Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 11

The Four Divine Beasts Activate (2)

One month later.

“Wow! Brother! Look over there! Isn’t that carriage huge?”

“It is.”

“Wow, I’ve never seen a carriage so big and fancy before! Anhui is definitely more fun to look at than our Gangso!”

“Is that so?”

“Gasp! Brother! Did you see that just now?! That carriage is really small but super fast! How can there be such a carriage?”

“I guess so.”

“Let’s ride that carriage sometime too! Okay?”

“Maybe we will.”

“Hehe, it’s a promise! You promised, Brother?”

“Alright.”

Yeon Ji-pyeong’s face was flushed with excitement.

It was his first time setting foot on foreign land. Anhui was adjacent to Gangso Province, where the Yeon family was located, but there were many differences in climate and culture.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s face, watching his excited younger brother, was the epitome of disinterest.

“Are you happy?”

“Of course! Aren’t you happy, Brother? Isn’t this your first time in Anhui too?”

He’d been here a hundred times.

“Actually, I want to travel all over the world. I want to see a wider world. I’ve always been curious about how people in other regions live.”

It’s all the same everywhere.

The climate is different, so the culture is different, and the appearances are different, but in the end, people are all the same. Good people smile and endure even when they’re betrayed, and bad people get angry even when they’re treated well.

That was the world Yeon Ho-jeong had seen.

“Um… and also.”

“Huh?”

“It’s even better because I came out with you, hehe.”

His silly smile and scratching his head made him quite cute.

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been looking at Yeon Ji-pyeong with a smile, slowly frowned. Suddenly, his father came to mind.

‘He really doesn’t understand.’

After hearing his answer in the bamboo forest, his father had glared at him for a while and then returned to the family head’s residence.

He thought his father was angry because his tone was harsh, but the next day, he was called to the family head’s residence and was told this:

‘After thinking differently, I feel uneasy about sending only Ji-pyeong. Of course, that goes for you too. However, you are already eighteen years old and I think you are old enough to do your part. If you promise not to cause any trouble, I will send you with Ji-pyeong.’

It was a place he didn’t want to go, but it was definitely awkward to send only Ji-pyeong. Besides, he was at the heart of the conflict between the two families. He also didn’t want to burden his younger brother.

‘If they have no intention of causing trouble, I don’t want to either.’

‘Even if they provoke you, endure it.’

‘I can’t promise that.’

‘I’ll say it again. Enduring insults is not patience, but cowardice. However, just because a dog barks doesn’t mean a person should bark back. Figure out whether the opponent is a person or a beast before you act. Do you understand?’

‘……’

‘Why don’t you answer?’

‘Well… I’m not a very mature person either, so my patience is…’

Yeon Ho-jeong spent three days straight training with the horse stance [a basic martial arts stance]. If he didn’t have patience, it would have been hard to endure.

Then, he had to come to Anhui much earlier than planned. It was because his father had ordered him to go ahead, adapt to the climate, and make connections with the later generation disciples who had arrived first, to learn what harmony was.

‘He’s a very strange person.’

He had always thought of him as a rigid person who valued etiquette, but this time, he seemed to have reacted emotionally.

Still, Yeon Ho-jeong understood his father. Either way, his son was trying to go down a different path than what he had hoped for, so it was understandable that he would be angry.

‘Well, it’s also a good opportunity.’

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes blazed.

‘I can find out.’

Even if his relationship with his father was a little strained, he wouldn’t have come to this gathering if there was nothing to gain. He could do many other things in that time.

The reason he willingly participated in the gathering was one thing.

‘Can I figure out the enemy’s true nature?’

This later generation disciple gathering was also a gathering where the successors who would lead the families in the future would participate in large numbers.

If the enemy was among the Seven Great Families, the successor would also likely know that they were attacking the Yeon family. Even if not, there might be similarities in their true energy and martial arts.

‘First, exclude the Namgoong, Moyong, and Tang families.’

When they were working with the White Path [a term for righteous martial arts sects] to defeat the Evil Cult, he had seen those three families the most. And he had never felt any similarities between the martial arts of the enemy and the masters of those three families.

Then the remaining families were three.

‘The Peng family, the Jeagal family, and the Myeong family. I have to keep an eye on these three.’

“Brother?”

“Huh?”

Yeon Ji-pyeong asked with an anxious face.

“Are you perhaps uncomfortable?”

“Uncomfortable? What do you mean?”

“No, it’s just…”

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled. It seemed his expression wasn’t good because he was thinking about the one who had destroyed his family.

“I’m not uncomfortable at all. I’m excited too.”

In many ways.

“Hehe, then shall we find our lodgings first?”

“Sounds good.”

At that moment, a heavy voice was heard.

“Are you not moving any further today?”

Yeon Ji-pyeong flinched without realizing it. The low, heavy voice seemed to make his abdomen vibrate.

Yeon Ho-jeong replied.

“That’s the plan.”

“Understood. Then, we will find the lodgings, so please wait a moment.”

The one who showed courtesy with a fist salute was a middle-aged swordsman who looked to be just forty years old.

It was Shin Mo, the leader of the Azure Falcon Squad. He was a supreme master known as the head of the Azure Falcon Squad, which the Yeon family was proud of, and one of the best swordsmen in Gangdong.

“There’s no need for that. I’ve already decided where to go.”

“Yes?”

“We’re going to the Chuseong Pavilion.”

The place where they were was Hwawhyeon in Anhui Province. The northeast of Hwawhyeon was called Ogwang, which was famous for the legend of the Four-Sided Chu Song of the Hegemon of Western Chu [a historical figure].

The Chuseong Pavilion was a tavern with a good view of the Ogwang area. It was also a tavern that people who were not from Anhui did not know well.

Shin Mo asked, surprised.

“Do you know the Chuseong Pavilion?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s a place that people who are not from Anhui don’t know well…”

“I just heard about it. By the way, Shin Leader, you seem to know the place?”

“Yes, it’s not far from Gangso Province, so I remember visiting it a few times.”

“Then let’s have you lead the way.”

“Understood.”

Shin Mo was different from Gang Ryun in many ways.

His martial arts were higher than Gang Ryun’s, and he seemed more cautious. As a warrior of the Yeon family, he was thorough in distinguishing between public and private matters, and he was a person who did his best in his assigned tasks.

There were many people who were stronger than him, but there were not many people as reliable as him. That was why Yeon-wi had sent him with his brothers.

Thus, the Yeon brothers, Shin Mo, and twenty members of the Azure Falcon Squad moved to the Chuseong Pavilion.

“Wow!”

The Chuseong Pavilion was quite crowded. Even though the weather was getting chilly, there were many people who came and went all year round to soak in the legend of the Hegemon of Chu.

“Let’s get some rooms and rest. We have plenty of time, so let’s leave in three or four days.”

“Yes.”

The group unpacked their luggage in the back garden of the Chuseong Pavilion.

However, the Azure Falcon Squad thoroughly guarded the brothers. A total of twenty-one people, including the leader, took turns in three shifts.

Yeon Ho-jeong, who came out with an iron staff, clicked his tongue.

“Why don’t you guys rest too?”

“It’s alright.”

How rigid.

“Then, have a good time.”

Either way, they were the ones who received the family head’s orders. Yeon Ho-jeong didn’t try to persuade them.

“Hmm, this place is good.”

Whoosh, whoosh.

Yeon Ho-jeong, holding the center of the iron staff, turned it this way and that.

Shin Mo’s eyes gleamed as he watched Yeon Ho-jeong.

‘He’s used to it.’

The way he spun it around with one hand showed his skill. It was as if he had been training in staff techniques for years.

‘Didn’t he originally use a sword?’

Even on the way here, Yeon Ho-jeong did not stop training. However, all the training was just energy circulation and slow fist forms, and he had never seen him train with a staff.

Thud!

The sound of the iron staff hitting the ground was quite fierce.

“Shall we go?”

Yeon Ho-jeong kicked the iron staff with his toe.

Thwoong!

The iron staff rotated, making a threatening sound.

He grabbed the center of the iron staff with both hands and swung it like a whirlwind. The cold, dry air fled from the iron staff.

“Hah.”

Thud!

With a strong step, Yeon Ho-jeong began to unfold his staff techniques in earnest.

Whoosh!

Shin Mo’s eyes widened as he quietly watched Yeon Ho-jeong.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whap!

The staff techniques became faster and more precise as time passed.

He was now skillfully handling a heavy long weapon that weighed a little less than twenty geun [a traditional Korean unit of weight, roughly equivalent to 1.3 pounds]. He increased the speed by giving centrifugal force at the right time, and he cut off and thrust the necessary parts. It was surprisingly smooth and beautiful.

A smile appeared on Yeon Ho-jeong’s face.

‘It works after all.’

He had not trained in staff techniques on the way here, but had trained in the Yeon family’s basic fist technique, the Yeon Family Thirteen Fists. It was because he wanted to firmly establish flexibility and the center of gravity of his body.

As expected, it was as he had predicted. The Whirlwind Staff Technique was finally showing its power. If he got it a little more used to his body, it would be good enough to use in actual combat.

‘Good, let’s keep going.’

Whack!

The Byukra True Energy [a type of internal energy] stably held his body. The tip of the staff piercing the air was sharp, and the staff hitting down was heavy. The staff technique that rotated and sucked in the air was like a majestic river.

Shin Mo, who was admiring his much better-than-expected skills, was soon surprised.

Whack! Bang! Wham!

The staff techniques, which had been flowing smoothly like an endless river, became rigid.

The iron staff was constantly cutting through the air. The staff techniques, which had been like a beautiful dance, suddenly became clumsy.

“It’s too rigid.”

Shin Mo looked to the side. It was Yang Heum of the Azure Falcon Squad. He was supposed to be on duty in the early morning, but he had come out to watch Yeon Ho-jeong’s training.

“The forms are gradually collapsing. He doesn’t seem tired, but it seems he’s not used to that staff technique.”

“Does it look like that?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. Of course, it seems like a high-level staff technique, but at this rate…”

“The young master understands the staff technique properly.”

“Yes?!”

“It looks clumsy, but there are no unnecessary movements, are there?”

Yang Heum couldn’t understand.

“That… are you talking about those strange movements?”

“Can’t you see the true energy in the iron staff, only the forms of the staff technique?”

Shin Mo’s eyes deepened.

“The young master is now using a staff technique that most effectively destroys the enemy’s body. Even taking advantage of the characteristics of his true energy. That’s why it can look clumsy.”

“……”

“Perhaps that staff technique is originally a martial art derived from a fast and passionate mind technique.”

Adjusting the flow of the staff technique to match the characteristics of the inner energy mind technique?

Yang Heum couldn’t believe it. It was something that was difficult even for himself, who was a first-rate master.

Shin Mo’s eyes wavered.

‘Did he have such talent?’

He himself, who had told Yang Heum, found it hard to believe. It was because the young master was naturally doing something that he would not dare to attempt at his current level.

‘Indeed, blood doesn’t lie.’

After a while.

“Hoo, hoo.”

Yeon Ho-jeong stopped training.

“Okay, this is good enough.”

“Young Master.”

“Huh?”

Yeon Ho-jeong turned his head. There was Yang Heum.

“I am Yang Heum of the Azure Falcon Squad.”

“So?”

“If it’s not rude, would you like to practice forms with me, excluding inner energy?”

It was an extremely audacious suggestion.

Shin Mo’s expression hardened.

“Yang Heum! What kind of rudeness is that to the young master? Return to your quarters immediately…”

“That sounds good.”

Shin Mo looked at Yeon Ho-jeong in surprise.

Yeon Ho-jeong smiled and spun the iron staff around.

“I needed an opponent anyway, so I’m happy to.”

“It is an honor. Then, I will prepare immediately.”

“Good.”

Yeon Ho-jeong grinned.

“Don’t go easy on me just because I’m the young master, okay?”

* * *

The next day.

Jeagal Ayeon’s face was filled with admiration as she looked around the Chuseong Pavilion.

“Wow! Amazing! It’s worth coming early!”

“S-Sister.”

“Huh?”

“There are many people. Please watch your language…”

“What’s wrong with my language? What’s wrong with saying something is good when it’s good?”

“Sigh, that’s why you keep getting into trouble. Just like those guys yesterday…”

“It’s okay. They don’t know I’m the eldest daughter of the Jeagal family.”

“That’s why it’s more of a problem! If you had just finished it properly…”

“Look at you, a man, being so timid. Be a little more daring, okay?”

“Don’t you think you’re too careless, Sister? And why are you making a distinction between men and women in this matter?”

“Hey, stop chattering and let’s eat. My stomach is sticking to my back…”

At that moment.

Thud!

“Kuaaaak!”

A gruesome scream echoed from the back garden of the Chuseong Pavilion.

Jeagal Ayeon’s eyes widened.

“You heard that too, right?”

“…N-No.”

“You heard it, you idiot!”

“I didn’t hear it! I didn’t hear it!”

“Oh, then you stay here.”

“Please! What kind of trouble are you going to cause again!”

“You little brat? Hey! You heard that scream and you’re still like that? What if the protagonist of that scream is a kind and beautiful woman? Huh?!”

“It’s a voice full of phlegm…”

“Anyway, it seems like something unusual has happened! I have to check it out myself for the sake of chivalry!”

“Sister! Huh? Are you really going? Sister! Sisssster!!”