Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 405

405. The One Above All

Beijing, the Forbidden City.

Eunuch Park stood before the Wenyuan Pavilion, waiting for someone.

Throughout the imperial palace, the court, and even the entire realm, few could command Eunuch Park’s patience.

Yet, the expression on Eunuch Park’s face as he waited was almost gleeful.

Gazing at the rectangular lake in front of the Wenyuan Pavilion, Eunuch Park suddenly raised his head.

A familiar scholar was seen turning the corner of the pavilion and walking towards him.

It was Yun-hyeon.

Swish.

Eunuch Park gestured to the eunuchs and Golden Uniform Guards behind him.

They immediately bowed to Eunuch Park and withdrew.

Even though they didn’t go far, it didn’t matter.

It was enough that they were out of Eunuch Park’s sight.

With his hands clasped together, Eunuch Park walked briskly towards Yun-hyeon.

Tap, tap, tap.

A smile was already spreading across Eunuch Park’s face.

“Scholar Yun.”

“Ah, Eunuch Park.”

Yun-hyeon replied with a smile.

“Have you been waiting long? There was no need to wait.”

“It’s alright. I was free anyway. Is the Changryong Hall still the same?”

“It was the same. The building and the people, everything.”

Eunuch Park covered his mouth with his sleeve and laughed.

“I suppose so. I made sure that no one could touch that place. Of course, no one even tried to, though…”

The Changryong Hall was like a secluded island within the Forbidden City.

No one would cast a glance towards it.

“Thank you.”

Yun-hyeon said to Eunuch Park.

Eunuch Park shook his head.

“You’re welcome. More importantly, do you not wish to visit the Wenyuan Pavilion?”

At those words, Yun-hyeon raised his eyes to look at the Wenyuan Pavilion.

The imperial library, the Wenyuan Pavilion.

The days he spent among the miscellaneous books flashed before his eyes.

However, what came to Yun-hyeon’s mind now was his conversation with Sa Il-cheon, or rather, Il-eun, a little while ago.

“…What does it mean that I found that book?”

Yun-hyeon quietly asked Il-eun.

A little while ago, Il-eun had said that Yun-hyeon was the only one who had found the White Tiger Hall scholar’s book, the one he called ‘Report’.

“Does that mean you hid the book?”

“It both does and doesn’t. If I wanted to hide it, I would have buried it in a place where no one could reach it, and if I wanted to reveal it, I wouldn’t have left it among the miscellaneous books in the Wenyuan Pavilion.”

Il-eun chuckled lightly.

“Actually, what you want to know is whether that book is a ‘Document,’ isn’t it?”

Yun-hyeon nodded.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“It’s not.”

Il-eun readily replied.

Yun-hyeon let out a soft sigh, but Il-eun continued.

“But now, it can be said to have become a ‘Document’.”

Yun-hyeon frowned and asked.

“Became?”

“That’s right.”

Yun-hyeon couldn’t understand Il-eun’s words.

“What does that…”

“Is the place where the emperor resides the imperial palace, or is the person residing in the imperial palace the emperor?”

His words were a bit out of the blue, but Yun-hyeon quickly understood their meaning.

“You mean that because I stand in this position, the book can be called a ‘Document.’ Just as the place where the emperor resides, even if it’s a humble cottage, must be called the imperial palace.”

“That’s right.”

Il-eun continued.

“Since you have become the ‘owner of the Document,’ that book can now be called a ‘Document.’ But if someone else were to hold that book, it would still be just one of the miscellaneous books piled up in the Wenyuan Pavilion.”

Yun-hyeon gave a wry smile.

“Isn’t that putting the cart before the horse?”

“Cause and effect don’t always flow in one direction.”

Il-eun said in a calm voice.

“Sometimes, the result creates the cause. Don’t people often say, ‘I have lived for this’?”

No one is born with a reason for living.

But when he discovers the true purpose of his life, it becomes a clear answer to the reason he was born.

Even if others don’t understand it.

“People call it fate.”

Yun-hyeon couldn’t argue.

But he didn’t intend to cover everything up with the word ‘fate’.

“Is it my fate to oppose the Il-dae Sanghoe [Great Commerce Guild]?”

“No.”

Il-eun shook his head.

“How can I rashly speak of another’s fate? Your fate lies further beyond that.”

With a gentle expression, Il-eun said.

“Like someone I know.”

“Scholar Yun.”

Suddenly hearing the voice, Yun-hyeon snapped out of his thoughts.

Eunuch Park was blinking and looking at Yun-hyeon.

Yun-hyeon smiled gently.

“I don’t think there’s any need to go inside the Wenyuan Pavilion.”

“Is that so? Hehehe.”

Eunuch Park said with a chuckle.

“Being here like this makes it feel like we’ve returned to the old days. You used to doze off in that corner seat sometimes.”

Yun-hyeon gave an awkward smile.

But his expression was bright.

“That’s right. It feels like we’ve returned to the old days.”

Yun-hyeon looked back at the Wenyuan Pavilion.

The ancient building and the intricately decorated stone steps were no different from before.

But the reason it felt like he had returned to the old days was not because of the unchanged Wenyuan Pavilion, but because Eunuch Park, who was still the same, was by his side.

Just as the absence of his sworn brother, Il-chung-hyeon, made him realize that he could not return to the past.

“Scholar Yun.”

Eunuch Park said softly.

“Won’t you return to the imperial palace?”

Yun-hyeon turned his head.

Eunuch Park’s eyes gleamed as he continued.

“Scholar Yun, you have fully accomplished His Majesty’s will. Didn’t you dismantle the Heroic Alliance without raising an imperial army? Moreover, you have captured all the leaders of the Heroic Alliance.”

Yun-hyeon said in a low voice.

“I didn’t capture Yeom Jung-bu. Nor did I capture the Il-dae Sanghoe and their group.”

“But they will no longer be a concern for the country.”

What the imperial family feared was that carelessly provoking the Jianghu [martial arts world] would cause chaos throughout the realm, and as a result, the imperial authority would be shaken.

But Yun-hyeon had dismantled the Heroic Alliance without any strife or conflict, so the imperial family no longer had to worry about the Jianghu.

“Now they are merely remnants. Even if they try to plot something, it will only be a minor disturbance.”

The imperial family was at the pinnacle of power in the realm.

Small and large-scale rebellions or regional disputes were, at least from the imperial family’s perspective, merely minor disturbances.

Yun-hyeon shook his head.

“What they are trying to do is by no means trivial.”

“It is trivial.”

Eunuch Park said firmly.

“If you rise to the position of the one above all and below only the emperor, anything in the realm will become trivial. That is what it means to wield power.”

Those words were not an exaggeration.

The Grand Secretariat or the Grand Scholar of the Hall, which the Crown Prince had mentioned, were positions worthy of being called the one above all and below only the emperor.

Moreover, as long as Eunuch Park was with him, there was virtually nothing impossible for Yun-hyeon.

“If you are truly concerned about them, issue an arrest warrant and forget about them. All the government troops in the realm will chase after them. Shouldn’t Scholar Yun be doing something more meaningful than that?”

Yun-hyeon gave a wry smile.

“You overestimate me too much. I am not such a great person.”

“Scholar Yun, you are too modest. It is a position that someone has to take anyway. It is a hundred or a thousand times better than someone else doing it.”

Eunuch Park’s point was sharp.

Just because Yun-hyeon declined, it didn’t mean the position would disappear.

Someone else would surely take that position.

Could it really be said that he was better than Yun-hyeon?

At least not to Eunuch Park.

“The affairs of the martial world are enough. So now, please return here.”

Eunuch Park’s eyes were shining.

Yun-hyeon gazed intently at those eyes.

“…Thank you.”

Yun-hyeon said with a gentle smile.

“It is truly an undeserved blessing that I met you.”

Eunuch Park smiled.

“So, you still don’t intend to return.”

Yun-hyeon nodded.

“As I have already told His Majesty, I still have things to do. And that may be something that only I can do.”

“I understand.”

Eunuch Park bowed politely.

“Well, I will always follow Scholar Yun’s will.”

Yun-hyeon laughed.

He said that, but when he thought about it, Yun-hyeon was the one being swayed by Eunuch Park more often.

Eunuch Park sighed deeply.

“However, I am a little worried that Scholar Yun might suddenly leave without sending a single letter…”

That was nothing more than a complaint about not sending letters often.

Yun-hyeon smiled and said to Eunuch Park, who was sighing openly.

“Don’t worry. If something like that happens to me, I will definitely tell you beforehand.”

Eunuch Park’s eyes widened.

“Really? You promise?”

Yun-hyeon nodded.

Only then did Eunuch Park smile.

“Hehehe. That’s a little comforting.”

That playful smile was so warm that a smile never left Yun-hyeon’s face.

***

Yun-hyeon returned to the mansion on the outskirts of Beijing by carriage.

Eunuch Park had said that this mansion was a very secret and safe place.

In the backyard, Guest Elder was waiting for Yun-hyeon.

Step, step.

“Elder.”

Yun-hyeon said as he entered the backyard.

Guest Elder looked at Yun-hyeon and asked.

“Was he Il-eun?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Guest Elder’s eyes shone sharply.

“It’s fortunate that he didn’t avoid you.”

Clack.

Yun-hyeon sat down opposite Guest Elder.

“Rather than avoiding me, it seemed like he was waiting for me.”

Guest Elder frowned.

“Waiting for you? Why?”

“I don’t know either. But…”

Yun-hyeon said softly.

“He spoke of fate.”

Swoosh.

A gentle breeze brushed past the two men.

After a moment of silence, Guest Elder asked again.

“And?”

“He said he would come here tomorrow.”

Guest Elder’s eyes widened.

Yun-hyeon quietly continued.

“He said he wanted to see my sword.”

You can’t exchange swords in the middle of the imperial palace.

It was natural for Il-eun to come.

“…I see.”

Guest Elder said softly.

His voice was slightly trembling.

Even the Guest Elder, renowned throughout the world, couldn’t help but be excited by the news that Il-eun was coming.

Swish.

Guest Elder raised his eyes.

And looking straight at Yun-hyeon, he said.

“Win.”

“Yes?”

Yun-hyeon asked back in surprise at the sudden words.

But Guest Elder’s expression was only serious.

“If you lose to Il-eun after defeating me, doesn’t that mean I am below him? Are you telling me to suffer such humiliation?”

“No, that’s…”

The fact that Il-eun was stronger was already acknowledged by Sword Saint Yi Geom-hak, as well as Guest Elder.

But now, humiliation?

“Didn’t you say last time that Il-eun was stronger than you, Elder?”

“When did I say that?”

Guest Elder said sternly.

“That’s what Yi Geom-hak said. I only said that Il-eun was strong.”

Yun-hyeon let out a hollow laugh.

Come to think of it, it was Sword Saint Yi Geom-hak who said, ‘Il-eun is the strongest among us’.

Guest Elder only said that Il-eun was very strong.

But wasn’t it the same meaning anyway?

“The fact that he is strong and my worth are completely separate issues.”

Guest Elder was quite serious.

“So you must defeat Il-eun. Do you understand?”

“But…”

“No need for words.”

In a firm tone, Guest Elder said.

“Win. No matter what.”

Yun-hyeon gave an awkward smile.

But it was already too late to gloss over it with a smile.

Guest Elder’s eyes were blazing.