Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 629

A face that seemed too old to be called youthful, yet too young to be considered middle-aged.

Nevertheless, it was not ambiguous. It was an incredibly attractive face, with a perfect blend of youthful vigor and middle-aged maturity.

He was about the same height as Tang Gwan, but his build was slightly more slender. He looked more like a scholar than a martial artist who had trained in martial arts.

“……”

Tang Gwan’s eyes deepened.

The uncontrollable inner energy, even now, was quietly suppressed. It must have been because it sensed its master’s tense body and indescribable emotions.

“Your inner energy is in reverse flow.”

Tang Yun’s voice was extremely calm.

He had never seen his older brother, Tang Gwan, in such a state.

Tang Gwan was the overlord of Sichuan and had never knelt before anyone.

Always with the dignified demeanor of an emperor.

Even seeing such a haggard appearance, he showed no signs of panic. Only a faint pity lingered on his calm expression.

Swoosh.

Tang Gwan rose to his feet.

Looking at his youngest brother with deepened eyes, Tang Gwan’s expression was similar to Tang Yun’s. On his coldly hardened face, emotions of pity and sorrow were deeply etched.

Thus, the two stood facing each other.

The first to speak was Tang Gwan.

“You too?”

Tang Yun did not answer.

Tang Gwan continued.

“Did you also try to overthrow the main family with Ho-ah?”

“……”

“If so, you too must be punished. For any reason, rebellion is…”

“It’s not over.”

Tang Gwan’s mouth closed on its own.

His youngest brother had never interrupted him before. He had always been respectful to him, and his kind nature, unlike that of a Tang family member, had earned him good reviews from those around him.

It seemed as if his younger brother’s demeanor had changed somehow.

‘You too.’

It felt as if the blood tears that had been welling up inside were now rushing to his eyes.

‘Did you hate me that much too?’

Whether he knew Tang Gwan’s feelings or not, Tang Yun continued.

“It’s not over. It will never be over, unless you change, brother.”

“……?”

What was he suddenly talking about?

Tang Yun turned his head and looked up at the sky.

The sky, covered with dark clouds, was very dark. For some reason, it seemed as if a faint green light was pouring through the gaps in the dark clouds.

It made it even darker and more gloomy. That was the sky of Sichuan as seen from the Tang family.

“Second brother’s goal was always you, big brother. Did you know that?”

“……”

“You probably didn’t. You were always like that, big brother. After becoming the head of the family, you lived as the master of the Tang clan, not as Tang Gwan.”

Tang Gwan deeply felt the truth in Tang Yun’s words.

After becoming the head of the family, he had never properly cared for his family. He did not know parental affection, even though he had children, let alone his parents and siblings.

To him, all the Tang family members were the same. There was no distinction between siblings, nor between direct and collateral lines.

Tang Gwan’s perspective ignited the development of the Tang family as a martial arts clan. He was strict, sometimes narrow-minded, and excessively proud, but at least his handling of matters was thorough and reasonable.

In another light, it could be said that he was an ideal leader. While most leaders of any organization in the world tend to be lenient towards their own family and bloodline, Tang Gwan was fair to everyone.

Such thorough principles strengthened the Tang family’s power and became the driving force behind its expansion of influence. In that respect, Tang Gwan was a good ruler.

However.

Tang Gwan should have known. That before enforcing such thorough principles, he should have first solidified the internal structure.

Humans are emotional beings. Even if they know something is right in their heads, if their emotions do not accept it, they will eventually go astray.

It is difficult to find a ruler in history who has managed to take care of all those things while growing a group.

Still, Tang Gwan should have tried. Even if he knew it was difficult, he should not have ignored it and should have paid attention.

“The fault of an organization member lies with the superior who failed to properly manage the member. Furthermore, it is the fault of the leader who failed to properly warn the superior.”

“……”

“Therefore, the fault of the Tang family members lies with you, the leader, brother.”

“……”

“Therefore, the fact that second brother has become like this is also your fault, brother.”

“……I know.”

The veins on Tang Gwan’s jaw bulged.

“It’s my fault.”

A smile spread across Tang Yun’s face.

Even with a smile on his face, the sorrow only deepened.

“And it’s my fault too.”

“……?”

“Second brother is a member of the Tang family. At the same time, he is my family.”

“……”

“My brother, my family, has fallen into the demonic path. Regardless of the order of right and wrong, it is our fault for not comforting a brother who has fallen into the demonic path.”

“……”

“That’s why it’s not over. Unless you, brother, nurture the Tang family, this great family, with sincerity, this kind of situation will happen again at any time.”

“……”

“I hated both you and second brother.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. And that hatred still remains. I still hate both of you.”

Tang Gwan closed his eyes.

“Yes, I understand…”

“And I love you to the bone.”

“……?!”

“The hatred that once arose grew to a size that surprised even myself. But I have enough love to generously cover that hatred.”

Tang Gwan opened his eyes.

Tang Yun’s eyes were wet with tears.

“It’s frustrating.”

“……”

“If only hatred remained, I would have left the family. If only love remained, I would have died long ago.”

“……”

“It would have been better to die. It would have been better to leave. To sit here so ambiguously, and not be able to stop the tragedy of fratricide, even though I sensed it was coming. It would have been better to disappear from Sichuan.”

“Yun-ah.”

“Become a great man.”

“……”

“At least, I hope you become a person who can acknowledge your own mistakes and past errors and correct them. That is all I ask of you, brother.”

Tang Gwan had already become such a person. He had faced his own mistakes and acknowledged them. Furthermore, he had the will to correct his own mistakes.

However, Tang Gwan could not tell his youngest brother about his change, that he had already changed.

“I will definitely do so.”

Tang Gwan’s voice was terribly hoarse.

“I will make sure that this kind of thing never happens again. I acknowledge my mistakes. I know that even if you do well ten times, if you make one mistake, that one mistake can cause everyone to suffer.”

Tang Yun’s eyes trembled.

Tang Gwan lowered his head.

“The main family must change. But if the main family is to change, I must change first.”

“……”

“At least, I will not become a ruler who repeats the mistakes of the past. I swear it before you.”

“……”

“You have suffered a lot because of your incompetent brothers. I am truly sorry.”

It was the first time he had seen Tang Gwan in such a state, but it was also the first time he had seen Tang Gwan so readily admit his mistakes.

Tang Gwan was not a man of many words. He was not the type of person to apologize to anyone.

If so.

If Tang Gwan, who was now showing a side he had never shown before, could become a better ruler than before.

Tang Yun bowed.

“Please remain a great ruler.”

“Yes, I will definitely do so.”

Tang Yun turned his body.

“It seems the prison is not destroyed. That’s good.”

“……?”

“Once the situation in the family is roughly settled, I will enter the prison on my own.”

“Yun-ah.”

Tang Gwan cautiously asked.

“You… by any chance?”

It was then.

“It’s the opposite.”

Tang Gwan turned his head.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was laying Tang Hyeong down and guiding his inner energy, spoke calmly. Even though he was far away, his voice was as clear as if he were speaking right next to him.

“Grandmaster Tang Yun was not with the traitor Tang Ho. Rather, it was the opposite.”

“What…?”

“The Tang family’s secret agent that the Dragon Head Leader spoke of. That secret agent is none other than Grandmaster Tang Yun.”

“……!!”

Tang Gwan looked at Tang Yun.

Tang Yun, who had turned his body, did not say anything.

Yeon Ho-Jeong continued.

“On the way back from meeting the Dark King Senior, I made contact with Senior Pae-yul. In the meantime, I thought of calling the secret agent once more. I wanted to know the internal information in more detail.”

“……”

“I don’t know how you are working as a secret agent for the Beggars’ Union, but Grandmaster Tang Yun has been gathering all the events happening here while hiding himself until the end. Of course, the information control of the Paradise was so severe that he could not properly convey the information to the Beggars’ Union.”

“……”

“The reason why Grandmaster Tang Yun has been able to survive until now is because he was working as a double agent between the Beggars’ Union and the Paradise.”

Shock spread across Tang Gwan’s face.

Yeon Ho-Jeong took his hand off Tang Hyeong’s chest.

“It’s a relief. Fortunately, his inner energy was not completely sealed, so he pulled out and reattached his broken ribs himself. The pierced organs are also recovering at a terrifying speed. It seems he used some kind of poison technique, but I don’t know how this is possible.”

“Then?!”

“Yes, he is safe.”

Tang Gwan looked at Tang Hyeong.

Was it because his energy had weakened? Tang Hyeong had already lost consciousness. His complexion looked better than when he was first attacked.

Yeon Ho-Jeong carried Tang Hyeong on his back.

“Let’s start cleaning up.”

Tang Gwan turned his gaze back to Tang Yun.

Tang Yun had read his gaze even though he had turned his back. And the question contained in that gaze.

Tang Yun spoke.

“I had a crush on a woman. She was the child of a fire field farmer. I thought it was presumptuous because of the big age difference. So I tried to organize my feelings.”

“……”

“But I wanted to see her one more time, so I went to find her, but her whole family had disappeared.”

“……?!”

“She and her family were captured by the Paradise and slaughtered. They ended up in the stomachs of those crazy bastards who like human flesh.”

“……!!”

“That’s when I learned about the existence of the Paradise. I wanted to burn them all to ashes, but I started investigating just in case.”

Tang Yun turned his head and looked at the ruined land.

It was the place where Tang Ho had been annihilated by the Myriad Heavenly Flowers [a powerful martial arts technique].

“After learning that second brother was a person in charge there, I thoroughly hid myself. But I was caught and was in danger of dying.”

“……I see.”

“At that time, second brother saved me. He told me to choose. I chose silence. Second brother did not kill me.”

“……”

“After that, I became a secret agent for the Beggars’ Union. It took me five years to contact the Beggars’ Union’s leadership.”

Tang Gwan let out a low sigh.

Tang Yun lowered his head.

“Looking at how I couldn’t abandon my brotherly affection even after all that, it seems that neither second brother nor I are in our right minds.”

“That’s not true.”

Tang Gwan sighed.

“It’s not true.”

He had recently come to realize how terrifying the affection of blood relatives was.

Affection was that terrifying. The bond between those who shared the same blood in their veins was that strong.

“So, you’re going to the prison?”

“……”

“Yun-ah, there’s no need to…”

At that moment, Tang Yun raised his head and looked at the sky.

A pigeon was flying towards this place.

“It seems there is one more thing to take care of. I was wondering if it was possible, but it seems they were also anxious on their side.”

“……?”

“I received a message from the Paradise.”

Flash!

An immense killing intent arose from Yeon Ho-Jeong and Tang Gwan’s bodies.