Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 45

“Kkeoeok!”

A huge burp escaped, making it seem like his soul was leaving his body.

“Wow, I’m stuffed! I ate so much I thought I was going to die.”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s mouth gaped like a fish.

“Wow, it’s a miracle you’re not dead?”

“Hmm? Euehehe! Young Master, you’ve underestimated me too much. A beggar’s stomach far surpasses that of ordinary people. It’s only this much because my appetite has shrunk; in my younger days, I could easily eat twelve pounds of pork.”

If Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s weight was converted to pounds, it would be around a hundred. Ga Deuk-Sang had eaten more than ten percent of Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s weight.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong shuddered. It wasn’t easy to be creeped out by someone eating.

Yeon Ho-Jeong pointed at the rice bowl with his finger.

“You left three grains of rice.”

“This is a gesture, a gesture.”

“Finish it all.”

Ga Deuk-Sang smacked his lips.

“You’re so strict.”

He licked up the remaining rice grains. It was amazing how he savored each grain even when he was so full.

“Would you like some tea?”

“What tea for a beggar? I’d rather have alcohol.”

“It’s the middle of the day.”

“Do you distinguish between day and night when drinking? You have a unique personality.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled without realizing it.

Ga Deuk-Sang said slyly.

“Come to think of it, our Young Master here is quite the drinker, isn’t he?”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong waved his hand as if he was fed up.

“I suffered so much the next day. It’s good when you’re drinking, but the aftermath is the problem, isn’t it?”

“Eumhahaha! Enjoying even the hangover is the true way of the drink. Young Master, you’ve only just taken your first step.”

“I, is that so?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong said curtly.

“Don’t teach him strange things.”

“Strange things? Why is this strange? You’re being too harsh.”

“Enough.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong said to Yeon Ji-Pyeong.

“Tell them to bring out some alcohol. And I’d like you to leave us for a bit.”

“Ah, of course!”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong was quick on the uptake. He knew from the moment Ga Deuk-Sang arrived that he had business with his brother.

Thus, only the two of them remained in the guest room.

Ga Deuk-Sang exaggeratedly scanned the surroundings.

“By the way, the atmosphere in your family is quite chilly, isn’t it?”

“It’s always been rigid. Not much fun.”

“Well, it’s quite famous how brutal the Yeon family’s rules are.”

“Is it that famous?”

“It’s famous among beggars. Other families might not know.”

It was a fact only the Beggar Clan knew. It wasn’t strange, as they were the ones who controlled the information network of the White Path [the righteous martial world].

“Has anything bad happened recently? It’s a bit too much, even considering that.”

“Nothing special happened.”

“Nothing special, and the atmosphere is like this? Everyone was bending in half when I passed by.”

“The people of the main family are the most courteous in the Central Plains [the heartland of the martial world].”

“Their expressions were full of fear. It was like they saw a ghost.”

“As you can see, I’m not quite human.”

Ga Deuk-Sang chuckled.

“I understand. It’s my job to dig deep.”

“I understand.”

Shortly after, the drinking table was set.

Ga Deuk-Sang was definitely a monster. He was already tasting the side dishes before the alcohol was even poured, and it was hard to believe he was the same person who had just said he was full.

Yeon Ho-Jeong held up the bottle.

“Have a drink.”

“Huh? Why pour it into a cup? Just give me the bottle.”

“……”

Ga Deuk-Sang grabbed a bottle and drank from it like a canteen.

“Kya! This is good! It seems better than Daughter Red [a type of strong alcohol], this? Oh, my throat is burning!”

“It’s strong, so drink slowly.”

“I will. We have a lot to talk about.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes gleamed.

Ga Deuk-Sang looked at his abyss-like gaze and thought.

‘This person is different…’

Ga Deuk-Sang had met countless people as a beggar. Most of them were influential figures who swayed the martial world.

What was strange was that Yeon Ho-Jeong’s gaze was so deep that it reminded him of those influential figures. It wasn’t because of his personality or martial arts, but because the person himself was profound.

‘I really can’t figure him out.’

Ga Deuk-Sang had secretly investigated Yeon Ho-Jeong.

But he couldn’t find anything of note. There was nothing remarkable about Yeon Ho-Jeong’s past.

A son raised by a strict father since childhood. The eldest son who went astray after being despaired by his younger brother’s talent.

It was a past that could be found anywhere. There was no talk of him belonging to a secret organization in the martial world, or that the family had deliberately spread bad rumors about him.

It was as if he had fallen from the sky. Yeon Ho-Jeong’s change was too sudden.

“Is there something on my face?”

“Hmm? Ah, no! I just thought you were handsome.”

“How bland.”

“Bland? With that melancholy gaze alone, you could easily disarm all the ladies in the world.”

“Enough, let’s get to the point.”

“Hehe, let’s do that.”

Ga Deuk-Sang placed his clasped hands on the table.

“First, let’s talk about the first request.”

“Go ahead.”

“Currently, the outer martial world is like a no-man’s-land. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy. The Small Thunder Sound Temple in Xizang [Tibet] is said to be slowly lifting its closure, but it doesn’t seem to be a threat to the Central Plains.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes deepened.

“Was there nothing else? Like a heretical group disturbing the peace?”

“Heretical group? Like those old, failed Demonic Cult guys?”

“Anything.”

“There was no such situation. In a way, it’s so uneventful that it’s rather strange. Well, since it’s quiet, those strange Small Thunder Sound Temple guys must think it’s their chance to lift the closure.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

‘Not yet, then.’

The Beggar Clan’s eyes were not limited to the Central Plains. If there had been even the slightest sign, Ga Deuk-Sang wouldn’t have missed it.

“Let’s move on to the second request.”

“Alright. The second request was about Moyong Woo’s location, right?”

“That’s right.”

“As I said before, knowing where that man is isn’t difficult.”

“Tell me.”

“But I have a question.”

Ga Deuk-Sang’s eyes sparkled.

“Why is the Yeon family’s eldest son looking for the youngest brother of the Moyong family head?”

Moyong Woo.

He was the half-brother of Moyong Gun, the current head of the Moyong family.

And they were brothers with a large age gap. Moyong Gun was nearly fifty years old, while Moyong Woo was only twenty-nine.

He was exactly ten years older than Yeon Ho-Jeong.

“I’ll tell you later.”

“Hmm. Does ‘I’ll tell you later’ mean you’ll find out on your own?”

“That’s right.”

Ga Deuk-Sang scrutinized Yeon Ho-Jeong’s expression with sharp eyes.

‘I can’t tell.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s expression was indifference itself. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t read anything.

‘Is that even possible at his age?’

Eyes, lip movements, gestures, posture, and so on.

There were many ways to figure out someone’s intentions. But with Yeon Ho-Jeong, there was nothing he could read.

“Alright.”

Ga Deuk-Sang took out a letter from his pocket. Despite wearing tattered clothes, the letter was clean and neat.

“Here it is.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong received the letter and unfolded it.

His eyes gleamed.

“Zhejiang Province?”

“It’s right next to Jiangsu Province. It’s in the next town.”

“Maritime trade, huh.”

“That’s right. Moyong Woo is in charge of the Zhejiang branch of the Moyong family and is responsible for maritime trade through the branch. Surprisingly, the funds earned from that maritime trade account for ten percent of the entire Moyong family’s funds.”

Ten percent of the financial power of a huge organization like the Moyong family?

It was truly an amazing feat. Earning ten percent of the family’s entire funds alone was impossible with ordinary merchandise.

“I was personally very surprised while investigating Moyong Woo. The family was keeping it quiet, but this Moyong Woo is no ordinary man. His martial talent is comparable to the family head Moyong Gun, and especially his virtue and character are so outstanding that he could be considered a suitable candidate for family head.”

Of course, he would be.

Yeon Ho-Jeong remembered the night before Moyong Woo died. He recalled his deep sincerity, even bowing to the master of the Black Path [the evil martial world], asking him to take care of his brother.

Even though his brother had cast him out under the pretext that he was a threat, the younger brother was worried about his brother’s safety. He was a great man who was always humble despite his overflowing talent.

‘……He’s like us.’

It was as if it reminded him of the relationship between Yeon Ho-Jeong and Yeon Ji-Pyeong.

If he had also had talent, he would have thoroughly rejected Yeon Ji-Pyeong. In that respect, Moyong Gun was similar to him.

‘That’s why Moyong Woo is needed. To stop them, it has to be Moyong Woo.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong knew his own limitations well.

The reason he could become the Black Emperor was because the Black Path was so steeped in unrefined violence. But the White Path was different.

‘I must be the shadow, the shield, the spear, and the architect at the same time. I must not become the ruler myself. Not that I could anyway.’

Ga Deuk-Sang sighed.

“Moyong Gun is a scary person. Not many people would cast out their own flesh and blood to preserve their power.”

Was that really the case?

Yeon Ho-Jeong had seen countless people who would cut down their parents, siblings, and even their own children for power. Moyong Gun was not normal, but there were many people in the world who were more vicious than Moyong Gun.

“Anyway, that completes the second request.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“What hard work? Thanks to you, I learned a lot of things I didn’t know. Now, about the third request……”

Ga Deuk-Sang’s face became serious.

“I don’t know if you’ll tell me, but let’s ask one more question this time.”

“……”

“How did you know?”

“What are you talking about?”

“How did you know that the number one family in the world, the Guju Myeong family, was secretly raising a ‘dead sword’ [a warrior trained in secret for assassination] without anyone knowing?”

In that instant, Yeon Ho-Jeong emitted a murderous gaze.

‘It was real.’

That’s right.

After exchanging blows with Myeong Ho-Rim, he was certain that the attackers’ martial arts were from the Guju Myeong family.

That alone didn’t mean the Myeong family was the culprit. Someone could have stolen and modified the Myeong family’s martial arts and learned them.

But after hearing Ga Deuk-Sang’s words, he was now truly certain.

‘The culprit was the Myeong family.’

Brrrrr.

The drinking table trembled faintly.

A blue aura flickered from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body. It was the Azure Serenity Energy, incomparable to what it had been before. When that energy was filled with murderous intent, the temperature inside the guest room plummeted.

‘You dare kill my father, bury my brother, and burn down the Yeon family’s foundation?!’

The face of his father, lamenting while looking at the sky, came to mind.

The face of his younger brother, smiling brightly and saying he believed in him, came to mind.

And.

The image of his father’s blood-soaked back, fighting fiercely against the enemies, came to mind.

The image of his younger brother’s back, his spine broken by the hand of a masked monster, came to mind.

Fwoooosh!

The surging energy gradually became more intense, like flames.

The atmosphere inside the guest room turned into a living hell. Ga Deuk-Sang’s face turned pale instantly.

“Young Master Yeon!”

“Grrr.”

“Young Master Yeon! Hey, you bastard! My heart is going to drop!”

Startled, Yeon Ho-Jeong controlled his murderous intent.

Whoooosh.

The terrifying murderous energy that seemed to overturn the world disappeared in an instant.

Ga Deuk-Sang placed his hand on his chest. His heart was pounding like crazy.

“Does this guy have a death wish? Man! Control your murderous intent! I’m fine because it’s me, but if it were someone with weaker martial arts, they would have vomited blood!”

It wasn’t an exaggeration.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s spiritual power was that of the Dark Emperor. The murderous intent of a master who had reached the highest level was lethal in itself.

“I’m sorry. I showed you an unsightly side.”

“What is this, am I supposed to be scared to even talk properly? Didn’t everyone get scared?”

Ga Deuk-Sang looked around outside the window.

Fortunately, the faces of the people passing by were calm. The murderous intent hadn’t leaked outside the room.

“Phew, it’s like being in the same room as a beast. I almost peed myself. Huh? Did I pee a little?”

“I’m ashamed.”

“It’s okay! Just be careful in the future!”

“I will.”

Ga Deuk-Sang took a deep breath.

“By the way, is that something to get so angry about? The fact that the Myeong family is secretly building up their power? It’s not that strange for a martial family like the Guju Myeong family to be training warriors without anyone knowing, is it?”

“The problem is what they do with that power.”

“Do?”

“Mr. Beggar.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s make one more request.”

“……Damn it, at least give me a commission. What is it, again?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong said coldly.

“This request may go against morality.”

When the drums of war sound, the law falls silent.

Yeon Ho-Jeong sensed that the time had come to temporarily cast aside laws and regulations.