Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 950

With an ancient sword symbolizing a national hero on his back, and a formidable longsword held loosely in his arms, Yeon-wi stood on a solitary rock, gazing at the vast northern plains. He resembled both a bamboo and a drawn sword.

The breeze was cool, and the scattering sword fragrance was chilling.

As Yeon-wi looked at the sky and felt the world, he suddenly recalled the past.

‘That girl didn’t acknowledge the main family as one of the Seven Great Clans.’

‘That’s just a childish remark from an immature child. To judge the entire Namgoong Clan’s will based on that is no different from being smug, thinking you know ten things from one.’

‘I don’t have any complaints about the Namgoong Clan.’

‘Then?’

‘What’s important is the situation, and who is at fault.’

‘Are you saying to look at the essence?’

‘Yes.’

It was a conversation he had with his eldest son, who had suddenly changed, after he had returned from smashing the Namgoong Clan’s scion at the inn.

Although he didn’t show it, Yeon-wi was very surprised at the time.

A child who had once closed off his potential, hating the world and abandoning himself.

That child, who couldn’t easily speak a word in front of his strict father, had beaten up the scion of the prestigious Namgoong Clan of Anhui and returned, confidently asserting that he was not at fault.

The change had been there before, but it was from that moment that he was particularly surprised.

Something had changed.

Something had been strange before, but with that incident, Yeon-wi realized that something about his eldest son had completely changed.

‘That rebellious look in his eyes.’

A faint smile escaped him as he recalled his son from that day.

Yeon Ho-Jeong was confident, and he firmly believed that it was the right path. At the same time, there was also a loving rebellion towards his father.

It wasn’t hatred, but affection. Looking back, his eldest son had never hated or resented him, not even once.

At least, not after he had ‘returned’.

‘Regression, huh?’

Yeon-wi once again recalled his conversation with his eldest son.

‘And the fact that you lived a long life and returned, it wasn’t really a matter of believing or not.’

‘Father.’

‘Ho-Jeong-ah.’

‘……Yes.’

‘You’ve been through a lot.’

‘……’

‘How much you must have suffered, with our family destroyed and you going out into the world alone, gritting your teeth and enduring among those ruthless thugs of the Black Path [a term for the underworld or criminal organizations]. It must have been a series of hardships that this father can’t even imagine.’

‘……!’

‘In your memories, I must have been the worst kind of scoundrel, not someone you could call a parent. To come back to the past and understand such a father, it must not have been easy at all.’

Yeon-wi’s eyes clouded over.

He couldn’t believe his son’s confession.

His family was destroyed, he lived for decades in the world, and then he returned to the past? It was the kind of story that even the storytellers at the inn, who sold fictional tales, would scoff at.

It was such an absurd story that his son must have kept it to himself for so long. It was a story that no one would believe, so he must have thought it was better to keep it to himself.

Yeon-wi felt a deep sense of self-loathing.

The fact that his son had such thoughts was entirely his fault.

Even if it wasn’t his fault, he was clearly not a father worthy of the name for not understanding his son’s frustration, who held such a mysterious secret.

When he first heard those words, he thought he was being mocked. He wondered if it was a baseless joke to confuse the spies of Moyong Gun, who was engaged in political strife.

But it wasn’t.

His son was serious, and at the same time, he was anxious. He was trembling, afraid that the one person who would never betray him, the reliable shield, would think he was crazy.

If he had known that, he should never have shown such a reaction. At the very least, he should have pretended to believe him.

In the end, looking into his son’s sincere eyes and heart, he thought that the world was truly full of unknowable mysteries.

And so, he believed his son.

And at that moment, Yeon-wi felt that he had been completed.

He made many mistakes after that, and he was stagnant, longing for his wife who had left first, but at least the decisive turning point that made him who he was now was at that moment.

‘You rascal.’

Yeon-wi smiled.

‘Thanks to you, this father has stepped into a realm that was hard to dream of.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong was different from Yeon Ji-Pyeong.

It hadn’t been long since Yeon Ji-Pyeong had started to soar. In other words, it was only a few months ago that he had felt relieved that he was finally doing his part in the martial world.

Perhaps that was why? Yeon Ji-Pyeong still seemed like a child. He was at an age where it wouldn’t be strange for him to marry, but strangely, when he looked at Ji-Pyeong, he only remembered the time when he had fair skin and big, blinking eyes.

But Yeon Ho-Jeong was different.

He was clearly his son, but his son’s appearance, managing the affairs of the world and fighting against the invaders from beyond the borders, was truly reliable.

Yeon-wi realized that he regarded Yeon Ho-Jeong as both a son and a friend.

If Tang Gwan was a friend he could trust to watch his back, Yeon Ho-Jeong was a friend he could walk forward with.

Once he had thought that far, he no longer dwelled on Yeon Ho-Jeong’s past. What did it matter if he had lived for decades and returned, or if he hadn’t?

His son was perfect as he was. That would be the case for all parents in the world.

Yeon Ho-Jeong had gone one step further in that realm, becoming a companion he could trust, rely on, and walk with.

‘This father has been pushed to this realm, not to rest, so how can I be complacent, saying I need my time, or how can I ignore the difficulties of the world and laugh alone, patting my belly?’

The corners of Yeon-wi’s lips curled up.

The dark night, the twinkling stars, were particularly beautiful.

“Who are you thinking about so deeply?”

“Hmm?”

Peng Mu-Gang said with a sly voice.

“Why? Did you find a maiden you like? Are you going to remarry?”

If he had heard these words in the past, he would have either frowned or been embarrassed, as if they were not worth listening to.

But the current Yeon-wi was different.

“Do you have a good match for me?”

“Wow! If the Yeon Clan Head remarries, all the beautiful women in the Central Plains [a region in China] will line up. They might even line up from Gangdong to Huabei [regions in China].”

“Haha, I’m just joking.”

“I know. But still, isn’t it better to live together than alone? You won’t be lonely in your old age. That life of retiring from the martial world and wandering the world, living leisurely, I admire it.”

Peng Mu-Gang would often say such mischievous things and then add words that would linger in his mind, giving him something to think about.

Yeon-wi shook his head with a smile.

“The only woman I have loved in my life is one, whether dead or alive.”

Peng Mu-Gang shrank his neck excessively. It was Peng Mu-Gang’s way of expressing that he was getting goosebumps.

“They say heroes don’t refuse three wives and four concubines?”

“I’m not a hero, and those words are all old sayings.”

“Old sayings, my foot. For those of us who live on the edge of a blade, what is more important than having offspring?”

“So, shouldn’t we strive to make the world peaceful?”

Peng Mu-Gang chuckled.

“This is impossible to talk to.”

Yeon-wi shook his head.

“There will be moments when I feel a little lonely, and moments when I envy others. But just thinking about my wife who left first and my grown sons will be enough to spend my old age well.”

“Tsk, I didn’t throw out a joke to get such a serious answer.”

“So, don’t expect too much from me. I’m just a boring person like this.”

Peng Mu-Gang burst into laughter.

“That’s why I want to tease you more?”

Yeon-wi shook his head and smiled as if he couldn’t help it.

Peng Mu-Gang smacked his lips and said,

“I’m envious of that, if nothing else. That your two sons have grown up so well.”

“What are you saying? Peng Clan Head’s sons have also grown up well, haven’t they?”

“Grown up well? Yes, they’ve grown up well. Their bodies, that is.”

“Haha, both Dae-Ho and Man-Ho are good-natured and generous, and they are talents who will become great pillars of the martial world in the future. Anyone can see that.”

Peng Mu-Gang snorted.

“I hope so. Somehow, the older one has become more frivolous than the younger one these days. As expected, people only mature when they roll around in the mud, like the younger one.”

It was a somewhat extreme statement, but Yeon-wi also partially agreed.

In fact, Yeon Ho-Jeong had grown greatly after going out into the world, and Yeon Ji-Pyeong had also grown unbelievably after leaving the safety of the family and joining the Righteous Army [a term for a group of warriors fighting for justice].

You can only look back on your own life after seeing and feeling the lives of many people. In that sense, his sons had gone out at the right time and grown up well.

“Still, their inherent nature won’t go anywhere. In fact, if we only look at the psychological pressure, how can Man-Ho be as much as Dae-Ho?”

The quality of hardship and pressure that each person feels is all different.

However, since he could see the worry for his eldest son even in his joking words, Yeon-wi said that.

Peng Mu-Gang sighed.

“Well, when I was that age, I was causing all sorts of trouble, so I guess they’re better than me.”

Even if their children are better than them, parents still worry. Peng Mu-Gang was also an inevitable parent.

Peng Mu-Gang, who had been sighing deeply, suddenly wore a sly smile.

“Even if the Yeon Clan Head has no intention of remarrying, the person coming from afar must be so excited that they can’t even eat properly.”

Yeon-wi chuckled.

“Would someone who is a Martial King [a title for a very powerful martial artist] really be like that?”

“Huh? You know that fame and martial arts are meaningless in matters of love between men and women.”

“Are you curious?”

“There’s no need to be curious. Of course, they would be, what else?”

“Hmm.”

“……To be honest, I am curious. I can’t even remember when I last felt my heart flutter.”

“Then let’s ask them directly.”

“Hmm?”

At that moment, Peng Mu-Gang felt as if his neatly arranged hair was standing on end.

Yeon-wi and Peng Mu-Gang turned around. Then, the Overlord Guard, who had been lined up next to Peng Mu-Gang, also turned their heads.

In the distance, from the south, a group of people was approaching.

They were approaching, raising a cloud of dust. They were all on horseback, and their number seemed to be over a thousand.

Peng Mu-Gang whistled.

“They put in some effort, huh?”

“It seems like just the right number.”

If they mobilized too many troops, they would arouse the emperor’s suspicion, and if they brought too few, they could be criticized for the issue of sincerity.

Seeing that, he could tell that he was not just a strong martial artist.

Thud thud thud thud.

A thousand troops quickly closed the distance.

In the center was a middle-aged man wearing a black robe.

“Whoa.”

Whinny.

The horses made a loud noise and then calmed down and stopped.

The man, who seemed used to calming the horses, got off and approached the two men with a smile.

At that moment, a subtle tension arose on the faces of Yeon-wi and Peng Mu-Gang.

Yeon-wi, in particular, was even more tense. Although he was nominally his son’s master, he could see the opponent’s true strength much better than Peng Mu-Gang.

‘He’s strong!’

He doesn’t emit any aura. He even suppressed his presence to the maximum.

But inside, he holds a thousand fire bombs. If all those fire bombs explode, the area will become hell.

An existence that made even the enlightened Yeon-wi feel admiration and tension.

“It’s nice to meet you. I am Yang Cheon, the Deputy Chief of the Black Dragon Army.”

The meeting of the righteous and evil giants who joined hands to protect the imperial palace, the wind blowing from the north made the eyes of the giants burn.

It was the meeting of the main players who would raise the curtain on the Great Three Sects War.