Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 832

Early dawn.

Mount Daebyeol, already blanketed in white, stood out brightly even in the darkness, thanks to the heavy snowfall overnight.

“Good.”

Snow fell silently, undisturbed by any wind.

A smile spread across Moyong Gun’s face as he gazed at the snow outside the window.

“It’s truly beautiful. If only it weren’t so cold, I could enjoy this wonderful sight more comfortably.”

He had reached the state of Hanseobulchim [a state of being unaffected by heat or cold], freeing himself from the extremes of temperature. However, this only meant he wasn’t affected by the temperature, not that he couldn’t feel it at all.

“It’s perfect weather for a quiet walk.”

Moyong Gun, who had been watching the snow for a long time, placed both hands on the table.

“Well, then.”

It was then.

“Hmm?”

Moyong Gun sensed someone approaching through the falling snow.

Moyong Gun smiled wryly.

“He’s really sharp.”

A moment later.

“May I come in?”

“Come in.”

Creak.

The door opened, and Jeagal Mun-Ho entered.

Moyong Gun chuckled and said,

“What brings you here so late, after the hour of the Ox [roughly between 1:00 AM and 3:00 AM]?”

“It’s cold.”

It wasn’t an answer to the question.

Jeagal Mun-Ho, who was brushing the snow off his shoulders and head, suddenly noticed the neatly placed luggage in the corner of the room.

‘…….’

After looking at the luggage for a moment, Jeagal Mun-Ho said, rubbing his hands together.

“It was quite cold on the way here. Could I trouble you for a cup of tea?”

“There’s no tea, but there’s some leftover wine.”

“Wine is fine too.”

Moyong Gun brought out a bottle of wine and two cups.

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes widened.

“It’s baijiu [a strong Chinese liquor].”

“It is.”

“Did you enjoy cheap baijiu too?”

“I used to drink it occasionally because of some father and son. I drank quite a bit before my seclusion, but I haven’t been reaching for it much since I came out.”

“I see.”

“There’s no other alcohol besides this, so if you don’t want to drink it…”

“No, it’s fine.”

“There’s nothing better to warm you up.”

Moyong Gun filled Jeagal Mun-Ho’s cup and his own.

The two of them brought the cups to their lips without clinking them together.

“Kuh!”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s face contorted.

“This is particularly strong.”

“It’s probably because it’s cold.”

“It’s burning my insides.”

“It’s not something you can drink often.”

Moyong Gun refilled his and Jeagal Mun-Ho’s cups.

The room, lit by only one lamp, was quite dark. Still, since it was placed next to the table, it wasn’t difficult to see each other’s faces.

Jeagal Mun-Ho opened his mouth.

“You came to see me three days before you came out of seclusion.”

“I did.”

“In other words, the real date of your emergence wasn’t the publicly known date, but three days before that.”

“…….”

“Is that correct?”

Moyong Gun smiled bitterly.

“What is it you want to say?”

“Even during seclusion, there’s no problem with people coming and going. Especially within the Murim Alliance [a martial arts alliance], with its many forests, open spaces, and private rooms.”

“…….”

“Also, seclusion doesn’t necessarily mean you have to survive only on byukgokdan [a type of grain pill] and water. That’s too old-fashioned. Everyone knows that these days, it’s more beneficial to train rationally, consuming simple foods to get nutrition and build up strength.”

“…….”

“Who brought you food?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t remember.”

“You must have been out of it. Do you remember people coming and going?”

“Of course.”

“Where is your daughter?”

Moyong Gun’s gaze, which had been on his cup, shifted to Jeagal Mun-Ho.

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s shadowed face looked strangely lifeless, like a preserved animal hide.

“Where are the descendants of the Eon family?”

“…….”

“The people the Clan Head kept closest are no longer around.”

“…….”

“And when did that start? Three days ago? Or a month ago? Or was it when the Moyong Clan Head went into seclusion?”

Moyong Gun silently stared at Jeagal Mun-Ho.

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes grew deeper.

“I looked at the Murim Alliance’s entry and exit records. There’s no record of your daughter coming to the Alliance in the past few months. There’s only a record of her leaving the Alliance a long time ago.”

“You keep records of such things.”

“Of course.”

“You’re very thorough.”

“There’s one record of your daughter leaving the Alliance a long time ago, and there’s a record of an unaffiliated martial artist with the surname Eon leaving the Alliance three weeks after the Clan Head went into seclusion.”

“…….”

“Was that hellish time three weeks? Or was it several months?”

“It was several months.”

“Then…”

“However, I cannot deny that the first three weeks were the most painful and hellish.”

“…….”

“A day felt like a year. It’s not something I should say to a military officer, but… I was so consumed by anxiety and defeat that I even attempted suicide.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes wavered for the first time.

When a person becomes fixated on a single emotion, they can do things they would never normally imagine.

Moyong Gun emptied his cup alone.

“That’s when I realized that the saying that time is fair to everyone is just nonsense.”

“…….”

“Even the same day can be half a day for some, and a year or ten years for others.”

His voice sounded somehow weary.

Just thinking about that brutal period of introspection seemed to make him shudder. The mental anguish was so extreme that even recalling it was a burden. Jeagal Mun-Ho had never experienced anything like that.

“What did you do after those three weeks of introspection? Did you train in martial arts?”

Moyong Gun chuckled.

“It feels like I’m being interrogated.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho took out a neatly folded letter from his pocket.

“What is this?”

“Read it.”

Moyong Gun slowly unfolded the letter and read it, then burst into laughter.

“This is incredible.”

“…….”

“Hu Gae? Or did the Dragon Head Chief do it?”

“It was Hu Gae.”

“I thought that his clumsy and awkward sense of justice would cause him some trouble in the future, but I didn’t know the Dragon Head Chief had such a keen eye for people. He’s already reached this point.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes wavered.

He honestly expected him to deny it, or to be flustered.

At the same time, he also thought that he might show a more unexpected side. Moyong Gun after his seclusion had definitely shown a different side than before.

But he didn’t expect him to admit it so easily.

“When did it start?”

Moyong Gun answered honestly.

“Do you remember the operation where Yeon Ho-Jeong was dispatched as a spy to the Mukryong Unit?”

“Of course. The Moyong Clan Head was also in Honam as the manager at that time…”

“…….”

“Could it be, from that time?”

“It was before that. I went down there to manage the operation team and also received information through merchants. I was transporting various goods from Honam to Guizhou. The Guizhou Merchant Guild was one of them.”

“……!!”

“That’s when I first received the information. About how much money had been gathered.”

Moyong Gun chuckled.

“I didn’t know then. That Yeon Ho-Jeong would bring the Mukryong Unit Chief and hit me in the back of the head. In my life, I’ve never been hit by such a brutal scheme. I thought I was going to die.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho felt his heart pounding strongly.

Jeagal Mun-Ho, who had made an effort to calm himself, emptied his cup.

“The Clan Head is right.”

“Hmm?”

“The cold is fading. I’m even sweating.”

“Haha, is that so?”

Moyong Gun refilled Jeagal Mun-Ho’s cup again.

Jeagal Mun-Ho took the bottle and filled Moyong Gun’s cup. Moyong Gun smiled and accepted the cup.

“Although it has collapsed now, the Clan Head had also joined hands with the Mukryong Unit Chief.”

“It was an open secret that we pretended not to know.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho swallowed slightly.

“How far did you intend to spread the board?”

“Spreading the board isn’t important. Even if I did, could it compare to that Yeon Ho-Jeong?”

Moyong Gun leaned back in his chair.

Moyong Gun’s shadowed face, a little further from the light, looked like a mask split in half.

“My goal was always to become the Murim Alliance Chief.”

“…….”

“I was willing to do anything for that one position. I didn’t hesitate to bring in other forces, and I reached out to various sects and merchant guilds that people weren’t watching.”

“Yes, I know.”

“No, the military officer wouldn’t know. What I was almost willing to do.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes turned cold.

“I… I even considered joining hands with the Samgyo [a foreign, antagonistic group] bastards to become the Murim Alliance Chief.”

“……!!”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s face hardened.

Moyong Gun chuckled.

“It was just for a moment. Thinking about it, it’s ridiculous. How could I join hands with those bastards knowing what they are? It would be a miracle if they didn’t try to devour me.”

“…Moyong Clan Head.”

“Their power is real. I’ve only fought against a fragment of their power, but I can’t even imagine how big their main body is.”

“…….”

“I thought I could control them well enough with my strategy.”

“…….”

“It was self-confidence and arrogance. Even though they are foreign bastards who deserve to be beaten to death, there are so many masters, so how could they be just strategists?”

“…I suppose so.”

“And besides that.”

Whoosh!

The atmosphere in the room suddenly turned cold. The subtle killing intent that Moyong Gun emitted was that sharp.

“The very act of joining hands with arrogant invaders was something I couldn’t tolerate. I’d rather give up my dream of becoming the Murim Alliance Chief than join hands with those beasts.”

Moyong Gun’s hatred for the Samgyo was strangely blind. He didn’t actually know them as well as Yeon Ho-Jeong, yet he hated and despised them more than Yeon Ho-Jeong did.

And Jeagal Mun-Ho knew where Moyong Gun’s hatred stemmed from.

The history of the Moyong clan, the tearful past deeply embedded in their bloodline.

In other words, it could be seen that the position of Murim Alliance Chief was so difficult for Moyong Gun to give up that he even considered joining hands with the foreign enemies he despised so much, even for a moment.

“So, you gathered power?”

“I’ve been gathering power since I was young. My dream started the moment I became the Clan Head.”

Moyong Gun chuckled as if amused.

“The Clan Head succession battle in the main family is on a different level than other families or sects. All sorts of schemes and plots run rampant to take the position of the leader, and betrayals are committed without hesitation.”

“…….”

“Even if the opponent is not someone else, but your own bloodline. They stab each other in the back and betray their own blood.”

“…….”

“You and I are bound to be different. I only realized that for sure after I became the Clan Head.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho, who had been staring at Moyong Gun, asked as if throwing a question.

“Have you given up on your dream of becoming the Murim Alliance Chief?”

“Humans are different from beasts. How can you give up on a lifelong dream without even touching the hem of the garment? Only those who don’t know how to live would do that.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes flashed.

“Then what is that group in Gangseo Province? Are you planning to oppose the Murim Alliance by mobilizing all the martial power and financial resources you have been cultivating for a long time, using any means necessary to become the Murim Alliance Chief?”

“Hahahaha!”

Moyong Gun laughed loudly.

“Do you really think that’s my power alone?”

“Then what is it?”

“It’s not my connections. It’s not my power.”

“……?”

“It’s the power of the weak who have been marginalized and ignored. I just hitched a ride on it.”

“……!!”