Monochrome Sovereign (Novel) - Chapter 46 - The Wind Blows (1)

Chapter 46 – The Wind Blows (1)

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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“Burrrrpp!”

As he belched loudly, it felt as if his soul was escaping from his mouth.

“Wow, I’m full! I ate so much I thought I might die.”

Yeon Ji-pyeong gaped like a goldfish.

“I-it’s a miracle you’re not dead.”

“Hmm? Uhuhuhu! Second Young Master, you have far underestimated me. The stomach of a beggar is destined to transcend that of a commoner. It’s only this much because my capacity has shrunk; in my younger days, I could easily eat twelve catties of pork.”

If Yeon Ji-pyeong’s weight was converted to catties, it was around a hundred catties. Ga Deuk-sang was saying he had eaten more than ten percent of Yeon Ji-pyeong’s weight.

Yeon Ji-pyeong shuddered. It was not easy for a person to get goosebumps just from watching someone eat.

Yeon Ho-jeong pointed his finger at the rice bowl.

“You left three grains of rice.”

“This is a gesture of sincerity, sincerity.”

“Empty it completely.”

Ga Deuk-sang smacked his lips.

“You are truly stingy.”

He popped even the remaining rice grains into his mouth. It was fascinating to see him savor each grain of rice even while being so full.

“Would you like some tea as well?”

“What tea for a beggar? If it’s liquor, that’s a different story.”

“It is broad daylight, though.”

“Do you distinguish between day and night when drinking liquor? You have a unique personality.”

Yeon Ho-jeong unintentionally chuckled.

Ga Deuk-sang said slyly.

“Speaking of which, our Second Young Master can also handle his liquor quite well, can’t he?”

As if fed up, Yeon Ji-pyeong waved his hand.

“Do you know how much I suffered the next day? It was good while drinking, but the problem was after drinking.”

“Mwahahaha! Enjoying even the hangover is the true Way of Liquor. Second Young Master, you have just taken your first step.”

“I-is that so?”

Yeon Ho-jeong said bluntly.

“Do not teach the child strange things.”

“Strange things? Why is this strange? Those words are quite disappointing.”

“Enough.”

Yeon Ho-jeong said to Yeon Ji-pyeong.

“Go and tell them to bring out some liquor. And I would like you to leave us for a moment.”

“Ah, of course!”

Yeon Ji-pyeong was quick-witted. He had known since Ga Deuk-sang arrived that he had business with his brother.

Thus, only the two of them remained in the guest room.

Ga Deuk-sang exaggeratedly scanned his surroundings.

“By the way, the atmosphere of the family is quite chilly, isn’t it?”

“It’s originally stiff. It’s no fun.”

“Well, it’s quite famous that the family laws of the Yeon Clan are incredibly bloodthirsty.”

“Was it that famous?”

“It’s famous among beggars. Other families might not know.”

It meant it was a fact known only to the Beggars’ Gang. There was nothing strange about it, as it was the place that controlled the information world of the Orthodox Path.

“Has something bad happened recently? No matter how you look at it, it seems a bit much.”

“Nothing special happened.”

“Even though nothing special happened, the atmosphere is like this? Everyone was folding their waists in half as you passed by.”

“The people of the family are the best in the Central Plains when it comes to manners.”

“Looking at their expressions, the look of fear was vivid. I thought some ghost was passing by.”

“As you can see, I am less than human.”

Ga Deuk-sang chuckled.

“Please understand. Because of the nature of my work, I like digging into things.”

“I understand.”

A short while later, a liquor table was set up.

Certainly, Ga Deuk-sang was a monster. He tasted the snacks even before pouring the liquor, and it was difficult to think he was the same person who said he was full until just now.

Yeon Ho-jeong picked up a liquor bottle.

“Have a drink.”

“Eh? Why pour it into a cup? Just give that to me.”

“…….”

Ga Deuk-sang grabbed a liquor bottle and drank it gulp by gulp like a water bottle.

“Kyah! This liquor is good! I think it’s better than Daughter Red? Oh, my throat is burning!”

“It’s strong, so drink slowly.”

“Let’s do that. Since we have a lot to talk about.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes shone.

Ga Deuk-sang thought while looking at that abyss-like gaze.

‘As expected, this person is…….’

Different.

As the Successor, Ga Deuk-sang had met countless people. Among them, most were giants who swayed the Murim.

The strange thing was that Yeon Ho-jeong’s gaze was deep enough to remind him of those giants of the Murim. It wasn’t because of his personality or martial arts, but the person himself was deep.

‘I truly cannot tell.’

Ga Deuk-sang had secretly looked into Yeon Ho-jeong.

But there was nothing to be gained. In Yeon Ho-jeong’s previous life, there were no noteworthy matters.

A son raised by a strict father since childhood. An eldest son who went astray in despair over his younger brother’s talent.

It was a past that could be commonly found anywhere. In truth, there were no stories of him belonging to a secret organization in the martial world or the family intentionally spreading bad rumors.

Literally, he was like a person who had fallen from the sky. Yeon Ho-jeong’s change was too sudden.

“Is there something stuck on my face?”

“Hmm? Ah, no! I just thought you were handsome.”

“How frivolous.”

“Frivolous? That melancholic gaze alone would seize the hearts of all the maidens under heaven.”

“Enough of that, let’s get to the main point.”

“Chuckle, let’s do that.”

Ga Deuk-sang placed his clasped hands on the table.

“First, I will speak regarding the first request.”

“Go ahead.”

“Currently, the martial world outside the borders is as good as an ownerless land. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy. I heard that the Small Leiyin Temple in the West is slowly lifting its gates, but it doesn’t seem like it will be much of a threat to the Central Plains.”

Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes deepened.

“Was there nothing else? Like an evil cult group causing disturbances to the people’s livelihoods.”

“An evil cult? You mean fellows like the Demon Cult that was destroyed in the past?”

“Anything.”

“There were no such circumstances. In a way, it’s actually strange because there’s too much of nothing happening. Well, since things have become quiet, those strange fellows from the Small Leiyin Temple must have thought it was time to lift the gates.”

Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.

‘It’s not yet time, then.’

The eyes of the Beggars’ Gang were not limited only to the Central Plains. If there had been even a slight hint, there was no way Ga Deuk-sang wouldn’t have known.

“Let’s move directly to the second one.”

“Very well. The second request, regarding the location of Murong Yu?”

“That’s right.”

“As I said before, it’s not a difficult thing to know where that gentleman is.”

“Tell me.”

“However, I have something I want to ask.”

Ga Deuk-sang’s eyes sparkled.

“Why is the Eldest Young Master of the Yeon Clan looking for the youngest brother of the Murong Clan Head?”

Murong Yu.

He was a half-brother of the current Murong Clan Head, Murong Jun.

He was also a brother with a large age difference. Currently, Murong Jun’s age was close to fifty, but Murong Yu was only twenty-nine.

He was exactly ten years older than Yeon Ho-jeong.

“I will tell you later.”

“Hmm. If you say you’ll tell me later, does that mean I’ll find out on my own?”

“You will.”

Ga Deuk-sang scanned Yeon Ho-jeong’s expression with sharp eyes.

‘I can’t tell.’

Yeon Ho-jeong’s expression was indifference itself. Even if he tried to read something, he couldn’t.

‘Is that possible at that age?’

Gaze, movement of the corners of the mouth, hand gestures, posture, and so on.

There are many ways to read the inner thoughts of an opponent. However, there was absolutely nothing that could be read from Yeon Ho-jeong.

“Very well.”

Ga Deuk-sang took a letter from his robe. Despite wearing clothes that were no better than rags, the letter was clean and neat.

“Here it is.”

Yeon Ho-jeong received the letter and unfolded it.

His eyes shone.

“Zhejiang Province?”

“It’s right next to Jiangsu Province. He’s in the neighboring neighborhood.”

“Maritime trade, I see.”

“That’s right. Murong Yu is in charge of the Zhejiang branch of the Murong Clan and handles maritime trade through the branch. Surprisingly, it is said that the funds obtained from that maritime trade account for ten percent of the entire funds of the Murong Clan.”

Accounting for ten percent of the funding power held by a giant organization like the Murong Clan?

It was truly a great skill. To earn ten percent of the family’s total funds alone was impossible for someone with ordinary business talent.

“I was personally very surprised while investigating Murong Yu. Although the family was keeping it quiet, this gentleman named Murong Yu was no ordinary person. His martial talent is comparable to the Clan Head, Murong Jun, and especially his virtue and character are so outstanding that it wouldn’t be enough to even call him Clan Head material.”

Naturally, that would be the case.

Yeon Ho-jeong remembered the night before Murong Yu died. He recalled his deep inner thoughts as he even bowed to the master of the Black Path, pleading for him to look after his elder brother.

Even though he had been cast out by his brother under the pretext of being a threat to him, the younger brother worried about his brother’s safety. He was a great man who knew how to always be humble even with overflowing talent.

‘……He is like us.’

It was as if it reminded him of the relationship between Yeon Ho-jeong and Yeon Ji-pyeong.

If he had also possessed talent, he would have thoroughly cast out Yeon Ji-pyeong. In that respect, Murong Jun resembled him.

‘That is why Murong Yu is necessary. To stop them, it must be Murong Yu.’

Yeon Ho-jeong knew his own vessel well.

The reason he could become the Lord of the Dark Emperor Castle was that the Black Path groups were stained with unrefined violence. However, the martial world of the White Path was different.

‘I must be the shadow, the shield, and the spear, while at the same time being the designer. I must not become the monarch myself. Not that I could, anyway.’

Ga Deuk-sang sighed.

“The Murong Clan Head is a scary person. There are not many people who would even cast out their own blood for the sake of preserving power.”

Was that really so?

Yeon Ho-jeong had seen countless people who would cut down their parents and siblings, and even their own biological children, for the sake of power. Murong Jun was also not normal, but the world was overflowing with people even more vicious than Murong Jun.

“Anyway, with this, the second request has been completed.”

“You worked hard.”

“What do you mean, worked hard? Thanks to you, I’ve come to know many facts I didn’t know. Now then, it’s about the third request……”

Ga Deuk-sang’s face became serious.

“I don’t know if you’ll tell me, but let me ask one question this time as well.”

“…….”

“How did you know?”

“What are you talking about?”

“How did you know that the Number One Clan under Heaven, the Nine States Myeong Clan, is secretly raising ‘Dead Swords’ that no one knows about?”

Instantly, Yeon Ho-jeong emitted a bloodthirsty gaze.

‘It was true, then.’

Indeed.

After exchanging blows with Myeong Ho-rim, he was certain that the martial arts of the attackers belonged to the Nine States Myeong Clan.

That alone was not enough to see the Myeong Clan as the culprit. Because someone could have stolen and modified the martial arts of the Myeong Clan before learning them.

But after hearing Ga Deuk-sang’s words, he finally had real certainty.

‘The culprit was the Myeong Clan.’

Rumble.

The liquor table trembled faintly.

A blue energy flickered from Yeon Ho-jeong’s body. It was Jade Gauze True Qi that simply refused to be compared to before. As bloodlust was loaded onto that True Qi, the temperature inside the guest room plummeted rapidly.

‘You bastards dared to kill my father, bury my brothers, and burn the home of the Yeon Clan?!’

The face of his father, lamenting as he looked at the sky, came to mind.

The face of his younger brother, smiling broadly and saying he trusted him, came to mind.

And.

The back of his father, covered in blood, fighting a desperate battle with the enemies with storm-like momentum, came to mind.

The back of his younger brother, whose spine was being broken by the hands of a masked mysterious person, came to mind.

Whoosh!

The flickering energy gradually became as intense as a flame.

The atmosphere inside the guest room changed like a living hell. Ga Deuk-sang’s face instantly turned pale.

“Young Master Yeon!”

“Grrrr.”

“Young Master Yeon! Hey, you brat! My heart is falling out!!”

Yeon Ho-jeong, startled, managed to control his bloodlust.

Woooooong.

The energy that had emitted a terrible bloodlust as if it would overturn the world disappeared in an instant.

Ga Deuk-sang placed his hand on his chest. His heart was beating like crazy.

“Do you want to kill someone? Hey! Control your bloodlust properly! It’s only because it’s me that I’m fine; if it were someone with a bit weaker martial arts, they would have even vomited blood!”

It was no empty talk.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s spiritual power is that of the Dark Emperor. The bloodlust of a master who has reached the supreme realm emits a lethal power by itself.

“I am sorry. I showed you a pathetic sight.”

“With this, how can I even talk properly because I’m so scared? Did everyone get surprised?”

Ga Deuk-sang looked around outside the window.

Fortunately, the faces of the people passing by were peaceful. The bloodlust had not flowed out beyond the room.

“Whew, I felt like I was in a room with a wild beast. I almost wet myself. Eh? Did I wet myself a little?”

“I am ashamed.”

“Forget it! Just be careful from now on!”

“I will.”

Ga Deuk-sang caught his breath.

“By the way, is that such a thing to get so angry about? The fact that the Myeong Clan is secretly raising its strength? For a martial family like the Nine States Myeong Clan, it’s not a very strange thing to train martial artists without anyone knowing, is it?”

“The problem would be what kind of deeds those fellows commit with that strength.”

“Deeds?”

“Mr. Successor.”

“Hmm?”

“Let’s make one more request.”

“……Damn it, at least give me the commission fee. What is it, again?”

Yeon Ho-jeong said coldly.

“This request might go against morality.”

When the drums of war sound, the laws fall silent.

Yeon Ho-jeong sensed that the time had come to temporarily throw away laws and rules.