Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 669

“How are their movements?”

“It’s hard to know for sure. The influence of Jongnam [One of the Nine Great Sects] is so strong in this area. Even we can’t look into the details.”

“But aren’t we part of the same alliance?”

“Would anyone, even if they’re in the same alliance, just stand by and let others mess around in their own territory? Not just Jongnam, no one would.”

“This is frustrating.”

“The best thing would be to tell you everything that’s going on, but you said that’s not possible, right?”

“At least not right now, I think.”

“Actually, I think the same. Let’s see… First, the area where we can track their movements is about twenty li [approximately 6-10 miles] away. At least, there haven’t been any unusual movements outside of that.”

“I see.”

“I heard you suffered a great loss fighting them? They might be reorganizing their ranks.”

“They must be reorganizing. But it doesn’t make sense to challenge one of the Nine Great Sects with that level of force. Unless their leader’s martial prowess is intact.”

“It sends shivers down my spine. They even sent a master of the Unmoving Realm [A high level of martial arts mastery].”

“It’s no ordinary matter. They’ve come to crush one of the Nine Great Sects, after all.”

“Yes, that’s true, but…”

“Did you call Senior Hwgeomja?”

“He should be here soon.”

“Good.”

“By the way, there’s something I want to ask you…”

“You mean Senior Eumje?”

“Yes.”

“The situation is a bit complicated. He wasn’t originally on their side. However, he’s in a situation where he can’t move recklessly because of them.”

“What on earth happened?”

“It’s hard to explain. You should meet him and ask him yourself.”

“Hmm.”

“I’m telling you in advance because I thought you might be curious, but Senior Eumje won’t be participating in this battle. Or rather, he can’t.”

“I don’t know what’s going on… Anyway, I understand. Elder Hwgeom will be here in half an hour. Let’s talk again then.”

Thud!

“Ouch.”

Gang Ryang clicked his tongue.

“It’s still surprising, but isn’t that heavy?”

“What is?”

“The axe.”

Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled, looking at the Tongcheonbu [A large, heavy axe] placed in the corner of the inn.

“It’s been a while since I’ve handled such a heavy weapon, so it is a bit weighty.”

“It’s more than just weighty. I couldn’t even think of lifting and swinging it.”

Of course, with Gang Ryang’s internal energy and skill, handling the Tongcheonbu wouldn’t be difficult.

The problem was using such a weapon in actual combat.

No matter how powerful one’s internal energy is, it can’t change the inherent structure of the human body. In a fierce battle, one would have to wield that axe with only upper body strength, and if done wrong, the muscles and joints of the body would be shattered.

“To survive after being hit countless times by such a brutal weapon.”

Gang Ryang’s eyes deepened.

“The Unmoving Realm is truly something amazing.”

Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.

“There were many variables. I was also exhausted, and if we were to meticulously categorize our levels, he was above me.”

“Even so.”

“Besides, the Yin-Demonic energy is a martial art with endless applications. It’s an enemy’s martial art, but no one can deny the excellence of the martial art itself.”

Gang Ryang looked at Yeon Ho-jeong with a strange gaze.

Yeon Ho-jeong tilted his head.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You seem a bit different.”

“How so?”

“Before, you would become fierce even at the slightest mention of those guys. But now you’re calm.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s good to see. Reacting like you’re having a fit isn’t a good thing, is it?”

Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.

“Don’t be cheeky and go out now.”

“Understood.”

Thus, Yeon Ho-jeong was left alone on the first floor of the inn.

It was an inn located in a village not far from Ha Eun-gyo’s residence, and even thirty li further away from that village. This shabby inn, with no customers, was surprisingly an inn secretly managed by the Hwasan Sect [One of the Nine Great Sects].

Hwasan and Jongnam. Jongnam and Hwasan.

They were intertwined under the name of the Nine Great Sects, but they couldn’t always be friendly. It was because they were sects with similar influence in the same region. They had to be mindful of each other while also working together, so they didn’t hesitate to create such secret places.

Yeon Ho-jeong understood them. Jongnam probably had countless secret bases like this as well.

How much time had passed?

Creak.

The inn door opened, and an old man entered.

A white robe that was moderately worn. Fine plum blossoms were embroidered on the hem of his swaying robe.

It was Hwgeomja.

“I’m sorry. I’m a bit late.”

“No, it’s alright.”

“By the way, I didn’t expect the day we’d meet again to come so soon.”

Yeon Ho-jeong pointed to the opposite side with his hand.

“Please, sit down.”

“I will.”

Hwgeomja, who sat down, widened his eyes.

“Oh my.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you hurt? Your energy is very unstable.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes gleamed.

He hadn’t fully recovered, but he was able to perfectly control his breathing. Ha Eun-gyo’s words that she would restore his body to at least seventy percent of its normal state overnight had been kept.

Unless one was a master of the same level, they couldn’t see through this much. Hwgeomja had done it.

“You can see that?”

“It’s a feeling. I can’t see it clearly, but… no, that’s not important right now, is it?”

Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.

“I fought with the Yin Demon Sect guys.”

“……!”

Hwgeomja’s face hardened.

“With whom?”

“I don’t know. However, there was a master of a similar level to me.”

Even if they weren’t at the level of Seongcheon, a master who had opened the Unmoving Realm was a disaster-level master.

A shadow fell over Hwgeomja’s face.

“They’re serious. They’re really trying to attack Hwasan…”

“I don’t know about that.”

“Huh?”

Yeon Ho-jeong placed his clasped hands on the table.

“The reason I asked to see you wasn’t just to prepare for Hwasan’s future.”

“Then?”

“That mark you saw, was it really a sign that they were going to attack Hwasan?”

“Of course. Although I’ve dedicated my soul to Hwasan, I haven’t forgotten most of what I learned from the Yin Demon Sect in my childhood. I can’t forget it. I was educated so harshly.”

It was understandable enough.

They were the kind of people who would send a child as a spy. Leaving aside the unexpectedness, how thoroughly they must have educated them to avoid mistakes.

In the time when they should have been having a normal childhood like others, they received all sorts of complex education until it was ingrained in them. It would be a memory they could never forget until they died of old age.

“I want to hear an explanation.”

“About what?”

“What kind of symbol or character that mark is, and why it’s interpreted as a sign that they’re going to attack Hwasan.”

Hwgeomja, who had been quietly looking at Yeon Ho-jeong, sighed.

“I understand that you can’t completely trust me because I’m from that side…”

“I don’t completely trust anyone.”

“Look here.”

“And I’m telling you this in case you misunderstand, I’m not doing this because I don’t trust you. I just want to know.”

“Hmph.”

Yeon Ho-jeong took out the writing materials that had been prepared on one side.

“There’s not enough time to learn all the spy language. I just want to know the mark left on Hwasan. And why it was interpreted that way.”

“……I understand.”

Hwgeomja, reading the certain determination in Yeon Ho-jeong’s face, picked up the brush.

He quickly wrote down a few characters, and their shapes were unlike anything he had ever seen before.

Hwgeomja put down the brush and said,

“It’s said to be the original script that is the origin of the characters used in the far west. Unlike the characters of the Central Plains, where each character has a meaning, several characters are combined to form a word, and meaning is attached to that word.”

“It’s vague.”

“This means a flower blooming, and this means a mountain. If you interpret it, it means a mountain where flowers bloom, Hwasan.”

“Hmm.”

“This word means soon, or shortly. And this word means to invade. The word order is almost the same as the language of the Central Plains.”

“So, it means they will invade Hwasan soon.”

“That’s right.”

“What are the characters after that?”

“This is…”

Hwgeomja sighed.

“It means to write detailed information about the inside next to the Maesocheong Taoist temple. Detailed information means to write down the number of the main masters inside and the color of the risk level set by the Yin Demon Sect.”

“Maesocheong?”

“Hwasan regularly receives civilians as guests. They come to the Taoist temple to pray and have conversations with the Taoists. It’s a kind of festival, and Maesocheong is a large Taoist temple where guests who come to the festival are received.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes flashed.

“Then, the fact that they specifically mentioned Maesocheong means that there is a spy among the civilians who come to Hwasan?”

“I think so.”

“Why are you telling me this important thing now?”

“It’s not a simple matter. It’s something I haven’t even told the sect leader and elders, just in case. It took great courage for me to even tell you that Hwasan might be attacked soon.”

It was an understandable statement.

Yeon Ho-jeong sighed.

“When is the next festival?”

“It’s in five days.”

“Five days…”

Time was tight.

“If you write detailed information in Maesocheong, they will be able to attack Hwasan more efficiently.”

“That’s right.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.

“I still don’t understand.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“They sent you as a spy. Of course, they might have sent another spy after that. Even so, would they transmit a code in such an obvious way?”

“……”

“Codes become dead languages over time. The reason is that old codes are bound to be discovered, and the moment they are discovered, they are interpreted. If that happens, they lose their identity as a code.”

Hwgeomja’s eyes widened.

It was clear that he hadn’t thought of that part. Although he had returned to Hwasan and gained a new life, the education he had received as a child was extremely rigid and fixed knowledge. There was no reason to think that far.

Besides, how surprised would he have been? He couldn’t analyze it with a detached mind like Yeon Ho-jeong, who was a third party.

“Th, then why would they do this?”

“They’re checking.”

Yeon Ho-jeong frowned.

“They’re trying to check if the spy they sent to Hwasan is still alive. If the spy is alive, how will they react?”

“But… if they don’t react, they will attack Hwasan without any information. Isn’t that extremely inefficient?”

“It’s not a matter of efficiency. Would they bring just anyone to attack one of the Nine Great Sects? They would bring a powerful force that could wipe them out in one go.”

“……!!”

“Nevertheless, they left this mark on Hwasan. Usually, codes change every three years, or at most every ten years. Some organizations change them every month. But now, they’re going to invade Hwasan with a code that’s decades old and ask for information? Does that make sense?”

“Then…?”

“It’s not Hwasan.”

“What?!”

Yeon Ho-jeong stood up from his seat.

“They wanted to check. Whether the spies they sent were dead or alive. If they’re alive and write a reply, there’s a ten percent chance they’re traitors.”

Hwgeomja’s mouth dropped open.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s face contorted.

“Damn it… I had a feeling, but it was as I thought. I wondered why it was so clumsy, but the place they were trying to attack wasn’t Hwasan.”

Thud!

Yeon Ho-jeong, grabbing the Tongcheonbu and coming outside, said to Paeyul,

“Contact Elder Cheoljanggae! The place they’re targeting isn’t Hwasan, it’s Jongnam!”

At that moment.

Peeeeeek!

With a loud cry, there was a giant hawk descending at a terrifying speed.

Thud!

The hawk, which landed on a man’s arm, boasted a truly majestic figure.

“It’s been a while.”

The man, who scratched the chin of the hawk, Sinhwangjo, with his hand, untied the paper tied to its ankle.

Shortly after.

“I thought I’d rest for a day or so, but I’m really having a run of bad luck.”

The man said to his back.

“Prepare for departure within half an hour. We will head south to Jongnam.”

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