Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 631

“……”

Tang Hyeong, opening his eyes, was momentarily bewildered.

‘Where am I?’

He had spent over twenty years in the same place. The ceiling he saw upon waking was not the one he was used to.

Then, a strange voice came from beside him.

“You’re awake.”

Tang Hyeong turned his head.

There was a man there.

The blurry vision, alternating between clarity and haze, slowly corrected itself.

Tang Hyeong’s eyes widened.

Upon seeing the other person’s face, it was a familiar yet strange face.

“…Yoon?”

Tang Yoon bowed his head.

“It’s been a while.”

“……”

Tang Hyeong was speechless with surprise.

Like his first and second sons, he hadn’t spent much quality time with his youngest. When they were very young, the family often ate together, but after he became busy, it was hard to see them even once every ten days.

And now, his youngest was here.

Tang Yoon said,

“You fainted right after your fight, so I couldn’t greet you properly.”

“…So you were there too?”

“Yes.”

“I see, so you were.”

Tang Hyeong’s eyes wavered.

“You’ve grown so much.”

Before he secluded himself, his youngest was a rosy-cheeked youth who hadn’t even reached adulthood. That child was now nearing forty.

He felt the transience of time.

“You’ve really grown so much.”

Tang Yoon smiled.

“It’s been twenty years.”

It was a surprising reaction.

The youngest in Tang Hyeong’s memory was a kind and simple child, unlike his own bloodline. He used to cry easily as a child and preferred harmony over competition.

‘He’s changed so much.’

The harsh winds of time had not spared his youngest either.

The heavy atmosphere beneath the light smile. The youngest, who used to laugh in the spring breeze and cry in the autumn wind, was now a magnificent man who wouldn’t be fazed even by a typhoon.

Tang Hyeong asked without realizing it.

“Do you resent your father?”

He wanted to apologize first. But before that, he was curious. Did his youngest also resent him like his first and second sons?

Tang Yoon nodded.

“I did, once.”

That meant he didn’t now.

Tears welled up in Tang Hyeong’s eyes. As he got older and his body became like this, he seemed to cry more easily.

“Forgive your father.”

“What have I done to forgive my father? I’m an unfilial son who couldn’t even visit you once after you secluded yourself.”

“No, no. It was all this father’s fault.”

“Father.”

“Now that I’m over seventy, I’ve finally learned to say sorry to my children. Where in the world is there a father as pathetic as me?”

Just like the father was surprised by the change in his youngest.

Tang Yoon was also surprised by the change in Tang Hyeong. At least, the father he remembered was someone who didn’t know how to apologize to his own family.

Just like his eldest brother.

‘So, this is how much time can change a person.’

Tang Yoon sighed.

“Our family paid a great price.”

“……”

“So, shouldn’t we live harmoniously from now on?”

“Yes, we should.”

“I heard from my older brother. You’ll be watching over us from now on. I heard you’ve returned as the great elder of the Tang Clan.”

“That’s wrong. Your brother forgave me, it’s not that I wanted to come out.”

“So, do you regret it?”

“……”

“Didn’t you miss us?”

Tears finally flowed from Tang Hyeong’s eyes.

“I missed you so much.”

Tears also welled up in Tang Yoon’s eyes as he smiled.

“You’ve returned well. It’s late, but I’ll take good care of you from now on.”

“Alright.”

A father and son shedding tears of joy and regret.

It took them over an hour to wipe away their tears and compose themselves.

Tang Hyeong asked with a faint smile.

“By the way, what happened to the family? I don’t remember anything after I fainted.”

“We’re in the process of reorganizing.”

“How long has it been?”

“It’s been ten days since you lost consciousness, Father.”

Tang Hyeong was startled.

“I was unconscious for ten days?”

“Yes.”

Was his injury that serious?

Tang Hyeong briefly checked his internal state.

‘……?!’

Emergency measures had been taken, but the fact remained that his injury was severe.

Yet, his insides were clean. The broken bones and damaged organs were almost completely healed, and the rampaging poison was evenly distributed and sealed in his middle and lower dantian [energy centers in the body].

There was some internal damage left, but it was at a level that could be healed on its own within three or four days.

Tang Hyeong asked,

“Did a divine physician come to the main family? Even if all the family’s doctors worked together, it would have been difficult to heal me this quickly.”

“My eldest brother and the leader of the Martial Alliance’s Yu-gun unit worked hard for several days.”

Tang Hyeong’s eyes lit up.

“The leader of the Yu-gun unit, are you talking about Yeon Ho-Jeong?”

“Yes.”

Tang Yoon shook his head.

“It was surprising. To open the Great Ultimate [a high level of martial arts mastery] at that age, it might be the first time in martial history. He’s truly a monster.”

“It’s not the first time.”

“Pardon?”

Tang Hyeong closed his eyes.

“It’s not the first time. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a great feat. That level of achievement means he has a talent that is among the best in history.”

“That’s right.”

“Still, I don’t understand. Even if you open the Great Ultimate, it takes a long time to control the new power. Moreover, he completely stopped the internal bleeding and perfectly restored the function of the organs. That’s difficult for anyone.”

Tang Yoon couldn’t help but laugh.

It had been a long time, but his father was still a born martial artist.

“I don’t know exactly, but it seems that Grandmaster Yeon’s martial art is specialized in controlling the muscles, nerves, and organs of the human body. The doctors who treated you were also very surprised.”

“…A martial art specialized in controlling the human body.”

“I heard he handles four types of true energy. I thought it was amazing. It’s hard enough to handle two, but to freely handle four types of true energy at that age, it makes sense that he opened the Great Ultimate.”

“…Surely, it’s not the Four Gods?”

“Pardon?”

Tang Hyeong, who had been narrowing his brow and thinking deeply, muttered with uncertainty.

Tang Yoon asked again.

“The Four Gods?”

“No, it’s just something I read in an ancient text. It was a book full of absurd content that was too unrealistic.”

“Ah, yes.”

Tang Hyeong slowly raised his upper body.

Tang Yoon quickly supported him.

“It would be better to rest a little more…”

“No. It’s enough if I’m awake. If I just lie down like a patient, recovery will be slower.”

If he was saying this much, it meant he was fine enough.

Tang Yoon didn’t stop his father anymore.

“Here, have some water first.”

“Thank you.”

He was saying thank you for just a bowl of water. Tang Yoon felt awkward at his father’s way of speaking.

Tang Hyeong, who had calmly drunk a bowl of water, got up from his seat.

“Let’s go out. Let’s see your eldest brother first.”

“Understood.”

When the two came out of the medical room, the area was in an uproar.

“Huh! Former Clan Head?!”

“We greet the elder!”

Everyone who passed by, whether they were doctors or warriors, bowed deeply to Tang Hyeong.

Tang Hyeong nodded with an awkward expression. He didn’t know how long it had been since he had received greetings from others.

“Oh, Elder!”

At that moment, a doctor came running from afar.

He was an elderly doctor. Judging by his appearance, his age was almost the same as Tang Hyeong’s.

Tang Hyeong’s face showed surprise.

“You… are you perhaps Sang Baek?”

“Do you remember me?”

“Of course, I remember. How could I forget the genius who carried on the lineage of the main family’s medical arts?”

Tang Sang Baek bowed his head with a moved expression.

“Thank you for remembering me, and for returning.”

“No, no.”

“By the way, you’re already up? I thought it would take at least five more days.”

Tang Hyeong glanced at Tang Yoon.

“It seems I got up early without any consideration because I missed my children.”

Tang Yoon smiled faintly.

Tang Sang Baek smiled warmly at the two of them.

“I see. You did well.”

“By the way, did you examine my body?”

“How could I leave the main family’s greatest elder, who has returned to the world after twenty years, to my disciples?”

“Haha, disciples. Does that mean you’ve become the head of the Poison and Medicine Institute?”

“Yes, I was reappointed a few days ago.”

“A few days ago? Then before that…?”

Tang Sang Baek’s expression slightly darkened.

Tang Hyeong nodded.

“…I see. Well, you’ve suffered a lot too. My pathetic son has caused trouble everywhere.”

“It’s nothing.”

“There’s no need for any separate medication, right?”

Tang Sang Baek smiled.

“Now that you’re awake, the best doctor in the main family is not me, but you, Elder. It would be fastest for you to take care of yourself.”

Tang Hyeong was a versatile person who was well-versed in all of the Tang Clan’s studies. He was proficient in the organ system, formations, and academics, as well as medicine.

As Tang Sang Baek said, now that he was fully conscious, it would be better for Tang Hyeong to fix his own body.

“I’ve caused you a lot of trouble, this pathetic old man.”

“You’re too kind.”

“Then I’ll visit again later.”

“Understood.”

The two who came out of the medical room walked towards the Clan Head’s residence.

Surprisingly, there were many people on the way to the Clan Head’s residence. When he broke his seclusion, there weren’t this many people.

“They’re the branch families.”

“Branch families.”

“Yes. My second brother had driven them out, but my eldest brother has called them all back.”

“I see.”

Tang Hyeong looked at the people with warm eyes.

Few of them greeted Tang Hyeong. They barely gave a hesitant greeting to Tang Yoon.

None of them remembered Tang Hyeong’s face. Even if they had seen him a few times in the past, Tang Hyeong’s appearance after twenty years was very different, so it was natural.

At least, that was the case for them.

Tang Yoon asked Tang Hyeong.

“Are you upset?”

Tang Hyeong chuckled.

“If I were upset by something like this, I would have made a decision with your brother twenty years ago.”

“Haha.”

“As time passes, the era changes, and as the era changes, people, norms, and justice change. This father is a symbol of a bygone era. Rather, it would be better for the people of the new era to forget this father.”

“That’s not true.”

Tang Hyeong didn’t say that Tang Yoon’s words were wrong or right.

“I can see the Clan Head’s residence over there.”

“Yes, we’re almost there.”

It was then.

“Hmm?”

Tang Hyeong’s eyes lit up.

“What’s wrong?”

“He’s quite energetic.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m talking about your brother.”

Tang Hyeong laughed heartily.

“One should rest when they need to, but he’s using that time to correct his martial arts. Well, it was an excessively dangerous martial art to leave alone.”

What was he talking about?

Tang Yoon was tilting his head when it happened.

Kugugung!!

A powerful shock made the ground around the Clan Head’s residence shake as if there was an earthquake.

The people in the area were surprised and looked at the Clan Head’s residence. Even Tang Yoon did so.

The only person who wasn’t surprised was Tang Hyeong.

He said cheerfully,

“Let’s go. Judging by the flowing energy, it seems he’s already corrected it to some extent. I’m indebted to that Yeon Ho-Jeong in many ways.”

“Are you talking about Grandmaster Yeon?”

“Yes.”

Tang Hyeong’s eyes deepened.

“Your brother and Yeon Ho-Jeong are together.”