Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 500

501. Tidying Up, and a Challenge (1)

“You’ve arrived.”

“Yeah.”

“Where is the Clan Lord?”

“He said he had some things to discuss with Gong Gong Daesa [Great Master]. It seems we can eat first.”

“I see.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong scanned Gang Ryang up and down.

Gang Ryang’s appearance was quite rough. There were dried bloodstains here and there on his white clothes.

It wasn’t from training. The white bandage on one hand wasn’t from an injury he had sustained himself.

“Is helping the Medical Pavilion Head going well?”

Gang Ryang sighed.

“It’s incredibly busy. Screams don’t stop from all directions, and just when I think I can take a breather, a patient has a fit as if they were waiting for it. There was no time to rest, let alone sleep.”

In fact, considering Gang Ryang’s ambiguous position, he didn’t necessarily need to jump into such work. He had joined the Medical Corps during the Gwangdong operation, but that wasn’t an official affiliation.

In other words, he was a guest of the Byeoksan Yeon family. He didn’t need to care about what happened in the Murim Alliance [Martial Arts Alliance].

Nevertheless, he had stepped forward to help the Medical Pavilion.

“You can stop if it’s too hard.”

Gang Ryang shook his head.

“Things have stabilized now, so there isn’t much to help with. They said they’d contact me if they need a hand occasionally.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me, brother? By the way, what happened to those damned spies?”

“They were spies, but there was only one. There were just a manager and a contact.”

“Well, it’s the same thing.”

“I guess.”

“I heard it was mostly resolved, but you look like you have something on your mind with those dark circles under your eyes?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled without realizing it.

“You’ve become quite perceptive.”

“I’ve been around you for a while, I should be at least this good.”

“It’s nothing much. It’s just that the Murim Alliance might have to go into a semi-seclusion for a while.”

Gang Ryang’s eyes widened.

“Se, seclusion?”

“Semi-seclusion. Not just seclusion.”

“Whatever it is, isn’t that saying you’ll reduce external activities?”

“That’s right.”

“No, why?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong shook his head.

“It’s complicated to explain. It’s just that now is the time to focus on internal stability. That’s why such a discussion came up.”

“Hoo…”

“An organization, unlike what people think, the bigger it gets, the more gaps there are to exploit. This spy incident is the same. I never imagined that the head of one of the Nine Great Sects would be a spy, but the fact that we didn’t know for so long proves that the Murim Alliance is lax.”

Gang Ryang clicked his tongue.

“It’s not that we’re lax. Any organization would have been the same. For example, when you were dispatched to the Mukryong Unit [Hidden Dragon Unit] as a spy, no one knew either, did they?”

“That’s true. It can happen. But it shouldn’t happen again.”

“You’re right.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong shrugged.

“We’ll have to see how things go in the future. For now, we can only do our best in our respective positions.”

Gang Ryang’s eyes gleamed.

“Respective positions… then you too, brother?”

“Yeah.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked up at the sky.

It seemed that summer was over, and the sun was setting earlier than just a few days ago.

“I need to prepare. Prepare to go to the Mukryong Unit.”

Gang Ryang smiled.

“I’m going too, right?”

“Whenever you want.”

“You said it to the Mukryong Unit Leader’s face. That you’d come together.”

“Circumstances can always change. If you have something else to do, you don’t have to come with me.”

“There’s no way that would happen.”

Swoosh.

Gang Ryang, having taken off his white outer garment, swung his shoulders around. He looked as if he had washed away all the fatigue he had accumulated.

“It’s a chance to learn more about my enemy. I can’t miss such a good opportunity.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes narrowed.

“Can you endure it?”

Gang Ryang smiled.

“They say that a man’s revenge is sweeter the longer it’s been brewing. I’m not foolish enough to ruin the sweet nectar I’ll taste later because of my immediate thirst.”

A smile also appeared on Yeon Ho-Jeong’s lips.

“You might die without a trace while waiting for that nectar.”

“That’s true.”

“If that’s what you want, then so be it.”

“When are you planning to depart?”

“Well, first, the atmosphere within the Alliance needs to be well managed.”

Gang Ryang, who had been quietly watching Yeon Ho-Jeong, shook his head.

“What kind of trouble are you planning to cause again?”

“Trouble?”

“Your eyes look like you’re about to smash someone to pieces. It looks very exciting.”

“You’re saying scary things.”

“Never mind, who is it?”

“I told you, there’s nothing like that.”

“It might not be smashing someone to pieces. But it seems like a moment where you have to make a rather aggressive decision?”

“An aggressive decision… yeah, you’re right.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong closed his eyes.

“I wonder if I really have to go this far, but if I can, it’s better to do it. It’ll also lighten the Military Advisor’s burden.”

* * *

“Hoo.”

Namgoong In, having emptied his cup, lightly sighed.

“I feel languid.”

Before he knew it, the sun had set, and the night was filled with starlight.

The feeling of sipping wine by the window of his residence was quite special. Moreover, the entire Murim Alliance had just gone through a major incident. After roughly settling the incident, he felt a sense of ease.

“I should just drink a little and go to bed today.”

Recently, the time he spent holding his sword had decreased.

It wasn’t because there was a change in his heart. No matter how busy he was, he never skipped his early morning training.

However, he had been having many thoughts lately.

‘I should stop looking left and right from the middle now.’

Namgoong In thought of the Council Elders.

More precisely, he thought of Jeagal Mun-Ho’s face, who had always spoken his mind with a stern face even in front of the Council Elders.

“That man has changed so much.”

In the past, before the Murim Alliance was founded.

Back then, the power of the Jeagal family wasn’t that great. Although its influence was still considerable, it wasn’t what it used to be.

And Namgoong In knew well the reason why the Jeagal family had lost its power.

‘But now…’

When did it start?

Perhaps it was after the time he had obtained the position of Military Advisor, after the appearance he had shown during the meeting, Jeagal Mun-Ho had changed.

As the Clan Lord changed, the vitality of the family changed, and the evaluation of the world also began to change little by little.

Is it just something that happened within the Murim Alliance? You wouldn’t know if you didn’t see the change in the person? Nonsense. The Murim world is also a world where people live. Jeagal Mun-Ho’s wise and bold tactics and administrative abilities had already spread throughout the Central Plains.

In other words, he had stepped onto a stage where he could prove himself at a time when his family was weakening, and he had properly shown his worth.

Namgoong In recalled the time when Jeagal Mun-Ho had first shed his weak self and showed a formidable presence.

‘The Alliance Law is strict, and no member of the Murim Alliance is free from the law. Even the Alliance Leader can be punished by the law after the protection period based on the Alliance Leader’s special law ends.’

‘If you don’t intend to give that much authority to each unit commander, I will also step down from my position as Military Advisor.’

‘When we agreed to establish the Murim Alliance, I believe that all the Council Elders here were prepared to follow the strictness of the Alliance Law.’

With each word he uttered, it was as if fire was spewing from his eyes and mouth.

Was it a moment of awakening? Since then, Jeagal Mun-Ho had gained an immense authority that no one could treat lightly.

‘How can a person change so much?’

Of course, he knew the fundamental reason why Jeagal Mun-Ho had changed.

The problem was, no matter how much reason there was, could a person change so easily?

‘His influence in the Murim Alliance has changed. This also affects the power of each family.’

Namgoong In’s eyes deepened.

‘The current Jeagal family is rising to become a prestigious family that no White Path sect can touch.’

If you only think about influence, the Jeagal family was still below the Namgoong family.

This is because there is a difference in practical wealth and martial power. In particular, the Namgoong family has a great giant called the Divine Sword of the Heavenly Sword, the Sword Emperor, who is called a legend of the current Murim world.

With that name alone, the Jeagal family cannot dare to stand above the Namgoong family.

At least for now.

‘Father is also getting old. Since he has reached that level, he might live longer than me, but…’

His father, Sword Emperor Namgoong Seung, was practically retired from active duty. Of course, if something interesting happened, he would appear in the Central Plains at any time, but it was clear that he was not active.

People are creatures of forgetfulness. The world knows that there is a Sword Emperor in the Namgoong family, but if the Sword Emperor does not show himself, they will gradually forget his existence.

If that happens?

‘That won’t do.’

The reputation of the great Namgoong family, the power that affects practical martial power, will decrease. That should not happen.

‘He will have to reveal that power to the world soon. Otherwise… I will also find it hard to bear, Father.’

Namgoong In leaned back in his chair.

“…The night is good, but my mood can’t keep up with this beautiful sight.”

These days, he really wanted to leave the work to his eldest son and take a few months off.

‘Is this my destiny, to be more inclined towards politics than martial arts?’

Speaking of politics, the Jeagal family came to mind again.

‘I never thought I would be so concerned about them.’

He had become conscious of the Jeagal family since he had rejected the marriage proposal for his second son, Namgoong Hyeon.

They must have known that there was a burden on this side as well, but the Jeagal family still rejected the proposal.

It meant that they were willing to risk damaging their political friendly relationship. Considering Namgoong Hyeon’s martial arts and reputation, it could even be seen as a disregard for this side.

They boldly rejected such a sensitive issue?

‘They chose the Yeon family instead… interesting.’

They had a rather deep and bad relationship with the Byeoksan Yeon family.

However, that bad relationship was settled in the past. There was no point in dragging that matter on.

Namgoong In’s eyes deepened.

The Jeagal family, and the Byeoksan Yeon family.

‘Two families with bad blood with the main family are now rising in the Murim world.’

It was frustrating.

In politics, there are no friends or enemies. If the desired goals align, they can become friends at any time, and if the goals change, they can coldly turn their backs in an instant.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he didn’t want to associate with the Jeagal or Yeon families.

‘They and I are fundamentally different. Even if they are the same beasts, tigers and lions live in different places.’

Tap. Tap.

Namgoong In, who had lightly tapped the window sill a few times with his fist, shook his head and got up.

“I have too many useless thoughts. I should go to bed early today.”

But he couldn’t fall asleep early today either.

“Clan Lord.”

“What is it?”

“We have a guest.”

Namgoong In frowned.

“Didn’t I say not to receive guests after the sun goes down?”

“Yes, yes. But, they came on official business…”

Official business?

“Who is it? The guest?”

“Yes, it’s the head of the Medical Corps.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Clan Lord? What should we do? Should we send them back…”

“No, it’s okay.”

Namgoong In pulled out his chair again.

“Let them in.”