek Woong might quench your thirst, but it seems it was a wasted trip. We shall take our leave.”

After saying that, Mangnyang turned to leave. Just then, Zhuge Sa spoke through the Great Brave Monument in a proper tone.

[Come on, you can’t even joke around? An interesting Oddity was supposed to stop by, and I prepared in advance for some fun.]

Mangnyang relaxed his gaze a little.

“Uncle. Please stop using that poor Great Brave Monument as a gag. You know that sorcery isn’t good for animals.”

[Fine. You scholarly brat.]

Why is being called a scholar considered an insult? The term scholar (士) refers to someone of high status with great power, so it should not be derogatory in any manner. I could not understand Zhuge Sa‘s language or behavior at all, and it seemed Mangnyang felt similarly.

Paa-at!

A moment later, the Great Brave Monument staggered out on all fours, and in the empty room, a young man in his thirties appeared. He had a buzz cut and a dangerously dissatisfied look in his eyes that resembled Mangnyang‘s character description precisely.

What was surprising was how little the age difference seemed—the young man looked almost the same age as Mangnyang. Zhuge Sa was wearing a Daoist robe adorned with Eight Trigrams, but he didn’t seem very Taoist at all. He had a strange cyberpunk vibe, as if a worldly person had thrown on a Daoist robe.

Zhuge Sa said,

“Hyun Ah.”

“Yes.”

“I’m indeed feeling unwell, you bastard. You’ve come to bother a sick person.”

He complained, but Mangnyang asked without changing his expression,

“You said you’re not well? Is it an illness?”

“No, just that I’ve snooped too much, and my eyes are shot.”

“……”

Mangnyang managed to brush off that mocking remark without getting angry. I was dumbfounded hearing that.

Snooping?!

‘Snooping? Does that mean he’s been peeping on others’ lives like a thief?’

Is that the kind of shady behavior he engages in after mastering sorcery? I felt Mangnyang‘s earlier high assessment evaporate instantly. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t bring myself to trust Zhuge Sa. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Zhuge Sa hung some sort of frame with a glass orb in front of his nose—a curious object I had never seen before. He then said,

“Anyway, I don’t feel like I have much time left. I’m not in the mood for riddles, so you should leave.”

“That’s so self-centered.”

Suddenly, Mangnyang raised his voice, sounding uncharacteristically angry.

“Will you just do whatever you want when you’ve seen a vision of me and Zhuge Fu settling things in the future? What do you think about your own life?”

His voice carried quite a bit of emotion. It seemed frustrating to just let him die like this, a mixed feeling of annoyance because they were blood relatives.

Then Zhuge Sa sat on a nearby bed and replied bluntly,

“What’s wrong with dying comfortably? What’s all this nonsense? It’s clear I’d rather die in a miserable way than awkwardly extend my life.”

“That’s…”

“Done! What blessing is better than dying comfortably, right?”

Saying that, Zhuge Sa looked at me as if seeking agreement.

“……”

He was such a repulsive character, yet at that moment, I found myself momentarily speechless. I felt as if my mouth had hardened.

Dying comfortably is great!

‘He’s not wrong.’

There’s no one who understands and resonates with that truth better than him. After experiencing various deaths, dying peacefully is indeed a fantastic blessing. Hearing that question, I finally grasped the meaning behind Mangnyang’s earlier remark.

Perhaps Zhuge Sa and I could surprisingly get along.

‘Even this guy accepts death with understanding.’

Living as if it doesn’t matter when one dies, with the mindset of wanting to do what one wishes until the end.

Though he’s not a Reborn Person like me, for him to genuinely adopt such an outlook is akin to madness. Most people, despite claiming life is fleeting, instinctively cling tightly during significant moments. However, Zhuge Sa truly meant those words—there lay an intriguing bond of understanding.

Then Zhuge Sa displayed a strange expression. He seemed to empathize with my hesitance.

“Look at this? I thought you brought a world-renowned hero or righteous knight, but instead, you brought some dirt-poor character.”

Mangnyang calmly replied,

“His name is Baek Woong

. I plan to travel the world with him from now on.”

“Wow, if you’re bringing him along, I assumed he’d be someone like Liu Bei, but who is this pathetic loser… Your father would weep.”

“Don’t casually talk about my father. We are estranged.”

“Oh, sorry, sorry. But it’s so absurd.”

Zhuge Sa mumbled incredulously and then looked at me with half-open eyes.

“Your internal power seems immense and your martial arts quite impressive, but you can’t deceive my eyes, you bastard. You’ve been trying to expand an earthen pot, but it’s still a pot, right? You’re not a genius, but can you ever become a hero?”

“……”

This guy is infuriatingly arrogant. I wanted to punch him in the face right away.

But despite that surge of anger, all accumulated experiences clearly indicated one undeniable truth.

‘He’s remarkable.’

Zhuge Sa accurately judged me, and that’s something no ordinary person could do! Even the hawk-eyed Lee Kwang could not ! It astonished me that he could grasp the core of ‘my’ essence.

Zhuge Sa was undoubtedly a genius, a brilliant oddball of the highest caliber. Responding emotionally to him based on my present feelings would result in irreparable harm.

That harm could be unimaginable. It might lead to my death in this lifetime, or even something I’d regret for decades in the afterlife. Thus, I repressed my anger and spoke calmly.

“I don’t know how you figured it out, but I am certainly an ordinary human. However, regardless, I’m living my current life to the fullest because I have things I need to accomplish.”

“Living your life to the fullest? A very plausible response. There’s hardly any counter-argument to such a political statement. By the way, I’ve never seen anyone claiming to live well actually do so.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Meh.”

Zhuge Sa, who had been mockingly making fun of everything, crossed his arms and continued speaking.

“Fine. I’ll acknowledge that you’re interesting, if not extraordinary. So go ahead and try to solve one of my riddles.”

I replied irritably,

“I’m not particularly confident in my wisdom.”

“Hee hee hee… Well, this sort of thing isn’t fun without a wager.”

Zhuge Sa let out a crazy laugh. Based on my experience, that kind of laugh could only belong to someone whose mind was a little broken.

Yes.

This guy is insane. Something in him must be charred and twisted within the chaos.

“You’re suggesting a bet, huh?”

“If you can solve the riddle I give you, I’ll grant you anything you wish.”

“And if I get it wrong?”

When I asked back, Zhuge Sa wore a contemplative expression.

“Well… usually, death is the punishment. But you seem to have a weird fear of death, so that wouldn’t be much of a penalty. This is my first time encountering someone like that. Let’s see, what should it be…”

“……”

Suddenly, I understood why Mangnyang dislikes Zhuge Sa. Given this guy’s personality, when he was the lord of Jangryeong Valley, he probably awarded gold to anyone who solved his riddles but condemned those who failed to death. He’s basically a murderous joker! No wonder Mangnyang would hesitate to treat him like an uncle.

After thinking for a moment, Zhuge Sa snapped his fingers.

“Got it! If you fail, I’ll place a curse on you.”

“A curse? What kind?”

“Hmm hehe, I can’t tell you, but you can look forward to it.”

Zhuge Sa chuckled ominously. Then he asked,

“Now decide. Will you attempt to solve it or not?”

I glanced at Mangnyang. He shook his head. Receiving his message, I quickly replied,

“I won’t do it.”

Why would I agree to a curse? Only a madman would choose ‘yes’ in this situation.

Zhuge Sa jeered,

“I knew you’d say that. Scared, huh?”

“Think whatever you want.”

Mangnyang seemed to think solving Zhuge Sa‘s riddle was quite a dangerous undertaking. I saw no reason to recklessly take a risk, so I decided to withdraw from the game. Zhuge Sa laughed sinisterly and then laid down on the bed.

“Well then, scram. I’m a patient, so I need to rest.”

“I didn’t ask you and I’m not curious either.”

I retorted with a sense of stubbornness, and Zhuge Sa laughed in delight.

“Ha ha ha ha!! What a coincidence!”

“……?”

He was completely incomprehensible.

What on earth did he see or hear that made him so deranged?

I left Jangryeong Valley with Mangnyang, casting a disapproving glance back at it.

‘Even if I could recruit him, I’d refuse.’

While he might possess remarkable abilities, something about him was just off. Unless absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t take the initiative to come to Jangryeong Valley and recruit him.

While I fumed internally, Mangnyang spoke bitterly,

“Just for your information, the riddle he set for me last time was [In the morning, it has four legs; in the afternoon, it has two; in the evening, it has three. What is it?]”

“Is there even a creature like that?”

“A human.”

“Eh?”

“A cane.”

“Ah…!!”

I was momentarily flabbergasted before grasping the meaning. Indeed, if one likens a person’s life from early stages to the final years, that would fit. Then Mangnyang sighed.

“That was a riddle he threw at me when he was in a good mood. Although I solved it, it felt like he tossed it out just to see if I could answer. But now, he doesn’t look like he’s in a good mood, which means he’ll unleash some truly insane problems.”

“Aren’t we supposed to solve three?”

“That’s just a rumor made up to filter out the mediocre. You only need to get one right, but that one will be exceedingly difficult.”

“……”

Isn’t that him arbitrarily deciding the answer?

It felt like I was harboring growing dissatisfaction, which Mangnyang seemed to notice.

“He might be on the verge of suicide, stacking up madness and depression for years. I doubt we can recruit him, so let’s just give up…”

“Fine.”

Yet, I felt as though I were missing something.

‘What’s going on? I get the impression he’s hiding something…?’

My instincts as a Reborn Person!

That lingering feeling, probably something yet to uncover!

Logically, Mangnyang‘s judgment was 100% correct, but something told me Zhuge Sa wasn’t just someone who would end his life because of insanity or depression. That feeling could be regarded as my intuition as a fellow oddball.

‘Aah, whatever. Let’s come back another time.’

I decided to put Zhuge Sa aside for now. I had too many things to take care of without fixating on him alone.

I haven’t been feeling well for a while and had various things to manage, so my updates have been irregular. However, I’m not planning to switch to an every-other-day update schedule and will strive for daily updates moving forward! Please always look forward to the exciting chapters~