Kang Sogun

Yeon Hwasim could not hold back her agitation from the moment Gu Yangsu's party appeared.

The enemies of her father had appeared.

Yeon Hwasim was not the weak, precious daughter of the Three Blade Sect of the past. She had been training the Heavenly Star Sixty-Four Forms day and night. After obtaining the Great Natural Will Art and with the guidance of Yu Mungwang and Ban Yeowol, she had entered the realm of mastery.

It was an amazing achievement in the eyes of others. The good medicine that her father, Yeon Seongyeol, had used for his daughter since she was young had been a great help.

Moreover, the Golden Elixir True Art that Kang Sogun had instilled in her when she was hovering on the threshold of life and death had also played a considerable role.

Since her enemy had appeared in front of Yeon Hwasim, who had grown into a martial artist, it was natural that her hand holding the sword was filled with strength.

-Circulate the Great Natural Will Art.

Jungrang sent a telepathic message as Yeon Hwasim's breathing became rough.

It meant not to act rashly.

Yeon Hwasim lowered her gaze and circulated the Great Natural Will Art. Her agitated energy subsided, and her mind gradually calmed down.

Gu Yangsu's gaze, which had been sweeping over Jang Mugang's party, rested on Yeon Hwasim, who was bowing her head slightly.

Although she was wearing a bamboo hat and had her face covered with a veil, her figure was different from the start, so it had caught his eye.

"It seems you are merchants, but where are you going?"

Gu Yangsu spoke to Jang Mugang.

"Thank you for saving us from the bandits. What destination would a peddler who wanders from this village to that village have? We just go to a nearby village, do some business, and then decide again."

"Anyway, you were almost in big trouble. If it weren't for us, you would have been in a lot of trouble because of those bandit bastards."

Gu Yangsu stealthily lowered his speech and shamelessly gilded his own face.

'The sons of Gu Yeongang are all rude.'

Although Jang Mugang thought so inwardly, he spoke like a peddler.

"Yes, yes. That's right. It was a great fortune that the heroes came just in time."

"Are those people your guards?"

"They are the ones I have asked to protect my person."

"The world is dangerous these days, so it's dangerous to travel with just two guards. Won't you go with us?"

"How can a humble merchant like me cause such a nuisance? In fact, since we don't have much, the thieves don't pay much attention to us."

Jang Mugang politely refused.

Just then, a fierce qi wave rushed in from behind.

A group of martial artists were running.

"They're finally here. Can they even be called the Demon Suppression Brigade of the Heavenly Martial Faction?"

Gu Yangsu looked behind him and clicked his tongue. The complexion of the martial artist called Great Warrior Chu was not good.

He was the commander of the Heavenly Martial Faction's Demon Suppression Brigade, Chu Wisan.

'This bastard? The more I see him, the more...'

But he could not show it on the outside.

The second young master, Gu Yangsu, was famous as an eccentric even within the Heavenly Martial Faction. He spent his days frequenting taverns and brothels, hanging out with worthless fellows.

'So he was pushed out of the succession structure early on.'

Whether others whispered or not, he had no interest in the affairs of the faction. This time too, he had come out reluctantly because the Faction Master, Gu Yeongang, had given a strict order.

On the way, he had grumbled that it was boring, and then he had suddenly said that he had to train the Demon Suppression Brigade, and while he rode his horse at full speed, he had told the Demon Suppression Brigade to follow him by unfolding their lightness skill.

"We will be going now."

Jang Mugang bowed and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute!"

Gu Yangsu stopped him. Then he said to Chu Wisan.

"Great Warrior Chu, you go first. I will go with these merchants."

"Second Young Master, the schedule is tight."

"Hahaha. Since when was I such an important person? It's not like the work won't get done just because I'm missing, right?"

Great Warrior Chu's complexion was not very good.

"This is the territory of the Great Righteous Martial Hall. If you are alone..."

"Are you worried I'll get into trouble? Haha, don't worry. I'm not the type to run wild like someone else. If things get rough, I'll just run away."

"What on earth are you doing all of a sudden?"

"Are you saying that even after seeing these merchants almost get raped on the main road in broad daylight? If you're going to save them, you have to take responsibility to the end. I will safely send them to the village and then will follow."

Great Warrior Chu sighed lightly. Although he had heard that he was an eccentric, he had not known that he was this much.

He was at a loss for words that he was going to take a detour on the way to carry out the mission he had set out on after receiving the Faction Master's order.

"Then I will attach a few members to guard you."

"No, no. I rode my horse in a hurry for a long time, so I feel nauseous. I will do this trivial heroic deed, so Great Warrior Chu, hurry up and take care of the big matters."

Chu Wisan judged that it was difficult to persuade him any further. Gu Yangsu did not even listen to his father, Gu Yeongang's, words well.

'That would be better.'

Chu Wisan, the commander of the Demon Suppression Brigade, who had seen his subordinates running, panting, nodded.

"I understand. I will arrive in Hefei first and will wait."

"Go slowly. Your subordinates seem very tired."

They say you give a disease and then give the medicine, and leaving a final spiteful word, Gu Yangsu followed Jang Mugang's party.

***

A young Confucian scholar came to the roadside teahouse. The place he followed the Confucian scholar to was a large tavern on a bustling street.

It was unexpected. He had thought he would meet the first hall master of the Great Righteous Martial Hall in a more secret place, but for it to be a crowded tavern.

When he went up to the third floor, there was a separate room.

"If you wait a moment, he will come."

After the Confucian scholar disappeared, wine and food were brought in.

A moment later, a middle-aged man who looked to be slightly over fifty entered. The moment he entered, it felt as if the separate room was full.

Although his eyes, which flashed with a bright light, his slightly thin lips, and his neat beard caught the eye, he had an ordinary impression that could be commonly seen.

The Heaven's Center One Sword, Baek Jeongmu.

The first hall master of the Four Great Powers of the world, the Great Righteous Martial Hall, and one of the ten great masters.

There was nothing anywhere that could be reminiscent of the enormous modifiers attached to him.

Kang Sogun stood up and performed the proper etiquette.

Baek Jeongmu lightly returned the courtesy. It was neither excessive nor lacking.

"I am sorry to have kept you waiting."

After sitting down, Baek Jeongmu looked at Kang Sogun for a while and then opened his mouth.

"You resemble your father a lot. But don't you hear a lot that your eyes are reminiscent of your mother?"

A deep emotion was felt deep in his calm voice.

"Do you remember me?"

"You have said the same thing before."

As Kang Sogun saw Baek Jeongmu, he remembered a summer night in his childhood.

There had been a guest who had come late at night. He, who had woken up from sleep, had gone to his father's residence to see what was going on.

There was a guest. His father had made him greet him, and he had said a word.

'He resembles you a lot. But his eyes are reminiscent of Princess Yeongan.'

'What do you mean! Are you saying I'm this handsome?'

'Otherwise, how could Princess Yeongan have picked you and pestered His Majesty?'

"Haha. I did not know that you would remember something from so long ago."

"I only remembered after seeing you."

"I have heard the story of your father's death. In fact, although I have been suspicious in the meantime, I have been careful, respecting your mother's will."

Kang Sogun's mother, Princess Yeongan, had been worried that she would lose her son as well, so she had informed her acquaintances that her husband's death was from an illness.

"I am sorry. If I had known the truth in advance, I might have been able to prevent your mother's death, but it is regrettable."

"It is an unknown matter. Perhaps she would have met with disaster even earlier. You do not have to blame yourself."

Kang Sogun said calmly.

Baek Jeongmu smiled and nodded.

"There is a reason I asked to see you. But it seems you also have a reason for coming to see me. Who should speak first?"

"Please speak first. I will listen attentively."

Baek Jeongmu poured wine into his own and Kang Sogun's cups.

"The previous emperor, no, since the emperor has passed away again now, it is not appropriate to call him that. But since I am still used to the title of previous emperor, please understand."

"I am also the same. The death of my uncle, the emperor, was so unexpected."

Kang Sogun nodded as if in agreement.

"I heard that you had a connection with the Great Righteous Martial Hall. Do you know how we came to be?"

"I have heard."

According to what Kang Sogun had heard from Shangguan Qingyou, it was a martial arts organization that his father, Kang Ilbu, and Baek Jeongmu had created under the order of Emperor Yongle.

The purpose was to prevent any martial world forces that might collude with the court's power and threaten the imperial family.

Baek Jeongmu shook his head.

"That can be seen as only half the truth."

Baek Jeongmu drank his wine and then continued.

"The Great Righteous Martial Hall was established to face the Thousand Emperor Castle. Have you ever heard of it?"

"The Thousand Emperor Castle? I am unlearned and am hearing it for the first time today. Where is that castle?"

Kang Sogun shook his head.

It meant a castle where a thousand emperors were. Since there was an imperial palace, who would dare to call it the Thousand Emperor Castle?

"Not just you, but there are very few who know of the Thousand Emperor Castle. In fact, it is not a castle that is on this land. But should I say it is a place that actually rules the fate of this land?"

Baek Jeongmu's expression did not change much. He just continued to speak calmly.

"Their origin is not yet known. According to their claims, they have continued since ancient times. In the meantime, countless dynasties have changed, but they have ruled this land without change."

"..."

For Kang Sogun, it was a hard-to-believe story.

"I also found it hard to believe when I first heard this from the previous emperor. Your father was also the same."

As soon as the previous emperor had ascended to the throne, there had been a person who had secretly visited.

The letter that the messenger from the Thousand Emperor Castle had delivered contained surprising content.

"Since we could not believe it, the previous emperor showed us the letter himself."

The letter stated that 'the Thousand Emperor Castle has existed since the creation of heaven and earth and has watched over countless dynasties.'

"And it said that a dynasty that goes against the will of the Thousand Emperor Castle will not last for three generations."

"What does the Thousand Emperor Castle want?"

"That the emperor, as the Son of Heaven sent by heaven, should reign but not rule!"

Kang Sogun could not readily understand the meaning.

"The content contained in that one word is actually not small."

Kang Sogun thought for a moment and then asked.

"The sages have said that the will of the people is the will of heaven. Did the Thousand Emperor Castle recommend that will?"

"That's not it."

Baek Jeongmu said flatly and asked.

"Has there been a dynasty on this land that has respected the will of the people?"

Although Kang Sogun thought back, in fact, there had been none.

"Nevertheless, are there only one or two dynasties that have continued for hundreds of years? Then their warning that it will not last for three generations becomes a bluff."

Kang Sogun nodded.

"What the Thousand Emperor Castle wants is a feudal system. It is for the numerous feudal states to enjoy their own power."

"That is even more incomprehensible. Isn't it a story of going back to the ancient Zhou Dynasty era?"

Baek Jeongmu shook his head.

"We cannot go back to the feudal state era now. What the Thousand Emperor Castle demanded was the decentralization of power. In fact, although the name and method have changed, aren't there local magnates who are ruling with the same power as the kings of the past in each region?"

Kang Sogun finally understood the will of the Thousand Emperor Castle.

"History has changed as three powers have operated. The imperial family, the powerful families and local magnates, and the people! Haven't the imperial family and the powerful families and local magnates been fighting over the people?"

It was a fact. The people were the source of wealth. All resources, including production, war, and labor, came from the people.

If the people were sheep, it was history that the wolves had fought countless times over the authority to rule the sheep.

Kang Sogun muttered as if to himself.

"So the Thousand Emperor Castle demanded a power system where the central power of the imperial family is minimized and the powerful families and local magnates of each region directly rule the people."

Baek Jeongmu nodded. Kang Sogun still found it hard to believe.

"That is just one ideology. To say that they have continued that ideology since ancient times, I really can't believe it. Does the Thousand Emperor Castle really have substance?"

"The previous emperor also did not believe it after receiving the warning from the Thousand Emperor Castle. But it seems he secretly looked into the records of the past successive dynasties. He found out that the founding emperor had also received the same warning."

Baek Jeongmu lamented.

"It seems the Thousand Emperor Castle did not warn all emperors, but only sent a messenger in the case of an emperor who was trying to strengthen the central power."

Baek Jeongmu drank his wine.

"Coincidentally, if you look at history, the reformist monarchs, in most cases, had their bloodline changed or the master of the country changed, at the shortest, in their own generation, and at the longest, not exceeding three generations."

"..."

Kang Sogun was silent. A silence flowed for a moment.

At some point, Kang Sogun raised the wine in front of him and drank it in one gulp.

And then he said, pouring wine into his own cup.

"Now that I see, you, Uncle Baek, are testing me."

At Kang Sogun's words, Baek Jeongmu's eyes shook for a moment.

(End of Chapter)