Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 781

Jeagal Ayeon, who was sorting through books with officials connected to the Jeagal family, sighed and stood up.

“Is this enough for this section?”

“Hmm, it seems so.”

“Next is…”

“Ah, it’s alright. We’ll take care of the rest, so please take a rest.”

“Hey, I have to earn my keep.”

The official waved his hand.

“This is originally our job. You’ve helped us more than enough already.”

“Still…”

“And among the documents we’ll be organizing from now on, there are many that shouldn’t be revealed to outsiders.”

“Ah.”

Jeagal Ayeon scratched her head.

The martial artists who entered the palace were organizing the devastated palace with the Emperor’s permission. Among them, Jeagal Ayeon helped the officials sort and restore the remaining documents, except for those that were torn or burned.

However, there was a limit to that. Although she was the eldest daughter of the Jeagal family, she was not an official of the imperial palace. Accessing secret documents was impossible without the Emperor’s direct permission.

“Then, I guess there’s no choice.”

“I’m sorry if you’re upset.”

Jeagal Ayeon smiled.

“Don’t say that. It’s only natural. Rather, I’m glad I can now rest legally, you know?”

“Haha.”

“If you need any help later, please call me anytime.”

“Don’t worry. One young lady has organized more than ten officials combined. We can’t let such an efficient resource go to waste.”

They were people who had a connection with the Jeagal family but had never met before. However, after a few days of hard work, they had become close enough to exchange jokes without hesitation.

“Then, I’ll take my leave.”

“Please do. Ah, how about having a celebratory drink with your colleagues today?”

“A celebratory drink?”

“Hmm? Weren’t you close with the eldest son of the Byeoksan Yeon family?”

Jeagal Ayeon chuckled.

“Close, yes. Should I say we’re more like ‘frenemies’?”

Though she called them ‘frenemies,’ one could guess their deep friendship just by hearing her voice.

“Isn’t there a joyous occasion for the eldest son of the Yeon family?”

“A joyous occasion? Ah! That thing?”

Jeagal Ayeon shrugged.

“It’s a huge joyous occasion. Seriously, even thinking about it now, it’s absurd. You guys might not know, but reaching the ranks of the top martial artists at that age is like the world turning upside down.”

“Huh?”

“Yes?”

“…Ah, that’s also something to celebrate. That’s right. We don’t know much about it, but achieving such a feat at a young age must be something extraordinary. That’s also a joyous occasion.”

Jeagal Ayeon tilted her head.

“Is there any other joyous occasion besides that?”

“Haven’t you heard? His Majesty…”

At that moment, the official next to him glared.

“Hey, you.”

“Huh? Ah…”

Seeing them suddenly flustered, Jeagal Ayeon’s eyes sparkled.

“Did His Majesty the Emperor give him some kind of gift?”

“That is…”

The official who had glared lowered his head.

“In this unstable situation, we officials must be careful with our words. Actually, it’s not something I heard directly, so please don’t worry about it.”

“Now that you say that, I’m even more curious. What is it? From what you’re saying, it seems like it’s just a rumor anyway, so please tell me beforehand.”

The official’s face was filled with worry.

After a while.

“Gasp!”

Jeagal Ayeon, startled, fell backward on the spot.

* * *

“Tongcheon Jin-in [a Taoist title meaning ‘True Person of Penetrating Heaven’]. One of the eccentrics called the Three Wonders of the Jianghu or the Three Masters of the Jianghu.”

“…”

“He is known as a descendant of the now-defunct Quanzhen Sect [a major school of Taoism]. However, rather than focusing on mental cultivation and inner alchemy like the actual Quanzhen Sect, he studied the Taoist Immortality that was once widespread, and in the process, he gained mystical abilities, becoming a top diviner and talisman master in the world.”

Hwa Jin-Cheon’s face looked somewhat dark.

“Although he is called a sorcerer, that is from the perspective of a martial artist. In reality, he is an honest Taoist who pursues the Dao [the Way, the fundamental principle of the universe]. He thought of his special abilities as nothing special. He would often use the analogy that just because someone who seeks ultimate wisdom through learning knows more characters than others, it doesn’t make it special.”

“I see.”

“He was a close friend of mine. In fact, thanks to him, I was able to solve cases that almost led me into a maze, and I also obtained clues about things that others didn’t know or prevented things that could threaten the world.”

Things that could threaten the world.

His words sounded somewhat meaningful.

“But from some point on, I felt that he was not the same as before. It hasn’t been long. Maybe about three or four years ago? He told me that he could no longer see the heavenly secrets. At least, from what I saw, it was true.”

“Heavenly secrets…”

“After that, we would meet for drinks once every month or at most every three or four months. But for some reason, his appearance became more and more emaciated each time I saw him.”

Hwa Jin-Cheon closed his eyes.

He must be reminiscing about Tongcheon Jin-in.

“The last time I saw him was a year ago. At that time, he was in a state where he could hardly be called a Taoist. His eyes, which used to sparkle with energy and divine light, were bloodshot and cloudy. Even before that, he had lost all his flesh and was just skin and bones, and his personality had become irritable, but the last time I saw him, he seemed rather calm.”

“…”

“I don’t think that calmness was because he had returned to his original self. I felt an unspeakable fear from him. It was like seeing something that shouldn’t exist in this world, something that shouldn’t exist, laughing eerily.”

Hwa Jin-Cheon opened his eyes again.

His eyes were filled with deep worry, sadness, and a faint fear.

“I couldn’t just watch his change. I knew something was going wrong, so I wanted to get advice from someone.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

“Tak Mu-Ja.”

“How did you know?”

“Before coming to the imperial palace, I also met Senior Sword Saint.”

“…!”

“And I heard why he can’t leave Mount Wudang [a sacred Taoist mountain].”

“…You must have heard about Tongcheon as well.”

“Yes, I have.”

Hwa Jin-Cheon sighed. It was a deep, heavy sigh, as if the ground would collapse at any moment.

“He is said to have been possessed by a vicious evil god.”

“Yes.”

“I couldn’t believe it. In fact, I still can’t believe it.”

“Regardless of whether you believe it or not, it is highly likely that he has been involved with the Three Teachings for much longer than you know.”

Everyone was surprised by Yeon Ho-Jeong’s words.

The only one who wasn’t surprised was Hwa Jin-Cheon. His eyes, which calmly looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong, were full of pain, but there was no sign of surprise.

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

“You knew.”

“Rather than knowing, I was suspecting.”

“The reason I asked about him is also related to this.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong crossed his arms.

Even while lost in thought, his mouth didn’t stop.

“You said that thanks to Tongcheon Jin-in, you were able to prevent things that could harm the world.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Is there anything in the current world that could be more threatening than the Three Teachings? Moreover, the Three Teachings are not a sudden misfortune. We just didn’t know, but they have been operating secretly in the Central Plains for decades, carrying out all sorts of schemes for a perfect victory.”

Hwa Jin-Cheon sighed.

Yeon Ho-Jeong tilted his head.

“That heavenly secret that Tongcheon Jin-in sees. I don’t know how he sees it. However, I guess that it’s not such a convenient ability that he can pick and choose what he wants to know.”

“You’re right. Just being able to read the flowing heavenly secrets at every moment is an astonishing thing. If he could pick and choose what he wanted to read, that itself would be going against the heavens.”

“That’s what I’m saying. But even so, it’s hard to believe that he missed something related to the Three Teachings, given his extraordinary abilities.”

“…”

“Whether he was possessed by an evil god from beyond or he was originally from the Three Teachings, his change is not something that happened in the last few years. It’s highly likely that he knew about the existence of the Three Teachings from much earlier.”

“…I tried to deny it, but now I’ve come to the same conclusion.”

“Then, at this point, there’s one thing I’m curious about.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had uncrossed his arms, stared at Hwa Jin-Cheon.

“How much information about the Central Plains did you give him?”

At that moment, everyone present was shocked.

It was hard enough just to follow the conversation between the two, but at least those here were all people with excellent insight and a unique understanding of the Central Plains martial world.

Although they didn’t know the details, they could guess that the future of the Central Plains could change quite drastically because of the relationship between Tongcheon Jin-in and Hwa Jin-Cheon.

Hwa Jin-Cheon sighed again.

“I gave him a lot. We’ve known each other for a long time. We know each other well.”

“Knowing a person and knowing about the work that person does are different matters.”

“…”

“You didn’t know much about what Tongcheon Jin-in did. On the other hand, he gained a lot of information about everything you handled.”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm.”

Hwa Jin-Cheon closed his eyes.

“I won’t make excuses. I can’t escape the responsibility for the deaths of innocent people caused by the fanatics of the Three Teachings in the continent so far.”

Ga Deuk-Sang opened his mouth without realizing it.

“But Master.”

“I’m sorry for not telling you beforehand. I was planning to reveal everything here today.”

Ga Deuk-Sang swallowed hard and said.

“Master, you didn’t know that Tongcheon Jin-in was such a vicious person. That’s not a sin…”

“It is a sin.”

“…”

“It’s entirely my fault for not seeing the person properly. That’s what a leader is. No matter what the intention, if the result is bad, it’s ultimately the leader’s responsibility.”

Hwa Jin-Cheon sighed.

“Moreover, a leader of the Beggars’ Sect, who is even called the Dragon Eye, couldn’t recognize the enemy’s spy and told him important information in detail, so I won’t be able to close my eyes even in death.”

Ga Deuk-Sang’s eyes trembled.

At that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong spoke.

“It’s too early for self-loathing.”

“…?”

“It’s true that you gave him a lot of information, but there’s no guarantee that he passed that information directly to the Three Teachings.”

“What do you mean? He is said to be serving an evil god from beyond, or rather, a terrifying god called the Blood God. It’s safe to assume that he’s completely a member of the Three Teachings, so how…”

“What I’m saying is that the leader of the Central Plains intelligence organization shouldn’t feel self-loathing because of something that hasn’t been confirmed yet.”

“…”

“You have a lot to do in the future. Also, your existence is irreplaceable right now. So, you need to work harder for the world. It’s not the time to be trapped in the past and give up everything. At least not now.”

Ga Deuk-Sang looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong with grateful eyes.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shook his head.

“It’s a relief that no more major information is going that way. Think of it that way for now.”

“…Okay. I’ll try to do that for now.”

“Then, let’s change the order. What are you curious about?”

“Tongcheon Jin-in’s disciple is in the imperial palace. I heard that the nameless Taoist is locked up in the prison.”

“That’s right.”

“Since it’s the imperial palace’s prison, I can’t rashly ask to meet him. Is there any way this beggar can meet him?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“The martial world saved the imperial palace, so it’s time to settle some small debts.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll make a request to His Majesty the Emperor. He has the face of an emperor, so he wouldn’t be so embarrassed as to not grant this request, would he?”

The group’s mouths dropped open.

Even Hwa Jin-Cheon was surprised and stammered.

“You, your, your tone is too…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong frowned.

“It’s okay to curse the emperor when he’s not around. Let’s go. Let’s go and get some things.”

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