Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 707

Yeon Ho-jeong, Muk Bi, and Ga Deuk-sang had disappeared, leaving only Jin Yang and Seo Jeong-gwang in front of the residence.

“……”

A strange silence hung between the two of them.

It was Seo Jeong-gwang who broke the silence first.

“I just came to say hello, but I ended up hearing something huge.”

Jin Yang stared blankly into the air, saying nothing.

Seo Jeong-gwang shrugged.

“Shall we go?”

“Jeong-gwang.”

“Yes?”

Jin Yang’s expression became hazy.

“Am I… disqualified as the sect leader?”

Seo Jeong-gwang’s reply was a masterpiece.

“I don’t know about disqualified, but you’re definitely not a model leader, are you?”

Jin Yang frowned.

“Was I really that bad?”

“What kind of answer were you expecting? Did you think you were greater than any other sect leader in the world?”

“Not that, but I thought I was at least not bad.”

“You’re not bad. At least from my perspective. I don’t know about the other disciples, though.”

Seo Jeong-gwang chuckled.

“That guy has a point. Honestly, I was surprised at how well he knew you, it was almost scary.”

“……I guess so.”

“However, what you said is also right. You want to live your life as you please, and no matter how much you try to persuade someone with talk of natural gifts or talents, it’s meaningless. What’s important is their own will.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

Jin Yang looked at Seo Jeong-gwang.

His eyes were full of confusion, but they were just as serious.

“Even though I’m not a model sect leader, and I’ve been given direct advice several times, didn’t you ever want to run away from the reality that I never change?”

Seo Jeong-gwang frowned.

“You should speak properly, even if your mouth is crooked. Frankly, would the Hwa Ung Sect have grown this much if it weren’t for me? I want to run away, but it’s too precious to just leave.”

“So you did want to run away after all.”

“Quite often? But hey, if I were going to cut ties over that kind of frustration, I wouldn’t have started in the first place. I don’t even feel that way anymore these days.”

It was a very Seo Jeong-gwang-like remark.

He seemed weak and sometimes frivolous, but in reality, he was a man more loyal than anyone else. The reason why Jin Yang and he had been so compatible since childhood was because their personalities matched so well.

However, Seo Jeong-gwang’s words came as a great shock to Jin Yang.

‘He wanted to leave quite often…….’

Before being the sect leader and vice-leader, the two were friends. Jin Yang had also expected that Seo Jeong-gwang would have had such moments.

But hearing it like this, it seemed that he had thought about it much more often than he had imagined.

He probably had those thoughts after the Hwa Ung Sect entered a period of transition. They didn’t clash as much as they used to, but there were times when they were cold to each other.

Jin Yang sighed quietly.

‘They say a position makes a person, but have I become so blind that I can’t even see the hearts of those around me?’

Come to think of it, it seemed like he hadn’t had a serious conversation with Seo Jeong-gwang lately. At best, they would exchange silly jokes or reminisce about the times when they lived fiercely.

The fierceness they had when they first created the Hwa Ung Sect had disappeared somewhere.

“What do you want?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about what that Yeon guy with the dagger on his tongue said.”

“So, what about it? He said more than one or two things.”

Jin Yang tried to speak bluntly.

“That offer to join him, what would you do if you were me?”

“You’re falling back into your bad habits. Why are you asking me that? You’re the one who should decide, Sect Leader.”

“I’m not asking the vice-leader and strategist Seo Jeong-gwang.”

“……”

“I’m asking my friend, Seo Jeong-gwang.”

Seo Jeong-gwang’s playful face slowly turned expressionless.

Jin Yang was inwardly surprised.

It had been a long time since he had seen that expression on Seo Jeong-gwang’s face. Was that why? It felt somehow unfamiliar and awkward.

“It’s meaningless to ask me that.”

His voice was the same, but his tone had changed. That made it sound even deeper and heavier.

“I know you have a lot of worries, but you also know that this isn’t a problem that can be solved by referring to other people’s thoughts or experiences.”

“……”

“Should I be honest?”

“About what?”

“You’re failing as a sect leader.”

Jin Yang frowned.

“Didn’t you say I wasn’t bad a moment ago?”

“Because you’re my friend. Because you’re someone I wouldn’t mind taking a sword for. You’re not bad as a sect leader with such personal ties. That’s how I felt as the vice-leader and strategist.”

“……”

“Speaking coldly as a friend, you’re definitely not a good sect leader. At least not now.”

“I see……”

“You weren’t like this when you created the Hwa Ung Sect. You were clearly different from now.”

“I guess so.”

“In the past, there was a regional hegemon [a powerful leader who controls a region] who controlled a large army and established a country after integrating several regions. The moment came when he had to become a ruler from a military commander.”

“……”

“Those who corrected their behavior as rulers and accepted change became the founding emperors recognized by later generations. But those who failed to accept the proper changes as rulers ended up remaining as regional hegemons. Then that country would collapse before even three generations, let alone two.”

“……”

“That’s what you’re like now. You, who should be living as a ruler, a sect leader, are still stuck in your past as a fierce and strong general.”

“……”

“Thanks to that, we survived well. When the righteous sect guys came nearby, we packed our bags and ran away. We were top-notch at hit-and-run tactics. It’s something we did countless times before establishing the sect.”

Jin Yang’s eyes wavered.

Seo Jeong-gwang’s expression became a little heavier. He also didn’t feel good about saying these things to his friend.

“You don’t need to be bound by what Yeon Dae-su said. But you need to change.”

“……”

“Actually, you know it too, don’t you? That you can’t live like this. If you keep living like this, someday the disciples you’re responsible for will die or turn their backs on the Hwa Ung Sect.”

Jin Yang closed his eyes.

Seo Jeong-gwang, who had been watching him quietly, crossed his arms.

“I am the vice-leader and strategist of the Hwa Ung Sect. I stake my life on the sect leader’s choices. That’s only natural.”

“……”

“So, don’t rely on me as your friend, and take responsibility for your own position and life.”

On top of the bomb that Yeon Ho-jeong had dropped, Seo Jeong-gwang lit a brilliant spark.

Jin Yang thought.

‘He’s right.’

His friend’s words, and Yeon Ho-jeong’s words.

They were all right.

Especially Seo Jeong-gwang’s words resonated strongly with him. It was only natural, since he had been with him through this harsh world, he would know him better than anyone else.

‘But I didn’t try to truly know Jeong-gwang.’

The other person knew him, but he hadn’t deeply considered the other’s words and actions lately.

The reason was clear. It was because he didn’t want to see it.

Because he was the closest person, he took being together for granted. Even though he knew he shouldn’t, he just lived like that.

‘I wasn’t satisfied with the position of the Hwa Ung Sect leader. Yet, I settled for reality. Why?’

At that moment, Jin Yang recalled Yeon Ho-jeong’s words.

‘Knowing your own natural gifts and desires, yet turning away from them and settling for reality, how can one not say that you are misguided?’

Natural gifts. Desires.

Jin Yang thought.

‘What are my natural gifts?’

He didn’t know. The word ‘natural gifts’ itself sounded unfamiliar. It was because he had never thought deeply about such things in the first place.

Then…….

‘What are my desires?’

At that moment, Jin Yang felt goosebumps on his arms.

As he seriously pondered what his desires were, a picture naturally formed in his mind.

In the marketplace, even though he carried a large sword, people were not afraid of him.

Instead, they greeted him with friendly smiles or playfully nudged him and joked around. He would pretend to be hurt and then burst into laughter.

It was a peaceful daily life.

Whoosh!

Another picture formed.

Unknown bandits or villains invade the village.

He secretly defeats them all. He cuts off their roots so that no one can harm the village, and then he returns.

And then, the peaceful daily life repeats.

‘…….’

Seo Jeong-gwang, who had been quietly watching Jin Yang, was inwardly surprised.

Jin Yang’s eyes were slowly starting to flicker. Clear liquid, which had not fallen, was welling up in his eyes.

A state he was not even aware of himself.

Jin Yang sighed.

‘I didn’t want to be a monster.’

He had been large since he was young. Even before his mustache grew, he was already taller and bigger than most adults.

People looked at him with awe. But as time passed, they became wary of him and gradually stopped trying to approach him.

In this harsh world, everyone rejoices when a strong person is born in a village. Being big and strong was a virtue in itself.

However, he was so big that he even surpassed that perception of people.

If he hadn’t met his master and learned how to control the qi [life force or energy flow] in his body, he would have grown even taller.

‘Why did I establish the Hwa Ung Sect?’

The answer was simple.

He wanted to create a fence.

He wanted to protect the village where he was born and raised. He wanted to blend into it. He wanted to be recognized as a person, even if it was just like that.

But reality was different.

When the Hwa Ung Sect was established, people treated him as the leader of a black-hearted sect and feared him.

So he moved the sect. He wanted to live with the people of the village where he was born and raised, but the people were afraid of him.

Jin Yang did not want to dominate.

He just wanted to be together.

Thanks to his talent, he broke through the wall of the martial arts at an early age, but that fact was not important. What did it matter if he was a top master or a third-rate fighter?

If they could laugh together and recognize each other, if they belonged to such a world, wouldn’t that be enough to live for?

Not a model sect leader?

It couldn’t be helped. He was awkward with the idea of dominating and ruling. It wasn’t the life he wanted in the first place.

Being together, and being together again.

Looking at each other at the same eye level, and seeing each other as people, not monsters.

“Jeong-gwang.”

Seo Jeong-gwang, who had been quietly watching Jin Yang, lowered his head.

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“We’re going back to the main sect.”

“Understood. I’ll tell the others.”

“You’re not coming.”

“Yes?”

Jin Yang looked at Seo Jeong-gwang.

He hadn’t cleared away all the confusion. But within it, there was a small will not to waver anymore.

“You stay here. Only me and the others will go.”

Seo Jeong-gwang, who had been silently looking at Jin Yang, smiled.

“Please come back soon.”

“If I change my mind in the middle, I’ll contact you.”

“Anytime.”

“When I come back, from then on……”

“Let’s think about that when the time comes.”

“……”

“Right?”

Jin Yang chuckled.

“Don’t trust those Jongnam guys too much. They’ll probably pick a fight again because we’re from the Black Path [a term for a martial arts sect with a negative reputation].”

“I’ll stick right next to Yeon Dae-su.”

“It’s better not to try to be flattering. That guy had an axe in his eyes too.”

“That’s why I should be even more flattering.”

“I’m going.”

Jin Yang waved his hand and turned around.

Seo Jeong-gwang opened his mouth.

“Sect Leader.”

“What?”

Seo Jeong-gwang clasped his fist in salute.

“It was an honor to be with you all this time.”

“……Why are you saying farewell to someone who’s not going to die? It’s ominous.”

“It feels like you’re going to die?”