Kang Sogun

The emperor is also called the Son of Heaven. Because he is a child sent from heaven, the emperor has no flaws.

It is impossible for an emperor to admit his mistake to someone and apologize.

Zhu Zhanji was also the crown prince who would ascend to the throne in the future. It could be said that it was surprising that he had admitted his past mistake.

But as Kang Sogun rebutted as if to criticize, Zhu Zhanji's complexion hardened coldly.

Zhu Zhanji raised his voice.

"The affairs of the court are not simple. Even if General Jang Hong had no intention of treason, it is true that the movements around him were unusual. If you knew that protecting the state was like walking on a blade, you would not be able to say that."

Kang Sogun lamented inwardly.

He once again felt disgusted with the imperial family, which considered it natural for innocent blood to flow to protect power. He could not find a reason to argue any further.

As Kang Sogun was silent, Zhu Zhanji seemed to become even more angry. But he soon lowered his voice and said in a low voice.

"Do you know why I am in such a difficult situation right now?"

The current emperor had sent the crown prince, Zhu Zhanji, with the intention of moving the capital back to Nanjing because Beijing was too close to the frontier.

Zhu Zhanji had been ambushed before even arriving in Nanjing and was fleeing, separated from his guards.

If the Great Righteous Martial Hall had not appeared in time, he would have already been a dead man.

"It means that there are many in the court who are aiming for the imperial throne."

Zhu Zhanji said, glaring at Kang Sogun.

"If you do not help me, it is a matter that deserves to be misunderstood as being in league with the traitors."

"If there are no people, can there be a misunderstanding?"

"Hmph! If I did not cherish you, do you think I would have revealed my inner thoughts like this? Do you think you will survive even after insulting me with such clever words?"

This time, Zhu Zhanji subtly threatened him. Although he was currently in a situation of being chased, he was the crown prince and the real power of the current imperial family. He had that much power.

But Kang Sogun calmly performed the proper etiquette.

"I will pretend I did not hear those words. The reason I came today was to tell you that the man named Kang Hui no longer exists in this world."

After finishing his words, Kang Sogun turned his body without any lingering attachment.

"Wait!"

Zhu Zhanji scowled.

"Do you think your status is something you can so easily discard just by discarding it? You are the emperor's subject and must follow his orders. Thinking of your deceased aunt, I will not hold you now. But you are also a member of the imperial family! Keep in mind that you will not be able to avoid the national crisis that will soon occur. When that time comes, come and find me."

Zhu Zhanji knew that he could not hold Kang Sogun with any words now. He just wanted to leave a connection for the future.

Kang Sogun slowly turned his body and looked back. It was not the gaze of this world.

Zhu Zhanji felt a chill and his body stiffened without him realizing it.

Kang Sogun slowly opened his mouth.

"With the last etiquette, the bond of blood has ended. If you want to find the dead, you will have to think about what you have to offer."

Zhu Zhanji was dumbfounded and could not open his mouth.

The person in front of him now was not the person he knew. The energy flowing from his entire body was the energy of death and destruction.

"!"

By the time Zhu Zhanji came to his senses, Kang Sogun had already disappeared.

***

Kang Sogun packed his things and came out of his residence.

As he passed the inner courtyard gate, Jungrang was standing there. His complexion was pale from his internal injuries. Although it would be difficult for him to move yet, it was clear that he had deliberately come out.

"Are you just leaving again this time?"

Jungrang's words were not kind.

Jungrang was used to Kang Sogun leaving without a word of greeting. In the Three Blade Sect and in the Shangguan Residence, Kang Sogun had left without a word.

"Do you really not know how Hwasim thinks of you?"

Jungrang, recalling the image of Yeon Hwasim sitting in front of the door and guarding when Kang Sogun had collapsed, suddenly felt a surge of anger.

If Kang Sogun left like this, Yeon Hwasim would be disheartened again.

He had come with his injured body to express his gratitude, but he had gotten angry instead.

Right now, Jungrang's heart was very complicated, with various emotions mixed.

A sense of defeat for himself, who had not been able to protect Yeon Hwasim and had put her in a life-threatening situation, gratitude to Kang Sogun, who had come to save her in time, but anger at his heartless act of leaving like this, all mixed together, and his chest was boiling.

Kang Sogun looked at Jungrang with an indifferent gaze.

Jungrang, who had wandered as a ronin since he was young, had a cold and resolute side for his age.

Kang Sogun believed that he would be able to protect Yeon Hwasim enough.

Meeting masters like the Blood Flute or the Twin Halberds of Noisy Death in the martial world should be considered an extremely rare exception.

Since No Ichil, who had been defeated once, would not make a mistake twice, there would be no case where Jungrang or Yeon Hwasim would be exposed to the same danger as this time.

Kang Sogun raised his eyes and looked at the sky in the direction of Nanjing and said.

"I have someone waiting for me."

Kang Sogun had been thinking that Jang Yeongyeong would be eagerly waiting for him somewhere under that sky since the moment he had decided to head for Nanjing.

Jungrang's face contorted. No one knew the feelings that Yeon Hwasim had for Kang Sogun as much as Jungrang. It was the result he had feared.

"And Miss Yeon is strong. Believe in her. If you don't believe, you can't protect."

Kang Sogun's words echoed in Jungrang's ears like thunder.

'If you don't believe, you can't protect!'

Jungrang did not know that these words of Kang Sogun were actually words he was saying to himself.

Kang Sogun believed in Jang Yeongyeong. That was why he had been searching for her until now. To protect her.

"Then why did you come back?"

At Jungrang's question, Kang Sogun recalled Yeon Hwasim's clear eyes.

On that day when the world was desolate. It rained. As he tilted his wine cup, watching the rain fall on Dongting Lake, he felt the transience of his own existence, left alone in the world.

Nevertheless, to live, he had committed a pointless murder at that moment. He had felt disillusioned with life at the sight of the dying Three Demons of Xinjiang. A strong impulse to turn his back on the world had arisen. At that moment, there had been a clear gaze that had held him.

The gaze that had been watching him, hiding behind a willow tree, was full of curiosity about the world.

Would Jungrang believe it if he said that that gaze had saved him?

When they met again, that clear gaze had disappeared, and it was full of anxiety, fear, and sadness. Nevertheless, that gaze had followed him all along.

Kang Sogun wanted to see Yeon Hwasim's clear eyes again. If so, wouldn't his soul, submerged in blood, be washed even a little?

But he knew it was a pointless expectation. Since Yeon Hwasim was also deeply involved in the grudges of the martial world, she would never be able to go back to those days.

Kang Sogun sighed inwardly and said.

"I just came because someone asked to see me."

He changed the subject as if it were a coincidence.

Jungrang frowned. Jungrang was not so unobservant as not to know that Kang Sogun had made an excuse.

'He is a person who is burdened even with his own connections!'

Jungrang vaguely felt the heavy burden contained in Kang Sogun's indifference.

At the same time, he noticed that there was a special bond of fate between Kang Sogun and Yeon Hwasim.

Although it was a groundless feeling, it hardened into a conviction when Kang Sogun made an excuse.

What would a man who possessed the martial arts to look down on the world be concerned about to deny his actions? But he thought that even Kang Sogun might not know what it was.

"I hope you find the person you are waiting for."

Jungrang turned his body.

Kang Sogun left the Jeongha Martial Hall on that road.

As he left Hefei City, Jo Unryong suddenly appeared.

"It's mean of you to try to sneak away, leaving me behind."

Kang Sogun gave a small laugh and said a word.

"You've worked hard."

As Kang Sogun mentioned the matter of helping Yeon Hwasim's party, Jo Unryong changed the subject.

"I don't know what you're talking about. But you know how to laugh too?"

Kang Sogun had felt something break inside his chest when he had crossed the city wall a few days ago.

At that time, he had not known what it was, but at some point, a word had flashed through his mind.

'I have returned from death to life!'

Before Yeon Hwasim had come, he had been going back and forth on the borderline between life and death. No, it would be more appropriate to say that he had been wandering in the realm of death.

The reason he had been able to kill the Yocheon Pavilion Master was also because he had had the heart of a dead man.

Although the Yocheon Pavilion Master's deceptive art was amazing, it could not shake even a dead heart.

When he thought of Yeon Hwasim, that clear gaze came to mind again.

Even after Yeon Hwasim had come, he had committed countless killings. He had thought that his soul, submerged in blood, was sinking deeper, but rather, his will to live had gradually become stronger.

It was not certain whether it was because of Yeon Hwasim or because of the blood dragon energy.

"I have a favor to ask."

As Kang Sogun mentioned the word "favor," Jo Unryong's eyes sparkled.

"Can you get me a horse?"

Kang Sogun had just walked out when he had left the Jeongha Martial Hall.

Jo Unryong was riding a horse. Jo Unryong nodded.

"Wait a moment."

As Kang Sogun was watching Jo Unryong ride his horse and run towards the city, he suddenly unfolded his lightness skill.

He left the main road and went over a low mountain towards Nanjing.

A moment later, Jo Unryong, who had appeared with a horse, was dumbfounded when he could not find Kang Sogun's tracks.

"This man knows how to cheat too?"

***

Even at the news that Kang Sogun had left, Yeon Hwasim was calm.

"We are indebted to him again this time."

Yeon Hwasim could not shake the thought that her existence was a burden to people.

Jungrang had suffered a major internal injury, and Sim Mabaek was hovering between life and death.

Yeon Hwasim was a person whose emotions swirled dozens of times a day, with a mixture of resentment towards the Heavenly Martial Faction and anger at her own powerlessness. A cold qi naturally flowed from her two eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Jungrang said he was sorry without realizing it.

"What are you talking about? There's no reason for you to be sorry, older brother. It's all my fault."

Yeon Hwasim closed her mouth after those words. Her words also became fewer.

Yeon Hwasim had been diligently training to avenge her father and to survive alone in the world. Nevertheless, after kneeling so simply at the hands of the enemy, everything felt useless and empty.

Jungrang's heart was also heavy as he looked at the suffering Yeon Hwasim.

"The first priority is to recover your body. Take it easy."

He said a word and returned to his room.

As Jungrang was sitting on his bed, circulating his qi and treating his internal injuries, there was a sign of human presence from outside.

"It's me."

No Ichil pushed open the door and came in. In his hand was a small bundle.

"Ahem. Your sword art is outstanding, but the internal energy to support it is weak."

No Ichil untied the bundle and handed over a book.

"The Great Natural Will Art?"

Jungrang looked back and forth between the book and No Ichil.

"It's an internal energy manual. It will suit your sword art."

"What is the meaning of giving me this?"

Jungrang asked with a serious expression.

'Oh my. If he gives it, he should just take it. Why is he asking and questioning? Making a person embarrassed.'

No Ichil groaned inwardly.

In the martial world, there was no case where such a martial art was passed on without any conditions. No, even if it were a condition that Jungrang would join the Great Righteous Martial Hall, it could be said to be excessive.

It was something that Kang Sogun had asked him to give to Jungrang after he had left.

"Think of it as a sign of apology for this incident."

Jungrang shook his head.

"Just by taking refuge in the Great Righteous Martial Hall, we are already greatly indebted. There is no need for this."

'This bastard is also so stiff. Why are young people these days like this?'

No Ichil sighed inwardly. Although he was good at cunningly hiding his true intentions when he went around collecting information, No Ichil was surprisingly clumsy in such matters.

"Oh, I don't know either. Great Warrior Kang gave it to me. Whether you take it or not, do as you please."

No Ichil stood up and was about to leave when he added another word.

"I also asked. Why are you doing this much? And he said."

"!"

"Because he knows the heart of someone who wants to protect."

(End of Chapter)